>rumors of my exagerated have been greatly demised

>>16831695
Lena isn't locking herself up in her room? Let's go see how she's doing and then maybe go see what Laelith is up to in the library after.

>CQ is back

Hmm. Talk to Laelith or Lena.

>>16831721
seconding

Sighing you make your way over to Lena, and plop down on the ground next to her "SOmething on your mind, Lena?"

she sighs, dangling her feet over the ledge, looking out at the sea "Its so... big. Bigger than the plains even. I wonder if Wulf has seen it yet..." she replies, absentmindedly.

You chuckle "Just now noticing it?"

The young mage frowns, and shakes her head "No, just now having time to appreciate it. I know WUlf would like it, I think... Its been so long, what if hes changed? He can only relay so much through Tassadus, and..." the girl trails off, worried, as the tide slowly moves in, judging by the grime mark at your ankles, it will be impossible to sit here in a few hours, or at least sit as you are right now.

>>16831721
This sounds fine to me.

>>16831836
"Of course he'll have changed. You've changed yourself since Wulf has left. Your experience helping Catalina and in teaching the new mages at the academy have changed you. The time you two have spent apart from each other will have changed the both of you. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing or that you two are completely different people than how you used to be."

>>16831836
"All people change, Lena. But change doesn't mean he is no longer the Wulf you fell in love with, nor you the shy plains-girl that caught my young protege's heart.
"It will take a few days to acclimate, but that will pass quickly."

>>16831890

second

You sigh "Of course he changed, everyone changes with time. You have gotten stronger, more independent since he left, Wulf... he will have changed too."

Lena nods slowly "That is what I am afraid of, I dont know what changed about him."

You suppress a second sigh, and reply "His mannerisms, tastes, perhaps looks. But the important things, the strongest parts of his personality, his loyalties, who he cares for, who he loves or calls a friend, those will remain. You have nothing to worry about Lena."

The mage continues to nod "I, your right... maybe..." she trails off.

You stand and ruffle the mages hair "Dont worry so much Lena. Relax, enjoy the last of this reprieve, and take comfort that you will be reunited with him soon." Lena nods, but does not leave her spot as teh tide continues to crawl up the wall she is sitting on. You sigh, and head off to see what Lealith was looking for.

-----CQ-----

the dock library is not large, but it is rather disorganized in its arrangement, as such, it takes you more than a little while to find Laelith, who is hunched over a single book, several others scattered about the table before her, all of them clearly discarded. "You were lucky, love." she greets you, knowing that it is you behind her without so much as hearing your voice or turning from her research.

>>16832071
Oh? How so? I assume you are talking about our inner-city foray.

>>16832071
"I've been lucky about many things in the past while. What exactly did you mean?"

>>16832071
"I've been lucky many times."

>>16832111
Second.
Snark to the last.

You snikker "I have been lucky with many different things over the couse of my life, many of them recently, love. Would you care to elaborate?"

She chuckles, still grinning from having been able to comb througha new library and archive, and as such too happy to rise to your little barb "The brothel, the demonologist... they are dangerous."

You shrug "I have survived far worse than that."

Laelith shakes her head slowly as she slides the tome before her over to you as you sit next to her "No, not this lucky, had he been a little more powerful, or studied a different school of demonology..." she falls to silence as you read the entry she has the book open to. After a while, she adds "I know that there may be more demons, but I believe that this tome is both accurate, and inclusive of most major varieties."

>>16832228
>I write these things up in notepand and copy-paste them to paint, I'm retro and lazy like that, dont rip on the spelling errors, haha

>>16832228
"Odd that they haven't been heard of for years but we suddenly run into a demonologist with multiple demons at his command... I imagine it will be prudent to look up on ways to deal with demons easily then. Another topic on the list of things to research... At least we'll be getting the most out of the scholars you hired to help in the research efforts."

>>16832283

second

>>16832228
it looks like a demonologist can die if they try to bind a demon that is too powerful.
I guess that is part of the reason we have only seen one.

>>16832228
"Makes me wonder if there used to be any strains that fed on positive aspects."

