>Bumping with the local area map. Grey line is the Bridge, light brown are fords

We might as well send for Wulf and see what he thinks of this.

send for Wulf and also for Catalina. a follower of Neshai should be included if undead are in the mix.

>>17600573
Bringing cat along sounds fine to me

"Send for Wulf and Catalina, she is our resident Necromancer AND a priestess of Neshai, so should be helpful to our planning."

Sansa nods, and ducks from the tent as Gabriel prompts "So, do we all strike one point, or split up and hope that one of us can push through to aid the rest?"

Malcius shakes his head "I'm not sure... to be honest this is a fight I'm more than a little frightened of. Especially if they ARE demons."

Jarin nods "Indeed, Justinians story of his last encounter with a demonologist is... brutal, to say the least."

"As will this one. They most likely are demons and undead, if what I think happened did." Wulf interjects, striding into the room with a certain degree of confidence and self assuredness.

"They are undead, the entire coast is one Mark of Retribution." Catalina adds, sounding more than a little angry.

"What is it that you think happened, Wulf?" Malcius asks warily, as he sips from his cup of water.

Your protege sighs "One of the members of the Uurlanthi court I was to... watch" he begins, a barely noticeable sidelong glance bouncing off of Jarin before he continues "An old elf, over 800 years old, who has been a night since his late twenties was pushing for a common goal of old soldiers who have seen too much, the obsoletion of his own profession. The Nomad Lord had been opposing him, but with that lordlings disappearance, he must have gathered the nobility's support for his plan."

>>17600751
>"They are undead, the entire coast is one Mark of Retribution." Catalina adds

"Mark of Retribution?"
with Catalina, we might have better luck breaking through one of the undead guarded fords, then luring the bridge's force into attacking us where our siege weapons can alpha strike them with pitch or rocks.

>>17600751
Trying to cross at a single point sounds best to me at the moment.

>>17600932
>>17600959
>tiebreaker/vote to combine needed

>>17600959
going with this

>>17600932

was suggesting a single point crossing, then crushing the other garrisons from behind so they can't regroup with another force.

>>17601147
This works for me.

"Mark of Retribution?" You prompt the priestess.

Catalina chuckles "Apologies, I forgot that none of you are educated on the way the gods do things. A Mark of Retribution is just that, a mark that Neshai places on those who break Her laws that only Her servants can see. And there are enough that the far coast looks like one large, fairly continuous mark when I search for them."

Jarin frowns "That many necromancers? You are right agent, this wont be easy... what exactly was this old knights plan?"

Wulf sighs "He wanted to gather as many necromancers as could be found in TruthsHaven and put them to the task of guarding the Greyrun."

"Where did the demons come from then?" Gabriel asks after a lengthy silence.

He shakes his head "They were to strengthen the undead forces with contracts and bound weapons. And in a city as brimming with ancient knowledge and lore as TruthsHaven, combined with the 'enlightened' nature of the city..."

"Finding those with the willpower and intellect to learn Demonology was an easy task." Malcius sighs. "Do we have any idea what the ratio of undead to demons and deomnhosts is?" After another long silence, during which Wulf is obviously thinking, the young man simply shakes his head.

You frown, before suggesting "Perhaps we should all cross at one point then, and afterwards lure our foes from their posts to fight us. Perhaps the northmost ford?"

For a while, no one raises any objection, until Jarin interjects "One force will need to act as the anvil to the larger forces hammer. I will volunteer my battlehost for that task. Just be sure to move quickly once you cross. Having the enemy relocate their forces from another crossing, especially forces that will not tire such as the undead and demons, could easily deny us our crossing."

>>17601320
Jaren and Gabriel would do well acting as anvils as they both have heavy maniples.

Our forces should try to surround the enemy forces after we cross to prevent any necromancers or demonologists from escaping.

>>17601503
Works for me

>>17601503
sounds good.

You scratch at your chin "Gabriels maniple should join you, the bridge is likely to be heavily guarded, and the extra soldiers will be needed no doubt."

The dwarf in question downs his water and nods "I agree with this, the only question now is where we will get enough clubs to deal with the undead."

