The elf woman asserted she would keep an eye on Reinhold, but it was not the positive affirmation from the man himself that he really wanted. The implication that some manner of expediency would called for was not lost to him, and he thought for a moment, what the best plan of action would be, quickly formulating what, at least to him, seemed a reasonable and plausible use of time, resources, and cost-efficient travel.

He snorted, then took off toward Fanghorn, only slowing down when he could truly see the palisade in the moonlight. Working quickly, he planted seeds in an unusual pattern, mixing several types based on what he had determined of their growth and magical properties earlier, and snatching up seeds from the moonlit grasses and wildflowers along the road leading to the small sprawling village to further augment his supplies. This much work, this far from the wild and robust magical nexus of home, in so short a time would be terribly taxing for him, but he had the advantage of time on his hands, and so he took the opportunity to plan this out, and plan it well.

The first area of business, was the road just as it was entering town.

Carefully, he grabbed an end of old dry plant stalk out of the ground, and used it to draw on the surface, laying out quadrants, sextants, and plotting areas of influence in the ways his dad had shown him. He didn't have a forest to work with, but he could maybe set up some low-level self-sustaining reactions, with proper placement and planning, and that's exactly what he was doing. Marking, measuring, and sewing appropriate seeds in the dark. A more or less circular area filled with grapes and green briar, surrounded by a larger circle filled with grasses, flowers, small shrub seeds, and anything else he could scrounge up that was growing wild in the area that provided the needed influences, surrounded it. Small dark spots dug and covered over in the silver light.

Carefully, he trotted up behind the farm houses and away from dogs and others that would give him away, and snuck in close to the curtain wall, then proceeded to seed the curtain wall edge with 3 roughly triangular wedges of a circle near where the walls of the keep and palisade met, and across the north most exit, before sneaking back along the side of the river, toward the south end of town again.

Getting in near the south gate was the hardest and most risky part of the plan, but also, in his assessment, strictly necessary if this fort was to get completely cut off, and reinforcements rendered unable to enter or leave with any degree of rapidity. It required getting in tight up against the buildings closest to the gate, and had the highest risk of detection and being shot at. At the very least, in his current costume it would be unlikely to draw a very large force-- just enough to chase him off into the night most likely, should he be detected. He did not really seed it as well as he would have liked, due to the difficulty of getting in close enough, but he did seed it at lest partially, then took off across the fields, and then back over the road to the south and east, and toward pesti.

There, in a close area where the road had to go through dense forest, he paused a moment, and smiled to himself. Nature had provided a means to an end for him, in the form of forest edge wild roses. In a fit of puerile self-indulgence, he snuck in and collected several of the mature rose hips from the heavy brush, chewed them happily, then spat out the seeds into one of his paws for use here and later. Once more, he seeded the road as it entered the wood, and then seeded the area just before it to help influence that growth. If all went well, that road would become an impenetrable wall of roses and thorns once it was set off, then took off once again, back west, past the group, and then south toward the bridge.

The sun was beginning to peak out of the horizon by the time he had finished his work there-- Roses and green briar, with grape vines all around the support pylons of the bridge, and influence gathering caches on either bank.

He was physically tired from the rapid pace of the work, the excessive running needed to clear the distances needed, but he began the final push.

First, the regions of influence-- With them up, sprouting and closing the bridge and roads would be much easier, as he only needed to guide what he had set up, then allow it to continue growing without him. By midday, there would be impenetrable masses and tangles at those locations.

Retracing his way back, as the sun was rising, he returned to the forest edge near Pesti, and worked his magic there.

He was a panting and snotty nosed mess by the time he made it back to the meeting area...

Location: Kindeance, Pesti, western farmstead.
@A5G@Remuri

---

Veronica and "satiation" were friends with a conflicted relationship. Conflicted in that, as much as she loved feeling that way on the all too rare occasions that she did, she also fundamentally hated what it meant. That she had killed again. More specifically, that she had fed from a sentient being. But for all her morals by comparison to the majority of her... "kind", Veronica was a practical individual. And moreover, she was an assassin. Killing was in her blood in and the spilt blood of others. Those men were going to die today. That was a fact. And they could either water the earth uselessly with their sanguine essence... or it could be put to the task of fueling her. It could be wasted or made useful. The vampire chose "useful".

She wasn't normally one to indulge, especially not while she wasn't even truly "thirsty" in the sense she'd come to know these past few years... but the bodies were right there... with no-one watching... Really, how could she not. And refill her waterskins while she was at it to boot. So it was that she returned to the group all but buzzing internally with energy, a full meal twice over suffusing the undead fibers of her being. Her senses felt that much more acute, and at times, she could almost swear her darkvision was honed enough to make out the barest bits of color even under the shroud of night.

She raised a single brow at the babbling of the captive... mercenary? Hmmm, that made enough sense. Deniable assets. As Yvonne had conveyed, they weren't learning much... but "much" wasn't "nothing". "Well now, that's got me curious about just who this client of theirs is. I wonder if this guy's boss would know," Veronica mused aloud, eyes squinting in consideration. "Seems like something to bring up with them, eh, Captain?" she asked Matilda.

