Leaving the library, Bjorn briefly wonders where he's supposed to meet with Lindsey, slowly coming to the realization that a meeting place was supposed to be specified ... and wasn't.
Shrugging mentally, Bjorn clears his mind to bring up the mindboard, and then reaches out to the Lindsey-smudge.
Lindsey doesn't let you in -- at least, not right away. After a few seconds she seems to recognize you, and you've got a connection to her. She's walking through a corridor somewhere in the castle you don't recognize. Yes? she sends tenatively.
Bjorn scrawls out the single word, Meeting?
Yes, she sends back. Library?
Yes, Bjorn sends back, and then lets the mindboard vanish. Glancing around, he checks to see if Durant is still within hailing range, before heading back to the library.
He's just headed down a hallway -- you could get his attention if you were to yell.
Bjorn shrugs. Made enough noise that it isn't worth worrying about, he thinks to himself with grim humour. So let's be quiet in another way.
Bringing the mindboard back, he touches the Durant-smudge. I'll need that book back, Paul -- or I'll need your help with Fletcher. Probably both, really.
He jumps like someone shoved a spider made of ice-cubes down his back, and spins around, looking around frantically for a long minute before replying, Damn. I'm am NEVER going to get used to that. How come you got the mind-fucking with, and I got the brain-punch, anyway?
Acting like he just noticed you, he nods, and starts walking towards you. "Hey!" he calls, once he's in conversational range. "How you doing?"
Yeah, well.... I get the idea that whoever I was before myself kind of fucked things up here. Getting back at this 'Fletcher' guy sounds kind of mean ... but hell, he's a traitor, right? I just hope I'm not some evil baby-eating sadist or something, underneath it all.
"All right, Master Durant," Bjorn replies gravely. "I was wondering what legends you knew about Dwarves -- and if the stories tell of a way that they can be killed."
On the mindboard, he sketches out, Fletcher can and will kill us all. This isn't about vengeance or sadism. Come to think of it, though, hold on to the book. Check inside it; you'll find a map of a place in the Keep. There's an alcove there, with a statue behind it. Check behind it. I left a coin there, a signal for Fletcher for a meeting. If the coin is still there, don't touch it, it's trapped. If it's not there, let me know. And if you run into Fletcher, get a good look.
He shifts uncomfortably. "Well, yeah, I know about that. I asked Ekim for some legends of his people, and he told me," Durant says, shuddering. "'Boneforge' indeed. Anyway, Dwarves are more durable than us, so it takes a real significant beating to wound them significantly. But that's about it."
Oh, I see, Durant says, an accompanying image to his words reminding you -- for some reason -- of Tyr putting his hand in Fenrir's mouth. You suspect it's subconscious on his part. Ekim said his kind was vulnerable to the cold. If the fire inside themselves is quenched, then their lives end. I think it'd take an awful lot of cold to pull that off, though. Failing that, probably just using military picks. I saw a whole stack of them on the side of the yard.
"Good news and bad news all in one," Bjorn sighs. "Thank you, Master Durant."
On the mindboard, Depending on how fast things start moving, I might not get a chance to meet up with you before the siege. Any questions?
"Could be worse. I mean, we've got Ekim on our side, right?"
Not really. No, wait. Two questions. Do you think whoever created Radagast was from our world, and what should I do if I get jumped by someone when I'm visiting that alcove?
"Lord Ekim is on our side," Bjorn agrees. "But Estin Stonewright is not."
I don't know. I think Alan was, but frankly, I'm not entirely up to date on the current state of post-Ezmereth cosmology. I'd like to find out, though.
As for the second: scream. Both out loud and through this. I'll leave it up for you while you check. Do it quickly, though. I can't keep the mindboard when I'm fighting.
"Well. That ... could suck, I guess. Estin, huh? I wonder if Ekim knows him...."
Got it. I'll keep in touch.
"I probably shouldn't ask; he's busy enough," Durant says. "Anyway, keep in touch, alright?"
"You as well, Master Durant," Bjorn says politely.
Nodding his farewells, he steps back into the library. To pass the time until Lindsey shows up, he browses the library, looking for anything on the subject of runics.
Not much time to pass; your breakfast nook has two people sitting it in when you enter. Liandral, and Lindsey.
They both look up when you enter, but only Liandral rises.
Goddamn invisibility, Bjorn thinks to himself peevishly.
"Liandral, Lindsey," Bjorn says in greetings. "How're you?"
"Better," Liandral says, rubbing his right wrist for some reason. "I'm going for a little walk."
He strolls over to the librarian, while Linsdey gestures for you to make yourself comfortable. "I'm doing better myself," she says quietly. "Last night was brutally cold, but...." She shrugs, as if to indicate that it doesn't matter. "I'm still intact now."
"That's good to hear," Bjorn says, taking a seat. "Were there any problems?"
