I'd take ourselves, Sansa, Jayne, Wulf, Finian, and Blackbird. They're our core people and Blackbird has first hand intel on the shit that's going down.

>>13672077

Is there even any reason to leave out any of our command core?

We'll bring everyone, including Degrian and Lord Helmet. Lord Helmet should not reveal himself until we give direction for him to do so.

>>13672077
Awww, i wanted to go and see what that issue breaking out in the rear was about.

And, along with those suggested by Subbrain, i believe we should take Janos.
The 2nd's man seems just a tad off, and Janos may be able to spot any, odd actions on his part that would seem strangely, Urllanthi

>>13672131
seconding this

Personally I think we should just go alone but seems like it's just me. That and I don't know if we should distrust him so much.

>>13672131
The reason why I suggested we don't bring our whole retinue is mainly a power thing. We're not the super top guys on the totem pole here and I think if we show up in force, it might give the wrong impression to the other commanders. We're still relatively new at this and a rising star, so some of the older guys might be a little pissed off at us.

tl;dr Minimum necessary to give and receive key information and enough to ensure that we are somewhat important, but not enough that other commanders might interpret it as a political show of strength and dick waving.

>>13672206
Also, we have a large retinue for someone of our rank and age; bringing only our core staff might be best from a social perspective.

>>13672206

Point taken.

Your suggestion then, though i'd like to bring along our Engineer and perhaps Lealith.

Lord Helmet would stand out way too much in this small gathering.

>>13672233
Statement: Meh, not really. 10 was mentioned to be about the maximum before it seems off. Anyway, agreeing to bring everyone.

>>13672104
since it seems we're going with this basic list I'd say subtract Finian and replace him with Rex or Uurist

>so, Sansa, Wulf, Jayne, Finian, Blackbird, Degrian, Laelith and Janos seem to be the popular choice, confirm?

>>13672248
That works. We just need to keep Lord Helmet and our Assassin out of this.

Actually, is there any way we could ask to see how many people we should bring?

I just figured this is a commander briefing rather than him talking to all of us. Plus it'd give us the chance to talk to him in private and I just figured only we should know in the event there's details we need to filter when telling the rest of our men.

>>13672278
I can see not bringing him to the meeting but we should inform them of Janos and how he came to be a member of our retinue.

>>13672283
Then i suggest just Sansa the assistant, Wulf the Trainee, and Blackbird the Wise.

>>13672376

Agreement: This runtime is alright with this assessment, then.

>>13672376
cool and the gang

You quickly gather up your aid, noblewoman, Captain Rex, Wulf, Blackbird Degrian and Laelith, all of you having settled in the command tent as the High Commander Enters. "Commander Trentz, I assume these good folk are your inner circle then?" he asks, snapping off a salute, which all of you quickly return.

"I normally have all of my captains as well as a few others at my staff meetings, but these few are my foremost experts in their respective roles." you reply.

"and would you care to introduce them too me? I have only met Blackbird properly, though I do recognize several others." Lucretius replies, the tall man replies, dropping into a seat and nodding to signify that you and yours may follow suit.

>so, nothing special you guys want, just their jobs and get on with the encounter
>also, sorry about the biff, you guys posted more after I started the update

>>13672394
Yeah nothing special. Their names and and role is fine. Like how Sansa is our aide and leads at times when we split our forces, similar to Wulf with him leading, Blackbird is one of the finest raiders we've seen, Jayne's cavalry has been vital in some battles, blah blah. Was typing something up but even a general thing is fine honestly.

>>13672394
"First, the lady Sansa, my second hand, her skill with knives most frightening. Next, Lady Jayne Garlian, her bear cavalry the hammering blow, and common finisher of my attacks. Captain Rex here is a soldier worth his scars, and various battles of the past work well to learn for the future. The young one with the foolish scar on his face is my protegee, Wulf. Next is the one called Degrian whose race not many have seen above ground, and his engineering skills are Groundbreaking. Last, who you may have heard of from the trial of the rebel of the north, The once slave and then executioner, Lealith, The fire elementalist of great power, but also, brilliant mind."

>>13672513
Degrian is our Chief Engineer, and Laelith our expert on arcana and elementalism.

>>13672521
If this is selected, don't call Wulf's scar foolish. Even if we do think it's foolish, we should start going around and telling other commander/our superiors that. Especially to his face.

>>13672521
You know we're not introducing them to a crowd, but to a professional soldier whose demeanor and outlook would not be out of place in a modern army, right?

I think you can cut back on some of the ham.

>>13672521
I propose a minimalist approach. Just state their name and a brief overview of their occupation in our forces. Nothing too fancy.

You begin "First is Sansa, my aid and right hand; to her right is Lady Jayne Garlian who has proven invaluable to me thus far." motioning to each of them as you introduce them "Captain Gaius Rex is one of my most veteran captains, well worth his salt as both a soldier and tactician; the young one just now beginning his collection of scars is my protege Wulf. The Kaskyana is Degrian, my chief engineer. The elven lady you may have heard of after I took her to the trial for the rebel I put down before being deployed, Laelith is her name, and she is my foremost elementalist, as well as a brilliant intellectual." each of the soldiers nods as you introduce them.

"Quite the collection you have there. A wise choice to build your retinue so early in your career I must compliment" Lucretius replies easily, looking at the maps and parchment that were set about the tents main table by force of habit. After a few moments he continues "It would seem that I will need you to intercept Lords Kulp and Wellis no further south than Lost Conflux, and if the rumors being spread by the prisoners you took, and your own men now that you have been brought back into contact with the Legion as a whole this task should be well within your capabilities. I have several questions of my own, but I suppose I will be courteous and allow you to ask yours first, as this is your tent."

