RP:The Witch and the Warlord - Preparations for Battle

Background

In the aftermath of Larket's withdrawal, one warlord named Gromph had gathered a sizeable force of goblins to his cause, and was closest to claiming kingship.

However in the shipyards of Kregus, Dyzz still held her ground with a secure supply line, thwarting Gromph's ambition to hold the entire city and claim the crown.

From the depths of Kregus, Gorznahk's guerilla warfare had become a constant thorn in Gromph's side

Seeing no end in sight to the conflict, Gorznahk approaches Dyzz to see if their individual goals would permit alliance.

Kregus: a realm in chaos

It had been a rough six months, and Gorznahk's forces had diminished. Guerilla strikes on Roldan's forces; desertion; rockworms - all had taken their toll. After a retreat into the deeper caverns, Gorznahk had re-emerged to discover that, not only had human forces left Kregus entirely, it seemed every damn goblin hardboy with a weapon were bashin' hedz to see who would be left standing. The only glimmer of good news in the entire sewage pit was that some enterprising individual known as the 'blue witch' had broken the blockade, and had the entire shipyard district under wraps and out of the hands of anybody else. Rumour further had it they'd brought in food and supplies before some ambitious over-sized git named Gromph had managed to round up a large number of the lowlifes and scattered goblins under his own banner. Sure, they didn't have the training of Gorznahk's boyz, but they had a maggotload more in the way of numbers. Gorznahk had focused his efforts on cutting Gromph's forces down to size, but for every small victory in his guerilla efforts, the git Gromph seemed to find more lifelifes to replace them. What Gorznahk needed was a two-pronged attack, to keep the bastard's forces engaged while he got in there all personal like, and ripped out Gromph's eyes and ate 'em in front of his forces. That'd sort 'em out, all nicely. But Gorznahk didn't have the forces for a two-pronged attack. He'd need help. So he'd sent one of his most skilled dartboyz, Kahngrik, with a message inked on tanned human skin to deliver to the blue witch. "Gorznahk da Cleva seeks a meeting with da blue witch. Gromph needs ta get cut, but I need help getting close enough." Kanhgrik himself wears a necklace of human ears garnered in successful raids at the time of the invasion.

Dyzz had many troubles in the port city. Grease kept the goblins fed, her mysticism kept them loyal, and Brahms training kept them competent enough to repel invader forces from behind their walls. However... Gromphs forces were endless. Dyzz had contended with his assassins before even learning what the state of affairs of Kregus had been, in her exile with the Muju tribe. Gromph had sought, ingeniously for a goblin, to pre empt her return when the 'blue witch' whispers began, a byproduct of her birth some time ago, mixed with superstition, untrue tales, and eventually, true-er tales. It was his assassins that had brought her to reclaim leadership of her tribe, small though it was, and bring them home to fight. Now, she was in a precariously balanced siege, waiting and waiting... her few attempts to field forces and go on the offensive had been disastrous. Dyzz thought in more complex ways than most goblins, more intelligently and, many might say, more like a soft skin. But they never said it to her face... not anymore. She'd eaten a few faces in her time. Axe on one hip, bone club on another, spear on her back, Dyzz was always armed and ready to fight... but her troops fell far short of her capabilities. She could get more done out there on her own! But the port would quickly fall without her presence, and the awe it inspired. Then, Gromph would once again have nearly -all- of Kregus in his grasp. When the messenger came, bearing Gorz's message, Dyzz would roll her eyes and groan. This one, at least, sent a message, written. Perhaps he was different. Many would be's had disappointed her already. Plenty were savage enough... few had the skill in battle to back up that savagery for any length of time. This goblin just wanted to get close enough to Gromph. Well, unfortunately, Dyzz couldn't even find the bastard, the way she was locked up in here. She needed help, to wage this war. It wasn't until Grease had mentioned Gorznahk the Cleva, and his reputation, that Dyzz really started listening. "He mades a name for hisself when the hoomans came?" "Aye, that he did." Grease spoke so much like a human. His common was flawless, his goblin, somehow refined. "He was known for his size and savagery. He may be just who we need." Grease had that look in his eye that spoke of layered plans to Dyzz. She still didn't completely trust him... or trust that she had him on short enough a leash. He was so terribly clever. But even this messenger bore many human ears, a telling sign of battle experience. "Tell Gorznahk the Blue Witch will meet him."

