>>15508281
"Yes, let's."
Go and check on Lena and Bellatrix.
We'll play it by ear on who we'll talk with after we see how Bellatrix is doing.

Pax. It's time to put down the keyboard. Seriously. I know my roman numerals, and I don't know what number you are on.

>>15508309
Agreed. Also, we need to find a way to neuter their mystic in some manner... That illusion crap is going to hamper us way too much. Especially since we didn't kill any of the life elementalists helping him.

I hope our life elementalists can help out Lennis' unit because they got utterly ripped...

>>15508325
>CX, or 10 after 100, so 110... and I dont hold my keyboard, I let it rest on my desk, haha.

You nod, worried for the sisters you have taken under your wing. The two of you ride silently to where Belatrix landed. The older Kharynchek woman is still prone, though it is clear that Lena positioned her to be flat on her back, her breathing shallow and labored, her eyes unfocused, alive, but barely. Lena looks up to you with red-rimmed eyes "I, I can take away her pain, but I'm no good at healing magic." she blubbers out, clearly pleading.

Jayne swallows hard "I... I'll see what I can do but..."

As the noblewoman swings down from her mount, Aurelius runs up to the group "Is she alright?" he asks, worry written all over his face.

>>15508459
"We'll see after Jayne gets to work on her. Just try to stabilize her Jayne. This isn't your forte so let's try to get her back to the other life elementalists as quick as we can."

>>15508525
Second. Not much we can do; we have to leave this in the hands of specialists.

You sigh, sliding off of Spite "Shes alive, and with Jayne... and Lena keeping Bellatrix stable until the medicae can get to her, she will hopefully survive." you postulate, having no idea how she will do.

Jayne shakes her head "This is bad." she informs the group.

Lena begins to cry again "I tried to put the shield up to protect her, I tried, but, but..." her voice breaks, and Aurelius rests a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

-----CQ-----

That night the mood around the camp is, subdued. Renols men all depressed from their battle, as well as being bone tired. You soldiers tired, and the others in the massive camp worried after having heard of the battles that took place during the day. Sansa walks into the room, the bill in her hand, wincing, as another of the still unconscious Bellatrix's pained moans fills the quiet night air. "Lena passed out trying to keep her sister from feeling the pain. She hasnt left her tent since we carried her there. I have the bill, and Vohzd Lennis says he can send for more warriors if you wish... though he would prefer that you keep his riders away from any velociprey in the future." she hands you the sheet. "And, the other Commanders would like to meet with you tomorrow morning."

-190th Centurian
Gaius Rex
175/200
Good
-454th Legionary
Cornelius Hoursch
170/200
good
-98th Warlords
Uurist Titius
140/150
good
-76th Deadeyes
Aurelius Caspius
100/100
excellent
-50th Dwarven Scouts
Finian Gaurush
100/100
excellent
-65th Dwarven Rangers
Kyria Esfelda
100/100
excellent
-Estren Infiltrators
140/150
Lacerta
Staros Nimulus
excellent
Javelins, Slings, combat axes
-House Garlian Uursan Cavalry
Lady Jayne Garlian
45/50
excellent
-Skyrus Thunderers
40/50
Dwarves
Doruth Mantes
excellent
Uursan, Plate Armor, Lances, Battleaxes
-Vohzd Lennis Riders
25/50
Vohzd Lennis
Below average
Horses, straightswords, atlatl/javelins
-House Morlan Griffon Cavalry
Orin Trestus
45/50
excellent
-Daimus Skywings
Damian Corinth
Personal wing
Chainmail, polearms, valkeries
45/50
excellent
Windet Cloudscreamers
40/50
Tomas Grentar
excellent
Valkeries, leathers, breatswords
-Blacktusk Raiders
70/75
Blackbird
assorted gear
excellent

>>15508731
Let's see this bill then talk to Laelith or our mystic. Keep forgetting his name. We need to come up with some kind of counter to this dude.

Also, I think we should relegate Lennis' unit to just scouting at this point. He's taken a beating and losing too many more men will mess up his ghorat.

