>>15715873
Immediately go to our tent to see what the message was.
Also, were the other commanders informed that the Uurlanthi Desert Lords aren't going to get their reinforcements?

Interesting for Janos to message us. Let's see what he has to say. Hope it's good news.

You shrug, and head to your tent. Inside, Sansa is staring at the letter, quite confused. When you stand behind her, you understand why. It leads with a strange emblem with neither sense nor logic in its design, then is followed by a series of vaguely related sigils. All of it is in Janos' handwriting... you just are not sure what he is trying to communicate to you. "Maybe Finian hows what he is trying to tell us." Sansa offers, moving on to some other bit of information she received. Shrugging, you head out to find the dwarf, flipping your cloaks hood back up over your head.

You find the dwarf idly cleaning his armor in his tent, humming a tune you do not recognize to himself. "I take it you will be able to translate this message for me?" you greet him.

The dwarf jumps "Ah, commander!" he snaps off a salute before accepting the sheet from you. After looking at it, he pulls a piece of parchment from one of his chests. After a few seconds, he pulls out a series of strongboxes, sorts them, and unlocks one with a key he took from a seperate strongbox. He pulls another sheet from the box, before resealing it. After translating the sigils to letters you recognize, you realize that it is still in a cipher. The dwarf tosses the first two sheets of parchment into his fire, and after a few minutes, unlocks a seperate chest, with a seperate key, and translates the message again, handing it to you without reading the message.

As the dwarf burns the last cipher key, you read the note. "Commander, the raven has returned to its roost. It was seperated from the owl, who was successful. Unrofutanately, the ravens wing was injured, otherwise it would have remained with its flockmate longer. Circumstances prevented the birds from meeting their temporary handler, but the owl is still attempting to return to its roost, and well."

>>15716092
I think we should go speak to Lena privately and let her know Wulf's operation was a success. She probably won't be pleased he's missing still but at least she knows he didn't die.

>>15716092
Alright. Wulf was successful, however Daeseu was separated from him and injured. Wulf will likely have a long and meandering path back to the capital.
We expected Eago to do this.

I'm of the mind of telling Lena that Wulf is fine, he met his mission objectives, but we don't know when he'll be back, just that he will eventually.

Then I think we need to concentrate our scouts on seeing what the enemy is doing; either preparing for one last suicidal attack, or if they're trying to pack up and run away while this storm is still here. As soon as we discover one way or the other, we should speak with the other commanders and plan for an attack.

>>15716127
Oh right. We should send a response back to Janos that he might want to have a helmet handy with him when certain mercs make it to the capital. Heh.

>>15716150
Second.

You smile at the good news "Inform Janos that he will need his helmet to receive a group of mercenaries who recently betrayed Uurlanth, and thank him for passing the message along."

Finian nods "Yes, Commander." is his response, as he begins to pen the response. You set out into the camp again, where Gaius has his men drilling, and Aurelius is practicing with his bow. After a while you find Lena, inside her tent, a series of what look to be clay poles sitting on the table, each of them engraved by her hand with arcane designs.

The girl looks up to you, half-smiling as she salutes "Hello commander, how can I help you?" she asks, nervousness obvious in her voice.

>>15716315
Ask her about the clay poles and how her other work has been going on her mage training and such. Then after that we can tell her about Wulf, heh.

>>15716381
Second.

>>15716445
Third.

"Might I inquire as to what you are doing?" you ask, sitting down next to her.

She shrugs "I hope to discern the weakness of Foci... but the process may be, dangerous."

"And your plan is..." you ask, curious.

"Each of these staffs is a different level of workmanship, and accuracy applied to the focusing designs. Most of them I simply crafted to force an overdraw of power, but some are solidly crafted, if out of a poor choice of material." She glances about, before asking "You have a message for me, I take it?"

You nod "Wulfs mission was a success, but he was unable to return to DragonsReach directly. He is unharmed, and making his way home as best he can."

She nods, pulling at the color of her blouse. "That is... good to hear." she looks down at her work, sad, perhaps a little bit lonely, but not as worried, or broken-hearted as wshe had been in weeks past. "Perhaps you would like to observe my... I cant remember the word Kyria would use for this sort of thing." she finishes, distractedly.

>>15716642
"Perhaps later. I think you should take a break from that kind of work for now. I was thinking on getting something for Wulf on his return - any ideas on what might be good?"

