Arcata laughed at Greggory's suggestion. Not mockingly, but with honest amusement of one sharing a joke.
"If this doesn't go as planned, it may come to that," she said with a lingering smile, "But we'll let that be a fallback position. The empire's lack of caring is, in this case, a boon. If we can take this fort we will be free to flourish and grow without supervision, without the eye of the great Houses on us."
She took a breath and nodded at Sha'ah.
"What I have in mind is this. Just before sunrise, our force goes around to the breach side and waits. You and I will be on the opposite side. You'll sound the horn, and I will create lights. Magical lights that will, with luck, in the distance and gloom, appear to be fey lights of an army coming to attack. In truth, it doesn't matter if they accept the ruse at all. It's merely a distraction to allow our army to approach without them noticing."
"Once the battle is joined, we circle round and join in."
"It's a bit simplistic, but we haven't time or resources for complex plans. What do you think?"
She addressed the last question to everyone present at the war council.