Catalina raises a hand "I... I may be able to bless some weapons to be able to slay undead, but it will be... exhausting. And I think I should give priority to arrows and crossbow bolts, as those are all but useless against the undead otherwise."

Malcius nods "While any bows wielded by the undead will still be perfectly lethal against us. After those I would recommend moving on to commanders weapons, than captains, and finally soldiers."

Wulfs eyes flash as if he had just remembered something, but he says nothing as CAtalina adds sheepishly, and starting to shrink back "If, if you give me two days I could have a few willing soldiers or support staff indoctrinated into the service of Neshai to aid me. The blessing to destroy undead is a fairly simple one, one of the first I learned, actually." All the dwarfs at the table immediately glare at Catalina, but you suppose that was expected... not that it helps the timid priestess' demeanor at all.

>>17601761
"I understand you may not want to rely on the gods but in this situation consider it as if you're using them. Neshai hates the undead more than anything and you're going to be exploiting that fact to arm our troops with a way to deal with them easily. It may delay our assault and allow the enemy to prepare more but it would allow us to cut through them a lot quicker before they could move in reinforcements."

>>17601761
We still have the Bell of Inevitability. We could use it to great effect if we can surround all of the undead and their masters before we ring it.

Also ask Wulf if he has anything to add.

>>17601761
we should get the bell of necromancer annoying ready. and make sure none escape so that it stays a surprise.

>>17601934
My concern over using the bell is it'll make someone aware that we have it. Something that powerful will not exist without a counter of some kind and the more we use it, the greater chance the cult finds out and prepares. I figure we keep it under wraps until we really need it and then we'll have a huge surprise for the first real undead/liches we face when the middle of their formation collapses since they had no idea we had this arcana.

>>17601923
This was me btw. And if we are going to wait the two days, we need to scout the hell out of the various fords. Either which one is weakest or easiest to cross.

>>17601923

Having Catalina train a few soldiers to fight the undead sounds fine to me. I just hope that the tow days needed don't hurt our overall campaign too much.

>>17602020
i'm seconding the two days to prepare. the dwarves won't like it, but annoyed dwarves are going to be better than more dead soldiers.

>>17601923
Second

You suppress a chuckle at the almost juvenile hatred of all things divine most dwarfs harbored, and interject "I see nothing against waiting two days for you to train volunteers. We can afford two days more of rest, we cannot afford any delays once we strike."

Malcius nods "I agree with Justinian, and I think our dwarven friends are disqualified from this vote due to extreme racial prejudice, that is known to go against common sense and solid logic at times."

"Oh?" Jarin interjects, raising an eyebrow, and looking ready to be offended.

Malcius smirks "Would you consider Catalina attractive?" he asks the dwarf, as Catalinas face begins to pinken and she shrinks further back from the table. When Jarin nods, the girls face goes red. "Well, one of Justinians captains sons decided to NOT court her, do you know why?"

"How do you know this, and no, I dont." Jarin replies as Gabriel smirks, and shakes his head in defeat.

"I told him the story, and the young dwarf ceased his attempts at wooing the girl because she has religion. Hardly logical, as you have already admitted." you finish for your comrade. Catalinas face goes the truest crimson you have seen in quite some time, and she beats a hasty retreat from the tent.

Gabriel continues shaking his head "Amusing as that was, I say we spend the next two days scouting the crossings while the poor girl recovers from her timid embarrassment and trains her priests."
>cont'd

You nod in agreement, chuckling "Perhaps it was cruel of us to so take advantage of her nature, but the timidity needs to be broken, she has no reason to be that way, and yes, we should scout." At that, the meeting ends, and the rest of the tent empties.

Once outside, Wulf catches your attention "Justinian, I just remembered something I cam across in Uurlanth that you will be quite interested to see, if you have time right now."

Sansa chuckles "He doesn't have anything that needs doing, I have seen to it all." before pecking you on the cheek and adding "And since we have two days to scout, I am going to gather a few soldiers and lead a scouting party myself, if you dont mind, Love."

>>17602300
"Feel free Sansa. Just make sure you don't do anything reckless. Lead the way Wulf."

