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"No, no I can't," Val says with a small chuckle. "There will probably always be evil in the world. You can kill demons and tyrants and lunatics until you're old and grey, but you can't kill a concept. But I'm afraid they'll keep trying. Five years of peace then another century of war with thousands, maybe millions, of deaths. Then what? Another five year peace before they declare war on Geb? Or Ustalav? Or maybe Galt? There has to be a point where people will put down their swords, otherwise the world will eventually be nothing but war. There's so much beauty in this world, so many wild places and forgotten wonders. And it's so fragile. An army can raze a city in a day if they try, leaving every trace of history, of wonder, gone forever. I fear that in their quest 'to annihilate their execrable race and any who serve them' that everything else will be trampled underfoot. And that their quest won't stop with just Sarkoris. Perhaps It's just pessimism, but I am afraid Xan."
She laughs and turns to Ayavah. "I'm sorry. I started waxing philosophical and I completely changed the subject from your problems. Forgive me. I get... passionate when I see something troubling in the world. Though you saw me in the Chapel, so I guess you'd know that already."
Xanderghul smiles, scratching his head and crinkling his eyes. "I'm not sure how fair it is to judge another for a decision you're making right now," he says. "After all, how much evil is too much evil to ignore? You've obviously decided that this particular evil is worth fighting, or else you'd leave. Is it because it threatens existence? Mendev? A single family? Your own life?"
"Maybe these people just have lower standards than yours on the 'number of lives at risk before I try to help' scale."
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"I'm not saying they shouldn't fight evil. Because you are right. I wouldn't be here right now if I thought that it was wrong to fight against evil. And honestly, I'd help if only one innocent person was at risk. I've always seen myself as more the defender of the little people. I try to look out for the individuals who all the big official types overlook. Poor, crippled, outcast, whatever. But when you're getting in to these big 'save the world' type things, it's really really easy to forget that you cause a lot of pain fighting wars. Even wars for a good cause. And if they keep fighting wars forever, if they keep finding a new evil that they have to annihilate, then when do the amount of innocents saved become overwhelmed by the number caught in the crossfire? When do the number of soldier's bodies outnumber the civilians they're here to protect?"
"And there are worse possibilities. Far too many of these people have been consumed by their mission. There is no middle ground, no reason. There's just them and the enemy. What happens when there's no more obviously evil targets? When there's not a massive invasion of demons to fight, or a tyrannical empire to liberate? We've already seen that there are fanatics here that don't give a damn about innocent blood spilled in pursuit of whatever their broken minds consider justice. If the crusades continue like this, when it ends, when they finally stop fighting, there's going to be a small army of people who think like that with nowhere to go. What do you think is more likely? That they'll lay down their swords and find a new purpose in life? Or that they'll start to invent evils so that they have more people to fight and to punish? Moderation is key in everything Xan. Even when it's something as important as protecting the innocent from a demonic horde."
Chaleb's eyebrows furrow. "Er.... sorry if I caused offense. It's just that we're in freaking Mendev, y'know? Can't take a shit around here without being preached to about the Inheritor or the Dawnflower or whatever the flavor is of the week. And look what good it's done the people. Nothing. 'Ol Ecix was as religious as they come. Didn't save her from getting devoured by a cloud of f+!%ing demonic bugs. And for what? A promise that shit'll get better once you're dead? I just don't know."
The Condemned shake their heads at Hinagiku - none of them apparently know Hallit, but thankfully at that moment Isilme peeks her head in the wagon to speak to Ledsa. She looks up at the bard and manages a small smile.
"Yr wyf yn dda, diolch. Fy Yulin yn mynd mor gryf. Dewch i weld sut mae hi'n cychwyn?" She raises her top to show her pregnant stomach - a small lump can be seen moving just under the skin.
"Artis yn ddyn da, ei fod yn amyneddgar gyda mi, er nad oes gennyf lawer o nerth i helpu cymaint o nawr. Ar ôl i mi gael fy mhlentyn Byddaf yn llawer mwy defnyddiol, yr wyf yn addo."
