Fiction:Percusa IV

This is the Third Chapter of the Percusa's story.

The Percusa have become curious about those islands they can just barely see from the shore. So they send an exploration group of 8 individuals to those islands. Led by a young male named Clewis, the group flies on updrafts for hours before they are able to rest their aching wins on solid ground again. They have landed on the northernmost island, and have found something most intriguing.

The group of explorer Percusa land ashore on the far off island(ok, not so far off since it is visible from the coast line but it gives the narrative a dramatic feel, no?). The party of 8 is exhausted so they rest for a day on the beach. The next day they split up into groups of 2 and comb the island by air. It is a small chunk of land, nothing particularly spectacular about it. It is shaped like Australia of Earth, only about 100square miles big. Most of the island is thick deciduous forest, but toward the Southeastern corner, the trees become more tropical like. Thousands of years later, the Percusa learn that this is because it is a volcanic island slowly drifting northwest and the southeast corner has particularly more fertile soil, complete with geysers and underground lava lakes.

The explorers name the island Clewis Island, after their leader. Clewis Island is populated mostly by variations of wildlife of the main continent(whatever its name is). The explorers stay on the island for about a year, mapping it thoroughly. There is one oddity to Clewis Island though...

It takes the Percusa explorers considerably longer to chart the jungle region of Clewis Island, as it is very thick with shrubbery and hard to cut through. What they find about 15 miles in though, they would have never guessed to find. Ruined building lie everywhere! Metallic, short, rusty buildings. The entire city is abandoned. Upon further exploration inside, the Percusa find that the buildings go miles underground and have strange, invisible force fields(ultra strong glass basically)beyond, which is liquid magma. The find delays the Clewis team another year but it is worth it. The mapping of the tunnel systems shows that they are extensive and large. Many of them lead to underground harbors through which, the Percusa can only assume, lead to the ocean. The tunnels are massive, about 100ft in diameter at the smallest, 500 at the biggest. The exploration team returns to the mainland after their 2 year study, loaded down with maps.

Shortly after the expedition returned, they had a meeting of all the leaders of the major clans and several lesser clans (some of which are satellite clans or sister clans of bigger ones anyway). Despite there being disagreement on some things, they pretty much all agreed that they should found a colony on the island to act as a base. With that, they started bickering over which clan or clans should claim it, but one of the older leaders (I think they are already weaning off that cannibalism habit. I'm sure us humans have some 'primitive' habits or tendencies, but we have tamed that stuff through civilization, so there is no reason the Percusa can't achieve getting rid of or at least suppressing the habit) who belonged to one of the most prestigious families in the Canyon clan, and known to be a good mediator stepped in. He said: "yes each clan has their own claim here, but remove those borders and we are all one people.' he points to a young male who is the leader of a small group that is pioneering further west near the mountains and many of those in his group are friends and volunteers from other clans that met each other during Ksotudo and other times, "Ctassa's fledgling group consists of those from varied clans, yet they put the clan differences aside to pioneer a new clan in a new place." "If they can do so, then why not we?". another clan leader who would be middle aged speaks up "I have known Moi'dana (the elder Percusa) since I was a pup at the Ksotudo, he speaks with wisdom of generations from one of the oldest Percusa clans. I have seen other examples of what he speaks of, and I believe it could work." After a minute or two of quiet muttering in the gathering, the leader of one of the coastal clans makes an attention getting bark and speaks "We shouldn't be fighting about this. I say we follow Ctassa's example and select the most willing and skilled volunteers...perhaps at the next Ksotudo. As for the watercraft, I'll gather the most skilled crafters in my clan and those most skilled in other coastal clans."

Even though the leaders of the coastal clan agreed on their part and could discuss the specifics later, there was still some discussion about how do deal with clan ownership as the island was unclaimed by anybody even though the explorers would have a section of land on the island should they accept, which is a kind of reward for their efforts.

Several months later on the coast, the coastal clan leader had done his part and gathered the best crafters to build several large boats to carry passengers, supplies, etc. and could go back and forth between the island and the mainland It took a few weeks to get everything set up such as shelters, even if they were temporary ones. Soon they had a colony of around 100 percusa on the island beach and had built a makeshift dock.

