Dragon's Egg - Act III

[senseiseth]

"Greetings Aldar," I say with an extended hand, "I am Hall Alricsen. Pleasure to meet you. I agree that we should have a way of retreating if the battle goes against us. Though I do have a question, what is our plan of attack if the enemy comes through the woods?

 

[senseiseth]

"And before I forget whoever wrote that song is truly skilled, one of the loveliest ballads I have heard in a long time.

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

I smile as a voice I don't recognize compliments my song. "Thank you! I'm sad to say I can't take the credit for it; I learned it from a friend of mine. I don't believe you and I have met before. Hall, is it? A pleasure. I am Cadell." I start to extend my left hand out of habit, then quickly remember my stump and gauntlet, and hold out my right hand instead.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The plan… now's as good a time as any.

"Archers on the rooftops, and we have some fire we can hurl at the enemy to keep them from the buildings. I'll be with the fighters, but we avoid going into the fray as long as we can—we want archers and firebombs to keep the ranged attackers from getting to us, if we can.

"Batos—the… dog you saw run off with some parchment—he is sending word that I intend to meet Ghendra, the lead gnoll, between his forces and ours. The condition is both of us must be unarmed, and at least a hundred feet from any cover or ally. I think he's too cowardly or suspects a trap, so he won't. If he does, I really will go to him unarmed and alone. I ask that no one follow me. Just be ready to fight once he and I part ways… I don't anticipate a peaceful resolution.

"I don't particularly want one."

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

I listen as Baldhart describes the situation to Hall, and sigh when she mentions her lack of desire for peace. The question "Why not?" burns a hole in my tongue, but I keep it to myself. I don't want to start an argument, not now.

Liadan

I look to Cadell when he sighs, and know exactly why. I smile and speak to him, trying to lift his mood with a change of subject. "You sang beautifully, love. But did you choose that song on purpose, knowing what it is we're eating right now?"

Cadell

I glance down at the morsels of rabbit left on my plate, and chuckle. "I wasn't even thinking of that. Now I feel guilty for eating the king of the animals."

 

[senseiseth]

Hall

I notice a sigh coming from Cadell, it appears he does not subscribe to Caldhart's zeal to rush into battle. I can't blame, really. I did not ask out of courtesy, but I can almost say with certainty that the loss of his hand was of a violent nature. I have not seen this lot of orc, goblins, and Gnolls, but they seem to not exactly fight with any real stratagem outside of charge and die. Then again, ignorance can be a deadly enemy. If the fool does not recognize the danger then they don't know to stop.

"Aside from numbers," I ask, "What can we expect from these bastards?"

 

[SomethingToPonder]

"The pleasure is mutual, Hall pleased to meet you. As far as an escape plan goes I see only two options, Boats or running, Now deending on whether we use baldhart's trap, the boats may well be useless.We will have to see."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"What to expect? Swords and shields in the hands of the gnolls—nine of them as far as I know. Crossbows are the goblins' weapons of choice. Twenty-three of them, four riding wargs. Wargs don't fall easily. We'll need the fire bombs to keep them from getting too close."


I look at Grim, the militia men, and Hall.


"One other thing you should expect: the gnolls want land. They spoke to some among us, and while they contradicted themselves regarding their loyalty to Aslaug, they consistently said they want to reclaim the north. They also mentioned a desire to coexist peacefully with the people here. Those are their words. Their actions: they burn families in their homes.

"If we fail, Aredal burns. Children die. Melar is next.

"Our only chance of defeating this army is to never lose sight of who the enemy is, and do all in your power to stop them. If I were a fighting monk, I'd jam my thumbs into Ghendra's eye sockets should he parley with me." I turn to Cadell. "I'm not that skilled. Just making a point.

"Rules of war were created by kings. They control people. Give them ideas of what is fair and what is not. How can the commoners rise against oppressors when they believe it is 'cheating' to fire an arrow at the enemy leader when he's not ready? Yet… the gnolls attack a village and kill women, children, the elderly, those eating, sleeping, working, enjoying life… and somehow, this follows the 'rules of war?' We honor them with parley and respectful dialogue? Srilkind is still smoldering, and we're supposed to excuse mass murder in the form of a peace treaty?"


I turn to the militia men.


"We will give the enemy no quarter.

"We will keep each other alive as best we can."

I point to Liadan, "If she calls upon her god to bless you, thank her and stay in the fight." I gesture to Keit. "If her wolf locks his jaws around an enemy's throat, do not fear the wolf who assists you." I hold up a bottle. "And if a valkyrie sees fit to come down from the pools of Asgard to drop one of these on the enemy, do not fall off the roof in surprise. Be thankful that the children of the north are that important, that the valkyries do not want another day of taking the souls of those far too young to have fallen in a battle.

