In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 918):

"That would be appreciated. I have six men in the woods...that should ensure we can find it. We also have some Frump uniforms..."

Ah, good, so it will look like Frump's men found it ... and perhaps you should let his men know as well ... from his scouts, of course.

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 920):

"Then I should go and make this happen?"

He prepares to leave.

He sees you out to tge gate, where he has you wait while he summons a Scout and gives him instructions, which include reporting everything he sees and hears.

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 922):

Mustafa will wait until he is introduced to the scout, and then depart with him. If they are headed away from his men he will ask for a quick detour...

You are able to meet up with your men... any instructions?

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 924):

I will take my scouts aside from the other scout and instruct 3 of them to return to the commander with news that this Baron should not be considered hostile, but was only following the Count in Zila because he had no choice. I will also inform them of the force we were going to identify, and our plans to tell the Count in order to incite a civil war.

I will then instruct the remaining three men to don Frumps colours, as will myself, and we will go with the scout to see these new troops.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:28, Thu 17 Sept 2020.

The Scout from Baron Snidely seems somewhat suspicious of what is going on... But you all start off and within two days, you are looking over the efforts of Fauntleroy... and they are not inconsiderable. The Young Nobleman was well informed as there are 132 young, fit soldiers here.
Now to get Frump's men to see it and report.

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 926):

Mustafa will thank the young scout for his assistance, asking the scout whee he might find some of Grumps scouts. Directing two of his own scouts to return and inform the leaders of the location. He himself will take the route directed, with one other scout, to go and ensure one of Grumps men finds this. Before the other scout leaves, he asks him if he has a map of this area.

The "other" scout  is sticking with you ... scouts never go alone.

It takes a little bit to find some of Frumps men ... none are Scouts, but with you colors they assume you are one of them... when you tell them to come see what you have found... they baulk, stating that the Sascatch lives in there and eats men. It is 8 feet tall and magical, normal weapons won't hurt it.

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 928):

We will make sure then that we find him some of Frumps colours...and none of his actual lieges colours must be shown.

When we hear their story, Mustafa will laugh. It will be genuine, because the story is ok, but the fact that Frumps men believe it is hilarious.

"Your Sascatch is nothing more than Fauntleroy's men and their impressive imaginations, in their secret fort. We were there. If you come with us, we can show you."

They all look at you as if you may have lost it ... of the 33 men only 6 agree to go back with you...

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 930):

6 is enough.

"Come on guys, I will show you what the Sascatch is! Seems the rest of the 'soldiers' are scared of childrens stories! I am sure our lord will be happy to know that too."

He will take the six to show them the enemy camp, as stealthily as possible, keeping as much distance as he can.

At first they seem hard to convince, but slowly they recognize landmarks and realize that what you are saying is true ...  When they get back, they are very convinced and tell the other 27 in no uncertain terms... they then put together a messenger and escort, they want you to go too...

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 932):

I point out that they do not have any scouts amoung them. We need to return to the are to watch and observe, in case they become aware and try to surprise attack. We understand the risks involved in us returning, but the good of the whole company must come first. We must return to keep watch on them. If we do not return, you can be sure we have been caught and you probably should expect a surprise attack soon.

That, after all, it the calling of a scout. We have informed them, now we must continue to watch...we cannot abandon our post. We stoicly prepare to return alone, for only we are scouts...

LoL... and they stand and salute your noble efforts... you go off and they send the message.

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 934):

We go off towards the encampment, glad they have accepted our reasoning. Once well out of sight, we will go around the Frump men and head back to take our guide back to his home. The loss of their 'scouts' should only enflame the situation...

Ok, so a couple of days later, you get to the hill overlooking the castle... do you walk him all the way back or just let him finish the last little bit on his own.

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 936):

Happy to walk him all the way to the gate, but change our colours a few days before, when we enter the lands. Being with a local scout, he would know where that was...

The Guards welcome the Scout and ask you to wait a moment... shortly the young Noble comes out and waves you over to the same office, closes the door and says You failed to mention that you already have several hundred men in my Barony already ... why?

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 938):

"In your Barony? I thought they were in the Counts lands. Yes, we do, and I did not mention it to protect you. If you do not know, you cannot get into trouble for it. We also have about 50 of the  Counts men, having used Frumps colours to capture three recruiting bands. We tried to frame Frump for it...but we are still increasing numbers."

He snickers for a moment, then recovers his composure ... So who are you and who coordinates this attack?

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 940):

"I am the boatman, a merchant from the north. I am a terrible liar, so I simply told the truth. Just not all of it. The commander was sent by the Grand Duke, a good man with a well deserved reputation for fairness and justice. I could arrange a meeting, but that would expose you to more risk. Let our enemies fight each other first while we build our forces."

He thinks for a Moment and nods ... still dangerous; how many men do you have now and are more coming?

In reply to Finger of Fate (msg # 942):

"Not enough to be safe. We bring a couple of hundred each trip. Does it not endanger you to know?"