As you finish reading the passage, you quip "Odd that we havent seen more demonologists in our travels."

Laelith shrugs "It is not a quick path to power, nor is it safe. I suspect many aspiring demonologists died from poorly thought-out contracts or attempting to bind a demon too powerful. But I need to research more to be certain."

You nod, chuckled at her enthusiasm, there really was nothing quite like Laelith with a new subject to go after "Add it to the list of what you and your scholars are to research." you infrom the grinning elf.

Still smiling, she leans over to kiss you on the forehead "But of course... though I still have quite a bit of this archive to search for usefull knowledge before we depart. Do you want to help me some?"

Smirking, you nod, and drop back into your seat.

-----CQ-----

It is late evening by the time you can take no more of the archive you had been helping Laelith in. You return to your room to find Jayne sleeping in the bed, Sansa cleaning her blades absentmindedly, and Vi simply lazing about in the window, enjoying the cool wind coming in off of the ocean. You sigh contentedly as you join your wives in realxing, preoaring to simply let the days between now and your departure slide past.

>so, what now? skip ahead to Daeseus return, or something else?

>>16832643
Maybe we should get to talking to the gods like we planned at the end of last thread. If not, I say do some training while we wait for Dasesu or screen the guards in the area for arcane talent.

>>16832658
I don't see any need to talk with them right now.
Lamynus will just try to alter the deal further if we talk with her.

I vote screening the dock guards for talent and waiting for Daeseu to return.

>>16832753
I can't remember what exactly we wanted to talk about but I think it had to do with Vi and Nyetini as well as seeing if Lamynus' plans for that girl would go against Nyetini or not.

>>16832753
I second the screening of the dock guards.

We can always commune with the gods when we set sail. After all, we only have a few days left in the city.

>>16832753
second

>>16832643

check on Sansa. she took a nasty hit during that fight, after all.

>>16832853
this sounds good too

>>16832826
>>16832853

Seconded.

Does anyone remember if we brought the twins?

>>16832922
Pretty sure we left them back in Dragon's reach because you couldn't get enough votes to bring them along.

>>16832922

we did not

Smiling, you decide that for now you can wait. TOmorrow you will screen the dock guards for arcane talent, but for now, you would enjoy the quiet. You make your way over to the raven-haired woman, and slide down next to her against the wall as she pulls a whetstone from the small collection of bottles, pieces of metal, and stones spread out on the neatly laid out sheet of cloth "Are you feeling well, love?"

She nods "I have taken worse hits, and with Vi and Jayne, we area rather hard family to keep down."

You chuckle, shaking your head "While I must disagree that you have in fact, not, taken worse injuries in the past, I will agree that we are quite difficult to injure for long."

Jayne grumbles "Doesnt mean you can be so damn careless... do you know how hard it is to grow leg back, Justinian?"

Vi chuckles as you reply "Not terribly?"

A mass of blankets and cloths impacts your faceas Jayne rolls over, trying agian to fall asleep.

-----CQ-----

The next monring passes slowly as you screen the dock guards for arcane talent. You find a fair amount of them, including the Captain, who proves to be an earth elementalist of great promise, before breaking to eat lunch. As you and Kyria set into your meals, a familiar voice emanates from behind you "They are our foes. 60 armed mercenaries. Local scum, and pirates mostly. A solid force would easily be able to crush them... as they have no arcane defence, save a few elementalists the slumlord seems to have dug up."

You turn to the elf, doing your best to hide how frightened he can still make you by sneaking up on you like that "And the structure itself?"

Daeseu sighs "On a slight hill, in the heart of the city."

I wonder how the Dwarven commander in charge here will respond to asking for help cutting out this den of rogues?

>>16833028

Do we really need to?

It's a personal matter. We can do this ourselves.

Should get our infiltrators and scouts into position to surround the building before we batter the doors down.

>>16832976
We need Aurelius here to get an idea on how the governor might react. Can we just storm the place without any real problems or should we expect to have to deal with the governor?

We should definitely at least consult with him on issues of urban combat before we go in.

>>16833077
>>16833065

the governor is corrupt. DO NOT INFORM THE GOVERNOR BEFOREHAND.

