Unrak gives the order to FULL CHARGE!! ALL OUT!! driving the army forward in a reckless charge!!
and the surging troops finally find the gaps in the defenders' ranks!!
Offense
Shields: Offense = 26, Damage = 17
Raiders: , Damage = 0
Unrak plays a gamble, setting up a springboard on his soldiers' shoulders to launch himself over the enemy's shields into their back ranks. The risky maneuver pays off, and the tide finally breaks, as Marchland swords make a red ruin of the Raiders' shield wall. The last survivors flee southward into the swamps.
The day is yours!
As your exhausted soldiers make camp near the ruins of the watchtower, a captain brings a burly man, hands and feet tied, to your tent and dumps him at your feet. He bears several wounds and his mouth is gagged, but his eyes spit fire. "Trask," the captain explains. He also hands you a casualty list: 15 dead, 12 wounded.
Unrak puts the casualty list aside--mourning will come, but not this moment. He towers over the captive, returning his fire with interest. He hunkers down so they're closer, and removes the gag.
So you're the leader of the failed Tatzylford attack, and of this failed defense. I've wondered why Drelev started poking his nose into our lands--if it was just his being greedy and stupid, or if there was more to it. You high enough on the food chain to know the answer, Trask?
He pauses . I mean, I expect SOME loyalty, but only to an point. That uppity twit won't fight his own battles, how much loyalty can he command? He glances over his shoulder at Taranis and the rest of the Huntsmen in silent demonstration of *actual* leaders.
Trask just spits at your feet in response, then glares some more.
Unrak snorts. So, not high enough on the food chain, I thought so. That fop doesn't seem to know how to hire good help...
*glares*
Trask's demeanor seems notably hostile.
"Hard and well fought brother."
Taranis turns to Trask, "I care not for his fate, let the Marshall decide. Meanwhile I'd speak to any survivors..."
You count 25 enemy dead on the field, along with a half-dozen too wounded to flee. The rest are gone, and those that remain are unlikely to survive the night.
Bytor tries to get Trask to talk by playing "good cop". He endeavors to calm him down and get him talking.
"Aemon Trask, I am Bytor Sniegsun, Grand Diplomat, for Lord Taranis. I am honored to meet you. I understand that you fought nobly for Drelev in the battle for Tatzylford. I commend you for your bravery and your cunning attack."
"I am here to visit with you and see how you are feeling with regards to Lord Drelev. He doesn't seem to be a noble character with his recent ruthless actions. Is that the type of character you possess? It just seems that you are bound to lose by serving a lord of that sort. Have you considered what it would be like to be on the winning side of a battle? You have some choices before you that could help you redeem your past actions. Would you consider talking to me about some of the choices before you?"
Taranis lets Bytor do his thing, though he feels that Trask's fate will be found in the new prison.
He then gathers the veterans, civilians, and the Huntsmen...
"Everyone, let us mark this victory today with a solemn appreciation for those who have given their last full measure. We stand her nine days shy of our fourth anniversary. When we first set out, writ in hand we had adventure in our hearts and curiosity to guide us. In that time the Marchlands have burst onto the world stage like a bolt from Gozreh himself! Our focus has been internal, a slow and deliberate cultivation of learning, nature, art, and prosperity. But now Drelev threatens this modus vivendi. For the first time a foreign power has spilled our blood. We turn our attention now to not in replacement of an Enlightened Vision, but in defense of it! Know that the Huntsmen will provide and The Marchlands shall flourish! Long Live the Marchlands!"
Trask glowers silently at Bytor with an unfriendly countenance, but the old professor feels that his words had some positive impact, and the prisoner is considering his words.
The Duke's speech is met with an enthused cheer... although many of the soldiers go right back to looting the dead and squabbling over the spoils.
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Bytor takes the improvement in countenance as a positive sign. He continues to make chat with him over time and ultimately tries to get some of the following questions answered.
