Stunned by the cryptic reception, Kith rocks back on his heals. Staring at the Commander, Kith's thought are a whirl. After a moment of reflection, Kith recognizes that the Commander used a name that has been disclosed to VERY few people. A coded signal then? Is the Commander sending him a message? Is he in danger of some sort or just seeking confirmation of identity? Kith decides to proceed carefully.
"Indeed... and he sends a message. 'Perhaps you can use the payment to better your skills at Dragon Chess'."
With that said, Kith studies the Commander for signs of distress while loosening the straps on his elven blade.
Selena waves her hand vaguely toward the table.
"What was.... all that? I feel like I'm missing a huge piece of info. Also, what's your take on the commander? This is all rather strange to me right now."
Selena
Well the commander and Kith definitely know each other, though they tried to keep it secret, and something happend there that the Captain didn't like. I think some of the others may have vaguely recognized the Commander from somewhere too. There's something big about who's who and who's hidin' what."
Selena waves her hand vaguely toward the table.
"What was.... all that? I feel like I'm missing a huge piece of info. Also, what's your take on the commander? This is all rather strange to me right now."
Selena
** spoiler omitted **
"Ahh... I'm hoping things will become clearer as time passes. For now, I'll just change into something a little more sturdy and grab a few supplies. I'll be with you all again within the hour."
Selena sweeps away, the edge of her blue cloak trailing on the floor behind her.
Mird checks his bowstrings and the blade of his sword. Ensuring both his weapons and armor, he check what few supplies he requires for these outing.
Lasciel shakes her head as the mystic leaves, grinning to herself. She heads back to her room to practice her routine of limbering exercises and focus her mind on the job at hand.
The commander chuckles at you "Heh, he never could beat me, though it would have been nice to have finished our last game."
"Unfortunately Kith, we'll have to deal with your master later. For the moment we both have some preparations to undertake. I suggest that you gather your things, you've got about half an hour before we meet again and I have several things to prepare."
With that the Commander nods to you and motions you out of the room.
Unwilling to simply turn and leave while the Commanders safety is in question, Kith locks the Commander with an intense gaze intended to impart a silent message as he reaches up and taps the hilt of his sword with his left hand.
"Is there nothing else I can assist you with before I depart for my quarters?"
The commander gives you a silent shake of the head no just as you tap the sword. He also gives you the Kethlenica Home Guards's all clear hand sign, both leaving no doubt in the world as to who he is as well as understanding that suspected danger doesn't exist.
Your scan of the room does, however, reveal something very interesting. Where as most military living quarters are sparsely decorated you find a DISTINCT lack of hiding places in the room, this goes beyond scarcity of decoration or lack of comfort in the room, it speaks to an intentional placement of furniture, removal of clutter, and other methods to ensure openness and ease of access, and a GREAT difficulty in concealing anything. The room is on an interior wall of the castle with no external windows, there seems to be a large number of light sources in the room, placed, you notice, to ensure the most possible light coverage of the areas that would normally be darkened (like the corners, in alcoves, etc.) while leaving the areas that would normally be the most lighted (center of the room, etc.) slightly darker than you would expect, again denoting some kind of intentional placement of lights that goes beyond the normal. It occurs to you that this room would be EXTREMELY hard to enter without being detected in some way...even by the most experienced of rogues...or assassins. While the placement of the room is not uncommon for a castle commander (in one of the most defensible places in the castle itself) the internal decoration within the room seems to denote even more attention to ensuring the safety of it's occupant.
"Thanks...Kith..., but that will be all." With that Kilenthar Salutes you and goes about his preparations.
"Very well."
Uncertain and confused, but trusting in the Commander, Kith returns the salute then turns and exits the room.
... a short while later, in the barracks, Kith packs his bag and heads directly to the tunnels.
Selena also arrives at the tunnels, wearing her sturdier traveler's outfit.
"Oh hello again. I had hoped to meet you here. The others will arrive shortly I hope."
