Overseas Dimgaard Rp

[Primus Beno]

Ok guys, here is a general roleplay thread for us to take to on off days. Here are the rules:

1. No combat. It's hard to do here and takes too long. Save that for Saturday games.


2. In Character (IC) actions and talking only. If we have Out of Character (ooc) stuff we need to talk about, take it to email. Small OOC items, like brief explanations, questions or jokes are ok, but if you are heading into paragraph territory, take it to an email.

3. Only write from a point of view on what your character can control. Don't make people do things.

Bad Example: Drego shoves Cedric hard, knocking his cousin into the fire which roars to life and consumes him.

Good Example: Drego launches himself at Cedric, howling in anger. He tucks his shoulder in, aiming to send his cousin into the bonfire.

This allows people a chance to react. Stu could make the decision that Drego really did catch him by surprise and write a reply where he bounces off Drego, into the fire and then quickly rolls out, his robes smoldering as he prepares a fireball spell in response. Or, he could decide that Cedric was prepared for such an assault and dances nimbly to the side.

I don't think we'll need to worry about this too often since we'll use this board mostly for conversations and not brawls, but the need for it might spring up once in a while.

4. The rule of Yes.

This is a rule that I use with theater kids when we are improvising and it makes for great stories. The rule is that you run with what someone says instead of denying it and causing the story to fall flat. We are already sort of doing this by incorporating each others back stories into our own as our histories come out.

The part of the rule of 'yes' is that what you say has to make sense in the context of the roleplay. I can't ask Broguy to cut my hair since she was a hair stylist when we are all sitting around talking about orcs. It doesn't make any sense and doesn't really add to the story. We want to avoid the random lulz.

5. We're a team

Some internal conflict is good. Large amounts of it make it hard to justify why we would even be working together. We don't need to play Polyanna with each other, but keeping up a hostile attitude for long period of time doesn't work in rp or in real life. We can use this time on the board to make long term strategy, develop friendship bonds between each character and create an intriguing story. Good stories are about characters who get past their flaws and grow. We should be helping each other out with that.

6. Art is awesome

If you can find a picture that captures the mood, either of the person, the activity or the location, post it up.
Ok, let's rock and roll.

[Jacques Lecoeur]

(I believe the original party members are on an adventure to smack some lizard folk around. We are currently camped out for the evening and we have a bunch of tents. Aside from the four characters we also have Rusty the dog and Benri the squire who takes care of our horses and cart while we head into areas too thick for the cart to travel. Each of the Lords of Leischport has a horse. I'd like to know how Broguy has been travelling (by horse?), if there is anyone with her, if she has her own tent and supplies, etc.)

Jacques to Broguy: "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem like you are accustomed to the adventurer's way. There don't seem to be many of our kind in the area who can handle themselves against orcs and the like. Have you recently come here or have you been keeping quiet for the last few months?"

[Frenth Alunril]

(As a noble knight of the realm, Broguy (brewgeyh) seems different because she only has one slim short sword, some spears and such for throwing and fighting, and a horse worth no saddle. There is a pack across the horses back that has really basic kit, a great fir for weather and sleeping, and a finely packed kit. <talk about that later>)

Broguy smiles at Jacques, "handsome oaf, you know I can care for myself. How about something civil to drink." She gives him a seductive wink and a tilt of the head suggesting he approach.

"Since declaring my undying devotion to Carthepheme I've sought insight toward leadership and raising her station through benevolent leadership." She smiles and seems distant as she imagines the possibilities of her dream.

"I've visited tiny burghs and lies, where the people live, to find out more about them. To understand how god made them to be ruled, that I can do it right." She comes back from distant dreams and looks back to Jacques.

"But to answer your question, I do travel 'unarmed' because God armed me himself, the right to rule, superiority, it's the origin of my race." (Here I want to make I clear that Broguy is a monk devoted to her racial purity, and The One True God's Devine plan. Imagine the psyche of a pure blond nazi superman.)

She smiles self assuredly. "But that does bring up the question of Wilfred." She scrunches her faceas she looks to Cedric, "you've always been one to pay attention to the comings and goings of folks, Ricky, have you seen my man Wilfred about?"

For those of you who have some prior experience, Wilfred is a bonded servant of the Dudeman house who has been known to tend to Broguy in the past as a kind of assistant, too old to be a squire, too proper to be a knave. He hasn't been around.

