Hideout and Strategy

The trek through the depths of the forest took several hours. At different points the group would either have to attempt avoiding the fauna or face them in brief exchanges. Each of the fights with the variety of creatures that inhabited the lush environment were handled in a controlled and professional manner. On occasion one of the melee-oriented guards would end up with a small wound but nothing more than a scratch or two. They would quickly clean their weapons and the wounds after each fight to try and remove any smell that may attract predators and to prevent infection. Though they could have used healing salves or potions, or even cast healing magic on the wounds, it was considered a waste to use them for such minor injuries.

The forest was beginning to slip into the deeper darkness of the evening when they saw a clearing up ahead through the now more tightly packed trees. The clearing itself had a decent sized lake that was reflecting the last of the evening light. On the far side of the lake, one would be able to see what looked to be a shorter cliff face, only the height of about four men. On this cliff face was a dark hole that Jien and the guards took to be the entrance of the cave.

They were still not sure that this was the hideout of the bandits, but Jien still felt strongly that there was a good chance of it. They approached the edge of the forest but never left it to approach the lake. They wanted to be sure that if this was where the bandits had chosen to hide, that they would not be spotted. They didn't want the bandits to find them prematurely and escape.

They chose to settle just outside the outer ring of trees surrounding the lake. The group gathered together as the forest continued to darken to discuss their strategy. Jien wanted to finish this mission as soon as possible to return home to his studies of magic and to a lesser degree his training schedule. However, he knew that though they may be able to rush in and take the bandits down with a large-scale assault he felt that this was a poor choice.

The make-up of the bandit crew was not fully known. What was known is that they had a pair of professional thieves to pick locks and find entry points, at least three different melee professionals, a pure mage who had been spotted using a mixture or wind, water and light spells to create a few illusions to assist in the escape and finally their leader who took part in all of the thefts and other activities. They did not have great descriptions for these known members of the bandits as most that had actually interacted with them had ended up dead, but they were provided what they knew from the few who had managed to escape.

The grouped-up guards all faced Lord Losler and Jien, waiting for their instructions on how to proceed. Though their initial attention was on Earl, he turned to Jien and smiled. "What do you feel we should do?" he asked calmly. Jien paused for a while, a pensive look on his face. He could see a number of different ways to approach this part of their mission. Some were more realistic than others in the greater scheme of things, but his thoughts were all realistically achievable. In the end he turned to his father and asked, "Do we know if the cave has paths that can allow them to escape?"

This was Jien's first concern. It was one thing if they could attack knowing that the bandits would potentially be boxed in, but if they attacked and the bandits had an escape route then they may end up with a chase if they did not know the exit to that route. Lord Losler thought for a bit, trying to remember if he had heard anything in particular about the cave before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I don't have any information about the structure of the cave itself. What about all of you?" he asked while looking at the various guards. They promptly responded in the negative which led Jien back to his own thoughts.

"Given that we don't know if they have an escape route I would want us to treat this as if they did." Jien stated firmly. "Assuming that the cave has one or more passages, that the general size of the cave will constrict our movement it would be best to either sneak in unnoticed and block off any potential escape routes, or to draw them out and then surround them so that they wouldn't be able to escape." These were his two initial thoughts, though they both had their own flaws. To sneak in unnoticed would be the goal of a small team most likely to reduce the chance of being caught, likewise it there were traps they could potentially trigger them, giving the bandits time to escape. If they were able to successfully draw the bandits out of the cave there is no saying that it would be the entire bandit crew to engage them. If only a few came out to face them while the others ran with their loot, then the mission would be a waste for the most part.

Ultimately after a bit more thought Jien decided that they should do a mixture of the two strategies. "I think we should have a small team of one or two who are decent at stealth and able to hold their own enter, scout and if there are escape routes close them off. If we can block off the possible escape routes, we can then smoke them out into the open and surround them. Even if they were to retreat back to the cave we could press our advantage knowing that they are cornered." After stating what he felt may be a decent strategy he looked over to his father to see what he felt.

Much to his joy Lord Losler seemed to approve of the plan with a nod. "Based on that strategy how would you choose to align your troops?" Earl asked, wanting Jien to think not only about the basics of the strategy but also about how to flesh out some of the details. Winging it could be okay in some cases, but he felt that if you could approach situations from a more planned approach, it was always the better option. This question brought Jien back to his pensive state but knowing that they didn't necessarily have a lot of their time at disposal he went for a simple breakdown.

"Those that are sneaking in will need to be chosen before we have a fully decided formation, but my thought is to wait until a few hours into the night, have the archers climb the trees on either side of the cave entrance. We will have those more versed in the martial path move in from below them to make sure that our encirclement, the mages would remain as an outer layer to the encirclement to hinder any who may manage to slip through."

"We aim to capture those we can, to make sure that we are able to get as much information on their activities as possible. That means that the archers will aim to hinder escapes while those of the martial path will work to capture those they can. That being said we can't let them escape so if we need to, we shouldn't be afraid to end their lives." Jien had said this with a solemn look. He wasn't particularly a fan of the idea of killing, but he also knew that it was inevitable that he would see others die. He would be sent to the Eternal Battlefield at some point during his time at the academy.

After laying out his thoughts, with the approval of Earl, the guards decided their roles and prepared to enact the strategy their young lord had chosen.