Chapter 62: Disappointments
The sound of his footfalls echoes through the hallway.
He runs.
From alcove, to niche, to nook he scrambles.
Cold sweat runs down his race.
They will find him, if he is not quick, if he is not quiet, they will find him and he has heard the stories.
The horrors they are capable of.
So he runs, as fast as his legs can carry him, he runs.
They swept into the Academy so quickly, past his most clever defences, into the main building and directly toward his department. The rest hid, cowards, he alone has the courage to spirit the artefact away and save his fellows.
Can not fail, his boots knock out a beat to match his racing heart.
Mere metres now, mere metres and-
"Derryth! There's one!" the fatal call resounds behind him.
But they will not take him so easily!
Bravely he stops.
Slowly he turns.
As he does so his eyes settle on a door to his right. He tears it open and plunges into the darkness before him.
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"What is with these dwarves?" Lyssa hisses, exasperated.
They are acting strangely. In fact you have not found a single one of them today that has responded to your greetings. They all lower their eyes and scurry away or simply point you in the direction of the 'Weapons Development Department' and now that you have reached your goal you are having trouble finding anyone at all. Further complicating things is the fact that Jan seems to have disappeared. His office is empty and no one answered when you knocked at his lab. It makes you nervous, you just want one person to stop and explain to you what is going on. It also makes you annoyed, you have a lot to do today and these flighty fellows are wasting your time.
So when Biliku finally catches sight of one of them, calling quickly to you, "Derryth! There's one!" you set off at a full sprint.
You have no intention of letting this one go, "Which way did he go?" you shout as you slide around the corner, Thaïs at your side and Lyssa a mere step behind.
"Through that door," Uttu answers as she rushes forward alongside her sister. The five of you come to a stop in front of the door and as a single mass you push in. No one draws a weapon or casts a spell but you must say, by this point you are certainly tempted.
It is pitch black in the room, not a single ray of light disturbs the darkness. You quickly put an end to that as you and your partner conjure up a matching pair of lights.
When your eyes adjust to the gloom you almost laugh.
Huddled at the far end of the room are forty two dwarves. They mutter and whisper to one another.
They are terrified.
The two of you step forward, speaking together, "Anyone care to explain to us what is going on?"
Your question sends a ripple through the congregation as the dwarves shove each other and argue.
You clear your throat and their attention snaps back to you, "Now please we have things to do."
The dwarves fall back to arguing, shuffling left and right before you and shouting. Moments before your patience is exhausted the crowd seizes on one of its own, they lift him into the air and pitch him before you onto the floor.
As he pulls himself up to his full, modest height you recognize their offering. It is that tiny dwarf that is always shouting...
He grumbles, "YOU FUCKING TRAITORS! YOU! YOU!" he balls his fists in rage and shakes them at his fellows before turning to you, "IT IS NOT MY FAULT!" he pleads.
Well this fills you with confidence.
"What is not your fault?" your better half asks, dread colouring her tone.
"WELL WE WERE-" he begins.
"Stop shouting!" Lyssa interrupts him.
"YOU STOP SHOUTING! I AM NOT SHOUTING," he responds defensively.
"Don't distract him," you remind your witch.
Thaïs nods, "It is hard enough to get them to focus as is."
The three of you eye him.
"WELL YOU SEE..." the little dwarf begins, dropping his gaze.
One of his fellows, a broad dwarf with a red beard and a redder face, finishes for him, "We- we sort of broke your spinner."
The three of you curse in unison. The dwarves shrink back against the far wall.
They must be afraid you will do something horrible to them, at the moment you just might.
Lyssa manages to master her annoyance first, "How?"
"Well you wanted capes that would let you glide on the air but that was boring! We thought it would be even better if we could build you capes that could fly, capes that were lighter than air itself!," one of the dwarves begins from the back of the crowd.
"So we figured why not make them out of light?" another continues. The entire crowd nod along and express their approval for the idea.
The little dwarf nods, embolden by the consensus and approval of his fellows, "EXCEPT MERELY LETTING SUNLIGHT IN DID NOTHING!"
The red dwarf elaborates, "So we, we ah- we tried using something that produces light..."
You groan and you group plays chorus as the realization hits you all, you damn near shudder as you ask the question, "You filled it with fire, didn't you?"
