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It is a bit of a blur for Sakitu as they make their way back to the hut. All the noise and explosions and things flying through air back in that camp were overwhelming to her. As they approach the hut, she feels a sense of relief. This, at least, is familiar.
She accepts a nice and long hug from Fin before finding a seat. Her body hurts all over and she sees several bloody wounds. For the most part they have stopped bleeding but she knows that Kal, or someone, is going to have to do some healing on her.
Before long Fin comes to apply a bit of medical aid. She's not sure that his medical ministrations are helping her body but they sure are helping her soul.
A few minutes later Kal heals her completely. The pains are gone but she is still tired. Quasit doesn't look very good. Maka and Fin are there with her but Sakitu wants to be as well. She moves over and squeezes in on the porch step and leans her head on Quasit's shoulder.
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”Sorry, Q, that can wait…a pox upon me for a clumsy lout. Looks like most of us will have scars from this fight; we need to heal and rest before we do anything else…
Quasit grimaces and raises her head. "No, I'm sorry for snapping at you." she says morosely.
”You’re head must be splitting, Q…if you’ll allow me, I was taught an Elven technique that might help…”
"No it's ok, it's not that my head hurts, I'm just... Oh My..." Almost against her will, Quasit melts into the elf's soothing back and neck rub as she discovers to her surprise that this is exactly what she needs. She goes limp under his ministrations, moaning occasionally in contentment.
"Are you hungry, do you want me to make some food?"
Quasit has regressed in age by about 20 years at this point. "Uh huh" she replies in a cute voice, nodding just enough.
As Sakitu leans into her, Quasit curls an arm around her amazing foxy friend and hugs her.
Being rubbed and mollified cures a large segment of her discontent, but she does manage at one point to open her eyes and briefly mutter...
"I really thought we were going to end it tonight. And go home."
"An old commander of mine used to say 'everyone has a plan until they get shot in the arm with an arrow,'" Kalchine says.
"The key is to be able to come up with a new plan. Which we will. But not tonight. Tonight, we heal and enjoy the peace that the hut provides. Tomorrow we regroup and plan."
He pats Quasit on the knee. "We'll get you home. Everyone will go home. Just maybe not as quickly as we'd like."
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"No it's ok, it's not that my head hurts, I'm just... Oh My..." Almost against her will, Quasit melts into the elf's soothing back and neck rub as she discovers to her surprise that this is exactly what she needs. She goes limp under his ministrations, moaning occasionally in contentment.
Happy to be of use, Fin gives a slight smile, lightly saying, "As I said, lots of practice..."
"I really thought we were going to end it tonight. And go home."
Fin nods unconsciously. "Aye, the thought had crossed my mind as well...seems like nothing ever comes easy for us, Q..."
He ponders for a moment...seeing Maka and Sakitu cozy up to Quasit, he grins and knows that's his queue to leave so they can have some girl time…
"I need to go clean up a bit...lemme know if your headache comes back or if it gets any worse, Q..."
Fin gently removes his hands from Quasit's shoulders, leans down and kisses the top of Sakitu's head, and rises to go back into the hut...
Seeing Kalchine has come out, he nods in appreciation. "Thanks again for the healing, Kal; I’d be dead several times over without you, my friend..."
He then enters the hut and goes looking for a place to wash up...
Kalchine nods and looks around at the group. "I suspect we'd all be dead many times over without the friends that we have here," he answers. "Just for different reasons."
He notes the same thing Fin does, though not quite as quickly. He and Chest Thumper follow him in, the latter squeezing through the door. He's not sure what to do once he's inside and just stands awkwardly to give the ladies some privacy.
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"The key is to be able to come up with a new plan. Which we will. But not tonight. Tonight, we heal and enjoy the peace that the hut provides. Tomorrow we regroup and plan."
"I really don't know what to do. I thought that machine would be in that ruined temple somewhere, but it seemed like it was empty. But then what was all the magic lightning for? Maybe there's something special about that spot -- ley lines or something, I don't know. Do they have ley lines on a world without magic?"
"If we got to that ruined temple, we could use it as a hiding spot, then start searching the other buildings one at a time. Preferably without psychic battlewagons noticing us."
