Knowing that a long, tiring day is in the offing, none
are down to breakfast too early. The clerics make their morning
devotions, glad to have been reunited with their holy symbols, while
the warriors ensure that their weapons are honed to perfection. The
private room at the Silver Unicorn starts to fill up slowly
throughout the morning, but eventually starts to become very crowded
as the morning progresses. In addition to the party, there is Magda
and Hana in attendance, plus two senior priests of Spravedelna that
are adamant about taking part in the mission. Four other characters
walk in dressed in nondescript clothing that hides chainmail beneath.
The Padre gets up to greet the four newcomers and introduces them to
the rest of the party as more Padres of Radegast who have also been
sent to assist them with the mission. Oldrich is also there, drinking
heavily and whistling as ever.
During the morning, before Yaz has had an opportunity to return to
his attunement with nature, Bennett asks him what he was able to
accomplish, and if he will be able to participate in the assault on
the Square or not. He also asks Winn and Xavier what they saw at the
Great Square.
Jihan comes down the stairs looking ragged and anxious, his eyes
darting about in either excitement or anxiety or both. He seats
himself almost sulkily, and pushes at his morning bowl of porridge,
though he eats nothing, such is his stomach churning in anticipation
of what the day will bring, for good or ill.
Just after 11.00, Ithridiel arrives together with the three
members of the WSM that are also in the city. He is panting as he
pulls down the hood of his dark cloak, revealing his elven features:
"We've just come from the Great Square," he pants, taking a seat.
"We thought that you could use some last minute reconnaissance before
making the final plans."
He then clears the table of breakfast plates and glasses and uses
them plus cutlery in order to create a diagram of the Great Square:
"In the center, as most of us have seen, is the execution site,"
he says, placing a saucer in the center. "Nine crosses with firewood
placed around it."
"Immediately north, south, east and west of that," he says placing
cutlery around the saucer, "are companies of orcs keeping the crowd
back."
"There's a pretty big crowd already gathered," he continues. "By
the time of the execution, I dare say that the Square will almost be
full."
"To the south of the execution area is the VIP box," he continues
placing another saucer. "I couldn't really make out exactly who was
in there, but it looks as if Strakota is there, along with Kurtek, a
Witchfinder and various other well dressed dignitaries, plus that
bitch, Sylva. There's a company of ogres ringing the place."
"In the northeast corner of the Square, there's the Witchfinder's
Building. I could see a couple of Witchfinders keeping a lookout from
the windows. Standing outside the building are a company of orogs."
"In addition to that lot," he continues, "you've got companies of
goblins manning the barricades at each of the eight roads leading
into the Square, stopping access and checking everyone carefully for
weapons and armor."
He pauses for a moment:
"And that's all that I saw."
He shakes his head.
"This isn't going to be an easy one."
Faewen'il was dressed in a lovely black gown for the day's
activities; its neckline revealing just a hint of her bosom beneath.
Delicate silver lace roses edged both the hem and the neckline of the
dress while the sleeves seemed to fit snugly to her elbow and then
flare out in a bell shape. Her hair was pinned to her head with
little ringlets escaping near her ears; all in all, one would have
thought she was attending a party rather than planning to attend a
major assault.
"War ye able ta see the Lord Protektor up close... I would be most
interested in knowin what sort o mood he be in," Fae said as soon as
Ithridiel finished speaking, a slow smile creeping onto her face.
Ithridiel gives a little shrug:
"Well, we weren't able to get that close, but we did see him from
a distance. Now you come to mention it, he didn't seem to be in too
good a mood. He was shouting quite a lot, now I remember. He was
shouting at the ogres, shouting at the other guests and shouting at
Kurtek. He was quite red in the face from all of the shouting that he
was doing for some reason. I just thought that he must be pretty
stressed out."
"Why do you ask?"
Probably for the first time since most people can remember,
Faewen'il bursts out in genuine laughter. Her amusement seems to last
for a good ten to 15 seconds before it fades away to amused chuckling
and then finally just a smirk on her face.
"Oh... na particular reason," she chuckles.
Aneira arrives just as the council is getting underway. She says
little. When there is a lull in the conversation, she approaches
Xavier. Holding her hand out to him, she hands him a metal snowflake:
"Xavier, I have two of these now that Fae retrieved my original
one. You spoke with some fondness of the clergy of Zima. I thought
you might like to carry a symbol of her faith."
Her voice is nearly inflectionless.