Not sure if Lena should be doing anything potentially dangerous while she's still somewhat distracted by this news. Plus, I do think we should get something for Wulf. Perhaps something Eago themed.

>>15716734
sounds like a good idea, maybe a nice pair of boots or something

>>15716734
"The word you are looking for is 'experiment'."

Lena doesn't like feeling she's useless while Wulf is gone.

Suggest getting Laelith to observe the experiment as well. It's always a good idea to have a lab partner.

>>15716855

seconding this then the gift idea from max's post

>>15716789
I was thinking a sword. Perhaps with some shock stones in the hilt and Eago's symbol and such.

You sigh "Now may not be the best time for that, and I think Laelith may be a better partner for such, experiments, as myself."

Lena sighs "I just... didnt want to be so useless when we are on campaign, but not in the field."

You smirk, and ruffle the girls hair "You are far from it, and with your current state of mind, you would likely be more likely to injure yourself than learn anything. Now, I was thinking of getting Wulf a gift upon his return... maybe a sword, but I am not certain. Do you have any ideas?"

She sits thinking for a while before replying "New boots maybe, a better cloak..." the girl shudders, and falls silent.

Concerned you ask her "What is the matter?"

She pushes the staffs back "I just remembered some of the worst recorded cases of overdrawing power while tattooed with arcane designs. It just, it worries me what might happen when I try this is all. I, I suppose it has fallen to me to build the tradition Degnarian mages will follow for generations, and I dont want to start a bad one, or hurt anyone."

>so, where to, if your done here?

>>15717040
"Experimenting like this always carries risks unfortunately. I'm sure you will come up with a tradition that we can all be proud of. As long as you're focused and careful, your tests should go fine. Just don't overdraw too much power in the beginning. Start small."

I kind of want to talk to Kyria to see how her runes are going. The sooner she gets them combat capable, the sooner we have new options to work with on the battlefield. We should probably talk to the other commanders about what Blackbird told us at the end of the last thread though.

>>15717090
Second. Also, check up on Bellatrix, then Degrian.

>>15717141
Yes, Bellatrix. We should definitely check up on her to see if she's feeling any better.

>>15717090
fourthing

You smile "Dont worry, experimentation is always dangerous to one extent or another. So long as you are focuesd and prepared nothing overly bad will happen to you." you pause to stand up "And dont worry, I'm certain that you will steer the mages of Degnar in a good direction."

Lena smiles, faintly "Thank you, Commander. I... thank you."

You salute lazily "And thank you for the gift ideas, between the sword, cloak and some... boots, I'm certain I'll find something he will like."

Lena grins, blushing "And I assure you that it will pale in comparison to my gift."

You smirk as you head from the girls tent, silently wondering to yourself if she has been spending too much time around you. After wandering for nearly an hour, you find Bellatrix, training against some men from Salvius' maniple. You watch her for a time, saber in one hand, towershield strapped to the opposite arm. You have no idea how Collin made her aggressive nature into a force that could effectively defend a single spot, but he did. With little more than pivots, and a few small steps, she continues to keep the three men arrayed against her from striking the wooden pole standing behind her for what seems to be a quarter of an hour. Finally, one of the men steps ahead, slashes the pole in two, and just like that, the sparring session ends. Seeing you, Bellatrix salutes, and makes her way over to you "Commander, how can I help you? And if your looking for Autronius, I think hes off preparing a group of his men for a patrol."

>>15717337
"I came to see you actually. I wanted to see how you're doing now that you're up and Lena isn't glued to your side all the time."

>>15717337
"Kept them off their target for half an hour. You're progressing very well. I am also glad to see you up and about again. How are your wounds? I understand shadow magic tends to stick around..."

>>15717337
"Just making sure that you've recovered all right."

You smirk "I simply wanted to make certain that you were recovering well. Shadow magic tends to linger, from what I've been told."

The woman shudders "Terribly. It, it felt like a thousand hot daggers dragging against my skin, every one of them whispering to me to die..." she looks at the ground, doing her best to hide her face "Had it not been for Lena I..." she shakes her head before looking at you again, her face a mask "I realize that she doesnt _need_ me anymore, but... its not supposed to be me that makes her worry. Its..."

>>15717472
" you are her sister, she will always need you. If not to protect her from every threat of the world, then to offer advice and support"

>>15717472
"Bellatrix, that's not true at all. Firstly, she's your sister, and she will always need you as much as you need her. Secondly, with how well your combat skills are progressing, I have no doubt you will always be able to protect her so long as you have a pair of arms and legs to fight with."