Her gaze turned back to the captive guard, almond-shaped pupils momentarily narrowing to harsher slits. The panic sounded genuine enough, but perhaps torture would loosen his- No, torture was unreliable, no matter what adventure literature would like to convey. Veronica knew, from personal experience even, that when it came down to it, the animal instinct for survival would focus on what the victim thought the tormentor wanted to hear... and not necessarily the truth. The guard could be lying to them, have excellent acting skills and/or be just plain loyal enough to take his secrets to the grave in spite of everything, for professional pride even. No, torture was often just as liable to get you lies than truths, and it got especially dicey if your subject didn't think you intended to leave them alive. They might resist solely to gamble on the idea of being kept around because they judged their own worth alive and in possession of the information they owned to be great enough to stave off the final blow.

He wasn't worth tormenting. Hell, under most circumstances, he'd not even be worth killing... But Veronica wasn't generally in the habit of disobeying the letter of her missions, and the King had said to be clandestine. Could they really afford even more witnesses? "Captain, I think she's got the right of it," Veronica nodded to Yvonne. "I doubt we'll learn anything else useful from him. If we question anyone, I'd say the head of this 'merry little band' is our best bet for answers of actual substance." She gave a knowing glance to the captive and then the orc. The intent was clear. Kill or spare? The vampire had no emotional attachment one way or- No, that was a lie. She didn't relish killing the helpless, even her enemies. The guard was a security risk, but little more. Veronica's anorexic morals said "no", but she was more than capable of killing her capacity to care for a "yes".

"We shouldn't dally too long," she exhaled sharply. "We need to get into that barn."

---

The journey towards Fanghorn was swift and mostly uneventful. As it stood, both villages were in some part connected with the kidnapping of the prince, or at the very least his captivity. With the half moon lighting the way, and the cart abandoned, though safely stowed, travel was smooth. Even with the occasional cloud plunging the road into darkness, it made no difference. In less than an hour, they were at the outskirts of the village. Fencing and tilled soil began to surround the road, outlining the farmland and residences that spread out from the tall wooden walls protecting the inner village. While Solomon visited the village several times, he rarely went past the palisade, so the strength of the lord was not known to him. He ruled over the land along the river, far enough south to avoid the bridge, but still among the front line should any enemy reach this far into Kindeance. How involved Von Kruber had yet to be seen, so for now it was best to assume he put his full might into the coup.

As expected, the gates to the inner villager were shut, perhaps even barred. As for the houses outside, the walls, they remained quiet and dark as their occupants slept. Perhaps not for long. Some might wake in the hours before dawn to tend to their farms, but for now, the street was theirs. Solomon stood approached Jazdia shortly after she and Cedar had their small discussion. Cedar continued towards the gate, setting up for the obstacles Jazdia requested.

“My shadows. Yes. There should be five of them within the inner walls of the village. They will be the eyes and ears in the areas we cannot currently reach. If anything warranting our attention or concern, the shadow will reveal itself to you or I. I’m afraid they cannot speak in the traditional sense. However, I will understand them. Should we be separated, if they approach you, it will be a warning. It might try to communicate another way such as the way it moves or points, so be mindful if one reveals itself. Beyond scouting, and providing warning, there is not much a shadow can do. They are silent, fast, intangible, and can hide in any form of darkness seamlessly, a perfect scout.” said Solomon as he looked towards the walls of the village. For now, none of his shadows had made an appearance, so that was a good sign. Or at least a sign that everything inside the village was quiet. The shadows would be swarming along the naturally occurring shade unhindered by walls, barricades, locks, or other such obstacles. While some would monitor the entrances and gates, others searched the village and keep, looking for signs of the prince, or evidence of any conspirators.

To her surprise, the druid carried her order without much fuss. That was good. Jazdia drew her bow and activated her eyes, aiming at the general direction the bear took. Walking in all four, Cedar began to spread his seeds, or spell, or whatever there.


“My shadows. Yes." said Doctor Solomon solemnly "There should be five of them within the inner walls of the village. They will be the eyes and ears in the areas we cannot currently reach. If anything warranting our attention or concern, the shadow will reveal itself to you or I. I’m afraid they cannot speak in the traditional sense. However, I will understand them. Should we be separated, if they approach you, it will be a warning."

"So they are autonomous?" asked Jazdia, intrigued by the explanation, but still focused on the druid's movement. "Can we use them to warn the others? Or in case we separated even further?"

"Should we be separated, if they approach you, it will be a warning. It might try to communicate another way such as the way it moves or points, so be mindful if one reveals itself. Beyond scouting, and providing warning, there is not much a shadow can do. They are silent, fast, intangible, and can hide in any form of darkness seamlessly, a perfect scout.”

Jazdia frowned. Not to Solomon's explanation, but to what Cedar was doing right now in front of the south gate. It was not the intended target, and there was a risk guard who could see him, which would incite unwanted attention among the populace. But fortunately, no such things happened, the bear successfully sowed his seeds at critical points, and even managed to replenish his ammunition along the way from the nearby backyard. He did all of that silently, just like a kid doing mischief.

Jazdia still provided cover and monitored his movement when the bear somehow took a very peculiar route and headed straight to the forest. She wondered if the druid was sidetracked by something her eyes did not see, but that was... impossible.