"Danke, Fraulein, I am most honored to accept this gift," Xavier
replies. "Veterans of Rus hold Zima in great esteem. Many sons of
Rodengast owe their lives to Zima, I being but one of many. Her hand
granted the dying vhat little warmth could be found in the wastes of
Rus. I have never forgotten. This symbol shall I hold dear to the
memories of good men of your faith and mine."
Xavier makes a low bow and, with courtly grace, kisses Aneira upon
the hand. Aneira flinches from him as he grasps her hand, nearly
pulling it out of his grasp. She looks extremely uncomfortable with
his courtly manners. A trace of moisture can be briefly seen in the
Saxon's eyes, as his mind looks back into the past. As his mind
returns to the future, he lifts his head and smiles:
"Some day soon, fraulein, vhen Bohavia is free, shall I grant thee
my aid to find your brothers and sisters of Zima. I know not vhere in
Bohavia they reside, but in Rus does there live an old man in a
village called Taigalov. His name is Sergei Burlakov and to him to I
owe my life. He could reveal to you many secrets of your faith lost
to those in Bohavia. I promised I vould return one day. You vould
find him a most wise man and teacher."
Aneira takes several steps backward once Xavier releases her hand.
She nods at his words:
"If we are both alive, I would be honored to meet him."
Bennett peers over toward this conversation with a brief
expression that some might call anger, but other, more insightful,
observers might call jealousy. It passes quickly, however, and no
trace remains when the council convenes.
Winnacer calls the meeting to attention, realizing that there is
little time in order to make plans for the task ahead:
"Hopefully we have all been able to devote a little time in order
to think how we might be able to use our talents in this mission. I
would ask everyone here to give their input as to what their role may
be in the attack."
Will is the first to respond:
"Using my newly discovered ability of 'The Vibe', I plan to create
a distraction. I plan to use my powers to create an illusion that
will be used to draw attention to myself wherever I find to set my
stage for performance. On top of the VIP box would be ideal if I can
manage to get there unnoticed. The phantasmal force will take the
shape of fireworks or some other such eye catching show that will
draw attention to myself."
"An Audible Glamor enchantment I will then use to amplify my
playing and singing to a level just below that of a roaring dragon.
Hopefully that should allow all in the square to hear me. The
enchantment should last up to 15 minutes for me."
"The Enthrall enchantment will give me a captive audience to most
everyone within 90 feet for as long as I sing."
"That should give everyone the signal they need! After I'm through
singing, I could announce to the assembled masses that the true
rebels who are responsible for the condemnation of these innocents
are still free!"
"Let me give you a quick rendition of my latest work, 'Free
Bohavia'":
With that, Will takes his harp and starts to sing:
A cry rises today
From every beating heart
The battle cry is given
Let all good races take part.
A generation has toiled
'Neath the oppressor's heel.
The heavy sword of vengeance...
Today they will feel.
No more dying martyrs...
No more withered land...
The time is come for action!
Free Bohavia is at hand!
So stand up prince and pauper!
Fight with spirit strong!
Cast down the wicked Nyemetz!
Who do our children wrong!
No more dying martyrs...
No more withered land...
The time is come for action!
Free Bohavia is at hand!
FREE BOHAVIA IS AT HAND!!!!
"A right fine little ditty 'at be," Gronk comments.
Aneira makes no comment. She ignores the song and Will completely.
Bennett claps his hands at the conclusion of the song:
"Ah, you do have a gift, Will. You do indeed. If you can manage to
make the audience in the Square hear such a rousing tune, it should
be quite effective. The only question is what to do about the
inevitable attacks that will be made on you from those not in the
range of your spell. Is there any way you can protect yourself
against arrows and such from your position? I would hate to see your
spell ruined by a goblin's archery. Also it is certain that the
Witchfinders will attempt to silence you magically, though I hope we
create more of a problem for them than your song will. You put
yourself in great danger, but it's a good plan, I think."
A determined look crosses Will's face:
"No, I have little protection, I can only hope to sing the song
before the Nyemetz are able to react and stop me."
Bennett asks all those involved and who know the city about the
details of the surrounding buildings, as he agrees with Winnacer that
it would be very tough to charm the Foot's way into the Square.
Between the Padres of Radegast and the Senior Priests of
Spravedelna, they receive a fairly good idea as to the buildings
surrounding the Square:
"There are not really any alleyways that lead between the
buildings to the Square," says one of the Padres, who gives his name
as Padre Kocharnik. "It could be possible to gain access to the
Square by walking through one of the buildings, however, entering
from a backdoor and leaving through a front door."
