“I don’t think they’re going to go back to the old search routines.” Daryl stared at the images Ita projected on the wall. “I don’t think I can take out another group without making it obvious I was feigning weakness. Plus, they’re starting to look in other directions; they’ll look here before long. We need to move camp.”
Serenity shook his head. “Not much point in that; this camp’s as good a location as we’re going to be able to find. I think we need to give up on the idea of catching the Viper outside the base.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Zanzital spoke sharply with a frown. “You’re the one that’s supposed to have a plan.”
Serenity took a look at Zanzital. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen the Guildmaster express annoyance at Serenity’s leadership, but it was probably the clearest. Serenity wasn’t certain if Zanzital was simply used to being in charge or if there was something more, the way Rissa suggested. She thought he was jealous of Serenity, but that didn’t make sense to Serenity. The only thing he had that was worth jealousy was Rissa, and Zanzital didn’t pay any attention to her.
Serenity reached for the maps he’d prepared over the last few days. Most of the preparation was in his head, checking distances and routes, then comparing them with the patrols he saw either in the base or on the surface. Once he had a plan, he started putting it on paper. He thought it would work, but this was the first test: could he convince the others?
“This is a map of the base, as best I’ve been able to put it on paper. It’s not level, so some of the corridors actually cross over or under others. I’ve done my best to map them out so they’re understandable.” The base was probably originally a mine or a cave system; Serenity couldn’t tell which, but the plan was just plain confusing at first. Because of that, he’d made certain that the routes he wanted to take were clearly shown in the version on paper; if the plan wasn’t accepted on its merits, that was fine. Having it fail because it wasn’t understandable would be his fault.
Serenity laid the papers out to form a large, detailed map, then pointed at the spots he’d noted as entrances. “There are actually seven different ways in. They’re all guarded, but these three all have only one guard. If we take this route in,” Serenity traced a route from an “entrance” to the aircraft hangar, “we can get to the flyer maintenance area without fighting anyone other than that one guard. Even better, we’re between there and the areas the Viper stays in the whole time.”
“Why do we need to get to the flyer storage area? You already broke all of the flyers. They’re not attacking Tzintkra anymore.” Zanzital taped the hangar. “If we really need to go there, we can just go in the same way you got me out.”
Serenity paused. He’d thought Zanzital already knew this, but maybe he wanted everything explained again. “We could, but not without being obvious. I’m pretty sure the Viper would run if we went in with enough force to clear the way in quickly.” Serenity relaxed a little when he saw Zanzital’s unconscious nod. The other man was difficult but at least he could listen.
“As for why we’re headed to the flyers, we’re not. We’re headed here.” Serenity tapped the large room he’d traced in next to the hangar. “It’s warded, but if the information I got while I was deep inside the base is correct, this is the location of the Hollow One ritual. We need to stop it, which means sending someone there.”
Serenity glanced at his friends and allies; some nodded while others concentrated on the map. It seemed like a good time to move on with the plan. “At the same time, we need to get here,” Serenity tapped another spot on the map. It was another lightly sketched room without details, far smaller than the first. “This is the room that’s supposed to be the Viper’s escape route. It’s fairly isolated, but he has to be using it for something else as well; people enter and leave periodically. If we take this route, we can get there relatively silently, but it’s in a busier part of the base than the first route.”
Both of the routes Serenity picked actually started from the cliffside. They were probably as much for ventilation as anything else, though they might once have been real entrances; they were big enough. If there had ever been any way to get to them without flying or climbing the cliff, though, it was gone.
“Over here is another warded room that I don’t know the purpose of,” Serenity tapped the other small warded room on the map. “It’s used similarly to the second one, so it feels like something we will need to deal with. Fortunately, it’s close to the second one; whoever heads there can go in with the group for the second room.” Serenity paused and looked up. No one seemed to have made the jump yet, even though it was implied in what he’d said. “I think we should head in in four groups.”
That got everyone’s attention. Serenity couldn’t even tell who said what as half the people in front of him protested; all he knew was that Rissa and Blaze were the only people who didn’t try to talk. Even Ita said something he couldn’t make out.
Aide might be able to split out the separate voices, but Serenity didn’t see any point in trying.
Serenity leaned back in his chair and gave everyone a chance to make their objections heard. They were essentially all what he’d expected; no one really liked the idea of splitting up and four groups was obviously too many, especially when he’d only given three targets. The one exception was Ita, who didn’t have a problem with the plan as long as she was on Serenity’s team.
