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Tomoyo Daidouji     It's a quiet walk under the green canopy. The sky is a dull grey, betraying the oncoming rain. The rich scent of loam fills the nostrils as the fort comes into view. A crumbling structure of stone coated in moss, the wooden gates have long since rotted away, allowing entry past the walls.

    But before anyone goes through, the financier of the expedition raises her hand. Her face is uncharacteristically grim, and her four bodyguards flank her on all sides. "It's here," Tomoyo says. Taking off her backpack, she produces a map and lays it on the forest floor, resting on her knees as she points at the contents. "I managed to find an old blueprint of the structure in the town hall. Here's what we're looking at."

    The fort consists of two stories. There's an entrance hall that leads into a dining room and a chapel, both of which lead into a kitchen. The chapel contains a stairwell to the second floor. Upon climbing the stairs, one would be in a library, adjacent to the barracks and the captain's office. "Every room save the chapel has windows. You can probably use them to go in and out, but that may draw a lot of attention... The courtyard is heavily overgrown, and now littered with fallen rocks and trees. I think it would make an excellent place to hide. But the interior... who can say where the spriggans lie in wait?"

    Tomoyo looks to the sky and bites her lip. "The Spriggan like the rain apparently. Once it starts, they'll probably come out, and then the jig will be up. They'll take the children, and vanish into the woods. We'll have no chance of catching them." She taps the map again. "There are four of them in here. Find them, and bring them out to me. And if you have to attack any Spriggan to do that... do it. But it would be a favor to me if you can keep their bodies intact."

    "Good luck everyone."
Ritsuka Fujimaru The Dragon Witch is uncharacteristically quiet today as she observes her employer for this mission, a satchel dangling from her hip next to a dagger's sheathe that looks distinctly normal compared to her regular sword. She steps over to get a closer look at the blueprint, shrugging after a moment to step back and not loom too much this early.

"It sounds straightforward enough. Find the children, dispatch the Spriggan cleanly. I've brought some things that might help with the latter." She draws the dagger first. "Silver. My research showed that fae are weak to this sort of thing." She taps the satchel next. "Sugar. You're supposed to throw handfuls of it at them for... Some reason."

She might not actually remember why. "Although that won't work so well in the rain, but inside at least." Jeanne cracks her neck lightly, then holds a hand up as she starts circling around the building.

Her destination: The kitchen. She's actually using some amount of discretion for once! She even avoids barging right in, testing the doorknob lightly first and looking for alternative entrances prior to barging in.
Staren     Staren listens to the briefing, computer memorizing the map for him. Second time in as many days he's rescuing kids from fey. His expression looks grim; stealth isn't really his deal. He can only hope he can still contribute. He does have a plan for sneaking, though. But as for what to DO... well, just try not to get caught while looking for the kids, really. The sooner he and the others find and escort them out, the sooner they're out of danger!

    As they set out, a ring of soft light sort of flows down Staren's body from head to toe, disguise fading and revealing a humanoid robot, metal skin painted red and green with some transparent sections revealing complex parts inside. And then... parts fold in and out through space to elsewhere, until it's become a robot cat, clearly smaller and lighter. Then the disguise reasserts itself, fake black fur that at least makes it look like a real animal at a glance.

    The 'cat' bounds through the woods to the courtyard and then takes it slow, Staren trying to be quiet as he creeps up to one corner of the building. If not spotted, he starts climbing up the side of the building with super-hard claws, and peeks into the window to the quarters. That seems like a good place to start!
Lilian Rook     Lilian had promised Tomoyo she would help. This is less out of sympathy for random kids she doesn't know, and more out of an acestral hatred of fairies and having exactly the tool for the job. Given that Tomoyo --the one offering the job-- had requested this be carried out as discretely as possible, she's showed up equipped for a sneaking mission where the use of stealth is required. No modular armour is applied to her undersuit at all, nor has she come with a single firearm, leaving her mostly just in a textured black and grey bodysuit with dull gold lines and a black and red pendant. Sadly, she had to leave the extremely fancy jewelry she's recently been enamoured with at home.

    "They also love old places like this." she says. "I wonder if it's some kind of schadenfreude where what's built by man is reclaimed by nature. I don't particularly care to know, though. Whatever they're thinking doesn't matter to me." She doesn't even glance at the people gathered around before saying "Are you sure about this? It's a bit of a mob for something this low-scale, don't you think? And none of these people are close to professionals." Bending back her fingers one by one and rolling her neck, Lilian says "Well, you're the ones obsessed with sad little children. Don't screw it up for them." She then disappears.

