Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Now, Miranor," Gallus said, trying to defuse the werevulture's fervour, "That's noble of you, but let's not volunteer to dance with danger unless we know we have to. Our planning is not over yet."

Gallus returned his attention to the map. "If we want to try and bring the ladders closer for support, I'm not sure that it will be a matter of them noticing. We could not guarantee that either way. No, I would rather it be a matter of forcing them to split their forces into unequal portions so that either the gate assault or the ladder assault has an easier time taking the walls. It seems to me that keeping the ladders away from the gatehouse -- at least obscured by the keep from the gatehouse -- would sow the most discord amongst their command. As well, the fewer archers focussing on the gatehouse will be positioned to fire upon a ladder assault." Gallus pointed to the point at the walls where the ladders might be raised, "Of course, we can reduce the distance appropriately as you say."

---

Fendros continued to listen with interest. He had gone from being uncomfortable with Irenya's presence to fully curious about her story at this point. Perhaps it was a connection with his Dunmer heritage or perhaps it was him no longer worrying about ulterior motives from Irenya.

He was cautious when asking his next question, given that the loss of Irenya's father must have been sore. "And your mother? What became of her?" Fendros asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"So the keep is something of an unknown. Got it." Gallus answered. "And if the gas is an unknown as well, then the werevultures that go in first are going to be in a lot more danger. If they can't fly out as quickly as they arrived they'll be in the middle of the enemy before we can rescue them."

Gallus took a deep breath through his nose and let it out with a bit of stress. "Perhaps there is another way. We will keep it in mind as we go." Gallus rubbed an eye, "Back to the assault. I'm a little uneasy about running people through the gate without support. There may still be boiling oil and water coming down and as soon as they're in the courtyard they'll be under fire from all directions. If that gate is sabotaged, it's going to become a focal point, and I'm thinking it would be wise to divert some forced to attack from other directions." Gallus gestured with a flat hand to the other side of the stronghold. "Ladders around the back, maybe?"

---

Fendros' voice became solemn as well. "I see. I'm sorry for your loss. It's hard to even imagine one of my parents dying."

It was at that moment that Fendros became a bit conflicted on whether he should be giving sympathy to a possible former slave-owner. Then again, its not as if he could tell, and the fact that Argonians and possibly Khajiit slaves were responsible for her father's death was telling. Fendros decided to keep that in mind for later.

"So, how did you end up in Cyrodiil?" Fendros asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"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?"

---

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."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Miranor did have a good point. That much showed in Gallus' expression when he gave the look to Meesei. "That sounds like a way in," he said. Although, the papers that Ri'vashi inspected had also caught his attention. "Still, it's no guarantee that the crank can be broken. You are correct there, Ri'vashi. Perhaps there is some other way to exploit a stealthy approach like that."

Although he felt like they were coming up with good ideas, some worry came over Gallus' brow. "While we think about that, I've just had a thought. We should be careful that none of these approaches are to be expected from the enemy." Gallus looked to each of the war leaders present. "None of us can speak for all tricks the enemy may have up their sleeve, but perhaps we might gain some insight by putting ourselves into their shoes."

Gallus looked to Ri'vashi in particular. "Clan leader, you have arguably had the most experience in these matters." Gallus swept a hand over all of their gathered intelligence. "How would you organise the defence of this place? With silver and suppression gas all?"

---

There was a pregnant pause after Ahnasha answered in which she might have elaborated. After a few seconds it became clear that she had no interest in doing so. Fendros put his hand to his chest and picked up the conversation instead. "I was taught to shoot by my father and had practice hunting, but I was not particularly skilled until I joined the pack and Ahnasha taught me. Everything else was a mix of the fighters guild, Lorag, my father again, and things picked up in passing."

Fendros left his own loaded pause as he considered whether his answer was adequate. He instead continued the stilted exchange as it was. "What about you? Where did you learn to heal?"

Gently running his hand down Ahnasha's arm, Fendros slowly motioned for them all to sit together. Hopefully their chat wouldn't stretch on too long.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus crossed one arm to prop up his other as he cupped his chin in his palm and continued staring at the map. "Very well, perhaps there's another way to deal with the crank."

There was a long pause for thought. Gallus tried his best to think of ways that didn't involve quite so much brute force. It was difficult, but there were some other options. He simply thought out loud rather than dismiss any outright. "Is there a way to break the crank mechanism so it can be left alone rather than defended?" Gallus interrupted himself before answers were given. "Although, that would be easier if it was struck while the gate was open. They can't keep their only way in or out closed indefinitely. That might necessitate doing so right before the attack begins. If we have surprise on our side then there might be an opportunity to sneak in, or use the night, or..." Gallus' eyes flicked to Meesei and he lowered his hand curiously. "Meesei, I am curious about something. You remember when defending Bruma that a fire was set within the cave to choke the entrance with smoke? This is..." Janius chuckled to himself at the thought, "This is open air, so I have no idea, but is there some kind of natural looking smoke or mist that magic can provide? Anything to help hide us?"

