Chapter 27: The Next Plan

"So you are saying you attacked the bordering castle to rescue me?" Colt said.

Colt, Gilbert, and Kyte were having a discussion in the tent. They sat on padded chairs facing each other.

"Yes, my prince, but when I came to know you were outside, I was relieved," Gilbert said.

"So, this Dyna is leading your troops, right?" Kyte said with a quizzical expression. "She told you how Hammer killed her father and hijacked his position. Even more so, he made the tribes believe he is their messiah prophesied in an ancient folklore."

"Right," Gilbert responded. "Dyna had run off with the crown of the supreme chief, and Hammer is behind her. There are tribal chiefs supporting us who do not believe in his messianic nonsense."

"I see." Colt nodded as he analyzed the situation. "We will need her and the other chiefs in our struggle. It will boost our manpower and might even turn the whole conflict in our favor."

"You are right, my prince," Kyte added to Colt's words. "Also, Prince Rozerd too wanted that castle as a base for our operations. We have to get it in our control before the enemy makes a move."

"Yes, we will move tomorrow," Colt decided. "We can not waste much time."

Kyte and Gilbert nodded in agreement.

Gilbert then asked, "Would we move Rozerd, too?"

"We can not leave him here," Colt replied. "We have to move him with us."

"Understood. I will make the necessary arrangements once we reach there," Gilbert said.

***

Logan sneaked around the camps of the tribal chiefs in hope for getting some important information. He was near a tent when he heard someone approaching. He quickly hid behind the tent and found that it was two tribal chiefs discussing something.

"Who are they?" He wondered. "From the looks of it, they look like some big-shots." He tried to hear what they were speaking.

"Hey, at this rate, Varius would sit on that chair," the first chief said. It was the chief of the Neptune tribe, Pantu, a middle- aged man with a big belly and a mustache. He was average in height, and had brown hair with length up to shoulders. He wore a colorful shawl with an embroidery of peacock feathers on it, and baggy woven pants. "What should we do now?"

Nanka, the chief of the Saturn tribe, responded, "There is a way, but it could be risky." He, too, was a middle-aged man, but he had a small build. He wore a thick metallic neck ring, a custom of their tribe. He had a leopard-beard and his hair was tied into a braid. He was bare-chested and wore orange pants with black leather shoes.

"What is the way?" Pantu asked in a desperate tone.

"We will have to poison King Hammer and put the blame on Varius," Nanka answered.

"What are you talking about?" Pantu reacted with a confused face. "His tent is heavily guarded. How would we manage to poison him? Moreover, how would we blame it on Varius?"

Nanka looked at him with a smirk. "I have an idea. One of us will distract the guards at night and the other would sneak in. He will then mix the poison into the ointment which is used in his treatment."

"I get it, but where do Varius come in all this?" Pantu wondered.

"He is the one who brings the ointment. He trusts no one for this task," Nanka said. "Tonight he will bring the ointment again. We will pull off our plan tonight only."

Logan was listening to all this. "So, they are the ones who were spreading rumors about Varius. Now they want to kill Hammer." He gave a tough smile. "This might be a game-changer if their plan succeeds. I will have to make sure their plan goes smoothly at all costs."

"That Hammer has hurt our pride by making us forcefully submit to him," Nanka said with a sour face. "I will make sure to rip his mission apart."

"How about joining the other princes who are against him?" Pantu said.

"He has taken hostage our family members." Nanka gritted his teeth. "If Hammer, Varius, or anyone gets the wind of it, it will be over."

Pantu, too, realized this was not a good idea. "You are right."

"We have only one chance. If we fail tonight, we would have to abandon everything and accept the authority of Hammer. There is no room for failure."

Logan thought to reveal himself and join hands with them, but he had to abort the idea when he saw someone else arriving at the place.

"Hey, hey, look at the dynamic duo. Chief Nanka of the Saturn tribe and Chief Pantu of the Neptune tribe. What are you two discussing so secretively?" It was Hojo, the brute old chief of the Mars tribe. He had an annoying grin on his face. "Hey, do not tell me you are conspiring against King Hammer."

Nanka and Pantu looked at each other with discomforted faces.

Hojo brought his face closer to Nanka and stared right into his eye. "Tell me, are you planning to kill Hammer?"

Nanka looked away as he felt discomforted by his questions. "No, we were just… discussing whom to choose as the new leader."

Hojo sighed in disappointment. "Ah, too bad. And here I thought you planned to step up your game. I am disappointed."

His words raised their ears.

"What do you mean?" Pantu asked him.

Hojo smirked. "I know who had been spreading rumors about Varius, which made him opt out from being a candidate. It was you two, right?"

They glanced at each other with shocked faces.

"Do not get me wrong," Hojo said when he saw their reaction. "I am not against your ideas. I just thought you would be bold enough to take bigger steps, not depend on these petty tricks."

Nanka clenched his fists as his words irked him. "What do you know? We are going to kill King Hammer tonight."

"Oh. As expected," Hojo grinned again. "of the chiefs of two great clans. How would we do it then?"

Nanka and Pantu glanced at each other again. "We?"

"Yeah, consider me in too," Hojo told them. "I, too, want to get rid of him."

"So, they are tribal chiefs allied to Hammer," Logan thought and looked at Hojo. "Considering the huge old man is talking so casually with them, he must be a chief too." He raised his thumb. "I am rooting for you three. Go for it."

Nanka and Pantu told Hojo the entire plan.

"Alright, so tonight it is. Leave distracting the soldiers to me," Hojo said.

"Okay, who would sneak in then?" Pantu asked.

"Of course, it would be you," Nanka said to Pantu.

"Wh-what?" Pantu reacted with a scared face. "Wh-why should I sneak in? What would you do then?"

"I would look out for any danger which could jeopardize our plan," Nanka explained him. "Do not tell me you are scared."

Pantu could not take the heat of their underestimating looks they gave him, so he agreed with them. "Fine, I will sneak in."

"So, it is decided," Hojo smirked. "Tonight will be the end of Hammer."

Logan discarded the idea to reveal himself and decided to watch the conspiracies unfold from the sidelines. He will be the silent helper to them.

He stayed hidden until the chiefs left and sneaked away once they were gone.