"I am well, thank you. My Yulin is getting so strong. See how she kicks?"
"Artis is a good man, he is patient with me, though I do not have much strength to help as of now. Once I have my child I will be much more useful, I promise."
Later, Isilme finds Artis at the head of a different supply wagon, taking advantage of the lull in the march to audit their food supplies.
"Hmmm? Ledsa has been fine. If anything, you need to tell her she needs to eat more. I've been trying to feed her double rations - she is eating for two after all - but she refuses to take any more food than another."
-----
Ayavah frowns at Isilme - the idea that the Crusades would simply slay any succubi they came across clearly hadn't occurred to her.
"Really? What if the demon wasn't even hurting anybody? Y'know, just living here in the Worldwound, same as anyone else. Just trying to get by." She sighs. "I know, Valaria. I thought Cheliax was bad. You know, my travelling companions all ditched me here. They weren't afraid of the Worldwound, no, they were afraid of the Crusaders."
She meets Xanderghul's eyes. "I'm glad. I hope that you're right, and they disperse once this is all over. But I fear that Mendev has created a warrior people, and war is all they will ever know."
Attempting to move the conversation to something lighter, she chuckles at Isilme. "My talents? I could show you but we ought to find someplace a bit more private first." She winks.
Xanderghul's glad for the change of conversation topic, and he guffaws a little bit. "Alright, when we find a demon that isn't hurting anybody, sure, you can talk to it. I've never had the pleasure, so until then you'll forgive us if we slay them."
"And I honestly doubt you'll find the privacy you need. Not in an army where the tents could all be blown away at any second by attacking demons!"
"If we find a demon who would rather have tea than tear us apart, I'll be happy to sit down and have a chat. It would certainly be refreshing after the last few weeks."
Val chuckles. "I can speak for her talents personally. You would not be disappointed."
As the army prepares to get a move on, Ehren approaches Ary and Sosiel, walking alongside them.
"We might not quite agree, but I do trust your decision, Ary. I hope you know that," he says to the commander, looking up at her with a sidelong glance. "Do you remember when Nurah first interviewed us at Fort Portolmaeus? I mentioned to her that I am not soldier material. Perhaps this is what I meant, then.
"But if it does not displease you, I want to scout the castle myself. I think I am the only one in this army that can do so quickly and subtly enough to evade notice."
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"You will forgive me as well, and call it 'celestial bias' if you will, but I have yet to hear of a demon for whom idleness was not an intentional part of their machinations. As the cynical might say that peace is simply a build-up to the next war, so I would say that a demon who is doing no harm is simply in the midst of preparing to do so." she responds to Ayavah's confusion that the crusaders might simply kill a Succubus for existing in the worldwound.
At her joke regarding her talents, Isilme manages a chuckle, appreciating Ayavah's attempt to lighten the mood, but worrying she might still be naive about her predicament. "I will leave it to Val to explore those talents. I am not quite so interested in dalliances as I was when I was younger," she responds light-heartedly.
"As far as the war goes, should we succeed in closing the wound at some point, I suspect that will be the end of war in this region for a while. Were the crusades unled, you might have a point that they might turn their eyes on Cheliax or elsewhere where evil was still afoot. I doubt, however, that the Crusader-Queen will be likely to pursue such a course," Isilme interjects into the discussion on the situation post closing. "But honestly I strongly suspect that a wound such as the one torn here will never fully heal, even if we close it. I imagine the role of the crusaders here will become like that of the crusaders in Lastwall. They will stand watch over the wound permanently to prevent cultists or demons from breaching it ever again. Furthermore, it is likely that there will be demons and other horrors in the region of the world wound to deal with for many decades to come even after the closing."
Isilme smiles and, with Ledsa's permission, rests her hand on her belly. Pausing for a moment, she recalls a traditional Sarkorian blessing for a newborn and beings reciting it, half-spoken and half-sung as was common for the period from which it arose.