"I think we might have a couple more of those Dimensional Door spell scrolls that might let us bamf back into that ruined temple tomorrow night, but I have no idea how to use the scrolls that precisely, and if anybody in there notices us appearing, it'll be the same thing all over again, except we won't be able to escape. I wish we had a teleporting spell that was precise and could take us all right where we wanted to go."
He pats Quasit on the knee. "We'll get you home. Everyone will go home. Just maybe not as quickly as we'd like."
Quasit nods, but not very convincingly. "I guess for now, I should be grateful everyone got out of there alive."
"I really don't know what to do. I thought that machine would be in that ruined temple somewhere, but it seemed like it was empty. But then what was all the magic lightning for? Maybe there's something special about that spot -- ley lines or something, I don't know. Do they have ley lines on a world without magic?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention! One of the soldiers pressed a button that made the lighting attack me." Maka shouted from the back as she continued to work on dinner. "I didn't see a big machine or anything, but they had to be protecting something right?"
The Coffin Man nods and grins skeletally at you as you enter. He says nothing, simply giving you a sitting bow and waving you back into the Hut.
Kalchine has been in morgues before but that doesn't mean he likes them. The coffin storeroom doesn't frighten him but he's not planning on lingering.
Until Fin talks to their erstwhile doorman, that is. He pauses mid step and turns to listen to whatever answer might be coming. Chest Thumper isn't interested in what he...or anyone else, for that matter...says so continues deeper into the hut.
"Oh...almost forgot," Kalchine says to himself. He gives a little shake like a dog drying it's fur. Which is a bit ironic because his fur actually grows back in as his disguise as an ordinary human man is shed in favor of his true form.
The Coffin Man shrugs eloquently. "Mother's son, slain but living, his call drew her in to the siblings' web. How has he fared on this world without magic, when Grandmother's blood burns with power? This she wished to know, and so was trapped."
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Fin nods. ”Siblings? So he’s in cahoots with Elvanna…and world without magic? He seemed to have magic enough when he tried to kill me. Guess that might have something to do with that ‘machine’ we were told of…gotta be something to do with those lightning towers in the compound…more to ponder…
“Bones, you really need to get a hot bath installed in this hut,” he adds as he moves to find a suitable room to wash off…
"Okay dinner's ready! I made it as non-spicy as I could while still having flavor." Maka called as she began handing out bowls of food. The fire monk had kept things simple, making a meal she had made many times before: lentil korma over rice. Or at least her closest approximation with leftover supplies combined with Triaxian ingredients.
and world without magic? He seemed to have magic enough when he tried to kill me.
"Well there hasn't been anything wrong with my fire or Kal and Saki's magic." Maka replied in between inhaling spoonfuls of food.
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Fin warily makes his way back to the loft overlooking the cauldron room, making sure to avoid the gingerbread room…as he sees the barred door on the way, he makes a mental note to ask Bones what lies beyond that door…
When he gets to the loft, he strips down, liberally wets a dry rag from his waterskin, and cleans himself off as best he can…then scrubs any stains from his clothes as best he can, wishing Maka were here to heat up the water. After brushing his teeth, he hangs his clothes to air out over the loft’s rails, puts on his skivvies and, knowing Sakitu will likely be awhile with the girls, stretches out in a corner, pondering their next move…
Selena listens to the bony one without comment, then disappears off somewhere to think and plan. Occasionally seen scrounging around for items.
Maka and Bulvi retreated to a secluded area for a while. The contented grin on Maka's face upon their return left no doubt about their activities.
"This was a good day!" Maka exclaimed, her face beaming with satisfaction. "We got a bunch of answers and we whooped a bunch of butt! I even came up with a plan." Maka punctuated her statement by proudly jabbing her thumb toward her chest.
Focusing on her enchanted jug, the monk transformed the water within into steaming sake. After indulging in several lengthy gulps, Maka belched a small ball of fire before extending the jug for sharing. "So they have a bunch of people, all kinds of weapons, and everything is so locked down that only Fin and Quasit could sneak around. I don't really see a way around things, so I say we just go through them. Go in prepped for a fight, with magic ready to move around or get away. It'll also be easier to look around if no one is shooting at us."
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Sakitu eats the food Maka provides. It is still a little spicey but she can tolerate it. After relaxing a while, she finds Fin resting in a corner of the hut. She goes to him and snuggles up to his warm body.
