Military Patrol 2 (12-30-07)
From FiranMUX
[GMemit by Global: Calendar system] The Heralds run though the city announcing that the 'Military Patrol' will be starting in 5 minutes at 'Army Post'. For details check out event #7911.
Anarinuell: Palace District -- Army Post
Alastor grins. And he takes a seat up on one of the water barrels, to wait and see if he's allowed. He did bring his bow, in case.
Sotiris nods quietly to Alexa. "F..fuh..fuh..First Division, Sir." he says to the woman, stuttering a bit as he speaks. "Nuh..nuh..nuh.. New recruit, Sir. I only just joined." he stands at attention, now that the woman's eyes are on him.
Sharin steps in quickly from the south, his hands folded together behind his back, loaded for bear. Or? Shammi.
"Centurion Sharin?" Tagda calls Sharin over by her side, "You can fly with me today. Sound good to you?"
Alexa uh huhs at Sotiris and looks him over. "Haven't received your gear yet, soldier?"
Sharin gives a nod. "Yes, Sir." He says, unslinging his short bow as he makes his way over. He goes about methodically and expertly double checking the bow, before he strings it up.
Sotiris shakes his head quietly. "No, Sir." he manages without Stuttering this time around. *Firan*
"Wonderful." Tagda pulls her bow off of her shoulder and begins to restring it for the second time today. "I am not sure if any other of our pilots will show up today, but at least you and I make a full unit."
Oribanna just stands there confused, trying to work out what is going on.
"Ma'am," Alexa points out firmly. "I don't have anything dangling under my uniform. If you're intending to go out on this patrol, it's up to you if you're going to risk it without armor. Unless someone has some spare armor here they're willing to lend you."
Sharin nods. "I figure we will be alright." He responds to his CO. After his bow is checked, he checks the other weapon he can use mounted, and makes sure his spear is still good. Not that he didn't check it before he came, but always good to check.
Sotiris nods to Alexa, "As you prefer, Ma'am." he corrects himself quietly, nodding his head. "App..app..apologies, Ma'am." he says to the woman. "I'll g..go without, i..if n..no one has extra. M..muu..Must earn my Kuh.kuh..keep." *Firan*
Alastor frowns some at Sotiris. "Why can't he talk?" he asks, no one in particular, just anyone who happens to speak Ticanee. "He'd make a crappy guard. He'd be all, s-s-s-someone is th-th-th-there. And they'd be gone by then." And for folks who don't speak Ticanee, they might pick up on the purposeful stuttering at some point in there. Or maybe not. Maybe all Ticanee language sounds like purposeful stuttering.
Gennic scurries up to Alexa, "My apologies, Dame Alexa!" the young girl rushes out in one breath, "My mother wanted to make sure my armor fit..and then my da wanted to check to make sure I remembered how to handle my bow and then my brother..." you get the idea. The girl's rapid speak very indicative of talking inward, a special trait innate to most teenaged girls.
Sharin raises an eyebrow as he looks over to Alastor. "It is cowardly to make fun of someone in a language they do not understand, Sentry."
Sotiris doesn't really seem to notice Alastor's words, just looking at Alexa- focused on the General.
Bashar arrives in the army post and comes to a quiet parade rest near the edges of the crowd assembling. He glances around at the conversation in Ticanee, his brow furrlowing slightly in clear uncomprehension.
Alastor switches to Firan. "I was just /asking/," he says to Sharin, "that's all."
Alexa nods at Sotiris. "Very well. I commend you for the dedication, Sentry. Commander Tagda!" She turns to the younger Ticanee woman. "You're in charge of this mission. I am going along to observe." Nodding to Gennic, she says, "This is my aide, Gennic." She narrows her eyes at Alastor. "You were not asked a question, Sentry. I expect you to keep your mouth shut unless there is someone's life immediately at stake unless you have been asked a question. Is that understood?" She's definitely in an irritable mood. "Sentry," she says again to Sotiris. "After the patrol, inform me who your commanding officer is."
Alastor sobers up a little in response to Alexa, and nods. "Yes, Ma'am."
Tagda looks back at Alastor as he begins to mock Sotiris. "Shut up before I knock your teeth out. Then, you will talk funny too!" She beams and turns back to Alexa with a salute. "Yes, Ma'am." Looking to those present she changed tongues and speaks loudly.
Gennic turns to the rest of those gathered, her bright smile blinding as she bobs up and down at Alexa's introduction...whee, an aide to the general. Biting her lip to keep from speaking, the girl catches Alexa's mood...and how hard it must be to keep still.
"I want you all to report to me with your rank and branch, please. Along with what weapon you use!" Becuase, Tagda doesn't know everyone in the military.
Sotiris nods to Alexa, "Yes, Ma'am." he says, a salute given again to her. He then waits quietly for further orders, if they're there. Eyes looking over to Tagda a moment.
Well, he is everyone. Sharin salutes. "Centurion Sharin Rissik, General Savaren's Air Force, Commander Tagda Leafchaser, Captain Alessandro Keniwik. Primary Archery, secondary Spear and Sword."
Oribanna steps forward and salutes. "Centurion Oribanna, infantry, swordswoman, under the command of Centurion Ramisa Sidonyus, ma'am!"
Alastor figures that counts as a question. "Sentry Alastor, Fifth Division, farrier and I brought my bow." He gives Oribanna a kind of confused look, briefly, but doesn't say anything.
