"How, by the Halls of Nightmare," snarled the Warlord, "did those misbegotten /acratalesi/ manage to /deblaquo/ us over like this?" The Allied War Council collectively drew back in shock. The two Balpuri words that the Warlord had used were *very* obscene, and for Ria to use such language was nearly unheard of. The Council had just received word of the attack on King Opozoya of Burcancy and his wife. The Duke of Parflax was not present--he had withdrawn to his quarters at the news of his daughter's murder, and would not leave them. As for the other commanders, they were still in a state of shock. "I think, Warlord," said General Martros, "we have underestimated the Hand of Garr yet again. It seems obvious now that the Horde which attacked Parglug was a feint of some kind, perhaps to draw our attention both from the Horde in Tana, and from the cult's activities in Burcancy. We now face an Aureltemerrac, a War of Mist and Terror, where our enemies slide through our fingers like quicksilver. Both Sedonia and Mir have fought such wars in our rise and fall, and we both know the only way to win such a war is to be as ruthless as the enemy." "Therefore," he continued, "I say we should tear the Hand of Garr out of Burcancy, root and branch! We should have the army scour the countryside and the cities, killing any goblins or cultists we find, destroying their temples." "Hear, hear!" cried out a Burcancy officer. "And, we should burn the thrice-damned Goblins out of Tanimbar, too! As long as they're there, like a cancer in our gut, we can never be secure! Kill them all!" He sat down to the cheers of his fellow Burcancy officers. [Want to offer Exquaestio's view, Jeff?] Andrew ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