>>15717472
"Family will always worry about family no matter what. You may not spend as much time with her but at least now you see just how much you mean to her. She had to be dragged away from you at times or she could have hurt herself from exhaustion. Don't think she's the only one who was worried about you. You're apart of this maniple just as much as her now."

>>15717526
Second.

You shake your head "Shes your sister, Bellatrix. She may not need you to defend you from the wrath of the world around her anymore, but she will always need you."

The girl before you pouts "I know, but... I built my entire life around doing just that, and before you rescued us."

You sigh, and rest a hand on her shoulder before replying "And as skilled as you are, you will have no problems doing just that on the battlefield. And you may not spend as much time with her as you once did, but that doesnt mean you love her less, or are a worse sister for it." you laugh "I was furious with my younger brother when he joined the Legion, worried sick about him being safe. I told my friends that I was mad because he was able to convince the recruiters that he was sixteen when I failed at doing the same, but..."

Finally, the mask breaks, and a smirk appears on Bellatrix's face, but only for a second, before she scowls and throws her shield to the ground "I may not be able to defend her as well as I should be able to, not when my shield is obliterated by what is a trifle to my sister." she sighs "And then the foolish little girl nearly kills herself trying to keep me alive..."

>>15717707
"I've noticed that she has a protective streak that seems to override her instincts of self-preservation"

>>15717707
"I'll see later about getting a special runic shield for you from Kyria. I think she's almost gotten her anti-magic runes worked out."

>>15717781
>>15717838

Seconding both of these.

>>15717781
>>15717838
Second them but I guess add:

"I'm sure you'd have done the same if she were the one injured and you were sitting by her side in the medicae tent."

>>15717970
sounds good

Again you chuckle "I'm certain that you would have done the same were it her that was injured." the woman sighs as you continue " As to your shield, I will see what Kyria can do as far as placing runes on it to allow it to absorb the arcane."

The woman nods "Thank you, commander. Now if would be so kind as to excuse me..." and at that, she heads off into camp.

-----CQ-----

You find Degrian near dusk, relaxing on a stool not to far away from the few autowagons that needed maintenance after the last battle. "Commander," he greets you easily, saluting but not standing "How can I help you?"

>>15718027
"Just wanted to see how you're doing and how your project goes. I also had another question but that can wait until after."

I think we should ask him to make us an automata again at this point for dealing with the undead. Or whatever they were called.

>>15718045
Eh, seconding, but not about the automoton. I'm sure if we bring it up again it will just piss him off.

>>15718086
His biggest problem with it was he couldn't stand to take lives again. The undead shouldn't cause him problems in theory.

>>15718045
Check on progress on his personal project.
Ask him about anti-Undead steam-rollers/tanks as a long term project.

You sigh, wiping the rain from your eyes, and sit next to the drenched, exhausted looking engineer "I was simply checking in on how your projects are going."

The Kaskyana smirks "Quite well. All work, just need to make easier to build. Wagons not like being pushed full speed for four days though. Marching speed one thing, combat speeds..."

You nod, understanding Degrians meaning through his broken accent. "That is good to hear then, I suppose. And I will bear in mind the limitations of the autowagons in the future, so that your workload is not quite so heavy."

Degrian nods, parting his beak slightly, in an attempt to imitate a smile "And this new item would be?"

Again you wipe water from your eyes, as the storm picks up, and the winds change direction "A large roller, on a compact autowagon, for crushing the undead."

The engineer sighs "Gods, undead, magic... when I was young, never believed such things, only cogs and stone, now..." he shakes his head, and begins to wring the water out of his moustache, once he is done with that, he continues "I will, see what can do. Should not be hard to make, harder to make durable."

>>15718218
"You won't have to have it right away, so you'll have time to refine the design some. How much time, none can say."

Voting we go to see Kyria about a shield or two.

>>15718218
Cowards the lot of you! We're ignoring a potentially useful resource! Heh. I'm still up for asking him about the automata.

"If you come up with any other ideas that you think might be useful, let me know. I want to be as prepared as possible when it finally comes time to deal with them."

>>15718255
Shield time.

You nod "I wont need them immediately, of course, and should you have any other potentially useful ideas, be sure to let me know."

Degrain stands up, and you follow suit "Yes, commander. For now I will go inside. Not know why waited outside."