Alexa manages a small smile at Gennic and leans over to whisper something encouraging to the young woman. Price of getting old around Alexa... youth is afforded compassionate understanding. Age is expected to have learned already.
Alexa whispers "I'm not irritated at you. You're a lot more organized than this lot."
Bashar looks around the group and announces himself. "Centurion Bashar Sarkarik, Predator Division, infantry. Spear man," he announces himself succinctly, eyes faintly lidded.
"Is that all?" Tagda glances towards Bashar now. She knows him. Somewhat. "You are using your sword today, Centurion? Spear?" With the information she /does/ have she turns back towards Alexa, "General, would you like to fly today? Or stay on the ground?" And then a nod to Bashar, "Alright. Thank you."
"I don't have time to break in a new bird, Commander, and Tfansi is long gone." Being a not-active pilot has its cost. "I can manage hoofing it with the rest."
"Sentry Sotiris." The new recruit says, as he moves over to Tagda next, as the General seems to have nothing else to tell him. A salute is given, "F..fuh..fuh first division, Under Lord Captain Fiero."
Gennic squeaks with pride as Alexa whispers to her, nodding eagerly. "Oh! Sentry Gennic, aide to General Alexa...bow." she pauses as scrolls are stuffed in her hand..."Quill and Ink." she quickly amends, record keeper for the trip.
Alastor bites his lip. See? He's being good.
Alexa adds to Tagda, "If necessary, I can lend a spear, commander."
Orders, orders. "Okay. Centurion Sharin and I will be on griffon back, using my griffon, Ramjet. Sentries Oriabanna? Orbanana? You." She points towards the one with the funny Firan name, "You, and Centurion Bashar will be foot infantry. You are to listen to the Centurion's decisions. General Alexa will be using her spear as well, so if she gives you orders, you follow them." She turns and points at Gennic and Alastor, "You both are ground archers. Because you are on the ground, you will watch what Centurion Bashar is doing and aid them only AFTER all air targets are grounded. Do we all understand our orders?"
Tagda also glances to the stuttering one, "What weapon do you use?"
Sotiris looks over at the spear he's holding. "S..spu..spear, Ma'am." he states.
Alastor hopefully won't need a melee weapon, because all he has is the bow. Well, and a knife. That has him weighted down enough. "Yes ma'am," he says to Tagda, with a quick nod. Time to string up his bow, sounds like, so he gets on that.
"Yes ma'am," Bashar replies to Tagda, drawing up to a brief position of genuine attention while the orders are given out as acknowledgment.
Alexa shakes her head. "Gennic is my recordkeeper, Commander, not part of the fighting forces." She points out in a tone only a Srennian can achieve, "We need to keep more detailed accounts of missions for historical purposes."
"Okay. You will stay with Centurion Bashar as well. Follow his lead." Tagda glances back over the whole group. "Make sure that we are all following each other. Do /not/ run ahead. If you run into some goats and no one is around you to help, well...that's your own damned fault. I am going to get my griffon. Remain here until I return. Sentry Alastor, come with me."
Sotiris's quiet as he walks over towards Bashar, giving a salute to him. Next, comes his silence as he readies his spear.
Alastor trots back over to fall in by Bashar, where he finishes stringing his bow. He doesn't have an arrow nocked or anything, but nocking is an arrow is much quicker than stringing a bow AND nocking an arrow.
Gennic jitters in place excitedly, OMGBBQ, a real life patrol and she's on it!
Sharin waits until the griffon is landed and Tagda motions for him before he climbs up agilely on to the back of the bird. OMGRSVPBYOB?
Tagda rides down on her griffon, who is just very vocal today. That's Ramjet for ya. "Alright. Are we ready? We will patrol the northwest region today, outside of the Palace walls, near the river. Be alert! Keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. Any questions?" Ramjet stares at Sharin as he climbs up onto his back. Grr.
Bashar pulls his spear from his backpack and motions the crowd to keep back as the griffon comes in for a landing; safest all around. "Ready, ma'am," he calls as the group forms up. Then he glances back at the sentries as if to say 'better be ready.'
Oribanna looks over at Alastor. "You been on one of these patrols before?" she asks him cautiously, in a lowered voice.
"Everyone meet just outside the northren Cockatrice gates. Just by the wall. Centurion, lead your men there." Tagda wants to test Bashar's leadership today, it seems.
Alastor nods his head. "But just First division patrols, inside the walls, except when there was a definite threat," he says. "I've been in the military for over two years. Over three, if you count when I was a child aide."
Alexa looks at Gennic and just grins faintly. "Lady Srenna," she intones, "Guide us with your wisdom and keep these soldiers strong." High priestess thing, you know.
"Totems tooooooo!" Tagda calls out as she flys away. Shaman thing!
Oribanna nods to Alastor. "I've been in and out, as a seasonal," she says. "Thinking about going career though. Reckon we'll find anything today?"
Bashar salutes his understanding, and turns to the senties (and Alexa.) "Let's get a move on," he calls to the group. "Quick march; keep up!" He sets out at a fair, but not back breaking, pace.
Oribanna gets moving, marching in formation behind Bashar.
Gennic follows Alexa's lead, praying to Srenna, "Please my lady god of warriors protect us on this patrol."
Alastor shrugs. "Probably not, most patrols don't, but maybe. Gotta keep alert, just in case."