"You could make your position much more amenable here with a few helpful answers. Where are Drelev's forces held up and what does he have for defenses."
Trask arches an eyebrow skeptically, as if to imply doubt that you could offer anything worthwhile.
”Do you really think Drelev is even thinking about you? I’ve never met such a self centered man. It’s too bad he could never appreciate what you can do. Taranis on the other hand is rather good to his people. He has a vision for a world worth living for. What kind of a world do you want to live in?”
"I don't like toads as a rule," Trask finally breaks his silence in a guttural growl, "an' much less a toad workin' for a rube. But you wanna deal, I'll deal. I can give you Drelev's location, how many men he's got left, an' a bit about the town. What're you offerin' for it?"
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"I don't like toads as a rule," Trask finally breaks his silence in a guttural growl, "an' much less a toad workin' for a rube. But you wanna deal, I'll deal. I can give you Drelev's location, how many men he's got left, an' a bit about the town. What're you offerin' for it?"
"I will admit, that Lord Taranis does not like me going this light on you, but I can offer you your life and banishment from The Marchlands. You would also need to give an oath to never take up arms against us on penalty of death. Naturally, this is contingent on the veracity of the information you give us. Do we have an agreement?"
Trask laughs coldly. "Ha! I'll tell you right, an' give ya an oath, but you're lettin' me go today. I'm not gonna spill just to have you chuck me in prison for a decade 'til you 'ver-i-fy.' Not sure you're man enough to handle it proper, anyhow."
Augrym will cast Discern Lies on the prisoner when he makes his statement. But will ask permission first…
”New prisoner friend Trask, I will cast a spell on you to ensure you are telling us the truth. If you are telling the truth about the location and all other information honey tongued friend Bytor asks for, you have nothing to worry about. If you lie to us, we will know right away and I will punch you in the face. Agreed?”
"Oh, so the toad's friends with a rat, eh? Whatever, princess. You get me outta these ropes, and I'll hold up my end of the bargain."
Unrak immediately and wordlessly goes to remove the bindings.
Bytor watches silently as his companions release the prisoner from his bindings. He then waits to hear what useful information is coming.
"Right. Drelev stays up in his castle most o' the time. The town's a four day march south, if you stay outta the swamps. Right on the edge o' the Hooktongue. He's got more men than you've got, and some hill giants too. The town's got some walls that weren't finished when I left, an' probably ain't now either, but the castle is finished all right. The town's been bleeding slowly fer a while now, but orders are to keep trade movin' along, both by road an' river, so folks are hangin' on."
"That's about all I can tell ya. Oh, and," here Trask shifts to a mocking tone, "I solemnly swear never to pick a fight with you lot again. Happy now? This's been fun. See you never."
Trask leaves the tent and heads north.
After....
"Huntsmen. Let us strike while the iron is hot. If we travel quickly we can take Drelev OUR way before they even know. Let us move!"
"It's going to be expensive, but I think we should bring the Shields with us. We'll only get one chance at surprise."
Might be worthwhile to bring all our forces, if he's got more men AND a defensive position.
After a long morning of discussion and argument , the Huntsmen eventually decide to leave the Shields behind and travel south alone. Following Trask's directions, they hug the western edge of the Slough as they press south. On [color=teal]16th Desnus[/color], they finally lay eyes on Fort Drelev.
The town is situated on the edge of Lake Hooktongue, on a hill above the northern bank of the Glenebon River. The hill itself is dominated by Keep Drelev, the baron's massive castle, while the rest of the town occupies the space between the hill and the docks. A partially completed wooden wall surrounds the town up to the water's edge. Even at a distance, you can see many guards manning the Keep's walls, the gatehouses in the wooden wall, and the lone watchtower that guards the gap in the wall along the northwest. Still, a trickle of carts and other traffic occasionally make their way in or out of the gates.
"Interesting." Pulling his hood over his headband, Taranis motions towards the town. "We should be ready to beat a hasty retreat, but let's take the town's temperature. If we're lucky, they're itching to throw off Drelev's mantle. If they love him, we have a different problem."
