The army you left in Stirland has swelled further by the time you return; of note to you specifically, it's swelled by four wizards - the two wizards you met in Altdorf and two amethyst Battle Wizards besides. You don't like what could have brought the Patriarch of the Amethyst Order here, but it's too late to take it back now.
...we got the bloody Patriarch?!
"I had hoped for more from the Emperor than a single regiment, but I suppose as regiments go... Kasmir, how did Altdorf treat you?"
"Not well, I'm afraid. The Ar-Ulric has backed the Middenland land claims, and in response the Grand Theogonist has backed Nordland. He's completely preoccupied with matters up north, and has no attention to spare for matters here." Kasmir's tone is very carefully neutral.
You know, this is not doing Van Hal's faith in Sigmar's servants any favors...
Van Hal notes, and Schultz is unable to meet his eye. He watches the man for another moment, before turning to Gustav. "News from the dwarves?"
"They've sent a Throng," he reports plainly. "Four thousand dwarves, including about five hundred Doomseekers. Their leader spent about a week comparing ancestry with Thori and then placed his forces under the Throng of Zhufbar, so he can concentrate on seeking his own death."
That. Is a lot of slayers.
"The Moot was very welcome, doubly so when they learned why I'd come. They've been watching Stirland, and are happy that we've been carving grazelands from Sylvania instead of pursuing revanchism against them. The bulk of their contributions are in the form of food for the final leg of the campaign, but they've also sent two regiments of archers."
"I suppose a halfling can pull a bowstring as well as a man can. And with those regiments, they've exceeded the manpower contributions of the rest of the Empire combined."
Ooo....burn.
The first plan is to blaze a path along the eastern edge of the Haunted Hills, ford the river as close to Drakenhof as possible, and besiege it, ignoring the town of Drakenhof altogether. This has the advantage of simplicity and means the majority of the supply lines are on the controlled side of the river, but it does leave anyone within the town free to act however they desire to disrupt the attack.
Main risk here is that necromancers in the town and support the castle and vice versa, we're basically giving them the setup for a Hammer and Anvil.
On the other hand taking the castle by surprise, if achieved, would save a lot of blood.
The second plan is to ford instead at the town of Drakenhof, and assault and take the town with the element of surprise. If it works, this would result in a fortified forward base to operate out of while still having the supply lines mostly on the purged side.
This would be to lean towards paranoia. Purge the town(which I recall, is the source of those agents) then besiege the castle. The butcher's bill on this would be high, because the castle would be fully alarmed and defended.
The third plan is to acknowledge that trying to ford a river in early spring is ridiculous, and to instead cross at the bridge at Pfaffbach and go up the road towards Castle Drakenhof, taking the village of Regrakhof and the town of Drakenhof as you go. This means the supply lines will be almost entirely on the unoccupied side of the river, but it does have the advantage of pre-existing bridges and roads, and the nearby population centers will be taken out of play.
The long march route. This is less dramatic, but it IS stable.
It is also slow and gives the spellcasters plenty of time to get a fix with long distance rituals, though in our favor I'm willing to bet on the Amethyst Patriarch in a counterspell duel.
[ ] By Van Hal's side, whatever happens.
Protect the Count. Arguably the most important one here.
[ ] With the rank and file; your display at Fang Island has made you a balm for morale.
Less critical, as a Hero we do help a lot with their morale, but maybe a little underutilized
[ ] With your fellow wizards, so that you can work with them on the magical side of things.
Theres THREE Battle Wizards and one Wizard Lord.
We're a high Journeyman. We aren't helping.
[ ] With the dwarves; you hope to make a good impression on them.
Dwarfs don't trust magic much and their mobility is low. We sacrifice our mobility to try to socialize during a war.
[ ] With Asarnil. Your Shadowsteed means you can keep pace with him, and why would you pass up the chance to fight alongside a dragon?
We do get along with him, but...he's got a dragon and we won't have our bodyguards.
[ ] Bugger this for a game of soldiers. I'm going back to Wurtbad.
Coward!
[X] Plan Three: Pre-existing roads and bridges are necessary for a proper supply line. We should go via Pfaffbach.
[X] By Van Hal's side, whatever happens.
Protecting Van Hal is the most important role for us here, whether thats countermagic, wizard sight or just choppy.