>>13672737
"Any information on how large a force these Lords command and what their composition might be?"

Also Pax, could we get a map illustrating where these Lords lands are?

>>13672737

Intercept can mean a good number of things.

Are we to engage and destroy them utterly or just to hold up their advance?

Also see if hes willing to divulge the results of our crystal.

>>13672824
See, I wanted to ask the crystal thing in private. Not sure if we should bring it up in front of our retinue since he wasn't willing to tell it to us earlier in front of others.

"Do you have any estimates on these lords forces?" you ask, looking at the map of Uurlanth on top of the pile. Lord Kulp will be the first to arrive, as Kerlis is further south, then Lord Wellis from Degris.

"Sadly I do not, all I know is that my aerial scouts reported that they were marching south three days ago. Had I not broken that fort when I did you would have been taken unawares by the lord of Kerlis in a few days." Lucretius replies, still going over Janos' modified map "I know that this is going against what I just proposed, but from whom did you get this map?"

>>13672848
"I am currently being assisted by a specialist well-versed on the Uurlanthi country-side and in Uurlanthi thinking. I can tell you more later in private, if you wish."

>>13672848
"A man very familiar with the lands of Uurlanth. I've been using the information he's provided me for my mission into their lands. There have been ample opportunities for his information to ruin my campaign if he intended for that to happen if that's what you're worried about."

>>13672834

True that. We can ask him over drinks if hes not ready to tell us.

>>13672881

I'd rather not reveal lord helmet's identity yet. His life is on the line here.

>>13672848

We need our mission objectives, what we're suppose to do and for how long.

"I have an... expert on Uurlanthi lands and politics and lands. He has had many chances to cause my mission here great harm and has always come through for me, however..." you answer, trying to not give Janos away

"There are other things I wish to discuss with you in private, we will make him one of them." your supperior replies, sliding the map back to its original place at the center of the table.

"Now, the specifics of my mission..." you trail off.

"Prevent the approaching Lords from moving south of Lost Conflux. Stall them at the very least, though their destruction is preferable. I do not care what your tactics are so long as my right flank, then rear remains secure. I have two major lords and all of the second lords retainers to see to here. I will contact you when that mission is no longer necessary to our success." the man leaves the air open for any further questions at that.

>>13673001
"Can i, Have some Griffon. Or Pegasi

>>13673001
Are there any additional troops we can use to top up our units or mercs we can hire in the event we need them or are we left to do this mission only with what we have?

>>13673036
I don't think that's something we can ask for. They have a crap ton more to deal with compared to us and he won't be willing to give something like that up to us just to deal with 2 lesser lords.

>>13673052

Agreed. I think we can handle things with what we have just fine.

>>13673039
Yeah, let's see if we can top off our numbers, and if there are more reinforcements expected from the Empire for this campaign.

>>13673001

The mission is so vague its a do whatever you can to succeed.

Are there any limits to the measures we can take to stop the enemies' advance?

>I do not care what your tactics are so long as my right flank, then rear remains secure.

Doesn't sound like there are limits to what we can do.

>>13673147

What I'm really asking is if that goes all the way up to war crimes level measures.

Not saying we'll go there but its good to have a idea of what we can and cannot do.

>>13673175
Ah. I don't think it matters then to be honest. Are we ever going to do war crime type stuff with the way we've been playing Justinian? Although I suppose finding out his opinion on that might tell us a bit more about the guy.

"Are there any tactics that you would rather I not utilize to accomplish this mission?" you ask, ideas already flipping through your mind.

"No, We are here to punish Uurlanth, so long as you do not needlessly waste your men any action you deem tactically sound is acceptable." Commander Lucretius looks around your tent, taking stock of everything you keep inside it.

"Is there any chance of reinforcements before I set off to deal with these Lords?" you reply, not sure what the man is looking for in your sparse command tent.

"With the charnel house that is the Northern Theater pushing westward again, and my own detachment about to siege two cities whos combined forces will no doubt double my own, no." your superior replies emotionlessly, focusing again on you.

>>13673237
Eek. Guess we have to be doubly careful in our upcoming battles. I don't can't think of any other questions at the moment then.

>>13673237
>With the charnel house that is the Northern Theater pushing westward again
Uurlanth not only has enough troops for this massive counter-strike, but they're pushing the Northern Front back towards the Empire at the same time?
I think the Empire has seriously underestimated the Uurlanthi, then.

Anyway, I think we should have Degrian transfer plans and upgrade instructions on how to turn regular ballista into repeating ballista to the rest of the Legion. It might help in their siege.

Also, are we in an area that has the herbs necessary to create more NV paste?

>>13673279

>Transferring technology

Was going to suggest this myself.

I guess we have our work cut out for us.

Does any of our command staff have any questions or concerns? Else we should end the meeting and go into the private stuff. We're not really getting very far.

>>13673279
Let's leave mentioning the repeaters and crap until a private conversation. And honestly, I think we'll need to wait until our return to the capital before we can attempt to convince the Empire to adopt some of our technologies. Until we have a finished campaign with all our results, our suggestions won't have quite the impact.

>>13673279
Definitely hand over the repeating ballistae. Could make a huge difference in the battles to come.

And then I think we should not delay his questions any further.

>>13673237
Hmmm. I think we might be in trouble here. Tbh, I don't think there is any way we could win in a straight up fight. Best thing I think would be to deliberately destroy bridges and other infrastructure to slow them along with copious amounts of traps.

