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Chapter 2: The Prophet
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:32 pm    Post subject: Chapter 2: The Prophet  


The story so far: You are Lodevar, born to the race of sheepheads enslaved by the Bullroar minotaurs. Your have an unusual form compared to most sheepheads: your head is smaller and without horns. This strangeness gave you an easy childhood in your master's house, but ever since you were twelve you have been treated harshly, and at age nineteen, after an unsuccessful escape attempt, you were sent to the iron mines. After two months you killed your overseer, triggering an uprising in which all the slaves in your mining company became free. Now they look to you as their leader.

Last Decision: Split up and go to the other mines, trying to free the other slaves to join your cause.

That first week, you feel like the rush of freedom will never end. It starts the first night, when you go back with Haman to give the sheepheads their sacred purpose. They're laughing and celebrating, drunk with wine and the joy of freedom, but ignorant of its meaning. You speak to them of rebellion. You tell them about their brothers in chains, and give them hope for the liberation of all the sheepheads. As you speak, their eyes light up with the fire of true belief, spreading from sheephead to sheephead, and the dumb joy of the moment is replaced by something deeper - a commitment, a belief in the holy cause of liberation.

All that week you spread the fire of freedom. You find maps of the surrounding mines, and you quickly split up and target the closest ones, with the aim of killing the Bullroar overseers and getting as many slaves as possible to join the rebellion. Your people are not as well-armed or armored as the Bullroars, but you have numbers and surprise on your side. In mine after mine, you swarm over the Bullroar guards, overwhelming them and freeing their slaves to join your army - a dozen here, twenty there, fifty or more in some places.

There are setbacks, of course. In one of the early battles a Bullroar guard slips out a back entrance and rides away before anyone realizes he's gone. And a few parties of guards come after that, riding up from the larger settlements, and kill some of your people. But they quickly flee when they see how many of you there are, and your progress isn't slowed.

Your greatest victory is at Crisos Orops, a large mine that's also an ore collecting station for other mines. A dozen Bullroar guards hold the chains of a hundred and fifty sheephead slaves. The Bullroars sound the alarm early and the fighting is fierce. The last guards barricade themselves in a narrow tunnel where your numbers are not an advantage, and you lose several of your people trying to get them out. In the end you have to go in and do battle yourself against the last holdout, a huge Bullroar who outweighs you by a hundred pounds and wields a two-handed battleaxe. Smaller and armed with a short sword, you can maneuver better in the small space. Eventually he knocks himself off-balance against the wall, and you run him through. You remember his face as he dies. It's filled with contempt. He sneers until his final breath.

With the slaves from Crisos Orops your numbers have nearly doubled. When your other troops rejoin you there, you're almost five hundred strong. Your people are fevered for the cause, ready to spread freedom to the farthest reaches of Kria.

But soon afterward you're made to understand the measure of your enemy, and things begin to go downhill.

It happens first at Crisos Durus. Like Crisos Orops, Crisos Durus is a mine and a collecting station for ore, having (you've heard) a hundred slaves guarded by fewer than a dozen Bullroars. You think that word of the rebellion would have spread there by now, so you don't expect to take them by surprise. But even if they brought some reinforcements, your army is in the hundreds, and you doubt that they could defend the mine. And once you could take Crisos Durus, you can easily take the smaller mines surrounding it, doubling your size again.

So you lead your army to Crisos Durus. You approach cautiously, but there is no sign that the mine is defended. You motion to your scout, Larios. Larios is only sixteen, but he has already proven himself useful, able to move quickly and quietly without being seen. He sneaks ahead, moving from rock to rock before quickly darting in to the dark entrance. You and your people watch from below.

Larios is gone only a few minutes before he staggers out, pale and shaking. At first you think he's wounded, but as he walks down the mountain you see no mark on his body.

"Well? What did you see?"

Larios says nothing, but he looks at you with such misery that you're taken aback.

"Is it defended?" you ask.

He shakes his ram's head, then sits on the ground and begins sobbing.

You look at your lieutenant, Haman, who is as mystified as you. Together you cautiously approach the entrance yourselves, and make your way into a large open cavern, where you see what Darios saw. Stacked in a grotesque pyramid are the severed heads of a hundred slaves.

It doesn't take long to find out that the Crisos Durus is empty of life, and that all the nearby mines are filled with the same horror. Unable to defend the mines, the Bullroars fled their posts, first slaughtering every last sheephead slave and leaving their severed heads at the entrances.

Now you know what you're up against. Your people aren't frightened, for they always knew that they would be killed if they were ever caught. But the joy of the cause has gone out of them, replaced with a grim resolve.