<movement deleted>
Tagda flies above everyone just barely. Looking down at them, she points at Gennic, "You! Be prepared to also be a runner for us if sny messengers need to be sent. And you better run quickly. Like...major quick. Like a deer!" Then, she turns back towards the others. "Now, we are going to go up to the end of this road."
Gennic ducks behind Bashar just as Tagda points at her. "Yes ma'am!" she yelps, reaching down to make sure her sandals are tight so they don't slip off if she runs away...yay, live to be a hero another day! "Ma'am, do you want me to record all the commands?" she questions quickly to Alexa.
Bashar leads the big group through the city, at a good pace for a walkiing group, though inevtably much slower than a griffon. "Now that we're out of the city," he calls back, "best get those weapons at the ready for real." He gives a more informal acknowledgment to Tagda, now in the middle of actual operations. "Shall we catch up with you, ma'am?"
"Yes, Centurion. We won't be too far ahead of you." Tagda promises as she spurs her griffon off again. "Onwards!"
Alexa nods to Gennic. "Record comands. And as much as you can observe, Gennic. Terrain features, what happens after orders are given, and so forth."
Oribanna holds her sword ready. She watches Alastor string his bow, then looks around, waiting for something to happen.
Gennic nods and scribbles quickly on the scroll, she'll make a neater copy once the patrol returns to the army post.
Bashar looks back over the group. "Everyone on your toes, too. Probably won't see anything, but if we do, the quicker we see it the better!" And he's off again.
Alastor follows slightly to the right of Bashar, and keeps a watch on things on that side of the road. "Maybe a bear," he says, half-hopeful.
Bashar grimaces at Alastor, but does not respond.
Sotiris's following behind the others, trying to keep an eye out.
Marsalos removes his long bow from its place, fitting it with an arrow. He is silent through this, letting the others talk while he keeps an eye on what's around them. When it seems time to move, he moves.
<movement deleted>
GM: You roll Tagda's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Sharin's Perception(5) at difficulty 7 and get 1 fumble.
GM page to (Tagda, Sharin) with 'there is a low level of haze in the sky today, making it hard to see very far.'
"It's them!" Oribanna calls out, sighting the griffon overhead.
<movement deleted>
GM: You roll Sharin's Perception(5) at difficulty 7 and get 3 successes.
GM: You roll Tagda's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
From afar, to (Gennic, Tagda): Sharin nods. "If we try to spot out, can we roll?
You paged Sharin with 'As the group reaches the end of the road, off to the north-east you see a thin tendril of smoke snaking up from the forest.'
You paged Tagda with 'As the ground group catches up with the griffons, you smell smoke.'
Long distance to (Sharin, Tagda): Gennic will handle rolls for the time being.
Alastor says quickly, "Friendlies, she means." He can recognize Ramjet easily, and would hate for someone to start taking pot shots.
"We need to work on moving a little quicker." Tagda mumbles as she steers her griffon around in a circle, allowing time for her next orders. "Alright! We are going to move east towards the third set of rolling hills! We will remain flying low so that you do not lose us. Third set of rolling hills. East!"
<OOC> Tagda says, "Everyone use 'map key' to see that rolling hills are represented with a letter 'n.'"
Sharin blinks as he sees something. He leans in and points to the north-east. "Commander, smoke."
Alastor continues to keep an eye out for bears. He does give a little groan when he hears the word 'hills'. "There weren't hills on guard patrols," he points out, to Oribanna. "Nice and flat."
Tagda then pauses and looks towards the east, "I smell..." She uses her wonderful Ticanee nose to smell again, "Smoke."
"What, can't ya march up hills?" Oribanna teases Alastor, but she falls silent when someone mentions smoke, and sniffs the air.
Marsalos raises an eyebrow slightly as someone bandies the word 'fire' around. He twists slightly, trying to catch a hint of the scent.
Sharin nods. "If it looks like smoke and smells like smoke." He says softly, bringing his bow back around to face that direction.
Bashar is slower to comment, but nods when the griffon is pointed out. "Remember to check for Republic colors at a distance. Just in case." He gives Tagda a dip his head. "Looks like we're about to pick up the pace," he tells the rest of the group. "Third set of rolling hills, aye, ma'am..." And he trails off. Smoke; not a good sign. "Can you see any sign of it, ma'am, from a better vantage?"
Sotiris's looking down at the ground, frowning. "H..huge man passed here, some time ago..." he kneels down, to touch something at the ground- a broken stick. "Some time ago. A While now... Traveling North and South."
Oribanna squints at the horizon. "Funny, I don't smell anything."
Alastor looks. "Cook smoke, or house-burning smoke? Could be people clearing off land to farm." He looks to Bashar, for instructions on whether they're going to go investigate.
GM: You roll Alastor's Perception(3) at difficulty 8 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Bashar's Perception(3) at difficulty 8 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Oribanna's Perception(3) at difficulty 8 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Marsalos's Perception(4) at difficulty 8 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Sotiris's Perception(4) at difficulty 8 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Alexa's Perception(3) at difficulty 8 and get 1 success.
You paged (Alexa, Sotiris, Alastor) with 'You'd guess campfire'
<OOC> Gennic will handle rolls and page information...I am also going off poses, so think about tactics and such when you pose ;)
"Very well. We will remain flying low so we can all keep together. Let's head in that direction. Remember, archers, help to remove all air targets before giving assistance to those on the ground. And keep hidden, for totem's sakes. You are like sore thumbs!" Tagda looks back towards the northeast and shakes her head, "It's too foggy up here. We will head towards the rolling hills in the northeast then. They are right by the river if I can recall. Stay together! Don't move ahead of me!"