                -----[stop]-----
    Lilian sighs long, loud, and through several stages of plaintive whining, tailing off into a drawn out emphatic "Ughhhh." at the fact she has to share the AO with three people in thirty pounds of steel or more who're all known for being unable to keep their mouths shut (according to her)."God it's really just a matter of time until one of them trips and sets fire to something somehow." she groans to herself. "I really didn't want to have to rush this."

    She has plenty of 'time' to strut over to the dining hall window, though, hovering above the brush and drifting like a ghost. She jabs a finger straight through the side of the frame and curls it around the locking latch, snapping it with a quick and casual gesture, then slowly lifts the frame as smoothly and precisely as she can, adjusting it at the first sound of any squeaks, before sidling smoothly into the room and gently closing it again.
Lancelot du Lac      Lancelot arrives less at Tomoyo's behalf, and more on the children. There's also part of him that wants to dissuade them from using the spriggans as fashion dressing, but given the current company, that's less than likely.

     While not visibly equipped with anything to help him blend in or sneak around, and in fact, given his heavy white armor, he's currently the opposite, the noble knight remedies this. A blue mist envelops Lancelot, changes appearance drastically. His white armor is replaced with noble clothing covered in only a few protective plates of metal, and his short swept back hair is replaced with golden locks. Perhaps the most stand out feature though is the pointed ears, making him appear as if he's part of the fae. Or at least fae touched.

     Sadly, the fae disguise doesn't do much to cover up the noise he makes as he attempts to enter through the door into the Entrance Hall, as it this point it's best to split up and cover as many angles as possible.
Tomoyo Daidouji THE KITCHEN
    Jeanne enters into a surprisingly well-lit room. Ancient stone ovens crumble quietly, the floor littered with rusty kitchen implements, the walls thick with moss and graffiti. However, there is a fire burning in the centre of the room, with an ancient cauldron sitting atop it, some rank mixture boiling away within. It is being tended to by a Spriggan that seems to be snoozing away on an old chair. A being made of wood tangled together into a humanoid figure. Fire... given all the moss and overgrowth about the castle, one that burns out of control would be a very big DISTRACTION.

THE QUARTERS
    Staren felines up the wall to creep into the window on the second floor. His claws dig deep, and send chunks of it falling down, likely making more noise than he intended. He has to move through a curtain to get inside, but what a sight he sees. Spriggan, many and myriad, using ancient rotting beds as... beds. A whole bunch of them, snoozing away. If they all woke up, that would be a problem. But, more importantly, there. In the arms of one of the fairies is one of the children, also asleep. Extracting them from the arms of the fae without waking them would be... difficult. But doable. Alternatively, he could just yank them away... but that would assuredly wake them both, and then likely the whole room.

THE DINING HALL:
    Lilian moves within the stopped time into the dining hall, leaving nary a trace of herself on the way in. A once-great table in the middle has rotted to nothing, with chairs tossed about and the smell of mildew hanging heavy in the air. The room is mostly empty... save for a single Spriggan napping in a chair, clutching a colorful child's rattle. This one may know where the children are being kept... if she's willing to interrogate them.

ENTRANCE HALL
    Lancelot just strides right in, under the guise of Tam Lin. Here's hoping he's actually a real figure here. Once inside, his eyes adjust to the gloom and... oh dear. This area has become a nesting ground for the Spriggan. There's a lot of them sleeping on the floor around a tree that has grown in the middle. Said tree is currently thick with pustules with newborn Spriggan growing within. And to make matters worse, the sleeping Spriggan are in that fitful sleep that new parents get. The kind where even a slight noise will wake them. They toss and turn fitfully, anticipating a child's cry... or anything else. The door to the Dining Hall is ajar, but the door to the chapel seems to be blocked from the other side.
Lilian Rook                 -----[stop]-----
    "It's sleeping. Cute. It thinks it's people." Lilian comes right up behind the napping Spriggan, step by slow step. Her hand clutches that solar cross pendant, dissolving in her grasp, wisps of pitch black smoke issuing from between her fingers. With a flick of her wrist out to the side, the full length of Killer in the Night Mist springs forth, the etched patterns of vines and flowers glowing dull red as she brings it to the Spriggan's neck from behind, her other arm wrapped around the lower half of it's face.
                -----[start]-----

    "Wakey wakey you degenerate filth~" she whispers right beside its head, restraining any reflexive struggling with brute force, keeping a foot of the chair anchored under one of hers. She leans around it from the side to look it in the eye. Her own almost glow in the dark, grass green and impossible to look away from. Though the Spriggan may be actually, physically faerie, the aura of the fey that comes from Lilian somehow overrides it by several orders of magnitude --the feeling of a faerie queen, demanding both obeseisance and answers.

