Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Korst nodded in way of returning the greeting, not saying anything even while eating, content to simply listen to the others. Sylus was also likewise quiet but the other two that Micheal had yet to meet were more then happy to talk. Sitting nearby, they both smiled, at the same time, and then spoke, at the same time.

"Hello~! I'm Dantus!" Neither of them stopped, so it could probably be assumed they were either both Dantus, or the two men were messing with him. Both were of a similar build, although their gear was different, one sporting a double barreled shotgun and a pistol, the other wielding a pair of short swords. Upon closer inspection, it seemed they were identical twins. "We're the support group, We're curious as to Gerald's replacement, you any good with that rifle of yours?" They asked curiously between bites. Both were friendly, and ALWAYS seemed to speak in unison, which could be extremely annoying as Micheal soon found out. Syrus chose that moment to speak, although he spoke sparingly and his tone was quiet, the words little more then a whisper. "Falsa hired him, he must be good."

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Micheal considered the Dantus twins for a moment as he acknowledged their greeting. He thought it a little odd, but he'd ran into his fair share of crazies in his time and knew better then to question it. It would either lead to them getting angry or, worse, attempt to explain themselves.

“I get the job done quite well... although, unless she happens to be a master of disguise, she hasn't actually seen me use it.” Micheal paused to search his memories for any time he may have seen Falsa before, but could only come up with a blank. “She didn't seem very interested until she saw my close quarters fighting.”

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

The Dantus Twins and smiled and nodded and Sylus also tipped his head in agreement. Close Quarters, hand to hand, important within a small town or where mobility is limited, or a big city. Actually, now that I think about it, Important anywhere really. Still smiling warmly they glanced at Sylus who shrugged before laughing. Don't look at me! I can't read her mind!"

It seemed the mood had lightened a little and everyone was warming up slowly but surely. Debrik had pulled a small set of tools out of his bag and was working on some kind of strange tube with thin, flat pieces of crystal at each end, and Korst was running a soft cloth down his blade, mumbling something only to himself.

The break would continue until, as Falsa had promised, the worst heat of the day was passed, roughly 2 hours from now while everyone relaxed and caught up, but now Micheal had met everyone, and although they seemed more then willing to chatter while they sat and ate, they seemed a very quiet bunch while marching. If he had other questions for anyone, now was a good time to ask.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Micheal smiled at the warmer mood as he finished his ration. He looked over at Debrik working on his strange device and felt comfortable enough to broach the subject of the 5th Rifleman Company, however tangentially. “I see you and Falsa still fly the 2nd Company colors... do you know of any other units that still do? Most of the surviving soldiers I've met don't seem to.”

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Debrik turned to look at Micheal as he voiced the question, thinking it over carefully before answering. "That's a strange question. Farsa would now more then I do, but she doesn't like to talk about it. If you Really wanna know lad, ask her after this job is done and her mood is high, otherwise you'll get a cold shoulder and nothing for your trouble. She's not a woman to be taken lightly."

Finished answering his question, he continued to work on the odd device before glancing at Farsa, and then up into the sky to check on the sun. The rest of the chatter was light hearted enough, about past jobs and the like, and the uselessness of 9th company, or what was left of it much like the 2nd. If asked, the other men would give much the same answer, warning him against such questioning until after the job and when Farsa herself was in high spirits.

About an hour later, Farsa whistled sharply and the other men started to rise. "Lets go, we still have a full day of travel before we hit the village and we're marching into early morning so lets not waste any time." She called out to everyone, waiting for them all to shoulder their supplies. This time as the men set out, the Twins began to belt out a hardy soldiers tune from before the Xenos that even Micheal knew. It was probably the only one that didn't fill him with rage and dark memories. "And the ladies are waving as we march off to war~ And the lords are praising as we march off to war~. Lift your heads boys and shoulder your Guns! When they hear we're comin the Enemy Runs! And as the sun sets and the battle is over, well sing a song for you, the boys who didn't make it home, the ones that marched alone and the heroes true."

The loud and infectious song continued in true Badarian fashion for well over 30 versus as they marched, and of course, was immediately started over, draining away some of the monotony of the march across the badarian countryside.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Micheal nodded his head at the suggestion to wait he'd received from practically everybody. He wanted to see what the general attitude they harbored on the topic more than actually getting an answer. He joined in on the remainder of the chatter taking note of what company's they would be willing to speak about.

