Suggested targets
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The morning after the calamity in Norwick, George organizes a meeting to inform Peltarch's military brass as well as the Fisher family. The Geese are all invited, of course, though most have already heard everything being said.
Good morning all.
After the Zhentarim's brazen attack beneath Norwick, and the debrief that included Temperance of Gulderhorn as an advisor on Geroldine, it seems our initial instinct when they rallied in the Pass was correct. We should be on the offense at any opportunity.
We dispatched his forces in the Pass with relative ease because of it, and Norwick serves as another testimony.
While we were making plans in Norwick, he baited us on several levels. Had we stayed in Norwick, most of us would be slag by now. Had we thwarted Flux in the Underdark, the regular siege engines would have rolled in. Had we used Flux's own underground siege weapons to stop the column marching on Norwick, I have no doubt one of the other detected contacts would have fully committed.
What the Lady Temperance's advise tells me is the man is a battering ram. A subtle battering ram, but still. He knows how to conquer. He knows how to subjugate. If we remain in a defensive position, he will find a way to break through. We cannot wait for him to come to us.
Supposedly, what he does not know is how to keep what he gains. He is not a builder. He is not a defender. He will be on the backfoot whenever he's forced to hold his ground.As such, there are some targets we would do well to take out while he expects us to shore up our defenses. There is Flux, the adjudant responsible for the heinous act in Norwick, if they can be found.
There are strongholds of the Zhentarim we can launch attacks on. Towns that feed their war machine. I would encourage starting insurrections there, but I worry these people are too demoralized for that to work, so destroying their inrastructure might be our best bet.The first target I would propose, however, is their fleet. It is rolling down the Icelace at its leisure to blockade our port, which will be instrumental to our survival if it does come to a siege and will be our last resort if the unthinkable happens and we wish to evacuate the city. If their fleet manages to defeat ours, the docks will also be a Hell to defend from.
As with their land based components, their fleet outnumbers ours, so they will expect us to be on the defense. I suggest we take the battle to them while they are still well out of sight of the city.
We have the Seafarers and other guilds with us to bolster our numbers, and we can and should offer letters of marque to those brave captains willing to risk their ships. Even those currently considered outlaws.
But perhaps we can truly perplex their commander when we strike, for a change. How many casters, whether arcane, divine or druidic would it take to freeze the area around them? And can we muster that number?Theirs is a formidable fleet, and we would be hard pressed to gain the upper hand in a conventional fight.
Trapped in ice, it would be a different story. For our part, we could treat it as a land battle, vastly improving our numbers even if we cannot use our Tuigans on ice. A great deal of their troops will be accustomed to naval warfare as opposed to infantry warfare. Their ships will become hard to defend wooden structures, if their hulls do not simply break under the encroaching ice. Their ships' crews coming to one another's aid as we pick our targets will be slow going, and any ship that is abandoned by its crew to do so will be a sitting duck if we decide to commit our Blue.
Damage them badly enough while they are stationary, and we could retreat to let the ice melt and have the lake finish our work for us. Have our icy acres work for us.
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Poring over the maps and last minute defenses, Cormac turns to the sole representative from Hin Hold and lets his designs be known
"*So here it is. The plans laid out, two prong and decisive should they succeed. Hrmph. And if not, all the city will be emptied with a handful of Perom's guardsmen and a few Elven knights. Pfah!
Hrrrhhh... Ros, your people in Hin Hold won't commit soldiers. But I want your war dogs. Your mastiffs. How much would it cost me to empty your hold's kennels and furnish the hounds with proper barding?
If the Zhentarim push through i want the last face they see not to be that of a fair Elven knight or horrified constable, but a defiant last snarl in the face of tyranny.*"
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General Gom listens closely, with keen approval of George's icy-trap strategy with respect to the Zhentarim fleet.
[DM Xanatos Gambit]
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Cormac's eyebrows perk as George speaks of the Tuigan riders and the icy lake. The corners of his lips quirk in cruel amusement.
"Hrrrhhhh.... if the advance could be kept subtle and hidden within fog, my riders could attack the fleet from horseback. A rain of flaming arrows to burn their sails and whatever else might catch, retreat, and leave the clean up for Peltarch's fleet. We might not sink all of them, but the last thing your logical battering ram will be expecting is a cavalry charge in the middle of a lake."
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Isolde interjects briefly:
"Where trouble on their home front is concerned, I've already set plans in motion. One via a well-connected gentleman with friends in every proverbial port who happens to owe me a favour. There's various people standing by to stir up chaos, awaiting our signal to begin. Timing will be important, as I'm unsure how long they can hold out unless there's also trouble on other fronts.
I've also called in a debt from a rather more fearsome creature, a black dragon formerly enslaved by the Zhentarim. It, too, stands by to attack, though I felt I would be pushing my luck to dictate the precise targets. I expect it'll hit hard and fast, not wishing to risk renewed capture, so again the timing will matter greatly."
