>and herrrres the map!!

>bumping, if no one shows I'll try this session another night

rolled 82 = 82

>>12549593

rangers go support the freeblades and myrmidons go support the scouts

rolled 90 = 90

>>12549671

damnit can i use our warrior feat and switch that roll with this one?

rolled 6 = 6

You should stop rolling for the night it seems...

>>12549676

DOUBLE DAMNIT

>>12549671
>>12549676
I poorly worded what warrior does, its a permanent -5 to combat rolls, as Level Headed would have been a -5 to commanding from combat. the switches will show up when it is a branching point/choice spot for different skills, unless of course you guys get a more advanced one that will allow switching at will.

also, confirmation needed

rolled 67 = 67

>>12549699
Honestly, I rather not throw the rangers in since they'll get ripped to shreds against the heavy infantry... I think we should send the myrmidons to support the freeblades and keep the rangers peppering Khalless' unit and such with their uber arrows.

>>12549721
I'm seconding this action.

>>12549721

the myrmidons are half way across the map and the rangers have chainmail and battleaxes , im sure they'll do fine , they have experience in close combat , thats why they're rangers!

>>12549699

so , can we use maximus' roll for combat and use level headed and whichever one of my rolls for command?

if so , do that

>>12549771
The rangers are just upgraded scouts and I think they're already in combat on the other side of the field as well. Can our magic user flame the unit in front of Gaius and hopefully break them so Gaius can save the flank?

rolled 2, 1 + 6 = 9

rolled

>>12549778
rangers on on the top/left side, scouts tied up in melee on the right/bottom, and the 6 is your command roll,k so whatever you command will happen. make it count

>>12549785
If you're going to cheat, at least hide it a little better.

Ah.... Fine. Flame the unit in front of Gaius and pray they break and have the rangers try to relieve pressure off the freeblades. Hopefully crossbow bolts in close combat/their skill is enough to hold them off without being super ripped. I know I'm gonna regret this...

Myrmidions aid scouts.

>>12549778

exactly! the rangers got into some nasty close combat in the first battle up here, so i think they can handle themselves in close combat , and they are directly behind the freeblades , not in combat yet

>>12549860
For safety I suggest we also move the scrubs north in case the Freeblades start breaking. We can NOT have them flank our best chance for victory.

>>12549873

sounds good

"Aaryn, get your act together, Arthurias move your damned batallion up and get the 50th out of combat!" you shout at the top of your lungs as Khaless kisses your skin through the lobstering of your platemail with one of his blades "Wulf move your scrubs north to support Aarryn, Kyria get your dwarves in there as well!" you add, as Khaless finds another opening in your armor to slice you through... suddenly you feel glad you werent in chainmail for this fight.

"Are you done playing the good commander yet?" Khaless taunts, flourishing his blades, spraying your blood back into your face. Off to your right you see Collin run the elementalist disciple he was fighting through, only to be sent flying from the now dying Lacertan by an errant stone, broken arm clutching his gut the dwarf rises and hurls himself back into the fray, ignoring his last foe as the creature vomits a profuse amount of blood onto the head of a prone warlord, both combatants sputter choke and die at nearly the same time.

"Laelith burn those damned sellswords that are bogging down the 196th!!" you add, before throwing yourself at your foe, who easily deflects your blow, punching you with his off hand.

Face turned to the right you see the 50th getting cut up as they retreat from the melee, passing through the charging myrmidons, who take considerably fewer losses in the exchange. Jayne and her wing are ground to a halt inside the Zweihanders, their mounts now able to fight as freely as the riders they wreak havoc in the Duchy heavy infantries flanks.

>roll for combat and command

rolled 1 = 1

>>12550000
Combat ahoy

rolled 88 = 88

>>12550032

i salute you , my good sir

also , where are fluffy and scaly?

>>12550000
Get the scouts who just retreated into using ranged attacks against whoever they can. I assume that would only be Khalless' unit but if they can hit the other heavy dorf unit in the north, that would be swell. Otherwise i think our other flanks are alright. Collin might want to sit out for a bit too. Someone else can roll for command since I don't want to take up all the rolls.

>>12550000
>>12550032
"You're mine, Khaless!"

>>12550032
Just remember to take him alive. (though no said anything about maming so I assume maiming is A-okay after all he won't need feet where he's going.)

rolled 95 = 95

>>12550000
Command Roll:

Get the 50th into range so they can provide support fire for the Myrmidons, and have Wulf and the scrubs provide volley support fire for the Blades.

Oh yea gods, we just have no luck at all tonight. We sem to fail one roll no matter what.

Interesting quest, can I get the bullet point version of the setting and latest events?

"ENOUGH!!!!!!" you bellow, fed up with this smug, idiotic rebel dwarfs shitty little rebellion. You stride forward, and plant your right foot squarley into the center of the stone he had been floating in front of his chest, the combination of your superior hight, and steel boot spliting the stone down the middle. With two quick flicks of your blade you reveal his shoulder-blades to all who care to look. The dwarf falls to his knees screaming in pain, blades falling from his grasp. You sweep low, your armored shin shattering his thighbone, fluffy leaps over your crouched form, tearing one of the Black Disciples esophagus free of its throat, its chittering cry of glee joining Scalys as they tear through the painted Lacerta. RIsing, you level your blade at Khalless' throat "You are beaten" you announce loudly, as the bloodied Khalless starts to chuckle, the din of the battle subsiding around you as all eyes fall on the spectacle taking place before them, paying only the barest of lip service to fighting each other.

>roll to FINISH HIM.
>if you want him live, it'll be harder as you need to convince his fanatical and more numerous men that they actually are beaten, kill the bastard and it'll be a MUCH easier finish.

