[Alneyan]

That was wishful thinking on your part. See, our good hoplites are busy setting up a welcome party for your people: trebuchets, onagers, ballistas, the odd bombard, boiling oil... If you can name it, we have it. Our soldiers are also spending their watches among our priestesses to be healed, and to keep a high morale.

We would have gladly launched a deadly counterstrike, but we have annoying recollections of what happened to our previous parties sent for this purpose. We had the firepower to take your petty castle without breaking a sweat, when your cavalry swarmed in and slaughtered our poor guys. Since our Pretender is more dead than not, and we cannot afford to keep mercenaries, we will have to postpone another offensive for a while.

Thanks for reminding me I should get the Gateway up and running before revealing its existence (I got confused with Astral Travel). So I will have to take one province from someone at the other end of the world, and prepare it for the run towards safety. So let it be known Arcoscephale offers intelligence about the serpents in exchange for a haven; a most fine offer.

Arcoscephale has refused to answer your Last comment. We shall merely say we are getting used to running for safety; in fact, I am doing pretty much the same in another game, with Arcoscephale again, but I actually started the war that led to my ruin in that other game (I had the wealthiest nation at the beginning of the hostilities. The key word is had). Here, at least, I can find half a dozen pretences to explain my defeat, and so a honourable death will await me.

Wait. I meant: a honourable strategic retreat to the most remote place in Faerun, where there are only a handful of asps. Of course, we will take up the arms later on, once we have recovered most of our strength. Later on.