Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

[Termite]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Players

Spoiler

Raith - HP = 60, PP = 40, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Kali'Zhira - HP = 54, PP = 43, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Spoiler

Everything's reloaded. Whee!

"Slaughtered by gray skins or slaughtered by green skins. Such a wonderful choice..." The sarcasm was heavy in that voice, and the man let out a very deep sigh as they departed. Aside from that he didn't have much else to say, and when Kali procured a pair of rifles for the unarmed sisters he only gave them a cursory glance before raising an eyebrow at the disguised human. It was obvious he didn't know what to make of the inexperience girls actually keeping the weapons, but it was also obvious he wasn't going to press the issue, either. Instead he simply returned to leading his horse around and letting it calm while he retraced their escape.

The sisters themselves seemed rather hesitant at keeping the things, but the mention of instruction caused them to look at the guns in a more critical light. Of the three Zuni was the least comfortable, she looked nearly ready to push it off on someone else, but the other two were more concerned with their own rifles to give her much mind. Pushra examined hers like it was some ancient artifact, something worthy of study and inspection to learn its valuable secrets, and as she poked and prodded she seemed far more interested in its structure and design than in its actual use. Only Kalesi seemed to realize just what would be expected of her, and though the weapon interested her she started adjusting her grip. Her arms would bounce from time to time, her muscles testing the rifle's weight, and every once in a while she would look to the more experienced gunners. At that point she started mimicking how they held their rifles, after a few minutes and countless adjustments she started to look far more comfortable with the weapon in her hands. She wasn't quite ready to use it in battle, but she was showing a bit of promise, at least.

Thankfully nothing rose to test them as they trekked, and after a fair distance marked by the retreating tracks of horses and the pursuing tracks of something larger they finally spotted the wreckage they sought. Debris was strewn everywhere, the carcasses of carts and animals and a few people littered seemingly randomly yet showing that those that hadn't fought had tried to escape, and the few that stood their ground only managed to kill a few of their pursuers before they fell. And of those only one was a lizard. The rest were those walking bundles of tentacles that were far easier to deal with.

The closer they came the more detail the group could see, and with the snipers' trained eyes both Kali and Raith would soon notice how some of those carts were nothing more than glorified cages. The broken chains and shackles littered around them spoke volumes of what kind of cargo this caravan had carried, and though he didn't make any overt movement the survivor they followed was a little more wary of the guns behind him. Considering how most of the tracks that remained converged on those cages and then fled into the deeper desert it was obvious what attracted they grays to attack, and if one man were nervous about the five women following him then he really couldn't be blamed.

Spoiler

Revised Loots

Sniper Team Neko
3x Grayheart
1x Slime Amber

The Sisters Three
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle [Kalesi]
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle [Pushra]
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle [Zuni]

The Survivor
2x Badarian Lever Action Rifle
32 Denarii
14 AP Rounds
6 Hollow Round
8 Masterwork Rounds
1 Explosive Round

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Just coming into sight of the caravan, Kali raises a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Squinting over at the sight as they walk, she first raises an eyebrow quizzically at the slightly unusual looking wagons, followed by a slight frown as she carefully scans her eyes over the scene. The minute speck of optimistic doubt she hung onto for the next few seconds was soon blown away entiely, when they got close enough to make out the unmistakable cages and shackles of a slavers caravan. Her pace slowing ever so slightly, and her eyes glancing round at the sands briefly as if rhetorically looking for Raith.

Taking a deep breath or two as the realisation set in along with a bit of mentally restrained anger. She stops amongst the tracks, debris and bodies to survey the scene with a palpable air of disgust and disapproval. "Escorting a few caravans huh." She says coldly, glaring down at one of the bodies now and not making eye contact with the man if he turned to face her. "Job offer was posted right on the wall of a merchant guild I'm sure."

Of all the people they could have chanced across out here, it had to be slavers. Although it certainly could have gone far worse, had the timing of their encounter with the greys and slavers been in any other order. Kali was trying to decide whether it would have been better if the man had just met his fate with the greys, but they were here now, so it didn't really matter.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

When they came upon the devastated caravan, the bodies were the very last thing that the well hidden Raith took notice of. Her initial pessimistic assumption had been proven, the sight of the cages was clear enough of that. A few seconds worth of examination would concretely confirm that the cargo in the caravan had been of the sentient variety, and Raith idly considered putting a bullet into the back of the man's head for a few moments while Kali issued her dry statements. Her rifle even rose a few inches, holding tightly against her shoulder as her finger slowly slid into the trigger guard to fondle the small switch that could end the man's life with even the slightest bit of pressure. After a few minutes, however, Raith would lower her rifle again. It wasn't worth the bullet, and on his own he was no threat to the five armed women. Hopefully.