>>12550224
Initial parts of the quest was our graduation, which was a mock battle, and then assignment to our unit as commander. Then we had to pick our troops, which was an entire thread of debate, and then we were assigned to retrieve a magical item stolen by some rebels. During our pursuit of the rebels, we saw that the old gods are reviving and that this rebellion is a lot bigger than us. Rough estimates that at max strenght they were about 6k troops while we're around 1.5k I think.

In terms of setting, it's a Roman style empire with no religion that's ruled by 6 leaders I think it was... Forgot the details. I'm going to have to go over some of that stuff myself. I can't remember much else at the moment since I'm kind of distracted. Any specific questions?

rolled 14 = 14

>>12550275
Kill the bastard. If he's alive, there's a chance everything will go to hell. It goes against our order but these troops, if they surrender, could bolster the empires army in the current war.

>>12550287
Emperor and 6 advisors, the former is selected by bloodline, the latter by the senate. The Empires main enemy is a typical Medieval Feudal style Kingdom, and you are as of halfway through this missin, at war with them.

setting has:
humand
Elves
Dwarfs
Lacerta (lizardman apex warriors)
Felixsians (free spirited, free raoming catmen)
Orcs (peacful, generaly happy tribals)

rolled 10 = 10

Do not kill him, take him prisoner instead. We've been tasked with capturing him and retrieving the shit. We're a judge and executioner in the field, but we still are an Imperial soldier.

I'm assuming his fate will be consensus but here are my arguments: As long as he's alive, he can potentially talk his way into more trouble and use his magic to escape. Or talk our elf into joining him again if we're unlucky. His death will make the rest of his army give up I hope.

Although I won't lie, now that I've seen my roll I wish I said take him alive, heh.

rolled 6 = 6

>>12550275

all of his units are in the red , kill him , and this battle is won

do it

so is there any way to maim him out of magic? rebellion should have punishments

>>12550349
Besides it will be much more glorious when we march into the capital with the rebel leader in chains. We'll be honored and a public trial/execution will make us far more famous than just putting it down.

>>12550349
Leave him alive. He can be bound solidly enough if we're that scared of him rite?

Holy hell, suddenly the dice love us. A good time I suppose.

>>12550364
Dude, we will be taking him home to be executed. He WILL die, it will just make us famous if we have his execution be public back home. It's not like he's going to get out of this. Prisoners in victory parades was a common thing back in the day.

we seem to be at roughly two and two if I'm interpereting the after-thoughty post link as the same guy properly... tiebreaker would be nice

>>12550352
Why are we so paranoid about him escaping? We have an entire legion to watch him and can bind him hand and foot, blindfolded, gagged, and motionless. If needed we can even chop off his limbs and haul the torso back alive for trial.

Do we have a banner we can hang him on and enough shock and time to make it so?

>>12550413
I'm worried about his charisma to be honest. Maybe a little silly but I have the idea in my mind of him being a super smooth talker that could even convince our men to betray us. If it's allowed, I'll switch my vote to live but I know that's a little lame now that I've seen the dice, heh. So I completely understand if you don't allow it.

After all the shit this guy put us through we need to take him back for torture and jeering mobs throwing stuff at him.

Sparing him might get the two goddesses we are courting to like us too.

>>12550429
I'm sure he's very charismatic, but how will that matter if he is gagged 23/7 and we personally go to shove food down his throat once a day? I seriously doubt he will be able to corrupt US with words.

>>12550409
Knock him out cold; we were ordered to bring the criminal in alive, and that is what we will do.
We'll simply keep him bound, gagged, and in a damp box all the way back to the capital.

>>12550453
I'm not worried about us. I'm worried about the men who guard him and unless we're there to feed him all the time, there's a chance he'll get to talk to people. Part of me doesn't want to keep him around either since his other wife will beeline to us now with her troops to get him back. If he's dead, we have a chance of dealing with her easier.

>>12550463
His "other troops" are ragtag nothings compared to these though.
We've already destroyed his main force, 2000 of his elite best. Everything else is just bandits and starving mercenaries.

Just cut out his tongue if you are so scared of him talking to people. Simple, effective, used for centuries.

>>12550485
No proof they are starving. In fact, the base where all the mercs are at sent a caravan to the emergency exit base we found. I'd say they're far from being ragtag nothings. They could be crap mercs or they could be high quality ones. I just felt it was better to not take the risk but if we end up letting him live, alright, we'll just roll with it I guess.

rolled 25 = 25

>>12550463

alright then take him alive and go find this other wife so we can have TWO maimed magic users under our thrall

>>12550496
Then there's no point bringing him back to the capital. I'm sure they want to question him most foul.

>>12550506
That might not be necessary depending on how bad we get mauled. We might want to beat it back to the capital with our precious cargo if we get ripped bad enough. Plus, the elf mentioned the other wife was mean and if she said that, I don't think we want her lasting long in battle. Snipe her out good.

>>12550506
We shall make the wives of all our foes ours!

Pax, you never did answer that question I asked last thread. This dwarf has multiple wives, is this normal? I assumed monogamy was the norm, but there's this guy with like three wives....

A storm of rocks assails you, several striking your head, others bombarding your limbs, you feel your right leg break, but you stand firm through the pain. "WHAT MAKES YOUR THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME!?!?!?!?!!!" the dwarf shouts out, a veritable maelstrom of rocks encircling him, and as a result, you.

All you do in way of response is sever his left arm with a deft slash of your blade, before smashing both of your right fists into all three of his heads. You hear the mercenaries fleeing, and the most loyal servants of Scruffy scream in rage as the battle is joined again, the damned midget laying unconscious and bleeding at your feet.

>roll to stay up, and for command

rolled 35 = 35

>>12550528
Stay up damnit!

rolled 94 = 94

>>12550528
FUCKING REBELS

>>12550524
monogamy is the current norm, but you never really did read much First Age history

do we get a bonus to command for winning the duel?