Also how many elementalists teams do we have? I'm wondering if we should add one permanently to Blackbirds unit.

>>17602300

"Just be careful Sansa, as always.
Now Wulf, what's this thing you are thinking of?"

>>17602324
An earth elementalist trained in fissures or a fire elementalist trained in fire manipulation could both be very useful when they set off to wage guerilla warfare.

Pax, do we have any prisoners that we can interrogate for information? Felixian prisoners? I have a plan in mind.

>>17602557
Have Wulf flash his Eago symbols at them and see if they start talking. Felixians worship Eago as "the Great Tomcat", right?

They might not know much, but every scrap of intel helps.

>>17602667
What the heck Pax put your post back.

>>17602703
>>17602667
>>17602541
>yes you have prisoners, I was just gonna re-iterate that in a plot-advancing post, and happened to delete that post at the same time you posted your question. Fear not.

"Go right ahead Sansa, but be careful." you reply to your wife, before following Wulf.

He leads you to his and Lenas tent in silence, and continues to do so once he enters, completely ignoring Lena consoling a still utterly mortified Catalina. He goes to a filthy rucksack, and begins digging through it, tossing tattered rags and court finery alike to the ground. Eventually, he pulls a matched pair of large clear crystals from the sack, crystals the same size as the gems forming the 'eyes' of your shield. "These crystals are the other arcana I found in my travels. They only work as a pair, but, when directed at an undead creature or construct, they will render it vulnerable to bladed, and un-blessed weapons."

Lena pouts "Wulf, dont give those to him tonight, you know what he did to poor Catalina."

You raise your hands in mock surrender "I only finished the tale accurately, nothing more." you then turn to your protege "What is their range, their power?"

The young man shrugs "Personal, and not enough to affect many more than a handful at once. But..."

"Enough to make a difference if ambushed by undead." Catalina shakily interjects.

Wulf nods "And you could probably have them set in that new shield of yours in a matter of minutes, Precursor Bertums smiths are going mad with boredom."

Sansa pokes her head into the tent "Justinian, did you want to accompany me? One of Blackbirds scouts just returned, and they found a small, mostly unguarded ford we could cross, and..." she trails off, the chipperness draining from her voice. Clearly Laeliths more through explaining of your last vision weighing heavily on her mind.

>>17602835
Let's go Undead hunting then.

I still want to implement "Operation Interrogate the Kitties" though.

>>17602860
Second. Definitely need to see what intel we can get from prisoners.

>>17602860
Thirding.

Get the shield and the stones to the smiths first, then interrogate the prisoners.

>>17603086
Good idea.

You grin "I do believe that I just got a bit of arcana to make this a more... active, mission. So of course, love." pausing before you leave, you instruct Wulf "I want you to talk to some of the more... devout felixsians. If they revere the Great Tom yet, they just may divulge some information to you, and be willing to defect."

Wulf nods "It will take a day to go through the prisoners, and another to start the questioning at the very least, but I should have something for you by the time we strike at the crossings." He sheepishly grins "I dont think I'm allowed to leave the tent tonight, or I would join your scouting party."

Lena nods in mock sternness "Thats right your not, we're cheering Catalina up, and that means drinking away her fears, and telling her how bad some of the others have had it from our dear Commanders jokes." Chuckling, you follow Sansa from the tent.

-----CQ-----

It is dusk when Sansa, a pair of deadeyes from Aurelius unit, a ranger, and one of Blackbirds men, the one with the SwampShadow claw spear reach the ford. It is a small one to be sure, and the building watching it is barely tall enough to count as a tower. Outside are perhaps ten undead warriors in loose-hanging plate armor. You saw at least three Uurlanthi men outside for a while, though they re-entered when the screaming stopped flowing from the inside of the blocky structure.

The ranger pats his repeater "I have a new phrase from Captain Kyria on my 'peater. She should spit fire now, and little Cat says thats enough to deal with undead."

Sansa nods "And I had her bless my blades, and all of our arrows."

