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[Worldmaster27]

See if we can send our men to be disguised as slaves to try and find information on who/where the Skraelite Champion is.

Ask Morbal about the possibility of convincing/forcing other merchants to temporarily halt all, or at least most, of the trade and shipments to the city.

[Karkov]

   Ustris sat forwards in his chair, his brow furrowed in concentration.  “The Skrellits themselves aren’t hard to kill.  There’s not a very large military presence in the town, and those that are in the military are very slow and plodding comparatively to us humans.  How do the Skrellits measure up to you, Morbal?”

   “The Ssskrellitsss be ssslightly ssslower than we on land, ssstronger by a minissscule amount, too.  If we were in the water, we could ssswim lapsss around thossse rocksss.”

   “Too bad there isn’t enough water for that to be useful.”

   “Aye, ‘tisss a fine ssshame.  And before ye asssk, I do have a crew of fifty fine Naga ready for battle.  We’re brawlersss tried and true, all of that fancccy tacticsss nonsssenssse is beyond us.”

   Ustris nodded, their numbers were bolstered by half.  And he was sure that by Morbal’s demeanor, along with all of the Naga here, that they were all able to do combat.  “I’m certain this is going to come down to the Champions in the end.  I know there’s at least one Champion left within the walls, it would be prudent of us to rid us of him quickly.”

   “One?  The lassst time I came to trade, there do be five Championsss.”

   Kleine visibly paled while Ustris felt as though he had been tackled from behind.  “Five?  When did you last come to trade?”

   “Almossst a month passst.  Two of the Champions do be newly raisssed and chasssing ssslavesss, I heard.”

   “Right, we found those two.  They won’t be a problem anymore.”

   Morbal glanced at Kleine who had been silent for most of this exchange.  He seemed entirely focused on her features before suddenly quaffing the rest of the wine in his goblet and pouring himself another glass.  “We do have to find the Championsss firssst, before we can… Remove them.”

   “Some of our humans can act as spies for us on that front.  A couple of humans scattered amongst the slaves would hear more than we will.”

   “We’ll have to do something about the patrols.  If anyone even dares look inside this building we’ll be between a rock and a hard place.”

   “Aye.  If memory ssservesss, there be a barracksss clossse by.”

   “Do you know how many barracks there are in total?”

   “Nay, mate.  Only that there be the one.”

   “The spies we send can figure that out for us too.  I would assume there will be a larger concentration of barracks around the slave quarters anyway.  Maybe a few around the richer sections of the town as well.”

   “What would be the possibility of stopping all trade to this town, Morbal?”

   Morbal leaned back in his chair, a strange look on his face.  He sipped at his wine, instead of the large drinks he had been taking earlier.  “Almossst none, I be afraid.  The merchantsss cart trade goodsss in from all gatesss excccept the sssouth.  If we had an army, it might be possssible.  Mossst of thossse caravansss be guarded.  The old owner of thisss warehoussse told me of thisss.”

   “So our plan of action currently is to wait until we get information.”

   “Aye, unlessss we do think of anything elssse.”

Spoiler: Stat Sheet (click to show/hide)

Kleine

STR:    5 / ??
AGI:    12 / ??
CON:   4 / ??
WIS:   4 / ??
INT:    8 / ??
CHA:   9 / ??

Ustris

STR:   10 / ??
AGI:    6 / ??
CON:   8 / ??
WIS:   7 / ??
INT:    6 / ??
CHA:   5 / ??

Crystal Staff

SPD:    1
POW:   1
PRC:    2

Effects:
None

Crossbow

SPD:    1
POW:   1
PRC:    1

Effects:
Automatic Bolt Generation

Spoiler: Kleine's Magics: (click to show/hide)

Fire Armor (Evoke) (Limited)
Fire Ball    (Evoke) (Projectile)
Expl. Bolt  (Evoke) (Projectile) (Temporary)

Spoiler: Ustris Magics: (click to show/hide)

Exp. Trap  (Ritual) (Trap)
Alrt Trap   (Ritual) (Trap)
Erth Wall   (Ritual) (Fast)
Hrdn Erth  (Ritual) (Perm)
Buff Many  (Ritual) (Temp (long))

OOC:  This is really short because it's just planning.  I'll do another update if you guys can plot up anything else.  Ustris is going to start setting up the ritual for the buffs unless we decide on a different plan of action.