The little dwarf gives you an odd look, "HOW DO YOU FILL SOMETHING WITH FIRE? THAT IS RIDICULOUS! NO, WE ATTACHED A LENGTH OF STRING TO ITS GEARS AND HIT IT WITH LIGHTNING! PURE LIGHT FROM THE HEAVENS!"
The crowd behind him nods enthusiastically and mutters its approval as the little dwarf presents you with a sack.
You open it slowly, the five of you crowding around your former artefact.
Maybe, maybe it is not so bad?
You open the sack and are met by a half melted lump of gold and iron, one of the legs twitches slightly as you turn it over in your hands.
That's it. You are going to murder each and every one of these idiots...
You are sure that there is not a court in the entire Kingdom that would fault you for it either.
You look to Thaïs, she is clenching her jaw.
You look to Lyssa, she is balling her fists.
Caoilainn, always one to advise restraint, is howling in your ears. She wants blood, you don't blame her.
It is Biliku that steps forward and hazards a question, "Did you manage to make any of the cloaks we ordered before your- ah, your accident?"
The dwarves nod and begin to pass a number of cloaks forward.
The red dwarf lists the fruits of their efforts as you numbly take them in hand, "Yes, it was easy to weave cloaks from steel and they are quite durable. They should be able to stop a knife or arrow from penetrating though you would still receive the force of the blow."
He passes you eight heavy cloaks and while you and the mages stand mute the girls try them on.
"Hmm, not bad," Uttu adds testing the weight of it, "Less than mail to be sure though it does have a bit of weight to it."
Biliku wraps the cloak around her right arm testing its weight as well as she runs through some basic stances, she turns to you, "These should be useful though they will probably be uncomfortable if worn under the desert sun."
At least you go
something out of it.
Biliku turns back to the dwarves, "What about the gliding capes?"
The little dwarf nods repeatedly, "OUR EXPERIMENTS DID YIELD RESULTS!"
The red dwarf produces a length of fabric fifteen centimetres wide and one hundred and twenty centimetres long, "One of our earlier tests produced a fabric that is resilient enough to allow someone to glide on it. You would not be able to fly with it but if you jumped off a tall structure you should be able to harness the elemental air around you to slowly descend to the ground."
That does sound useful, you let your bodyguard continue to needle the dwarves, "Good," she nods, "How much of this fabric did you create?"
"Lots!" the red dwarf declares, "But, ah..."
The little dwarf clears his throat, "IT WAS IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE SPINNER WHEN WE TRIED TO MAKE THE LIGHT CAPES AND..."
The red dwarf nods, "There was a fire you see and..."
"We lost everything but the sample!" one of the dwarves yells from the back and is quickly shushed by his peers.
You glare at them, you let them stew in their discomfort till you finally speak, "So we have a gliding scarf?"
One of the dwarfs shouts back from the middle of the crowd, "Yeah! Or a set of handkerchiefs, or a-"
One of his fellows is quick to silence him.
You rub the bridge of your nose, "Right, we are going to take the spinner and all of the capes you have. Jan will have new orders for you all before the end of the day" you turn on your heel and grab hold of one of the doors on your way out, you mutter as you go, "Provided I can find the little bastard that is."
Some dark little part of you notes that the doors to this chamber are quite thick and that there is only one way out. You could start a little fire of your own, you could- but no. You need the dwarves, the Kingdom needs them too but you are not going to just forget this. They owe you and you will have to take this matter up with someone that can compensate you for your loss.
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It took you far longer than it should have to track down Jan and when you did find him he was in the most unlikely of places.
"So you know Astrid?" you begin.
Jan nods, "Yes, certain key members of the Academy have regular contact with the Pathfinders and Astrid is one of their most gifted tinkerers."
Astrid smiles weakly at the praise. In truth, she does not look good. Her eyes are sunken, she looks pale and she seems sluggish. Bari's state must be weighing on her more than you knew, "Well, any chance I can get to pick the brains of the fellows of the Academy is a pleasure. They know far more than I could ever aspire to."
"Nonsense," Jan insists, "If you ever get tired of this life I know you would fit in perfectly at the Academy."
She smiles again but her eyes dart to the doorway behind you, the side chamber where Bari lies sleeping.
You feel the need to ask, "How is he?"
