Dragon's Egg - Act III

[Nihal]

"Do not go alone, boy," I call Skari before he leaves. "No one should ever wander alone, we are too close to the dark lands."

Following Baldhart to get a good view of her drawing, I stroke Branwen's hair, contemplating different strategies to reach the city. "We need to attract as many we can away from this place to get in."

The trick we almost attempted down there is not good enough given... My eyes widens a little, the beginnings of a different plan swirling in my head. No, it's an incredibly stupid idea certain to fail given the gaps in my knowledge of the situation. I should wait and hear their ideas first, doing this would to place myself in unnecessary danger. No.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Thank you for that lovely image, Baldhart."

Oh… how insensitive do I look?

"Sorry, Sir Cadell… I don't intend to make light of the fate of your horse or Sir Matthew's. Just trying not to sound so morbid. Guess I blew it."

"We need to attract as many we can away from this place to get in."

"Arrows are one way. Heartseeker could strike the most dangerous of them… though from my experience—getting shot by that damn thing, I mean—it does little damage-wise if healers can undo the damage. If they don't have healers, Heartseeker could bring both fear and damage."

I watch the boy mark the map.

I whisper to Mauve, "Let's hope he uses a lot of green."

 

[Ireth]

Líadan

I look over the map, speaking to Baldhart. "My devotion to Oercus gives my arrows more than the standard amount of damage as well, though they do not have quite the accuracy of Heartseeker. Though you make a good point about healers."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Healers can't heal forever," I reply. "No offense meant. Point is, while they heal, you reload. When they're out of magic we still have arrows… not that it will be so easy, of course!"

 

[Ireth]

Líadan

I nod slowly. "True... though I may need to take time to heal others as well. I cannot heal and fight at the same time any more than they can."

Cadell

I look over the map, my jaw clenching at the ever-growing number of dots, mainly the white ones. My stump aches at the memory of when I last fought wargs; I promise myself that none of these will acquire a taste for my flesh. I cannot afford to lose another hand.

 

[Nihal]

"No, no fighting. Four to one, remember? I had something different in mind. A patch of darkness would be quite noticeable in a clear day. Then I could trick them into thinking that an enemy... you know, was near." I shake my head. "This plan is weak."

I feel the impatience tugging at me from a dark corner of my mind.

 

[SeverinR]

As the map is updated with enemy, I offer:
"What do you make of the big dogs? Think they might be the leaders of this attack?"

"We need to kill the leadership, but we also have an army of goblins and wargs to deal with."
"I believe first shot, go for leaders. The wargs units will rally, second shot might be good to go leadership again. Then we need to cut down as many of the quick moving teams as we can, before they are on us.
We could have the non-missle fighters concealed so as to suprise the wargs, if we have somewhere to do that.
We might need the non-missle fighters to use shields to block arrow attacks on us too. Although I don't think they will have enough archers to fill the air with arrows.

"If I can identify a field comander, I might consider a death shot. Probably wouldn't kill but might disrupt them enough to gain an advantage.
That is if we decide for a full attack."

"Now for stealth...Hard to sneak into a sieged building during daylight with so many eyes watching. If there is no urgency, we might consider waiting until dark. Otherwise our group is not meant for quiet operation, Ankari and I are the only silent movers and I think the few we could kill before they discovered us would not be enough to risk it."
"It might be a psychological triumph, if we could get in to the building overnight unseen. But again moving so many, not accustomed to moving quietly, might give us away."

"We might find a target of opportunity that could distract the masses while we begin the slaughter. Maybe setting a valuble wagon on fire? We...Ankari and I, could slip in and kill a few guards, and slip out. But that tactic would probably take to long to be overly useful."

our final plan will probably depend on the encamped enemy and how motivated they are to engage the tavern versus the people in the tavern throwing out the ones they want and begging for mercy."

"There is the hope for the horses, a few mounted chargers might mix up the melee enough to confuse them?"
"Having said that, I would suggest finding the mounts just to keep it as an option."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Darkness, mounts and arrows all sound good to me. I would hope we can get to the horses before we're discovered."