[Worldmaster27]

Kleine - See if you can set up a target in the warehouse and practice silently.

Ustris - If you can, set  silent alert traps near any entrances. Then get to your buffing.

[3man75]

We should also ask about a grenade or bomb we could use for a potential assassination. If we can set it off without them noticing than we'll have less to deal with.

[Karkov]

We should also ask about a grenade or bomb we could use for a potential assassination. If we can set it off without them noticing than we'll have less to deal with.

((We do have those exploding traps that Ustris learned earlier.))

[Worldmaster27]

We should also ask about a grenade or bomb we could use for a potential assassination. If we can set it off without them noticing than we'll have less to deal with.

((We do have those exploding traps that Ustris learned earlier.))

((I would assume that any champion worth his salt would be able to detect other magic))

[Karkov]

We should also ask about a grenade or bomb we could use for a potential assassination. If we can set it off without them noticing than we'll have less to deal with.

((We do have those exploding traps that Ustris learned earlier.))

((I would assume that any champion worth his salt would be able to detect other magic))

((Remember that magic is pretty scarce in this world.  The only rumors of any magic is of them being destructive, and only usable by some Champions.  If you also remember it took us two weeks to get to the point of learning how to use magic because we had one hell of a teacher.  It usually takes two consecutive months of training for a regular person to learn magic.

Jeeves is special because we can talk to him (I think the other two Shards that are in our weapons said something to that effect when we got them, if not I might need to go touch that up later), and he has a huge knowledge base that we can access at any time.  Most other Champions really don't have that leisure. (Not actually confirming or denying if there's a Champion here with magic or not, just giving you back story)))

[Karkov]

   “I’m going to fortify this building tonight.  I’ll make the walls stronger, probably thicken them.  We can move some of the humans down here, I’ll enlarge the trap door so we can have air circulating down here.  I know how hard it is to breathe in small tunnels.”

    Morbal nodded.  “Me matesss and I will cart my ssspiccce to my ssship, at the end o’ the tunnel.  We be loyal to our word, we will be back in the morrow.”

   “How long is that tunnel?  Where does it lead?”

   “It do lead to a cove on the ssshore, a ssstraight ssshoot into the sssea.”

   “That doesn’t make sense, we’re in the middle of a desert, and you said it will take you less than a day to reach the sea, and get back?  You could travel a month in any direction and still be in the middle of this blasted desert.”

   Morbal shrugged.  “I do be cccertain that it be enchanted.  It takesss but half a day to travel there and back.  I found itsss location in a map that usssed to belong to the previousss Champion who owned my Ssshard.”

   Ustris took that in, an enchantment that seemed to make travel compressed, he’d have to ask Jeeves about it later. “Is there anything on your ship that could cause an explosion? I’ve heard strange stories about how ships fight on the water.”

   “Aye, we have sssome black powder, what be you thinking?”

   “We can use the explosives to damage some of the Skrellits’ key buildings, or at least gain us entry to them.  I can also use some of my explosive traps to cause havoc throughout the town.  I’m not quite sure what the intensity of the explosions are, this would be a fine time to find out.”

   Morbal nodded and stood.  “I do think that be enough planning for now.  I hope your ssspiesss find their targetsss quickly.”  He offered his hand to Ustris, which Ustris took graciously.

   “Thank you for your help, Captain Morbal.  After this is through, if you ever have need of us you need but ask and we will do our best.”  Kleine nodded her head in agreement.