He shakes his head:
"It would be difficult to bring all fifty men through one of the
doors, but if we were to split the men into platoons, the we should
be able to rush the Square at the same time."
Then something occurs to Bennett:
"Winn, how influential is this Petr character? Is he going to be
there at the execution, not in official capacity, but observing? It
seems to me that the largest building facing the Great Square is the
Merchants' Guild, of which he is a senior member. If perhaps we could
infiltrate the Foot, and/or Glorin's dwarves, into that building,
perhaps one by one they could emerge from it and blend into the
crowd? I agree with Ithridiel's estimate that the Square will fill,
as executions of rebels will be something that certainly draws the
town out. If we can just get our people inside the Square, they can
certainly hide out in the crowd, and if the Merchants' Guild is to
the South, that is where our concentration of attack must come
anyway. Thus the Foot will be attacking the group to the south and
duplicating our efforts, and surely one of the groups will be able to
make it to the center and free the scapegoats."
Another of the Padres, Padre Chernik, shakes his head at the plan:
"Of all of the buildings on the Square, the Merchants' Guild will
be the hardest one to infiltrate. The Merchants' Guild is fairly
neutral in their relationship with the Nyemetz and would never
willingly co-operate with our plans. The building is also
well-protected by mercenaries as well as locks, and so trying to
storm our way through would also be counter-productive."
"However, at least we can be sure that the mercenaries will not
try to intervene in the fight on the Square as their loyalty lies
only with the Merchants' Guild."
Winnacer too shakes his head at Bennett's words:
"Petr has made it very clear he is not interested in stepping foot
outside of his mansion. Nor would I believe that he would be
interested in tying himself that closely to the revolution at this
point, at least not enough to allow his colleagues to know where his
sympathies lie."
Winnacer then turns to Ithridiel:
"Did your comrades see if the barricades ringed the Square
totally? Are there any barriers stopping access from the shops into
the Square?"
Ithridiel shakes his head:
"No, it would take an awful lot of barricades to enclose the Great
Square, as it is a fairly massive area. In any case, the barriers
themselves would do little to stop a concerted force from gaining
access to the area unless they were manned by troops. I would imagine
that they are simply trying to stop a large formation from charging
down the roads into the Square."
Bennett looks highly relieved at this:
"Well, in that case, entering the Square is not going to be much
of a problem. We just make out way in through the buildings."
"Exactly," agrees Padre Kocharnik. "I think we need to spend more
time planning on how we are going to get out of the Square alive than
we need on determining how we get in."
Winnacer nods in agreement and then looks at Will:
"I know that you've dabbled with illusionary magics before. Is
there anyway that you could make the illusion that the Foot and the
dwarves are weaponless? I doubt the Nyemetz will be frisking
everybody that descends upon the Square, and if we could make it look
that the Foot are weaponless, they should be able to enter the Square
unharrassed. The illusion would only need to last as long as it takes
for the Foot to mix into the crowd. Think it's possible?"
Bennett shakes his head:
"I thought about such a thing, but what kind of magic conceals
only one part of fifty men? I have never heard of such a thing. If
there is such, then this sounds very appealing."
Will considers:
"Yes, I should be able to create an illusory appearance for a
small group of them, if they stay together."
"Once the Foot has managed to infiltrate into the crowd, if
possible, it looks like it would be best for them to all descend upon
the goblin guards surrounding the execution platform," Winnacer
continues. "With all the units striking hard from surprise, the
goblins should be quickly overwhelmed, especially considering that
they will have Radegast's aid. The Foot can free the prisoners, then
make a beeline south to either escape or lend us support if it is
needed."
Bennett interjects:
"Remember that the orcs are guarding the condemned, not goblins.
Correct, Ithridiel?"
"That is correct," confirms the elf.
Bennett shakes his head slightly:
"I don't think that we can assume the orcs will be taken so
easily, especially not by undertrained and inexperienced villagers.
However, the Foot will need to defeat them if the prisoners are to
have any hopes of survival. Hopefully the magic of the Padres, and
Will's magic speech, will be able to even the odds somewhat. Your
point about them having to escape is valid, though, as they most
likely will have to fight their way through at least one company of
goblins after the initial combat with the orcs. I anticipate the Foot
will have some heavy casualties. I will ask Glorin and his boys to
reinforce the squadron of Foot to the south, as that should be the
group that is broken first, opening an avenue of escape for the
prisoners. However, if we do not remove the threat of the ogres, that
will also lead to their death."
