27 Lage 4385: Planning, pt 1

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Of course I had to go all the way back home again because I needed to drop off the thirty lozens for rent so I needn't've bothered getting my adventuring gear earlier. I don't have that much adventuring gear anyway really, just leather armor and my spear-staff and a meng sword and a pack with some things like rope (you never know when you'll need rope) and some leftover bound spells from the last time I was on an adventure. On the other hand if I hadn't gone back I wouldn't have found Nightbloom so it was just as well.

Purrzhon said he had a pretty good idea where the robbers were. I thought we were going to take a coach back to Ulmarn Mene or maybe get tickets on a passenger airship but no, while I was running around finding people to join us, Purrzhon had hired a small private airship just for us. A very fast one, too. Wow. I guess he was serious when he said he was willing to spend a fortune to catch the robbers.

We're on the airship now. It's a pretty little ship in the shape of a giant winged charger. The pilot chamber is in the head of the charger and the pilot's quarters in the neck. The body has the galley and three rooms that'd normally be for passengers. For our trip though one room is occupied by the relief pilots. I'm glad I'm not the one paying for this trip! Mirhandrax, Nightbloom and Trust are sleeping in one room and Purrzhon and I are sleeping in the other. There's only two bunks in each room but that's not really an issue because none of them are big enough for Mirhandrax anyway so he'd have to sleep on the floor no matter what. Mirhandrax doesn't seem to mind. "I've slept in places much less comfortable than a smooth wooden floor."

The galley has a kind of attached dining area (during the day -- at night it converts into crew quarters for the cook and a couple of shiphands) and earlier we met in there to talk about what we're doing. Nightbloom, Trust and I sat at chairs at the table. Mirhandrax pulled over a crate.

Purrzhon jumped on top of the table itself, turned around a few times, and lay down before he started to speak. "The robbers think that I am in Vheshrame and it is taking me a week or more to get back. This ship takes two days to return. If we find them quickly, they are not expecting us so soon. If they are expecting me at all."

"How much do you know about these robbers?" Mirhandrax asked.

"I deal with them once before. They live in a snag between the Verticals and Remorshka Woods. They are mostly Khtsoyis, Mewellicaps and Cani; maybe a few other Primes. I do not know how many there are in all. Six months past, two Khtsoyis and a Mewellicap come to my home from this robber camp and threaten me. They say that Remorshka Woods is not my territory any the more and that I must bribe them or they will kill me. So I am killing them a few times and then letting them go to tell their masters that I have the new deal for them: they do not bother me again and I do not kill them any the more.

"A week later, four Mewellicaps, two Khtsoyis, and two Cani arrive to threaten me. This is the much harder fight! But I am having a couple of friends with me this time. Five of them escape but three we are killing until they do not come back again. Including their Cani healer.

"The six months pass and I am thinking that they realize I am the very tough prey and they are looking for easier pocker to catch. Today I learn otherwise." Purrzhon lashed his tail. "They are not the great adventurers, rrai. They are not even the good adventurers. This is my plan: we are going to their snag in stealth. Then we are waiting for one of their groups to leave. We are following the group, ambushing them, and interrogating them. We learn more about their lair. Then we plan next step."

Comments

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. If they get their hands on Trust it's going to be poetic 'justice' time. You'd better keep an eye on him!

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

I'm going to! I'm worried about Trust he's really not an adventurer at heart but we really do need a healer especially if we're fighting Primes they probably have a healer of their own again by noooow. Eep!

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

A winged charger! And the legs are the landing gear, I would guess? Our airships tend to be much more boring streamlined oval shapes - but then we do not have magic for the lifting of airships.

It sounds like you should prepare weighted nets or the magical equivalence thereof to prevent the robbers from escaping your ambush, if they venture out in groups of as many as eight.

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Our airships come in lots of shapes I guess if you're making something that expensive you figure you can make it look however you want?

Purrzhon doesn't think they usually go in groups of eight they sent that many for him only 'cause he put up such a fight.

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

Extortionists and muggers are a nasty breed...

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

They sound like horrible people I just wish they weren't Primes. I hate fighting other Primes.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Well, they might send that many if they're going to try to intimidate a village, too! Hassling loners can't be that much of a business by itself.

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh maybe I guess? Purrzhon thinks that they don't usually have to because most of their victims will pay them off rather than fight knowing that they'll send more later. I don't really know that much about this sort of thing myself I'm used to monsters who just raid rather than threatening and getting bribed not to like this.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's usually more of a criminal thing than a monster thing.

[zeeth_kyrah]

And Purrzhon is likely correct that putting the whole group out of business will reduce his own problems quite a bit -- as well as those of most other Primes in the area! Fewer thugs with fewer leaders.

What are Mewellicaps?

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

Flying manta ray monsters.

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Yes I think it'll be a good thing all around assuming there aren't too many for us to handle maybe I should've hired more than just three more people. c.c

Mewellicaps are flying monsters sort of triangular-shaped but with long tails. With poisonous darts on the end that they can fire off. Accanax made them not long after Khtsoyis and they're kind of bitter about not ending up on the same side with Khtsoyis. Which maybe explains why they're working with them but they don't usually get on with Primes other than Khtsoyis so maybe not.

[gavinfox.livejournal.com]

Delight, remember those pictures of the 'animals that look like primes and world tree monsters'? How close did the picture I have, which was a Manta Ray, look like what you know to be a mewellicap, other than the picture of the one from my world being a 'lives in water only' creature?

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Um I'm not exactly sure I've never met one myself in person but I think they look similar except mewellicaps have a long long tail. I think?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine how that could possibly be any trouble.