WOT Adv 58

--- The Wheel Turns ---
After eyeing the northernmost encampment you turn around and sit heavily on the ground, wearily resting your back against a tree trunk. You sigh bitterly and shake your head in frustration.

"Maer, what is it?" Maeslyn whispers at you with concern.

"Look at this," you wave your hand absently in the direction of the neat rows of tents of the military camp, and give your whispered reply. "There are probably somewhere between twelve or fifteen soldiers at this camp. With another twelve to fifteen in the first, that's a total of probably of a score and ten soldiers between the two. How are we supposed to rescue these prisoners? And then there's the matter with that officer." You spit out the title with contempt.

"I've noticed you've been glum ever since we've been tracking out the officers who've led us to this second camp. What about this officer?"

"He's in league with Sightblinder. Or as you would call him, 'The Great Lord of the Dark'." You shake your head in frustration and throw down your spear angrily on the ground.

"How do you know?"

"I saw him speaking with a man all in shadow, with a dark cloak."

"What of this man in shadow?"

"He moved with the grace of a cat, or a great warrior. But there was something else about him that caught my eye. Something unnatural." Maeslyn watches you, interested as you continue, "His cloak. It didn't move. While the wind blew the tree branches, it didn't even move. It wasn't right."

"Did you see his face?" Maeslyn asks urgently.

"No. It was shrouded in the darkness. But his hands were pale and white. And he came with a mission from 'The Great Lord of the Dark' for this Taraboner officer."

Maeslyn has a far away look on her now pale face. "A Fade."

"A what?" Keb asks.

Maeslyn sighs and continues on with sorrow in her voice. "Also known as The Eyeless, Shadowmen, Halfmen, Lurks, Fetches, or--" she pauses. "Fades. It is said that they are the offspring of trollocs."

"Trollocs?" Keb asks. "But trollocs aren't men."

"Remember that trollocs are half men and half beast. But the offspring of Trollocs are sometimes throwbacks to their animal or human ancestors. The animal offspring usually don't survive, but the human offspring are generally viable, though polluted by the touch of Shadow. They are tools of the Dark One and are fearsome opponents. I've not seen them before, but I've heard tales." She shudders. "If what I've heard is correct, you are fortunate to have not been seen, Maer."

You nod. And sigh glumly. "And then there are the trollocs. I saw five of them. It's possible they are tracking us even now."

"You mentioned a mission," Maeslyn asks, coming out of her thoughts. "What did this Fade say to the officer?"

"I overheard that the Taraboners are trying to start a civil war here for some reason. And then he said something about some great work needing to be done in Tanchico by this officer."

"Interesting. Nadira Sedai should know of this. So what options do we have."

Therlin who has been silent this whole time speaks up. "Look, I don't even know why we're out here. If we're not going to help the prisoners then what is this wild goose chase all about? We could have stayed in Aturo's Orchard and slept in a bed, instead of wandering in the cold."

"You have a point. It's midnight. What do you suggest we do?"

"I suggest we get the prisoners and get the blazes back to the town," Therlin says.

"Keb?" Maeslyn asks.

"Well, I tend to agree with Maer. Whatever we're going to do. It either has to be very fast or very quiet, or maybe a little of both if we're going to pull anything off. I'm not sure we can take on a dozen soldiers."

"Maer?"

"I see two options. One, we have a slight chance of stealing some good warhorses, and we may or may not be able to take out four guards and kill the rest in their sleep, and save the officers for questioning. Or, if we can find the officers, we can find out if they know they're being led by a Darkfriend."

"You're assuming they don't know," Maeslyn says grimly. "Perhaps they're also in league."

"Perhaps. Which leads me to my second option. We can move like the desert winds and return to the village, wait for the other Wise One, Nadira, to return. And then maybe we can send word to Lorwyn in Ostin Falls that the Taraboners who have been trying to start civil war here are heading out to Tanchico. Maybe he can intercept them or capture them and even rescue these villagers."

Maeslyn considers in silence for a moment, her arms folded in the chill air. "There is the third option. I think we need to do something to help the prisoners," she says finally. "This is what we came to do. And if this officer is truly working for the Dark Lord, I don't know how long they'll be kept useful to him, especially if he's leaving. We cannot stop all these soldiers and all the machinations of the Dark Lord ourselves, but perhaps we can help a few of the lives of the innocent. I am going to at least attempt to help them. We can then consult with Nadira when she returns."

"How?" You ask incredulously.

"I'm not entirely sure yet. But I think we have some options yet open to us. First, this camp doesn't know we are here. Assuming we can get their horses, we cut off any assistance they may be able to offer. Assuming we can get the sentries uniforms, we have disguises."

You can't believe you're hearing this. "Wise One," you say with a grin. "This is not one of your better plans. There is much assuming."

She smiles in return.

"So how? How do we do this?" Keb asks.

"With the One Power I have certain means at my disposal. To a certain extent, I can make our approach soundless, or sightless. Here's my plan: I suggest we quickly remove the two sentries at this camp. We take their uniforms--"

"That's it!" you say, suddenly excited.

"What?" Maeslyn says.

"The uniforms. We already have them, from those we've already slain."

"Excellent!" Maeslyn says. "Then we don't even need to deal with this camp. We return to the first encampment. We all dress up in the Taraboner clothing and tabards. We approach those guarding the pens. If the sentries have been doubled, there should now be four of them. We tell them that captain says we are to relieve their watch and that they are to patrol the woods south east of the camp for scouts. This should lead them into the trollocs. That's four less guards to deal with and it leaves just the four of us by the pens. We get them out of the pens, mount them on the horses and escape. If anything goes wrong, I can make it so that nothing is heard down by the pens and we can, hopefully, quickly dispose of the guards ourselves. What do you think?"

Keb and Therlin both nod their heads in agreement and then finally nod.

"I'm in," Keb says.

"It might just work, Lady Maeslyn," Therlin concedes. "It will be dark. That will help." He shakes his head in admiration. "It's a risky plan, milady, and it might just succeed. I'll help you."

"What do you think, Maer?" Maeslyn looks at you expectantly.