Linnorm Kingmaking [IC]

[Frosty]

Abigail smiles ruefully. "Not exactly the phrasing I would use, but essentially correct. Listen to me, wolf. You are picking a fight you can't win. And for what? What's it to you? Why do you so fanatically follow your queen's orders?"

[ylvathrall]

"Kill you all," the pinned wolf says, snarling. He bucks again, but fails to dislodge the female wolf. "Kill you all for this. When the Great Crone comes she will eat your hearts." He then lapses back into Giant, snarling incoherently. He is literally foaming at the mouth now.

The female wolf listens to his ranting in the other language for a few seconds. Then she blinks, apparently shocked at something he said. She slaps him hard across the face with one paw, shutting him up for the moment, then leans forward to glare at him from a couple inches away. "You know," she says, "I was going to speak up for you. I was going to mention how you maybe thought this was all a test of faith by the witches, and they should give you the benefit of the doubt. But after that comment, you can bloody well get yourself out of this hole."

She then shoves his face down into the snow and jumps off, stalking a few feet away before turning to watch.

[Tuvarkz]

"I need to hear no more. Under the charges of unrepentant and intentional war crimes, specifically attacking a civilian caravan under the pretense of a war declaration, I condemn you to death." Eclaire takes a step forward and swings her blade with the clear intent of beheading the wolf.

((EDIT: OoC: this is meant to be the head-in-snow wolf))

[Hjolnai]

Tabrak watches without intervening. Not everyone can be redeemed - but where they cannot, he has a duty to bear witness. Even this death has meaning and should not be treated lightly, so long as observance costs no other lives.

[Frosty]

The succubus sighs. "Tis sad you feel this way. Now, we relieve you of your burdens. May your soul eventually find redemption after unspeakable tortures in the lower planes. Eclair, finish him!"

After the grisly deed is done, Abigail will say a brief prayer over the body and then look over at Teva and the female wolf. "As per your tradition, we will leave the body out here for others to eat, and nobody will skin him. Now, I...I must rest for an hour before the other one can be brought back to life. I would appreciate your help, just in case this one tries to run too. If you must go immediately, I will not stop you, but if you can stay for just another hour..."

[ylvathrall]

The winter wolf collapses limply to the ground, his head rolling a few feet away; his expression seems surprised, though that might be your imagination. Blood fountains from the stump of his neck to paint the snow a garish crimson. Teva watches in horrified fascination. The female wolf, on the other hand, seems largely indifferent, or even bored.

"I'm in no particular hurry," she says in response to Abigail's request. "I can take a nap." She digs herself into a small snowdrift under a nearby pine tree and closes her eyes. Sure enough, within moments the sound of quiet snoring can be heard coming from the snowdrift.

Teva returns to the area he was using as a den and lies down as well, though he doesn't sleep.

One Hour Later

Both winter wolves reconvene in the den area as Abigail once again sets to work raising the dead. At first, it appears this occasion will go much the same as the previous times she has done so; the body is bathed in gentle light, wounds and burns closing miraculously.

This time, however, the wolf does not stand, or open its eyes, or begin breathing once again. It simply lies there, inanimate and lifeless.

After about a minute of this, the female wolf snorts. "Well," she says dryly. "That was exciting."

Spoiler: Abigail

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You know that you performed the magic properly, and the wolf should have returned to life. Most likely what this means is that the spirit was unwilling to return.

[Frosty]

"That one preferred death to life, and refused my call back to the land of the living. Well, I suppose that's one less complication. Thank you again. Do you need any supplies of some sort before you go?"

Abigail leaves the well-restored corpse where it is. Nothing here now but empty meat.

[ylvathrall]

"Don't think so," the wolf says cheerfully. "I'm pretty used to getting by on my own. Did you have any more questions before I leave? No telling when you'll get another chance to talk to someone who knows what they're talking about."

[Frosty]

"Actually, I've got a question. Who were you supposed to directly report to? And where do you meet your superiors?"

[Llyarden]

Lanerlei sighed. She knew that you could never save everyone, but she still found it a waste of Abigail's power that two of the wolves had chosen to refuse their offer, even if the succubus herself didn't seem to mind. "I don't have any other questions, but thank you again for your help," she said to the female wolf.

She gave a slight glance across to Teva. As silly as it might have seemed to be worrying about a wolf's state of mind, she got the feeling that he hadn't perhaps expected Eclaire to execute the fanatic wolf.

[Hjolnai]

"It is said that an army marches on its stomach. Perhaps, after Abigail's question... Could you tell us anything about Irrisen logistics, how goods flow from Wintercrux? Though I suppose it would not have often been visible on your path."

[ylvathrall]

"Most all of the traffic in Irrisen goes by the rivers," the wolf says to Tabrak. "It's risky to go overland in a lot of places, and the terrain is too hard for wagons. I couldn't tell you the details; it isn't something I ever needed to know."

