DKMortals/SessionSixty-Two
[ST] Weak winter sunlight shines brilliantly over the snow-crusted roofs of Sunset, threatening to make the eyes water. Harsh gusts of winds blow gusts of snow down the streets, and the air is alive with raucous shouting. In the distance, where the cliff stair winds upward at the perimeter of the Greenfield, a snake of refugees is descending the broad stone steps, moving almost sinuously.
[ST] Sunlight glints from pots, pans, iron-rimmed wagon wheels, the shining scales of the great beast.
[ST] The head of the snake unfurls in the town's square, dissolving into a mass of disordered refugees. Old men stump this way and that, shouting imprecations from the ancestors. Several young women of various tribal allegiances argue loudly over honorifics. It's a wonder no one has died yet. Someone is cooking a haunch of meat nearby. It is burning, filling the air with a rancid fat stink.
[ST] Dreamseers move through the crowds, touching the refugees, asking them questions in muted voices.
[ST] A knot of the Quiet clusters together, gazing around with wide eyes at the proceedings. The refugees from the Quiet Emerald are the most recent arrivals, and the most confusing. None of the Haslanti seem to know quite what to do with them, and view them with the same mixture of contempt and pity one spares for a three-legged and blind dog.
[ST] Overlooking the square is a long, low hill, on which the lodge rests. The large, manoral home still has the look of a fortress about it. The lower levels are girded with stone and have narrow, blind windows. Officially, it belongs to the people of the Greenfield. Most of the time, it is occupied by the Stone family, and it is they who have sent the summons for some of the Once Dead to meet a
[ST] man named Michayl in the square.
[Avia] Avia watches the chaos with mild interest. They were not so different from some of the Riverlands people, she decided. The young women squabbling could as easily be Nexus River Rats, save that they would shake knives rather than spears. She looks the outlander still, and it creates a small space around her. Her sleek black hair is braided and knotted atop her head. The white bird enameled on the breast of her articulated plate is sooty from smoke and dirt, but the rest she has polished to a shine.
[Avia] The famous sword Blue Heron is strapped to her hip, but below it hangs an ugly-looking chopping sword. Instruments of war.
[Miruna] Miruna stamps through the crowd, trailed by muttering and scattered cheers. He was in his armor, though his helmet was strapped to the pack on his back. From long experience, he was ready to travel. They should have been called in the day before, but since they had been now, since they had made up their minds, everything would suddenly be a hurry.
[ST] "I beheld a rose in the snow, and it was all the more beautiful for its life," a high, melodious voice comes from behind Avia. A moment later, a figure bounds into view. It is the Once Dead they call Jonah the Lad. His hairless face, slim wrists, and small shoulders make him look - well, as his name suggests. He reaches to take one of Avia's hands, pressing her fingers to his lip as he
[ST] bows theatrically. "And more beautiful still for its thorns."
[Miruna] *since the brass had finally made up their minds
[ST] His eyes dart suddenly to the side. "Oh, and Miruna's here, too."
[Miruna] He nods with a grunt, tightening a thick scarf around his jaw. The wind slipped into everything, but he wouldn't put his helmet on now. Too much chance that people would take it as a sign to panic.
[Avia] Avia smiles faintly at Jonah. "Flatterer." She turns to nod at Miruna; she had guessed it would be him, from the sudden animation of the crowds. Her eyes wrinkle in hidden amusement at the absence of the helmet. Poor man. The White Raven had some of the same obstinancy. "Do you know this Michael person we are to meet?"
[Avia] Her accent twists the pronunciation of the name.
[ST] "Flatterer? No, no." Jonah runs slender fingers through his thin blonde hair. He must wash it fairly frequently. "I only speak the truth, however beautiful or painful it might be. Speaking of, did you guys hear about Fervent John?"
[Avia] "The monk?" Avia shakes her head. She was rarely told gossip.
[Miruna] "Michayl," he corrects without thinking. The Once Dead were a symbol of the Haslanti, if a dark one, and he didn't especially like Dead so obviously foriegn. Good sword though. "What happened with John?"
[ST] "Ex-monk, or so he said," Jonah scrubs at a snowflea trying to scale his leg, stubbing it out with his thumb. "Twice Dead, now, an' not saying much of anything. Elk said they found him this morn in an alley. Missin' a head, his hands, and his feet. Left the raven on his breast, though."
[Avia] "Someone sends a message. Nexus gangs do such to intimidate. Nexus gangs are also very foolish." Avia's hand brushes Blue Heron.