Letting her camouflage fade when it was completely clear that neither mortal nor alien would rise to threaten them, Raith spoke in a perfectly calm voice despite the brutality around them; "How many greys attacked? Were any of the.... Flying ones with them? The bigger ones?" Once that question was answered one way or another, Raith continued; "Now comes the clincher.... Would you like to stick with us, or go on your own way? We're going North, but you're free to go where you like." If the issue of him being a slaver came up from any of their companions, the tattooed sniper would shrug, "you were a slaver before, but now you simply aren't. I don't care what you used to do. To me, you're another rifle pointed at the aliens, another person to carry supplies, and another set of eyes to spot an ambush."

Of course, Kali and the sisters could easily overrule her pragmatic opinion on the subject, and if they did the su-ku-ta would simply shrug and accept it just as easily.

However that played out, Raith would start by looking through the wagons for whichever one held the slaver's supplies. People had to eat, and if their cargo was people and they wanted those people sold, they would have to eat a lot. They'd have to drink a lot too, and if she found good water she'd take a testing sip first to ensure that it was clean and then drink several mouthfuls. They couldn't possibly carry all of it, and since the oxen and horses pulling the wagons were all dead they were going to have to take what they could and leave the rest behind. "Better eat and drink what you can now," the experienced scavenger cautioned after her thirst was slaked, "we're going to end up leaving most of this behind. Probably won't have to worry too much about the greys coming back any time soon, since they sent so many after the survivors, but there's no need to linger longer than we need to. I'll take a look around and skin the lizard. You three think you can handle digging out the treasure in the little tentacled ones? They're easier than the big ones, quicker. You can probably find a knife lying around somewhere, and I'd recommend you take an extra if you can get it, tools are hard to come by out here. I'll teach you how to keep them and the guns you just got properly cared for later."

She directed her comment towards the sisters, leaving Kali and the former slaver to do as they liked in what time they had to search the wreckage. Raith's attitude was purely practical, letting no trace of sentiment creep into her voice at any point in her instruction, and so too would her motions be as she set about making a long circle of the caravan, enacting her camouflage once again as she followed the tracks for about fifty yards before turning to start her patrol. When she returned, she would do as she'd said she would and skin the hunter, assuming that such hadn't already been done for her, and after that she would take another long draw of water and then eat some of the more perishable food as quickly as she could. They'd have to fill their packs, and whatever else they could carry, and be off before the sun had set, or they'd have to deal with scavengers or perhaps even returning greys if they grew suspicious over the loss of the ones they'd sent after the fleeing slavers.

Spoiler

We can divide phat lewt later, when it's all totaled up. Also, Termite you can feel free to interrupt anything in this or say that it didn't happen, this is just assuming no ambush and supplies that can be looted remain.

 

[Termite]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Players

Spoiler

Raith - HP = 60, PP = 40, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Kali'Zhira - HP = 54, PP = 43, EP = 39, Status = Fine

While the man did show some nervousness once they arrived he managed to suppress it once Kali made her not-so-subtle judgement. "It was the only one. There aren't too many people who want to head back into the desert. I'm sure you can guess why..." Though his reply was curt it was also true. Anyone who spent as long as the snipers did wandering around Anudor couldn't help but notice the reduction in traffic. Any large group tended to gather unwanted attention from the invaders. The drivers practically needed their own small army just to survive a trip, and the cost of hired swords cut harshly into any profits an entrepreneur could hope for. And an army didn't exactly ensure your survival. With the threat to both life and profit looming over everyone's head it only made proper business sense to head somewhere else. The only ones that remained were the altruistic, the naive, and the truly greedy, and of that last group the slave markets always payed well for an extra body or two...

A short time later Raith would find no threat looming over their little group at the moment, and the lone rider was happy to answer the more pragmatic questions. "I didn't see any of the nasty ones, but there was another purple slime. I'm guessing it stayed behind to deal with this." A moment was taken to overlook the sheer destruction that lay around them, and after a small huff the man finally answered the more important question. "I'll stay with you. No sense in wandering around alone. Name's Deek."