"That was weird out there. Right? I mean, what do you think we're going to do? I think Quasit is totally stressed about it. But the thing is, I trust her. She'll figure something out. Right?"
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Sakitu eats the food Maka provides. It is still a little spicey but she can tolerate it. After relaxing a while, she finds Fin resting in a corner of the hut. She goes to him and snuggles up to his warm body.
Fin had almost dozed off…but he welcomes Sakitu’s snuggling…he turns and spoons her, nibbling playfully at her ears…
"That was weird out there. Right? I mean, what do you think we're going to do? I think Quasit is totally stressed about it. But the thing is, I trust her. She'll figure something out. Right?"
Fin had to focus on her questions before answering. ”Hmm…yes, Hlao-roo, definitely weird…we’ve never faced anything like that before, for sure…these guns they have are different from anything we’ve seen. But Q’s smart and she’ll adapt; I trust her, implicitly, with all things, including my life…
“I’m planning on scouting the perimeter, very safely this time, staying concealed within the trees; want to check out a couple of areas in their defenses, for weakness. I’ll talk with Q about it, of course…but first, I thought we might have some…intimate time together…if you’re OK with that, of course? If not, that’s OK too, my dear,” he murmurs as he leans in to give her a long, slow kiss…
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"This was a good day!" Maka exclaimed, her face beaming with satisfaction. "We got a bunch of answers and we whooped a bunch of butt! I even came up with a plan." Maka punctuated her statement by proudly jabbing her thumb toward her chest.
Quasit had not really reacted to Maka's bravado about this being a good day, sensing that the monk was likely just trying to cheer people up with a positive spin. But she looks up at Maka's announcement of a new plan. Frankly, Quasit was in the mood for following someone else's plan.
"So they have a bunch of people, all kinds of weapons, and everything is so locked down that only Fin and Quasit could sneak around. I don't really see a way around things, so I say we just go through them. Go in prepped for a fight, with magic ready to move around or get away. It'll also be easier to look around if no one is shooting at us."
Quasit is silent for a long moment, not wanting to gainsay her friend, but eventually feels she has to speak up.
"You... want us to attack them? Head on?" she asks in a quiet incredulous voice. "Maka, they have hundreds of men, all armed with those super-guns, plus psychic tanks and magic lightning and who knows what else. You and Fin probably managed to kill, what, ten guys in there? And we got cut up bad. It's suicide, we wouldn't last more than a few minutes. You'd probably be the last to go down, but eventually they'd even get you."
"We'll definitely have to take some of them out, but we need to do it quietly and strategically, so they can't raise those alarms. I'll be darned if I know how, though."
She sets aside her bowl and wipes her mouth with her sleeve.
"Hey Fin, you said that a corner of the compound had a graveyard in it. Was the fence intact there?"
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"Here?" Sakitu looks around the room. The two of them are in a corner of the hut but certainly not hidden from view. Her face flushes red.
Fin nods, smiling sheepishly, ”I’m sorry, Hlao-roo, you’re right…with all the secret passages and doors, there’s no privacy in the hut as it is now…you were just so amazing, before, couldn’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout it…maybe another time will be more…appropriate…”
He leans in for another kiss when he hears Maka and Quasit discussing plans. ”Oh…didn’t know our friends had moved this far inside…Hlao-roo, looks like you might’ve saved us from a…compromising encounter. If they’re talking shop, I better go down there…be back in a moment…”
"Hey Fin, you said that a corner of the compound had a graveyard in it. Was the fence intact there?"
”Coming, Q, be down in a sec,” Fin says he climbs down from the loft…
”Not sure. Couldn’t tell when I flew over it…and then the gun-wagon attacked as I started my recon inside the camp. I was thinking while y’all slept, I’d do a recon around the perimeter, if that’s OK by you, Q; I will stick to the treeline and won’t venture anywhere I’ll be readily seen. Gonna concentrate on the graveyard and perhaps that wooded/stumpy area to the east for any points that might give us easier access. Should be able to give you more intel in the morning…”
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”Not sure. Couldn’t tell when I flew over it…and then the gun-wagon attacked as I started my recon inside the camp. I was thinking while y’all slept, I’d do a recon around the perimeter, if that’s OK by you, Q; I will stick to the treeline and won’t venture anywhere I’ll be readily seen. Gonna concentrate on the graveyard and perhaps that wooded/stumpy area to the east for any points that might give us easier access. Should be able to give you more intel in the morning…”
Quasit nods. "Look for any weak point in the fence. And that sort of camp off to the east inside those inner gates -- I'd be curious to know what's there. It seemed like all those blockhouses in the first section of the interior were the quarters for the regular soldiers, so someone else must be using that interior camp area. And I could have sworn I heard horses. If they have a cavalry squadron running around in there too, it'll be even trickier to avoid notice."