[ST] "Picking on the Once Dead?" Jonah shrugs. "Not the brightest idea. But then, I guess it worked on him." He chews his lower lip uncertainly.
[Avia] "Are there criminals, here? Tribal riffraff, perhaps?" She waves her hand at the crowd. She makes no effort to speak quietly.
[ST] "They say the River family runs drugs for the Guild. They're about the only gang going." Jonah winces at the loudness of Avia's voice.
[ST] "I think they used to run the Greenfield once, somehow," Jonah shrugs. "I never understood these Haslanti customs. Half of them ready to duel, the other half voting in assemblies, and neither knowing what the other half is doing."
[Miruna] "Has someone gotten people together to do sommmat about that?" If he wasn't about to go out on mission, hell if the mission wasn't about saving the Haslanti from a scourging, he'd be gathering a few of the Dead and dealing with it himself.
[ST] Jonah shakes his head. "Politics, I guess. Maybe they have an understanding."
[Avia] "We should kill them all. Send message back. Villains die, tone of city is improved." Avia nods. "It would bring a little civility to the town- that is, Greenfield."
[ST] "Excuse... excuse me," a voice says softly from behind Miruna. A young Quiet woman stands there, obviously holding onto bravery with her fingernails. Her eyes are red and wet, and a small, half-moon shaped scar dimples on her cheek.
[ST] "My name is Sweet Hymn and I... could you... where... where do people... go... here... to stay?"
[Miruna] He scowled down at her, before a thought struck him. "You from that green the Dog's hit?" He could see he was right from the look in her eyes. "Tell me about it, then maybe I can help." He'd send them to Obligatory. He could deal with them.
[ST] "Yes." She glares up at him now. "They were wrong. It's not wrong to hate them. It's not. I don't care what anyone says. They're animals."
[ST] "Even the People kill animals, if they're dangerous."
[Avia] Avia looks at her thoughtfully, her intiial indifference subsiding. She had heard of the Black Dogs. Undisciplined rabble, and worst. "You are one of the monk people. Like that Obligatory person."
[ST] Hymn glances at Avia. "No. Not. Not now. They say. N-not now."
[Miruna] "How did they come intot he town. Were they on foot? Riding? How many took the town? They say anything about where they were going?" He pelts her with questions, more concerned with her information than her emotional state.
[ST] "They walked. They... they came at night. A few were on... these things. Like a sheep, but bigger. Horns. And eyes. They didn't say anything. They just hurt us. They just hurt everyone and everyone just let them do it."
[Avia] "Sensible mounts of war. Wool is thick armor. Are you an exile?"
[Miruna] "How was their equipment - in good condition? Were there an handful, fifty? Were there any guards in teh greenfield? How easily were they defeated?"
[ST] "They say I am." She looks down, her fingers twining together in frustration or rage. "I don't know," she snaps at Miruna at last. "I don't know, I don't remember! I don't- I don't know anything about all this. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now." She sighs, a brief, thin, exhausted sound.
[Avia] Avia regards her mildly. "I am exile too. You have the same choices. Fight. Work as a laborer. Join a brothel."
[Miruna] He sighs. Not much more she could tell him. "Next time, fight back, eh? Look, I know a man you should talk to. He'd help you lot. Ask after Obligatory Susnshine, up at the Hospice. Hey, and don't go with everyone, just have the bulk of you stay here and send one or two. Don't want a crowd of you there, it'd cause trouble."
[ST] She nods, wiping at her face. "I will go alone," she says stiffly. "They would not want to follow." She turns, and in a whirl of skirts, is gone.
[ST] "She'll be fine," Jonah says breezily. "I don't know if it was a mercy or a bit of sadism to throw her to Obligatory, mind you."
[Avia] "He is not unkind." Avia shrugs.
[ST] "Tell that to the ones at the hospice."
[ST] "Excuse me, gentlemen," a voice says stiffly. A tall, broad shouldered man with dark hair and a scowling face stands there. "If you are finished having parley with kneeler whores in the square, you can report for duty. I am Michayl."
[Avia] A small smile. "Encouragement to get well."
[Miruna] He snorts. "I get to pay her for her information and send him a hassle. Not that he'll mind. So hey, you heard of this kind of mount before? Some sort of Ram?" The mount was often more dangerous than the rider. Especially when the riders were scuts of the Dog's quality.
[Avia] "Yes. Like a sheep, but bigger. Slow, black wool. Spiraling horns. You can smell them before you see them."
[Avia] She turns slowly to face the newcomer. She raises an eyebrow. "Michael. You are late."
[Miruna] He round son the man. "I'll parley with the whores where I want, eh? I hear that we're slated to deal with the bastard out there destroying the small holdings."