Sotiris looks over at the others. "C..campfire, S..sir." he says to those who'd listen- looking around quietly, nose twitching. "S..smaller. No..not based in a house, I.. do..don't think." he looks over at the others.
"Move towards the east, and /then/ towards the north. The northeast rolling hills. Let's go!" Tagda orders and eyes those on the ground, "And keep up!"
Alastor says, quietly, "Looks like cook smoke to me." He's not certain though, and that doesn't mean anything anyway. For his part, he's trying his best not to blunder about, though he really isn't skilled at sneaking, per se. He lacks that Ticanee skill.
Sharin nods as he scans, before speaking in Ticanee. "Very impressive that you can smell that from here, Commander." He comments sincerely.
"North and east, after you, aye, ma'am," Bashar repeats, just to be sure everyone's on the same page. "Ready to move!" "I have a nose for trouble." And then Tagda heads off.
Bashar corrects, "East, /then/ north."
<movement deleted>
Tagda pauses here to see if the smoke smell is stronger or not. That, and she is letting the troops catch their breaths. Whew! All that running around!
As Tagda sniffs around Sharin uses his apparently keen eyes to try to track the smoke back down to its source, or at least more of its trail.
Oribanna isn't noticeably winded. When they pause, she bends briefly to stretch out her legs a little, and then straigthens up to look around.
Alexa considers something and mentions to Gennic, "Make a note that we should add clan color recognition to the training schedule." She squints up at Tagda a bit, a bit winded. She's tempted to add making the pilots hoof it after birds now and then a part of the training roster, too.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Alastor rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Bashar rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Marsalos rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets 2 successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Tagda rolls her Perception at difficulty 7 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Oribanna rolls her Perception at difficulty 8 and gets 1 success.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Sharin rolls his Perception at difficulty 7 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Alexa rolls her Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Sotiris rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
You paged (Oribanna, Marsalos) with 'The scent of smoke is fainter here.
You paged Marsalos with 'You can tell you've gone too far east, the smoke is raising from the north west now, the forest edge.'
Alastor similarly keeps a look out, lowering his bow slightly. And he sniffs.
Bashar is, indeed, breathing a little harder under the weight of his armor, keeping up with even a slow griffon flight, and keeps his eyes flickering up to the low flying griffon to keep his course set. He does not, however, appear to spot much else.
"I smell the smoke now, sir!" Oribanna says to Bashar. "Faint, though."
Tagda can't much see what is going on, since she's busy piloting through the hazy day and trying to keep up with the ground troops. "See anything?" She asks back at SHarin as she looks ahead.
Sotiris's quiet as he looks over to Tagda, still he looks down at the ground- always to the ground to try and catch a track or a trail.
Marsalos remains to the right and a bit to the rear, keeping an eye out behind them as well as to the sides as they move. The mention of fire is one that makes a firefighter's senses prick up sharply, and he takes a long breath followed by several short ones. His eyes narrow and he looks westward, lifting a hand to gesture. "We're too far east. The smoke is coming from the northwest, that way. The forest edge."
Oribanna takes a few big steps away from Alastor and gives another sniff, then nods agreement. "The Centurion's right, sir!"
Alastor remembers something, from his summers exploring as a child. "Isn't that where Sir Omiak lives, that direction?"
Sharin shakes his head. "I lost the trail, Commander."
Bashar looks back over his shoulder at Marsalos, then gives a faint nod. He lifts an arm to wave to the flying griffon to get attention, and gestures emphatically in the direction of the northwest.
Tagda turns the griffon around then and points up towards the northwest, "By the river?" She calls back down to Marsalos. "Very well! Everyone move northwest, then, by the river's edge! Just...not in the river! No swimming! Ready Centurion Bashar?"
Bashar calls out, "Ready, ma'am!"
"Move out!" Tagda flies. Wee!
"By the edge of the forest," Marsalos calls up to Tagda, before he re-readies his bow and follows Bashar.
<OOC> Gennic says, "Ok, perception, again 8 for ground crew, 7 for griffon"
Tagda looks down and ahead to see how far the others can go on foot with the river being so nearby. She is not willing to let them all run along the side of the riverbank, because that is just scary. So, she stops and looks around for anything that might jump out at them.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Oribanna rolls her Perception at difficulty 8 and gets 2 successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Bashar rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Tagda rolls her Perception at difficulty 7 and gets 1 success.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Marsalos rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Sharin rolls his Perception at difficulty 7 and gets 2 successes.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Alastor rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets 1 fumble.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Sotiris rolls his Perception at difficulty 8 and gets 1 success.
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Alexa rolls her Perception at difficulty 8 and gets NO successes.
You paged Alastor with 'You get your foot stuck in some mud, distracting you.'
You paged Tagda with 'The smoke is far enough away from the river not to worry about it. Except for Alastor.'
You paged Sotiris with 'The smoke is coming from the west'
<OOC: ROLL: Pie> Gennic rolls her Perception at difficulty 9 and gets 1 success.
You paged (Sharin, Oribanna) with 'You see a campfire smoldering in a small clearing (griffons won't be able to get through the canopy easily), next to the campfire is an overturned wagon and a man slumped over against a wheel...two men are sorting through the cargo while one man is watching the forest edge. His eyes stray to where the patrol is...as a twig snaps in the undergrowth. "Hey." he growls to the others.'