Soon afterward, you pull back to Crisos Orops, and along the way you are attacked. An entire division of Bullroar cavalry has come up the mountain and now charges at your army. The Bullroars outnumber you, and they are veteran, disciplined troops, armed with lances and axes and dressed in plate armor. Your people are former slaves, strong but untrained in battle, and poorly armed and armored. You fall back quickly, taking losses, and manage to escape to rocky terrain where the Bullroar horses can't follow. A few days later a Bullroar infantry division marches up the mountain after you, again a larger army, better-armed, better-trained, and ruthlessly determined.

And so your army goes on the run. A few times you try to defend the mines, but this proves to be a mistake. The Bullroars know the mines better than you, for even though the mines were dug by sheephead slaves, most of the slaves who dug them died, while their Bullroar overseers lived (and kept maps). But your difficulty in the mines is more than simply knowing them less well. To your people, the mines are places of suffocation, death, and slavery. The sheepheads fear dark, cramped places. But the Bullroars are at home in the mines. Many of them seem to naturally find their way around underground mazes; they say that Irontown itself is half underground, and that whole cities in the Bullroar kingdom are constructed underneath the surface. So to do battle there is to battle the Bullroars on their home ground. You take significant casualties before you learn this, and stay aboveground.

There you have the advantage. The sheepheads love the open air and are adept climbers, even without training. By staying near the rocky ground on the mountain slopes, you stay ahead of the slower, heavier Bullroar armies, and stay alive.

But running from battle is no way to win a rebellion, and it won't keep you alive for ever either. Your people are tired, your supplies are dwindling, and sooner or later you'll be trapped between the Bullroar armies and forced into battle. So one clear night with the Earth hanging over you, you bring together your chief advisors to plan your next move.

There are six sheepheads besides you: Haman, your chief lieutenant, who has been with you since the first day and never disappointed you, the old sheephead Drogas, who was once a slave to a Bullroar army captain and saw action in the Wild Lands, Philos, a young ram noted for his bravery, and three others whom you have appointed captains. Also with you is another old ex-slave named Nelectitus.

Nelectitus is one of the few people in your army who's not a sheephead. Though he worked under the lash of the Bullroars like your people, he is a satyr, also called a goatfoot. He is shorter than a sheephead, and has the lower half of a goat. His head is more similar to yours than to a normal sheepheads, though he has two small goat horns where you have none. His face is narrow and his gray beard is wild and bushy. His left eye has been gouged out and many of his teeth are missing.

Many in your camp believe that Nelectitus is a prophet, which is why you invited him here. The story has gone around that Nelectitus was a slave and wine steward to a wealthy Bullroar merchant until he prophesied his master's death. The merchant put out Nelectitus's eye and sent him to the mines as punishment. Two weeks later, the merchant's ship sunk, and all hands were lost. You don't know whether it's true or not, but if Nelectitus does have any prophetic powers, you want to use them.

Philos speaks first, eager as always. "We can't stay on the defensive. We must attack."

Haman says, "The Bullroars outnumber and outarm us. To attack their army would be suicide."

"Then let's not attack their army. Let's take their town. The settlement of Nersus Minor is just down the mountainside. It's got food, weapons, and slaves who would join us. It's even got iron furnaces. We could melt the iron and make our own weapons from this ore."

"It's also got walls and a strong garrison, and there's an army between it and us," growls Drogas. "Even if we made down the mountain, we'd never take the town. And even if we took it, we could never hold it. There's ten thousand Bullroar soldiers trying to kill us. The only thing that's keeping us alive is the mountain."

"We can do it," insists Philos. "If we're brave enough."

"What would you do, Drogas?" you ask.

"Look for allies," he says.

"What allies? We are in Kria. On one side is Minos, the Bullroar Kingdom. On the other is the Great Sea."

"The merfolk live under the Great Sea."

"How would they help us? And why?"

"The why I don't know. But the how...if we could make it to the coast and find help and safety with the merfolk, there is no end to what we could do. Attack merchant ships, free galley slaves, raid coastal towns...we wouldn't be trapped on land. We'd have freedom of movement."

"And where would we find ships to carry all of us?"

"That's why we need the merfolk. Or other allies, someone across the sea."

You traveled the Great Sea, too, but Drogan went as a soldier's aide, not a galley slave. "Who?"

"About halfway across are the Islands of Mist. The Islanders generally keep to themselves, but they dislike the Bullroars. They might help us."

"And beyond?"

"The Goatfoot Forests."

You look at Nelectitus. "Would your people help us?"

Nelectitus smiles, showing the gaps between his teeth. "If we go there," he says, "we could all hide. The forest is very big."

You wonder if Nelectitus is mocking you. He should know that you're not looking for a hiding place. "Would they give us ships and supplies?" you ask. "Would they help us attack the Bullroar and free our people?"

Nelectitus looks at the ground. "Hard to say."

"They say that you're a prophet," you say to him. "Is that true?"