"Mai cryfder y gwynt a'r llewyrch yr haul,
Mae meddalwch y glaw a'r dirgelwch y lleuad
byddwch yn cyrraedd ac yn llenwi hi.
Gall hyfrydwch harddwch, a hapusrwydd codiad hi.
Efallai tybed cyflawni, a chariad amgylchynu'r hi.
Efallai ei fod yn cam gyson ac ei braich fod yn gryf,
Efallai ei chalon yn heddychlon ac mae ei air fod yn wir.
Efallai ei bod yn ceisio i ddysgu, efallai ei bod yn dysgu i fyw,
Mai hi yn byw i garu, ac efallai y bydd yn caru - bob amser."
"Ond cofiwch fod yn gofalu am eich hun yn bwysig iddi yn ogystal" she adds after finishing, "Yulin bydd angen i chi fod yn gryf"
"May the strength of the wind and the light of the sun,
The softness of the rain and the mystery of the moon
Reach you and fill her.
May beauty delight, and happiness uplift her.
May wonder fulfil, and love surround her.
May her step be steady and her arm be strong,
May her heart be peaceful and her word be true.
May she seek to learn, may she learn to live,
May she live to love, and may she love - always."
"Just remember that taking care of yourself is important for her as well," she adds, "Yulin will need you to be strong."
"I understand, I will talk to her, but you must also remember that the Kellids are a proud people and one accustomed to living through hard times. She likely feels that taking more than her share would weaken the others, something that could threaten the safety of her tribe. It will take time for her to become accustomed to living among the crusaders."
With that she thanks Artis and heads back to Ledsa to briefly ask her to accept his offers of expanded rations. "Yr wyf yn deall eich amharodrwydd i gymryd mwy na eich cyfran o fwyd, ond nid ydynt yn meddwl am y peth fel y cyfryw. Rwy'n bwyta mwyach, ac felly mae fy cyfran o'r dognau yn mynd heb eu defnyddio. Byddwn yn cael ei anrhydeddu os byddech yn mynd â nhw fel y gallai Yulin dyfu'n gryf. Bydd angen Hi holl nerth gall hi ymgynnull i oresgyn ei threftadaeth," she says after taking her aside to talk again.
"I understand your reluctance to take more than your share of food, but do not think of it as such. I no longer eat, and so my portion of the rations are going unused. I would be honored if you would take them so that Yulin might grow strong. She will need all the strength she can muster to overcome her heritage."
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"I am not offended." Hinagiku replies in a convincingly even tone. She then listens intently at what Chaleb has to add. "It's hard to explain what it brings me and others, but it is something I want to share because I think it can help anyone....just... Imagine you met people who wanted to defend themselves from a crazed brear, and you knew they couldn't because they didn't know how make traps or weapon, but you knew. Wouldn't you take the opportunity to teach them how to fight?"Hinagiku seems to be about to continue, but she stops herself, conscious that if she goes on, she might seem even more preachy. "Pardon me, I am preaching again." she finishes.
"Miss Isilme, could you please ask Ledsa whether we are bothering her or not? And if yes, what we could do to make her more comfortable?"
Val chuckles. "Not so interested in dalliances huh? Or perhaps you're only interested in dalliances with certain someones, hmmm?"
She shrugs. "It may be an old platitude, but hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I certainly hope that the crusaders will simply devote themselves to protecting these lands and insuring that another Worldwound doesn't open. But I'll still prepare for the possibility that something will send them off on another war with another evil. And another after that. And after that. The three, perhaps four, of us are going to live a long time. It's very possible that we could all still be around for another century of war."
Sosiel raises an eyebrow at Ehren. "You? I never would have taken you for a scout," he chuckles. "Nurah said that the castle is two days march away! Would you leave immediately, or at dawn tomorrow? Otherwise I can't fathom how you'd catch up with us again."