Especially after Cadell heard my hamburg comment. I gotta remember elves hear very well!

"Leaders? I think so. About targeting the big dogs, I would certainly suggest archers find the most dangerous foe and fill him with arrows, then focus on the next and the next. Weaker opponents should only be targeted when they get in the way of the strongest.

"As Mauve says, we do NOT go out of our way to fight. Once melee begins, so does getting wounded. We almost got killed in a battle with equal numbers and roughly equal strength—Calexa being the strongest, of course—and… Darin did. Our best hope is that the enemies are spread to different sides of the Crow, and we can take one side out before others join. Our other great hope is that when one side is clear, men in the Crow become emboldened and join.

"Not to sound overly optimistic, but if there are survivors—strong men—scattered about, maybe we can rally them to join as well. Now that we have new weapons, we have old ones we can give away. I don't know if my knife is better than a pitchfork, but if putting it in a farmer's hand gains us an ally, I'm for it. Not that I want to get townsfolk killed, but… we're saving their town and I'd not sugarcoat the risk they'd take. Nor would I curse anyone for a coward for leaving it to us."

 

[Keitsumah]

I peek over Cadell's shoulder and see the map, then clap my hand over my face as an idea occurs to me. Struggling to keep from whooping aloud, i look over at Batos, and he senses my idea.

For the first time the wolf actually growls at me and hides behind Baldart, ears flat and tail tucked in. "Oh don't be such a fraidy-cat. We did it before and it worked!"

I turned to Badly, unable to hide the wide grin on my face. "Wargs and any sort of canine are extremely territorial. What if we had Batos lure a few away by -" i cough,"- um, marking his own territory nearby? He would be hidden of course, but it might just be enough to get some of the more dominant ones out in the open to kill them. Without an Alpha most wolf packs can't function properly, at least for a while. They may have the same community structure-" suddenly Batos growled when i mentioned the word Alpha and he jumps out from behind Baldart. His own intent is quite obvious, and my jaw slackens. "Or.... we could do that. What if Batos managed to defeat the Alpha and become the Alpha himself?"

 

[Ireth]

((I'm not sure how tall Keit is, but I think the only one who's able to look over Cadell's shoulder while not jumping or standing on tiptoes is Baldhart. XD Baldy's six foot nine; Cadell's six foot six.))

Cadell

Keit tries to look over my shoulder at the map -- no small feat, given my height. I bend slightly to make it easier for her, and look at her when she speaks. Having a pack of wargs under one of our companions' rule could be of great benefit to us... if the idea works at all. There is still the chance Batos will fall, and that would be a great loss to us, especially Keit. But given his prowess in our most recent fight, I still hold hope that he will succeed.

 

[Ankari]

We have survived a dark battle, and already the companions show their internal weaknesses. Would that they were raw soil and their flaws weeds. Just long enough that I could pluck them. "I need everyone to crush their egos. Now."

Egil has shown a sound mind and bravery beyond reproach. As he complies to Baldhart's request, I ask him, "What towns are nearby? Is there an Arendal within a day's ride?"

After he answers, I isolate Matthew. "I have a feeling you will not be with us for long. I ask that you forestall your departure and watch over these youth. We will send someone back here once Srilkind is secure. Can we depend on you?"

I ease my grip on the axe. Time burns like dry tinder, and we idle on with little understanding of what the people of Srilkind face.

 

[Ireth]

Matthew

I look at Ankari as he pulls me aside. How did he know I planned to return to my order with news of Aeron? I had not yet voiced the desire to anyone.

"I was already asked; and yes, I will stay." I tighten my grip on my spear and nod decisively.

 

[Steerpike]

Egil takes the chalk and draws. "Er...this is how I remember the ones around the Crow. There are more in sort of a half circle around the town, like I said. Making sure no one else gets out, I guess. Here are your green goblins, a few of them with wargs, in white. The dog-faces are in yellow."

((The crow abuts the ocean, except that it is some distance above it, and the area behind is a rocky drop)).