Nelectitus looks up and smiles wide. "Yes, yes, runs in my family. My father could see the dice before he threw them. Made a fortune gambling, but when the gift left him he lost it all. That's how I got here, you see. Sold me to pay his debts." He giggles and drinks from a wineskin at his side. "Thanks, Dad! Here's to you."

"But what about you? Can you see the future?"

He gives you a sly look. "Sometimes."

"So what do you see for us? What should we do next?"

Nelectitus sighs and tilts his head. "Too many choices. I can't see past your choices."

"Not much of a prophet, then," says Haman.

Nelectitus's eyes go wide. "Oh no. There are many things that will happen no matter what you choose."

"Like what?" you ask. "What do you see?"

His face becomes suddenly serious. "I see death. I see the Wheel burning. This spark will become a fire, and the fire will spread beyond what you can possibly imagine."

"What does that mean?"

He shrugs.

"Is that all?" you ask impatiently.

"Oh no. Also, you're the Divine King. Everyone wants to talk to you. You and all the others."

"What are you talking about?" you ask. But Nelectitus says nothing, and only looks morosely at his cloven hoof.

You can't make much sense out of Nelectitus's prophecies, and your advisors don't agree on what to do next. You'll have to decide this yourself.

Philos's option of trying to take the town of Nersus Minor has appeal. The town has supplies and weapons which you need badly, and it would be a bold, surprise move which would excite your troops. But Drogan's points are well-taken - you would need to somehow distract or get past the army below you, and then conquer a well-defended, garrisoned town. Unless you can think of some special tactics, it seems foolhardy.

Drogan's plan also has appeal. Finding an ally on the Great Sea would open up many possibilites for rebellion, and potentially give you access to much greater power. But it would be a huge risk to lead your people to the Great Sea without anything prepared. How would you contact the merfolk or the other allies, or what would you offer them?

Perhaps there is some other choice you haven't thought of. The lives of your people hang in the balance. You look up at the Earth.

What do you do?

Read the posts below, and click "Post Reply" to post a suggestion for the Lodevar’s next action. Anyone is welcome to post. You can suggest what he would do based on his personality, what you think he should do based on what would be best, or just in general what seems like a good idea to you. Feel free to comment on other’s suggestions, but please be courteous.

You're also welcome to ask questions about Lodevar's background or about the world of the Wheel.
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Gamer9999
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 11:13 pm    Post subject:  

To attack that city would mean the death of more than half your men and that is if you even can take that city. then once your in contol of the city the Bullroar army would come and attack the city you could not run then for it would mean the end for you and your army to abaden what you gave somuch to get then go back to the place you where hiding with less men than when you whent out on your attack.
The way to go is to sind scotes to the Great Sea maby even go your self with a small group and see what you can do with the merfolk. If the merfolk turn out to be friendly go with them see the other races of this world if the Bullroars have been as bad to the other races you may find healp in many places. Even if the only allies you gain are the merfolk you could cut of the bullroars suplise and give your selves a new place to run to.
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Reia_Cerulean
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 4:14 pm    Post subject:  

ummm, Can I join in on this? I will need the quick form update though! :lol:
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my self
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 5:02 pm    Post subject:  

Attacking is the city is insane, the best way to take it would be by siege but you couldn't possibly do that. I believe the Great Sea is the best way to go.
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ValJean
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 7:29 pm    Post subject:  

I totally agree with you. The more allies you have, the better off you'll be.
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Wayward
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 9:44 pm    Post subject:  

Attacking the city is an appealing prospect. With supplies and weapons, the rebels would be able to match the trained soldiers of the enemy man for man, not to mention the advantage of holding a fortified city. At any rate, by the sounds of it, we are far, far, far...FAR out-numbered. This situation is much like the mineshafts last chapter. Should we take the town, it would really only be a matter of time until we're defeated soundly.
As I see it, searching for allies is a good idea in theory as well, but there is absolutely no guarantee of help and it would also be time consuming. Our forces require the shock of rebellion on our side and wandering off to find supporters would allow the enemy time to regain control over their dominion. In this course of action, we would lose our most valuable ally; shock.
The only truly viable option would be to stay in the mountains and establish a base camp. Hary the enemy into the ground with guerrilla-style attacks and use the "prophet" as a guide to the most profitable moments to go on the offense. Using the mountains as cover would leave the enemy army frustrated and absolutely incapable of forcing a decisive battle, in which, in all likelyhood, we would be demolished.
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Guest
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:19 am    Post subject:  

I think they should attack the city.Read the myths of Sparticus.If you are smart enough you can make a plan.I think we should dig a tunnel to the town and split the tunnel to each side of the town.We split our forces in half and in the dead of night we send each half to 1 side or the other of the towns tunnel.this way we have the advantage of surprise attack.We should also send a small group of men to meet with the merpeople and whoever else they can find.This way both sides are happy.
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Reia_Cerulean
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 9:21 am    Post subject:  