With that finally out of the way everyone was free to search to their heart's content. The supplies were found, and just as Raith thought there was more than enough for their small band of misfits. This meant the group could stop for a small feast, and once they were done they still had plenty to take. And Deek proved to be a godsend. Though his horse looked to be anything but a pack animal it would still serve as one and could carry whatever supplies the group chose to take. The man himself seemed to favor simple survival gear, and past that he aimed to carry enough to keep the animal as healthy as possible for as long as they could until they finally managed to find some form of civilization.

For their part the sisters didn't raise too much of a fuss when they were told to butcher the small alien corpses, but that only lasted until they came upon the first body. A small argument rose over who would be the first to cut into the little bundle of tentacles, and it was only once Pushra pointed out that there were enough to evenly go around that Kalesi finally chose to start. It was obvious that she hated every moment she cut into the beast and had to dig around in whatever mess it called its body, but soon enough she pulled a small gray stone free. She wasted no time in moving to the next grabber, and once she was done she gladly handed the knife over to her sisters before wandering off to find some rag or something to clean herself of the disgusting filth that still lingered on those bodies. A little more arguing led to Pushra reluctantly dealing with the next pair, and Zuni took the final two before the trio simply set off to search for anything that would prove useful on their trip.

It would take some time to go through everything even with the entire band searching, but eventually everyone would gather and reveal what they'd found. A few denarii were scattered around the bodies, surprisingly little considering how many were left, a few potions scattered around the cages, and the obvious collars that no self-respecting slaver would do without. What use the sniper team had for them was questionable, but they had to be worth at least something. And who knows, maybe they could actually find a use for the damned things. Everything else was simply more practical, knives for the sisters' use as well as an actual change of clothes, a small tent and bedding for the lone male in the group, and a few creature comforts any of the people could choose to take which included a brush that Deek immediately put to use on his horse.

With little else of value to be found the group was free to head North, and for the remainder of the day nothing appeared to harass them. A steady pace was set that let them cover a great deal of ground even with the inexperienced trio slowing everyone else down, but once it came time to stop an interesting question rose. How would they set up their camp? For the second night in a row there was little cover to be had for miles around, and though it seemed unlikely any gray scouting party would have an easier time spotting the sisters' tent as well as the rider's horse. And that wasn't the least of them. Would the sisters stand watch? They were inexperienced, but they would have to learn these things eventually. And what about Deek? Could they truly trust him?

Spoiler

Twice Revised Loots

Sniper Team Neko
9x Grayheart
1x Slime Amber
1x Chameleon's Skin

The Sisters Three
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle [Kalesi]
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle [Pushra]
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle [Zuni]

The Survivor
2x Badarian Lever Action Rifle
32 Denarii
14 AP Rounds
6 Hollow Round
8 Masterwork Rounds
1 Explosive Round

Caravan Lutes
1x Morning After Potion
1x Aphrodisiac Poison
2x Paralysis Poison
1x Universal Antidote
4x Sealing Collar
3x Obedience Collar
24 Denarii

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Kali initially huffs in distaste at the initial response, and might have replied but lets Raith speak first. The way the Su-Ku-Ta got straight down to practical business in a calm voice somewhat puts a lid on Kali, who frowns and resolves to simmer quietly and think about the situation again. She wanted to lay into the man and berate him, but she'd held herself back a little already, and knew that it wouldn't actually achieve anything productive. Having made a point of being diplomatic before and all, there was no sense testing the man again now. She'd naively jumped to try and help the riders when she first saw them, perhaps against her better judgement, and put herself and the others at great risk when deciding to make that shot. Now it felt like spoiled effort. At least it had resulted in some valuable kills.

She turns away and proceeds to busy herself with investigating the scene for supplies and anything else of interest, listening to the conversation with dull eyes whilst she scavenged. The note about there being an additional purple slime caught her attention though. "That means there's another powerful slime in the region, likely within roughly the same distance it took us to walk here." She says standing up for a moment. "We can't take too long here then. This would be the first place it might come back to if it realises it's comrades were defeated."

Watching the sisters fuss over cutting up the grabbers but eventually grit their teeth and get stuck in, made Kali feel a little better. They were genuinely trying hard and coping with the shitty situation well. Kali had recalled a while back whilst walking, how they mentioned they'd lost their father mere days ago. Which naturally resonated with Kali a bit. It'd taken herself weeks to compose herself after her own life was turned upside down. So she could admire them for that. Didn't dare mention the subject to any of them though...

