Magnifico

Poisonous gas

Sun thanked the village men and women for the decision they made. He congratulated them for having the courage to come out in great number to defend their territory. They were extremely happy to see a brave man who is not even from their territory come to defend them against those wicked bandits. They couldn’t thank Sun enough for his bravery and wakening call and they promised to fight alongside him even if they will die doing so.

Sun was deeply touched by the people’s bravery and the strength they have shown and he realized that they now stand a chance against the bandits even if their plan didn’t work out. Sun called the other men that had been in the room with him since last night including Jonas and Viruz to gather around him.

When they did, he told them how he needed them to conduct the people and how they should be grouped.

Everyone was present at the tavern and half of the men had their red silk shirt and a redhead tie. They put on this because they know the day will be b****y and anything might happen. The victory wasn't sure for them but at least they need to out fear on their enemies when they see them.

“I will need you all to be divided into twos and lead these villagers into hiding. I wouldn’t want anyone to be outside no matter what. We need to leave the streets deserted to reduce the chances of the bandits killing people on their way in. I think this is the best thing we need now,” Sun said quickly leaning back and forth looking into the eyes of the men in the tavern one by one.

“How then do we conduct them if the bandits arrive?” Owen asked while standing in a far in the room.

“The people that should be into hiding should include all the villagers but those that will come out to fight should be only able-bodied men and women among them. They should have with them crossbows and swords or anything they can handle and keep them by their side. They will use them when the bandits arrive. Now you all should go and take them into hiding. Thomas here will help you all organize them.”

When they have understood what Sun's plans were, they left the tavern while the General, Jonas, and Viruz stayed behind. They wanted to organize an assault tactics against the mountain bandits and device a plan to repel their attack right inside the tavern.

“General, what if Owen's wife fails us? What are we going to do?” Jonas queried.

“Do you think she will?” Viruz queried.

“I’m not sure. But anything can happen. She may succeed or she may as well be caught. I sincerely hope she won’t get caught. It won’t end well on our part,” Sun said.

“Seriously, Owen made a very big mistake. He would have done this himself. At least, we would have been sure of our next line of action but as it is now, we aren’t sure of what to do,” Jonas said, worried.

.

“Are you afraid?” the old man asked Jonas while sitting quietly on a chair close to the large table inside the tavern.

Jonas turned to regard him, he opened his mouth a little and exhaled. “Of course I am afraid old man. Why shouldn’t I be afraid?”

“Jonas, calm down. Instead of arguing about what Owen did or didn’t do, I think we should use this opportunity to strategize please” Sun begged.

There was a short silence inside the tavern and suddenly, there was a knock at the main door. Sun went for it and opened it. Surprisingly, it was Owen knocking.

“What is it, Owen? I thought you should be with the others?” Sun asked as he holds the door handle firmly.

“Yeah. I should but Thomas has evenly divided everyone into groups so I didn’t fit in anywhere unless I squeeze in with others. I told him I would be fine here.”

“Thomas gave you permission to be here?”

“Yes, he did Sir” Owen replied.

“Alright. Come on in.”

As he enters, Sun closed the door and Jonas saw him and looked away. Owen greeted Sun with eye contact as Sun closed the door and came forward to tell them what they need to do.

“Alright, listen up. I have a plan we can adopt to kill these monsters.”

“We are listening,” the old man said impatiently as he stands up from his chair.

“Alright. We need to gather as many bitumens as we can with sulfur pebbles. And we also need to get outside and pack lots of dried grasses and spread them outside this tavern just opposite this main entrance while we mix these grasses with stone oil to make it flammable.

“I am lost. What’s the need for the bitumen and the sulfur pebbles?” the old man asked.

“Yes. And the connection to the grasses too?” Viruz added.

“Alright. I will explain it. The mixture of the pebbles of sulfur and bitumen when they burn in a fire produces toxic smoke which could be fatal. In fact, it has been rumoured that it can kill around fifty men if they are to stay in a room without ventilation while the mixture is burning. The grasses are to help serve as a medium that will help lit and keep the fire burning for us when we shot at it with a burning arrow. We will do anything possible to make the bandits follow us to an ambush where we will keep these things and make them burn. And where we will keep them will be right opposite this tavern,” Sun explained.

“So you are saying that the person that will lit the fire won’t be anywhere close to the fire?” Jonas asked.

“Yes. Unless you want to poison yourself. That is the need for the dried grasses. We will keep the bitumen and sulfur under them while we lit the fire on the dried grasses. Now, where can we find these things that I have mentioned? I think that should be the question. If we can't find it then we will have a very big problem so where can I find them here?” Sun asked looking at the old man.

“Eh, I think we eh” the old man paused to think. “The bitumen and the sulfur pebbles may be difficult to find in Phox, I think there is only one place we can get them here.”

“Where?” Sun asked.

“At the old blacksmith's workshop. Though it has been closed down for a while now I believe we will still find some of the things you are looking for there. The old man working there before had all those items before the bandits killed him recently because they accused him of secretly developing weapons for us. They thought he was bad energy and may end up producing weapons we will use to fight against them one day. But I believe some of his tools and workshop items are still there and we may find those bitumen and sulfur if we search properly.”

“Alright. Would you need help to get them here?” Sun asked.

“Yes, I will. I will need someone’s help to drive some of them here.”

Owen and Viruz followed the old man to get the bitumen and sulfur pebbles while Jonas and Sun went outside to gather grasses. After they had gathered the grasses, they waited for the old man to bring the bitumen and the sulfur pebbles to where Sun had told him to bring them.

The old man was lucky enough, he found enough bitumen and sulfur pebbles in the abandoned workshop and he brought them in with a cart. When they arrived, Sun, Jonas helped to carry them and placed them in the grasses they have packed. After they were done placing the grasses on the grounds on the opposite sides of the road and soaked it with rock oil, they quickly went inside the tavern.

“Now, what’s next General?” Jonas asked.

“We wait for them. I will need to go outside to the far part of the village where they could see me when coming. I want to lead them to this particular spot. We won’t win if they don’t come here because all our plans have been devised in a way that everything we do, should be done here just outside this tavern.”

Are you going alone?” Viruz asked.

“Of course, I will be going alone. Let’s keep our swords sharpened” Sun said sharply and left the tavern. He took his horse and rode straight to the out sketch of the village, where the bandits can easily spot him when they come to fight them. When he got to the out sketch, it was so freaking lonely. It was so cold and quiet, the air was calm as well. Sun's body was shaking and he couldn’t control it. He was scared. He was scared because there were too many innocent people that could die in this fight and he blamed himself for being the reason behind all these charade and war that was about to occur. He blamed himself because in the first place, nobody was willing to die in the hands of these bandits but now people may end up losing their lives, and most importantly, it was all his plans. He wasn't sure if his plans were going to go as it was planned so he felt restless. The breeze was ostensibly increasing its speed and it intensified Sun's awful feeling about this current predicament. He tried all he could to control the sadness, he wished they will triumph unscathed and emerge victoriously. Because he knows if they don't, then the end may seem b****y.