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[gman8181]

I miss you Gun...  only six days offline but it makes me sad

[Parsely]

I will return.

[Parsely]

You swiftly cross the stretch of open ground, reaching the tent without incident.

Your heart pounds excitedly in your chest as you search around with your hands for the loosest stretch of tent to pull up. Your ears prick up and you freeze as you suddenly become aware of a noise coming from within the tent, a deep-throated droning sound, like a nest of angry wasps. You snap your attention back to the matter at hand and seize the lip of the canvas in both hands, hauling it up just enough to see through. You get down on your hands and knees and press against the gap, peering inside.

The rapid-fire rythm of your heart stops and your body grows cold. You choke on the air in your throat, and can't help letting out a strangled gasp of horror at what lies before you. Your legs grow numb and you rise to your feet only to tumble backwards into the dirt, pushing yourself away from the tent as if the ground around it was aflame. You hear cries of alarm from the camp behind you as soldiers rush towards the noise, and you find yourself quickly surrounded. It can't.. It can't be.... You continue to repeat the words as the guards haul your limp form upright, seizing your weapons and hauling you away. Argos...

---

The archers return a few short hours later, at midday, hands on their knees and chests heaving. The second most senior archer approaches you and snaps a half-hasty salute, then doubles over, wheezing. He tries to speak but you wave him down, allowing him to catch his breath while you perform a head count. You quickly notice that their leader is missing, and you search your mind quickly for the man's name. Where is Gallus? Was he killed? Were you spotted? The archer stands up straight, wiping the sweat from his brow. Gone. He made it in, but never came out. We only heard a small commotion, but oddly enough the camp never mustered. Why they would ever capture a scout and then fail to retreat or at least send out more guards is beyond me my lord. He swallows hard, trying to slow the flow of words emerging from his mouth. We estimate a total strength of about 30 men. No armour and they were mostly swords and axemen that we could see. We couldn't find their officers, and they're likely holed up somewhere near the center of camp. My lord.. If they're not leaving now, they must be soon. I recommend that we strike as soon as possible before they can get the chance to prepare. You nod your thanks and clap him on the shoulder. Well done Fawkes. We'll put this information to good use. You may go now. And call me Sir Kelarn. He mumbles something in the affirmative and wanders off to rejoin his men.

You ponder the situation quietly, working your sword in its scabbard and tucking one thumb into the dark leather belt you wear about your waist. Mavro watches you with bright eyes from the shade of a nearby tree and adjusts the straps on her buckler. Your three corporals, the foreign knights, convene nearby, talking quietly amongst one another and glancing at you occasionally.

Player Character
Name: Nerev "Kell" Kelarn
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Home Region: Kiltrar
Affiliation: The Gray Blades

Armour: Full Reinforced Gantinite Plate - impervious to piercing damage, high slashing defence, average crushing defence; heavy - jumping, dodging and sprinting is impossible; become tired more quickly
Weapons: Black Iron Kite Shield, Light Silver Long Sword
Equipment: None. For stored gear see the Extra Character Details subject line at the bottom of the OP.
Wealth: 1040 Silver Coins
Health: Well
Status: Gray Blade Mercenary

Main Non-Player Character
Name: Alexendria "Mav" Mavro
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Age: 14
Personality: Intelligent and eager to learn. Brave of heart, brazen and chivalrous. Honour is a huge inspiration, being the type of person that would throw her entire self into a conflict, even when faced against tough odds. Prideful, especially when challenged but when broken has a tendency of temporarily assuming a defeatist attitude. Well versed in hand fighting and weapon combat, but tends to favour a spear.
Appearance: Lean and athletic, her height is above-average for her age. Long brown-blonde hair surrounds her smooth, sharp features and lightly freckled cheeks and accents her jet black irises well.