If anything, we deliver a message of our intent DURING OR AFTER we crush these vermin.

"Sorry, delayed by street gangs and whores"

>>16833028
>>16833065
>>16833077
I agree with TRO.
We should consult with Aurelius and the Docks Commander about this.
For political consideration, and tactical consideration of the terrain, and if we need to worry about the local rogues and such being a problem.
We also need to figure out how to get a strike force to the building unnoticed.

>>16832976
"Not nearly as bad as I had feared. Still not a small force though. Do you know anything of the layout of the building?"

60 armed men in a building sounds like a sticky situation. We are going to have to take the building by surprise and attack swiftly before they can organize a coordinated defense.

Oh yes, Pax. Could we get a data-dump on our units available to us?

It's a little late to start this but: Do all our men know how to swim??? Especially our fliers. Emergency swimming lessons if they do not.

>>16833144
second

>>16833141
I had no intention of contacting him. I merely wanted an idea on how he might react to us acting like this. If it would cause more problems than we'd like, we'd have to be completely stealthy in this matter. Just wanted an idea on that.

>>16833185
>assume very little to no swimming capacity, at least not enough to swim in the ocean in armor

You sigh, and track down Aurelius, Daeseu in tow. Before long, the man is up to date on the situation, and quietly thinking. Eventually, after clarifying the location with Daeseu, Aurelius turns to inform you "They are in one of the most vile parts of the city, and if my memory serves, they hired some rather vicious men.."

YOu sigh "What do you suggest, friend?"

Aurelius apes your sigh "Dress for war. Bring at least a hundred soldiers, and end this decisively. A solid blow to any criminal skilled enough to make his home there, and our empires malcontents and criminals will never bother you again."

>>16833358

Can we just bomb it from the air?

When they stream out we can fill them with arrows.

>>16833358

at least 100?

so say 150 legionaries + ~50 ranged fighters?

or should we overkill the fuck out of this and bring all of Gaius's men + our deadeyes?

>oh, and the requested troop counts, heh, sorry about missing those

>>16833400
We might want to bring along some warlords as well. They are shock troops after all and I am not sure how well legionaries will hold up in the confined spaces of a building.

>>16833358
>>16833358
let's take one of our units of legionaries and kill some criminals

>>16833400

Deadeyes have been with Aurelius for quite awhile. He should be able to get them to infiltrate the surrounding areas to provide covering fire.

To blend in, we should bring a mix of legionarys, warlords and some scouts as the main assault force, supplemented with our retinue.

This is precedded by blackbird and his Krew inflitrating the target, on the premise of looking for work. On the attack, his crewmen can take out key portions of the defence, neutralising caster assets and compromising defences.

Depending on the layout of the building. We can also get an airborne section. A group of handpicked warriors can piggyback on our skywing and land on the roof to attack from this angle. This is not something they'll expect and can cause quite abit of damage.

>>16833513

you know, I can't help but think that anyone that is out to get us must have at least heard rumors that we've got something as RARE as an old clan ork working for us...

I'm all for the rest of the plan, though. Perhaps we could land Blackbird's men on the roof if possible?

>>16833513
We should get blackbirds opinion on using his unit in such a way before we commit to a final plan.

The rest of the plan sounds fine to me. Remaining undetected will be key as well. If we can hit them hard and fast before they can respond we will be half way to victory.

You smirk "Aurelius, I bhave a plan. Get your deadeyes around our preys warehouse, I will lead Uurists warlords along with the rest of the retinue straight down their throats, and Blackbird will..."

Aurelius cocks an eyebrow "Blackbird? Isnt the orc rather... conspicuous?"

You shrug "Daeseu?"

the elf chuckles "YOur orc is nearly as famous as you. As soon as he is present, all will know that it is you."

You sigh "That rules out having him infiltrate with his men. Perhaps have him deployed by Griffon?"

Aurelius shrugs "It wouldnt be the first time nobles from outside the city became involved with dealings within. Though, many of them where rather desparate. In all honesty Commander, I would think it best to leave Blackbird here. His unit is rather difficult to replenish."