>>12550528
I recommend Gaius saves the freeblades and the other legionary unit helps us with the middle unit that was following Khalless. Mayhaps have Jayne run down the running mercs and prevent them from sending out messages but I imagine that's been done already... Someone else roll command.

>>12550556
Wow, terrible command roll but our legions should know what to do anyway with +++++ training.

rolled 19 = 19

>>12550528
Command Roll:
Have the 196th wheel around and get the enemy pinched between them and the Blades.
Same with the 454th and the enemy engaging the Myrmidons

rolled 8 = 8

>>12550528

get gaius to come and support the warlords and everyone else gang up on the remaining duchy dwarves

rolled 66 = 66

Have our legionaries roll them up.

You know, from the standpoint of the Empire we did awesome. Mercs took the brunt of the losses that battle.

>>12550613
Let's not state that outloud for the mercs to hear... Heh.
Not the cleanest battle but their light infantry held up to our legionary units a lot longer than I thought they would considering they're basically a phalanx. If we had more time to prepare, we might of done better but we were pretty rushed to set up.

There are thousands of them, but you dont care... Scruffy ate your cake. you slash away at them as a horde of massive Aurachnospecs devour them. The men in Crimson smash their flank but the demons dont care they fight on, and you kill them by the hundred. On your sides midgets in emerald battle all sizes of crimson and blood, but they dont care that they all died either. Something hot and cruel slashes at your thighs, but it doesnt matter because mommy will save you and make it better.

>Roll to stay up
>roll for mental clarity
>roll for combat
>roll for command
>you got a pretty nasty hanful of blows to the noggin so.... yea

rolled 84 = 84

>>12550670
Mental clarity!

rolled 26, 8, 47, 13 = 94

>>12550670
C'mon rolls.

rolled 7 = 7

>>12550696
Hmm. Guess I made us retarded a little longer. Sorry guys.

>>12550696
How about we use that 8 as mental clarity like normal. :D

rolled 18 = 18

>>12550670

wow..........our mercs are pretty fucked up

im surprised that they are still fighting

anyways rolling

>>12550701
Damn, we're pretty awesome. We passed normal human limits quite a while ago, I think.

>>12550670

7 for stay up , 8 for clarity and 18 for combat

>>12550731
Don't think we just get to pick and choose like that, but it would be nice.

>>12550670

btw who is scruffy?

old family pet?

If we don't give any orders does the command roll do anything?

Go Gary Oldman on them!

>>12550670
Right. Commands... Get the mercs back I guess and surrender of the enemy. Otherwise I think we have this wrapped up.

>>12550670

It's liek i'm really on LSD!

rolled 58 = 58

>>12550670
Command Roll:
Tell the 196th to stop wasting time and kill that enemy unit.
Continue giving support fire to the Myrmidons until it's too dangerous, then flank from the right.

You drive your throbbing blade into one of the mean ones, and everything fades to blackness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don'ae care how many of the damn things ye'say Ai broke! Ah grew 24'of'em fer a reason, now let me off yer damned dot!!!" an angry voice screams, rousing you from your slumber. Everything is fuzzy, three figures are at your side, you think you know two, and one seems to be part of your medical staff.

"Whhht haaaand... dddid we get?" you stutter out, before someone places a hand over eyes, and forces you to drink something; and you feel clarity return.

"We won commander, we have Khalless in that damp box you originally made for Laelith, she wanted to kill him for some reason we couldnt understand" Sansa replies to your mumble. Jayne is standing to the other side of the surgeon, you try to sit up to get a better look at your aid and captain, but a searing pain prevents you from moving.

>what do you want to know?

We need to congratulate Cornelius on that tactic of splitting his legion. Smart and effective in a time of need.

>>12550816
How many did we lose? First question of any commander.

>>12550831
Seconding this.
The butcher's bill must have been high this time.

>>12550816
Tell Colin to pipe down and rest.

Then ignore our own advice and go show our men we're okay. Get status report. Congratulate Cornelius and all our commanders for excellent work. Tell Laelith that we'll vouch for her and she has proven herself to us.

>>12550816

collin?

prisoners?

laelith?

our injuries?

fluffy and scaly?

>>12550831
Agreed. Losses and wounded as well as if the artifact was in these ruins. This was a bloody battle and it'll only be worth it if we achieve our objectives.

Get our aide to do chores in and out of out tent. No matter the wounds, people will realize we are still working our office

>>12550816
Clear our head first. Then figure out casualties and all that. also we need to get a grasp of the overall strategic situation. position, defensibility, location of the objective, enemy forces, etc.

>>12550865
inb4 Sansa and the medics tie us to or bed so that we don't overwork ourselves while wounded

"COLLIN SHUT UO I HAVE A HEADACHE!!!" you bellow to the stubborn dwarf lying in the next cot over. "whats the bill sansa?" you ask, she hands you the usually sized parchment and says nothing... it takes a few moments for it to come into focus.


196th Legionary
Gaius Rex
140/200
below average

454th Legionary
Cornelius Hoursch
113/200
(+10 on guard duty at Collins village)
Average

98th Warlords
Uurist Titius
54/150
Poore

99th Hunters
Aurelius Caspius
45/75
average

50th Dwarven Scouts
Finian Gaurush
-mentaly unstable
--part of retinue until further notice
65/100
Poor

65th Dwarven Rangers
Kyria Esfelda
-arm useable, but nowhere near full capacity
-concious, butstill needing another week of recovery
40/75
average

House Garlian Uursan Cavalry
Lady Jayne Garlian
39/50
average

Peasant Archers
Wulf
100/100
Average

Blackmoore Freeblades
Arthurius Tezrah
9/150
Awful

Neshtifeld Myrmydons
Aaryn Wayde
13/135
Horrible

"Aside from the 50 odd Zweihanders we caught before the last portion of the battle, we rounded up about 30 wounded duchy troops who survived, none of the Lacertans allowed themselves to be taken, save the Braziers bearers... I think they were slaves. I sent a party to see what was at the other ruins about 3 days ago. They returned a few hours ago, you've been out for nearly a week sir. Aside from the Lacerations to your arm and abdomen, your right leg was broken, the tendons on your left foot were badly tore, you recieved a serious concussion and a copious ammount of smaller cuts and gashes." Sansa finishes, walking off to do the duties you arent well enough to preform, nudging Jayne as she passes her.