>>15508750
Agreed. We can't risk losing him as an ally.

After that, reset traps, prepare for round two. It's going to be a long night.

Suggestion from IRC: Looted longspears go on the front of all spear formations from now on.

Yay or nay

>>15508750
Autronius, that's our guy's name.

Also, agreed on using Lennis for pure recon at this point.
Maybe also giving Blackbird's men some extra mobility, if they need it.

>>15508928
Yes. Get our men training with them first thing in the morning.

>>15508928
Speak to Gaius and Cornelius on how it might affect their unit performance. As useful as they'd be, it would be silly to do it if it just messes them up more.

You shake your head "As much as it pains me, no, I wont risk endangering his ghorat for my own needs. He will be more than useful enough as a scout. Have Blackbird and his men begin re-setting as many traps as they can."

Sansa nods, but does not leave the tent. As you move to pass her she catches your arm "Justinian, I'm worried about Lena... I dont think she was listening when I tried to talk to her before and..."

You nod understandingly, and at that, your aide allows you to pass. Autronius is training in one of the open areas in the camp, strangely bereft of his cane, though it is near the other belongings he relieved himself of. The man is moving through a slow series of meditative poses, his face calm, though he turns to face you before you enter the clearing. "Commander, how can I help you?" he asks, after saluting, as he limps towards his belongings.

"I need to know what sort of things to look out for when an enemy mystic is using illusions. Any tell-tale signs that could be caught on."

>>15508928

don't our units have pikes already?

>>15508984
"While you were training, did you come across any knowledge on things that could disrupt your abilities or counter them?"

Guess we best go see Lena after this.

>>15509027
>>15509005
Agreeing with these two.
Also, ask him what his max range for reading thoughts is; if he tries to read the thoughts of an illusion, does it come up as blank? Another is if he can read the thoughts of the enemy commander, we can know what orders to give before the enemy even knows what he's going to do.
Finally, can he force a man to attack the man next to him? Disrupt an entire enemy formation by doing that? Or force an enemy officer to order a retreat, causing chaos and confusion in a unit?

To do list:
1. Loot long spears. Evaluate possible deployment to our legionnaires.
2. Get Autronius to train our captains and elementalists to resist mystics.
3. Screen our mercs and Lennis's men for elementalism. Offer them free training.
4. Maybe burn some points with Raynha+Nyetini to heal Bellatrix.

>>15509069
Something else we could do is simple seeding of thoughts. If you make the enemy commander worry that he's going to lose, or that one flank is more open than it actually is, you can create wonderful openings to get stuck in.

>>15509091
I'm good with all of this.

>>15509091
Not sure if I want to ask for the gods for more help at the moment. Let's see what Bellatrix's condition, and Lena's, is before we do anything crazy.

>>15509010
>the pike idea was shot down

You follow the man "I need to know what I should look for when an enemy mystic is creating illusions, if you can counter such efforts, and at what distance you can read or affect minds." you reply professionally, knowing that it is what the man is most comfortable with.

Autronius begins to move towards the kitchen tents "The best illusionists use their targets expectations to create the image they want, unless what they aim to create an image of is alien to their target. In such cases it is recomended to have the illusion move as little as possible."

You shake your head "So I need to look for things that barely move, or seem to... iconic, then?"

Autronius chuckles "Except in extreme cases, you should be immune to such influences, at least for complex things such as soldiers, animals, buildings. A landscape, or a wall however is simple enough that a mystic boosted to the extent that he could influence a large group of soldiers could defeat even your own defenses. I would suggest adding signs, or other clues to your mental image of anything that could possibly be used as an illusion to affect you."

You sigh "It would seem that the goal of our next training session has been selected. My other questions?"

The old legionaire sighs "Yes I can combat other mystics, but if more members of the maniple were hardened against mental influence..."

You nod "I know it will be taxing, but yes, consider it an order that you train all members of the command staff to resist mental intrusion."