That Bear, where was he going? He kept going straight into the forest, through foliage and darkness, until completely out of Jazdia's enchanting sight.

"What in the world..."

Jazdia deactivated her eyes and then reactivate them again, scanning the woods in case of a bear came out of the treeline. A full minute passed and still no sign of him.
Jazdia started to lose her cool, her mind raced, and among many things, Cedar having treacherous intent was flashed briefly, but she tried to keep the assumption under control. The only settlement nearby was Pesti, and Matilda was there. Maybe the Druid thought he should rejoin the orc captain? For...whatever reason?

Jazdia faced the rest of her team and did very little to hide her dissatisfaction. "Cedar's gone. He went to the forest. Reason unknown. Maybe he will be back shortly and maybe not. We will not wait for him."

"So what's the plan?" Asked Kaito.

"Let's move to the edge of the forest so we can get a closer look at the wall. The first goal is to plant my arrows on that bridge. Then we will see..."

Maybe Cedar would return during their approach?

[NPC Post]

"Yvonne, we are not killing innocent people for being in the wrong place and the wrong time." Well, potentially innocent. There's still the chance of the sentry lying through his teeth, but her duty to uphold the law couldn't allow any further killing until the crime was proven. "We're due for some talking. All of you, stay out of sight and ready. I'll have a chat with this mercenary leader."

Forcing the poor sentry up by the back of his tunic, Matilda clanked forward with the man in tow with no regard of being stealthy. She didn't look back, trusting her compatriots to remain just enough to be unseen by the little oblivious group playing cards under torchlight by the barn. The source of light would've cost them their darkvision, and they'll have no idea how big of a force she's bringing with her. Hopefully that'll prevent them from trying something colossally stupid.

The noise of her armor caught their attention before she even appeared. The group of... five stood up, hands reaching for weapons as they stared with uncertainty into the darkness. Then she stepped into sight, the motley bunch tensing as she let go of the sentry. The poor man stumbled before looking back for a confused second, then scrambled to rejoin his friends.

"I am Matilda Ironsword, servant of his highness King Fredricus of Kindeance. An important retinue of the king was recently kidnapped and our magicians are certain that he's held in this place. I demand your leader to present him or herself now."

She crossed her arms, looking as impatient as she actually felt like. Meanwhile, the supposed mercenaries looked at her and each other with incongruity before one finally snapped out of it and went into what looked like a slightly fancier tent than the rest. So far, so good.

4:12 AM
Fanghorn, Kingdom of Kindeance

As they went farther to the northwest, the trees became more sparse until there was nothing but brushes and clearings. The houses of the local farmers provide them ample covering, however, be it from eyes stationed on top of the walls or several towers at the corners of the city.

It did not take long for the team to reach their ideal position; a river bank with a steep side but a relatively flat shore. Jazdia nocked an arrow and measured her target. The bridge was one hundred and fifty meters away, it had four columns, and was four meters wide and thirty meters long across the Green River. It had one watch tower, which was currently empty, and no other sentries could be seen.

Her forty-four-pounder bow tensed as Jazdia pulled it to its peak draw, and soon it launched her enchanted arrow with a distinctive twang. The first shot landed on the second first column from the right, embedded in the gap between the bricks. The second shot was released, and it landed not far from the first one, impaled on the part of the structure that was covered with moss. The third shot bounced off and fell to the water below. Jazdia replaced that last arrow by firing on the same gap where her first arrow was. Three should be enough. Those arrows will be ready to detonate in half hour.

Jazdia climbed from that riverbank and turned on her radio. Her eyes were still activated as she began to walk around the compound. There didn't seem that many activities inside except in the inner citadel, which for some reason had magical enchantment protecting it. It was not very perfect; it had some gaps and cracks in its magical barrier, but still a nuisance nonetheless as Jazdia could barely peek inside like a half-opened curtain.

However, the inner castle was built under a large mound, thus its underground section had no such protection

"Their dungeon is empty, there is no princeling in there!" she stated as they arrived at the southeast part of the castle. "Huh, strange, pretty sure you will use your dungeon when you detain someone. There goes our plan to criminalize the baron for the mistreatment of royals."

"His lackeys seemed to hold a bloody convention on the third floor, right above the... huh Baron's quarter? Damn this barrier! It seems overused. How did a local baron can have one of those planted in his walls while Rascade, the Capital itself had none?"

"Matilda. Can you hear me? What's your status over there? We almost finished our part of the job. And that funny bear is MIA, I assume he is on the way to... regroup with you. We are waiting for the news from your side, Ma'am."

Location: Western farmstead, Pesti, Kingdom of Kindeance.
@A5G

---

So, the mercenary would live for the time being. Veronica nodded simply and followed Matilda's lead, keeping her distance, as the orc roughly escorted the captive guard back to the larger group. Shortly thereafter, the vampire would find herself lurking a small distance from the camp, crouched within the shadows. Her bow was readied in case intervention became necessary, but otherwise, she allowed herself to remain hands-off on the proceedings. This was Matilda's show now, and if it worked out, Veronica was all for a solution that avoided an outright fight.

