Chapter 11: Sally Port

The week of duty continues, unrelenting, but without an opportunity to do any more exploring in the secret passages. A couple of gnoll sightings keep the squad busy on the walls with extra vigilance, but the one or two hyena-headed scouts typically just slink away into the darkness of the forest without coming into full sight, let alone bowshot. Alelip makes his report to the lieutenant, but is rather disappointed that the news is given short shrift. "If you found some food, that would be better than old and spoiled rations," Wyndshof points out. "You can go follow this rabbit hole on your off week."

Fortunately, Squad C's off week is next up in the rotation. Five days later, Alelip and his soldiers are awakened from rest not by the insistent shaking of the duty runner but by the natural rhythms of sleep. The week is theirs to do with as they please--so long as the commander does not have other things planned...

"Ahhh.... it's good to have some rest" thinks Marin as she stretches in a cat like way. The last week had been very straining on her and to have a full night of sleep felt like a blessing.

Singing soflty as she goes over her morning routine she dresses in her clean fetigues, taking a moment to look her old dress, smirking at it "How would I love you to see me now mother, probably you would have a heart attack though"

Buckling her sowrd belt and swinging her bow to her back, she tries to tie her hair, sighing and cursing soflty when it just won't stay that way. "Well, this is what I get for cutting it so roughly"

The rest had made wonder on her mood, so still singing she goes to the refactory to say good morning to Betsy and look for some breakfast. As she's without duty, she stays to help the chaperone with all the work, at least until the rest of her team arrives.

Alelip gets up before the sun comes up. Even though his squad has the week off, healing soldiers from doing... less than intelligent things was a never-ending job.

Upon arriving, Alelip finishes up paperwork that had accumulated over the past several days and discharges a couple of soldiers from the clinic, suffering from mishaps from the strengthening of the fortifications. As he walks through the now-empty clinic, he realizes that he is hungry, and heads over to the refectory to get some breakfast, and ideally some coffee.

Seeing her superior enter the refactory, Marin quickly assembles some breakfast for him, taking advantage that they're going to be the last team for breakfast

"Good morning Sir" She says giving him his breakfast

"Good morning, Marin. Nice to see someone who is an early riser like me."

He looks down at the breakfast that is handed to him, and says, "Thank you. Why don't you grab some for yourself and let's grab a seat."

"Well, compared to last week, not such an early riser" replies Marin meekly with a grin. "I've already have some, sir, but let's go"

Seeing that breakfast is almost finishes and that Betsy won't like her in the way of lunk and her daily chores, Marin just sits with her superior waiting for her other teammates.

"So Boss... what are the plans for this week?"

Alelip thinks about this for a second, looks around, and says quietly, "I know the Lieutenant wasn't particularly keen on finding out the path down below, but I am. We need to know if the gnolls can get in underneath us. Once everyone gets here, we'll sketch out a plan."

Alelip then proceeds into his breakfast.

Looking around the room, Marin bits her lips trying to decide. Healer Alelip has always been a fair person, not a poumpus git like the first Commander of the 7th, or like the Lieutenant that, even though he's been fair to her, and given her a chance, has a military mind and probaly still thinks her more of a hindrance than a help. Looking again at her superior she sighs and getting up, retrieves a piece of cold carbon from the heart.

"Well... there's not much to plan really" comments Marin, for a moment forgetting the hierarchy "The underground complex, if it can be called that, are only empty rooms"

Taking a moment to remember, she draws a rought sketch of the tower on the table, and then starts adding the underground rooms

"Here and here were provisions stored and here's the armory, it should have and air shift or entrance on the floor of this room, or near here. I could smell the breakfast from the top of the ladder" she says pointing the three rooms "And here is the hidden entrance. It was pretty dificult to see and Caedmon thought it would have some complex system but you only need to knock to open it. We really didn't dare to enter because we lost some time trying to open it, and we didn't know how much light we had left. But that pasage had a musty smell of a room loooong time closed"

Poking the wooden table with her finger, Marin closes her eyes trying to remember if there was anything else of importance and cames with the note. "Caedmon found an old piece of paper in the armory room I think, telling about an incoming attack on the tower. He seemed to think that it was a raid like 40 years ago that reached Oakhollow"

Falling silent again, she just waits judgement. She knows that, for a military mind she would have broken some protocol or rule, but she hopes that her superior will see past that

Rives enters the refectory quietly, and gathers a plate of food from Betsy, then takes a seat at the end of the table with the rest of his squad. He listens quietly as Marin explains what she saw and spares a few glances at the map. Rives had been impatiently waiting for this week off so he could spend some time alone with his horses, as he now thought of them. Still, what was under the keep sounded far more interesting than just sitting around waiting to be assaulted by gnolls.

After a little while, Ken Rivers joins the others in the refectory. His smile says it all--he is happy to be up and about, soaking in everything and ready to make a go of anything. He hardly seems the nervous, fresh-faced lad Marin had saved during the gnoll ambush that had claimed so much of the Iron Hearts. He takes his breakfast from Betsy with a cheerful wave and joins his squad at the table. "Are we planning some fun, sir?" he asks Alelip as he sits down and starts to dig into the bacon-dotted bowl of porridge.