>>17782058
"Unfortunately with how the Uurlanthians have been acting we might have to get used to it."

>>17782058
"Yes, we need to clear out the central tower as soon as we can and move on. I agree with Malcius that the generational slaves should be given their freedom. They have suffered enough in Uurlanth. There will be more than enough wealth in the cities and towns we will ransack, if you are worried about your coffers, Jarin."

>>17782211
Second.

"I am in agreement with Malcius. Degnar will need sons."

Nodding your head in agreement, you add "I agree with Malcius then. Degnar will need sons, and I will not be party to innocents being submitted to further pain."

Jarin heaves a sigh "Then summon your experts on demons Justinian, these beasts need to be either slain quickly, or turned to our cause."

Malcius looks over to Jarin "And what of the arcana you have found, Jarin?"

He chuckles "I doubt any of you would be interested in the items found for enhancing a necromancers ability to command the undead, due to the divine implications of that college of magic. And, as dwarves are more readily able to become demonologists, I request that I be allowed to keep the few arcana for folk with that talent be left to me as well."

"Let me have the drums we found, and I will agree with those terms." Gabriel replies easily enough.

Malcius shrugs "So Justinian, would you rather have the arcana that warned our foes to our approach, or your pick of the training aids we found at the top of this tower? As I am going to insist that the rest of us be allowed a larger share of demon weapons to compensate fro Jarins greed."

>>17782451
Training aids. That shit is our business now, and we will be the best at it!

>>17782480
Agreed.

>>17782451
I also agree with the training aids, as long as they are things we don't already have. It might be useful for Laelith to examine the necromancer items for research purposes.

You shrug, and nod to Sansa to go fetch the needed members of your retinue "So long as Laelith can examine some of the arcana you are taking Jarin, I will take the training aids."

Malcius nods "Its the observation arcana for me then. Though I must admit that it is a shame that we were unable to recover much of anything from the ruined towers."

Jarin leans against the dungeons wall to allow the guards now leading slaves out to pass with some of the more critically wounded slaves "It is for the best, as cleaning the things out would delay our advance even further."

Before anyone can reply, the light bickering of Camilus and Teirana filter down the stairs, and before long, the demonologist steps into the dungeon, his pale servant skipping frustratedly along behind him "But I'm _hungry_ Camilus."

he shakes his head vehemently "NO, that is how the contract is set, and I will not go about summoning it to allow you to feed on anything but enemy soldiers or condemned criminals in a manner more harmful than the passive feeding you can do by simply being around mortals of this plane." The man faces the four of you, and salutes crisply, despite his bent bones and tired expression "Laelith is coming directly, how can I help you, commanders?"

"These demons, can you get rid of them, or will we have to kill them?" Gabriel asks after returning the salute.

"Do you simply want them returned to their realm, or more permanently banished? Given time, I may even be able to force them into weapons, though I suspect you already have more than enough of those from the battle." the demonologist asks, as his demonic servant strugglingly flys up to sit on his shoulders, now that she is in a room large enough to accommodate such a position.

>>17782849
"Returned. Time is unfortunately something of an issue currently, and we have a lot of material to sort through."

>>17782849
Hmm. I'm thinking we just have them returned but with a message to deliver to the rest of their kind as well but I can't think of anything at the moment that would be worthwhile to send. We can't stop them from working with the Uurlanth or enforce it if we tell them. The most we can say is warn them to not work with the Uurlanth since any demons we encounter from now on will be permanently banished but we may need the demons in the future to fight the cult.

Guess we'll just leave it at return for now unless someone has an idea.

>>17782849
Unless binding them doesn't take much longer than it would to banish them I say we just banish them. It will only take so long for Drans Ferry to find out that we have crossed.

You look about at your peers, before responding "Simply return them tot heir own realm... unless binding them to weapons would be equally fast."

Jarin nods in agreement "Even with my taking a smaller amount of the things, I have plenty of demon weapons right now."

The demonologist nods "I will work as quickly as I can, but some of these beasts are going to be too powerful for me to simply force to return home, and will need to be weakened first. They will not go without a fight."

"I CAN feed on them, right?" Teirana asks cheerily from the Degnarians shoulders.

"As long as it does not take longer than it would for me to simply burn them." Laelith responds, before turning to you "Sansa has the bill prepared, once you are done here, Justinian."

>>17783099
Lets see the bill.

>>17783099
Indeed. Also since we're with the other commanders, we should ask them to meet when they know how badly their units have been hit as well so we can plan who does what next.

You heave a sigh "I doubt this will be a small one. I suggest we meet tomorrow morning to discuss how this will affect our plans."

You peers all nod in agreement as the group begins to disperse. It does not take you long to find Sansa, who is perched on a bench outside your tent, polishing and sharpening her blades, bill held under one of the whetstones she has lying about "It was not as bad as it could have been, but most certainly worse than we would have liked." Sansa anounces as you approach her, handing you the sheet of parchment as you sit on the bench next to her "I'm almost affriad of how bad it was in the maniples that dont have the same arcanist support we do."