"The bulk of our group would look to assault the VIP box,"
Winnacer continues. "Considering Petr's caveat that we must leave his
mansion as an invisible group, we should not have too much in the way
of problems getting through the barricades and up into the VIP box.
We should ignore the ogres, attempting to let our first strikes be on
those that count. I can always place the Fear of Spravedelna into the
ogre bodyguards if things start to turn against us after we sentence
the Nyemetz brass to the deaths that they have earned. The only
drawback is that this may mean that Faewen'il may have to accompany
us, and thus be placed into a great deal of risk."
Bennett smiles slightly:
"I think we definitely ought to ask Fae what position she feels
she belongs in. I heartily recommend not suggesting anything to her,
especially not if it comes from you."
Then Bennett thinks about what Winnacer has said:
"Hold on a minute. You say this mage fellow will not leave his
mansion? Damn, then he's only good for what? Making us invisible?
That's nice, but I hoped for more. It's going to take us some time to
infiltrate the Square and any spells he has cast on us that makes us
stronger or faster will have worn off by then. I knew that guy
wouldn't be as useful as you said he was."
Winnacer shakes his head:
"I too had the same concerns when he first made his offer,
however, he assures me that his spells will last for quite a long
period of time."
"The spell protecting those benefiting from it from any damage
will last until quite a few blows have been rained down upon the
individual, and will not expire before that time. The spell that
gives us increased strength should last for the majority of the day.
The growth enchantment will last the best part of an hour."
"The only one that might expire before we finish the action is the
hastening spell, but even this will last for the best part of 20
minutes, which I hope is pretty much all of the time that we'll
need."
"The one last concern is the Witchfinder's Building," the
LawBringer continues. "We need to summon up a way to keep the
Witchfinders from taking part in this battle. Something as simple as
summoning a foggy cloud to obscure their vision may be all it takes
to buy us enough time to make our move and escape without reprisals
from the Witchfinders."
Bennett nods:
"Didn't think about that. We will have to deal with them, though I
can't guess how. Got any more magician friends?"
"I would imagine it would be best if Yaz was to accompany us
today," continues the young Lord. "The worgs can wait until tomorrow.
If we are successful today, the worgs most likely will be the last
thing on the Nyemetz' minds."
Bennett shakes his head a bit:
"I'm not sure about that. Are the Foot going to return to their
hiding places after the assault? Or will they be leaving the city? If
they are leaving, we certainly need to deal with the worgs. If they
are staying, then we need to worry about how the hell we are going to
get fifty men plus nine prisoners out of the Square without being
followed or detected."
Bennett puts on a grim smile:
"Then again, there probably won't be half that many left after
they engage the orcs, so it may not be so much of a problem after
all."
Padre Chernak shakes his head at this:
"I sincerely hope that, Radegast willing, this will not be the
case. The option as to whether the Foot leave immediately or return
to their billeted accommodation to trickle out of the city at a later
stage is up to you to decide, or perhaps is best until we have seen
how the combat has gone. I believe that the danger of many of them
being found in their billets is quite a remote one."
"I'm not quite sure where Will is planning on setting up for his
show, but it sounds rather risky," comments Winnacer. "We will not
have the resources to ensure his safety as he plays. But if you have
figured out a way to provide for your safety, then your suggestion
certainly could not hurt."
"Most of our men have been spoken for, but we still have some
loose ends to figure out. The Priests of Spravedelna who are
interested in aiding us have not yet been assigned a role, nor have
we been able to pin down what Jihan's role, Faewen'il's role, or
Yaz's role is to be. These details need to be sorted out before we
leave this building."
Bennett looks at Winnacer:
"I thought you and Jihan decided he was going to stay on the
edges, shooting arrows at Witchfinders? Though I personally think
that's a waste of time, unless we are going to put him by himself up
in the northeast corner by the Witchfinder Building, from which his
survival chances are considerably lower than helping us out with the
VIPs."
Bennett smiles once again, humorlessly:
"But I thought that was the plan, in any regard. As for the
Spravedelnans, they're your folk. Where do you think they should go?"