You laugh "Nor do I, now that I think about it, my friend." laughing, you make your way back to a tent, in hopes of finding Kyria.

-----CQ-----

You spend what little is left of the day searching for Kyria, though you do not find her until she enters your tent after having eaten. "Justinian, love... were you looking for me earlier?" she asks, mostly dry, and smirking.

"Indeed I was, might I inquire as to wehre you were?" you reply from your seat, setting down the whetstone you had been using to sharpen your blade while waiting.

The dwarf grins mischeviously "Oh, I was pestering Laelith. She will be, rather confrontational when she returns here."

You sigh "And how was it I was not able to find you when I asked our favorite elf where you were?"

She chuckles "I was talking with Vi about that wooden sword she has been growing you. Quite interesting, will take to runes very well." she informs you, nothing but pep in her voice as she drops down into your lap. "And what, might I ask, were you searching me out for?" she adds, stretching out in your lap.

"We need to make a arcane-resistant shield for Bellatrix... And by we, I mean you."

Also check on progress of the anti-mage arrows.

>>15718446
"I've come to the realization that Bellatrix ends up fighting the same enemies as Lena most of the time, and I believe a runic anti-magic shield would be just the thing for her. How close are you on your research?"

>>15718504
second

Smiling and stretching yourself, you reply "I recently realized that Bellatrix fights many of the same opponents as Lena. Do you think it would be possible to rune her shield to resist the arcane?"

Kyria thinks for a while before replying "I should have it ready before the next battle. And I should have a working crossbow to deal with mages by then as well."

Realizing just how happy she is about that, you reply "Finally got it perfect, love?" Grinning from ear to ear, she kisses you on the cheek, sighing contentedly as she nods an affirmative.

-----CQ-----

The next few days pass much the same as the last few. Untiul, finally, you are called to the command tent. Apparently, some of Blackbirds men had gotten much closer to the enemy camp than normal, and seen something. Malcius had had the night watch, and had called in the rest of the Commanders when the raiders returned to camp. So, here you are, walking into a brightly lit tent in the dead of night, soaking wet, and now sore-eyed as you were unable to find the eye-rinse bowl that is in your command tent. And now, you sit, waiting for Salvius to enter, so the meeting can begin in earnest.

The suspense is killing me.

Sighing, you ask "Perhaps we can start before Vibius wraps his turban... it is rather early, and I do have this watch on the morrow."

Malcius shakes his head "Repetition is a rather annoying vice." before taking a drink from the wineskin he wears on night-watch.

Vibius walks in, his turban a disheveled mess, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he clears the water from it. Gabriel chuckles "It would seem we only had to wait for him to get his turban atop his head, my groggy friend."

"Whaaaaat." the man in question asks, clearly not one who deals well with having his sleep interrupted.

One of Blackbirds men steps forward from the shadows in the tent, nearly knocking the other men from their seats with fright "Our foes are marshaling. From what we could see, they are reorganizing their camp into four groups, mixed, and unbalanced."

For quite a while the tent remains silent, the commanders present glancing back and forth, unsure of what the best response is in their current state. The Uurlanthi force will not be ready to march until morning, but...

Wait until morning? Maybe wake the men earlier, but let the commanders get some extra sleep?

I'm not sure if we should march out with two out of the four commanders groggy.

How are the enemy splitting their forces?

Ask the scout to give a general map of the Uurlanthi camp, circling where he believes any prisoners may be held if any.

I propose we launch a night strike with our iceman and a few buckets of Steel Rain before pulling roots to do a full assault.

>>15718899

"What can you tell us about the four groups? Are they divided by house? unit numbers?"

You sigh "Do we have any idea what their numbers will be, how they are organizing..."

The man shakes his head "Nearly half of the camp is mobilizing, they are not mixed by lord."

Gabriel shakes his head "They wont be ready to move until mid-morning. I say we let the men rest, but wake them early."

Malcius nods "With four groups, and the numbers they have left, each will be roughly the size of one of our maniples, and with their mixing amongst themselves, they will more likely than not be specialized to break through, or bypass our own units."

Vibius continues to fuss with his turban as he adds "And they will have about the same amount of men at their camp with that force on the move."

You grin feraly "And once this force they aim to send against us has been dealt with, that will be nowhere near enough men to stay afield."

>blargh, Pax tired, calling it h ere
>I'll be back thursday at 9pm server time
>someone archive please
>if you have any setting/CQ questions just e-mail me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com

archived.
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