Marsalos pauses his steps as the group does, trying to keep track of the scent. He's lost it for the time being though, eyes narrowing as he turns to see if others have caught it again.
Oribanna shades her eyes and peers to the west, then to the northwest.
Sharin pauses, scanning with his eyes over his bow to see if he spots it again.
Bashar does not, it appears, have an exceptionally keen sense of smell. He seems most concerned with keeping the group together and up after Tagda.
Alastor steps in something squishy as he's looking around. "Eww, gross, Ramjet droppings," he mutters accusingly, though it's not. He's strayed a little closer to the river and into a muddy patch, and when he bring his foot up, the boot stays down. Minor distraction here as he extricates it.
Tagda loks over the river and hrms as the smoke seems not to be near it. But, Alastor is near it, and so she turns around and glances at him, "Sentry! Back away from the river, please. I do not want you to be a boat!" But, he already seems to be stuck, which makes Tagda rubs her face some. "Can you get out of the mud okay? Or do you need some help?"
Sotiris nods to Bashar. "S..sir. S..smoke is c..coming from the Wea..weea..west." he stutters out, as he kneels down once more.
Marsalos glances over at Alastor and arches a brow, moving over to offer a hand. Or more, to grab Alastor's arm. "Come on, Sentry. Let's not take all day."
Sharin blinks as he sees something. "Commander. Campfire in the clearing. Overturned wagon, man slumped down. Three men in the clearing, one on guard, two looting the wagon."
Alastor hops about, trying to keep his now-bare foot clean. "I've got it," he says, but then he has to put his foot down, to get the leverage he needs to remove his boot. "Got it." He doesn't bother cleaning his foot off, he just shoves it back into his boot, mud and all.
"Sir! I see... there's a campfire in that clearing! Doesn't look like there's room for a griffon to land," Oribanna says, "There's a wagon, dumped out... a man slumpd over... thieves! Someoen's stealing from that wagon!
GM: You roll Gennic's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Gennic's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Gennic's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get 3 successes.
Oribanna says "I think they saw us!"
Sharin looks down to Oribanna. "Keep your voice down, Sentry, thats an order." He hisses.
"Ah feck." Tagda mutters and puts her finger to her mouth as Oribanna starts to yell, "SHH!" She squints through the darkness and questions, "Firan men? Can anyone see?"
Bashar gives Alastor a baleful eye, but Marsalos has the young sentry's arm already. "Straight west?" he clarifies with Sotiris, then turns to Oribanna. "Ma'am! Campfire, wagon, west; thieves!" he hisses in a stage whisper and looks up at Tagda, waiting on the order.
Oribanna shuts her mouth.
<OOC> Sharin says, "Gen, can we tell if they are Firans?"
Marsalos winces at the calling out. At the mention of thieves to the west, his bow is ready for action. Very slowly he crouches just a little bit to make himself a smaller thing to be spotted, narrowing his eyes as he tries to see that far.
At the noise of the patrol, the men in the clearing all abandon their chores and turn towards the edge of the forest..."Ye aint taking us alive!" one of them shouts. "We already killed one and we aint afraid to kill you too."
Alastor looks around for some sort of cover, sniper cover, potentially useful if they're going to get jumped here. "They're going to run, I bet," he says, low-voiced, to Marsalos. "Away, I mean."
<OOC> Gennic says, "Firan"
Alastor could, of course, be wrong!
Sharin nods. "Firan men, Commander." He whispers, before he hears the shout. He rolls his eyes a little at their words.
"Firans." Tagda rolls her eyes some and loads her bow. "Very well. While they might want to kill us, don't try to kill them. They are Firan, and we aren't the guard. So incapacitate them so we can bring them in." She looks back to Alexa, hoping this is a good idea. "And Sentry Gennic, go run back down the /road/ and find us a guard?"
Alastor considers using Bashar as sniper cover, as he's large, but that's probably not best. Instead he backs up a little and to the side, to provide cover fire. Let the folks with pointy sticks and swords do the slashing. He's here for backup.
Sharin nods as he notches an arrow. "Too small to land effectively unless you are really brave today, Commander."
Alexa narrows her eyes at the shout and readies her spear. "Gennic, stay behind me but keep writing," she countermands Tagda. "Do what it takes to get them down."
Oribanna steps forward with her sword at the ready. She glances behind her quickly to take note of which way the ground archers are going -- so she can stay out of their line of fire, and attack anyone who goes after them.
Incapacitate, check. Marsalos smirks, raising the bow to ready. The arrow is aimed below the belts of the thieves. Whether it hits ankle, leg, or...somewhere sensitive, it should hurt enough to bring someone down without killing. He doesn't fire yet.
Gennic gulps as she stares at Tagda, turning on heel, her scroll clutched in her hand as she sprints off...unfortunately, already screaming her little fool head off...too late to hear Alexa's counter command.
GM: You roll Gennic's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Gennic's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Gennic's Perception(3) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
The men crowd together...the horses that are still tethered to the wagon whinny and struggle against their bounds as they sense the griffon hovering nearby.
Alexa narrows her eyes and glares up at Tagda. Let's hope her old brain is good enough at remembering stuff after the action is done.
Sotiris looks to Bashar. "D..do you w..want us to c..cir..circle around S..sir?" he asks, looking at the man quietly, clutching his spear tighter.