The Percusa send a much larger, and more permanent, group of Percusa explorers to Clewis Island. Since their water traversing skills are under par, they cannot bring many things with them at once, most of their necessities they create on the island. A main camp is set up on the landing beach and two other, smaller camps are built, one deep in the jungle, the other, in the actual ruins, on the surface. Since this is an exploratory group, not a colony, only strong males are sent.

The running of the actual research camps is pretty smooth. Clewis runs the whole thing, with 3 team leaders for the bases. After the first 2 months, they discover something important, tides. While deep in one of the underground caves near an underground harbor, 15 Percusa are suddenly swept into the depths. Rescue is impossible. After two more years, the explorers get the idea and only explore the tunnels half of the year. Because of Valera's two moons(it has two, right?) and the nature of their orbit, half of a Valera year is low tide on Clewis Island and surrounding areas, the other half is a dramatic, 100ft higher high tide.

Not much is discovered about the species that used to live in the ruins, other than they were huge, liked water, dug good, and had horrible senses of design(Orange drapes in a Pink lab? Yuk!). The Ruins take a bit of damage, some tunnels are caved in because some genius Percusa team leader ordered his team to see what was BEHIND the glass holding the lava. He was later killed by Clewis and left to rot in the jungle.

The Ruins(I'm just gonna call the Ruins with the capital from now on) eventually become a sort of religious icon. The Percusa explain the Ruins with an ancient race of immortal creatures of one form or another(Think the Greeks Mt. Olympus, home of the gods). As for ownership, the Ruins become an understood neutral shrine for all Percusa. Priestesses live their and every Ksudo sacrifices are made to the spirits. Clewis Island becomes slightly populated but, because of lack of huntable animals, the island remains nearly deserted all year except Ksudo. About the only thing definitely good about exploring the Ruins is a new form of jar is invented using jungle leaves.

One day a group of Percusa youth are playing near a river, roasting bugs and small animals in a fire pit. When their pack leaders call them back, they quickly put out the fire by throwing sand on it. The next day the Percusa return after their schooling to discover that their fire pit looks wrapped and shiny. After some experimentation, they discover that, if heated, sand turns into a rigid, opaque solid. They tell their mother's and, soon, the Plains Percusa develop a form of glass blowing. Although the glass is primitive, it's color is never pure and the surface varies greatly in quality, the Percusa is it to great advantage making pots of all sorts and, eventually, bell jars used for underwater exploration.

The decades of peace continue. The Percusa's culture thrives and settlements steadily grow in population. Eventually, the yearly Ksudo at Clewis Island becomes a huge event, bigger than any other Ksudo locations before it. Soon, the amount of visitors that cannot fly, young ones and old farts mostly, becomes too much of a burden on their families to take to the Clewis Island Ksudo. An entrepreneurial Percusa, who enjoys fishing out on his private raft, gets the idea to ferry passengers to Clewis Island every year(for a small fee of tools or what have you, of course). Soon his business thrives even during the off season and his fleet of improved boats are a common sight along the coastlines. Many new techniques are perfected, but most notable is the sail and the use of natural waterproof adhesives in shipbuilding.

A young Percusa named...um...let's call him Bob, is near the shore of the sea. He grabs a small stick and puts a worm like creature on it, and for fun sticks it in the water. A fish called the pooka snaps down on the stick. Bob pulls it up and brings it with him for a small addition to his lunch. An older percusa sees this and soon they make sticks with hanging sinew with worms attached to it by a small hook(they can make spears...why not hooks?) for catching pooka. Eventually fishing becomes a good food source.

After a few years a percusa named Wintolk finds some odd plants. The first he finds can be used to bandage wounds and will heal the wound faster then normal, he calls it the bange. The second grows in odd shapes like a tear drop, but has a strong spice in it when cut. He uses this for seasoning in meat and calls it gorlac. Finally, he finds a grain type plant that when mashed and baked like a jar makes bread. He finds this very good for handling meat, despite it's odd taste. He calls it grimin and the bread made from it is often flavored with spice and rubbed with juicy meat.