-----
Ayavah laughs. "Well, consider it an open offer. I'm always happy to share my daily obedience with another... or a few others, if possible."
-----
Olen shrugs. "Well, Chaleb, a religious person would say that the only reason we didn't die out in the cold back there and managed to run into this army is because of the gods... so it goes both ways, yeah?"
Chaleb raises an eyebrow. "Hum. I guess you're right."
Meanwhile, Isilme sings and chants to Ledsa's pregnant belly, the middle-aged Kellid woman simply glowing with pleasure.
"Ie, wrth gwrs. Y tro hwn ni fyddaf yn methu fy Yulin. Byddwn yn marw gyntaf."
----
Later, Ledsa opens her mouth to protest, but waits for Isilme to finish rather than interrupt. She sighs. "Yn wir, nid oes angen i Kellid cymaint o fwyd i ni wrth i chi deheuwyr yn ei wneud. Ond os ydych yn mynnu, byddaf yn bwyta mwy."
"Two days by land. How long would it take by air?" Ehren asks with a small smile. His manner was a little too direct to be considered cryptic. Without waiting for an answer, he starts to explain. "We of the Old Faith can assume the form of any of nature's creations. I do not think we are so far north that a bird would be an unusual sight. Catching up to the army again should not be an issue either."
"Honestly, Ehren... I don't like the idea of anyone moving off on their own into the Worldwound. I know people have done so and thrived, but..." she shakes her head. "I can neither stop you, nor would it be right for me to do so. The information you could glean might make a huge difference." she says, providing a small shrug from atop her mount, holding the reins loosely in one hand.
A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It's possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.
Hustle: A character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for a second hour in between sleep cycles deals 1 point of nonlethal damage, and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued.
A fatigued character can't run or charge and takes a penalty of –2 to Strength and Dexterity. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue.
"I know," Ehren replies, understanding Ary's reluctance. "I can't exactly leave you all stranded on this side of the river, so I'll leave once we've forded at the bridge."
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Sosiel grins, turning to head back into formation as the army slowly rearranges itself for the march. "And once again I underestimate the Commander's team. Well, good luck to you, Ehren."
"You should turn into a goose! You know, to scout with. Also, because they're awful ornery. I don't think even demons would mess with a pissed off goose," offers Anevia.
Once the army is back into formation - strict, straight lines, the army continues marching west, with Commander Bishop and Chevalier Tirablade at the head. The army is slowed considerably by the snow so it takes considerably longer than expected to arrive - they reach the riverbank in the evening. Beyond, the Worldwound looms, its sky blood red and obscured by pitch black clouds, though the army's view of it is obscured by the enormous cliff face of the Wounded Lands. They will need to cross and proceed north until they find Keeper's Canyon, a passage into the cliffs, in order to move forwards to Drezen.
Ser Ilivan arrives at the head of the army, accompanied by two scouts. They've switched out of the customary black furs of the Crusades for white ones - they're near impossible to see in the snowfall. He salutes Commander Bishop and her lieutenant.
"My scouts report no sign of the opposing force as of yet, though our visibility is hampered by the snow," he reports. "But that goes both ways - they'll have trouble seeing us, either - which is good - their watchtowers will be useless in this weather. The Ahari Bridge is about twenty minutes north along the bank."
"I intend to have the scouts press forward until we locate the opposing force and can report back with their number and location. Any further orders?"
"She seems to be in good spirits, Hinagiku. Truth be told, she likely already feels she is too comfortable and unproductive," Isilme replies to her. With that, Isilme excuses herself.
"Perhaps," Isilme responds coyly. "Although it should hardly come as a surprise that he and I are close given our history."
"As far as the rest goes, hopefully we shall all see. War between humans is terrible, but even a war between the crusaders and the Chelaxians will seem minor compared to these five crusades."
