Baron Malian Ousseatlithar: 4th Baron Of Kelthwood, 700 Year Old Elf: Yes, 3: And Read On To Find Out...

Poor Malian, you did love him, even though everyone said you only married him for money and position. He may have been within a few decades of dying of old age but he was a horny old goat none the less. Elvin men have a reputation for being extremely experienced sexual partners and Malain was no exception, he had been beding women the length and breadth of Eva for close to 500 years and though he had a hard time achieving his own full with the weight of years that settled over him like a shroud he was no less ardent for all that and good gods did he eat you out expertly! Of course it was a morganatic maraige, your three daughters together have no claim on Kelthwood or any of his other holdings except what he gave them by his own hand before he died, but that was enough, he did live to see each of them reach her majority at 21, and gave each a Ascension Day Gift that is the envy of many young noblewomen.

Zasan Ousseatlithar "Royal-Wine (of the) Heirs-to-Victory" in Elvin, is the child that takes after her father most in temperament. In his youth your husband Malian was a great warrior, and though he turned his attentions to mystical arts increasingly as he aged and the bloom of youth left him he remained an artisan and smith all his days. It was in point of fact his refusal to abandon smith craft that killed him, he had a heart attack while forging his final sword, now known as "Mai'aeravel" and finished after his fatal heart attack by his pure-elf-blooded son and apprentice, Nyasel Ousseatlithar. He gave it to his half sister Zasan once it was enchanted, and she treasures the gift, but it also makes her melancholy, knowing she bears at her side the instrument of her father's ****. She is a Samurai of the Order of the Phoenix , one of several among the peoples of the Queensland, and fights with an 'Iajitsu' focused style.

Veronica du Lac II takes after you most of your daughters in terms of temperament, but her father most in appearance. She pledged her soul and her blade to Saint Iomidae, just as you have, and is like you a Paladin. However where you are short of stature but stout of limb she is tall and willowy, with hair the color of a bonfire and eyes of briliant leaf green, her ears are also so long and pointed that she can pass for a '1/4 blood' Elf, instead of the Half-Elf that she actually is. She was born Aelathavel Ousseatlithar but took your name when she entered the Order of the Golden Dawn, the same one to which you belong. Her father understood perfectly, "Tu De Mater" is her motto, 'For the Mother', a variant of the slogan of the patriarchal northern barbarians who do all things in life to honor their fathers and grandfathers.

Trytha Ousseatlithar, "Crystal-Healer (of the) Heirs-to-Victory" in elvin, is kind of the odd duck among your daughters. where the other two followed a martial road she has instead turned her attentions inward, and devoted herself to faith in Findeladlara, Elvin goddess of art and architecture. So devout is she in worship of the goddess that she has become a cleric of the Elvish patron of the arts, even to the point that despite her half human blood the goddess acknowledges her prayers and grants her divine magic. Though she is a relative youth she is going to be the chief architect for rebuilding the Castle Manorial of Ambuscade County.

Your daughters have of course come with you in your exile to the hinterlands around the Labyrinth of Ambuscade, for should you fall in your soon-to-be ongoing exploration of the Labyrinth they will in turn take their place in the efforts to find the Tree of Life and bring back some of its fruit. Thus it is that you come within sight of the old Castle Manorial.

The Castle is a burnt out ruin, but even so it is occupied: a gaggle of young goblins has taken up residence in the ruins and is raiding the surrounding countryside, part of what inspired the Queen to award the title of Countess Ambuscade to you and your line. You have 50 men-at-arms, your own sword arm, and the talents of your daughters with which to take it back: though your so-called "Men-at-Arms" are little more than mercenaries, in some cases poachers and brigands that were granted 'clemency' in exchange for their service... They are being paid out of the county treasury, which is stretched thin as it is due to the goblin's raiding and burning of fields and farms all about the old county seat.

As you survey the old castle with your spyglass you note four possible methods of approach to retaking it:
1: The castle never had a 'wet moat', only a dry ditch with wooden spikes set into the bottom. The spikes are long rotted away and in one place the old curtain wall has collapsed outward, leaving the ditch filled in with rubble. You could probably bring your entire **** in that way, then fan out to slaughter the goblins. However the towers to either side are intact, and if the goblins rally to a strong defense they might kill many of your men while you made the crossing over the rough ground...
2: There is a sally gate on the other side of the castle which has been quite destroyed by the ravages of time, and you could bring a smaller **** in by that route, more of a raiding party that a full attack ****, but with stealth and guile you might catch the goblins unaware and set them to rout. The risk there is that if they catch you before you have gained entry they will have every advantage in terms of defense that the old citadel affords and furthermore outnumber your **** badly.
3: Off in the distance is a burnt out farm house, and you note it because you were informed that it conceals a 'secret' entrance to the Castle Manorial Ambuscade. Under the hearthstone is the beginnings of a passage which links up with the castle cellars, by which a very small band, no more than 5 people or so, could enter the castle and sneak around within like burglars or assassins, taking the goblins one or two at a time and eventually opening the main gate for the whole army to come through unopposed. This would be the perfect chance to test your daughter's metal in the complicated role of dungeon delver, and determine the loyalty of your captain of the guard: but also be a terrible risk, as you would be outnumbered dozens to one and while you would have to get lucky every time the goblins would only have to do so once: whilst and at the same time you would be 'putting all your eggs in one basket' so to speak because not only you but your entire line would be placed at risk...
4: And that brings us to the last option: the combination approach. you could split your forces and use all three avenues of attack, and as should be obvious it's advantage is also the risk here: on the one hand the goblins will be caught off guard by a three pronged attack, for while they rush to guard the main approach from a large ****, the other two teams, acting by stealth, take them from the rear and crush them between hammer and anvil. Yet, conversely, each **** is weaker in it's methods than it would be were you to use only one, those fording the ditch are smaller in number than they otherwise would be, those entering by the secret passage face a fort alerted that they are under attack, and those using the sally gate may encounter resistance right away and be slaughtered.