We Need a Plan
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
The smile is still fresh on Cadfael's lips as he moves slowly from person to person. He seems content to see the wounds disappear under his hands, this being what he trained many years to do. For a moment he watches Mission leave, and something seems to flash across his face. Whether it is concern, suspicion or just a trick of the light Mission does not know, but the look is gone almost as quickly as it is registered and Cadfael goes back to tending the party.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
Farron will accept whatever healing Cadfael gives.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
What a fool, Rennik thinks. If the boy needs to be killed, then that is what must be done. It simply means that Mission will become a liability at the time they most need his skills. The halfling makes a note to keep a wary eye on the monk as they head toward the mountain.
Why are humans so prone to folly? What blinds them? Rennik doesn't feel the child is the center of the evil they face, but it may be. Mission's refusal to see that could well mean his death. If his actions endanger the group and leave them open to their enemies, that death might have to come at Rennik's hands.
The thought disturbs him. He likes the monk, for all his strange ways, and the idea of killing him to save the party is distasteful. However, he will do what must be done, whatever that may be.
When Mission scouts down the tunnel, Rennik will motion to Garyth and speak with him to the side.
"What our friend Mission says is well and good. But if the child *is* the root of this evil... or if killing the child would help to stop or hinder the spread of this evil..." He pauses, then tries another tack. "If the time comes when the boy or the mother must be killed, Mission will turn against us. We both need to be aware of this, for our very survival."
To the rest of the group, he continues more conversationally.
"Why do we head east? I set out to kill two wereboars, and I have managed to kill one. In that time, I have found that a great evil has set upon my people - and may have also shattered them thousands of years ago."
"I do not know what causes this evil. I have only some notion that the evil is east, under the mountain. What do we plan to do? How do we plan to stop it? We don't even know what causes it! We are stumbling blindly in the dark, with no more of a plan than going east under the mountain and *stopping* the problem."
"We need a definite plan, a course of action that won't get us all killed."
"We know that some evil is corrupting halflings in the area. We know that the warrior woman is a powerful ally of this evil, and is equally adept with sword and magic. We know that the woman carrying Mission's child is a dark evil in rotting flesh with the powers of the dead at her command. We know that a master of traps and explosives is also allied with this evil."
"We also know the evil is watching us. It knows which way we travel, and when one of us leaves the group. It knows it is more powerful than we are, and is toying with us. It herds us like cattle to our deaths."
"We don't know what we are going to do about it. We don't know how we plan to stop it. We don't even know what it is we are trying to stop. I suggest we think this through and come up with at least a few possibilities before we take even another step."
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
Garyth tries to keep his emotions from his face. His loyalty is to his people, of course, and he is out here to protect them, to use his body to shield them from evil. But at what cost? The idea of killing an innocent child, even to save the world, leaves a bad taste in his mouth. If it must be done... then it must be done. But Garyth resolves to go down that road only when all else has failed. And in the mean time he will be keeping an eye on both Mission and Rennik.
For now, though, there are more pressing matters. "Perhaps you came only to slay two monsters, but I am here to end the threat to Overlook. And why should you be any different? If you succeed at killing the second boar, will you then just go home? Knowing that a greater evil waits to threaten your people in the future? I think you will not. Your reasons are just the same as mine.
"You are right that we don't know what we face. But we have an idea where it is, and how else can we know our enemy than by finding him? I agree that frontally assaulting a superior and prepared enemy is a bad idea, but what choice do we have? We can't just leave, and to try another route would mean cutting our way through this jungle. As we all know, that carries its own dangers.
"I don't see that we have any other options. Either we continue as we have been, or we take our chances with the jungle. I don't see any benefit to either way."
From: Ty
Subject: Healing
Garyth is healed for 17.
Rennik is healed for 17.
Farron is healed for 8.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
BTW, I am just waiting for an "I do this" check in from everyone before I write another turn. Feel free to keep RP'ing and such until you're ready to make a move. This is all good stuff. :)
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
"You misunderstand me. I set out to kill the devilboars, yes. I have discovered a greater threat to my people which must be stopped - and the other devilboar can wait. If I survive this, I will find him in time - and will have weakened his allies."
He stares out across the darkness of the water after Mission, but continues to speak.
"But we stumble blindly ahead, which is foolish. It is the way of humans, to blunder forth without direction, trusting in their own ultimate success. It gives you strength, but makes you easily led."
"The halfling way is one of caution. We live in these wild places, always aware that death stalks us from the shadows. Snakes, wolves, swampdragons, and other denizens of the forest are always on the prowl, and blundering ahead is a good way to get eaten. It is better to use caution, to plan ahead, to know your enemy."
"We have met the warrior woman, already, and I don't feel any one of us could defeat her alone. I don't know if any two of us could. She is a formidable enemy."
"I know the devilboar works with them, and it is twice the foe Horan was. I do not think I could kill it so easily. That task would also take several of us."
"We know they have a master of traps, who has closed off one tunnel leaving only one way through the sewers - and likely to more traps. An unseen enemy, but a deadly one."
"We have also met the rotting woman with child, who is the most dangerous of all. I wounded her gravely with my axe, yet the wound simply closed over without even a drop of blood. She nearly killed Mission with the flat of her hand. She sent Cadfael into screaming shock with her presence."
"We have no chance of success if we attack even these four - and we have encountered halflings, skeletons and zombies that fight along with them. Your human foolishness would have us continue to forge forth without a plan? We need stealth and cunning, not force."
He lowers his voice some, in an attempt to keep Mission ignorant of his coming words, still watching the water where the monk left.
"The evil, rotting woman is carrying a child. Her evil is so strong that Cadfael could hardly bear it, forcing both he and you, Garyth, to flee in terror. This child has spent months consumed by evil, fed by corruption. It is likely as terrible as its mother, and maybe more powerful."
"She is pregnant, this most dangerous of our enemies. Close to the time when she will be incapacitated with birth, weakened by struggle and pain. This is the time to strike her, hard and fast when she cannot use her full potential. If this causes the baby to die, so be it. Is one child worth all the souls of Overlook, of Nesalin, of the entire island of Huss?"
"I think not."
From: Ty
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
That's weird. Did this come in blank for everyone?
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The hole; Letters to home
[OOC: Not blank for me.]
Sa'id looks like he wants to go after Mission, especially when Rennik starts speaking about the impetuousness of humans.
"Yes," he agrees, "it's obvious that we're being herded. But whether it is by our enemies or by the... gods... it is impossible to say." His feelings for the gods are more obvious than ever before; the word comes from his mouth only reluctantly.
"About Anileth. She is not the crux of our problem. She cannot be slain while Promise is still within her; but after Promise is born I suspect her chosen 'god' will cast her aside like a sheikh's concubine would cast aside a torn dress." He pauses for a moment, then carries on. "We cannot defeat Elise, if Rennik's account of their battle is accurate. And we CERTAINLY cannot defeat Kor Garesh. Therefore I believe it most prudent to focus on recovering Promise -- not only for Mission's sake, but because of two things. First, it is a task that is probably within our ability, if we are careful about it. Second, because anything else we try to do will be made more difficult by the fact that Mission is focused on Promise -- and rightly so." Sa'id doesn't add " ...and like my father was NOT focused on me."
"I do not think we can end the threat to Overlook. In fact, it has become patently obvious that the threat is not merely to Overlook, but to Huss; not to mention the rest of the world by extension. We must do what little damage we can, and then return to warn of the danger. This is not a fight for six people, this is a fight for an army."