Fetch was glad to be on the road again. Not that he hated his life at Mammoth Keep, on the contrary, the last year was the best year of his life. His life was simple . He had a simple job at the inn. He could have easily bought his own inn and ran it, since he knew everything about an inns operations, but he just didn't want the responsibility. Also the book keeping gave him a headache. He ran the Crossed Swords inn for the Captain of the Guard at mammoth Keep, Lord Aethulwulf. He never met Aethulwulf , since he was battling demons for the last 2 years, but Bartog suggested the job for him. He had plenty of staff so things ran smoothly. He would drink, play bar games, greet visitors , help prepare and taste exotic meats and foods, and most importantly hear the tales first hand from the bards and travelers of distant lands. He also had challenges to knights to find one that was worthy enough to wield the Scourge of the Abyss, Galatea. So far none had met her standards.
More important than his job at the inn, was his lovely bard Tyris. She would sometimes visit the inn, but most of the time she spent busking in the town square. Her singing wasn't the stuff of legends but it improved quite a bit from before, Galatea had tutored her in singing and her lessons had worked. Sometimes, Fetch and Tyris would venture into the dungeons and caverns beneath Mammoth Keep to rid it of some monster infestation or underdark invasion. The place wasn't as dangerous as it was before, since they cleared most of the denizens last year, but it provided a welcome distraction and some additional gold. Not that they needed the gold , they were already rich and led simple lifestyles .
However , all good things must come to past. The last few months, reports of the gnoll demon horde were getting more and more alarming. Several call to arms were raised, and troops were levied and recruited to battle them. Fetch resisted the urge , until Bartog came to his inn and talk to him.
"You know Fetch, if we lose down south, this will all be gone. I know you've done your share of fighting demons, more then your fair share actually , but we could really use someone like you. I could conscript you if I choose, but its not like I can force someone like you to go. Even the Grommers and halflings take up our cause. If we fail, there will be no place to run for anybody. Think about it ok?", was Bartogs recruitment speech. The cleric considered it, and consulted with Tyris.
Even though they weren't married. Fetch felt that they were. They shared everything ,their gold, their thoughts, their feelings and their love. They shared everything except her past . But not by choice, Tyris explained to him that she can't and don't want to remember her past. Which was a good enough reason for the cleric . Fetch didn't realize how he could come to rely so much on a person. Up to this point, he always relied on himself. Sure he had friends and mentors but when the chips were down , he knew he could only rely on himself. Things were different now, thought Fetch, different for the better.
Tyris agreed with what Bartog had to say, so the 2 reluctantly took up arms again. Fetch hadn't sparred for ages, and felt a bit rusty. Tyris on the other hand, hadn't lost a step. She claimed to be a just a simple bard but her skill with blades was unmatched. Fetch couldn't remember anyone as good with a blade as her, ...well maybe one person. The nondescript man on the plateau that killed Eagle's attackers , and "made" Fetch take the credit. That seemed a lifetime ago.
Since Fetch wasn't a "knight" , Bartog made him a senior man at arms, of Mammoth Keep. This last call to arms, netted almost 100 soldiers , trappers, mercenary and commoners who wished to do battle with the gnoll host. Most of the veteran and elite troops responded to the summons awhile ago, but Bartog felt good about this group. This was most likely the last call to arms, so even Lady Janya marched with them . It seemed odd that troops from Mammoth Keep only had 2 mammoths amongst them, but they marched with pride and honor.
To confirm Bartog'ss faith. The first skirmish this band fought, they won handily. Fetch had a lot do with it. He summoned a barrier of blades in front of the hyena mounted raiders. Those that didnt stop in time, were shredded. The remainder were crushed by Bartog and Janya'ss counter charge. Sure it was just 2 of them, but 2 of them riding mammoths. The rest of the troops mopped up the shattered survivors. It was a good for morale and experience building.
Fetch and Tyris were on the road once again, and Fetch was glad.
The camp of the Knights , stretched for miles. Fetch hadn't seen this many people before. There must have been over 100,000. the logistics to feed and supply this group must have been staggering . Not only were there a lot of people but people of different nations, orders, tribes, and races. Fetch's mind was spinning at the variety.
