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Shulbash

"We should consider the possiblity of any anti-magic, magics the [&@%!] have put in place." Shulbash commented as the elder mage casted his spell. After it went out of view, he looked at the mage. "Status?"

Sorondil

Sorondil watched his owl with his arms crossed, his face hardening as it alerted them to the presence of Thalmor. He glanced over at Shulbash when the Orc spoke to him. "It's gone. Banished or shot down. So, there are multiple Thalmor in the farmhouse, and one to a few more beyond that, and someone over there" - he pointed - "where it vanished."

Shulbash

"Overlooked any sources of anti-magic. Should know better." The orc uttered under his breath and meant it as thinking aloud. "Would suggest taking them but we know each other little. A small raid would be easy. Hit and run. Not viable for us. Magic could be used to detect anyone." He commented. "Human, get as close as you can and take the elder mage with you. Combined, It would be best option to find out what magic precautions they have." He suggested to Baefire and the group.

Arya

A bit shy to speak up, but spoke she did "I.. Umm.. Baefire was it not?" She shuffled her boots in the soil, clearly speaking up in a group was not her strength, especially in this tense moonlight "How.. How do you wish to proceed, thanks to Sorondil's knowledge? W..what should we do?" She was trying to make it obvious, but if they needed someone to lead them, she very much wished to cast her vote with the more favorable success

Baelfire was rather taken aback by Arya's question. She was asking him for advice, presumably trusting his input, and it made him feel uncomfortable.
He knew what he would do if he were on his own...but he wasn't on his own, he was in a group, and they all had to be taken into account.

The Imperial swallowed silently and shifted his hood forward, even though it was already draped enough over his head.
Looking into the distance as he spoke, he answered, "I think we should split up. Avoid the farmhouses. One group heads towards the exterior line of houses, the other group heads to the steep slope on the other side. I'm a good climber, and if any of you can do levitation or telekinesis, it will assist such an ascent."
Baelfire paused. It was unclear if he was thinking or had simply finished answering.

Arya

She started to ponder over this thought, it brought her ease to not focus on the proposition she had been drafted into.

"No.. No, levitation just wont do." There was a touch of confidence to her voice "Even in my youth beside the Telvanni, I learned not how to ascend their towers.. And Sorondil here, wise and long lived, is but honed to conjure.." She looked over Baelfire, her clenched book momentarily lowered

"To the best of my knowledge, you would be most fortunate to find a practitioner or teacher of that spell in this day and age.

She almost let her words trail ahead of her, forgetting the point of why she spoke up "But umm..Most unfortunately, any ascent would have to be made manually, not magically.." She felt loomed over, not offering a valid solution in replacement. Shrinking back behind her book, she could only muster "S..sorry.."

Baelfire

"Then I shall climb unaided." Baelfire replied, seemingly unphased by Arya's information.

"A dispel field? You'd need a master mage to make something like that, several most likely. Can't see an outpost like this having that kind of support. Creature was probably shot down." said Philip with a dismissive and confident smirk. "Perhaps by the same hunter who shot the hound's catch." The bard suggested.

Shulbash

"The size is enough for them to take precautions such as anti-magic fields." The orc told the bard. Interesting bunch. Leading them. Not an option but training them, protecting them. Maybe.

For the first time since advancing through the tunnel, Vila spoke up, having kept her silence since then. It was time to break her streak of reservation, she'd concluded, and offer her own take on things in an attempt to break the indecisiveness that was taking hold among the newly found group.

"Let us review our information so far, yes?" she asked, sure that at least a few of her companions had forgotten about her presence by now. Maybe that effect would give her a little more credibility, too. "As Sorondil's reconnaissance revealed, the Thalmor we know to be present don't have their guard down, despite their long march. If they were alert enough to detect and banish a conjured owl, then they are alert enough to detect us. Therefore, I believe our chances of remaining concealed will be higher if we split up, as Baelfire suggested. If we're lucky, they didn't realize the owl was a familiar."


She paused for a moment to make sure everyone was following. "I further suggest that we splinter into small groups of no more than two, ideally the duos will be comprised of people with abilities that complement each other. If anybody feels confident in their ability to climb that slope," she pointed at it, "they should go with Baelfire. The rest of us ought to pick an entrance each and take a closer look. Communication is still key, so we should agree on some rudimentary signals and locations. I suggest we regroup here, where we came from. If any of us is in trouble, shoot a fireball or somesuch, anything that looks like a signal and gives away your location, but only do this when absolutely necessary."

Vila looked over the faces of the others questioningly, waiting for their responses. She for one, was eager to get going and put the whole thing behind her.

Baelfire nodded at Vila.
"Good."

He looked yonder to the slope, eager to proceed. Who was to accompany him, he did not mind, as long as they were able and fit for the task.

It was obvious why the Thalmor had chosen that specific village. The lead-up to the entrances was contained in clear and open space. The forest formed a crescent around the space; bunching together at the back, it would allow one to walk around, to the slope that they desired to scale, under the cover of the forestry. But a walk to the entrances required at least a five hundred meter dash across open ground. The houses that dotted the edge of the village were within about 400 meters of the nearest point in the treeline and being stocked with sleeping Thalmor, were unlikely to be well watched in themselves.

The farmhouses three hundred meters out from the village, near the center of the open space, offered some security of vantage, however, and stood only three hundred, or so, meters from the nearest point of treeline. Considering the distance of the houses from the village watchtower, the shroud of the deep darkness that hung in the air, it was more than achievable so long as the group moved swiftly and didn't emit any light. From the scouting efforts of Sorondil's familiar the group were aware of there being some number of Thalmor - though less than five - in the space between the two farmhouses, and some other number - also less than five - some distance of hundred metres or so beyond.

