Topic: Theres more than one hero (namarixmissylooni)

[Namari]

Ike grumbles but can;t sleep, and heads down to the barracks to hang with the men and maybe hopefully get laid. Times like this he missed Aiden.

[MissyLooni]

Aiden is actually down with the other men currently, playing card games

[Namari]

Ike stops when he sees Aiden in there, hesitating at the doorway when he sees him.

[MissyLooni]

aiden glances at ike and he blushes a bit before quickly going back to his game. ike was free to be in this room if he wanted.

[Namari]

Ike sighs and walks over, " mind if i join you boys?"

[MissyLooni]

Aiden moves and makes room for ike, the other guys easily sharing their space with ike, tossing him some cards as well

[Namari]

Ike takes a seat and picks up his cards, humming as he looks over his hand, " fine night for a game."

[MissyLooni]

One guy nods, "aye, a fine night indeed! " he shuffles a few things in his hand,  grinning,  "what brings ya out here at this hour? "

[Namari]

Ike chuckles, " nothing major, just couldn't sleep and felt like some company."

[MissyLooni]

The men nod and they start a round.

One of the guys, Gyro, sighs, "yeeeup. we're all familiar with those nights."

[Namari]

Ike rearranges his cards, " mmmm. doesn;t help that frankly im not that used to having a room alone. usually my men and i were on the move, and having a tent to myself was inefficient. Gets too quiet, you know?"

[MissyLooni]

Gyro frowns,  "we have bunks in a room that we share but I have to say, most of our battles have occurred close to home so the need to camp has never been an issue before."

[Namari]

Ike chuckles, " that's nice, the comforts of home. must make for good meals usually too. we were usually on the move, so travel rations and camping were how we lived more often than not. getting into a town for real beds and hot meals was a treat."

[MissyLooni]

Some of the men shrug at ike's comment, glancing at each other.

Gyro speaks up again, "I'm sure that would be a treat if you're not used to it, however we wouldn't mind a few battles further out. It's stressful to fight knowing if you fail you could potentially lose your family to it."

[Namari]

Ike nods, " oh i get that entirely. trust me when i say, it's best if they come to you. i've lead... fuck, i don't even know how many campaigns. Let's for simplicity ignore your magical healing potions and whatnot, because as we know, there was a time you didn't have those." he sets his cards face down, " if the fight comes to you here, you have key advantages. You've got first and foremost, familiarity with the battleground, don't take that for granted, it's more valuable than you'd think. There's fortifications, you can attack from the walls, and stay out of direct line of fire for part of the fight, and whittle down their numbers. the walls also limit how many enemies are able to engage your troops if they do manage to break through, because it's extremely doubtful they'd be able to take out the entire wall at once. You also only have to worry about one side, and can focus there, instead of watching your flanks. a fortress like this is nearly impossible to destroy, sieges normally take months or longer, and typically end when the defenders run out of supplies. actually breaking through the walls and winning that way, almost never happens. home ground advantage is massive. on top of that, not only is your defense infinitely stronger, but you also have a better chance of recovery. see you've only got so many men, they're not expendable. If someone gets injured out in the woods, you've probably got some people skilled in healing, but a tent is hardly an ideal environment for recovery, assuming you can get them off the battlefield and safely back behind ally lines. supplies are also limited to what you've carried with you, and when you've got to carry all your weapons and food and medical supplies and whatnot with, that limits how much you can take."