Daeseu slowly nods "Yes, it does take a certain sort of madness to join his... 'clan'"

Captain Doran strides up to the table you are speaking with your blade and captain at "It would seem that you are planning another outing into the city. Might I inquire as to what your plans are?"

>>16833778

"Neutralising a traitor to the Empire. This scum fled Dragonreach after he tried to assassinate me and several of my associates."

Need to mix in legionaries and some ranged so that the group is not totally uniform. With some rags, they'll look ok.

At this rate I'd say Collins can lead the infiltration unit. A group of legionaries with some arcane support and maybe Jayne as well.

I got a feeling we should have laelith on standby incase of FIRE.

>>16833810

I again repeat my vote against infiltration units.

Just surround the place and smash it. Take -NONE- alive and let none escape.

As for commander Doran, seconding your reply.

>>16833832

Ah whoops. I meant to say air-borne assault unit.

/facepalm

>>16833778
"A rat who escaped the cross in DragonsReach fled here with his help. This particular rat had dared try and extort money from me in a time of war. ME. All because I took a man everyone thought mentally disturbed from his area of influence. Needless to say, now that I've found him, I do not intend to let him or his help escape this time."

>>16833778
"Just taking care of a band of criminals and traitors who have tried to kill me a few times too many. They are a danger to the empire and I would be remiss in my duties to allow them to continue whatever they are doing."

just getting this in the thread:

When we attack, do not attempt to take prisoners.
if they fight, kill everyone.
If they surrender, we accept, then execute them all as traitors.

None of them survive, be they fugitive slumlord/noble or Merc/thug

You chuckle, and reply "Simply taking care of a dog and a traitor.They crossed me, and continued to conspire against me. I have had enough of my family being threatened, and will end the pair."

Dorin snorts "And your maniple? surely they attacked with force."

Aurelius chuckles "Like the commander said, family. Excluding Blackbird, I think your plan will work commander, though, if my unit were more mixed it would be easier."

You nod "Consider it done. Get the necessary battalions together, we will move as soon as possible."

Dorin slowly shakes his head, smirking "Would that I could sally from my walls today, I would join you, however..."

You nod, understandingly as you salute the dwarf and head off to procure your gear.

-----CQ-----

Hiding your armor under several layers of tattered brown robes is a necessity for moving stealthily, though, in what most would see as a wall of dwarves all ambling to a similar place makes you wonder why you bothered. As you approach the storehouse, you feel nothing but calm, and relief. Having these fools off your back will be most refreshing. Off to your right, you hear Sansa knock an arrow, once you give her the signal, the assault will begin.

>>16833963

Stonesense. Numbers, concentrations.

>>16833999

seconding. stonesense to attempt an earthelementalism alpha-strike on possible concentrations!

>>16833999
Seconded.

>>16833963
Stonsense to see how they have their forces distributed.
We should also see if the walls of the structure are weak enough to bring down with our elementalism.

You quickly reach out with yourstonesense, Daeseus numbers seem about right, and, from what you can tell the tall building has only one floor. Most of the mercenaries are scattered about the building. Savefor the corner opposite yhe one you are standing at. From there, you can feel one set of feet pacing, and another leaned against the wall. Outisde are 10 guards, though they look more bored than attentive. AS you ponder the situation, you hear Sansa begin to tap her foot behind you, waiting for the signal.

rolled 7 = 7

>>16834100

elementalism roll

Stonespikes on the 10 guards we sensed, since they'll likely be the ones with any armor/equipment on them.

also, give the signal.

>>16834138
The dice have spoken it seems. This is the plan.

rolled 30 = 30

>>16834100

Combat!

WAAARRRGHH

>>16834153
>>16834138
>7 elementalism
>30 combat
Let's fuck them up.