   “I do hold you both to that.”  With that, he turned to his Naga and began barking orders.  In a short time, they had found their crates of spice and began lugging them back down the hallway they had entered from.  Kleine retreated upstairs and found some of the Silver Scorpions, who in turn told her of their recent name change.  After a few moments of being patted on the back, she had them get to work.  Ten of the Scorpions began the process of moving some of the humans to the basement, and five of the Scorpions volunteered for the espionage jobs.  When nightfall came, they would sneak out of warehouse towards the slave quarters where they would mingle and gain information.

   The first couple of days passed quietly.  Ustris had strengthened the walls, and put alert traps within the surrounding area.  If anything walked by, or close to the doors of the warehouse, he would know.  He had begun etching the ritual to buff the people in the warehouse directly in the floor of the basement.  He used the sharpened ends of his staff to carve the channels necessary.  It took him three days to finish the diagram, with how complex and large it was.  Also with how much he was interrupted.

   Kleine had set up a small shooting range within the basement, using some bales of material that were found down there.  Ustris didn’t think it was hay, but he couldn’t be sure.  He had never seen the material before, though he thought it could be processed to be fine enough to make clothing.  Kleine practiced with her weapon, testing the regenerative abilities of her crossbow bolts.  Her weapon never faltered, a bolt always appeared every time the string was drawn.  Her aim steadily improvedduring this time as well.

   Morbal remained true to his word, a crew of Naga appeared with him when he arrived the day after the meeting.  All fifty of them had filed into the basement and looked rather wary of being in such an area.  Ustris eventually suggested to Morbal that he let the Naga come and go as they pleased, but for them to be ready for a major strike against the Skrellits.  Morbal agreed and most of the Naga returned to the ship, a small compliment staying with the Captain at all times.  The Naga also brought water and food for the small human army, whom were immensely grateful for the supplies.

   After four days of waiting, the alarms went off in Ustris’ head.  He arrived upstairs in time to find the humans welcoming one of the Scorpions back into the warehouse.  He went to Ustris and gave his report.  Morbal had been right, there were at least three more Champions still within the walls of Rikuroa, and through his efforts, along with the slaves, they knew where one was now.

Spoiler: Stat Sheet (click to show/hide)

Kleine

STR:    5 / ??
AGI:    12 / ??
CON:   4 / ??
WIS:   4 / ??
INT:    8 / ??
CHA:   9 / ??

Ustris

STR:   10 / ??
AGI:    6 / ??
CON:   8 / ??
WIS:   7 / ??
INT:    6 / ??
CHA:   5 / ??

Crystal Staff

SPD:    1
POW:   1
PRC:    2

Effects:
None

Crossbow

SPD:    1
POW:   1
PRC:    1

Effects:
Automatic Bolt Generation

Spoiler: Kleine's Magics: (click to show/hide)

Fire Armor (Evoke) (Limited)
Fire Ball    (Evoke) (Projectile)
Expl. Bolt  (Evoke) (Projectile) (Temporary)

Spoiler: Ustris Magics: (click to show/hide)

Exp. Trap  (Ritual) (Trap)
Alrt Trap   (Ritual) (Trap)
Erth Wall   (Ritual) (Fast)
Hrdn Erth  (Ritual) (Perm)
Buff Many  (Ritual) (Temp (long))

OOC:  Do we go after the Champion?  Do we attack the barracks close to us?  What next?

Also, sorry if this one seems rushed.  I don't think I'm entirely over that sickness I had Monday.  I'll be taking counter-measures tonight! (Zinc tablets do wonderful things, yo.)

[The Froggy Ninja]

Have some spies gather some feathers for the speed ritual. Also ask if two ritual affects can be applied to the same person.

[Lyeos]

Hm. How close are the barracks? If they're close it might be best not to go after them, since it'll draw attention to this area. We need a distraction if we're going after the Champions, but we'll need more info on the Champion we're after before we plan anything. If the Champion wouldn't normally respond to, say, an explosion while the others do... We might be able to draw the other Skrellits away.

[Karkov]

Have some spies gather some feathers for the speed ritual. Also ask if two ritual affects can be applied to the same person.

