Re: Chapter #6d: War Council
“Let’s make sure of it.” Alergast Barett looked every bit the ranking officer of the Sandpoint Guard as he considered the situation. “I think having Scholar Crispin head down to the tunnels evaluate how they might best be sealed is an excellent idea.” He glanced at Pisca. “I’m certain I don’t know how it would be done, but that’s why we have experts make those decisions instead.”
He tapped the table in front of him. “Talk with me after the meeting, Cato. We’ll certainly need someone with engineering training to make sure any collapse is done properly and so as not,” he nodded at the wizard, “to create any sinkholes. I think you qualify. If you consult our resident engineering expert Sage Quink for his wisdom beforehand? So much the better. For all we know these tunnels are from the Thassilonian era. Maybe he’ll have some insight.”
He shook his head at Pisca’s questions regarding the tunnels’ provenance. “I don’t want to seem incurious, but as the gods are my witness right now I couldn’t care less who built the tunnels or why they are there. For all I know some homesick Kaijitsus were trying to dig their way back to Tian Xia. Maybe later the tunnels’ origin will be something that legitimately concerns us, but right now every minute is precious. We don’t have time to waste investigating why they’re there. We just need to figure out what we’re going to do about them now that they are.”
The lieutenant paused, then nodded at the deputized gnome. “That said, if we can actually collapse the tunnels on an attacking force of goblins as they’re attempting to move into the town, then we should go ahead and do it. But I don’t want to take any chances. If there is any possibility that attackers will get through and assault the town, we should seal the tunnel as soon as safely practicable.” He gave Cato a sober look. “Any,” he emphasized the word, “possibility.”
He gave Liseth a speculative look. “Indeed, I was thinking of something along those lines as well. Destroying one or both of the bridges would certainly make the goblins’ job tougher. They’re not great swimmers, as far as I know, and they would be subject to our ranged attacks as they attempted to make their way across. It’s an extreme measure, but this situation calls for extreme measures.” He nodded. “It’s certainly something to consider.”
Alergast looked taken aback at Cato’s answer to his question about the quasit. “A . . . demon.” The big guardsman paused, taking in the information. “Well.” He looked nonplussed. “Whoever we send down to explore the tunnels needs to be aware of the demon, and prepared to engage it if necessary.” He glanced at Liseth. “That is my question too, Acolyte Thoradin. I have to admit my demonology is . . . limited. Scholar Crispin, are there any weapons or other items with which we need to arm our intrepid explorers to give them a fighting chance against this thing?”
The guard officer placed both hands on the table and bowed his head as he listened to first Pisca, then Liseth expound on the possibility of the younger Kaijitsu’s redemption. Then he straightened. “Look, I personally would be happy if we could convert Tsuto to our cause. That kid got a raw deal in life, and I can understand his anger. I don’t approve, mind, but I understand. If he’s learned a hard lesson that the quest for vengeance takes a far bigger toll on the seeker than the target, and is having second thoughts, then I for one will welcome him back to Sandpoint with open arms. But if he chooses to remain true to this evil witch?” The big man let the question hang in the air. “Well, let’s not give him the chance to get away again.”
He shrugged as Liseth fretted about what the attacking leadership might do if they discovered the loss of Tsuto’s journal. “We can’t worry about that. Chances are they don’t even know he was keeping a journal; I can’t imagine that they would have allowed that to continue if they did, or that they would have let him bring it to Sandpoint with him. So Tsuto would have to tell them of its loss himself; I imagine that would be a tough thing for him to do if they didn’t know about it in the first place. But even if they do know, and feel compelled to change their plans, that could actually be good for us. It sounds like they have some conflict in the upper leadership as it is, so forcing them to develop a completely new plan could buy us some time. There are really only a few ways for them to attack the town. The important thing is that we know they’re coming, not that we necessarily have a copy of their exact battle plan.”
“As far as taking the fight to the goblins goes,” the lieutenant chuckled mirthlessly, “there is absolutely no way. I agree that the odds aren’t outstanding if we stay here, but trust me when I say that they are much, much worse if we attempt to sally forth.”
“We have no army. What we have is a company of guardsman and a number of poorly-trained militia. They can make a stand here at Sandpoint, fighting for and defending their homes. But trying to march them overland to an unfamiliar location with unknown defenses and an unknown number of defenders?” He shook his head firmly. “That is a recipe for disaster.”
“In warfare, defending familiar territory is a force multiplier. And when green troops such as ours are defending their homes and things they care about, with their backs to the proverbial wall, it gives them courage.” He sighed. “I don’t even want to think about what would happen if the goblins hit us in the open field as we were attempting to march on Thistletop. I assure you that it would be a bloodbath, and not one in our favor.”
“Not only that, but to tell you the truth we’re not even entirely sure exactly where Thistletop is. When Shalelu returns,” he gave Pisca a nod, “maybe she’ll have some ideas on how best to knock the goblins off their stride. But whatever we do, it is not,” he emphasized the word by sending his hand through the air with a curt, cutting motion, “going to involve sending a significant number of troops away from Sandpoint when it faces the biggest threat in its history.”