(... Is confused and without an answer)
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Nosferatu
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:15 pm    Post subject:  

attacking the city would mean death, unless perhaps you could split your forces in 2, having one force distract the army and leading them to the sea. Then having one force move in for the city
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Guest
Guest





Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:40 am    Post subject:  

well if i wrote this story i would make him go to the great sea but along the way find an empty volcano appearing to be vaccent but as soon as he falls asleep the inhabitants come out. and he wakes up to a elder looking like himself. he has finnaly found out that he is not a sheephead but a muhbluh and you r the king. and attack the bull roars and defend the world!!! :lol:
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Gamer9999
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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:15 pm    Post subject:  

I am agenst attacking the city all you could get from it is woepon just like the ones the Bull army has (no advanteg).Pluss You could be pined down in that city and if you can take the walls of that city the Bullroars can most defenatly take them back consetering they out number you and they are beter traned when that hapens you would han no why out and would die in the city walls.
I vote for the Sea.
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wickedskittle
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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:35 pm    Post subject:  

yeah it's me again i wrote the random one about him finding his people in a holow volcano. well i am a big fan of wars so make a huge battle where you must let your newly love and all the other little ladies and children escape cutting there numbers to a low number but they still pull ahead!!!\
_____________________________________________________________ Woe that was wicked random?¿? :twisted:
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Azeo
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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:19 pm    Post subject:  

Heading out to sea is the best option, but I doubt that merfolk will be waiting on shore when we get there, and if i was a merfolk and 600 sheepheads were heading my direction I would hop right back in the water.

If we know of where we could hijack some ships off the coast then we need to head that direction to Hijack some ships and set sail.

We should still attack the city though. At night we should somehow make a false attack on the city or the main Bullroar camp. (Im not sure but are we in between two bullroar armies? The main one and the smaller one at the city?)

At any rate If a false attack was launched on the Bullroars at night and they were fooled into believing the attack was a massive one then we could head out to sea and look for those ships without them noticing right away.
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matt59312588
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Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:18 pm    Post subject:  

Many good ideas have been thrown up but no idea proposed has been complete. We must consider our two basic options, ignoring minor issues until later. First we must consider attacking the city. If we managed to take the city, what would be our next course of action? Gamer9999 put it well that the cost for occupying the city could easily consume half of our army's population. Additionally, they WOULD be expecting this attack (having we been attacking their installations for slaves and supplies the whole time?) and would not only be prepared with the garrison but quick on a follow-up by the other army.

This leaves only one option-- the sea. However, we must take many steps to insure success by sea. Three main problems hinder this option.

1. Location of transportation (i.e. ships)
2. Time (we have an army pursuing us as we speak)
3. Location AND cooperation of the Merfolk

I have a plan to solve each of these problems. First of all, our number one problem priority and problem is time. We need much of this if we are to locate and/or capture as many ships as we need and to contact the Merfolk.

Consequently, we must make several moves simultaneously. We must split our forces into several smaller parties. We must send one party to scout the city (this plan is similar to Azeo's). We MUST do a sloopy job of this and allow the garrison to notice our active scouting. We also need to send another party, to scout the size and direction of the hunting army, and more importantly, TO CAPTURE ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF THEIR ARMY. This/these person/people MUST then "accidentally" hear our "grand plan" for attacking the city. The next day/night the captured people would be "abandoned" during our retreat during a FEINTED attack on the city. This attack, the recaptured peoples stories and our active scouting will assure Bullroars of our "attack" (never to occur) on the city, therefor buying us valuable time.

Simultaneously, we must send scouts along the coast (as Azeo mentioned) to find abandoned or scarcely guarded ship locations. We must find enough to ensure the passage of all our people.

Finally, we must send scouts to the nearest coastal towns and communities, to find out how to contact the Merfolk. Once located, we must send our leader, the prophet, and a few other representatives to meet with and negotiate further plans of action with these people.

All of these factions must be executed to allow any great chance of success. One final detail is that we must search our ranks of former slaves to find any Bullroars (criminals, traitors, ex-politician-types, etc.) to be employed as spies.
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Mt.DensonMan
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Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:23 am    Post subject:  

wy cant we just go encourage the merfolk and go in and beat the $h@t
out of them :?:
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whiteguy
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Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:37 am    Post subject:  

I say we find our need of transportation for the people like a ship but for those who have women and children take the bottom shaft for protection from the weather and from other seekers who will be out to find us.
and pack weapons for our conguering journey and train the youngens for upcomming battles.

We send one of our men dressed up as a old helpess man with a spear armed in his back from the gaurds and when he gets the chance to kill off the gaurds in the entry they we attack.
But before we seek to destroy more slave minds we need a scout so I say we send a number of 10 men in a group for scouts to scout out our next targets.
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Jagang
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Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 2:21 am    Post subject:  

I totally concur with matt59312588 idea, but with some additions:

Eventually the boar will realize that our "attack" on their town is a feint and will send out there forces to hunt us down. At that time our real stealth group who have been spying and surveying the city will then move in siliently and deadly, and wreck as much havoc and chaos as they can muster. That is staying hidden the whole time. Poisening there water and food suppply for example, killing them in their sleep, etc... of course we can work on those details when the time arrives.

