Daubeny Family/Aeron/A Talk with the Autarch

Roleplay from Lucius Navaar Player experience level: mentor Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (34 recipients) - 8 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes ago The Autarch's tent was bustling with activity. The ruler himself dealt with countless messages every day, and between a plague, his wife's injuries, and a takeover, he was busy. Where there would usually be a man bored and weary from the daily toils, stood a man in his element. Orders for the next phase of the takeover passed from his lips to his captain, and then he was reading the next reports. He penned a letter. "Deliver this to the Marshal and the Council. Daimons are not to be underestimated," he replied, a something curious alighting on his face for a moment.

"Burn the daimon bodies in Via. I want the Healer's Association's full cooperation. Get the Grim Doctors out there," he told the next messenger. The third messenger was handed another memo. "For High King Lowry. You," he pointed to another messenger, "take this to Svari." He sighed, and his hand twitched at the grip of one of the blades at his side. He needed to get home to her soon as well. So many things to do, but somewhere his heart was on the front lines.

"Sir! We found him!" A man hurried in and as the Autarch turned, something switched in his demeanor. His eyes had a wicked gleam and the man twitched as he approached. "We found him," the newest messenger repeated.

Lucius' laugh could have been the hallmark of a villain in that moment. "Good! Great!" he shouted as he let the next stack of letters fall to the ground and grabbed the messenger's shoulders. "Tell Hare I will come for him, and if he tries to leave, he and every last person in his family will be found as well, and they won't enjoy the next part." The man nodded and hurried out of the tent. So many things to do and so little time. Expanding the borders of Tol Goldora to the north and south had been one of his goals as Autarch, but with daimons on the border, the one thing he was good at was waiting for him, tempting him away from other responsibilities.

"Sir, there's a noble here to see you," was the next comment to snap him back to reality.

A noble? he wondered. "Send them in," he commanded, as he picked up the discarded letters from the ground. Never too little to do, he took a seat and waited, trying to once more put on the airs of a ruler and not himself.

Roleplay from Aeron Daubeny Player experience level: experienced Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (34 recipients) - 8 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Aeron was waved into the Autarch's tent. He felt nervous, he had never spoken to the ruler of Tol Goldora before. He only ever saw him once at the Wedding and at the time felt to worried to go and speak to him. He stepped into the tent and narrowly avoided walking into a messenger. He dodged to the side and the messenger spoke his apologies as he quickly walked past.

He looked around the tent, it was abuzz with activity and Aeron felt a building pressure in his mind. He shook it off and pulled down his hood, he looked to the Autarch who had taken a seat, the air of authority radiated around him and Aeron felt his nervousness grow. Aeron had been taking a medication he made that lessened the pain of the curse he had inflicted upon himself. His skin was a bit more of a dull color but it was not the ash grey it was when he went to see Haide. He looked tired with heavy bags beneath his orange eyes.

He took a step forward and placed his fist over his heart in salute before kneeling before the Autarch, bowing his head. "Your Grace, I am Ser Aeron of the Isle. I wished to discuss some matters of great import to me and the people of my homeland, if you are not otherwise occupied."

Aeron had various scrolls and a map rolled up and bundled in his left arm. He held his breath and waited for the Autarch to speak.

Roleplay from Lucius Navaar Player experience level: mentor Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (33 recipients) - 8 days, 18 hours, 51 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Lucius signaled and quickly Aeron found himself with a chair and a table between them. Lucius reviewed another letter in between the hustle and bustle of servants, this one concerning the state of their Vestarch. He kept his emotions tightly under control and folded the letter before slipping it into his pocket. It would do no good for rumors to spread.

For the first time, as things cleared, Lucius took a long look at Aeron, resting upon his eyes. A tsk was purposely released for him to hear as the Autarch shook his head and gave the young man some honest words of concern. "The last man I knew that played with magics killed a dozen men in a berserk rampage and was never seen again after disappearing into the night. Promise you'll be careful if you're going to continue."