The noblewoman blushes fiercely before saying "You scar nicely.... sir" and starts walking off, looking almost as peeved about something as she does embarrassed.

>>12550945
Are we fit enough to get out of bed or are we stuck in it? If we've been out for a week, we better damn well make sure this place is fortified and get scouts to see what the other ruins and camp are doing. That and the other tunnels leading to it.

>>12550945
The Freeblades and the Myrmidons are pretty much done. We should give them a handsome bonus from captured loot.

Get the scout report from the other ruins, and are we able to move with the Brazier?
I think it would do everyone good if we started on our way home.

>>12550945

Tchah, that's a lot of losses.

Upside; we've secured the Brazier and the enemy commander. This should deprive the rebellion of it's leadership and resources, and fulfils our primary objectives.

Downside, morale is low, and almost all units are understength. We're going to need to return home to resupply and get some R&R pronto.

Thogh the contined presence of the unaccounted-for brides and thousands of bandits and brigands leaves me worried.

Aw, yeah. Even in death I still pimp.

Commanders:
Laelith: Tell her that she has proven herself and will be under our protection.

Cornelius: Tell him that was a smart maneuver splitting his troops like that.

Gaius: Congratulate him on such effective command and fighting, he's probably going to be our main line for any future fights.

Uurist: Awesome how he held the line there.

Kyria: Good job and get better soon.

Jayne: Well, we already talked to her I guess. Ask her when we can take riding lessons again.

Sansa: Get reports and the lowdown on Jayne.

Colin: Shoot the shit.

>98th Warlords-Uurist Titius-54/150-Poore
>Neshtifeld Myrmydons-Aaryn Wayde-13/135-Horrible

Would this two work good together? We could fuse them and reward them for exemplary work

Our Freeblades are done, promise them their loot share so they can divide it as htye see fit on their dead's relatives and all.

>>12550981
Yeah that worries me as well but our current condition isn't fighting worthy. So unless scouts tell us the rest of their army is abandoning the last bride, we might have to let them run around and hope another force deals with it.

Actually, let's use our eagle and send out a message asking for orders on the matter. We have the brazier and the leader and some torches (Did we get more btw?). We won't have all of them but maybe we can come back/someone else can deal with the leftovers.

>>12550945

thank jayne for her battle prowess and stability during this campaign

then have somone help us to laelith's tent so she can explain herself

then go see the mercs and finally khalless.

>>12551000
that was a miscoppy on Kyrias injury, somehow accidentally moved it from Finian to her when updating... derp. sontent inbound

>>12551008
Won't work, the Warlords are dwarven heavies/superheavies. The mercs are human lights and mediums.

>>12551023
Well, we can't lose so many units, we need to either put them on guard and other light duties or mesh them with something else

Even a combined arms unit would be preferable to have them torn and demoralized

>>12551000
Heh, part of me thinks if we should ask Cornelius if what he did was by the book or not.

Also, when all this is done we need to have a nice sit down with Sansa. She's been an awesome aide it seems and there are still things we need to find out about her.

>>12551052
But you're asking a merc unit to combine with a regular unit; that's going to make their morale WORSE.

>>12551052
With so few troops we should just dismiss them after giving them a bonus. They are already probably rich as all hell by splitting their fee among so few people.

>>12551070
I say see what the mercs want to do first. If they want to retire, let em. If they want to rebuild, tell them the empire will have need of them when they are at strength again.

Did Blackbird die?

You have Jayne send you the scouts while your watching her walk out, she blushes even deeper but complies.

"It was a slaughterhouse over there sir. Nearly all the Lacerta were dead, along with a good chunk of the Dwarves. From what I can tell the third bride took the ones most loyal to her and headed south, no more than 1500 head judging by the tracks in the snow. counting the torches we recovered from the blood, only 5 are missing now. We got a good look at where the other camp was as well... its abandoned, but we dont know if the same thing happened there but it would seem you led us to a victory sir." The scout salutes you before leaving the medical tent.

You shift in your cot again, testing yourself before turning your head to Collin "Dont even think about trying this" before you roll out of your cot and land on your feet, mostly. It hurts like hell but you stagger your way out of the medical tent while the doctors are busy. The men see you up and about, and mostly start cheering, not heartily, but they cheer nonetheless... it almost feels good enough to get you to forget about your legs. You make your way to the quartet of large tents the mercenaries now occupy. "You men did well." you state aloud as you enter the largest tent, relieved to see Arthurias and Aaryn are both inside it. "I'll be sure to see you get a good bonus, and I'll allow you first pick of the scavenge from the enemy casualties." both men nod at you, not happy but placated; and thouroughly shocked to see you up and about. "Now could you two ugly bastards help me to Laeliths tent? I have business that needs doing and I think that once I show my face to my captains they'll have me back in the medical tent before I can finish anything else.

cont'd...

It takes a while, but the two men get you to your elven elementalists tent, and shove you through the flap respectfully waiting outside. "Commander" is all she gives you in the way of a greeting.

"You did well last week." you state plainly, in no mood for the usual back and forth between the two of you "I felt that I should congratulate you, and let you know that I will vouch for you when we reach DragonsReach. As to what you said about killing Khalless, I feel I need to know what that was about."

