Wait a minute! I have a plan!

[seesbosscrotch]

Who: Maridian and the other Redsworn
What: Mar has an idea!
Where: The Ruby Sanctum.
When: Earlier this week because jeez, RL
Warnings: Even odds Mar gets punched in the face.



"So I have an idea!" Mar said one night when a reasonable number of people were findable in the Sanctum, the better to address them all.

He'd come up with this idea some time before, but ultimately decided to let it rest for a little while after the whole 'leadership debate' thing. Give tempers a chance to cool and frayed nerves a chance to settle. It had been productive, but also intense.

"I told Valamia this alreayd, but now seems like a good time to bring it up generally: When I was out scouting the land, I saw that an elven town by the name of Suremar and its environs was having a rough time of it at the Legion's hands. I did some more checking recently and things are not improving, so I think we ought to interfere.

"Right now the inhabitants aren't friendly to us, but they're also trying to evacuate, which means they're not exactly choosy. I'm thinking that we can take turns rotating in groups of two or three -- some of us stalling the advance, others of us helping the evacuation once they catch on that we're on their side. Teamwork experience for us, good deed done, allies made."

He spread his hands to his flight at large, offering the idea to them for consumption. Thoughts?

Comments

[wilder]

He was sitting a bit away from the group, but could still hear Mar well enough. Listening, he considers the option. Help out a town that needs evacuating...?

"Sounds like a plan to me. We should help 'em out."

[seesbosscrotch]

"And help ourselves out a bit as well, I think. I think the best way to start is to spread up responsibilities and duties." He wished he had something to write with... "For example, I'm best at combat, not so much at healing, and I'm probably best-suited to staying on the demon-delaying duty."

[wilder]

"Right." Makes sense, to offer up their skills. "Well, I'm good with a sword and I got our fire ability down. And my old powers are starting to come back, so I can heal people again!"

"Which...probably means I'm going to be assigned to healing duty, huh?"

[seesbosscrotch]

Mar sympathized... how often had he had to beseech someone who could heal to do the duty, when they had come prepared to unleash storm and fire and Light on their foes?

"I don't want to limit it if we can help it... and ideally, no one will get so hurt that they need serious healing right there on the battlefield. We're fighting to delay, not to win, after all."

[wilder]

Probably too many, it's a story Zelos is very familiar with, seeing how he's regularly stuck with hotheaded idiots that only know how to hit things and not dodge.

"Ideally never seems to happen though," he gives a little shrug. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. I can use fire magic from a distance and switch to healing if it's needed. With our group there's plenty of short range fighters as it is."

[seesbosscrotch]

He couldn't help but agree with that sentiments. Mar, at least, knew how to dodge and parry, and was reasonably reliable with both -- even if he focused more on maintaining the protections of his shield. "As strange a combination as that seems to me, that sounds ideal. You're certainly right about our melee bias."

[wilder]

He makes an amused sound and chirps quite cheerfully. "Well, they know what they say! Nothing heals better than hot burning flames!"

[bloodpainter]

Nepeta didn't even need to think about her answer. With a quick nod and a grin, she simply asked:

"When do we go? I'd purrbably be better at slowing down the attack, but I can guide people on paths as well... if I remember to stay unstealthed anyway."

She rubbed the back of her head. This had been a problem in the past.

[seesbosscrotch]

"This is why you're my favorite," Mar stage-whispered around the back of one hand, winking at her. Dropping his hand and the whisper, he continued more seriously "Do both, then! So long as we managed to get them to trust us by virtue of our actions, it's better if we get them accustomed to our..."

How to put it? "Species diversity. As for when, as soon as we've got our plans mostly settled."

[bloodpainter]

She giggled happily at Mar's declaration of her being his favorite, and nodded at his suggestion.

"Alright. I'll start with the purrtecting then. If I have a choice I'll usually pick the fight." Which arguably made her a bad rogue, but hey, as long as she was sneaking up on them, right?

[seesbosscrotch]

"It's all going to be fighting to start, at least until they're willing to accept our help." Which might help her get it out of her system, which would be convenient. "Hopefully that's sooner rather than later, though."

[bloodpainter]

"What do we need to wait for, exactly? Is it anything I can help with?" She was a bit worried that the answers to those questions would be for the rest of the flight to agree to Mar's plan, and no, respectively, but even if she didn't care all that much about the elves in general, she did want to do something, and this seemed pretty important.

Besides, there was the chance that they'd be more like the Silverglen elves than the ones who'd captured their friends.

[seesbosscrotch]

"At the moment, Suramar elves aren't any more accepting of us than anyone else. I'm hoping that changes quickly when they realize we're helping them." He didn't think negotiations would work with a panicked and fleeing populace right off the start.

[bloodpainter]

"I guess that makes sense. So when are we going?" She was eager to get out there and do something, but she knew she couldn't just go haring off on her own.