Bennett's smile does not fade:
"As for Fae, I really do think we should let her do whatever she
wants to do. When by herself, she has not disappointed before, and
when with the rest of the group, she seems somewhat....irritated. I'd
let her improvise what she's going to do. That seems to be what she
likes the best. And Yaz has said what he plans, though whether or not
he's here or with the dogs, that's his call. I don't see any reason
for him to join us directly against the VIPs, as he's pretty much
worthless in physical combat"
Bennett turns to Yaz with a wry grin:
"Sorry, dude."
Bennett looks toward Hana and Magda:
"Do you have any followers with shops at the edge of the Square? I
think the only way in will be to flow from a building, perhaps one
man at a time, though the process will take a while. Alternately, the
group could all head through the barricades with the normal crowd,
not armed or armored, then arm themselves in the building which is
loyal to us. This would require at most a few charmed orcs or
goblins, and I think we could obtain that, couldn't we? Alternately,
perhaps Petr could whip up some illusion at the doorway to our entry
building, then it could appear that no one was entering or leaving
and the Foot wouldn't reveal anything. I don't know much about magic,
so don't know whether that's practical."
Hana shakes her head:
"I'm really not sure whether or not any of the shopkeepers on the
Square are members of our congregation or not without asking around.
I agree with the Padres, however, that gaining access is not going to
be the major problem here."
"If we were simply to knock on the door and 'strongly suggest' to
the occupents that it would be a good idea for them to allow us
access through their building, then I believe that no one is going to
argue too much when faced by a group of armed and armored men."
"I think that all we need to do is pick the buildings which we
would like to use as entry points and simply go through them. Should
any of the building owners really put up some serious resistance,
then we can always try the building next door instead."
Bennett points out on the map the area around the Merchants'
Guild:
"If we are all magicked to invisibility, which I assume will be
performed with one of those areas of effect things, then we should,
as a group, move as close as we can get to the VIP box, preferably
alongside or behind it so that we can't be seen by those inside right
away. Will will have to be magicked by himself, as he'll need to
clamber up on top of the box, or whatever location he is going to use
for his plan. Yaz, Fae, and Jihan also will probably need their own
spells, as Jihan doesn't wish to be with the main group and there
isn't much reason for Fae and Yaz to be, particularly if Yaz has to
come in at a later time. That leaves Winn, Xavier, Gronk, Aneira, and
me. If we can find a way past or around the ogres, then we should be
enough to take on the residents of the box. However, if the ogres tie
us up, then we'll almost certainly buy it. Got to hope we don't get
snagged by them."
Bennett does some quick calculation:
"Near as I can figure it, we'll have almost eighty men down there,
ourselves included, and the Nyemetz have about three times that many.
That's bad odds, but not as bad as I thought, though not as good as I
hoped for. If we hit them hard and fast, I imagine we can drive the
goblins to run away for reinforcements, especially if we eliminate
the leaders fairly quickly. The ogres remain a problem, as they
aren't too scared of much, certainly not us. Once we eliminate, or at
least try to eliminate the leaders, we'll have to deal with them, and
that worries me. Oh, well, today is a good day to die."
Bennett chuckles, then listens to what the others have to say.
"My charm spells have proven largely ineffective," murmurs Aneira,
not looking Bennett directly in the eye. "I still have one however,
along with a few cure spells, and," her face turns slightly pink,
"two of the strength spells you like so much, Bennett."
"The strength we may need, and I suspect the healing we certainly
will," Bennett replies. "You will be accompanying us into the VIP
box, yes?"
Bennett sounds hopeful and fearful at the same time.
"And, of course, the powers Zima grants me for serving her,"
Aneira continues, her hand touching her holy symbol again, as if in
reassurance that it is still there. Only the closest see that her
hand trembles slightly.
Padre Kokal then adds his piece:
"The other Padres and myself have been talking about our role in
the events. So as not to confuse the issue, we believe that it is
best if the five of us each command one platoon of the Foot each.
While all of you concentrate upon the dignitaries in the VIP box, we
will attempt the snatch upon the scapegoats. Each platoon will emerge
from the buildings immediately at the time that you start your attack
upon the VIP box."
"Our single goal will be to charge towards the execution area in
order to free the scapegoats and get them to safety as quickly as
possible. As this will arouse the attention of the majority of the
orcs and goblins, this will be a far from simple exercise. However,
with the assistance of Radegast's blessings, I hope that it will be
possible."
"Only once the scapegoats are safely away from the Square can we
then look at aiding your situation in the VIP area. Hopefully it will
not be necessary. However, I believe that speed needs to be of the
essence in this action or else the Nyemetz' superior numbers will
outweigh our advantage of surprise and spells."