Regarding the caravan loot she would recommend they grab what was worth carrying and divide it up later, once away from the attention drawing site. The potions she raised an eyebrow at, trying to figure out which might or might not be useful. She wasn't sure whether the paralysis poisons would be potent enough to be worth lacing a bullet with. Though having a universal antidote in the group was certainly good. The collars she didn't care for at all. Not even to sell, given the incredibly limited type of person interested in buying such things. Dirty dead weight. She doesn't pick any up herself, but wouldn't stop Raith or the sisters for the time being, being more concerned with moving on.

When it came to making camp, the number of tents that would be going up became a little concerning again. It was quite a contrast to camping alone in her own very low pitched and well camouflaged tent. Couldn't be helped though. Would be a fair squeeze to even fit two people in her tent, and so at least one other tent was required. Not to mention Deek, who she certainly wouldn't be sharing with. There was also the issue of the rifle handling lesson she'd told the sisters would be getting, although she did still have personal reservations about that idea herself. She didn't like the idea of firing off any location revealing practice shots so soon after the previous commotion. Was a little tricky to know how to handle that. Perhaps a spoken lesson would have to suffice for now. Whilst the tents were being set up Kali also naturally ponders how they'd do the night-watch. Finishing her own tent she'd step over to Raith and seek a bit of consultation on each matter.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

"Deek... I'm Raith," the tattooed sniper would reply, finding the name odd sounding as it rolled off her tongue. Still, it wasn't for her to judge, and whether the others offered their own names to the slaver was something that she was happy to leave entirely up to them. Offering only a nod to his decision to stay with them and another to Kali's remark about the danger of remaining in the ruins of the caravan for too long, she began scouring the camp for what they would need without another word, and thankfully found what she'd hoped to find. The sniper gorged herself on food and water while she had the chance, knowing that they'd have probably not have another opportunity for that kind of bounty in the near future. The sisters managed to get the stones out of the greys quickly enough, albeit with a good bit of squeamishness, and she could practically skin the fallen lizard at her leisure.

As for the loot in the actual caravan itself, when she stumbled across the collection of collars the sniper would consider leaving them for a moment.... But only a moment. Sneaking a suspicious look in Deek's direction, Raith simply scooped the lot of them into her bag. She didn't necessarily disagree with Kali, as she only recognized the objects by their markings and by their affiliation with the slavers and could only guess at which ones were merely sealing and which were the more insidious collars that forced obedience, but she didn't want to risk the former slaver sneaking them into his packs. They didn't know him and had good enough reason to distrust him purely because of his former career, and Raith at least had no intention of making it any easier for the man to sneak into their tents at night and slap an enslavement collar onto any of them. She or Kali could probably deal with it if he only got one of them, though things could certainly get dicey either way, but if he managed to get both Raith doubted that the sisters would be able to stop the man from exerting his will over them.

The rest they could divvy out later, but before they left Raith would grab one of the minor comforts that she found among the ruins purely on a whim, a small comb that she found in a dead slaver's pocket. He'd likely used it on grooming the hair on his head, or at least so the sniper assumed, and she would stow the little piece of metal in a picket for the exact same purpose. It totally wasn't to use to hit the exact spot that Zuni had found at the base of her ears while in private. At all. Honestly. After they had looted their fill, Raith would depart with the others, content to wander North across the dunes of Anudor with her supplies fuller than they'd ever been. She hadn't been able to scavenge any munitions from the caravan, the riflemen having preferred a different sort of weapon than her own, but the sisters would have enough ammo to receive a bit of training when they found a safe enough place to do it, and she hadn't needed the extra rounds at that point anyway.

After walking for a while in relative silence, the sniper would hunt for a dune under which they could make their camp, and from there they would prepare to set up for the night. Raith would erect her own primitive shelter alongside Kali's tent, the small tent easy to set up and even easier to put away, with her somewhat worn bedroll unrolled beneath it to form a sleeping place and a blanket tossed over it. Once that was set up and the former slaver and sisters had figured out their own sleeping arrangements, however, they would have to figure out a few things. Firstly, they had to divvy up the loot, and Raith would immediately urge for an even split between the six of them. They'd only found a few coins among the dead, but as they pondered when they'd be able to sell the various random objects it was entirely possible that they would once again attract the attention of the mysterious merchant. After they got over their surprise at his sudden appearance, they'd be able to pawn off their various wares, Raith selling the various collars she'd taken and the grayhearts, and after a slightly humorous exchange with Kali involving embarrassment regarding its sale they exchanged the aphrodisiac poison as well, identified for them either by Deek, by a label, or by the merchant himself.