[Frenth Alunril]

FLASHBACK

“Br-r-rewgeyh!” shouted the young lord Chappal Dudeman, “Br-r-rewgeyh, ya damn sprite! Where ye be!?” he threw back curtains and tipped up tables, checking all the normal places the child would hide, “Curses, Wightmyn! Where's your imp of a child?” he demanded. His blue eye flashed as they darted about from hiding space to hiding space. He wasn't in a rage, or even a fit, he was looking for his child hastily.

“Now Chappal, ya knew full well this day was gonna be trying on the lot of us, Brewgeyh the most.” explained the calm Lady following in Chappal’s wake. Wightmyn’s straight blond hair pinned in place by a modest tiara cascaded around her exposed shoulders and her new gown spoke volumes about the expectations of day to come. She smiled warmly, wrapped in tailored beauty, as she asked, “where would you be, husband, if today you were going to be put in a cage?”

Meanwhile, the boy announced his every move, “Imprescion raised his sword, Slaughter, gifted to him by the One True God, and it glowed with holy light so that he could see in the dark cellars.” Raising the dulled blade above his head he stalked about the garden. “Somewhere in the darkness, the minotaur hid from his fate.”

Kingson, heir to the house of Dudeman, jumped out from behind a bush, a jerkin tied about his head, gauntlets stolen from his father’s kit on his hands, “I'll eat you, Imprescion, child of winter, hero of man, and you will be delicious!”

Jackman squealed with delight and swung wildly at his brother with the dulled sword. The ringing of metal on metal filled the garden with the laughter of excited children. The boys mocked combat play was typical and expected. Kingson was to be heir and Jackman, his younger brother was to be a knight, as there would be no station for him unless it be one he earned. This did not separate the two as they were kin and close in age, they shared and shared alike.

Wightmyn shook her head, “today the wee lass becomes a girl.” Wringing her hands at her husband she added, “no more dirty jokes, no more playing with her brothers, climbing the walls. No more exploring the orchards and dreaming of battle.” The lady grabbed her husband and explained, “Chappal, you’re a good man, a proud man, with god given destiny, but yea canna understand what it means to be lady of nobility.”

“Aye, my wife, this life is one of dalliance and posturing.” He stopped, defeated, shoulders slump in Wightmyn’s hold, eyes cast to the floor, “some day some bloke will think himself worthy of the Dudeman name, and try to tame me wee Brewgeyh.” He sighed and looked into his wife's eyes, “and I’m I’mma lead’n her to the gallows in pretty dress and face cake.”

A scream that inspired cold dread struck at them from beyond the walls. Their solemn responsibility vanished in a shared panic. The two of them sprung to a run hand in hand after their fear.

Brewgeyh, clad in only pants, her blond hair a mess, jumped out from a tree above the two boys, Kingson and Jackman recoiled in terror as the child landed atop the elder, getting a hold of the back if his shirt, she stood out upon his chest, throwing him off balance, sending him tumbling toward their brother, Jackman. As Kingson tumbled she climbed up over his head, when the two boys collapsed together the girl landed and pronounced, “Brewgeyh the hero, wins the day!” as she stood atop the two of them.

Seeing this Chappal turned to his wife, the weight of his station resting on his brow he said, “Brewgeyh will never be in a cage, Wightmyn. Call it what you will, but no Dudeman will be restrained. If she must flee from the confines of womanhood, who am I to stop her?“
Wightmyn smiled at her husband and her clumsy brood of children as they began to fight with open hands in the garden.

[Primus Beno]

Drego snorts quietly at the noblewoman as he finishes his meal of glob noisely and tosses it to the camp squire to clean up. His burly frame relaxes back on a rock as the fire quietly crackles.

"Those lizard folk are going to need to be cleaned out, or at least reasoned with", he comments to anyone listening. "I figure if they are as backwards as the bullywugs, we might be able to convince them to join ourside against the orcs without much of a fight. Now that would be something, wouldn't it? Setting lizard and frog to fight the orcs by surprise?"

"Those bullywugs liked that old beat up armor I gave them. I'm wondering if the lizard folk will be in the same boat, so to speak. Anything we got we think we can bribe them with?" he asks, glancing around the camp.

[Frenth Alunril]

Broguy smiles and stands tall, for a 5'8" adventurer. She watches the sun go down as accepts the terrible camp they have to stay in.

Accepting this set back as a part of their fate she smiles, "tonight, children of men, we are going to see a rough time."

