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[spümpkin]

Kumo thinks for a moment, before gathering her energy and attempting to clamber up the side of the wall to get a look over the other side.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Fort
Ryuko and Tanis set off to find a stealthier way around the fort. Their search doesn't seem initially successful at first, as most of the obvious entrances have either been barricaded or walled-up. However, Tanis notices a certain portion of wall that seems weaker than the rest; the water damage to the wall from the nearby marshwater has rendered the wood soft in this spot. A little force here and you might be able to get in without much noise through the crevice.

Florida manages to position himself near a rock and a bush that provide him with much cover. When he looks into his scope, he figures that nothing seems to be moving inside the fort; nobody seems to be inside the fort at all. Or whoever is in there seems to be keeping very still. They must be professionals; it'd be difficult for a mere amateur to keep still for so long.

Suddenly, Nobunaga's sensors go haywire, as does Hector's own sensor. The interference seems to last for a few seconds before...
>They're moving the weapon. The weapon must have some sort of mount that it powers to prevent it from being detected. I'm also detecting a large number of enemies.<
Indeed, suddenly, the sensors detect a large number of unknown entities. Nobunaga's sensors detect about seven in the fort, hidden high up on the walls and five surrounding them, with two entities moving what appears to be a massively powerful power source several meters underground upwards. Similarly, Hector's sensor sees the grey, massive humanoids that Ophelia spoke about earlier, kitted out with bows, clubs and swords, with flasks of various unknown fluids strapped to their belts and quivers full of arrows. One or two of the humanoids seem to be heavily armored, carrying large bludgeoning weapons.

And one of them appears to be the leader, sitting atop a makeshift sniper's nest deep in the fort, the perfect position to snipe out anyone attempting to reach him. Two of his soldiers are nearest to him, one armored fighter and one less-so.

However, from Ryuko and Tanis' position, the man is perfectly visible. Tanis may even recognise him; after all, how could he not?

This man, this orc, was Scrak Rainfire. The warlord he had devoted himself to hunting.
Scrak Rainfire may act.
Tower
Kumo climbs atop the walls, clambering onto the leather canopy. The canopy holds strong in most places, but some of the canopy seems to be decaying, lowering into the fort underneath. The skeletons of the fort's previous owners lie scattered beneath, weapons of an unidentified sort stabbed into their bodies. Nothing seems to be noticeable, except that the space beneath the canopy seems to be darker than usual.

The skittering stops.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Uesugi Miyu, perfectly ordinary schoolgirl, shows up late with a slice of toast in her mouth. Having a vague idea what is going on she glances up at the tower and then back down. After checking that her ancestral katana can be easily drawn from its scabbard, she finally bites down on her toast. Whatever happens, whatever she's needed for, she'll be ready for it.

[Chevaleresse]

"Interference cleared up. Getting fourteen signals; five in the walls, seven in the fort, two below. Anyone particularly keep on going first?" Nobunaga backs up a step or two, preparing to defend himself with a projected shield designed to fend off ranged attacks.

[DragonRage]

"You!  I know you!"  Tanis abandons stealth immediately.  In any other circumstances he'd stay hidden for as long as possible, but, well, he's not exactly thinking rationally right now.  "Despoiler!  Defiler!  Murderer!  I doubt you remember the reasons behind my rage, but lucky you, I could care less about that.  You'll die all the same!  Lightning Storm!"  Tanis casts his most powerful spell, "Call Lightning Storm", on the courtyard.  It does exactly what it says on the can:  Calls a thunderstorm that drops moderately damaging lightning bolts on only his enemies at a rate of 1 per turn, while wind and rain batters them to throw off their aim.  This done, he sets his lance, calls to his noble steed, and prepares to charge.  However, he doesn't charge yet.  He wants the lightning storm to soften them up a bit, and he'd like to get a buff spell on his leopard before he goes in.

[Chevaleresse]

Nobunaga looked up at the sudden change of weather, and then at Tanis. He sighed. _{"I wanted to discuss our abilities and specialties, but no, wanting to know is apparently unthinkably rude. . ."}

[Twinwolf]

Sera glances upwards, twirling a glaive in her hands. At some point when nobody was looking, she'd changed - her casual clothing replaced by a shining silvery metal, a dim hum of energy crackling around her (Nobunaga would probably be able to tell that she had energy shielding). "Considering I've not yet been struck by lightning, and it's literally magic, I think it's safe to assume this won't be a problem for us."

Sera is starting in Cyborg form. After Tanis decides that the element of surprise is for suckers, Sera would move to assist Ryuko and Tanis against the ambushing orcs.

[Powder Miner]

Florida's perceptive eyes were drawn to a sudden flashing of light -- some variety of electrical storm, then, and clearly not natural. So it would seem that the others had found their target, and that combat had begun. He swept his eyes back over the lightning storm, but he still couldn't see the target; his current position was not going to be sufficient. Well, it would mean that his teammates would have to go without his support for a few seconds, but he needed to relocate to a position where he could actually start shooting, and being too hasty would ensure a very poor situation for him later on.