Autronius helps himself to a slice of salted pork and an apple before continuing "As to my range of influence, I need to be able to see my target, and can reach perhaps half of an arrows flight from a longbow on a windless day, if I push myself. Is there anything else you needed me for commander?"

>>15509091

seconding 1,2 and 4

as to 3, wouldn't that violate our orders to not spread the arcane outside of the fists?

>>15509228
I think that's all except perhaps tell him we might be stopping by for some training later on. Off to Lena.

>>15509260
Come on guys, how come everyone is eager to start going to gods so quickly for boons now?

>>15509228
I'd like to run the idea of tactical mind influencing by him.
"Your range is yet limited; what about if you were behind, say, Captain Cornelius' unit. Would you be able to make the opposing captain think that there is an opening where there is none, and expose himself to attack? Or muddle his thinking so that the unit is less effective? Maybe even see what he is about to do, and so forewarn Cornelius of his opponent's thoughts?"

>>15509091
Just to reaffirm my position: no going to the gods to get Bellatrix healed.

>>15509260
hmm, yeah, you're right. I'll still back the rest of that list, though.

>>15509273
Worth asking I guess. Second.

You chuckle as the chef does a double-take, clearly having not seen Autronius gather his food "You range is limited, but if were to stay behind one of the line units, do you think it would be possible to influence an enemy commander, to create exposed flanks?"

Now it is Autronius turn to sigh "Possible, very. Probable... the Uurlanthi are more paranoid, and self-serving than Degnarians, with all respect, Dominu, it is childishly foolish to think that Lords, their heirs, and perhaps even some of their favorite knights would have not had the same training as you. Some weaker than others, but the chances of my being able to reliably affect the minds of the command elements of enemy forces is are dishearteningly low. Especially as they have more folk with arcane talent than Degnar does."

You sigh, deeply "Thank you, Autronius, that will be all." at that, you seperate yourself from the man, who takes a seat in the clearing, facing the setting sun and eating. You doubt that many are able to see him, which makes you, nervous.

Lenas tent is eerily silent as you approach it. Tassadus gentle hooting, the contented noises that you knew him to make when Wulf would stroke him in a certain way, to be specific. That is all you need to hear to know that Lena is in her tent, she no doubt heard you approach, which means she chose to ignore whomever had come to see her. You sigh, steeling yourself against what you expect will be a difficult conversation.

>>15509402
Might as well inform Lena we're coming in. No point waiting for her to say anything first. Ask her what's Bellatrix's condition if she doesn't say anything initially.

>>15509448
seconding

>>15509448
Second.

"I'm coming in, Lena" you announce, before stepping through the tentflap. The tent is clearly furnished for two, and as you had expected, Lena is sitting at a table, stroking the nomad owl, looking sad and pathetic. "How is Bellatrix doing?" you ask when the girl does not turn to face you.

"Not improving, but not... dead" she replies haltingly. "I, I tried to protect her, I tried to do my job to but..."

You sigh "Things like this cannot be avoided in the Legion. We're soldiers, and soldiers take wounds... and live to bear them with pride."

The girl huffs a sigh "If she dies I'll be alone... I've never been alone, never had family I knew be away from me. And its my fault..."

>just a quick response and I'll keep this moving to the meeting next morning. Or somewhere else if you want.

>>15509618
"Don't give up on Bellatrix yet. She's a fighter. You can't blame yourself like this either. Because of your and Bellatrix's actions, many lives were saved today. People who see you as apart of their family now. You're not as alone as you think you are. If you are going to blame anyone, blame the Uurlanth. Blame those people who are trying to destroy our lands simply because they want it. And make them pay for their actions."

>>15509618
"Your sister will endure this, as you must. I promise she will be our healers' top priority."


Quick vote guys: do we want to make a divine bargain for some healing now?

>>15509692
I'd rather check with the healers first, see what their take on it is.

>>15509692
I'll agree to ask for some godly healing. We've already done it once.

>>15509669
Seconding.

I think the only other thing is to inform Lennis that we want him on recon duty. We need to know the enemy's movements and where they plan to try to break past us.