"No," she says, while Liandral strikes up a conversation with the librarian, also conveniently scanning the one entrance to the room. "The camp was reasonably orderly, all things considered. They have a clear chain of command and supplies, with a pool of about one hundred 'commanders' directly beneath Elric. Who, as it turns out, can see through invisibility." She grimaces. "Luckily, he didn't even realize I was invisible, and he just threw me into the slave pens. They've got a number ... probably about two hundred human slaves towards the back of their army. Their food stores are distributed, so it would take a lot of work to poison them.
"Their behavior and technique seems ... to me ... to be a bit more than we'd been led to believe. It seems certain to me that the Seventh Cabal came through first and gave them help -- a lot of help."
"Did Elric seem to have any particular advisors?" Bjorn asks, quietly.
"He was muttering about them, before he saw me," Lindsey says, nodding. "Apparently, the real reason for nailing someone to the rock was to buy his own army a little more time for his big guns to roll in. Something happened in the ice that slowed down travel, or something. They were talking about the reinforcements arriving as I was leaving, which is why I healed whoever that was before I came back in."
Bjorn grunts, and frowns. "Wouldn't we have been better off if the general had died sooner, then? At least one more battle without the Dreadmarch having reinforcements."
"Time is something I'd thought we could all use," she said, shrugging. "Aside from which -- their reinforcements were already there. Letting him die would mean that they'd have 12 hours for the moon to cross the sky and the next day of siege to begin. That's enough time for them to set up camp, sleep, and be ready. Why not give us some extra time, too?"
"Fair enough," Bjorn concedes. "There was an image you tried to send me. It didn't get through. What was it?"
"A Storm-rider. They nailed him to the rock as their general," she clarifies.
"Ah," Bjorn says, "that. I did catch that." He frowns. "That was probably the former Lord Markham, from context." Falling silent for a few seconds, he looks back up at Lindsey. "So what are your thoughts, having seen the enemy first hand?"
"There's an awful lot of them," she says slowly. "But something's holding them back. I think they don't want to fall back on Elric. If he were everything he says he is, why not use him on the very first day and just claim victory then? Why rely on these other super-generals? There's something here we don't know, and I'm guessing it's some plan that relies on traitors within the keep."
"A plan," Bjorn says, "or a weakness?"
He thinks for a few minutes, and then shakes his head. "It all comes back to the same thing," he says regretfully. "We have to find the traitors in the Keep. We're getting closer, but not close enough."
"Well, Serril says you got two yesterday," she says. Then frowns darkly. "And Radagast ... he's far too convenient. Serril says that Radagast claims to have been created by someone ... but wouldn't say anything more about it than that."
"He hasn't been all that much more forecoming than that," Bjorn lies baldly, "as far as I can tell. His purpose seems to be to oppose the Dreadmarch." He purses his lips. "As you say, he's tremendously convenient. To date, I haven't seen any reason to actively distrust him, but....
"As for the other traitors," Bjorn continues, "from what I gathered, the two who were executed were unlikely to have direct connection to the Dreadmarch. They were puppets, and relatively ignorant ones at that. The third... the third might know something. But I suspect we've got several factions at work here, mostly ignorant of each other."
"Jesus, we need more than one group of traitors working against us?" Lindsey asks, rubbing at her temples.
"Maybe not," Bjorn says, shrugging, "but if I had ten years to set things up, that's what I would have done. Each with their own goals, each unaware of the others. Classical cell structure, right?
"The lorekeepers are so cloistered that you're almost forced to take that approach, anyways. Nobody who isn't a lorekeeper can make headway into their ranks; and a lorekeeper who wanders around, poking his nose into other people's business gets noticed." He scratches his chin. "Last night, we caught some of the traitors in the lorekeepers -- but there's still at least two more, from what we know. And we still don't know who was sending messages to the Dreadmarch, or punching arrows through the shield, or who tried to steal Breke's swords."
"Sending messages to the dreadmarch?" she asks, frowning. "Well. Hmm. If you give me an idea of where to look for things, I'm obviously good at following people around."
Bjorn frowns in return, rubbing at his forearm absently. "I'm not sure where to start looking," he confesses. "Other than... Hm. There's an alcove in a side hall," he says, and quickly rattles off a description of its exact location. "It's apparently a place to coordinate meetings between various Dreadmarch agents. Durant is going to try to set a meeting up. If you could keep an eye on that place, and find out who else is checking it out..."
She nods. "Consider it done," she says. "Anything else? Unless I miss my guess, there's a strategy meeting coming up soon -- guards will hunt you down to drag you to Lord Kevin for your strategic advice, if neccessary." She winks. "As long as you keep us in the loop, it's actually more convenient not to be included; I can keep an eye on other people, like Durant and whoever he's meeting with."