Though lost in thought, Kith looks up when Selena speaks.
"Hello, and well met. Selena is it not? Rumors of your healing reached even my remote cot in the barracks. Your talent must be considerable. I know little of magic, but I always take comfort when I know a skilled healer is near by."
Kith finishes with a nod and a small smile that fades as quickly as it came.
A shadow slips out of the deeper shadows of the tunnels and silently joins the two.
"So, are we ready?"
Selena grimaces as though pained.
"Thank you, I will do my best. I've brought along a healing kit in case anyone becomes wounded. My magic seems to sometimes heal people, but only if they are noble of heart.... I do not like to speak of it. It is still strange to me."
As the six of you are standing at the cave, you all see Commander Kilenthar and another man (Kith, you will recognize the man as First Lieutenant Alalar) walking your way in conversation, before Kilenthar gets within 100 yards of your group he gives the six of you a general nod, turns to Alalar and says something, after which Alalar salutes Kinenthar and moves off in another direction. The commander continues walking up to your group.
"Good afternoon. Hopefully everyone is ready for this. Again, you six have the Keep's gratitude in assisting us with this. The other seven strike groups left earlier and are now moving to setup in position through other tunnels under the Keep, we will be moving underground for a couple hours and then taking up position a couple miles from the Keep to the west, behind where we suspect the orcs will setup their siege camp. We figure the attack to come tonight between 1900 and 2100 hours, about 5 hours from now. We have a quick supply stop to make on our way down and then a bit of a trek through the tunnels till we get to our position."
"Many of you may have questions of me regarding our mission or other topics. I'd like to ask that we hold those questions till we get to camp, we should have a couple hours to talk freely among ourselves at that point before making our strike. I see you are all here and prepared, lets move."
The initial cavern you enter as you move past the short hallway to the outside is huge, it's height rising at least forty feet into the air at it's center and spreading out at least three times that in diameter. Around the perimeter of the wall about twenty feet up, a walkway has been built running the entire circumference of the room. Stairs, 90 degrees to your right from the natural doorway you just entered, run up the 20 feet to the walkway. Positioned along the walkway at intervals are stationary heavy crossbows with what looks like a box attached to their top. Straight ahead of you, at least 40 yards from where you now stand is another natural doorway leading deeper into the cavern system. While this room looks to have been expanded and carved by man, the cave ahead of you looks much more natural.
The commander clears his throat and says: "Welcome to 'the last defense'. Should the Keep ever be taken by force and it's walls breached the keep defenders will fall back to the keep itself and from there to these caves. This cavern is the last natural defensive structure we have and is designed to frustrate a host of enemies. The walkway you see here holds archers with a newer invention called a "repeating crossbow", each of those boxes holds two dozen crossbow bolts, the person who mans it only needs crank the crossbow and a bolt will fall into place, allowing the defenders to fire almost twice as fast as they otherwise would. The walkway itself is protected from return fire by the wooden wall you see built up around it. As the attackers would filter through the room the stairwell to the left would be dropped and a heavy trapdoor put in place, sealing any attempts to take the high ground by force. You will notice other small stairwells leading up to natural shelves in the room, other places where archers can take position. In times of need, large rock pillars would be rolled out from alcoves around the walls and placed into the center of the room, breaking the attacking force apart and creating "murder halls" they would have to pass through. The gate at the far end can be dropped, creating a "backup" in this room. Boulders positioned around the ceiling top can be dropped individually or as a whole by those on the walkway to cause massive destruction among the people in the center of the room. If the attacking force can get past the portcullis in this room, you will notice the hallway beyond only large enough for one man to move through abreast and not nearly enough room for a battering ram or other siege structure to be moved into place. Halfway down the hall is another portcullis that can be dropped to seal the farther tunnels from attack. Another similar structure is in place in the tunnel we just passed through to protect the keep from attack from behind should our tunnels ever be discovered."