[ST] "The square is crowded." This seems all the concession he is willing to make to the criticism. "Come, follow me to the Lodge. The Honored Gamaron Stone would inform you of your duties."
[Avia] " Gamaron Stone is honored to do so," Avia says cooly.
[Miruna] He nods, striding for the lodge immediately, rather than deferring to the man by actually following him.
[Avia] Avia moves smoothly after him.
[ST] Michayl tries to avoid the appearance of speeding up, so he doesn't quite catch up to Miruna before the group reaches the front entrance of the Lodge. The guards at the door, shining with armor that would be all but useless on the Outwall, cast a suspicious glance at Miruna and Avia.
[ST] It takes a nod from the familiar Michayl for them to move aside, and usher the Once Dead within.
[Miruna] Fucking brass, all this idiocy to give him his orders. He had commanders, but no, he had to run off to meet some idiot in his drinking hole.
[ST] The lower level of the Lodge is girded with stone and seems more fortress than anything else, but the Once Dead soon climb a staircase into an opulent hall. Carpets lie here and there among the rushes, and the walls are covered with rich tapestries and ostentatious displays of wealth. Perhaps it is a prudent decision to bar entrance to most of the people who technically own the building.
[ST] They would loot it to the uttermost foundation.
[Avia] Avia regards the wealth displayed there with a curl of her lip. Barbarians.
[ST] At length, Michayl stops and opens a heavy wooden door, ushering the trio into a brightly lit solar, dominated at either end by a roaring fireplace to hold back the cold. A large table runs the length of the room.
[ST] "Seat yourselves," Michayl suggests. "Gamaron Stone will be with you shortly." He closes the door tightly behind him.
[Avia] It would be petty to position herself against a wall and loom over the man-when he saw fit to enter and stop wasting their time- so she takes a seat at the table and amuses herself by sharpening a knife against it.
[ST] "Doesn't seem quite... Haslanti, does it?" Jonah says, putting his boots up on the table alongside Avia.
[Miruna] Stone's seat was obvious enough, larger than the others if not in too garish taste. He chooses a chair accross from it, so he'd be able to look at the man straight. "I wonder why we're being sent out under his orders rather than right from the Tomb?"
[Avia] "Looks like a madam's sitting room in Great Forks." She taps the table with her knife. It bore scars already. "Though not as richly furnished."
[ST] A door at the opposite end of the chamber opens to admit a pair of newcomers.
[ST] The man who steps into the room first has a sharp chin, a sparse blond beard, and a pair of sharp blue eyes. He wears an outfit of ermine and slightly rumpled velvet. The keen eye can spot a chunk of missing fur across the shoulders of his cloak, and notes that the clasp is made of brass rather than gold.
[ST] A few moments later, a woman follows him. She is short, and slimmer than the Haslanti properly prefer their women. Her hair is a tangle of flyaway brown, her eyes a deep amber color. She is attractive, but clumsily, carelessly so. She could not, through any artifice, make herself look much better or worse.
[Avia] Avia rises to acknowledge them. "Messrs." She sinks back into her chair.
[ST] "What the fuck?" the man shouts, his pale face turning red as he witnesses the three in the room and the destruction of the table. "Is THIS what that puddle of piss Soldas is so proud of?"
[ST] "He said these were his best men, Amaya! THESE! Best for what, bringing shame to the nation?"
[Avia] Avia blinks. She touches the hilt of Blue Heron briefly, uncertainly, then drops her hand. Rook would have made him eat words. White Raven...the White Raven would have found another way to shame him. Avia, she finds, does not care.
[Miruna] Miruna stands, slowly. "I am Soldas' best man. If you want these men destroyed, I am the man to send." He growls the words, rather than shouting, undercutting the otehr man.
[ST] "If this is the best, then all is already lost," Gamaron says, snarling. "My father is the Patriarch! I do not truck with bloody-handed whores. I told you this was a mistake, sister, and I do not intend to stand here and be insulted."
[ST] "Brother-" Amaya says slowly. "Please. This is not about your personal honor. This is about the people of the Emeralds-"
[Miruna] His armor is scarred, the paint fresh when they'd first come to garrison the city worn down and dimmed from the hassles and dirt of the intervening months. But it was identifable nonetheless.
[ST] "Then help them," he snarls, turning on his heel. He seems almost willfully unimpressed with Miruna's display. He will not even honor him by meeting his gaze. "I want no part of it." The door slams violently behind him. Amaya winces visibly.
