Chevalier Irabeth stands in the command tent, listening to the heroes discuss what they've learned from the tiefling cultists. She has a large map of the region sprawled out on a table, and has marked the areas of interest with small colored flags.
"So, if I understand this right, Commander, you want us to investigate Silvershore tomorrow, after we send a message back to Nerosyan and wait for Ehren to complete a scrying. I don't think we should commit to any one plan until we have that information ready."
"If you are going to scout the army, you'd be better off visiting Silvershore directly. I do not believe that using an hour to scry the city will be a good use of that time. If you take off immediately, however, we can have Sosiel cast a sending to you directly, giving us a report. You could then rally any defenders and get the villagers to safety. After all, we know where they are headed, we just need a confirmation that they are moving in a direct line there from here."
"Hinagiku or Ehren, can one of you heal me up before we turn in for the evening? It would be a shame to use spells tomorrow to do so. Afterwards I think I am going to keep an eye on Ledsa tonight just in case she has a visitor again."
"Right... and for now, I need to go check on those prisoners who were returned to us and how their medical treatment is going - I trust they were scanned for evil and taint?" she asks, figuring Irabeth would be the best to ask. "After that, I'll go and check in with the cultists who surrendered. Have the men ready to march tomorrow; I'd prefer not to force them to fight, but there's no reason not to move; simply sitting still leaves us perhaps more vulnerable."
”Ah, yes, correct, sending,” Irabeth says with some embarrassment.
"Yes, of course, they were screened before we placed them in the cells. I'll let the Captains know we march tomorrow."
Ary leaves the check the prisoners - they light up at her appearance, recognizing her shield immediately.
"'Ey! 'Ey you!" calls a grotesquely furred woman. "You're the boss around here, right? Did they tell you? We were helpful! Please don't kill us, crusader knight ma'am."
There is evidence that they were given rations for the evening - empty goblets and plates strewn around the room.
They appear outwardly healthy.
"Of course. Here," Ehren says, taking out his fresh healing wand. He presses it against the side of Isilme's arm, leaving it there for several seconds as he burns through its magic. After a moment's thought, he then presses it against his own arm, sealing up the majority of his wounds.
"Hello." Ary says after a short pause, looking from face to face. She doesn't look upon any of the Tieflings with contempt, though there is some surprise at the tumors, and a moment-too-long look. Ary stands straight as she stands openly unarmed, save for Faith, before them.
"My name is Ary Bishop... and I'm somewhat responsible for your fate, but moreso, that's in your hands. I need a few things from each of you in order to better determine your fates. First, I want for you to know, that every one of you who I let live will rely upon the others to survive. If even one of you betrays my men, then I can not condone keeping any of you alive. So I need to know that I can trust all of you. If any of you are loyal to the demons within the Worldwound, the others should speak up." she pauses.
"Second, I need to know what capacity each of you has that you can use to aid my troops. Perhaps you have a way with animals, or learned carpentry while growing up. Anything that makes you more valuable as a person within the army gives me more reason to keep you alive. I do intend to pay you for the work that you do for us, but I do not intend to set you free unless you can prove your value to society as a whole."
"Third, if you do not have any professional skills, and instead only have capabilities as a combatant, I need to know what you know about the Condemned." she pauses once more for just a bit more gravitas.
"And finally, I need for all of you to know that any base actions that you perform if I set you free, I will consider to be my own failings. My trust in you, if misplaced, could very well change my attitude towards how to deal with prisoners of war for the rest of my time in command. Please strive to set a good precedent."
Xanderghul also takes his leave of the meeting, going to seek out a healer. He wants even a marginal amount of healing before the night ends, so that he has access to his full range of magics for the next day.
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"Arles would sell his own momma out! I wouldn't trust that ginger rat-faced ballsack of a man with nothin'." Abet, the furred woman, growls.
"Shut the f%~# up, Abet. If you want a f%+@ing cultist, it's Abet! She straight up took a s%$! on your altar back there. It's true!" Arles retorts.
The cells devolve into a chaos of each tiefling proving that they are more than willing to sell out each other tiefling if it means they're less likely to die for it. It's only once Ary calls for order that they finally shut up and answer the rest of her questions.
"My da was a stoneworker," offers Abet. "I know a thing or two about working with stone. Up in Drezen they had me helping with repairs 'n all that."
"I was a ploughman at one point," says the other woman. "Ploughwoman I guess."
"That isn't a skilled job, Maria, you dumbass," spits the tumored man. "Freaking cows pull plows. Me? I was a merchant at one point," he says with pride. "A jeweler."
"Yeah you ain't selling s+&@ with a face like that," chortles Arles.
This goes on for some time, and Ary gets the sense that these people are mostly just good at killing people - except for perhaps Abet the mason, and an additional man with razor sharp teeth whose parents were soapmakers.
"Yeah. Everyone knows what Condemned are. It's what your lot does with thieves and all," Abet says.
Arles shrugs. "Look, lady, I'll do anything, I just don't wanna die today."