[GM Post]

From Solomon's perspective, the shades that crossed the stone walls felt slightly more distant... or more accurately, the connection between them and their master were slightly hampered. The sensation intensified as they slithered into the keep, as if they're suddenly several times as far, but still well within his sphere of influence. What they find conform to Jazdia's own observation - the cellar was devoid of life, used mostly for storage though there's a couple of dreary and empty cells that hadn't seen use for quite some time. Further up on the first floor was a hall, several long tables were arranged neatly in the center. Some armed men were gathering, speaking some curiosity at the sudden mustering. Up another level and the shades discovered various private chambers, several bedrooms for either the baron, his family, or any guests, plus a study. The family wasn't present at all - their room showing no sign of lived on.

One shade tried entering the guest room, and that's the last Solomon heard of it - the existence snuffed instantly, like water droplet into a forge.

Another snuck into the baron's private chamber, which turned out was not-so-private at the moment. A middle-aged slightly plump man with balding head was in the middle of a conversation with a slightly taller old man with a head of immaculately groomed white hair and white beard. What conversation, exactly, was a mystery. Because the elder paused, turned to stare right at the shade, and with the snap of a finger the summoned entity ceased to be. A faint pulse of magic can be felt through the fort's dampening wall, and then any other shades infiltrating the keep found themselves systematically erased in short order.

[GM Post]

The next minute or two was quite awkward, for the few night-shift guards. Matilda herself was unmoving as a statue, with a mean glare to match. Thankfully it didn't take long before a hastily dressed man with an impressive scar across his face hurried out of the tent. Armed, of course. But the sword was sheathed. And he hadn't ordered the men to attack. Good enough.

"What- Dame Matilda. It's really you." The greying man stood straighter, and winced as he counted the standing guards. "My men are gone, I assume."

"You recognized me?" That elicited a raised eyebrow. Matilda tried to remember, but couldn't quite place where she could've met the man. Looked like one of those army types, but there's no way she could remember everyone. "Aye, my apologies. I acted with the best information I had."

"Aye, I was a sergeant in the army until the end of the rebellion a few years back. Didn't take too well to retirement, so I started my own company and goes from there. Name's Gilbert, by the way." Not much was changed in the mannerism, but the orc can see some tension leaving the shoulders. Some. This probably could still go south, if the wrong buttons were pushed. "I've heard the details. Damn shame that was, but the boys know what they signed up for. Still, I can at least ask for their death to be compensated, hm? Gotta look after them, as their boss. And I'd like to bury the bodies, please."

"I promise in my name that they'll receive a soldier's compensation for dying in the line of duty. Come visit me in the capital in a few days and it will be done." Matilda didn't even think too hard about it. She nodded in agreement, turning around to speak without even seeing anyone in particular. Just several short minutes and her night vision were gone. "V, retrieve the bodies please."

And with that done, back at Gilbert.

"Satisfied?"

"Good enough. I'd rather have the men back, but I know my limit. Now, let's get those boxes open. I'd like to see what caused the kingdom's finest to come at me and my boys, all ready for violence. Shouldn't have taken the contract, it's all fishy from start to finish. But men like us dies for wealth, aye?" He chuckled darkly. "Get us some prybars, lad. I know you're all curious about the cargo."

The barn was opened. It's... actually so much cleaner than anyone could've expected, as if someone had thoroughly cleansed any farm-related filth beforehand. Several crates of various size were stacked neatly, but Matilda's eyes were immediately drawn on to the by far largest box there. No, to call it a box would be a disservice. The thing was the size of an entire shack, and had iron chains tightly wound around it. Wasn't the prince stuck in a single, windowless room? But if so, the captor must be nearby to keep watch on him. Her eyes narrowed, hand never straying far from the hilt of her sword and she kept her back away from the mercenaries.

"The big one. Clear out the boxes surrounding it."

The underlings took one glance at Gilbert, who nodded in assent. They immediately began to work at it, all conveniently standing in eyesight as they did. If those outside tried anything funny, Matilda was sure her compatriots will do something about it. For now, it's her show.

"I'm sure you're curious about the contract. We've been here for... about two weeks? No, exactly two weeks. Some guy claiming to be a merchant from the capital, Smith and Sons Trading Company. Never heard of them before. Anyway, they want us to safeguard a secret batch of cargo that had, and I quote, 'attracted unwanted attention'. Whatever that meant. Normally I ain't touching that deal with a six foot pole, but the pay's generous. More than twice what we'd earn on a good month, and all that just to sit around doing nothing? Boys probably will lynch me if I refuse. That's how we get here."

Boxes were moved. A curious mercenary pried open a smaller one. It's filled with beddings, and not even the fancy kind. He scratched his head in confusion, then back to move more boxes.

"And these employers of yours. No sight of them?"

"No, they actually shows up every three days. Almost exactly at midday, with the same wagon. Just like clockwork, they are. They come and go into the barn, supposedly to check the merchandise, hands over our wage, and leave. There's usually less boxes after each visit, but sometimes they got replaced. It starts to look legit after a while, I guess?" Gilbert shook his head. "I'd call it too good to be true, but the money's the real deal. Honestly, we've made quite the killing. It's just the manner of the death doesn't sit quite right with me, yeah?"

