War Games

The first day of military training was quite harsh, and it quickly became apparent as to why.

“Look, men. We have to be prepared for an attack at a moment’s notice. The enemy may arrive much sooner than expected, so we need to get you all into tip-top shape! Although we may be lacking in preparation time, we can make up for that in our fighting spirit!”

The recruits cheered. Clyde was certainly an interesting military instructor; his tactic of “get everyone excited for battle” wasn’t one that Sturgeon liked, but it seemed to work well enough during training. While doing exercises and practicing coordinated maneuvers, he had a sort of stage presence about him. In essence, it was like he was a game show host.

“After that three league run, let’s see who can climb up this fisherman’s net the fastest! The winner could become a top recruit and even might become an officer!”

Given that this promise also implied a small plot of land, everyone tried their hardest, but people like Angus who worked in construction consistently pulled ahead no matter how hard the others tried. It was simple math, if you already had a strong physique, you were going to do much better than the others. An oral education test was given to the fastest net climbers, of which Jordan, a pauper, scored the best. As a reward, he was placed as second in command under George, who wasn’t quite thrilled about this new development.

“Are you kidding? Now he has a financial incentive to kill me!”

“No he doesn’t! If he does, he will surely be locked in the dungeon for the rest of his life.”

“Right, but on the battlefield, wouldn’t it be easy to get away with something like that?”

“George, I don’t want to kill you.”

Jordan was rather plain in his manner of speaking, which also irritated George. As his vocabulary was limited, his tone was consistently blunt.

“I’ll let you two work this out amongst yourselves later. As for now, we need to split into our groups! Group one will be under George and Jordan! Group two will be under James and Bertrand, and group three will be under Peter and Angus!”

The cadets split up into their groups, which had been assigned before the training exercises began. Because Jordan was going to be in group three, Peter and Angus were short a man.

“Now, we are to start this nation’s very first war game! This is a special exercise that will test your ability to work together as a team. Rapid creation and perfect execution of your group’s plan is of the utmost importance! Before we go to Myton fields to begin, here are the basic rules of the game: Each team will begin with a fire pit and a large wooden bucket. Your goal is to use water from the pond in the center to put out the fires of the opposing teams! If you are hit with a training sword or flat-tipped arrow, you are to move to your team’s infirmary, which is a little farther back than your fire pit! In the infirmary, you have to drink a hot cup of tea before you are able to leave and return to the battlefield. All the while, it is of the utmost importance that some members of your team keep the fire from burning out on its own. Any questions?”

“Tea, what is this, some kind of joke?”

“I assure you, the tea is not a joke. It makes sure each soldier is forced to rest for a period of time while it cools down. The winner of this challenge will get the most well-furnished rooms to sleep in, including a meeting area and a small library.”

Most of the soldiers didn’t really care about the reward too much, but each team’s officers were quite motivated to get this reward. For George, James, Bertrand, and Angus, it meant a better place to explain their squad’s movements and general plan. For Peter and Jordan, it was simply a better place to sleep.

The battle was on. The general map contained a central area with a pond, and three paths that led to each fire, water trough, and infirmary. Each team only had one wooden bucket, which was rather large. As such, the bucket carrier couldn’t exactly wield a weapon very effectively and had to be escorted to the goal. Some of Angus's troops had ideas.

“I have a plan for the war game, but I doubt you guys are going to like it.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“The other teams think that there is one water source, the one in the center. Because of that, we can focus all of our units except for one to focus on controlling who gets that water. The last member will tend to the bucket and the fire.”

“How are we going to put out their fire if our bucket never gets near the pond or the enemies?”

“There’s an alternate water source. We fight until we lose. By drinking the tea in the infirmary, we can create our own ‘water’.”

“So we’re going to piss out the fire?”

“We can’t do that, he said we needed to use the pond water!”

"Did not!"

While the other soldiers were arguing about buckets of piss, Angus stepped in. He had a different, less piss-related plan.

“Okay, everyone pay very close attention. First, the instructor did say we need to use the pond water. Right out of the gate, we rush in and take the water, then retreat back to our fire to regroup. When the ‘fallen soldiers’ finish their tea, we can head around the outside and do a final charge to put out an opponent’s fire.”

“I think we should just take their buckets.”

Peter’s idea was rather different and a little bit dickish, but simple and effective enough to work.

“They’re made of wood, so we could burn them in our fire.”

“That’s a good idea, but what happens when all the buckets are burned? The game would never end.”

“I guess that’s a good point, and plus they could steal ours too.”

“Also, if we do that, would people not just use their helmets?”

They thought for a second about how else they could gain an advantage.

“What if we just defended our own fire after getting the water, and then attacked right as one enemy’s fire went out?”

“That’s a good idea, Angus, but how would we know? It takes a little while for the smoke to stop.”

“We could have a scout hiding near each fire. Then they could run back and let us know when one is under attack. When they return with the news, we can charge straight to the other one and quickly put it out.”

“Okay, I think that can work. Who wants to be a volunteer for the scouting mission after our water push?”

A few hands went up. Angus remembered who ran the fastest during training, and selected them. It looked like working with Peter wasn’t going to be so bad after all. He seemed like he did a good job of thinking on his feet. Everyone walked to their teams respective fires, and a few minutes later the starting horn sounded.

Peter and Angus’s team rushed to the center pond, guarding the bucket carrier with shields. George and Jordan’s troops waited at the edge of the clearing, furiously firing volleys of arrows that clattered against the shields like a hailstorm. James and Bertrand’s soldiers were much easier target for the arrows, as many of them neglected to bring shields. With only a couple of ‘casualties’, it was fairly easy for Angus and Peter’s team to extract the water. When they returned to the fire, they piled on wood that they found. Increasing the size of the fire would make it last longer and be more difficult to put out. Scouts were sent out to each fire to see what was happening.