After checking on the prisoners Ary leaves to oversee the burning of the cultists’ bodies. The soldiers seem to approve of this decision - leaving corpses strewn around invites vermin and disease. Once that is accomplished, she leaves meditate and pray.
The night passes uneventfully, with Isilme electing to sleep in the supply wagon with Ledsa in the evening. No mysterious lullabies rouse the azata from her slumber.
Before they head to sleep, Ayavah takes Valaria aside for a moment, concerned. ”Hey. I thought you were gonna talk to um… Ary, right? Should I be worried about her?”
12 Lamashan 4713
The morning brings clear, sunny skies and four inches of snow left on the ground from yesterday’s snowstorm. It is extremely cold, a shocking -10°F (-24°C), chilling even the heroes in their furs. The soldiers this morning huddle around the campfires, fighting to keep warm.
Nurah chuckles at Ehren. ”Are you seriously walking around barefoot in this weather? Kellids! Even I’m wearing boots today.” The halfling shifts her little feet around in the snow.
Once the heroes have finished preparing in the morning, Irabeth gathers them all in the command tent to discuss strategy. Aron, Markus, Annabelle, Sosiel, Nurah, and Anevia are also present. (Also present: a certain sculptor/cultist infiltrator - her eyes glazing over somewhat as she finds it increasingly difficult to follow the discussion along.)
Markus crosses his arms. ”All right, first things first. We have forty wounded men. We can have them in fighting shape immediately, but that cuts into the clerics’ ability to heal if we get into an altercation. We wouldn’t be dead weight, necessarily, just not in fighting form as we were yesterday. Xanderghul brings up that we can leave the wounded here at Ahari and march ahead, to preserve our resources."
”Also, there’s the question of services,” continues Markus. ”It’d take an hour to finish the funeral for our slain soldiers. It seems that this matter in Silvershore is…. urgent. Are we still moving forward with the funeral rites, or should we simply bury them and have a quick moment of silence?”
Next, Sosiel speaks up. ”Commander, I can cast sending twice, as you have requested. Xanderghul wrote this for me to send…” he holds up a small piece of parchment. ”You originally told me to contact Captain Kathon and Commander Valerys back in Nerosyan. Isilme says that perhaps it’d be better if I saved the message for Captain Kathon to contact Ehren should he go scout ahead. What should I do?”
"Bishop's army defeated force at destroyed Ahari Bridge. Reports of enemy moving north to Icerift. Reinforcements requested to defend area, we go north to Drezen”
Next, Irabeth continues the discussion. ”So, what of our prisoners? Are we keeping them alive? Xanderghul mentioned perhaps maiming them and setting them free…” she shudders. ”That seems a rather cruel way to kill them, I would suggest just using an axe. Otherwise, Hinagiku wants to see if they can be redeemed… while an honorable effort, this would be rather unpopular with the men. They are guilty of demon worship and of killing our brothers, after all. And Isilme brings up that we can conveniently hand them off to the Kellids in Silvershore for safe keeping… I’m not familiar with them nor their attitude towards the crusaders, but perhaps Ehren could act as our diplomat if we decide to do this instead.”
Anevia speaks next, eager to brighten the mood after discussing the fates of the prisoners. ”Okkaaaaaay, so, we’re definitely marching on Silvershore, right? Xanderghul said that we should send out scouts then, once we know the situation there, march the army. Isilme thinks we should march straight away, then have the scouts loop around and meet us halfway. Which are we doing?’
Xanderghul shows up just a little bit late to the strategy meeting and listens intently as the whole group talks about what to do or not to do. When it comes his time, he opens his mouth to contribute: "For the record, I think the following courses of action are the most beneficial. I think the cultist prisoners should be executed, I think the scout party should leave immediately and travel faster than the army to Silvershore. Since we seem to have decided to fight the enemy army regardless of the status of the town, it makes sense to have the army begin to march whenever they're ready. An hour's time to conduct the funeral and pack up seems to be convenient in that it leaves a bit of distance between the army and the scouts. I don't think that we should leave the wounded behind if we're not going to use the Ahari Bridge to ford the river, but I also don't think we should expend our resources to heal them. We should keep them back and keep our clerics' capabilities for the battle so as to keep our losses low. Then after we've finished the battle we can spend extra time resting. Deaths are to be avoided."
"I think that we should send Kenabres and Nerosyan, rather than save them t communicate between the scouts and Ehren. Any information the scouts gather can be relayed in person easily enough."
1: Ary won't leave them behind, she'd rather have them healed and the clerics be less potent than leave them suffering. Less pragmatic, though...
2: Xanderghul makes a good point in allowing the scout's an hour's lead via using the funeral service. This seems ideal.
3: I figure the Sending to Kathon can happen later - he'll reach the bridge and see what happened... tomorrow, maybe? Though I don't see the point of using a Sending on Ehren, personally. I'd rather cover more bases as Xanderghul mentions.
4: Ary intends to let them live and put them to work in whatever ways make sense. Her goal, likewise, is to give them a chance to redeem themselves; she'd prefer not to arm them, though, since they went full turncoat upon being told that their lives depended on each other's trustworthiness. It makes them more beholden to the Crusaders as well, since their lives are still in their hands... maybe.
