know contentment

and you will suffer no disgrace. know when to stop, and you will meet no danger. you can then endure. ~Lao Zi

*the day had been a long and hard one. The Warlock Order had made its most effective push yet. Some of the Godslayer's foxholes had actually held enemy troops! it was not a claim that many armies could ever make. Few had ever gained the initiative against his hearth. Yet today the Baron had done so. Archos had had to fend off a very serious threat, and even though successful, it irked him. As the day gave way to the night, Archos considered his options.

As it stood, the line could hold for a very long time. He could not remain here and he knew it. The baron, fortunately, did not know that. Archos gave orders to his commanders, and made his preparations. the whole of the camp was covered as night came on, the mages enacted minor spells to keep the view of the camp obscured. even should a mage approach to try to view through magic what the night obscured, he would have to expose himself to the scrying mages.

The wounded were mounted upon stretchers, those who could march would walk, the dead were propped up upon poles and their eyes pinned open to give the illusion of watchfulness. faux guns would be set up, dummies were erected in foxholes and only a few living indivuals, volunteers, remained in place. throughout the camps the preperations went on, captured guns were set up and set to go off if a string were pulled or wire tripped, grenade pins were tied to string or to bent sapplings to be cut by the few volunteers, to give the illusion of a mighty force still present. and the mages set small illusion spells to make false shadows within the tents, right down to the snores. and when all was done, a hundred thousand fires were lit accross the wide stretched camps. 2 fires for every individual. let the baron believe that reinforcements had come in the night. he would have to take that into account before he made his push. Archos smiled and had the deserters of the WO that had survived his test, and the combat in the forests, armed and assigned to a single company of regulars. Dragons were again utilized for their mobility, archos still had his fleet, and he ordered it to anchor itself off the WO coastline, let the baron worry about a flank from the sea too. also he radioed his small 1000 man army to march south towards the Hagalz line, and gave them detailed instructions on what to do.

In the meantime, the real movement was underway. The utilization of dragons came again, as the slower troops, such as dwarves, were ferried ahead, or behind if you choose to look at it that way. the weary army was on a forced march for many miles. they went well out of the way of any probable scouts(due to his control over the south and the peasant uprising and the fact that the drow were recalled to hagalz) he marched south east, going beyond the reach of hagalz, and well around it. the weary, painfilled dragons took many ahead, flying very low or very high where they could, the Godslayer host went around the Hagalz line and headed directly towards the (almost certainly undefended) capital of Galen Thal. They did not halt until dawn the next day, when they were well beyond the reach of the Hagalz, and established themselves. (i don't think i'd reach the capital in one day's march. if i would, let me know and i can adjust to make an occupation attempt. if anything i post is incorrect. lemme know.)