>>15509692
Check in with the healers, once they've taken care of the critical cases see what their prognosis is on Bellatrix. If they can heal her, given time, then no divine intervention.

>>15509669
>>15509725

thirding

>>15509741
Agreed. Let's get the word of god from the healers first.

>>15509741
thirding also we need to check on aurelius and see how he's doing

You shake your head "I wouldnt give up on Bellatrix, as long as I have known her, I have never known her to back down. CErtainly you havent remembered when Wulf and you first became a couple..." Lenja gigles, then her face falls again "And, you cant forget that what you did saved many lives, those who would call you sister, and do everything in their power to ensure your safety, as much as you would theirs. You cannot shoulder every burden, or your back will break, Lena."

The young mage sighs "I... I suppose you are right." she looks back at Tassadus, before suddenly shooting her hand to a sheet of parchment, clearly having just remembered something "Wulf sent this with Tassadus, he was a week from the Uurlanthi border when he sent it. And ordered Tassadus to stay with me until he returned. He said the owl would be to obvious if he was seen again after this mission. The bird will only obey him so long as he is alive, so..."

You smile and ruffle the girls hair "Hope Lena, can be a more nourishing meal than the greatest of feasts sometimes." at that, you walk from her tent, satisfied that she will be ready for the next engagement.

-----CQ-----

The medicae tent is still a madly busy place, but it is easy enough to find Bellatrix, who is fitfully sleeping, it would seem. She moans in pain periodically, Aurelius sitting worriedly at her side, rubbing her arm gently. Her chest is bandaged, but you can see the deep midnight black scarring that all wounds inflicted by shadow magic have peeking out from under them. "Wounds inflicted by shadow magic are a terrible thin, the chief surgeon says. they cause more pain as they age, and are fiendishly hard to heal. Had Lena not put up the shield, even though it didnt last, there would be a hole where Bellas chest is right now... and it is a wonder that she still alive."

>>15509878
"Is she going to pull through this alright or is still iffy at this point?"

>>15509917
Second.

For the record, I'm leery of asking for godly help on this. We can't go running to them every time someone gets badly wounded, can we? I mean, it would be very nice if we could, but what about if Jayne takes a spear through the lungs next battle? Or we do? I feel like it's pretty risky counting on the gods to heal every badly wounded retinue member.

That said, outside of asking the gods for help I think we should explore every possible measure.

You sigh "Will she survive then?"

Aurelius shrugs "They say she's stable, but until they have more time... She almost died three times after they first brought her here. Lena said something about residual command on the mists around the wound still burning her. Poor girl nearly killed herself trying to counter it." Bellatrix moans in pain again, still not waking "Still some left, however. But if I see her pretty red head back here before midday tomorrow I'm going to beat her over the head and take her back to her tent." the man chuckles bitterly "And I used to be such a self-centered person."

You smile "Bellatrix is good to you, probably better than you deserve. And she'll survive, dont worry."

-----CQ-----

The next morning You and Sansa are the first into the central command tent, though the others quickly join you. "We need arcane support on the front line." Agrenus opens the conversation.

Renol shakes his head "I wont force Justinian to surrender assets he needs as well, Gabriel."

"The traps are no good now that their arcanists know what to look for." Agrenus pushes "With them martialling for a push today, we need that advantage.

You chuckle "I had Blackbird set the new traps personally, these will no doubt be a step above what we set ourselves."

Salvius sighs "My scouts informed me that the force you beat is still licking its wounds, so your maniple should be free to rest today at least." You nod, glad that you are still well informed while Vohzd Lennis' men acclimate to their role as scouts. /At least he was accepting of the new assignment/ you think to yourself.

>>15510121
Lend support with our elementalist cadre and most of our retinue members: Collin, Laelith, Lena, Autronius. Maybe send out Kyria's unit again as well.

After Blackbird is done resetting the normal traps, set up earth elementalist traps: Fissures, pits with spikes in them, etc.

