TRP: Basil, Goro, Hansel, and Rina (Battle Plans)

**IZZY**

[SETTING: Skyport, Day 263. The castle.]

After they'd split up from Joan, Hansel didn't waste any
time on tracking down the Warmaster and Prince, finding them in a quaint little
garden. As they got closer, he could tell that the Warmaster was giving some
kind of lecture on warfare. He fought down the urge to roll his eyes. If these
fuckers knew what they were doing, they would've fuckin' listened to Mishka in
the first place about Bloodgrut being a threat. Still. Probably made for a good
in, or something.

He figured Goro should probably do most of the talking,
vaguely remembering that Goro'd made a good impression on the Prince at some
point. Maybe he'd made a good impression on the Warmaster in taking down Diva.
Maybe he could hold back his fuckin' disdain long enough for it to matter.

Once they were at the edge of the gazebo, he cleared his
throat to get their attention, and looked to Goro to direct it towards him.

**LINA**

Goro zeroed in on the Prince first, mainly 'cause he liked
her better, but also, technically, that was probably good manners. He smiled
and jerked his chin up in greeting. "Long time no see." Then he
nodded at Basil. "Warmaster."

Shit. He hoped they actually fucking remembered him.
Thinking about that shitty dreamscape made his heart skip a beat.

**COYOTE**

 The Prince looked up from her her lessons. Her white-blond
hair was tucked neatly into a braid. She was a little taller than the last time
they’d seen her, and her face was a little thinner. Her pale eyes fixed on
Goro, and she titled her head with interest. She regarded Hansel for a moment,
then turned away from him dismissively. “Hello,” she said to Goro.

The Warmaster rose to his feet. He went to clap Hansel on
the shoulder— then hesitated a moment when he turned to Goro. “Welcome, both of
you. Heroes to the city, eh?”

**IZZY**

Hansel grunted. "Sure, something like that." He
wanted this over fast. He didn't have a good enough read on the Warmaster to
know if it was going to fuckin' work out well or not, and he didn't want to
fuck around if it wasn't going to. "You heard the news from the Sanctuary
of Eldath or do I gotta fuckin' tell you?"

**COYOTE**

 The Prince spoke up. “An orc army attacked, but the local
militia repelled it. The orc army, doubtless, underestimated the Sanctuary’s
defenses. Having a stone-walled city like that is quite easy to defend, and
siege weapons are difficult to move through the forest.”

The Warmaster bowed his head. “Very good, your highness.” To
Hansel, he said, “Not all your kinsmen as quite so clever as you, it seems! It
seems obvious they’d be defeated with few casualties. I wonder why they even
bothered attacking.”

Rina’s attention flickered, briefly, to Hansel, reading his
face.

**LINA**

"Kinsmen?" Goro muttered.

**COYOTE**

 The Warmaster’s tail lashed, and he looked embarrassed. “Ah,
forgive me. Perhaps you don’t consider them kin. Doubtless you were raised by
humans, yes?”

**IZZY**

Hansel scowled and waved it off. "Yeah, whatever, who
gives a shit. Listen. Sanctuary ain't got a fuckin' militia and it ain't got
any fuckin' defenses. If we hadn't've fucking been there --" he gestured
between himself and Goro, then fixed Basil with a look -- "along with
people like Mishka Haeth who know what they're fuckin' doing, Bloodgrut
would've fucking stomped them. They're fucking pacifists. You know that, right?
It's the Sanctuary of Eldath. They wouldn't've fought back, and then Bloodgrut
would have a fucking stronghold."

He pulled the battle plans out of his coat and held the
scroll out to the Warmaster.

**COYOTE**

 Basil arched his eyebrows, looking baffled, at the start of
Hansel’s speech.

Then he frowned and took the plans. He set them down on the
table and began to look over them.

“Who organized the militia?” he asked. “Reports said the
defending army was mostly local people. Guards, and elves from the forest.”

**LINA**

"It was us," Goro said, stepping up to the table
with his arms crossed. "We recruited 'em. We placed 'em on the walls. If
it weren't for us, no one in the area would've had a clue what they were in
for. See, word is, no one's really taking the threat of Bloodgrut and his armies
seriously. So someone had to step in and take charge."

He hadn't exactly meant to come off so grouchy about
everything this soon in the conversation, but Basil was acting so fucking
clueless, it was getting to him. He'd expected the council to at least have sat
up and taken notice by now.

**COYOTE**

 The big gray one, Rina decided privately, was quite
interesting. Most people came in bowing and scraping and addressing her
formally. He was missing a tooth. Rina wondered where it went.