    "So, where have you sad, sorry, bottom rank nobodies gone hiding children that nobody permitted you to take? You know how it's supposed to work, don't you? Or are you really no better than animals."
Ritsuka Fujimaru What a delectable opportunity. Two, even, as Jeanne weighs her options. On one hand, there's a spriggan right there, and wedging that silver knife into its head would probably do wonders.

Probably. She's actually not sure if stabbing it in the head would kill it like doing so would to a human. That leaves the opportunity to set fires instead to cover everyone else's approach. Although it would certainly be fun, would it help or hinder her allies if the spriggan were awakened by one of their own 'accidentally' starting a fire after falling asleep by the cauldron?

Decisions, decisions, and the Dragon Witch can't decide! Until she's reminded over the radio that silent takedowns are probably harder than it looks on TV. Opting for the safer option, Jeanne decides to start sparking up that wooden figure while staying low to the away from the doors. Hopefully, the spriggan won't notice her if it decides to flee screaming!
Staren     There's one child. He could keep looking, but then when trouble starts he might have no children rescued instead of one. Jeanne then says she's going to start trouble, so he'd better move fast! He sneaks over to the spriggan with the child. He could try to spare its life, but that just gives more opportunities for things to go wrong, and it's a childstealing faerie after all.

    He returns to humanoid form, and crouches over the spriggan. The glow of a beam sword lights up Staren and his target and the child... and then he tries to cover the fey's mouth with one hand while slicing its throat with the beam. Ideally he can then grab the kid and... well, whatever happens next, he'll have recovered one kid.
Lancelot du Lac      The disguised Lancelot sucks in air through his teeth as he silently curses his luck. He could just turn around and try entering through somewhere else, but given the fact that the sleeping spriggans already seem to be slightly alert despite their slumber, they decide to push.

     They stick to the walls as best as they can, aiming to sneak through the room as quietly as possible while holding their breath. If anything, if one of them wake up, they might just disregard him given his disguise. Alternatively they might ask him to play, but that's a gamble he'll just have to take.
Tomoyo Daidouji KITCHEN
    Jeanne does what she does best; set things on fire. The Spriggan immediately catches alight, and begins screaming the sound of creaking wood pitched up. They fall to the floor and begin rolling, not noticing Jeanne at all in their panic!

DINING HALL
    The Spriggan tries to writhe in Lilian's graps, but their struggles falter when they meet her eyes. They gasp out, "N-No, you're not... release me! I'll not tell!" But their voice is low and uncertain. If she exerts a little more pressure, they'll crack. But then, the sound of screaming comes from the room to the east... and then...

ENTRANCE HALL
Lancelot enters the Dining Hall from the Entrance hall as the screams begin. A couple of Spriggan wake up!... but they rush past he and Lilian both without processing them. Fire is a big deal to them, and their whole mind is on that.

QUARTERS
    Staren moves in to take the killing blow. His laser blade bites through the wood that makes up the fae's body, but not cleanly. Immediately it begins to writhe, taking a hand off the child to swipe at Staren. The sounds of screams ring out from below, ans several Spriggan wake up to rush out the southmost door. Not noticing the clash, thankfully. It's still alive, and has some fight to it.
Staren     It's made of... wood? And it's magic wood that even energy weapons can't slice through in one shot. Damn fey. Staren looks alarmed as the others rise... and run out of the room. Huh. Perhaps their senses are very different from his.

    He looks at his prey, and opens his mouth... then thinks of better of it. No need for words, and maybe faeries hear them far better.

    He continues trying to hold it down and kill it. It's brutal, but it must be done to save the child's future.

    ...Musn't it?
Ritsuka Fujimaru Jeanne hums softly to herself at the sound of that crackling spriggan,letting it soothe her mind over the fact that this particular spriggan probably won't be of much use to Tomoyo. Part of her really wants to just push that knife in to make sure the creature can't alert the others, but...