And off Gennic goes! Tagda hrms as her command is changed, but it's too late to stop her, so she turns back and readies her bow. It's not her fault Gennic didn't hear! "Remember! Bring them down, but don't kill them! They are /Firans/." Just in case anyone gets combat happy!
Sharin nods. "Between all of the talented archers here we should be able to do that." He says, preparing himself to shoot hands and legs. After all, he is the current archery champion of the military. Since Tagda didn't show up.
Bashar lowers his voice to mutter to Oribanna and Sotiris. "Remember, protect the archers on the ground; if they try to close with 'em, it's important we protect them." He pauses, then admits, "Of course, I expect we'll be doing the chasing. Don't get too far separated!" he also notes. "Archers, if they try to separate pick off the wider outliers. Infantry, spread to keep them from scattering, but if they gang up, help your buddy right away. Start moving slow, don't break before they do. Forward."
Tagda has RL. She also has a griffon. And there are horses. With a frown, Tagda keeps Ramjet back and calls out towards the thieves, "I am giving you one chance to come over here and surrender to the Republic Military. If you choose not to, I have a very hungry griffon who will be happy to eat your horses while you are brought in to the jails."
"Yes sir," Oribanna says to Bashar, and then looks at the men to see if they're wearing armor and helmets, as she slowly advances.
Sharin squints a little bit as he leans in. He is looking for helmets, for kill shots, gloves, arm guards and greaves. Thatw ay he can scalp them and, if absolutly necessary, kill them.
Alastor keeps looking in the direction of the horse whinnying, now that he hears it, and glancing over at Bashar now and then, for direction. "I'll cover you, Centurion," he says to Bashar. If they're going to have buddies, well, he'll pick the one that took down the Brick Wall.
GM: You roll Tagda's Command(5) at difficulty 7 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Oribanna's Perception(3) at difficulty 8 and get 3 successes.
GM: You roll Sharin's Perception(5) at difficulty 7 and get NO successes.
You paged Oribanna with 'You see clearly, they are bandits and pretty desperate ones at that. They are skinny, starving skinny. Mismatched and missing pieces of armor, they've mostly got swords and bows...but not military trained on how to use them.'
You paged Tagda with 'Your griffon is not that keen on following your orders as it senses the horses.'
Marsalos starts moving off a bit to the side, covering someone with a sword. Oribanna, that's good. She's close. He also assesses the situation that he can see with care, studying armour and other cover that they might be using to hide behind.
GM: You roll Marsalos's Perception(4) at difficulty 8 and get NO successes.
Sotiris's quiet, as he nods to Bashar and does as he's commanded. He walks over and out to get in front of some of the ARchers, to help and be protective. His spear already held up. After this, he takes a moment to take a deep breath- eyes wide as he tries to spy if there are more here, but by tracks.
GM: You roll Sotiris's Perception(4) at difficulty 8 and get 3 successes.
You paged Sotiris with 'You see clearly, they are bandits and pretty desperate ones at that. They are skinny, starving skinny. Mismatched and missing pieces of armor, they've mostly got swords and bows...but not military trained on how to use them.
From afar, Sotiris nods. "Can I tell how many?"
You paged Sotiris with 'the three in the clearing'
Tagda struggles some with Ramjet, who really wants horsses. She waits for the others to comply to her chance of surrender.
GM: You roll Gennic's Willpower(3) at difficulty 9 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Gennic's Willpower(3) at difficulty 9 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Gennic's Willpower(3) at difficulty 9 and get 1 fumble.
Alexa gets a tad impatient and waits for someone to take action. This is not easy for the Srennian priestess, as she has been very much wanting to Kill Something(tm) since /she/ doesn't get to destress like /men/ can and /her/ husband has been a little lax in the furs himself.
And there is an image that will stay with you until you die.
Marsalos is very still. If he's impatient or not it doesn't show as he just waits for the reply. Or for an order to start shooting. He'd probably prefer the latter.
One of the men twist on his heel, slashing the reins holding the horses still as he shouts, "Feck you all, this is the republic's fault!" slapping the rumps of the horses to send them off on a griffon chase..."Enjoy yer dinner!". The other two had started to lower their weapons, "Hey, they feed you regular like in jail." one is heard to murmur to the other.
Oribanna takes a few strides forward and closes with the nearest unhelmeted bandit, making a feint with her sword that ought to fool anyone who isn't an experienced swordsman -- then, she whips her sword around to whack him on the head as hard as she can with the flat of the blade, hoping to knock him out without kiling him.
Tagda is in the mood for sniping today. So, when they do not submit, she steadies Ramjet long enough to set up her shot...which, isn't too long, since she's very practiced at sniping. Aiming for the mouthy one, Tagda lets the arrow shoot towards his leg, just as Ramjet begins to get fussy about the horses. "Come on, Ramjet. You can eat them when we are done!" She half-promises and tries to maintain control. "Infantry! You may move in!" Looking back at Sharin, she calls out, "I am going to land. Jump off when I do." She's not going to put another pilot in danger when her griffon is hungry. And then...they set the horses off. "Dammit!"
Sharin is just waiting for that as well, and has an arrow knocked and ready to fire off at the horse calling one's leg. He works to steady himself as the horses launch out, using all his mad Rissik training. "Yes, Sir."
Sotiris' eyes are scanning the ground- the tracks in the road and on the hills. Frowning to himself a bit as he hears everyone get ready to run in and hurt these poor, desperate men. Eyes hardened, he kneels low to check for stones- if they still have dirt on them, they are very fresh.