[ST] She stands there for a moment, her mouth open slightly, unable to find any words.
[Avia] Avia's attention remains fixed on the table as she works her carvings into the shape of a bird. "Your brother is an ornament to valor," she remarks mildly. "This is about the Dogs?"
[ST] "I apologize for him," she says sighing heavily. "He is... not himself, of late. He has taken the loss of our brother Serion worse than most. He thinks speaking with you, especially with those of you in the service of Soldas, to be a dire insult."
[ST] She laughs weakly. "He doesn't even like that table."
[Miruna] He is fingering the knife on his belt. His mace was strapped to his pack, which he'd left out of the way against a wall. Probably better he didn't have it on him to start something. "Are we really going to hunt the Dogs down, or are we sops being used to make people feel better? We goign to be given the troops we need to do this right?"
[ST] With effort, she straightens, and gives a stiff nod. "I am the Lady Amaya Stone, daughter of the Patriarch Varik Stone. I welcome you to our home. And you are correct. The ones they call the Dogs have begun to rampage across the Scatter, burning and slaying wherever they go."
[ST] "We will part with what we can. Many of our troops must remain here. Scouts say that half of Fella is beginning to stage an army in the west. The Dogs may be intended to draw us away from the Greenfield."
[Avia] Avia regards her handiwork. The heron looked...birdlike. If the Stones had the wit of a fly, they would treasure it as an heirloom. But of this, as in many things, the northerners knew nothing. "Is there a main band? Or must we chase them from Emerald to Emerald?"
[ST] "They certainly do not mean to capture territory." Slowly, as if approaching a dog that might bite, she makes her way to the table and seats herself at its head.
[Avia] The latter, if the Dogs had any sense.Small bands could prey on scattered farmers. From what she had heard of them, perhaps sense was in short supply.
[ST] "I do not know. They seem to move as one. They seem to be relatively small in number, no more than a wing. But they are said to be formidable. We need to send help, by the rules of the ancient treaties. What help we can spare."
[ST] "...S-soldas... mentioned that you three were among the best. Miruna, much has been said of your role in the Battle of the Chain. The one called Avia is said to be among the finest of warriors."
[ST] "And then," Jonah says airily, leaning back in his chair dangerously. "There's me."
[ST] "You can decipher maps, can you not?" Amaya returns. "It is a useful skill in war. One too few Haslanti possess."
[ST] Jonah shrugs in affirmation.
[Miruna] He returns to his seat, calming slowly. "We don't need a mass of men, we need scouts. Tribesmen if we can have them. I'd take them woman for woman over the Dogs from what I've heard, and they'll help us track the bastards down. A small force should be enough to kill them with that done."
[ST] "That, we may be able to spare. It is not as much as I would wish..." She picks at the flaking surface of the table almost absently as she quotes the figures.
[Miruna] "You give us the right force, we'll get them faster, we make it back in time for the battle." He didn't want to miss than himself. "Especially scouts. The more we have the faster we can get this done." If the Dogs were together, they'd find them faster. If they were scattered, the scouts could cleam them from the earth as they found them.
[ST] Amaya nods. One of the buttons on her drab gray dress is missing, the Once Dead notice. "The Scatter is also the territory of the Fox Tribe. They may have warriors already in the field."
[ST] "But I will pass on the message. We will do what we can for you. Believe me, I find your task very important. If only we still had the airboats. I hear they have been sent south. They are fighting in the Chain, still." Her eyes travel over the group solemnly. "I believe we may be losing."
[Avia] "It's hard to win against the Anathema," Avia agrees tranquilly.
[ST] "We must win." Amaya says. "We beat Magdala before. We will again."
[Miruna] He grimaces. There wasn't much he could say to that. "Listen, we'll get this done, so long as you can get us the soldiers. Just keep your brother from mucking this up, yeah?"
[ST] "He is a good soldier. He is merely... not thinking clearly. But I will try." She looks at them, a strange, searching expression on her face. "Is there anything more? Michayl will contact you about constructing your force."
[Avia] Avia eyes her. "Is there?"
[ST] "Gamaron seemed... uneasy about your... commander. Is Soldas a g-good soldier? Is he brave?"
[Miruna] "One otehr thing you could do for me. I heard there was a Dreamseer with the Dead that went to look after the Quiet greenfield. Can you get us in touch with him? I'm sure he'd have Dreamed something that could help us. Maybe he could help us find them now. They're sure to be causing nightmares enough."
[Avia] "Not really," Avia says without diplomacy. "He's called 'Trembleshanks.' "
[ST] "I... you are free to contact him, but I have heard the reports. The Dogs tore out his eyes. He is most likely in no state to travel."