"Are you with me?" I ask the men.



Baldy… did you have to tell 'em about the pool?

 

[SeverinR]

Aliron returns the arrow to the quiver and resumes sharpening sticks, watching the stranger as the group talks.

"Welcome Hall, They have a nice graveyard somewhere around here, if your a dog spy, you will find it very soon. If you just happened on this town, with care you might survive to leave town. The villagers don't like people that are different, so don't trust them too much either. Of course, a smart person never trusts anyone...too much."Aliron glances around, then back on the stick.

 

[Steerpike]

Gisla appreciates the help with the cooking, even though she is quite adept at managing with a single hand. Soon, everyone who is hungry has a full plate and a modest amount of ale to wash the food down.

The party continues to discuss the battle plan. Gisla listens in silence, though she does interject at one point. "I'll not be part of a plan that grants parley, then breaks it. Baldhart, you already know my mind on this. I've been on the opposite side of such treachery in the past, and I won't do the same, be the enemy human or gnolls. Fighting savages doesn't mean we lower ourselves to their level. If one of the enemy is granted parley, and agrees to it, he should be allowed to speak and then leave unharmed, just as members of your group have been allowed to speak to them and leave. Having less honor than a gnoll on this point would gall me to no end." She stops, considering, then looks to be about to speak again, but thinks better of it and takes a drink of ale.

Grim looks expectantly around the table, and the militia men eating their breakfast look suddenly uncomfortable at the disagreement in the group.

Grim finally clears his throat and says: "Should we get to it, then? How do we know the creatures will wait for first light, and not creep into the village under cover of darkness?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"They only let us walk away because they can't manipulate us by killing the messenger. They are using the parley itself as a deception tactic. I caught them in two obvious lies."



Baldy, are you actually standing up to her?

I'll mind my tone, Nissa. I respect her too much.

I noticed. Your whole party did. Yes, speak as you would to an elder. Perhaps she'll respect you more for showing you think for yourself.

I just hope I don't piss her off. That's the last thing I want to do!



"In any case, I'm not so powerful unarmed that I can kill Ghendra without a blade. As I said, I was merely making a point that I wouldn't hesitate to if I could.

"But the intent of the parley—if Ghendra will meet me at all, that is—is to show the gnolls this."

I show Gisla the necklace.

"This is how they track Burnbright. A spell was cast on it, I believe. When she has it in her possession, it vibrates. She once wore it and heard a voice. Her mother, Aslaug, most likely. I wanted her to toss this a long time ago, but she believes it is precious because of her mother. I thought it harmless if she didn't wear it. And at that time, I only knew Nissa as a voice, so hearing a voice seemed harmless to me. Once I found out this damn thing vibrated, I knew… it was not an informant that led the gnolls here. It was this.

"No… I don't know. There may still be other methods of finding her besides this. But if I show Ghendra my discovery, I can ask him if he intends to attack us knowing he cannot achieve his objective."


I look around, then back at Gisla.


"So if they'll walk away, do we let them?" To Hall, I ask, "What if they go north, to Melar?" Back to Gisla, I go on, "My question is this: is honor so important that we'll allow child-killers to waste another town? We know they will. If one of us sees an opportunity to strike and does, will we remain united against the gnolls, or will an argument break out? Bear in mind, it is not just our lives at stake here. These gnolls killed families. Pleas of mercy, cries of agony—all unanswered by these creatures who are worse than demons.

"What I'd have to do to sink lower than the gnolls is something I'm not capable of. There is nothing lower than one who can harm a child, much less deliver a slow and painful death. I walked through Srilkind while the gnolls were there. I looked for survivors. I found burned homes… and in the one place I could see more than smoke, a dead priest who killed five but must have faced at least ten.

"My bad decision to send Burnbright home played a part in Srilkind's destruction. So Gisla, while I respect your feelings on honoring parley, I have personal reasons for my thinking as well. Though Grim does not blame me for what happened to his people, I can't deny my part in those innocent deaths—the unintended consequence of doing what I believed was the right thing.

"Personal feelings aside, I think it's grossly irresponsible to let these monsters live. So does Nissa; otherwise, she would not be so determined to reveal herself. Just so we're clear, I obey Nissa, not the other way around. If she wants to fight this battle, I cannot stop her." (And wouldn't if I could.) "But if taking the leader out will cause us to bicker and argue mid-battle when we should be united against our enemy, the children will be in greater danger than if we chance following 'the rules.'

"For that reason and no other, I'll honor the parley."

 

[senseiseth]

I take a moment to contemplate my response to Alrion's comments. Personally, I take a threat with a threat, but that may not be the best course of action at the moment. "Thank you," I say to him, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." But I make note to keep eye on him, just for good measure.