And I'm voting for divine aid for Bellatrix.

>>15510121
I say lend it to them. They're going to need it bad based on what we've seen so far. Also, I'll second the idea of us using the elementalist traps that only collapse when a unit is over it.

And I'm against any divine healing unless Bellatrix's status gets worse. We can't go running around healing people the second they get injured all the time.

>>15510188
I suppose as a side note, if any of our units are still pretty well rested we should help hold the line today. Our ranged units can likely help out at least for air cover and such.

Pax, did we get any captives?

>>15510121
Tell them we simply can't give them Lena, and if we did it wouldn't matter, because she's exhausted.

Tell them we can loan them our Mystic, but of course would prefer him back unharmed.

>>15510205
Err, we're coming with. This gives us a chance to see exactly how Autronius can help out in battle, without getting distracted with actually commanding the battle.

>>15510167
>Laelith
I would rather have Laelith stay with us and try to research ways to magnify our own magical strength or counter the enemy as has already been suggested. Kyria too I'd say, for runes. So I guess I'm seconding keeping Laelith and maybe Kyria back to try and save our asses from this magical fire.

Also isn't Lena super tired? I don't think she would be much help in that state and could actually really hurt herself trying. Especially in her current emotional state.

Our heavy infantry needs to rest. I think Blackbird's men and the Infiltrators have earned some rest as well, after they finish resetting the traps.

Our archer troops can help out.

>>15510200
>yea, you got some captives

You chuckle "I would very much like my arcanists back alive, but you can have them for the battle, though Lena, the mage, is still too exhausted to fight."

Renol nods "Thank you, Justinian. Aside from your traps, which have already killed off seven infiltrators, do you think its time to make use of more of your... surprises yet?"

Salvius shakes his head "It is only the second day of what promises to be a long campaign. After this series of attacks, I would not be surprised to see our foes become cautious in the extreme for a time." Agrenus nods in agreement.

You shrug, but before you can say anything, Renol replies "I would very much like to crush these lords quickly. Whatever results from..." he glances around the tent, and lowers his voice "Wulfs mission, I would like to be part of that, so finishing our work here quickly is in our best interest."

>>15510285
Seriously though, let's keep Laelith here to research and tell Kyria if she can craft some anti-magic runes or shit it would be really a very good time to start doing so right now.

We really need more runecrafters for situations like this...

>>15510285
Kyria has been working on those runes for weeks and one more day isn't going to make them suddenly usable. I would support the Laelith idea but the line really needs to be held... I guess we could just lend them the nameless elementalists.

And since we have captives, perhaps we should put them to the question.

>>15510320
By the same token one more elementalist won't change the face of such a huge battle by throwing fire... but if she finds something in her tomes she might be able to. Keep the waifu elementalist(s) back.

>>15510343
I'd argue she might make a bit more difference just because she's probably a lot more skilled than the nameless ones but you do have a point. Might as well have her stay back to try to figure something out then.

>>15510285
"Crushing these lords as quick as we can would be best but I rather do it with our forces as intact as possible. If we crush them well enough, perhaps we could attempt to push this front from a stalemate to a push into Uurlanth territory."

>>15510362
Well sure, not arguing that. She's clearly better than the random nameless elementalists... at least for now. But when we have an entire brigade of them she won't make enough of a difference to justify putting her in danger. She's much much more valuable than any of the random elementalists simply because of her position as loremistress supreme and head fire elementalist trainer.

Without her skillset we would never have trained Lena, for instance. And that's not even taking into account she's one of our fiancee's blah blah waifu stuff which realistically should make us more concerned for her safety anyway.

But yeah, I think she is much more useful in places other than the front lines TBH. One more pebble in a landslide vs. causing an entirely new avalanche.

>>15510411
seconded

>>15510285
"If you were able to keep the enemy pinned, I might be able to swing my maniple in from the side.
"My autowagons would let them come in swiftly, and even if I only engage at range, simply setting up my legionnaires in a line would force the enemy to spread their lines thin.
"It could allow us to take a large chunk of the Uurlanthi out in one day."

