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 Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:22 am
Elcca's heart was still slowing as she processed the information Azulon and Ali had recovered. It quickly jumped back to speed when they mentioned the name Godlum. He was a Nergui? It made sense, but she'd never known Godlum to do anything without... she forced the thought from her head. It wasn't like it changed anything. She had never counted Godlum among friends. If anything, it was just all the more reason to validate her dislike of him.
The other fact was surprising. "Miah? That Nergui we captured during the attack?" If he was a traitor, he was doing a s**t job of convincing anyone of it. "The Hongshan said he helped them escape. But there's always been some question as to whether or not it was an elaborate setup. If Miah is not the traitor, it could be another of the group who is. Someone in the pride."
Before she could muse much further, Yoan appeared from the sky and settled down on one of the shanty trees. "That patrol is moving east. I suggest we move in the opposite direction."
"The information about Miah is useful, but not what we came for," Elcca breathed. A part of her wasn't entirely sure why she should be suggesting this when she was intent on not dying. "We could continue west to that tree, but we could also try tracking that patrol group. They could lead us somewhere."
"More likely to head straight into their jaws," Yoan reminded.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:19 am
Morag listened to the report of the conversation with a frown, sitting back on her haunches to process the information. There wasn't much of it that made all that much sense to her, but then, she hadn't been as involved with the Hongshan and the Nergui up until recently. Most likely the Regents would make better use of it than she could, so she stored in her memory for later.
The suggestion of a choice on where to go next gave her food for thought and it was after a moment that she spoke quietly.
"I agree, I don't think this is enough information... but I do think its probably enough for that tree. If its simply a place to mourn, I don't think we'll find much of interest there... I could be wrong, but even the Nergui seem to find it an odd place. My vote would be to try to follow the patrol group. I know it increases the danger level, but there is a chance we could overhear more of interest, or yes, follow them to a place where we could find out more."
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:31 am
Again, it was time to pick a path. Azulon frowned slightly. Following the patrol would probably be the most informative path, since they might see more Nergui, and eavesdrop on more. But more Nergui meant more eyes to see them and noses to catch their scent in the air. He couldn't hope the wind would always favor them.
Was capturing a nergui to interrogate of interest to them? For ti to work they'd have to leave immediately afterwards, or kill whatever Nergui they caught and figure out what to do with the body (personally, Azulon had no qualms against eating lions, but for some reason he suspected the firekin wouldn't warm up to that idea). "The tree is likely the safest choice. If there is a Nergui there, or only a few, we could overpower and interrogate them, but they might sound the alarm." Roars could carry quite a long distance, especially in lands such as these. As they had found not long ago.
"But we're not really here to play it safe, are we? We would learn more following the patrol. Even if we don't get close enough to overhear anything, we can observe and gouge their numbers." He thought getting as much information as possible was more important than playing it safe, and Azulon didn't believe the tree would teach them anything useful. If it was a place of mourning, what use was it to them?
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:15 am
Serkan weighed the options, eyes down on the ground. Azulon brought up a good point - The tree meant a safe bet. But Morag also had a good point. There was nothing else at the tree, if it was nothing more than a mourning point. He sat back on his haunches, tail flicking. After a moment, he looked up at the sky. "We need Nergui lion." He gave a nod. "I vote tree, may find Nergui lion there. Find one Nergui, we catch and interrogate... If roar, we knock out and flee elsewhere. Nergui can't move fast enough to catch us with head start, yes?"
The vulture started climbing Serkan's back. But with the lion being mortal and therefore smaller, he soon fell off, finding not nearly enough room to stay on his sitting back. He opted to keep his beak closed this time, since whatever the lions did didn't particularly matter to him... So long as he didn't get killed and eaten. Settling back on the ground, the vulture started grooming his feathers, preening at his poor ruined wing.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:43 am
Aithne's attention turned to Ali as he confirmed what the male had to say. It did sound as though they had a traitor among them. And what sounded like their 'tradition' with the tree was odd. She knew they were lions but she thought that it was odd to know that they did things that almost even the firekin did. They didn't exactly so many traditions however they mourned, they had a traitor at some point, she wasn't alive but she had heard the stories. They too problems. She thought the idea of it was very odd. Yet she kind of shrugged the idea off and then focused on the next question that was coming up.