[ST] "It is shameful, to treat a Dreamseer such."
[Miruna] He growls. "We will take revenge for him." He hadn't been told that.
[Avia] "For all of them." Avia says lightly.
[ST] "Trembleshanks? Oh... I... I see." Amaya looks at the table, flushing slightly. A spasm of something like anger passes over her face. "He is a good man. It seems. To me."
[Miruna] Miruna sits stonefaced. He wouldn't insult a Once Dead to an outsider, but he wouldn't say a word in Soldas' defense either.
[Avia] "Perhaps," Avia agrees readily. "But he never should have been a soldier."
[ST] "No," Amaya says, her voice suddenly brittle. "Perhaps not. Good luck. Michayl will show you out." She rises, bustling out of the room in a rustle of frayed skirts. A most un-Haslanti family.
[Avia] "Something strange there," Avia notes. She rises, pocketing her knife.
[ST] "Yeah. The only other person I've ever seen who gives a flop if Soldas dies or breaks wind is Iscal, and you know how weird he is." Jonah stands as well. "Nice heron."
[Miruna] He grunts, sourly. He didn't see what she saw in him, but there it was.
[Avia] Avia looks mildly pleased. He could even tell what sort of bird it was supposed to be. "Thank you."
[ST] "I told you," he says with a wink. "I have an eye for beauty."
[Miruna] Kragos was staying in an inn near the Lodge. Where the Stones kept their guests, and where visting merchants boarded. It was a far finer place than the Once Dead had been given, and the attendants sneered at the mud and weapons they were covered with when they tramped in.
[Miruna] "The Dreamseer Kragos is staying here, yes?"
[ST] The attendant, a well-groomed woman who looks to be Cherakian, raises an eyebrow. "Who seeks him?"
[Miruna] "The Once Dead. We've come for his guidance."
[ST] "He is in chambers above, but in poor health. If he does not wish to be disturbed, you must leave him."
[ST] With that, she shows the trio upstairs, down a short hall, and points to a door, withdrawing as if she had never been there.
[ST] "Nicer place than we have," Jonah opines. "Not worth it, though."
[Miruna] He scowls. "Of course. You think we'll harm the man?" he asks, outraged. Idiot flunkies.
[Miruna] He knocks, respectfully, a far cry from his standard hammering.
[ST] "Enter," a voice says. Miruna recognizes it as Kragos.
[ST] Within, the room is richly furnished, with a gateway table, a fine marble basin full of water so warm it has not iced over, and a large bed in which the Dreamseer sits. His eyes are bound tightly with a bandage, but the edges are stained pink. They are still weeping crimson from time to time.
[Avia] Avia looks at him with pity. "Did you see it coming, Dreamseer?"
[ST] "I did not." He seems nonplussed. "Not in my dreams, in any case. It makes sense. The two eyes must close so that the third may open, and see the world of dreams. What does that eye care for the others? My visions never faltered."
[Miruna] He grimaces. An evil he would repay tenfold. "Dreamseer Kragos. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Miruna, the Once Dead that they put in command of the force thats going to root out the Black Dogs. Have you seen anything of them in your Dreaming?"
[ST] "I Dreamed that the three of you would come." An expression of shock crosses Jonah's face; he has not spoken, after all. "The Mask, the Heron, and the Knight, bearing gifts wrapped in silk the color of blood. I Dreamed of snow turning red, and broken bodies, and smoke. Or did I live it?"
[ST] "When the one they called the Gouger took out my eyes, he said that I would dream forever. Perhaps he was right. I remember you, Miruna. Long ago, that seems now."
[Miruna] He grins fiercely. This was the holy man he remembered, unbroken. "We bring you revenge if you want it. A chance to throw these dogs out of the Haslanti League. To save the poeple they are harrowing."
[ST] "I opened the gifts, and from beneath the wrappings came a bright light, brighter than any I had seen before. I Dreamed of an old man, bereft, alone, a knife at his wrist, a hungry mouth around his neck. I do not understand fully, yet. I do not understand. But I will go with you. Gladly."
[Avia] Avia shifts, less at ease now that she knew the man had so some true gift of vision. "Less a battle than a hunt for vermin," she murmurs.
[ST] "No," the Dreamseer cautions. "There is something there. I dreamed of a man, wild, murderous and the shadow he cast was ten times the size of his body."
[ST] "Boy," Jonah murmurs to Avia. "This guy's gonna be a lot of fun."
[Miruna] His eyes narrow. "The Gouger?"
