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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ilgatto" data-source="post: 9818577" data-attributes="member: 86051">Swords & Spells, or: Coming of Age Part II: Barges and Brigandage, or: Highborn Hands in Deeds UnbecomingIn which the DM has informed our noble heroes that it is late in the afternoon of day 181 when Sir Eber, Navarre, and the chevalier reach the point where they are to meet Sir Oengus and Sir Suvali again.Day 179: Sir Eber, the chevalier, and Navarre wake to torrential rain and continue on their way after a hasty breakfast. The weather being what it is, there are but few folk about, most of them traveling salesmen. When one of these proves to be a hatter, the chevalier insists on inspecting his wares – but it has not been recorded whether any of the man’s hats were to our noble hero’s delicate taste.Later that day, looking for something to fight again, Sir Eber finds tracks left by a black bear and follows them into the woods for some ten minutes, much to the discomfort of his dogs. Navarre is with him, hoping to learn more tricks of the trade, but the noble duo don’t find the bear. When they get back to the road again, the chevalier is waiting under a tree.“Mes amis,” he begins, in what will become the crowning addition to several days’ worth of affected exchanges between him and Navarre – one which the chronicler struggles to translate, wherefore he can only leave us with: “As fortune has it, I happen to know of a charming little farmstead just up the road, where they do a rather delightful pâté.”Day 180: When Sir Oengus and Sir Suvali moor the folding boat at the meeting point, Sir Suvali spreads the wings of his flying contraption and takes to the cloud-covered skies to see what’s what with the blockade a couple of miles ahead. When he gets there, he spends some time observing two barges moored at opposite sides of the river’s mouth, eventually counting some thirty crew on each – a ragtag collection of what appear to be bandits, bargemen, and perhaps conscripts or militiamen wearing colors that approximate the green and blue of the traitorous Mim.Day 181: The noble trio reach the folding boat late in the afternoon.“This one of yours?,” the chevalier asks Sir Oengus as he brings the prisoner on board.“No,” Sir Oengus replies.“I serve the rightful king!,” the prisoner suddenly yells, thus spilling the beans without further ado.“That’s it,” Navarre says grimly. “It’s going to be a court-martial for you, my friend. Does anybody have a rope?”“No hangings,” Sir Eber says. “I have given my word. Harm him, and answer to me.”“We’ve been preparing the assault on the blockade,” Sir Suvali interrupts the proceedings. “They have sixty men, and we’re building rafts.”“Are we?,” Navarre asks, unaware of any plans involving assaults on blockades. “Sixty men, you say? Piece of the proverbial, I’d imagine?”“Let’s do it,” Sir Eber says – obviously.“I see,” Navarre says. “And what does this ‛plan’ involve? Storming the barges and killing every man, woman, and child on board? Are we to become brigands, Sir?”“My sister will be here by sundown, and there’ll be hands aplenty,” Sir Oengus ventures. “As for the barges, we’ll hit them broadside with fire rafts.”Navarre raises an eyebrow and turns to his noble cousin.“They’re war barges,” Sir Suvali comes in, as if this explains things. “Four ballistas each.”“Merveilleux!,” the chevalier cries. “Two barges for the navy! We shall attack Mim from the lake!”“That may well be a problem if they go up in flames, old boy,” Navarre suggests irritably. “And even so, Mim will see us coming from miles away if we approach by lake. Indeed, I’d say he won’t even need all of his – what was it? – five hundred men to deal with us.”“We’ll move after nightfall,” Sir Eber says, straightening his back. “The man who can see me coming in the dark hasn’t been born yet.”“We’ll set fire to the first ship,” Sir Suvali adds. “I will cast Web and torch it, while you board the ship on the other side of the river.”“Hmm… I suppose all is fair and all that,” Navarre muses, somewhat warming to the plan despite himself. “But how are we going to get close enough for such an assault?”“Simple enough,” Sir Oengus says. “We’ll sail up to them, drop anchor, and wait for them to board us and inspect our cargo for their blasted taxes.”“Some ships are allowed to pass after they have paid and passed the inspection.” Sir Suvali explains.“I’d say we are not very likely to pass an inspection,” Navarre says. “And don’t start about disguises again.”