The raider chuckles, flexing his steel gauntleted left fist "Can beat the things down well enough... whats the plan Commander?" glancing down to his wooden canister full of moonseye paste. Its nearly sunset now, but then again, you highly doubt that the dark will effect how well the undead can see.

>>17603135
I'm tempted to say we start this off by taking the building down with earth elementalism and then range fire on the undead from a distance. Even if we kept the tower up, the lack of undead here would alert anyone who came to check up on it that it was attacked so I'm not sure if we should bother storming it.

The only reason I could see storming it is to capture someone alive and see if we can get any useful intel out of them on patrols or something. Not sure if that's worth the risk since knowing our luck, there will be a necromancer inside the thing.

iirc, a necromancer has to be nearby to control the undead.

Pax, how are the undead arranged outside the tower and are there non-undead lookouts?

>>17603185
Useful intel is always helpful though. and I believe
>>17603255
is correct as well. If we could capture that necromancer we could learn where they were and how they were trained, and by whom.

>>17603333
It also means we have to deal with a necromancer, which is what I was thinking we should avoid. Especially since we don't really have a way to stop a necromancer from using their powers depending on what they specialized in.

Hmm. Requesting map.

"You saw at least three Uurlanthi men outside for a while, though they re-entered when the screaming stopped flowing from the inside of the blocky structure."

We could either storm the ford, then the tower, and then investigate the screaming, or just say "fuck it" and pull the tower down with elementalism. Then kill the Undead with ranged fire. Then investigate the debris.

I vote for the latter. :)

Worst case scenario here is they're using this place to create undead, since the freshly dead are more powerful, iirc. Might be what that scream was.

>here's the area map. There are two guys on top of the tower, both in robes.

>>17603505
I say we let our archers try to snipe the necromancers from a distance. As nice as it would be to take one alive for info, unless we come up with a way to stop them from using their powers, it's too dangerous to leave them alive. The guards inside the tower are worth capturing though. Worst case scenario, I think we should take the place down though.

>>17603550
We could knock the necromancers out instead of killing them. Otherwise the plan sounds perfect.

>>17603550
Seconded.

>>17603550
Snipe the robed guys on the tower. Block the tower door with an earthen wall via earth elementalism. Undeads should drop once the necros are dead, but prepare to attack them with archer fire just in case.

>>17603650
second

You smirk "I want the men on the tower dead before we cross, hopefully most of the undead will fall from that. Any undead left should be easy to deal with. I'll block the entrance to the tower with an earthen wall and we can go from there."

The deadeyes nod, and ready their bows, Sansa draws her knives, the ranger levels his repeater at the undead, and the raider simply bounces up onto the heels of his feet. "As soon as the wall is up, we will strike, commander." one of the deadeyes comments, not taking his eyes from his target.

>Roll for elementalism.

rolled 41 = 41

Rollan for elementalism! Earthen walls on all tower entrances.

rolled 64 = 64

rolling

You just nod, and with a flick of your wrist, earthen walls spring up to cover all but the upermost portions of the joke of a towers door. Seconds later, arrows strike home, and both men at the top of the tower fall, as do four of the undead soldiers. As you, Sansa and the raider rush forward, a stream of white-hot crossbow bolts flit past you, taking down all but two of the skeletons in fiery bursts of white-hot iron shattering bone, then bursting into flames.

The last two undead fall to the raiders gauntleted fist, the only heavy armor the man has. the first has its armor rent apart by the mountain of a mans spear before its chest is obliterated by a powerful backhand, while the seconds head is simply removed.

Then, the doors to the tower, and the wall before it shatter apart. A large brute steps out, its skin just barely darker than the fading sunset, only broken where bone plates armor the demon. It does not break its stride as it rushes from the tower, and you curse as two more forms exit behind the club wielding brute. Both of them possessing wings, cruel features, and scarred blue-gray skin, and wield fine, thin blades that seem to be forged of obsidian.

Inside the tower, you glimpse what look to be a group of slaves, beaten and bleeding, chained to the wall. As one of the three Uurlanthi inside begins chanting over the most healthy looking of the slaves, you realize what the screaming had been... feeding time. "Any preference as to which one you fight, Justinian?" Sansa asks, flourishing her blades almost eagerly.