Alastor says, under his breath, "Wonder whose horses those are." He does watch them a little, to see if he recognizes them from the Tanelish stables, where he's worked before. Oh wait. People still, and he's supposed to be covering Bashar, though he doesn't fire yet. He's waiting for someone to run. /Then/ he'll fire.
"Get down on your knees and don't move," Marsalos calls, seeing two of them looking like they're about to do the surrender thing. "Move and get your arses shot! Stay -where you are-!"
<OOC> Gennic says, "Ok, give me a second to catch up...great poses."
Bashar nods as the soldiers on the ground start to follow his orders and sets the pace of the forward movement, going slowly and smoothly as he approaches. His pale blue eyes glint rather disconcertingly. "You boys really ought to surrender," he notes to the soldiers as he moves towards them. "You really don't wanna cross weapons with us. Really." He sounds sincere and a rather disconcerting mix of concerned and ...eager.
GM: You roll Sharin's Agility(4) at difficulty 9 and get NO successes.
GM: You roll Sotiris's Perception(4) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Oribanna's Agility(4) at difficulty 7 and get 2 successes.
GM: You roll Marsalos's Command(4) at difficulty 7 and get 4 successes.
GM: You roll Bashar's Command(3) at difficulty 7 and get 1 success.
GM: You roll Tagda's Command(5) at difficulty 9 and get NO successes.
You paged Tagda with 'Ramjet is off on a horsie chase. have fun posing it, but you can hang out here.'
You paged Sharin with 'You can't get off the griffon before it goes after the horses.'
Sharin pages: And my shot?
You paged Sotiris with 'The wagon was leaving Anarinuell, fresh...recently ambushed.'
Tagda pages: Did I manage my shot?
You paged Oribanna with 'You get close to one of the guys, knocking him right out as he drops to his knees per Marsalos command...I'll pose him kneeling and you can whack him a good one.'
From afar, Tagda wants to exercise her 12 dice! :D
You paged Tagda with 'Hmm?'
From afar, Tagda posed sniping the dude before Ramjet got fussy.
Tagda pages: Or, trying to.
GM: You roll Tagda's Coordination(6) + Combat/archery(6) at difficulty 9 and get 1 success.
You paged Tagda with 'Ok, you get a shot off.'
Sotiris looks at the tracks, following them with his eyes quietly. "W..was a fu..fuh-full load, from Anarinuell. O...only t..thu.three with the bandits- Puh..puh plus one. L..likely dead, Wagon-driver." he says over to anyone who will listen, as he waits for the word to move.
The two closest to the patrol go ahead and drop their swords and drop to their knees in the dense underbrush. "Yeah, warm meals, bed..." he starts before the guards come charging out into the clearing. The third, obviously insane continues to shout and chase after the horses.
Tagda knew this was coming, really. She chews on her lip as Ramjet spots the horses and screeches merrily. HORSIES! The fuzzy little beast flaps off towards them, taking the commander with him. "Ramjet!" Tagda blurts, like she were scolding a dog, but holds on tightly as the griffon goes to find his lunch for the afternoon. "General Alexa....you're in chaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggeeeeeee....e....eeee.....e." And Tagda's voice trails off into the distance as she is carried off into never-never land. "..eeeee.........."
WHACK! Oribanna's sword connects with the side of the bandit's head just as he's in the act of kneeling, and without a word, he slumps over sideways onto the ground, out like a light. She points her sword at the other kneeling one, ready to give him the same treatment if he moves.
"Sentry Alastor, cover the two surrenders!" Marsalos calls to Alastor. His bow comes up like a shot, ready to fire an arrow at the man's running legs if Oribanna's strike doesn't fell him.
Sharin curses as his shot is fouled by the rampaging griffon, and he quickly looks down to a realization. "Commander, there is no way I'm getting off this Griffon without dying!" He informs her as he digs in to his grip on the griffon even more so, holding on for dear life. "Bad griffon!" He scolds. Hey, it works on the eagle.
Alastor makes sure he has a clean line of sight on the two surrendering men, stepping forward steadily, to make the shot easier if he needs to take it. He's trying to put the horses out of his mind, for now.
"Good boys," Bashar assures the surrendering thieves with a faint smile, but he eyes the third. "Oribanna, stand behind these two and make sure they stay surrendered. Sotiris, over on this crazy fecker with me," he orders, and now he moves at a quicker pace, heading over to the crazy one and going for a swipe with the haft of his spear at the man's knees. Best to get him on the ground quickly, if the archers don't beat him to it.
The bandit running after the horses yelps as a wild shot from Tagda buzzes him, landing with a thwank into his thigh, "Frickin bitch." he growls as he barrels into the ground, still attempting to get away.
Alexa watches Tagda, Sharin and one hungry griffon... who is in charge of keeping those griffons stuffed to the gills, anyway?... and nods as Bashar seems to have a handle on the situation. She moves over to assist in handling the surrendering men.
Well, the one Oribana whacked with her sword isn't going anywhere anytime soon. "Hands up," she barks at the conscious one, sword still out. "I ain't got a problem guttin' you if I gotta. Don't you be movin' till you're told, hear?"
GM: You roll Bashar's Coordination(2) + Combat/spears(5) at difficulty 6 and get 6 successes.
You paged Bashar with 'You totally take down the crazy one.'
Tagda at least got her shot in before she's whisked away into the afternoon with Sharin as company.