Bennett nods his head:
"And that's exactly what you should be doing. If you are required
to come to our aid in the VIP box, then things will have turned very
much the worse. I pray that will not be the case."
Padre Kokal then looks over at the two senior priests of
Spravedelna:
"I would like to ask what our friends from the Cathedral of
Spravedelna can add to our plans."
The senior of the two Spravedelnan priest, who gives his name as
Milos Born answers:
"I believe that we also need to give some attention for the needs
of defense as well as attack," he replies. "We have thus chosen a
selection of spells that will attempt to protect us from the
possibility of offensive magick from the Witchfinders plus any other
Nyemetz spellcasters."
"My colleague here," he continues, nodding towards the other
Spravedelnan priest, "has offered to accompany the party during their
assault upon the dignitaries."
"As for myself, Glorin Blackhammer and his dwarven friends came to
the Cathedral in the morning to once more pledge their support for
the actions."
"Looking at the situation, I believe that the one area where the
plans are in need of some assistance is with regards to the
Witchfinders Building and the orogs that are protecting them. I thus
believe that Mr. Blackhammer and friends can be best utilized at
making a feint against the Witchfinders Building which should stop
both the orog company and the Witchfinders themselves from
participating in the rest of the battle."
"This is going to be a risky exercise, and so I will accompany the
dwarves with the role of trying to protect them from the Witchfinders
while the dwarves take care of the orogs."
Bennett then approaches Hana and Magda during the council:
"Might I have a moment with you ladies?"
"Of course, Mr. Corbinson," Hana replies.
Bennett then walks into a completely seperate room with them,
obviously something he is not interested in sharing with the group.
Faewen'il sits in the back of the room, sipping on some wine as
she listened to everyone and their cousin talk about what to do. She
didn't know whether to laugh or scream at them, so she settled for
neither. They wouldn't listen to her before, so it was a safe bet
that they wouldn't listen to her now. But in all fairness, she would
speak up... then it couldn't be said that she didn't make the effort.
Faewen'il finished her wine and rang the service bell to get
another glass. In the meantime, she spoke up; though not loudly:
"Farst o all, Petr is na half tha mage he pretends ta be. All o
his spells, other than tha ones he be castin for ye are useless far
what ye all plan on doin. As such, I am stuck with a scroll that be
only minimally helpful. Tha spell inscribed on it makes a very thick
fog that not even elves can be seein through with thar special
vision. It donna make a lot o it, but it be so thick tha those caught
in it move very slow."
"Now while all o ye may thin tha this be fine an dandy, it be a
spell I not normally be able ta cast. As such... there be a small
chance o it failin and either harmin us or doin nothin at all. So ye
can take it or leave it, I donna give a goblin's ass."
"Second o all, I will SUGGEST that yar farst assault be on tha
Protektors only... an not tha Witchfinder General. Give him tha one
chance ta live up to his ward tha ye not be givin me anytime soon. It
truly do be in his best interest ta turn tha other cheek an not
support Strakota durin tha incident. I detailed this in a note ta him
tha other day."
"Tha warst he could do would be ta fireball a bunch o tha foot...
then I will deal with him... but iffen he does turn tha other
cheek... ye will be tha much farther in tha game o success. Ta tha
best o me knowledge, the Witchfinder donna know anythin about tha
villages... as he did na seem ta be thinkin about them as I spied in
his mind.... an one would thin that I would ha snooped somethin with
tha execution being tha big ta-do tha it be."
"Third o all, ye ha given not a damned bit o thought as ta what ye
are gonna do after it be over. Not tha ye care what I be thinkin, but
it be my SUGGESTION that ye all scatter in tha confusion an meet one
by one in someplace OUTSIDE tha city. This be war tha churches could
help tha lot o ye out an not be in tha thick o it."
"An lastly, it be me THOUGHT that ye should stick around tha
outside o tha city far awhile ta make sure tha none o tha other
Nyemetz get any ideas ta go out after tha villages. It be also givin
ye a chance ta do somethin that ye should ha started doin all
along... an tha be ta bleed tha Nyemetz o thar funds an thins and
finance tha movement rather than people like Petr."
Faewen'il then turned her attention to some parchment that she had
in front of her.
Winnacer nods appreciatively before adding his own comments:
"What Faewen'il says is certainly sound if her reconnaissance is
correct. But there are two problems with leaving the city
immediately."