Armour: Training Leathers
Weapons: Polished Steel Spear, Light Banded Buckler
Equipment: None.
Wealth: 10 Silver Coins
Health: Well
Status: Sir Kelarn's Squire

Spoiler: Contracts (click to show/hide)

Locale: Oceania, Bané Bané Peninsula - Hiketo Wood
Contractor: The Republic of Oceania
Mission: By the Hand of the Official Emissary to the Mainland - Despite our efforts to eradicate the encroaching Litelachian forces, they still maintain a token force on our borders, and they constantly harry our vanguard companies patrolling the area. We will allow enough silver to satisfy a hundred mercenaries and their company in order for them to wipe out all trace of these interlopers. Our estimates indicate a small standing force. It should not be a problem for the Gray Blades.
Compensation: 500 Silvers + 200 Silvers if the Litelachians are "wiped out"
Conditions: The invading force must be reduced by at least half their original numbers in order to receive pay. If the attacking party is reduced to below 10% of their original strength upon conducting their first assault, the remaining members will be given a 100 Silver consolation bonus, regardless of whether the original condition was fulfilled or not.
Estimated Duration: Less than one week
Deadline: The band must set out by [tonight].


Locale: Varen Confederation, West Fesil Region - Borma Peak
Contractor: Borma Garrison
Mission: Defeat the Jet-Steel Knights visiting the region.
Compensation: 1000 Silvers + 100 Silvers per Knight killed
Conditions: The knights must leave the immediate area and the garrison cannot be harmed. There is no compensation pay should the applicant fail, though all medical expenses will be covered in either case.
Estimated Duration: Two days of travel time.
Deadline: [one month from now]

Spoiler: Honour (click to show/hide)

• Former Kiltran Noble - no standing amongst the court
• Survived the Battle of Hiketo Swamp
• Defeated Hokuta Vvoric in single combat

Spoiler: Contacts (click to show/hide)

Duncan the Contractor - Affiliated - Unfriendly
Kippa the Blacksmith - Friend
Senator Hokuta Vvoric - Amicable

Spoiler: Gray Blades Fortress Headquarters (click to show/hide)

Located on a low knoll just outside Bané-Bané Peninsula's castle.

- Main Hall: Meet with officials and hire professional troops
- Smithy: Improve and apppraise weapons and equipment
- Contract Office: Obtain Gray Blade contracts and collect payment for completed ones
- Carrier Stable: Rent a carrier to take you somewhere
- Apothecary: Rest and heal your wounds
- Officer's Mess: Speak to knights you know and purchase information
- Chapel: Bless items and gear and banish unholy forces

Spoiler: Bané-Bané Peninsula - Home Base (click to show/hide)

The Kingdom of Oceania's only territory on the mainland. There is a single castle with a pitifully small village outlying it where some of the poorer merchants reside. It houses one of Oceania's three Legions, a massive standing army made up of their mightiest troops, as well as one of the most expansive ports in the known world. The Oceanian Queen allows the Gray Blades to have a fortress in the area, as all Oceanians loathe setting foot beyond the sandy coast and take advantage of their services often.

- Keep: Meet with the court
- Tavern: Hear local news and hire unprofessional individuals
- Market: Purchase and sell items

Spoiler: Squad (click to show/hide)

13 Knights
- 10 Medium (Experienced)
- 3 Light (Veteran)
42 Footmen
- 8 Archers (Green)
- 28 Swordsmen (Green)
- 6 Lancers (Veteran)

[GrizzlyAdamz]

Hmm, we could easily take them ourselves, but something doesn't seem right. In any case, we're going to want to get mobilized to pursue or attack.
Give the order to break camp, have the runners prepare to leave. Even though we can handle the measly amount of men there, a lack of officers and their strange behavior warrant alerting reinforcements.
Head over to speak to our corporals, ask them what they think.

[Parsely]

Hey fellas! Let's get some suggestion going here, hey?

[Rolepgeek]

Send the runners immediately. They will take time to get there, and reinforcements are always better than dying.
Break camp, be ready to head out. We should be ready to besiege them, and if there are no officers, we can use that to our advantage.
We need to talk with our subordinates and squire. Let her watch, possibly contribute, but she should know that she is inexperienced, and she should know to only contribute when asked for her opinion, or is certain the others are missing something. Not all commanders will be okay with their subordinates taking the initiative, and she'll need to be ready for that.