She turns to look at the elf and smirks, "but we gotta keep pansy off his tootsies or he'll run at the /mouth/ again." A quick chuckle brings the though, "or maybe your black bile is a portent? A sign of good fortune?"

"Did you succumb to dysentery before a victory in the wood as well?" She's clearly in pain, but picking on the halfelf is bringing her joy.

[Jacques Lecoeur]

Jacques edges forward with his butt cheeks clenched firmly together. He casts a quick look over his nearly dead compatriots and shakes his head. “Drego, as a battle field commander, wasn't it you who said, 'let them come to us', and then you did the exact opposite! Sheesh.”

To Barn: “Damn dude, you nearly died.” He pats the dwarf on the shoulder. “But you didn't! Hearty dwarf.”

Jacques turns to Broguy. “I've had this problem before but nothing quite this bad. Thankfully I was able to keep myself out of harms way today so I thank you for coming to our aid.”

To Cedric, quietly: “What is it with these idiots running into battle? We were just as effective over on the edge and we barely got hit! Just some annoying toads slithering about.”

To Rusty: “Maybe we should retire you from combat, little poochy. Next time you can keep Benri company.”

[Frenth Alunril]

Smirking, Broguy looks to Drago, "did you get your glory today, Sir Brightsteel?" She frowns at the peat and rushes they have smoldering as their 'fire' and swallows her words. This camp they have claimed is meager. She rubs her shoulders and looks for a solution to the problem of having to spend 3 days in a swamp hovel.

She ties up her hair and starts to pray. She moves to the shore closest to the river and beings to remove her clothing. The praying continues as she washes herself in the free flowing waters of the river. She comes to the end of a prayer and asks loudly, "has anyone got soap?"

She grumbles to herself, "I left mine with charger and your patsy because some mongrel can't understand distances." Mostly naked, the woman cleanses her wounds and begins to pray again.

[Jacques Lecoeur]

With a curious 'ping' coming from the half elf, Jacques rummages through his pack and trundles forward at a remarkably slow pace. "I have soap," he says, to the scantily clad blonde woman. He hands it over. "I understand distances just fine, m'lady, but this is a swamp and no one in the region has an accurate map of the area. It's not like we have a ranger. I make songs and stories, hardly suitable for navigating through these marshlands and I did the best I could. I'll point out that we did find the lizard folk, didn't we?"

"I think I can safely speak for us all when I say that your efforts in this fight helped us unquestionably to victory. We could use a woman of your talents in our question to make the Ashlon Region safe, for that is our purpose. May we call upon you again? And where are you residing?"

[Jacques Lecoeur]

Meanwhile, the bard begins regaling Broguy with the magnificent tales of the Lords of Leischport, giving her a full history of our adventures. This is also known as giving everyone an extra 1d6 of healing during the short rest should anyone want to heal up.

[Primus Beno]

Drego grunts audibly at the woman as he tosses a seashell over his shoulder as he sorts out gemstones from the loot. "Bloody lizards are like the damn bullywugs" He drops the last of the semi-precious stones into a leather pouch and pulls the drawstrings tight. Arching his back to stretch from being hunched over on the stump too long, he groans loudly in relief. He replies to Jaq "We charged in because of their spell caster, Jaq. Those are game changers, much like my cousin. If we held our position, we would have been pinned down by their magic and those javelins. We moved in to take that advantage away."

His seemingly impervious splint mail rests in a heap by his side while his weapons are arrayed in a tee-pee like formation near the small fire he built earlier. He and Barn had drug the lizard corpses and tossed them into the swamp earlier so it wouldn't cause the camp to stink.

"There's no glory in this. This was a simple slaughter by animals who didn't know they were outclassed. They made the mistake of thinking themselves too high on the food chain and challenging us by allying themselves with the orcs. This was routine, Broo. Our glory will come when those orcs go howling back to the Abyss where they belong"

The warrior pulls off his stained shirt, revealing large bruises where weapon impacts didn't break the skin, but caused damage just the same. He shoves the garment into a sack and retrieves a cleaner tunic from his pack. Pushing his sweat sodden hair out of the way, he sits next to the smokey fire, hoping it will drive off the insects while he slathers the alchemical insect repellent left over from the adventures down south in the jungles.

