>>5372848Aside from the Herbalist’s death and the status of her fellow Infiltrator and her dwarven kin, The Novice Fleshweaver—and subsequently your chiefmost lieutenants, the Thief, Bastard, and Pit-Guard—gave you a general situation report. The third and final Blackmantle Corporation base-of-operations has been located. The Reptilians (including kobolds) and Drow are raring to fight another battle, having barely been taxed at all by this last conquest…
Thanks in no small part to the Davora’s plan and botanical-alchemical expertise.
Regardless, they’re still fresh, and keen to take this last citadel. It’s even looking to be a relatively easy victory: they are still unprepared for your arrival, even moreso than this last batch of dwarves were, and have nothing like the defences of the base which you most recently defeated and captured!
“The bugbears aren’t back yet,” Jazkarmel notes, over drinks with you, Olu, and (begrudgingly, and with the insistent adherence to utmost sobriety from ‘mammalian mind-poison’) the Novice Fleshweaver.
“We do not need them!” Oluwadamilare the Archer boasts, flashing a pearly-white grin. “Not with your Drow, and our Reptilian might!”
He flexes to demonstrate, and waggles his eyebrows lasciviously. Jazkarmel snorts, before bursting out in her crystalline laugh.
“Disgusting,” the Novice mutters, rolling her eyes and sipping from her cup of water.
More quietly, she informs you: “The pathing-bug has not yet returned, either.”
In addition, the Pit-Guard offers you another warning, later:
“The number of dwarves in our possession has just tripled. If we were to even take only the women and children of the next settlement… They would quite-feasibly outnumber the kobolds. The logistics of minding them, of ensuring they foment no rebellion or revolt… It would strain our resources.”
“They will not rebel,” you say, feeling confident in this. “They are broken.”
“But the new acquisitions will not be,” the Pit-Guard points out, “and, with due respect… They may not always REMAIN such. Should we not consider our demographic future, Dragonborn?”
