I walked away then with Ayaya tagging along.
"That was awesome!" she breathed out.
"You think so? Time will tell I guess, as nothing is to be gained by not being upfront about things."
The valley had changed a lot, but even in the dark I sensed the familiar outlines of the place that had once been my home for a year. I looked to the wall bathed in the light of torches. It was different and, although well-built, it didn't belong in the majestic setting of this valley.
*****
The next morning
I stared out at the solid ranks of the enemy. There were soldiers from all nations and then there were also monsters: Lion men here and there, lots of Gargons and even more creations of darkness that I had never seen or heard of before.
Idly I wondered how ordinary, howbeit misguided and deceived, people could stand so casually beside unadulterated evil. I said as much to Ayaya, beside me on the wall.
She shook her head, "Not casually. They stand there in fear. Motivated by fear. Bound by fear. Enslaved by it to do its bidding. Behold an army built on fear. They only believe in what they can see and the power of the evil beings standing to either side of them testifies to the fact of whom they should serve."
I shook my head, "Not a good way to live."
"No," Ayaya affirmed.
"An army comprised of such divisions surely must be a fragile one in terms of morale," I said, more to myself.
"What do you have in mind?" Ayaya asked knowingly.
"Something crazy," I said, as a plan began to formulate within the fertile plains of my mind's eye.
I started to move off when Ayaya stopped me with a hand to the arm, "Do you think any of them will leave with you tomorrow?"
I thought about it a moment before saying, "Yes."
"How do you plan to leave with the enemy force cutting off any escape from the valley?"
I smiled, "There is another way out of the valley that Kuri and I found."
Ayaya nodded her head as if marveling at something. Softly then she said, "El Elyon provides."
"Yes, He does."
*****
It was midday when the army beyond the gate began to escalate the tension, in the buildup to what I felt would be a night assault on the wall. If the enemy was left free to attack the wall I felt sure that the wall defenses would fail the first night.
Something needed to be done to steal the momentum and I had a good idea as to what that could be. The only question was, would it work?