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Undivided Queens     The thing about sieges is that they don't tend to change all that much very fast. Even if this is, historically speaking, a highly unconventional one, the entire reason a siege exists is because it is currently in the best interests of both sides to not explode into bloody head to head battle, and will continue to be for the immediate future.

    A few extra weeks haven't done anything to significantly change the weather or landscape either. Not in this lush semi-tropical belt and right by the seashore. The capital --and last meaningfully culturally distinct city-- of the country, Arsiene, is just as colourful, just as fortified, and just as depressingly deserted on the street level as it was before; no efforts have been made to do anything about the outer sectors inside the walls that have been blown to smithereens to lock in their warpgates, nor to recover any of the sunken hulls on the shore and scorched in dock.

    The alarmingly sized armada of red-sailed and silver-hulled ships blockading the sea has only changed in exact position, and the equally large 'camp' (in the military sense only) blocking the roads out of the tip of the peninsula has only expanded into a growing semi-clearcut area starting to develop around it. Zero progress whatsoever has been made on doing anything about them; the coalition army of Imperial soldiers and Ilenjeh warriors are beyond comfortable and have no need of resupply, as the nebula of glittering lights attests to; the personal runeciphers they all carry that synthesize their needs and wants from aether.

    Is is familiar to those who know the conflict, that same magic-industrial backbone is being put to use for the benefit of the city as well. After completely cutting off all the shipments a merchant city imports to survive and exports to thrive, Arsiene has been wholly dependent on 'donated' staples of fine Imperial quality sent up in caravans to the gates each day, drummed up from the spare magical resources of the army camp. Facing immediate mutiny and surrender if they don't feed their citizens, the Pharseian government has been forced to simply accept and make use of them, and the initial fears of many have proven true:

    According to those with a finger on the pulse of the city, growing numbers of citizens, and even soldiers, have become tired and bored of this depressing state of affairs, numb to the alleged danger opposed by the enemy, and have developed a fondness for the ostensibly rather nice things that they're being showered with for free, day after day, from the conquering nation; the lower classes first, but creeping upwards. With no help coming from any of the country's historical allies, even the army guarding the city itself have started to lose any hope of resisting the moment an attack comes.

    A recent emergency vote to nationalize the resources of merchant families living in the city to afford external necessities, repair infrastructure, and attract soldiers of fortune has already failed. This is, as a privileged few know --those who have any ties to those who spoke to the Senator before, or who have their own spies or sympathizers-- the city guild has already met in private and held their own, non-government vote to pool a fraction of those resources by standing and hire some rather 'specialist mercenaries', of some description.
Undivided Queens     Functionally, it appears that the plan is to have external entities --Elites-for-hire by another name-- to lay in wait for today's supply caravan up to the gates, intercept it and attack and capture the commanding officer and magical logistician assigned to leading it, and claim the runeciphers of all (or at least as many as possible) of the personnel transporting it, to gain a private supply of the miraculous items inside the city, and thus become independent of their besiegers.

    The Paladins are almost certainly made aware of this for the very real possibility of this cooking off massive bloodshed if it flubs, and their ostensibly sympathetic interests in Pharsei. The Watch is aware of this from the inside because of independent citizen concerns that a supply of runeciphers and the art of using them would be centralized completely within the guild --making them totally independent of the Senate and unaccountable to the common people.

    But the Concord is aware of this, because so are the Imperials. It's a secret amongst exclusively upper command, but Isahane's trackers have figured this out already (apparently merchants not being as good at infosec as generals), and changed who the officer and logistician are, loaded the caravan with waiting soldiers and weapons, and plan to entertain the entire ploy as casus belli to knock down the walls and attack in earnest; something Seilatiya was strictly against until the populace themselves finally moved to disrupt the government themselves.

