Sethalkurik (Spiderthorn)
As the inner gates of Spiderthorn slammed shut and a portcullis fell to shield them the long battle caught up with the battered defenders, many slumping against the nearest wall and surrendering to exhaustion while dozens more were carried into the hospital for treatment.
As they got their troops settled the Captains and Clan Leaders found their way into the Barracks to meet with the General.
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"What is the status of our forces?" Kurel asked, staring around the table at each Dwarf.
"Skyclan lost nearly half it's force. Possibly more if the wounded are beyond help." Anriz replied, scrubbing hard at the layers of enemy blood coating her weapons.
"The same is true for Riverclan." Iger reported, slightly muffled by the mug at his lips. "We managed to hold the breach most of the day but we lost more Warriors then we could afford."
"Most of the garrison soldiers are dead, killed during the Stingtail attacks." One of the captains reported. "The survivors have been split among the army squads in order to bolster their numbers."
"My own forces are still largely intact." Shedim said from the far end of the table where she was carefully polishing her arsenal of daggers and knives.
"Our scouting operation was cut off by the Undead army and we were unable to return to the city before they attacked." The Shadowclan Leader continued. "With the odds far out of our favor and little chance of sneaking through an army I decided the best option was to conceal ourselves deeper in the woods and wait for an opportunity."
"That may prove wise, those Warriors could be of great use in the next stage of this battle." Kurel decided after a moment's thought. "The loss of Num and his Warriors is a terrible development but I believe that we have enough soldiers left to hold the inner walls until help can arrive."
"And what help would that be?" Anriz asked. "I can't speak for the others but Skyclan has already sent every soldier it can spare. Any more would weaken our home fortresses too much." Glancing around the table she saw Shedim and Iger nodding in agreement.
"There is another Clan that has yet to send forces." Kurel began before being interrupted by Shedim.
"Did you lose the ability to think out there Kurel?" The Shadowclan Leader said angrily. "Thunderclan has borne a continuous stream of attacks for over 20 years. The last one nearly destroyed the Clan."
"Besides." She continued as the others stared in shock at her. "Even
if Fireshield could send Thunderclan Warriors to aid us they would be too late. Flamebanner is at least a week's travel if you move fast and I seriously doubt we'll be able to stand against that horde outside for more then a day or two longer."
"And this has nothing to do with the rivalry between you and Fireheart?" Iger said suspiciously. "We all know that you were quite pleased when Helmthundered fell and Fireheart was forced to flee back to the capital."
Shedim shook her head as she replied. "No...I judged him too harshly. It seemed an insult to Armok that he was Leader of Thunderclan but not a Warrior. When word of Helmthundered reached me I took it as a further sign of Armok's anger."
"He proved himself worthy of both his leadership and my respect in the end though. He gave up all his lives in order to save a single Dwarf, Kanet, who became Fireshield. Without that sacrifice Thunderclan might have been lost by now." With that Shedim returned her attention to her weapons.
"...Ok." Kurel said slowly. "Now that that is over we need to decide how best to defend this place..."
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For some reason I couldn't resist that Fireheart related section...May or may not be good as I'm nearly asleep where I type but I'm sure someone will mention it if it's bad