"I'm starting to think the machine is hidden in there somewhere, or invisible, or really small. We might need to interrogate a prisoner to figure out where it is. But I doubt the regular soldiers will know much of anything, and we can't talk to them anyway. Gah, we can't talk to any of them."
Quasit's exasperation flairs up again and she trails off, shaking her head.
Kalchine listens in while he eats his meal and drinks a lot of water. The minimum level of flavor for Maka is quite spicey for him.
"It's a shame we don't have bigger magic," then he snorts at the obviousness of that statement.
"But, what I mean is that, if we could cause some more chaos, that would be good for us. If we could set some buildings on fire, the soldiers would have to deal with those and would at least be out in the open while we looked around."
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"Look for any weak point in the fence. And that sort of camp off to the east inside those inner gates -- I'd be curious to know what's there. It seemed like all those blockhouses in the first section of the interior were the quarters for the regular soldiers, so someone else must be using that interior camp area. And I could have sworn I heard horses. If they have a cavalry squadron running around in there too, it'll be even trickier to avoid notice."
Fin nods. ”I’ll catch my couple of hours of sleep and then go in the wee hours of the night…and I’ll check the areas you’re concerned about as well, Q…”
Quasit's exasperation flairs up again and she trails off, shaking her head.
Fin puts a hand on her shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. ”Don’t fret, Q, we’ll find a way; if there’s a weakness or a back way in, I’ll find it. Lemme get a l’il sleep and I’ll be on my way…”
He turns, climbs the ladder back up to the loft, and spoons up next to Sakitu, putting an arm around her. ”Gotta get a little shuteye and then do my thing, Hlao-roo…but I’ll be back before you awake…”
Fin awakes after a couple of hours, gets dressed, takes his clothes and gear to another room so as not to awaken any others, and then quickly and quietly goes thru his monk forms. Then he gets dressed, gears up, and goes to see the bone man…
”Hey Bones, guess you get even less sleep than I…I’m gonna go on a little night recon, but first I have ’nuther question for you. What lies in the room behind the barred door?”
After getting, or not getting, an answer, Fin will slip out the door…he wants to get a better idea of the perimeter of the camp to be able to give Quasit some options when they plan their next move.
He’ll take no chances and will stick to the trees as he’ll slowly circle the perimeter, checking their defenses, while looking closely for any other potential entry points, ones that might be less guarded or allow them to sneak in. He’ll pay close attention to what looked like might be a graveyard in the NW portion of the perimeter that appeared to extend into the camp. Another area of interest will be the section to the east of the camp with the trees (or they might be tree stumps). He’ll also try to observe the buildings in the inner camp and anything that might give him an idea about this infernal machine…
Fin spends hours slowly circling the perimeter, observing the camp. He sees a few patrols coming in and out of the gate, including a pair of those battle wagons. He *thinks* he sees some horses standing between the tents the southeast corner of the inner fence. Something seems a little off about them, but from this distance he can't tell what.
Violet lightning continues to shoot from the corner towers to the ruined temple in the center from time to time. One time, he could swear for an instant that the temple looked whole in the light of the bolt, but the next bolt revealed it to be just as ruined as before.
The graveyard in the northwest looks to be just as thickly festooned with spiked wires as the rest of the camp's perimeter. Perhaps some of the grave markers could be used for a bit of cover, but it doesn't seem to offer any more advantage than that. No trees are standing within several hundred feet of the camp, save for a few scraggly little things that have been used to tie more spiked wires to. He spots nowhere in the perimeter that looks weaker than the rest.
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Hlao-roo, looks like you might’ve saved us from a…compromising encounter.
