On your right is the sea, then the beach, then the grassland and roads, and the fence that separates the farmland from the grassland. The enemy has chosen as good a position as it can get in this sparsely wooded and flat terrain.
There is only one thing for it: to draw them out of their advantage and make them come to you. But that would be something that would be risky; aye, a feint would need to be executed with a certain amount of tact.
It is like setting up bait; the bait must be attractive enough for them to be lured out but, at the same time, not so obvious that it is a trap. At the same time, a feint can easily end in disaster if executed poorly.
Still, to cover for that eventually, you would have the cavalry cover for a while; if the infantry got too disorganised, it would be hoped that a combined effort by the archers and the horsemen could keep the enemy at a distance while the infantry regrouped.
<span class="mu-i"> "Is this safe?" </span> Sophia asked. <span class="mu-i"> ''I mean, you want them to move closer and closer and then to withdraw?'' </span>
<span class="mu-i"> "Indeed," </span> you said. <span class="mu-i"> ''It is a high-risk, high-reward kind of thing. Our infantry will march up, engage them for a short while in combat, and will then withdraw in an orderly fashion. If they're dumb enough to fall for it. Besides, the archers can still pick off a good chunk of them.''
''It will be perilous; I make no pretence for it to be otherwise, but here is another thing you must learn: sometimes you must gamble if the alternatives are gambling with worse odds or playing it safe with meagre gains. I didn't stop at Ölfland, and I made a gambit when I scotched the peace talks; it paid off. Victory doesn't belong to the mediocrities; it belongs to those who know about risk and are willing to roll the dice when necessary.''
"Never gamble unless there are greater gains to be had, or if the alternatives are worse." </span> You told your daughter, the princess. There would be a day when you would need to give these kinds of talks to your son as well.
There were other doubts as well, which you pondered behind closed lips as you saw the red-clad men of your army march forward. Were you perhaps heaping undue favouritism upon your eldest daughter? Leaving the others in the cold? Perhaps, but you still had time, and besides, they couldn't throw any tantrums for your attention if you weren't there.
Still, those were concerns you could address when you had concluded the war here; for now, you had to see this battle through.
<span class="mu-s"> Roll a 1d100, [DC 45] Bo3; the lower, the better. </span>