>>17603898
I knew we should have dropped the building on them...
Make sure someone takes out the guy chanting in the back with an arrow or something. Don't want him doing more.

I say we take the brute that broke his way through our wall. And start off by using those remains of the wall to attack them.

>>17603898

We should take on the wall breaker and have a few men try to stop the men inside the tower.

>>17603898
Perhaps have us take on the brute, Sansa silences the men in the tower, and our other men fire on the other two demons?

We can use elementalism to drop the brute and bury him in a pit.

rolled 15 = 15

Rolling, since nobody wants to.

>>17603938
>>17603964

Agreed. Have the deadeyes target the men inside. We'll hit the big dude. Sansa and the raider each take on one of the smaller demons. Ranger provide ranged support.

And try not to hurt the slaves, of course.

rolled 50 = 50

>>17603898
Rolling for elementalism.
Drop the big one into a pit and bury him, if we can.

"The brute, the others are yours." You turn about and shout "THE MEN INSIDE! SPARE THE SLAVES!!" to your ranged support, before trying to drop the demon into a pit.

The brute leaps over it, despite having only been two steps from its lip when you dropped it. As the thing lands in front of you, you twist sideways, and are able to glance Sansa battling with the demon of pain she had selected. You realize that the thing isn't using its wings, and that they almost appear vestigial, useless on the demon as your wife and the beast trade lightning fast blows. Then you hear your foes club being pulled from the ground.

As arrows begin to flit into the tower, many of them simply ceasing to exist against a portal that is slowly forming near the slave being chanted over, you plunge your blade into the demon of violence's stomach. the beast howls in pain and rage, the spectral chains that bind it nearly striking you in the face as it thrashes, pulling itself off your blade. You catch its next blow on your shield, and cant help but to raise an eyebrow at how high the club recoils, even as the force of the blow shoves you back several feet.

To your other side, you see the raider slowly taking apart his foe, clearly unimpressed by the things martial prowess. Already its face is a bloody wreck, vibrant green blood streaming from its mouth, nose, and one of its pulped eyes. The demon has several other deep cuts on its body... though it doesn't seem to care much about the damage it has taking, as it leaves a deep gash in your mans right shoulder with its wicked curved blade.

rolled 45 = 45

Rolling for combat

rolled 93 = 93

Elementalism roll. Spikes through the demon of violence's legs.

rolled 18 = 18

>>17604113
Hmm. Botch?

Why botch? I thought high is good?

>>17604132
This quest uses low dice rolls. It worked for awhile but /tg/ dice caught on.

rolled 12 = 12

botch!

Not sure about the botch. We shouldn't waste it on something that isn't extremely bad.

You growl, and attempt to lash out at the demon with stone spikes as it rushes in to close the distance, only for the beast to smash the things aside with contemptuous ease. It attempts to bash you with a backhanded stroke of its club, but you are able to catch the blow on your shield. Ready for the force of the strike this time, you let it spin you about, and in the same motion, sever the demons leg, spilling it to the ground as it bellows its rage into the dirt. To your right, Sansa stabs into her foe again and again, searching for vital organs, and finding none where they are expected. Growling in frustration, she plunges her blades into the demons forehead, and it dies with a whimper as you close on the entrance to the tower.

Closer now, you notice that the selected slave is wearing tattered crimsons, and, despite his clearly broken bones, and scar-riddled skin, has clearly not been used to feed the enslaved demons for some time. As the coruscating pink and green portal finishes appearing before the man, and sliding towards him, the captured legionnaire snarls, clearly in pain "No, this body is not yours to take. You. Will. Not. Serve. Uurlanth... ME" he bellows out as loudly as his battered body can muster, much to the terrified shock of the demonologist, and his bodyguards. "Your body. Your mind. Your will is my own. You. WILL. Obey. _ME_" he reaffirms.
>cont'd

>>17604182
We meta-game pretty liberally when it comes to botches. I don't think there will be many rolls left this sessions, so I say we botch.

... Maybe avoid elementalism rolls until next session.

