LPDnD: Hazy Shade of Winter

[Blackferne]

Victae sits at the long table and nibbles at some of the bread."When I went to talk to the General I also spoke with my father. As one of the conditions to allow Trinal up to explain the gate, they asked me to consider retaking my service to their army. They asked me to give them three months service as a trial, and then make a formal decision to rejoin or step out. I agreed to the three months because I think the gate is too important not have happen and anything to help out must be done. " She pauses "The thing is that we've been through a lot, by any stretch, but my father is here. This is where I grew up. These people were my family for a long time before I met any of you. So I've got some real divisions on this. And I guess I'm looking for insight as to what you would do in my position? All of you."

[Jimer Lins]

"Oh goodness, that's got to be hard for you."

Trinal frowns briefly. "Wait a moment...They required you to take three MONTHS of service as a condition of allowing me to come up to explain the gate? That is purely asinine, and not a little insulting. I didn't think it was possible to think the General more of an imbecile." This last is said quietly, under his breath, so as not to be overheard by the guards.

Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he goes on "Obviously, you're torn, as I would be. I still haven't seen my mother since we... returned. As far as I know she still thinks me dead, and when we were defeated at the fortress, my father was alive, so believe me when I say that I understand the desire to see and be with your family again."

Looking pensive, he pauses a moment and says "I don't know if I can offer sound counsel, Victae. In your position, I would be sorely, deeply tempted to stay and rejoin the forces here. But on the other hand, this group truly needs you or people like you, and I do not believe our work will be done once the gate is constructed. There is much more to be accomplished, and allow me to propose that you will likely be able to effect much more by being with us than here- you could do remarkable amounts of good for the cause in either role, of course, but this team goes where the things need doing and is a force multiplier that may change the entire course of the conflict."

"Regardless of how you choose, I will support it."

[Blackferne]

"Trinal I know three months seems like a long time, and possibly an unreasonable request for them, but I don't think you appreciate their culture here and how they view letting any of us, much less Stavis, into the citadel as a risk. They've lost a lot in past decade. Think about that so bit, they have been under various forms of siege for ten years, and been on a war footing for that long. When I left here it was peace time, and this was more or less a military school. And here is this perfectly well trained soldier arrives and is making this request, I think they looked at is as an opportunity to test my faith in the gate project." Victae says.

[Jimer Lins]

"Mmm. I see your point. Were they not even slightly curious about where you've been or why you haven't gotten any older? In their position, I'd ask about that long before I concerned myself with other matters."

[Blackferne]

"Well my father is curious to be sure, I don't know the rest of them really focused too much on it. Bigger fish and all that." Victae says. "Anyways I'll have you know I've got amazing cheekbones which will keep me fetching well past my prime."

[Staris]

Staivs looking first to Victea then Tirnal "Obviously the ultimate decision of your choice is yours alone but all in all may well do a fair bit more good than you realize Trinal. Don't be mistaken her absence will be felt but just building the gate isn't going to solve the problem of Chulassa at their gates."

"The Citadel and Southern alliance even with the gates will have to come to agreements and alliances, as well as the sheer logistics will take time to set up."

"There will need to be liaisons for both sides and someone such as Victae who has ties to both sides, especially once her military strengths are re-recognized here would well be worth a dozen diplomats for a place such a this. Her efforts here could well expedite how quickly things can be setup."

Stavis will smile at Victea "Not that I'm trying to throw her under a caravan wheel but I will not envy the headaches that will likely accompany that."

[Jimer Lins]

"Well, that's true. But we're only a few people here. Although our new friends- " he gestures to the dwarves and Franklin- "have joined us, and we're all indebted to them, they didn't sign up for the fight we're taking on, and they're not necessarily staying with us for the long haul. There's only a handful of us left from those that were there that day in the Green Sea."

[Furiel]

"Well Vic, from Tony Plush's point of view 3 months isn't a terribly long time considering everything that we have all decided to take on. We might even spend some of that time still here helping to break the siege. Tony Plush even has a semi-suicidal idea or two on how to do that, but the bigger question at hand to Tony Plush is quite simply once the portal is built...what's next? Tony Plush doesn't recall what our next move was and now that this end game is in site, we need to start considering that..."

[Jimer Lins]

"I had been giving that some thought. One option is of course attempting to build another gate at Silver Deep- its resources would be incredibly helpful and the goodwill of its denizens, once they returned, equally- if not more so- valuable."

[Staris]

"I also wouldn't mind heading back to Silver Deep and if the entrance can be kept sealed and the blood army none the wiser a reasonable place to house civilians and refugees to help get them away from the front lines."