She then looks at Abigail. "We reported to the witch directing the vanguard," she says. "As to where, I don't know. If she wanted to talk to us, she found us, not the other way around. Don't ask me how, 'cause I don't know. It's a witch thing, I guess. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go somewhere that's at least slightly less likely to happen." She then stands and takes off in a generally south-easterly direction, moving at what for her is a casual lope. For anyone in your group other than Teva, it would be more like a run.

"I think I'll stay out here until you're ready to move," Teva says, watching the other wolf leave. "I can follow you when you go, but I don't think I should stay in your camp. I might upset people."

Spoiler: Back at camp

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By the time you get back to camp, it's after noon. Nothing much has changed since you last saw it. Some of the soldiers are keeping watch, while many others are sleeping while they have the chance. Olaf and his wife are sorting through the rubble and wreckage, looking for anything which can be salvaged. It seems obvious that they won't find much; the only things they've pulled out thus far are a few lumps of half-melted slag.

[Frosty]

After watching the female wolf leave, Abigail finally has enough strength to shift back to human form. "Good idea. I'll want a bit of time to recover anyways. Eclair, we need to escort the couple to their home, and then start making the circuits to get the local governments to start bolstering their defenses. They need to at least know about this declaration of war. Maybe Olaf knows where the local seat of power is."

[Tuvarkz]

"If by that you mean escorting them to the nearest village and giving them funds to get back on their feet, plus potentially caravan fees for them to go back home, then by all means. As for the rest, I presume Davis didn't get to tell you what I had decided earlier. I'm going to help with the defense against the initial wave of invaders. After that, depending on the situation, I was considering either an offensive or defensive war plan, the former potentially consisting of forming an elite group to enter Irrisen and wreak havoc from within, even possibly with an army moving in afterwards to make sure the queen and some of their most corrupt face justice."

[Frosty]

"Yeah that'll work. We need to get them to the safety of a town at least. Helping with the defense is a good idea, but we must coordinate with the local government. Save as many lives as possible as we figure out where and how to surgically strike into Irrisen territory."

Abigail will wander over to Olaf to see how he is doing and what he needs to get on his feet again.

[ylvathrall]

Olaf and his wife are both hard at work sorting through the wreckage, but they stop to rest as Abigail approaches. "Lady," Olaf says, nodding to the paladin respectfully. "This is my wife Dagny. Don't believe you've been properly introduced."

"Which is a crime, seeing as I owe you my life," Dagny says, stepping forward and offering her hand to shake. Her shoulders are at least as broad as her husband's, and her hand, assuming that Abigail shakes it, is strong and callused, very much that of a woman accustomed to hard work on the trail. "Stroke of luck you came when you did, and thank the Lady for that."

"Thank the Lady," Olaf agrees. "We don't have much to offer after this, but if you ever need something from us, ask and it's yours. You have my word on that."

Dagny nods. "I don't know where you're bound," she says. "But I think our path leads to Kalsgard at the moment. King Sveinn needs to hear about this. Doubly so, if what some of your soldiers said about this being an Irriseni attack is true. If they've grown bold enough to strike so far from the border...well, the King needs to know."

[Frosty]

The succubus does indeed shake Dagny's hand. "You don't need to thank me. I was only doing the Right and Good thing. Glad to see you up and about. Sure, I think we can escort you to Kalsgard. Will you be speaking to the king personally then?"

[Llyarden]

Lanerlei couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for Teva. To abandon what was presumably the only life he'd known and be forced to hang around away from the closest people he now had to friends couldn't be easy. "It seems like we'll need to go to Kalsgard, if only to tell the King of our intentions." Because if Eclaire's mission failed, then it would be the people of this kingdom that would face the Irrisen retaliation. To put them under that threat without warning them didn't seem fair.

[ylvathrall]

"I was hoping you'd say that," Olaf replies with a relieved grin. "If things are this bad, we might not make it there on our own."

"Not to mention that we aren't soldiers," Dagny adds. "Doubt we could tell King Sveinn half of what you can about the threat."

Olaf nods. "That, too." He looks back to the wreckage. "There's nothing here worth salvaging," he says reluctantly. "It shouldn't take too long to build a pyre for the dead, and then we can set out."

Spoiler: The Road to Kalsgard

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Hurrying to the city, you see little to suggest that not all is well here. You encounter light but consistent traffic, mostly merchant caravans, with a handful of travelers whose purposes are not as mercantile; most of these appear to be mercenaries or bounty hunters. Everyone you pass on the road is armed, most of them heavily, but they don't seem particularly concerned. Rather, it seems this is the normal state of affairs for those traveling the roads of the far north.