"Well enough," she answers, her eyes still glued on the doorway, "Well enough."
You hope she understands that you care but you do not have time, you simply do not have enough time in the day to spend it worrying, "When the Kingdom is safe, we will help him Astrid. You have my-"
"Our," Thaïs insists.
You nod, "Our, word on that."
"Thank you," she quietly replies.
Jan clears his throat and attempts to drag the conversation away from your wounded friend, "So what can I do for the two of you?"
You absentmindedly dump your melted spinner out onto the table.
"Wyrd!" the researcher exclaims.
Even Astrid takes a good long look at it, "What is- was that?" she squints at it, "Is that your spinner? What happened to it?"
"The fellows of the Academy happen to it," you explain bitterly, "They wanted to weave light."
"So they set it on fire?" Jan asks with a smirk.
The pair of you shake your heads, "They hit it with lightning."
Jan and Astrid look at each other and burst out laughing at the absurdity of it. It is almost worth losing the spinner to see Astrid laugh again.
You warm a little in fact, "Oh sure, laugh, but guess who was the lead on that project. Who was the person that was supposed to supervise those brilliant idiots and keep them from breaking our artefact?"
"Right..." Jan nods uncomfortably, "So you will be wanting something to make up for your loss then?"
You both nod.
He nods slowly, "Name your price."
You do.
He assures you that you will have it. Before you leave if that is possible and if not then on your return.
You also give Jan instructions on another project you want to Academy to research. You have an idea, for armour that can dampen, or perhaps simply manipulate, the magical signals produced by your enchantments."
Both Jan and Astrid are quite taken by the idea and after giving Astrid her orders you leave the two of them to discuss the possibilities. Hopefully having actual assignments to complete will do them both some good.
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You sit together at one of the side tables in a Pathfinder safe house mere blocks from the Palace and all you can think about is what a disappointment this has been. On a day of disappointments this stings all the more.
This officer knows nothing.
Or rather she knows quite a lot but none of it will help you find the Watcher's agents.
She knows where Wenzel's men are stationed, she knows most of the cons and rackets they are running as well, she even knows that Wenzel prefers his slave girls to be blonde rather than brunette. What she does not know is anything of particular interest to you. She does not know anything of value about Wenzel's former captain, the one singled out to you as a cultist by Timo. She does not know anything about the necromancer led assault on the Pathfinder prison. She does not even know anything about the fates of the escaped prisoners beyond the same basic rumours Timo was able to provide you.
This has been a complete and utter waste of seven hours.
Well, almost.
You have learnt a great deal about dissecting minds and prying out secrets. You are certain that Thaïs has as well. Finally you have both further improved your ability to work together when employing your spells. If you keep that up you might even be able to anticipate each other's every move in battle and strike as a single mind when needed. Something similar to the Drowned Dead only born of harmony and intuition rather than compression and pain.
From that perspective then, this was not a waste of your time and there may yet be a second way that this experience has proved helpful.
She knows nothing that will help your investigation but she does know more than enough to ruin the Weasels. Sadly that is an outcome that Wenzel's family would like to avoid but there is nothing preventing you from getting this information to Wenzel's enemies. Patrol routes, delivery times, smuggling locations and drop off points, if you gave even half of this information to the smaller gangs that border Wenzel's territory you could have the Weasel's crushed within weeks. You could also use the threat of leaking this information to keep Wenzel in line, at least until he can reorganize his organization. The question is really would it benefit you more to wipe out a potential enemy, blackmail the Prince into good behaviour, or simply sit on the information to maintain good relations with the rest of his family. Then, of course, there is the moral element to consider. Wenzel and his men are a blight on the city, there are many, especially amongst the poor that would greatly appreciate his removal. It may be a real kindness you can do them or it may simply encourage more brutal successors to rise in his place.
You have not found what you came here looking for but you have discovered a lot that is worth considering.
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This is your first time seeing an elephant up close like this and they make a magnificent entrance drawing into the palace courtyard together. They are beautiful animals and the glimmer of intelligence in their eyes serves as an assurance of their competency and a warning against their abuse. A warning their Hound handlers seem to be gleefully ignoring.
These are beasts of burden and war that have likely seen numerous skirmishes and minor battles but it is clear that the scars that riddle their hides are not all from battle.
