Kazmir clears his throat. He looks at Nadya helplessly, but plows forward, 'My name is Kazmir Brightbeard. I seek to..." He turns to the Ulfen woman. "What exactly am I asking? The defenses of the Tower? Or advice on evading patrols?"
Nadya looks at Kazmir with surprise, then shame. "Ah... Hatch, he lived for time at the Pale Tower. He say he will answer questions you have about the Tower... whatever you need, to know if we go there or flee, yes?"
Kazmir goes on, speaking to Nadya, "How much can we trust him? If he lived at the Tower, why doe she know live here, with you?"
"Because Nazhena is a terrible woman!" Hatch shrieks, before Nadya can answer. "Keeping your little daughter locked up like that! That's no home for a domovoi!"
Nadya inhales sharply. "You not know yet, do you? My Thora... they... they kill her."
The little man's eyes widen in shock at this statement. For the moment, he seems to devastated by the news to reply.
Kazmir ponders this. This Hatch cared for Thora, or had cared for her. Now that she was dead, was that a strong enough lever....
"We seek to attack the Tower." Kazmir says, avoiding mentioning flight as an option. "What defenses does it have, what is the building like?"
Hatch shakes himself slightly, his long beard swaying as he refocuses on Kazmir.
"Attack the Pale Tower! That is a hard thing... but maybe not as hard as it seems," he replies. "It is made of enchanted ice, hard as stone. If you cannot break through that, there is only one entrance. It has a small, walled courtyard in front, with a gate guarded by men. The door into the Tower lies within. Many soldiers live there..."
He pauses a moment, mentally counting. "Forty, maybe? But if they are out searching, most will be gone. There is often a troll in the courtyard, and Nazhena's mistress of ravens can command great swarms of birds."
"Within the Pale Tower there are no stairs. Instead, there are places you stand and say pass phrases, that teleport you elsewhere in the Tower. I can tell you many of them! They did not pay attention to little Hatch. No gifts of milk or bread for me there, only sights and sounds of cruelty. And now they killed young Thora."
He stamps his tiny foot. "That Tower is no home! It should be melted down!"
Kazmir takes this in. He turns to Bizzk, rhetorically. 'Another troll?"
'How high is the wall? Could we perhaps climb, slip in the Tower and lock out the troll and guards? Is the wall wide enough to stand on? Does the Tower have windows?"
"It is very, very tall!" Hatch declares.
It occurs to you that you are also very tall compared to him.
"The tower has windows, but they are also made of enchanted ice, and the ice is slick. You cannot climb them, not without magic. There is a space to walk on the wall, where sometimes soldiers walk if they fear attack."
Kazmir turns to Nadya, 'How tall is the outer wall? Can we climb it?"
Nadya shakes her head. "It is tall as three men. We not climb without being seen. Would take ropes and hooks, which make noise, yes? Unless you know other way?"
Kazmir ponders, 'Perhaps there is a way. I might be able to get us to the top of the wall..." he pauses. 'Is there a way we can scout to see how many guards there are? There is a big difference between forty and five."
"I could look!" Hatch volunteers. "Stupid guards will not see Hatch!"
Kazmir nods, 'This is good. Be careful!" he adds to Hatch, 'It will take time for me to prepare the right spells." he turns to Nadya and adds, "How long do we have until they come looking for the fallen soldiers? Minutes, hours?"
The dwarf will wait until Hatch is gone to bring up escape and flight.
Nadya shrugs slightly. "At least a day," she says. "Soldiers... not always best at orders. Radosek maybe think that sergeant called and then thought should not call, until he not come back tonight."
Kazmir turns to Nadya, 'A day? This is good, I will have time to choose new spells. But....do you trust Hatch? The Tower could be costly. Have you considered fleeing at all? Also, if we assault the tower, even if we win, your name and face may be known. What of your children then?"
"We will have to leave either way," Nadya says. "But if we win, we are not pursued so fast. If we flee, soldiers follow all the way. Maybe more soldiers than at Tower, if they are most searching. But either way, Waldsby will not keep me secret."
