Mission Log #4

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How It Works

Welcome to the fourth mission log in Annexed!

How Mission Logs Work: There will generally be two main missions per month, with different focuses tailored to different skillsets (usually stealth vs. fighting, though other skillsets will be tapped on). Each mission will be posted in phases, with a prompt for the start of each phase. The plotting post will give you a rundown of what the missions are, how they might go, and what might be discovered. Characters may partake in whichever pat of the operation they choose, whether it's a large prominent part or a more supporting role. Characters may participate in both missions, and as many phases as they wish.

Mod Guidance: Players may request occasional scene-setting when they hit a point where they're unsure what might happen next in a log or what their characters might encounter. There will be a "Mod Guidance" comment that players can reply to in order to request this kind of scene-setting.

Completion of Missions: There will be a submissions comment for anyone who's threaded out a portion of the mission. Once a thread has been completed at least halfway, please submit your character's progress and plans for the thread to the submissions thread. These submissions are the main way that the mod will decide how the mission went in the next month's wrap-up post, so they are very important!

Plotting Post: Here!

The Invasion

Several months ago, there was a mission to deliver supplies to an endangered outpost of the Witches Camp. This outpost is called the Northeastern Front, and is in a particularly highly disputed piece of territory. There are constant raids and espionage by the Sylphid, who are trying to claim the area for settlement and to provide a much smoother route of invasion for the Witches Camp itself.

Just this morning, a scout from the Northeastern Front stumbled into the Witches Camp, dehydrated and starving, on foot, to report that the outpost has been completely taken over by the Sylphid, who hit with a surprise attack in the middle of the night. The scout reports that the outpost's inhabitants have been shut into locked cages and are being held without food or water, and that the Sylphid are occupying the camp completely.

The Witch is proposing a mission to retake the Northeastern Front. If this outpost remains taken by the Sylphid, a full on invasion of the Witches Camp can't be far behind, not with such a pivotal location taken over.

The Witch will be calling a general meeting at the Command Center where she will explain the situation and the proposed missions to stop it.

Mission A: Scouting the Scene

Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: recon, stealth

This mission will focus on recon and stealth. Characters will travel on hover-ATVs to the Northeastern Front, where they will park in the jungle outside of the range of scouting by the Sylphid, and approach on foot. They will approach and learn the rounds of the Sylphid guards as well as release prisoners from the cages and take them out of the outpost to be rehydrated and fed.

PHASE I: RECON
The first phase of the mission involves the trip to the Northeastern Front, which is a trial unto itself, and working out the rounds of the Sylphid guards that are patrolling around the edges of the city. The biggest challenge of this phase will be getting to the Northeastern Front and parking at the rendezvous location outside the outpost, considering the terrain of the jungle and its inhabitants.

The Northeastern Front is to the northeast of the Witches Camp, nestled in the jungle just at the edge of The Troop. The outpost has been the subject of constant Sylphid attack and espionage since it was founded, but is very necessary for keeping track of Sylphid movements in the area, which is a highly disputed piece of territory. There have been several battles in the area previously, and it is only barely held by the Witches at this time. The trip to the outpost is hazardous, a rough-hewn barely-cleared path that winds through the jungle, and which must be navigated with great care. There are several hazards along the path.

⇝ Jungle Terrain: The path is mostly overgrown and very twisting, which is done on purpose to camouflage the path in the jungle. Only those who have been instructed on how to follow the path can follow it with any kind of confidence or ease. There are shrubs, tree roots, and other natural barriers that threaten anyone who travels the path too carelessly.

⇝ Wild Animals: There are a great deal of wild animals, many of them oversized, that will be both familiar and unfamiliar to people from Earth. There are large sabretooth cats, snakes and insects that have grown to the size of small buildings, wild boars, oversize deer that can take out a hover-ATV with their antlers and hooves, slime monsters, venomous and carnivorous plants, and many others. Be creative and come up with whatever monsters you like!

⇝ Sylphid Agents: The area is also swarming with Sylphid agents - scouts and hunting parties searching out the path itself and threatening the rendezvous point. Avoid these parties, or take them on, either is completely acceptable.

⇝ Magical and Mechanical Traps: Some of the Sylphid scouting parties have found portions of the path from the Witches Camp to the Northeastern Front, though they haven't yet found the rendezvous point yet. These scouting parties have set up various traps of both magical and mechanical types. Some of these traps can be deadly - pits with spikes at the bottom, flying logs, magical tripwires that disintegrate parts of the people caught in them. Again, be creative and feel free to come up with traps of your own.