Matilda didn't answer. The latest batch of removed crates revealed a door, plain and simply hidden behind other objects. She stepped forward, tugging at a chain but finding it wound solid to a padlock. Likely something that'll take at most a few minutes of effort for the "helpers" to dismantle, but impatience got the best of her. Drawing the heirloom sword, she angled the tip into the padlock and forced it down.

The resulting metallic screech was almost like a protesting keen of a sentient tool being used for an improper purpose, but it's probably just the wind playing tricks. With the padlock gone the chains slithered off, clattering noisily around the large crate. Matilda glanced around, only to be met with a number of curious audience that not-so-subtly tried to peer into the crate. She snorted audibly.

"Back off. If the person I seek is here, his identity is sensitive. And give me that prybar."

They backed off, reluctantly. Instead they took to opening the smaller crates with renewed vigor. The orc may had claim the grand prize, but the smaller items probably wouldn't even interest her.

A pair of iron sliding locks, secured by more padlocks. A little huff and grunt and the entire edifice was pried off, the padlocks untouched. Then there's a modest handle with a keyhole underneath. Matilda wedged the beak of the prybar and was about to heave the last obstacle when the forgotten comm device pinged with Jazdia's voice. She snarled in annoyance, but listened in. Part of her considered to ignore it, but she pushed the thought away. Keeping up to date was important.

"Finished? What do you mean finished, you found him there?" Was this place a red herring after all? "No sign of the bear here. I think I'm close, just give me a minute."

Stuffing the device back to the inner pocket, Matilda resumed opening the door with impatient fury. Several loud cracks later and it's finally pried off, and as the orc triumphantly flung the wooden panel open her expression froze on witnessing what's inside.

It wasn't a well-furnished room, with an elated prince welcoming the rescue.

An edifice of precisely cut stone, glass, and metal stood in the center, about as tall as a man. Its surface was dotted with mystical pattern of dizzying geometry, the lines glowing with otherworldly blue light. The inner side of the crate, in turn, was carved with rather similarly styled pattern. A chain reaction seemed to be ongoing, the patterns flaring brighter starting from the pried open door panel and spreading into the rest of it. The crate crumbled into many pieces, none seemingly larger than an inch, as if an impossibly sharp blade sliced it apart according to the pattern itself.

Then Matilda noticed that the bottom of the box wasn't glowing. Or more precisely, the glow was covered by a number of clay urns. She recognized the smell of black powder, and the telltale spark of a combustion. Her eyes widened as she realized that she had walked straight into a trap, and she barely had the time to raise an arm to cover her face when the terribly loud noise consumed the world.

Kaito followed Jazdia as they moved closer to the village. The riverbank provided them good cover from any prying eyes from the keep while still offering good visibility on their target. The elf had once again chosen a fine spot for the observation job at hand. However judging from her remarks there was some sort of magic barrier interfering the baron seemed to value his privacy.

”A magic barrier to keep your prying eyes out? That seems a whole lot more valuable than this rundown estate should be able to provide. That sure is suspicious. Sounds to me like we’ve come to the right place.”

The fox paused a bit to overthink the situation. It was indeed certainly suspicious that a lowly baron from by the looks of it an impoverished estate could afford such expensive magical devices. He was certainly hiding something. If it meant that he was hiding the prince, then Mathilda and her team were probably now in the process of running headfirst into a trap.

”It could be the prince he’s hiding. Or just something else he does not want the world to see. Anyway, since you can’t see past their barrier I guess we’ll have to do it the old fashioned way and get there up close. Entering the town should not be too difficult. We can just wait for the gates to open and pretend we’re travelers looking for a place to rest. I’m betting that Fanghorn has some sort of inn on the main road to the keep. We could go there and meet the local drunks who do nothing all day except downing grog and staring out of the window. Any word from the Orc?”

4:20 AM - 4:40
Fanghorn, Kingdom of Kindeance

That impatient hunk of muscle did not turn off the device and Jazdia could still hear what happened afterward, it sounded like the busy sound of someone forcefully crowbarring a nailed wooden container or a door open. And then, a pause before it finally crescendoed into a thundering explosion.

"...Mattie?"
A soft, continuous beep indicates that the device was suffering heavy damage and malfunctioning.

"Great! I hope she is not dead in a goddamn fire!"

It sounded prophetic, yet sarcastic at the same time. Jazdia thought they had determined that Pesti was likely a trap and must act accordingly and with great caution. With that in mind, nobody should be tempted to open something out of curiosity and impulse alone. They should have just go in there, look around, and scry to their heart's content.

"Scry... huh?"

She didn't overlook that one possibility. But Jazdia preferred to keep her judgment to herself. Her mind raced at Pesti and she genuinely hoped that Mattie was still in one piece. She looked back at the castle one last time and could see divine magic being practiced. By their gesture, it seemed they have noticed Solomon's summons and exorcised them. Quite a tight security in one place.