When Ankari asks about Arendal, Egil says "Arendal is about a day and a half to the west. Smaller, even, that Srilkind. Do you mean to send to them for aid? I'm not sure what use they'll be again these monsters, to be honest. You'll find a few there who know the sharp end of a sword, but we've not had much fighting. Arendal is even further from the Taint, and they've seen less blood than we have."

 

[Steerpike]

Kolla backs away from Batos, edging nearer to Egil as he draws. Skari shrugs off Mauve's warning and heads out of the temple in search of wood.

Egil considers Aliron's question. "I'd say the dog-faces are in charge. They were kind of yelling or growling at the goblins and the goblins seems to listen to them. Plus, this group right here..." he points at the map "were the ones who held the rest of them back when Grim threatened to kill Burnbright."

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

I frown at the completed map. "What is that square at the bottom left corner of the Crow? The stables?"

 

[Steerpike]

Egil reddens at Cadell's question. "Uh..no, that's supposed to be the front door." He hastily scratches at the drawing, trying to make it look more door-like, but succeeds primarily in smearing it.

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

I nod. "No need to blush; I just wanted to be sure." I give the boy a reassuring smile.

((Ooof. Guess Cadell's self-esteem took a bigger blow than I thought! I don't think he's ever failed a CHA check that badly!))

Not as reassuring as I had hoped, unfortunately.

 

[Steerpike]

Egil swallows and looks away from the tall elf. Kolla gives him a reassuring smile that seems to have a better effect than that of Cadell.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I look at the map. The yellow dot in the horseshoe—I point to it. "There's your alpha. I suppose he'll always keep his goons close, so even Heartseeker won't have a clear shot unless we give reason for them to move.

"West—I mean the right of the map—is a relatively safe place to start. The big dogs will likely stay by the door, rather than give captives a chance to escape attempting to crush us with superior numbers. Still, arrows until swords are necessary. We save our strength.

"Egil, I trust you have the ability to size up an opponent? Would you say the wargs are stronger than the ugly dogs or the other way around?"

Maybe they have more bark than bite… not that it makes this easy by any means. After he answers I ask another question.

"Egil, Kolla, or anyone for that matter… would you happen to know where the horses are hitched? I refer to the one Burnbright rode on and the one with the lady who brought her back—Hiljikki, if the shy little thing stayed long enough to introduce herself."

I imagine she didn't stay long, or ride her reindeer. Then again…



…an idea hits me—aren't there windows that face the sea? Don't suppose we could go to the docks, take a boat or two, and sneak Burnbright out? Windows or not, we could get a rope and have archers climb the roof and…

 

[SeverinR]

"Was there a seaside door to the crow?" I ask quietly. "Someone with a good climbing skill could come up from the sea. With the grappling hook we could bring people up...or take people down to the ocean. Making the option of getting in alot easier after dark."
" Maybe even stealing the egg from the fox that waits outside the hen house. We cannot abandon the town to destruction but our primary is to keep the egg from being taken. Alot more people will be harmed if the egg is taken, then if the town is razed."
Once the words come out I realize they might have been a little too loud and alittle too cold for some ears.

I press on trying to cover them:
"I can climb, Baldhart can and I believe the ranger can. I don't recall how high the cliff is behind the Crow."
"There is the option of a snatch and grab. Get in, get Burnbright, down to the sea, and our favorite sea monster can be called on to take her far away." I look to Baldhart, with a glance to Mauve, "I trust you should be able to call on the monster?"
"Where to take her, I have no clue, just away from the immediate danger. Then we will face a very unhappy group when they realize their prize is gone."

"It is another option. But we do have the town sentry's to deal with, that is not marked on the map. With good scouting they should not be hard to find."
"Maybe the boy knows how these guards are placed in general?"
"Also knowing if any ships or boats were in dock when the siege happened? Would also tell us if they...or we have a sea escape without the monster. Although, I have no experience with ships, I believe most people can figure out the little boats."

"It might suprise some, but I like the stealth approach, Less likely to get holes poked in us when we can do it quiet and without violence."