Let's go see Degrian. Curious to see just how much damage was done to our wagons and that might affect our next plans.

Go and check how badly damaged our autowagon force is. I won't to know how badly it'll affect our mobility, and if we will need to stay encamped before being able to move again.

You make your way over to Degrian as the men continue to dismount the autowagons. The swearing Kaskyana had marked his 5th wagon with a black "x" by the time you reach him "How bad is the damage?"

Degrian sighs, shaking his head before responding "Extra wagons mad to move other maniples will fill in gaps for now. But at least five useless until end of week, possibly permanently."

You sigh yourself "How many more do you expect to be too badly damaged to use?"

Degrain shrugs "No more than three" he starts walking again "More will need smaller repairs, but not hard to do that." As he finishes his reply, you see Vibius' aid towing your chief surgeon and heling life elementalist towards the commanders medical tent, looking incredibly worried.

>anything else for Degrian, or are you ready to move on to something else?

>>15823487
I think we're good. Degrian will have enough work to do. How many wagons do we have left Pax?

Also I say we head to the medicae tents. I want to see how bad Vibius is and check up on Bellatrix and Aurelius. The bill is going to be messy.

>>15823487

Possible upgrades for more armour and better mobility in muddy terrain?

Then we need to see our fellow commanders to see if theres anything left outstanding.

After that we can head to the Med Tent to look up on the two.

>>15823487
That should be it. Degrian is to concentrate on repairs and making as many autowagons operational as possible.
Perhaps we should check on Vibius. If he's really bad off, we may need to ask Jayne to help out.

>>15823525
I honestly don't think it's worth doing. There's likely going to be one, maybe two more battles in this terrain and Degrian needs to get those wagons up and running ASAP. And the commanders said we'd meet the next day so let's give them a chance to rest.

>>15823539

It's more of something for him to mull on and implement at a later date.

Agreed that we need them up and running right now.

You nod "Repair them as best you can then. Have as many running as possible by midday the day after tomorrow." and at that you follow your chief medicae to Vibius' medicae tent. Inside is very, very cramped. however, one area is cordoned off. After picking your way through the assembled wounded, dying, and in a few cases, newly dead, you enter the secluded corner of the tent. Inside you see Vibius lying on a pallet, a deep gash from above his forehead, down through his left eye, part of his nose, his lips, and stopping at the bottom of his chin. The tunic he wore under his armor is lying in a heap in the corner of the tent, revealing a large hole in his stomach, clearly made by a rather fat stone arrow, now that your man is finished removing the wrappings that had prevented the commander from bleeding out. "Go to my commanders tent, and fetch a man by the name of Crestus, he has a tree for a torso, so he should be easy to find. Hurry, we have very little time to waste." he orders, immediately setting his hands on the unconscious commander, letting them rise and fall with his fast, shallow, ragged breaths.

>>15823704
Hmm. Perhaps see if Jayne can help them out here. Unless she's still dead exhausted from battle. If she is, let's just go check on Aurelius and Bellatrix. Not much else we can do except hope our specialists can pull it off.

>>15823728
Agreed and second.
We need more life elementalists in general.

>>15823704

Stonesense, check if there are any stones still left in the wound. Remove them if they dont cause too much harm.

Call for our enhancement elementalist to boost him.

>>15823763
Nice call. Might as well do that since that should be quick.

You toss the man a salute before leaving the tent. You catch up with Vibius' aid in time to instruct him to fetch one of your enhancement elementalists as well. It takes until sunset to find where Aurelius and Bellatrix are resting. You find that they had been moved to the formers tent, as your medicae tent is, unsurprisingly, full. Both of them are sitting in cots, quietly sharing what you can only assume are childhood stories. To be more precise, Bellatrix is listening to Aurelius tell childhood stories, and judging by her face is both enraptured and jealous of the man.

After both of them settle back down after trying to salute through broken ribs and not quite complete shoulders, Aurelius asks "How can we help you, commander?"

You smirk, sitting on one of the several unoccupied stools "I was simply checking to make sure that you two are recovering well."

Bellatrixs makes a sour face "I cant move anything above my hips without feeling pain. I cant feed myself without re-injuring my arm, and my sister is out going into battle wehre she has men trying to kill her, or capture her to rape after the battle. That aside, I'm fine."

Aurelius clears his throat, and pulling at his collar adds "We should be back to fighting strength within a few days."

>>15823884
"Take your time to heal up. I don't want any lingering wounds to cause any problems. You should be proud of Lena today Bellatrix. She managed to take down the Uurlanth necromancer today. Hopefully there won't be anymore beasts like the one that attacked the camp during the rest of this campaign."