The commander continues leading you through the room and down the long tunnel to the next area. This more open, and more natural cavern room is partially lighted. Several tunnels head off in various directions and the sounds of conversation, laughter, and the sounds of every day living come from pretty much all of them.
"The Keep and Surrounding Land's populous has already been moved down into the tunnels in preparation for the attack and they are quite safe, and quite comfortable, down here. From here out, the cavern system gets a bit twisted and convoluted, please stay with me and don't loose sight of the next in line as we move toward our destination...it is VERY easy to get lost or turned around down here."
The commander moves over to a box containing several small "balls" of glass. He picks one up, taps it and a soft glowing light starts filtering out. "Courtesy of the Keep's mages" the commander explains as he hands another one to the person at the middle of the line, and one to the rear. Out of another container the commander picks up a rather large, sealed ceramic pot. He motions two others to pick up a pot as well. "Alchemist's Fire", the commander states, "this is what we'll use to take out the catapults. Do not drop or break the seal on your pot or we'll all be in a world of hurt...Alchemist's Fire bursts into flame upon contact with air."
The commander leads the way through another tunnel, this one even rougher than the one you were just in and the seven of you start your progression through the tunnels.
At most points, the commander sets a very brisk pace down those corridors that are large enough for you to walk in, and ushers you through those that are small enough you have to crawl through. Were it not for the constant cool temperature of the caves you all would find the air stifling. Still, you can periodically feel a shifting of air through the corridors, as if there were natural vents to the outside. Each of you can immediately see where the commander's warnings are necessary as you pass through the cavern system...numerous side passages dot the sides of the tunnels you are moving through, and at several points you take a jag to the left, right, climb a natural chimney or shimmy down a short pole to a lower level, seemingly at random. You all quickly realize that finding your way back through the tunnels to the Keep would be practically impossible. Almost as if reading your minds the Commander stops and turns to the group smiling and motions you to one of the side passages.
"It likely occurs to you that if I fall in battle you all might as well join me because you'll never make it back through the cavern system unaided. Actually this can't be farther from the truth. As you pass this side passage take a look at the wall very carefully, you will see a set of markings, easy to miss if you're not looking for them."
As the commander keeps moving you along down the various tunnels he explains the coding system setup at each branch. The number of marks and their direction denote a simple mathematical sequence that when followed lead you in the right direction. Each of you could now likely make it back on your own should anything happen by following the markings on each of the walls.
Eventually a lightening of the air and stronger air movement through he tunnels denotes you are getting close to the exit. Shortly thereafter you note a small tunnel leading up into a copse of trees. There across the opening is a set of solidly embedded metal bars and above the opening itself is a large tree, it's roots spreading over the top of the hole out and obscuring all but a little sunlight.
"Apologies for this but getting into and out of the tunnels is not an easy process. The bars will move if you know the right way to slide and shift them." With this the commander reaches forward and starts pushing and pulling at individual bars till one shifts and slides back into the ground at the side of the tunnel. He continues doing this for another minute as he shifts and slides all bars out of the way till a hole is opened to the surface.
Each of you crawls out and squeezes out through the roots of the tree to stand in the small forest area. From the position of the sun it looks like it's taken you just a bit longer than the two hours expected. As the seven of you get out of the hole, the commander leads you off through the small forest and out into a hilly area overlooking a broad field. Several miles distant you can see the Keep and can barely make out the dots walking it's walls.
The commander moves into a hollow in the hills, to an obviously well used campsite, and starts setting up camp. He hands everyone a couple jobs out and around to setup camp and moves off himself back into the forest to gather wood for a small cooking fire, motioning for Kith to join him.
A short time later everyone is back in camp, a small, smokeless, fire burning and all of you gathered around waiting for your time.
"Ok, several of you may have questions, I will try to answer as many of them as I can now."