Once the coin from that was divied out, however, Raith would opt to hand over the hunter skins she'd collected to have them sewn into her clothing, further increasing their enchantment to make them blend seamlessly in with the magic of her tattoos. Of course, a few circumstances had changed then from the last time she'd had to stand naked in front of the entirety of their group, what with Deek being present and the very recent memory of her night with the three sisters. Unfortunately, Raith didn't even realize that until after she'd already pulled her top off and had her thumbs hooked into the waistband of her shorts, and so for a second ended up standing as still as a statue while her cheeks went from their usual color to a deep shade of scarlet. After considering asking for a bit of privacy, however, she opted to simply shrug off her embarrassment and slide her garments down until they were handed over to the strange merchant as well, keeping her tail close to her body to at least protect her sex from view when she bent over. That wouldn't hide anything else, however, and for the next several moments the sniper's lithe, dark bronze skinned, tattoo covered body would be exposed to every eye in their camp. Crossing her arms over her chest, Raith would stand with her cheeks still reddened, her gaze distant but very distinctly not once glancing towards Deek or Zuni, though that wouldn't stop anyone from tracing the line of every whirling design inscribed upon her perfectly hairless skin with their eyes, nor admiring the soft curves that were well complimented by the toned muscles beneath and around them. Despite her uncaring front, however, the sniper would dress again quite hastily once the merchant handed her her clothes back.

After that, however, Raith would have her mind back on business, and the very next one they had to sort out was the watch order. True to her stated opinion, Raith was willing to let Deek take a share of that particular duty, especially since it would mean more sleep for the rest of them. There was also the matter of training the sisters, however, and while it probably wasn't a good idea to teach them to shoot right now given how hostile the country they were in was getting, they could at least learn a few things. "Alright... We've still got a bit of daylight left, so lets sort a few things out," she would say to the group at large after they'd had a small meal, allowing for a suitable amount of time after her brief bout of nudism for the color to fade from her cheeks. Turning to Deek, she would gesture towards the trio of siblings and say; "As you've probably guessed by now, these three are pretty green. They've got no training in anything that will help them out in the desert, and that lack of knowledge is a liability out here, so we've been trying to teach them how to take care of themselves. You're obviously under no obligation, but... The rifles they haven't aren't the type that I'm familiar with, and unless Kali knows them better than I do you're probably most qualified to teach the three of them how to care for their guns. We shouldn't do any shooting at this point, but they at least they can learn how to hold them, how to keep them clean, and how to take them apart and put them back together.

"Second point.... Keeping watch. Things will go easier if we can each take a shift, and I think we should have one of the three of them with each of us at night. It's the easiest way to get them used to sleeping odd hours and to teach them what they need to look out for." Raith paused, intent on allowing any counterargument from Kali or refusal from Deek, but then hastily looked to whichever of the three sisters was closest at that point and adding; "Is all of that alright with you three? I can probably figure out the guns if you let me tinker with them for an hour, and you don't HAVE to go on watch with any of us." Having given the three an out for both of the lessons she'd intended if they were uncomfortable with what they'd eventually need to learn, Raith would fall silent. It was an odd bit of softness she'd just displayed, and a part of Raith was bothered by even considering giving the trio a way out of either responsibility, but the sniper wasn't used to the feelings that the three, particularly Zuni, had raised in her courtesy of what they'd done not terribly long ago. That had her confused, and when she was confused Raith had gotten used to reacting based on her instincts, so she simply had.

Spoiler

After some deliberation, it was decided that we would summon the merchant. We're selling all of the collars, the aphrodisiac poison, and the grayhearts. That, selling the potion and collars for half and the hearts for their listed price, nets us 355 denarii which divides six ways to equal 59 denarii per person. The 24 denarii gets divided six ways as well, for an additional 4 denarii each. There is an extra coin in all that since 355/6 is not an integer, but I don't want it and if Squid doesn't take it you can give it to an NPC of your choosing. Raith is gonna get naked again for a bit and upgrade her clothes for another +6 stealth bonus, and is also gonna spend exp to give herself another instance of Skilled for Sudden Strike, Sudden Shot, and Quick Reload. Also, Raith is keeping the paralysis poisons.

Again, feel free to interrupt at any point, this just assumes that things go smoothly.