Janya grew attached to Tyris during the journey to the "Great Host". She apparently had attended a few of these hosts before. A guest of the Champion of the Mammoth, the elderly but deadly Magdar. She told them, that this was the largest Host ever assembled, greater then the one that assembled to battle Geryon the outcast. From the information gathered by her messengers she told them there were 10,000 knights under Magdar the elder of the Mammoths . 10,000 under the Great Lioness Kalinka of the Snow lions, 5,000 from Lord Felwind of the Ice Griffons., a staggering 20,000 from the Champion of the Boar, Hero. , 10,000 from The Grand champion Erland of the Squirrel, and finally 5,000 from Fleur the Traveler of the Narwhal. Also since the Silver champion had fallen , the black knight Oswald has taken temporary leadership of the 15,000 knights gathered by the Silver Champion. And another 8,000 unaffiliated northerners , brigands, barbarians, and savages who wished to battle demons as well. That was just over 80,000 just from the Land of the knights! The Halfling union of Leeha sent a large expeditionary force. 2 armies worth of troops totaling 10,000 seasoned halfling soldiers and warforged scouts. The Dwarves of Khazag Narg sent 2000 Hearth guard. Their most elite heavy infantry. Around 4000 mercenaries, including Kalidor and 1000 of his veteran Kalhounds. The emissary of the Diamond Khan sent 5000 steppe warriors, Finally the Grommers sent the 3rd Expeditionary task force led supposedly by General Olive, one of the heroes of the last demon war. 10,000 troops, supported by the wondrous Grommish war machines. Iron and Stone juggernauts, dragon golems , and their wondrous sky ships.
Fetch's mind boggled at the numbers. How could any foe hope to defeat such a force? Bartog bursted his bubble fairly quickly. It was rumored that their foes numbered over half a million. Bartog's assessment was rather sobering. This would most likely the greatest and last thing he will ever do.
After their group made camp in the area designated for the mammoth. Fetch and Tyris decide to take a quick look around the rest of the camp while Bartog and Janya figure out what their bands role in the upcoming battle was. A lot of other people were also doing the same. The camp had a county fair atmosphere to it, except that people had the anticipation that a lot of them would be dead soon.
Fetch saw a few people he knew, but most were strangers with strange customs. He marveled at the Griffons and other flying mounts of the Order of the Ice Griffon. He found the tents of the narwhal strange looking. He sampled some food offerings from the halfling camp. He was dazzled by the smiths at the Dwarf compound. And he was struck with amazement at the war machines of the Grommers. Giant men of iron, steel dragons, ships that fly... no wonder Clovis chose to be an artificer . The orders and tribes of the Silver champion were the strangest though. All the minor orders and tribes were there. The swift Caribou, the Knightly Turtle, the savage Walrus, the mysterious Bat, the stalwart Crab, the monstrous Penguin ...more then Fetch could name.
"Master Fetch? is that you?", said an unfamiliar voice. Fetch looked around but couldn't find the source of the voice. Tyris tapped his shoulder and pointed to a familiar looking elven woman wrapped in bright red and gold silks and cloths. Fetch tried to remember her name but couldn't , she was Reinhard's companion thats all that he could remember.
"Amirah." ,said Tyris with a bow. The woman smiled back.
"Oh its the turncoat,", said Galatea. Fetch ignored his sword.
"Greetings, mistress Tyris , Greetings Lady Galatea.", said the elf politely. Ahh Fetch remembered now, he could remember her voice because she never said anything in their last meetings. He was surprised how personable this elf was. "Its good to see you here, we will need your skills in the upcoming battle. However,my master has private matters to discuss with your companion Fetch."
Tyris gripped Fetch's arm tightly. Fetch gave her a nod , he didn't want her to leave, but remembered how profitable the last time he dealt with Reinhardt was. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll meet you back at the camp, when my business is concluded.", he told her.
"I'll make sure he stays out of trouble.", Galatea chipped in.
Tyris nodded, then was gone. Fetch was always surprised at how she could vanish into thin air. Tyris tried showing him a few times, real slow, but it still didn't make any sense to him. With magic he could understand, but without was baffling. Fetch wondered in the back of his mind, if she went back to camp or was following him. Either way, he didn't care. He smiled, no one could control his Tyris.
Fetch thought they were going to go to the Grommish compound , but instead they were headed to the command Camp. Where the leaders, generals and champions stayed.
"So, were you looking for me specifically there? Because by my count there's over 100,000 people here. That was a pretty good coincidence we met.", asked Fetch.
"No, I wasn't looking for you specifically I was just looking for someone like you. But I was hoping because there were 100,000 people there would be a few that fit the bill. By chance it happened to be you.", replied Amirah. Fetch was confused, but she gave him an "all will be explained soon " look.
"FETCH! FETCH!", cried a familiar feminine voice.
Fetch turned and saw a tattooed elf running towards him. " BRITA!" , he cried.