The children haven't been found yet. Sighing lightly to herself, Jeanne instead heads for the CHAPEL to scout out the area and see if there's any hell she can raise there on her path to the second floor.

Then again, it /is/ a chapel. Maybe there's something worth desecrating in there, or maybe there's even some of the kids in there of all places. Only one way to find out, though!
Lancelot du Lac      The faux fae hero blinks as they walk in on Lillian. There's a slightly panicked look about them as they start thinking on how to maintain their cover without interfering with their interrogation, but luckily the fire made by Jeanne seems to have sparked a defensive response from the sleeping spriggans.

     With that, he just decides to play along, following the alerted spriggans into the kitchen in feigned worry. Well, it's actual worry. But it's the type of worry he can't do anything about so he's just gonna have to deal.
Lilian Rook     "Hey." Lilian whispers, screams or no. "I asked you a question. One you're going to answer. Isn't that right?" Both the pressure being exerted on what passes for the thing's skull by her arm, and the 'pressure' being exerted by her sheer, overwhelming, laser focused presence, grow with each passing second, becoming all but strangling. "And as well, 'release you'? As if you're in any position to be giving orders. As if you even have the authority! Don't you get it? If I ordered you to commit suicide right now, you'd better be finding the nearest sharp thing to impale yourself on. You don't *get* to give orders, *bottom rung*."

    When the blade draws close enough to slide across the thing's skin, the rather extreme threat becomes apparent; the fey blade with its oddly polished sheer and deep black colour isn't made of any kind of dyed steel. It *burns* at the merest touch, like sliding a white hot razor just back and forth. "So, you're *going* to tell, aren't you? You're going to tell or you're going to die very, very painfully, and a handful of children aren't worth that, now are they? There are other children. Going against my authority only happens once."

                -----[stop]-----
    "Did those unbelievable fucking idiots set *fire* to the place?!"
                -----[start]-----

    "That, and the rest of you are next."
Tomoyo Daidouji QUARTERS
    Staren continues to hack away at the fae, unable to get up due to the wounds already inflicted. The baby begins to cry from the noise and shaking as the fae's struggle begins to ebb. Just a little more should do it.

KITCHEN
    Lancelot joins the Spriggan as they attempt to extinguish their burning comrade. One sings a raincloud into existence that pours down on thm, putting out the flames and revealing only a burned husk. Embers have started to spread, but they stomp them out then dunk their feet in the pooling water. They begin to mourne, not noticing their 'king' or Jeanne as she slips into...

CHAPEL:
    The room dedicated to Christ has seen better days. A statue to the man has been consumed by moss at the back, and pews have crumbled away. The door to the entrance hall from here has several of them stacked against it. Removing them might facilitate movement throughout the building. Next to the door is spiral stairs leading tot he second floot. But... there sitting in what would have once been the holy water font. One of the children, squirming and fussing.

DINING HALL
    The Spriggan cracks under Lilian's threats. "I concede, your courtship... we have four in total. One we leave in the human shrine, as it is prone to mewling. Another directly above it, in our larder. Undo the fourth knot down to open it. A third we are using to make a changeling. And the fourth, Seeran has taken a liking to. No doubt sleeping with it upstairs. And now I beg for your mercy upon me like the spring rains."
Staren     "Ssssshhh." Staren tries to sush the baby but really he knows he has basically zero chance of controlling it. He keeps trying to finish the spriggan off, so that he can at least guaruntee one child is getting out of here. Hopefully the others have found... others.
Ritsuka Fujimaru The state of the chapel would have Jeanne reeling if she wasn't such an unholy person by nature. Despite that, she still finds herself staring at the statue for several moments before chuckling to herself, then starting towards the stairs. Before she actually makes her way up, though, she notices the child.

<<"I've found one. Any luck with the other three?">> She checks in with the rest of the group, looking towards the kitchen she had just come from and noticing that it's not quite as bright or on-fire looking as it should have.

"Tch. Can't send them out that way..." She mutters to herself while approaching the child. As she does, she gets on one knee while holding one finger to her lips in a shushing motion while getting on a knee to look them over for physical injuries or bindings (and removing the latter).