Once they are weakened enough, a faction of our force will attack the town and take it over, and hopefully be able to hold it long enough untill we arrive back from overseas with reinforcements. So if we follow these plans we should have a good plan.

1) Send small group to kidnap a few boars on the outskirts of their army and bring back, let them hear of big plan to attack their town/city, then abandon or let them escape. At the same time send a "noticable" scouting group so they can be spotted. With the combined intelligence, the boars will be sure of an attack and march all their forces to the town/city.

2) Another stealth/scout group will be dispatched along with a faction of our army, the faction will wait and hide while the real scout group does some real survellience and spying. Once the boars realize the fake and send out their forces from the town, our stealth group will then move in as stated above. Once weakend the faction should be able to attack the base successfully and hold it till our main force returns.

3) Send a small diplotmatic group to the coastal towns to find out how to contact the merfolk and then try to enlist their help. Find out they need and promise to deliver once we have freedom. Then another group will be dispatched to find any ships as stated above in Matts idea.

4) Our main force should then establish a very discreet camp in the mountains as stated before, and use guerilla type tactics to hold off any attacks, if any at all..if plan works then they should be moving their forces to the city and not towards us. We will stay here untill our group from the coast returns with more information, then we can make further decisions.
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Araex
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Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 11:06 am    Post subject: what to do?  

lots and lots of ideas here.

i think we should ge for a mix between matt59312588's and Jagang's ideas
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Guest
Guest





Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 1:15 pm    Post subject:  

matt59312588 wrote: Many good ideas have been thrown up but no idea proposed has been complete. We must consider our two basic options, ignoring minor issues until later. First we must consider attacking the city. If we managed to take the city, what would be our next course of action? Gamer9999 put it well that the cost for occupying the city could easily consume half of our army's population. Additionally, they WOULD be expecting this attack (having we been attacking their installations for slaves and supplies the whole time?) and would not only be prepared with the garrison but quick on a follow-up by the other army.

This leaves only one option-- the sea. However, we must take many steps to insure success by sea. Three main problems hinder this option.

1. Location of transportation (i.e. ships)
2. Time (we have an army pursuing us as we speak)
3. Location AND cooperation of the Merfolk

I have a plan to solve each of these problems. First of all, our number one priority and problem is time. We need much of this if we are to locate and/or capture as many ships as we need and to contact the Merfolk.

Consequently, we must make several moves simultaneously. We must split our forces into several smaller parties. We must send one party to scout the city (this plan is similar to Azeo's). We MUST do a sloopy job of this and allow the garrison to notice our active scouting. We also need to send another party, to scout the size and direction of the hunting army, and more importantly, TO CAPTURE ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF THEIR ARMY. This/these person/people MUST then "accidentally" hear our "grand plan" for attacking the city. The next day/night the captured people would be "abandoned" during our retreat during a FEINTED attack on the city. This attack, the recaptured peoples stories and our active scouting will assure Bullroars of our "attack" (never to occur) on the city, therefor buying us valuable time.

Simultaneously, we must send scouts along the coast (as Azeo mentioned) to find abandoned or scarcely guarded ship locations. We must find enough to ensure the passage of all our people.

Finally, we must send scouts to the nearest coastal towns and communities, to find out how to contact the Merfolk. Once located, we must send our leader, the prophet, and a few other representatives to meet with and negotiate further plans of action with these people.

All of these factions must be executed to allow any great chance of success. One final detail is that we must search our ranks of former slaves to find any Bullroars (criminals, traitors, ex-politician-types, etc.) to be employed as spies.
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Saliss
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Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2004 8:52 pm    Post subject:  

I totally agree with Matt, but I still don't think we should rule out the city totally. We should go with Matt's plan, but still attack the city (after the feint attack, see my first post for more details)...by way of tunneling or whatever.

What if the merfolk do not want to help, what will we do then. We won't be able to hold them off from the mountains for ever, they will overrun us.

It will not take half of our force to run the city because you forget..there a large amount of slaves in the city. Once freed our forces will increase, and supplies will be provided there. I'm sure they have warehouses full of supplies. Then when our folks return from overseas we will have already two main camps, the mountains and the city. That will give us a total of three forces

1) City
2)Our camp in the mountain
3) Whatever force we bring back with us from overseas...assuming that anyone even wants to help us.

With these three we can better manuver and plan more strategic attacks.