Then, the portal flashes a brilliant white that consumes all light around it, and a lone figure appears, childlike in stature, skin a pale milky white, hair raven black, and down to her shoulders. Small, clearly non-functional pink wings sprout from the demon child's back, the horns that protrude a few inches from her forehead matching them in hue

"Master, may I consume them?" she asks the legionnaire, somehow unfazed by the fact that she is clad in cloths generously describable as scandalous. Eyes glowing pink with his new-found arcane power, the broken man simply nods. Horrified, you watch as the three Uurlanthi men age decades in seconds, death takes them, and their bodies dry, shrivel, and finally turn to ashen dust to be carried away by the wind. "Him too?" she asks, licking her lips and turning to face you.

The bound man, and new arcanists shakes his head tiredly "No, little one, he saved master... fucking Dragon cocks, how did I do that and what did I get myself into." he asks no one in particular, clearly having realized how fatherly a tone he took with the demon he just bound to his will, even as a spectral choker forms around her neck, and the man passes out from exhaustion.

>>17604200
Well, this was unexpected.
Let's secure the prisoners and the Legionnaire, see if there's any papers or intelligence in the tower, then exfiltrate back to base.

... Can I get a "Degnar, FUCK YEAH!"

>>17604210
Very unexpected. Second, although we might need to open dialogue with his demon. Maybe they'll have some minor arcana.

"I am Justinian Trentz of Degnar. I wish your... Master no harm and would like to bring him to a place where his wounds can be treated. May we approach?"

Let's make sure our raider guy is all right. He was slashed with a demon weapon.

>>17604210
Agreed.

Secure and evacuate the prisoners, search the area for intel and items and destroy what we can't take with us. We should dump the bodies in the river as well.

>>17604218
Fucking seconded.

Jesus, did this guy just use sheer force of will to turn a demon summoning on it's ear?

You pause, and turn around, the entire scouting party is... shocked, to say the least, though they look mostly healthy and hale for now "I am Justinian Trentz, and I wish your... master, no harm. I am Degnarian, as he is. May, may I approach him?"

"He is my master, he cant be yours." the little demon girl, perhaps 10 years old physiologically, warns you, her large, pink eyes narrowed dangerously.

You chuckle nervously, as you search your mind for information. The demons that could be summoned to logically do battle were easy to remember, as were those that could fill support roles. Child like, possesive... entropy demon, you decide before finally responding "I will not take your master from you, or your place... at his side?" you pause, glad to see her relax somewhat. You hear a groan from the top level of the tower, and nod up to it. Sansa runs past you to investigate.

"What do you want with him then?" she asks, her curiosity almost making her seem cute... if you hadn't just seen her turn three men to dust that is.

"One live, not long to live... our raider is looking ill, I think the blade that struck him was poisoned." Sansa updates you, the wounded man, an arrow deep in his gut, slung over your wifes shoulder.

You simply nod "I wish to heal him, take him away from this place to where more of his countrymen are." The little demon nods in approval, and you realize as you set about unchianing him that she is coated in a fine layer of sweat, and shaking from exhaustion.

>>17604302
We need to hurry; we need to get the Uurlanthi necromancer to Autronius so that he can mindrip the necromancer's memories.
Also to get the Raider looked at and an antidote administered.
Have the other men unchain the other prisoners while Justinian grabs up any loose papers or briefs.

>>17604322
Agreed. Check this guy over to make sure he's not in immediate trouble, then get that fucking necromancer and stuff his ass in a box.

>>17604322
Have Sansa take the dying prisoner and our poisoned raider back now. Time may be short for both of them.

We'll stay behind and look for intel/documents, while our archers free the rest of the slaves.

>>17604322
Yep yep. Although it wouldn't hurt for us to question him as Autronius is in the room. I suppose we should also ask the demon her name and if she's okay since she doesn't seem to good.

>>17604347
Have the ranger go with Sansa, in case the raider succumbs to the poison. Sansa is already carrying the necromancer; she won't be able to carry both if the raider gets knocked unconscious.

