Nevill said:
Can he tell us more about his people? As far as we know, he is one of the fairy kings. Where are the others?
Sure, he can tell you some of what he knows.
Yes, there were other kings and queens, leaders of his folk. At their height they numbered ten and each ruled over a court. They fought the fir'Bolg and before them they fought the old horrors of the world, in each war his people were victorious.
But then the race of men came from the east and with great blows and mighty deeds they bested the Tuatha Dé. The kings and queens moved underground after that and for a time they were able to coexist with the growing Province of men.
Human civilization continued to spread though, at a pace that was frankly shocking, and many of his people began to get nervous.
Some thought they should ride forth again and challenge the men of Province while others thought it would be wiser to trust to magic to hide them.
In the end neither course was followed. There is an old tale in the myths of his people, a tale about an land of warmth, light and trees. Fruit trees.
It is called Emain Ablach and his people resolved to find it. They left centuries ago, all except him and his court. They sailed out into the endless sea and disappeared.
Finn could not go with them, he had sworn an oath to Mazzarin by that point.
Nevill said:
Is the King of the Fairies sworn to Mazzarin's service as well? If so, why was Finn drafted alone? Is it because his forces are sufficient for the task, or did he pick a short end of the stick? Or is he not alone and there are other fairy forces around from some other sidhe (is there a plural for that word, by the way)?
No, Dagda has not sworn service to Mazzarin.
He is alone with his people.
Nevill said:
He speaks of going home after he is done here. Where would that home be? Do the fairies live in the desert and in the mountain range surrounding the Great Devoid, or did they come here for the hunt?
In the Province for the time being, he does not want to be more specific than that. He likes his current home but human settlement has begun to encroach on it over the last three hundred years.
They came to the Kingdom on Mazzarin's orders. Mazzarin deemed them the most suitable force he could muster for the task.
Nevill said:
What can he tell us of the different fairies he employs? He arrived with the force of 77 riders. Who are they, by the way? Are those all of his forces, or is it just a team he picked to check on Cropper's party? Is he capable of mustering a greater force? What exact numbers are we looking here?
Loosely speaking, those he commands can be divided into four categories along two axis. The first separates the great (or noble) fairies from the lesser (or common) fairies. The second division separates the social (or trooping) fairies from the solitary fairies.
The great fairies tend to look like mortals and can pass for being mortal without too much difficulty. They all have innate magical powers and most are skilled in at least a few arts (which could be anything from dancing to singing to medicine or engineering or, and this is most relevant at the moment, war).
The lesser fairies tend to prefer to imitate animals rather than people. Even when in a more 'human' form they often retain animal features. They are also often smaller than the great fairies though that is largely a matter of personal taste since almost all of Finn's people have at least a rudimentary knowledge of shapeshifting.
The trooping fairies are what you see before you. They are the social fairies that stay at court, attend the balls and hunts, and just in general enjoy the company of their fellows.
The solitary fairies prefer to live and work alone. They still owe fealty to their king but they do everything they can to avoid spending time at court. Finn has little problem with this inclination as this allows him to use them as spies and messengers when the need arises.
The seventy seven riders are his best warriors. Those that are skilled in magical and physical combat.
They are not all of the forces he has available but they are the largest part of them and they are the most reliable and restrained part of them as well. The seventy seven can be counted on to act with discretion and finesse, not something that can be said for all that owe Finn fealty.
If he pulled together all of his forces he could probably manage one hundred and fifty soldiers on short notice. Some of them would be a bit strange though, not very subtle or anything. He does not wish to tell you how many people are in his care though so you do not know what percentage of the overall population these 150 soldiers would be.
Nevill said:
Who are Laignach Faelad and does he usually bring them with him to the fights? Are they something we should be worried about?
The Laignach Faelad are mortal shapeshifters and warriors without peer, they are descendant from a race that is a close cousin to man and in most major ways they appear, act and think as humans do.
Each of them is easily worth twenty normal men. They are brutal, they are merciless, they are vicious, but they are also very effective.
They serve him in exchange for power and safety from their enemies but they owe loyalties to another.
He does not meddle in their affairs and they have sworn not to bring trouble to his door. So far the bargain has worked.
They have a certain love for human flesh though, particularly the flesh of the young. It is a bit distasteful but to each their own and the devouring of live humans seems to give them strength and a superhuman constitution.
He brings them when he thinks he will need them. They are not subtle or graceful but if you need a club to beat someone with then you would be hard pressed to find a larger one short of a tribe of mauls or a century of Trow.
You should not have anything to worry about unless you make enemies of them.
Nevill said:
Who are Faoladhs and what can they do? A service of a pair of them is valued as much as the services of Laignach Faelad, which to me suggests some kind of supernatural abilities.
They are also mortals in the King's service but unlike the Laignach Faelad they are not a military unit. They act as guardians, shepards, spies and when the need arises assassins.