[telaari]

"I mean no disrespect to you, Blood Knight, because doing so is more than righteous," Vastania begins, frowning with something like worry, "but where would we bring the refugees? Silverglen is very far away from Suramar by foot, and we have no standing in Derenaar. If we bring the refugees into Derenaar without warning, we could end up drawing the hatred of citizens and refugees alike."

She paces in front of him, stroking a tendril. "We'll need to establish a sanctuary with shelter and reliable supply lines before we evacuate Suramar."

[seesbosscrotch]

Mar nodded, a slight frown crossing his face. He'd already considered that, and come up with no good answers. "They're already fleeing now -- whether it's to a place, or just to get away, I'm not sure. But they're going somewhere, and I don't think they'd trust us enough to go wherever we try to point them."

How to put this in a way that didn't sound hopelessly callous.... Mar wasn't sure he HAD a way, no matter that he didn't want to just whack some demons and send the elves off. "And we don't have the resources to build that kind of sanctuary just on our own. I think we need to rely on their self-determination in this case. We can offer all the help we can, but the choice of what to do will be theirs, and I think trying to force it in any direction would be unwise."

[telaari]

Her frown deepens. She hasn't the slightest idea if the Sin'dorei evacuated Silvermoon during their invasion, so there's no telling how much experience Gladespring has dealing with fleeing civilians. But looking back, remembering the smell of fire and the sounds of her own people fleeing into the marshes, the taste of adrenaline going stale in her mouth, the feeling of her heart pounding as she tried to stay herself from panicking - the people of Suramar would be just as lost and frightened as her people were. Leaving them without clear options would only frighten them further.

She transfers her hand from tendril to her other arm, folding them across her chest. "We could use Derenaar as a haven, if we made contact before evacuating the city. And if we had Derenaar's support, we may be able to recruit some elven help. I would imagine if our operation was backed by fellow Kaldorei, the people of Suramar would be more willing to follow us."

She leaves the Eredar issue unspoken. Maridian already knows what would happen if she led the evacuation.

[seesbosscrotch]

Mar spent most of the initial evacuation of Silvermoon trapped under a fair amount of rubble -- and that evacuation had come far too late. By the time they knew they needed to flee, Arthas was already marching through the gates...

Little surprise that he has a bias towards action, before the demons could sweep in and truly raze Suramar.

"I'm bothered by the fact that they seem to be doing nothing already... and I share your concerns about Derenaar as a haven, but if you think we can persuade them quickly, then it's worth doing." He hated the delay, he put more faith in the night elves' ability to work together under the guidance of their Sentinels and the Sisters of Elune than Vas did.

But this was a lesson of compromise and working together. Acceding was best, when her argument had some merit to it.

[telaari]

"I do not think it can be done quickly," she begins, letting her arms fall to her sides, "but I think it can be done, if done carefully."

She stops pacing, and turns to him. "Suppose we were to separate our forces. I could go now to Derenaar and make contact with Rose, who could introduce the Red Flight to Derenaar's leadership. I could take another with me, if they are ready to go, but they will have to be ready to leave quickly. I would then begin negotiations while you and the others prepare to evacuate Suramar."

Vas pauses, balling up her fists. "It's not an ideal plan, but at the very least we could warn Derenaar to expect refugees. I do not know if they are aware of the situation in Suramar, or to what extent. And..." she hesitates, before bringing her hands at rest behind her back, "I would be much more useful as a diplomat in this operation."

[seesbosscrotch]

One thing that bothered him about her suggestion was involving the Green Flight, when he'd hoped that this could be a chance for the Red to come into their own without needing help. He hadn't suggested it before for this very reason. But he had to admit it would help the humanitarian goal, even if it would sabotage the self-reliance goal.

"It still depends on what the Suramar elves intend to do, but having an option they don't need is better than needing an option they don't have. But we'll need you to fight, too, as soon as you can come join us."

The look he fixed her with said more than his words, because he knew what she was thinking, and she knew that one more paladin on the front lines could mean a very meaningful difference in lives saved.

[telaari]

She holds the gaze for a few seconds, then turns her eyes to the ground. It's the right thing to do, to join them and hold the line, but how to go about it without adding to the fear and confusion? She has her cloak and thick robe, but neither of those are practical on the battlefield. What to do, what to do...

She banishes the thought. If she were to leave now, she would have a few extra days to think of a plan. She looks back up at him, eyes sharp and lips drawn into a straight line. "I'll need numbers. How many refugees do you expect to evacuate? And how many may have already fled?"

[stormcalling]

She had been attempting to nap, to try and be well-rested for once. It wasn't surprising that Mar was the one to come up with a loud idea when she tries to nap. She cracks on eye open and looks at him. She didn't have any objections. Concerns, yes, but she did enough pointing out issues in the flight meeting. She didn't need to do more. She stays in her spot and decides to wait. Whenever they figure out what they're doing, she'll be right there waiting to hear it.