Umber

The party arrives in the middle of Haissha ranting at Svengali, and briefly contemplates the restfulness of Lyzandred’s maze. (sab)

You arrive in Blasingdell in the middle of the night. Loud voices and light from beyond the conference room in the manor alerts you to the fact that a war room meeting is in progress. “…and we’re not going to go live in caves like vermin, you coward!”

You enter the room.

Haissha is shouting, Lord Berrick hangs his head, Stephan the Innkeeper stares at a crack in the wall, and Sister Alonsa just looks pale. Only Svengali (in fully human form for once), seems cheerful and alert, if a bit dirty. He spots your entrance first and gives you a warning look.

Haissha notices and turns a wrathful glare in your direction. “Nice of you to show up. Now that you’re done playing around, perhaps we can figure out how to keep the entire village from being slaughtered tomorrow, yes? Or would that be too much to ask?”

Svengali rolls his eyes and slouches insouciantly in his chair. “I received much the same speech, but with more volume and bigger words. I’ve done what I thought was necessary, I’m sure you’ve done the same. Now let’s figure out how to, as Haissha says, ‘keep the entire village from being slaughtered tomorrow.’

“I’m no commander, no tactician. If you ask me, we should all hide in the hills and find another place to live. Much safer than having a bunch of greenhorn peasants swinging swords about. They’re as likely to hack off each other’s heads as the enemy’s. But, Haissha and Berrick refuse.

“As I see it, we have the following things to decide tonight:

“One – command. Who is going to be on the field and command? And before you offer, plan on being in it for the long haul. Morale is bad enough around here without us changing leaders around. I opt out. I have neither the skills nor the inclination to lead a large group and would prefer to remain a scout and skirmisher. Haissha, Stephan, and Berrick have volunteered. Sister Alonsa will do as you command.

“Two – communication. How do we do so, privately, on the battlefield? I expect tomorrow’s battle to be small, but will it be in the days ahead? And how do we really know we’re not being spied on right now? The enemy could be listening to every word. The pile of corpses out front shows that we have a benefactor who dislikes spies, but can he catch all of them?

“Three – protection. We need to have guard and patrol rotations, set twenty-four hour watches, come up with contingency plans, do whatever it takes to avoid being caught off-guard.

“Four – strategy and tactics. What losses are acceptable? Where will we place our units? How will we divide them? What will we do with the militia? What do we do if we win? What if we lose? Whatever the outcome, the consequences will come switftly.

“We’ve been arguing for hours, and have gained little agreement and fewer ideas. You must decide. A solid plan will give the villagers hope which they desperately need. If you think tension is bad in here, walk the town. I doubt you’ll find many people sleeping tonight.”