5: Ary would want to have the army marching, with scouts moving ahead. See #2.
All of these depend on Team preference as much as Ary preference, hence making it harder for Ary to say what she believes is ideal until she has more input!
Ary will return to Intruder's End, Swallow Your Fear and Tactical Strike. She'll maintain Protection from Evil and Keep Watch. I think Isilme's Ioun Stone doesn't cover sleep, so assume Ary shared her second target for Keep Watch with her, since she's being a grumpy gus about having to sleep :P
Anevia will go with Deflecting Shot, Dimensional Strike, Fading Shot, and Resonating Shot.
Ehren dons black fur cloak, but as Nurah points out, his bare feet are as conspicuous as ever. He looks down at them, wiggling his toes in the snow for emphasis. The boots that came with the outfit saw more use in a hezrou's stomach than on his own two feet.
"Oh, I've been doing this for years," he replies with a smile. "They haven't fallen off from frostbite yet."
1. What Ary said; not really comfortable with leaving anyone else behind at this point.
2. The hour-long funeral service would fit in nicely with scrying's 1 hour casting time. If we're not doing that, then Ehren will leave before the service - who else is scouting, and where?
3. I don't think communicating with Ehren is a priority, but he's prepared animal messenger in case he can't get back to the army right away.
4. Probably leaving prisoners at Silvershore, provided that situation allows it (we don't know yet) - otherwise, what Ary said. :P
5. In support of the scouts leaving before the funeral, I think.
Regardless, Ehren has scrying prepared just in case.
1. Leaving them behind is likely to leave them vulnerable to any attacks by any random demon stragglers :p I am not certain we should use healing on the wounded though. We're up 25 from the new squad and down 40 from yesterday. We really only need them to be able to walk and defend the wagons and such. Healing is better served on the main army during combat.
1b. We need the undead wasps!
2. I am not sure what scrying will buy us at this point. You cannot scry on the army without having seen them first, and scrying on the city can only let us know if it's alright. Using that extra time travelling is more important I think. To save additional time, once you get on the far side of the army, you can always switch to a fast animal
Also I am not sure why they weren't able to fit a funeral service in the previous night if it only took an hour. It's not like they're clerics of Sarenrae. Iomedaeans are pragmatic and wouldn't delay getting that stuff done :P Assuming they really need to do it in the morning, I suggest we have a couple clerics prepare gentle repose a. We had what, 4? 5 casualties? No reason we cannot bring them along in a wagon and give them a proper burial after this battle. The demons won't be sitting around for an hour burying people tomorrow morning.
3. Communicating with Ehren is essential for getting his scouting report back to us and letting us know the state of preparations in Silvershore. This leads to my suggestion:
We need to prepare a note from Ary/Irabeth containing orders for the crusaders who defend the Ford. They will fall in to help defend the town. He will talk reason into the Kellids as well, evacuating those who cannot fight and rallying those who can. If we can get an aid-another on the kellid diplomacy with a note, I say we do so, and I will lend Ehren my circlet of persuasion for his mission as well.
It will be up to Ehren to slow down the army and provide some fortifications against the coming forces. There is no one else in the group who *actually* has anti-army spells. The druid spell-list is chock full of absolutely great spells to cause trouble for a large group of people moving. Have fun memorizing spells that can be used to royally screw up the armies that aren't engaged. ;)
After 3-4 hours (however long it is estimated to take Ehren to arrive) we will do a sending to get details about the army and silvershore to refine our strategy.
In this plan, Ehren will not regroup with the main army until the battle has commenced.
4. Ary, you should roll diplomacy if you're asking the prisoners to be on their best behavior. Having them work among the crusaders will be *very* demoralizing I imagine. The stone worker is extra-valuable, however, since he has a) been to drezen b) worked on the defenses.
5. No funeral, scouts do not move ahead of the army until daybreak unless we've got the light of the moon or something to go by. Afterwards they can ride out ahead (easily done since the army moves at normal speed and the scouts can hustle and have triple time up) If something really odd is happening, Ehren can send animal messenger early.
"Oh, Ary, Irabeth, it occurred to me that we should distribute the halberds and glaives to our front-line infantry. We may be dealing with a cavalry charge, or at the very least charging cultists. Having weapons they can use to hit the charging cavalry, whether at reach or by bracing the weapon would provide us a big advantage, especially since the mounts are howlers. Once the charge is over they should abandon those weapons and switch to their usual longsword and shield."
Immediately
Ehren Passes the Army
--Note: Burrow might also be a useful spell for creating difficult terrain on the ground outside Silvershore. That will prevent charges from enemies and open them up to attacks from archers defending the town.
Ehren arrives at Silvershore
3-4 hours pass
Army within striking distance of Demon Army
Irabeth taps her gauntleted fingers on the table. "Well it seems like more of you are in favor of keeping them alive than executing them, so I'll make sure the prisoners are bound in manacles and placed on the wagons. We'll have to reserve men to guard them during any conflict, though, we can't just leave them with the civilians."