[ST] "One of the Dogs. He takes the eyes from everyone he meets. Took. Your companions ended him. I did not mourn."
[ST] "They are cruel beyond cruelty, frenzied, amoral, vicious animals that walk like men. But they are... strange. I realized this, as I saw them."
[ST] "They are afraid. Beneath their bravado, and fury, and brutality there is naked fear. I do not know what they fear, but it has made them mad."
[Avia] "Is the man with the shadow alive or dead, then?" It sometimes took a little rattling to shake clear answers out of holy men. If they came at all.
[Miruna] "So the Gouger's wasn't the shadow you Dreamed. Well, we'll find him too."
[ST] "He is alive. I do not know who he is. If he is even a part of this weaving. But he is real."
[Avia] "I heard a story once. Of a devil captain who could not be killed, because he had hidden his heart in a box," Avia says with a knowledgable air to her companions.
[Avia] When Jonah looks at her blankly, she elaborates. "He may be difficult to kill. Even if he is a man."
[Miruna] He takes the man's hand, squeezing it gently with his, lscarred and calloused though they were. "With you we'll be able to find them. We'll stop them. And the troops will ahve that much more heart when they see you leading them."
[ST] "Well..." Jonah says uneasily, scratching at his neck. "That's why you have all that pretty steel, right? Or is it just to add to your enchanting display?"
[ST] The Dreamseer nods. His grip is as strong as ever. "Then we shall go. And I shall pray to the Owl that I dream our victory."
[Avia] Avia smiled. "The devil captain is dead, I hear. Steel works. Enough of it."
[Miruna] "Do you have attendants to help you travel?" If not some could be found.
[ST] "I appreciate a woman who gets results." Jonah says quietly. Behind him, the Dreamseer nods. "Many among the tribes would volunteer for such a job. I shall find them."
[Miruna] "Find someone to sew you a banner as well." He would repaint his armor in the man's honor. The Dogs's sin was an insult to the nation, as much as their depravity was a threat. A visible retribution, and a symbol for it, would help give the people strength to continue in the war.
[Miruna] The Haslanti would win, no matter how it seemed at the moment. They just needed to be reminded of their strength.
[ST] By the dawn of the next day, the army is ready to depart. Admist the other preparations going on in the city and the thousands of residents laboring to secure the area, the small force led out by Miruna is almost an afterthought. It passes out of Sunset town with little fanfare, heading south along the Greenfield's wide roads. At the southern tip of the Greenfield, the army reaches
[ST] Stonetown, home of the Greenfield's quarries.
[ST] The children of miners, dusty from their work, peek out of the caves that honeycomb the cliff face as the army scales the great stairs there before turning south. The Haslanti conscripts seem to take the situation with great seriousness or aplomb. Some stare at the ground, dreaming of home, while others wave and cheer wildly at the crowds.
[Miruna] Miruna rode at its head, near the bannerwoman he'd found for Kragos. His armor was bright with fresh paint, not yet dulled by the dirt of traveling and war.
[ST] The local area is dominated by the same landscape of rolling hills, scrub brush, and struggling trees that mark the majority of the Outwall. The Elk riders have no problem crossing the broken ground, but the conscripts struggle and lag behind. Several times, one breaks an ankle in the difficult terrain. Around nightfall on the second day, a glider pilot drops a chamber pot on several just to
[ST] see if they're still awake.
[Avia] Avia wrestles with her elk. She was not fond of elk as mounts, in general. Especially in battle. An elk was smarter than a horse, but stupidity was a useful quality in a war mount. She smiles at the young conscripts covered in refuse.
[ST] Kragos remains in the van much of the time, speaking of his dreams. Blood spreading over the snow, and the man with the large shadow, the dead opening their mouths to speak. He rides through the ranks, and the troops flock to him, rushing to tell him their dreams. Jonah, riding near Avia, recounts a lusty dream starring the pair of them for Kragos's pleasure.
[ST] "Your activities speak to a hidden desperation," Kragos says, gesturing for his attendants to lead him back into the troops. It is unclear if it is dream interpretation or value judgement. Jonah merely shrugs.
[Avia] Avia listens to Jonah tolerantly, and keeps her dreams to herself. She stays near Kragos to hear all he says of the shadowed man. It may fall to her to slay him.
[Miruna] Miruna saves his dreams for a more private moment. He'd been dreaming of the sons of things he'd killed, marching under the banner of Magdala. Marching right past his face, ignoring him.
[Miruna] He asked him about it later, when they'd camped for the first night.