Being unaccustomed to magic of course had Gallus forgetting about invisibility and its countermeasures.

---

Sucking in a breath through his teeth, Fendros awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. His pause betrayed his ambivalence to Irenya staying around, but there was not much he could really do about it. If he made an excuse, Irenya would just come by later, most likely. At the same time, he didn't want to be rude.

With no apparent input coming from Ahnasha, Fendros conceded. "Okay," he said slowly. He gave Ahnasha a subtly apologetic look before continuing. "What did you want to talk about?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus leaned his hands on the edge of the map and studied it closely. The humour had gone from his face as he concentrated. It was a few moments before he started thinking out loud.

"So we have the gate, the walls, or the top of the keep as means of entry," he repeated. "And I take it there were no underground entrances that were found, hmm." Gallus took a moment to itch his chin. "Every point of ingress appears defensible. Anyone approaching would be under arrow fire. The enemy is expecting lycans as well."

Gallus stood up straight and looked to the others. "It seems to me that if we cannot rush the gate before they close it and organise a defence, a frontal assault is going to be the most difficult route." Gallus quickly traced the expansion wall with his fingers. "If it should come to that, the expansion may provide concealment from arrows for a small number, but I, for one, would like to explore..." Gallus turned his wrist to coax the words from his mouth, "...what did you call it, Meesei? Unconventional options."

Gallus then laid a finger on the main gate and the gatehouse above it. "Now, tell me if this is not feasible or not a good idea. This is both the strongest and weakest point, by the looks of it. Is there any way to get a small force in there and hold it long enough to open the gate? Perhaps our element of surprise should be employed as far as it will take us."

---

To Irenya's first point, Fendros was blunt. "I've not been worried by the sun at all. Dunmer skin. Ahna is Khajiit as well. Janius and Kaleeth are more likely to have problems."

The question of Irenya in the attack was surprising to Fendros, though he only raised his eyebrows at it. "Well, I..." Fendros wasn't sure why she was mentioning it to them, if he were honest. "As long as there are still expert healers behind the lines, I don't see why the latter isn't a good idea."

Fendros walked around the tent to Ahnasha and put a hand on her shoulder, looking to Irenya. "Unless otherwise ordered, we're going to be with the archers."

While he tolerated Irenya's presence for the moment, Fendros knew how Ahnasha felt about her. He hoped that Irenya would get to the point of her visit soon, if there even was one.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus was knelt down with a mallet, just about to hammer a peg down when Meesei spoke. He looked up with a high brow to listen. If Meesei words indicated anything this far from the stronghold, there was new information that they needed to work around. Gallus hoped it was good news.

"Alright, I'll be just a few minutes," Gallus said as he lifted the mallet once more and began to strike the peg.

True to his word, Gallus turned up in the command pavilion after spending a short while pitching his tent. He lifted the flap, peered inside, and smiled as his eyes adjusted to the lower light. "Today we begin, eh?" He said as he stepped inside. He addressed Meesei first, "I take it we've worked out something new?"

---

While the journey progressed, Fendros had distracted his own worries about Rhazii by diving into whatever tasks he had been assigned with all he had. On the other side, he tried to be a comfort for Ahnasha even though there was little reassurance for either of them. However, Fendros had been getting better as Ahnasha had.

As for Irenya, ever since Fendros had last talked to her on the matter of marriage back at the clanhome, their interactions had only really been in passing. A social visit caused Fendros to look somewhat surprised, but he found no reason to be uncivil.

"Oh, hello Irenya," Fendros said, noting her anxious demeanour. He looked at Ahnasha and shrugged before returning to Irenya. "We've not really had any problems, no. It was hard to say goodbye to Rhazii for such a long period but we're managing just fine." Fendros put a hand on his hip and found himself mirroring Irenya's uneasy expression. "What...brings you to this side of the camp?"

The end of Fendros' sentence was interrupted by the sound of a splash of water as some people dove into the pond nearby. Fendros thought he heard Tzirret and Sabine's laughter amongst it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I agree," Gallus responded to Ri'vashi, "Lorag may not have known exactly the way he thought, but maybe we can glean something from his history." Despite Gallus' words, he did not seem particularly confident. "I just hope that there is an opportunity or odd plan that comes to our minds when we arrive. We are already at a disadvantage by being the attackers. We will need to push something before the ambush force realises that we are not headed in their direction and reinforce the stronghold. If the ambush force is still where they should be in the first place."

Gallus walked alongside Meesei and Ri'vashi for a short while longer before they passed his own tent. At that, he slowed down momentarily. "Is there anything else to discuss for now or should we get ready for tomorrow? One of us ought to let Ra'jorr know what we've found out so far."

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Yeah, I'll get in a thing on the dreamy 60's night as well.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Damn it! Phantasmagoria! I knew I forgot something...

This is why I need lists like the rest of you. Sorry Double Capy...