"However I do think something will need to be done to help give the Citadel the time it will need for the negotiations and agreements to be made with the Southern Alliance."

"Though to that end, if that requires waiting till the gate is built I get the feeling that once I can be seen away, it will be more then expected I be gone and so it can be made clear" Stavis will look to Trinal before looking to the rest of the group "I will respect their wishes should they ask it and request that you not cause a scene. I would hate for them to come to the wrong conclusion that I am manipulating you all into doing that." He will look down at his hands for the last part and with a short pause add "It.. a... wouldn't exactly be the first time in history a Drow has done such."

After starting to eat another piece of bread and with a sigh "What doesn't help is I doubt I will be given permission to leave this room, even in helping to deal with the Chulassa should that be attempted before the gate is built. Though one can be hopeful."

[Whiteness]

Syric, having been watching each the party as they spoke looks back to Victae, Vic, I understand why you had to agree to the three months, it's important for the bigger picture, but don't be blinded by blood and feel that you have to remain longer. We're here for a reason above and beyond duty to family, and there's a lot ahead of us if we're going to gain the power to stop Orcus and Bha'al and we'll need you. We're family now, no one's been through the things we've been through. We've lost Gobo, Spintk and Ham'mon....I don't wan't to lose you too." with a wink he continues, "no pressure though.

"Anyways, I think this is a good opportunity for us to stop, rest and plan. How long will it take to put up the gate anyway? I say we take this time to build good will with the army, tag along see what we can learn. I mean, we could always end up leading men like before...I don't want to fail like that again.

[Jimer Lins]

"Well, the actual construction of the gate itself is going to be a few days to a week or two, I expect. The rituals and the rest are time-consuming but not to the tune of months. I imagine we could be ready to activate it within two to three weeks. Maybe less."

Looking thoughtful, he says "We will need a large enough area to make it, but thankfully this place seems well-supplied with those."

[Staris]

"Oh that does remind me when you construct it, unless unable my suggest would be to built it on a wooden platform that way the ability to destroy if necessary quickly."

[Jimer Lins]

"Disabling it is not a difficult process, unless I sorely miss my understanding of it. We'll make sure it's strong but can be taken down in the extreme case, if need be."

[Staris]

"True but merely disabling wouldn't be what we would want, ensuing that the enemy can't rebuild and use it against us is very important if retreat or surrender were to be necessary at any location we build a gate."

"Granted just having a gate doesn't give the enemy access as they would still need the address, just thinking of things that can be done to ensure this can't be exploited against us."

"A platform could also depending on the size required of the gate help make it potentially mobile."

[OOC Yes I did make the suggestion for making Stargates. ]

[Blackferne]

Outside you hear the guards do that little attention step they do when a ranking officer approaches. Victae also stands at attention.

"As you were." a grizzled older voice says as he walks into the took carrying a small pouch. He is an older elf with greying hair still peppered with a chesnut brown. Wrinkles are visible, but he also seems in particularly fit shape for an older elf.

"Sgt Meneldur you may be seated."

"Yes Colonel Meneldur." Victae says before resuming her position on the bench.

"So I have you to thank for bringing my daughter back to me, though admittedly later than I would have liked." He says with a slight smirk. "As the General laid out you, save the drow, shall have privileges to travel most of the areas in our Citadel. There are many amenities which may be attractive including a mead hall, a few hot water springs, and many many training rooms should you feel the need to practice your martial skills. In this pouch are the medallions that must be worn at all times outside this room. And if you are given an order by an officer regarding behavior, where you are walking to, or speech deemed demoralizing to the troops we expect you follow that order without delay. Failure to do so could result in your privileges being removed. Now that that is out of the way, who's up for a drink?"

From the pouch he pulls a bottle and takes a seat on the bench.

"I want to know everything." He pours a drink and passes the bottle down.

[Staris]

Should the drink be offered to him will indicate his decline of the drink and if pressed will mention. "I mean no offense but I am a bard and healthy worshiper of Erevan, with a lack of recent devotion adding to that any amount of liquid courage will likely have disastrous results, especially to my well being."

[Jimer Lins]

"I'm up for that. Trinal will make sure everyone gets one.

"Where to begin?" Trinal muses.

"First, the things I'm about to tell you are... well, they're fantastic at the very least. As I told Atonic the Persistent when it happened, it is unlikely that even if we told the truth that anyone would believe us. However, you at least deserve to hear it, as your daughter was there. I'd ask that you not share this tale with anyone else except at greatest need. We weren't specifically forbidden to tell the tale, but not encouraged to do so either."