[ST] Kragos speaks of self-doubt, and the need to conquer it, of and of the dangers of glorying too much in victory. He judges it a wise and prudent dream.
[ST] The army camps on the shores of Lake Halasu, gazing out over its timeless expanse. Ice hollows kill two of the conscripts the next day before they are driven off.
[ST] By noon, the Haslanti have moved into the territory of the Fox Tribe. Patrols should be moving here, challenging the incursion. There are none.
[ST] Heavy clouds scud across the sky. The wind begins to howl violently, whipping around the troops. The conscripts must be taught how to secure their coats properly.
[ST] Within an hour, a massive blizzard has sprung up, filling the air with thick, blinding flakes of snow. The temperature plunges. The glider pilots find themselves grounded as the brutality of a Haslanti winter sets in.
[Avia] Poor lads and lasses. Gathered to die. Avia huddles into her cloak and doesn't offer to share it. War in the north was twice as cruel as anywhere else. Except maybe the south. She had fought once in the south: never again.
[Miruna] His buff coat was thick and made for this weather, but all the paddin he'd stuffed into his helmet lining couldn't keep the cold out. His scar astiffened and pulled all the more at his mouth, slurring his speech farther and burning with pain. Nothing for it but to keep going. He couldn't show a weakness in front of his soldiers.
[ST] The wind howls and buffets the troops, swirling into whiteness so dense that it is almost impossible to see. Then, the stink hits, a vile, sour smell like milk gone bad, rolling out of the east. The troops gag.
[ST] Avia recognizes it instantly; the smell of a sharm. Or many.
[Avia] Avia nudges her elk over to Miruna. "It's the sheep. I told you we would smell them first."
[Miruna] He grins. "Foul beasts. Fitting for those bastards. You know of any other unit that might be riding those near here?" He doesn't wait for her to answer, instead beginning to marshall his troops. THey'd take them before the Dogs noticed them, if they were lucky.
[ST] As the forces move into position, the enemy group resolves itself. Four scales of sharm, each ridden by one of the Black Dogs. The black-wooled creatures snort, a terrible stink rolling off them as they amble through the growing snow, moving along the bottom of a broad, shallow valley. The creatures have massive, backwards-spiralling horns, and two pairs of rheumy yellow eyes.
[ST] The Dogs have not bothered to send out outriders in this terrible weather. As Miruna's forces get in position, one can faintly hear the murmur of their voices. They have been hunting - blood stains the flanks of the great beasts. Heads bob, suspended from saddlebags.
Skirmish
Black Dog Sharma Riders (100)
vs.
Haslanti Force (526)
[Miruna] "Avia, take the elk and loop to their side. Hopefully they won't see it through the storm if we make a good enough show out front."
[Avia] She nods, clucking to her beast and sending it darting out into the blizzard. She hoped by 'elk' he meant her 'her elk.' She had no idea how to lead men.
[ST] "Come on, Avia," Jonah says brightly. "Where's your sense of murderous slaughter."
[Avia] The elk moves gracefully over banks of snowfall, effortlessly leaping from drift to drift. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees that others interpreted her orders as Jonah had, or perhaps the beasts themselves had made the decision; a knot, then a swarm, of swift-riding tribesmen follow her.
[Miruna] "Crossbows! Lets give them something to think about!" He marches the infantry slowly forward, making a wide line and getting the spearmen to hoist their weapons high on their shoulders to try to screen the cavalry's movement.
[ST] The warrior woman is strange, many of the tribesmen feel, and alien, but none can doubt her bearing, the skill of her blade. That is enough to draw them after - and a much more familiar motivator than espirit de corps.
[Avia] She turns and concentrates on the enemy. She can tell from the thickenss of the stench when the enemy is close at hand, even if she cannot see them through the blizzard: she kicks her feet from her stirrups and stands crouched atop the elk, Blue Heron in her hand. One final lurching leap and she sees the beast beneath her.
[Avia] She leaps from the saddle, and descends silently on her enemy. Blue Heron arches downward with a crunch right through the eyes of one of the stupid creatures. She draws it again, and beheads the rider in the same smooth motion. Behind her, the elk riders engage with rippling calls of 'hai hai hai!'
[Avia] Avia leaps from sharma to sharma, throwing herself heedlessly into the enemy and killing as she goes, and the elk follow behind with blood on their antlers.
[Miruna] THe crossbowmen fire into the teeth of the wind. They do their duty disguising the cavalry's movement, but most of their bolts are knocked down in the swirling snow. Only a few reach the enemy's ranks, dropping riders and sharms here and there. The tribesmen slam into the enemies flank, but they'd been seen an instant too soon - the Dogs had started to pull back and harden their flank. The thrust was repulsed, if bloo
[Miruna] The tribesmen slam into the enemies flank, but they'd been seen an instant too soon - the Dogs had started to pull back and harden their flank. The thrust was repulsed, if bloodily.