Where should they go next? It was an interesting question. She almost detested the idea of going to the tree. "We could go to the tree, and yes it would be safe, however it might even be too safe." She sneered shaking her head moving closer to the group. "We may go to the tree however we never know if anyone is even going to be there. That would be a waste of time if we wander over and no one is there and we don't get any more information. So not only have we wasted time but we've then put a flag on us anyway because we would still have to then go and do something else to get our information." She hated the idea of wasting time especially now that they were in the enemy's land. She flicked her tail around and then nodded to the others. "I feel like the best idea would be to follow them. It's dangerous however it would be much more worth it.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:55 am
A soft hum rumbled in Morag's throat as she thought over the ideas.
"Actually, if there is someone there, they could be the easiest and safest way to get information... Perhaps we need a scout. Would now be a good time to put a bird in the air, in the literal sense? Someone who won't stand out too much on their own who could view the area and see how many are by this lightning-struck tree. Capturing them could be our safest course of action." She rolled her shoulders.
"I stand by my first statement though, if there is nothing living by that tree."
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:23 am
Elcca was inclined to side with danger. She wasn't happy about it. But it felt like a better undertaking. "We've apparently had a traitor nergui for months, and he hasn't told us anything. And according to those guys, he's on our side. We could capture the Nergui, but I'm not sure if that would guarentee him talking. Even if we tortured him. And torture isn't exactly quiet. But following the patrol would at least mean we'll get an idea on numbers and troop movements."
And ever working in reverse, Yoan seemed to favor the original plan. "We can't follow closely. Even at a distance, it would be risky. I don't think a Nergui would be quick to talk either, but there is a limit to what a small force can do. If this tree is favored by travelers, we could have time to prepare and observe."
"But all of that is just guessing. We could wait there, and we could be safe. But if we follow the patrol, we will find something. It just might be more than we can handle," she admitted. "Higher the risk, the better the reward. What if we could find their main hold out? That could help any future war efforts. What if they lead us to a slave camp? We might find someone who can talk. Maybe even grab some."
"The Hongshan were slaves too, and they know little," Yoan reminded. "You don't know where that patrol is going. Or if it will turn around and back up right into us."
"Hence the high risk," Elcca muttered.
"I do not think these lands will think much of a crow," the blackbird said. "Since there is enough concern to cause debate, I can scout out the western plain."
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:20 am
"Not to mention," He added on to Elcca's thoughts on an interrogation. "Enemies tend to be far more honest when they don't know you're listening." Even with torture, any capture of theirs could tell them anything that sounded remotely feasible, and they wouldn't be any wiser. "False information can be even more dangerous than none."
He found himself disinclined to agree with the crow, even though he seemed to be a very reasonable little bird. But he was hardly about to go restating anything, Azulon had established he thought it smarter to follow the patrol. At the suggestion to scout, he nodded slightly. "Very well then." Scout away, Yoan. He just hoped it wouldn't take too long. Another patrol may pass by, after all.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:55 pm
The black snake who had gone to scout off alone, had returned just as silently as he had left, sliding up close to where the group were discussing the latest decision yet to be made.
Tree or patrol. Tree or patrol.
He hissed quietly, puffing out his throat as he considered their options. Neither seemed good ones. This tree of mourning sounded like a place full of woe and darkness. However, following that lead might have made more sense and came with far less risk. Even still, he was here on behalf of his mistress, Fia, and he knew what the wild-eyed lioness would have done.
She would have voted to follow the patrol.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:30 pm
"Perhaps we split our numbers again." Ali said after a moment of thought. They were a large force and a larger force would be easier to detect than a pair of smaller ones, and if something happened to one, that left the other alive and able to return back to their pride and raise a warning if need be.