Then her eyes shifted to Goro, the smaller one. He was
wearing a lot more black than the last time she’d seen him, though he looked
healthier, and his hair was a bit longer. He still had that shadowed look and
watched people like a hawk. He seemed cross.

Basil opened his mouth to talk. Rina interrupted. “Why did
you organize the militia?”

She wondered whether they would say: Because it was right
and it’s our duty to protect people, like Basil would. Or whether they would
say, Because we hate orcs, or because we were paid to. Maybe they just happened
to live in the area or something.

**IZZY**

"No one else was fucking going to." Hansel wasn't
used to this fuckin' child ruler thing. Seemed dumb. He wondered if he
shouldn't swear or something, but it was too late for that.

**COYOTE**

 “Oh.” Rina regarded him again. “You’re clever, and I like
you. But you’re being rude to my brother.”

She said this matter-of-factly, as though she had no
particular opinion on it.

**LINA**

Goro shot Hansel a look that lasted hardly a fraction of a
second, then smiled at Rina. "Oh, what, you call that rude? You oughta
hear the way they talk out on the streets, Highness, or out in Glimmerton.
Hansel here's being real polite, if you can believe it. Did he answer your
question, or are you still wondering?"

**COYOTE**

 “I suppose,” Rina said thoughtfully.

Basil wasn’t usually bothered by rudeness. He seemed to take
it in stride. He always told Rina: Commoners can be a bit rough, but it’s
important to listen to your people’s complaints. Try to understand where
they’re coming from.

He seemed mildly bothered by Hansel, though. Rina wondered,
briefly, why. Perhaps he didn’t like Hansel.

Basil traced a line on the map. “So after they took the
Sanctuary, likely they would’ve used that as a foothold. Then onto Glimmerton
once they had the resources, doubtless. Then onto Skyport, eh?”

**IZZY**

Hansel bit his tongue against saying, Yeah, look at you, you
can read a fuckin' map. "Yeah. Gentleglen next. Look, I'm low on fuckin'
time, here, 'cause I gotta get back to my husband and the rest of my family to
kill Bloodgrut, but apparently there's more than fuckin' one of him." Goro
would have to explain that shit. "So I'm here t'see if you can spare some
people to help keep a different one of him from getting Gentleglen. If not,
I'll get outta your fuckin' hair and solve the problem my damn self."

**COYOTE**

 Basil looked disgruntled again, towards the start of
Hansel’s speech. Rina decided to ask him privately about it later.

Basil rolled up the plans with a snap of the paper. “It’s
over a two-week journey on foot to get there. One week for lone riders by
horse. We can spare some men— we just can’t get them there in time.”

**IZZY**

Hansel crossed his arms, impatient. "We can teleport
them. There's a circle just outside Gentleglen."

**COYOTE**

 “With what mages? We have one court sorcerer who can cast
the spell. Maybe another private practitioner in the city at the mage’s
college. And they can do what— cast it once per day? Twice? A brief portal— how
many do we get through? Ten, fifteen?”

**LINA**

"Send an assassin, then," Goro said. And he
shrugged at Hansel. Hadn't been part of the plan.

**COYOTE**

 Rina looked at the Basil, alarmed and excited. “Can we do
that?”

“That’s dishonorable,” Basil said.

“We could, though? Is that a good tactic?”

“My Prince.” Basil frowned at her. “We have no assassins.
We’re not that sort of state.”

Rina frowned thoughtfully. She ought to get an assassin.
Train one. She would have to talk to someone about it other than Basil, though.
“Surely we could hire one with court funds.” Goro has clever ideas. Good ideas.
She liked him.

“I suppose.” Basil glanced at Goro and Hansel. “And ah,
convenient. We do have adventurers right here. Tell you what.” Basil looked at
Hansel. “If you can bring me Bloodgrut’s head yourself, I’ll pay you five
thousand gold out’ve the treasury myself. Eh? Sound good to you?” Basil’s eyes
were narrow.

**IZZY**

"Fucksake, man." Hansel sighed. "I don't care
about your fuckin' gold. I just want the place where I fuckin' live to not get conquered
by Gruumans. Which fuckin' head do you want? Apparently there's three of'em.
That interest you at all? You paying any goddamn attention, or what?"

**LINA**

"Hansel." Goro scooted sideways to stand close to
him, and tugged at his hand, talking out of the corner of his mouth.
"Ahuv. Take it easy."

**IZZY**

Hansel grumbled.