"Stay close, and keep your head down. Do you know where the others are?" She's quieter than she usually is, but still fairly stern in her tone. "And would you like to see some fireworks?"
Lancelot du Lac      Lancelot wishes he could stop to give the spriggans some condolences, but sadly, he's not exactly in the position to do so. Talking is just going to use up precious time, and it might tip them that he's not legitimate.

     So he just follows Jeanne as best he can, keeping an eye on her as she talks to the child to make sure she's not planning on doing anything funny. Once his suspicions have been dealt with, he speaks.

     "The barred door isn't safe to leave from, and neither is the way you came. We're going to have to head upstairs and hope to find a way down that won't put the child in danger."

     He doesn't bother to explain who he is, when he probably should. Though he's pretty positive Jeanne is a smart and educated French woman who knows the difference between a friendly face and an enemy.
Lilian Rook     "There we go. Was that so hard?" Lilian says, no longer too-sweetly contemptuous about it, but rather sounding quite 'finished'. "That's all you had to do. Now all of this can be over." She releases her arm's grip on the Spriggan's face, placing her hand on the back of the chair instead.

    "Thirteenth Code: Thou shalt never heed the words of that which begs thee to look upon it." She draws the blade across and back in a motion faster than blinking, finishing the encounter by taking the head clean off (leaving, of course, the material extremely intact as Tomoyo had asked) and catching it before it falls. "There's your mercy. Quick as can be." she verbally spits.

    From there she hits the radio for a few quiet moments, then makes impossible time through the kitchen and then up the steps of the chapel, only side-eying Jeanne along the way in thought for a minute about whether she can be trusted around a child at all, before finally leaning on the side of 'she probably wouldn't set a kid on fire for kicks'. Instead, she reappears in the Library, looking for the 'knots' the Spriggan had spoken of, not calling out for any lost children just yet, and then seeing to 'the fourth one down' to open whatever they consider their larder. Puzzle solved, hopefully.
Tomoyo Daidouji QUARTERS
    With one final hack, Staren makes the fae breathe its last. It twitches and dies, its grip on the baby slackening. It's whimpering now, but thankfully no other Spriggan woke up somehow. These guys must party hard given how dead to the world they are.

CHAPEL
    Lancelot is just in time to see Jeanne pick up the child. No traps, no bindings. That's easy! But the moment she does, it begins to squirm and thrash and wail. Given how out of the way they put it, this is probably why it's here alone. But if she starts moving around with it still crying, that's going to draw a LOT of suspicion.

LIBRARY
    Lilian moves in a blink of an eye, getting around the place to reach the Library. The stairs are thankfully stable, but the Library reeks of must from ancient paper. The 'larder' is immediately obvious. A cage of thorns around a table, on which a baby is napping. The plant spikes are knotted together around a central, thick branch that hangs from the roof. The fourth knot down is a bit bigger than the others. That must be the underpinning of it.

KITCHEN HAS REACHED RED
    "Whomever did this must still be nearby! Spread out and search for them. Take the brew to the newborns and have them aid the search!" The hissing rattles of many Spriggan in the kitchen echoes throughout the building. A couple hoist the cauldron that had been bubbling away and make towards the entrance hall, while the others begin spreading throughout the adjacent areas.
Lancelot du Lac      There's an exasperated noise that comes out of Lancelot as the child makes noise, but ultimately, that's on Jeanne to handle. Despite being a father, he never really was good with children. There's historical documentation on that. So it's for the best.

     He makes the way up the stairs, into the library, and after making note that Lilian seems to have things covered, attempts to make his way into the Captain's Room as quietly as possible. Though honestly, at this point, there probably isn't much need to be silent. Better safe than sorry when dealing with fae though.
Staren     It is done. Now to get while the getting's good.

    Staren gives the baby a few soothing pats, "There there now..." while he readies a bag and straps it to his armor before putting the baby in. It's not exactly intended for this purpose, but it'll at least stop him from dropping the baby if he has to move the arm he's cradling the bag with.

    With his other hand he hoists the spriggan's body over his shoulder -- Tomoyo did say she wanted it for some reason, after all -- and then... Time to book it! Or at least, be ready to. He waits by the window for the moment, in case others need him to make a distraction up here before he leaves.
Ritsuka Fujimaru Right. It's practically a baby. Of course it wouldn't know what she's asking about. Grimacing visibly, Jeanne turns to 'Tam Lin' when he arrives to gesture towards the stairs with her head. "Fine. Upstairs, then. You want it?"