>>15823884
"Make sure to have your wounds checked for any lingering necromantic energies. I'm afraid that if the Uurlanthi keep this up, it's something that we will need to be on the lookout for."

You allow the smirk to grow into a smile, and reply "Be certain to rest until you are fully healed, my friends, and dont rush yourselves. I would rather miss your from a single battle, than have to mourn your death." you pause to take a breath, before adding "And be certain to be checked for any lingering necrotic energies. Lena did an admirable job of defeating an Uurlanthi necromancer today, and hopefully we will not have to deal with any additional flesh golems, but..."

Bellatrix pouts "By admirably you mean that..."

Aurelius sighs "I'm certain that if she was badly injured, Justinian would have told you. He said admirably, and with how powerful we know her to be, that most likely means she was uninjured. Now..." he glances over to you, smirking "you said that you only hurt from your waist u-" his even, calm tone is cut off by a flying scabbard impacting his face. Theres something to be said for a woman with multiple broken ribs to be able to throw an elongated piece of wood and leather with enough force to knock a grown man from his cot.

>so, where to now?

>>15824088
Chat up Lennis. We should probably inform him of the Loukys threat at the least. If they spot any Loukys, he can hopefully give us a heads up.

>>15824088

I'd say we should go see Lena. She seemed abit disturbed when we were done last time.

>>15824104

seconding.

Lenis is an ally and friend. To not tell him of a dangerous threat to his people would be... a fairly big betrayal of trust.

We should also have a chat with him about elementalism, since he's clearly seen it first hand, and offer to screen and train his people if he wishes.

>>15824133
>>15824195

We should take Lena with us to chat with Lennis. She's one of his people in a way, but has seen nearly everything we have, and can validate our words.

>>15824240
seconding, talk with her on the way to lennis

You make your way to where Lennis' men are camping, the camp mostly asleep already after the days battle. What surprises you is the light emitting from Lenas tent. You poke youre head inside to see the Uurlanthi necromancer huddled up on the ground near the bed, silently sobbing. Lena is slowly running her hand along the necromancers back, looking concerned and sad "Its okay, your safe now... trust me."

The platinum haired girl does not move, but you can barely make out her asking "How can you be certain?"

Lena sighs, still in her battle garb, as is the necromancer, both of them are covered in mud, grime, dried sweat and blood, and look, to be honest, like crap. "Because I took you away from them, and I wont let them hurt you anymore."

The girl turns to look at Lena, neither of them have noticed you yet "How did you know?" she asks.

Lena wraps the arm that had been rubbing the girls back around her shoulders "Once you were beaten, it was in your eyes. You were more afraid of something other than me, and I... I was about to kill." she pauses to collect herself, self-loathing on her face, which she quickly polices up when she sees you, only sheepish guilt on her features, though the young mage does not move to leave the girl at her side.

>>15824331

"Greetings young one. My name is Justinian Trentz. I'm sure you have many questions for me and I have a few of my own.

What is your name, child? And how was it that you came by your powers?"

>>15824331
"Don't feel guilty for it Lena. You were doing what you had to do considering the situation. I'm the commander of the maniple Lena is apart of, Justinian Trentz. As long as you cooperate and don't attempt to harm anyone, you have my word that no harm will come to you and that we will protect you. What's your name?"

Ask how they (both of them) are doing, and whether the necro girl is sufficient distance away from the med tents. We don't want a corpse-powered escape attempt here.

Maybe it's not a good idea to take Lena away right now. I say go talk to Lennis alone.

Has it stopped raining yet? Can we send out the valks to scout? I want to know if any enemy force got past the other maniples, especially since Gabriel's force returned from the west.

>>15824331

"I... I thought Wulf seduced you... Lena..." [laugh] "It would seem my own pride has blinded me to the fact that you may have seduced him!"

>>15824388
second

>>15824420
Inappropriate. Although that's pretty normal for Trentz. :p

For a moment, you feel yourself go rigid, then calmly stride forward as the girl, who looks to be a year younger than Lena, but by her eyes, could be ten years your senior, shuffles over behind Lena. "I am Justinian Trentz, and as long as you dont harm anyone, or cause trouble, I promise that no harm will come to you. Now what is your name child?"

She looks to Lena, to you, and to Lena again, before stuttering out "I, I am Catalina... Ramon."

Lena sighs, flinching as the injured patch on her arm brushes against the green-eyed necromancers shoulder "She, she does not like her surname."

