"This place has no shortage of variety in it's horrors," Kalchine replies to Quasit.
He does a quick triage and, it turns out, he, Chest Thumper and Bulvi got the worst of the battering.
He sends out another burst of healing energy, catching everyone who is still injured in it.
The barracks is worryingly empty when you enter it. The beds that were once occupied by drained soldiers now have only untidy piles of blankets on them.
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Selena moved snow into the building, ”Alright, I’ll send out some scouts. You Maka are the inspiration for this so I figure on calling it Selena’s Maka Seekers, or maybe Maka’s Minions, something like that.”
Selena puts her hand on the pile of snow she magically pulled in from outside,
”Little balls of frozen snow,
Shapable and flexible as clay,
To boldy go,
And sometimes play,
Find my foe,
And seek my way.”
The pile of snow collapsed into many little snowballs that started to roll away from the pile like they had been dropped. They started to wriggle and cute little faces appeared on them, then they sprouted little limbs and started looking around the room.
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Selena's snowball scouts report nothing of interest left in this barracks.
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After clearing the tower to the south, Fin melts into the shadows…
…then sneaks back into the camp thru where he had cut thru the fence earlier, underneath the NW tower, and stealthily moves to the barracks where his friends are, and enters…
He nods to Quasit, ”The south tower is cleared now…and no visible foes are in the immediate area. You still want to scout for the headless horseman, Q? I’m ready when you are…”
Selena looks over to Fin as he enters, and speaks as the cute little snowballs roll out of his way of their accord. ”No need for you to go on your own just yet. I made these little guys to do that. Remind me later and I’ll make something so you can summon them yourself. I can see through them, not all of them at once, just a few at a time, but I figure that’s more useful than you being only in one place at a time and needing to come back to report what you find. Any specific places you want me to send a few? Looks like I managed around three dozen, so I can spare plenty.”
A couple snowballs edge closer to Fin’s boots as stands there and investigate the muddy slush, eventually trying unsuccessfully to flick off some of the dirty snow as though disgusted by the dirt.
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Fin arches an eyebrow as he frowns, obviously disappointed. ”I’m being replaced by snowballs? ”
"Nooo, you are NOT being replaced by snowballs." pretend-scolds Quasit. "We're using all the assets at our disposal and husbanding our resources so we can respond to threats as they arise. What if you and I are skulking around out there and we run into Rasputin again? Or if we spot Headless Guy, we'd have to come back here anyway, gather people up, then go sneaking out again. I mean, I was prepared to do all that if we had to, but as long as Lil' Frosty and his pals are here, why not use 'em? Once it's time for killing, you still get center stage. We're not leaving that creep to get away again."
She gives some of Findurel's hair a playful tug and smiles. "You can be so sensitive."
She then releases Findurel to go rest a little if he wishes, looks toward Sakitu and flicks her eyes toward the elf, then goes to Kalchine.
"The healing is appreciated. How are you doing on your spells? Will you have any healing magic left for after we get the Machine turned off? I really don't think we should run away again if we can help it, but Rasputin has a lot of nasty magic and he's gonna hurt us, to say nothing of whatever else he's arranged for us in his pocket dimension."
With the currently visible enemies seemingly dispatched, Maka made her way back to the others. Landing just in time to witness Selena create her tiny snowmen. "Aww, they're so cute!" Maka commented as they scooted away on their scouting mission.
"Is everyone all right? It looked like Kal took a bad fall, he didn't break anything right?"
"Okay so he didn't die die then. That's good." Maka replied nonchalantly as she pulled Kalchine into a tight side hug. "But you have to start training in the mornings." Her tone, along with the strength of her hug, made it clear this wasn't a suggestion. "In fact, all of you should start training in the mornings, you're getting shot way too much!" Even though their wounds had healed, the evidence of numerous gunshots was still visible on the party's equipment.
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As soon as Fin gets settled in Sakitu sits down next to him and lays her head on his chest. After a few moments she turns her face up to look at his face that is partly hidden in the depths of his hood.
"I'm sorry about earlier," she says softly."I don't know what made me say those things. You know, I was really more upset with Maka at first but then you said things and then well..."
She turns her gaze away, waiting to see how Fin will respond.