"I am worried though. These orcs are using hobgoblin tactics. They fight and move in packs. They are trying to undermine us with their new allies. They are cooperating. This I haven't seen before and it's worrisome. The orcs usually fight amongst themselves and it keeps their threat down to just marauding. Something very powerful is holding that coalition together. Anything that can keep orc savagery in check is powerful indeed."

He opens up a cloth that contains a set of rations, wrinkling his nose a bit at the smell. Tearing off bits that look rancid or moldy, he unhappily stuff the hard tack into his mouth and begins to chew mechanically to get the food down. "What I wouldn't give for some turkey, or maybe a goose. And fresh bread. And fruit. And a large cup of cold ale." He glumly continues to chew at the rock hard bread while dunking his salted pork into a small cup filled with water, trying to saturate it at all to make it edible.

[Frenth Alunril]

Broguy is only dressed in under garments while her clothing dries ion a line she set up with items found around the camp, but she is disgusted as she watches everyone eat traveling rations. She refuses any offers of sustenance and looks to go about answering Jaques' questions.

"Under order from the Cardinal, father Barth directed that I apply my talents to your cause, elf. I'll be a great asset, and now that I see how ye function, I'll be an even more effective strategist." She tosses a wad if dried straws in the fire, having picked the berries off of them, she frowns a bit. "Perhaps, if we had a better plan, had better gathered information, we'd have had a better chance of capturing the lot of them. We could have learned a lot more about which orc pays them, when and where they take their lootings." And with that she nods to herself, something decided, she whispers a holy platitude to God.

As her clothing dries she thinks about what Drago said about wiping out the scum, "Ye bother with lesser races as if they cannot benefit from civilization. They have a place in God's plan. The Inquisition asks that we scorch their villages, and hunt them down, and while it's one way to live in the light of faith and devotion, there are inquisitors who understand that It doesn't recognize the truth of the One True God's Creation." She asks, "How much war will yet work before you rule?" She smiles a wicked smile as she remember, "Aye but yer type is aptly named for the blade." She shakes her head with a snicker, enjoying the realization of Drago's boor-headed station.

[Primus Beno]

The knight glances considerately at the monk for a moment, the silence drawing out as he refuses to look away. "I'm going to assume you've been traveling for the past few months. But you are right, we need a better plan. Here's where we are at and what has happened"

Taking a stick, he begins to sketch out the past 6 months for Broguy, drawing maps, pointing to locations and explaining where the Lords of Leichport have been and what they've been doing. He leaves out the more controversial stories, such as the hidden gnome home, the dragon eggs and the encounter with the jungle elves. He spends almost 2 hours explaining what has been happening since the Goblin Fever struck the human lands and the repercussions of the plague. The sun has long set and the fire light glints off his craggy face as he describes the actions of the orcs and what they were doing with the lizard folk and bullywugs.

The young man leans back on a thin sapling as the fire crackles low. "I'm thinking that we need to stealth our way in and do the same to us as they would do to us. We start killing orcs, buy the hundreds if we have to. They fall quickly to Brightsteel and by other means and if we kill enough, they will have to pull back"

Drego always did prefer the direct approach.

[Frenth Alunril]

Broguy consumes herself wroth the stories and diagrams Drego explains. She seems interested in a way many people would find wholly sarcastic. She is consumed with the details, trying to understand everything and asking questions that don't have answers. But she continues to listen.

When Drego announces that his opinion is a direct approach, Broguy nods, "it would seem you have a plan. But I question the goal." She furrows her brow, and adds, "We, alone, will exacerbate the situation with an assault, no matter how effective. Even if we crush the great Kahn, whoever that may be, each smaller Kahn will drive his brutes to regional conquest, and people will suffer. If we crush a small Kahn, they will be replaced. If we manage to take all the leadership from the orcs, we all have large populations of unmanaged orcs intermingling in the lands of man..."

She frowns as she mumbles another prayer, looking into the fire and asking for guidance. When she looks up to see her rival crushing a tree with his weight, she nods, and adds, "that tree will never be as it was. All of the leaves won't know how you, bent-at-the-root, their fortune. It's fruit will fall over there, instead of here. It's not much, but it's a change."

An idea, a question without an answer forms in her mind, "How do we..." She looks over her idea again, and explains.

"Look at that sapling you have bent." She stands up and starts gesturing, "it would have grown here, dropped its leaves, here, used this space..." Broguy moves about the fire, pointing and visualizing.

"But now you've bent it, it will grow, and stop its leaves over here," she's moved away from the fire, behind Drego, as she illustrates her explanation.

