The Southern Continent (part 2)

[Drusia]

"Ralkin coming!" she replied. "With bad men."

I drop down from my perch and move to Tamina's side.

"Is Foo-silly-us with them?" I ask Alleece. "Or another half-elf?" If so, those are my priority targets. Well, them and regen-boy.

-- Drusia

[Jack Rothwell]

"We're going to find out!" Tamina said, scurrying to retrieve her bow. "But I think the big bad man isn't coming. He sent one of his... err... dogs?"

"Henchmen." Someone helpfully supplied.

"Henchmen, maybe just one, maybe lots, and brought soldiers. We've gotta be quick though, REAL quick, so might be better if Dru and me go, she's got the tele-port, I've got the magics to make me run faster. We can get there, see them, come back. But Udo, Khoo... need some... umm... burly knight protectors!" She declared, citing some drunken legend she'd overhead in one human tavern or another. "Gotta protect this place, and you've got the magics that can help, and the good guns. If we meet them unprepared, could be bad, very, very bad."

"That's an understatement." Alleece added. "Come on boys, we've got a village to fortify."

[Alberich]

Udo thought that was a good idea - having Tamina and Drusia do the scouting, and two Noble Knight Protectors ready to anchor the defense. He had no guns now. That was all right. Maybe the enemy would bring a few. Good loot!

"But tell me," he said, "Can your kobold hunters hide in the jungle?" (Which sounded like "Is the Patriarch Orthodox?" but he didn't mean it that way.) "'cause I think it's better than getting behind barricades the enemy can see. Have a big ambush force ready in the trees, and when the enemy comes forward to attack us, hit 'em from all sides at once! Fight 'em on ground where you have the advantage. I can be out front to draw their attention." And since he was planning to be dressed like this -- but with his staff and boots -- the odds were he would draw lots of attention. Also lots of enemy fire.

He looked up at Leli. While he had a high opinion of his own tactical thinking, even he understood that he wasn't exactly in the kobold chain of command, and that the elder, not he, would deploy her forces.

[Jack Rothwell]

Leli nodded at Udo's idea as Tamina took off with the elf at her side. Alleece took Udo's arm and gestured for Khoo to follow her as the pair disappeared from view.

"Most of the hunters are out right now, but they'll be back soon... hopefully. And yes, they'll take up positions to catch the men unaware. They've done it with slavers often enough."

On the higher floor, kobolds were making their way up to the treetops of the village to keep a look out for trouble. The younger gah were being hurriedly rounded up and moved to a big hut in the center of the camp. Leli had made her way to the ground and began using her magic (noticeably more powerful than her pupils) to make the wood of the blockades knit together with an organic, creaking sound.

"Do either of you know any defensive magic to protect us? Or the younger gah?" She pointed to the safehouse, where the last of the children was being pushed inside with a squeak of protest. "Glowy shields aren't a killikah speciality... or..." She winced at the thought which had just occurred to her. "What about anything that can dampen down fires?"

[Graybeard]

"I can take care of small fires," Khoo said, glad to actually be able to do something useful(?). He didn't think it worth pointing out that the Vacuum Bubble spell wouldn't just starve a fire of oxygen, it would also be none too great for any living things within the perimeter of the spell. Of course, she hadn't asked.

[Alberich]

"Most of the hunters are out right now, but they'll be back soon... hopefully. And yes, they'll take up positions to catch the men unaware. They've done it with slavers often enough."

"Yeah!" said Udo. "But they should do it all at once after the magic blasting starts - so you get 'em all by surprise." He hoped that the ordinary Ralkin troops would be decimated in nothing flat -- so that he and the other mages could concentrate on whatever real power the enemy had brought.

"I can take care of small fires," Khoo said.

"Yeah!" said Udo. "And you can do bad-ass barriers too!" - he remembered the one from the temple battle the day before, the barrier that had shielded Alleece long enough for Udo and Tamina to save her. He clapped his fellow Tsuirakuan on the shoulder. "We'll defend the gah to the death! Buck up, buddy! Remember - a true hero faces death on his feet with a smile on his lips and a laugh in his throat!" He ran off to finish arming himself.

"<Then you will make heroes of us all,>" said Alleece to his retreating back.

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina took Drusia's hand as soon as the jungle path opened up a little. She gave her companion a word of warning before she did what she was about to do.

"Gonna speed us up a bit! Keep close!"

The Killikah mage channeled her 'hummingbird' spell with a flash of energy and a grunt of effort, wiring the pair's reflexes with pure adrenalin. The scenery transformed into a green blur for the next thirty seconds as hundreds of yards were eaten up by two pairs of feet pounding in tandem. The spell wore off like a dragnet had suddenly opened behind them. Tamina staggered, but held her footing.

"Can you -gasp- teleport us please? Need a sec -wheeze- to catch my breath." She managed.

[Graybeard]

Khoo fought down the impulse to use a Hygiene spell where Udo had clapped him on the shoulder. Some of his countrymen were more ... hygienic ... than others. However, he didn't think this was a time to expend energy on such things.

"Uh, any need for reconnaissance here?" he asked. "I could probably levitate up a tree to a viewing position, or something like that."

[Jack Rothwell]

"That's a good idea." Alleece replied. "Got steps up here..." She pointed to the ladder-like rungs nailed to the sides of the trees on the upper level of the village.

"If you did a levvy-ta-shon..." The kobold made a face, despite her good grasp of human speech there were still some words which continued to elude her. "...right at the top of the tree, you could get a really good view... erm... do heights make you nervous?"

.....

Standing at the prow of the leading ship, the leader of the Black Guard looked to the horizon with a smile as Grendell finally came into view.

[Alberich]

Udo returned in time, with spear and staff and club and knife and boots and sash and loincloth. In fact, all considered, he was pretty clean - he'd used a hygiene spell that morning; he just hadn't chosen to clean off the lively pattern of tribal symbols finger-painted on his body by Alleece. These were still quite visible, for he'd decided to fight this battle without his robe, and display the marks as badges of honor to terrify the enemy. Some little part of his consciousness wanted a cloth to wrap around his head...but he didn't have one handy.

He didn't agree with Khoo's plan. "We've got Drusia and Tamina doing recce already," he said, "and they'll tell us which way the enemy's coming. If you're flying up in the sky, you probably won't see them in the jungle anyway. And if you do see them they'll see you and know they're spotted. I want these Ralkin scum surprised that they're not surprising. Better to stay on the ground with us and use your power for barriers and wind blasts and force bolts and all."

The scouts would be back pretty fast - which left Udo with one serious tactical problem to consider...how to get in a little discreet before-the-battle snogging! He feared the village was too busy at this hour to make it possible.