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Feeling Sakitu’s head on his chest, Fin reflexively puts an arm around her and lightly strokes her hair…when she starts talking, he listens silently, then ponders a moment before speaking, not wanting to put his foot in his mouth as he usually does…
”Hlao-roo…you have nothing to apologize for. I am not an eloquent Elf…when I speak, what I mean to express and what I actually express, many times don’t jibe. I meant no disrespect, I thought I was just…no, it doesn’t matter what I thought. Any way, I was horrified that I made a mess of things and upset you; there’s certainly nothing wrong with how you feel. I actually like that you’re shy about, uh, you know, nudity; I find it…charming…”
Not sure if he said too much and afraid he might’ve made things worse, he goes silent and awaits her reaction…
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At the mere mention of nudity, Sakitu's cheeks blush but it is hidden by the darkness of the room. She pushes herself more into Fin's body and she reaches out with a hand to grab his arm as it embraces her. She squeezes it tightly feeling the lean muscles, honed by years drawing a bowstring, beneath the skin. "I know you sometimes get confused with what you're saying but I'm not any better. I let my feelings and my heart start running things. It's not fair to you."
She caresses his strong arm.
"Can I just lay here against you while you rest? I know you won't need a long rest but I need to be here with you. Even if it is just for a little while." She knows that Fin probably wants even more intimacy that just her cuddled up with him but this is not the place. Not in the middle of fighting soldiers and bad guys. Certainly not here with everyone around.
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"Can I just lay here against you while you rest? I know you won't need a long rest but I need to be here with you. Even if it is just for a little while."
Fin answers silently, nodding his head, leaning his hooded head down and kissing her forehead, before continuing to run his fingers thru her hair until he eventually doses off…
Selena shakes her head at Fin. ”Fin, I figure you might be able to use these guys yourself someday. To scout a much larger area much faster. I can shift my perceptions to see from a few them at a time, giving me a way to quickly get an idea of the current disposition of enemy forces. If I can get the materials, I should be able to make you something that lets you use the spell too so you can do the same thing, if you’re interested. Your experience in scouting would certainly give you an advantage in directing them.”
She then gives a gentle call to the snowballs and gives orders for them to travel in groups of three to explore the camp and avoid being seen. She selects three groups and specifically has them check out the other towers, another group to check out the church and then perch up on the church tower to see the camp from there. Three more groups she sends to sweep east, and the rest she has spread out. She keeps one group of three snowballs with her as she sits in the corner and closes her eyes.
Selena shifts her perception to the various snowballs, rotating through which snowballs she is looking through, keeping an eye on what they find but also on how they are moving, so she can refine that later if needed. Being able to see through a few at a time, she makes sure to keep looking through one that is with her, in case her companions talk to her.
She specifically didn’t tell them that she can’t she through her own senses when doing this, a weakness she didn’t feel like sharing without need. She also didn’t mention being able to have some empathic ability to direct the snowballs she is looking through. Rasputin could be watching.
She will of course update the others on anything found.
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Kalchine squats down to look at one of the little snowballs. He grins a bit and his ears flick.
"You remind me of a guy I knew back home. I'm going to call you Wilz Un," he says to one of them.
"Hey! No! No eating!" he says sternly to Chest Thumper as the Frost Ape picks one up to examine it then moves it slowly toward his mouth.
He gives a surly hoot of disappointment before setting the animated snowball back down and giving it a rather firm shove away.
Kalchine turns his attention back to Quasit. "I'm out of mass healing, but I've got about half my individual spells left. A little leaning toward the low end but I've got a high one up my sleeve.
"I've also got these if we can get some downtime between engagements. They're about 2/3rds charged, though I doubt if this one will make it through the night," he says, pulling out two wands and getting to work with the lesser of them.
Because he doesn't know when they may get called away, he heals himself, then Bulvi then Chest Thumper once each then cycles back around, keeping the healing balanced in case they're interrupted.
"What are you talking about? I didn't die. I just got knocked out," he replies to Fin between activations of the wand.
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"What are you talking about? I didn't die. I just got knocked out," he replies to Fin between activations of the wand.
The cowl of Fin’s hood turns Kal’s way, but his eyes and most of his face remain hidden. He had only been 20’ or 30’ feet away; he had seen the bullets riddle Kal’s body, then saw him drop from the ladder to to the ground with a thud. No movement t’all and lifeless eyes; just like his father’s, Kezhia’s, Yu Khan’s and Alexia’s eyes…
With a nod of his head he murmurs, lightly, ”Of course, my bad,” before looking down and continuing to stroke Sakitu’s hair…
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"I'm out of mass healing, but I've got about half my individual spells left. A little leaning toward the low end but I've got a high one up my sleeve.