Catching your mages tactful way of telling you that the girl hates her family, you shake your head and change tact, sitting down across from the pair. "How did you come into your powers, Catalina?" you ask, gently. As she thinks on her answer, you lean over to Lena "and here I was the fool that thought Wulf had seduced you..." you whisper.

Predictably, Lena lights up in a glorious shade of Degnarian crimson before she stutteringly whispers "I, I, I did no such thing! I I had... seduced this, this poor girl I would have cleaned." a chunk of mud falls from her hair as she looks away from you, catching a noseful of Catalina hair. Quickly the mage turns back "Both of us! and, and you would be able to smell it, and-"

Apparently oblivious to her new friends plight, Catlaina answsers you "I was born with my powers I suppose. A, a traveling merchant and his guards noticed my powers when they were dining with my father. It was almost a year before the war started, and he, he started training me immediately. He took the merchant in to see to my training, and his guards."

You look at the girl, and Lena before gently commenting "You must have been young. I cant imagine that necromancy was an easy art to learn for someone so young."

The girl pauses, her saucerlike eyes widening and starting to glisten again before she whispers "I wasnt always so young looking."

>>15824645
"what do you mean?"

>>15824645
"Ah. My knowledge in the field of necromancy is a little lacking and I didn't realize what other effects it might have. Did the merchant or his guards have any symbols on them?"

Describe the cult's symbol or show her I guess.

>>15824677

...Holy fuck. Did we just pick up one of the lordfathers?

>>15824677
add:
"Was this merchant also a necromancer? Or did he teach you without possessing the skills?"

>>15824677
>>15824662
Seconding these.

You pause to think, sneaking a leering grin at Lena when Catalina looks down, trying to hide the tears that started to fall, no doubt, before replying "I apologize, but my knowledge of necromancy is limited, I did not know that that could happen."

She sighs before replying "Nor did I. And, and now that I have been training myself this last year, I know that it seldom, if ever happens."

Lena pulls the girl in closer to her protectively "What happened, Catalina?" she asks.

The girl sniffles, wipes her eyes and responds "The man who trained me was from a larger group, and had no skill in necromancy himself. He claimed to be a traveling tome salesman, who specialized in rare books. One night, he said that he had a plan to greatly increase my power. He said it was a terribly dangerous ritual, but if it was successful, that I would have no need to fear the ravages of time. I do not remember the ritual, but I know that it failed, and that I had been unconscious for nearly a week. When my father was finished scolding me for not returning to my training sooner, I asked him what had happened to my teacher." she pauses, sighing "he said that 'the man had thought to take one of my assets away from me. And his damned fool ritual nearly cost me what could be my greatest.' He had me train myself from that point on, and as far as I know, he killed the merchant and his bodyguards. I never saw their corpses, and I... I never felt, whole, inside since that ritual failed."

Lena tightly hugs the girl next to her "Are you certain that it wasnt just the way your father treated you?"

Catalina shakes her head "He, he was always like that to me. Worse, before I became a necromancer. I was only good for marrying off and cleaning. Even then I ate more than I saved him by cleaning."

>>15824934
"Normal protocol for dealing with Uurlanth nobles is to ransom them back at the end of war. If you wish to escape that though, I'm willing to let you remain with my maniple. You don't have to answer now but just think about it. Lena, clean yourselves up and get some rest. It's been a long day."

Think we should give her a break for now and perhaps have a chat with Neshai to see if we can salvage her.

Describe the cult symbol to her and see if it rings a bell.

It might be too soon to broach the subject of working for us. Talk to Lennis next?

>>15825000

Also need to ask her if given a choice, she would stop raising the dead. If she is willing to stop, which I bet she is, Neshai would probably be willing to forgive.

>>15825014
Pax mentioned making flesh golems are fine depending on the circumstances but at this point let's not mention about her working for us period. We're just going to offer her a safe place for now.

You sigh, before standing up "Normally, a commander would ransom any captured Uurlanthi nobles back..." you begin, causing the girl to feel enough fear to leave her fetal position to cling to Lena "But you are free to stay with my maniple should you wish. You do not need to decide now however, just think on it. Lena, why dont you show her to the bath that Kyria set up outside my tent. Relax, you earned it."

As you leave the tent, you hear Catalina half-whisper "Thank you."

-----CQ-----

Vohzd Lennis' portion of the camp is calm, though not asleep as the rest of the camp is already. You find the man leaning up against his horse, a skin of some liquor in his hand, a man who is clearly his son next to him with another skin of what you assume is the same stuff. "Ah, Justinian my friend, how can I help you on this fine, rainy night?" he asks through the light rain, which had been slowing since you were halfway to the camp.