Actually...if we could somehow lure them into the Death Swamp of Death, that'd be a hoot. Make them believe that we have something that could absolutely wreck them and we are headed back through the swamp. If we send them on a wild goose chase into that shit, that would definitely work. The question is...how?

>>13673322
Not possible since the swamp was on our side of the river. We have to go back across and stop them north of Lost Conflux and they've already began their march. We're going to have to hit the first one before they meet up, if they do, and we're going to have to make it damn effective.

I think we'll have to start by splitting them up. Try to lure the faster elements of their army to chase small parts of our maniple and then lure them into an ambush and wipe them out. Whittle them down so we can hit them in an upfront assault. That and traps.

>>13673343
Bah, well it was worth a shot. But I agree 100%. We need to cheap shot them hard and fast. Perhaps we could convince the Rapid Riders and the tribesmen light cav to lure out some of their people, crush the detachment, and then send back a lone rider with some kind of insulting note.

You sit back in your chair and nod to High Commander Servius. "How many nobles have you captured or killed since you dealt with house Stant?" he begins

"Lord Blentus, his daughter, and her betrothed." you inform the man, signaling for a pitcher of water to be brought in.

"What do you intend to do with them? Also, how many men of fighting age have you seen among the refugees?" your superior replies, though it is Blackbird who replies first.

"Many elderly and young in the towns and villages, though my men found none of fighting age not clad as soldiers on our mission. Though this is just one small portion of the Kingdom..." the orc replies, his gaze shifting off to the left and down, as it normally does when the massive orc is trying to ensure he is recalling something correctly.

>>13673343
Night attacks and raids will be vital, I think. We need to see if we can stock up on more mooneye paste, especially for the Ghosts and our Deadeyes.

We could also try going past them and cutting their supply lines.
Since we destroyed storehouses in Lost Conflux and have been raiding the area for food, the entire region should be depleted and the enemies will go hungry.

>>13673405
"Blentus was much too eager for a quick death. With his room full of slaves in his fort, I think sending him back to the Empire for the people to hear his crimes would be appropriate. That and the man deserves the humiliation. His daughter and her betrothed I intend to ransom back to the betrothed's family."

>>13673405
>my men found none of fighting age not clad as soldiers
Shit. This sounds like a General Mobilization of the majority of the Uurlanthi population of fighting age. They won't be well-trained, but they'll likely try to bury us under pure mass of numbers.

I get the sinking feeling that instead of fighting Carthage, we're now fighting the Soviet Union, and we're the spearpoint of Operation Barbarossa.

>>13673459
Yep... The King does have a huge army coming down our throats. Honestly, I'm not sure how we're going to stand up to that nor our reinforcements.

>>13673483
Read your Spartan Battle Manual. Superior training and superior equipment mean that we'll be able to take out frighteningly high numbers of levies- toss elementalists and mages in for salt.

It won't be easy, but we'll be able to do it.

>>13673300
It would be better to have Degrian There, so the commander can ask him any questions he might have about the plan and such.

>>13673550
Nah man. That's a private conversation for a reason and I imagine he's going to want to ask us things we can't say in front of the men.

>>13673549
I understand the idea of superior training and equipment and all that but this guy just said he's likely out numbered by the lords to the south and we know the King has an army much bigger than theirs. At a certain point, sheer numbers will win just from drowning us with their corpses.

>>13673483
>>13673459
Good news:
They should be poorly trained
We have better mobility (da atowagons),
an army that big would be slow (especially the new recruits),
and lastly the huge army would have long and poorly defended supply lines.

I think we have a chance.

"Lord Blentus is too eager to die, with the storeroom of slaves he had in his fort. I think it would be prudent to send him to Degnar to meet justice, as for his daughter and her betrothed, I will keep them until I am able to ransom them back." you reply plainly, accepting the cup of chilled water offered to you.

"That would be a waste of the Tribunes time. We need examples, things to frighten Lords to surrender and repent. Something gruesome and public her in UJurlanth should suffice." comes your Lucretius' nonchalant response. he pauses, glances around the tent until the man who brought the drinks leaves the tent, continues to glance, allows his eyes to pause an Laelith, then finally asks "How much knowledge of the arcane have you accrued, and how deeply have you integrated it into your maniples operation?"

>>13673483

Frankly speaking, we might be better off.

As an independent unit of less than 2000 men, we are a less important target than Lord Servius's forces.

We will thus be fighting troops who are seconded off to destroy a secondary target. By this point or after Lord Servius's army is depleted, we should be receiving orders to retreat. We should be ok.

>>13673590
See, this is why I wanted to have the conversation be private in the first place.

"Based on how Blentus acted, I'm not sure anything we do would shake the Lords enough. His confidence in the King's counterattack made him rather stubborn and mouthy. We've obtained a few items of interest and knowledge on the subject. As to elementalism, we've begun gathering those with talent and a few members of my retinue are becoming quite skilled at it. We've even happened across an individual with the talent of a mage."

Don't we have one of Lord Kerlis' sons captive? If im right about that why don't we see if he would be willing to stay out of the conflict in exchange for the safe return of his son and his son's betrothed at the end of hostilities. If Lord Kerlis doesn't go for it we can always go for a cash ransom but it might be an option worth exploring

>>13673590

"Enough to use it regularly in combat. Elementalist are seconded to selected units to enhance their combat capabilities and reduce casualties."

>>13673634

Should we mention Lena? The more I listen about him, the more i'm inclined to distrust him.

>>13673590
"With little or no baseline for how much knowledge others have acquired, I can't really say with confidence how much knowledge I've gathered- but it seems quite a bit to me. As for integration, I have gone into battles relying exclusively on elementalism to bring me victory on several occasions."