    Because both sides accidentally want the same thing, and this is all rather hastily discovered and arranged, you aren't in a prime position to stop it from never having been motioned, but you do have enough time for it to matter: the entire cascade is set to go off in a mere two hours from now, but that is ample time to speak, meet, sabotage, fight, or support whomever, however.
Chains Knight Chains Knight has placed himself inside a treasure chest that was loaded onto the convoy.

He has furnished his own treasure chest, if necessary. It practically radiates 'something valuable is inside' energy, and he's gotten it placed at the edge of the convoy - in a position where it'll definitely get noticed by someone trying to raid it.
Staren     By chance, Staren visited the camp again a few nights ago, giving her the chance to re-familiarize with the locals a little. Hearing about the plan, she asks: "I'm almost surprised we're not *letting* them... runeciphers in the hands of the populace would-- Oh, right, the nobles'll just take them."

    She's been too distracted by one thing or another to find a pawn for her plan... she'll just have to do as best she can on her own.

    So it is that after leaving the camp again, Staren has returned wearing light body armor today. It's probably of complex, composite construction, but visible is a black, flexible layer with white plates attached wherever they can be, broken up into smaller pieces than most plate armor is. There are also golden wires and bits of jade and gems inset into the armor implying magical enhancement, which might explain why there's no helmet -- must be a magic invisible force-bubble deal. The overall appearance is is still relatively slim and petite as far as high-tech body armor goes. As always that blue messenger bag is at her side.

    With her head exposed, Staren's wearing her usual sea green hero scarf and a pair of round-lensed goggles pushed up on her forehead. Her hair is up in twin ponytails secured by scrunchies that match the scarf.

    Staren's had the same thought as Chains Knight, making sure to be on the convoy as well, wearing a concealing cloak and with some wrappings for covering her head which would look more in place on a desert. Although she doesn't bother to actually put them on until it's go time.

    In the meantime, she comes back to the Conspicuous Treasure Chest with some food and knocks on it. "Would you like anything to eat? A book to read? A videogame to play or TV to watch or something? I've got all the seasons so far of 'Priscilla-chan!' if you haven't seen it yet."
Chains Knight Immediately the treasure chest opens when Staren knocks on it.

!!!ENCOUNTER!!!

"Thank you for the thought, but please do not knock on it," says Chains, still sitting in the middle of the chest. "I need to reset the encounter popup each time it opens."

He reaches up and closes the chest again.
Staren     Staren expected that not to happen until she *opened* it, so she does flinch and jump back in surprise. "Well, okay." She sits down next to the chest to eat whatever sandwich analogue Imperial cuisine has, while Chains Knight can hear japanese voices coming from Staren's tablet as she catches up on Priscilla-chan!, then decides to take some drones and patrol the camp for meddlers until it's time to set out.
Darren      An RV clearly past its prime is parked outside the city walls, far enough away that it wouldn't be in the way of the alliance soldiers should an attack come to pass. It's illuminated from within by the soft glow of computer monitors. Solar panels are bolted to the roof, as is a satellite dish and some sort of slowly swiveling array. The back is plastered in bumper stickers advertising fringe crackpot theories, single-digit membership web forums, and casting doubt on the fate of famous missing persons.

     Inside, Darren pores over a slowly scrolling data feed, as anchors from several news networks silently report from muted monitors. A message pops up, advising of the current situation--that the guild is going to try and steal runeciphers. He scoffs. "You're gonna try an onside kick? Down this bad, in the fourth quarter, with a minute left on the clock?" Darren rises from his seat. "*Bruh.*"

     He exits the RV, clad in a white tee, track pants and sneakers, blue-and-yellow drawstring backpack slung over his shoulder. His final footfall lands on empty air--he never touches the ground, but rather lifts into the sky.

