[h2][color=662d91]The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 9][/color][/h2]

[h2]Riverforge.[/h2]

Seated in his makeshift throne, Rukdug looked between the shaman and the miner who seemed intent to rip each other apart in order to prove their own claims to be true with... well, mixed feelings. On the one hand, it felt good to see the bloodthirsty ambitions of his people alive and well but on the other... actually allowing them to murder each other at this stage would be counter productive to his long term goals. 

However, an alternative was easy to see. "If we were still slaves of the Dark One and finding orcs to replace either of you in your duties would be as easy as finding flies on a rotten corpse, I likely wouldn't have thought twice about sending you both into the combat pit to let you prove your points in a battle to the death. However, because of our decision to break free of his control we no longer benefit from having access to the endless hordes of orcs to call upon, throwing either of your lives away for pride and ego would be wasteful..."

Pausing a moment to let that message sink in, he quickly continued "Thankfully, there is an easy way to determine if either of you can truly recreate the cursed works of the Cult of Darkness. Myself and a fair number of orcs within this fortress have born witness to the effects of the Cult's cursed weapons in action. What we're going to do is have the both of you use your methods to create your own versions of the curse, than we're going to have you both give glancing wounds to a couple of runty piglets; Nothing that by itself would be fatal... and watch to see what happens. If either of you have the correct method, we'll see the results easily enough."

........................................................

While having access to charcoal kilns was a good start, the fact of the matter was that unless a larger, more steady supply of wood was found they simply weren't going to be able to supply them with enough wood to industrialize properly. This wasn't an impossible task however... and he had just the Captain for the job. 

"Nyorgha, I have a task for you that will be vital to the future of Riverforge." Rukdug watched as Nyorgha the Liberator stood at attention, clearly getting the point that this was serious and needed to be treated as such. "We need wood and we need a steady supply of it to get our metal works operational and thus get us prepared for war. Thankfully, I know exactly where we can find such a supply of it we can take advantage of. Do you remember when we landed at the mouth of the river leading inland, where there appeared to be a forest growing on the opposite bank?"

After a moment of thought, Nyorgha offered a nod in affirmative acknowledgement. "Good. I am giving you free reign to select a sizeable band of those you will need to follow you back there to establish a stronghold that's main task is to harvest and supply lumber to Riverforge. Having a fortified outpost that can give us control of the river is an added bonus, but your task will be to establish this outpost and get it operational. That will mean devising means to transporting lumber to Riverforge over a river and land route in a healthy steady supply. Do you understand what I am asking of you?" 

"Yes Warchief." was the quick and sharp reply, all mirth and signs of friendship the two orcs may have had replaced by professionalism at the importance of the task ahead. 

"Good. May the spirits watch over you Nyorgha."

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[h2]In a goblin occupied cave[/h2]

Pak couldn't help but feel like Ie thought he was an idiot who barely understood the concepts of stealth or an ambush. However, while the bird's seemingly condescending nature 'ruffled his feathers' as it were (a turn of phase that Pak didn't find amusing in the slightest), he quickly decided that the best way to ease his unsettled pride would be to not only prove the bird man wrong, but also show him up a bit. 

"If we were going up against any old band of bandits, even one led by one of these Oni, this wouldn't be a bad plan. However, from what you've told us... this 'Bandit King' has not only been actively fighting you and your goblin followers for decades, but has proven to be either strong enough, cunning enough or lucky enough to have remained a constant thorn in your side for all these years. If he isn't a complete shrak head he'll have learned enough from past attempts you've made on him to recognize one of your ambush sites before he steps into the trap..."

A grin appeared on Pak's face as he got to the point. "When the prey you're hunting figures out how to avoid or work around the traps you're using, it's time to develop a new kind of trap. Since he has fashioned himself into a bandit king, let us take advantage of his greed to override his caution." 

"Since you have a good idea of where his army is marching and of the local area, what we need is... a camp site. Namely, somewhere that could only be safely approached from one direction from that wouldn't be too hard for their scouts to sniff out. Maybe a little mountain nook with rock walls blocking all but one path or some forest clearing with enough trees, plants or bogland to make travel possible. I don't really care of the exact nature of the area, just that there is only one safe way in... or out. My warband will set up a camp in it since I doubt that this Bandit King or any of his followers have seen an orcish camp before... and if we fill it with enough hunted game or shiny trinkets while seemingly having minimum protection they'll think it's an easy target."

He paused for a moment, considering the plan before asking Ie "I'm not sure to the full extent of your illusions and magic, but if you or your goblins could whip something up to make it look like the camp is occupied without us having to actually have anyone in it, that would make this a whole lot easier and less bloody."

Either way, he continued on. "With a rich and lightly defended target filled with supplies and loot a plenty, the bandits will do what bandits always do in such situations... raid and pillage. Since the promise of spoils will likely cause them to focus on the camp and bickering and fighting each other for the greatest personal reward for a minor amount of work, I doubt they'll be paying much attention to keeping the one path into the trap protected from an armed and organized force. Once we've secured that entrance, we can just slowly push in and cut them down while they're trapped like fish in a barrel. Depending on where we set this up, we could use the environment to our advantage like being able to rain down rocks, rockslides or other ranged things down from above. I can't make any promises for the King himself, but if nothing else this plan will make him a King without an army."


[hider=Summery]
Rukdug makes it clear to both the Shaman and Miner claiming to know how to make Cursed weapons that letting them kill each other is a pointless waste. Instead they will be using piglets to test the weapons on and the effects will be observed by those who have witnessed the effects of the curse they are after personally, Rukdug included. 

Nyorgha is given the task of establishing a fortified outpost near the forest that the orcs passed while sailing up the river shortly after they first arrived to not only secure a steady supply of lumber for Riverforge, but also to give the orcs control of the river mouth itself. 

Pak offers Ie an alternative plan to ambush the Bandit King and his forces, as well as making it clear that the orcs will be assisting in fighting them. 

[/hider]