Serenity shook his head. “The fourth objective isn’t in the base, it’s up here. We have to do something about all of the scouts up here and we have the perfect way, if we bring in all of the mercenaries who want to fight in Takinat. They’ll be thrilled to handle them, and that’s at least half the base. I don’t really want to send them into the base, but they should be able to handle the surface.”
“It’ll be a mess,” Zanzital observed. “And how are we going to get them here anyway?”
Serenity shrugged. “Portals. I can only handle that distance in the ley line, but we can bring as many through as we have time as long as we stay in it. As long as I can use the ley line energy, I can hold it open for long enough. We can have everyone head to the Mercenary Guild headquarters in the morning, open if there. That way, we can head off to our own entrances before midday; if everyone’s ready, it shouldn’t take more than two or three hours to get everyone through the portal. Then we have the attack begin here when we’re in position inside the base.”
“How do we get back out? Fight our way out?” Zanzital sounded more intrigued than annoyed now, but he clearly hadn’t given up on poking holes in the idea.
Serenity grinned. He had an answer to this one. “Portals again. Ita, this time; she can open a portal for a small team with only a few minutes’ preparation. She’ll have to stay up here, but she’ll be able to get us out. Which brings us to the next question, how we split up. I think you and I should each head a group, while Daryl and Gabriel head the third. That way we can hold out for a bit, no matter who the Viper goes after. We’ll want to fight him together as much as possible, since he’s at a higher Tier, so be ready to run if someone calls for help.”
That set off another round of talking. It took the next two hours to settle teams, but the fact that they argued about who went on which team meant that Serenity’s plan was accepted essentially whole.
Despite Serenity’s argument that he and Zanzital should take the two small rooms since they were the closest to the Viper, Zanzital argued that that was exactly the reason that Serenity should lead the separated group going after the ritual that could make Hollow Ones. It was hard to counter the argument that Daryl and Gabriel were both higher Tier than Serenity, even though he could beat them in a fight. Serenity suspected Zanzital wanted to be close to his guild members, which was also hard to argue with.
Serenity, Rissa, and Blaze would head for the large room. Zanzital and Raz would head to the “escape” room while Daryl and Gabriel would deal with whatever was in the mystery room. Legion would go with each group to act as communications.
Serenity tried to send Blaze with Zanzital so that each group would have a healer, but Zanzital refused.
Opening the portals was easy. Getting everyone through and situated somewhere they wouldn’t draw the attention of the scouts that were getting closer each day wasn’t. Fortunately, it also wasn’t something Serenity had to deal with. Kerr handled that part with Legion’s help.
Serenity once again left one of his forms behind to run the ritual and provide real-time information as they went through the base. It was a little tougher this time since he didn’t want anyone seeing him there, but he worked out a plan with Ita: they set up a ring of “curtains” made of sheets Rissa had insisted that they bring around the ritual site.
Ita used the outside to display images from the broken twigs scattered throughout the woods. She couldn’t manage that spell along with the escape portal spell, but neither was all that expensive separately. It was an easy explanation for why the curtains were there, since far more people could see the images than in the old location inside Serenity’s tent.
Similarly, they reached the cliffside without any trouble. The first true challenge was getting down the cliff. Serenity couldn’t see over to the other group to see the methods they used, but Raz was the only one that expressed any concern; Zanzital offered to help him climb down from the top of the cliff as long as Raz supplied the rope. The spot they had to climb down from wasn’t close to the spot Serenity had to climb down, or he’d have offered to lower Raz down instead.
Serenity asked Legion if she needed help; her answer was that she’d chosen carefully and the bodies she was going to send with them all had a Skill that allowed limited flight or the ability to essentially walk on vertical surfaces. None would last long, but she wouldn’t need assistance getting to the entrances.
Serenity shifted to his chimera form; with that, he could simply climb the rock face. He was more than strong enough, even supporting Rissa’s weight on his back, tied to his wings; if there weren’t good handholds, his claws were capable of making new ones.
Blaze had a simple method as well. He could turn himself partially into a sort of a sticky fire; it would slightly melt the rock, but as long as they weren’t concerned about leaving no trace of their passage, he could easily climb a rock wall. They jointly decided that Blaze would go last; while Serenity could handle the heat, Rissa couldn’t and near-molten rock wasn’t good for handholds for anyone with the kind of mass Serenity had.
Lillene
A lot of people never get a flight Skill … but most people can figure out a way to use whatever Skills they have to go a short distance. It’s far less true at Tier Three, since people usually have fewer Skills. There’s a reason the entrances are guarded even though they open onto nothing but air.