"It will continue to be, it will just be somewhere else..."

She frowns and furrows her brow again, "how do we do that to a people?"

[Jacques Lecoeur]

Jacques bows his head at Drego for a moment. "Hmm, yes, the magic user certainly needed to be taken care of, that is a wise course of action. In the future should we call out to target one or two individuals at a time, instead of us slugging it out one at a time against one of them?"

"Do you think they will come back during the night? There's still some of them left. I think we should stay here for the night, see if they come back, and be ready to fight. We have been healed up probably more than them. In the morning if we've had no sign of them we should move back to town and get some decent rest. After all, I am still not at my best. All in favour say 'aye' or remain silent."

[Frenth Alunril]

Broguy smiles as the bard, "Elf, you should leave the thinking to us, you know, people who were born to lead." She smiles, her racism and sense of station a blight which she is unaware of.

She looks to Drego and says, "Though the elf has a point. As a commander you should... Command, It's hard to do that from the front. Maybe, and I'm just suggesting this as an observation, but maybe the commander should be someone with vision of the field, who can call shots that you cannot see from the front?" She weighs out what she said and offers up consolation, "Look, I'm new to engagements, all of this, really. My days in the monastery were many and strictly measured out by devotion to the One True God and purity of essence. Rigorous training, and prayer. I know little of this world, and perhaps that training grants me insight into things you have overlooked. Maybe, as commander, you should stand back, and direct the fight. I can take whatever slings and arrows come, and easily dispatch the foes of the day."

Broguy smiles warmly at Drego, her offer to take point and relegate the commander to the rear may not be the most obvious solution to the quandary of the elf, but she's clearly working at something. She nods again, and looks at the elf, "You know, you really are on to something, I'm quite surprised you would even notice such a thing." She motions with her hands suggesting the bard play the dulcimer some more, "Perhaps a bit of music would aid this foray into command structures and tactics, wouldn't you agree Sir Brightsteel?"

[Jacques Lecoeur]

Jacques smiles as though he's been complimented. "My lady, you do me a tremendous service by allowing me to command the battle, but I feel safer with our front-line commander knocking the big guys down. Now that you say it, though, someone with a wider view of the battle would be a great asset."

He turns to the wizard. "Cedric, would you be interested in directing our shots?"

[Primus Beno]

Drego gives a hard considering look at the woman as they ride along. He states quietly "His name is Jaq, not 'elf'. He is a good friend and even though he be part elf, he is a good man, deserving of respect. He's not like all those other elves."

On the subject of front lining, Drego's answer seems surprisingly placid and thoughtful. "I don't mind taking a step back to direct traffic. I can pull out my old hunting bow and provide an arrow defense for you and our Paladin here. I'll stay astride my horse, if possible, to get a better vantage and provide mobile reserves in case of surprises or overwhelming numbers"

[Jacques Lecoeur]

"Thank you for your kind words, Drego. I've seen you in action and no creature can seem to touch you. I've seen you drive your sword in with massive damage when most would simply cause a flesh wound. I think you are too valuable of a front line fighter to step back to the rear, especially as Cedric and I can do some damage from afar. That said, if you want to glance around every now and then you should probably be able to see what's happening around the battlefield."

[Frenth Alunril]

Broguy nods to Jacques observations and smiles at the discussion. Whatever she thinks of things, she doesn't worry about sharing it. She seems to want to let them decide for themselves how they intend to handicap themselves. Her cocksure suggestion that she go unarmored to the front is apparently more of a commitment than a bluff as she doesn't seem phased by Drego's suggestion.

After Jacques and Drego conplete their conversation, she shrugs off Drego's advice, and in hushed tones responds with the nonchalant, "Elf, Dwarf, dog, bird, Cedric, Drego, I have a horse." she smiles as she rolls here eyes, "Obviously I'm going to tell the inquisition that our friend is an elf." she fawns. "But he's not one of us, he wasn't born to power, and like all the others, he will have to live his life in his place. Sure, he can move about like a man, but you know the rules, just one drop and you're a mongrel."

She smirks as she thinks about the shape of affairs, Watching the trail ahead of them she says, "Look, the Inquisition is staffed with toads and monsters. I'm not questioning their faith, just their interpretation of the One True God's will. Sure, these creatures are abomination to man, but, they are still created by the One True God, and in that right, we have dominion over them, to do with them as we will. The inquisition is right to crush their cultures and the lies they spread, and I believe they go too far when they kill indiscriminately, but the more Elves and Dwarves who join bands like ours, the more of them who learn to take orders from those of us ordained to lead, the better the world will be."