     Using his precognitive powers to help steer him in the right direction, he's looking for young people sympathetic to the Queens' forces, repping the Concord however he can to get them to open up. It's time to put this thing to bed--he's going to start mustering support inside the walls, by visiting and asking, openly:

     'Purely hypothetically,' what gestures of support would they be comfortable making to show the leadership here (and by extension the guild) that this is already an L?
Rita Ma      Rita, having previously taken advantage of a bunch of Ilenjeh soldiers' generosity in providing her with large amounts of barely-cooked meat, now returns to thank them. She slips back into camp with a big basket of soy-brined crab and her best attempt at baking cookies- hopefully unaccosted- and leaves them wherever people are eating. A note is included, with carefully-considered wording.

     Thank you for feeding me last month. It helped me a lot. I've found a loving home now, so I'm safe and doing okay. I wanted to bring you something to express my gratitude for that day. Please accept it.
         - the blonde refugee girl

     While she's in the camp, Rita takes a moment to study the runeciphers again and reacquaint herself with their appearance, then creates about a dozen fake ones which go in her now-empty basket. Their being centralized by the Guild would be a disaster for the city's poor; Pharsei could shut its gates to the free aid and start gouging its citizens for basic necessities again.

     The only way around that is to make sure that, if any runeciphers get out at all, some of them end up in the hands of the people.

     With the forgeries in hand, as convincing as she can make them, she invisibly tags along with the caravan and waits for the ambush.
Tamamo <Tac-Paladins> 4 Tamamo says, "Well, this is rather concerning news."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Karian Icefang says, "Hrm?"
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Trudy Grimm says, "Prickly, isn't it?"
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Tamamo says, "While the plan to steal supplies would often be of good benefit to the besieged, that depends upon their walls being a formidable defense. At this point, it is only pure convenience by which their defeat is stayed, and to add sparks to the conflict may be unwise. And yet, we are left with few worthwhile options, this is also true."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Tamamo says, "I can think of only one path that might avert the worst case, and this is to place myself immediately before those who would begin the fight. To my own convenience, I would wish to be within range to study these runes, myself."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Tamamo says, "I would have rather they be taken by stealth, but this is not an option that seems available to us."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Trudy Grimm says, "It *would* be fascinating to have a closer look at such a thing, I do agree. I also agree that the best way to avoid an escalation would be to prevent any hostilities today."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Karian Icefang says, "We may have no choice in that though."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Trudy Grimm says, "Perhaps I should drum up a few of my cute friends to dissuade this ill-advised venture of theirs."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Karian Icefang says, "Though I'm loathe to commit my fledgling chapter too heavily..."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Tamamo says, "At the risk of leaving the both of you with less to do, I shall seek a peaceful resolution that still gives us some of what we want. Being ready with force and, more importantly, with an interfering quantity of friends may still be useful in itself, however."

    Tamamo-no-mae, with reluctance she expertly hides, arrives at the entrance of the city well ahead of the supply caravan. It's not like it can avoid her, though the ambushers might be able. She's formally dressed, this time, rather than looking ready for the beach, though just as comfortable, either way, with little regard to the climate. She has a few cheaty reasons for that that aren't terribly important. What is important is that she, and other Paladin support, arrive at the interception point before any interception (apart from their own) occurs.

    Loathe to use force for the purpose of dissuading use of force, this is a time for charm, but also a time for Charms, and she may need lean on the latter very heavily. If there's nothing else she can manage, and the city is fated to fall, at the very least, she may take something from them useful for fighting in the future.
Karian Icefang     Having opted to accompany Tamamo to the ambush point, Wolf Lord Icefang and a group of his newly christened 'Allfathers hounds' wait for the convoy. Where Tamamo would try for Charm and diplomacy, the 'Hounds' would be ready for the other possible outcome. Near to Tamamo herself was Karian, arms folded and face steeled.
Sleek Shimmer     A young woman, dressed in a casual but maybe exotic-for-the-locale attire has heard the call for capable warriors and has decided to scope the place out. She currently walks the streets, listening to the things her sharp ears pick up around corners and from inside buildings. With the situation as it is, it's not at all hard for her to piece together the major facts.

    Unfortunately, that manner of inquiry leaves massive, gaping holes in her decision-making process. This conflict is unlike anything she's seen. The blockading forces are strange. Very strange.