Markus nods. "Right, well, looks like we're going to be moving with the wounded in the wagon, anyway. If you don't want us to work on them we're going to be down...." he pulls out a small journal, for keeping medical notes. "Hmmm, nineteen infantry, ten cavalry, four clerics, five archers, and two engineers."
He raises an eyebrow at Isilme. "Yes, we lost five of our own men. Meanwhile, we've gathered well over a hundred bodies from the people who used to man this fort we're standing in right now. They deserve burial as well. We don't have enough clerics to cast gentle repose on them all, but the holes were all dug last night, we can just quickly bury them and be on our way, if you prefer to not hold formal services."
Anevia looks thoughtful. "Sounds like we're sending out the scouts ASAP either way. So... Ehren and Isilme and Xanderghul are going... who else?"
Nurah's eyes peek out from over her notebook. "Wait a second. If Ehren is spending an hour scrying he certainly can't leave that early. So are we going to try and spy ahead or not?"
1. Heal them. a) Not healed will lower moral of other troops (that with undead wasps ans prisoners won't be a good mix). b)40 soldiers is a lot when looking at our troops, and a lot can help flank enemies, maintain engagement longer, etc. c) ressources will help if we have two fights instead of one to carry during the day. If that happens, we are probably screwed either way.
2. Short service with promise of a longer one in Silvershore.
3. We need to keep contact with Ehren above all else. Let's see his first scouting report before using sending.
4. Leave them with the Kellids or at the Ford fort.
5. Wake up Ehren after exactly 8h or rest, let him get spells while eating, than send him scouting! Considering his speed, I don't see the need for more scouts.
6. Nope, scrying gets you information on a single individual and his surroundings (10'), not enough to gather real information.
7!?!: totally agree with Isilme's detailed plan.
Hinagiku leaves the command tent once the plans are finalized, and finds a warm fire by which to meditate, read her book on Mendevian plants, and pray to Irori. Afterward, she gets into the tent assigned to her. Few hours of sleep later, she makes her way to Valaria and Ayavah's tent in her human form. True to her word, she makes sure her tiefling companion does not have to worry about her lover. Though cold, she's learn some tricks during her trip through the crown of the world, so she pushes up some snow to build a wall against the dominating wind. Then, she just waits, praying and meditating some more.
Hinagiku stands silent, nodding in agreement with some of the companions every so often.
"Ary, is there anything you would want me to do? Do I go on walking back and forth through the marching column to help out wherever it is needed?"
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Chevalier Irabeth nods at Isilme. "Which squad would you like to commit the halberds to?"
Markus jots down some notes in his book. "Hinagiku, you're a cleric, correct? Perhaps you could come with us and help heal some of the wounded?" He shuts it and glances up at Ary. "So, Ary, do I have the go ahead to get these men on their feet?"
"You know, about the funerals, can't we just bury them now and have a longer service after we've taken care of whatever at Lake Silver?" Ayavah meekly suggests, blinking with surprise when Hinagiku nods in silent agreement.
"A lot of the dead are Sarenrites - it'd be poor for our new troops' morale to put off their funeral until the night," Sosiel counters. "I'm in favor of having services now... it's important to serve our troops' spiritual needs, not just their physical ones."
Markus massages his forehead with three fingers... the war council is clearly split 50/50 on this matter. "Well, now that everyone has said their piece on that...Commander Bishop, what should we do? Should we hold the funeral or not?"
Once she has responded, Sosiel nods at Isilme and Valaria. "Yeah, you guys have a good point - it could mean a difference of a few hours of when we get information back from the scouts if we save it for that. But at the same time, if, gods forbid, we march up there and get decimated... no one in Nerosyan will know. Not until after many more innocent people die. What should we do, Commander?"
Once the more contentious issues are taken care of, Anevia breathes a sigh of relief.
"All right! Well, Isilme's plan sounds right-savvy but we need to actually... know what is going on before we can really commit to a plan of action, yeah? So, let's head out! I'll go get Cyno, Isilme. Should anyone else come along?" Anevia chirps, her bright disposition unquashed by the serious conversation just moments before. "I'm totally ready to go! Are you? Are you? Are you?" she bounces past Xanderghul, Isilme and Ehren, prodding them in the shoulder as she passes.
Before the scouts head out, Markus takes Ary aside. "Commander, do you still want me to raise the giant wasp corpses, as Isilme suggested? Are you still going to speak to the troops about that?"
Having put together their plans together, at least in a rough way, Val elects to retire for the night. She nods with a tired sigh as Ayavah asks her about Ary. "Yes, I was. You don't really need to be worried about her. I'm not going to hurt her. Well, I'll try not to. And you don't need to worry that she's going to hurt you either. I'll make sure she doesn't go spouting off about who you are. And I'll be more careful too." She drops heavily on her bedroll. "I just... I need to know what the hell is going through her head when she decided to go telling people who you were. I need to know if I can trust her to keep private things private or not." She sighs a second time. "Would you mind coming with me to see if she's still up? If you're tired, I can talk to her tomorrow."