“Afraid, Dauberval?,” Sir Eber scoffs. “There’s only thirty men aboard.”“Indeed!,” Navarre says, laughing. “Only thirty? And what’s to prevent the second barge from coming to their aid? What about their ballistas? Slingers? Archers?”“Gentlemen,” Sir Suvali announces. “We attack at midnight. I will cast Sleep on the night guard of the first ship and you will board it. Then I will fly to the other side and prevent the second ship from lifting anchor or firing its missiles.”“Now that does sound like a plan,” Navarre says.“To be sure, lubber!,” Sir Oengus says, procuring some sketches and pointing to some of them. “I’ll be makin’ this gangplank ‛ere. Lines to lower it onto the deck, couple of long-johns and some tow to dampen the sound fer when it hits the deck.”And so our noble heroes begin discussing the details of their plan. When Sir Eber mentions that he cannot swim, Navarre spends the rest of the afternoon teaching him the basics.Day 182: Sir Oengus is the first to wake up, and he sets about gathering the materials for his gangplank after hollering to his noble companions to show a leg. When these have also made an appearance, and Navarre and Sir Eber have returned from their swim in the river, our noble heroes further discuss their plan of attack. When the problem of dealing with thirty crewmen comes up again, Sir Suvali points out that most of them will likely be fast asleep in the hold when the assault begins, and that the boarding party need only nail some of the hatches to the deck to control how quickly the crew can appear on deck. All agree that this is the way to go, and so our noble heroes set about their tasks, such as helping Sir Oengus with his gangplank, and finding things that can serve as nails.Just after sundown, our noble heroes disembark and head for the blockade to see what, exactly, they will be dealing with. Sticking to the trees and undergrowth as much as they can, they reach the blockade in a little less than an hour, take up positions as close to the barge as they can, and observe the goings on for a while. The light of weakly burning lanterns illuminates the fore and aft of the vessel, revealing only two lookouts on deck, obviously at ease as they are chatting audibly in the flickering glow of one of the lanterns. From their current position, our noble heroes gather that it’s about sixty yards to the barge, the last twenty being open terrain. After some time, they advance to within twenty-five yards of the barge, their approach concealed by the trees, the steady rain, and the strong wind. When they are in position, Navarre cannot help but think of the duergar land walkers. By Olm!, he curses silently. How useful the creatures would be for an operation like this!Next to him, Sir Oengus gauges the distance and angle between the shore and the barge, allowing him to calculate how long his gangplank has to be. The barge is some ten yards long and four wide, and he knows that it has a flat deck with three hatches in it, two large ones for the cargo, and a smaller one for the crew.When they have seen enough, our noble heroes return to their folding boat, where they discuss their findings.“Gentlemen.” Sir Suvali says at length. “To summarize. We will attack one hour after midnight tomorrow. You will take your positions in the tree line as agreed. I will cast Sleep on the lookouts and signal the all-clear. Navarre, you will nail the cargo hatches to the deck. Eber and Scaralat will be at the small hatch to deal with the crew. I will fly to the other ship and cast Web to trap the lookouts and secure its hatches. Oengus will be on the stern to keep an eye out in general, ready to fire burning arrows at the web if things should go wrong on the second barge.”“So we’re not taking the second barge?,” Sir Eber asks.“I say we do so only if we succeed in taking the first without breaking much of a sweat,” Navarre suggests. “Now, how do we deal with the crew?”“Tiens,” the chevalier says. “For the first barge, we shall prepare smoke bombs and throw them down the hatchway into their quarters. As to the second… they are already trapped. Et voilà!”“Agreed,” Navarre says. “When they surrender, we must disarm them and get them ashore immediately, one by one, so that they don’t get any ideas.”“Bof!,” the chevalier says dismissively. “I do not expect any problems. All we have to do is nail the hatches to the deck of the second barge when Suvali’s web disappears.”Sir Oengus makes some sketches to show Navarre how he can nail the hatches to the deck as quickly and effectively as possible, until the latter admits that he hasn’t been able to find much in the way of nails so far.