>>15510411
>>15510522
My post is similar enough to Maximus' that it can count as a second.

You nod "Crushing these Lords is certainly in our best interest, but I would rather do it with as much of our force intact as possible."

"You want to push East, correct?" Agrenus states.

Salvius sighs "We wont be able to collect your man Trentz, but I will, grudgingly, agree that an advance would be optimal. But we should play their game for a while, our force can withstand a defensive fight like this better than it can advancing into such numbers."

Renol looks unhappy about it, but nods his head in agreement "Fine. Allow them two big pushes to bleed their numbers, then strike back."

Agrenus shrugs "No set number, we will act when their forces are thin enough for success to be a certainty, not a likelihood. Commander Trentz, how did so many enemy soldiers escape from your engagement yesterday?"

>>15510560
>how did so many enemy soldiers escape from your engagement yesterday?
"That is a thorny problem. The enemy has a mystic, skilled in mass illusions. They use a number of life elementalists pumping him full of energy to maintain his illusions."

Tell them what Autronius told us about mystic illusions, and how to tell when caught inside of one.

I agree with Renol. One last push against a defensive line. Kill of as much of their air cavalry as possible.

Then we hit back with everything we have. Strike at dawn, precede with an iron arrows bombardment over the entire camp.

For the upcoming battle, instead of just resting on our laurels, we could have our maniple deploy as well, but not as part of the battle line.
Instead, we stay mounted in our autowagons (including our heavy repeaters and artillery).
Once the battle is joined and the Uurlanthi have engaged the Degnarian maniples, we swing out and set up on either the north or south flank.
We set up our artillery to begin firing into the enemy formations, and by setting up our own battle line, we force the enemy to spread his forces thin. We don't even have to actually engage; just threaten. That will weaken the Uurlanthi defensive formations and allow our maniples to inflict greater losses on the enemy.
And if the enemy formations look like they'll crumble, then we can advance and rout them.

Tell them about the enemy mystic, and tell them that we'll be deploying our mystic today, along with our life elementalist "enhancers". It won't be an even match between the two, but we'll also know what to look for now.

Maybe we can detect the mass illusions as they happen, and identify them for the troops using our signal rings?

>>15510684
Second. But our infantry line won't engage until the enemy is routing, or if the enemy comes to us instead, or if we get a chance to completely surround the enemy.

And keep up the air patrol with our valks, just in case the enemy tries to sneak another force past us.

>I derped hard, re-posting
You sigh "I am ashamed to say that I fell behind on having my command staff properly prepared for metnal attacks. Our foes posess at least one mystic, and they were using life elementalists to boost his power to the point that he could work basic illusions on my mind, and completely befuddle my own troops. By the time he was burnt out, our foes had made good their escape, my cavalry was either too tired to pursue, or due to the large ammount of earth elementalism used, unable to safely move at combat speed."

Agrenus nods "Your man, you offered his services before. What exactly is the process for training your mind to resist intrusion?"

You take a drink from the cup of water set before you "I have no secrets left with that man. And if you wish to be trained so, you will not either."

The white haired dwarffalls to silence, thinking. "Aside from surrendering our secrets, what can we do to avoid being made fools of by mystics?" Salvius asks politely.

You take a breath, and share everything you know. The room falls into silence for several minutes after that, so you opt to break it "I feel it would be foolish for my maniple to simply sit doing naught while your maniples fight. I could utilize the mobility provided by my autowagons to execute a flanking attack once the battle is joined. Combined with my heavy repeaters..."

Salvius stokes his chin, thoughtful "A solid plan, but the Uurlanthi are known to force exhausted troops to march. And with Life elementalists they may even have their men fresh again."
>cont'd

Agrenus nods "Your wagons can deploy quickly, but I doubt they are hardened for combat. As solid of a plan as it is, I fear it may leave us flat-footed should our foes deploy a flanking force once your men join the battle."