The next signal brought a pair of drinks to the table and after a sip in contemplation of what to do with these new concerns, and if he had time for them, Lucius decided to hear Aeron out. "New concerns may just be a piece in the bigger puzzle here. What's on your mind, Sir Aeron?"

Roleplay from Aeron Daubeny Player experience level: experienced Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (33 recipients) - 8 days, 17 hours, 44 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Aeron sat down and listened to the Autarch's words, he looked away from Lucius seemingly ashamed. "I...yes Your Grace" He looked back at the Autarch "I just wanted to keep everyone safe, it didn't matter how much it hurt me as long as I was successful."

He took a sip of the wine the Autarch's servants had poured, he swirled it in it's glass and seemed to be in thought after the Autarch asked what was on his mind. "Maybe so Your Grace, this would be a rather macabre puzzle. I've been meaning to discuss with you the state of things in my homeland but had not found the time nor courage to ask."

He place the scrolls and map on the table that was in-between the two of them. "My homeland, the Isle of Stone has been under siege for the past eight months. Organized monster hordes and traitors from the Isle have tore through my homeland. I had previously wanted to ask if but a fraction of the mighty hosts of Tol Goldora might be sent to turn the tide and liberate my people but..."

Aeron seemed hesitant "The strength of the Isle is exhausted, it would mean a near total reconquest of the Isle by the forces of the Autarchy and I would not dare to ask for such a thing. But my people still face the threat of slaughter, I wish to ask for your blessing and perhaps even aid with sending a relief force to evacuate as many of my people as we can so that they might resettle in the Autarchy. Perhaps in our soon to be conquered northern regions."

Aeron paused "I know it's a lot, but I have received news that soon in the coming weeks the final bastion of the Isle, the Capital of Silver Fountains will fall and so I fear my people have run out of time."

Roleplay from Lucius Navaar Player experience level: mentor Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (33 recipients) - 6 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Lucius set down his wine on the ground so he could move the map without concern and said nothing. In his mind he made a circle around the island's capital and started to look for any marked natural land formations. Docks. It was a seaport. A small guard with some watch towers would fix the fear of enemies coming by sea. It seemed the majority would strike from the land and while it wasn't a bottleneck, it meant they couldn't easily be surrounded. Lucius stood and found a number of colored blocks he'd kept from the first days he was found holed up without sleep in the Vice-Marshal's quarters. He started dividing out the colors. Red for the enemy. Blue for Tol Goldora. Yellow blocks were the first on the map. He set them on natural formations that could be used against the city or to their advantage.

He scattered the red blocks next. Assuming the monsters were still monsters they often banded together, but not as mixed units. Anything large would try to use the natural cliffs to throw rocks. Spiders and winged creatures would try to get over the walls. He set the winged creatures over to toward the water. If they were smart they would avoid most of the troops and strike where the defenses would be weakest. The regular infantry would storm the walls and try to break through.

Finally came the blue blocks. "Rally the ships," he muttered as he set down a few of the blocks. Small batches of archers made it on the ships and walls. Standard siege defenses, he assumed, lined the walls. "There may be crude siege towers. Burning arrows will be good unless they're smart enough to cover them with wet leather..." Lucius paused and returned his attention to Aeron at last. "Numbers. Intelligence levels. What are we working with? What are we against? Where are they based on this island?" he demanded from the knight as he returned his gaze to the map. "There are too many unknowns. This is just speculative based on the terrain."

Roleplay from Aeron Daubeny Player experience level: experienced Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (33 recipients) - 6 days, 17 hours, 42 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Aeron watched as the Autarch began to move blocks across the map, he waited until the Autarch demanded more information. Aeron bolted up straight and nodded. He pointed to the city. "Silver Fountains holds the last remnants of the Isle's forces last report put the number at two hundred Dawn Guard and other remnants. There are the Smiths of Enarion but their mountain stronghold has been surrounded and no word has been sent by them for a long time."

He pointed then to the two plateaus further away from the city. "The enemy make their encampments on the plateaus, they keep their forces separate to prevent infighting, one hosts the monster the other hosts the Isle deserters and Blackstone traitors."