Lyssa hisses when she sees their condition, "Fucking bastards..."
You remind her that the King paid those 'fucking bastards' quite a bit for their services and the use of their elephants. She nods slowly but continues to stare daggers at the handlers. You are going to have to keep her away from them if you want to avoid a fight, you don't really need to add more enemies to your growing list. Of course you only need the elephants, not their handlers, and once in the desert who is to say what happened and when. It might be worthwhile to ensure the team of twelve handlers suffer accidents if you think that Lyssa can handle the elephants by herself.
You try to take her mind off the animals, "So how is that armour fitting?"
She slowly pulls her gaze from the beasts and gives both you and your partner a smile, "Oh, it is perfect Derryth. Thank you, thank you both," she gives you each a hug, "I know you did not have to and I swear, I will find a way to repay you-" she trails off as she notices Ceannard an his Arrows enter the square, "What in the world is he wearing around his neck?"
You both turn to take in the Captain, he beams at you and has his men fan out to aid your people in loading the remaining wagons. He cuts quite a fine figure this afternoon, his uniform is perfect but that is not what draws your attention. Wrapped around his throat is a long, black scarf.
The pair of you snicker as Lyssa asks, "Where did you get that?"
"The desert sun can be quite dangerous ladies," he responds casually, "Better to cover your skin."
Your eyes meet Thaïs' and you grin at one another, a pair of wolves circling a calf, you begin, "Yes, you would not want to get any rashes or welts."
"And I imagine it would protect you from insect bites as well," your better half adds feigning complete innocence.
The mercenary grumbles slightly, "So when do we begin this run into the desert."
"As soon as the King and his sons arrive to see us off," the three of you answer together.
He scans the courtyard, "Well the sooner the better I-"
"Oh Ceannard!" a voice calls from the palace door, "Good! You have not left yet!"
He shudders instinctively, but does not turn, "It is her isn't it?"
"Why who do you mean?" you ask innocently.
He leans in, "You know who. Our partner, the one I am to 'instruct' in how to be a mercenary captain."
Thaïs sighs, "No need to play the victim. This is hardly some great burden we are leaving you with."
"As you say," he bows slightly, "It is one I would rather do without though."
"Man up," you slap him on the shoulder, "She is no worse than the rest of us."
"Oh Ceannard!" she shouts again, rapidly closing with your tiny knot of officers, "I wanted to say, well I wanted to say so much but you ran off earlier. It is such a pleasure to see you again, and to work with you so closely, and to be your pa-"
You all clear your throats sending up a chorus of coughs. You trust most of the people in this courtyard but the whole point of your plan is to not make the connection between your organization and the Arrows fully known. As far as the world is concerned Ceannard is in the direct service of the King. Only you, your partners and your core personnel know that Ceannard and his men are now a part of your growing organization. You would like to keep it that way.
"Oh!" Áine gasps, "Oh yes, well it is just such a pleasure to know that we will be spending so very much time together in the future and I thought- I thought before you left maybe you would like a token of my affection?"
Many of the Arrows, your own men and the Greys have stopped to watch this scene. They whisper to one another and a few chuckle.
She presents him with a lilac piece of silk, just a mere ribbon and her sincerity is almost painful to watch.
He raises an eyebrow, "Generally, ah, Miss Grey, business partners do not give one another- ooph," Lyssa elbows him in the side.
"Take the damn ribbon," you whisper as you lean in, helping him right himself.
"Take it as a token of good luck on the start of a new venture," your better half adds quickly.
Áine eyes you all suspiciously.
Ceannard hisses back, "No, if I do that I will never be rid of her. Besides, I doubt Nephila will share."
"Wait what?" Lyssa asks, dropping down to help the two of you.
"We will explain later," you instruct her before turning back to Ceannard, "Take the ribbon, we will talk to Áine. Trust us."
"When has that ever worked out well for me?" he asks in dismay.
You glare at him, "How much richer are you now than three months ago?"
He sighs, "Alright, fine."
You break your impromptu huddle and turn to face Lady Grey, all smiles.
Ceannard bows low, "It would be my honour to accept this token of good fortune to mark the beginning of our latest venture and to give you a token in return, in the spirit of our financial partnership."
"Wait, give her a token?" you hiss, "Ceannard what are you up to?"