”It could be the prince he’s hiding. Or just something else he does not want the world to see. Anyway, since you can’t see past their barrier I guess we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way and get there up close. Entering the town should not be too difficult. We can just wait for the gates to open and pretend we’re travelers looking for a place to rest. I’m betting that Fanghorn has some sort of inn on the main road to the keep. We could go there and meet the local drunks who do nothing all day except downing grog and staring out of the window. Any word from the Orc?”

I can't see past the Barrier. That word was hard to swallow.

"Indeed the damn prince is likely in there, hidden behind the curtain. The Orc? Looks like she is in trouble and we all have been compromised. Come, we need to regroup."

"Regroup huh?"

"Our job here is to ensure that their avenue of quick escape has been cut off---" Jazdia activated her eyes and imagined how those bastards thought they were safe inside their fortress, with barrier and all--they were right.

She maneuvered back to the riverbank but did not climb down to her previous vantage point. Nah, she did not need extreme accuracy for this one.

An arrow rested in her bow, and into it, she imbued another explosion spell. The elf aimed, this time slightly elevated to compensate for the distance. With another pull and another release, the arrow flew in a whistle and blasted the bridge, and the other arrows that had been rigged there into a chain reaction.

The left side of the bridge collapsed, leaving only the vertical support and rampart on the right side of the bridge. Bridge disabled, and the explosion should be hard to miss. Let's see how they would like it!

"Let's go back to Pesti."

The elf, with eyes still activated led the group back to the treelines, their horses were still there, faithfully waiting, safe and sound. The coast was clear, she immediately reached the saddle to mount up, kicked the steed, and have it cantering immediately.

And to think that she expected this to at least relatively smooth.

"Mattie, what the fuck."

Even if there's complications, at worst Yvonne expected the mercenaries to turn on them the first chance they got. If they were to take it further, the prince may be nowhere to be seen. In which case they'll just commit mass murder and regroup with Jazdia's team, easy enough. But nooo, it's never an easy day in this latest job she got hitched at. Almost as if it's cursed or something. Clicking her tongue, Yvonne broke into a sprint to approach the barn. The building looked intact, but from the intensity sound and the resulting shrapnel that flew far enough to clatter near her feet there's no way the people inside was remotely well after the explosion.

Well, that and the fact that no one's running out of the wooden building. And did she mentioned the fire? Because it's getting real bright real fast in there. Point being, she probably should try drag Mattie out before the entire thing turned into a pyre.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"What the fuck are the sentries doing?! Captain, where is captain?!"

Good job Yvonne, way to jynx it. Now that the sleeping company was rapidly rousing and arming, with the most daring few running out only wearing shorts with whatever weapon they had, it's looking more and more unlikely to avoid using violence. Non-lethal takedown was possible, yes, but... any delay may result in Mattie's death. Cant have that, they hadn't even get to share a reunion chat yet.

She's got to be alive. Girl's a tough one. Definitely.

”What do you mean in trouble? What did she say, do you have any intel on their situation? Did they run into an obvious trap based on intel too good to be true? ” Spoke Kaito as he hurried to get on his horse. The last sentence the fox spoke was rather unnecessary. However he had been very vocal against splitting up and had shared his doubts about Pesti but got cut short on that. It seemed that it turned out that he was right all along. Something he could not help but to share with a sarcastic remark.

By what little information Jazdia was sharing it was pretty clear that Mathilda’s team did not locate the prince. Not that Kaito, Jazdia, Solomon and Cedar had any more success on that front. They did not manage to get confirmation that the prince was actually in the fortress. It was still a possibility that the prince was in Fanghorn but the decision was made to not further investigate but rather to rush towards Pesti.

Kaito wasn’t sure if he liked that decision. Their mission was to bring back the prince. Some losses on the way were to be expected. Rushing to Pesti meant that they would lose track of the only lead they had and with Jazdia blowing up the bridge, their enemies would be aware that Fanghorn was compromised. If the prince was being held in that castle, they would certainly consider relocating him and then the team would be back to square 1. However the kitsune decided to keep these concerns to himself as he was under the impression that his inputs weren’t valued.

---

Something was wrong. A change in the air. Faint, almost not existent. Something enough for a single shadow to have returned. The flat image of a man rose out of the ground, a silhouette standing before Solomon. It had lost contact with the others, something Solomon noticed as well. Whatever lay in the keep remained hidden. Whatever it was worth protecting beyond the scope of even the undead. Why would such countermeasures even exist for such remote, night impossible probability? Solomon turned to reveal this development to Jazdia, but something had changed in her demeanor as well. Guard captain Matilda was in trouble. Pesti was indeed a trap. The vision Veronica received from her scry was false. Jazdia called it best to regroup. And Solomon agreed. Even with their conservative assessment of the enemy prowess, again they were underestimated. They took advantage with increasingly effective tactics against the pursuit.

A lot of thought had been put into the capture of the prince, more so than what was initially realized. It was frightening how much forethought went into not only the initial capture and assassination attempt, but also in the prince’s captivity. It was starting to get frustrating. But it also revealed that the king might not have been the primary target to begin with. It looks like whatever the enemy had planned involved the prince, and more than just hostage.