    Perhaps she'll learn more about what the heck's up if she spies on them instead.

    So she slinks into an alley and reaches out with her greater senses, picking up several different signatures of interest. Two that stand out amongst the others.

    She crouches down, clothes melting away into fur as her body shrinks and triple tails merge and compress into a single one. For just a brief moment, her eyes reflect a view of starfield, then space around her ripples and compresses with a *blip-pop-whooosh.*

    Not a half-second later, the red fox reappears directly behind Chains Knight's treasure chest. The arrival's heralded with a subtle rippling in the air as though a ghost just passed through, but it's quite possible to overlook.

    The vixen sticks her head and snout around the side, spots (and smells!) the sandwich. And the Staren who's carrying it.

    In no time at all, Shimmer decides to tail Staren as stealthily as possible, using whatever cover is available and keeping her ears peeled for any camp-chatter of interest.

    Though if Staren lets her guard down concerning that sandwich... the situation could change rapidly.
Trudy Grimm     Also accompanying the fox maiden, from the other side of it, is a certain witch. Clad in her signature fuzzy boots and fuzzy-sleeved jacket, Trudy Grimm busies herself with a book as she follows, thumbing through pages with a thoughtful expression. Beside her and far taller is a man in a long army coat that reaches his knees, his feet in aged leather boots. His hands gloved and tucked into long sleeves; his face is entirely concealed behind a hood, half-shell helmet, and a gas mask with one cracked lens, glowing with a soft point of green light somewhere behind it. The other lens, completely missing, instead protrudes a green crystal. His firearm, similarly ancient and corroded and lumped with bits of green crystal, hangs from his shoulder in a resting position rather than something readied.

    When Tamamo stops; Trudy also stops. She glances up with a thinky sound, closing her book with a light *thump* and simply releasing it to hang at her side. As the tome drops, the belt re-fastens itself, locking the Grimoire of Despair firmly closed. Her companion, The Soldier, comes to an abrupt stop that clicks his heels together. Silently, he stands at attention beside the far shorter maiden who clearly commands him. Given Trudy herself is of average womanly height; her Soldier companion is nearly twice her size.
Staren     There are absolutely places and times in the past where Staren would be very careful with that sandwich. But this is an imperial camp and the atmosphere is just so welcoming and pleasant, that she's less careful, sometimes taking her eyes off to focus on some distant display.

    Stowed on various places on her armor are her laser pistol, a Large Energy Cannon (?), a knockoff M72 rocket launcher, two vibroswords, and a telescoping rectangular device of gem-decorated lightweight metal (?). A little coconut-sized floating metal sphere with an antenna and large front optic hovers over her shouder. None of this probably means much of anything to Shimmer, besides the swords and possibly the pistol -- it's clear the small girl is a soldier from one of those sci-fi anime worlds or something, at least.

    But perhaps even more importantly: One of the main ingredients of that sandwich is fresh, juicy meat of the kind Shimmer can also smell being cooked elsewhere in the camp. Staren just had it put on bread so she could carry it more easily.
Sleek Shimmer     As Shimmer gets closer and closer to Staren and gets a good look-sie at that armor and the weapons on display, she starts having second thoughts about stealing that sandwich.

    Stealing from a less well-defended, ready-to-go-at it target - like the camp's cooks - would be much more sensible.

    The fact that a petite girl armed to the teeth, whose presence stands out amongst the other soldiers, well, that's pretty clear evidence that joining the upcoming attack won't go as easy as intelligence let on.

    No time like the present to learn a bit of what this stranger from a strange world is all about though. No longer certain about participating in the mercenary job, Shimmer instead darts forward when she spots an opening. The pitter-thump of light steps and a rustling of fur's the only warning that Staren gets before the vixen leaps for the sandwhich, aiming to snatch it in her jaws while airborne and yoink it from Staren's grasp then skitter off.