Moving off into the forest the two of you get out of earshot with the encampment. Almost immediately the commander turns to you, a hint of tears in his eyes and says "Thirty years is a long time Dirk, glad that I am to have finally found you again." Withdrawing his hand from his pocket he holds out the Signet Ring of Kethlenica to you before wrapping his hand back around it and putting it back in his pocket.
"Sorry about the cloak and dagger routine back at the castle, I'm being watched, and I'm afraid your friend's questions about Kethlenica won't have helped my case for anonymity any. Still, I'm hoping my part is played well enough for the moment, soon enough I believe it won't matter. It seems my time might almost be upon me."
Giving you an intense look the Commander asks "How well do you trust your team?"
"Pardon me Commander? Your intention is for us to attack and destroy the most protected of the eight siege weapons. What protections, magical or devious, can we expect the Orcs to have in place?
Thantos pauses allowing room for the Commander to respond.
Continuing, Thantos asks, "How many Orcs do you expect they will use to man and protect this weapon? And, what members of the Orc leadership do you expect to be garrisoned with this weapon?"
"Thantos, excellent questions."
"Regarding your first, the Orcs aren't known for their ability to use magic. They do have shaman in their various tribes and we may run into one or more, but in general an orc is an orc, and none of them are overly bright. Intelligence indicates no 'outside help' from any other faction other than planning the attack and providing the siege weapons in the first place. Our initial strike from the walls, plus the range of our bowmen, should separate the orc force from the orc commanders and siege weapon teams. If these strikes are anything like we've seen in the past, the vast majority of orcs will rush the gates and try to storm the walls, overwhelming the Keep by sheer numbers. In the past they have not been known to hold reserves back or otherwise use proper military tactics in their attacks, preferring numbers over tactics. We suspect only a handful of orcs at each of the siege weapons and our strike teams should be large enough to overwhelm, particularly with surprise, any resistance. Keep in mind that our jobs are not to kill orcs, but to get close enough to toss our fire pots at the siege weapons, burn them to the ground and then get out again. If the attack on each weapon is planned right it should send the orcs running from weapon to weapon as they burn down, each time being too late to do anything for the next weapon. The chaos should provide all of us an opportunity to get away with minimal contact."
"Remember that the orcs are fairly sure that any sustained resistance is all inside the Keep's walls, they don't think we know about the siege weapons and they're certain we're doing the same thing we've always done: hunkered in the keep and waited for them to break themselves against the walls. Their use of catapults this time is their 'winning stroke' and we're pretty sure they're confident enough in their surprise that they will rush the walls with everything they've got expecting the gate to go down quickly."
"As to the second question, we don't expect significant resistance at any of the eight weapons. As I said, they'll have everyone pushing at the walls so that when a section of the wall goes down the horde can sweep in and destroy our defenders quickly. They won't 'waste' men in the backfield on reserve because of the infighting of the orc tribes...anyone not at the vanguard of the army when the fighting stops will lose out on much of the easy loot...and any tribe held in reserve will have their warriors looked down upon...not a place to be for an orc."
"That said, the orcish leadership will, as usual, let their underlings grant them the glory and power for the tribe, and enter the field after the fighting has stopped to claim whatever their tribe loots as their own...again, such is the way of the orcs. If we're lucky, there will be an orc commander or two in the 'safe' backfield that we can strike down quickly and throw entire tribes into chaos...the fighting and bloodshed of the assent to leadership as well as the tribal fighting of one tribe trying to take over another when a tribal leader dies is enough to give us several more months or even years without orcish incursion. If we have the opportunity to take down an orc leader, lets try to do so, but it's not our primary mission."
Kilenthar nods to Thantos as he finishes and looks around the group for other questions.
Choked with emotion, Dirk takes his friend by the shoulders and says, "By the Gods! My old friend! You have no idea how glad I am to see you! The stories I have to tell... and to hear, I am certain!"
He pauses a moment to soak in the sight of his old lost friend. Then breaks into one of the first real smiles his face has seen in 30 years.
