Stay

[Ginrai]

Ginrai nods.  "Should we try and avoid him then?  At first I was considering asking him about this after we left here, but that could be a rather horrible decision at this time.  And then there's the possibility that he might take part in the meeting with the Archonae...."

[Bjorn]

"No, don't avoid him," Bjorn says.  "That would look suspicious... and he might be on our side.  Just take what he tells you with a grain of salt, and don't treat him as a trusted ally until you can trust him.

"As for the meeting..." Bjorn shrugs.  "We don't know what the ceremony is going to be like, and we couldn't do anything anways without proof.  That's why I want you to find out about the ceremony."

[Ginrai]

"That shouldn't be difficult seeing how my other-self had knowledge on the Archonae.  I'll see if he brought any books on them.  Now that I think of it, my other-self also had knowledge on herbology... damn."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn shrugs.  "However you want to go about it.  But if you question anybody else, try and show a little more subtlety and tact, eh?"

[Ginrai]

"Yeah, sure thing."  Ginrai gets up to leave.

[Bjorn]

"Good luck."  Bjorn gets up after Parthipan and Paul, shutting the door behind them.

Then he goes to the bedroom, and discreetly raps on the bedroom door.  "Mirallia?"  He hesitates.  "Are you alright?"

[Brian]

She opens the door, and looks irritated.  "I'm fine," she says aftr a moment.  "Just annoyed.  Those questions make no sense to me ... I think I like the new loremaster even less than the old one."

Parthipan and Paul return to Secret Game.

[Bjorn]

"That's understandable," Bjorn says, with a touch of humour in his voice.  "I have absolutely no idea what he was trying to get at."  He shakes his head.  "For what it's worth, I think I got him set on a line of research that'll keep him out of your hair for a while."

Bjorn hesitates for a second, and then continues, "I think it must seem like we -- myself and the others, and our enemies -- are playing a sort of... game with your world.  When Parthipan acts like that, it must be hard to trust us.  But by no choice of ours, our 'game' involves the Dreadmarch.  I'm doing what I do to protect humans, and the fact that the people who live here are in a different world makes no difference in my eyes.  We are fighting for the same thing, Mirallia, and I hope you believe that."

[Brian]

"I do," she says slowly.  "Are you not human on your world?"

[Bjorn]

Taken aback, Bjorn can only blink at Mirallia before breaking out in laughter.  "I did phrase that badly, didn't I?" he says whimiscally.  "No, I'm human."  His amusement fades, and his jaws clench, before relaxing again.  "Quite human, not matter what others occasionally might say," he continues, jovially.

[Brian]

"Ah," she says, seeming to realize that this might be a sore point.  "I'm going to get some rest," she finally decides.  "Don't stay awake too long.  I'll see you in the morning."

With that, she retreats into her own room, closing the door except for a small fraction.  You hear the interior shutters being pulled against the windows, presumably to make it darker, and then the rustling of cloth, and then nothing.

[Bjorn]

Goddamnit, Bjorn thinks in frustration, I wanted to do something about the window in her room.  He shrugs, to himself, and then sits himself down cross-legged before Mirallia's door, sword across his knees.  Leaning back against the wall, about to drift off into sleep, a thought snaps into clear focus in his mind: The Dreadmarch is coming.  Ahead of schedule.

Frowning, eyes closed, he contemplates that.  The attitude people have here... stinks.  Waiting on a ceremony?  The March has already pulled out a surprise on them.  What if they had another one?  What if they got here before the ceremony?  

So what would I do?  Outriders, scouts.  Harassing actions.  Traps.  Fire the plains -- nobody on our side's out there anyways.  Find out what they have in the ways of supply lines, and break them.

Next question: what would my other-self do?  If he wanted to slow the March down, if he wanted to weaken them before they showed up, if he was afraid they'd get here before they were supposed to... what would all his training tell him to do?

[OOC: Six points of Influence in Tactics to try and answer that question!]

[Brian]

You fall asleep before you find a solid answer.  When you wake up, which is apparently before Mirallia, you realize that there are a number of problems.

For one, there's supposed to be a contingient of storm-riders already out there, waiting for the chance to join with everyone for the battle.

For another, the outpost full of scouts and soldiers is still standing, and that's going to be hard to sneak by before the men abandon it to rejoin the forces at the keep.

And, of course, snow doesn't burn very well.

Another problem has cropped up between now and then, however:  Where to get something to eat.  You're a bit hungry, though you're warm enough and in loose enough clothing that the stiffness from sleeping in a sitting position is pretty negligable.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn gets to his feet, stretching.  Hrm.  Traps, then.  Tricky, inefficient.  Not enough speed or cover for harasssing.  Should still be scouts and outriders out, though with any luck they've done that already.  He shakes his head.  Don't know enough.  Don't like this.

Grumpy early-morning contemplation finished, he knocks softly on Mirallia's door.

[Brian]

She answers after a moment, climbing out of bed and looking around the main room as if she'd forgotten where she fell asleep.  She remembers quickly enough, and mumbles, "Good morning," to you.