Gorznahk had awaited Kahngrik's return impatiently, launching some probing raids on Gromph's territories to see how well he could draw and condense the oaf's forces. Gromph, for all his numbers, didn't have the grasp of strategy which came more easily to Gorznahk's twisted mind. Brute force, wielded directly, that was Gromph's military strategy in the field. But Gorznahk's forces would strike swiftly then fade away, refusing to engage in direct conflict. Gromph's forces were still numerous, but morale deteriorated with every act of horror Gorznahk inflicted. A favoured tactic of Gorznahk's was to leave one of Gromph's scouts impaled where his comrades would find him, the words 'Gorznahk is comin' ta cut ya, Gromph' carved in their torso. When the veteran dartboy returned with his message, Gorznahk leered maliciously "This is tha chance boyz... gonna cut all dem gits, gonna carve Gromph into rat food. They thought wot I did ta da hyumins was bad... wait ta see wot Gromph's got comin' ta th'git." Gorznahk bounded to his store of equipment, snarling orders "Kuzgal, Nozgruhk! Yer in charge ov da boyz until I gets back. Prepare da boyz for a fight. Kahngrik, yer comin' wiv me, along with a handful ov yer dartboyz. I'll needem ta relay orders to Kuzgal an' Nozgruhk if we gets ourselves a deal with the blue witch." Decked out in his well-spiked battlegear, Gorznahk and a handful of his hunters would make their way out of the caverns, sending Kahngrik ahead with another dartboy to arrange a meeting place and relay the location to Gorznahk. Kahngrik's message would be simple "Tha bossgob Gorznahk's onniz way. He wants ta know where ya wants ta meet 'im."

Dyzz would talk long with her small circle of advisors... Brahms, Grease, a shifty old shaman she still couldn't remember the name of... seriously, he could barely move on his own. Worthless! Well, until he started throwing magic around. Then he was downright terrifying. And he loved fire. Dyzz shivered. She hated fire, unless it was very well controlled. That stuff hurt. Kahngrik would be shown into the meeting room, so that they would hear, and others would not. Where to meet him... it wouldn't be fair to make him come into what he may see as potentially hostile territory, not with her numbers in the port city. Dyzz would be fine on her own, if he prepared hostile intentions for her. She told the messenger a meeting place in a nearbye cavern, perhaps half a kilometer from port. Far enough to be a neutral area, and last it had seen Dyzz, it had been Muju land. Now, it was barren, those goblins that had bullied her tribe into fleeing Kregus having fleed themselves to the port city when they started starving. Nothing to kill, nothing to trade.

Dyzz set out, planning to arrive at the place before the messenger even delivered the message to Gorznahk. As the Blue Witch, she was quite crafty in her own right... and knew how to leave an impression. Mysticism went a long way to keeping her station.

Kahngrik would insist on accompanying Dyzz, and passes on Gorznahk's suggestion that she bring an entourage of her own, to ensure there were witnesses on both sides of the parlay. "Bossgob wants me wiv ya so he knows not ta cut ya, an he don't want no trickery ta foul tha meeting. The moment his nose tingles, he knows yer gots magics. If he sneezes, it means yer bein' tricksy wiv yer magics. Bossgob don't want none of that, blue witch. He wants ta talk in tha open, an see if alliance can be made."

Dyzz frowned. She preferred to make her own impressions. She could bring her council, she supposed. She had more shamans, of late, since many tribes had collected in the port city. It was fascinating to see shamans, normally working totally independantly, actually collaberating to some degree. They quickly learned new things, and grew stronger. Or tried something stupidly beyond them, and wound up dead. That happened sometimes. She wouldn't let her displeasure show too greatly though. "Fines. You can come. Dyzz will bring her council, you can guide us. We will meet where Gorznahk chooses to meet." That should help allay some suspicions. She was willing to make that compromise, because of his reputation... and her own desperation for an able military leader. She hoped that wasn't so obvious.