We do not need to send a large force with the merfolk, I think a boat or two would be sufficent. We need some good diplomatic/good speakers and some guards. Wether our leader goes or stays would be a good one to vote on as well. It is too risky to put all of our force into into one venture, if it fails we are doomed. This is how I suggest we split are 500 I think it said we had.

1) 15 to scout the army and kidnap
2) 15 to scout city and "get seen"
3) 25 to "really" scout and spy on city
4) 30 to find boats and speak with merfolk
5) 150 to secretly attack city once they realize the feint and send all their forces out and our stealth group has already weakened them. Once the city is defeated we will have a large number of freed slaves to help defend the city from any attacks.
6) The remaining 265 hole up in the mountains and prepare defenses, just in case the feint doesn't work. They would wait to hear back from the diplomat/boat searches group and from the city.
7) If the merfolk agree to help then we would not have to send a large force with them, we could send around 50 to 100 or so from the mountains.

We can hold the city untill they arrive back with help with the extra manpower to guard the city with the new free slaves. The boar will not be focused on the mountains, for all they know we probably sent our whole force to attack the city. They won't know we snuck attacked them. So with that in mind when they do come to attack the city and try to take it back, we will have units in the mountains who can come behind the army and attack. With all of this we should be able to hold the city untill they return from overseas.

And besides this will make the story more interesting because there will be numerous things going on at once.
:twisted:
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shea616
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 10:54 am    Post subject:  

i just got here but i have an idea too :idea: . We cold hae 2 forces to attack the city. I say we send about 150 to attack the city and retraet, hopefully will be chased then 200 men hidden in the mountains can attack in the absence. the final 150 men can try and get help from the merfolk. In case the 150 do not lure the enemy far then the 200 will engage lweaving the other 300 to flank both sides. if possible we can rally the slaves in the city to help us in our cause.The merfolk can also be rallied to help us. sound good at all? :?:
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Guest
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:21 pm    Post subject:  

How are they ever going to find the merfolk? Wouldn't they have an underwater city or something?
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matt59312588
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:29 pm    Post subject:  

I'm glad to see more creative thinking than I have previously viewed (didn't one guy suggest having a love battle in a volcano or something like that?!), but we must look at our resources. We have few more than 500 slaves. I considered all options, including attacking the city and establishing a base camp. I have several reasons why taking these courses of action would lead our army to defeat.

To begin with, the idea of tunneling attacking has been brought up twice. This effort is foolhardy, for several reasons. One obstacle is that THOUSANDS of strong, HEALTHY, well-rested individuals are needed to construct tunnels. Additionally, we are all slaves, not engineers. Tunnels take mathematical precision to prevent them from caving in and keep them away from potential sinkhole zones. Also, even with thousands, a tunnel takes several days, or even weeks to construct. With an army chasing us as we speak what little time we have could not build us a tunnel. Finally, let us consider, theoretically, the impossibility of building this tunnel. We build it successfully and launch an attack through it. The town will be on its toes with our army on the loose and it will have several sentries posted. When one sounds the alarm, we're dead. The few of us who make it out of the tunnel will be slaughtered and the rest of us will be trapped in the tunnel to be butchered. We also must remember-- our enemy LOVES tunnels; OUR PEOPLE FEAR IT. These factors ensure defeat by tunnel.

The next thing to consider is a total attack on the city. Again, several factors rule this out. I have read up on dozens and dozens of battles and besiegements. The city has walls. If we were to take the city, we would need to breach them somehow. Stealth, such as sneaking men in to open the door has little to no chance, as again they will be VERY alert with our army in the vicinity. Also, EVERY besieging army in history has had a VAST numerical superiority vs the garrison of the town that it is besieging. We, however, do not. The garrison itself will equal or surpass our army in numbers alone. This excludes weapons, armor, discipline, experience, war machines............ We also have no engineers-- and no weapons to breach the walls. We could only throw spears at the guys up top and get massacred by their dozens (or hundreds) of archers. All of this is BEFORE the army that is pursuing us comes to the rescue. But, again I will indulge fate and follow a hypothetical situation. Let's say that we take the city magically-- and without losing one man. The garrison is dead and we have all of the weapons and supplies from within. The only problem is that the "ten thousand man army" is right outside. I'll even indulge the possibility that they have no siege weapons themselves (this is actually likely because we had no city to begin with and these would slow their progress down). Unfortunately, like any other siege in history, their army (20 times the size of our army, IF we lose NO men in taking the city itself) surrounds the city. No matter how many supplies we have they will run out. Nobody will come rescue us. Tunneling to supplies wouldn't be possible. By the time we build a tunnel they will have transferred a siege weapon (they won't waste time) to the spot and we'll all be dead.