The invention of swords come through an unexpected process. Every Ksudo at Clewis Island massive crowds form around the Temples of the Spirits(the Ruins). The jungle foliage is too difficult to clear for the crowds, our primitive axes just don't work on the rubbery plants. One day a rather clever metallurgist thinks to extend the axe blade and shorten the handle. With further development, the swords become curved and razor sharp. They are not produced in mass numbers, as there is no need for melee weapons right now, but they become extremely useful in low brush clearing throughout Clewis Island and even see some use on the mainland.

Recently, the Reathlers have requested extended roaming land, their populations have been slowly increasing and have finally reached the point were overpopulation is a problem. The species has behaved well for the past few hundred years and all the Percusa tribe leaders hold a meeting to discuss the matter.

The gathering of Percusa leaders meets with two Reathler messengers. The messengers make a good case, the Reathler population is filling the limits of their Percusa-allowed territory(mostly uninhabitable forests on high mountains) to the point were starvation is a serious threat. The Reathlers have kept their distance since the Great War(I think it has a certain ring to it) and not complained once about the yearly sacrifices for over 500 years. The Percusa tribe leaders see the Reathler's point and allow them more territory.

The Reathler situation has made the Percusa tribes realize how out-of-touch they all are with each other. It took over sixth months to gather all the major leaders for the community meeting. The Plains Percusa leader, Mot'rok, proposes a united alliance of Percusa. Thirty-two of the 54 leaders agree that this will be the best way to improve communication, trade, defense, and guild and schooling organization. Eight of the more formidable leaders die in the "agreeing" process, leaving the other 14 tribe leaders no choice but to agree with the unification.

At the next Ksotso the tribe leader decide that the best form of unification would be a vote-based system that is held by the strongest of the strong. They will call it...the Loklow (a Representative government). It takes about two years for every tribe to go through the process of choosing a Loklist(representative), during which time many smaller, more primitive tribes drop out of the Loklow, mostly the tribes to the Northeast. In the end, a body of 46 representatives move to the western shore of Lake Misugosu. They live in a small community, very high class, kind of like a Camp David. A new guild arises out of this organization, the messengers. The need for rapid communication becomes greater than ever and a few fast-flying Percusa a recruited to the Loklow. Eventually, there is a whole network throughout the continent(which still needs a name, by the way) and Clewis Island. The Loklow system works fairly well, schools become more standardized in how long students attend and what material is covered, better trade routes are set up through a crude public road system(very crude, we're talking signs that say in what general direction a settlement is). Problems are abundant, though, as with any new government. Many of the 46 Loklists are idiots with pulsing muscles and it is very difficult to upkeep Camp Dany because the Loklists want to keep from building a full on town near Lake Misugosu. Decisions are made agonizingly slow, due to the wide variation in Loklist intellect and background(remember, all the Percusa tribes have been in pretty different stages of advancement). It takes over 10 years to get the schools to ALL teach basic fishing and fire making techniques. But the Percusa have something to be proud of now.

The Loklow is now firmly established, running pretty much smoothly and most Percusa agree with the acts that are passed. One day the Loklists of 2 lands from the Central area(Yucatan, Pal'Chu) propose that the Loklow re-invite the Eastern Percusa to join the alliance. There is general agreement and it is decided to send a Messenger to the Capitol City of Yuan Wu Tsae. Three days later, we get word that the Easterners refuse the alliance, they claim that we are blood mongering slave owners. While this may be true, the Loklow is fed up with the Eastern Percusa, all trade ties are severed with the Far East. Tensions are high but the Easterners seem not to want war, just to stay separated from us. However, the small city of Al'Dabu sent a separate messenger to the Loklow the next day. The more westernized city wants to join the Loklow, but the city is under the rule of the more morally straight Easterners.

The Loklow counter the Al'Dabu with a compromise offer. In exchange for free trade, the Loklow will agree to protect Al'Dabu from Eastern suppression. The Al'Dabu leader agrees and the Loklow governed nation moves in and around the city. Military protection lets the populous of the city feel safer, this town turns out to be militarily conquered by the Easterners. Al'Dabu used to be an independent tribe. The Easterners watch from the hilly region as the city flourishes. The Easterners are now an anti-military nation, but rule their citizens with an iron grip. Their form of government is an Emperor-led dictatorship, basically. There is a tense peace between the 3 groups...for now.