You look at the list and grimmace "This figures both battles?"

Sansa shrugs "Excluding the demon weapons we are still receiving, and a handful of casualties that could go either way depending on how Vi does with them, yes."

Jayne, plops down next to Sansa, looking quite tired, and interjects "And she is just starting. Some of those slaves are in terrible condition, I doubt all of them will survive. Were I more useful as a healer, I would be in the medicae yet, but I'm no good there anymore tonight."

For a while, things pass in silence, before Sansa breaks it "So, our eventual adopted son finally decided to make Lena his and only his."

Janye laughs "There was ever a question to that? Perhaps you are more tired than you are letting on Sansa."

>>17783452
"I suppose Wulf's time in Uurlanth has pushed some of his priorities forward. Now we just have to make sure the two of them don't do anything else silly the rest of this campaign so we can see them to their wedding without any problems."

>wow, I forgott to add the bill to my post, derp

>>17783452
"It was an entirely easy decision on his part. I can only hope his personal ghosts from his time spent in Uurlanth are buried, for both of their sakes."

>>17783549
seconding this

You grin "I imagine it was an easy decision on his part, after his experiences in Uurlanth at least. I simply hope that whatever ghosts he left behind stay dead and buried."

Sansa nods, sheathing her blades "And that nothing else comes along in his life that compels him to the levels of insanity not even you put yourself through on the battlefield."

Jayne pushes herself out of Sansas lap, and adds "Though, it was impressive to watch, you must admit."

You sigh again, standing along with your wives "Impressive or not, it was incredibly reckless and foolhardy on both of their parts."

Grinning impishly, Sansa asks "so, love, do you plan to congratulate or scold them first when you next see the pair?"

>so, what do you want to do next?

>>17783747
I'm thinking either see Laelith and see what these demon weapons can do for ourselves or maybe see how Catalina is doing after exhausting herself from that first battle.

And of course Lena has to be scolded the same way she scolded Catalina when we see her.

>>17783784
agreed

>>17783784
I am going with this, but we should congratulate them before scolding them.

Let's go see how Cat is doing.

Scold them, then offer to bankroll the wedding.

>>17783956
Going with this

After helping your wives into the massively oversized cot in your tent, you set off again to find Catalina. The young priestess is looking much better, albeit still quite drained. "Hello, commander." she greets you quietly, gazing out to the east in deep thought.

"I take it you are feeling better then, Catalina?" you ask, sitting next to the girl.

She nods "Once I rested... well, was forced to take a nap, I had plenty of energy to see that the dead were given proper final rights. I'm just waiting for the dawn now." voice still quiet, mask sitting in her lap. "It will not be a kind campaign, will it?"

You sigh, shaking your head as you observe the sunset "War never is, but I am certain that you know that."

Catalina nods, still quiet, she adds "I suppose I should be thankful that I am not in Wulfs position, where I have to actively hunt down those I once counted as friends in this nation. Do you know exactly what happened to him? I..." she trails off, looking more unsure of herself than usual.

>>17784136
"I know only what he would tell me, though he told me quite a bit. It isn't a pleasant tale"

>>17784136
"I do, but having heard it from him in full, it's not a story I can share in full. He left because I was forced to give an order which I found totally despicable, knowing that this journey could well break him. I bartered every godly favor I could to make sure him and his initial companion came back home alive, but I knew nothing I could do would keep him from gaining those hidden scars only hearts can see."

>>17784136
"I don't know all the details but I have the main ideas I think. Simplest way to explain it is he became close with a lot of people and had to turn his back on them to return to us. Even kill them. Even though they were from Uurlanth, it's not easy to hang around people for that long and see them as only your enemy. I regret having to send him to do what he did but my hand was forced."

>>17784136
"I do, but it isn't a story I have the right to tell you. Lets just say that knowing what your actions may accomplish don't make your actions much easier to live with"

>>17784259
>>17784278

Some combination of these two sounds good to me.

You purse your lips, fighting a guilty sigh, and reply "He went to Uurlanth on an order I found despicable on every level, but my hand was forced. He hasnt shared the whole story with me, though I do know that when one spends the better part of half a year with other people, it is hard to see them as enemies. I bartered every divine favor I could to ensure his safe return, and that of his initial companion. However, I could do nothing to protect him from the reality that knowing what your actions will bring about does not always make them easier. The tale of what happened is his to tell, and not mine."

Catalina nods "I, understand. there are things I would not speak of given the choice either. Its just, in my search for fleeing necromancers, I noticed..." she pauses, looking guilty "I noticved that when looking for those marked for retribution by Neshai, Wulf has been branded by Eago. It is a powerful divine ward, one willingly taken on to avoid something."

