>>5309746It thankfully didn’t take long for Captain Garside to arrive and you had nearly everyone here. He joined the group of Lieutenant Cromwell, Lieutenant Beckson, Sergeant Maxwell, Sir Gravis, Sir Radan and both Alfred and Arthur Rover.
“Alright gentlemen, tomorrow we are going to march into Strahnbrad Hills and I hope you have everything planned.” You said to them.
“Yes, the work has been done. We just need to agree on how we are going to do this.” Garside said to you as everyone in the room gathered around the table to look at a crudely drawn map of the region.
“Good, because our goal is to defeat the bandits and clear the Syndicate presence from the hills. We also need to secure a clear and safe route to the village of Stonedon and then find a route to Strahnbrad itself.” You said to them and continued. “Now how should we do this and what are we expecting to be facing?”
And the discussion started. Rovers had interviewed hunters and others who had been doing ‘business’ in the region to have a better idea of what you would be facing. What the brothers had learned and your officers had managed to gather from other sources, it soon became clear that it wouldn’t be easy to enter the Strahnbrad Hills with a force of your size. A large force like yours could be easily seen and outmanoeuvred, not forgetting the ox carts that you would be using to carry supplies for you.
You looked at the crudely drawn map and saw how the region had been divided into six regions. To enter Strahnbrad Hills you would either have to come from Sofera’s Naze or from Tarren Mill. The locals called these places the lowlands and here the hills and forest mixed with each other. According to Rovers you would be facing scattered farms and dwellings with most poachers and hunters using these forests. It could be likely that some bandit groups would also be operating from these lands.
Beyond the lowlands and in Strahnbrad Hills proper would be the village of Stonedon and close to Darrowmere River would be the bandit camp. You only knew what you had seen in your scouting missions, but the common belief was that there could be more bandits and other ruffians here than you had seen. Compared to the lands closer to Tarren Mill and Sofera’s Naze, the Strahnbrad Hills were quite bare with little to no tree coverage. Just swamps, peat, big rocks and plenty of hills.
Finally there were the hills beyond Stonedon and closer to Alterac Mountains and the hills closer to Darrowmere River. Of these lands you didn’t really know much outside of there could be a combination of trolls, Blackrock Clan orcs and bandits there. Even the poachers apparently avoid these places.
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