Marsalos raises the bow for a shot at the fleeing one's legs. Or possibly his butt. That would be fun too. He trains his arm carefully before loosing the arrow, trying to trip the man up before Bashar has to fight him.
Sotiris nods to Bashar, running with Bashar- eyes up on the running man, "Yes, Sir!" he says quietly running and keeping up with Bashar. He too, tries to trip the man up- with a spear butt to the small of his back- should he be able to catch up quick enough.
<OOC> Gennic says, "Ok, whoever is in the first...can guard/yell now."
<OOC> Gennic says, "Gennic has found a guard in the city."
Sotiris yells out to the guards, "Guards, to me! Bandits!"
Alastor decides to devote most of his attention to the conscious surrendered bandit. He doesn't look like he's going anywhere, but the unconscious REALLY doesn't look like he's going anywhere.
Sotiris yells out to the guards, "The northern riverbanks, Bandits!"
Bashar hammers his unfortunate thief in the legs, and when Sotiris hits him too, the man is definitely down. Bashar goes to kneel on the (probably rather bruised) small of the man's back and presses his spear tip to the back of the man's neck. "Now. Just calm down, you stupid fecker."
Sotiris's position is one of flanking, the butt of his spear near the man's head- ready to knock the bejesus out of him, if need be.
<OOC> Gennic posed it. All men are covered. One is knocked out, curtesy of Oribanna, one is arrowed and knocked down curtesy of Tagda and Bashar. The third is kneeling politely.
Alexa returns her spear to it's sling and pulls out bandages from her pouch and heads over to do the medic thing. Bandages are good for two things. One, they keep people from leaving a trail of blood and messing up Soli's nice, clean dirt. Two, they are handy to tie hands together to keep people in line.
Gennic comes running back, leading some guards as she bends over, catching her breath..."Guards! Dame General." she reports, not seeing Tagda in the area.
<OOC> Tagda says, "Can I take the griffon back so I can log out? :)"
<OOC> Gennic says, "Yes"
Alastor glances where he last saw the griffon, real quick. "I wonder if he'll eat all the horses. Poor horses. Ramjet's a pig, I just fed him today."
Marsalos exhales quietly, looking mildly bored now that everyone's behaving right. Or unconscious. Hmpf. He keeps his bow trained on the one Bashar's got down, just in case. Since he still seems to be squirming like a maggot.
Alexa looks at Gennic and nods. "Excellent work, Gennic," she praises the girl as she goes to check the other one who's bleeding. "I'll need your notes to be able to finish the report when we return."
The bandits seem subdued and on closer inspection they are a rather ragtag group, barely past their CoS and starving skinny with rags on their backs.
"General? Permission to go check on the wagon driver?" Alastor asks. He's no doubt deader than a Didoron, but he could check.
Marsalos looks up and over with some interest at what, exactly, they were trying to steal. He picks his way sideways to have a look at the wagon itself, peeking in at the cargo.
"Granted, Sentry," Alexa informs Alastor. "See if you can round up the horses also, now that the griffon is gone." Oribanna is still standing behind the kneeling bandit, as ordered, her sword out. "What's yer name anyhow? An' yer buddies there?" she asks him. She nudges the unconscious one with a toe.
From the looks of it, the driver is as dead as an Didoron, his cargo is spread across the clearing as the bandits were rooting through it. Definitely a trader, he's got a bit of everything, cloth, food, supplies.
Sotiris shakes his head. "D..desperate. HE..he's dead." he looks over at Alastor, while he waits for more of what to do by Bashar- spear still raised up. "It c...c..came from the City, it..it was fuh..fuh..full leaving the city." he says, with a nod to his superior. "S..sha..shall I go to tr..track the ho..horses?" he wonders quietly.
Sharin pages: How long should I wait before going back?
You paged Sharin with 'You are fine to be there when we get there...Ramjet had his dinner and then returned to the aviary.'
Alastor says, "I think the griffon has gone after the horses." He leaves the surrendered bandits to Oribanna, who looks to have it well in hand, and goes to check on the wagon driver, to see if he (or she) is possibly still alive. Pulse? Nope. Warm to the touch? Only slightly. "He's dead. I'll go check on the horses, but I think Ramjet probably ate them. Or at least killed them. And I just /fed/ him today."
Bashar does not seem inclined to be incredibly gentle with his captive, young and ragtag or not. Once the fight has gone out of the man, he does not go out to damage him, but he is not especially gentle with the boy's arms as he gets them safely behind his back. With Alexa's bandages, he gets the man's hands tied and then gets him up, but in an extremely strong grip. He looks up at Sotiris and frowns for a moment, then gestures with his chin for Sotiris to join Alastor's efforts. "Give Sentry Alastor a hand. The prisoners are the priority, though, so don't wander far."
Marsalos nudges a flap of strewn fabric with his toe. That better not be silk. He walks around a little bit, taking note of anything of interest that might say who exactly this trader was, then comes back to the others as they start rounding up.
Sotiris nods, as he trots over towards Alastor- into the clearing where the wagon was. He looks at where the horses were, and the direction they ran off. His eyes follow the trail.
Alexa grunts at Alastor. "They should be fed immediately prior to going out. Full bellies make for better controlled birds when food is around." She nods to the guards who came with Gennic and says, "Two of you remain here to guard this," she waves at the wagon, "until crews can come out here to handle it. We can assist returning the prisoners to the jail."
