The Night Before
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| Yalme |
Ser Becklin Uth Viharin |
Darrett Highwater, Ser Becklin’s Squire |
Ridomir |
Mayor Raven Uth Vogler |
After a moments longer consideration he turns to Darrett authoritatively. “You should carry word back to Ser Becklin so that she warn the rest of the Order. This is an army to challenge Solamnia itself, not just a mere village. Mayor Raven may be best to organise an evacuation.”
Darrett runs along, doing as Artanis commands.
Turning again to the rest of the group he continues speculatively “An army such as this would have no need of hiring mercenaries to deal with Vogler, perhaps their true intention was to hide their advance—let any word of conquered towns be blamed on bandits of now. If so, Vogler’s noble defence yesterday has thwarted their plans”
“I beg to differ, Ser Artanis,” Mayor Raven says. “Our milita is effectively no longer. What few members we have left will be little better than a village patrol, barely able to sound the alarm if invaders are already at the gates. That mercenary company has done such a thorough job that if Lord Bakaris Uth Estide—no not that snivling drunken shitstain—that’s his son—if Lord Bakaris were wont to, he could direct his personal guard—few as they are—to kill me and take over the village. I imagine that the only thing stopping him is Ser Becklin, Darrett, and the lot of you—and if Cudgel is right, then the remaining mercenaries in her company that stayed loyal to her . . .”
The Next Day
As Kalasääski takes to the sky, silently, he circles far above the camp—far enough, were he human, that he wouldn’t be able to make out any useful details . . . but human Kalasääski definitely is not! and were he human, with this eyesight, he could read a book from this height . . . but human he is not, so he can’t read.
Eventually, Kalasääski returns and rests upon your arm. He bobs his head at you, making quiet screes indicating that you’re going to need to cast a spell he knows you know in order to talk to him.
Assuming you cast the speak with animals spell . . .
“The camp is several perhaps 10 camp-widths from your many wood nest boxes on the river. Diagonal to where the sun sets and away from the river . . .”
“About five hundred red, floppy nest triangles . . . all in lines straight like fallen pine trees. Floppy nest, round fire, floppy nest round fire. Many human-likes, many lizard-likes. All in perfect lines. Stomping about. Left. Right. All as one. Lizard-likes have scaly bat-wings.”
“Paths curve up the sides of the valley—one towards here. Group of human-likes and lizard-likes headed this way. 5 human-likes—look frightening—carrying long flat metals and several short throwing sticks! 5 green lizard-likes—looks scary—but only carry short flat metals!”
“They’re close, but maybe time left to hide or flee!”