They are shapeshifting mages, skilled with blade, club and magic and capable of changing their shape into that of a wolf.
Finn uses them to track, monitor and sometimes neutralize 'difficult' targets but they are also a specialized tool. They can die just as easily as a regular person if their spells fail them, they have no regenerative powers, their ability to cast is limited while in the form of the wolf and they do not have the superhuman strength or constitution of the Laignach Faelad.
If the Laignach Faelad are a battle axe then the Faoladhs are a dagger. Different instruments for different jobs.
Nevill said:
What are Cú Sídh? Can we or Lyssa inspect them up close with Finn's permission? What does he mean we 'can not treat them like any normal hounds'? In what way do you treat a normal hound that you can't treat Cú Sídh? Do they have any other abilities - apart from sensing the intentions of others - that we should know about? Do they understand Bruig or Dwarven, or any other languages except for fey one? How many of them are in the pack Finn wants to gift us?
The Cú Sídh are Finn's personal hounds. He raised them himself from pups.
If she wants to, he cautions her to be polite and bring a bit of meat for them if she wants to get a warm greeting though.
They are more intelligent than your average person so they can take a bit of convincing sometimes to get them to do something they do not want to do.
You would need to reason with the Cú Sídh, negotiate, convince them that it is int their best interests to help you. They are completely loyal to Finn but he raised them, you won't have that advantage and they can be quite headstrong.
They can bend light around themselves, this gives them the appearance of 'blinking' in and out of reality. They are also stronger, faster and more hardy than normal hounds.
No, they do not know Bruig or Dwarven. They speak Fey and that is it.
About fifteen per pack. Some of those will be pups though and if he is giving you the pack he will not be able to separate out the young. The parents would not stand for it.
Nevill said:
Basically, I want to know if any of those can be a cause of concern.
Only if you upset them or otherwise make an enemy of them.
Essentially they would be like any of the other groups under your command, like the Seekers for example.
Nevill said:
Anyone else Finvarra numbers in his army? I just want to know what kind of help from the alliance we are looking at, because I hate wasting people on a task they are not best at. If they are best at pursuing the enemy remnants, that is how we would cooperate; if they are best at breaking through enemy lines, that can also be integrated in our plans; if they are guerilla fighters that are good at hit-and-runs that would be useful to know, too.
Not really. He has the Seventy Seven Riders, he has about five hunting parties like Cropper's, he has Laignach Faelad (about twenty of them), he has his Faoladh agents, he has his hounds and that is pretty much it.
Well, there are a few other options.
The last time Finn was out this way he met a family of giants living about six days ride into the mountains to the east, they were no friends of the Dark though they were quite temperamental.
Giants live a long time, the family may still be out there somewhere if someone could locate them. Getting them to help though might be tricky...
Also, since Finn is the King of the Dead he could call on the Slaugh as well. The reason he has not is that he is fighting necromancers and necomancers use the souls of the dead to reanimate their corpses. If the necromancers managed to catch the Slaugh then could easily quadruple their numbers in a matter of hours by binding them as lesser undead, they might even be able to turn some of the more powerful souls into proper Mahir.
Nevill said:
There were rumors of fairy birds accompanying the hunts. What are they? Can they be asked to let our eagles pass freely?
Some of his riders periodically turn into birds and scout the area to ensure the ground forces are not surprised. So the fairy birds are just the riders in another form.
Sure, he will let your eagles fly unmolested.
Nevill said:
Do we have a way of knowing that he is in a day's walk from us? Would Cropper know? How long does it take for him to get back to us? Just so we could time the summonings correctly.
Not a precise way, no. He will try to use his animals and riders to keep in touch.
No, Cropper would not be able to tell unless he could communicate somehow. Horns would work, that is how they have been doing things so far. Cropper (or one of the other hunt masters) sounds the horns and Finn's people will answer depending on the message conveyed.
Summoning time could be anywhere from ten minutes to an hour depending on what is going on, on Finn's end. IT would depend on whether or not they are fighting someone, how close they are to you, and whether or not they were ready to go the second they heard your call.
They are also faster at night then they are during the day (in general they are much more effective during the night than during the day).
Nevill said:
Who are the Merrows? We thought all the fairies have left... didn't they? How many fairies still live on the continent?
The Merrows are the nymphs of the sea. They live off the coast of the Province, in the south west, in and around the Strait of Leix.
They do not live on the continent but rather off of it. In their palaces below the waves.
Yes, most of the Tuatha Dé left the continent long ago but that does not mean the other native inhabitants of the continent have left. Finn's court remains as do the courts of the Merrows (who have little to fear from human settlement) and all sorts of solitary fairies also chose to remain behind.
They are very difficult to find unless you know what to look for that is.
Nevill said:
Ask them if any of his fairies might be interested in settling closer to the human/dwarven cities. I've heard the Blackrock has some beautiful hills.