Also, herp, I feel like I've been calling Raith pale lately just because that's my standard when originally she was supposed to be Egyptian-style bronzed. My bad.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

During the process of exchanging loot and payment with the incredibly convenient and ever more creepy merchant wizard, Kali would suddenly remember to stop idly pondering just who the hell this guy was, and get his attention to present a few additional items she had in her pack. "Oh, hang on, I've got a few more in here I'd like to sell." she says slinging her pack round as the merchant presents Raith with the money from the first batch. "The stuff from the previous fight." she murmurs, mainly in Raith's direction. Pulling a tightly rolled hunter skin from the small pack, as well as carefully removing the Grey Brain she had stored in there. Handing the strange orb over she frowned a little and somehow had the look that she didn't enjoy, or perhaps didn't "trust", touching the alien object. Since the objects came from previous events the money from them wouldn't get added to the shared pot like the rest.

When that was done and Raith proceeded to start stripping without any real warning, Kali blinks in surprise for a bit, before half turning away raising an eyebrow, though trying not to make too much of a reaction to the awkward moment. Unfortunately half turning away just ended up with her facing at Deek instead, so she wound up turning back some again, and stuck kind of staring ahead with Raith's curves filling her peripheral vision. In their current deactivated state, the exotic flowing tattoos were about as effective at drawing the eye as they were at losing it, resulting in a few more blinks from Kali.

Regarding the plans for basic rifle training that was discussed, Kali would of course also take part in the tutoring. She wasn't exactly familiar with using this specific type of rifle action either, but that didn't mean she didn't still have valid and valuable input to give. Plus, she simply wasn't ready to place too much faith in Deek just yet, and figured the girls would probably be a little more receptive to the lesson with her taking part as promised.


[Decided to hang onto the two Slime Ambers for now.
Total sale value of the two items should be 115.]

 

[Termite]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Players and Allies

Spoiler

Raith - HP = 60, PP = 40, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Kali'Zhira - HP = 54, PP = 43, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Kalesi - HP = 40, PP = 30, EP = 30, Status = Fine
Pushra - HP = 30, PP = 40, EP = 30, Status = Fine
Zuni - HP = 30, PP = 30, EP = 40, Status = Fine

Deek - HP = 40, PP = 30, EP = 30, Status = Fine

Spoiler

Fully revised loot and changes (for now?)

Raith
2x Paralysis Poison
63 Denarii
+6 Stealth for Clothes

Kali
179 Denarii
1x Slime Amber
1x Morning After Potion
1x Universal Antidote

Kalesi
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle
63 Denarii

Pushra
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle
63 Denarii

Zuni
1x Badarian Lever Action Rifle
63 Denarii

Deek
2x Badarian Lever Action Rifle
95 Denarii
14 AP Rounds
6 Hollow Round
8 Masterwork Rounds
1 Explosive Round

"Hehehe..." His voice rang out. The sisters immediately started to huddle again at that creepy little laugh, but as they looked around not a sign of him could be seen for miles. "Over here, Stranja!" In an instant the ties that anchored the women's tent flew into the air. They flailed outwards, each stake digging further out until the each rope was straight and taut. The tent itself seemed to grow taller at that, bigger, as if it were finally properly pitched, and once it came to rest a soft blue light began to flicker from within. The moment someone opened the tent they would notice the entire thing filled with any number of weapons and items, and a moment later the Merchant's voice would below from the extremely small space he used for his counter. "Welcome!"

The sisters were simply appalled and dumbstruck, and Deek wasn't too far behind. It left every single one of them completely unprepared for Raith's sudden stripping, and as she waited they each simply stared at her in shock for a few seconds before someone cleared their throats and broke the almost hypnotic hold the Su-Ku-Ta's tattoos held over everyone. But that left them trying to look everywhere else, and given how creeped out the girls were over the Merchant's arrival they really didn't want to look at their tent and what had taken it over. This left them giving Raith some rather significant glances, their gazes simply caught by the swirls and where they naturally drew the eye, and though Deek seemed to have a little more control over himself the way he only stared off didn't hide the fact that his eyes kept shifting back and lingering. If anyone called him out on it he would immediately peel his eyes away with a blush, but after a few seconds they would eventually find their way back to peeking at the naked woman.

Unfortunately for the sniper the Merchant stuffed her clothing into his jacket once again and closed it. That left her standing for the world to see, and though she acted nonchalant the daemon would try her patience. He held onto her garments for quite some time, enough that Raith would eventually realize it was lasting a great deal longer than the last time, but it was only when she was about to complain that he would finally open his longcoat. "Hehehe, thank you." Following that Kali was free to sell her other items, and when presented with the Gray Brain the Merchant actually perked up a bit. "Ah, I'll buy it at a high price!" It would be the only time either of the snipers had ever seen any sort of emotion from that man, and once it was stowed within one of his many pockets he actually looked somewhat pleased.