Laelith barks out a harsh laugh "I will tell you before we reach the DragonBone Palace... shouldnt you be a bit more, horizontal?" the elf replies as you stride from her tent, you hear another mirthful noise emit from the tent as you silently exit it and motion to the mercenaries to take you to your captains tents. All of them are sitting on stones, barrels logs, or whatever else they could find around a fire they have going. The two soldiers for hire deposit you on a large stone and walk away. You feel 9 sets of eyes fall on you, ranging from surprise to concern to amusement.

>how so you wanna come at this?

>>12551135
no, I seem to have accidentally cut him from the roster. he's alive and already healed

>>12551192
Congratulate them on the battle. It was bloody but we've achieved most of our objectives. If Khalless had the resources, I say we hold a minor victory celebration that will obviously be dorfed by the real one once we reach the capital.

Is Finian in here as well or is he still healing up?

Have we earned our return or should we make more of this situation first? We could burn things to distract the other armies while we return, because wounded makes warring harder

First hold up a hand and say that if they want to tell you to go back to bed then it can wait.

Then:
>>12551000

Also, I like Laelith a lot for some reason. Maybe it's the damaged goods vibe. Pretty moe and scary at the same time. We should apologize about the face thing if we haven't already. Hell, she might even be romance materiel if we can get on her good side.

>>12551192
Our primary objective has been achieved, and we're going to return to the capital. Khaless' second wife is still out there, though, so we will need to be careful.

I think we should send our eagle to the capital, saying that we've secured the Brazier, but that 1500 rebels are still likely to come at us, and that we need reinforcements to rendezvous with us to assure that the Brazier can be returned successfully.

>>12551255
Reinforcements are pretty unlikely, they are fighting a war in the east.

We should have the scouts and rangers look for giant uursan for Jayne.

We have 600 men presently, that's like 1/2 our starting force. We can't possibly take the 1500. Gotta head back to Dragon's Reach for replenishment and rotation.

>>12551264
Yeah, but the Brazier is a very important strategic relic, and while we successfully recovered it, we are still in danger of losing it again if those remaining rebels attack us.They outnumber us something like 3 to 1.

Makeshitt plans:

Scouts and Hunters to reconnaissance and Uursar seeking

Warlords and Rangers can sate their thirst for revenge by raiding and burning to distract the enemy away from our retreat

We march back home

>>12551358
There's nothing to burn but our own territory. At this point we carefully march back home with scouts keeping an eye out for these guys. We have to avoid them since a pitched battle will be bad for us.

Could we use the small trails through the mountains that Collin knows about to transport the brazier? It would let us escape the notice of the rebel army if so.

>>12551358

i agree with the scouting idea , but regarding the rest of your post

what?

>>12551358
>Sends scouts ahead to sweep sectors for hostile contacts
Okay, good, agreeing with you here.
>Raid and pillage
Okay, you lost me here. This is our own land, and Imperial citizens in these towns.

"Before anyone says it, I'll get back to my bed soon enough, there's work to be done. Firsta nd foremost I want to congratulate you all on a job well done. Uurist, excellent job holding the line in this last battle. Gaius, Kyria you both did excellent jobs on this campaign, thank you very much for your efforts and those of your men. Finian, life can be cruel, but that's what friends and comrades are there for. Cornelius, that was an excellent bit of outside the box thinking in the last battle... I hope to see more of the same from you in the future. Sansa, you have grown well into the position I gave you, I am glad that I made such an excellent choice of an aide; and I have a few questions I wish to ask you in private once you all drag me back to the medical tent. Jayne, you were a massive boon to this campaign and we couldn't have done it without you, I hope to work with you again in the future, hopefully we will be able to have more riding lessons on the way back to DragonsReach. Speaking of DragonsReach I see no reason not to return there now that we have completed our objective, once everyone is well enough to march. Until then, I want a victory celebration to be held by the end of the week, as I suspect we will be able to depart shortly after that. any questions?" you announce in one to few breaths, leaving you slumped and panting over your seat.

cont'd

"I have one." Sansa announces, you lift your head to make eye contact with her "Why are you out of your bed?" she finishes, all of you laugh as she walks over to you and slides her arm under yours and around your shoulders, leading you to the medical tent.

Once you reach a more deserted area of camp you ask "what was happening earlier with you and Jayne?"

Sansa chuckles "That would be our bet." she replies

"Bet?"

"Yes, we bet on when you would wake up, I said under a week, Jayne at least a week. It wasn't a very fair bet to be honest, I know you better than any of your captains." The brunette archer replies.

"How so?" you ask back.

"I've drank with you more than any of them" Sansa replies matter-of-factly.

"You would make an excellent dwarf, you know that?" you tease in response.

Sansa pouts, using her free hand in an attempt to enhance her bust "I look better than Kyria, and I can drink as well as Uurist, so I dont see the point in your logic other than spoiling my fun" You both laugh at the joke as you approach the tent.

"So what would you have had to admit to me if you had lost?" you ask Sansa as she drops you back onto your cot.

"I guess you'll just have to try to figure that one out for yourself." Sansa replies as she leaves the tent, a spring in her step.

Collin whistles before saying "Some fine lass's ye'v got chasin after ye commander"

>take care of anything else or skip to the celebration?

>>12551413
Send a letter back to the capital about the left over rebels walking along and that we'll be heading back with all we were required to bring minus 5 torches.

Also, did we manage to salvage any nice gear/artifacts from Khalless this time? Otherwise I think we should skip ahead.

>>12551413
We can skip, but send the letter. The Reach needs to know our situation.

>>12551413
>Collin whistles before saying "Some fine lass's ye'v got chasin after ye commander"
"Well, Collin, my father always said girls like a man in uniform. If for nothing else, I'm glad I listened to him on that."