The Loklow Empire turns a blind eye to the Eastern Percusa for now, deciding, rather, to focus their attention on internal infrastructure. A primitive form of tar has been in use for some decades now, discovered on the volcanic Clewis Island. The Loklow pass an act to further develop this tar and use it with smooth stones to build easily traversable, durable roads. Two years later, the first road, stretching from Percusopolis, through the Jediosudo Pass, and into Pal'Chu. This is a major leap in transportation. All major cities are connected within 3 more years. Fresh ocean fish now are a possibility, even if only for the more powerful Percusa.

Speaking of good news. Al'Dabu has been invaded by a massive Eastern army. The LE troops only held them back long enough to get the women and children out of the town. The Easterners are much more powerful than we thought, their Emperor, Shok, was able to amass a force of over 300,000 Percusa warriors, to the LE's best estimates. The Women and children of Al'Dabu have been relocated to Yukata.

They really know much more on sneak attacks than the Plains Percusa did in the Great Reathler War, sneaking in on the ground beneath brush or forest, preferably, and flying out at our troops in the air. The Easterner's warriors are more lightly armored than our current troops, but use a much more deadly curved, short sword. Their metallurgy skills are obviously much better than ours and warrior training, better. Their armor is a tightly-knit cloth, very flexible, and impenetrable by any of our current ranged weaponry.

As we have not had a reason for a military in hundreds of years, the LE is dangerously unequipped. Here is a list of the equipment our troops currently use, to the best of my knowledge: - a metal helmet used for head butting, ramming - a long spear used in first wave attacks as a dropping projectile, metal tipped - a short spear used as a melee weapon in the air or on the ground, metal tipped - heavy metal claw gloves to fit over the Percusas' clawed feet, used to rake the eyes out of Guard Reathlers - really big nets taken into the air, used to tangle other airborne threats by dropping them or diverting them into it - catapults (We got these from allying with the northern Percusa, I think. I know we have them, though.)

Our tactics are pretty straight forward, fly out, keep attacking until one side dies. There are no commanders or squad leaders, just Percusa looking out for each other in the heat of battle. We have never used the catapults in violence yet.

It is decided by the spirits that the best course of action is to capture the Midway Oasis. This is the only decent source of water in the Great Eastern Waste and it will prove vital in battles to come, predict the priestesses. The Pecusan static defenses were never evolved much, and, consequently, the only way they can really defend the oasis is to bring lots of troops there with some civilians to build up weapon storage facilities. A road is built from Pal'Chu to the oasis for quick supply lines. There is no shortage of weapons, over the past few hundred years there have always been some farseeing blacksmiths who keep a private stockpile of arrows, armor, and other deadly paraphernalia. The Loklow calls upon the blacksmiths of the land and they react with great support, donating every available weapon to the cause. Because of the great work the Loklow has done for the LE, there is great public support of the war, volunteers abound to fight for their country flock from all over the land to the Great Eastern Waste to fight. Our homeland is behind us.

But recent intelligence has reported sightings of Eastern scouts just east of the Al'Carlit Ruins. These ruins have stood since the dawn of sentient Percusa, a massive stone city, giant staircases, pyramids, sophisticated yet ruined water canal systems, these ruins second in strategic value only to the Midway Oasis.

The initial influx of soldiers quickly tapers off as some are killed in battle, some are captured and many more just plain desert. So, because of this lack of young volunteers, the Loklow leaders enforce a conscription order on every eldest child of every litter between the ages of 12-30. The conscription order is met with great opposition by the people, and few report in to the training base... That is until one night, a surprise attack on Clewis Island leaves many dead and crippled. Even worse, these savage Easterners don't even allow the kin to consume the bodies, they just leave them for the carrion birds. The people become outraged, and now the leaders cannot keep the volunteers out of the training camps. It takes several months for the newly trained soldiers to actually get onto the battlefield, but against the untrained forces of the East, these new soldiers swiftly assure several victories for LE. (This conscription is standing order that will become our basic military recruiting protocol after the war.) In the meantime, the Al'Carlit ruins have been taken by the East and morale is at an all-time low because of their loss.