He has yet to meet a mortal that he believes could be trusted to protect and help his people, and even if he did meet such a person they would eventually die and he has no way to know if their replacements/successors could be trusted.
As a result, settling closer to humans/dwarves does not strike him as a good idea though that may change some day if conditions change.
Nevill said:
When he said that he can't speak for all his people, what did he mean? Are there some who would object or refuse to recognize the alliance?
He can not speak for them all because he has little formal authority over many of them (the solitary fairies) and no authority over others (the Merrows). On top of that his people are notoriously fickle and prone to acting on impulse.
Short of personally accompanying you everywhere you go there just is not a lot he can do to ensure his people will honour any formal alliance he might make.
He can give you a 'proof' of your agreement but out in the field that may not always count for much.
Absinthe said:
Fangshi, can we learn those strange walking magics?
When you are powerful enough to maintain them, yes.
Only a handful of people can move that way though. The Deceiver could move 'through odd angles; faster than any man, and if unobserved, much faster than that,' and both Mazzarin and Facelss seem to be able to do it as well.
They are the only people you are aware of that have/had that knowledge and you suspect it would take a lot of power to use and maintain as a result.
Nevill said:
'A fellow traveler on the road of life,' he roots around in his pack, 'Actually, scratch that! A thirsty, fellow traveler on the road of life. Now where did I put my whiskey?'
Nevill said:
No, seriously, who is he? It looks like he has connections from all walks of life, including the supernatural side. It would be interesting to ask him about his past some day.
He says that, that is a very long story and now is probably not the best time for it.
Nevill said:
Where does he know Finn from and what connects them? Is there something about Finn that fairies do not tell us but we should know regardless?
Finn is family. On his mother's side. He does not elaborate.
'Other than the fact that he probably, really, wants to bed you both?' Berty grins and shrugs, 'No, not really. He is far from the worst of the fey you could encounter, just- Ah, just remember he is what he is and be mindful of the small details.'
Nevill said:
What does he want? What does he hope to achieve following us? Glory, adventure, excitement, fun? Or is there more to it?
You are paying him to teach the girls, that is
why he follows you. All the fun and excitement are merely a bonus.
He hopes to educate the girls and turn them into capable, no, brilliant commanders some day! Women that will leave a mark on history and ensure his own immortality long after he has wandered off.
Nevill said:
Why didn't he tell us about Tuath Dé when we first sighted them? He must have recognized them, no? I am not blaming him (in fact, I am quite grateful for his intervention), just wondering about his motives. We almost came to blows because we didn't know whom we were dealing with. Or did he think we would try to talk it over? Or did he not care what happened?
He had hoped that he could avoid revealing his connection to his mother's family. It is not really something he likes to talk about. He also thought Finn would be less aggressive than he was.
He misjudged the King and he is sorry for that but it all worked out in the end right?
Also... A part of him, and he stresses it is a small part, kind of wanted to see if the Seekers could take on Finn's host. His curiosity may have gotten the best of him there and he blames his mother's influence. A more curious woman you would never meet he assure you!
Absinthe said:
I assume that we should be able to fight while the Warrior's Mask is active as well. Perhaps Fangshi can clarify.
Yes, you can. That is how Culwyeh used it, she would armour up and then go in, axes swinging and cackling like a madwoman...
Nanshe also has a similar spell and she tried to use it while in combat as well.
The one risk is that the Mask will fail if you loose your concentration. When you get hit you will have to roll concentration checks to keep the spell up and stay focused. If you fail the spell will as well.
Absinthe said:
Did we even see the thing? Could Lyssa just make an illusion of it for Finn's benefit?
No, it was blown up just as it began to rise so the ladies did not get a good look at it. All they really know is that it was big, screaming and made a real mess of things when it was blown up.
Absinthe said:
Also, can the Cú Sídh detect the Watcher's minions?
Yes, as long as they get the right scent they will be able to sniff out the Watcher's agents.
The way it will work exactly is that they will lock onto the 'magical signature' left by the Watcher when he converts someone. (That lake of horrors in the wounded scouts mind is an example of that signature rendered into sensory information D&T could process). Anyone that matches that signature they will be able to sniff out without too much trouble.
Now the Watcher could try and alter the way he goes about creating followers in an attempt to remove that signal, provided he figures out what is going on in time, but the process would leave some mark no matter how he does it.
So you would just need to identify the new signature and inform the hounds.
The same process applies to most agents of gods or archmages. They will all test positive if they have been directly compromised by the specific being you are testing for.
The one type of agent that won't be caught this way is the agent motivated by purely mundane means.
So, for example, your hounds will sniff out every spy the Watcher sends. So long as he uses magic to mark/bind/control his followers, that is, but if Wenzel paid a guard 2000WPs to murder his father then
that guard would get past your screen since there is no magic involved there just good old fashioned greed.