“I don’t think they’re going to go back to the old search routines.” Daryl stared at the images Ita projected on the wall. “I don’t think I can take out another group without making it obvious I was feigning weakness. Plus, they’re starting to look in other directions; they’ll look here before long. We need to move camp.”
Serenity shook his head. “Not much point in that; this camp’s as good a location as we’re going to be able to find. I think we need to give up on the idea of catching the Viper outside the base.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Zanzital spoke sharply with a frown. “You’re the one that’s supposed to have a plan.”
Serenity took a look at Zanzital. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen the Guildmaster express annoyance at Serenity’s leadership, but it was probably the clearest. Serenity wasn’t certain if Zanzital was simply used to being in charge or if there was something more, the way Rissa suggested. She thought he was jealous of Serenity, but that didn’t make sense to Serenity. The only thing he had that was worth jealousy was Rissa, and Zanzital didn’t pay any attention to her.
Serenity reached for the maps he’d prepared over the last few days. Most of the preparation was in his head, checking distances and routes, then comparing them with the patrols he saw either in the base or on the surface. Once he had a plan, he started putting it on paper. He thought it would work, but this was the first test: could he convince the others?
“This is a map of the base, as best I’ve been able to put it on paper. It’s not level, so some of the corridors actually cross over or under others. I’ve done my best to map them out so they’re understandable.” The base was probably originally a mine or a cave system; Serenity couldn’t tell which, but the plan was just plain confusing at first. Because of that, he’d made certain that the routes he wanted to take were clearly shown in the version on paper; if the plan wasn’t accepted on its merits, that was fine. Having it fail because it wasn’t understandable would be his fault.
Serenity laid the papers out to form a large, detailed map, then pointed at the spots he’d noted as entrances. “There are actually seven different ways in. They’re all guarded, but these three all have only one guard. If we take this route in,” Serenity traced a route from an “entrance” to the aircraft hangar, “we can get to the flyer maintenance area without fighting anyone other than that one guard. Even better, we’re between there and the areas the Viper stays in the whole time.”
“Why do we need to get to the flyer storage area? You already broke all of the flyers. They’re not attacking Tzintkra anymore.” Zanzital taped the hangar. “If we really need to go there, we can just go in the same way you got me out.”
Serenity paused. He’d thought Zanzital already knew this, but maybe he wanted everything explained again. “We could, but not without being obvious. I’m pretty sure the Viper would run if we went in with enough force to clear the way in quickly.” Serenity relaxed a little when he saw Zanzital’s unconscious nod. The other man was difficult but at least he could listen.
“As for why we’re headed to the flyers, we’re not. We’re headed here.” Serenity tapped the large room he’d traced in next to the hangar. “It’s warded, but if the information I got while I was deep inside the base is correct, this is the location of the Hollow One ritual. We need to stop it, which means sending someone there.”
Serenity glanced at his friends and allies; some nodded while others concentrated on the map. It seemed like a good time to move on with the plan. “At the same time, we need to get here,” Serenity tapped another spot on the map. It was another lightly sketched room without details, far smaller than the first. “This is the room that’s supposed to be the Viper’s escape route. It’s fairly isolated, but he has to be using it for something else as well; people enter and leave periodically. If we take this route, we can get there relatively silently, but it’s in a busier part of the base than the first route.”
Both of the routes Serenity picked actually started from the cliffside. They were probably as much for ventilation as anything else, though they might once have been real entrances; they were big enough. If there had ever been any way to get to them without flying or climbing the cliff, though, it was gone.
“Over here is another warded room that I don’t know the purpose of,” Serenity tapped the other small warded room on the map. “It’s used similarly to the second one, so it feels like something we will need to deal with. Fortunately, it’s close to the second one; whoever heads there can go in with the group for the second room.” Serenity paused and looked up. No one seemed to have made the jump yet, even though it was implied in what he’d said. “I think we should head in in four groups.”
That got everyone’s attention. Serenity couldn’t even tell who said what as half the people in front of him protested; all he knew was that Rissa and Blaze were the only people who didn’t try to talk. Even Ita said something he couldn’t make out.
Aide might be able to split out the separate voices, but Serenity didn’t see any point in trying.
Serenity leaned back in his chair and gave everyone a chance to make their objections heard. They were essentially all what he’d expected; no one really liked the idea of splitting up and four groups was obviously too many, especially when he’d only given three targets. The one exception was Ita, who didn’t have a problem with the plan as long as she was on Serenity’s team.