The Loklow leaders decide to train and employ spies into the enemy stronghold. All total half a dozen spies are sent in. By various means, including defection, being taken prisoner and even bringing in dead soldier's bodies for a bounty, five of the six spies make it into the ruins/stronghold without trouble. Once firmly in place, the spies will send us information out to us via messenger Tivalli. One of them will also feed the general in command of the ruins various bad information.

In the South mines, there has been a rash of fires and explosions, often resulting in death and serious injury. With the war going on and all, it’s sort of been shelved. Until recently. A famed Percusa scientist named Lebon recently made a personal trip to the mines where these explosions have occurred. He quickly finds that the source of these explosions is the direct product of a very fine, black powder that is commonly found in these mines. After much experimentation, and the loss of an arm and his pinfeathers, Lebon finally finds a way to dilute the powder so it can be safely transported and used for the war effort. By mixing the powder with mud, and forming it into fist-sized balls, he has invented the first bomb. With these new weapons, the Percusa can now fire bombs at their opponents during dogfights. These bombs blow the enemies to bits, effectively making it impossible for their kin to claim the body. The effect is a serious demoralizer for the East. Soon tales abound with stories of fearsome Western bombers. For the first time, the tide has turned in our favor.

In the meantime, our spies have reported that there is to be a meeting of the Eastern Generals at the Eastern capital Yuan Wu Sae, three weeks from now. We have a chance to cripple the Eastern Army, we cannot let this opportunity slip us by.

The leaders decide that the best course of action is to send several assassins to the Eastern capital under the guise of merchants from Al'Dabu. Being a non-militant nation, the East is very protective of their merchants, and the Assassins reach Yuan Wu Tsae without trouble. Once inside the capital, the assassins meet with the two spies that are in the city and form a plan of attack. For the first five days of the week-long war conference, there is not trouble whatsoever for generals and security begins to relax. But on the night of the sixth day of the conference, the lazy guards are wakened by the screams of a servant who has found her master, the general in a pool of his own blood. Messages are quickly relayed all over the imperial palace, but it is too late for nine of the twelve eastern generals. The assassins meet back at their hideout (A hotel that caters to traveling merchants) and discuss what to do next. So far they have suffered no casualties, and they're still armed with the poisons they are to take if captured.

The seven assassins decide amongst themselves that it would be best for them to wait until the trouble passes and leave later, when the city has calmed down. In the meantime, they can gather good information about the East, and what they are planning to do. So the seven go to sleep, and in the morning they are shocked to find that someone has slain nine of the twelve great generals of the East. Gossip spreads like wildfire. Some claim that it was the new General who hired the assassins to take out his competitions... Others speculate that maybe the Emperor himself did it because he is going crazy. Some think that maybe the Crown Prince did it, and his father is next... Most simply believe that it was the Westerners... But how did they infiltrate the Imperial City? A particularly gossipy maidservant asks Misha-El (One of the Seven) what he thinks of the assassinations. Recognizing a chance to start a rumour, Misha-El thinks quickly of a reply.

"It's obvious that Crown Prince Tsae Ku did it! He's tired of waiting for his father to die... Why I wouldn't be terribly shocked if His Imperial Majesty is next!" The maidservant looks at Misha-El with wide eyes. She is shocked at his bold statement... But yet she cannot ignore the logic of it. It is true that Tsae Ku is an impatient and man. Quickly the maid bustles off to finish her shopping. Unbeknownst to Misha-El and his companions, that female is the woman in charge of the Emperor’s harem, and the biggest gossip this side of the Eastern Waste. Before the day is out, half the city is bustling with talk of the treasonous Tsae Ku. But the party most interested in this bit of info is Prince Tsae Ryu. Tsae Ku's younger half brother. With public opinion turning on his brother, Tsae Ryu has found his chance to steal the throne... But he is going to need some help. Unbeknownst to the seven, Tsae Ryu saw Misha-El outside of the General's quarters that one night. It takes him three days, but he finally tracks down the seven at their hotel late one night. The seven are startled to find that they have been found out, and quickly their swords are drawn. But before the killing stroke is made, Tsae Ryu speaks. "I am Prince Tsae Ryu, and I want to make a bargain with you seven." Quickly the Prince spells out his plan. He wants to hire the seven to kill his father and make it look like Tsae Ku did it. That way Tsae Ryu will become emperor of the East. Of course he will pay them anything they want.