You feel a lump form in your throat "Such as?" you ask.

Catalina shakes her head, looking away from you, and replies "I trust Wulf, and dont want to dwell on it. I simply hope I misread the divine brand, and it is simply the result of the boons you bartered for him."

>>17784531
"I trust him as well. I would not have given such a mission to someone I didn't. I'm sure in time, he'll say something about it once his more recent wounds stop hurting as much."

>>17784531
"Eago is rather fond of Wulf, so I wouldn't be surprised if he may have done more on his own to protect Wulf or made a deal with him. If it were truly something to worry about, he would have told us. We'll just have to wait until he's ready to talk about it. You also might want to avoid their tent tonight seeing as Wulf proposed to Lena during the battle."

>>17784592
>>17784624
a combination of these two

>>17784655
Agreed

You nod "I have the utmost trust in Wulf, and can wait until he is ready to talk to attempt to discern more of what happened during his time in Uurlanth."

Catalina nods "Its just... it is not an uncommon method to use when one is attempting to hide a mark of retribution from one fod or another. And a brand that strong..."

You shrug "Eago is quite fond of Wulf, so it may simply be part of some larger form of protection, and with his travels, I am certain that there are several gods that could have been deeply angered by some of Wulfs actions. I am glad that he is being watched over, to be honest."

Catalina sighs, and stands "Unless something comes up, I agree with you. He makes Lena happy, and that is more than enough for me, despite my not knowing him personally." at that, the young priestess and necromancer begins walking back to her tent tiredly, her whip slithering along behind her.

>so, skip to the morning meeting, or do you want to do something else before that?

>>17784853
Hit up Laelith. Let's have her start looking into ways to help out Autronius so he doesn't go super crazy anytime soon.

>>17784853
Unless Wulf and Lena are already... occupied, we should scold Lena like she scolded cat, after that we should offer to foot the bill for the wedding

>>17784926
Sounds fine to me. We talk to Laelith after she has had time to examine the necromancer arcana.

Should we ask about the mark?

>>17785004
If we can talk to him in private, I don't think we should bring it up in front of Lena if he hasn't

You set out into the camp, looking for Lena, Wulf, or both of them. You find Wulf first, who seems to be taking a walk through the camp. You aren't able to catch up with him immediately, and by the time you did, he seems to have ambled over to the prisoner holding area. It is mostly deserted, as only a handful of mortals were defending the bridge you just took, and most of them were arcanists that had to be killed.

However, and handful were captured, but, due to their ragged nature, only a single guard, now dozing in the early night, is there to watch the battered, beaten band, kept separate from each other simply because there are enough bindings and cages to do so still.

You do not realize that Wulf has something in mind, until you notice the light of confusion, and recognition in one of the prisoners eyes. You are a handful of steps behind your protege when you notice, and the prisoner, clearly not believing his eyes, and feeling blessed by his luck at the same time half-mutters "No... it, it couldn't be. He, he died, the whore..." he trails off, and looks up at Wulf as the young man is directly in front of the prisoner "Lord W-" his question is cut short, as Wulf moves in a blur.
>cont'd

A slim, ebony throwing knife darts out from the sleeve of Wulfs tunic, a long white trail flowing behind it. The blade cleanly passes through the steel cage and collar to which the chain preventing too much movement in high value, or flight risk prisoners.

Then the blade passes through the mans neck, and pain and betrayal join the recognition on the mans face, and replace the hope. As blood explodes out the back of his neck only to evaporate, a white ghostly afterimage replaces the long shadowy tail the blade had before contacting the prisoner, and only terror registers on the mans face as his soul is absorbed into the blade. "Welcome to my legion." Wulf replies quietly as he recovers the throwing knife. "I take it you saw that exchange?" Wulf rhetorically asks, voice still quiet. "He could have ended in the Duchy, and made all that I bled for for naught. I had not expected him to survive his wounds, or even the battle."

>>17785238
Looks like Wulf will also need a mask

>>17785238
"You did what you had to do. Telling ourselves that doesn't make it any easier though. Another piece of arcana you picked up during your travels?"

>>17785238
"I won't ask what that was about, but I will ask you if you feel the need for a mask for the coming campaign?"

>>17785329
seconding this and offering him a mask if he wants one

>>17785329
Seconding this and ask about the mark of Eago.

You pat the young man on his back "You did what you had to. Telling ourselves that, or having it told to us is only hollow placancy." Pausing, you ask, through an almost natural grin "Do you want a mask to go with your new arcana?"

Wulf chuckles, it isnt deep or heartfelt, but it is clear that he appreciates the effort at humor "The arcana isn't all that new, and I would hate to know what the accompanying name you would attach to me would be." he pauses, still grinning a bit "Besides, it would be suspicious unless you tried to make masks into some sort of fashion in the Legion. Lets go talk with Lena, she wasnt expecting my walk to take very long."