>>13673590
Numerous Tomes, books, missives, and arcana.
I've begun taking potencial elementalists from my units to have them trained by myself and Lealith, and Wulf as well is talented as an air elemental. For your information, both Commander Nomz and (that other commander whse name escapes me) Would know know of elementalists as well, the latter dealing with an air elementalist himself and my sending Lealith to assist him, and Commander Nomz being sent aid by my men, Wulf leading them."

Best be fully honest with him, "I hope this is not something you wanted to keep secret. Because others are being Very open with it, and if we keep it hushed, our people will be left in the dark and cower quickly to gouts of flame and waves of stone. I even dealt with a common Bandit with an arcane necklace that boosted his Earth elementalism drastically. He died destroying it in the process sadly."

>>13673667
Rather than distrust him, I'm thinking he's just more ruthless/practical myself and being very careful that no one is listening to our conversation. But if everyone else thinks it's a bad idea, say so. I can see why it might be a bad idea but I myself think it's a risk worth taking. I could be wrong.

>>13673666
I highly doubt that'd work. Mostly because when the war is done, everyone is going to wonder why the hell he didn't do anything. I don't think an action like that will be enough to let him escape punishment from the King once the war is done. That and as far as it appears, they're not losing this war.

rolled 1 = 1

>>13673678
This is a good reply, also state we have plans to take to the 2nd about the training and finding of budding elementalists and those with the potential to become that.

Also, sup guys

>>13673704
You wasted a 1 on nothing? Nooooo! Heh.
I think we should leave those plans to ourselves. Can't let someone else take the idea for themselves...

>>13673700

Possible. Just trying to be on the safe side since we too, do not know how far the penetration of the lordfather's spies and agents are. Until we find out what caused the crystal to react the way it did, I say we need a trump card.

>>13673704
>rolled 1 = 1

goddammit. 'sup gloq

Lets save that for when we get back. No other commander gonna be stealing our thunder, yo.

rolled 76 = 76

>>13673746
>>13673722
I would prefer to leave it at that we just have plans, not the actual details that lie there in.

>>13673746
The way I see it, we've already warned the 2nd about the infiltration in his administration and if this guy really is apart of the cult... We're screwed as it is. I don't think mentioning Lena is going to save us. Plus he's trusted by the 2nd. If they're good enough to get his trust and be apart of the cult, we're not going to be able to take him down for a long, long time.

>>13673801

Considering that they managed to inflitrate the 2nd's personal staff, I say it's not out of the question that he could be an agent but alright, lets go with that for now.

Guess we should continue? Today seems to moving rather slowly.

>>13673678
Sounds good, include a little more detail though.
"I have begun using elementalists as artillery support for the most part. Others I attach to front-line units as close-order arcane fire support."

>>13673855
While what you say is true, I just feel there's a difference between his personal staff in charge of organizing his messages and his right hand man in charge of his armies and such. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly apologize for this monumental screw up but I think we should be okay here. And as I said, if he IS an agent of the cult, we are screwed period. We can't touch a guy like that unless we have damning evidence and we have no where near the resources we need to match him in anything.

"Without any comparison to what others have discovered, well, rediscoverd I suppose, i cannot provide a solid answer. However, I have accumulated a moderate library on the topic, at least one tome on every facet of the arcane arts by now, I beleive. On top of that I have a small but growing collection of arcana and have began training those with arcane potential in my maniple to fully realize their powers." you answer, taking another drink from your cup.

Lucretius finishes off his water, before replying "And how much combat usage does the arcane see under you?"

"I have staked several battles on the elemental skill of myself, Laelith, Wulf and Lena. Several of my colleagues in the V Cohort are aware of some of my fighters skills in that field, as I sent Wulf and Laelith to aid them. Recently I have began using the soldiers I found who were capable of manifesting arcane powers in battle. Thus far I have ten elementalists serving in combat, usually dispersed to a unit where their powers will be of the most use, though I have fielded them as a group from time to time." you inform the man.

Lucretius chuckles "And the young forge on ahead" quietly, though he is ten years your senior by the look of it. "I would recommend you prepare all those of arcane talent for quite the questioning once you return to Dragons Reach, your actions after your first deployment caused quite the political stir. Have you any mages, mystics or elementalists?" he asks, seeming more curious than pressing at the moment.

rolled 47 = 47

>>13673906
>have you any mages, mystics, or elementalists
Either Pax didn't mean to add elementalists or this guys is hard of hearing xD

>>13673906
"No mystics although we've encountered at least one amongst Lord Stant's men and I fear there may be more within Uurlanth. I have come across a promising mage, however, although she still has a ways to go."

If you guys want to keep her secret, now is your chance to veto me.

>>13673906
"A single mage. All others, myself included, are elementalists."

>>13673906
"Have I any? High Commander, as I said, there is enough elemental skill now standing in this tent to slaughter a hundred enemies in minutes, if not quicker. And yes, I was fortunate enough to locate a potential mage and convinced her into my retinue."

>>13673929
>gah, meant necromancers

>>13673906

"Certainly. What should they expect from such questioning? They have been turned the tide of more than one battle and I would not have them be disgraced.

I have come across a single arcana wielder. Though still green in the ways of our legion and our methods of war, she shows great promise and I expect great things of her.

What of this stir in the capital that I have inadvertently caused?

>>13673956
In that case - "No sign of any necromancers although I fear they may be active again in the world soon enough."

