Dragon's Egg - Act III

[SomethingToPonder]

I look at mauve, My distaste for her seems to be growing every time she shoots me a smart remark, Im not one to be too sentimental, But there comes a point where everyone just takes things too far and it seems as if she was doing just that.
"No problem"
I turn back towards the map analysing it again for maybe some sort of clue or hint towards a tactic we could use.
"perhaps we could send a few people up the cliffs, Pull the sentrys over the edge and drop them into the rocks below, Timing it so there are no patrolling guards near. Not only will it avoid a conflict and get the guards out of a battle before it begins, But it allows us to get a few people up into the village from that angle. I think it may be a very grave mistake if we barricaded ourself into a Place and it got set alight, We would be in some serious trouble at that point. Ok, Just a couple of my ideas, Il leave the decision making up to you lot."

 

[SeverinR]

"The problem with that is, falling tends to bring distressing screams. Which tends to draw attention to the area."
"We are out numbered about four to one. We need a place to make a stand that they can't overwhelm us by their shear numbers. The more we kill before they can mass the better. But when they do mass, we need to have their number down to at least two to one or they will hack us to pieces from all angles. I believe if we can mount a suprise attack, we can kill almost 1/4 of their number in the first round. So getting it down to two to one sholdn't be too difficult."

"Battle count, there is 14 dogfaces, 16 goblins with 6 wargs. Ladies and Gentleman, please no hand feeding the wargs, Cadell." I look around with mock concern, hiding a smile."

[edited since count is 36 and we have 8 people, so its 4 to 1, almost 5 to 1.)

"I feel we must get into the crow before we attack, we will have more people that could help, we would have a building to limit thier entry to attack us."
"Warriors could charge out make a kill and return to the doors when the battle turned, while archers rained down on the confused battle scene. Shooting the approaching attackers while the warriors killed below."

 

[Ireth]

((Good to know where the enemy is, but where are we on the map? The Temple of Gefjon, or that of Tyr?))

Cadell

I snort at Aliron's remark, but smirk despite myself. "Don't worry, I don't plan to."

I fall silent again, weighing our options. An escape by sea does not appeal to me, especially if swimming becomes necessary. I suppose someone could hold my head above the water, but their arms are bound to get tired eventually, and I do not wish to be a burden to the group, especially in a literal sense.

"Aliron is right. As long as we have the element of surprise, we have an advantage. The problem lies with getting to the Crow unnoticed. We can use buildings as cover, but they will only help so much. Those wargs and dog-faces are sure to have a keen sense of smell, and even if they can't see us, they will no doubt smell us, sea or no sea."

 

[SeverinR]

irish folk song - Bing Videos

The sound of someone softly singing in the distance on the road

"They come over here and they take all our land
They chop of our heads and they boil them in oil
Our children are leaving and we have no heads
We drink and we sing and we drink and we die

We have no heads, we have no heads

They come over here and they chop off our legs
They cut off our hands and put nails in our eyes
O'Grady is dead and O'Hanrahan's gone
We drink and we die and continue to drink

O'Hanrahan, no O'Hanrahan"
A tall muscular red headed man with a large ax on his shoulder walks happily towards town, he has not noticed the smoke and activity of the town.

 

[Steerpike]

((The party isn't on the map. You're well away from the village, and the map is based on Aliron's reports of what is going on at the village. From the rise of the road where you are, you can see Srilkind in the distance. The edge of the tree line is perhaps half a mile away, and the village is another 100 yards beyond that)).

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Okay… Alin, I can help get the boats. I'll need to go without armor for a while when we're close, if you think it's best I swim for the boat closest to shore.

"I may not be built for stealth, but… I can hold my breath longer than most.

"Also, Mauve and I were talking while Barnwen took a dump. We both are in agreement that Nissa can help. There's more than one way I can call upon her assistance. However, which she does depends on where Mauve plans to be."

I leave it to Mauve to announce her plan.

 

[SeverinR]

"Maybe Nissa could carry a torch or lantern into the woods and come up for the sentry's to see, and draw them into the woods? That might assist Mauve in escaping once she has put her plan in motion. I will... what the..?"
Aliron turns toward the song.
"An irish tune?" Aliron frowns, "sung badly?"
"I don't think he is drunk, so thats a plus."
Silently Aliron sprints towards the approaching man.
"Barbarian, shut up!" He leaps out in front of the large human, who flips the axe effortlessly around to keep Aliron at bay.