>>15825141
"I hope you've gathered a good number of horses for your ghorat friend. I just came by to ask you if you were interested in seeing if there were any arcanists amongst your men that could be trained for your benefit. As well, I have another warning to give you."

See if he takes it in private after the warning. If he wants his son to hear it then let's talk about the loukys to him.

>>15825175

seconding.

>>15825175
Third.

You sit down next to him "I was curious if you wanted me to screen your men for any with arcane potential, to be honest, though I do have another warning for you." you pause, and accept the skin offered you. The drink is dry, strong, and spicy... but good, you decide "And, to see if your are getting a good selection of horses for your pay.

Lennis shakes his head, lips pursed, before taking another drink and responding "Uurlanthi destriers are a terrible breed. Uncooperative, shrot tempered and rash. Likely to tear their legs and destroy their lungs if given too much encouragement, they eat to much, and barely make suitable studs. My son was be able to breed a better warhorse when he was younger than your sons wife." he takes another drink before continuing "Aside from that, I am getting plenty of passable steeds from this, and would be quite pleased to know if my men have any arcane potential." He drinks again, wiping the water from his brow before continuing "This warning, does it need to remain secret? If so my son can leave us."

>>15825339
Actually I don't think the loukys needs to be secret. We want them to know what they are so they can warn our empire so we can send out men to crush them. I say there's no point keeping it secret and just tell the two of them.

>>15825339
"Your son need not leave. It may be best that he knows as well, actually. I believe you mentioned that your son lead your people when you first joined me on our raid into Uurlanth?"

spill the beans on Louky.

>>15825366
Second

You force a laugh before taking another drink and responding "Actually, it would be better if as many people as possible were warned about this. Have you ever heard of creatures called, Loukys?"

The big Kharynchek ponders for a while before responding "They were some race from the First age, if I recall. We have very few stories about them, and it has been a while since I was young enough to hear stories. But I remember that they were nothing good."

You sigh, and take another drink "That would be generous to the beasts. they are vile, cruel, uncaring and incredibly aggressive. On top of that, their leaders are fully sentient, and the more common breed range from well trained hounds to uurlanthi nobles in intelligence. They kidnap life elementalists to form the hives where they live and breed, and they have been returned to the waking world."

Lennis face falls "A good jest, my friend, now, what is it you must warn me of?" he asks, taking another, longer, swig from his skin, tossing it over the now sleeping horse, empty.

>>15825514
"Were it only a jest. Someone manipulated the Uurlanth into bringing them back to this world and I know some of those that survived made it back to Degnar lands. If you come across them, make sure you keep your people safe and send a message to Dragonsreach. We're forming a unit designed to hunt them down."

>>15825514
"If I came in jest I would be warning you that lena may be a threat to your men as she is a seductress without par, I am sorry to say that I am not jesting my friend"

Give him the rundown on Loukys. If we still have that Louky head preserved, show it to him. Request that he send word if his ghorat spots them in the plains.

You rub at your temples adn drink again as you reply "Were it a jest, I would have warned you of the dangers of Lena the peerless seductress."

Lennis laughs heartilly, until your utterly serious face brings him down. "You are serious then." he states, his shoulders drooping slightly, and the mirthon his face fading.

You nod, and finish off your skin of alcohol "Some damned fool Uurlanthi brought them back under the impression that they would be a powerful weapon against Degnar. I smashed the loukys sent against me of course, but they scattered to the winds. Should you encounter any of them, I would like for you to send word to me, as I have been tasked with forming a force to hunt them down. But most of all, keep your people safe."

Lennis nods "What exactly do they look like? I doubt that the stories are accurate in their descriptions." You spend the next hour explaining everything about the Loukys you can to your nomadic friend. It is getting late into the night by the time you worm your way between the four women already passed out in the massive cot in your tent.

-----CQ-----

You do not awaken until late in the morning the next day, and are surprised to see sunlight, when you do leave your tent. Most of the camp is still set about the task of recovering from the last battle of course. You know that Sansa is about somewhere either counting the bill, or itemizing what uurlanthi gear was looted. the screaming of horses tells you that the Kharynchek are sorting through the horses captured all throughout the camp, and killing any that are not likely to survive in any useful manner. A spattering of shocked sounds tells you that some arcanist is training, or Blackbird and his clan are going through their small collection of small lethal animals, perhaps even fighting some spares to pass the time again. Unsure of what to do, you simply stand their, enjoying the warm late summer sun as you decide.

Maybe it's time for some training?