The sniper began to move up the recess the fort was located in, scanning the dip in the terrain for cover, his ideal spot being just when the incline levels off, so that he could lie down at the lip of the recess -- forcing them to shoot up around such a change in slope AND behind cover would be a good position indeed. But failing that, he simply tries to find a piece of cover that lets him be much higher than them.

"Presently finding a position from which to provide sniper support," Florida sent tersely over the psychic communications set up by Ophelia.

Florida spends the turn searching for and moving behind cover higher up the recess, most preferably at the lip of the recess if there is one.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Fort
"W-we're surrounded! W-what are you doing?!" Ryuko cries in panic at Tanis, looking around frantically. The orcs are rising as quickly as possible as the clouds form over their fortifications. Bushes begin to rustle around them, and Tanis and Ryuko notice they are now cornered by three orcs themselves, bows drawn and ready to riddle them full of arrows.
Come on, let me OUT already! I can almost smell the sweat of these bastards on their backs. Come on, I need to have a little fun, don't I?

((Not a full update, I'll be waiting on Emp and sl4cker for that.))

[Empiricist]

((Hmm, haven't done this since ER.))
Hector quickly assesses his situation.

• Has the sensor near him in the swamp detected anything?
• Do the figures in range of his other sensor have much of a shot on him?
• How concealed is his current position? Is there a more concealed position nearby?
• How close are the three flanking orcs? He's currently flanking them right? Does he have a clear shot?
• Sensor deployment is near instant and stealthy right? He can just drop one right in the midst of the three without and they won't even notice unless they have some means to detect metaphysical constructs right?
• How regular and predictable are the lightning strikes from that storm? What are his chances of using it to mask his own shots?

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Fort
The sensor nearest Hector detects none aside from the ones he already sees, the three surrounding Tanis and Ryuko. None of them are aiming at him, but they do have a clear shot to him if they do; there aren't any trees or the like in the way to take a shot for him. However, Hector is well-hidden in by shrubbery and rocks, enough so that if he makes a shot, he'll have a few seconds to relocate before they find him. He has a clear shot to their backs; he might have enough time to take one down if he manages to make a good shot.

He could probably drop one in the midst of the group. Ophelia has yet to detect anything that might suggest supernatural ability to detect his sensors, and the only interference (the stand for the weapon) is unpowered. He could mask his shots with the storm, but from where he is, the only shots he can make are against the orcs flanking Ryuko and Tanis. He will have to reposition to make any shots on anyone in the fort.

[Empiricist]

A flash of lightning, a crash of thunder.

<Ophelia, tell the two getting flanked to go on my mark. Give me their confirmation first.>

A flash of lightning, a crash of thunder.

Scan. Do the targets have any sources of magic on them? Where?

Wait, until confirmation is received.

When the next flash of lightning came, Hector's finger was already on the trigger, and when the lightning crashed down, his bullets crashed forth with it, masked by the storm.

<NOW!>

Invisible to all but him, a twisted mannequin stands at his side, made in the image of something that could not exist, that should not exist, it was granted life by puppeteer's strings,  coming from nowhere, pulled by no one. The marionette angel's cold grasp closed on its master's body, assisting, adjusting, puppeteering.

Hector's weapon swinging jerkily but efficiently, snapping onto his target and holding for each burst he loosed.

They were aimed for the centre of mass, aimed perhaps with a slight skew if that gave any chance to detonate any magic objects they possessed, but the focus was on hitting.

Before the final burst even hit, he was already sprinting for cover.

((Note: as these foes are in range of a Sensor, Hector's Aim Assist is boosted.))

[Yottawhat]

"Affirmative, I will head in first to ensure the entrance is safe."

Crocoite heads into the tower, shield rasied and lance ready.  It glances at the ground floor,  watching for potential targets.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Fort
Turn One
Objective: Defeat Scrak Rainfire
Tanis' voice and hands summon a thunderstorm to wail on the orcs within the fort. The soldiers attempt to dive for cover as the clouds form over their heads, the rumbling sounds of magical thunder filling their ears. Lightning sparks between the clouds in an unnatural pattern, as if searching for an enemy to kill. Thunderbolts strike downwards towards the ground, striking several soldiers asunder. Three are downed by direct hits with lightning bolts, another four singed by the blasts. The rest take position as best they can afterwards; they are soldiers, even if the magic thunderstorm is beating down on them. It helps that Scrak himself remains in position, unbothered by the mayhem.

>No magic on your targets, Hector, not that I can recognise.<
Ryuko, with speed unexpected of a woman her age, size and apparent training, suddenly whips out a taser, watching it fizzle with electricity for a few seconds.
"M-Mister Tanis, I am s-so sorry about this...."
As the orc ambushers advance upon the two, she presses the taser to her neck, shocking herself unconscious on her feet. The orc troopers are only fazed for a few seconds; they could ask questions later, when these fools had been slain.

They probably should've asked questions first.

Within the next instant, a powerful plume of heat surges outwards from Ryuko, staggering the orcs and enshrouding her in mist from flash-boiled water vapour. Nobunaga can sense this as a massive spike in thermal energy on Ryuko's position.