And no I'm not going to mention the vision the gods sent if he asks. We merely mention the fact Khalless was searching for tomes on necromancy as we saw from some of his translated letters. Clearly his group is trying to use it for their ends.

rolled 58 = 58

>>13673956
What would you value a necromancer for would be a better response in my opinion, I don't like the fact he is asking if we have any....

We can say we have one mage though.

>>13673906
"Well i've also have a number of the support staff trained as well, the cook took a knack to fire, the healers to light, which is as effective a healing art, as it is a Killing one, just as Lady Garlian, who is very good with her hands.

Might i ask, why ask if i've found any Mages or Mystics? I have encounted a mystic, who was working for a cult, who has likely all but wiped out the entire Stant royal family, the father included. They've made sure the young Janos brashly attacked me, the strongest bested by my personal swordmaster and then assassinated shortly thereafter by his own field surgeon, and, the smartest and tactical of the three, was guised by a mystic. Either he is dead, or fallen to this cult."

>>13673956
"I should mention, High Commander, that I find the concept of necromancy... rather distasteful. It may not be my call to make, but my strong preference would be to see it banned."

>>13674001
Gah, forgot to add the finding of lord stant's murdered corpse.

"As for the Necromancers, There will be four liches."

"I have the best of intel on that bit of information."

>>13674032
I think we should leave our opinion on the matter unsaid unless pressed. Simply because if this guy does think necromancy should be used, it might make him see us negatively. No point doing that unless we have to.

>>13674036
Don't say anything specific about those liches. We cannot explain how we know about that beyond talking to the Hag at this point. Only generic stuff that references things we learnt from Khalless is best unless we want to tell thi guy about the gods now. And I assume none of us do.

rolled 17 = 17

Guys he is asking if we HAVE any necromancers, etc..etc.., we need to play this neutral to find his intentions.

rolled 65 = 65

Take silence as agreement?

>Culti completed
Oh by the gods, captcha is trying to tell us something guys.

>>13674061
I agree on being neutral. No point tipping our hand unless we have to.

>>13674128

Agreed. Leave out personal feelings until we find out what his intentions are.

"I have a single mage prospect, though her learning has been, tumultuous, to say the least. I have no necromancers or mystics, though I did encounter one in... Uurlanths employ when I bested Lord Stant." is your answer.

Lucretius nods "What school is she from?" you feel a confused look crawl across your face, the man sighs "Are the manifestations of her powers radiant, bright? Or do they seem to eat away at the light around her?" he clarifies.

"They are intensely bright, why do you ask?" is your reply, your interest piqued.

The man shrugs "Then I cannot aid her. I do beleive that is all for now. I will see you when I have finished in the south." he announces, rising from his seat. Your command staff begins to file out of the tent, but the High Commander pulls you aside from the outward flow "Would it be to much to request a _good_ drink, the ale my quartermaster stocked my maniple with is quite subpar."

>>13674147

Time to break out the good stuff.

Lets see if he can identify the brew. Bring it up that we found some cask in a cellar in Lost Conflux too.

rolled 2 = 2

>>13674147
I take it we can speak about more private matters as well then. Let's take a bit from that nifty little cask that we attained of the "mystery" brew.

>>13674147
"But of course. Still trying to figure out what the brew is but I've been keeping some on hand and rationing it. I presume the response of the crystal means that you yourself are a mage then?"

Of course this is said after the staff has filed out. Time to get more info on mages it seems.

>>13674165
Yeah, let's get the better stuff. But I want to keep the best stuff hidden for now. We only have a single cask and we don't even have a name for it.

>>13674186
We found the guy in the capital that can sell us more if we need more. We bought a cask before we left and we haven't had too much of it.

>>13674235
I must have completely missed that part.
Alright, then, get the good stuff.

>>13674235
But how much do we really like this guy? It's our special cask, reserved for our retinue and heroes of our maniple.

>>13674261

Hes our superior and the right-hand man of the 2nd, whos been looking out for us.

I would think he deserves a shot at the cask since hes probably a hero of the Empire.

You make your way over to the small rack of bottles at the edge of the tent, and pull out a bottle of the mystery brew, filling two cups, before offering your superior one, which he graciously accepts, lighting up after tasting it "So... you have found out what it is then?" he asks, suddenly distracted.

"No, but I met a man who can supply me with more, and confiscated a cask of it when I sacked Dyrons Ford." you reply, enjoying a sip of it yourself.

Lucretius drops into his chair again "Ah well, one can still hope I suppose."

You chuckle, and have another sip from your cup before asking "So, I assume you are a mage then?"

"Indeed I am. A Dark Mage, to be precise, but when ones words and actions are rending reality around him, he is not picky as to what school he takes up, so long as it keeps him alive and sane. Your girl would be a High Mage, so that you can use the proper terminology. When did the arcane arts begin to re-surface for you?"

>>13674261
It's irrelevant what we think when you think about it practically. He's our superior officer and he's using this as a means to talk privately. Even if we didn't like him, we gain no benefit from refusing him other than saving some of our booze. I prefer the information.

>>13674261
He seems very blunt and to the point, but, he is nice enough to warm us about the line of questions due to our special people back at the capital, and was going to assist Lena if their magics seemed... compatible?

I like him now.

>>13674289
"In the middle of my previous campaign, after I saw what the rebels were capable of, and heard first-hand reports."

>>13674289
"My last campaign in the north. The head of the rebellion had himself a number of Lacertan's as his disciples all in earth elementalism. That and his two wives who specialized in water and fire. When were you first aware of it? Curious to see how far behind I am on the return of these old arts to the world."

>>13674289

Dammit, the 2nd is such a troll.

If arcane arts include elementalism, than all the way from our first campaign and Lealith.

