The next morning, imps scurried about the dungeon in search of the Keeper's various champions. Upon being found, they would each be quickly briefed on what their new work was. There was evil to be done and mayhem to be wrought.

[hider=Octavius' Task]Octavius' human form would allow him to blend in rather well, so he was sent north to the closest proper town. These hamlets fell easily enough, but larger towns like that one would put up more of a fight. Beyond just knowing what defenses the town had, it was also necessary to learn about the state of any garrison and where valuables could be found. It would also be useful for Octavius to simply listen in the taverns, to learn what the latest rumors were and whether the people were beginning to catch on to the rising threat in the south. The Horde could only retain the element of surprise for so long, after all.[/hider]

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[@Lugubrious]
[@Elitestpotato]
[@Bright_Ops]
[@Didos]

[hider=The Dwarven Outpost]Aside from that, there was a dwarven mining in the nearby mountains that had caught the Keeper's eye. Despite his best efforts he found himself unable to scry the dwarves' capital or even any of their colonies, so his eyes were blinded. He was interested in what the vile dwarves were doing, and besides, one of their illustrious halls would surely have plenty of treasure and other rare substances. He would send Twich, That Which Consumes Peace, Ekusha, and finally Clotho and her minions. A small group of imps would accompany them as well, because their magic might prove useful and they were most likely better at looting than Clotho's army of insects.

Clotho was an obvious choice because to take a dwarven settlement would require some numbers, and her antlion diggers and Myrmidon soldiers would be ideal for this task. That Which Consumes Peace and Ekusha would hopefully be able to aid in the fighting, but they would also be able to help by inciting chaos and fighting amongst the dwarves. If the dwarves were quarreling amongst themselves, they would be easily beaten by an unexpected and determined attack. 

Twich was there not only because he had proven himself a competent tactician, but also because he had a little mission of his own. It was well known that the dwarves made use of all manner of potent magical explosives in their mining. Such things would be undeniably useful as weapons, but the way to create such alchemical substances was a secret known only by the dwarves. Twich was a competent alchemist and it seemed that Clotho surprisingly had an interest in such topics as well, seeing as she had one holed up in her hive. The two of them were to seize any of the explosives and other useful substances that were to be found, and then later work on finding a way to replicate the bombs.

Essentially, the group was to storm down into the dwarven outpost (or breach it in some other way) and kill all the dwarves inside, except for a few. The Overlord wanted a few live dwarves to interrogate, but the rest of the outpost's denizens would need to be killed. Once that was done, the group was to ransack the place in search of anything valuable, particularly dwarven explosives. Afterwards, they would ideally do some misdirection, making the attack look like the work of humans. Dwarves and men had fought in these lands before, and it would not be so difficult to make them do it again. If the Horde could incite their enemies to kill one another, that could only make their work easier.[/hider]

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[@Athinar]
[@yPro]
[@Boop_Im_A_Dragon]
[@Mattie_]
[@Saarebas]
[@Takashi]

[hider=Another Raid!]While Emily summoned some sort of horrific monster that would burn down one of the nearby villages (apparently without Torrens, though perhaps the fire demon could feed on the flame or burn a nearby forest) there was one other village nearby. This one was the regional capital, which was not saying much considering that these southern reaches were all but desolate. Still, it was much larger than the other two and had a small garrison of guards that were tasked with protecting the nearby area. The town was also home to a newly built temple to some strange and foreign gods, with the priests there being competent sorcerers. It was ruled by several knightly families, so there were bound to be at least a few capable warriors, and to boot there was a wooden palisade for protection against bandits and the occasional orcish warband that slipped past all other defenses. 

Sneaking up on the village would also be somewhat hard, as it was surrounded by many small farms and mines. Perhaps the best course of action would be to let the farm folk see them coming, so that they would all flee to the village's "safety" and be in one spot. That would come with its downsides, though. While less people would run off, the guardsmen, knights, priests, and militia would be prepared. A quick night attack might be a better option.

In any case, the Master actually wanted this village (and most of its workers) intact; it was better than the others and would actually be worth ruling. With its people enslaved, it would be a steady source of supplies for the war effort.

Athinar had asked for a position in command, and this was his chance to prove himself. This attack would not be so easy as the last, but it was still achievable. Perhaps the hardest part would be keeping his allies in line so that the entire village didn't go up in flames with all the people slain.

Everybody that wasn't going to the dwarven outpost or to Emily's ritual would be sent to aid Athinar in his conquest of the village.[/hider]