"I don't know about that. I think I've had five people over the last two days tell me that I should probably be dead, or in prison, for no apparent reason at all, so I think I have reason to worry..."
Ayavah sits on the ground, cross-legged, busy attacking the stubs of her horns with a large file, grinding them so that they're not visible under her hair. She stops and looks up when Valaria brings up going to find Ary.
"Yeah... okay. Let's go, then."
"I suppose that you do a little bit," Val admits. "I'll do what I can to make sure that doesn't happen."
She heads off to Ary's tent with Ayavah in tow. When they reach the commander's tent, she calls out. "Ary? Are you awake? We still need to talk."
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"Definitely put them on their feet. We'll have to be in absolutely dire straits before I'll let people suffer through wounds. Likewise, with our dead. We'll have to hustle for the first hour to make up for it, but it will be worth it for the morale."
"Also... I've a small speech to give with the funeral." Ary says with a slight frown. "I'm not sure how it will go over, but I know how it would if we didn't bury them."
"I understand that this will be against many of your wishes, and that's why I'm asking you to decide, and talk with one of your superiors about it if you're willing, but any of you who wish to be raised for a short time, in order to defend your former allies, and help defend your stations, should volunteer yourselves. Markus has always been immensely respectful of the dead, and he will assuredly release you as soon as he is able... but it could make the difference between more deaths... and survival."
"With that in mind, I've requested that Markus raise the wasps that the War Council took down. They'll make excellent scouts, as the enemy will no doubt never consider the possibility that they're not wild, or at least not on their side. At the very least, they'll prove useful during battle. I know that this is a lot to think about, but know that it is your own decision, and it will not be forced upon you."
"I am, just writing." Ary responds as she hears Valaria's call.
Val pushes back the flap of Ary's tent and steps inside. "I just need to ask you something. Perhaps it's a bit blunt, but it needs to be asked." She sighs. "What exactly were you thinking when you decided that the best way to handle Ayavah's identity was to brandy it about to other crusaders?"
Metagaming wise:
Non-Metagaming-wise: From Isilme's standpoint The fact is that if the town is already gone there's nothing we can do either way, and it doesn't change the fact that we need to handle them.
If the enemy is not there yet, then every minute counts. Ehren is the only one capable of getting in front of an army and slowing it down. His task is as follows:
We don't have to use this tactic, but I believe this is our best bet at saving the town if there is any chance at saving it at all. We need to slow them down, as they have at least a half-day's march head start. Slowing them down to below half speed for a good portion of the trip (as the traps would likely do, due to the confusion it would cause) gives us an opportunity to catch up.
This is a huge risk for Ehren though, as he's doing a lot of stuff solo, and so it's entirely your choice. I'd be willing to do it on Isilme, but it'll be harder riding, 'cause I'll have to go the long way around the army.
Edit: Also I wanted to point out that Isilme and the other scouts' goal isn't to find the army and ride back. They're proper scouts for an army on the move, riding ahead of the army to give the army warning if anything unexpected is coming. Ehren's goal at the very least is to actually *find* the army, which requires significantly further travel. Isilme and the other scouts shouldn't ever be more than 10-15 min out from the army.
I think our foremost goal is to make sure that we survive to see Drezen. Minimizing losses should play a part in every decision, which is why I suggested leaving our clerics' resources unspent, so that if soldiers fall during battle, they don't outright die... even if our fighting force is weaker for it.
I think our next most important goal is finding out what's going on at Silvershore. To that end, a scouting group should head out ahead of the group and should check out the situation at Silvershore. Normally, I'd advocate for a scouting party, so that when the scouts reached Silvershore, they'd have a variety of abilities at their disposal to handle whatever they found, but since Isilme brings up maybe using spike growth to slow down the enemy army's march, I think Ehren is really the only one that's necessary, and if we have a chance of that plan getting to work, Ehren should leave as soon as possible.
If we must bury the soldiers (and it is looking like Ary is leaning that way) we should send out whomever we can to contribute to the army situation while we cater to our own army's needs. I think sending a scouting party becomes necessary if we're conducting proper funerals for our soldiers. In that situation a scouting party should leave as soon as they're able, and should consist at least of Isilme, Ehren, Anevia and I, even if Ehren is using magic and wild shape to move ahead of us. The reason for this being that if the scouting party moves faster than the army and gets a head start on the army, we could have some chance of being able to do something about the situation in Silvershore a little bit early.
As Ron Swanson once said... don't half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.
Markus nods. "Right. I'll let the medics know we're healing the wounded, and I'll talk to the priests about helping with the burial services."
Sosiel smiles at Ary. "I'm glad we're taking time to honor our dead." He then pauses, fidgeting with Xanderghul's written sending in his hand. "So, are you going to rely on animal messenger, or not? Commander, am I to perform the sending?"
After a bit more, Anevia frowns, listening to Xanderghul and Isilme talk. "Wait wait wait. I'm confused. So is Ehren headed out to Silvershore alone, or are we three going with him?"
Sosiel nods. "Right, well, I'll perform the sending, contacting Commander Valerys and Prelate Miammir."