Sakitu chokes a little. "Uh. Yeah! But you know, I think Maka would think it was all great. She'd probably want to join in." Sakitu smiles and pushes Fin away.
"You go make plans. I'm going to sleep for a bit. We'll get that time together again soon. I promise."
After Fin leaves Sakitu digs through her bag to find her blanket. It's got bits of crushed leaves and small twigs stuck to it and she brushes them off. She lays down, pulling the blanket around her and placing her head on the softest part of her bag she can find. With any luck, she'll get a few good hours of sleep.
Just as she's drifting off she feel's Fin snuggling up next to her.
"Mmm. That's nice. I was a little cold." She mumbles to him while keeping her eyes closed but she pushes back into his body as he pulls her.
She is lost in slumber when Fin gets up.
"You... want us to attack them? Head on?" she asks in a quiet incredulous voice. "Maka, they have hundreds of men, all armed with those super-guns, plus psychic tanks and magic lightning and who knows what else. You and Fin probably managed to kill, what, ten guys in there? And we got cut up bad. It's suicide, we wouldn't last more than a few minutes. You'd probably be the last to go down, but eventually they'd even get you."
"There weren't that many and we took out way more than ten!" Maka looked ready to argue the matter, but then thought better of it. She had come up with a plan to help Quasit, arguing with her was the opposite of that. "But okay, you know best, I've got your back whatever we do."
"But, what I mean is that, if we could cause some more chaos, that would be good for us. If we could set some buildings on fire, the soldiers would have to deal with those and would at least be out in the open while we looked around."
"I can set buildings on fire!" Maka seemed genuinely insulted.
Fin will use some of the grave markers for concealment, to move a bit closer, and see if any of the markers or graves themselves might reveal if this graveyard is in any way significant…
"I know, I know. I think you might be able to set ice on fire," Kalchine says placatingly to Maka.
"But even you can't set enough buildings on fire to provide a large enough distraction for us to get in and do a thorough search," he continues.
Fin carefully but quickly makes his way across the torn-up landscape between the trees and the cemetary. He has a bit of a close call when a pair of the battle-wagons suddenly roars across the area, but being rather loud and obvious he's able to get to cover before they get too close to him.
Part of the graveyard extends beyond the spiked wires, and Fin finds shelter there. He doesn't get far in before he hears something that sounds like a shovel striking hard earth, followed by a bit of muttering. Peeking out from behind a gravestone he sees a small creature, maybe three feet tall at most, wearing an oversized rough-spun shirt and a fur cap that almost droops over its eyes. In one hand it rests a shovel on the ground, while with the other it feels around in a hole it's dug near one of the graves.
"Yes... precious bones..." the little creature mutters to itself in Sylvan as Fin studies it. He thinks it's a type of fey known to haunt graveyards, called a tombstone fairy. They're rather rare, so he knows little about them besides the usual cold iron vulnerability.
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Fin nods silently as he understands what the creature is saying…he recalls Quasit mentioning how hopeless it is not be able to question soldiers as we don’t speak their language. While Fin doesn’t know the loyalties of this creature, they could at least talk to it…but he also realizes he sucks at diplomacy…
Making a decision, he turns to stealthily go back to the treeline; knowing the danger of the battle wagons and their patrol pattern now, he quietly moves thru the open ground using any shadows that he can…
Once back among the trees, he moves a bit swifter on the way back to the hut…he tracks down Quasit, gently rousing her, holding a finger to his lips for her to be silent…
Fin whispers, ”Q, come with me, quietly please…”
Once they’re away from their sleeping friends, he continued. ”Q, think I may have found some creature we might be able to ask questions; a tombstone fairy that I spied but didn’t approach...seemed odd a magical creature should inhabit this world, thought it might be significant…
“It’s a small fey that speaks Sylvan. I can speak that also; but my tongue is not near so silver as yours. You’re the only one that can travel almost as stealthy as I; I’d like for you to come back with me so we can try to approach this creature. I can translate your words and perhaps we can get some useful information, like finding another way in or seeing what this creature might know of Rasputin and Baba Yaga…we must move now while there is still some night left, if you are willing…”
Selena, who sleeps as little as Fin does these days, made herself known for once. "I can go too, most of the way anyway, perhaps sticking to trees. I can cast a spell of understanding on Quasit here to make translation easier, and I can teleport us all back if needed."