Bjorn shakes his head. "I can't think of anything else at the moment," he says, and then eyes Lindsey. "Be careful with your own cover," he says, seriously. "And pass that message on to Liandral, too. Dorian Shivershaft, at least, has become very suspicious of him. With everyone's minds already on traitors, acting oddly won't help any of us."
"Interesting," Lindsey says, frowning. "Well, that's something to keep an eye out for."
"I think that's about it, then," Bjorn says, relaxing back into his chair. "Did you have an interesting discussion with Nathan and Philip yesterday?"
"They didn't tell you?" she asks. "We didn't discuss much ... mostly just the plan to scout out the enemy camp, which I'm not entirely certain was worth it."
"They did," he says, off-handedly, "but that wasn't really the point of my question. I'm just making conversation while the guards look for me."
She snorts, and then a pair of guards poke their heads into the room, look around, and make a beeline for you.
Bjorn straightens himself, and rises, nodding. "Thank you, Mistress Lindsey," he says, his voice resuming its respectful vassal tenor.
Turning to the guards, he walks forward to meet them. Keeping his voice low, he asks, "Yes?"
The guards scurry forward and look around like they're expecting the Dreadmarch to burst out from between the books at any moment, and one of them stutters, "Lord Kevin wishes you to attend a meeting."
"I see," Bjorn replies gravely. "Then shall we go?"
Letting them lead the way, he follows them -- presumably to the meeting.
You're lead to a room beneath the keep, which puts you in mind of the executions you witnessed before your ever-so-restful sleep.
But you go to a different room. This one's much smaller, and dry. There's a large table there, and Kevin is behind it, deep in conversation with Radagast.
Lammermore is sitting nearby, wearing casual clothes -- he's still pretty heavily bandaged, but looks at least able to move around. The two vassals that the old man appointed as your aides during any strategy meetings are already there, along with the old man himself, and Mirallia. There's a spot for you between the two of them, Mirallia sitting next to Lammermore (and then Kevin) and the other two vassals sitting further down the table.
To Kevin's left is Radagast, and then Dorian, and then Devin. No sign yet of Ekim, Nathan, Phil, or Parthipan.
Kevin looks up when you enter, and nods, saying, "We expect the Storm-rider contingent to join us shortly. Until then, make yourself comfortable."
You're not there long before Phil, Nathan, and six storm-riders you've never met before troop in and are directed to seats on Radagast's side of the table.
Kevin blinks as Nathan and Phill enter, as though something odd just happens, and shrugs. "Welcome," he says, rising from his chair, "Sirs and Lords. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
Space is made by the other storm-riders such that Phil and Nathan are pretty much required to sit closest to Kevin.
"Greetings, this is my commanding staff. Lord Kevin. May I introduce Sir Warrick, Lord Roger, Sir Erik, Sir Harold, Lord Farwell, and Lord George. They are my commanding staff. Now, what's the plan for tonight?"
Dracos sat down where expected.
Dracos
Having moved out of the way of the overly space-occupying storm-riders, Bjorn quietly moves towards his seat between Donovan and Mirallia. Before sitting down, however, he nods at the man sitting one seat down. "Sir Lammermore," he greets him. "It's good to see you up and about."
"More about than up," he says, managing a wry smile. "I won't be fighting tonight, more's the pity."
Kevin shakes his head. "We value your counsel," he says. "Now ... hmm. Is anyone missing?" He turns to look at Radagast.
"I sent a runner," Radagast says slowly. "Ah. The tower. Well, he should arrive soon."
Kevin nods, and relaxes a bit. "We've a little time, then," he says.
Taking his seat, Bjorn asks, "Will Lord Ekim be joining us?"
Kevin glances to the door as Parthipan enters, trailed by Astryd. "Not today," he says apologetically. "He's still working on a personal request of mine. Regardless, we all appear to be assembled. Shall we begin?"
Bjorn nods at Kevin to indicate his readiness, sitting at attention in his seat.
Dracos nods. "No time like the present."
Dracos
After finding a seat near Radagast, Ginrai nods as well.
"Very well," Lord Kevin says, somewhat gravely. "We need to consider what we know of our enemy, and formulate a plan to deal with it. Radagast has been unable to find any new information on this ... Elric ... other than what we could extract from Mattias. And his word is ... questionable."
Radagast shrugs, then clarifies, "Mattias claims that his master -- who he will not name as Solariat, but won't deny is that man, either -- is using Elric as a pawn. More importantly, as a pawn, Mattias claimed to be privy to information that we could use. Namely, that Elric is not an only child. There is another, apparently. I don't know how this is good news for us ... but it is what I've been told."
Kevin nods pensively, then looks at the Storm-rider contingent. "You are aware of what happened last night?"
All of the commanders nod, considering this new information.
"Well," Kevin sighs, pressing his palms flat on the table in front of him. "He's a problem. But we've got tonight to worry about, too. We don't know what they're throwing at us, but their reinforcements have arrived, so their numbers, already great, and now being swelled with additional support."