“Yer be wantin’ to use some oars then,” Sir Oengus says, quickly making some more sketches. “Run’em across the hatches between the scuppers like so.”“Bravo!,” Navarre exclaims, rather relieved that he doesn’t have to worry about nailing three hatches to the deck in what is surely not going to be enough time despite the instructions of his noble friend. “As easy as that! My dear fellow!”And so, his sense of jubilance greatly increased by the fact that his noble companions have come up with a truly comprehensive plan of action for a change, he rises to his feet.“My Lords!,” he announces, raising his glass. “Pour le Roi! Montjoie Saint-Denis!”Day 183: After a day of rest and some final preparations, our noble heroes disembark at midnight beneath a cloud-covered sky. Sir Oengus reduces their folding boat to a box, and then they make their way down the River Dusk, keeping to the trees as much as possible. They have used soot to blacken their faces and armor as required, and they are carrying Sir Oengus’ gangplank and the oars of the folding boat among them. They reach the blockade about an hour later and take up their positions as agreed, with Sir Oengus, Sir Suvali, and Navarre in the first line and Sir Eber and the chevalier some distance back to their left and right, respectively.Navarre feels the tension rising as he watches Sir Suvali unfold the wings of his flying contraption and vanish into the night sky. His heart is racing when the sorcerer appears above the barge a minute later, and he braces himself for his silent dash to the barge behind Sir Eber with the gangplank. But then, of course, the sorcerer has to make the most of being the center of attention again and, indeed, in full control of the entire operation for the moment. And so he casts his Sleep spell, waits until both lookouts have been asleep for a full round, flies to the second barge, casts another Sleep spell there, takes his time to confirm that the two lookouts there are also sound asleep, returns to his position above the first barge, casts Web at the second barge, returns to it to have a look at the result, flies back to the first barge and then, finally, signals the all-clear.Sir Eber gets to his feet and begins his silent approach to the barge, gangplank held high. He rolls “07%” on his Move Silently check and manages to lower the gangplank into place without so much as the slightest of stirs. Silently wishing hell and damnation upon the self-important sorcerer, Navarre follows the ranger moments later, with Sir Oengus in tow, and both carrying oars, hammers, and nails. The ranger has already reached the small hatch when they board the barge and dash to the bow, where Sir Oengus takes up position to starboard and Navarre thrusts one of the oars into the starboard scupper – to find that it is too short to reach all the way to the one to larboard.“Three curses!,” he whispers to Sir Oengus. “Now what?”“Blimey!,” his noble friend says, without bothering to whisper. “Thar be two o’ the picaroons as be takin’ a caulk down here to be sure! Now hear this, lubber! Belay that hempen to the dead-eye and tie the end in a monkey knot! Smartly now, by thunder!”As Navarre frantically starts securing the first hatch at his noble friend’s directions, the chevalier appears at Sir Eber’s side, weapon at the ready.“We’re having a p-a-a-a-rty,” the ranger starts singing, weapons drawn and tapping his boot on the deck. “La, la, la!”Moments later, the hatch opens and a crewman pokes his head out.“Hey!,” he yells. “If ye don’t shut yer bletherin’…”But Sir Eber starts hacking away at him before he can finish his sentence and the man only just manages to raise his arm in a reflex before his corpse tumbles down the ladder and onto the deck below with a considerable racket.“Hey!,” Sir Eber calls after him in mock surprise. “What are you doing?”“Alarm!,” a voice comes from below decks. “Alarm!”“Merde!,” the chevalier yells when he rolls a “1” and fumbles his attempt to throw a smoke bomb down the hatch. Perhaps he, too, is feeling the tension. He fares better with his second attempt, and presently an acrid smoke comes billowing up from the hatchway, soon followed by a second crewman.