>>15825701
Training can take place when we're not on the verge of ending this campaign. Let's go see what's shocking people. If it is Blackbird, it might be worth sending him out again at this point to do some scouting so we can prep our final assault. Especially with the weather clearing up.

>>15825701

Interrogating the prisoners. Need all the info we can get.

And we need to send word of our mission to the 1st.

Investigate the commotion first then.

Find the Valk riders. Send them out to scout. We need:

1. Location and defenses of the enemy camp.
2. Location and composition of any enemy forces that made it past the other maniples.

Talk to the other commanders and Vibius's aide before the official meeting. Get a basic idea of what enemy forces made it past us, if any, and what enemy forces survived the battle and retreated.

Sighing, you head over to one of the training grounds. As you expected, two of Blackbirds men have some small critters, and a circle marked off, around which most of the non-critically wounded soldiers have gathered to watch the fight. In the center of the open area, your ice elementalist and one of the fire elementalists are sparring. they are putting more effort into putting on a show than improving, but with how ragged everyone in the training area looks, you dont hold it against them. in the corner you see Lena, looking well rested, despite the bandages wrapping her right arm, and Catalina, who is extremely nervously following the crimson-haired mage. On the other side of the area, you see Sansa sitting at a table, the remains of a meal in front of her, and a drink in her left hand. In her right is a sheet of parchment, and next to her meal is a quill and ink, ink still dripping from the quill.

>>15826010
I think we should talk to Sansa and get the butcher's bill. We'll need to know that for planning.

>>15826037

This. Then see blackbird and then Lena and her charge.

>>15826037
Panda says third.

Sighing, you make your way over to Sansa "Busy morning, love?" you ask as you sit next to her.

She sighs "And you were sleeping for the whole thing. But I think I'm mostly done for the rest of the day now." she replies, handing you the bill.

You grimace as you look it over. "It could have been worse I suppose. We truly are lucky to have such skilled healers, are we not?"

Sansa nods, and downs what is left of her drink "Yes, yes we are Justinian." she gives you a quick kiss as she stands up "I am off to get the sleep I was denied in my quest to keep your maniple running smoothly."

You smirk before kissing her back and replying "Sansa, love, could you set our aerial cavalry to hunting down any Uurlanthi forces that escaped west, and getting more up to date information on our foes camp before your nap?"

Sansa glares at you, before making an obscene gesture and stalking off to do as you asked. At that, you stand up yourself, and make your way over to the smaller group gathered about the fighting pit that was dug out. Inside the pit, a lizard, most likely some species of dragonspawn, and a ferret are fighting each other to the death. There is no sign of Blackbird, but, if the small mound of corpses is any indicator, these men have been at this for quite a while. Before you can say anything you hear Catalinas voice timidly ask "Are you sure that I am allowed out of your tent? And, are you positive that-" you hear some shuffling, typically the sort one hears when people run into each other.

"Lena?" you hear one of the soldiers ask "What are you and your friend doing in back? EVERYONE MOVE!! LITTLE RED IS HERE!!" the legionaire shouts, and in seconds, Leana and Catalina find themselves at the front of the group, where even two short girls like themselves can easily see the small pit.

>small mound of corpses
>necromancer
Surely nothing can go wrong here.

Nevertheless, inform your men that this is too much bloodsport for two young women in an admonishing tone. After reminding the men to save the winners of these little duels for the Uurlanthi camp, shepherd Lena and Catalina to somewhere with less corpses.

>>15826323

second

You decide to remove Lena and Catalina from the area, but by the time you reach the pair, several fights had come and gone. Now, gentlemen, I'm not entirely certain that this much bloodsport is a good thing for two fine young ladies to be watching." you chuckle, in a slightly admonishing tone "Just be certain to save the survivors for the Uurlanthi soldiers."

As you help the two girls up Lena forces a chuckle "Actually, I had 10 silver drakes on this fight... Wulf had been teaching me how to gamble before this campaign and..." You look down to see her blushing profusely, but still glancing back at the pit periodically.

Of course, you relented, and were surprised to see that Lenas winnings were actually quite impressive. After leading the pair from the crowd you ask "What had the two of you been thinking?"

Catalina looks to the side, silently, and Lena replies "We couldnt stay in the tent forever, and, well, I wanted to prove to Catalina that the maniple is a good place."

The silver haired necromancer huffs "They are good people, but their still killers, and a military unit is never a good place for..." she trails off, looking at you sheepishly, and forcing a smile, which flutters away quickly.

>well, we seem to be dying, so I'm gonna call it here
>I'll be back sunday at 9pm server time
>someone archive please
>if you have any setting/CQ questions just email me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com

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