((Yeah, you can mix-match parts of the ritual.  It lessens the effects of each piece part of the buff, but it's possible.))

[The Froggy Ninja]

Have some spies gather some feathers for the speed ritual. Also ask if two ritual affects can be applied to the same person.

((Yeah, you can mix-match parts of the ritual.  It lessens the effects of each piece part of the buff, but it's possible.))

((I meant like do the ritual, then make another one and use that on the same peeps.))

[Karkov]

Have some spies gather some feathers for the speed ritual. Also ask if two ritual affects can be applied to the same person.

((Yeah, you can mix-match parts of the ritual.  It lessens the effects of each piece part of the buff, but it's possible.))

((I meant like do the ritual, then make another one and use that on the same peeps.))

((Ah, yeah, that's a thing.  You'd have to use a ton of mana to power the ritual again though.))

[The Froggy Ninja]

Have some spies gather some feathers for the speed ritual. Also ask if two ritual affects can be applied to the same person.

((Yeah, you can mix-match parts of the ritual.  It lessens the effects of each piece part of the buff, but it's possible.))

((I meant like do the ritual, then make another one and use that on the same peeps.))

((Ah, yeah, that's a thing.  You'd have to use a ton of mana to power the ritual again though.))

((Then we better focus on con for the foreseeable future.))

[Karkov]

   Ustris grabbed the Silver Scorpion by the shoulders, a strange glint in his eye.  “Tell me all that you know about this Champion.”

   “Uh, well sir, he was easy to find because he never moves around.”

   “… Excuse me?”

   “Oh, well.  To hear the slaves tell it, he apparently hasn’t left his estate in the north eastern part of town.  I’d have to talk with some of the humans in the house, apparently he owns quite a few, but they told me that he hasn’t left his house within the past two or three years.”

   Ustris filed this away, a Skrellit that didn’t leave his house?  It would be easy to target him alone then…  “Any news on the other Champions?”

   “Not yet, sir.  The others are still searching though.”

   “What about the barracks, do we know how many there are?  What about their capacities?”

   “There’s four large barracks surrounding the slave quarter in the northwest part of the town.  Each one houses roughly one hundred Skrellits.  I’ve heard that there are two small armories at each gate that hold enough weapons and armor for about twenty five Skrellits apiece.  Other than that, we haven’t been able to get much out of the slaves on that subject.  Apparently the ones who work as personal assistants usually live in the shop they work in, or the house they work in.  Most of the ones we talk to are dune workers.”

   “Alright, you can rest here for the day, if you wish.  You may return to the others when you can.”

   “Thank you, sir.”

   Ustris headed back down towards the basement.  It had turned into a rather busy place in the past couple of days.  In one of the corners, he could see thirty of the newer recruits getting training from some of the Silver Scorpions.  The newer recruits wouldn’t be able to take on any Skrellits soon, but the Scorpions seemed to have been honing their own skills when he wasn’t watching.  He saw a Scorpion sparring with a Naga not too far away from the recruits, it seemed they were both equal, with the Naga being pressured more than he was accustomed to.  Ustris could feel a smug aura coming from Jeeves, apparently Jeeves was going to take credit for this feat, though Ustris knew it was a combined effort from both.

   Ustris found Morbal exactly where he thought he would be.  Morbal had uncorked a bottle of wine and was drinking from the bottle itself while he was staring at a piece of paper.  Morbal glanced up and made a small noise in his throat.  “Ssshipping manifessst.  There be lessss ssspiccce than what I had paid for.  Not that it be your concccern.  I might be off to get sssupliesss though, and more ssspiccce would be welcome.”

   Ustris nodded.  Morbal was very helpful when he got down to it.  He seemed to be distracted by many things at once, but when he got focused on one thing, it usually ended in his favor.  “Morbal, you said there was a barracks near here, where exactly was it?”

   “About three ssstreetsss due wessst, or ssso I wasss told.  The Ssskrellit lied to me, sssaying it do hold more than two hundred troopsss.”