Brita ran and hugged him, she tried to kiss him, but Fetch hesitated. Brita immediately saw this, and their eyes met. For a second Fetch could see the understanding in her eyes. Things were different now and she grimly accepted it. Fetch knew that look, it was the look he sported for an awful long time. He felt sorry for her. The paladin hugged Fetch, the sorrowful look in her eyes was gone now. She was just happy to see him.
"I ..wasn't sure if you remembered me. Its been a long time. I'm glad you made it out of the Scar! I sort of knew you would be here at the Great Host. Are your other companions here as well?", asked a cheerful Brita.
"Only Tyris, the others left a long time ago. ",said Fetch. His gaze fell on Amirah who seemed annoyed at the intrusion. "Oh this is Amirah, shes a Grommer."
"The term is Eladrin or Azzata, and by the looks of her a Bralanni. Why an Eladrin would work for Grommers is beyond me ", Brita said with a shrug. Amirah was getting really annoyed now. she was being talked about like she wasn't even there.
"I'll make it short, since your companion seems to be in a hurry. You remember my father right? The old man?", asked Brita. She was trying to be evasive with her words. Fetch thought for a second then realized Sir Hildraxel was one of the most hated men in the north, so he played along.
"Yes, I remember the nice old man. Hows he doing?", Fetch replied playing along.
"He's old and crazy as always, however...hmm its hard to explain. Lets just say when I rejoined the Order of the Lion to fight the demons I brought him along. I'm in good standing with the knights so I get the privilege of riding in front. My father on the other hand. Lets say they have no confidence in his fighting skills, so they gave him a menial job, hes currently counting supplies or something. Since he informally rejoined the order, hes been acting overly serious with his duties. Well you know how he is..you can imagine how hes acting.", explained Brita. Fetch had visions in his mind, with the supplies stacked like troops, with Sir Hildraxel ordering them around.
"The thing is, I know he can never be forgiven for what hes done. No amount of demons he slays can ever change the deeds hes committed. However. He's old, I think proving himself one more time in battle would really help him find his own redemption. I'm in good standing with my order, Im a senior knight but I have no clout in matters like this. Perhaps, you can take him under your wing or find him a more useful role in the upcoming battle. It would mean a lot.", she pleaded her eyes downcast. Fetch knew how much she loved her father, or at least try to love. She had a lot of respect for him, despite what he done against her mother and her.
"Of course I can.", Fetch replied.
Brita smiled then shouted. "FATHER! Come here, you are being reassigned.!", then she smiled.
Fetch , waited...expecting Brita to lead Hildraxel to him or the other way around.
CLOMP!, amazingly a grey blue horse leaped at least 100 feet into the air and landed heavily next to them. Sir Hildraxel was atop the angry snorting horse and gave a salute. " Hildraxel and Pixiesmasher reporting for duty . SIR!"
Fetch gave Brita a grin...then he unexpectedly kissed her on the forehead." He'll be fine, Just stay alive ok?".
Amirah was all over the horse as they made their way to the command compound. Her explanation to why she chose Fetch was forgotten , as she fawned over the proud beast.
"Is that a wind steed? I didnt think there were any here. I've only seen them in the court of stars, Sigil and the great Outland. This is the only one I've seen that has accepted a mortal rider.", The horse seemed to bask in her praise as it pranced with his babbling rider.
"So am I going to be fighting in the front? I've fought a lot of battles before. In really big fights too. But with halflings. Just because their really small doesn't make the battles really big! In fact it takes 8 halflings to make 1 human, so if the battles were really big for me...they must have been really really big to a halfling. Like a really big fight with giants fighting humans. Wait I've been in one of those 2. Ragnersomething...that was a big fight! There was this snake that wrapped around the world, some guy with a super hammer, A one eye guy. An eight legged horse! Hah when I saw the eight legged horse I thought I was drunk. Or the horse went into one of those matter transporter things with another horse and they fused together. Like that fly guy. why can't they fuse something useful together like sandwiches...imagine 2 sandwiches made into one! Or fuse something really weird like an owl and a bear. Now that would be something wouldn't it. " , Fetch found the chatter amusing. A reminder of a time when he was fighting for his life with his friends.
He saw Hero, Innkeepers wife, in front of a large procession of boar warriors riding the biggest war boar he had ever seen. He waved at her, but doubted he could see him in the large crowd. He knew she was a leader in the boar clan, but thought she led a small band, 10 or 20 tops. But it looked like she was leading the whole army. Maybe shes like the majorette for the army or something. She didn't do much baton swirling but she had the looks for one, he thought.