He takes her token and carefully pushes it into his glove so that the corner sticks out for all to see. Then he begins to unwrap the scarf from around his throat. Immediately she sees the welts and understands their significance.
She stares daggers at you, then Thaïs and finally Lyssa, she coughs and smiles, "Thank you for your token Ceannard, but I believe an arrow would be a more fitting gift, from one captain to another."
He obliges her, plucking a single black arrow from his quiver and passing it Lady Grey.
She takes it, curtsies slightly and withdraws back toward the palace as quickly as is dignified. You will say one thing for the nobles, they know how to receive humiliation with a smile, if you were in Áine's place you probably would have knocked Ceannard on his ass.
Maybe you still will.
"Ceannard, how was that professional?" you begin to lay into him.
"Had to be done," he shrugs though you think even he regrets it a little.
You start after your business partner, you can't leave her like this.
You can hear Thaïs behind you, giving Lyssa and Ceannard their orders. As she turns to follow you, you are certain you hear her stomp on Ceannard's foot and mutter something about a 'insensitive ass'.
The two of you catch Áine just inside the main doors and she almost draws a knife on you but you manage to catch her by the arm and drag her into an empty side chamber.
You release her, raising your hands to show you mean no harm, "Now Áine, I know this looks bad but-"
"Looks bad!" she screams, "You promised me! You said that you were not interested in him! You said-"
Thaïs tries to sooth her, "We have nothing but a professional relationship with Ceannard."
She narrows her eyes, "Then it was Lyssa?"
Yeah, that is just what you need. If Áine tries to kill your illusionist you know exactly how that will go. The eagles will be eating noble for the next two weeks.
"It was not Lyssa," Thaïs reassures her.
"It was no one you know," you add with a nod.
Thaïs winces a little. Was it something you said?
"You do know who it is then?" Lady Grey circles around to you, "Will you tell me? Please?"
Ah, hell.
" Áine," Thaïs starts again, "It is not important. You are not naive..."
Well, not
that naive, you hope.
Your better half pushes on, "Ceannard is a mercenary, he is charming, he is dashing but he is not always nice."
She nods and crumples into a corner, "What do I do?"
You know the answer to that one, "You need to decide if he is worth the effort and if you are willing to tolerate his faults since I would not bet on him changing any time soon."
Thaïs picks up the strain where you leave off, she drops down before the crushed officer and catches her gaze, "He may simply be a different man than you thought he was. If you decide he is not worth it then write it off as an indiscretion of youth and move on to the next one."
"And if I decide he is worth the effort?" she asks slowly.
"Then stop throwing yourself at him," you advise her, "Make him chase you. Be a professional, be a true mercenary captain, wrap yourself in a little mystery..."
You drop down next to your better half and share a grin, "And make sure to abuse him every now and then. I think he actually likes it a little. But no matter which way you decide to go pay attention to what he has to teach you. He is a killer, he is a mercenary and he is a proven leader of men in battle. He is one of the best in the entire Kingdom and if you learn the lessons he will teach you then you could be every bit as great, understand?"
She gives you a weak smile, "Thank you, thank you both."
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"
Well, that was just so much fun," Caoiliann chimes in as you close the door and leave Lady Grey to compose herself, "
Isn't it just great that we keep such stable and well adjusted personnel?"
You are not entirely sure that any of you are fit to judge the others but Caoilainn does have a point. You shake your head, "Between these mercenaries and the damned dwarves it is like supervising a large pack of children."
Thaïs laughs melodically, "Darling, that is an insult to the children, they are far less trouble."
You return to the courtyard laughing and are met by a beautiful sight. The wagons are loaded, your soldiers and supplies safely packed away under their canvas covers. Your four elephants wait at the front of the formation, four more wagons packed full of supplies, including your black market mortars are behind them. In perfect formation to either side Hámundr and his chariot teams await your command to pull out. The Old Man in the Mountain is also present with his company of Seekers. He waves to you from the back of his own personal wagon. It seems he brought a pair, one for personal use and a second for the supplies his mercenaries will need.
You crack a slight grin, perhaps they have energon cubes in that wagon of theirs? It is certainly possible but the odds of them sharing, well, that wipes the smile from your face.
All you need now is the King's blessing and you can be on your way.
