“Lady, I am as eager as any other to aid your village, but I am wary to rush into combat without more information. All we know is that a strange force has launched a series of escalating assaults on your village. Captain Herebrand, Lady Lanaey, and I were discussing the situation last night before we took to our beds. Normal bandits do not attack people villages one at a time, and they certainly do not launch escalating assaults. Something is amiss. It would greatly help us if you could describe your attacks. How do they fight? Do they attack from the woodlands or the plains? What kind of weapons do they use?” Thagon asked eagerly. Laurel nodded and was about to speak when Leena moved politely “I cannot say whether Sir Kestner is correct in his questions, but I am somewhat curious about your settlement. Where do you take the women and children during the raids?”
Laurel spoke then: ‘Thankyou for asking Sir Thagon and Lady Leena. Indeed these enemies are unlike conventional enemies such as Uruk-Hai. These Wildmen use very little tactics, with the exception of barbarism. The only pattern that they attack the village as well as the forest from somewhere over the plain. They know we are in there, to be plain. That seems to be their goal. Organisation of their rabble is weak. They fight with broad swords, but are not exceptionally skilled. Almost all deaths occur from small poisonous darts they carry. Mandos takes slowly those who fall to them’ she murmured darkly.
‘To answer your questions Lady Leena, women and children flee to the House of the Swan Lady at the end of the point of Dor-En-Ernil, deep in the forest. But sometimes they cannot get there in time’ Laurel balled her fist behind her riding robes ‘They spare none. So far, our organisation has been to post as many people who can fight at the village and also in the eaves of the forest to fend them off. But our forces are spent, and they will come for the last time soon, if we do not help’
She waited for other to speak…
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