Chevalier Irabeth crosses her arms. "Well, it seems like you have things under control. I'll let the captains know that you intend to scout ahead as a group." She moves to exit the tent when Anevia bounces up to her and grabs her for a quick kiss.
"Heyheyhey, where do you think you're going without giving a goodbye kiss?" she says, cheekily.
Irabeth embraces her wife. "I'm sorry, little fox, I have a lot on my mind. Stay safe."
They separate and Anevia turns to the group. "Well, you keep saying you want to leave as soon as possible. You ready?"
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Ehren nods to Anevia before brushing some clumps of frozen dirt against his heels, enhancing his speed. What he had not mentioned to Nurah was that an endure elements spell was keeping him comfortable. Stubborn as he was, even he was not crazy enough to leave himself unprotected from such cold weather. He was still shoeless, of course.
"I'm going to go on ahead," he tells the others with a nod, knowing that he would be unable to speak if he wild shaped then. The plan had already been discussed at length, in any case. "I'll see you on the other side."
With that, the druid abruptly shrinks down into a falcon with snowy white plumage and black-striped wings.
"SKREE!"
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The time spent in the command tent had been demanding, Hinagiku had focused all her thoughts to what was going on, even the finer details of the strategy presented by Isilme. Her tail and ears had almost seem cramped at points when she was so focused that she been as motionless as a statue. However, even with all these efforts, Hinagiku still had only glimpsed the general picture, and barely understood any of the details or reasons beyond them. No matter, she would persevere and one day understand the finer points of strategy, or so she thought.
As they are leaving the tent, Hinagiku stops by Markus' side, her brow more relax now that she had to concentrate on more casual matteres.
"Ser Markus, I am sorry if I did not answer your question earlier, but yes, I could heal to troops. I could imbue some soldiers with the healing powers of the Master of masters, simply point me so I can quickly leave with the others."
Once outside:
"Be careful mr. Ehren." Hinagiku gently says as the druid transforms into a bird. She then proceeds to bow awkwardly at the animal as it flies above her.
Afer she is done helping the healers, Hinagiku makes her way to her companions to find the horse prepared for her. She looks at it for a few seconds, she had never mounted such a creature, or even touch one. The closest she had even done was mount a cow when she was much younger. Still, the comparison between the cow and the horse stopped at them having four legs and a coat of black and white, for the creature standing in front of her was much more majestic, agile, and gracious. Mostly clueless, but in changing into human form to spare the creature a fright, the monk walks up to the quadruped, her calm demeanor helping her to keep it under control. After gently patting its neck, Hinagiku accepts the groom’s help and climbs on the saddle.
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She pauses for a moment, "Third, it was to ensure that someone was able to keep watch over her in the event that we did something like we did only hours ago. I am not of a mind that requiring a civilian to be present in the middle of a battle that could kill them with relative ease is a good idea. But neither do I think that letting her run around freely is in any way wise. This goes in several directions. First: She could do something terrible. I do not believe she will, but it's a possibility. Second: She could do absolutely nothing wrong and something terrible could happen, that she was framed for. Like with 'Belle. Third: Someone could do something terrible to her if they found out and took matters into their own hands." she says, ticking off her fingers, her eyes moving from Valaria to the little book in front of her. She sits there for a moment, chewing on her lip, before continuing, with less strength than her voice had been carrying before.
"Now, my question for you is... what did I do to lose your trust?"
She moves throughout the camp, looking for the Underfolk. Once she'd found Lann or Wenduag, she'd take a moment to talk about what happened during the battle - she understood that moving from underground fighting to fighting large groups in wide open spaces was a large change. She simply reinforced that battlefield tactics required some degree of spacing when possible.
But shortly after, she moved on. "The battle resulted in us having multiple prisoners of war. I... don't fully trust them, and I need to place that first in our conversation. But beyond that, they're capable fighters, and some of them have useful skills to us. They've expressed that they feel as though their appearances have marginalized them with most of the Crusaders. First... I would like to know if you've faired better, especially within the army, and second, would you be willing to help to guide the Tieflings? While I trust my men, I feel that your people are much better equipped for helping them without judging them by their appearances. I... also recognize that that may be somewhat marginalizing, and likely very insulting... but I don't know a much better way to make the request than asking someone else to do it for me, and that would be infinitely more insulting, I feel. Many of them, I'll try to give the choice of joining the condemned, but some will have skills that will make them just as useful without joining the prisoner branches. In the meantime, I'd like to make them feel as welcome as a prisoner of war can feel."
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"Perhaps Captain Ilivan has your trust, but neither I nor Ayavah, nor most of our companions for that matter, know anything about him. At least as far as I know. I didn't even know he trained you until you said it just now. I have no way of knowing what you were doing until you had already blurted it out, without telling anyone that you wanted a second opinion on her story. Did it occur to you that you could tell us that you wanted to corroborate her story before you risked her life attempting to do so on your own? Because it's not your life that's put at risk by explaining her identity to someone else. It's hers. Two days ago I nearly started a riot when I accused the crusaders of being too zealous for their own good. Pardon me, but I don't see why a hardened crusader who's been around long enough to be your instructor would have any reaction other than knee jerk violence. Which I might add, almost happened if not for Isilme's quick thinking."