>>12551413
Send the letter detailing that we successfully secured the leader of the rebels and the Brazier, but a sizable force of 1500 rebels have escaped into the countryside. We are severely understrength and will march back to the capital as soon as wounds allow.

Let's give all the prisoners a single mug of ale at the celebration too. Can't hurt.

Send someone to the orcs and have them come up now. We owe Blackbird some wives, too. Let's regale the orcs of how well he did in battle and try to encourage some of the females to willingly marry him.

>>12551502
Inform the orcs that the dorf is gone but some of his men remain in the countryside. If they wish to return to their homes now, they can but let's be honest with them and tell them it's not completely safe. I suppose we can also let them take whatever we don't need from the guys we slaughtered.

You send a brief letter to DragonsReach with an update on your status, and a request for an escort back to the city. The same day you send your most persuasive runners to the Sullen Mountain clans holdout to tell them what has passed. A few days later you are crutching away from Khalless' wet wooden box, and empty wooden tray (wet) in your hands when you see the last of your men emerge from the medical tent... just as Sansa had predicted. After a few hours of eating the rebels food, and drinking their non-alcoholic drinks, Sansa and Uurist roll in a trio of kegs from the snowstorm outside, you find yourself near the table the kegs were lifted on to and Sansa hands you a spigot and you feel all of your mens eyes settle on you.

>if you want to say something to your men, tell me, if you want a speech, roll for doing a good job at it.

rolled 79 = 79

>>12551592
We must speech, but we will botch it.

rolled 6 = 6

>>12551592

mission accomplished

then proceeed to get shitfaced

rolled 10 = 10

>>12551592
Speech. Exhort them and say they have won a great victory for the Empire, reclaiming artifacts from the thieves and shattering a rebellion in a time of need.

>>12551592
"Months ago we set out to squash a small rebellion and retrieve an artifact and now we stand here, bloodied but victorious. The artifact recovered and the small rebellion much more serious than expected but still stopped in its infancy. You've protected the Empire from a great threat men. Tonight, I want you to enjoy yourselves before our march back to DragonsReach where we will parade our victory along the streets. A toast men. To fallen comrades! To the Empire! To soldiers of the Empire such as yourselves! Long live the Empire!"

Tried my hand at a crappy speech. Use it if others support it I guess or if someone can improve it.

rolled 76 = 76

>>12551651
Ugh, I suppose we use our daily botch on this.

We want our men to sing our praises and be in high spirits, fight or no fight. We need to be viewed as a great commander.

"Months ago we set out to squash a small rebellion and retrieve an artifact and now we stand here, bloodied but victorious. The artifact recovered and the small rebellion although larger than expected crushed nonetheless. You've protected the Empire from a great threat men. Tonight, I want you to enjoy yourselves before our march back to DragonsReach where we will parade our victory along the streets. A toast men. To fallen comrades! To the Empire! To soldiers of the Empire such as yourselves! Long live the Empire!" you say, just loud enough for everyone to hear, slamming the spigot into the nearest keg. The men all cheer as you fill your Tankard, kicking the chest of artifacts that no one has been able to open before walking over to your captains and command staff.

>anything you guys have in mind for this, or just that we have it?

>>12551737
Nothing specific but I think we should mingle with the men in general. Walk around the celebrating troops, chat with them here and there and such. Comment on wounds they may of got of compliment them on a job well done at certain points. Show them we care. Otherwise, I think just celebrating with our captains.

>>12551737
Nobody has been able to open it?

How do we know that we have the brazier?

Have we dealt already with the rewards and wishes of Myrmidons, Freeblades and orcs?

>>12551750
I'll second this. Mingle with the men for a while and then party with our captains. Get to know them better as well as making sure they are all well and truly smashed.

>>12551750
Second this.

Also, we need to make sure that the merc captains are satisfied, if not happy, with their compensation. Same thing with Blackbird.

>>12551753
We should crack it open then. We must secure that artifact before returning. It would be a great dishonor to get back there and be like "oh shit, whoops!"

>>12551737
I think we should include the elf in on this as well. While she may have been a foe, she did help us a ton and she's had her chance to turn on us.

>>12551796
Yes, I agree that she should be allowed some more freedoms, and to partake of some of the ale and food, but I don't think she should mingle with the rest of the army or with the captains. At least, not yet.

>>12551796
Good idea, I support this.

Hey Pax, where are we camped at? You have a map?

rolled 97 = 97

>>12551737

sure , thats fine

but i want to talk with khalless

A few hours into the night Sansa is staring down Uurist, each holding a tankard in their hands, and you have already drank more than a few of your men under the table. Collin Gaius and Cornelius seem to be taking part in some form of drinking game as well. Finian is off to a corner nursing a drink to himself, Kyria had been trying to drag him into the main group for a while but has since gave up. She is now cavorting about (clothed, thankfully) on top of the box you are keeping Khalless in, her rangers providing music with hastily assembled instruments for her. Jayne is currently trying to hide her grimace as Aurelius talks to her.

You hear a commotion at the back of the chamber, and see your runners enter, a blushing nubile orc girl in tow, as soon as she sees Blackbird she cant seem to take them off of him, clearly his younger but of age for her species at least.

>who do you want to get to know better then.
>the brazier is HUGE it takes 20 particularly large Lacerta to carry it, and yea, something is sealing all 3 of Khalless' chests full of magical goodies

>>12551825
Let's talk to Finian. We need to make him snap out of it and now is the best chance I think.

>>12551825

go see finian then(after some more drinks and mingling) laelith and finally go talk to khalless

>>12551841
Save Khalless for after the celebration. Taking him out to talk now would be foolish. We can do that on our way back or at DragonsReach.

What do you want to ask him anyways?

>>12551847

why would i want to bring him into the celebration?

talking to him after the party is what i meant , and i want to know how to open the chests , and generally why he did the things he did.