You nod to Sansa, who smirks happily, and fires off the arrow. It strikes the building, and promptly explodes, blasting a hole in the middle of the wall. Not large enough to collapse the building, but certainly enough to allow Aurelius' men to fire in. As ten earthen spikes skewer ten half-asleep, half-terrified guards, the Deadeyes first volley opens even more holes in the building. As you hear mercenaries screaming and dying inside the building, you tear off your robes and charge in. Your blade kisses the skin of several guards, all of them dropping to the ground, writhing in pain, and screaming wordless agony as they go. The fourth manages to block a few of your strikes, until Sansa rolls under your locked blades and disembowels the man. You rapidly slice your way through the mercenaries, as arrows arc in to the structure ahead of you, killing even more before they can reach the dwarfs you are leading.

You round a corner as Jayne smashes through the wall you had just went around. You can see the office, only 15 or so mercenaries stand between you and it, and you still have over a hundred Dwarfs to aid you.

>>16834234
kill mercenaries, storm office

rolled 36 = 36

>>16834234

Elementalism roll

Earth spike the mercs between us and that office.

rolled 73 = 73

>>16834234

Point at those useless shits.

"STORM THEM"
(ala Imperial Guard)

rolled 45 = 45

>>16834234
Rolling for combat.

You sigh "They even hired pirates?" you quip as Lealith steps up beside you.

the elf tilts her head "How did you know?"

Sansa chuckles "Its the ship marks on their hands. They came form the Solitary Island."

You motion for your men to advnace, and cut off the pirates retreat with a quickly erected wall. "And I had thought that the Pirate King was a legend." Uurist adds as he comes to a halt beside you.

You shrug "The traitor and the criminal are mine to punish, understood?" the others nod and you move in to the office. Inside the dwarf and the man stand waiting for you. The dwarf aiming a pair of hand-crossbows, the former noble wielding a fine looking mace. the dwarf fires both of his bolts, one you catch on a swiftly raised rock, the other your shield. A Quick pivot and you easily block the middle-aged mans blow an your blade. You easily knock the slumlord on his ass with a shield-punch, and shortly after that, disarm and pin the former noble against the wall with your blade. "The whorewhouse, you hada demonologist in it, where did you find him?"

the pair stare at each other for a moment, before the nobleman begins to laugh at you. Having no patientce, you plunge your blade into his throat, ensuring to not sever his throat, only pierce it, you savor his agony as he swiftly dies. YOu turn to the dwarf "The domonologist."

"H-H-He had been squatting there. We had the rights to the place, but he killed everyone we sent, so..."

You nod "Thank you, scum." and at that, you plunge your blade into the dwarfes chest, not even staying to atch him die, you leave the small office.

Jayne hugs you as you exit, but, quielty whispers into your ear "Wasnt today... overly much? We employed nearly three full batalions to kill-"

You shake your head "It was family."

>so, what now, skip ahead, or something else?

>>16834360

Get their heads and mount them on the gates.

>>16834360

>mfw those deaths

>>16834360

Doesn't seem like too much left to do. Speak with the whore we found about being the priestess.

Also, emergency swimming lessons and combat lessons in leather with metal shields only for those with full armour.

>>16834360
Check the building for documents and anything interesting. If they owned the rights to the brothel they should have the papers somewhere.

>>16834401
second

>>16834360
Well, while we're here, we may as well grab the actual deed to the crazy demon house.

>>16834424
Definitely need to do this. I would have liked to keep em alive to get info about their resources but let's see what we can salvage from here as quick as we can. I doubt we should stick around here for too long. At the least, we should send the majority of our forces back.

>>16834444
Having too big a force will undoubtedly attract attention, but considering the ruckus we just caused, I think it's a bit of a moot point.

>>16834444
sounds good but we need to keep at least 5-6 dwarves with us in case something goes down

You pause before leaving the structure and go back into the office. You quickly find all the necessary forms for the brothel that you intend to turn into a Temple to Lamynus, as well as several stacks of gold coins, the Marks of Ownership for two different private docks, and a few other warehouses. "Aurelius, is there anything one could do with property in Flumenos?"

The man shakes his head slowly as you leave the now ruined storehouse "Get rid of it faster than a runner on Fever."

You tilt your head "Renaul Paste?"

the man nods "You... you haven't actually TRIED fever, have you?"

You shake your head, chuckling as you think of the illicit substance. A paste, that, when applied to the body, increases energy by massive amounts, blocks all negative feelings, and enhances the positive. "Of course not." Aurelius gets a strange wistful look on his face "And you have..."