The Seven sheath their swords and go away to the other side of the room to talk quietly among themselves about what to do with Ryu and his proposition. They finally come to an agreement, and Suja, their leader approaches the Prince. "We agree with your plan, but we want something we can keep to make sure that you will hold to your word." Ryu smiled, "What would you like? My seal? My dagger with my father's seal on it?" Suja laughed, "No, we want your son." Ryu's eye widen with horror, he doesn't trust these assassins anymore than they trust him, but he will have the throne at all costs. "Very well. One of your females will meet me in the market tomorrow near the fountain. Dress as a nursemaid." Suja agrees with the plan, and Ryu departs. The next morning, the transfer of Ryu's infant son is made without a hitch. Kiva, the assassin in nursemaid's garb, takes the little boy to a ramshackle house on the edge of the city, where she will wait for her companions to come after the Emperor is dead. Late that night, Suja walks boldly past the guards, who have drunk deeply of Ryu's store of ale that he has opened for them. Suja creeps into Prince Ku's room and steals his dagger that has both his and the King's seal on it. Suja also collects a few orange feathers from the floor. With the prince's dagger, Suja makes short work of the King, then he scatters the feathers he took from Ku's room all over His Majesty's body. Job complete, Suja leaves through the Emperor’s open window and returns to the hotel where five of his companions wait anxiously. The next morning, the city is shocked to find their aging Emperor dead in a pool of blood. But... They are even more shocked to find that it was Tsae Ku who did it. After all, wasn't it his dagger that they found not three feet from His Imperial Majesty? And don't those feathers look just like the ones on Tsae Ku? According to Eastern Law, A man must be put to death if he has taken the life of a family member. Tsae Ku and his household are promptly burned at the stake that evening, and the next day Tsae Ryu is crowned as Emperor.

The six assassins agree that asking for half of the Royal Armory would be a good idea, because then they could smuggle the arms back west and use them for the Western cause. But of course His Imperial Majesty won't suspect a thing cause any merchant worth his feathers could make a fortune from selling the arms to the soldiers. The six send a message to Emperor Ryu, 'politely requesting' an audience. This is also not unusual, as dozens of merchants have been bringing gifts to the new Emperor in order to gain his favor. Of course the six are admitted to the throne room, as are twenty other merchant groups who come bearing gifts. Ryu realizes that the assassins have come for their payment, and orders everyone else out, including his guards. Once the room is clear, Ryu asks them what they want. "Most esteemed Emperor, we, your humble servants ask that you give us what is due. We would like for your men to pack half the royal armory onto some animals so that we may make our fortune by selling the weapons to soldiers." Suja says in his oily-smooth voice. Ryu practically choked on the wine he had been drinking. "That's outrageous! You could just as easily sell it all to the West!" The Emperor shouts. "Suja nods, "Ah... yes we could.... But tell me, what is the price of a Crown Prince's life?" Ryu suddenly regrets handing his son, the new Crown Prince over to the untrustworthy assassins, they have him by the throat and he knows it. "Very well. You shall have the choice of the armory’s weapons and the stable's beasts to carry it all away." "Thank You... Your majesty ...The Crown Prince will be returned when my fellows are safely outside the city." For the rest of the day, the six are busy directing the Imperial servants on how to pack the weapons and ready the animals for the long trip to Al'Dabu. As the sun sets, Misha'El hires a mute beggar-boy to deliver a message to a certain ramshackle house on the edge of the city.