The monster horde consists of a species of monsters that we of the Isle call the Oricana. They are distant cousins to the orcs and goblins of the mainland. Tall and strong buggers the lot of them, they have four arms. The smaller ones who are closer to goblins only have one pair of arms but they are numerous. The last and largest Oricana are the Ogres, living siege engines in their own right, they normally wield trees as clubs, not commonly found through only in the deepest parts of the jungles beyond the valley."

He rifled through his satchel and took a green book. He flicked open the page with an artist depiction of the Oricana and handed it to the Autarch.

He pointed to the Blackstone Jungle that took up most of the Isle. "The Oricana come from the jungles, normally we'd have the manpower to hold their hordes back in the mountains but the civil wars have drained the Isle near dry of its strength." He paused and took another sip of the wine before continuing. "The Oricana are just below human intelligence though they are capable of being crafty. The Blackstone traitors are a great concern. They were one of the most advanced armies on the Isle, they won the Civil War besting the Dawn Guard. Though their own infighting have weakened their numbers, the reports estimate they number at no more then three hundred."

Aeron seemed deep in thought as he spoke. "As for the Oricana horde it is hard to keep track of their casualties as they have suffered great losses and seem to be constantly replenishing their numbers. Our scouts have been suffering a lot of casualties without the Chief Ranger's guidance with her recent murder but the report puts their numbers around three thousand out of their original five thousand at the start of the war."

He realized that he should also mention it. "The enemy forces are led by one of my cousins, a man named Duncan. He is mad, not a shred of humanity remains in his husk of a soul. The Isle's forces used to be commanded by my kin but they have all most all met their end there is no evidence behind it but...many believe I am the Last Daubeny, all the others are either in hidning or dead." Aeron shook his head and refocused on the Autarch.

"What else do you need to know your grace?"

Roleplay from Lucius Navaar Player experience level: mentor Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (33 recipients) - 3 days, 19 hours, 26 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Lucius studied the map a while longer. Depending on the Blackstones... He muttered something about trading ships. "What's the status of Bonewright?" he asked next. "With some decent captains, a small force could land there in the night after making a show of reinforcing the city with the main fleet." He pointed to the eastern plateau. "The Oricana are probably based here. You said they are intelligent to an extent. They would not put themselves between mountains and two human forces. They would want a clear path home. That means we can reasonably assume if Bonewright is standing, the village isn't under a well trained guard, or it's abandoned."

The Autarch started moving pieces around on the map again. This time, a small force circled up to the ironwood and came out to attack what he hoped would be the Oricana from the East. "Make a show of rallying the men to march, and while they are focused on the city, hit them from here. The goal isn't to corner them, but to drive them to Blackstones and let their mutual mistrust do some of the work for us."

He paused. "That should be step two. Step one... We need someone reliable not to get themselves killed and be quiet. Let's get some black powder and detonate the city side of the plateau. Put some fear in them that they won't know what's happening. I'd like to do it while we attack them, but the western plateau would be likely to reinforce them and stop anything we might try."

The Autarch appeared to have a puzzle that he liked as he toyed with his ideas.

"Estimating 200 men against 300 Blackstones is one thing. What do we know about the size of the Oricana forces? Given the variety and locations, I would think tribal, slightly mistrustful of one another, and probably at least two or three leaders, but these are outside of my expertise," he said with an expectant look at Aeron.

Roleplay from Aeron Daubeny Player experience level: experienced Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (33 recipients) - 3 days, 17 hours, 39 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Aeron perked up when Lucius asked about Boatwright, "Boatwright? It's a major fishing village and the secondary port of the Isle, traditionally its a vassal of the Princes of Silver Fountains and I am currently the only remaining one. Last mention of it in a report was that the Blackstones raided and burned it down to cinders as to prevent use of it's port and shipyard, I doubt there would be anything left to guard so it's likely to be empty." He looked at the map and shook his head for a moment. "You speak truth, the Oricana are smart enough to know not to trust the Blackstones, not fully at least but the eastern mountains are the Blackstone's primary holdings. Both would want the Eastern Plateau as it's puts them closest to home and the Oricana's rage and bloodlust must be kept in mind, they have been hunted by the Isle for generations I reckon most of them would be hesitant to give up now with their victory so close."