Kahngrik, his duty done, simply said "Yer spot is good enough for tha bossgob. We'll go ta where you picked." Kahngrik sends his dartboy to alert Gorznahk. Elsewhere, Gorznahk was waiting impatiently. Taking the longview in a war was one thing, there were always a hundred things ta take care ov, but this waiting around was a burst pustule. When his messenger finally arrives, Gorznahk proceeds with the dartboyz slowly and carefully. He was in contested territory, and they had to be on their guard. It would take a circuitous route to reach the destination safely, and Dyzz would be guaranteed to get there first. Gorznahk's approach would be careful, and he'd arrive with Kahngrik's messenger at his side, the rest of his dartboyz in skirmishing formation to keep watch on the ways out. Gorznahk's appearance was menacing compared to the run-of-the-mill goblin warlord. He was large for a goblin, and his brother, a tinker, had retrofitted a suit of spiked orcish armour to fit him. The jagged razors edging his shield were coated in dried blood, and the crossguard and pommel of his sword were also spiked and showing traces of dried blood. Perhaps the most terrifying thing, from a fashion perspective at least, was the dragon-head codpiece attached to the armour. Gorznahk approached one of the entrances to the cavern and steps in, seeking out Kahngrik. The dartboy next to him whispers and the armoured goblin nods. "I'm Gorznahk, Da Cleva. I cut more stinkin' flatskinned hyumins than I can count, an I'm here ta offer alliance to tha Blue Witch." Gorznahk thumps his breastplate with a gauntleted fist "Youz help me get close enough ta Gromph ta kill th'git, an I will rip out his tongue an eat it in front of his boyz. They'll settle down wiv nogoblin 'ard enough t'bash hedz an' keep order. We be steppin in, takin' over tha lotovem, an' the rest iz cleanup. That's wot I've got on offer. Tha rest is buzy-boy bargainin' on tha details. Are y'interested enuff in wot I sez t' talk further?" Gorznahk was no fool. He had what it took to run a military, but he didn't have the contacts to break the blockade or bring supplies in. That was something different enough that he could work with.

Dyzz was pleasantly surprised when she saw Gorz. He was big, intimidating, and by goblin standards, exotic. He wore real armor, used sword and shield, and kept to a brutal appearance. Perfect. Few enough goblins would use a sword, a more precise instrument than savagery often demanded, and fewer still would hold a shield, wanting nothing between them and intended prey. At least, in Dyzz's experience... which was with little organized goblin military. She liked the codpiece.

It was Dyzz's own human baby soft skin that she thought may be the biggest impediment to this goblin. Most goblins looked past it, even liked it, because of her mystical nature. To a goblin who was immune to such near religious charms, it may seem a perversion of their kind. Her color, too. And her little tusks. She wore her skulls bra, her hair up in a troll stlye, and her savage arsenal... axe, club, and spear. She also had witch paraphernalia dangling about her person, troll magic. But Dyzz had a supernatural anatomy, that allowed her to eat many times her own weight, among other things. She had faerie in her genetic make up, imbued after her birth. She was a walking bundle of magical energy, and it radiated out of her. Eating random potions of dubious nature and quality had also affected her in odd ways. Gorz would certainly feel it.

"Dyzz is interested. Dyzz has taken much from Gromph, but his hold is strong. He has countless peons." She shrugged. "Gettin' close to him though... Dyzz dunno how easy that's is gonna be. If Dyzz could get enough of the goblins to follow Dyzz, then wouldn't need to find Gromph. They'd bring him to Dyzz. Problem is, Dyzz and all the port is stuck here. We dunno how to fight in the caves, not against them numbers. That's why Dyzz want you. Goblins throw themselves forward and die. Wasteful. Dyzz can't figure out how to make em do any different." Guerilla warfare, she understood. She could do it splendidly... herself. Teaching a bunch of rowdy goblins? She couldn't handle that. They tripped over themselves trying to either stick a dick in her, or kneel down and worship her.

