that it can be brought into action almost instantly.

"Considering those problems, it was deemed necessary to draw the Zards
away from the city and destroy it in their absence, so that they are
left destitute of the means of war and sustenance, and rendered weak. To
do this, we have spent the last several years stockpiling huge
quantities of liquid fervidus flamma, an extremely combustible
substance. It is stored in an underground reservoir in the foothills of
the mountains, connected via aqueduct to Lake Umquam Renatusum. When the
time is ripe, we will empty it into the lake and set it aflame, and our
calculations show the flames reaching a height of five miles for a
length of six hours, which should be enough to gain the Zard's
preponderance," Wagner explained.

"But wouldn't it catch the forest on fire and burn down your whole
empire in the process?" I asked, alarmed at his apparent lack of
vigilance.

"We have been treating the trees on a ten mile radius with an anti-
flammatory solution for several years as well, and it is quite
impossible to set them on fire."

"Which explains why you dared to have a fire pit in the trunk of a tree
outpost."

"Yes," he laughed, "We aren't so foolhardy as we may seem. Appearances
can be deceiving."

"The exodus of the Zards from Nunami is almost guaranteed by the
mortal's natural curiosity and delight in the calamities of others," I