Her face darkens. "They are coward. They will tell soldiers to protect themself."
Kazmir ponders this, tapping his blunt finger against the table. 'So either way we will have your sons with us?" The druid doesn't like take more people into danger. Part of him wishes to suggest he go alone, but he knows Nadya needs revenge.
Instead he quietly pets Bizzk, wondering what the fey will say on his return. he adds, 'Do you trust this Hatch?"
"They will not come when we attack Tower, but when we leave Waldsby they come," Nadya answers. She considers his second question for a moment. "Domovoi are not tricky," she answers at last. "They care for good home and nothing else."
Kazmir ponders. Perhaps attacking the Tower would be best. It would depend on how many soldiers are guarding.
"Nadya, do you have the connections to town to perhaps buy some items to make our attack easier? I have the coin...."
"There are those who will buy if you have coin," she replies. "They will claim you stole from them if soldiers ask, but coin is hard to come by, and with most food brought, is often only way to get food."
'Good, good. Perhaps, depending on the defenses, we can buy some supplies. Who in town is likely to have such contraband? It might be best for me to go with you?"
"We have blacksmith and general store," Nadya states.
[
You pass a good portion of the day quietly, waiting for Hatch's return. At last, he comes back, looking rather pleased with himself.
Without preamble, he launches into his tale. "Two soldiers wait on the wall, a troll in the courtyard. Six soldiers rest in their rooms on the ground, a bard and an atomie in the hall above. Beware the cook, more than he seems, and the guard captian and aerie keeper. The apprentice stays to the top, where I cannot go."
"Now let me tell you the words for the magic teleporters. From the ground to the second floor, you say 'A gathering within the hall, take one, take us all'. To return, say 'Spiral downward to the ground, every ounce and every pound'. To go to the aerie, use the upper portal and say, 'Take wing, soar and fly, let me view the winter sky'. To return, say, 'Down a level, to the halls, leave this cage without walls'. To get to Radosek's rooms, you will need a key, though who bears it I do not know."
Kazmir ponders all of this, trying to build the Tower and the defenses in his mind.
"Does it have any windows, the Tower? Balconies, perhaps? What about access to the kitchen? A back door, a servants entrance perhaps? This aerie...what is that, exactly?"
"No back doors, no. The kitchen is on the second floor, and windows only high up. The aerie is where they keep the flocks of ravens, near the top of the Pale Tower."
Kazmir turns to Nadya, "I think we should attack them. If we are lucky, we should be able to win. And that is better then a pursuit through the empty wilds, with them at our heels."
The druid turns back to the fey, 'Can I or Bizzk fly to the aerie? Might skip a number of layers that way..."
"If you can fly, yes! But all will see when you do!"
'Do they have weapons to reach us flying in? If we fly up, and descend, we can hold the doors against them..." Plans fill the dwarf's head but ricks..risks.
"Crossbows, I am sure," Nadya says. "And the crows will attack. Witches and their crows..."
She shakes her head. "What is more, you will be alone, without me. Is bad enough just three, but two is worse, yes?"
Kazmir nods, 'Agreed."
Then he stands, "I have made my choice. We attack the tower. I will gather spells that will allow us to scale the back wall. We attack the soldiers and troll from the wall, keeping our distance."
"Then we go inside, take out the bard, keep an eye on the cook, then use the teleporter to move upstairs as fast as we can. We don't have the numbers for anything more complex."
Nadya nods. "Yes. What will we buy?"
Kazmir ponders, 'Perhaps some climbing equipment from the blacksmith? Would the general store have lamp oil, something flammable? Our options are limited, but I have money for it all. Give them a generous price, I know times are hard here. If it earns us a favorable person or two, all the better."
Nadya nods. "Yes, climbing equipment, lamp oil, they will have these. They will charge extra, I am sure."
The druid nods, 'Good, go buy them. I will stay here and finish planning, and go over the spells in my mind. If you see anything else you may think is useful..." The dwarf hands Nadya enough coins to buy plenty.