“For Mim!,” the man yells. “For the king!”Although this one is able to finish his sentence, his corpse, too, crashes down the ladder moments later, felled by an arrow from the chevalier and both of Sir Eber’s swords. Immediately, two more men appear on the ladder, this time militiamen or conscripts in the green and blue of the traitorous Mim. But they, too, do not stand much of a chance against the ranger on deck, and one of them is already dead by his hand moments later.“Ahoy up there!,” the second man hollers as the chevalier tosses another smoke bomb down the hatch. “Bandits! Surrender!”“For whom do you speak?,” the chevalier calls back.“In the name of the king!,” the voice comes. “King Mim!”“Ha, ha, ha, ha-a-a!,” the chevalier yells, before kicking the hatch shut with a bang.Meanwhile, Navarre has managed to secure the second cargo hatch, and he presently starts for Sir Eber and the chevalier at the stern.“Not so fast, lubber!,” Sir Oengus calls. “Release the hawsers, by thunder! I’ll bring her about and we’ll board the second barge!”“Best wait until we have secured this one, old boy,” Navarre says sharply as he turns around. “Two fronts and all that.”Behind him, Sir Eber opens the hatch again.“Surrender!,” he hollers down the hatchway. “You are prisoners of war!”“Have you any idea who we are!?,” comes a voice from below. “We don’t surrender to bandits!”And so two more militiamen come charging up the ladder, one of which quickly falls to the weapons of the ranger. Across the hatch, the chevalier engages the second militiaman, but he manages to roll his second “1” of the evening and fumbles his attack. Another militiaman takes the place of the one killed by Sir Eber in the last round and, when the chevalier also manages to make his attacks count, two more militiamen have been sent down the ladder. Though five of their number now lie dead, and they are obviously at a considerable disadvantage, pairs of militiamen keep coming up the ladder, to be cut down by Sir Eber and the chevalier without much ado. When Navarre joins the noble duo at the hatch, the chevalier manages to roll his third “1” of the evening, to his profound dismay and chagrin.By now, the fight has acquired all of the characteristics of wanton slaughter, so much so that even Sir Eber is beginning to feel slightly embarrassed.“Surrender!,” he hollers, in another attempt to put an end to the proceedings.“Surrender!,” comes the reply from below.The ranger just shrugs, and so the noble trio have to kill several more militiamen, most of them falling to Sir Eber’s swords.“Ahoy, lubbers!,” Sir Oengus hollers from the bow. “Can we leave Eber to it yet?”Two more militiamen come up the ladder, one of whom is instantly killed by Sir Eber. However, the chevalier rolls his fourth “1” of the evening – now to his absolute fury – which does not abate in the slightest when the DM tries to assuage him by informing him that he, too, has already managed to roll three “1”s tonight – but, of course, as the DM, he can roll as many “1”s as he likes and see if his PCs care. Besides, that’s ONE LESS!And then, finally, the crew seem to realize that they will never fight their way past the noble trio on deck. Presently four of them come storming up the ladder, ducking attacks and trying for the larboard gunnel. But this, too, does not get them very far. Three are cut down almost instantly and, although the fourth manages to jump overboard, Sir Oengus has him in his sights when he clambers onto the shore and starts running.“Avast, lubber!,” he laughs. “And where do we think we’re going? Come about, by thunder, or die a coward’s death!”But the militiaman keeps running and so he dies a quick death when he is struck by four arrows, two from Sir Oengus and two from Sir Suvali, who has been watching the proceedings from high and dry above. After this, all is quiet for several minutes.“Surrender!,” Sir Eber hollers again.“Who do you speak for?,” comes the reply.“I am Eber Ard Weald,” Sir Eber calls. “Son of the Duke of Weald.”Moments later, the first militiamen appear on deck, unarmed and with their hands raised, and then more keep coming until all sixteen remaining crew have surrendered.“This will not go unpunished!,” one of the militiamen yells, after all of them have been ordered to remove their armor and Sir Oengus has inspected the ship and given the all-clear. “This is unheard of! A cowardly attack!”“Consider yourselves prisoners of war,” Navarre says. “Get them ashore.”“Belay that,” Sir Oengus interrupts. “We’ll clamp ‛em in irons in the forehold and nail the door shut.”“Gentlemen,” Sir Suvali says as he lands on deck near the assembled militiamen. “Cup of tea?”And so the militiamen are given some of Theresa’s herbal tea and end up sound asleep and safely locked up in the forehold.