-James D. Sass

"Well, was it worth it?"

Walking into the War Room, his stat sheet still open and his heart still heavy, John could not escape Moira's intense glare as he had Etriyya's. Worse, he couldn't even entirely answer her question. Compared to his strength directly before his return to his own world, he was indisputably stronger. Was it enough for anyone else to notice? That wasn't his only concern, though. Was he right? Was alienating Etriyya and forcing her to reveal an embarrassing and prideful secret really worth it?

"Not sure yet. Time will tell, I suppose," John mumbled, shaking his head. Moira must have seen the distraught look on his face, because she dropped her haughty questioning for the tone of a leader at work immediately. Turning her gaze between the few commanders gathered there, Moira hastily pointed to several areas on the map splayed in front of her - John rushed over to see which areas of the Cabal's territory were being pinpointed.

"Our scouts have reported that Cabal troops have abandoned this location, this facility, and this entire block. As I made clear earlier, we aren't certain if all or any of them have a designated plan or destination. They seem to be heading in varying directions at random intervals… they're either attempting some kind of distraction, to infiltrate us by numbers and sheer repeated effort, or they're fleeing like rats from a sinking ship."

"It would be dangerous to assume our foes are collapsing on themselves, barbaric and disloyal as they may be given the opportunity. It is possible they are trying any number of **** gambits - they could be sending messages physically to avoid interception, seeking outside aid with diplomatic envoys, or even retrieving caches of weapons hidden outside the city to avoid our detection and deter internal theft. Still… the numbers leaving are significant. By our estimates, almost forty percent of their remaining numbers." Lord Brighton seemed ever the voice of caution and reason, but Moira's headstrong nature and desire to end the war seemed to have taken hold of her.

"Indeed… it would be a great aid to our cause if we were able to strike before any of them can return, but to do so risks walking into a trap, an ambush, or an unforeseen threat they have retrieved. Have we had any further word of their communications with the Albidian Society?"

"No, they've gone completely off the radar. Either they aren't communicating at all or they've begun using new channels, magical or technological. I have Tricia working on several forms of monitoring, but so far we have had no luck."

"Indeed. I have placed all experiments on hold," Tricia agreed mournfully, "but so far I have revealed nothing. However, I would advise you that, if they have detected my prior efforts of subterfuge, the Albidian Society may well have provided them with a method of communication beyond my current abilities. They have evaded the efforts of many organizations to track them down for years… if they wanted to set up a back-channel, it would take a very long time for me to trace it in any meaningful way. I could do it, of course, but by then they'd have long moved onto another method. They are thorough and cautious, if nothing else."

"What is your opinion, John Newman?"

The words came from Lord Brighton, but everyone's attention was suddenly directed at him. Lord Brighton, Moira, Tricia, and even the gathered soldiers all turned to him as if rehearsed. John froze, more caught off guard by Lord Brighton's opening strike than any combat he'd ever participated in.

"M-mine?"

"Yes, as I recall, your input during the initial salvo of this war was perhaps a bit blunt, but effective. My daughter and I are at quite the impasse, it would seem. A fresh voice might help. What say you?"

"Well…" John walked up to the table with apprehension, glancing over the map he'd only laid eyes upon once before. He couldn't even tell how much of it was the same and how much had changed. The town itself was laid out plain to see, but the mishmash of colors across the entire thing, especially in the downtown area, left him to ponder pathing and targets quite slowly, even having remembered the distinctive colors of the Order and the Cabal.

"Half-measures don't tend to work well," John began, channeling his inner strategy player. "Compromising to a mid-value target that's too obvious means that we'd be playing into a possible ambush, and we'd still have to send a **** large enough that if we suffered losses the defense of the Manor could be compromised. And unless they have any more major bases sitting on the outskirts, any target that doesn't basically win this war is going to be impossible to defend… which leaves us leveling another part of the city. This is war, but I kind of like living here."

"In fairness, many of their more important targets will likely be inside Barriers, reducing damage taken - as that was a shipping center, placing the operations within a Barrier would be troublesome and cumbersome for an organization as magically unskilled as this group, despite their original namesake being a frightening legion," Tricia explained.

"Be that as it may, my original point remains. Whatever we do needs to be cautious and easily defensible, or it needs to end the war."

"Yes, John, you have accurately summed up the crux of our argument," Moira sighed with an exaggerated hand wave, "so at what point will we receive new information?"

"I say we do both," John said, immediately contradicting his prior words - to a point. "Not a half-measure, but rather going even more all-out. An eradication mission. If their manpower is so low, they will be hard-pressed to defend anything - so we hit everything. Room by room, building by building, street by street, we take their territory all the way to the headquarters. If we run into too much resistance, or if we feel like we may be walking into a trap, we stop. We can fortify our position and seal them off from the areas we've secured. Once we've got a foothold in the area they'll be on the back foot. Your scouts can see anything they send our way, meaning that in the worst case we'd be able to recall the troops stationed and give up the territory. Ideally, though… with our superior numbers, and from what I've seen of the Order's fighting ability, any ground they hold or regain would be a pyrrhic victory at best."

"A show of ****?" Lord Brighton mused, putting his hand to his chin.

"It lacks finesse. Last time the intent was to salt and burn; this would turn a war of skirmishes into an all-out barrage. A line in the sand would be drawn, trenches dug, so to speak. Though if we can avoid falling into any traps, it might cripple the Cabal, if we do not succeed in eliminating them entirely."

"If it could be carried out with precision, it would also serve to deter any others from encroaching on our territory following the war. Dividing some of the area up with the Moon Clan and the Forgotten Legion after crushing the Cabal under weight of numbers and ability would dissuade anyone from trying to reclaim the area before we have had a chance to grow our numbers and properly fortify the area."

"True… we cannot assume that the Cabal are the only ones who would seek to infringe upon us, especially if they believe we have stretched ourselves too thin. A showing that we can not only hold the area, but take it from its former owners might be enough. We will discuss this further. Rest yourself, John. We cannot afford to allow them further time to plan against us. Whatever plan we decide on, we will be moving soon."

"Great, I'll just go talk with all my friends," John sighed, heading toward the door.

"All zero I have left."