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Once the army resumes its march, Hinagiku takes leave of the Condemned to run a few errands. First she passes-by Markus' squad to remind them of that the small group of Condemned still suffers from frostbite. Then, she goes to the eagle watch to tell them that a few of the Condemned are footmen who might join them soon. Similarly, she talks about Chaleb to captain Caelda and about Exalph to Ser Ilivan.
Once this is over, she makes her way around the column, trying to find more errands or anything else to help the army.
When the army finally reaches the river, Hinagiku makes her way toward Ary and Irabeth. Doing so, she keeps her gaze above the cliff, toward the dark clouds and the red sky. The sight fills her with a sense of sadness and purpose. Going back, conquering this would was what they needed to do if they ever wanted it to heal, the thought strengthening her resolve.
After joining with Ary and listening to Ilivan's report, Hinagiku decides to stay silently at the head of the column. Fight would be coming soon, and she wanted to be next to her companions when it did..
"Ser Ilivan, if you can procure a white fur cloak for me as well, I will aid in the scouting. I believe we need every advantage we can get at this point," she says. "Once we are prepared, I can hasten the movement of the scouts I am acompanying and set off."
When the scouts are prepared to leave, Isilme calls forth her flute from the air and plays an ever quickening tune for a minute, leaving herself and the scouts feeling light-of-foot. As she finishes, she summons forth her divine park to imbue her heroism spell with the power from the divine rune for bravery.
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Anevia raises her hand, bouncing in place. "Ooh, ooh, pick me. I can be super sneaky.
Ser Ilivan nods. "Certainly, Chevalier," he responds, and sends one of his scouts to procure furs from the quartermaster for herself and Anevia. Once they are suited up, the scouts wait for Isilme to finish her spell and shortly afterwards disappear into the snowfall.
You proceed down along the riverbank as a group at first, then split up as you get closer to the bridge. Eventually you can see the outline of the Ahari outpost's watchtowers ahead - thankfully even without the constant snowfall there are plenty of stunted trees and boulders to dodge behind.
As you approach, you stumble upon what appears to be a great battlefield. Many human corpses lay on the ground, partially concealed by the snow, clad in the tabards of the Mendevian Crusades.
You stop roughly 200' away to take in what you can see. The opposing force is all congregated on the Mendevian side of the West Sellen River - looking across the river you do not immediately see any other living things, though it is far enough away that you cannot be completely certain.
The bridge is certainly utterly destroyed, only some pillars close to the banks of the river remain to suggest that there was ever a bridge here at all.
On top of the watchtower is an immense, winged shape - clearly a nabasu, though it is more interested in the goings on within the army below than actually bothering to keep watch.
The army is clustered in and around the fort - it appears to be a force only slightly smaller than your own, composed of roughly half monstrous schir demons and half cultists. The cultists are mostly tieflings, with some humans and other humanoid races represented as well. Among them a brimorak stands out, its flaming sword like a beacon in the hazy evening, the flames emitted from its hooves melting the snow away from it into a puddle.
Lounging around bored and away from the main group is a lone babau, busy etching something into the snow with the blunt end of his spear.
Do you dare to try and get closer?
Isilme takes a quick note of the army size and relays what she sees and where to the other scouts, including Anevia. "Alright, hang back and I will get closer using invisibility. If I am seen, I will lead them in the other direction, so stay down until it is clear." she says as she lowers herself in the snow as much as possible and calls upon Desna's blessing to hasten her movement before casting invisibility on herself.
Once invisible, she begins moving forward slowly, staying low to the ground so that the snow accumulating on her and her footprints won't give her away. Getting as much information as possible would be essential to their success. Already knowing there was a Nabasu would be important, as the army would need to be prepared to take it out immediately lest it wreak havoc on their ranks and raise the fallen as ghouls.
Isilme creeps forward, apparently unnoticed by any of the demons, making it to 80' away from the encampment. She glances up and notices that, flying high above, is a horrible creature that appears half-man, half-vulture... a vrock.