Once all the exchanges were complete a strange compulsion to step clear of the tent would overcome everyone, and once no one was left inside the tent would close and seemingly seal itself from the rest of the world. The light within would fade to nothing, and the Merchant himself would offer a final "Come back anytime." before he could no longer be seen. From there the others would simply looked confused and a little apprehensive, and once Kalesi worked up the nerve to open the flap she would find that not a trace of the strange shopkeeper would remain. The only sign that he'd ever been there was the fact that the tent still looked like it could actually weather a sandstorm, and that left each of the sisters utterly perplexed. "Do you think..." Zuni closed the tent once more and slowly opened it, and once she saw that it remained empty she seemed to relax slightly, but by that point each of the sisters didn't look all that willing to enter.

They were also quite thankful for the distraction Raith provided as she laid out her plans for the night, and nobody bothered to complain or speak out against them. Deek did give the girls a quick look, and he agreed to show them how to maintain their weapons after a bit of thought. For their part they did agree once asked, but when Kali offered to help with the tutoring they looked relieved and welcomed her presence. It also gave the woman the chance to see one of those rifles up close, and though the individual pieces were far different the overall construction of the rifle was very similar to her own. It wouldn't be all that hard to figure out the finer details if she wanted to keep one for herself.

Once training was done Kalesi looked far more confident with the gun in her hands. She still needed a chance to actually fire the thing so she could feel the kick and recoil, but otherwise she looked ready to start putting herself to more practical use. Pushra and Zuni tried their best, but they simply couldn't keep up with their sister and had issues just getting the things back together once they finished cleaning them. But they did manage to figure it out on their own, and given a little more time they would probably be just as ready as Kalesi.

But now that their lesson was done it came time to rest. And that brought up an interesting question. "So... Who's staying up with who?" They may have talked about setting up one sister with each of the more experienced gunners, but no one said anything about the actual assignments. This left the sisters looking at each of their saviors as a group, and as one they gave Deek a slight glance before they turned back with barely contained nervousness. Deek himself saw it for what it was, and he merely rolled his eyes and turned elsewhere while he waited to hear who Raith and Kali would choose for their watch. "So... Who's taking the first watch?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Once the strange merchant had appeared, somehow converting one of the tents into a temporary shop, Raith tried her best to ignore the stares directed at her nude form and mostly remained as still as possible until she had clothes to wear again.

Once they got down to business, however, Raith would join in on watching the girl's rifles taken apart and slapped back together, wanting to understand the internals as well just in case but not actually assisting beyond helping Zuni if she looked to be struggling. Her relationship with the young courtesan had become odd, to say the least, but when it was asked who would take watch with who Raith said; "Zuni and I will take first watch tonight."

Spoiler

I didn't take Squid's loot into my equations, so if we split the money six ways again we get an additional 19 dosh with another one coin left over.

Edit: Whoops, didn't realize Squid wasn't sharing.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

The merchant remained as strange as ever. Or actually, he seemed to be getting stranger. Or perhaps Kali was somehow only just noticing it. Or perhaps it was related to not having had an item quite as valuable as that Elder Lord's murky orb in the past. Regardless, he paid very good money for various trophies from greys. And apparently... also slave collars and aphrodisiacs too. She'd never tried selling him anything like that before.

She had this nagging feeling about "The Wizard" as she called him, that perhaps she had even less of a clue about him than she thought. It felt like another of those times, where she was giving the world around her too much benefit of a doubt, and it was probably laughing too. He was incredibly convenient though. Without his coin funding her alien bounty hunting, she likely would never have been able to maintain this lifestyle. Not with the same freedom and range at least.

Kali was awoken from her suspicious ponderings by Kalesi coming over to speak up about the night watch plans. Kali had been unsure about this, and somewhat putting thought about it off til latter. But that meant now then, it seemed. Raith surprised Kali by making a straight forward pick and declaring first watch. Shouldn't have been surprising. She did the same last time, and was good at just getting to the point. Speaking of though, that left Kali with choosing the fate of who had to take watch with Deek. Was no point in denying or trying to hide that he wasn't their first choice. He'd just rolled his eyes at noticing anyway. With a scratch of her head and a pondering murmur, Kali sways her finger side to side for a moment as if trying to choose, but before too long eventually decides, "I suppose I'll go with... uh... Pushra, then. On... last watch? That ok with everyone?"