As the marched resumed, he quickly found himself joining in with their marching song.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Spirits were high and everyone was happy, or as happy as they could be. Given how few their numbers were, and their mission, it was the equivalent of walking into a war zone. There was no break in the march to their target this time, instead Sylus handed out canteens to everyone, a load he was happy to be rid of, and Korst handed out the same rations, eating on the road as Farsa kept a close eye on a small map and a compass that she carried.

Micheal was a tough man, no one could deny it, he had fought and scraped and earned any reputation he had amongst those he frequented, and it probably wasn't a stretch to assume that the contact that was supposed to meet him in the bar, had simply sent Farsa, telling her he was the perfect man for the job. Regardless, even tough men began to hit a limit when they marched at a good clip for 9 hours straight, and that was exactly what they did.

When the call to stop finally came, it wasn't a shout, it was a raised fist at the top of a ridge line at full twilight, the harvest moon glaring down at them with a dark orange glow, its full celestial body seeming unnaturally close as Farsa motioned for them all to approach the line and stay low, even in the dark.

Through the trees, nestled in a small valley, was their target, a sizable village, the torches glimmering in the night a few hundred yards off, the moon giving them a better view then normal of the village square. There were maybe 17 buildings that could be counted from their vantage point, and obviously more, night sentries clearly visible and well organised as they made rounds not on the outskirts, but inside the first circle of houses. Whoever had taken this place was not taking chances, the guards well within the circles of light provided by the torches and fires that pockmarked the village.

It was Debrik who spoke first. "Well organised, just as expected. And with no real information as to who took it over, only that someone did, we don't even have a name. Orders are a full extermination. Micheal, you and I will move forward first from our position here, the Twins will move in from the north, circling around. We have no time to waste, this gets done tonight." As always his voice was cold and as he spoke, he bolted the odd tube onto his rifle, the dark metal of the bolt action, and the glimmer of the brass shining softly in the moonlight. Farsa seemed to trust his judgement on this, showing her skill as an officer by letting the expert in this situation lead, only nodding and agreeing with his assessment of the situation. Korst and Sylus stayed with her as she moved off to the south.

Debrik only gave Micheal a look, checking to make sure he was ready before moving, wanting to make sure the new addition didn't have any thoughts or reservations.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Micheal was no stranger to long marches but a nine hour march was tested the limits although he tried not to show it. The rations that had been eaten while on the road had provided a much needed boost of energy to reach this point. Soon, night had fallen and they were approaching a ridge when the call to stop appeared and he found himself crouching down looking over a village.

He examined the village as best he could and looked over the village square and it's guards. He almost wished for cloud cover as the Harvest Moon would betray their positions as easily as it was betraying the enemies. They seemed to be basing themselves in the town square but the possibility of ambush troops in the outer houses couldn't be discounted out of hand. If they had to clear out any poorly lit houses, light discipline could be a problem as well.

Micheal paused his thoughts to listen to Debrik speak on the matter and Farsa giving his plan the go ahead. The largest thought he had was whether they were approaching quietly or intentionally drawing attention to allow the remaining members of the unit to move into position. He readied his rifle before he looked up at Debrik to determine their approach. “Silent or Loud?”

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

"Too many for a baited approach... Go in low and quiet, I'll move behind you, I've got you under wing lad" Debrik said quietly, sliding the bolt home, a fresh round in the chamber, 4 more rounds held between his fingers and one in his mouth ready to go. It was hard not to trust Debrik, he didn't seem the lying type.

The valley he was to move forward through, that held the village nestled in the low earth was covered with underbrush and trees, the shadows shifting constantly, if they moved carefully, they could move quickly and quietly for a good ways. What was troubling was an intentionally cleared area Micheal could make out about 25 yards from the treeline that left nothing but empty space between the foliage and the village, the sentries moving back and forth slowly and quietly.