She notices that clustered on the side of one of the barracks is a waxy wasp's nest... except the wasps nesting within must be the size of horses. Beside the barracks, the demons and cultists are clustered in a circle around something outside of view. She can hear them discussing something about a sacrifice - the only problem is the cultists can't agree as to whether or not to desecrate the ground here in the name of Deskari, or Baphomet. Umestil seems amused at the disagreement and is not intervening one way or the other as tensions build in the camp.
Isilme shifts slightly, stepping accidentally on one of the bodies on the battlefield... when the body begins to groan softly. The soldier is still alive, but barely.
Isilme looks at the Vrock circling overhead, as well as the demonic wasp's nest on the watchtower, worrying about the situation. "If that Vrock catches sight of me..." she thinks to herself with a sigh. "I will not fail to return, Aravashnial is waiting for me in Kenabres." Focusing on moving silently, she prepares to leave when she hears the soft groan beneath her.
Noticing the soldier appears to be still alive, Isilme reaches crouches down slowly, digging out one of her potions. Slowly leaning over him she pours the potion into his mouth and whispers quietly to him. "Do not move or make any sounds until I tell you."
She waits until the wind picks up, or some other noise provides some distraction and then casts invisibility on the soldier.
Taking him by the hand, she gently helps him up and whispers again, "We are going to move slowly out of here. Try to stay as quiet as possible." She then proceeds to guide him back towards the rest of the scouts.
Isilme waits until the wind picks up to incant Invisibility onto the wounded soldier. Largely due to the cover of the snowfall, and the fact that the cultist troops are distracted by their own argument, no one notices the faint clink-clink-clink of the soldier's full plate as she guides the soldier safely back towards the scouts.
When Isilme reaches the scouts, she takes off her fur and places it on the wounded solider. "I found this soldier almost dead, we need to head back immediately and give a report and get her aid. Lets move out."
Isilme lets Anevia and the other scouts guide the group back to the main encampment, enchanting the group with triple time again once they are a good thousand feet away from the bridge. When they arrive, she immediately heads with the scout to round up Ary, Ser Ilivan, Markus and the rest of the group.
"Ary, we have returned from scouting. I was able to get fairly close to the cultists. The army appears to be roughly half humanoid cultists and half schir, led by a Brimorak. They appeared to be in the process of desecrating the grounds around the watchtower there. Furthermore, they seem to have the aid of a Babau, a Vrock and a Nabasu, along with some sort of horse-sized wasp-like creatures in what appeared to be a giant wasp's nest."
"While I was near the encampment, I encountered a wounded soldier laying in the snow. I was able to heal her enough to help her return with us. Ehren, Markus, can you two check on the soldier's health? Ary, do you wish to question her about the situation there before we decide on a plan of action?"
The soldier stumbles slowly behind Isilme, her eyes lighting up with recognition as she comes to Commander Bishop's feet. The woman, clearly a paladin of Sarenrae judging from her helmet and arms, has tanned skin and ruddy brown hair.
"Captain Kamilo Dann, Commander. I-I'm sorry. We weren't able to hold the bridge for your arrival. We have failed."
"Nabasus are dangerous creatures... It would be better if there was not one there, or if we could avoid it... I'm certain that we can take one out if we're careful enough, though. Even with the babau and the vrock around." quips Xanderghul, trying to contribute. "Lucky that you happened to stumble on the fallen Captain, of all people."
Ary doesn't comment on the 'failure'. As much as she wanted to say that they hadn't failed, that they'd merely stumbled... it would be patronizing at best. "Your forces were outmatched, especially given the report that I received from several of your men earlier today." she realizes belatedly that the only one besides Chaleb that she could name was currently dead, and a flash of weariness passes over her once more. She exhales slowly, before continuing. "Honestly, in addition to the health screening, we need to rely on the more obvious checks as well. I'm sure you understand." she says, nodding to a soldier who undoubtedly would know to go and get an inquisitor or a paladin.
"What can you tell us about the non-demonic enemies, in the mean time?"