>>17604302
Have the wounded and prisoners sent back immediately. Lets have a quick look around the structure before we leave to see if anything important is here. Also ask the demon her name and if she is well enough to travel.

"Sansa, take the prisoner back to camp, have our raider and ranger accompany you. I will follow with the freed slaves and others. Autronius is to start interrogations immediately." you order as you set about releasing the other slaves... many of them will not survive, and those that will are likely not going to be able to walk.

Sansa nods, and plants a quick kiss on your cheek "I will see you back at the camp then." before she leaves.

As the former slaves that can move begin setting about healing each other as best they can, you ask the demon "What is your name, little demon?"

"I am Teirana of Entropy... I dont know my masters name, and I didnt have a clan, or, I dont think I ever did." she replies, a tangible sadness in her voice towards the end of her reply.

"Are you well enough to travel, Teirana?" you ask her as you find a small, locked chest on the only table in the small towers main room.

She nods "Yes, I can travel... though Master will be too big for me to move." she answers as you search through the bedrooms of the tower, finding nothing of note, save cloths and personal correspondences.

When you re-enter the main room, you find the two deadeyes waiting for you "Most of the former slaves that are alive can help each other, though a few will need help. Do we give precedent to the legionnaire, or the generationals?" the man asks. It is clear that the generational slaves need the help more, but the legionnaire cant exactly move himself in his unconscious state.

>>17604414
Have one of the Deadeyes help the Legionnaire. The other one and Justinian will help with the slaves.

>>17604426
Alternatively, have the deadeyes help the generationals while we take the legionnaire in ourselves.

>>17604414
Justinian can take the legionnaire while the deadeyes take the generational slaves that need help.

After we evacuate everyone, pull down the tower with elementalism.

>>17604414
We should take the chest as well.

If it's small enough we should be able to carry it along with the legionnaire. Or maybe we could convince Teirana to carry it.

You nod "I'll take the legionnaire, you men help the generationals"

The men nod, and move to aid the slaves. For a while, the small group moves in silence, it is Teiriana that breaks the silence "Master serves Degnar then?" over the chest you liberated, which looks large in her hands, and forces her to lean back ever so slightly as she walks.

You nod "He does, he serves the Degnarian legion, which defends Degnar. why do you ask?"

She frowns "Because the contract that he bound me with is verbal. those are difficult, and I do not want to accidentally breach it. I... I dont know if I would survive that." you nod, your knowledge of demonology just deep enough to know that even for strong demons a breach of contract is often fatal. And the more you look at Teirana, the more weak you realize she must be. "You are a Master of the Degnarian Legion then?" she asks after another lengthy silence.

You chuckle, again amused by her child-like curiosity "Yes, though I have... masters myself. They are not called master, but they are above me, and order me about."

Again things pass into silence, until your camp is quite nearby, and already the ruckus of curiosity over the demon trotting behind you, and curiosity over what happened on your scouting mission flowing like the GreyRun. "Will you be Masters master then? His superior?" the little demon asks as Sansa approaches, clearly curious herself.

>>17604564
Do we know the Legionnaire's rank?
At this time, I think Justinian's answer should be "Maybe. Without knowing speaking with him, I do not know if he is above me, below me, or my equal."
We should get everyone to the medicae now.

>>17604564
"That depends on what happened to the unit he was apart of and if he's willing to serve under me. The more important concern for us at the moment though is to take care of your master."

We should probably get her some real clothing as well while we're at it.

>>17604585
>>17604597
Second. I'm not sure if we have small girls clothing in our camp. Just cover her up with a shirt or something.

>>17604564
"Without knowing his rank or what unit he was previously assigned to I cannot say with complete certainty. However, he may be reassigned to the arcane section of the legion, which I am currently in charge of."

You shake your head "That is entirely dependent on him. I do not know what his former post and rank were. tThough, provided he is not my equal or of higher rank, he will likely be reassigned to the Arcanist corps, which I do command."

She nods "Then I will obey your commands until Master awakens... though I plan to stay near him until then."

You nod in acknowledgement before turning to Sansa and asking "What is the status of our prisoner?"

She grins "Vi is keeping him alive and Autronius taking what we need to know from his mind. They should be finished by morning."

