Captured! Revelations of the Mysterious Tomb..

[Corwin]

Umi reflects on the short battle, especially on its opening stages, and then goes to inquire the other participants of their strike force about various details in an attempt to compose a good view of it and of the casualties on the other side.

[Carthrat]

The general opinion is that the Matsu lost roughly 20-30 soldiers in the assualt, there are still plenty of others rushing around the bridge area, and that their own losses are to be grieved. Most elves were surprised by the Matsu charge tactics, but resolve to not break so easily should it occur again.

[Halbarad]

Hikaru thinks for a moment. "If I were him, I would have told my troops to hold their positions regardless of the circumstances. If he's wise at all, he would realize that his troops would be ill-prepared to deal with an ambush we set up on our own lands - so his best move would be to maintain a defensive position and hope to drive away any sorties we might try. He does have the advantage of numbers, so a direct assault on our part is not exactly a good idea."

[Corwin]

"I disagree," Umi says, shaking her head. "Of course, we don't know how many soldiers the enemy has in reserve close by, but we hold a numerical advantage over the soldiers we did see guarding the bridge at present. And if retreat and negotiations aren't options, let's talk about an offensive again." She frowns, thinking. "I'm not a mage, but you two are. What if we set a small part of the bridge on fire, and then use another spell to increase it? All amidst a group of Matsu guarding the bridge, of course. Hikaru, you should be able to do that. And Fuu could use that sound spell, like the one she did on the ship, in the center of another group of soldiers. The rest of us will fire arrows in the confusion, and retreat." Pausing, Umi shrugs. "Even if they don't follow us into an ambush, we should still get a lot of them. There were only about 60 to begin with -- that we could see, granted -- and between a third and a half of them are now casualties. If we attack again, using magic this time, we just might take most of them out. Then, we could think of our next move."

[Halbarad]

Hikaru shakes her head. "I would have to be in plain sight of the soldiers on the bridge in order to be close enough to start a fire magically, especially given the nature of the wood they usually use in building bridges - I doubt it will burn easily."

"That said, I do have another idea. If Fuu, and perhaps another skilled archer could make it across the river, they could position themselves between the Matsu at the bridge and their main camp. We lead an assault on the bridge, and the archers behind the force at the bridge can pick off any runners sent to the main camp for reinforcements. If the Matsu get a chance to bring up any sort of larger force, we could spend our entire strength in trying to take the bridge - it's just too easy to defend even against a superior force. But I think we could manage it if we can cut off the force currently there from their reinforcements."

[Ebiris]

"I agree with that plan," Fuu nods, "It wouldn't be hard for me to sneak across the bridge, although anyone else would have to swim across the river, and further away from the bridge so they don't get spotted. But it does give us the opportunity to defeat them in detail without worrying about reinforcements."

[Corwin]

"Besides the problem of timing the attack and getting enough people across the river safely, there's also the possibility of leaving them stranded. After all, while the Matsu forces on the bridge would be between us and Fuu's group, Fuu's group will be between them and the Matsu main force, or their reserves, at least." Umi thinks for a moment. "Do you really need to be nearby to start fire with your fire shuriken? That's a problem, then.... What if you only had to expand a fire created by a lit arrow?"

[Ebiris]

"What good would burning the bridge do?" Fuu asks, looking at Umi, "We need to cross it to get to the main Matsu camp, and the wood is unlikely to burn fast enough to kill any great number of the forces defending the bridge anyway."

[Halbarad]

Hikaru shakes her head. "You're thinking in terms too large, Umi. This isn't an attempt to infiltrate an assault force onto the other side of the river - while a pincer attack on the force at the bridge would be very effective, we simply don't have the means to do it. Fuu would most likely be there alone, possibly with one other archer, and her only purpose would be to pick off anyone sent to gather reinforcements. The only timing involved is in giving her enough time to get into position; it shouldn't require more than one or two archers at the most, either. If we're using main force to attack the bridge, they certainly aren't going to be able to spare more than one, possibly two soldiers at a time to retrieve reinforcements - and eliminating a single soldier from cover should not present a difficulty."

[Corwin]

"True, Fuu can get there easily, even if only by crossing the bridge while using her invisibility ring. But if we commit all of our forces into an all-out attack on the bridge, we won't be able to sneak up on them to get off the first shot. And that would mean we'll suffer fairly heavy casualties, I believe. Even if they don't have anyone in reserve or any ambushes set up in preparations of such a plan." Umi sighs, rubbing her temples. "Why should we resort to an all-or-nothing approach so early? You are assuming that their reserves are far enough to require a runner, but what if you're wrong?"

[Ebiris]

"How is attacking like this more 'all or nothing' than your plan, Umi?" Fuu asks curiously, "It's basically the same except we take measures to prevent enemy reinforcements turning the tide. And if their camp is close enough to not require a runner, I can just come back across the bridge before we commence the attack."

[Corwin]

"From what I understand of your suggestion, you intend to take out all of the forces stationed at the bridge, while I'd be satisfied with a hit and run attack to hurt them. Obviously, we would also need to commit different amounts of soldiers to each attack. I planned to take twenty of them along, but you're suggesting to attack with all fifty, correct?"

[Halbarad]

"Yes, but the soldiers at the bridge will have to be removed before we can do anything about the main Matsu camp itself. Any harrying tactics will just cause whoever is in command at the bridge to send for reinforcements, making it that much harder to do significant damage the next time. And without constant pressure on his forces, he COULD send a small squad to go request reinforcements - enough that Fuu couldn't take out the entire group alone. I'll admit that it does commit us to a fairly major attack, but we're going to have to remove them from that bridge entirely, one way or another, if we want to make any further progress."

[Corwin]

"Maybe not," Umi muses. "Fuu could use that invisibility ring to scout out the area beyond the bridge, and maybe even the Matsu camp itself. Meanwhile, the rest of us could make rafts and prepare to cross the river a bit downstream."

[Ebiris]

Fuu coughs and sputters for a moment. "Rafts?!" she gestures at the burnt out remains of what was once a glorious forest. "Made of what? Soot?!"