The geography of the Ardennes has become an important topic.  Fortunately, the party is at the Elven mission in Lucimburic, and there is no one more qualified than to explain.

The Ardennes forest is a big place.  The Elven kingdom occupies about 12,000 square miles, although this covers a lot of area that is not technically in the Ardennes.  Between the far corners it is over a hundred and forty miles.  Crossing this rugged, rocky, forested land is a slow and laborious procedure- mostly .  The Elves move rapidly in this terrain, and so do the natives of Lucimburic.  But Heolstor has an advantage- his troops are, more or less, close to the middle.  And close to Beda.

One of the most critical features of the Ardennes is the lack of roads through it.  There are narrow trails only, and rivers.

The Ardennes Kingdom is divided into the Royal Domain, the land of the royal couple, and six Marks, each led by a Marquis, Marquessa, or one of each.

The Marks are as follows:

The first mark, the smallest, is in the far west of the kingdom.  It includes the upper portion of the Sambre River and a few “exurb” tribes that are now physically broken off from the remainder of the kingdom.

The Second Mark is in the west, and includes a stretch of the important Meuse River.  The Meuse River flows north out of the second and joins with the Sambre in the Fourth Mark.  The Fourth Mark is the most developed and civilized from a Human point of view, and it stretches along the Meuse River, a major trade artery.

The Third Mark is south of the Royal Domain, on the west side of Lucimburic.  It has a few important towns, like its capital, Orolaunum.  Orolaunum (Modern day Arlon, Belgium) is very close to Lucimburic and is the main “connection town” for the Elven Mission in Lucimburic.  It is an easy day’s walk to the west.

The Royal Domain is in the middle, and it has rivers, but even the largest, the Urta, is unsuitable for anything more than little boats, and the strange Swan Boats that seem to have some Elven magic that keeps them from grounding in the shallow water.

The Fifth Mark is the northeast shoulder of the kingdom, north of the Moselle River, and northeast of Lucimburic.

The Sixth Mark borders the Fifth at the Moselle, and extends down into the forested highlands of the Hunsruck.

The Moselle is mostly controlled by the Elves of the Ardennes, however, there is also a significant Human population along the river, and old agreements allow Humans to use the river to reach the Rhine.   They haven’t done this in years.

Beda (modern day Bitburg, Germany) is in the Fifth Mark, close to the Lucimburic border and close to the Human towns on the Moselle.


It can be reached from Lucimburic in a single day by “fast movers” (runners, couriers, etc) or two with marching armies, merchants, etc.

Treverorum (Trier, Germany)  is the main Human town on the Moselle, and it is the same distance from Lucimburic, and a day south of Beda.

Their position gave them the power of choice, Heolstor realized now. The west was under imminent threat of attack... that was obvious. But what of Beda? They had mentioned it, and the Saxon wondered, while all eyes focused to the West could another strike from the East be brewing?

"Is there reason to expect another attack in the vicinity of Beda?" Heolstor asked, at the risk of waking old ghosts. He needed to know where his men were best employed. They had fewer resources than the Huns - every move had to be carefully considered and well executed.

One misstep and his smaller force could be shattered. Without their distraction and threat to the Hunnic armies... Blood might run like a river in Lingones and Tullum. A coin spun in Heolstor's mind, the grim gamble all too obvious to him.

"And can you tell me where your forces are stationed now in rough numbers along with their disposition and readiness. Along with whatever you know about Hunnic movements."

OOC: Sorry for the abbreviated post, early morning tomorrow and I wanted to post before I disappear for a week.

"About 2 days sir" Dunduin replies to Heolstor's query regarding time to reach the Ardennes Forest.

"What happened to our communication between us and Theoderic's forces? If they know where the Hun army is located it would make decision making a lot easier. Between dwarven, elven, & human scouts I find it difficult to believe we don't have more information. We had a human druid named Tugdual for a brief while who could provide us aerial reconnaissance. Are there elven magic users who can do something similar?"

        After having left the shop, Arctos makes his way back outside and sits casually
on a nearby bench.  He leans forward bearing some of his weight onto his Agnon, using it
to partially support him as he relaxes.  The Dwarven Patre's raven hued orbs begin to
peruse his surroundings closely in the hopes of gaining some insight into the Elves that
live here . . .  Arctos looks to their demeanor and dress.  As they pass by, he listens
to their conversations, hoping that he's able to understand them clearly . . .

The Elves that Arctos can hear away from the “main” conversation are those that are excluded or peripheral from the discussion in the meeting room- young Elves, doing the servant work.  The ones who are going back and forth with the tea, and other goodies, or are just curious.

There are a lot of different things the young Elves are curious about.  The fact they are talking about Huns and Beda and War are things that quickly get brushed off.  These are scary, awful things a young Elf is not supposed to be worried about.  The young Elves are more interested in:

Adesse, the female Elf scout.  Look at her clothes!  Where is she from?  A Savoy Elf, really?  And they way she looks at that Human warrior every now and then, like... you don't think?  Oh my goodness....