As Jazdia returned to the river bank to take out the bridge, Solomon began to mutter to himself. Cedar was still not back from setting traps. He didn’t seem like one to run away, but the shadow confirmed that after rigging the surroundings of the keep, he began to make his way back towards where they had arrived from. The shadow lost sight of him as it remained circling the perimeter of the fort and the gates. Solomon opened his mouth, speaking silently words unknown. The shadow collapsed in the ground once again, gliding off away from Fanghorn. It would attempt to find Cedar, figure out what happened to him, and if possible, direct him to go to Pesti. As for the fort, and the means to hinder their escape, if not outright prevent it, something should be done with the traps Cedar had sowed.

A large boom echoed through the trees followed by the distant sounds of stone crumbling. It sounded as though Jazida succeeding in collapsing the bridge. Solomon took that as a cue. If Cedar were not here to grow his plants, then Solomon had another. Once again holding his hand above the ground in front of him, dark energy and silver wisps emanated from the large tome, and circled his form, collecting into his palm.

“I call upon thee. August of the Faalt Forests. I request your presence. Heed my command and come forth.” sharp words, yet uttered barely above a whisper. The energy spiked and then from his palm straight into the earth. A mound started to grow from where the energy penetrated the earth an arm erupting from it. A long, cragged arm like tree bark, another soon sprouted. With long claws that dug into the soil, the form continued to emerge. It was though the very dirt was taking form as the being rose. Sashes began to weave over the torso. As the dirt around the being’s head fell off over its shoulders, the form of a pristine skull of some horned animal became visible. Elk horn, largely and proudly displayed, the being towered over Solomon. Eye sockets empty, it was clear this being was looking right at Solomon, wordlessly questioning it being summoned.

What felt like minutes was only a few seconds since the siabrae had come to being from the earth. It sighed. Or at least it made a sound akin to such. It was clear that he had no desire to do what Solomon was requesting. “You put too much ambition in the dealings with them. I’ll grow his thorns. They’ll live for now.”

“Once the gates have been thoroughly sealed, and the obstacles set, please join us at Pesti. There is magic among the inhabitants of the keep that you alone are not equipped to handle.” The siabrae didn’t respond, walking out of the forest before suddenly sinking into the ground burrowing below the surface, leaving nary a mound in his place. Hopefully, there was time for the undead druid to sufficiently cultivate the cage of thorns Cedar had prepared before the inhabitants could respond if at all to the explosion.

Jazdia and Kaito returned shortly after August had departed. They did not stay, quickly moved towards the horses. Solomon followed and mounted with them. As close as they were to the prince, the evidence thus far showed how under prepared they really were. It seemed to be of similar truth for Guard captain Matilda and her team.


And of Pesti, the shadows sent to watch the village responded to the explosion in the barn. They convened around the encampment and barn. Men awoke from their slumber at the perceived attack, ready to defend their position. The shadows would work as a distraction, feigning the presence of an enemy where there was none, and furthering their confusion. In this manner, hopefully it would give Yvonne and the others time regroup, search, and rescue.

[NPC Post]

Reinhold whistled as the bridge collapsed into the river, dark chunks of stone falling into inky-black depth as the current hungrily devoured the structure until all that's left where the head and tail end of it. Yeah, that'll stop them from leaving alright. Then it's only a matter of-

"Wait, what? Leaving?" Seemed like he was too hasty. Of course these folks will ensure their companion's safety for the moment. Oh well. What's a few more hours, right? "I suppose that's prudent. I'll stay here, might as well keep an eye on them. You can find me in the hilly region east of the village."

The sentries atop the fort was shouting in alarm, barely audible even from this far out. At least one of them saw the explosions, and despite the dark of the night there's still faint trace of moonbeams that gave enough sight of the bridge collapsing. Well, if they didn't know that they're under attack they could be certain now.

Jazdia's horse barely moved a few distances when Kaito asked. "”What do you mean in trouble? What did she say, do you have any intel on their situation? Did they run into an obvious trap based on intel too good to be true? ”

"She said nothing important, the usual." Jazdia pulled the reins a bit harder than usual, causing her mount to slightly recoiled in protest. She wasn't an animal lover sort, but after a gentle tap on the neck, the beast had calmed down.

"From what I heard, Matilda was trying to force an entry into a building or trying to open something. She triggered a tripwire or god knows what I guess. Explosion ensued. The comms stopped working after that."

Jazdia nodded at the hunter, who had expressed his intention to remain here. "Good Idea. Tell the bear that we are regrouping with Matilda and to... uh stay here until we returned. Or whatever."

Seeing the doctor has already joined them, the party started their journey back to Pesti. Although time was against them, they did not force their steeds to gallop and opted for a more steady pace. They would need the horses in top condition on their way back to Fanghorn. Hopefully.

Riding side by-side, Jazdia noticed the gloom on Kaito's face. "You don't seem very happy. Mind sharing it, little fox?"

Chounan had been overwatching the party from a good vantage point. He went along with Veronica as the time the pale girl seperated the party to took someone who meant for integration. A good distance behind the pale girl, he witnessed her how to fight in shadows. He was impressed. As they regroup to Matilda's party along with a taken hostage, he switched back for overwatching the whole party.