"My God you've grown old!"
Dropping his hands back to his sides, Dirk grows more serious.
"Soon, we'll have time to speak freely. For now, the group is waiting. Know that you know them as well as I. Whether I trust them or not has yet to be decided. But my instincts tell me that they are a capable group."
"Commander, pardon me, and I hesitate to ask you this, but what do you know of the nefarious, dark man that I observed speaking with the 'Orc Leader'? We observed this man through the scrying pool and his mere presence in the Orc camp shook me to my core. I fear that the Orcs have a new evil human ally that will significantly complicate our mission."
Thantos turns to address his mission companions, "Friends!", trying to endear himself to the group, "We put our lives in each others hands. I implore you to stay on your guard for this new evil ally. I shall use all of my powers to keep you safe and make our mission a success. What say you, Friends?"
Selena nods.
"Yes, we must stick together. I admit that I am not as used to fighting as some of you are, so if I am seen to be in need of some help, please come to my aid. I will gladly do what I can to make sure that you all stay alive."
"Don't worry Lena, we've got your back."
"Well I guess we'd better come up with a strategy". "Maybe someone could cause a distraction, while another group approached to throw the Alchemist fire on the catapult". "The faster in and out the better".
Selena seems to be lost in thought for a moment.
"Distraction? What type of distraction?"
A simple spoken word and four lantern-sized globs of light appear around Selena. They revolve around her for a few seconds before blinking out. Then a sudden bright light shoots into the air and explodes in a brilliant flash.
"I can do distractions. Have been able to since I was very young. Still a little uncertain where it all comes from... but if you want a distraction, I can create one."
"Time later to talk, and talk we must, but not now. And I implore you Dirk, stick with your alias and I mine for the time being, I cannot elaborate but we have not seen the last of the assassins we fled from 30 years ago. Your appearance, more than anything, makes me think that my history has caught up with me again."
Nodding to you, he leads the way back to the group with an armload of firewood.
"Unfortunately, very little Thantos. We have known, for quite some time, that this time around the Orcs were receiving outside help. Your vision in the scrying pool the other night wasn't the first we've seen of people like that. However, at no point in any of the almost daily skirmishes with the orcs have we seen ANY help of outside involvement. Our assumption here is that the dark cloaked figure, whoever he is, represents some entity, whatever that is, in an advisory capacity only. But your point is well taken about keeping our eyes open, it would behove us all to do so."
Nodding to Kith, the commander says "While I am the commander of the surrounding region and a captain in the Kiren's Keep military, I want you all to keep in mind that I am not in charge of any of you...nor do I know any more than you do about the situation we will be facing soon. Whatever your decisions, we'll follow and may the Goddes watch over us.
Uttering a quick prayer to his goddess the commander steps back and lets the discussion continue.
Mith turns to regard Selena..."Not to be rude, m'lady, but some minor conjurations may do little more than alert the orcs to our presence...No, the threat we use as distraction must be much more...deadly...or at least appear deadly...If any of you magically-inclined are skilled in the art of illusions, that may be useful...Otherwise..." Mird trails off as he inspects his bow and knocks an arrow..."Perhaps we will have to resort to good old killing to sow the chaos we need..."
Grimacing at the site of Selena's distractions.
"I suggest we get moving before that show of light directs an Orc patrol to our location."
Looking directly at Selena. "Let's hold off on any more 'distractions' for the time being."
Selena blushes but nods strongly.
Returning the nod to the Commander, Kith steps forward.
"Right, before the our attack we need know exactly what we're up against. Mird and Lash seem best suited to gather that information."