Arctos... he doesn't like Elven tea?  What's wrong with him?  Are all Dwarves like that?

Heolstor and Dunduin... talking about all those troops... where are they from?  Where are they going?  Will we have to make tea for all of them?

Meanwhile, inside...

The Elves here have no direct communications with Theoderic.  They have communications with their own people.  But they know that Duke Barstow is in touch.

Thyamin explains:  “Duke Barstow knows how to use the skills of his Lycanthrope citizens.  He has excellent messengers- Wereswans, who can cover distances so fast that... well, only a  wizard can go faster.   I think it is fair to assume that the Duke is already briefing a messenger and sending him out.  Or maybe, he has already done so.”

And then the subject turns to the communications and reconnaissance capabilities of the Elves...

“We are not without our abilities.  Our people are scattered across our land, and they watch and patrol everywhere.  When the Huns come into the Ardennes, we shall know.”

But she goes on to explain that the Elves have become somewhat blind to what's happening outside their borders.  There is a reason for this.  Those Elves that are adept at operating outside their homeland have been busy trying to recover those Elves who were captured by the Huns.  It has been almost a year of difficult, dangerous, ongoing effort, and it has occupied the efforts of many an Elven hero.  Patrolling past their borders has fallen off, because of the demands of this effort.

Most of the Elven forces have been sent to the western side of their kingdom, where a large Hun army, now in Belgica, is much too close for comfort.  The Elven forces remaining in the east and "general reserve" are very scattered.  Elven philosophy doesn't lend itself to large massed forces.  And so far, they don't really know where they would mass to.

Callidus returns from his errand, mulling over the information he learned from Rustian Ghostail. He will have to check out his new leads when he has time. For now he heads back to the elven embassy and takes a seat on the bench beside Arctos.

Callidus removes a bottle and a hunk of cheese and some bread from a hidden sack. He pops the cork off of the bottle of wine and offers Arctos a drink and some of the bread before taking some himself with some cheese, remaining silent while staring up at the clouds and listening to the elvish women titter about himself and his dwarven compatriot.

         Arctos notices an Elven lass carrying her babe nearby, and ignores the shifters
kind offer; the Patre becomes quite distracted with the delightful sight of mother and child.
Arctos rises from the bench and promptly approaches the lass in order to have a word with
her . . .

         "Greetings!  I am Patre Arctos O' the Dwarven contingent O' Legionaires.  I hath
been away from hearth n' home for quite a long while now and hath seen much to much
death in the horrors O' battle that would taint any sane persons disposition most hor-
ridly.

         I am much in need O' the reaffirmation O' the joys O' life, as I hath na seen my
better half Octavena nor my son Augustus for wot seems like ages now . . . a lifetime.

         Mayst I ask a boon from thee?   . . .  Couldst I hold thy babe for but a short
while?  It wouldst greatly warm my heart that hath grown quite cold from many grizzly
battles."

         The Dwarven Patres countenance brightens with a smile as he awaits the Elf's
reply.   
This message was last edited by the player at 15:19, Thu 11 Oct 2012.

"I see" Dunduin replies thoughtfully appreciating the honest answer.

"Perhaps our Lycanthrope friends can lend us a small set of scouts then? No fighting would be required but information in my view would be even more useful for us. It seems like a reasonable quest. What do you think Heolstor?"

Elves in general are friendly folk among their own kind, and they assume others must be as well.  When they see Arctos deliberately snubbing Callidus, it makes them very suspicious.

Nice people don't do that.

It makes them want to talk to Callidus instead.  A few of the Elves approach him, asking about him, and if he is with the others having the Important Meeting here... and how he knows the Dwarf.

"Are ALL Dwarves like that?" one young Elf asks.  "Yuk."

Arctos learns another thing about Elves.  They are not a very fertile race.  They have fewer children than Humans or Dwarves, and as they live much longer, from the Elven perspective, a child comes along to a couple once or maybe twice a century.  It makes them hyper-defensive about their children.

That, along with Arctos's behavior towards Callidus... the Elf woman flees for safety, up into the large tree.

More so than Humans or Dwarves, they come along so rarely.

Meanwhile, inside the Meeting Room, the others talk of positioning and scouting and Lycanthropes.

The Elves agree that the Lycanthropes have the best scouts.  In fact, the know that Duke Barstow has a force of mostly Wererats watching the southern border of Lucimburic.

But even they would be hard pressed to watch over all the border of the Elves.  Thousands of square miles.

The Elves don't see anything wrong in their plans.  They have sent most of their fighters east, where the Huns have a large army.  In case of an attack from another direction, their strategy would be to detect it early, at their border, and then to alert the Elves scattered across the land to gather from every direction.