He slowly nodded "The Ironwood is barren, the Blackstones burnt the entire forest to cinders during the Civil War. But it's husk is thick still and would make decent cover especially if you had the cloud cover on your side to obscure the moon." Aeron thought for a moment "Blackstones might be hard to trick, they're professional and have an almost mindless discipline to them, though they don't like getting up close. They rely on siege engines and their crossbows to do their heavy lifting in straight up battles, their main strength is their assassins and saboteurs. They've been tearing apart the commanders of the Isle and weakening the garrison by hitting armories and granaries."

Aeron thought for a moment and recalled the initial reports from the war. "The Oricana's numbers are great, the only accurate report we got was from the Chief Ranger before she was assassinated by the Blackstone Seekers. She counted that sixteen of the twenty known tribes had come rallied, their numbers at the time were anywhere from eight to ten thousand though that was mostly goblins."

He paused again to think for a moment. "Then they suffered great losses during the Siege of Northwatch and the subsequent recapturing of Northwatch by the Blackstone Legion prior to their betrayal. They lost four of their warchiefs during those opening few battles. It's been almost a year of fighting and my people have not given up their homes without a fight. The most recent report puts their numbers at maybe one to two thousand split among ten tribes. They must have a Warlord who either bested the chiefs in battle or was elected by the majority of them."

Aeron took the green book from the table and flipped through a few pages. "They are prone to infighting when not united an given a goal, their previous attempts to break the Isle have failed when their Warlord died or if they got stalled in a siege, each tribes is in stark comparison extremely loyal within it's own ranks, desertion is unheard of unless the whole tribe withdraws from the war."

Aeron looked back to Lucius "My Autarch I shall answer any other questions should you have them but...does this mean you will help?"

Roleplay from Lucius Navaar Player experience level: mentor Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (34 recipients) - 20 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Lucius looked at Aeron and then down at the map. "Based on your words, I would guess they already have spies and a plan to breach the city walls from within. You're drastically out numbered, and at best we'd land an army into a city under siege, or onto waiting shores where our people get slaughtered. Judging by the map, the main part of your territory looks dryer than the rest. I could send fire ships to burn out the trees and give you room to counterattack if it causes a panic among the Oricana, but you are still out numbered and would not be able to wait them out. Even with supplies, we would only strain the city further."

He tapped the city on the map. "We could evacuate your people, abandon the isle altogether..."

What do I say to this man?, he wondered. Focusing back on the young knight, leveling his gaze so their eyes met. "If you had an army, do you think we could win?" Those orange eyes. Self-sacrifice only gets you so far. I doubt he'd listen to me though. "And do you think you'd be able to survive it?"

Roleplay from Aeron Daubeny Player experience level: experienced Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (34 recipients) - 20 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

He nodded to the map. "I would reckon you are right. Counterattack is too risky if we were lucky we could break them but more then likely we'd just leave the city open to assault." He looked for a long time at the city and he felt the burning rage beginning to bubble in his veins. "Evacuation might be the only choice but I will not give up my home without a fight."

He looked back to the Autarch, his orange eyes determined. "With a proper army, yes I think I could. The Blackstones are overconfident, the Oricana rely on their warlord for unity and Duncan was never the best military leader. We could hold the city walls and bleed them dry when they try to breach the city but without a proper cavalry force a fight in the open field would mean defeat unless we could somehow draw the battle away from the city."

Aeron's eyes lit up with an idea and took the blue token from the city and moved it toward the eastern mountains into a thin mountain pass with a fortress labeled White Tower. "The Dawn Guard abandoned White Tower at the beginning of the war to reinforce Northwatch, it would still be empty. If I lead the remains of the Isle's army from the vanguard and bared the Banner of the Thirteen then it would be an open challenge, one the Oricana wouldn't dare to pass up.