He takes a drink and clears his throat. "I'm certain you have heard the tales of the Battle of the Green Sea. We didn't know about that name for it until later, of course. We did lose our lives there. All of us. It was not pleasant. However, upon our failure to defend the fortress- or fall back with word of the attack, which we certainly should have done instead- we found ourselves in a sort of 'trial' to determine if we had the appropriate makeup to take on the task of helping prevent something the gods called an..." he grimaces "I can never get the word right, I think it's in Angelic, something like 'uktreignur'. At any rate, we were tested and judged and in the end found to be capable of taking up this task for the Raven Queen."

He looks around the room. "After our trials, which involved several tests of our ethics, morals and judgement, we were returned to the mortal plane, our original bodies removed and graves empty. Each of us bears a scar above his or her heart, and we were each given a token of our patron deity. We were given no specific instructions, told only that we were 'free agents', so to speak, and that our lives were to do with as we saw fit. Since returning we've been working to bolster the defenses of the mortal alliance against the Chulassa and the forces of Bha'al, which is why we're here now."

He looks at the older elf. "I am certain the gods are very concerned- at least some of them- with this activity in the mortal realm, and this 'uktreigninur' or 'reckoning', as Atonic described it, is something most of them wish sorely to prevent. It apparently involves a deity or deities getting directly involved by direct physical manifestation- which rarely ends well for mortals. "

He pours another drink for himself and anyone else who wants one. "So, here we are. We've traveled from Brackton to here to build an Arcane gate to bolster the defenses of the Citadel- or if I may be allowed a moment of hubris, possibly lift the siege entirely. Our next move after that... well, we were just discussing it. We don't have a consensus yet, but the gate's construction will take some time, so we have the time we need to come to a decision."

[Whiteness]

Syric sits down after Trinal's retelling, take a pull from the offered bottle passing it back, waiting to see what the colonel thinks of their story.

[Blackferne]

"That is a lot to take in. So this 'reckoning' I guess has to do with the Chulassa drawing upon Orcus and his demon spawn for power?" Col Meneldur asks.

[Jimer Lins]

"To be completely honest, I do not know. I know that the beings presiding over our trial- perhaps evaluation would be a better word, but regardless, they seemed to consider it a thing to be avoided. If I had to hazard a guess, we need to prevent them from being able to summon their god or obtain enough power to cause a similar cataclysm. But I can say we were told we were free agents, as they seemed to feel we would best serve their ends with as little guidance as possible."

[Blackferne]

"So in broad terms, what does that mean for you guys? Strategically do you have a plan?" He says running his finger over the rim of his glass absent mindedly.

[Jimer Lins]

"Given the state of things after we returned, we determined that strategically the best move would be to liberate the Citadel and connect its forces with those in Waterdeep and the mortal alliance. Bolstering the lines of defense and hopefully liberating forces to make it possible for us to stop losing ground was the best strategic option we had. Do you have some suggestions as to what might be the most effective next move? We were just considering that, but we have been out of communication for some time and one imagines that once we re-establish communication with Waterdeep we'll be in a better position to make firm plans."

[Staris]

Stavis will chim in but will obviously stop should it become obvious Colonel Meneldur is unintersted in listening to a Drow "I got the feeling that Reckoning is the gods intervening should Orcus or Bah'al awaken and interact directly on this world."

"The overall end goal is stopping both enemy forces as the Blood Army is worshipers of Bah'al, so neither can be allowed to awaken either god."

"The obvious short term is build the gate and either during its construction or after those able help push the Chulassa back enough for the Southern Alliance to be able to help defend the Citadel."

"Longer term, ideas have been once we get back to the Southern Alliance, see if the Dwarf king of Silver Deep is among the alliance and see about setting up a third gate there. For the very least weapon and armor manufacturing and a possible refugee location to help get civilians to a safe location as well as from the front lines. Or try and weaken the different forces by freeing some of the slaves and towns used to bolster both sides armies. We are also willing to consider the ideas others have that could be helpful of course."

[Blackferne]

"It seems in my opinion that based on the map, barring changes, that you need to focus on one then the other. The Army of Blood has less geographical reach with everything they hold being between the mountians to the sea, but stopping where the Southern alliance's holding start. They have a major Drow city underground that way, so fomenting distrust between them would be beneficial, though I'm not sure how you would do that. The Chulassa pose a larger problem just because of their huge geography. Just to get to their power base alone would take a while, and recuiting some of the force in far off lands would help with that. You can't fight both at once, but you can help one fall then rally against the other." teh Colonel says.