>>12551825
Get Laelith in here. She really helped us out in the fight and deserves to have some fun.

We know about everyone but her, really.

We should probably also swoop in and run interference for Jayne. Maybe see if we can drink Aurelius into a stupor.

>>12551861
Save it for after the celebration, since last time we tried to ask she avoided it during our drinking for fun, but we need to ask Sansa why she was put on trial in the first place and what's up with that crimson sash she wears. Been bugging me since we first got her and we never seem to get a good chance. Saying it now Pax! When we're not celebrating and we're alone with Sansa, we're asking her about it.

I wonder if Laelith knows how to open the chests... Food for thought.

>>12551872
We should have plenty of chances like that on the way back, fortunately. Maybe she actually trusts and likes us enough now to say.

>>12551861
Again, I must protest bring Laelith into these festivities. Talk with her, bring her drink and food, all fine by me.
But having her, still considered a criminal, mingling with the troops and our captains?
A massive breach of protocol and propriety, one that could not be excused unless we were completely and utterly shitfaced and falling-down drunk.

>>12551885
She's under our protection and fought alongside these men quite spectacularly.

>>12551891
Yes, but that still doesn't change the fact that currently she is still a criminal and will be brought to trial once we reach the capital.

>>12551885
I have to agree actually now that i think longer on it. Bringing her amongst the men now is too early. Wounds are too fresh. Give her food and drink etc etc and we should even stop by and try to be nice to her but it might not be wise to being her in. Especially for Cornelius.

>>12551901
Actually, we are the commander and can decide if she gets put on trial or not. If we just never turn her in then they will never bring charges. Legion commanders had very significant political weight, too, so it's doubtful anyone will call us on it or even care.

If we say so then she's absolved just like that.

>>12551901

i think we can all agree that she has proved much useful so far , so why ruin it and turn her over to the authorities in dragonsreach?

we already promised her protection if she would help us , and she has

>>12551931
>>12551920
I agree that she has helped us tremendously, and that if it were within our power to pardon her, I would.
But it still remains to be seen if we will be allowed to do so.

>your at the yellow X

"So Finian, whats troubling you?" you ask him as you crutch over to the dwarf.

He sighs "Nothing, just... trying to come to grips with my new life I guess. SHE never did like any celebration that wasnt strictly planned out and that went along with it... and THEY never allowed me to truly enjoy myself at this sort of gathering... I was the heir. I suppose I'm being terribly depressing though. I need to thank you for what you did for me sir. I promise I'll be more reli-" you cut the dwarf off before he can finish his depressing train of thought by slamming your tankard into his

"To the future!!" you announce just loud enough for him to hear over the din of celebration, raising you glass and draining it. Finian is a few seconds behind you, but he kept up admirably. "You dont need to worry about the past friend" you tell him after wiping your mouth "Youve been given a truly clean slate, and there arent many who get a chance at that. Now lets get to building your new life." you tell him, grabbing a fresh tankard for each of you as you lead him over to a group of female soldiers standing in a group near the edge of the chamber. Shoving the confused dwarf towards them you tell him "Now drink, be merry and work on this new life of yours... if I suspect that your sulking over the past at all for the rest of the night, I'll send Aurelius over to help you with these fine ladies." you threaten the dwarf as he enters their earshot, he looks mortified but you think you see the hint of a smile on his face as well.

Off to Blackbirds corner of the room a cheer erupts, a strange adornment on your orcs horns, and a wreath on his new wifes head, where did the flowers come from? Either way it would seem that you have a married man in your employ now.

In the other corner of the room another roar erupts, and you see Wulf holding up an old tankard with a knife in its side, looking rather drunk and walking around in a small circle, arms raised, across the table from him sits Collin his tankard similarly maimed, his face covered in ale. Near them Jane finally breaks down and raises her hand to slap Aurelius, who simply laughs.

>what now?
>map, derp

>>12551983
Now, I don't know about this world but... you fully understand that there were many times a Roman commander didn't get something he wanted and just came back and conquered the shit out of Rome to appoint himself Consul and do it anyway, right? That's the level of power we're probably talking about here.

>>12552001

unfortunatly , we are far from the rank and status of a consul yet

ask sansa about her sash and crimes

bring food and wine to laelith

then when the party dies down , go talk to khalless in his box

>>12552001
>Soldiers number approx. 600
>Capital forces are on a war footing
>Patriotism is currently high due to early stages of war to the East
Are you seriously suggesting that we have the numbers and resources to actually pull off such a thing?

>>12551992
God DAMN it Aurelius.

Go rescue Jayne. Well, maybe it's actually Aurelius that needs rescuing. Either way. Then since we have some people against inviting Laelith we should take her some food and drink.

>>12552021
Save the thing to ask Sansa after the celebration. We tried last time and she shoved it off saying she didn't want to ruin the moment. So we'll ask her in spare time on the way back.

Let's go see Collin and see what he intends to do now that this is over.

>>12552001
not quite that much power, as you only command one maniple out of 5 in your cohort, which is one out of 10 in your legion, of which there are 15... but close.

If you say she is part of your retinue her trial will be postponed until you release her from your service, you die, or 3 years passes. If you go that route chances are she'll have quite a bit of loyal service in her favor

>>12552025
I'm just saying, man. You don't fuck with Roman military commanders without a very good reason. One elf is not going to do it.

>>12551992
See what's going on with our young protoge, Wulf.
Bring food and wine to Laelith.
Congratulate Blackbird.
Talk to Sansa.
Talk to Jayne.

>>12552044

add khalless to that list and i'll second it

>>12552044
Maybe not quite in that order though.

I'd say Jayne first, then Wulf, then Blackbird, then Sansa, then Laelith, then finally Khaless after it's over.

also , can we gauge how the gods are feeling about us at the moment?