>>13674315
"I then captured one of their elite elementalist, the lovely Lealith, and in very short order she was teaching me Earth elementalism. I got quite good at it, and was able to use a tad in the final battle with Khalless, the Dwarf leading it. The arcana looted from him was fantastic, among them elemental teaching aids. My only concern is that Khalless final wife managed to escape with some of the surviving rebel. likely fleeing far from there to the north.

The rest is history, with many a soldier voiding their bowels and fleeing in terror as the ground opens up beneath them and, my favorite, steady cracks appearing just in front of cavalry charges! Utterly devastating, and not to mention hilarious."

>>13674403
False. We started learning before Laelith was recruited.

>>13674322
Khalless had Three wives i believe.
Lealith, the surviving one, and the one killed in the city seige.

"Midway through my last campaign. I saw myself and experienced firsthand Khalless powers. After i broke Laelith from his thrall she informed me of the extent of its return to her knowledge and my potential." you reply, taking a seat yourself. "When did your powers manifest? It would be nice to know just how far behind I am in this field."

"About two and a half years ago, shortly after I was selected to be the Thumb of the Right Fist. I found a tome in the archives that worked gave me control, and that was the whole of it. And you are most likely just behind me as the vanguard into this field for Degnar, though your training regime may lead to you being remembered as the man who lead this charge, if you would excuse my metaphor." Lucretius pauses to take another drink from his cup "On this cult, what is the extent of them, from what you have seen and gathered?"

>>13674448

What does he know of this? It's likely that the 2nd wrote to him about cult before directing him this way.

At this point we should tell him everything that we can corroborate from our sources, save those gleamed directly from Neshai.

>>13674507
I wonder that as well. a mistake from Pax?

Should we mention the Lordfathers?

>>13674507
Agreed.
That we know that it had infiltrated the Second's staff, that we fought parts of it when fighting Stant, and that it may have some presence in the Duchy.

>>13674448
"Getting information has been difficult. Anytime we have captives, they've died quickly without giving us anything substantial. Most of what I know has been gathered from letters we've been translating that Khalless had amongst his belongings."

Tell him the rest, the infiltration in the 2nd's staff and how they were amongst the Uurlanth. Tempted to ask him if he has a stone to let us open locks and see if we can open that locked chest we picked up from the bandits since that seemed cult associated.

>>13674448
Recitation: "The House of Stant now belongs to them, lock, stock, and barrel." Tell him of the internal conflicts Janos spoke of. "...And the most damning evidence was the House Head's skeletal remains, still clad in his azure armor, felled by arrows alongside his personal guard. I took a few, incase I ran across scoundrels who could identify whose they were. We might have been on opposite sides, but he deserved a better death than that. I personally made him a reasonable monument where he lay."

We should try to ask him two things before we leave - 1) Why does he think elementalism is returning to the world? Might find out next ally in terms of reintroducing the gods depending on what he says. 2) Does he have any advice on how we can assist in training Lena at this point. He might not be the same kind of mage but he might have some info he can give us.

"It has been difficult to discover anything, as most of the cults members either commit suicide before they can be captured, have arcana to prevent them from being forced to talk, or are to low ranking to have anything of value. Most of my knowledge on them came from captured missives that where in Khalless possession. They may very well have control over house stant, as one of their mystics was disguising as one of Lord Stants sons, one I interrogated claimed that they had members who had seduced the heir, and I found Lord Stant slain and decayed to naught but bones by an assassins arrow along with his guards on Uurlanthi territory. I am unsure of their plans, save that they had given Khalless enough tomes to see a man with arcane potential all the way through to lichdom, and missives indicating that there were to be ten, well, nine after my interference "Lords" all raised by "Lordfathers", with hints that it was not children but those of arcane talent they are to be raising to their full potential." you inform your superior officer grimly, before taking another drink from your cup.

"All that the Second has found is that their plans have something to do with dieties. He would go to the Fourth, but he suspects the woman of being in collusion with the cult, or willfully ignorant of leaks and double-agents within her own numbers." Lucretius sighs. "I would recommend that you keep your eyes as open to more signs of this cult. It would be most unfortunate if Degnar were to weather this storm only to fall to a second."

>>13674700
"Did he say anything on how it involved the deities? Do you think that's even possible?"

>>13674700
recitation:"Personally, I wonder if these lordfathers instigated this war to begin with."

"Deities? Well, they arnt making friends will all of them. That much is sure..."

Just blank stare if he gives us that double take

>>13674700

"There is a good possibility that this war was engineered to grind both Dengar and Uurlanth down before striking.

Are there any unofficial lines of communications between our Emperor and the Mage-King? Is there any hope for a quick resolution or ceasefire in the near future?"

>>13674725
It makes sense if you think about it. A necromancer's bread and butter is dead bodies. More dead bodies, more warriors available. A war is a perfect way to just make more dead bodies available.

You raise an eyebrow, playing the part of a sane skeptic "Did he say anything about how? Is that even possible?"

Lucretius takes another drink "No, and to be honest, I'm not sure anymore."

"They certainly arent befriending all of the dieties with the way they are acting I would imagine." you chuckle out.

"Then let us hope that if the bastards really are real they bail us out." the High Commander responds, raising his cup, you raise your own in response, drinking the silent toast.

The next few minutes pass in silence until you ask "Do any secret lines of communication remain between Degnar and Uurlanth? If this cult truly plans on using necromancy..."