    Whether that will go according to plan or not, who can say.
Staren     "Hey!" If Shimmer thought she'd get *attacked* or something, she finds that not to be the case. Staren starts to give chase, then realizes she doesn't want a sandwich with fox-slobber on it *anyway*.

    Still, a pulse of magic and then a fox out of nowhere? Hmm.

    After brief hesitation Staren resumes giving chase. "Hey! Are you uh... can you talk??" The worst that can happen is she looks silly to a few onlookers by trying to talk to a Completely Normal Fox, and some chance something is up...

    She leaps into the air and smoothly whips the rectangle off her back, which expands into a magical hoverboard. Ah, *that's* what it is.

    "You know, if you need food the people in the camp are very friendly and sharing! You gotta try this stew they make, it's delicious!"
Sleek Shimmer     That... did not go at all the way Shimmer expected. Most, in her experience, get angry. Try to kick or punch. But as Shimmer dashes away with her stolen half-eaten sandwhich, only to find Staren SURFING IN THE AIR AFTER HER, she darts behind a bolder then scrabbles up top of it.

    And of all things, she asks if the fox can talk.

    <When I feel like it.> The words, delivered by a smooth and reserved female voice, they just sort of pop into Staren's mind. There's the distinct sensation of DIRECTION to them though, and that direction is the fox.

    <Soldiers. Generous enough to give away mountains of food to the place they encircle. Not a bite is poisoned. Why? Do you know?>

    Immediately after those words are delivered, the fox scarfs down that sandwich in no time at all! Quite shamelessly.
Staren     Staren rises into the air to go over the boulder, but then stops at the surprise talking. Oh, good. She won't look silly after all. She lands a dozen or so feet in front of the boulder. "You really don't know what's going on, huh?" She appears to conjure a folding chair out of nowhere, set it up, and, setting her hoverboard and rocket launcher next to it, takes a seat.

    If there were talking animals native to this area it would have been mentioned before, right? Pokemon, shapeshifter, youkai, whatever this is, it... she? may be worth talking to.

    "Because the soldiers, and their leader, want to help the people in the city. It's the beseiged's own leaders who take advantage of them. It's... complicated, but the system in place takes from the many and gives to the few. And prevents there from being as much for all as there could be. The Empress doesn't want that. I don't want that. But... we have to give them a chance to see it."

    Wait, is she starting to talk too much?

    Staren leans forward, chin-on-hands with her elbows on her knees. "What about you? Why do you care, and what is your intent towards the people inside the walls, and outside them?"
Undivided Queens     Chilling in the war camp, surrounded by vaguely supernatural contentment and health rather than aggressive boredom and deprivation, Staren is told in no uncertain terms that runeciphers, even under Seilatiya's rule of mass-producing them, are never going to be distributed like that outside the Algwyll-Ilenjeh empire. The sentiment is firm and developed: that there is no trust that anyone else will use them as the Empress does, and foreign nations simply aren't entitled to decide to have every luxury of the Alliance while rebuking its culture and allegiance completely. She gets skewers. As always, they're really good, if perhaps a little too spicy.

    As far as Rita can tell from both visits, the number of polyhedral facets within the central jewel indicates the complexity and breadth of storage of the item, and also the difficulty of using it, vaguely corresponding to status in most cases, though she can't tell whether it's causatively meritocratic or actually restricted by class and wealth. Duplicates are a little tricky because of their innate glow and the floating fittings that the Empire seems to favour, but it's not as if the Pharseians know what they look like up close. Her gift basket causes a little stir. She hears the Imperial line cook from last time asking a group of Ilenjeh trackers to see if they can verify that she isn't living in the city now, and if she is, to keep her out of the way, to which they readily agree (albeit, having little else to do).

