"Unconventional is what we need. All good thoughts." Gallus clicked his fingers in Meesei's direction. "Didn't you mention something about an alchemical solution to resist the gas? Anyone going for the crank will need that." Gallus seemed to speed up, trying to get through all the information in his mind at once. "I have a feeling that everyone else will be best served avoiding their beast forms altogether until the keep is breached so that they can still hold their shields. As for a reserve force..." Gallus put his hand over his mouth and wiped to the side, "...tricky...sabotaging the gate will play our hand in that direction, but if we pose an attack against the opposite walls they'll have the opportunity to close the gate..."

Gallus looked up and seemed to realise himself. "Right, tangents, apologies." He turned his attention back to the map. "Say we were able to jam the gate open. How would an assault on that position go from the ground?"

[hr]
For a moment, Fendros' suspicion was softened by Irenya's story. "Is that so?" he asked, "It just so happens that the red year displaced my own family. It was the reason we moved to Cheydinhal. Well, I was only born right before we arrived in Cheydinhal. They had been living in eastern Skyrim before that. It was...not welcoming, from all accounts."