"This isn't going to go well," Val mutters as they listen to Isilme's report. "We're also going to be outmatched in sheer power. If we expect to get through, we're going to have to be very smart about what we come up with."
At Isilme's behest, Ehren tends to Kamilo's wounds, while taking special care to check for any signs of infestation. Once he is convinced that she isn't going to burst open at any given moment, he steps back to allow someone else examine her.
"Nabasus... those are the ones we avoided during our search for the prophecy," he recalls, thinking back to the mission. It did not take a military mastermind to recognize that the demon was among the enemy army's strongest assets. "If it's alone, perhaps we could single it out somehow?"
"Those would be the ones, Ehren. If we can negate the Vrock and the Nabasu we should have a much better time of it. The trick, then, would seem to be to lure the Nabasu and Vrock out from the main army to the north." Isilme pauses for a second and then continues. "I was considering options on the walk back, and was thinking that we might be able to use Xanderghul's and my own Illusion magic to attempt to create some sort of diversion across the river to attract the Nabasu and Vrock to us. The seven of us will attempt to take out those two demons. At the same time, Irabeth will have taken the army 20-30 min south of the bridge and march up alongside the river towards it. If we can time it properly, we should be able to be fighting the demons just before our forces engage the cultists, catching them off-guard and depriving them of their heavy hitters."
"So as far as our portion of the battle goes, I believe we will need to get Valaria and Hinagiku off the ground somehow to give us the best opportunity to win. The Vrock will likely come down to fight us directly, but the Nabasu will hang back. If Val and Hinagiku can ambush the Nabasu, we might be able to take it down quickly enough to avoid the unique dangers it poses. The Vrock should be more straightforward, although I admit I have not studied them quite so in depth. Also it is likely the Babau will be joining us as well, since it is capable of teleporting."
"I believe all three can summon aid, so if we can, we need to be able to interrupt them when they attempt to do so. Having Ary, Ehren and Anevia focus on preventing them would probably be our best shot at preventing them from doing so."
"At that point it is a matter of killing the three demons as quickly as possible, and then coming up with a solution to rejoin the main force. Opinions?"
Their venom of course is much more powerful than a normal wasp's, it works as a neuromuscular-blocking agent, paralyzing the muscles
----
Chevalier Irabeth hops off of her horse to examine Captain Dann. After a few moments she nods. "I did not detect anything foul within her," she says. The soldier stands patiently as she is examined and treated... she has many wounds, including a festering injury caused by a piercing weapon in her side.
Her eyes fall. "B-but it was our fault. The Condemned... Commander Bataari ordered us to stand fast, so that he could abandon and sacrifice the Condemned in order to weaken the demons chasing them and keep them busy at the bridge. But the force was so impossibly large....we hid from it like cowards, then when the bulk of the army marched north, Commander Bataari thought that we could then retake the bridge from this force and hold out on our own until Commander Bishop's forces arrived from the east... we had expected your arrival hours ago, based on the missive we received when you arrived at the Chapel of the Argent Shield," she explains.
"That way we would suffer less casualties... and Commander Bataari would appear as a heroic leader who weathered the assault and held onto the strategic river crossing. But.... help never came... and we were slaughtered."
She continues on in response to Ary's question. "The army is composed mostly of those horrible little goat demons... schir... they devastated our horses with their halberds. Their leader is a brimorak named Umestil... a scrawny thing that wields fire - the sadistic creature doesn't care if her own men get in the way of her flames. The cultists... mostly warriors, wielding scythes and glaives... though there is a small contingent of elite warriors wielding great axes."
Ary's face falls as it draws up, eyes and mouth tightening. She closes her eyes and slowly inhales once more. "Dammit." she seems to whisper before collecting herself once more, and seemingly by habit twists her ring, intoning "I will shine in her legion."