He pointed past the mountains and to the jungle. "The jungle has been emptied of Oricana, the Goldorans could land just beyond the mountains and march up to reach White Tower from the east whilst the Isle draw the Oricana into the pass where with pikes and shields we could hold them back, if we got both the Isle's archers as well as the Goldoran archers then they could be positioned along the fortress walls and the ridges and outcrops on the mountains and rain arrows down on them. Then if we sent the Goldoran infantry forces through the old mining tunnels we could wait until their horde is all within the pass and then come around and cut off their rear."

Aeron moved the red tokens into a stack on the mountain pass and had one blue token flank the red tokes. "They would panic and just as likely try to kill each other as us and then if we could gather enough Goldoran cavalry we could hit the northern side of the plateau that the Blackstones hold and overrun their camp, they favor infantry against infantry battles so if we force them from the plateau and into an open fight where their tactics are weakest we could rout them and if we kill Duncan all but the most fanatical would surrender."

He smiled at his plan but then sighed "But I can't guarantee my safety this plan relies on the fact that I am the Last Prince of the Isle and that the enemy would want my head as a trophy more then anything else, they would all be doing their best to reach and kill me, but I am not afraid to put my life in harms way."\

Roleplay from Lucius Navaar Player experience level: mentor Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (34 recipients) - 18 days, 19 hours, 43 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Lucius looked down at the plan and then back to Aeron. "Two out of three points." Holding up his index finger, he continued. "One because I like you. You do good work for the realm. Two," he added as the second finger flipped up, "is because you may not be useless at strategy. I can see your train of thought, though you are relying heavily on a gamble that may not succeed, and you've separated events too neatly for my liking."

He pointed to the army that Aeron would lead to taunt them. "First, I would point out that this gambit requires you to ride East. Let's say you do catch the Oricana's attention. Based on the positioning you gave me, you're also parading in front of the Blackstone army, and expecting the Oricana to give chase around them when the Blackstone's may take advantage of the open field you find yourself in as well. And secondly, if you empty an army from the city, that's more incentive to attack it. We can't discount any possible traitors in the city that could open the gates or blow an opening in the walls either."

Finally Lucius tapped his third finger that was still down. "And your missing point? You failed as a leader." This got a hard look from the Autarch as he lowered his hand. "These are your people. You are coming to me to save them. Your first plan shouldn't be about possibly throwing your life away. If Tol Goldora marches, it goes for one of its own, not because we have some duty to your homeland. If you die, why would we keep fighting? Is the life of someone not valuing their own worth an unknown number of ours in revenge? I doubt it." Finding his glass from before, Lucius tips it back and empties it. "Put out a call. Gather volunteers and let me know what you round up. Come back then, and we'll see if this task is any more or less viable than before."

Roleplay from Aeron Daubeny Player experience level: experienced Player play preference: rp Message sent to all nobles of Tol Goldora (34 recipients) - 18 days, 18 hours, 27 minutes ago A Talk with the Autarch

Aeron looked curiously at the Autarch as he spoke of points, he nodded "Thank you Autarch though warfare was not my best skill but I'd like to think I am know a few things."

He let the Autarch finish his point. "True, but we could still leave a force to defend the city, I would march out only with the Dawnguard from the City and my own unit of Dawn Guard leaving the auxiliaries to defend the city against assault and there could be an equally advantageous position in the west however as to avoid marching in front of the Blackstones but I would have to think and consult the records I have brought with me."

Aeron looked taken aback when Lucius called him a failed leader and cast his eyes away and a feeling of shame washed over him. "I...you are right my Autarch but I was not intended to be the leader, I was merely supposed to muster aid, the reason I have delayed brining this before you until now is I was worried I would be dismissed if I was a completely unknown knight, I had hoped to make a name for myself first but I shouldn't have waited as long as I have."

He nodded "I shall ensure then to not die Autarch." He gave a small bow and salute as Lucius dismissed him. "By your leave then Autarch, I shall send a letter to the realm in the coming days, thank you for your time, your grace."