Once the group has made its way to the rendezvous point, they will sneak up to the Northeastern Front and take their places in the jungle surrounding it, well-camouflaged with gear they've carried on their hover-ATVs such as ghillie suits, and watch the rounds of the guards to get a good idea of the best points of entry. These should be marked on a map of the area that will be provided for download on their personal devices.

PHASE II: INFILTRATION
Once they have divined the pattern of rounds that are run by the Sylphid guards, the recon and infiltration crew will be tasked with sneaking around the camp and mapping it out, as the Sylphid have rearranged it after taking it over. This includes the movements of the people inside and the location of the cages that the previous residents of the outpost are being held in and the movements of the guards that are keeping watch over them.

There are some notable locations within the camp:

⇝ Mess Hall: Where the Sylphid are being fed and where they congregate when not on duty. The mess hall serves meals but also functions as a sort of bar and communal hanging out location with a few pub-style games like darts and a pool table. Here is where you'll find a large amount of the Sylphid at any given time. Best mapped but otherwise avoided.

⇝ Armory: Where the Sylphid go to collect body armor and weapons. The best place to get armed in the outpost. There's less of a congregation of Sylphid here, but the ones that are seem to be quite ready for a scrap. Another place mapped but otherwise avoided, unless you want to try to steal their weapons out from under them - a dangerous idea.

⇝ Tents: The bulk of the outpost is made up of tents that each house four Sylphid. These were taken wholesale from the previous occupants of the camp and redistributed to Sylphid, without being moved. In the area of the camp that's just tents for housing Sylphid, the maps as they are still apply.

⇝ Cages: Brought in by the Sylphid and with rebels packed into them like sardines, the cages are kept at the 'back' of the camp, in a relatively dark area that's close to the jungle. There are consistently 6 guards on duty, all of which will need to be subdued before any liberation of the rebels within can occur. Each cage holds about 8 rebels, and there are 12 cages in total. The cages are each solid metal and under the influence of an anti-magic spell, one per cage, intended to keep the inhabitants of the cage from doing magic and rendering any spells to unlock the cages useless. The cages will have to be opened using lockpicks or brute force, with saws that will make quick work of the locks having been provided by the rebels for this mission.

PHASE III: LIBERATION
The final phase of the first mission will focus on liberating the rebel residents of the Northeastern Front from the cages they've been imprisoned in. This sounds simpler than it is, considering this phase of the mission is meant to be as stealthy as the previous phases, hopefully retaining the element of surprise for the takeover battle that is to follow.

Characters who have been watching the camp will have found that the guards watch the prisoners for a shift of 6 hours before being relieved by a new wave of guards, and that other than these guards, there isn't much attention paid to the cages. The Sylphid are quite confident that the inhabitants are too hungry, thirsty, and magic-blocked to get out of the cages, and that the guards watching them will catch any dangerous business before it happens.

The best bet would be to silence and take out all the guards as quickly as possible after they start a new shift, preferably at night. Under the cover of darkness, these infiltrators can then open the locks as quietly as possible and free the prisoners, taking them back to the rendezvous location. The prisoners will be quite sick from dehydration, hunger, and abuse, but will recover quickly once given rations and water, and be ready to aid in the battle to retake their home. The people of the Northeastern Front are very hardy people, who take pride in maintaining their independence and their hold on this dangerous and highly-contested piece of land - they do not take kindly to being taken over, overpowered, and locked up. They'll have a lot to prove to themselves and, in their minds, to The Witch, once freed.

Try to make the liberation quick, though, because once the prisoners are released, there is only the remainder of that guard group's shift before the next shift arrives and discovers that the prisoners are missing!

Mission B: The Battle

Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: open battle

This mission will focus on open battle to take back the Northeastern Front. Once the prisoners have been removed and taken to safety, a force will approach the outpost on hover-ATV and suit up in body armor and arm themselves with weapons to retake the outpost. This will be a knock-down drag-out battle, straight up, with characters routing and taking down Sylphid, capturing prisoners for interrogation, and trying not to destroy the infrastructure of the camp.

PHASE I: ASSEMBLY
Before the final battle to retake the Northeastern Front, the troops must gather at the rendezvous point for briefing, to help with reviving the prisoners who've been freed from the cages, and to generally get on the same page for a plan of attack. The Witch herself will be at the rendezvous point, ready to give an empowering speech and to personally participate in the battle, wielding powerful magic and carrying a magitech sword that she's very skilled at using.