“Next!,” Sir Eber hollers, wringing his hands in gleeful anticipation.“Sails away!,” Sir Oengus hollers. He steers the barge across the river and moors it alongside the second barge, where nothing has changed and the magical web still covers most of the deck.“We wait until it expires,” Sir Suvali declares. “Eber, you’re strong enough to wade through the web, so you go aboard in the meantime. You may suffer some damage if the web is torched.”“But I don’t think the crew will set fire to it!,” he adds hastily when the ranger throws him a dark glance. “Sails are expensive!”As there seems to be no reason to change tactics, Navarre and Sir Oengus begin preparing the oars and the gangplank. When the magical web vanishes well over an hour later, Navarre lowers the gangplank onto the deck of the second barge with a loud bang, allowing our noble heroes to run aboard and take their positions on deck.Navarre is already halfway through securing the cargo hatches when some sleepy voices start yelling below decks: “Hey! What up?! // Three gods! // Oi, knock it off up there!”Moments later, the small hatch opens and a crewman emerges – and is cut down by Sir Eber without much ado.“Surrender!,” the ranger hollers when the dead crewman tumbles down the ladder and the chevalier throws a smoke bomb down the hole.Some more furious curses and stumbling about below decks initiate a shorter version of what transpired on the first barge and so our noble heroes quickly secure the second barge.“Gentlemen,” Sir Suvali announces, when the captured crew are fast asleep and locked away, and our noble heroes have gathered in the hold of the second barge. “We will take the barges to Sarazin.”“Merveilleux!,” the chevalier cries, pouring champagne into some glasses. “La marine!”“Belay that, lubbers!,” Sir Oengus snaps. “I lay claim to these barges for my water liners and as compensation for losing the Varis. We set sail for Nisibis at first light, by thunder!”“I can but bow to your wishes, monsieur,” the chevalier replies, with a mixture of surprise and annoyance in his voice. “Donc… We will sail rimward first.”“We are too vulnerable now,” Sir Suvali adds, turning to the wind in a variation on his usual ‛I was thinking the same thing’. “We need the protection of the camp in Nisibis in case of a counter-attack.”Since he is the only one who can steer a barge, Sir Oengus says that he wants both barges tied tightly together so he can sail them to Nisibis as a single unit. When Navarre (who else?) expresses his doubts, he is promptly assured that it will be no trouble at all. Well, it’s a game of heroic fantasy, isn’t it?And so, after Sir Eber and the chevalier have brought the horses on board, Sir Oengus starts hollering orders.“To Nisibis!,” he roars. “All hands on deck! Belay the hawsers! Swab the brightwork! Flemish the lines! Man the yards! Leadsmen to the fore! Haul wind, ye blisterin’ barnacles!”“Mais…,” the chevalier protests. “Tout de suite? Surely not after the champagne?”“Messieurs!,” Navarre calls, raising his glass. “Le Roi!”Another toast follows, but then Sir Eber slams down his glass on the table with a bang.“I’m still feeling a bit empty,” he starts. “I need more of this. The thrill of the fight! We must use the barges for covert operations!”“Violence is usually followed by feelings of emptiness, old boy,” Navarre replies.When the ranger just stares at him, Sir Suvali decides to get things going again.“All in good time, Eber,” he says. “First, we must leave a message for Oengus’ sister at the watch post. Second, I’ll remain here to keep an eye on things when you sail rimward.”Navarre is about to say something to this when Sir Oengus interrupts him.“Fine by me,” his noble cousin says, shrugging. “We will sail to Nisibis, collect forty able men, and attack the next blockade.”But Navarre isn’t convinced.“I would suggest we start looking at the greater picture rather than engage in more piecemeal operations,” he ventures. “Murdering bargemen in the dead of night does not sit well with me at all. Need I remind you that the traitor has broken his word? I shall personally throw him the gauntlet…”Anyway. It becomes quite clear that his noble companions prefer to continue their commando-style actions rather than confront the traitorous Mim himself, with Sir Eber caring little as long as whatever is next will involve combat. The debate continues for some time until, eventually, it turns to Apple Island again.“I will fly to the island and see what’s what,” Sir Suvali says at one point.