They finally reached the Grom tent in the command compound. It was the most impressive tent of the compound, Purple and red with gold trim. Several guards with iron wands and clubs guarded the entrance of the tent. Fetch told Sir Hildraxel to wait there, he'll be back after he conducted his business. "Yes young master! ",Hildraxel responded with another salute. As both him and the horse stood at attention. Amirah and Fetch entered.
It was a well furnished tent. If Fetch didnt know any better, it looked bigger from the inside then the outside. Inside was Reinhardt the well dressed pale skinned tiefling, apparently sipping tea or some other beverage with a small girl , in an elaborate grommish cloak, wearing a military costume.
Fetch thought she looked cute, like a small version of Ymir.
Reinhardt was the first to talk," Welcome back Amirah, I see you brought...master Fetch? Is that you? ...Ahh I see your plan now ",as he pointed at Fetch." But are you sure it will work? They will most likely challenge his claim?"
The girl spoke next," They will absolutely challenge his claim. ", she said angrily,"I won't put this boy at risk. Even if he meets your criteria."
Fetch wasnt sure what they were talking about, but he was getting mad," Who are you calling a boy, Im twice as old as you, missy!"
The girl stopped, obviously confused he turned to Amirah,"Doesn't he know who I am?" she said puzzled.
Reinhardt replied," Apparently not,heh..allow me to do the honors. Master Fetch this is General Olive of the 3rd expeditionary army. Yes that General Olive. The one that led our collective forces in the last demon war. I can understand your confusion, but I thought everyone knew her tale, how the grizzled and season veteran drank from a magic fountain after slaying a dragon which turned her from a crone to a child."
Olive seemed doubly annoyed..she mouthed the words "crone...really?", before she continued however , a strangely familiar non descript man entered the room.
"GUYS! GUYS! You will never guess whos outside the tent right now! SIR freaking HILDRAXEL ! the terror of the north. My god, look he signed my receipt book!", said the man. He stopped and turned to Reinhardt ,"Whos the kid ? Wait I know you. You're Waterboy the berzerker! Since your here and not dead. I guess things turned out ok for you. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm the local troubleshooter."
Olive continued, "This is Earl, he does janitor work , he's good at cleaning. He's also pretty handy, hes a part time mechanic I hear. He claims to be an adventurer of some sort, but he's more a troublemaker and card shark in my opinion . ", Earl seemed to be annoyed at Olive's not so subtle hints, but they flew over Fetch's head , but the General just smiled at his annoyance.
"Love you too Olive. Puberty in a few years...just remember that.", Earl jested then became more serious, "So whats the plan. The strategy laid out by the high priest of Rawk is terrible. we have to change it. We can "ahem" hope for an accident for the priest ..but thats too risky right now, but might be our only option. I heard Amirah had an idea."
Amirah nodded," The tradition is the high priest of Rawk or if none is available another war god, draws up the plans subject to the champions approval. If another priest were present, the "higher level" priests plans would be presented instead. However , his claim would most likely be challenged, and a duel of sorts would be fought."
"How did you get them to follow your plans last time Olive?", asked Earl.
"I worked closely with Priestess Zevelle. We came up with the plan together.",stated Olive.," and no shes not around. I heard she went off to some plateau or something ..to commune with her god"
"ahh thats too bad , I heard that as well . A shame really , she was sexy for an older broad. (he winked at Olive.) you know how I like those old broads,", he chuckled," So the current plan is we get Waterboy's master to challenge the priest of Rawk, Sir Konrad or something.", Earl speculated as he was making playful gestures towards Olive.
"Close ", said Reinhardt as he pointed towards Fetch's amulet.
Earl stared, then he stared again at the amulet, " Waterboy is the high priest of rawk? Are you sure he didnt just buy it a rummage sale? Or found it off a corpse?", he said with a puzzled look." Sorry Waterboy, you look like you've done good for yourself since we last met, but if I recalled a couple of bandits almost killed you if I didn't step in. I don't think your up for it."
Fetch was about to defend himself, he wasn't sure why. He still wasn't sure what was going on, but Galatea interjected." HIS NAME IS FETCH NOT WATERBOY. He is the master of the dungeons of Mammoth keep, conqueror of the SCAR, and the holy guardian of the Scourge of the abyss! You will show him the respect he deserves!"