"Ready to get underway?" the voice of the King startles you from your thoughts. You turn to meet him, glancing back into the palace and behind him, in the shadows of the great hall, you can just make out a pair of shapes, Mayer and Timo. The two of them have likely been in meetings with the King all day, pouring over information and comparing notes. You have left Mayer a comprehensive set of instructions detailing how he is to handle all your affairs in the north of the Kingdom while you are gone. You know he will do what he thinks is best and you hope that his plans resemble your instructions for the most part.
You give your final report to the King and wish him well.
As you turn to join your soldiers he stops you, "Ladies, I just want to thank you both for what you have done for me and for what you are about to do. Help my son, secure my Kingdom and I will do all that is in my power to reward you."
You should hope so, you are about to cross an ancient, possibly immortal, archmages for the third time in a month, the rewards had better match the risks.
As if to ease those very thoughts the King whistles and a large black coach with a team of four black horses rolls into the courtyard. It is unmarked and looks to be of human design, Berty Levy, and what looks to be a rather large goose, sit at the reins. He waves to you and motions you to board.
The King grins, "One final gift for you so that you may travel in comfort to meet my son."
You whistle, now that is one impressive carriage.
Well, at least one thing today is not a disappointment.
The five of you move towards the black coach and Ceannard steps up to join you. You shoo him away, he can ride with the supply wagon for now.
You are the last to enter, you take in one last look at the city that has been your home for the last three months and then you close the door and you are away.
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You are a day out of Myrgard and have reached the best point possible to split your forces. You have given this a lot of thought and though you are slightly hesitant it must be done. You will go to meet Nanshe and send the Thin White Mage through to the Dreaming. You do not want that horror loose when you move to face whatever awaits you to the south.
You also know that you simply can not risk the knowledge of your alliance with the ghôls getting out. The dwarves would consider it treason and you would be lucky if all they do is banish you from the Kingdom. You have invested too much time and energy to let that happen and so you will go to this meeting with only the Arrows to guard you. Ceannard has chosen only his veterans for this, men with keen eyes that have done their fair share of misery and know how to keep a secret. The rest of your expedition will remain here until you return. If it is a trap or something goes wrong and you do not return then they will continue on to reinforce the southern army without you. Now you just have to inform them of the plan.
"What are we stopping for?" one of your grenadiers shouts from his wagon.
"We need to split up," Berty shouts back, "And this oasis is the last good stopping point for a day and a half."
"Is that a good idea," the Old Man calls from his carriage, parked next to your own, "Surely we are more powerful moving together than apart."
"Unfortunately, it can not be avoided. This is a direct mission from the King but it should not take long," you reassure him, "The Arrows will accompany our coach in two of the horse drawn wagons while the rest of you will make camp here. We should not encounter any significant resistance this far north but if you do Hámundr is in charge. We should be gone a day, maybe two at the most. If we are not back by the third day then you will continue south until the direction of the Royal Guards and report directly to Prince Reinhard. We will attempt to catch up with you along the way."
Some of your men grumble at the sudden change of plans but they are all skilled mercenaries and used to following orders they do not fully understand. As long as the coin is good, as yours has proven to be, then they will follow your orders as best as they can. Hámundr though, looks like he wants to protest as he approaches your carriage and you lean in to talk in private.
You grin at the dwarf Captain, "Alright, let me have it."
He snorts, "You should take some of my men with you even if you will not take us all. This far north you might not have to worry about necromancers but you could still run into bands of ghôls out there."
You can't help but smile. You almost wish you could tell him that you are counting on running into ghôls but you know he could never accept that, "Your concern is noted Captain, but the Arrows are more than capable of dealing with a handful of raiders and the King has specifically chosen them for this task."
The Guard Captain frowns, "He chose human mercenaries over his own Royal Guard?"
You were hoping he would not notice that but you already have a response planned out. You give him a sly smile, "Yes frankly. You, the Seekers, the Arrows, the Hounds, and even my group. We were all specifically chosen by the King for our abilities. I need you and all of your men to stay here, you are the only
soldiers amongst all these
mercenaries. These reinforcements need to reach the army and to ensure that happens I need you and your men here, understand?"
He does not like it, that much is clear, but he nods all the same.
"Good," you pull your head back into the carriage, "As soon as you are ready Berty."