"That means those extra commanders and that dwarf Nathan saw is now with the army directly. Any scouting been done yet on who seems to be organizing the troops for tonight's attack?"
Dracos
"Scouting on foot seems less than wise," Lammermore says, shaking his head.
Radagast nods, and turns to Parthipan, raising an eyebrow curiously. "And your means, Master Parthipan? Have you had an opportunity to spy on the foe?" he asks.
"Not yet. I'm planning on doing that after the meeting is over." Ginrai looks around and, after not spotting Eske, asks, "Do you know where Gatemaster Eske is?"
"Eske is watching over Mattias for the moment," Radagast says, glancing across the room. Sighing, he explains, "Wardmaster Mattias was revealed as a traitor. He's currently being held in the dungeons until we can find out more."
The Storm-riders nod at this, grimacing. The vassals of Hammar (and Donnovan) eye the lorekeepers in the room thoughtfully.
"Um...no offense, Parthipan, but such information could be quite useful for plannings sake. Since that's what we are here to do, is there any chance you can just sit aside and do that quickly while we plan? The sooner such information is avaliable the better for all of us and it may, somewhat, change the plans for the night based on what they are doing."
Dracos
"That could be possible... I'll probably need one or two people looking over my body while that takes place, though."
"Well...the castle guards here are more than adequate for that. Please, go and do that. Now... Pardon if I be slow here but... what does that mean about the wards that were being placed by Mattias and what Eske can do during the fights?"
Dracos
"The seal across the battlefield remains," Radagast says, shaking his head. "Mattias cannot remove it. We don't really trust him enough to let him free and try to do anything to it at the moment."
Parthipan leaves this thread and returns to A Walk in the Neighborhood (http://pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=37770#37770).
"Hmm... Anyone checked the traitors things yet to see if they have anything indicating further plans or any traps they may have set that we should be cautious of?"
Dracos
"No," Radagast says, shaking his head. "No written plans, or anything so convenient ... and I would suspect it if one was discovered."
"Then, for now, we should concentrate on our own plans," Bjorn suggests. "Earthmaster Devin, are the earthenworks prepared again?"
He nods. "I had ample time," he says. "They stand prepared."
"Earthenworks?"
"The wall-and-maze arrangement that the storm-riders trapped the Dreadmarch up against in the last battle," Bjorn explains to Nathan. Turning his attention back to the room at large, he continues, "Given that we don't know exactly what we will be faced with, I suggest a conservative strategy. The earthenworks will slow the Dreadmarch down, given us as much time as possible to thin their ranks with archers and trebuchets -- I believe they are ready, Master Radagast?" Without waiting for a detailed response, Bjorn turns to Astryd. "And if Mistress Astryd can brighten the lights of the Keep to sunlight levels, right as the Dreadmarch is about to make contact with our ground forces, we should do significant damage without much immediate loss."
"Hmm, what has already been used against the dreadmarch? The earthenworks, obviously. Was the light magic used?"
Dracos
"No," Bjorn says. "Nor the trebuchets."
"Should then we keep that in reserve until they break past the earthenworks? A stunning burst of light into their eyes before we rush them rather then giving them any chance to adjust or notice it coming?"
Dracos
"That is what he said."
"Ah, misunderstood. My apologies."
Dracos
Lord Kevin (and just about everyone else) looks at Phil, and shifts in their seats uncomfortably. "Anyway," Kevin says, shaking his head. "That seems to me a sensible plan, if only worrisome in the fact that we've played most of our cards before the final battle has come."
"And a card up a corpse's sleeve can't be played by the one it would most benefit," Donovan warns.
Kevin raises an eyebrow, but nods his head. "True. We can devise worse for our foe, I imagine. Do any others have thoughts on this?"
"If it's merely a lack of ideas that worry you, my Lord," Bjorn says a touch grimly, "then I have other ideas still. And I trust that, between the all of us, we can continue to come up with new strategems." He looks Kevin in the eye steadily. "But these are, in the end, simply stalling tactics. To win in the long run, we must find a way to destroy the Dreadmarch's organization, to make it the makeshift horde it has always previously been. To do that, we need the information that comes from captured traitors.
"Which is all to say," he says, leaning back in his chair, "that I agree with the Headwarden. We don't yet hold the cards that will win us this war. We must play everything we have, without worrying about holding something in reserve, until we do."
"Ah...A question if you will. Where can we be of the greatest use to the keep? Our archers will obviously support those already here. But there are also our swordsmen, pikesmen, and axemen. We could just all go in with the charging lines, but if you have other ideas?"
Dracos
Bjorn tilts his head for a second in thought, but then shakes his head. "The plan for tonight, at least, calls for a single front," he says briskly. "The storm-riders, should they be willing, will take their places on the front lines, and in the reserves."