The whole thing is muttered in a dreamy quiet tone. Her vision of the future laid out.

[Primus Beno]

Drego gives a toothy grin to Jaq's pandering. "Aww, thanks little buddy. I appreciate it. You're...you're handy to have around too. Remember when you called that orc that his mother buggered a goblin?!" The large man lets out a braying laugh. "He totally was going to kill you till I snapped his spine!" His beefy hand claps the lithe half elf on the back.

The large warrior seems to have a harder time paying attention to Broguy's discussion on the Inquisition, race and politics. He's easily distracted by the landscape, Jac's messed up hair, his horses bridle and the bugs swarming his face. ADHD is tough on a man of action. He just nods and grunts whenever Broguy pauses long enough to perhaps want a reply. It worked with the other women in his life, it will probably work with her too.

[Primus Beno]

Upon returning to the farm, Cedric leads the party to the main hall and waits for everyone to get comfortably seated around the table. He then played both hands firmly on the table leaning on it. In a rather condescending but firm tone, Cedric says “What happened out there today? I thought the one true faith was a sign of strength, but it is now considered a weak cause. You claim to be the most dominant people in these lands and to drive out weaker races such as elves, yet you are scared of orcs? It seems the days of the one true faith are over as the so called leaders of this town have let the orcs start taking over your lands and also want to live amongst them peacefully now. How can we justify this?”

“Also, as we walked away from that fight, Is that not another sign to them that we are too weak and can’t protect ourselves? Let’s see what further demands we cave in to or wait for their main army to attack”.

Cedric waits for a response knowing his comrades are not going to like what he just said, yet it is perfectly reasonable considering the OTF’s values and its mantra about lesser races.

[Primus Beno]

Drego tosses a gauntlet casually on the table with an irritated clank and proceeds to take off his armor. "That was an embarrassment. I'm not just talking about myself, either. The sacred tenents are clear about Orc kind. They are an abomination and are to be destroyed." With a wave of his hand to his cousin, he says "Cedric may not always agree with the One True Faith, but he has nailed it. By showing weakness to those abominations, we showed that we do not have faith in our God. We gave sacred land, land for men! Land for humans, to those creatures!"

His fist thumps into the table and he takes a moment to compose himself. "We will be giving those creatures power over our own kind. They will rule humans." His voice is harsh, dogmatic and full of anger "We cannot allow that to happen. Those beasts must be crushed. Not one person will ever live under their rule while I still draw breath to defend them"

He wipes his lips of spittle from his anger and then glares at Broguy. "You want to know what the Humans got out of the deal? You want to know why the orcs just didn't attack? I'll tell you why"

He plops down onto one of the wooden stools as he removes his shin guards. "They didn't know if we were weak or not. They have been organizing, consolidating their power for some time now. We learned that from defeating them at Fachat Xom. Those orcs who opposed the will of their Khan were slaughtered until all obeyed out of fear. Once their empire was complete, they looked to us. But they didn't know if we were strong or not. So, they send out raiders." Drego glances at the other members of the party. "Remember finding those Red Blade Orcs so far in our own territory, out-fitted for war? Those parties were spies, trying to determine our strength level"

A lot of the fight seems to be leaving Drego, leaving the large man more sad and defeated as he continues "What they found was a people dying to a strange illness. So, they sent a diplomat. They wanted to know if we would fight. We might be faking, or we might have reserves. So, they demanded our territory and they demanded our people for them to rule. If we resisted, we would probably have been too strong an enemy to fight. But, if we capitulated, gave them what we thought we wanted, they would know us as weak. They simply need to build up forces along the jungle line and crash into us as a wave. My reckoning, it will take less than a month for the invasion to occur."

He takes off the segmented breast plate and lays it by the floor, looking tired and almost defeated. "That's it. That's how we lose our homes." He slides a hand through sweat slicked hair. "We should start to evacuate the populace to a safer city" he murmurs quietly. "It's the only way we are going to save all these lives."

[Frenth Alunril]

Broguy smiles, "the pair of ye, nay, the whole lot of ye think more like orcs than men." She throws her arms about in feign melancholy, "me pride! Me strenth, me we tiny ****, these monsters think me a tit." Playing enough at mockery she baits the thugs.