"Yes ma'am!" he shouts and his goose honks as your carriage begins to roll. As you reach the edge of the camp the wagons carrying the Arrows fall in behind.
You really hope this is not a trap you are riding toward.
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The carnage in this valley is impressive and it has drawn all sorts of wildlife out to feast. The bodies rest in great mounds of burnt bone. It looks like almost all of the ghôls' bodies were piled and cremated in a hurry but the corpses of humans, mauls, dwarves, and species you can not even identify litter much of the valley. Strangely enough while the burnt bodies of the ghôls retain their clothing and weapons the other corpses have all been stripped completely. It is Ceannard that first puts words to what you are all thinking.
"What in the hell happened here?" Ceannard gives a naked human corpse a good kick, "Looks like they butchered each other."
"Are you sure this is the place?" Lyssa asks from behind you. She gives the piles of dead bodies a rather wide berth.
"Yes," both of you answer together, you elaborate, "This is where the Thin White Mage said to meet him and this is where Nanshe said her people would be waiting. If I had to guess the piled bodies are her dead and the scattered ones belong to the Thin White Mage's followers."
"So she won then?" Lyssa asks.
"Seems that way," you admit, "Though it could still be a trap, stay-"
Your words are interrupted by a howl and the roar of fire.
You turn to face the sound and in the distance, deeper into the mountains you catch the odd flash of magic. Three spyglasses go up instantly: yours, Thaïs' and Ceannard's.
You can see a number of ghôls perched up on cliffs and in the mouths of caves on the side of a sizable mountain. They are raining stones and javalins down on a number or robed figures that are returning fire with great ribbons of blue, green, orange, and purple magic.
"So the battle is ongoing then?" Ceannard concludes, "Either she suffered a defeat and is fighting for her life or-"
"Or she won but not decisively," you finish his thought, "The Thin White Mage's remaining followers might be trying to free their master and if that is the case then we should move quickly to reinforce them."
"Or," Ceannard begins, "We can make sure we are not rushing into one or more traps. We can advance cautiously and signal our presence to the defenders somehow so they do not mistake us for enemies."
Lyssa presents another option, "We might even be able to find another way through to them without engaging the enemy forces. All of these mountains are filled with caves and the like, we could find an entrance into one of the larger systems and follow it straight through to the ghôlish position."
You are not sure you want to go back underground, back into the caves in these mountains. Who knows what you could encounter down there and you might get lost in the tunnels and never again find your way to the surface.
Lyssa's mice slip out of a pair of pouches in her armour and squeak out a few comments of their own. Lyssa translates as they go, "The mice say that they could map the caves but it would take time, hours, maybe days."
You don't much like the sound of that but you suppose it is an option if you do not want to try and break through whatever enemy forces sit between you and your goal. You know they have mages and the howling you keep hearing upon the wind promises you something even more sinister.
You know your options, now you just need to decide what to do.
1. How do you want to try and reach the defenders in their caves?
A) Roll through the enemy lines in your wagons: You will opt for the quickest means possible to reach the defenders, you will push on in your transports and engage the enemy in a rolling advance. Hopefully the ghôls will have enough sense to distinguish between you and your mutual enemies if they see you attacking the mages. (Estimated time to arrival: 10 minutes, barring any obstacles thrown up by the enemy.)
B) Dismount and advance on foot: You will leave five of the Arrows behind to secure your transports while you move with the rest of your personnel toward the defender's position. It will take you longer to reach the target but you will minimize the risk to your transports as long as the enemy does not specifically target them. You also might be able to take advantages of other paths you might miss on the back of a wagon. (Estimated time to arrival: 30 minutes, barring any obstacles thrown up by the enemy.)
C) Enter the Dreaming and attempt to notify Nanshe that you are at the battlefield. Perhaps you can coordinate some sort of joint action against the attackers. Of course this will only work if she happens to sleep... (Estimated time to arrival: unknown)
D)Try to send an eagle over enemy lines and to the defenders. Hopefully they will not mistake it for an attacker (or lunch) and kill it. You might then be able to organize some sort of joint action with Nanshe. (Estimated time to arrival: unknown)
E) Find the nearest cave entrance and use your mice to try and find a way to Nanshe's position underground. There is probably nothing down there but the odd bear and a lot of bugs right? (Estimated time to arrival: unknown)
F)
Operation: Bait and Switch
H)
Freeform: The perennial favourite. You need to reach the ghôlish position somehow use whatever assets you can come up with to do so.
