Private Tales Eastern Tides

[Thalia]

"Something has brought them together," Lorein intoned in his deep voice.

"No shit Sherlock," one of the other men snorted and a few chuckled amongst themselves. The giant of a man merely sat there, staring, but Thalia noticed the way his hands clenched on his thighs. A lot of people made the mistake of thinking of him as a simple-minded fool who was only good for swinging his hammer. She frowned and went to say something but was surprised when it was her twin who spoke instead.

"No, no he's right. Think about the attacks on the town. They were organised," Zeke crouched and began drawing in the dirt. "Think about it. All of those towns, there was a pattern to them we just disregarded it as chance. But what if something else, someone else, is telling them where to go? And other things too?"

Thalia grimaced at the thought.

 

[Renn]

Renn nodded. "This is bigger."

There was no doubting that.

"Ogres, Orcs, Trolls...fuck, Half-trolls I guess." There was a difference between the two, slight as it may have been. They behaved differently and one was most definitely smarter than the other. Something he'd learned over the years.

"They're not smart." He told his men. "Not this smart anyway, and that means someones calling the shots. It may be Molthal, but...The Fire-Giant's a bit too far away."

He looked to Thalia. "Did you see...anyone? Anything that appeared to be a commander?"

Renn hadn't.

 

[Thalia]

"I didn't really get a good look..." Thalia shifted uncomfortably as the bands heads turned towards her with interest. How did she explain that she knew exactly how many there had been inside the cave without actually having looked? Or that she had just had a weird feeling in her stomach that there was some kind of presence there that was stronger than the ogres, orcs and trolls? Something that had made her want to vomit--

"Well, maybe some of us should go back to get a good look," Zeke's voice cut through her concerns and she let out a quiet breath of relief that they hadn't pushed her further though it was short lived when she realised what it was he was saying.

"Don't be an idiot, they were cooking people down there!"

 

[Renn]

He shook his head. "Not a good idea."

Though he gave Thalia a look that clearly spoke 'keep it down'. They couldn't be caught off-guard here, not if they wanted to live.

"There's too many, and Ogre's are stupid but they're hunters." A fact which Renn only knew because of old stories. Lips thinned for a brief few seconds, a hand running slowly through his hair as he considered.

After a moment he sighed.

"Alright." His head tipped in a nod. "We lure some of them out. A trap, I doubt they'll all come at once, at least if we do it right. So we lure whatever we can and grab someone."

Slowly the Knight looked around. "Any ideas?"

 

[Thalia]

"Well, the stories say they prefer virgins."

Thalia was busy looking down at her feet sheepishly after Renn's sharp look to have noticed the slow turn of heads in her direction. It was the long silence that eventually made her look up and then the words slowly clicked into place. Her cheeks flushed scarlet and she put her hands out in front of her.

"Noooo, no no no," she began shaking her head vehemently and shot the man who had even suggested it a look that could have peeled flesh from bone. "Besides, the stories didn't specify it had to be women," this made a few at least scratch their beard thoughtfully and glance around the rest of the circle. Thalia gave Renn a pleading look and gripped a hold of one of her braids in a nervous gesture.

 

[Renn]

Renn rubbed at his fae.

"No." The Knight shot down the idea almost as quickly as he could, looking at the man with a shake of his head. "We're not going to send someone parading in front of the cave entrance flashing their ankles."

Man or woman. "Urial."

His attention turned towards one of the slight men in the group. He was tall, but his arms and legs lacked all definition of muscle. There was no armor affixed to his chest, but instead he wore drab clothes that were perfect for the plateau.

"Could you use your...potions to dislodge some of the rocks?" Urial was an expert chemist, using nature and other solutions to create odd explosions from a bottle. Renn had never understood it, but he knew enough to call it useful. "Create a landslide?"

Urial paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Aye, Could do."​

 

[Thalia]

Thalia put a hand on her stomach and tried not to heave up her hurried meal from pure relief. There were more than a few sour looks amongst the others when the idea was shot down and she made a note to remember their names for some serious karma when they got out of here. And it would be when not if. She begun to twist the end of her longbow into the dirt just in front of her boot as Urial stuffed some foul smelling chewing tabacc into his mouth before giving them all a run down on how he would start a small rockslide from further up.

"Are you hoping the landslide draws them all out or are you hoping it shuts them inside?" she asked when the chemist had finally finished.

"Shut them in!"

"Draw them out!"

There were a few voices of both opinion and they stared at one another incomprehensively. Thalia looked at Renn with her head tilted to the side.

 

[Renn]

"Both." Renn said, glancing around the crowd of warriors. Most of them were eager for combat, eager to fight, but this was a battle they couldn't win.

His father had always told him that war was about choosing the right battlefield. Getting your men slaughtered in a blaze of glory didn't do much, even if you ended up ion the history books because of it. He just had to remember that.

"I want two points." Renn said. "One across the valley from them, pulling a few out to see what the sound was."

He motioned to the alchemist. "Then another to trap whatevers left in the cave."

Renn had no doubt the Orcs and Ogres would be able to dig themselves out given enough time, but at least they would have a few hours to do what they needed to do.

 

[Thalia]

It was times like this Thalia wondered how on earth the Band functioned. Half of them were chomping for a fight and the other half wanted to get through the work to get to the drinking bit at the end of the day. Of course, Renn stepping in proved exactly why the Band functioned but it still made her smile. She rested her chin atop her hands that were clasped over the end of her bow.

"We should be able to pick those that come out from a safe distance then," Thalia nodded slowly as the plan was laid out. Others were murmuring their agreement and those with bows begun to take them off their shoulders and string them too.

"I saw a good spot up the ridge where the archers could go?" she offered helpfully.