The 'war council' is an interesting discussion, I have to admit. These gnoll creatures have slaughtered god knows how many people needlessly, but the issue of honor is still a point of contention. That does a good deal about these people, though I wouldn't mind poking out their leader's eyes. An idea pops into my head. "Begging your pardons, but what about attacking them at night? If we can catch them off guard it may put the odds in our favor.If, Batos correct, can get to the camp, he should get a decent layout of the camp. We hit the wages with fire oil bottles, attack the rest of the camp while they are figuring out what the Hel is happening. Course...it is just an idea. And it is better than uncle Asger's wooden badger idea."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"I'd love to bring the fight to them. But as Grim said, we don't know that the gnolls will wait until dawn."

Nissa… am I strong enough for you to…?

((@SP, when the attack comes, please let me know how many hours since the boat came back. If 2 hours, Baldy has her MP. If 4, Keit has full MP. I'm not sure if anyone else used magic. If it's already been 2+ hours, let me know. Baldhart's next action may change if she's not sure if Nissa can get involved.))

I turn to Alin, asking, "Shall we set up ropes so there's more than one rooftop ready for archers to climb? I'll start lugging up sacks full of oil bottles as well." To Hall, I say, "You look like you can fight. Can you shoot? In my opinion, anyone who can do both should shoot from the rooftop, but be ready to slide down the rope when enemies get close. If you need a bow or crossbow, I'll bet the smith will lend you one."

I look around. What weapon will Cadell use? The militia men? Grim? "If there are any shield fighters, perhaps I should borrow a shield from the smith so we can form a wall. Or I should borrow one anyway! No sense getting shot full of holes while waiting for the enemy to close in."



Before heading to the smith, I approach Gisla.

"As promised, my sword is in your service. I only make the plans I make to best protect Arendal. And yes, delivering retribution to the gnolls is something Nissa and I both want.

"I believe you are worthy of the wings. Someday, then, you will know what Nissa and her Sisters go through when they guide the souls of children. I asked her for detailed accounts. She did better—she let me visualize her own memories. I've seen the bodies. I've heard the confusion from the souls of those who died before their time, and grieving parents in some cases. And in one memory, I saw a child that was about to die. It took days. She was trapped under a collapsed home. Three limbs were broken, and she had to breathe the stench of her dead parents until her burning lungs were too dusty to function. She is Aliya, Brynhild's most youthful-looking valkyrie, eternally appearing as a seven-year-old.

"I will not break parley if you still insist. Just one thing worth considering from a tactical perspective… when the leader runs to his men, they will not attack us directly. They will set fire to the homes on the north side, draw us out, and try to defeat us while we're on the offensive. I don't know this for a fact, but Grim… was that not their strategy in Srilkind?

"Taking out the leader may save those homes, forcing the gnolls to rush me for fighting without honor. And if you could see what Nissa showed me, you'd understand why this particular kind of 'honor' against this particular kind of enemy is meaningless to me. It's only out of respect for you and in the interest of keeping our forces united that I will do as you wish."



I await Gisla's reply. Was she moved by Nissa's revelation? Or is this idiotic sense of honor so ingrained in the north that nothing can defeat it?

Ooh, ooh! It's B! The latter choice. If I'm wrong, I'll fart into the torch.

Would you really?

No… I was making a point that I'm not wrong. If I am, I'll be happy. And ladylike.

You'll be naked. That's not very ladylike.

In any case, my body lasts ten minutes. I don't think I could pass gas even if I wanted to.

I'll let you show me more dead children if it'll get you to change the subject.

​Nah, I'll just stop. Aliya's a tough act to follow.

 

[senseiseth]

I say to Baldhart, "I have had experience with a bow, though I prefer being in the din of spears when the fighting begins. But it would be a good idea to have a few more eyes watching the sneaky backyards in case they try a sneak attack." I begin sharpen my blade as I finish. I take swig of ale as the seriousness of the situation begins to settle in mind. I prepare myself for the coming storm of swords and wonder if this will be last fight.

 

[Steerpike]

Gisla shakes her head, as the strong traditions of the north and her sense of honor in battle continue to control her. "It's not about the kind of enemy Baldhart. It's about us." She jabs her thumb at her heart. "It's about what is in here. Whether I face a noble opponent, or the most worthless, vile scum, I know that I live by my own code of honor, and that when I die I will have upheld it as best I know how."

"If the gnolls comes to fight, I'll fight. I'll beat down every last one of those dogs if I have to. You know this. But if we grant parley, then it is our honor that is bound to our word, not theirs. I'll not see it sullied for the likes of them."

"But this leads me to a question - if the gnolls march on Arendal and do not look for parley, does one of them ride out and offer it to them? Do we make a last ditch effort to rid Arendal of these fiends with a single death, or a single home lost? Or do we resolve ourselves only to battle and let them come to their death?"

