92 You should see the condition they are in! It is only by shear fear that he is holding his army together. One more catastrophe and they may revolt and march home!"
93 The Dove paced. "The Lords know," he said, "you are probably right. But are we pushing Their Power to the limit? Can you pull the same tricks again and come out with only five dead and two wounded?"
94 "Even if we do not," answered Swift Deer, "the price we are making the enemy pay is worth it. If we can continue to delay him, every day makes our people stronger. It gives you more chance to prepare your defenses. We have captured messengers. The Prince has sent for even more troops. You will need every hour, every minute."
95 "Your logic," praised The Dove, "overwhelms me, and, the courage of you and your men astounds me! That you are willing to go out again is unbelievable!
96 Yet already, since I have become First Speaker I have seen more courage than I can believe. Each day brings me more pride in my people, and more wonder in The Lords!
97 Do you know some of the people in the city won't evacuate? An old Warlock named Red Crow came to me and told me they will not go, old men, women, cripples. They demand to stay and defend their city until they fall.
98 There's only about three-hundred of them, and they're going to take on that whole damn army, and I can't talk them out of it! That's why we're still here. I'm doing everything I can to help them prepare their defenses. I feel so unworthy to lead them."
99 The Dove stopped talking and looked away. "If your men will go," he agreed, "take what you need, and depart with my blessings. But after you get back here again, you cannot make the journey overland.
100 This is what I will do. In fifteen days I will send boats for you. They will lie off shore and wait, at the small cove north of the city. They will wait for three days. If you make it, signal them with three torches in the shape of a V. When they see the signal, they will come in and pick you up."
101 "We will be there," Swift Deer told him. His men bathed, put on fresh clothes, ate a hearty meal, and that evening,disappeared.
102 That evening also, The Dove was carried down to a boat, and the defenders of Southern were left on their own. The enemy was but a day's march away.
103 It was late the next afternoon when Frn scouts neared the city. The gates were cloesd, and they saw no sign of anyone. They returned to their Prince and told him they were unmolested, but that the gates of the city were closed, and they could not enter.
104 "Tomorrow," said The Prince, "we will top the wall with scaling ladders, and climbing ropes and see what the enemy has left behind.
105 This is the first place they have not burnt to the ground. We can use it to store supplies. This campaign may take longer than I thought.
106 But the next morning as The Prince arose, sentries ran into the camp. "The city!" they cried, "The city! It's on fire! There's flame and smoke everywhere!"
107 The soldiers of Fr rushed outside to see, and sure enough, the city was ablaze, or so The Frns thought. "Get the troops ready to march!" ordered The Prince, "We'll find no shelter there."
108 So it was, the columns started marching. But when they reached the road, and started passing the city, Red Crow and his people struck.
109 The arrow-launching machines they had made sent flight after flight into the Frn ranks. An arrow barely missed The Prince himself. Screaming, the Frn troops fell back, out of arrow range.
110 The Prince took off his helmet and threw it on the ground. "Damn these dogs!" he cried, "Damn these stinking cowards! Take that city! Take that wall! I want their leader's heart! Go!"
111 His leaders quickly obeyed. His archers moved into position behind their shields, and soon laid down flight after flight of smoke arrows. Then, the soldiers rushed the wall.
112 They were met with little resistance until their ropes and ladders began to top the wall. Then arrows, throwing spears, stones, and scalding water poured down on them.
113 The Frns tried desperately, but the first wave was driven back. But they had a second, and, a third. Finally, a few men began to top the wall. "Retreat!" cried Red Crow, "Retreat! Follow the plan!"
114 The Children of Spirit hurried across bridges connecting the wall to the rows of houses behind them, crossed over the roofs, and took up position on inner defenses inside the city.
115 The Frn leaders screamed at their men. "Use your ropes!" they cried, "Get across the gap! Get after those animals!" The men obeyed, and soon they were massing on the roofs, preparing to assault the low wall before them.
116 As they attacked, they were met with arrows and spears and stones, and driven back. It was while they were regrouping that one of The Frn Leaders looked behind him. Smoke and flame was beginning to rise from the buildings all along the outer wall. And the buildings ahead of them, also, were starting to smoke. "It's a trap!" he screamed, "It's a trick! They've set fire to the buildings! They're trying to burn us!"
117 He was absolutely right. The buildings nearest the wall had belonged to the poor people of the city, and were made of wood. The ones of the inner circles belonged to the rich families and were made of stone.
118 Red Crow had one row of houses nearest the stone ones torn down and the material used to build the inner defenses. The rest of the houses had been packed with staw, cattle feed, dry leaves from the trees, anything the people could find, and now it had been put to the flame. Old men hurried back through secret tunnels, torching the
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