[ST] The Black Dogs scream and die as the Haslanti seem to appear out of nowhere. One of the sharm in the front ranks goes mad when a bolt pierces its eye. Turning, it throws its rider off, braining him senseless on its huge horns, and driving into the mass.
[ST] At the head of the forces, Alise, Wyald's trusted lieutanant, screams for order. They had called her the Dockside Strangler, once, when she had killed the homeless and destitute of Cherak. She had never forgotten the power of fear and its use as a tool to drive and inspire. But now, all the promises in the world, all the fear in the world, is not enough to gather her troops. As they scatter
[ST] and scream around her, the Haslanti press the attack.
[Avia] Avia looks about her, lost in the chaos of the screaming sharma. Elk leap about this way and that, with no order that she can see. A Black Dog beats on a drum of human flesh, frantically try to restore some cohesion to the Dog lines. She cannot even see Miruna or the Haslanti mass through the wind and blowing snow, though she see quarrels here and there.
[Avia] A woman shout and shrieks, but Avia cannot even find her to kill. At last, her eyes fall on a tall standard. A charred dog's skull presides over shrunken heads and rattling obnes. Its bearer is a big, hefty man, whose arms bulge with muscle and scars. He would do.
[Avia] Avia leaps through the madness and lands on the standard's dog skull. The standard-bearer shakes it madly, trying to dislodge her; instead, with a few carefully placed slashes, it snaps in two. She falls into the snow, picks up the standard, and clubs him to death with it.
[ST] "Avia!" one of the tribesmen behind her yells loudly, and the others take up the call as the standard bearer goes down. "Avia Whitebird! Avia Whitebird!"
[ST] Jonah fights nearby, deftly skewering a Dog through the eye. As he dodges the backspray, he laughs. "You show 'em, Avia Whitebird."
[ST] As the battle begins to turn, Dogs lying dead on every side, Alise knows that word must get back to Wyald. Perhaps, if she tells him that the Haslanti are coming, he will spare her for this loss. It is a small hope, but she wants to live. Even now, she wants to live.
[ST] "Dogs!" She screams, desperate. "Pull back! Retreat! Fall back now!"
[Miruna] He couldn't see the cavalry now. Snow was blowing everywhere. But hell, the crossbows could barely reach the enemy's line. They wouldn't go far enough to hurt tribesmen. "Volley" he bellows, above the howl of the wind and distance muted screams of the dying.
[Miruna] The infantry trudged forward, only breaking into a run in the last few yards. Running any farther than that would have sent them falling in the snow and wind. They caught the back heels of the Dogs as they turned and tried to run, but the sharma were faster than feet in the snow.
[ST] And then the Dogs, like all cowards, are turning tail, fleeing desperately through the cold, the dark, and the bloody night, shrieking as if being pursued by their own sins. Man and beast alike drop in the snow, dead. The last vision Miruna witnesses is the enemy commander shaking her fist impotently at him before riding off in a whirl of braids.
[Avia] Avia looks bemused by the tribesmen calling her name. She tosses the standard aside and wipes Blue Heron off on a dead sharma. "Follow?" she shouts to him.
[Miruna] Miruna halts his men as the sharma bolt away. No use running after them in this. The infantry would just hurt themselves. The elk were more aggressive, trailing the fleeing Dogs and firing onto their cowardly backs. He waves at Avia. In the wind, he could see her but couldn't hear her. Or he thought it was her - he didn't think another rider had armor quite so showy.
[Avia] Avia shrugs, and decides that means 'no.' She had to find her elk.
[Miruna] "Gather the wounded. They'll freeze if we don't get them treated soon." A veteran remembered things like the dead after a fight. After your first battle, you tended to forget things other than having survived and won.
[ST] "These things smell even worse dead," Jonah says, kicking a sharm carcass. "They're warm, though."
[Avia] Avia eyes the dead sharm with equal distaste. "I suppose we eat meat tonight," she says without enthusiasm.
[Miruna] Miruna wanders throught the bodies, trying to find one of the Dogs alive. If he could get one to talk, it might be invaluable. For the moment, he only had the vaguest idea of where the Dogs were. But he hadn't thought of it fast enough, and the wounded froze fast i Haslanti.
Casualties:
Haslanti 5% (Negligible) Black Dog 40% (~25 slain)