It takes about two days of rushed travel to reach Kalsgard, spending one night in a smaller city called Ullerskad and the other on the road. Teva paces your group in the hills and forests alongside the road, staying well away from other travelers. Occasionally, when the coast is clear, you catch a glimpse of white fur at the edge of the trees, reassuring you that he is still keeping up. You also, after the night spent on the road, find a dead stag by the edge of the camp; there are deep bite wounds in its throat, and the flesh around those wounds is frozen stiff, though the body as a whole is not. Even on these occasions, however, Teva maintains his distance, not entering the camp or attempting to converse with the soldiers.

Finally, at around noon of the third day of travel, Kalsgard comes into sight. The metropolis crouches on the banks of the Rimeflow River, which carries much of the trade that keeps the city alive. The rest of that trade follows the same road you are, leading up from the southern lands and then up over the Crown of the World to Tian.

Entering from the east, you find yourselves first in the Oak Quarter, which is home to the docks and shipyards of the city. It is a rough and tumble sort of neighborhood, not a place for the faint of heart. Olaf and Dagny lead you southwest through the district, further in to the heart of the city. Clearly, they are acquainted with the area; they take you down several side streets and alleys that are considerably quicker and more direct than the more traveled route.

Eventually, at almost the exact center of the city, you find King Sveinn's residence, perched on a large hill that overlooks most of Kalsgard. Despite his authority and wealth, the King's home is hardly an ostentatious palace. Rather, it is a simple wooden hall with a sharply peaked roof. The only thing that sets it aside from any number of other buildings you saw on the way through the city is its size; the circular hall is easily a hundred and fifty feet across.

As you approach the large, heavily carved wooden door, a guard steps up to block your path. A large, burly man, he is dressed in stiff leather armor with the pelt of a polar bear thrown around his shoulders as a cloak, and carries an axe nearly as tall as he is. "Oy," he says, glowering at you. "You lot. What's your business?"

Olaf and Dagny both glance back at your group, clearly looking for you to take the lead here.

[Tuvarkz]

Eclaire steps forward, armor in great condition from the repairs, and says: "Greetings. I'm Eclaire Troyard, knight of the Empyreal Guardians. These three" she points at the paladins: "are Abigail, Lanerlei and Tabrak, paladins with whom I'm traveling, plus my squire Davis. We have come upon the information that Irrisen is planning to attack these lands, and we wished to inform you. They attempted to declare war by attacking a caravan, of which these two" she points at Oglaf and Dagny "are the only survivors."

[ylvathrall]

The guard stares at Eclaire for a few seconds, then shakes his head. "Oh, gods," he says. "That's...forgive me, but I hope you're lying right now. It'll be bad for you if you made a joke about this, but it's worse for everyone if that's true. Come inside; the King will want to hear this for himself."

Inside, the hall is sparsely occupied. A long fire burns in the center of the room, leaving the air somewhat smoky. Clusters of men and women stand around the edges of the building, talking quietly with each other. The local finery consists mostly of furs and wool, although there are a handful of imported silks on display as well, and more than a few people are wearing armor. A wide variety of weapons are on display as well; almost everyone is at least carrying a dagger.

King Sveinn himself is seated in a simple wooden throne on the far side of the room. He is clearly an old man, his long hair and beard both more white than blond, but his eyes are still sharp and his motions are vigorous. He is arguing with another man about some sort of property dispute. The man who met you at the door rushes over and says a few words to the king, at which point he ends this conversation. The man he was arguing with walks away, and the king waves you over.

"So," he says, the instant you are within comfortable speaking range. "Tell me about this attack."

[Frosty]

Abigail steps up. "I was the first on the scene of carnage. Death and destruction everywhere. Fire was used. Surprising, given the fact that when we caught up to the perpetrators some of them were ice trolls." She gives a fair and concise summary of what has happened. "We even have a defector who helped us. He seems to dislike his queen's policy of slaughtering innocents, and is willing to travel with us to aid how he can."

[ylvathrall]

Spoiler: OOC

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When you say that Abigail gives "a fair and concise summary of what has happened," I am assuming you include the following details:
1) The attack was stated to be an act of war with the intention of conquering the Lands of the Linnorm Kings.
2) The attacking force consisted of ice trolls and winter wolves.

These are pretty key elements, so I feel they would be a natural part of the summary. They are also the parts that King Sveinn is particularly interested in, which is why I mention this.

The king listens to Abigail in silence. Once she finishes her summary, he grins broadly. "So Irrisen's finally making their move," he says. "It's about time. I'd started to think I'd die of boredom before they got their nerve up." He looks around, and then suddenly shouts, "Maps! And hospitality for my guests!"