"First, we have no plan for making a quick escape. Heading towards
the gates will lead to disaster unless we are prepared for such an
assault. I have a feeling that the Foot and ourselves will not be in
fighting shape immediately after we make our move on the Square.
Therefore, for the sake of safety, we tell the Foot to return to
hiding immediately after the assault. We can worry about getting the
Foot out of town tomorrow if need be."
"Even if we were to magically bypass the walls, the Foot would be
susceptible to the wrath of the worgriders. Even if Yaz decides to
take on the worgs alone now, the Foot would be making its escape
without knowledge if Yaz was successful or not. This I believe is an
unnecessary risk to take, considering the great amounts of peril we
are already asking the men to undertake. So, leaving the city
immediately does not seem like a realistic option, even if it would
have some benefits."
"Second, we now sit on the verge of succeeding in making our first
real step of achieving what we all set out to do, free Bohavia. If we
are successful today, Pardubitze will be on its heels, ripe for
emancipation with our continued efforts. We have weapons coming to
the city shortly through the efforts of Padre Lubosh, we have
mercantile connections through the mage Petr, and we have a coalition
of churches ready to smooth over the transition from Nyemetz
occupation to Bohavian rule. With a few more days of work eliminating
the Witchfinders and their allies, we will have in fact liberated
Pardubitze and the Nyemetz resources stripped from the public of
Bohavia. This is why we came together in the first place. To step
away now would just allow the Nyemetz to regroup and make it even
more difficult for our cause to take root here."
"All the elements to achieve a prolonged independence for
Pardubitze have come together. To leave now would let them all spoil.
I am beginning to believe that the Nyemetz must know of the villages
now and if they do not, they will soon figure it out. The best way to
protect the villages is to increase the number of revolutionaries
involved in the cause, which is best done by freeing Pardubitze and
Dvur shortly afterwards."
Bennett listens to Winnacer's speech and then replies:
"You are probably right about this being our best chance so far to
free the city, but I still think it's a slim chance. How to disable
the Witchfinder General, if we are planning to leave him out of the
assault? And how to disable the regular Nyemetz who still garrison
the city? The Foot and Glorin's dwarves are barely enough to make
this assault happen, and we have no support from among the citizens
as of yet. I really think you are cooking the eggs before they've
hatched here. The desire to free Pardubitze is great, I agree, but I
don't think we have the manpower to do so, and won't in a couple of
days. In any case, I am not interested in fighting the Nyemetz within
this city only to await the siege of the city by the Nyemetz army
sure to come soon. Even if we manage to defeat the garrison, or turn
some of them, we will be easy marks for the vengeance the Nyemetz are
sure to unleash upon us. No, I don't think we are ready for this, not
in the slightest."
Aneira adds:
"I agree we need to get out afterward, not stay here. If we do
this act, the revolution should gain momentum on its own; I am not a
warlord and have no wish to be. If you stay, I will not be joining
you."
"Let us finish what we have started here. May our spark allow the
fires of revolution to spread across the city."
"We will just have to see how the people take to our revolution,"
Jihan pipes up in an unusually pessimistic sounding tone. "Last night
I believe I overstepped the bounds of possibility in what I hoped we
could achieve here... I'll agree that elements have come together for
the better of a Free Bohavia, but I won't agree that the immediate
liberation of the cities will be what makes it happen. I have a
feeling that we're stepping further and further into a pit that we're
digging for ourselves, and soon, it'll be impossible to get out.
We've already focussed the entirety of our attention for the past few
months on this valley, and the more we do, the more it becomes a sore
spot in the side of the Nyemetz. Look at what we are planning to do
just today: cut the head off of the snake of the Pardubitze governing
body. If we keep sticking around here, stirring the fly further into
the ointment pot, the Nyemetz are sure to get the same idea for our
revolution. Their elite force was sent to deal with 'rebels,' without
them knowing much about us in particular or our actions. What is the
next force going to be, when we have become sufficiently bothersome
to the Nyemetz that they actually spend an extensive amount of time
researching our backgrounds and discovering just who they are dealing
with? The more we tie ourselves down here, the harder it is going to
be to move on. If Pardubitze becomes a free city, then we commit
ourselves to ridding the countryside of continued Nyemetz presence
entirely, city by city and town by town, otherwise Pardubitze becomes
a void in our money pouches that will drain our funds down to nothing
as siege after siege befalls it. Free the cities? I don't know if now
is the best time..."