    Within the city itself, Darren has 'fortunately' found that pro-Imperial sentiment has only grown since the last time he was here. The psychological war that Seilatiya intended to fight all along, somewhat naive as it always was, has gradually gained traction. With only a few hours to canvass, but everyone stationarily indoors, what he picks up is simmering resentment that they all voted for the government to actually take and use the city's private wealth to maintain independence and freedom, and didn't get their way; their first real disillusionment with the democratic process has them questioning whether the other side is all that bad. There's been strong consideration of public protest, or taking matters into their own hands and breaking some windows in the main centers of guild commerce they know of, if he catches their drift, but they consider it sort of suicidally stupid while the entire city is on lockdown and every soldier and militiaman is currently mustered.
Sleek Shimmer     The little fox perched atop the boulder does a strange maneuver. She... handstands, partially? Hoists her rear slightly into the air. Then, with a faint glow, her body changes, roughly doubling, tripling in mass, fur receding into skin. While still mid-change she tucks her legs under her so she ends up seated in HUMAN style on the boulder. Fox ears atop her head, not too dissimilar to Staren's cat ears, swivel around warily...

    Finally, a trio of fox tails unfold into view, behind her...

    "Many in town do like the soldiers. The ones in charge, with all the money and power, they panic because now the people don't need them."

    She folds her arms, looks left and right at the camp, and mentions,. "The city is calling for warriors to help. But now I see they're not in any real danger... unless... the powerful do something foolish."

    She then fixes a fierce stare at Staren though. "Who is this leader, who shows such kindness and generosity? What comes after the city lords are thrown out? I've never seen people with power not step on everyone. It's so strange."
Undivided Queens     The new officer sent with the caravan this time --a seven foot tall middle aged Ilenjeh man, silver hair matching his imperial-made armour and contrasting sun-darkened skin and oddly blackened neck and jaw-- simply orders the okay that Chains be stowed upon the ride; if he can fit in a chest, that's plus one skilled arm during the fighting he expects to ensue.

    The logistician has been replaced with an Ilenjeh woman of an ostensibly different ethnicity, draped in the red white and lavender-silver of an Algwyllan reconciliator; a sort of 'officer of the peace' slash diplomat-negotiator slash magic psychotherapist, from what the Concord visits recall. Despite being tall and having an imperious (and ram-horned) appearance, she has no combat ability whatsoever, and will simply spend all available time talking to any tagalongs.

    Given there are robust main-roads down the length of peninsula and up to the walls of Arsiene, nothing fancy is needed to transport tons of carefully packaged goods to the gates; rather nicely hewn steel-shod wood wagons are fine, and conveniently covered. A full convoy of fifty is necessary to meet the population of the city, but overall under only light guard, with a single squad of soldiers each.

    Tamamo, presumptive that she would help prepare the field and give her blessings, is told the exact point of the interception where the elite mercenaries are lying in wait, and thus is utterly unchallenged in simply meeting the caravan further down the roads, within range of the walls, but not those lying in wait outside.

    Perhaps somewhat shockingly for the Elites prepared for battle, the lead officer actually calls for a full halt. The woman accompanying him comes out alone, though she doesn't go far from the soldiers. Despite speaking unaided, her voice carries improbably well; even Chains can hear her locked inside a chest. "Hail and fortuitous meetings, you who I presume to be honoured arrivals. You may know me as Orinoka, Imperial Reconcilliator of her divine grace. May I ask what it is you wish, by barring this delivery of vital supplies to those who need not be our enemies?"

    Somehow this is actually kind of working; even if armed men are making restless looks at Karian and Trudy, the floor is open to them as well.
Staren     Staren smiles at the news of Pharseian support for Isahane. "Empress Isahane is a wise leader, but the mind from which this plan comes is her co-ruler's." Staren's eyes practically sparkle with admiration. "Queen Seilatiya is a wonderful ruler who really does want the best for her people; And she's thought of so much more, and worked at it harder, than any other benevolent dictator I know!" Staren will happily gush about what she's seen of the capital, about how care was taken to preserve peoples' culture when conquered, and of Seilatiya's actions to save refugees from onis, and her charity to the underground city, etc etc etc.