You grin, and wrap your free arm about Sansa "Excellent, now all we need to do is wait for that to be finished, our demonologist friend here to awaken... and find something for this little demon to wear over these cloth scraps and straps she is in."

Sansa nods, though Teirana asks "Do you wish for me to come with you after Master is left with your healers then, or will you have the clothing brought to me?"

Your wife grins "I can take the cloths to her... I'll make sure to leave holes for her wings in them as well." the childlike demon smiles, and thanks Sansa as you deposit her master in the medicae tent, and take the chest from her.

-----CQ-----

Late in the morning, Jayne approaches you at the table you are eating with Kyria and Vi with. "Justinian, Finian says he has the chest open, Autronius is finished with his information gathering, and the demonologist is awake."

You swallow the food that had been in your mouth, and reply "Thank you, love... I take it Sansa is still asleep then?"

Jayne nods "She couldn't stay away from the drinking and reverie taking place in Wulfs tent last night. Apparently, alcohol makes Catalina quite open, emotional... and abnormally clumsy."

>>17604749
Autronius first.

>>17604749
Autronius first, Finian second, and demonologist third.

>>17604749
>Apparently, alcohol makes Catalina quite open, emotional... and abnormally clumsy
Translation:
moe as fuck

>>17604749
Autronius, then Finian, then the Legionnaire/demonologist.

You nod, and opt to finish your meal before going about the days business. It doesnt take long, even with slowing down to save Jayne from having to finish her meal alone. You find Autronius meditating, for lack of a better term "They were trained by a litch in Truthshaven, none of them bore the Forge of New Divinities mark. They are simply Uurlanthi patriots, patriots afraid of their end, for they know what awaits them once they reach Neshais realm." He takes a deep steadying breath, before he again preempts your questions by saying "Every post has at least one necromancer and one demonologist. The major ones have multiple of each. The complete plan is to equip the strongest undead with weapons that have had demons bound to them. The smallest crossings would have undead lead by subjugated demons, or supported by demonhosts. The moderate sized crossings large groups of bastard demons and undead, and the large crossings full units of powerful demons screened by undead soldiers."

Autronius turns around, looks up to face you, and the shock on your face clearly registers on his. he sighs resignedly, and asks "You didn't verbally ask me anything, did you?

>>17604837
I'm concerned with his powers growing rampant, and him no longer being able to focus or filter out the voices in his head.

Did we make any progress at all towards an item which can deaden a mystic's powers?

>>17604837
"I was about to ask you. No, I didn't ask you verbally."

>>17604847
There is still time left. I don't think we know of anything that can help

You nod slowly "I was about to ask you that, yes, and no, I did not ask verbally."

Autronius' frown deepens "I... i was afraid of that. It is taking increasing amounts of concentration to not hear everything that those around me think. I researched the arcana that used to be wore by mystics to curb their powers... most, if not all, were destroyed. All I have to work off of is a shape."

You sigh, and sit on one of the chairs in the mans tent "And that is?"

He shrugs "A hood. From what I read, it was the only truly effective arcana, and even then, having to remove it to use ones power, sleep, and bath meant that it was not perfect." the man forces a laugh "though, it did have the effect, on those mystics identified as children, to stave off true understanding and the apparent madness of it until one would be senile anyways."

You nod slowly. he didnt say it, but it wasnt something that needed saying in all honesty, Autronius would go mad before age took him, anything you do now only buys him more time before that. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Understanding my situation is help enough for now, Commander. Beyond that, finding an arcanasmith that has a solid understanding of mysticism, or is willing to be dominated to create the first hood that he could copy." Autronius replies, dejectedly. He knows as well as you do that the true solution to the problem is no mean feat, and simply letting him go mad is not your style, so to speak. And, of course, ever the proper soldier, he would not openly ask for you to go to such lengths on his account. sighing, and knowing that he likely heard most, if not all of this internal dialogue, you rise and head back out into your camp to see tot he rest of your business.

>calling it here for tonight
>someone archive please
>I should be back sunday at 9pm server time if all goes well.

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