She doesn't wait for him to take it, though, and she doesn't even bother offering the child. She can read the writing on the wall about just how much noise this one would make, so sneaking upstairs is out of the question.

That leaves the weird option. Staring at the infant with an uncomfortable grimace, she holds it in the crook of her arm semi-soothing semi-don't-drop-it motion while opening up that satchel she had brought along. She throws out a few handfuls of sugar along the floor in the hopes that her internet searches about fae weaknesses will bear fruit, then sprinkles some of that on the infant's mouth.

"Come on, shut up, will you?" Despite her words, Jeanne's tone is actually kind of gentle. For her. All the while, she's watching the path to the kitchen, prepared to intercept new arrivals.
Lilian Rook     "Why this one in particular. Were you a naughty little inconsiderate baby? Did you make a whole bunch of trouble and piss everyone off so much they felt the need to grow a cage for you? Are you that much of a little terror?" Lilian mostly just half-mumbles to herself as she works. "If so, good work~ You might turn into someone really capable when you're older. Who knows?"

    Knotted 'ropes' of wickedly thorny vines aren't quite what Lilian had expected, having been more mentally prepared for something the Spriggans found lying around, but it's not a big deal. She knows exactly where to attack the problem, and only has to deal with a single of the knots, pulling and twisting and tearing at it with sufficiently protected fingers and a rather nasty grip --if she really has to, she'll just cut right through it.

    She does all of it as quickly as possible to see that it isn't interrupted by another disaster, and also so she can catch the infant should it fall. Since she can't ghost through a wall with a tiny human in tow, like before, she works the window with precise, calculated damage to the frame, to exit out through the courtyard, blip into existence before Tomoyo, drop the baby into her security guards' arms, then disappear again. Given the extremely minimal traces she knows she'll leave, and the sole remaining abductee, she goes straight back across the route she'd taken and to the Office.
Staren     It seems a distraction isn't needed. Hopefully the spriggan don't see him flying back to Tomoyo, then! At least magic wings are quiet.
Tomoyo Daidouji     OFFICE
Lancelot slips into Office while Lilian fusses with the thorn cage. And what he sees is... disturbing. A tree dominates this room, much like the tree filled with Spriggan wombs down below. But as opposed to the myriad pustules before, this one only has two, and one has popped. In that one pustule is a human child, still within its liquid confines. Crawling around on the floor is a facsimile of that same child. But the ears are slightly pointed, their breathing reminiscent of creaking wood. The changling. And with an alert and awake fae here, rescuing this last child will be a hassle.

QUARTERS
    Staren lurks by the window with the child, waiting to see if anyone needs assistance. This may be a mistake. For a Spriggan at his side there opens their eyes and sees him. The reach up and rub the black pools, giving him a chance to slip away before they make a call to action. But this room has become a lot more dangerous. Tomoyo and her guards recieve the child and quickly tend to it. "Good job," Tomoyo says softly.

CHAPEL
    The taste of sugar seems to calm the baby for a moment as Jeanne hides and scatters sugar about. Some Spriggan come in, looking about and see the white stuff on the ground. "Whoa, look out Aliona. I think someone has spread salt." "Ugh. Wasn't there a broom lying around somewhere?" The two back off, thankfully mistaking the sugar for their actual bane, and helping to keep the Chapel clear.

ALL OVER.
    Lilian is a blur. When she appears outside the fort, Tomoyo flinches. But her guards are ready. They take the child and set it on a stump, checking it over for any injuries or if it needs cleaning up before swaddling it and producing a warm bottle of formula for it to drink. "Good work," Tomoyo whispers to Lilian before she vanishes to join Lancelot in the office.
Ritsuka Fujimaru "Salt...? Why would..." Jeanne murmurs to herself in bewilderment, not immediately realizing her stroke of good fortune despite her flawed research. There's some small relief at not having to fight with a child in tow, though, and heading to the kitchen seems unwise even to her.

Not that she'd care about fighting with an infant in hand, but still. She /did/ take the job specifically involving retrieving them alive, after all. After trying to feed the baby another sprinkling of sugar, Jeanne heads upstairs to the library!