2. The Spinner's Price: Well, they broke your artefact as the fellows are want to do. What do you want in return for their destruction of your property?
A) Money, name your price in WPs. (The Spinner originally retailed for 20WPs, asking for more might be greedy but it is not like the dwarves will know the exact worth of the thing.)
B) Items. They could give you a quantity of most mundane items/materials from their stocks should you wish. Simply name what you want and how much (examples include: lead, oils, assorted metals, woods, that sort of thing).
C) Enchanting Equipment. They have plenty of extra tools and enchanting supplies lying around. Many of these objects would cost a fortune to purchase or construct on your own of course they are of little practical use for someone that has limited understanding of dwarven magic and technology:
i. One large pot of enchanted ink. The sort of ink used by the Academy to dye enchantments upon cloth, leather, wood and other suitable surfaces.
ii. One full set of engraving tools. The tools used by the Academy to work enchantments into metals, leathers and other materials.
iii. An anvil. Admittedly an enchanted one but an anvil all the same. These are used by the Academy to shape tools and weapons and the rituals needed to create and use them are carefully guarded secrets. An individual would either need Academy training or a real gift with magic to work out how to use it properly.
iv. Some of Jan's Goddess Artefacts. Since you do not have time to go through them you will pick out five or six at random. They may give you an insight into the Goddess or they might drive you mad, you never know.
D) One full set of engraving tools. The tools used by the Academy to work enchantments into metals, leathers and other materials. Plus some punishment to those nerds who destroy your artefact. Maybe one week without beer will teach them something.
E) You will demand full titles as Academy Professors with the option (but not the obligation) to teach and access to research facilities.
F) Thirty Energon cubes: As many as you can squeeze out of the fellows without wasting a lot of time.
Be sure to include how many go to each of your mages, if numbers are not supplied I will just assume that Derryth will hang on to all of them.
G)
Freeform: feel free to ask for something else.
3. The Weasels' gathered intelligence: You know just about everything you could ever want to know about the Weasels' day to day operations and organization. You could simply disregard the information as irrelevant to your investigation or you could use it somehow.
A) You do nothing with this information. You wish to maintain good relations with the rest of his family.
B) You blackmail Wenzel with the information:
i. You let him know you could ruin him and demand WPs in exchange for leaving his interests intact.
ii. You let him know you could ruin him and demand nothing but his good behaviour.
iii.
Freeform
C) You give the information to rival gangs and allow them to carve up Wenzel's little kingdom. The Weasels will be buried within weeks.
D) Give out the info through proxies so that it cant be traced back to you. Also inform Albrecht about this, so that he can be ready to protect his son if/when he gets in trouble
E) You will alert Timo about your intentions to wipe the Weasels out. Let him use his agents to lure Wenzel out, kidnap him, or otherwise keep him away from his people. Then you will give the information to the gangs and throw the Weasels to the actual wolves. Wenzel will live, which should allow you to maintain good relationships with the rest of the family, but hopefully, he will be powerless to harm you.
F) Proceed as in E only without concern for Wenzel's safety.
G)
Freeform.
4. You received eight steel cloth cloaks from the Academy. Who will use them? (Simply list who gets one, you can of course give more than one to a single person or even keep them all for yourself. The most popular set of choices will win.
I will add packages as they are proposed:
A) Derryth, Thaïs, Lyssa, Biliku, Uttu (keep 3 for backup)
B) Derryth, Thaïs, Lyssa, Biliku, Uttu, Berty (keep 2 for backup)
C) Derryth, Thaïs, Lyssa, Biliku, Uttu, Ceannard (keep 2 for backup)
5. Your 'gliding scarf', what do you want to do with it?
A) Leave it at the palace for now. You want to keep that sample until you find a way to produce more.
B) Cut it up and give it to the mice. Gliding mice might be useful. You will make as many as you safely can from the material you have available.
C) Give half of material to the mice and keep the rest for creating more in the future.
D)
Freeform
As always, if you feel I missed something important feel free to include freeform questions as well. If you wish to ask anyone you had contact with in this update questions then feel free to ask. If you want to know more specifics about the Weasels I can also provide those, again, merely ask.