Characters who are attending for battle will face the same dangers coming to the rendezvous point that the first crew faced, with the jungle terrain, animals, Sylphid scouts, and other dangers applying just as much as it did for the stealth group. Once they reach the rendezvous point, they will find that it's set up almost like a mini-camp, complete with patrolling guards and a tent where they can pick up a bowl of mushroom and rabbit stew to fortify themselves before battle. While they eat, they can look at a map that's been set up in the tent with a cohesive and well-scouted layout of the camp. It's recommended that people coming in to participate in the battle familiarize themselves with the map and know where everything is located within the Northeastern Front.

The battle will be beginning anywhere from 5 hours or less after the liberation of the prisoners, and this time can be spent helping revive prisoners, memorizing the map, making plans with fellow rebels, and coordinating with The Witch and her people. There will also be a round table discussion of the battle's plan of action, so if you have a good plan, this will be the time to speak up and make yourself heard.

PHASE II - INVASION
Before the opportunity arises for the Sylphid to raise an alarm, the group ready to carry out the attack on the Northeastern Front will sneak their way through the jungle to the clearing and descend upon the enemy all at once, from all sides.

This is to be a relatively straightforward attack, and between the new extrauniversal arrivals and the NPC rebels, there should be enough people to be on an equal playing field with the Sylphid in the area. This will be a knock-down drag-out fight, with both sides going hard and fast, sword against sword, magic against magic, and skill against skill. Both sides will be heavily armed and wearing body armor and will be pretty evenly matched.

About halfway through the battle, however, anyone may find the Sylphid commander in the mess hall tent with the radio, asking for backup. Before anyone has a chance to stop her, unfortunately, there will be a call sent out for backup from Zephyr. But realistically, how could they get here with any semblance of time to spare, right? Right?

PHASE III - SURVIVAL & SUCCESS
Just as the tide of battle is starting to turn in favor of the rebels, the backup from Zephyr arrives in the form of three powerful mages with their equally powerful familiars, arriving via a teleportation spell.

These mages are the most powerful the Sylphid have in their arsenal and won't be easy to win against. The mages and their familiars are as follows:

⇝ Silhara and Dragon: Silhara is the name of the first mage to arrive. She is possessed of powerful fire magic, including fireballs, flmespouts, and the ability to manipulate fire, and has a dragon as a familiar. The dragon has stone skin, almost impossible to penetrate and powerful fire breath, as well as vicious fangs and claws. The dragon stands approximately 12 feet tall and is about 20 feet long from the tip of the tail to the snout. The dragon does have one weak spot - a place at the base of the throat where the plates of the stone skin overlay each other, which must be hit with a precise cutting blow while the dragon is inhaling in preparation to unleash its fire breath.

⇝ Dark'ness and Hydra: Dark'ness is the name of the second mage to arrive. They are possessed of powerful shadow magic, including the ability to take control of a person via controlling their shadow, the creation of complete darkness, and they have a hydra as a familiar. The hydra has 4 heads and with each head that is cut off, two more will grow from the neck, with each head bearing vicious poison-dripping fangs. The hydra stands at approximately 10 feet tall and is about 25 feet long from the tip of the longest snout to the end of the tail. The hydra does have a weak spot - the heart, which must be pierced in order to kill the thing, or all of the heads being beheaded at once so no heads remain.

⇝ Dendrite and Chimera: Dendrite is the name of the third mage to arrive. He is possessed of a type of magic that hits people in their nervous systems, allowing him to cause immeasurable pain without touching someone or to completely immobilize someone with a timed strike of his fists against sensitive parts of the person, and he has a chimera as familiar. The chimera has the heads of both a lion and a goat protruding from the large catlike body, and a snake for a tail. It has powerful headbutting abilities with the goat's head and vicious fangs in the lion's head, along with powerful claws and a venomous bite from the tail. The chimera stands at about 8 feet tall and is about 14 feet long from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. The chimera does have a weak spot - it is exceptionally weak to beheading, and will lose control and go berserk if either head is removed, completely losing control and refusing to obey its master's commands, though a berserk chimera is a very powerful thing. Best to remove both heads at once if possible.

Once these three mages have been defeated, the tide of battle will turn, and the remaining Sylphid will flee the camp, leaving it to be taken over by the rebels and returned to normal.

NAVIGATION

Comments

I

[scarabwings]

Layla's spotted him around camp a couple of times since leaving him at Central Command to be briefed on the situation more thoroughly than the escape from Sylphid holding had allowed, but has so far opted to leave him to his solitary prowling. But she's in the store when he enters, looking to replace a shirt ruined by dragonet blood, and she sees the gleam in the shopkeeper's eye, familiar from markets the world over.