Kith pauses to make eye contact with both Lash and Mird, then continues,
"As we move out, I'd like you two to fan out in front of the group acting as scouts and reporting back when you find anything of interest. In particular, we need to know exactly where the orcs and the catapult are entrenched. We know the general direction, of course, but we'll need to locate the camp itself. Secondly, we'll need to determine the strength of the orc position near the catapult. We need numbers. How many orc guards are present and, if possible, determine whether they have a shaman or two in their midst. Lastly, keep an eye out for an orc leader. As the Commander mentioned, it's not a priority, but if the opportunity presents itself we may as well take advantage of it."
Kith gazes toward the general direction of the orc camp for a moment.
"I'll lead the following group. Commander I'd like you to stay near me. Fyird and Selena behind us with Thantos watching the rear. We'll make a stop a safe distance from the camp once these two..."
Kith raises a finger in the direction of Mird and Lash
"...return with some information about our enemies. We'll discuss tactics for our attack based on that information. If we get split up, we'll regroup back at this location after we destroy the catapult. Lash and Mird, we'll give you a 15 minute head start. If there are no questions, prepare yourselves and depart as soon as you are ready."
Kith swings his gaze across the remainder of the group before continuing.
"As for the rest of us, we have a few minutes. Let's douse the fire and be ready to move out soon after Lash and Mird depart. We'll likely be engaging the enemy so prepare yourselves accordingly."
Selena nods, unclasping the safety strap from her dagger's sheath.
"If we're going to have a battle, I'd rather we have one sooner than later. I don't much like fights."
Thantos ready his crossbow by stretching and locking the bow, but he doesn't load a crossbolt...yet.
Mird nods in agreement and stands by Lash as he prepares himself to move forward and scout out the camp...
Lash checks her weapons and nods quietly.
As the seven of you prepare to move out toward the orcish encampment you hear the sound of drums in the distance, several miles off but moving closer the longer you listen. The drums are joined by great yells and growls that carry across the miles as a host of creatures moves across the land. While you are unsure of the location or position of those drums you can generally determine the sounds to be coming from the location of the orc encampment, or, you suspect, what USED to be the orc encampment.
Looking up at the sun in the sky you recognize the time to be around 4:30 to 5:00 pm, well before anyone expected the orcs to be on the move. Looking into the distance you each catch a flash of light from the 7 other attack groups flashing signal mirrors in your and each other's direction...each one is signaling each other that they are holding position.
As each of you look to the other to determine what is going on you all notice the Commander muttering to himself and shaking his head. Noticing your gazes he says "It's too early, they had the advantage of surprise...why are they announcing themselves..."
Shaking his head he says "Everyone this is your call, if you wish to move out we might be able to sneak around to the back of the orc lines but I'm unsure we'll be able to get close enough to attack or be able to get out in time if the orc army decides to turn on us. If we wait for the army to pass us by and engage the Keep we'll have a better shot at the catapults with the rest of the strike teams and with the orc army engaged, but I'm unsure what we'll be up against now. Either the orcs are stupider than I thought with no military sense at all or there's something else going on here that I can't begin to predict."
"What does everyone want to do?"
As the seven of you prepare to move out toward the orcish encampment you hear the sound of drums in the distance, several miles off but moving closer the longer you listen. The drums are joined by great yells and growls that carry across the miles as a host of creatures moves across the land. While you are unsure of the location or position of those drums you can generally determine the sounds to be coming from the location of the orc encampment, or, you suspect, what USED to be the orc encampment.
Looking up at the sun in the sky you recognize the time to be around 4:30 to 5:00 pm, well before anyone expected the orcs to be on the move. Looking into the distance you each catch a flash of light from the 7 other attack groups flashing signal mirrors in your and each other's direction...each one is signaling each other that they are holding position.
As each of you look to the other to determine what is going on you all notice the Commander muttering to himself and shaking his head. Noticing your gazes he says "It's too early, they had the advantage of surprise...why are they announcing themselves..."