Dracos nods. "Then that is where we will be."
Dracos
"I have a question for the loremasters," Rez notes, "odds are that sometime during the siege we'll be facing the archonae I saw as the enemy general. While the stormriders can take down any jotun, is there anything in particular that the troops should be aware of should we be faced with that archon?"
Radagast looks thoughtful. "There are actually many things," he admits. "This ... is something I had not thought through as well as I wished ... but I thought time would come later." Radagast adjusts his "wizard's hat" -- which fairly well conforms to the stereotype -- and sets his jaw in thought. "They would be able to push everyone away before they came in range," he mumbles. "Arrows and stones would fly away. While the Archonae are as frail as they look, they're quite good at keeping themselves out of harm's way."
He sighs, and steeples his hands in thought while Lammermore, Kevin, and the two vassals look uncomfortable about the situation.
"With the lorekeepers working together," he says slowly, "we could create a power that was greater than even an archon would be able to counter. This is ... exceedingly dangerous for the lorekeepers who do it. If could dangerously backfire ... but it may be the only way to destroy an Archon behind an army that size."
"How many ways can an Archon split its attention?" Bjorn asks, leaning forward with narrowed eyes. "If it were, say, being sealed in the earth by Earthmaster Devin's craft, could it resist that at the same time as it deflected arrows and spears?"
Radagast blinks. "All force is one force, to them," Radagast says. "One power is very little from another. It's not the number of powers, it's the strength. And the strength of lorekeepers in unison is much more powerful than one would think."
Bjorn nods. "I see," he says slowly, and then shakes his head. "I doubt that it will be an issue for this night's battle. Elric seems intent on driving us to despair and surrender, not crushing us immediately with his full strength. But at least we have one plan, and can develop others later."
Radagast nods. "I will choose loyal lorekeepers and stand against such a possibility in the future," he says. "For the moment, while you've given a task for Astryd and Devin, what of the others?"
He pauses, glancing up as Parthipan dashes into the room.
Ginrai pauses to gather himself before starting. "Well, while I was checking out their place I noticed the Jotun; there were about two hundred of them in the back of the Dreadmarch army. Their camp seemed to be arrayed neatly -- much more than I had expected it to be. While I was checking on one particular area, Elric noticed me and, before I could really do anything, forced me back into my body."
"Two hundred jotun? That'd be a mess. Did they look like they were planning to charge tonight? What about their other troops?"
Dracos
"I'm not sure whether they will attack today or not. As for the other troops I didn't notice them as most of them were underneath tents."
"Well," Radagast says, unsettled.
"I don't think they'd use their entire alotment of Jotun in a single attack," Kevin says, shaking his head, and eyeing Phil oddly. "But we've learned a bit. They're well organized, they're well armed, and for whatever reason, they're still reluctant to commit their full forces. Surely if they were all going to attack, they'd do it now."
"The question is what they gain by waiting," Radagast says, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Elric seems to want us to yield," Bjorn muses. "A mass assault would likely overwhelm us -- but if I understand the rules of engagement properly, it would have to defeat us utterly, or else risk the destruction of all the Dreadmarch forces. He's as much as made it clear that he wants us to surrender, not to crush us." He sighs faintly, dropping one armoured hand to the table and drumming his fingers briefly. "This simply pushes the question back: why do they want us to surrender?"
He gazes off into the distance for a few brief seconds, before shaking his head and refocussing. "Yet another question that we can't yet answer," he says briskly, "and so a matter for another time. Right now, we need to worry about winning the night's battle. If the Dreadmarch is well-organized, it seems to me that while there may be a couple jotun on the front line, the vast majority of them will be kept in the rear to throw stones. That poses a serious threat. Arrows will be next to useless against them. The only weapons we have which might reach and hurt them are the trebuchets, which aren't easily aimed, and of which we don't have many, and the craft of the lorekeepers. Or so I hope.
"Master Radagast," Bjorn says, turning to face the wizard, "how many lorekeepers of the Path of Fire do we have? Do you know if they have devised any weapons specifically for the destruction of Jotun?"
"We've twelve followers of the Path of Fire," he says. "But no weapons. Plans, yes, but no weapons."
"The jotun need to be eliminated," Bjorn says crisply. "It seems that your Path of Fire would have the best chance. I recommend that you give the twelve that job, and let them come up with the best solution they might."
"Of course," Radagast says, frowning.
Bjorn blinks at Radagast, and then sighs. "My apologies, Master Radagast," he says, somewhat embarassedly. "I don't mean to tell the Lorekeepers how to go about their business, but the jotun are a large concern. Do you -- or anyone else -- have suggestions as to how to deal with them?"
"No," he says, shaking his head. "Fire and sunlight will melt and stun them. That is the best way to deal with the Jotun. My only concern is that their weakness is known. I fear that the Dreadmarch has devised some defense against it."