"I share your fear. But sadly, no. Not since the line of the Mage King faltered were they acknowledged. When the Dragonslayers line failed as well, all ties but the traditional ones were severed I'm afraid." Lucretius downs his cup and rises "Live well, brave Legionaire." he begins the oldest motto of the Legion, the one born in the darkest days of the First Rebellion.

"And die bravely." you finish, downing the last of your drink and saluting. It cant be that bad, can it? before you can voice your question can be voiced, the man is out of your tent.

>you will need to set out to take care of your new mission by midday tomorrow, anything you want to do before that?

>>13674863
See if we can gather up some herbs for more night vision paste. In theory we could give these guys some of our tech ideas or recipes I guess. And in regards to the gods, he may not be someone we can rely on to back us up now but he seems unsure on the gods being real or no rather then saying they're gone. With sufficient proof, I think we can sway him over for support. Well then gents, let's make sure we kick ass in this next part of our campaign and maybe we'll get the chance to talk to the 2nd more in-depth again.

>>13674863
Suggestion:Find Lena and Bellatrix, see how they're doing. Have a chat with Kyria, ensure her that her research, according to the hag, will bear the most fruit torwards our anti-undead arsenal. Then some alonetime with her.

>>13674892
Agreed.
Let's get more NV paste.

>>13674863

To speak with Degrain.

Regarding:
1) Transfer of technology to Commander Lucretius' command so that they can make use of our recent innovations.

2) Anti undead measures. If the common soldier is to prevail, we'll need weapons that deal "Impact" damage. Discuss possible weapon designs including converting our auto-wagons to Roller-Wagons.

>>13674927
Agreed as well.

rolled 70 = 70

Can we go on with a scorched ground policy now that we are to delay/destroy the units we are fighting now? Burn every forest, every plain, and every village between us and the force we are intercepting. Also, should we start burning the bodies?

You wander through your camp, searching for Degrian, and find him exactly where you had expected to, in his tent, working. As you enter, he pours a measure of water into the stone tube before him, six steel sliders begin to push back into the tube at a rapid pace, until one of the sliders stops, steam jetting from its track, the others slow to a crawl and stop themselves. Degrian lets out a short stream of curses in his own language, before throwing the apparatus to the ground. He turns, and nearly jumps when he sees you "How can i help, commmander?"

>>13675004
Love Goddess won't like that I imagine. I say let's get some scouts to get some numbers before we decide on what tactic to use. If it's not too terrible, luring out men, traps and ambushes might suffice over scorching everything. Unless we don't mind angering some gods.

Recitation: "Came to check up on you, ask you a couple questions, actually. One of your experiments not working as planned, friend?"

>>13675012
"Initially I came to speak to you about perhaps sharing some of your inventions with our reinforcements but now I'm also curious on what you're working on."

Not now but we need to find out more about this guy at some point. His family, more about his people and just general stuff. We've been way too demanding of him and not enough developing other than his aversion to making those automatons or whatever they were.

>>13675012

"Greetings my friend. What are you working on?

//Insert pleasantries here

I have need of your expertise once again. I need you to coordinate with the engineer corp of Lord Lucretius to let them construct our repeater ballistas and your other innovations that have served us so well.

Secondly, I'm sure you've heard what we're likely to be facing in the near future. Have you any possible ideas for weapons that the common soldier could wield in order to defeat those monsters?

Is it possible to equip our auto-wagons with crushing rollers to destroy such enemies?"

>>13675012
"We have got to get you a more calming hobby to do in your downtime my friend...

Anyway, my purpose of being here, Do you think it could be simple to draw up some accurate and understandable plans of some of the inventions of your's and kyria's to transfer over to the Legions?

Also, In the coming day, we're going to need combative weapons that deal more, impact that cutting. What do you think of mounting some sort of, masher or heavy rolling to the autowagons to flatten any underneath?"

You chuckle "You really should find a more relaxing passtime, friend." Degrian shakes his head, going to a different stone tube with a similar setup "I had come to ask you about the possibility of giving plans for the Heavy Repeaters and repeating crossbows to High Commander Lucretius, but I am suddenly incredibly curious as to what you are working on."

"More accurate, longer ranged crossbow. Kyria can make steam, I can use to draw back much thicker and more steel arms, use thicker cords. Steam not easy to use, assemblies difficult to forge." he informs you, again pouring a measure of water into the cylinder, this time, the metal sliders smash against the back of the cylinder, tearing through the stone after they hit the end of their tracks, a steel disk even blasting out the rear of the cylinder. "As to designs, not for the Balistae, too many things can kill crew if not properly interpreted, smaller repeater crossbows are possible however."

You nod "I'm sure that by now you have heard of the sort of foes we will be encountering in the future, do you think you could modify the autowagons to crush such beasts, or come up with any other ways to effectively deal large amounts of damage without cutting or piercing?"

Degrain thinks "Autowagons too large, and require to much aid for continued rapid locomotion to work in such a role on the battlefield. The other, I could do something after current project finished."

>>13675137

Recitation: "It won't be necessary immediately, so you'll have time to draw up plans and perfect your designs. I know I ask much of you, but I want you to know personally that I greatly appreciate your efforts. You've bought us a lot of time and saved a lot of our men with your genius."

>>13675137
>Theres goes the lovely image of a panzer corp of Road-Rollers tank-shocking an undead horde. D:

"Could we do an exchange program of some of our engineers with Lord Lucretius'? That way they'll have someone to refer to when they need to construct the siege engines."

>>13675137
"Have I told you before that you're a Genius?
Just see if you can get some plans, and other plans you might want worked on that dont require too much effort but dont have the time for. The Legions has the manpower and materials for it, and just think, once we get back to the capital, we might even be able to use some of these Autowagons, as a type of plow, would certainly make farming easier to many."