The next suggestion was to establish a camp in the woods, building a tunnel network to survive and hide and using guerilla tactics to fight. Again, our people HATE tunnels. Using these would KILL the moral of our people! Dead moral equals dead us. Anyway, where are we going to get food? This forest can only have a limited amount of supplies that cannot support our full group. Concerning guerilla tactics, these might work in the beginning. However, the enemy has an infantry division much greater than our entire population. These CAN and WILL march into the forest after us. The whole reason that we are running is to avoid them. Our people cannot live without food or against an army of that magnitude.

For me, this eliminated everything except the Merfolk. I have good reason to believe that they would cooperate. For one, our trusted advisor brought them up as an option. He has knowledge of the situation and considered that as an option. He thought of how they could help us but not a why. I have determined a why. The Prophet has said that our leader is the chosen one or something like that. Also, if you reason the first chapter, you will see that our leader was treated differently, regarded by his master as being something valuable, but also something dangerous. OUR MASTER THOUGHT OUR LEADER TO BE DANGEROUS SO HE MUST BE OF SOME FAME OR SPECIALTY. If our old master knew this, AND the Prophet confirms it, surely the Merfolk will realize this. I don't know how they will react to it (suprised, loyal, afraid, I'm not sure but all of these will help our position) but all reactions can only aid our position. But let's say, hypothetically once more, that we can't find the Merfolk, or they refuse to help. We STILL sent out a party to find attackable ports. These ports will have ships. These ships will have slaves. We can capture these ships, gain more people to our population, and perhaps even capture some enemy soldiers!!! These could be used for information, decoy, anything imaginable! Once we capture enough ships we have a way to escape, potentially for months or years. At any rate, the Prophet himself has suggested that we go to his people's land. If he says the forest is vast, then we can use that for supplies, training grounds, housing, anything. If all goes well his people might feed us and help the cause as well!

All that I am saying is that we CAN NOT face this army directly, we must escape it. The sea is a safe bet, with MANY possibilities to utilize it, even if things go wrong. The Prophet has suggested this and common sense says that 500 vs 10,000 in the forest, the city, or ANYWHERE is just suicide. Even if we distract them with 50 men doing this or 20 men doing that, they have enough men to send 500 after every little group and still hunt the main force. I know that I am only one vote, but I feel that the only chance we have is to heavily bait the city attack and then flee to the sea.
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Azeo
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:01 pm    Post subject:  

I agree totally with Matt59312588. Our best option is just to keep it simple and head straight for the sea and find us some ships, as fast as we can.
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Jagang1
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:47 pm    Post subject:  

You are right Matt, I did not know they had 10K army, and the stealth attack would probably not work nor the tunneling. I agree lets try to buy some time with your idea above about the kidnappings,, and then run for the coast.
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shea616
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:57 am    Post subject:  

I agree also with matt. I had no idea they were 10k and it would deffinitly be suicide to attack them. we should try and send a small goup to distract both armys to make it look like they fell back. This will lead the enemy away giving us more time for ships. Then we can go to various ports and get more slaves to help us.
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Wayward
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 12:46 pm    Post subject:  

All these ideas seem solid and decent but I feel there are two things being ignored here. There first is simply the personality of our hero. Until now in the story, the majority of his decisions seem to have been made emotionally and against all odds, which adds to his appeal. When he attacked the Bullroar in the first chapter, it was a rash and emotional decision that anyone would have labelled as unlikely to end well. The suggestions that have been brought to the table are great ideas, but I'm just thinking that perhaps it isn't in the character's personality to plan so much and leave so little to emotional decisions as he has in the past. It has been the character's passion for what he's fighting for that led him to victory so far. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Secondly, one of the most important resources that hasn't been talked about much is the prophet. I mean, for God's sake, he's the title of the chapter. If we can figure him out maybe he could be our key to victory.
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matt59312588
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 6:27 pm    Post subject:  

Wayward you bring up two good points. Concerning the Prophet, I did address his feelings in my previous response. However, concerning the character's personality, you are right on track. We are not focusing as much on this as we should, perhaps, but I did give it some consideration. Generally -- in reality as well as in the story's case -- it is the intellegent and strong-willed people who are most willing to rebel. A good case in point is Sparticus. It was his emotion (as is the case with us) that started his revolt. It was his knowledge that he was being enslaved, abused, and defaced beyond all belief that snapped him. However, when he freed himself and (eventually) thousands of other slaves, he brilliantly fought off Roman legions for months until a massive army conquered him. I believe that our leader is, as you say, emotional. I also feel that he is able to use these emotions as he needs. Additionally, as we have seen, he is willing to listen to others who may help. He has listened to his lower leaders and has considered every option. Philos, a young ram (less experienced) is the person who offers the city assault. Drogas (who has seen action and was a former slave to a Bullroar army captain) offered to look for allies. Our leader's friend, Haman, does not offer a solution but states that suicide is safer than assault on the Bullroars' fortifications. The only solution offered other than the one given by Philos is the one given by Nelectitus -- The Prophet. It is he who suggests running across the sea to his people and hiding in his forest. I feel that the leader would consider each of these options but in the end would trust the direction given by his friend and the Prophet.
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shea616
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:16 am    Post subject:  

I know that the leader has much emotion but i am sure is a good leader as well. No matter how much emotion you put in there is no way that a small army of 500 equiped with simple wepons can beat an army of 10k men with advanced wepons. It would be considewred sucide and our forces would be decimated.
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Ravenwing
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 5:58 pm    Post subject:  

Reia_Cerulean wrote: (... Is confused and without an answer)

I think you're a bit blind here. You're supposed to read all the whole story from chapter 1 before you start questioning what the hell is going on.