"Two days," Heolstor said thoughtfully "Swifter than I would have expected... The enemy is everywhere and the battle is everywhere." He smiled, face dour. "Good, there's no way they can escape now."

"If the majority of your soldiers guard the Eastern approaches, and the Western Ardennes is so close, then our place is there." The Saxon surmised. "But not with immediacy, not in this opening hour."

Heolstor requested a map of the embassy. One he, shortly thereafter, intended to keep. For now though it would serve to illustrate his proposed plan. There were keen minds here beside his own to scrutinize it: if he could gain their insight, he could hone his rough stratagem into something greater.

When one was brought he indicated Lucimburic with an extended finger, tapping it twice as he considered how best to begin. "We are here, in the heart, and we can spread to any of the outlying limbs." He pointed first South to Divodurum, then East to Mogontiacum, North of Lucimburic, and West to the boundaries of the Ardennes. "Wherever we go: we are foreign to that battle. Something new, something unknown. Our introduction will cause the Huns pause. Not for our great numbers, or our strength of arms, but because they cannot act against us with certainty that we are few. They will be cautious, their advance will slow, where our hand is played. Or... They will act with speed born of desperation to cut out our influence. Both unsettle their plans."

His indicative finger went East, into the wilderness, and the flesh of the Hunnic empire. "If we strike East of the Ardennes... A raid, no more, haste and violence of action being our purpose... We can give their host pause while they reevaluate, perhaps buying your warriors more time there before they bring their war to the Eastern Ardennes and back to Beda." Heolstor said, his voice suggesting that he was thinking this through to its end too even as he proposed it. "We depart then and head West. Under cover of darkness, by all means of subterfuge available to us, leaving them to wonder where our army has gone."

"While they wonder, paralyzed by inaction, we head West to join the battle brewing there. Your elves, our warriors, and your allies can overwhelm the Hunnic horde there." Heolstor put his thumb down and pressed it against Belgica, as if crushing an insect. "Their strength now lies in the many fronts they've forced your smaller army to defend. We close those doors, shut them tight against their intrusion, and we can bloody them here in the East with unimpeded freedom of maneuver. Your warriors can all turn Eastward, your allies can ride here to do battle beside us, and together we might overturn their advantage altogether."

As the others mulled over his plan Heolstor's eyes turned again to the map, trailing West to Belgica. Belgica, that was not so far from his homeland. Seperated only by waves. He'd been there once. When last he'd seen that place he'd been a disinherited and dishonored son, fleeing his father's wrath. He was coming back with an army. His lips thinned and his brows furrowed in focus. Many things had changed.

He dreamed an impossible, and impossibly selfish, dream. Sailing across the narrow sea at the head of this army and marching to Caedmon's hall. Throwing down its gates and setting fire to his walls - giving Briallen's people their land back and spitting in his father's eye.

... But duty drew him back, pulling his thoughts back to Lingones and Tullum. He had chosen a different life, foregoing vengeance for the sake of those he protected, though sometimes it stung. Heolstor's hand went to the feathers hanging from his broach. Where had that beautiful priestess gone, with all her understanding and honeyed words?

The Saxon looked up - saying nothing of his inner thoughts. "Do any have issue with this course of action?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:21, Sat 13 Oct 2012.

        The Dwarven Patre shakes his head in disgust and returns to the bench and sits down.
Arctos taps his agnon upon the Agnon upon the ground several times so as to take his mind
off of the mercurial elves . . .
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 07:42, Sun 14 Oct 2012.

"I am with the others. I had some business to take care of so I left, they're still discussing their plans inside. This fellow here is Patre Arctos. He's if I understand correctly the second in command of the Dwarven contingent that accompanied us. We've had a bit of trouble in the past, and I believe he's just a bit grumpy at the moment."

"His heart is in the right place though. No doubt it has something to do with the unfamiliar territory which his kin have come through to visit Lucimburic. Although I haven't fought alongside him yet I feel that his is a spirit that will not be vanquished easily."

"Please do not look down on him for being surly. He's really quite the talker once you get to know him a little. I do feel bad that he is unable to see his beloved and his betrothed. He has likely been away from them for quite a long time. Would it be possible for your elven compatriot to acknowledge my friends request? It would do him well and I'm sure it would bring a smile to his grizzled face."

"Of course, no harm will come to your children. Should my friend here try anything against a child I'll cut a gristly crimson smile into his neck and hang him from the gallows with his vocal cords for you." Callidus says jokingly, nudging Arctos with his elbow and broadcasting a smile for all to see.

         Arctos consequently forces a smile at the shifters efforts, yet remains silent,
fearing that his 'Infernal Curse' would make him all the more damned if he were to
speak any further to anyone in this 'Strange Land'.  The Dwarven Patre leans his Agnon
against his well armored shoulder, pulls out his secreted flask, removes its stopper,
takes a short swig of strong Dwarven spirts, replaces it stopper, and returns it from
whence it came.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:42, Sun 14 Oct 2012.