**COYOTE**

 “This strikes me as unproductive,” Rina said mildly.

“Thank you for the plans,” Basil said blandly. “As
Warmaster, I think I can handle it from here.”

“I want to know about the three heads thing.” Rina’s
attention focused back on Goro.

“Very well.” The Warmaster braced himself on the table. “Can
you be civil ‘til the end of the conversation?” he said to Hansel. “If you’ve
just come to antagonize her Highness and I, we can step into the fucking ring.
Maybe you’ll be more civil once you’re put in your place, eh?”

Rina watched with mild interest and alarm. Basil really
didn’t care for this fellow. He’d never sworn in front of her before.

**LINA**

Goro dropped Hansel's hand and marched up to the table,
mirroring Basil's posture on the opposite side. "Hey, pal. What's your
fucking problem, huh? You can't talk to him like that."

**COYOTE**

 Basil flattened his hands on the table. “I appreciate what
you’ve done for this city.” His eyes fixed on Goro. “But you— you know, we
might not have a Spymaster, but we still have spies. A street thief, eh?
Brought into the church, then turned his back on it. Sometimes children are
abused too much, too young, and never grow out of it. I’m willing to tolerate
you as an adventurer, as a mercenary, but that is all.”

Then he jerked his chin at Hansel. “And you. The
Demon-Pirate, eh? You had a few different names. Violent, unpredictable, prone
to starting barfights. Washed up on shore a year ago. D’you know what your
husband said about you? D’you know what he told me?”

**IZZY**

Hansel laughed. God, that was funny. This dipshit thought he
could get at Hansel by talking about his past, and about Mishka.

He stepped up and dropped an arm around Goro's shoulders, in
case Goro didn't find these feeble fucking attempts quite so amusing.
"You're a fuckin' idiot. You should get some better spies." He looked
over to Rina. "Y'know what, you seem fucking reasonable. Still wanna hear
about the three Bloodgruts thing?"

**COYOTE**

 “I think you ought to go,” Rina said, reclining back in her
chair. “Perhaps you ought to come back later.”

“He beats his husband,” Basil shot at Rina in Infernal. “I
mean— likely.”

“I would like to know about the three heads thing, though.”

Basil pointed to the door. “Out.”

“Come back tomorrow, please,” Rina said. “Or some other
time. We will try to arrange aid for Gentleglen, I expect.”

**IZZY**

Hansel shrugged, and tightened his arm around Goro a little
to pull him away. "Won't be tomorrow. I got shit to do. Save the fuckin'
city again, I guess."

**LINA**

"Yeah, 'fraid you might've blown your chance at that
one, Highness." Goro dragged his feet a little to make it look like he had
no choice but to let Hansel pull him away. "We're busy folks. Hey, maybe
we could send each other letters, though, yeah?"

**COYOTE**

 “No,” Basil said. “Absolutely not.”

“That sounds nice,” Rina remarked. “Letters. Sure.”

**IZZY**

Hansel snorted. He nodded to Rina. "You're a'right,
kid."

Then, as he turned back to the door, he flipped Basil off
with the hand not around Goro.

**LINA**

Once they were inside, Goro glanced around to make sure they
were out of earshot of any castle staff. Then he said, in a low voice, "I
picked his pockets."

**IZZY**

"Why the fuck," Hansel said, amused.
"Anything good?"

**LINA**

"Oh, 'cause I'll never grow out of it. Didn't you
hear?" Goro fingered the stuff now tucked away in his own pocket,
murmuring a spell for detecting magic. Nothin'. "Watch and a key. Who
knows, maybe it'll come in handy someday."

**IZZY**

"Yeah, what a dick. Thinking he fuckin' knows us.
Dumbass." He pulled Goro in to kiss the top of his head. "Shoulda
told him about that shit you pulled off at the battle, tricking Immanuel and shit.
Little bit more than a street thief."

**LINA**

"Psh. You oughta know by now people only see what they
wanna see. Doesn't matter what evidence they're looking at." He shrugged,
like it didn't bother him.

**IZZY**

"Yeah, well, people like that are fuckin' idiots."
He waved it off as they met up with Joan. "Hey, you think if I fuck up the
Warmaster in combat, then I get t'be the Warmaster? Is that how that
works?"

[END]

Title: Battle Plans. Summary: Hansel and Goro go to tell
Warmaster Basil and Prince Rina about the Battle of Sanctuary, the multiple
Bloodgrut problem, and request aid for Gentleglen, kind of. Most Hansel and
Basil bicker. Rina is intrigued.