When the time the explosion occurred. Assume that reinforcement will come. Chounan spoke to Veronica. "Lady Veronica. Keep an eye of Lady Yvonne and Dame Matilda. I will welcome our guests.". He jumped down from vantage point and mounted his horse and ready his katana. The incoming unorganized wave of mercenary group were welcome by himself from unexpected flank. Master of jocking gave Chounan and his horse a good maneuvery and dodging on incoming attacks. The kicks of the horse hooves is his offense and his katana is his additional defense as for deflecting both melees and range attacks against him and his horse. He enjoyed high ground advantages and he have Ki and Perfect counter during the initiation.

Jazdia’s comment about Kaito not looking too happy caught the fox by surprise. He was always under the impression that he was pretty decent about hiding his feelings but the elf once again cut through his mask like it wasn’t even there. For a moment he just stared at his companion wondering what he should say. Even though Kaito was generally the most talkative person of the group, talking about his feelings was something he was not particularly good at. Maybe it was because he has a history of manipulating others and was afraid of having his own feelings used against him. Or was it because he did not understand what he was feeling himself.

The fox turned his face towards the road again as their horses dashed forward. For a moment there was this eerie silence. He could not hide it and saying that there was nothing would surely not convince the elf. ”It’s just….” began the fox. ”It’s just that I saw this coming. I tried to talk some sense into Mathilda and you about that the Pesti info was too good to be true and most likely a trap. I understand that you want to cover all bases but it just feels like I'm being ignored and that my opinion isn’t valued. That kind of frustrates me and now stuff is a mess.”

Kaito paused and looked at Jazdia. Wondering if he somehow sounded like he was antagonizing her or as some entitled asshole. ”I’m not good at stuff like misdirection, manipulation and scheming because of my magic. It’s that I am good at my magic because I understand how to misdirect, manipulate, scheme and stuff like that. I understand to a certain degree how people think and how I can use that to my advantage. Our enemy does that too. That is why they set up a trap that Mathilda would walk right into, forcing us to take our eyes off Fanghorn.”

The kitsune turned his eyes to the road again, watching the trees move by as they made fast progress towards Pesti. ”Anyway….we should focus on the task at hand. The only intel we have is that there was an explosion. If we can’t get into contact with anyone on her team we should approach Pesti really carefully. Mathilda and the other could be all dead and our enemies could have set another trap for us to walk into. It is pretty obvious that our enemy's first priority for now is to get rid of us.”

"Mess? No, not all. This is still within my calculation. Fred wanted to use me as a pawn, I simply did the same to his subordinate. Hurting Matilda means the Noble in charge of these lands can be held accountable, and his next move will be easier to observe. I simply prefer to have our dear captain take the brunt. Remember that she is the leader in this investigation, and was eager to go to Pesti. The decision was taken as the compromise."

Jazdia's voice was as cold as the morning air, and it stayed that way when she continued.

"Our enemy is trying to get rid of us? You don't say! I don't know how to say this without making you feel undervalued, or making me look confronting, but you are stating what both of us had already aware of, and yet the big question still remained; How would we deal with it?

Jazdia closed her reply by giving the fox a searched look.

[GM Post]

Yvonne had no idea when did Chowder retrieved his horse, but there he came riding it into the throng of confused mercenaries. There's just one problem though - it was not a trained warhorse. The explosion earlier must've already startled it somewhat fierce, and then it's directed toward a bunch of screaming people and pointy object.

As a result? It bucked the rider off and took off into the night.

That embarassing little hiccup aside, the man's skill was the real deal. He dodged, deflected, and parried with ease even against increasing number, occupying enough of them that Yvonne didn't see much trouble going in. No one's getting killed either, surprisingly. Maybe mass murder could still be avoided.

Swatting a young lad's spear out of his grasp, Yvonne shoved the little obstacle aside before entering the barn. Fire had started to spread now, unnaturally so. There's likely pitch or oil involved for it to be this bad. Thankfully Matilda wasn't hard to locate, laying on her back not far off from the center. That... didn't look good. The armor had prevented the worst damage to vital parts, but some of the weaker points and the joints was savaged by shrapnel. Not to mention that she's practically next to the source of the explosion. Compared to open wounds, shockwave injuries were silent and insidious. If someone's shanked in the gut at least it's clear what's the damage was, but ain't no telling if there's internal bleeding somewhere before suddenly the victim dropped dead.

"Shit. Come on, big girl. Ain't time for a dirt nap yet."

Lifting the orc was out of question, but Yvonne tested the cuirass and found it still holding together just fine so she grabbed and pulled it by the back of the neck. Keeping her stance low, the mercenary coughed as she moved as fast as she could out of the burning building. There were other bodies in there. Possibly other survivors, too. But she's not in any position to play the hero. One step after the other. Soon enough the burnt acrid air was replaced with cool night wind, and that's one danger out of.

Still not all safe, though. Mercs were grouping up and organizing. Some of them stood in her way, and Yvonne's still too close to the burning barn for comfort. She reeeeally didn't feel like talking right now. Her free hand twitched closer to the mace's handle. Can she kill them? Let's kill them, yeah?

Not far away was a group trying to corner Chowder. Non-lethal takedown was good and all, but proven to be quite difficult to do when they're covering for each other. It'll take some time to get it resolved... or an intervention from someone else.