Bjorn's eyes narrow, and he works his jaws in thought. "Then let's turn it around," he says. "Let's suppose I gave you the task of protecting Jotun from fire, Master Radagast. What would you do?"
Radagast nods thoughtfully. "I'd set wards on them," he says slowly. "The wards can be destroyed by ... someone like Mattias, but they're proof of fire, and their own cold, of course. It would take enough power to either overwhelm that ward, or something to wash it away. Water might do it ... and if it were to freeze on the Jotun, then it would slow them anyway."
Bjorn nods. "Then a two stage attack on the jotun?" he suggests. "Water, to slow them and to hopefully remove any wards, and then fire to kill them?"
"Yes, I think that sounds like a wise desicison," Radagast decides. "This does mean, however, that our lorekeepers will likely be entirely absorbed in dealing with the Jotun, and unable to do little else." He pauses, and nods at Parthipan, "With the exception of Windmaster Parthipan, of course."
Ginrai nods. "I will prepare a set of spells that should hopefully deal with the rest of the dreadmarch."
Bjorn eyes Parthipan consideringly, but says only, "Good, then. The jotun represent the only major resource of the Dreadmarch that we have a chance at eliminating entirely." He looks around the room, letting his gaze rest on Donovan in particular. "Are there other thoughts?"
"Well, lores aside, how do our footsoldiers fit into everything?" the older looking man asks.
"We will array them back from the earthenworks, in front of the Keep walls," Bjorn says, his fingers sketching out diagrams that no one else can really see on the table before him. "The normal arrangement, spearmen in front, and so forth. When the Dreadmarch begins to breach the earthenworks, they'll have a choice. They can either immediately charge our position, in which case they'll come piecemeal, and die easily. Or they can try to regroup on the near side of the works, giving us more chance to hammer them with arrows. And if they take too long arranging their ranks, we'll charge ourselves, grinding them up against the moat and earthenwork."
He frowns for a second, and then adds, "We should keep reserves forces off the flanks of the gates, pulled back some distance, as well. Both to guard against flanking maneuvers on their part, and to hit them in the flanks if the combat should be drawn out."
"Very good ... if we can keep the Jotun's throwing stones from crushing us while we await the charge," Donovan says, looking at Parthipan and Radagast pointedly.
"We can spread out until the Dreadmarch comes close to clearing the eathenworks," Bjorn says thoughtfully. "That will diminish the danger of the Jotun while we wait. Hopefully, by the time that we have to draw up our ranks, the Jotun will be preoccupied with the actions of the lorekeepers, and less of a danger."
"Very well, then," Kevin decides. "Radagast's weapons can be used to slow the advance, and possibly help battle the Jotun. That may give us the cover we need."
"If I may comment, maintaining the ranks while jotun attempt to plow through them - even distracted jotun - is a quick way to get obliterated. Take it from me, ranks don't help against jotun . . . anyone fighting against a jotun needs room to move, or it'll be less a fight and more a meat-grinders."
Bjorn grunts. "If the Jotun are used to spearhead a charge, then it will be a different story altogether. We'll keep some skirmisher groups ready to move forward and engage any Jotun before they reach the main lines. My suspicion, as I said, is that they'll mostly be held back for artillery support." He shrugs. "If I'm wrong, and they commit most of their Jotun to a frontal charge, then we'll break up the ranks entirely."
Rez nods.
"You'll need stormriders for that, obviously, since we at least have some experience in taking the things down . . . hm. What exactly is the plan if or when the general is identified?"
"Kill him," Bjorn replies succintly. "Beyond that... without knowing who the general is, or how he'll show up, there's no way to come up with a detailed plan." He looks around the room. "We can't win the battle until we kill the general," he says warningly, "but if we throw away our troops to kill the general, we'll lose the war instead. Take him out when you have a clean shot at him."
"No death squad or anything? I'm almost disappointed. Alright then."
"Well, Lammermore will not be fighting today," Kevin says succinctly. "But if Bjorn carries the honourable Sir Breke's blades, and Nathaniel wields a blade of some power, then both should be prepared ... and I believe it was Lord Bloom who showed the power of coordinating efforts in a group in the last battle. We should not dismiss the importance of that."
Rez nods thoughtfully and sits back.
Bjorn nods to Kevin. "As you say, my Lord. Another suggestion, if I might: the followers of Aestock would be invaluable on the field as messengers."
"Oh?" Kevin asks. "Well ... hmm. Very well, then. That's a good suggestion. We'll assign one to each commander on the field to relay messages, then."
"So...shall we go and get in the troops in position? Our stormriders already have a messanger system, so our runners can handle messages for our own troops."