"Originally, we had expected for the demons to be on the other side, able to attack our army from across the bridge. We had intended to ford and ambush them - or ignore the bridge altogether. I hadn't expected any more survivors." she says, hands pointing forwards in a steeple as she starts to pace. "We had no way to know that the bridge would be attacked, so after an ambush in the night I told my troops to recover before we marched again. I'll go with Isilme's plan, other than the fording, of course. I'm not sure how useful I'll be in stopping a flying demon from casting, though." she makes note to start the battle with her bow readied, rather than Radiance and Faith. "I'll align Hinagiku and Valaria's weapons as well... if possible. We'll need to stay spread out as well, to protect ourselves from the darkness spells the Nabasu has at its disposal. Is there any terrain we can use to our advantage against those without flight? And what sort of attacks should we expect from the cultists? Any magic that you saw?"
During his search for the telltale signs of locust infestation Markus had pointed out, Ehren instead finds symptoms of disease.
"She's been infected with grey pox. She should be seen to by the healers immediately," he reports, sparing her and everyone else the details of what would happen if the disease went unchecked. The druid would treat her himself, but he had a feeling that he was about to be very preoccupied.
"Is it too much to hope that this Umestil less powerful than Savash?" he asks the others with a frown, recalling that the brimorak in question was particularly large for its kind.
"There was one other thing occurring while I was there. I almost forgot to mention it since I had gotten distracted by finding Captain Dann alive. The cultists were in the process of performing some sort of sacrifice in a circle, but had been arguing who to desecrate the land in the name of. If we can, we should scry and attempt to ascertain what exactly it was they were up to, as they might be preparing some sort of nasty surprise now that I think about it," Isilme says in response to Ary's question. "Another thing that occurs to me is that we might be able to break off the cavalry and have them swing around from the north and engage after the main army has engaged. Doing so might allow them to break the ranks of the schir and cultists, as they will have little opportunity to bring their weapons to bear if they are assaulted from behind."
"Unfortunately, casting a scrying spell would take at least an hour... too long if the plan is to act quickly. That aside, I don't have the spell prepared, and I don't think any of the army's clerics are powerful enough to cast it themselves."
Lieutenant Tirablade mounts her horse. "If this isn't timed properly, you will be overwhelmed and killed. How will I know to charge in with the rest of the forces?"
"Actually, that might bode well," Val cuts in. "If the cultists aren't all from the same cult, they're likely to be much less organized and less used to working together. Demons aren't the most organized soldiers already, but if they're arguing among themselves already, we might be able to take advantage of that. I'm fine with the plan to get me and Daisy in ahead of time. If we break their more powerful member, and perhaps kill their leaders, then hopefully the rest of the army will rout without someone strong enough to keep them in line."
" Is there any terrain we can use to our advantage against those without flight? And what sort of attacks should we expect from the cultists? Any magic that you saw?"
Kamilo shakes her head. "Not much magic that I can recall... though to be honest the whole fight seems like a blur. I think they're just a bunch of infantry."
"The terrain is fairly flat around here," says Ser Ilivan. "We won't be able to get an advantage from height."
"Timing is a serious issue. I suppose if we forded and attempted to draw the demons across the river we would avoid that. Operating within the world wound seems risky, however."
"As far as a signal goes, I suspect Xanderghul could provide a rather clear one as a part of his illusion. I was thinking we could use a minor and major illusion, with the minor going first to bait them in, and the major coming into play once they had seen the minor for an illusion to further confuse them. Like soldiers getting up out of hiding within the snow after they recognize the minor as a trick."
"Why don't we ford the river with control water before reaching the bridge?" asks Xanderghul. "They destroyed the bridge... None but the flying demons should be able to cross. We can bypass the fight entirely."
Captain Dann's eyes widen. "The lady elf said that some of my men were captured for sacrifice... please... they deserve better than the grisly death that my Commander's vanity has brought them." She shudders and clasps her mouth shut. "M-my apologies, Commander Bishop. I don't mean to speak out of turn. I understand if you do not wish to endanger your troops for their sake..."