Serenity shook his head. “The fourth objective isn’t in the base, it’s up here. We have to do something about all of the scouts up here and we have the perfect way, if we bring in all of the mercenaries who want to fight in Takinat. They’ll be thrilled to handle them, and that’s at least half the base. I don’t really want to send them into the base, but they should be able to handle the surface.”
“It’ll be a mess,” Zanzital observed. “And how are we going to get them here anyway?”
Serenity shrugged. “Portals. I can only handle that distance in the ley line, but we can bring as many through as we have time as long as we stay in it. As long as I can use the ley line energy, I can hold it open for long enough. We can have everyone head to the Mercenary Guild headquarters in the morning, open if there. That way, we can head off to our own entrances before midday; if everyone’s ready, it shouldn’t take more than two or three hours to get everyone through the portal. Then we have the attack begin here when we’re in position inside the base.”
“How do we get back out? Fight our way out?” Zanzital sounded more intrigued than annoyed now, but he clearly hadn’t given up on poking holes in the idea.
Serenity grinned. He had an answer to this one. “Portals again. Ita, this time; she can open a portal for a small team with only a few minutes’ preparation. She’ll have to stay up here, but she’ll be able to get us out. Which brings us to the next question, how we split up. I think you and I should each head a group, while Daryl and Gabriel head the third. That way we can hold out for a bit, no matter who the Viper goes after. We’ll want to fight him together as much as possible, since he’s at a higher Tier, so be ready to run if someone calls for help.”
That set off another round of talking. It took the next two hours to settle teams, but the fact that they argued about who went on which team meant that Serenity’s plan was accepted essentially whole.
Despite Serenity’s argument that he and Zanzital should take the two small rooms since they were the closest to the Viper, Zanzital argued that that was exactly the reason that Serenity should lead the separated group going after the ritual that could make Hollow Ones. It was hard to counter the argument that Daryl and Gabriel were both higher Tier than Serenity, even though he could beat them in a fight. Serenity suspected Zanzital wanted to be close to his guild members, which was also hard to argue with.
Serenity, Rissa, and Blaze would head for the large room. Zanzital and Raz would head to the “escape” room while Daryl and Gabriel would deal with whatever was in the mystery room. Legion would go with each group to act as communications.
Serenity tried to send Blaze with Zanzital so that each group would have a healer, but Zanzital refused.
Opening the portals was easy. Getting everyone through and situated somewhere they wouldn’t draw the attention of the scouts that were getting closer each day wasn’t. Fortunately, it also wasn’t something Serenity had to deal with. Kerr handled that part with Legion’s help.
Serenity once again left one of his forms behind to run the ritual and provide real-time information as they went through the base. It was a little tougher this time since he didn’t want anyone seeing him there, but he worked out a plan with Ita: they set up a ring of “curtains” made of sheets Rissa had insisted that they bring around the ritual site.
Ita used the outside to display images from the broken twigs scattered throughout the woods. She couldn’t manage that spell along with the escape portal spell, but neither was all that expensive separately. It was an easy explanation for why the curtains were there, since far more people could see the images than in the old location inside Serenity’s tent.
Similarly, they reached the cliffside without any trouble. The first true challenge was getting down the cliff. Serenity couldn’t see over to the other group to see the methods they used, but Raz was the only one that expressed any concern; Zanzital offered to help him climb down from the top of the cliff as long as Raz supplied the rope. The spot they had to climb down from wasn’t close to the spot Serenity had to climb down, or he’d have offered to lower Raz down instead.
Serenity asked Legion if she needed help; her answer was that she’d chosen carefully and the bodies she was going to send with them all had a Skill that allowed limited flight or the ability to essentially walk on vertical surfaces. None would last long, but she wouldn’t need assistance getting to the entrances.
Serenity shifted to his chimera form; with that, he could simply climb the rock face. He was more than strong enough, even supporting Rissa’s weight on his back, tied to his wings; if there weren’t good handholds, his claws were capable of making new ones.
Blaze had a simple method as well. He could turn himself partially into a sort of a sticky fire; it would slightly melt the rock, but as long as they weren’t concerned about leaving no trace of their passage, he could easily climb a rock wall. They jointly decided that Blaze would go last; while Serenity could handle the heat, Rissa couldn’t and near-molten rock wasn’t good for handholds for anyone with the kind of mass Serenity had.
Lillene
A lot of people never get a flight Skill … but most people can figure out a way to use whatever Skills they have to go a short distance. It’s far less true at Tier Three, since people usually have fewer Skills. There’s a reason the entrances are guarded even though they open onto nothing but air.