"Aliron? You scared da chit outta me. What you doin out in the woods scarrin people fer?"

"Lower your voice, danger is near."

"You need help? I can swing me axe for ya. Point me to da enemy. Any enemy of yers is an enemy of mine. You buy the first round at the tavern when its over. They got a tavern in town? I got a mean thirst."

"The enemy has the tavern surrounded."

"Then they are really on me bad side now."

"Quietly follow me over here."
"I'm not very quiet." he stomps after Aliron as he leads him to the group.

"Damnation, I need to pay more attention, you gots a whole party in the trees here."
"Hello all, I am Bressel, of Clan McAlmond."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Bressel? Of clan McAlmond?"

((@Severin, would his clan be from Baldy's mountain? It is made up of half Ullr-worshippers. It's mostly druids who follow Ullr, but druids and barbarians have been intermarrying for centuries there.

You can answer this indirectly in-character. If he's from the Iron Mountain, he'll know of the Eisenbergs.))

"I am Baldhart Eisenberg. Glad to meet you. If you're a friend of Alin's, I know you can be trusted. Glad to have your help."

 

[SeverinR]

[[Did not know, his history has his family driven out by invaders, could be a small family squabble so that will work. They never met but have heard of each others families]]
Bressel:
"Eisenberg, ye say. I heard of some Eisenberg's on Iron mountain, some said they can't hold their liquor, but I don't know, never met one, and McAlper has been known to stretch the truth a good bit."
" That be a nice sword there, but myself I prefer a good hefty axe."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"A half truth. We can hold our liquor, but prefer to be more sober than the patrons so when bar fights break out, we win. Many of the taverns on my mountain are run by Eisenbergs. The Staggering Mermaid, the Yodeling Ox, the Two-Tailed Piglet… my uncle and dad run—" Don't say mountain. Don't say import-export business. "—the Blue Moon, up at the peak."

Crap. First Algy, now this guy. Every time we meet another barbarian I sound so… highborn. No. Ladylike. Of course I won't talk like the men.

"Alin, aren't you going to introduce us all—especially our little girl?" I stroke Branwen's ha—

OUR little girl? Do you realize how that sounded, Baldy?

Like I wanted Alin to introdu—

It sounded not ladylike!

Oh, you mean like…? But he won't think… Whoops.

 

[Nihal]

"Hello..." What do I call him? 'Barbarian' sounds so savage!

"Uh, the plan. Yes. Better say it now. How much time do you think you will take to secure the boats? I shall move east under the cover of the trees until I reach the cliff. If the wind keeps blowing north I am going to provide something interesting to the dogs chase." I grin.

"It is up to you to decide in which moment I use which distraction. Hopefully all the spells will work on the first try. I can whisper, like I said, and once in the cliffs I intend to creep on them and sound blast a patrol. I am also considering use darkness on a feather and letting it free in the wind.

"Nissa can help either when I whisper or blast them, giving them something to chase. Forget the fire signal, I will move to the Crow and catch you either fighting or boarding the boats. We need to decide when I should use which distraction and make sure we act in synchrony." I mess Branwen's hair. "To execute this plan, unfortunately, I can not take Branwen. I do not know if a watcher will decide to look down, forcing me into the sea."

 

[SomethingToPonder]

"Pleased to meet you brecel, I am aldin."
Aldin greets the barbarian graciously and shakes his hand as a sign of respect.
"We may Need the assistance when we get into battle my friend, But to start with it looks as if we are going to need to be quiet do you think you can handle that?"

((Perhaps the barbarian could guard the child?))

 

[Ireth]

((I thought his name was Aldar?))

Cadell

I don't quite know what to make of this newcomer. He reminds me a lot of Algernon; I wonder if they are related. I don't recall Algernon mentioning his surname.

"A pleasure indeed, Bressel. I hope you can be of aid to us, and we to you. I am Cadell."

Líadan

I smile and incline my head to Bressel. "And I am Líadan. What brings you to this place, friend?" He did not seem to notice the smoke or the enemies until they were pointed out to him, much less the full number of our party.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Barbarians don't babysit! Waste of talent.))