She sees, too, how far his sleeve has been tugged down, how much of the metal hand it covers, and so when she strolls up to smile at him across one of the tables of textiles like he's an old friend, she offers in lieu of greeting, "You might want to consider gloves. A bit less fiddly."

[worthallthis]

At least this is a face he knows. He's not necessarily comfortable with her, but he might be more comfortable with her than pretty much anyone else.

It's not saying much.

He tugs at the sleeve over his hand again and gives her a look that might possibly say "I am not an idiot" but might also just be disgruntled, in general. But he is familiar with the concept of gloves, he just... doesn't have any. "I don't know where to get gloves. I haven't seen any."

[scarabwings]

Idiot, perhaps not - but the escape from the Sylphid holding facility had not, perhaps, left her with the best impression of his sense of subtlety.

"They're pretty common in the mage's quarter," she says. "Work gloves for handling dangerous equipment. Are you looking for anything specific here, or just something a little sturdier to wear?"

[worthallthis]

Mage's quarter. He'll remember that, and go look there, maybe. He knows where it is, but he was nervous there, not sure what any of the weird things there were for.

"Just. More." He plucks at his threadbare collection of clothes unhappily. "This is insufficient." It isn't armor, so it may never be sufficient, but more would be better. Something heavier, for certain. Maybe less scratchy. Nothing he has on right now is particularly comfortable. "Decent boots."

[scarabwings]

"All right," she says, taking a step back and studying him closely, as though taking his measure. More literally in this case than previously.

Damn, but he's big.

She shifts a little to screen him from the door and the shopkeeper before asking, "Can you you pull your sleeve up a bit, just above the wrist? Just for a second or two, and then you can put it back."

[worthallthis]

His gaze flickers from her to the counter then back, but he does do it, showing her the plates going even further up his arm. "It's metal to the shoulder," he explains, figuring that's why she asked. "With bracing under the skin on the left side." He can feel it all more than usual.

[scarabwings]

Layla nods acknowledgment, but it's the surface of the arm she studies for a moment - it is segmented, like she'd thought she remembered. Something smooth as a base layer, then, less likely to catch on the plates.

"That must hurt," she says quietly. Must be necessary, too, given how much that much metal must weigh. "--You can put your sleeve back down."

[worthallthis]

He does, readily, but shrugs a little at the statement. "I'm used to it." He tugs the sleeve further down, then, and admits, "It doesn't usually last this long. I used to heal more quickly. It's that chip thing." It needs to come out, but the only option for that is doctors, and he refuses. He can't go anywhere near them. He can't.

[scarabwings]

"You can have it removed," she says - they should've told him that in orientation, but it's been long enough since she's sat in on one of those that she's not sure they actually had.

"There are some drawbacks, but it's a safe enough procedure. I know a few people here who've gone through it."

She half-turns, then heads toward a rack of folded shirts, some local fabric not unlike cotton. "--Here, this would be a good start."

[worthallthis]

Yeah, he knows it can come out. And he knows how. That's the problem. He hesitates unhappily, stalls by following her, staring at the clothing rack. "Can someone do it who isn't a. Isn't. Not medical."

[scarabwings]

She's quiet for a long moment, frowning slightly in thought. In the end, the only answer she can give is, "I don't know. Normally, I'd say probably not - anything that close to your nervous system would pose a serious risk. But there might be a way to remove it with magic, or someone with Heba powers who can take it out without surgery. You could ask around. There must be other people in the camp who...aren't fond of medical facilities."

[worthallthis]

He knows enough about his own capabilities right now to feel a little despair at that. He doesn't know how to ask around. He doesn't know how to ask. He only managed something almost a question, and not a request, to Layla because she's the only person he even halfway knows here.

So he says without much hope, "Okay."

[scarabwings]

Layla sorts through the shirts to buy herself a little time, coming up with one in a soft grey-green that will blend in easily with the shadows in the jungle. She holds it up, eyeing him for a moment, then nods her satisfaction, and turns to re-fold it, before holding it and another similar in size, but blue-grey rather than green, out to him. "Here. These will do for a start."

She hesitates a moment. She shouldn't get involved, she should--

Oh, who's she kidding. Of course she's going to get involved.

"I can make some inquiries too," she offers. "I can't promise it'll pan out - it might just be too delicate a procedure to remove any other way - but at least you'll know."