Val sighs and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and slowly counting to five to keep herself from getting too worked up. "I... cannot fault your last point." She glances back at the other tiefling. "No offense intended Ayavah, but you're not a fighter really. As you've said yourself, you're an artist. I believe everyone would be happier if you didn't have to be right in the fighting. And while I don't believe that you would do something awful, but I fear that your... recklessness could get you or someone else hurt or worse if you were left entirely to your own devices."
"You're going to have to be more specific. Do you think that you lost my trust because I'm questioning your decision? Or because I didn't tell you that I met Ayavah? I still trust you, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to question you or that I'm going to take what you say on faith. I'm not going to trust someone just because you do. Nor do I expect you to trust someone I trust blindly. I don't care that you question Ayavah's integrity. If you need to be certain of who she is and that she speaks the truth of her beliefs and purpose, then I implore you to do whatever necessary. I would rather have you investigating her so you can find the truth than sit around with distrust simmering between the two of you."
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"There's an old Parable about a man named Damocles. I'll save you the details, and jump straight to the point. The man placed a razor sharp sword over his head, and tied it by a string. You can take a lot of things from the story, but what I've taken is that you should regard every decision you make as possibly your last... which is fitting in this instance." she says, rubbing her temples, before looking to Valaria.
"By keeping her alive, knowing who and what she is, I've already made a choice. A choice that could lead down a very terrible path, but 'I will guard the honor of my fellows, both in thought and deed, and I will have faith in them.'" she intones. "I can, and effectively have vouched for Ayavah. Anything terrible that she does, falls at my feet as well as hers, but until some sort of proof is offered up, the choices I've made, have already placed her within my protection." she says, looking to Ayavah at this point. "While you've caused a great deal of trouble since you've arrived, much of that... upon thinking about it, was likely due to a combination of misunderstanding on my part and overzealousness on Valaria's part."
She looks back to Valaria, before breaking eye contact again. "Not in questioning my decisions, no... but in questioning the reasons for my decisions. I can't imagine that I've done anything in the time that you've known me that would make you believe I would risk this woman's life. At what point have I endangered anyone without expressly giving them the opportunity to choose otherwise, with the exception of during combat? How many times have I stuck my neck out to protect someone else's?" she asks, face scrunching in dismay and pain at the notion.
"No, in every way, it's been the opposite. As long as you don't actively endanger our mission, you're in no danger at all." she says, looking to Ayavah, before looking back to Valaria once more. "But if she does, then there's nothing anyone can do to help me. As for Ser Ilivan, Ser Ilivan might as well be my second father. When I failed to become a paladin, he accepted me into his training. He would not have drawn his blade on her unless I gave the order, she attempted to attack us, or she chose to run. That is the reaction I had expected from him. The average Crusader does not immediately kill every person they meet that might be evil. Even veterans. The fact that you threatened him directly for even reaching for his sword is beyond me... and could have made things much, much worse. Please, in the future, refrain from threatening those under my command. One of my oaths deals in that, as well."
She huffs, before continuing. "Remember, that when you tried to warn them about being overzealous, I was there, and I stood beside you. I was there when we watched how Jeslyn became who she was. But remember also, that we must be temperate and moderate in our actions. We can't change a century of fear and hate with a story or a few words. We can only live as examples of what we want others to strive to be. As much as you and Isilme can sway the world with honeyed words, and as much as a bard can change the minds in some far-off land, or a preacher can change a child's life... none of those things can make up for the grandparents we'll never meet, the children who were murdered, our friends who were lost through our own mistakes. The Crusades have learned not to trust, and the demons wield that distrust as one of their strongest weapons. It's that distrust that divides us as much as they inherently are divided... but it will take much more than words to bridge that gap."
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"As for risking her life... I don't believe you would do so intentionally. But you are an honest person. Lies, deceptions, even simple concealment of knowledge does not come very easily to you. I do not believe that you would intentionally endanger someone's life, but I can see that you might endanger someone entirely by accident simply because your nature makes it hard for you to keep things... discreet. And as for giving her the opportunity to choose not to endanger her life... did you ask if she was comfortable having you asking another crusader who she has never met to confirm her story? Did you explain why you trust him and ask if we were comfortable trusting him as well? Obviously not, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Honestly, every time I hear one of your crusader oaths, I see more of the problem. You are trained to have implicit faith in your comrades with no questions asked. And they are trained to have the same in you. I'm not a trusting person Ary. The fact that I consider you a friend is something of a new thing for me. So excuse me, but I'm the last person who will give faith with no question. You can't treat me like one of your crusader friends and expect me to react the same way. There's a reason I refused to take the oath and join the crusades in full. I don't believe in them, not like you do. I don't believe in implicit faith or in blind optimism. I didn't even have faith in my goddess until she actually came down and told me that she cared about me!"