Dracos
"Ah," Kevin says, nodding. "Are you planning on committing all of your forces? If you would find it acceptible, I was thinking we could combine forces and try to establish more effective squads. Storm-riders are mostly swordsmen, correct? The majority of our own forces are spearmen."
"Indeed. There's no point in us sittting around with our hands behind our heads while others are on the field. We're here to fight. The majority of our forces are swordsman, under the command of Sir Warrick, Sir Harold, and Lord George. We also have spearmen as well as I mentioned earlier, under Lord Farwell and axemen under Lord Roger. Our archers, under Sir Erik, will obviously be joining your own in providing the ranged assault. In other words, we'll all be out there."
Dracos
The Storm-riders all nod vigorously. "We may not require a full commitment, but knowing your men stand ready gives us much aid against the foe," Kevin says. "With any luck, this will be easy ... but depending on luck will get us nowhere."
"My men already have experience working in squads as well, but I don't know the forces already here to really understand how we'd best combine for effect."
Dracos
"Of course," Lammermore says smoothly. "We've about forty thousand footmen who aren't otherwise occupied, and a good five thousand swordsmen of our own. How would you suggest dividing the units?"
As Drac thinks for a moment, Nathan decides to comment.
"If I may say . . . your forces, for their combat effectiveness, seemed to try to rely mostly on their ranks and formations. I'm not certain, I haven't seen you in battle much, but is this correct?"
"That's right," Lammermore says, nodding. "An ordered formation has a better defence against the chaotic rush of the Dreadmarch."
"Then perhaps my men should wait in preparedness behind your defensive ranks. Once the opening charge is complete, your men can shift ranks to allow our charge through to drive back the enemy."
Dracos
Lammermore's eye twitches, and he says, "Ah. I see. Well, a beggar cannot be a chooser, so what assistance you consent to offer is more than welcome." Rising somewhat stiffly to his feet, he adds, "I ... must oversee my men." Nodding even more stiffly to the room at large, he limps out."
Kevin looks less than pleased. "Well," he says dryly. "I think we can adjourn for this meeting -- Bjorn, Sir Donnovan, I'd like to speak with you and the lorekeepers in a moment."
Bjorn remains seated, nodding at Kevin to acknowledge his order.
"Not . . . gah. Excuse me, Lord Kevin, but I think Lord Bloom misunderstood exactly where I was going with this train of thought. There does need to be a seperation between our units, simply on the grounds that our men simply work differently - and we don't have time to train our men to work together in joint formations, so making squads comprised of keep-dwellers and stormriders would probably not work too well."
Rez shrugs.
"For what it's worth, the upshot is that we probably make much better skirmishers than your men, but we aren't so good at straight out cohesion - we rely on the fact that we hit harder. I'm not much of a tactician, so I'll leave it to those who are to figure out how to use that. I mean no offense like this, but I believe we probably make a better force for charging than your soldiers, in general, not half because we also have berserkers to bolster our lines. We're perfectly capable of taking a charge and counterattacking, though. Cohesion and lack of centralised command are, if anything, our biggest problems, so it's probably best to try and just give us fairly clear orders from the get-go and leave precise maneuverings to your troops. What that means is, again, probably best decided by someone who's more of a tactician than me."
"For what it's worth, my Lord," Bjorn speaks up, "I would agree with Sir Shuker's assessment of the situation. It's always problematic to try to integrate seperate forces, and we're unlikely to iron out all the technical issues on such short notice. I'd suggest keeping the storm-riders as skirmisher reserves off on the flanks. Once the Dreadmarch begins their final charge at our lines, the storm-riders can move in. If the Dreadmarch stops to deal with them, then we can push up the centre. If they continue their charge, then the storm-riders can shift from harassment to a full-out charge of their own."
"I'll trust to your judgement, then," Kevin decides after a moment, still eyeing Phil warily.
"Eh," Lord Rogers coughs quietly. "If I might ... there's not much need for this 'integration' or the ... the ... 'techni'.... Well. I've seen the upper kingdom's ways of making war. Their formations are good, and there's one I don't know the name of ... the spearmen trade their spears for shields, and have spearmen at their backs, and archers behind them. Why not manage it that way?
"The shieldmen could take the brunt of the charge, and before the Dreadmarch has a chance to wade through the spears and decimate the keep's forces, our skirmishers can sweep through the defensive line and be on the enemy. What begins as a defense ends in an offense, and the keep's spearmen can force the Dreadmarch into pockets, which our skirmishers will easily slaughter?"
Dracos smiles, liking this idea better. "That sounds good to me."
Dracos
"It could work," Bjorn says thoughtfully. "I would use the Storm-rider pikemen to back the shieldwall, though -- the pikes have longer range, and more experience coordinating with the rest of the storm-rider forces." He ponders a little more. "The storm-rider footmen can be intergrated into the shieldwall," he points out, "which eliminates any need for them moving through gaps in the formation. When the time comes, they can simply drop their shields and attack, and reserve shield-men from the Keep forces can move up behind them to take their place.