Instantly, servants leap into action. They drag enough chairs in from the periphery of the hall for all members of the party to sit down comfortably, and then set two large tables between you and the king. The first table is completely covered by a large map of the area. The section devoted to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings is filled in with exacting detail, with every settlement larger than a hamlet marked, and every geographical feature of any interest labeled. The section representing Irrisen is more vaguely drawn, with large chunks left empty. Both sides of the map have additional letters and numbers written on them, apparently providing more information, although without knowing the code it's hard to say what the notation means.

The second table is initially empty, but the servants soon set out food and drink. For food there are slabs of roasted and boiled meat, fish both fried and smoked, freshly baked bread, and an assortment of cheeses. To drink, you have your choice of ale, a potent mead that is the particular specialty of the area, fresh milk, or water. The amounts provided are considerably more than you could really require.

As all of this is being laid out, King Sveinn points at the map, near the center of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. "Here is where the attack happened, from what you say," he says. "Not a tactically valuable site. It cuts off the main trade route, which might be strategic if they were planning for a siege, but Elvanna is looking for a fast war. Without that, the only notable feature here is that I'd be sure to notice it. Maybe they weren't planning on you stumbling across the scene that soon, but eventually I'd have heard of this."

[Tuvarkz]

"Indeed, as Irrisen's queen only has one year left before she's replaced." Noticing that the Irrisen map is incomplete, Eclaire then unfolds the map that Lanerlei had drawn earlier, saying: "With help of one of the wolves, we got this map roughly done. It's not entirely accurate, but the basic landmarks should be in place. Perhaps it can be of help?"

[Hjolnai]

As Eclaire unveils the new map, Tabrak looks on, refusing to allow his eyes to be drawn to the bountiful food on the other table while such a vital matter is discussed. With a grey finger, he points at the same spot as the King did, on the old map.

"As you say, Sire, the attack there serves little purpose save to draw your attention. It is too small a threat to form a proper distraction, and so it must be a provocation. No doubt the Irrisen queen, er, Elvanna, wishes to draw an overreaction - a full host with levied militia can all too easily be cut off from supplies in so harsh a land, and starved into submission."

[ylvathrall]

"Precisely," King Sveinn says, taking the map from Eclaire. "She can't hope to starve us out in such a short time. And even if she could block the road completely, we could still resupply by sea. Irrisen has no naval forces worth speaking of."

He unfolds the map and sets it on the table, comparing it to the one already there. "I believe that my scouts have more detailed reports for the most part," he says after a few moments. "Although there is some geographic information here that we weren't aware of. If nothing else, I'm sure the cartographers would be interested to see what a wolf considers valuable information."

He then looks at Tabrak with a pleasantly surprised expression. "Yes," he says. "That's exactly it. A distraction, a provocation, a feint, whatever the detail, she wants us looking here. Ice trolls and winter wolves, you said? That's exactly what you would expect to see out of Irrisen, which means it can't be the real attack. Every bounty hunter and militiaman in the north knows what to do about ice trolls and winter wolves. She'll have sent a stronger force in after a higher-value target. Something they aren't ready to defend against. I commit my forces, she wins the fight she cares about and cuts my people off from supplies." He shakes his head. "God's balls, she's obvious."

[Frosty]

As the succubus has no real need for food, she is able to ignore it completely as she focuses on the task at hand. Not being a brilliant military strategist, however, she focuses on what she knows. "Your majesty, feint or not, ice trolls and winter wolves can do significant, real damage to those they reach. You will still need to respond somehow or else merchant caravans will be slaughtered, and perhaps outlying farmsteads as well."

[ylvathrall]

"Yes," King Sveinn says to Abigail. "I expect they will. People die in wars. There's nothing you or I or anyone else can do to change that." He then pours himself a mug of the mead, and takes a deep drink before continuing.

"I'll do what I can to limit the damage. Militias can be mustered, and merchants warned away. But the truth is that the greater threat here is the real attack. Trolls and winter wolves, my people can deal with them; attacks from such creatures are common enough that even isolated farmsteads know how to handle them. If a dragon or a Cold Sister runs free within my lands even briefly, though, the common folk can't hope to defend themselves."

[Frosty]

Abigail winces, even though she needs no reminder that in war, people die. "Dragons...everyone has heard of dragons. But I've never encounter a Cold Sister people. How might we defeat one should one attacks?"

[Hjolnai]

"In that case, Sire, it seems clear that the only way to protect the people is to bring the war to a quick end - but taking off the head of this particular serpent will not be easy."

Tabrak pauses briefly.

"A small force of veterans and bannermen can move more quickly than an army, and has less to fear from those terrible generals known as Famine, Disease and Winter. Such a force could, of course, only succeed by striking at the Queen. It is a dangerous ploy, but fewer lives are risked and nowhere is left truly undefended. That would be my suggestion, though no doubt you have already considered that approach and many others."