   “Lied to you?  How do you know?”

   “Ssskrellitsss do be interesssted in profitsss.  The guardsss are paid enough for booze and vittlesss.  The ssslavesss’ guardsss be a different ssstory.  Thossse do be paid by the merchant companiesss.  I exxxpect thossse posssitionsss be in high demand.  I do sussspect that the barracksss near usss be filled with no more than fifty troopsss.”

   Ustris digested this, if the guards in the slave quarter weren’t employed by the city, but by the merchant companies, they would probably lose their jobs if they left their posts.  That left whatever was employed by the city itself, which apparently wasn’t a very appealing job.  “Do you know anything about the guard towers?  I remember Kleine getting shot by a Skrellit in one earlier.”

   Surprised passed over Morbal’s face, and he glanced into the well-lit corner of the warehouse where Kleine was practicing with her crossbow.  She had an audience surrounding her, though, so Ustris couldn’t make out how well she was doing at it.  By the applause and cheers that occasionally erupted from the crowd, he assumed very well.  “The missss wasss ssshot?  Where?  Ssshe do ssseem perfectly fine.”

   “She took an arrow through her shoulder, disabled her arm for a while.”

   “How be it healed?”

   “… You mean your Shard doesn’t heal you when you’re hurt?”

   Morbal shook his head sadly.  Ustris was glad he had spent some time around the Naga, he could read their facial emotions rather easily now that he was accustomed to it.  “Nay, I do have many a ssscar that would have killed me if not for my ssskilled sssurgeon.  Him and my cook do be paid the bessst, and the entire crew knowsss why.”

   Ustris took that in.  Jeeves apparently was extremely different from the other Shards.  They could use that to their advantage, if they could wound a Champion, he probably wouldn’t be in shape to fight them again.  “Would you be willing to take some of your Nagas and lead them on a distraction mission?”

   Morbal sat forward.  “What do you be thinking?”

   “We’ve learned the location of a Skrellit Champion, apparently he hasn’t left his house for the past couple of years.  If you can cause a distraction and pull the guards away from the area, we can slip in there and assassinate him with none being the wiser.”

   “Do you have a placcce in mind?”

Spoiler: Stat Sheet (click to show/hide)

Kleine

STR:    5 / ??
AGI:    12 / ??
CON:   4 / ??
WIS:   4 / ??
INT:    8 / ??
CHA:   9 / ??

Ustris

STR:   10 / ??
AGI:    6 / ??
CON:   8 / ??
WIS:   7 / ??
INT:    6 / ??
CHA:   5 / ??

Crystal Staff

SPD:    1
POW:   1
PRC:    2

Effects:
None

Crossbow

SPD:    1
POW:   1
PRC:    1

Effects:
Automatic Bolt Generation

Spoiler: Kleine's Magics: (click to show/hide)

Fire Armor (Evoke) (Limited)
Fire Ball    (Evoke) (Projectile)
Expl. Bolt  (Evoke) (Projectile) (Temporary)

Spoiler: Ustris Magics: (click to show/hide)

Exp. Trap  (Ritual) (Trap)
Alrt Trap   (Ritual) (Trap)
Erth Wall   (Ritual) (Fast)
Hrdn Erth  (Ritual) (Perm)
Buff Many  (Ritual) (Temp (long))

OOC:  Do we?  (Woah, two updates.  What sorcery is this?)

Also, because I hate my earlier self, I'm probably going to work around with hard numbers and stuff for mana/health and the likes.  Though HP is going to be a rough estimate for the most part (Because I find it dumb that "I can still fight!  I only have one HP!  Oh dern I stubbed my toe, therefore I am dead.").


EDIT:  Fixed the last sentence, we've been planning for long enough!  Where do we hit?  (Main targets include low economic living area, empty warehouses on the other side of the district from ourselves, the square (that will be an interesting set of rolls), or the slave quarters (also interesting).  Other targets are welcome.)