As a suggestion from based on Lodevar's personality. From the first chapter, I see Lodevar as a very cautious person, who tries to please everyone. So, based on his personality I see him most likely taking a boat, and recruiting other races, but also to make a compromise. Lodevar should probably split his army up. One going to get allies, and the other to capture the city for supplies. I think thats what a lot people are suggesting, but on my perspective, I think thats what Lodevar would do based on his personality.
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matt59312588
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:06 pm    Post subject:  

Before I was fumbling for a reason why the Merfolk would help. I stumbled upon this passage in which the Prophet offers a reason.

Nelectitus's eyes go wide. "Oh no. There are many things that will happen no matter what you choose."

"Like what?" you ask. "What do you see?"

His face becomes suddenly serious. "I see death. I see the Wheel burning. This spark will become a fire, and the fire will spread beyond what you can possibly imagine."

"What does that mean?"

He shrugs.

"Is that all?" you ask impatiently.

"Oh no. Also, you're the Divine King. Everyone wants to talk to you. You and all the others."

The Prophet's statement "everyone wants to talk to you" allows a great possibility to communicate with the Merfolk. Just another thought
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:23 pm    Post subject: Re: Chapter 2: The Prophet  

Um. does anyone know when chapter 3 is gunna start playing?
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 5:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Chapter 2: The Prophet  

Anonymous wrote: Um. does anyone know when chapter 3 is gunna start playing?

[color=violet]As soon as the author , this being keavney, sees that he thinks he is ready to put up the next exciting chapter. He probably wants to see what the majority thinks should happen next. :D[color]

:idea: Just had a thought from someone else's post, can't remember it now, but it mentioned something about there being about 500 slaves in the group. If they split, one being the one's staying on land, and the other's going out to sea, the side that is attacking could use guerilla tactics to scare the citizens. Its just a thought since there probably would a smaller number.
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Ravenwing
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 5:19 pm    Post subject:  

Sorry that was my post above. Was too lazy to login in.:oops:
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Key
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 12:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Chapter 2: The Prophet  

Anonymous wrote: Anonymous wrote: Um. does anyone know when chapter 3 is gunna start playing?

[color=violet]As soon as the author , this being keavney, sees that he thinks he is ready to put up the next exciting chapter. He probably wants to see what the majority thinks should happen next. :D[color]

Yes, that's right. Thanks to everyone for the discussion. We've got some great ideas which I will try to distill into three or four choices and post them up this weekend, then we'll do about a week of voting before chapter 3.

Thanks again!
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shea616
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 2:38 pm    Post subject:  

I think that if we did atack we should attack indirectly. we could surround the city at night and attack at varios spots making us seem larger which (if effective) m ay cause a retreate which would give a place to stay as we build. it will also increase our army.
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Ravenwing
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2004 7:24 am    Post subject:  

Good point. An indirect attack is best due to the Sheepheads' size and vulnerbility. We know that the Bullheads are better equipped in weapons, and their defense is a whole city filled with food and weapons, and manpower.
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shea616
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2004 6:16 pm    Post subject:  

[color=blue][/color] :? but thuis also a big gamble as if it does not proove effective then we will have a 10000 man army attacking us and we will be decimated.
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Morbid_One
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2004 6:22 pm    Post subject: Hmm  

An ally would definatly help, drogan sounds like a wise man :lol:
The sheepheads should eat the dead bullroar's if food is limited. :mrgreen: lol just a suggestion
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Key
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 4:50 pm    Post subject: Voting is up!  


Thanks for the great discussion. There were lots of suggestions. I've done my best to categorize them into three different directions for people to vote on. Remember that you are acting as Lodevar in all of these cases. The choices are:

1) Lead your people to the Great Sea to contact the merfolk. Pretend to attack the city if possible to buy yourself time for the journey.

2) Split your forces up. Remain in the mountains with the bulk of your army, but send smaller war parties to give false information to the Bullroars, to scout out the city defenses, and to contact the merfolk.

3) Attack the Bullroar city. Use deception to conceal the timing of your attack, then dig tunnels to get inside the city.

To vote, go to the next chapter and make your choice. Feel free to continue the discussion on the next chapter. The different options won't change, but you might be able to sway people to choose one or another.
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