Renol chuckles "The repeaters, and perhaps your rangers for aerial support again would be a more than generous contribution, when coupled with your arcanists."

You sigh "I suppose I never was one for inactivity."

Agrenus laughs heartily "Nor was I, so I built my maniple to ensure that leaving me to wait is never a wise choice."

>>15511105
Alright, so we provide our heavy repeaters on autowagons as AA flak, and Kyria's Rangers as an anti-air unit, along with our elementalists.

Also, a plan for night-time raids: night-time harassment from our aerial cav working in rotations. Also auto-wagons to do drive-by artillery strikes.
The point is not to do much damage, so much as it is to force the enemy to stay on high alert throughout the entire night and prevent them from getting sleep. Eventually those life elementalists will burn out.

>>15511105
Let's go with their idea then. Same setup as last time, only minus Lena and plus Autronius. I seriously want to see how he would contribute in battle. Bring our life elementalist "enhancers" as well to boost him.

If the battle finishes with some time left in the day, send Autronius off to train our captains/retinue, and then see if our legionnaires are actually willing to use the longer spears.

>>15511194
Agreed with using Autronius.

You sigh "Very well. As long as I can lend some of my own strength to the battle I will be content."

Salvius nods "We will have until noon to deploy. Is there anything else that we need to discuss before that?"

For a while, the room is silent. However, Commander Agrenus breaks the silence "Prisoners. Do we bother with them? If we do, who will we leave the interrogation to, and what specifically are we searching for?"

"I have an... information gatherer, if none of you have a man for the job." Renol offers tennatively.

>>15511297
My mystic is quite adept at extracting information, but I'll need him training my captains and retinue members against the enemy's mystic.

>>15511297
Mention that Autronius could do it as well, though Justinian has been wanting to up his interrogation skills.

You take another drink from your glass of water "Autronius, my mystic is quite adept at that sort of work, however, I will need him training my command staff to resist mental attacks." the other commanders nod understandingly.

Agrenus breaks the silence that follows "Then let us prepare fo battle. Until midday my friends." and at that, the dwarf rises and makes to leave the tent.

The other Commanders follow suit, and before long you find yourself walking through your own camp with Sansa at your side "Well love, is there anything you want me to take care of while you are deployed today?"

>>15511453
I keep wanting to make jokes about "spear enlargement".

While we're away, Sansa is to get the maniple ready for action again, just in case the enemy has another force ready to flank or bypass our lines.

While they are waiting and resting, talk to Gaius and Cornelius about the possibility of deploying the longer spears on the front rows.

>>15511453
The only things I can think of are to make sure that the units are rested and ready, and coordinate the recon reports that come in.

Maybe we should have some kind of flammable bomb prepared, and talk with some of the air cav mercs about possible night-time harassment; the Skywings captain can fill them in on how to apply the moonseye paste to their mounts, and what kinds of problems come up with flying at night.
The point of the raids is to force the enemy to not get good sleep and to get an idea of their numbers, not to stick around and fight.

>>15511486
Oh, and that, too. Seconding seeing about using longer spears to give the enemy a nasty surprise.

You shrug "Make sure the maniple is prepared for battle, have Blackbird prepare some... gifts, our aerial cavalry could drop on our foes camp in the night, and see about replacing some of Gaius and Cornelius' mens spears with the longer ones used by the House Ramon forces we fought yesterday."

Sansa nods "Nothing new to do then, I suppose. I would say that you should be careful, but I will no doubt be holding you to a cot in the medicae tent to keep you from re-opening a wound by evening."

You chuckle "I do enjoy having you force me to stay abed."

Sansa glares at you as the two of you enter your tent, and you start putting your armor on. Another battle, more blood to shed, the place may be different but nothing truly changes. You slide on your gauntlets, gather your helmet from its place on your armor stand, and kiss Sansa as you make your way from the tent, confident in victory.

>Gah, I'm tired and have an early shift tomorrow, so I'm gonna call it here
>someone archive please
>I'll be back sunday at 9pm server time
>if you have any CQ/setting questions just email me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com