Shaking his head he says "Everyone this is your call, if you wish to move out we might be able to sneak around to the back of the orc lines but I'm unsure we'll be able to get close enough to attack or be able to get out in time if the orc army decides to turn on us. If we wait for the army to pass us by and engage the Keep we'll have a better shot at the catapults with the rest of the strike teams and with the orc army engaged, but I'm unsure what we'll be up against now. Either the orcs are stupider than I thought with no military sense at all or there's something else going on here that I can't begin to predict."
"What does everyone want to do?"
Selena listens carefully to the drums, trying to pick up on any patterns that the orcs might be communicating. She lifts her eyes up to the stars for a moment or two, trying to distinguish any signs there as well.
"I think we should strike swiftly. I cannot be entirely certain, but it feels as though the Orcs are moving with an dark and evil magic at their backs."
She bows her head after overstepping the boundaries.
"But it is just a suggestion. I will yield to the more experienced of our party."
Kith stares in the distance, lost in thought, considering Selena's words. When he again looks at the group he is slowly shaking his head.
"I respectfully disagree Selena. Though, I feel like your opinion holds as much weight as my own. We are not a proper military, so I will not ask any of you to do more than you see fit. I was asked to lead this group, but I feel like the closer we get to battle the more each of us will have to decide how we might best contribute to the task at hand."
"With that in mind. I suggest we wait it out. Our main advantage was to strike in concert with the other groups using the spectacle of 8 burning catapults, and the ensuing confusion, to cover our retreat. Those groups have now decided to stay put. If we strike alone, at a moving target, we could have an entire orcish army breathing down our necks. "
"I agree with the Commander, they have lost the element of surprise for no apparent gain. It's hard to believe that even Orcs are that stupid. I say let's watch them walk below us. We gather what information we may by watching, then follow them and attempt to coordinate with the other groups when the Orcs begin to stage the catapults."
Kith finishes by shaking his head in dis-belief and says, "Maybe we can solve the mystery of this tactical blunder..."
Selena nods agreeably.
"No, no, you are right. I just... felt pressured. We should wait and see what we can find out."
"And if one of the other teams chooses differently? Then what?
If we strike now we may have a chance at their leaders. Waiting plays a dangerous game with the entire fortress as bait."
"I'm normally as big a fan of surprise as anyone, but.....something feels wrong here."
"That's just it. Something does feel wrong here. If we act too soon before finding out what it is, we could be walking into more danger than we can handle."
"I agree with Kith". "Since we are not sure what is going on, let's let things play out". "Maybe they will still stop short or reveal a greater plan if we let them pass,then tail them". "Is there some way to get a message to the Keep that the plans have changed, and that they need to be ready for an early arrival"?
"If we have to wait till they attack the keep, we may be able to get close to the Catapults while they are distracted attacking the Keep". "Maybe we could then disguise ourselves, and sneak close enough to the Catapults to take them out then".
"I just don't see a happy or effective ending to attacking this massed army now".
Rumbling around from person to person Thantos grumbles, "My instinct tells me that we should get moving. I fear that the Orcs will overrun our position in their mayhem and bloodlust."
Thantos stiffens, reasoning, "However after deeper inspection, I believe we need to exercise a military like restraint and discipline and attempt to execute the coordinated attack on the siege weapon that 'the Keep' is counting on us to destroy. Even a single operational siege weapon could turn the tide of the battle to the Orcs' favor."
With a piecing gaze Thantos whispers, "This does NOT feel right. A strange dark magic drives these Orcs. I can almost sense it."
With a polite half bow towards Kith, Thantos discretely removes him from the others.
Selena thinks quietly for a moment.
"First, are the other attack parties in any danger at the moment? With such a large army on the move, have the siege weapons been moved any? Is there a way we can tell?"
Mird grimaces as he lets out a slight sigh and admits, "As much as it pains me to admit, our patient leader, Kith, has a point...what little gain we'd have from attacking now would quickly be lost when it came time to make our retreat. We need to keep our strikes coordinate to ensure the most vital spots are hit, and hit hard. Captain, would you mind signaling to the other groups that we should wait and strike as one? "