>>12552066

Isn't he in a box getting danced on?

>>12552085
yes he is
>>12552082
not in this state... after this party though...

and a consensus would be nice guys, the only for-sures I have are "bring Laelith food" and "Interrogate Khalless after the party"

>>12552113
Talk to Collin. In theory he may leave us after this campaign so we should talk to him now and see what's going on.

>>12552044
This in
>>12552079
this order.

mmm, concur.

>>12552037
So what you are saying is that we can brag about defeating a cohort sized force with a maniple when we get back?

Aw yeah, promotion here we come.

>>12552041
Yeah, but most Roman commanders that defied the Senate and came out on top usually were unusually charismatic, had a sizable portion of the Roman military under their personal command, and had considerable personal finances and political resources.
Except for the charisma, we lack all of those.

>>12552125
I can agree to this.

>>12552182
We're 24, give it time.

>>12552196
Yes, but the suggestion was that we could do it now if the Praetor wouldn't allow Justinian to keep his pet elf elementalist.
We could perhaps find legal loopholes, such as the one suggested by Pax to make Laelith a part of our retinue, that would allow us to help Laelith avoid execution. But the suggestion to attempt a military coup right now is not even laughably absurd, it is annoyingly ignorant.

"what did you say this time Aurelius" you sigh as you approach the pair.

The archer in question looks offended, or tries to, before responding "I just made a joke... and this fair lady didnt know what to think about it." snickering, and a t the edge of controll.

you look at Jayne who stutteres out "He, he mentioned the jokes some of the nobles make about the nature of my... relationship with my houses Uursan. He, well, he implied they were jelous, said he saw one of my bulls rutting and that..." Jayne continues "he would be jelous too. I was trying to breed some of them earlier today, to replenish my losses you see, and *hic*" at that Jayne simply waves the whole topic off, clearly not caring about it any more, before stumbling over to where Sansa and Uurist are still trying to drink each other under the table.

"Keep an eye on Finian, if he starts sulking, help him out with the ladies... barring that, watch your tongue."

After that you make your way over to the still celebrating Wulf and Collins slumped form. "Wulf my boy, what do you think your doing?" you ask him with mock anger, startling a few of the people around him.

"Drinking a Dwarf under the table is what!!!" he announces proudly, knifing another full decaying tankard and sucking the ale out of it, letting loose a whoop of exhilaration as he tosses the ruined glass aside.

The boy can drink, you'll give him that "And your about to be bent over your stomach outside the hall if you keep it up at this rate." you admonish him quietly "right now you look like a hero to those ladys from the 99th over there" you mention to him "their captains a pig, and their drunk enough to think you controlling your drunken self a gentleman, and appreciate that. A good officer must always be in control of himself... and on the lookout for opportunities; remember that." you advise him in your best imitation of the 'mentor voice' you heard so often in your youth. As Wulf stumbles over to the trio of unsuspecting women you gimp your way over to Collin. "Collin my friend, why so sour?"

The Dwarf stares daggers at you "Ai wuz just put under by a pup half YOUR age, and I have more than a few centry's on'ye... no offense commander. what brings'ye ta this side of the party commander?"

>>12552249
"Getting to know the men and women under my command, Collin. Without them, I'm just a runt of a man in shiny armor, all the easier for archers to range."

>>12552249
"How are your wounds and what are you going to do now that this area of the empire is a little safer?"

Ask him what he plans to do after we return to his village to pick up the garrison.

"Just trying to get to know my men better" you reply "And wondering what you plan to do now that this is over?"

Collin galnces at you sidelong "Well, I'm gonna sleep off a monster hangover in the morning, spend a few more days sitting around clutching my damned chest, and I'm not sure what I'll be doin' after that. Me and ma boys need coin, an Ai doubt we'll be growin anything. What do'ye plan on doin once ya get back to DragonsReach then?"

>if you wan tto recruit him permanently, now would be the time to roll for it

rolled 54 = 54

>>12552331
We've been promised leave for a some time to recover but then I imagine we'll be sent east to fight our current foe. I'm sure there's need for a warrior of your sort if you're interested."

rolled 38 = 38

>>12552331

quick , someone give an offering to the dice gods!

rolled 35 = 35

>>12552331
I plan to replenish my men and, perhaps, see if the position of cohort commander is vacant. I'll be looking for good men, and I've seen few better than you friend. What say you?

>>12552331
Guess I screwed up. How big can our retinue get anyways?

>>12552368
Normal is 5-10, but some older or cowardly commanders have more.

I don't think our animals count as retinue, so right now all we have is Sansa, Laelith, and maybe Collin.

"Well, first I have a month of leave, plus the time needed to replenish my troops. I'll be paid, and pay my retinue in turn. Quite a few more nights like this one to be honest. and after that I'll be sent East to defend the Empires holding from Uurlanth. To be honest Collin, I could use a man like you in my Maniple... would you be interested in the job?" you reply bluntly, you know that the alcohol has impaired your persuasiveness, so you figure the blunt and honest truth would be the best option.

"Ai I would be Commander... now if ye'll excuse me, I think I need some sleep." the dwarf replies, before pushing himself up on his left arm, downing his glass and heading for the exit.

>I think that'll be enough for tonight guys, I'm tired as hell... someone archive please. I'll be on Monday at 8, as usual. see ya then

>>12552406
See you Monday Pax. Good session. Glad to have finally toppled Khalless, heh.

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>>12552420
just wait till you get to your return trip, and get your rewards, heh

>>12552406
For those that have only recently followed the quest and wish to re-join us, Pax said he'll be holding this at 8 but that'll actually be 9 pm on 4chan server time.

>>12552437
Oh that bodes well. I'm guessing we'll have a nice encounter with the last of his wives then? Time to pull a miracle out of our asses if so, heh.