... And upon spotting a window, tucks the infant against her chest before leaping right out that window. "Here. Take this. That should be... How many of them are left?" As she hands over the child to Tomoyo/one of her guards, she takes the opportunity to try and get a better grip on the situation thus far.
Lancelot du Lac      The glamoured servant rubs his chin when confronted with the false child and the alerted spriggan. Ah. Changelings. There really wasn't any good intentions here. None that humans, could, or should put up with, anyway. If only all fae were like Vivian.

     Alas, something needs to be done, and while trickery is still an option as his disguise hasn't been broken, it's clear violence is the faster option. And given how things are turning out, time isn't something they have a lot of at this point.

     'Tam Lin' runs a hand through their hair as they take a deep breath, before sprinting into the room. They aren't armed, but they don't need to be. They crouch down a bit as they approach the active spriggan, before springing upward to deliver a powerful uppercut to their jaw. Enough to knock them to the ground, and hopefully out cold.
Lilian Rook     "Of course it's good work. It's my work, isn't it~?" Parting words for Tomoyo and co. when Lilian vanishes off again.

    The state of the fort has been shifting around uncomfortably. She has no idea what Jeanne is even up to, but most of the rooms have been pacified and she'd cracked the window for an easy return. The very last room --the Captain's Office-- causes her to--

                -----[stop]-----
    Lilian stops at the doorway, staring into the room. It's her first time actually seeing this process --even a gross, Multiversal equivalent-- with her own eyes. She glances to the tree in pensive consideration. She glances down at the waddling changeling in disgust. She flicks back to the remaining pod, and warm creeping anger rises up through her at the trapped human infant, kept in such a disgusting way as if a pet or decoration. 'Even a baby is still human, and thus higher up on the chain than these things, subhuman by nature.' are how her thoughts go.
                -----[start]-----

    --appear right before the fluid-filled pod, membranes tearing and spewing brackish liquid the instant Lancelot charges in and goes to take a swing. Cutting away swiftly and precisely, she cradles her arm and stoops to let the freed baby fall neatly into her grasp, the about faces with a reverse of her sword and slams the point down through the crawling changeling, picking it back up and skewering the floor several more times for good measure, naked revulsion worn on her face.

    Provided Lancelot can handle it, she exits as soon as she's made sure the horrid little thing is thoroughly destroyed, detouring only just long enough to bring Tomoyo the 'plant monster' she requested from the dining area.
Tomoyo Daidouji     POW!
    The changling is knocked out cold, giving Lilian time enough to carve into the pustule, sending the liquid pouring out and freeing the child. They're breathing, thankfully. And from there, it's time to get out.

    Tomoyo examines the bodies brought to her. It was risky for Lilian to go and retrieve it amidst the excitement that now grips the fort. "Thank you. Two should suffice for the sake of... experimenting." She sounds a little queasy even saying it. "Now... the other part of the job." Two of the bodyguards are left holding all four babies (thankfully calmed) while the other two open up an old footlocker, like something out of wartime. And like wartime, it's filled with grenades. "We've been given permission to... demolish the fort. We can handle this part."

    The two bodyguards lob grenades into the lower floor, while Tomoyo throws a third with a surprisingly strong arm into the Quarters. The explosions send tremors throughout the building. Another volley brings one side crashing down. The third collapses the whole thing. Spriggan scatter, leaping the wall to vanish into the woods with furious hissing and baleful glares at everyone.

    "It's done, now, your payment." Clips of tightly furled currency are offered to everyone, when a voice calls out. "NO! I was too late..." A woman advances up the path. Curled hair is pulled tightly into a bun and glasses sit on her nose beside freckles. "I am Olive Steer of the Society for the Advocation of the Monstrous, Extranormal, and Loathed. You are the ones who undertook the job to remove the Spriggan, aren't you?"

    Tomoyo steps forward and nods with a smile. "Yes. They had kidnapped children, who we rescued." Olive waves her hands dismissively. "That's their way. You can't kill them for that!" Tomoyo smiles still, though it seems a bit more forced. "We couldn't just reward their behaviour either. Their actions have not been in good faith, so good faith could not be extended in kind."

    Olive only huffs in response and gestures at the Spriggan bodies. "And what are your plans with that? I know all about you, Tomoyo Daidouji. Planning to carve them up for the Paris runway?" The tailor stiffens. "That's really none of your business, I think. Good day, Miss Steer." She bows, and gestures for ger bodyguards to collect the bodies and follow her back to the village.

    Olive stares daggers at the girl's back. "This isn't over!"