I want to set up a position outside the camp to let them attack us. Defending is always easier, and we've lost the advantage of surprise. Plus, if they don't attack, our reinforcements will arrive.

[gman8181]

Yay you're back.

I think we should get reinforcements.  From an IC perspective these events have been a bit suspicious.  OOC it's multitudes more suspicious.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

@gman
Yep, pretty much.

@RPG
We should hold the runners for just a moment, just tell them to get ready- we still have yet to talk to our officers, and they may have something important to say. Further, it's a good opportunity to bring Mavro into the loop- having her sit in on a quick, hopefully frank chat with our corporals isn't very appropriate, and we can teach her what we're doing while we're explaining what we want the runners to relay.

I agree with stopping at the edge of their camp before attacking, but that's with knowledge our characters don't have yet. Assuming they've prepared to or have left since our scouts retreated is what I'd do in Kelarn's shoes, so that's what we should do.
No reason to try and goad them into attacking us once we're there- we have a significant numerical and tactical advantage. Not only would they not attack us, but we can smash them to pieces in a straight fight.

-edit
Btw, @gunin, ty for thanking the (now chief) scout properly.

[Rolepgeek]

They have 30 men, we have 55. If we present a front of weakness, looking like we're less than we are, particularly holding the Knights back, we can get them to attack us. We may have numbers, but we don't know what's going on, and these are fighting people. Used to combat, while two thirds of our force is conscripts. If we hide some of the knights, they can come in on a flank while the lancers come from another, and crush the enemy force. We could probably still do that in a straight fight, true, but I'd like to minimize casualties.

[Fr0stByt3]

They have 30 men, we have 55. If we present a front of weakness, looking like we're less than we are, particularly holding the Knights back, we can get them to attack us. We may have numbers, but we don't know what's going on, and these are fighting people. Used to combat, while two thirds of our force is conscripts. If we hide some of the knights, they can come in on a flank while the lancers come from another, and crush the enemy force. We could probably still do that in a straight fight, true, but I'd like to minimize casualties.

This could work. But let's not get too cocky. I don't trust this. Not. One. Bit.

Edit:I hate my Kindle sometimes.

[Elfeater]

Lets save the bastard.

[Fr0stByt3]

See, this is what happens when you push your luck too far. You need to get your ass pulled out of the fire by the main force, and that's just plain embarrassing.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

Huh, the idea that what's'name was still alive didn't even occur to me.
Only the fact that they aren't retreating points to them being experienced, (or at least different). Nor does having experience trump superior numbers, not without additional advantages, (e.g. Thermopylae). And for that matter, we've got 13 knights- they're worth at least 2 or three of any normal soldier, more depending on the circumstance. In a straight fight we'd route the crap outta them.
As for setting an ambush, they already know that we know they're there. (If they're still there, kelarn would be thinking) then they would be on high alert, and not actively patrolling for opportunistic raids. A guerrilla force wouldn't drop what they're doing and attack an equal force if they're discovered, they'd slink away as quietly & quickly as possible, so they could continue to harass supply lines. Same for corsairs/bandits. You don't attack unless the odds are heavily in your favor, (like for us).

How about this: lets get there first, and see if they're still standing around like our scout last reported. In the meantime let's chat with the corp'rals.

[Fr0stByt3]

Sounds fine to me. I just don't want to charge in Leeroy Jenkins style. Because tha never works.

[Rolepgeek]

Experience beats superior numbers quite often(often by being smart enough to portion them off for individual best downs). It's when the superior numbers get fuckin' ridiculous that they don't. These guys are barbarians and/or raiders and/or bandits, if I remember correctly. That means they fight for a living. Meaning they're experienced. Not as well equipped or as heavily built as a knight, true, but it seems like you're underestimating them. And that's a no-no. Besides, why would we want to fight them in a straight fight? Again, minimize casualties. A 30% casualty rate for the winners is horrific. Goddamned strategy games and their 'balance' make people think 40% casualties for the winners and 100% for the losers is typical. Again, notice that I said we make ourselves appear weak so they will attack us. Then we flank and crush them.