Earl was shocked for a second, but quickly fell back to his banter, " Whoa...Galatea! good to see you...how'd that last duel with Kalidor go? Not so good I heard. Too bad, what's the score now? Kalidor 10 , Galatea 0, Don't worry I'm sure you will break the shut out soon. ", he turned to Fetch then bowed, " My humblest apologies if I slighted you Sir Fetch. I see you have grown quite a bit since we last met. I guess anyone who wields Galatea has at least a 50/50 chance against Konrad."
"I just hold the sword, I don't actually wield it. I'm just waiting for the proper wielder to present the sword too," , said Fetch , still confused.
"Oh really? Well...I have no love for demons, and...I'm handsome and charming! ...I also speak Elvish... wait..you have that no other magic item rule, ...NOT INTERESTED!", joked Earl.
Olive was getting frustrated at the banter," Are you done Earl? ..Let me show you this scroll Fetch, its the preliminary battle plans drawn up by Konrad. Recovered by our very own jokester master spy, garbage collector."
"The word is cleaner", said Earl as Olive unfolded a large map.
Olive continued ,"I'm not sure if you understand tactics, but this plan is horrible. The knight orders operate as small independent armies consisting of mainly cavalry . Which is useful in many situations, but Konrad has the main orders all lined up in the center, flanked by us on the right, and the silver champions forces on the left. With the auxiliaries and rest in reserve. ".
Fetch studied the map. "The infantry should be in the center, preferably the silver champions, the narwhal, and the grommers. The cavalry should be on the flanks. Preferably one flank should be weighted heavier then the other. One provides a screen while the other rolls up the enemy flank, as they engage with the center. The reserve should be mobile to either reinforce or attack the enemy where it shows weakness, the halflings I guess.", Fetch never fought in any major battles involving over 100 men , but during quiet times at the inn, he played many "war games" with Cook , Lord, King, Hunter..and sometimes Innkeeper and Hero. Cook and innkeeper were the best at those games, Hero the worst, but they were all fairly good players .
Olive studied him carefully, "I like this kid. Yes you got the gist of it. The current plan will appeal to the Champions because it promises the most glory, but its a terrible plan . If we were fighting an equal number or even double our number, it might even work. But we are fighting over 5 times our number , and they have a considerable amount of demons with them as well. The current plan is suicide."
Fetch studied the plan some more , the Grommers and the silver champions host were the most vulnerable ," Do you want me to help you change it, to put your forces out of danger?"
Olive shook her head," As a general, I loathe to sacrifice my own troops, however if it means victory vs defeat then I won't hesitate. Sacrificing ones comrades is never easy, making vain their sacrifice is unacceptable. This plan not only sacrifices our troops but almost guarantees a brutal defeat. Our flanks are mostly infantry, meaning they can outflank us easy, Our Calvary is centered in the middle, meaning they are most vulnerable to attack, and their mobility is limited. Our reserve is made of dwarves and secondary troops. You want high morale mobile troops in that position. The list goes on and on."
Fetch thought about it, "I have one more question. Why the big fight, we have so much cavalry, wouldn't it be better if we just destroy elements of their army piecemeal? Its our territory, we know the terrain. Why risk it all in such a big battle if its not to our advantage."
Olive smiled ,"My your a sharp one. A few months ago, which could be a year , or 2 years ago depending on your position in these damn mists. Their leader, the demon lord Yeenoghu suffered a catastrophic defeat in the deserts far to the south. He was gravely wounded when he returned, and the knights cornered him into the ruins of Almarth. The ruins were an ancient site where no magic worked, sort of like the mystical plateau we all heard of. The demon with his elite guard was firmly entrenched there, but was unable to leave by magical means. A watch of the realms greatest warriors were set up to slay the demon if it tried to leave. His horde meanwhile grew more chaotic and desperate. At this time your strategy would be perfect, however they attempted several tries to break the siege of Almarth only to be beaten back. This time they assembled almost all their numbers. High priest Konrad convinced the champions now is the perfect time to strike their confused and leaderless foe down. I can see the merit of his argument, although I probably would have taken a different approach, but his plan snatches away whatever small chance of victory they had. We are committed to our course though, breaking up now would be a logistical and strategic nightmare. "
"Im sure you heard lots of bad things about Grommers, and they are probably all true. We are greedy, we are manipulative, we know no honor...but there's one thing you should know about us. Doesn't matter if its the realm of politics, economics, or war. We like to win , and we do whatever is necessary to achieve victory."
A mock tear came to Earls eye, and he gave a solemn Lem ball clap.
Fetch thought about it, thought of Tyris, thought of Brita, even Sir Hildraxel , he didn't want to lose either, especially not to demons. "Tell me what I have to do."