-----CQ-----

Wulf and Lenas tent is warm, and your protege quickly sheds his doublet in favor of the lighter shirt he was wearing underneath it. Clearly comfortable in the heat generated by the fire and thick insulating tent, Lena asks "Did your walk help clear your mind, love?" gazing over at Wulf lovingly.

"It did, my dear. Though I suspect Justinian has some words to share with us over the nature of my proposal and your acceptance." Wulf replies, dropping into a seat in the tent, and motioning to the final empty one as he pulls a bottle and three cups from a rack near his chair.

"We were in no more danger than a battle normally poses." Lena weakly defends before you can speak.

>>17785547
"I just prefer when crazy-sounding plans are run by me first, is all. I already got you back for upstaging me, anyway. About the only thing is the timing. I was hoping to have a son on the way before you proposed so I could enact another plan I've had kicking around in my head."

>>17785547
"Unless my memory is faulty you two don't normally jump off of a perfectly fine griffon and land on an enemy at a high speed. I trust you can see how this stunt might have distressed me somewhat.

I would also like to congratulate you two."

You chuckle "Unless my mind is already failing me, the two of you dont leap from perfectly health griffons during battle, and, for your own safety and health, I must ask the two of you to run idiotically bold plans like that past me before enacting them in the future."

Wulf finishes pouring the drinks, and hands you one, replying "It seemed the best way to ask though. Not the sort of thing one can look back from, life changing, and must be gone into with confidence."

You sigh "I appreciate your analogy, but it didnt need acting out my young man. You both have my congratulations and blessing, though I suppose the fact that I have no child on the way has prevents the latter from being worth all that much."

Lena nods, understandingly, and holds her cup up to join the silent toast "We understand perfectly well, and are glad to have both."

Wulf nods again, and takes a long drink from the cup "And whether or not I share your surname, I still view you as my father."

Smiling deeply, you reply "I am glad to hear that, from both of you. I suppose you wont complain if I pay for the ceremony and celebration when that time comes?"

Lena smiles, and shakes her head "Of course not, Justinian. In fact, on our soldiers pay, that will make things much easier."

>so, skip ahead to the morning now, or did you have something else you wanted to take care of?

>>17785799
I can't think of anything else.

>>17785799
Skip ahead

>>17785799
Is it too early to ask for grandchildren?

The next morning things are just as calm, though the lack of optimism in the camps is disheartening. Entering the central command tent, your nerves are not soothed at all, as you look over the troop dispositions of the other maniples "we are going to need a third force to keep Drans Ferry besieged effectively." Jarin announces after all have looked over the other commanders force strengths.

"The plan is still viable however. We simply need to select a force to burn the coutryside around the city to draw our foe out." Malcius adds.

Sansa shakes her head, breaking the nrom of aides remaining silent in these meetings "And if the more aggressive lords or lordlings are attracted?"

"YOu forget, girl" the positively ancient looking dwarf that acts as Jarins aide replies "Taht your own commanders raiders, along with light infantry or raiding detachments from the other forces in this army are to go south to ensure that such forces do not arrive in a timely manner or at full strength."

>>17786044
Drawing them out does seem to be a good option. If we can do that we will be able to more easily siege and take Drans Ferry.

>>17786044
second

>>17786155
As long as they they don't move in one huge force then yeah this works out fine

>>17786044
I also have some ideas on undermining the city wall's foundations.

You can't turtle in if you don't have a defendable position anymore.

>>17786217
Indeed. We have earth elementalists. No reason why we can't try to mess up their walls.

Don't forget we still have a battering ram. I would suspect some of the other commanders might have some as well.

You smirk "Perhaps then it would be best to try to lure our foes our of Drans Ferry then. A combination of raiding the countryside, cleverly hidden troops, and elementalism could force their hand..."

Malcius joins you in grinning "The plan seems solid enough to me. Especially after the losses we took crossing here. Once our foe sallies forth."

"The more static forces crush him, whilst those best suited to assault and taking walls smash through the already weakened walls to take the city." Gabriel finishes for the two of you, not grinning, but clearly happy.

Jarin shakes his head "And the three of you have worked together far too much for my sanity. I will support this plan, as it will give all of us time for our forces to recover from losses suffered here both physically and in terms of morale.

"We had best set off then, as the first siege is a bit more complex now, and will take more time to properly execute." Gabriel interjects, still seated comfortably at the table.

"And let us hope that the local lords have not reconcield their differences yet, as fighting the entire region on even terms would end poorly for us." Malcius adds, standing up, clearly eager to move forwards.

Without any objections to your own plan, you stand as well, ready for the coming battles.

>Pax tired, Pax sleep, Pax call thread here
>someone archive please
>I should be back sunday at 9pm server time, if all goes according to plan this weekend

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