"My friends, while we have a moment's respite, we must plan carefully. Let me quickly share a few thoughts with you. An ancient saying among my people teaches:
Allindingrurvir de abach vor fuar linding rim;
Zarn de glar vor stigh ainding nyr.
Excuse me," Urdin chuckles and shakes his head, "in Common it would translate as: 'The mastersmith's hand shapes the blade from without; the fatal flaw strikes the axe from within.' What this means is this: The chance to secure against defeat is in our own hands; the chance to defeat the enemy is found within the enemy himself. We must first put ourselves beyond the possibility of defeat and then wait for our chance to defeat the enemy.
"The beast we just encountered was naught but a mere youngling. It is extremely unlikely that he is the lord of the lair. From the space and size in this cavern, we could be facing anything up to a huge, or even a gargantuan beast. The entrances to the cavern alone suggests this. The size of the hoard within the next chamber supports this as well.
"I can see ice within the next chamber. Tymora has also seen ice. That makes it likely that our footing is going to be awkward. I have some spells that may help us in that respect. Any spells or magic that the rest of you have that may aid us? Well, now would be the time to reveal it."
Urdin quickly looks around the cavern again, then continues speaking. "My cousin, Boric--curse his beard!--one thing he did know was warfare. He taught us that there are five essentials for victory.
'First: the victor knows when to fight and when not to fight.' -- we must know whether or not we even can fight. Do we have a chance? Or are we clearly overmatched?
'Second: the victor knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.' -- if our enemy can be overpowered, we fight. If it cannot be overpowered, we may want to reconsider our goal. Is this a fight we want to try now? Or can we return when we have more might and more strength. Are we willing to sacrifice one or all of us for the good of the Fey'ri?" Urdin nods at Yev'rah. "And yes, Yev', I have not forgotten that you have a stake in this as well. But the Fey'ri have--apparently--a larger stake in this. If we decide to flee for now, we have a degree of victory, in that we avoid loss.
'Third: the victorious army carries one spirit among all ranks.' -- we must work together, as a team, with one purpose. Working together, supporting each other, complementing each other--this is preferable to the chaos of independent action in battle.
'Fourth: the victor prepares himself and waits to take the enemy unprepared.' -- if we decide to stay and fight, we must prepare ourselves before hand, with spells, prayers, and other magic. We must launch our attack or attacks when the beast least expects it. We must watch for unexpected attacks ourselves. This is where one of our few advantages may lie; it is unlikely that the beast is unaware of our presence--we must therefore work to confuse and surprise it. Stealth, deception--these will work in our favor. If we are to survive, the beast must not fully know what to expect from us.
"The fifth factor is less relevant here, as it addresses the need of a military commander to be able to act independent in the field. This was always my cousin's favorite; he hated being told what to do and how to act.
"At any rate, one thing we must know is whether the beast is atop its hoard or no. Without that knowledge, all our other planning is for naught. As the dwar say, 'My bak aith kurn vel aith pene, ta bak gaur grahl geode freg dagmos pagh', or 'If ye ken thy enemy and ken thyself, ye need not fear 100 battles' result.'
"So. What say you all? I know a bit about our foe--generally--that I can share for those of you who may not know about these beasts."