“Tiens,” the chevalier says. “Reclaiming Apple Island for the Alliance must be our next objective.”“Aye,” Sir Oengus says. “And yer be needin’ barges fer that. Might as well take all of them, I says! It’s well over a ten-day before the fine folk march to battle. We can have a whole fleet by then.”“It would seem that we have reached an agreement,” Navarre says, raising his glass. “Messieurs, le Roi!”Several more toasts are drunk and then, emboldened by their first success in the war against the traitorous Mim, and with the chance that things may well get back to normal again in the foreseeable future glimmering on the distant horizon – and fueled by some Dutch courage – Navarre approaches the chevalier.“Mon ami…,” he begins. “A word among gentlemen… Mademoiselle your cousine… Eloïse… I confess to being quite taken...”“Ha, ha, ha!,” the chevalier beams, spreading his arms. He sweeps his noble companion into a warm embrace, kissing him on both cheeks.“Mon cher! Mon frère!,” he cries. “I thought you’d never ask! Mes félicitations!”“Ahem…,” Navarre stammers, blushing. “Of course… A marriage… would be to both our advantage politically. An alliance between our houses...”“Mais c’est l’amour!,” the chevalier exclaims in dismay. “F*** the houses! F*** first, then politics!”When the laughter has subsided, Navarre opens the last bottle of Lillac and fills the glasses.“To memorable nights!,” he cries, raising his glass in yet another toast.But then Sir Oengus starts hollering about holystones and decks again and so, after some vigorous efforts to clear their heads, he, Sir Eber, and Navarre are on their way to Nisibis – horses on deck, and prisoners still sound asleep in the forehold. Sir Suvali and the chevalier have remained behind to keep an eye on the river and see what they can do to prevent the traitorous Mim from reinstating the blockade too soon – for the latter is still rooting for attacking Mim from the lake.Day 183: All remains quiet until just before sunrise, when an ox-cart comes into view in the distance, prompting Sir Suvali to take the sky immediately. But he has to be careful in his approach, and the cart has already turned around before he can land in a safe spot and fold his wings again. Not wanting to risk the drivers alerting Mim of the situation at the blockade too soon, he sprints after the cart.“Hey!,” he yells, frantically waving his arms. “Wait! Where are you going!”Curious whether they may have missed something, the drivers stop the cart – and they are sound asleep moments later, victims of Sir Suvali’s Sleep spell. He hoists the sleeping drivers onto the cart and ties their hands and feet. Inspecting the load, he finds some bags of grain, coffers with loaves of bread, general supplies for some sixty men. He turns the cart around and heads for the chevalier down the road.“That’s enough,” he says, when he gets there and dismounts. “You drive the cart rimward and I’ll have someone pick you up at the submerged jetty when I reach the camp in Nisibis.”He takes to the air again and soon locates the barges with his noble fellows on board. He lands on deck and informs Sir Oengus at the wheel of the encounter with the ox-cart; that the chevalier is on his way to the submerged jetty up the river with the cart and the drivers; and that he will have to be picked up at the end of the day, or tomorrow at the latest.“Right,” he concludes, spreading the wings of his flying contraption again. “I’m off to Apple Island.”“Aye, captain,” Sir Oengus calls after him when the sorcerer takes to the sky. “Much obliged, t’ be sure!”Later that day, Sir Oengus drops anchor some way up the River Dusk, close to the watch post near where the sorcerer said the Nisibis army is camped. He wakes Navarre and the chevalier, and the noble trio spend some time tending to the barge, the horses, and the prisoners – and some of them sleep some more after that.As the day draws to a close the weather has markedly improved, and Navarre is enjoying an autumn sunset on the stern with a bottle of Lillac when some four or five dozen armed men appear on the shore, demanding he identify himself.“Oengus!,” Navarre hollers to his noble friend below decks. “Mademoiselle your sister!”Introductions are made and the men turn out to be a scouting party – and Sir Oengus’ noble sister is not among them. The noble trio bring the horses and prisoners ashore, and a short trek brings them to where the Nisibis army is gathering. Sir Eber leads the horses to a central corral, while Navarre and Sir Oengus hand over the prisoners to a battle-scarred sergeant.