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

I raise my head as Gisla speaks, and raise my voice to answer her question.

"I have spoken with the gnolls before, and I know their leader. If one must ride out to them for a final parley, I ask that it be me. I give you my word, I will not say a word to them and theirs about any traps or plans we here have laid unless I am bidden to by the company's decision." I can only hope Baldhart will accept that.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"No, Cadell… you will tell him." I realize how that came off. I better clarify. "I mean… I want you to. Tell Ghendra the woman who referred to him as a baby-killing coward was sincere in her offer to meet unarmed between armies, but everyone believes she'd have killed him if she saw the opportunity. Yet, the evidence she meant to show him is real."

I confess, "All true, by the way. I'd have killed him in three moves—and Nissa would've in two if my first move was too weak to stun or topple him."

I hand Cadell the necklace.

"The words 'baby-killing coward' and 'evidence' are in my letter. If he received my message this will make sense to him. If not, it hardly matters.

"Tell him this:

Tell him we know what this necklace does when Burnbright wears it. Yes, they know Burnbright was moved, but they can't know how far or which way. Why not? We knew what this did before we moved her and then had her give up the necklace. Did we double back, find a boat south, keep her on the road all night with what is now half-a-day's head start? Who did we entrust to watch her, since she's not with us? You don't know where she is, Cadell, nor do I. If they attack, they risk killing the one person who knows where she was last. At least part of her travel is by sea, so sniffing out a trail leads to a dead end, possibly in the wrong direction.

"Ask Ghendra this:

"Since he cannot complete his objective, to capture Burnbright—or Catli, if he prefers—will he consider leaving town?"

I turn to Gisla, "As much as I want these gnolls dead, I have no right to force Arendal to become a battlefield. If the enemy will leave at this point, I trust they are working for Aslaug and will walk away… intent on following us, I suppose."

To Cadell, I add,

"And I'm not alone not believing the gnolls suddenly stopped working for Aslaug, so please don't grace his offer to march against her with a response. Even if he did decide to side with us over her, why would we want allies like that? They'll just decide to switch sides again an turn on us!

"If he plans to attack Arendal anyway—which I suspect is the case, since he wants land as well as Aslaug's daughter—tell him this. And you can say the message is from the lady who called him a baby-killing coward:

"If he is truly honorable as he pretends to be in his friggin' parleys, then tell him to only fight the warriors who challenge him. Using homes and children as leverage is far lower than what the lady planned to do—which was, yes, to lure him into a parley, body-slam him, smash a bottle of oil over his head, and shove her torch in his face and watch him die the same agonizing death he delivered to entire families. The difference being he deserves it!

"Tell him the good people of Arendal refused to stand in battle with her if she dishonored them with her 'savagery.' Tell him these people who he wishes to terrorize actually believe he and his fellow mass murderers deserve to be treated with honor. So if that godsforsaken word really means anything to him, tell him I said to fight us with honor. That means not burning homes, not going after the people in hiding, just a straight up fight against the armed combatants. They outnumber those willing to fight—are they so cowardly they won't face us?"

I turn to Gisla and her men.

"I mean no offense to you or your customs. I only want the enemy to be manipulated into attacking us head on. Knowing I intended to set a trap before—as they were warned—can work to our advantage." To Cadell, I add, "And the best part for you is that there is nothing deceptive about these words… though I hope that 'refusing to stand' part is an exaggeration."

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

I raise a brow as Baldhart answers me, and take the necklace she hands me. I listen to her words in silence, nodding once in a while.

"Very well," I say once she is finished. "But when am I to ride?" As soon as possible, or so I gather; I hope she gives me time to arm and armor myself before heading out, and that Llucheden is in a good mood.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"The sooner the better—but be ready for battle. I don't anticipate a retreat." I turn to Alin. "As for what I intended… it works as easily without the parley."

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

"Of course." I quickly finish the last few bites of rabbit, wash them down with ale and stand up. "In that case, I'll start getting ready immediately. I may need some help," I say, looking to Liadan.

She nods and rises too, following me back up to our room. I hurry to don my armor and sword, thankful as ever that Liadan is with me -- my gauntlet serves me well enough in battle, but it is sadly insufficient for many other tasks. She retrieves my shield when I am dressed, holding it for me to slide my right arm into the straps. Finally she picks up her scarf, and I smile as she ties it around me like a sash.

I head back downstairs with Liadan at my side, and nod to the others I pass on the way to the door. A thought strikes me, and I turn to Baldhart, leaning close and standing on my toes to mutter in her ear. I don't know what Gisla or Grim will do if they overhear.

"Are you-know-which-persons still hiding in the woods? What shall I do if I meet them?"