He grins "Only once, but it was worth it."

You think on how neglecting to keep a limb coated in the drug moving can lead to the blood vessels bursting, and with too much, one simply cannot move enough to keep the substance from destroying ones body, you reply "I doubt it."

Aurelius smirks "A swipe across the forehead, and you can go all night." you shoot him a withering look, as you are reminded of how the substance got its popular name, the massive increase in body temperature it causes. The man shrinks back "I hadn't intended to. It was when I still lived here. I was young, and had alot of money, so I bought a night with a Head..."

"Head?" you hear Vi ask, as you cross back into the barracks.
>cont'd

Aurelius nods "Normally children born of whores, that grow up in the brothel. They take up the family trade. She was afraid, so she used some of the stuff to... lubricate herself." he sniggers "We went at it for two-"

"So THATS why you wouldn't tell me about your first time!!" Bellatrix demands, grabbing the soldier by the shoulder-length tail of blond hair he had grown.

"N-No, that wasnt..." you loose track of Aurelius protests as he is dragged away by Bellatrix.

"That was enlightening." Sansa eventually quips.

You nod, chuckling, as you part ways with your aide and wife to see what Jessias decision was. As you approach her room, she immediately asks through the door "What do you want?"

>>16834572
"That's a rather harsh way to address the person who's saved your life and is offering you a new one. I came to check on how you were doing and if you have come up with any other questions since we last spoke."

>>16834572
"An answer."

<throw the Certificate of Ownership on to the table>

>>16834614
Oh right. I suppose we should mention we did deal with those punks.

>>16834572
"Those two have been dealt with, and I was wondering if you had come to a decision yet."

You chuckle "Is that any way to address the man who saved your life?"

the whore sighs "Come in."

You smirk as you enter, before asking "Your decision?"

she pauses, sighs, and replies "I will, I have agreed to serve Lamynus. Nyetini, she, she tried to stop me, but, I wasnt made to make others feel loved, just survive."

You sigh, and reply "Excellent." before yoiu hand her the Mark of Ownership "The REAL mark to your temple. and dont worry aobut the two who set you up. They had wronged me in the past, you allowed me to repay them."

She grins ferally "Dead?" you nod, "Excellent. Am I free to go then? I will not have an easy task before me."

>so, anything else you want to do between now and setting sail?

>>16834718
Gah. Looks like that chat with Nyetini may have been a good idea if he tried to convince her otherwise. Although at least we did establish Lamynus' temple without paying for the property.

"Contact a man named Janos in Dragonsreach if you need some assitance. I did tell Lamyus I would help her get her temple up and running so we can offer some help to start you off. Beyond that, you're free to go. Assuming things go according to plan, I imagine we'll be in contact again in the future."

I'm thinking we should see if the Dwarven commander wouldn't mind having one of the deeds to the private docks. Give him the chance to spread his influence.

>>16834718
Get her to set up some form of communication between her new temple and Janos. We'll review her achievements after our campaign. And wish her good luck. In this kind of city, she'll need it.

I don't think we got anything else that's really urgent, so all aboard.

>>16834718
As long as those arcanists in the dock guard are going to receive training or have been given training manuals we should be fine.

>>16834618
>>16834650
>>16834614
>>16834627
Yeah, this.

>>16834765
We should also bring some rocks. Both to allow us to train elementalism and for use as weapons.

You nod "You are free to go. If you need aid, contact my man Janos in DragonsReach. I promised your Lady that I would aid in the construction of her temple in the city."

The priestess nods "THank you, but I will take my leave now, I will beincredibly busy for quite a while."

You nod a farewell, and head back to your room, glad that there should be no more excitement between now and setting sail. YOu hea a series fo surprised yleps and a few moans escape your room as you approach the door. Wel, almost no excitement.

>aNd at that, I'm gonna call it for the night
>I wont have internet for a while, so I'm not quite sure when I'll be back, but it will be a tuesday thursday or sunday at 9pm server time
>if you have and setting.CQ questions just email me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com
>someone archive please