Tack

Fall of Vedrus

"When I was twenty the Ironbanes dragged me onto the steps of the palace and cut my head off. I...have yet to get used to it." She fidgeted with the artifact before pocketing it. "We both have become something mothers use to scare their children." She grimaced, and looked about her. "So much death these days. I assume it's not too long until your next bout with the Ironbanes?"

Fall of Vedrus

Don't worry, I haven't changed anything!

I definitely agree with you that the Goldenblades wouldn't commit their entire force just to secure a few villages. Maybe taking the villages was just a small part of a much larger Ironbane strategy. We could still have the Ironbanes send reinforcements to the villages, though I think the GMs will have to decide. Sorry if I've been jumping the gun here!

Fall of Vedrus

Heidra turned. "Thank you." She took the artifact warily. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness. My breeding only taught me manners in a very...limited sense." She looked into Leo's eyes and remembered their sudden flash of green when he was angry earlier. She had read about werewolves many times before, and encountered them numerous times in her dealings with the Dragon Cultists, but this is the first time she encountered one...so tame.

"You are a werewolf, then?" She raised her brow. "When were you bitten?"

Fall of Vedrus

Oh, okay! I'll make a post saying the Ironbanes planning on reinforcing those cities, and maybe reveal what route the reinforcements are taking so the Goldenblades can ambush them.

Fall of Vedrus

Heidra sighed--she was alone again. The half-elf's words had stung her, though she was incapable of showing it. It had reminded her of her teacher in Astal--waking her up morning after morning to practice her fencing, her martial arts, her music, her poetry, always telling her that she still had so much to learn, that she had hardly even novice skills at this point. Then the isolation in that castle, with no friends, everyone always avoiding her--the hostage, who at any moment the mad king could drag out and execute if she so much as looked at him the wrong way.

She wandered to the nurses' tent where she found herself some new clothes, then came to the camp storeroom where she retrieved her trusty rapier. The artifact wasn't there...they must have taken it. The Dragon Cultists would be angry if she came back empty handed. She looked around, and with a sigh, began to calculate her next move. She crept back to Crim's tent--there was still much she would need to know from this dragon priestess. Perhaps she would be able to remove this strange bondage the Dragon Cultists had on her.

Fall of Vedrus

Was it okay for Heidra to add that plot point about the planned Ironbane assault on Duplil? If it interferes with the GMs' plans for the story, I could change her information to something else.

Fall of Vedrus

Seeing the dragon, a shudder rippled through Heidra's carcass. Gritting her teeth, she nodded. "Certainly. I apologize for my unseemly behaviour." She turned toward Leo, almost said something but bit her tongue. "War is nothing but politics. You commoners would do well to remember that as you follow your leaders so blindly. The Ironbanes have no intention of wasting time, anyhow. Seizing those towns was a feint to concentrate your forces away from Duplil. No doubt they're heading toward Duplil now." She paused. "Now, if I may be so bold, do you happen to have any fresh clothes that are fit for me to wear? These rags are burdensome."

Fall of Vedrus

"Flog me all you want, gutterborn. Pain is not exactly a thing I have to worry about anymore." She rose from her seat and composed herself. "You did something for me, I shall do something for you. We both can help each other to get what we want. I've been gathering intelligence on the Ironbanes for months now--I've monitored their troop movements, spied on their encampments, and even read some of their battleplans. I can provide you information on the Ironbanes, and perhaps even more if you'll keep me as an agent. In return for my services, I merely wish to be restored to my ancestral birthright when the war is over and the Goldenblades are victorious."

Fall of Vedrus

Heidra passed her undead stare back and forth from Crim to Leo. "I was in the Ironbane caravan near Duplil, do you recall? The Ironbanes had stolen something of...mine. They captured me. I am no enemy of yours."

Fall of Vedrus

The healing was not much, but it was enough for Heidra to shore up the remaining cracks in her bodily composition. That is until the half-elf came up to her and pressed his knife on the executioner's axe first severed her head from her body. She winced.

"That is Your Grace to you, commoner. Who are you then, only the son of a ranger? Well, I am Heidra va Rastenbruck, first of her name and rightful Countess of Orrinnfell." She paused. "I wish to form an alliance with you."