Remus was aware of their being at least three Thalmor guards at the side of the hill which Baelfire hoped to scale.

If the Thalmor could outfit every woodland outpost with a dozen archmagisters they'd have won the war years ago. This Orc is ignorant as they come. Worse, he's the kind where the more ignorant he is the more he voices his ignorance aloud and demands others follow him. I'd rather he go with one of the others than get me seen.

"I'm not a terrible climber but I think my talents would be better suited elsewhere." said Philip. He gave Skulbash a pat on the back. "But look at the muscles on you, say you could manage the climb. And it's better than trying to run between the houses in that clankity clank."

He nodded at Vila. "Keeping groups down to two or three is a good idea, but we should have a firestarter in each. We don't know who'll be able to get to the barns so every group needs to be able to burn them." Philip added with her suggestion to keep groups small. "I'll go with a group to those farmhouses on the edge of the village. We rush towards them from the treeline, hide nearby and get our barrings. Then we stick to the dark, keep quiet and make our make our way through the village to the barns. Anyone coming with would need to be able move swiftly and keep out of sight though."

"The Orc looks heavy-set for a swift climb," Baelfire turned to Shulbash, "and if magic is not your forte, then neither of us has fire on hand."

The Imperial peered in the darkness at Vila. "How about you?" He inquired.

Vila responded by snapping with her left hand's fingers, producing a small eruption of flame that went out almost just as soon as it had been created. It was meant as no more than a nonverbal demonstration.

"As for my climbing, I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I am not encumbered by any equipment, and I know a bit more potentially useful magic."

"Sounds good to me." Baelfire replied bluntly.
"Ready when you are."

"How about the rest of you?" Vila asked after a short nod to Baelfire. "We need to know who the other teams are and where they're going before setting out, and we shouldn't stand around longer than neccessary."

"That was no magical dispelling field." Remus shook his head with an air of disinterested condescension, "Either some shot it down, or Goldenrod's not as good of a mage as he thought, neither of which bodes well for you."

He pointed to the slope Baelfire had indicated, "There are three, maybe four soldiers standing watch there. I'll go with you, if you wish, but the Orc should come too. If he can keep up."

"In that case, we will keep to two groups of four," Vila quickly suggested before anyone had time to disagree. "Arya can start a fire as well, and it will be easier for us to coordinate this way. We can split up further later, if neccessary."

She nodded towards their destination at Shulbash and Remus signalling it was time to go. "We all know what to do. Let's go."

Sorondil

Sorondil listened to the others, his arms still crossed.
"Keep making comments like that and you'll see just how good of a mage I am," he grumbled in response, half to himself. He was liking the scout less and less the more the man spoke. Slightly louder, to the group altogether, he said, "Whichever group I'm in, know that I do not intend to get in the thick of any physical fighting. If I'm doing any summoning, I have to maintain a level of concentration to keep a summon under my control, so we'll have to plan around that. Other than that, I'm also proficient in destruction magic." He stretched, flexing his fingers. "I could probably climb a tree if needed, but it's not something I've had to do for a few decades."

Taken aback by her pupil's handling of the situation, the shy bookkeeper was both impressed and mildly jealous. None the less, she clapped her hands together in self contained bliss "Positively splendid, my dear Vila. Why, if I didn't know any better, one may very well get the impression you've done this twice over?" She seemed lost in the moment complimenting the younger elf "Anyways.." Clearing her throat as she tried to overcome her shy nature "What Vila says is more than true" She tossed a look towards the elder mage "But I feel between the two of us, both of our short comings can more than supplement the others.."

"That is.. If we ever intend to announce ourselves and engage in combat.."

Shulbash

Finally. Someone is taking the lead and providing something that is close to a plan. "Do not pat me on the back if I am not aware of your presence. It is likely to end with me breaking a few of your bones out of instinct." He told Phillip. Let them think I am what they presume all orcs to be. They assume I am vicious. They will get what they presume. "Because I am a warrior." He told Baelfire regarding his comment about his armour. "You people assume we are all fighters. Pray that I am the beast you view me as and not secretly a bard in diguise." He listened to the little elf's words of concern. "Do anything to end the fight. Honour has no place on the battlefield. Bite, gouge, throw dirt. Do whatever you need to win the fight." He advised the entire group. Any reclaimed honour have no place for me. Skullbash was a vicious honourless [&@%!]. He is the orc I need in combat. Fear will aid him. Must not allow body to be overwhelmed by uncontrolled rage. Too risky at this point. Likely to murder everything in sight.

"I would advise being more alert if the presence of a Redguard in your own group can take you by surprise." Baelfire informed Shulbash.

Remus' intel on the three, possibly four soldiers on the slope route brought a sly grin to the Imperial's lips.
He swung his sword in a vertical circle.
"I am more than ready for them."

With a crouch and forward movement, he edged a few metres in their proposed direction of travel.

Philip smirked. "Ha, you wish. As do your bedroom companions, I'm sure." said Philip in deprecating manner when the Orc said he wasn't a bard.

The bard pointed at Sorondil, Arya and Maximilian, the group he would be infiltrating the camp with. "We won't. And if we raise an alarm we'd be best off getting out of there. A couple we could take. But outnumbered four to one, I don't fancy our chances." said Philip shaking his head. "Once we run from the trees to the house we need to get our bearings, see what guards are around. Any spells or potions that will help, then would be the time to use them."

Shulbash

"If I viewed you as a threat and you snuck up on me. Your stomach would be impaled on my blade and most of your upper torso would be torn in half." The orc causally told Baelfire. "What my partners in the bedroom desire or wish have no relevance." He commented to the bard. "I shall aid Vila's group. Pray that I am a warrior and not a bard playing at warrior." Whether that was meant to be a joke or not, only Malacath knew along with Shulbash.