"I've also got these if we can get some downtime between engagements. They're about 2/3rds charged, though I doubt if this one will make it through the night," he says, pulling out two wands and getting to work with the lesser of them.
Quasit is relieved when Kalchine pulls out his wands. "Oh good. That makes me feel more confident that we can handle this. Hopefully we'll have a few minutes to work with here."
When she hears Kalchine asserting that he didn't actually die, she shares a look with Findurel and also chooses not to press the issue. "Well, it certainly scared Thumper. And it scared the heck out of the rest of us too. We're just glad you're ok."
"Don't forget Viktor. We need him alive to help with the Machine."
She goes to Maka now. "If that Smoke Monster comes over here, you and Saki are probably our best bet to fight it off. I'm not sure swords would be much good, and it can probably seep under doors and through windows. So hang close til we know more about what's coming. I think they're gonna throw everything they have at us."
She sighs. "I hate to kill all those soldiers. Those vampire priests have probably got all their minds dominated. Or maybe Rasputin is doing that himself. But they don't seem to be giving us much choice. We'll do what we have to do. The grave fairy will be pleased -- she was hoping for a bloodbath."
A few things Selena's scouts see:
* Clouds of yellow mist with humanoid figures hiding between the buildings in the northeast corner of the camp and between the two long barracks buildings on the east
* The headless horseman rallying troops around the southeast and southwest towers.
* The trenches are largely empty of soldiers but the remaining towers are still manned, with the remaining searchlights sweeping over the camp.
She goes to Maka now. "If that Smoke Monster comes over here, you and Saki are probably our best bet to fight it off. I'm not sure swords would be much good, and it can probably seep under doors and through windows. So hang close til we know more about what's coming. I think they're gonna throw everything they have at us."
"You got it, Quasit!" Maka said with a thumbs up and a flash of her toothy grin. "When the shooting starts again, everyone try to stay in cover until the enemies are thinned out."
She sighs. "I hate to kill all those soldiers. Those vampire priests have probably got all their minds dominated. Or maybe Rasputin is doing that himself. But they don't seem to be giving us much choice. We'll do what we have to do. The grave fairy will be pleased -- she was hoping for a bloodbath."
"Rasputin is the one doing the killing." Maka said as a matter of fact.
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* The headless horseman rallying troops around the southeast and southwest towers.
Quasit receives the scouting reports of the little snowmen, then settles down onto the floor to draw out a sketch of the compound on the wooden floor of the barracks.
"Hmmm...it looks like that Smoke Monster is meant to lurk on our flank and hit us as we engage the main assualt, probably somewhere south of the ruined church."
"So, I have a couple thoughts up front. First, I think we should move into the ruin at the center of the compound. It should give us some cover from the lights and riflemen in the towers. Maybe Fin and I can go up into that sniper tower and fire from there? But that big force marshaling outside the inner gate will have to pass through that gate to reach us -- that's a tactical chokepoint for us to exploit. If we're in position, maybe we can hit them as they come through with some AoE spells and a big pit right at the opening. Break them up so they can't mass and rush us."
"I also wonder if maybe we shouldn't just go and deal with that Smoke Monster now, while that other force is still gathering out there? Take it out before it can hit us. And again, while it's hiding between those barracks on the east side of the camp, it's in an area effectively shielded from the view of the towers."
"What do you all think?"
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Fin’s head is still slouched down as Sakitu appears to be sleeping against his chest. His voice rises lightly from his hood…
”The sniper tower in the temple got shot to hell during our ambush on the headless horsemen’s camp and after a couple of volleys or so, I had to abandon it; their chief ordered the machine gun towers to light it up and the dome covering it is practically useless for cover now. We might get a shot or two off though, before the machine guns turn on us…
”As for that smoke, or mist, monster…there were also ‘things’ within it that were climbing the fences in the compound where it resided…we’ll have to account for those beings as well…
“If we stay, Q, I’d say we do a surgical strike to take out their headless leader, as you mentioned earlier…and then regroup at the Hut…as much as I’d like to, don’t think we can win it all tonight,” he ends as his voice trails off…
"Cover is smart, but I don't know about going up. That could just trap you if there are anymore of those stupid wagons. They were just ignoring me to shoot y'all. And I was tearing them to pieces!"
