Agala combed his camp, brooding over last night's failed attempt at a siege. His father had once told him that a beast when cornered, fought more fiercely. He had been forced last night to ruminate more on that proverb. He was a fool, he thought, to have thought that Masa, the last walled town of the Massada tribe would fall easily. He had not properly thought of what was at stake. If Masa fell, it would mean that the Massada had lost the war which had lasted ten years. It was only reasonable to expect such a fierce resistance. He had been blinded by the prospect of glory and had not considered the stakes properly. A reasonable general would wait for reinforcements before taking on Masa. His thoughts were occasionally interrupted by the groanings of his injured men as their wounds were stitched. He had lost fifty men last night. Some fell as they tried to mount the siege on the wall and others fell as they abandoned the...