Immediately after Lord Tolan finished making his request to the Lieutenant, the Drow Officer said eagerly, "It would be a pleasure and an honor to join you on this mission, sir! Count me in!"Somewhat stunned by his Lieutenant's quick response, the Swordsman said, "You realize, of course, that this is a suicide mission, don't you?"
"That it is, sir!" replied the Lieutenant evenly, "However, what we could stand to learn about both the Wood Elves and the Swan Mays from my observations could prove to be invaluable to us in the future, sir! I fully understand the risk involved, however I am willing to take that risk for the chance to forge an alliance that can help us beat Venger's Orcs and teach us more about one race that is an old enemy and another one that is a complete mystery!"
"I see," said Sterling more than a little worried over his junior officer's fate. "Well, before you go riding off into the Forest of Macul, could you give me your logistical assessment of our battle plan for tonight? And you can speak freely, Lieutenant, I doubt Lord Tolan will betray any secrets we may have."
"Very well, sir!" mentioned the Lieutenant rolling out several maps and papers on the table before him. "By my best estimates, sir, if we are to continue with our plan to take that old horse trail to the north, attack Pembroke, and destroy the Orc's siege weapons a little after midnight. Then we must leave Yarfell within the next two hours to keep to our schedule! Also, the men can only take with them only enough medical supplies and foodstuffs that they can each personally carry."
Pausing a little, the Drow Officer continued, "It's going to be an uphill ride on horseback through some dense woods, sir, and the men are going to be expected to fight a battle at the end of that ride! In order to be successful, they will need to travel lightly--very lightly. If they can do that, they will be able to strike swifter and harder than if they were laden down with these supplies like we normally are. Well, what do you think, sir?"
"That sounds about right to me, Lieutenant," mentioned the Swordsman matter of factly, "Except we are going to make one little detour!"
"Oh? Well, sir, if we are not going to take the horse trail back down the south and end up in Yarfell, then where are we going?" asked the Lieutenant more than a little surprised by this last minute change of events.
"We're going to do the last thing that Venger would expect us to do!" said Sterling with an evil grin on his face, "We're going to push right into Swan May territory and meet you, Lord Tolan, the Swan May Leader, and the Wood Elven King in a war council! There, we will pledge ourselves to a formal alliance and hash out a coordianted strategy to win the war!"
Turning to the High Councilor, the Swordsman said, "However, all of this largely depends upon you, Lord Tolan. You would have to convince the Wood Elven king to join our side and then, join you in returning Ingeld to the Swan Mays. Then you would have to convince the Swan Mays not to attack us as we march to meet you! By the by, Lieutenant, is there any landmark where we could meet?"
"There is one, Captain," mentioned the Lieutenant spotting it in the northwestern corner of the map. "It is said that the Swan Mays have a lake that they call 'The Lake Where The Three Moons Rise' but I guess we can call it Three Moons Lake for short!"
"Fine! We'll meet your party on the eastern banks of the shore of Three Moons Lake--sometime at or after midnight!" said Sterling definitively, "That is, of course, unless you have a better idea, Lord Tolan?"
A Point To Ponder