"If we can shake up the governing bodies enough to fear a
reprisal, we can make them direct their efforts at red herrings and
wild gooses. Overthrowing the entire northeastern Nyemetz bloc, no
matter how appealing, is something that is just out of our grasp at
the moment, and the longer we sit up here, pressing our luck and
having our way with fate, the more we'll get in over our heads. I
personally do not wish to try my hand against a properly directed
reprisal against us and our 'cause'. The repercussions for what will
happen today are terrible enough to think about for the innocent
people that will be affected... We all saw how easily we were
captured. One wrong move, and just like that, the rebellion dies with
us. Think of what will happen when Kutna Hora starts pumping silver
into the coffers of the garrisons around here, where will we be then?
I think that the best thing we can hope for is to establish an
underground movement up here, something that can grow in silence. I
do not think that our rebellion is ready to be fledged yet... not by
a long shot. If any wish to test their wings against the hurricane
that the Nyemetz still are at the moment, be my guest, but I would
rather try my luck at getting our movement established in other parts
of the country first before having a massive uprising. We are trying
to spread the Nyemetz forces out further, yes? The more we focus
here, the more they can focus on our accomplishments and bring them
down. How are our men going to fare against dragonriders and
experienced Witchfinders? How long can our women keep running and
hiding, protecting our children while we men fight and fight and die?
I don't think that all the Nyemetz know about the villages, but if we
go about taking over cities, they most certainly will. Who has had
time to relay the information? There've been no reports of Dragon
sightings since we've been here, and I doubt that the Lords here
would believe the situation so urgent as to necessitate runners. What
will we do? Sit and defend all the people against the entire Nyemetz
army? They have made plans to evacuate, and they know how to scout
and set watches. If they keep relying on us, how ever will they learn
to think for themselves? We have given them the heart and the tools
to succeed... Now I think it is time we let them use these things by
themselves. You don't learn to swing an axe when someone else always
does it for you... We keep talking about them and their lives as if
we know what is best, but how many people must die for us to learn
better? I think that our uprising here in the north should be a
silent one, one that fades into the back of the Nyemetz consciousness
such that they will forget the significance of it. If we go about
making bold and daring moves here all the time, what then? Let us not
forget that people are suffering ALL over the country, not just here.
If we can lessen the suffering by giving the people here hope, by
giving them somewhere to turn to and apply themselves rather than
listing around in undirected depression, then we have accomplished
our task for the moment. We have established roots here, and roots
that will not be easily shaken unless we keep digging about and
exposing the truth of them more and more to the Nyemetz. Now we must
fan the fires of rebellion in the rest of Bohavia. I like seeing
someone suffer as little as the rest of you, but I will not doom the
Orlitze valley to destruction by attempting the impossible and
getting us all killed..."
Almost blinking in disbelief at the thoughts emerging from his
mouth, the elf sits back to ponder his own words.
Will has been thinking through his role in the event:
"Considering the odds of completing the song should I make myself
the center of attention, perhaps I should just infiltrate myself into
the center of the masses and perform from there. No one has to be
able to see me in order to hear my 'Vibe' amplified song."
"Also, in the interest of protection, a suit of chainmail and a
possibly a shield would help were I to engage in physical combat.
Padre, can you outfit me with such?"
Padre Kokal shakes his head in response:
"I'm sorry, Will," the Padre replies, "but you've left it a little
late now. I wouldn't be able to get to the storage area and back
before the execution is due to start. I'm afraid that you should have
told me last night."
"I do not believe we need to stay for a long period of time,"
Winnacer says. "We have already set up the framework of rebellion and
built a strong foundation for its maintenance within the churches,
with Petr, and with the WSM. What I would imagine we should do is
dedicate two more days to causing havoc. An assault upon the
Witchfinder's Headquarters is imperative. To eliminate
theWitchfinders would really destabilize the Nyemetz hierarchy and
would allow us a chance to regain our items and a few extra to boot.
With the destruction of the Witchfinders, we will make it easier for
those we leave in our wake to continue to propagate revolutionary
activities."
"Secondly, we will need to smash one of the gatehouses if we plan
on getting the Foot out without resorting to trickery. However, it is
probably best to smuggle the Foot out in a similar manner as they
arrived."
"With just one extra maneuver, we can weaken the governing body
enough that our allies can finish what we have started. Then we can
move on to other things. We did promise to escort Aneira to the Holy
City of Olmutz as well as make a promise to Heimlin. I agree it is
time to leave, but not before we finish what we have come here to
do."