Snippet #2659401

Mariana watched the Ranger as he spoke, noting the spread of dark veins across his features but saying nothing. She had worked with Roderic long enough to trust he could manage his hunger.



She would be as brief as possible. 



“The pincer on the army will be effective at veering them from their course, and I suggest we execute it as soon as possible,” she said, noting the proximity of their position to the Grove, “They’re a only moon’s march from finding our position on their current route, though I doubt that they know that. If we were to take two small, light forces, though, we could come up along the game migration trails, here—“ she gestured to a line marked in pale green on her maps, “and here, and reach them within the week. The naiads will need a slightly longer time to migrate upstream and into position, but they should reach the crossing in time to intercept whatever our forces manage to drive to the banks.”



At the mention of raiding the trade routes, her face turned down into a purse-lipped frown. She was not displeased by the idea, but the risks were troublesome: Leaving a force without support in a time of possible need was reckless, but failing to intercept military supply shipments could very well undermine their tactics in Madman’s March. 

“I agree that this would be an opportune time to raid the trade routes, but as Mister Montana has proposed, we should only spare forces to strike those selling to the army. I worry about a force we cannot provide support for, so we will only send though who will not need it.



“The trade route unit will be assembled exclusively of shifters, dryads, and fae with a knack for camouflage. If they fail, they can disappear to lick their wounds until we can spare support to rescue them. As for the pincer forces, I trust that Miss Rivers will be able to assemble two adequate teams to leave tomorrow evening.”