“Gentlemen,” Sir Oengus says, when the noble trio are together again. “Meals will be served forthwith. Follow me.”He leads his noble companions to a large tent, where his sister and about a dozen Nisibis barons are discussing logistics. Some soldiers stand guard and servants are laying a large table for dinner.“An honor, mademoiselle,” Navarre says, when introductions have been made. “What news of the war?”“Mim has moved his troops to the Sanctuary of Ilm,” Sir Oengus’ noble sister replies. “Battle is to take place on the green there.”“The Tree!,” Sir Oengus says. “A good omen, to be sure!”“Maybe so,” Navarre says. “But there may be more to this. It would appear that the traitor will leave no stone unturned in his quest for legitimacy to his farcical claims.”Our noble heroes enjoy a copious dinner with the assembled Nisibis nobles, and they inform their hosts of their successful attack on the blockade, which seems to go down better than it no doubt would have in Dauberval. Indeed, as it turns out, the rebellion has caused the assembled noblesse of Nisibis far greater hardship than Navarre’s noble father has seen. Yet, there is little appetite for advancing ahead of plan even among them.“The ultimatum has been issued,” a baron says. “If it is spurned, we will cross the river and join Dauberval in Sarazin. We will march to the Sanctuary and meet Mim on the green.”“How many men does he have?,” Sir Eber asks.“The latest reports speak of five hundred,” Sir Oengus’ noble sister replies. Though she has not reacted much to the unorthodox proposals her brother and Sir Eber have put on the table, she adds: “As to the legitimacy of his claim to the throne, I’d say that destroying his army would be the end of him.”Day 184: When Sir Suvali arrives later that day, he reports that he has found Apple Island deserted.“Maybe not quite,” Sir Oengus’ noble sister says pensively. “Chances are that the duke has left it in the hands of at least four dozen elite troops. Men of your caliber, I’d say.”Whoa! Surely the DM isn’t railroading our noble heroes out of raiding the island?Night: Sir Suvali flies back to the mouth of the River Dusk, where he finds that the blockade our noble heroes destroyed just days before has already been reinstated. But now, several lanterns and torches illuminate both banks of the river, and there are many more men about than before, most of them on high alert. He flies across the lake to the mouth of the River Dawn and finds a similar situation there. After observing the area for a while, he takes to the air again and heads for the Sanctuary of Ilm, determined to finally see Mim’s army with his own eyes.Day 185: He returns to the camp just before sunrise and reports his findings.“His whole army is at the Tree,” he says at one point. “Five hundred men.”But when the chevalier asks what banners were flying at the camp, the sorcerer remains vague – meaning that he didn’t think to check.“Everything seems to be pointing to a battle at the Sanctuary,” Navarre muses. “Two armies facing each other on the field of battle, as tradition demands. By Olm! It is an honor he does not deserve!”“So are we still going after the blockades?,” Sir Eber asks.“They are all on high alert,” Sir Suvali says. “Six archers on deck even at night.”“So?”Navarre throws his noble cousin a pensive look. More and more, he is beginning to give in to his dislike of skulking about at night like a brigand – let alone slaughtering ill-equipped conscripts and bargemen by the dozen.“Perhaps we should change tactics if we are going to attack another blockade,” he suggests at length. “We want to retain the element of surprise, and it won’t do if Mim begins to suspect that there is a single force after his barges. Far better to make him believe that there is an organized resistance forming – keep him on his toes and all that.”“Covert action,” Sir Eber agrees.“Besides, we don’t want to embarrass the Alliance negotiators,” Navarre continues. “He may use it to his advantage if he finds out that we are behind the attacks. So far, I don’t think that anyone is any the wiser, and I suggest we keep it that way.”“Are you suggesting we are not going to attack the barges?,” Sir Eber scoffs.“Don’t ask me,” Navarre says irritably. “I’m only suggesting that we change our strategy. Perhaps this time, we could send in some men rather more used to torching barges instead of doing it ourselves?”</blockquote>

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