OOC: Quite frankly I've lost all context other then that the Huns/orcs were going to invade the elves. I vaguely remember there was a purpose for us traveling..to verify the Huns were in a particular city maybe. At any rate, me the player, doesn't have a good idea of what's going on. Obviously we've got 2 forces, Heostor's and Theoderic's. I don't know what Theoderic's forces are planing to do or what we were supposed to do if anything. So, while Dunduin the character would most likely be able to comment on military strategy, Steve the player doesn't have enough of an understanding at the moment to do so.

---

Problem rectified via PM. Thanks Ben.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:39, Mon 15 Oct 2012.

         From what I remember, the Elven Embassy has a magical means of communicating with
other major ELven communities.  Our plan was to make use of this asset and gather intelli-
gence . . . on how we could possibly help the Ardenne Elves.

Outside…
Once Callidus breaks the ice, the Elves are somewhat more relaxed around Arctos.

They have questions.  They are quite curious, as they have never had a Dwarf to talk to before.  Are all Dwarves like this?  Do they drink… that stuff Arctos is drinking?

Wouldn’t he prefer tea?  They just made some.  The Ardennes Elves have fifty seven varieties, you know.  Very healthy and good for you!

But the deliberations in the meeting house go on a long time- it takes much longer than Arctos or even Callidus anticipated.


At this point we will have to jump this story ahead in time a bit.  After conversing with the young Elves, Callidus and Arctos spend the night here, and head back for Longus in the morning, reuniting with the troops at the end of the day.  They spend another night back in Longus, and the story resumes the following morning in a new thread, “The Warning From the East”.

* * * * *

Heolstor and Dunduin spend a long time talking about strategy and disposition with the Elves.

Dunduin may be confused with another character.  It is not a specific city they are after.  Everyone knew “The Huns will invade the Ardennes”- but the problem is, now you are in the Ardennes and it is a big place.  The issue is where to expect an invasion.

As far as the Elves know, the Huns are already massing towards the West border of the Ardennes, the heavily populated Fourth Ward, with the Meuse River running through it.

Elven “command structure” is a very decentralized, free-form thing.  They have a king, and they have nobles, but they don’t seem to issue direct commands.  Requests, suggestions, maybe, but not commands.  Instead, Elves are expected to respond as they feel best.  And many do.  Many Elven warriors and mages have gone to the Fourth Ward to help repel the expected attack there.

But the Elves are not stupid- they are aware that they could be attacked elsewhere.  So they have not stripped their other Wards of defenses.

One weakness is their inability to spot an attack before it actually reaches Elven territory.  They used to keep the territory beyond their own under better surveillance, both physically and magically.  But the Huns have gotten better at blocking magical scrying, and at the same time, fewer and fewer Elves have been available for spying.  Thus, they are much more blind than they used to be.

Blind, but not defenseless.  Within the Ardennes, they have a lot of resources.  The Elves would not be alone.  There are plants that the Elves have enchanted that can sprout thorns as big as swords and as sharp as broken glass in moments.  There are trees that can animate.  There are various kinds of magical creatures that would aid them, including Fey and even Unicorns.

What they don’t have is an organization.  No assignments.  No “Unicorn Cavalry Company”.  An Elven battle force is “whoever shows up”.

On the third hand, in their home turf, this might be a great advantage.  Discussing the nature of the Ardennes for a while, it becomes painfully clear that the “build a big catapult” idea has some real problems- there are no roads other than trails.  The only siege weapons that can be conveniently moved are the specialized “mobile mountain ballistas” brought from the Dwarven kingdom!  Bigger things, not built to be dragged along rough trails, would be virtually immobile.

How do the Huns move in the Ardennes, then?

“The Warbeasts”, Thyamin explains.  “Immense creatures, as big as a house.  They can walk where wagons cannot roll.  That is what they used last time, to attack us.  They are hard to kill and very dangerous.”

With all that in mind, and hearing Heolstor’s plans, Thyamin asks him to stay long enough for her to contact the Elven nobles and let them know what they have talked about.  It is too much for a simple spell like “Message”, so she writes it up on a tiny parchment and sends a messenger bird.. and they await the response.

We have to pass a little time here, so we shall assume the party waits for the response from the Elven nobles.  In the morning, word comes- the Elves have given their assent; and Heolstor may move freely through their lands.  They shall spread word that he comes as an ally and is to be treated as such.

Just in the manner in which they present this, it is clear this is a rare honor.

When all is done, they head back to Longus, and they reunite with the troops there.  Heolstor prepares them to move in the morning.

But in the morning, there is another event… and the story shifts, to a new thread:  “The Warning From the East”.