Gorznahk grinned. It wasn't an attractive expression: all sharp teeth, sharp eyes, and a rippling amongst the myriad scars which lined his face beneath the warpaint. "Ya may be a powerful witch, Dyzz - I can tell by da way me nose tingles, but me boyz iz all ex-navy, ex-military. Only dumb lowlifes wot never qualified ta be a shieldboy is fighting like you sez." Which was true, in Kregus. Only the tougher and stronger goblins got picked for military service, and thereby receive training in group tactics. "I got thirtyanfour shieldboyz, twentyantwo dartboyz, tenantwo hardboys, two ex-naval captains, a bunch ov nuisance shamans, an' me brother. All o'dem gettin' rock 'ard from da killin'. All I need is t'draw Gromph's forces away from him on two fronts, an a handful ov us hardboyz'll come in at the big git's plannin' place wiv surprise on our side. My boyz will get it started, launch a solid attack on da mines. Gromph'll try an' squash us with greater numbers, but me boyz know them tunnels well. Dey'll fade back in stages, extend Gromph's men. You'll know it's happenin' cuz you'll be gettin' less pressure at da docks. When dat happens, youz attack. Make it big and bangy and juju-loud, so everygoblin knows dat trouble is happenin'. Gromph'll send his reserves there, leavin' only a small group t'defend himself. He'll feel safe, right up until I walk in an cut him. Cut 'im until th'git squeals" Gorznahk's face takes on a particulary menacing expression "An' den I'll take his head, parade it around, an' chew on his ears in front o'da lotovem." Gorznahk gathers himself. "An' then, you an' me, we figure out how t'settle down da lot of 'em, an get Kregus back inta shape, likes it used ta be." Dyzz would not get either usual response from Gorznahk. Her lack of warts didn't appeal to his goblin sensitivities, and any magical charm was offset by the near-constant threat of sneezes. Gorznahk could tell Dyzz weren't no proper goblin, but she was da Blue Witch wot broke the blockade with some heavy Juju. He could look past tricks of breeding to a goblin's merits. And while Gorznahk had sent many humans to their deaths, and kept them mostly contained in the city itself with his tactics, he'd never succeeded in breaking the blockade. That success alone had earned Gorznahk's respect.

Dyzz had to try not to let her elation show on her face. Laid out, before her, a battle plan. It was laid with strategic thinking, and her part in it was stupidly simple. Of course, the real bit she had to offer came from getting the force of public opinion and morale to swing in their favor, demoralization to hit their enemy, and the clean up afterwards... along with the explosive juju she contained. The magic in her weapons was powerful, the greatest power she'd ever mustered, save for Jacoby's Gae Bolg. It was far and beyond her own accomplishments, that spear on her back.

But now, she had to make sure this goblin knew that she wasn't useless, herself. Reputation alone only lasted so long. What she had to bring to the table, that wasn't already laid out in planning, was information.

"Gromph feeds his soldiers real good. Not his other people." A fatal mistake. "Many starve. Dyzz can get food in, if not worried about attacks at docks, and with food comes words. Words of the Blue Witch, and the rebellion. Words of freedom." Internal strife. Easy to slip past many, when they were dealing with internal rebellion. "Dyzz can do this. Dyzz can be big enough, and loud enough. You can have your chance at Gromph.

Gorznahk nods, satisfied "Then ready yer boyz, Dyzz. In a week's time, battle begins. Once Gromph is busy wiv me shieldboyz an dartboyz, start yer attack, an' make it loud enough fer me ta hear it. When you attack, den me an' me handpicked hardboyz are goin' straight in t'cut off da head." The large goblin thumps his gauntlet against his breastplate once more. "Then, I'll show yer how we can get da navy back together, ya can tell me how ya broke da blockade, an' we'll whip Kregus back inta shape so it never kneels ta any outsiders again." Gorznahk would wait for any final words from Dyzz, then nod to Kahngrik. The goblin warleader and his dartboyz would vanish back into the warrens of Kregus to prepare for battle.

Dyzz had little left to say. From what she saw in the goblins' eyes, she trusted him to do his part. "A week it is, then." A week, and perhaps they could this whole nightmare down, and get goblinkind back where it was supposed to be going. There were many preparations to make, but after so long simmering, Dyzz would be glad to make them.