Micheal could handle this any way he chose, but he'd need to get closer to start shooting and Debrik had said a quiet approach. So long as he didn't get in anyone else's way, he was free to act how he chose, Debrik watching over him.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

“Hooah.” Micheal acknowledged his current set of orders. One final check of his weapon and ammunition and he inspected the path he would take. The underbrush and trees could also contain hostiles, but it was more likely to have potential trip wires as an early warning system. Once the tree line was reached, it would be wise to choose a house that was closest to the trees and was large enough to block the sentries view of him and his approach.

The first step was to reach the tree line without incident. Although visibility was limited within the trees, he moved carefully toward the village with an eye for any potential traps as he drew close. He also kept an ear out for any unusual sounds that might indicate an ambush, unlikely as it was under the current circumstances.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Status

Spoiler

HP:48 PP:34 EP:34

Rolls

Spoiler

Stealth and Perception: Success (For allies as well)

As Micheal stalked through the night under the sickly glow of the moon, the air felt heavy, fated, as if a miasma floated on the softly blowing wind, the feeling that the grim reaper himself was there, above them, watching the chaos about to unfold, the hounds of hell baying for blood underneath his feet and the gods above watching intently. Moving through the forest like a shadow, the ghost that was Debrik just behind him, had the older soldier not grabbed him by his collar and stopped him, he would have stepped on an alarm wire covered in small pieces of metal and bells.

Stepping over it, they had no more issues reaching the clearing that surrounded the village, but Micheal got the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach that they had missed something, something important, something that should have been obvious. As Debrik scrambled up into a tree and leveled his rifle, slowly tracking the patrolling guards near the houses, Micheal saw that the nearest buildings, single story wooden homes, were about 10 yards from their position. They had been lucky coming out here, it was like a peninsula in the small green lake of trees they had come through.

The houses were all dark, and only patrolling men could be seen, all carrying rifles or crossbows, and wearing pieced together armour. Their gear wasn't the best at first glance, but the way they moved told Micheal that either they had had proper training, or the one giving orders had, the latter being the most likely. As he looked around again for the moment, it struck him, what was wrong. No captives insight, no damaged buildings, no broken windows, no cages wood or otherwise, just the men they were supposed to deal with. No women, no children, no real noise either. Where were all the other people, the villagers, the tradesmen, even the occasional traveling caravan. Nothing.

Debrik was silent, peering through the tube he fixed on top of his rifle, still slowly tracking targets, waiting for Micheal to make a decision or move. They had their orders, and it didn't seem that there were any friendlies in the area, which was alarming. It was just them, and the enemy, they had managed to get into position, it was time to make a move, but how.

The roaming patrol continued walking and were soon out of the way, only for another to take their place a few minutes later, always in pairs, always keeping their eyes open and their voices low. He could make out at least 9 other men through the buildings sitting around small cook fires and talking, but not drinking.

 

[NorthernCross]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Micheal nodded in thanks to Debrik as he realized why he had felt the sudden pressure on his collar. He carefully stepped over the trip wire and continued on his way to the treeline. The village soon appeared before them and Micheal carefully examined it once more from his closer vantage point. There were only enemies seen and he wondered briefly if they had put everyone else to the sword.

He watched the patrols for a moment, to better time his next move. The thought of taking out one of the patrols had crossed his mind, but if the person giving orders was as smart as he seemed then the patrols were checking in at regular intervals. The second one of them went missing, they would be on a timer until they were discovered to be missing. A missing patrol indicated an enemy but if someone inside went briefly missing then he was just taking a piss.

Micheal looked for any alley that might provide him cover from both directions before he moved. After the next patrol passed, he kept low and quiet as he moved into the village into whatever hiding spot he could see. He would prefer one that also provided a vantage point on the men sitting around the fires so he could start picking targets without being easily seen be them or the oncoming patrols.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Broken Mirrors (NorthernCross) GMed by CourageWolf

Micheal wasn't lucky enough to find a hiding spot with a good vantage point, but he did manage to find a narrow alley almost directly avross from his position. Convenietly, the last patrol to pass was out of sight and as he sprinted across the breech, there was no one to spot him.

The alley itself was only a few feet across, cast entirely in shadow and rougjly 10 yards long, the light from the nearby fires pouring through the far end, the sound of voices carrying easily now if he stepped closer to listen...

There was also an open window on his left that was easily reachable, and the sound of debrik moving behind him told micheal he still wasnt alone. There had still been no sign of the others, but that couldn't last forever ....