"Half of us to follow the patrol- which if that is our course we need to hurry before the trail goes cold. The other half can go to wait by the tree. Less lions, less chance that we are detected." He glanced shortly to Elcca. "And everyone for themselves... if one of us goes down, the others must go back to raise the alarm. Get everyone out safely... we are already in deep waters here. We might as well finish our crossing, yes?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:59 pm
As Yoan flew off, Elcca shook her head at the current discussion. "Separating the group over opposite directions is just not a good idea for the same reasons as before**. If we split apart over such wide terrain, we also double our chances of being overwhelmed. And if you take an every-man for himself approach to this, we're going to end up with scattered lions lost in enemy territory," she said. Of this, she seemed quite certain of. "We need to commit to a plan, not half do two plans and hope we somehow win. Our odds go down the further we lose focus."
"And false information will always be a threat. The minute the nergui know we are here, we can't really trust whatever we hear. The only thing we can be sure of is what we see," she continued, following Azulon's point. To be honest, she wondered if it was possible the whole conversation about traitors had been manufactured. Had they known they were listening? Elcca's gut doubted it, but still... it was worth considering.
It took several minutes for Yoan to return. The crow returned without much ceremony, retaking his perch on the warped tree. "There is a lion there, but no others. It is much like the dog described- a large tree, charred from a fire or lighting. The grass is worn there, so it seems to be frequented. As far as its purpose, I can't say. Religious or simply communal would be my guess."
Elcca crinkled her nose. "Is the local religion what we are after?"
Yoan didn't have an answer to that. It looked like it was time for a final decision.
[** and also, just not feasible for one thread! ]
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:18 pm
"My vote still stands, to follow the patrol. There is merit in both sides of the hide... more to see with one, but more danger. Safer with the other, but less of a chance of finding out anything useful. We aren't really here to capture anyone and have little resources with which to do it and extract any useful information." She sighed as she shifted where she sat, her red eye narrowed.
"If this were someone high in the ranks, I'd be inclined, but we really don't know... It sounds like he carries the word of some leader or even diety, and maybe even this Miah was his son, but I don't know enough to offer an opinion on if its worth our while or not to take him. I wish I had more information, to know which way would benefit us more... but I will stay with the plan to go after the patrol."
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 3:05 pm
Ali rolled his eyes. Well they couldn't please everyone... whomever was at the tree or what the purpose of the tree was for was an after-thought in the grand scheme of things. They didn't come here to learn about the culture of the other pride, they came for something with a little more substance. If need be, they had a few individuals they could ask when they got home. It mattered little. Their culture wasn't the threat to the firekin.
"I vote with Morag. We need information and we will find it further in. We do not have much time to spend and we had best use it to our advantage."
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 3:20 pm
"Looks like we're following the patrol, then." Azulon concluded, agreeing with Morag, Ali and Elcca. So far no one who had voiced their opinion, besides Yoan himself, had preferred visiting the tree. Even if there was a lone lion there. Capturing a fully-grown lion just wasn't practical for them right now!
He took a few steps heading East, then paused and looked back. If anyone else wanted to object, they may well do it now and quickly. They had wasted enough time already! A rather recurring thought for him, but having spent so much time as a rogue, Azulon was a little impatient with certain aspects of working in a group. He thought he was handling pride-life well, he just didn't always enjoy it.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 3:25 pm
Serkan gave a snort, rising up on all four paws. "I still vote we go tree! If lion there is Miah's father, we use Miah as bargaining chip." He tilted his head, lips curling back in a bit of a snarling scowl. "This Godlum, sound well-ranked, if derided. Worth finding out from him information." He then kicked Vunde. "Stupid bird vote!"
Vunde let out a squawk, flaring his wings and glaring at the lion. Righting himself and ruffling his feathers, he cleared his vote, then held a wing up. "I also vote for the tree. Godlum is mourning his son, yes, so he might be in a state of mind that he'll willingly give PLENTY of information... That isn't going to get you all killed."
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