"At that point, the Keep spearmen can push forward through the pike-men, up to the shieldwall and through, to back up the storm-rider forces. We can wheel the rest of the foot around the edges of the shieldwall to flank around into the Dreadmarch."
Lord Rogers raises an eyebrow at this. "That ... sounds like a fine plan, I think," he says.
Lord Kevin nods his agreement. "Then that is the plan we shall use. Unless there is anything else?" he asks, glancing across the room.
Dracos shakes his head, "Nothing more here. We'll go get ready."
Dracos
"Very good," Kevin declares, clapping his hands together. "I suggest we all prepare, and take our places," he says, rising from his chair, and bowing to the table. "Time is of the essence."
Dracos heads out with his men, going to see the plan, as lord Rogers suggested, is prepared.
Dracos
Rez, alternately, attempts to pull Bjorn aside for a quick word as they leave . . .
Ginrai looks to see what the others lorekeepers are going to do now.
Bjorn remains seated at first, as Lord Kevin wanted a word with him. However, when Nathan tugs at his sleeve, he allows himself to be drawn over to the side of the room. "What is it?" he asks in a low undertone.
"Simple, quick question. Does the plan involves you, Drac and I trying to keep relatively close to each other, or are we going to split up?"
"You heard Kevin," Bjorn says quietly. "We're supposed to be close together, ready to deal with the general when he pops his head out." He grimaces. "How we'll coordinate that with command, I'm not sure."
"He didn't really say outright either way, but that makes me feel a little better. As for command, well . . . I haven't exactly done any of that since I got here, so I've got nothing useful on that score. I'll go and get ready, I guess."
Assuming Bjorn has nothing else to say, Rez bows to Lord Kevin and exits after Drac.
Kevin watches Phil and Nathan leave the room.
Phil and Nathan return to Good Wine Makes Good Blood (http://pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=38097#38097).
Taking his seat again, Bjorn looks to Kevin expectantly.
Kevin grunts. "We may have been quick to judge," he says. "Having the storm-riders come this far and put on such a show was ... unkind to Lammermore's spirits, I think. Do you trust them?" he asks, looking at Bjorn and Donnovan.
Donnavan rubs his chin, and looks to Bjorn expectantly.
Radagast shakes his head, and gestures for Parthipan to take a closer seat.
If he could close his eyes and curse quietly, Bjorn most certainly would. Instead, he studies the ceiling briefly, considering how to answer the question, before meeting Kevin's gave evenly.
"I do not believe they are aligned with the Dreadmarch, my Lord," Bjorn says slowly, "if this is what you're asking. On the other hand, I don't know that Lord Bloom has ever been known for his strategic genius." Choosing his words carefully, he says delicately, "I would carefully consider any strategic advice provided by Lord Bloom, but whatever plan is developed, I believe the storm-riders will do their best to implement."
Kevin grunts, and nods. "We'd best get ready," he says, climbing to his feet.
Ginrai nods and gets up, waiting for the other lorekeepers before heading to his tower.
"Yes, my Lord," Bjorn says, rising in turn. "What would you like me to do?"
Radagast, Devin, and Astryd follow Parthipan from the room, while Lord Kevin sighs, and heads off -- probably to his rooms.
Parthipan now returns to A Walk in the Neighborhood (http://pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=37841#37841).
"Well," Kevin says, hesitating near the doorway. "I don't think he's opposed to us, but I'd question his judgement anyway. I'd say ... keep an eye on Lord Bloom."
"As you say, my Lord," Bjorn says, with a parting bow. As Kevin leaves, he turns, and looks at Donovan with a raised eyebrow.
Donovan nods slightly. "An interesting situation ... but a good strategy. Let's see how it bears up on the field, eh?"
Bjorn nods in return. "If you'll excuse me," he says, drily, "I must go catch up with Lord Bloom. Unless you need me first...?"
He shakes his head at you with a grin. "You're far too important a player in this game to be held to my whim," he says, extracting slighy glances of envy from the other two vassals. Sobering, he adds, "But all the same, this is a dangerous game. Be careful out there."
"And the same to you, Sir Donovan," Bjorn replies soberly. "With the odds the way they are, we're all important players." He nods respectfully, and then straightens, rolling his head to work kinks out of his neck. "If you'll excuse me, it seems my place is on the front lines today. Hammar guide all of you."
With a parting nod, he leaves the meeting room, intent on catching up with Nathan and Philip.
He bows back to you, but says nothing.
You need to run all the way behind the keep to catch up with Phil and Nathan, and you do so just as the last of Philip's retainers is running away -- with the exception of Nathan's loyal follower, Alec. But he's already in on the secret.
Bjorn now goes to Good Wine Makes Good Blood (http://pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=38126#38126).