Nothing at add to what the rest of you have said but for the future - I'm wondering if we should have Laelith look into necromancy again but see if there are different types/something that directly opposes it. For instance, until now we had no clue there were multiples kinds of mages. What if something similar exists for necromancy, except perhaps this other variant might focus on fighting the undead rather than raiding them and all. Could be worth looking into amongst the tomes we have although we might need the Imperial Library for a better chance of finding something like that.

rolled 35 = 35

I've been thinking, what if we somehow made autowagons large enough to house a bear in/under it as it's power/start and maintaining. Sounds a bit more like Flinstones and their cars powered by feet, but instead bear instead of feet. That way, it could house a LARGE number of men on top.

It seems to me that autowagons operate on a basis to take a force input and make it continuous enough that if constant force applied it would take less force to move more. I'm thinking armored box housing a bear that has the inner working of a large scale autowagon that has a second floor on top to house a large number of soldiers, in other words more than the standard autowagon and all it would take of the bear is for it to walk at a normal pace. I mean, I would think a bear has more torque than a horse in terms of power, but that is just me.....

rolled 15 = 15

>>13675283
An Uursan, my bad, not bear. I think spite would take offense to that. Also, we haven't spent quality time with our pets recently.

>>13675283
Personally, once Degrian gets used to working with steam, I'm thinking he should work on making a steam engine of some kind. I might be jumping ahead in what we could do but if he could harnass Kyria's steam runes as a form of power, it would make our auto-wagons a lot more efficient or we could just use it in other ways.

"Fair enough. If you have any simpler plans, even those that you haven't attempted to assemble yet that it might be possible for a team of Empire engineers to work out that would be enough. As to the plans for dealing with the undead, dont put yourself under any undue stress, we still have time." you answer.

"I will have several ready before we depart." he repiles absentmindedly, going back to work, wincing as his obviously steam-burnt hands grasp another cylinder after he finishes scribbling down notes.

"Degrian, your a genius." you compliment the Karskyana, as you leave to let him work.

"Simply above average." he replies, not looking up from his work.

You stop through the medical tent to set your medicae staff to the task of mixing up more moonseye paste, if they can find the ingredients, they look at you quizzically, as you are out on the plains at the moment, but acknowledge your order nonetheless. It is nearly the middle of the night by the time you reach Kyrias tent, where she is happily chiseling runes into a shortsword "I dont suppose you have something I could test this on." she states, looking up to face you, garbed exactly as she was when you last spoke with her.

>>13675322
"That entirely depends on what you're trying to test."

>>13675322
>I'm assuming a sword that sets on fire, whatever it cuts. Or I could be daydreaming.

"...When was the last time you rested or took a shower?"

rolled 62 = 62

>>13675354
That or it simply heats whatever it touches up to it's boiling point if it is the same as the runes Deg is using.

"That would depend on what it is you are trying to test?" you respond, dropping onto her cot and watching her work.

"Well, unless I made a mistake, this blade should heat up when it impacts something, I just dont know how quickly or how much it will heat." she replies, setting down her chisel, and heading over to her cot.

>>13675429
"It seems to me that to err on the side of safety, you should probably test that well away from anything flammable. Possibly while wearing heavy gloves."

>>13675429

"Lets go find out then."

Should head over to the kitchen. They should have a few carcasses left over which we can test on. Whether strength of the blow determines how how the blade will heat up and so on.

Speaking of which, what ever happened to our valk cloak?

>>13675429
Observation: Now, that could actually be useful no matter what army you fight.

You rise, catch the dwarf and sling her over your shoulder and announce "We're heading to the kitchen tent to test this on a carcass, with gloves."

Kyria laughs "Not right now you madman, in the morning, I'm to tired to see if it is working properly." you keep walking out of her tent "What are you doing??" she asks

"Well, it would be innapropriate for a commander to sleep in one of his subordinate officers tents." you announce, carrying the dwarf across the sleeping camp.

"Your a madman!" she accuses, still laughing, but you cant respond, you can barely keep a straight face.

-----xXx-----CQ-----xXx-----

The next morning, you and Kyria are standing outside the kitchen tent, a small group has gathered to watch you test her freshly modified blade. You swing into the rotting carcass, and the blade... does nothing. "That was disappointing." you announce, looking over to a disappointed looking Kyria apologetically. Then you feel a searing heat through the glove, and quickly throw the now white-hot blade to the ground, the scent of burning continues, and you look down to see the glove on your sword-hand burning. You fling the glove from your hand as it catches fire, and look down to see a small grassfire surrounding the blade.

"It works!!" Kyria exclaims happily.

"Too well." you add, wiping the sweat from your brow.

"I have a few ideas on how to reign it in once the heat dies down." she informs you, helping you stomp out the flames before they can envelop the camp.

>anything else you want to take care of before you head out?

rolled 55 = 55

>>13675590
Thank the gods we used gloves.

Remember fellow Legion soldiers, always use protection!

>>13675590
I can't think of anything at the moment. Maybe check up on Janos and see how he's taking the death of his father. And I am off with that. See you guys later this week.

rolled 73 = 73

>>13675651
Seeya Max, this and maybe meditate on the way up? If that is even possible.

>we seem to be winding down, and this is as good a place to stop as any i guess, so I'm gonna call it.
>someone archive please
>I'm gonna be gone until Sunday at 9pm server time
>if you have any setting/random CQ questions just e-mail me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com
>later

>we archived or should I get it?

rolled 27 = 27

>>13675770
Can yeh, in intense tetris battle with friend......sorry xD