"Take the child to the palace and act as though you found the child in the street... Assure yourself a place in the palace staff and spy in on any kind of meeting you can." Kiva reads and burns the message, assuming that it can't be traced back to her. Later that day, Kiva trades an old widow her nursemaid's cloak for the widow's tattered rags, then sets off for the palace. At first the gateman is wary of the crazy looking woman and the naked babe, but it's not long before the Crown Prince's identity is confirmed by the small tattoo on his foot. The gates man calls for the guards who hustle the young prince upstairs into the imperial nursery and take Kiva to the dungeon. Kiva waits several hours before His Majesty, Emperor Ryu comes to personally question her. "Where did you find my son!?" Kiva does a quick bow, then replies "Why Your Majesty, your servant found the beautiful child lying in a basket-bed near her home this morning... As soon as I recognized the tattoo on his foot, I knew he was your own son. So I brought him to the palace." Kiva is an excellent liar, and easily convinces the emperor into believing that is in fact a poor, young widow. After about an hour of questioning, Ryu orders the woman be released and sent on her way. But as the guards hustle her out of the cell, Kiva falls prostrate on the ground before the emperor, "Your Imperial Grace... Seeing as I found and rescued you son... Mightn’t I get a reward? ...I'm a fair cook ...Ka Li, my husband always said that I had the best stews... Perhaps... If it being not too much trouble, I could have a place in you kitchen?" Ryu nods his assent, then leaves the dark, dank dungeon. Meanwhile, the six assassins are making good time, and expect to be in Al'Dabu in a week. One of them has already flown ahead and informed the leaders of the assassins success and of the large arms shipment coming in.

Our spies in the Al'Carlit ruins inform us that the Lieutenant General has replaced his predecessor and is slowly readying for a major assault at Midway.

The leader at midway decides to send the assassin (the one that came with the message) into the ruins as a defector and attempt to kill the General. The assassin, Jor'el, easily acquires a semi-torn soldier's outfit and sets out for the Al'Carlit ruins. For several days, the officials are suspicious of him, but when he 'informs' the General that the Westerners are planning a full-out attack on the ruins three days from now, all suspicion is cleared from Jor'el's name. But the problem now is that Jor'el only has two nights to act. So Jor'el, now a trusted soldier of the east, 'panics' because he just received word from his cousin, and he needs to speak with the General now. Jor'el is admitted to the general's planning room, where he has many future battles planed out. "What is it Jor'el. What is this news that is so urgent that you had to speak to me?" "Sir, the Westerners are planning to kill you, tonight!" General Dau Ji laughed, "And how do they plan to do that?" Jor'el drew his knife. "Like this." There was a quick struggle, but to the guards outside, it sounded like something had fallen off the general's cluttered desk. But when they hear nothing for nearly an hour, the guards become concerned and try to enter the room. But Jor'el had thought of that and blocked the door with the general's heavy chair. When the guards finally manage to break in, they find the general dead and his battle plans gone. Meanwhile Jor'el is fast on his back to the oasis. It takes nearly two months to get a new general to 'volunteer' to command the Al'Carlit ruins, and another two weeks to make plans to take the midway oasis. In the meantime, the five assassins reached Al'Dabu safely, and the arms they have brought are shipped all over to the many battlefronts, as well as to the capital, where researchers are quickly working out how to make steel.

The weapons have arrived, the general at the ruins doesn’t want to be there, and he's built up a pretty crappy defense. The time has come to attack.

The leader at midway orders his troops to raid the caravans that come and go once a week from the Al'Carlit ruins. Up until now, the West hasn't tried attacking the caravan because the guards that travel with it have vastly superior weapons, but now that advantage has been removed, the West is ready to sever the enemy stronghold's main artery. This plan goes well, 30-40 soldiers fly in and take out the two dozen guards that travel with the caravan, then they break the water jars and carry the food away. Leaving precious little resources to reach the ruins. To make things worse on the enemy troops, the Westerners often pour out gallons of water on the ground, in view of the enemy sentries. After three weeks of this, the enemy is getting desperate. The only water in the city is what fell in a small rainstorm last week. All the soldiers have to eat is hardtack and dried jerky, which can get pretty bland after a while.

End of Percusa IV.