When the smoke clears, what is standing there is not Ryuko Inui.

What IS standing in her place is a much taller woman, almost a foot taller. Her presence is rather intimidating; her build seems more akin to a predator, like a cheetah or a lion, than an athlete, and just looking at her seems to inspire the seeds of fear. Whatever Ryuko has become, it looks, but is almost certainly not human.

This is instantly confirmed by her arm shooting out faster than the eye can blink, reaching for the throat of the nearest ambusher and crushing it with her hand. The orc barely manages to pull away fast enough to avoid having his throat ripped asunder, but does not avoid having his chest caved in with a single punch from the definitely-practiced follow-up strike with her other hand, the sickening noise of broken bones filling their ears as the orc collapses to the ground, clutching its chest and probably badly injured internal organs. Another of the pair attempts to move, only to be sent sprawling by a spray of bullets to its back. Nothing vital, but enough to hurt the guy. He pulls himself to his feet with a grunt, his orcish constitution allowing him to tank such wounds.

Behind him, Hector's gun smokes as he sprints for the nearest cover. Of course, the sensor aided his shot and Ryuko's sudden transformation helped his slightly off-target burst, but running in the swamp is another thing entirely. He is bogged down, barely able to reach cover and stumbling onto a bush that barely provides concealment, let alone cover. Luckily, the remaining ambushers seem more concerned with avenging their companion on Ryuko and Tanis than they are chasing Hector. He remains unseen for the moment, but if he stays out there, he won't much longer.

As for Tanis and Ryuko, they now have a pair of ambushers on them, one somewhat hurt and the other completely fine. And very much enraged that Ryuko just maimed their teammate.

Florida, of course, sees all this as he sneaks up onto the top of the recess. As he tries to sneak up top, however, he stumbles on his way up to the lip of the recess, landing in a very vulnerable position; as in, with his back to the fort and very much exposed to being shot. Indeed, Florida is very lucky; he hears the whistle of a few arrows brush past his head, the head of one planting itself in the ground barely a hair's breadth away from his head.

Nobunaga, meanwhile, is less surprised by the chaos. Standing with Sera and Angelo, he utilises his abilities to form shields- generic tower shields, even- around himself, which several arrows find themselves embedded in. Sera, meanwhile, sprints towards Ryuko and Tanis, several arrows whistling through the air and landing not far behind her.

Angelo is the only one who attempts to fire back, hurling magical blasts at the orcs on the walls. However, his random blasts entirely fail to hit many of the orcs at all, instead fizzling out harmlesly on the ramparts.

This leaves him entirely open to Scrak, who, lining up a shot with practiced aim, looses an arrow as easily as squashing a bug.

Angelo is knocked to the ground by the force of the arrow as it embeds itself into his leg, digging into bone and crippling him until the arrow is removed and he can heal himself! Rallied by their leader's skill, the remaining soldiers regain their spirit after the initial shock of the thunderstorm. Indeed, Sera, Nobunaga and Angelo are suddenly keenly aware of the fact that three of the remaining orcs on the walls are aiming arrows directly at them. Retaliation or cover might be the best course of action.

Meanwhile, one of the more heavily armored troops on the wall extends a hand and mutters something under his breath, causing an orb of darkness to extend around him and many of the troops, covering much of the wall and blocking Tanis and Ryuko's line of sight to Scrak. Another heals a nearby wounded ally, pulling him up.
>I still have a lock on them if necessary, though your teammates should have sensors in the area that will do better. The ones with heavier armor appear to be their medics and possibly the ones who bloked out vision. Focus your fire on them if possible.<

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Ryuko Inui
Status: Fine
Will: 3

Tanis the Lance
Status: Fine
Will: 3

Connor 'Florida' Wheeler
Status: Fine
Will: 3

Hector Bellford
Status: Fine
Will: 3

Sasaki Nobunaga
Status: Fine, Shielded
Will: 3

Sera Cromwell
Status: Fine, Cyborg Form
Will: 3

Angelo Abate
Status: Heavily Wounded, Crippled
Will: 3

Enemies
All: Rallied

Scrak Rainfire
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Bodyguard 1
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Bodyguard 2
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Wall Soldier 1
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Wall Soldier 3
Status: Fine

Orc Wall Soldier 4
Status: Wounded

Orc Wall Cleric 1
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Wall Cleric 2
Status: Wounded

Orc Ground Soldier 1
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Ground Soldier 3
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Ground Soldier 4
Status: Fine, Darkness Cover

Orc Ground Cleric
Status: Wounded, Darkness Cover

Orc Ambusher 2
Status: Heavily Wounded

Orc Ambusher 3
Status: Fine

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

Your first rolls all sucked except for Tanis, Ryuko and Nobunaga. Hector only got a good shot in due to Aim Assist and also shooting them in the back. Angelo was even more unfortunate; he took a 5 from Scrak, which actually boosted all of his allies.

Some Will expenditure will probably help at this point.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

"I'll watch your back." Summoning his own lance with a flash of azure flame, Leonidas followed behind Crocoite as the metal man entered into the tower proper, keeping vigil for any sign of movement within the darkness of the canopy