"What we learned today is even on their own rightfully won ground, the orcs mearly bristle at us." She scoffs, "and you wounded twits would have your people die in a war than suffer a few clumps of earth and the spittings of animals."

She readies herself for the tide of self-pity and wailing she expects from the would be lords of leischport.

[Frenth Alunril]

(Earlier, in Leischport)

Broguy arrives in town, her horse, Charger, spent from the pace, she seeks a stable to groom and feed him. Perhaps at the keep she can find accommodations.

Arriving before the gate she calls out to the guard, "inform the Lord of the Manor that knight of the realm and devoted of the one true faith, Broguy Dudeman seeks his council and delivers a note from Sir Brightsteel."

[Lickatoad]

Cedric quickly replies to Broguy "no, I see things how they are and not veiled by the One True Faith". He then turns to his cousin and says "I'm glad you are finally beginning to realise how things are around here. They use the One True Faith for their convenience only, at best. They are using it as a façade".

Cedric then glances around the room to see if anyone else is in the room, then turns his gaze back to the party and taps his fingers on the table several times. He slightly hesitates, but proceeds regardless of the consequences of what he is about to say.

"Fellow Lords of Leischport (I'm assuming Broguy is also a lord, like us), and says "the way I see the current circumstances we have two, if not three options at best". (I forget the name of the leader I had a go at last game, I'll call him Pete. Should be able to edit names later so will fix once corrected).

"Before I start, lets talk about Pete. He isn't living by the code of the One True Faith so I believe that he is a traitor working in cohesion with the Orcs for his own gain once they take over this region, a weak and scared man or both. Someone in his position should be doing everything to rally the nearby towns, fortifying our borders and amassing our warriors to defend what is rightfully ours. This leaves us with the following choices to make. We must decide on this together".

Cedric pauses for a moment and then continues. "Firstly, we sneak into Orcish territory and remove their leader, although that would be quite a daring, if not suicidal mission. We have no intel on them and nor does anyone in the town by the sound of things."

"The next option is to organise everyone to band together and unite. Together with everyone from the nearby area we can defend ourselves and take back out territory. It will be very difficult uniting all the neighbouring towns as they all seem indifferent to one another and have troublesome leaders."

"This last option is possible the hardest but would be the easiest to bring everyone together. We sneak into the compound, remove Pete and leave an Orcish dagger behind to blame the Orcs. The people will be furious and will rise up to defend their lands".

Cedric then looks to his fellow lords for their reactions as well as their responses.

[Frenth Alunril]

Listening to Cedric's apostasy and treasonous speech...

Broguy is apoplectic.

[Lickatoad]

Seeing the anger visibly on Broguy's face, Cedric subtlety smiles directly at her. "I know what your thinking Broguy but you know it's the only way for the region to survive as it is. It's the only way for our survival. When the leaders of this area are losing their faith for false hope or their own personal gain once they've allowed the area to be taken over by the Orcish horde.

I propose us to be known as the "Council of Lords" and take all necessary action to protect this area from the coming onslaught. Are you with me?"

[Jacques Lecoeur]

"I don't think we should let anything happen to Pete, and certainly not doing anything as underhanded as leaving a dagger in his back, but Cedric does have a few good points."

Jacques clasps his hands together.

"Gentlemen ... and lady. We have three lots of proof that the orcs are manoeuvring against us. They sought peace, which is a fairly bold move and worthy of consideration, however at the same time they established a deal with the hobgoblins on the road to Minquest to disrupt the path in the east and kill any human who passed by. At the same time they made a deal with the lizard folk to attack the human barges in the north, and a deal with the bullywugs to attack the human barges in the west. This was all happening while they were seeking peace with the humans, in the south. They're boxing us in with death and violence."

"They've pissed on the very peace deal they sought. There is no reason to believe that they will honour the peace deal now or ever. Their objective is clear: to drive the people in this area to despair, to starve them, and then to invade them."

"What do the orcs want? The humans in this area to suffer even more until they are too weak to defend themselves."

"The orcs have already struck first. They have done it three times already with the intention of crippling us. We fought back and we won. Their grip isn't as strong as they thought and we seem to be the only people willing and capable of taking on this problem ourselves."

"I know it is dangerous, I know it is damn-near suicidal, I know there will be repercussions. But there will be repercussions whether we do nothing or do everything. We are not a group of murdering bastards, we are not assassins, but we are the only hope these 4,500 people have. We need to act, we need to act now, and we need to win."