James and Bertrand’s team was largely annihilated during the initial push. With this knowledge, George and Jordan’s team sent a small unit to put out their fire while the rest would defend. Angus and Seth were watching James and Bertrand’s fire from afar when they saw the attack. Without hesitation, they left before George and Jordan’s team could see them. Quickly, an all-out frontal assault was sent towards George and Jordan’s fire with Peter and Angus at the helm. While they were making progress, they began to get a little bit complacent.

“You know, this was a lot easier than I expected it to be.”

“Our tactics of gathering information are going exactly to plan. This is the type of strategy we will soon use on the battlefield. It’s not quite the same as the normal line-up battles of yesteryear, but as you can see, it’s an effective set of tactics.”

George’s team, however, had other ideas. Arrows flew out of some brush, hitting Angus on the neck. Several other soldiers were also hit, so they needed to head back to the infirmary and drink the tea. Peter and the rest of the soldiers took on George’s troops and won handily. However, the diversion gave George and Jordan’s central archers enough time to regroup at their fire. Peter knew that by the time he would get there, the enemies would be prepared, so he fell back with Angus and the others to adjust their plans. Once George and Jordan’s troops were back, they would have to defend themselves against a full on assault.

Once Angus arrived, it quickly became apparent that part of George’s team led by Jordan was arriving from the other direction. Because they didn’t have to use all of their water on James and Bertrand’s fire, they could try to put out Peter and Angus’s fire immediately. Now they had a solid offensive presence on both sides and they had also stolen James and Bertrand’s bucket; the walls were closing in. Angus knew that he had to hold off the one side until Peter came back to reinforce him.

Angus went into the infirmary and received his tea from an instructor. It was hot. Boiling hot. To the instructor’s shock, Angus downed it without hesitation, leaving second degree burns starting in his mouth and leading all the way down his throat. Although he tried his best to put on a brave face, it was clear he was in pain throughout the whole experience. His fellow troops watched in awe and the seconds went by like full minutes. After he was done, he handed the empty cup to the instructor and walked out without a word. Angus picked up a short sword and a small buckler shield. All he had to do was stall the push led by Jordan. Time was of the essence.

Jordan had watched Angus enter the tent and leave only a few seconds later. His confusion about the circumstance quickly faded when he watched Angus spit blood onto the ground. All he could think was “He really didn’t wait at all. He has to want this bad.”

Swiftly and decisively, Angus hit two of the soldiers with the flat end of his sword, sending them back to their infirmary. Raising his shield, he blocked a strike destined for his head and with his other hand he delivered a swift stab that knocked the wind out of the assailant. Jordan knew that they couldn’t take Angus with one-on-one fights, so he instructed the whole attacking force to push in at once. Alone, Angus was walking backwards while fighting off multiple soldiers. He used every technique in the book, from redirecting their swords into each other to stunning them with a hard parry using his shield.

Although he was sending several soldiers back to the infirmary, he was running out of ground to give up. Jordan barked out an order to charge, and suddenly it seemed like Angus would lose this battle. In a desperate attempt to control the situation, he threw his sword at Jordan’s bucket carrier, sending him back to the infirmary after he placed the bucket on the ground. Now all he could do was parry. Blocking multiple soldiers with just a single small shield was rather difficult, and Angus was starting to lose steam. The pain from the tea remained and he was getting rather tired.

Thankfully, the rest of Angus’s compatriots had finished their tea, and they returned to the battlefield with their training swords. Angus was sent back to the infirmary, but the rest of the soldiers were enough to drive off Jordan’s force. This time, Angus decided to take his time with the tea. He had confidence in his soldiers. When Peter’s unit arrived back at the fire, he discussed with Angus what the next move should be. As Angus let his tea cool, he let Peter know about the battle.

“So they charged all at once?”

“Yeah, I held them off as long as I could. Thinned out their numbers a bit.”

Between heavy breaths, Angus pointed out the door of the infirmary.

“I think they left something important here.”

They did. Although Jordan retreated, his bucket remained on the ground. If they had picked it up, they wouldn’t have been fast enough to escape Angus’s soldiers. Peter couldn’t believe his eyes. Even if accidentally, they ended up going with his plan of taking their buckets. He asked Angus if he wanted to be in the final charge, but Angus declined. He had to finish his tea and keep the fire burning. Peter stepped outside.

“Men, Angus and I have discussed our next actions! Angus wishes to remain here and feed the fire. The rest of us should go on an all out assault on George’s fire. This time, not through the woods but straight through the clearing! Make sure you all have a shield!”

This time, they were prepared. The troops went into a full bore push through the middle, and refilled all of the buckets with water. Showers of arrows from George’s troops were deftly blocked with the shields, and they lost no momentum. When they arrived at George’s fire, they extinguished it with little resistance. At the end of the day, a horn sounded and they all gathered with Clyde in the training area.

“It comes to my attention that Peter’s team has taken victory. Do you have anything you would like to say?”

“Yes, I’d like to thank Angus for helping with planning and all of our soldiers for working together so well. We couldn’t have done it without you all.”

Angus raised his hand, and Clyde motioned to give him the floor.

“I know that all of you want a space to meet and discuss the plans for the battle. Although we won it, we want to succeed in this upcoming battle above anything else. You can schedule times with us to use our facility and I can explain the broad ideas for the upcoming battle plan.”

Clyde side eyed Angus.

“You know the plan?”

“Yes. My father drew the whole thing up. I think it’s time we tell them the truth.”