Mauve mentioned Nissa, but…

"Do you mean you will blast them, or do you want Nissa to blast them? She could, in fact… but she'd have to get into the Crow first, and get the biggest bottle of flammable liquor she can carry. I think I can get her to talk to Burnbright without being noticed, but getting her liquor… if she stays hidden by the fireplace until we come in, I could get her the bottle.

"A flaming object falling from the sky is a distraction that comes with pain. And the enemy will likely chase her for fire-bombing them.

"Well, three possible uses for Nissa:

"One - she distracts on the way to the boats.

"Two - she appears inside the Crow and tells Burnbright we're coming, so the men in the Crow don't panic when we open the back door. Fire-bombing is optional.

"Three - she distracts when we're at the Crow so any failure to maintain silence on our part goes unnoticed thanks to a tiny flying naked lady with a torch."

 

[SomethingToPonder]

((No i didnt mean as a babysitter, But if we were pursued or they were discovered who would be a better guardian than a barbarian? Im sure he could protect her until we managed to get back to them))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Also, are we going to bring all three boats to evacuate the Crow, or are we just going to fight them by putting archers in every window and every fighter by the door?"

I draw a crude map. ((Pretend it's not this detailed, I didn't want to spend more than a minute since I didn't have to.))

In orange chalk I draw a line on the right of the map. "Water is south. We go on the west side of town, we may run into a few enemies. We kill who we can't avoid. We only walk on the dock not so close to the crow."

In yellow, I draw a path from the little boat to the big. "We row to the big boat. If we need a third," I draw a line in blue, "I'll swim for it—if we haven't been spotted. Once we have all the boats we need, we head into sea enough not to be noticed and move to the Crow. From there, it's either ropes or just hop the fence and enter in the back way.

"If everyone agrees to this much, all we need to do is name our best distraction ideas, then move out."

 

[Nihal]

"I like the idea of her throwing fire at them; although I like to think of myself as highly effective we know it is not true. Make Burnbright get the bottle for Nissa, then she can fly to me hidden by the cliff and indicate the right time to act.

"Do you think twenty minutes is enough for you reach the boats? I believe I can cover the distance and be at the right spot in this time. We should only fight if there are enough men inside the Crow." I look at her with a sly smile. "I would kill for a hot bath, clean clothes and a comb.

"Here, take my rope, you will need it. It is light, but strong." I hand over the rope. "You will swim... Do you need the ring?"

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

"I see a small flaw in this plan, or at least a cause for questioning. How long can Nissa stay in material form, and how long does it take for her to regain the ability once she disappears? We will have to be careful about exactly when she first appears, so she has the maximum time to enact her part."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Yes… unless you need it as a fail-safe. I won't be in water long, so I can likely handle the cold. Only give me the ring if you're sure you won't swim."

I laugh. "Option two with fire was my preference. Nissa's too!

"Nissa meeting you is fine. It'll be hard for her to get to you without being spotted, though, because of her need for a torch. Where will you be? If she can fly seaside to you within four minutes, she can likely get back in time to drop the fire.

"Another way is to signal you by flying as high as she can. You're likely to see her first that way, since only you would know to watch above the Crow. If you like that as a signal, how long should Nissa wait to drop. The blast would serve as a signal for archers to open fire. Fighters rush when one of the archers—Alin?—tells us to."

And if there is no fight…

Right!

"Oh… and Mauve, to answer your concern about having enough men, once Nissa's inside, we'll know if the men have the numbers and will to fight. If it's a non-violent escape, Nissa will come to you and tell you where a boat will pick you up."



EDIT-

"Cadell, if Nissa appears by the fire, we won't need her for very long. I would only expect one blast from her. She may need to dive and will herself away just before hitting the ground.

"Don't expect multiple fire bombs… or anything nearly as devastating as her previous fire attack.

"Oh, and if she disappears, you won't see her again for hours."

 

[Nihal]

"Her problem would be getting out of the Crow without being spotted. Once out she should fly near the sea, so the cliff can hide the light from them. I will not be able to see much of anything, I shall avoid the edge until I am in position to lower the chances of being caught. When she warns Burnbright I will be waiting already, here," I point to the cliff, right at the eastern edge of the town.

"I do not know if I will need to swim. I would rather not—is there someone who will not swim for sure?"