Unrak gives an evil grin. We know they don't love him, brother. Remember the Lady's words at Tatzylford after we won? We're going to save Terrion Numesti is what we're going to do!! While we're there, we'll get a better understanding of the forces here, then march back in force and liberate the town. And THEN we'll find these Tiger Lords and pay them their due as well!!
"Sounds good brother."
"Sounds good brother."
Taranis takes to the sky to scout Drelev itself,
Taranis gets a literal bird's eye view of Fort Drelev. From above, he can see both Keep Drelev castle on its hill and the large town spilling about the wharf below. The castle walls are constantly manned, and he even sees a couple of giants milling about the stables below. More soldiers wander the streets of the town in groups, along with the occasional civilian, and guard both of the town's gates and the watchtower.
When Tar comes back to report, Unrak lets out a long breath. Good thing we didn't decide to march here, we'd be done before we started. Alright...we infiltrate and free Numesti, and see how that plays out.
"It seems like the info was good. Now, what's the plan? Those armies look like they've set up quite a defense in here."
Unrak reaches into a pouch, and takes out a jade ring. Rolling it in his huge fingers, he gazes at it a moment before his fist closes on it.
We find the Velvet Corner, and contact Satinder. I'm willing to bet that she'll give us a good place to hide, and plan our jailbreak.
He looks at Taranis. Brother, how about you change form again, and scout the town proper? Find the Velvet Corner. And maybe you can give Satinder the ring, get this ball rolling? It's probably best if only one of us make contact rather than everyone, savvy?
"Sounds good. Mind you, this will be my last opportunity to do this until the morrow."
Taranis opts for a stray cat, and sets about the town...
Taranis slinks into town unnoticed by just about everybody. The rare civilian in the street hurries about their business and pays him no mind; the many guards mostly ignore him, though a couple try to kick him a few times for a laugh.
The Velvet Corner is one of the town's larger buildings, and certainly its loudest: raucous laughter, calls for bets, shouts of joy or anger, and more intimate sounds of pleasure leak into the street. A woman wearing only a fur coat leans against the sill of an upper window, taking in the cool spring air and looking down on the muddy walk below. She blows Taranis a kiss as he pads by. The gambling hall and brothel has a constant stream of customers coming and going, mostly soldiers and militiamen looking to while away their off-duty hours.
After, the Duke reports back, "No time like the present gentlemen. Let's go."
The sun is setting by the time that Taranis reports back.
The way I see it, it would be best if only one of us contacted Satinder first. I'd suggest either Tar, who can sneak in and out again like he just did, or Bytor, who can talk his way out of any trouble--and who probably wouldn't be recognized by most folk here anyway. Give her the ring, and my money is on her having a place we might meet in private so we don't all NEED to be disguised.
If you all don't like this, then my next suggestion would be to try to waylay a group of guards and use their gear to move about town.
"Huntsmen, is there a way for us to affect their fortifications before we leave here? Could I go invisible and set fire to the watchtower, for example? After our mission, of course."
"No let's not destroy the infrastructure unless we have to. Our goal is to inspire the hearts of the people to defect. I'm willing to enact my brother's plan if others like it."
When no one objects, Taranis disguises himself as a simple tracker and heads in to make contact with Satinder .
"The plan that great leader brother friend Taranis has come up with to listen to another's plan is brilliant. More great planning from our great leader. This is why he will always be in charge."
Indeed... says Unrak with a totally straight face
The guard at the gate looks Taranis up and down. "State your business."
"Commerce. I need supplies. It's hard for a man to be completely self-reliant you know."
The man frowns at him for a bit. "Supplies, huh. I'll let you pass, but you won't find much. An' know that we've got a strict curfew: you don't wanna find yourself in the streets after dark." He grins. "Trust me."
"Thanks for the warning. What time is curfew?" Taranis will continue on, but
"Sundown."