She takes another breath to keep her voice level. "Perhaps I reacted too quickly when Ser Ilivan's hand went to his sword, but no more than two days ago I watched crusaders, the very men that make up this army, about to draw blades because their bigoted priest wanted to declare me a heretic, a heretic of a religion I'm not part of, for telling a story about the dangerous of overzealousness and blind faith. And not even on me, but on their own comrades who disagreed with their interpretation of my story! For every you, or Anevia, or Irabeth I've met, I've also met a Loitr or an Ebonus. Can you blame me for seeing every crusader as a potential zealot ready to draw his blade and smite anyone who has even a chance of being his enemy? As I said, I have no idea who Ser Ilivan is. You are expecting me to have faith in someone on the ground that you do and that should be good enough for me! I have been stabbed in the back far too many times to have faith in anyone the first time I meet them, no matter who says otherwise."
She throws up her hands. "And now we speak in circles. You are sworn to have faith in your comrades, but the crusaders have no trust in anyone else, which the demons use against them. Has no one in a hundred years pointed out the foolishness of this mindset?!" She bites her tongue before she spirals off on an unrelated tangent. "The heart of the matter, as I see it, is that you seem to be expecting me to follow your crusader virtues when I have sworn no such oaths and don't even know most of them. Just because your faith tells you to do something, do not expect the same from me. I am not a crusader. I am not an Iomedean. I'm a person here trying to help people and do the right thing my way."
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"I'm more than aware that the Crusades have their own set of issues. Issues that they've caused on their own. And once again... I'm trying to fix that by setting an example. By assuming that every Crusader you meet is a potential enemy, you create terrible situations for yourself. By assuming that the singular man, that I specifically chose to talk to about the subject was going to endanger your friend, you completely overlooked who I am. I'm not asking that you trust Ser Ilivan. I'm asking you to trust me. And if you don't think I've earned that, then... I don't know." Ary shrugs helplessly.
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Ayavah stays silent, standing behind Valaria awkwardly during their discussion, wringing her hands with anxiety.
"I don't think the issue is that she doesn't trust you, ma'am, it's that you didn't think to discuss what you were doing with her..." she falters. "I mean, if we had it my way, none of you would know about me except Val. But Val told you guys the truth because she trusted you. But you can't go around telling people's secrets without asking first... even Val asked me if it was okay to tell you guys before she did. That's just what friends do, right?"
Wenduag nods. "Understood, Commander."
Lann thinks over Ary's request. "We'll do what we can, but you know, we honestly don't know what its like to be persecuted as they do. Since we've come to the surface, really, people have been quite gracious. We've been fortunate to have people like the Tirablades help integrate us into surface life. Those tieflings... had no Tirablades to help them. We've had some rude stares and ignorant comments, but nothing on the scale of being born into this world alone and different."
"But at the very least, with us, we won't think of them any different for their appearance, as would some of the soldiers here. Are you saying you wish to integrate them in with our squad? Or do you want us to watch over them while they're chained up?"
The heroes leave to get ready while Ary heads to watch over the funeral rites. Markus leads the procession, devoting a few prayers to Pharasma, the lady of Graves, that she may help guide their souls to the afterlife. Afterwards, Father Cassiel delivers a sermon for the Iomedaeans, imploring the faithful to not mourn, but to celebrate their brothers and sisters induction into the celestial armies of Heaven. Then elderly Sister Vola offers prayers to the Dawnflower for the Sarenrites of Fort Ahari, setting their bodies aflame on small funeral pyres, their souls cleansed and ready for eternal Nirvana. The Iomedaeans are buried and wooden crosses are left to mark their graves. Many Crusader's Crosses are recovered, and once the conflict is over, they will be sent back to the soldier's loved ones.
After the burial some of the crusaders stand before the procession to give some words about the departed - funny anecdotes, memories of fallen friends. Aron Kir stands to talk about Captain Garidan Sharne - "I don't know what that man saw in me, but without his guidance I wouldn't be half the man I am today. He never saw me just as a Condemned.... he saw a lost, poor Taldane kid, without any purpose in life. Someone worth saving."
Afterwards Ary speaks of raising the dead - perhaps not the greatest timing for a discussion like that - but it gives Markus the freedom to raise the giant wasps.
While the funeral goes on the rest of the heroes depart on horseback, Ehren assuming the form of a gyrfalcon, flying overhead. Isilme conjures up a magical flute and plays a familiar tune that mimics the sound of galloping hooves before they depart.
You fly for an hour, your magically enhanced speed allowing you to cover ground more than twice as fast as your army can. You make it 24 miles before you need to slow down your blazing pace, and your friends are out of sight and message range.
You come upon a large military encampment, manned by approximately 100 soldiers, mostly tieflings. They don't seem to be paying much attention to a random falcon flying overhead. Silvershore is still nearly an hour and a half by air away, are you going to keep moving, or pause to take a better look?
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She nods at Ayavah's statement. "And that's the other half of the problem. Taking something that we told you in confidence and sharing it without someone else without permission or even asking what we think is, if anything, abusing the trust I have in you."
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