"What I propose is this: we rest up tonight. Tomorrow we replenish our supplies and get the farm working autonomously as best we can. Then, we head into the Farwood and begin a campaign of destruction until we find Xugbu's lair. Then we strike at the heart of the orc leadership, take Xugbu's head, and leave the five tribes squabbling amongst themselves."

Jacques rises from the table.

"We are the ones who get their hands dirty so that others don't have to. We are the dark knights of mankind."

"Does anyone disagree with me?"

[Frenth Alunril]

Is angry beyond reason, but says, "where is Xugbu?"

She glares down Jacques, "can you answer that? What does Xugbu look like? How many orcs? How far away? How many camps?"

As Jacques looks for answers she accusers him, "your plan lacks a plan. The declaration of a dream is not a plan!"

She glowers, "I never should have left the monastery."

"Draw Xugbu Out..." her narrow as she thinks.

[Chinpo]

Earl Damose, the ruler of Leischport and a vassal of Prince Oltma who resides at Alshon Landing.

[Lickatoad]

Cedric pauses for a moment and considered what Jacques said and replies "Yes Jaques, I agree that the Orcs are moving against us and rallying others to their cause.

The leaders of this area are not doing anything to stop this but are agreeing to the demands knowing full well of the inevitable invasion and slavery of everyone in the region. They aren't ruling as they should and if they can't make the tough choices to keep area secure, then should be removed from power!

Your suggestion of heading out and attacking the orcs head on is suicide with no support from the local militia. I'm not prepared to die for their stupidity. We'll also be outcast for acting agains the region should we do this. The Orcs might as well overrun the area. The OTF is definitely allowing this.

The way i see it is that we can take control of and defend the town, the people and our farm. The alternative is to abandon it and head into the woods to work with the elves and other outcast races. We already have a positive relationship with them and I'm sure they aren't as stupid as here".

[Primus Beno]

The jungle sounds dominate most of the night as the Lords secure themselves into their tree hammocks. Drego and Broguy selected a tree close to the one housing Cedric, Jaq and Barn. Drego listens quietly as Jaques gleefully plans on poisoning and traping orcs.

He says quietly over the sound of the night frogs "I like those plans, Jaq..." but he sounds hesitant. "The problem is that they are moving in very large groups. Poison may only effect a few in the group and traps won't hurt their numbers. It will make them wary and harder to kill. We need them in smaller groups, like what we fought today."

He casually brushes a large beetle off of his arm "But you are right, the knowledge about the horn is invaluable. They are well organized and that could prove to be a problem we can exploit if we can mimic that horn sound as we want."

He is quiet for a long moment before speaking again. "What we need is an anvil. A very large anvil. Barn, we need to talk to the Dwarves at Minquest. We should meet with the dwarves in town, the ones working on our farm and have them send a message. I bet they would be all to happy to help provide a force that could be an unbreakable anvil to our unstoppable hammer"

[Jacques Lecoeur]

Waking up in the morning, Jacques brushes off the cricks he had endured for three days. He's deep in thought, turning over the words the elves used the previous day.

"I had a terrible dream last night, that we were all surrounded by 80 orcs bent on trying to kill us, looking for our tracks, and the only thing that kept us alive was that they didn't ... look ... up."

Jacques shakes his head in dismay.

"Maybe it was our hubris, maybe it was the fact that I haven't been feeling right since that bloody swamp, but now that the blood lust has faded and we know a little more of what we are dealing with, killing 20, 40, 60, or 80 orcs at a time is beyond our capabilities right now. 20 ... maybe, with the right planning, strategy, and assurance that there aren't another 20 about to charge in right when we're at our weakest."

"If we are to leave the Farwood, let's head northwards, away from Leischport so that none of the city folk see us. If we follow Drego's suggestion we can reach the dwarves soon enough and claim to have no knowledge about the attack on the orcs we ... I mean someone else ... committed."

[Lickatoad]

Cedric scouts the nearby area and seeing that it is safe from orcs, for now signals everyone to climb down and huddle together to plan the next course of action.

"Jaques, its too late to go to the dwarves. It will take too long to go around or be too dangerous. We need to head straight back into town and do what we can to help. It's probably too late now but we need ty di what we can. The dragon eggs are still at the farm and we need to remove then so they don't fall into the wrong hands".

Cedrics hands tighten around his staff and he smiles and says "Let's hunt some orc!"