Maka chewed on her tongue as she chewed on the plan. "Whether we start with the smoke monster or the headless rider, let me go off and start blasting. That will give y'all a distraction to get into place and a chance to react if there is some witch trick or something."
"I don't like the idea of leaving things at our back and we'd likely have to pass close to the mist or circle around the other way and, potentially, engage other enemies to get to the leader. Unless someone has some way of getting us to the other side of camp without being detected and without using up our escape magic, I say we move east and destroy the mist and whatever's inside it before the Headless Horseman can muster his troops," Kalchine says, his hears slowly moving with his thoughts as he looks down at Quasit's drawing.
”Alternatively, we split into two groups, one keeps the enemy busy while the other sneakily takes out the towers.” Selena suggests without even opening her eyes, stilling watching from her little minions.
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Quasit listens to people's ideas, then thinks for a moment, rubbing the side of her mouth with a thumb.
"OK. First, let's try to get everyone into the ruin at the center of the compound. There's cover there from the searching lights and the riflemen in the towers, at least at first. Since the towers north and west of us are cleared it shouldn't be too hard for us to get there unseen."
"Once we're in place, we'll poke the bear. Maka will go airborne and blast the Smoke Monster from above. I don't think it can fly -- it seemed to be crawling up that tower, and the humanoids inside it seem safely grounded too. My guess is that once Maka opens up, it'll draw the attention of the towers and the Headless Horseman brigade out there. They'll probably move in through the gate at that point."
"And at that point, we use spells to hold them at the chokepoint. The pit spell, the black tentacle spell, entangling spells, wall of ice, whatever you guys have got. Anything that manages to struggle past, we start shooting at it from our cover here. If it gets all the way to us, melee takes it on."
"I'm guessing that will play havoc with a lot of the soldiers but Mr Headless will probably get through just fine. We try and lure him in to fight us alone."
"Maka, I don't know how tough Smoke Monsters are, but we'll be counting on you to keep it busy or at least draw it away from us. If you manage to destroy it, your next objective will be the searching lights in the towers. If they lose those, they can't shoot at us with any accuracy."
"If all that works, we take stock and reassess how we're doing. If things start going badly, we teleport out."
"What do you all think?"
Maka's golden eyes twitched as she stayed on the lookout for any threats, her sharp gaze scanning the surroundings. She nodded thoughtfully as she listened to Quasit’s plan, flames flickering faintly at her fingertips.
"Sounds like a good plan!"
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Sakitu wakes from her dozing state when everyone starts talking in earnest about the plan. She likes the idea of taking out the smoke monster and keeping the enemies south of them at bay. In short, she likes Quasit's plan. She makes a few comments to that effect and then waits to let the others plan out the specific actions.
"Holding a centralized, fortified location is a good idea. As is making the chokepoint a pain point," Kalchine also agrees with the plan and readies himself and his brother to make the break to the ruin at the center of the compound.
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Fin yawns, brushes his lips against Sakitu’s forehead, rises and draws his bow…he’ll do his scout thing, always checking to make sure it’s clear before leading his friends across open ground…he’ll maneuver them thru the ruined building to the east before taking them across to the ruined temple, as there’s much less open space that way…
"As ready as we can be. Let's keep taking this fight to them," Kalchine says, getting to his feet and going to the exit.
He rests a hand on Chest Thumper's arm to stop the frost ape from following Fin until the right moment. Not that he seems eager to charge out, anyway. He has taken far too many bullets to not be wary of open ground, now.
When the time comes the ape gives a huff of resignation before pelting after the elf, leaving the slower triaxian ever further behind.
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Fin's light kiss sends shivers throughout Sakitu's body. She smiles and stands up with Fin. "Be safe. We'll be right behind you."
"OK, everyone ready? All healed up?" says Quasit with a final look around the room. "Then let's move out. Quietly. Maka, stay with us until we get inside the ruin, then go do your thing."
Sakitu's heart races as they run across the open ground between the buildings, going from cover to cover. Eventually they make it to the central building.
"Now what?"
Maka's golden eyes swept the battlefield as she stealthily followed behind Quasit.
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"Now what?"
"Now, we watch that gate." says Quasit. "Except you Fin, keep an eye on Maka as best you can. If one of the towers targets her, try and lay down some suppressing fire. And let us know if she runs into trouble or needs help."
"Maka, if you get wounded -- like, badly-- I need your word that you'll come back here and get healing. One lucky bullet might get through, for all your skills. And we need you alive."