Spoiler

Yus. Mine. Hands off. *Nabs Kali's money back from Kalesi who seems to have stolen it in that spoiler up there*
No worries though, I'll add the correct 179 to Kali's sheet.

Also, was Kali not still carrying "The Boss's" rifle from that yuggernauts maw? Never specifically got mentioned anything else happening to it. Although if Deek showed any interest in that particular gun, she'd be fine to let him have the slimy one in exchange for a regular.

 

[Termite]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Players and Allies

Spoiler

Raith - HP = 60, PP = 40, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Kali'Zhira - HP = 54, PP = 43, EP = 39, Status = Fine

Kalesi - HP = 40, PP = 30, EP = 30, Status = Fine
Pushra - HP = 30, PP = 40, EP = 30, Status = Fine
Zuni - HP = 30, PP = 30, EP = 40, Status = Fine

Deek - HP = 40, PP = 30, EP = 30, Status = Fine

Spoiler

Kali receives a Badarian Lever Action Rifle

Badarian Lever Action Rifle: 2d12 + 8, 30 foot range, 6 shots, 3 round reload, ignores 8 AV

When Raith approached Zuni and offered a hand while cleaning the unfamiliar weapon the woman looked perplexed and a little self conscious. But she followed instructions as best she could, and when she needed some confirmation she always looked to the sniper before she showed any of her progress to Deek. That same confusion returned when the watch assignments were made, but aside from a somewhat hopeful look she remained utterly quiet and still. Pushra merely nodded at being paired with Kali, and that left Kalesi with the lone man. It was hard to tell exactly how she was taking it, but Deek gave an outward sigh before turning to his partner for the night. "Looks like we're getting the tougher shift." Kalesi raised an eyebrow at that. "How so?" "Kinda hard to stay up when you haven't had a full night's rest." At that he let out another sigh and spoke a little more quietly. "At least I've gotten used to it... Might went to get some shut eye now." At that he took his own advice and shut himself within his tent. Kalesi gave her sisters a look of regret once the man had essentially vanished, and they gave her a look of pity before they did the same.

A moment later Zuni walked back out to give the other two some peace and quiet, and eventually she dropped down right next to Raith. She still seemed rather nervous, but after some awkward fidgeting and a couple looks at everything but the catgirl she finally gathered enough nerve to speak. "So what do we actually do?"

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

Kali hadn't thought that hard about which shift, or exactly meant to dump the middle shift on Deek. Was more a case of that if Raith was picking "left" Kali simply picked "Right". Perhaps she could have done the classic coin toss to make it seem fairer, but oh well, it was decided now. If Raith and Zuni would be starting now, and the others were sleeping, then they may as well follow suit and make the most of their rest. Once again today, Kali did feel like she needed it.

She'd set up her low slung tent again out of routine, though was now wondering whether she'd be using it today either. If she and Pushra chose to use it, they wouldn't get disturbed at all until their shift came, although that would also leave Kalesi sleeping alone for the first shift. Looking side to side between the tents, she'd turn and shrug to Pushra.

((Kali will pick either whichever tent Pushra seems to lean toward, however slight, or otherwise whichever tent a dice roll decides.))

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Guerilla Warfare (Tassadar and Unknown Squid) GMed by Termite

"Now... We don't fall asleep," Raith replied very quietly after everyone else had gone to bed and Zuni had finally gotten the question that had been making her fidget for the last few moments. The sniper had begun casually scanning the horizon, her gaze slowly but steadily looking around at their surroundings while her eyes were only partially focused, mostly scanning for the motion that would signal an alien scout advancing on them or retreating to tell of their location to more of its kind.

"Don't let yourself reach a pattern and just keep looking around. Don't try to be attentive the entire time, just look for motion and keep looking around. Keep changing how you look around," she continued casually, but then pondered what she'd intended to say next for a moment. She didn't want to scare her too much, but this wasn't a minor responsibility, and after a moment she added; "If you pass out on watch, it isn't just your own life you're risking. Sometimes you'll have cover to protect you, but we don't have that luxury right now, and given how many of us there are we probably wouldn't go without someone on watch."

She kept her voice low, so as not to disturb any of the others as they tried to sleep. "Move around if you need to, but try to stay quiet," she continued, "and don't talk loudly or too much. Sound carries on the dunes."