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”Q, think I may have found some creature we might be able to ask questions; a tombstone fairy that I spied but didn’t approach...seemed odd a magical creature should inhabit this world, thought it might be significant…
“It’s a small fey that speaks Sylvan. I can speak that also; but my tongue is not near so silver as yours. You’re the only one that can travel almost as stealthy as I; I’d like for you to come back with me so we can try to approach this creature. I can translate your words and perhaps we can get some useful information, like finding another way in or seeing what this creature might know of Rasputin and Baba Yaga…we must move now while there is still some night left, if you are willing…”
Quasit listens skeptically and is silent for a few moments after Findurel finishes.
"Tombstone fairy, huh? Charming. It couldn't be a fairy of nice things, could it?"
"You know, it's probably no accident that the thing is there. It might have just randomly adopted that graveyard area, or it might be a minion of Rasputin that will alert the soldiers to our presence, or worse, play along and try to trick us."
"What do you know about tombstone fairies, either of you?" she asks, including Selena in the conversation since she is now joining in the conversation. "Can they be trusted? Are they the prey on people kind of fairies? Or are they the helpful but sometimes mischievous sort?"
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Selena, who sleeps as little as Fin does these days, made herself known for once. "I can go too, most of the way anyway, perhaps sticking to trees. I can cast a spell of understanding on Quasit here to make translation easier, and I can teleport us all back if needed."
Fin shrugs, then nods. ”Sounds good to me…the spell would speed up talks, if we get that far, as I’d only have to translate once. But yes, you’ll need to stay in the trees after Q and I make for the graveyard; there’s a quite a bit of open ground and they have those battle-wagons patrolling that area. One came upon me pretty quickly but I was able to avoid notice…”
"You know, it's probably no accident that the thing is there. It might have just randomly adopted that graveyard area, or it might be a minion of Rasputin that will alert the soldiers to our presence, or worse, play along and try to trick us."
”I’m thinking it’s the former…it was mumbling about ‘precious bones’ so I’m assuming they hold value to these types of fairies, considering their moniker…”
"What do you know about tombstone fairies, either of you?" she asks, including Selena in the conversation since she is now joining in the conversation. "Can they be trusted? Are they the prey on people kind of fairies? Or are they the helpful but sometimes mischievous sort?"
Fin shrugs. ”As for me very little; they speak Sylvan, and, like all fey, they don’t like cold iron. Being a tombstone fairy, I assume them to be mischievous but likely they only prey on dead people; Selena might know more than I. They might be evil but, considering our current ‘patroness’, that might bode well here?
“My thinking is that being fey and in this particular location, this creature might be loyal to Baba Yaga, or, at the least, know of her. Either way, I think it’s worth the risk to approach it…she’s small and didn’t look intimidating…so I’m thinking she’s not a big threat to us. At the worst, if she is Rasputin’s crony, we could dash for the woods and Selena could teleport us out…
“What do you think, Q?”
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”What do you think, Q?”
Quasit exhales heavily. ”Honestly, it sounds like wishful thinking. But we don’t have a lot of great options, and we need information. So I guess we try.”
”Once the 3 of us get to the edge of the forest across from the graveyard area, Selena will cast her language spell on me and I’ll drink one of the Elixirs of Hiding, then we’ll head in to speak to your tombstone fairy. If it’s hostile or raises an alarm or something, I’ll use a dimension door scroll to get us back to Selena and she can teleport us away to the Hut. Sound like a plan?”
Imbued with a Comprehend Languages spell and an Elixir of Hiding, Quasit attempts to follow Findurel and sneak up to the graveyard, avoiding the tanks and soldiers.
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Fin nods. ”Aye, agreed. Let’s move…”
Fin leads Quasit and Selena into the trees to the closest point near the graveyard. After Selena casts the spell on Quasit, Fin warily leads her to the point where he spied the tombstone fairy…aware of the battle-wagon patrols this time, he keeps his eyes and ears alert to time their move…
…if they make it unseen, he’ll await to see if the tombstone fairy is still there before acting…
The three of you have no trouble with your approach. Fin and Quasit find the tombstone fairy still digging in the graveyard, unaware it's being watched.