    It... It kind of gives credit to the rumors that Seilatiya is mind-controlling people, doesn't it? It's hard to imagine anyone *really* being that good...

    Ultimately, Staren introduces herself ("Staren Wiremu of the Free City of Lazlo, Gifted of the Concord") and with her AI monitoring responses carefully, Staren shares intel about the upcoming attack with Sleek Shimmer and gives a slightly distorted view of what the point of the battle will be. She earnestly believes it, though! Enough that she's going to a fight and risking more physical injury than usual for it, at any rate.

    Once talking is done and it's time to get back to the Convoy, Staren packs up her stuff and leads Shimmer there. She tells the Conspicuous Treasure Chest that the fox promised to help, and then... turns into a cat and curls up next to the treasure chest to pass the time and wait.

NOW:

    Kitty-Staren, a black-furred american shorthair with a sea-green scarf around her neck, lifts her head, ears perked. They're stopping already? This is actually a pretty good innocuous form for stealth, right? So she peeks out of the wagon and-- her eyes go wide at the sight of the gathered elites. Tamamo has /Trudy/ with her? And even more surprising, Karian is back and here of all places?!

    Staren ducks back into the wagon, warning Chains Knight and Shimmer: "If this turns into a fight, I'll handle the big armored guy, Karian. The other two are spellcasters; The witch, Trudy, is a master of undead, and Tamamo is a master of wards and curses."
Darren *Dope. We're in the lead, we've got great field position. All we gotta do now is force a turnover--and with the play these guys are about to try, that's gonna be mad easy.*

     This is, simply put, a fantastic development. Darren's smile grows wider and wider, the more people he talks to. For the moment, he has nothing to offer in response but various permutations of 'stay put for now.' Those last two words are the operative ones.

Next, a kind of 'broadcast' sent out to everyone he's spoken to so far. Yo, this is Darren. Didn't wanna say so out loud in case they might be listening. If I give you the Signal, it means the soldiers split. And if that happens, we're gonna meet up and let the guild know who really runs this. You feel me? Cool.

     Using his tactical knowledge and scanning the city from above, Darren maps out places where soldiers are currently stationed, current patrol routes, and the highest concentration (based on information from the people he'd canvassed) of guild holdings.

     What's the safest way for a large group of people to get there? If necessary--if there is no attack on the caravan--what's the best path to funnel soldiers down with a distraction?
Tamamo     "You presume us to arrive with honor, and yet, presume also that we bar your supplies? Why, no, that is not the case, at all. It is well for you to feed those unable to feed themselves, is it not?" 'Because you starve them,' she doesn't even hint. "I should wish the same."

    Tamamo doesn't stop when the caravan does. Her hands are in her sleeves, and she continues her tall geta walk up to a more comfortably conversational range, if no one stops her. "Orinoka, is it? I am Tamamo-no-mae, bunrei of Amaterasu-omikami, She of the White-Gold Face, Goddess of the Sun." It's something that would be easy to discover, to anyone who checks proper channels. She's far from an unknown face, and has come dressed in her most iconic outfit.

    "In truth, there are some matters I wished to better understand, and to wait for you to reach the city would be rather inconvenient, after all. You would become quite busy, then, having your own matters to which to attend. There are none within that place who possess runeciphers, as you know, and so, there are none within the city who could tell me much of their functioning. On these, and to hear more of her divine grace, your empress, I hope that you shall spare me some of your time, as you are able."

    There is, by the circumstances of the meeting, no way to reasonably interpret this as an ordinary visit. Though all she said was true, it can as easily be read as an admission of knowledge of the ambush ahead, if in a light that distances herself from it. The addition of Trudy, her nameless comrade, Karian, and those he'd thought to bring with him all suggest a great deal of force behind what is, on the surface, a reasonably polite request.

    And yet, whatever it is that she is assuredly hiding, mistrusting Tamamo's intentions is inherently unreasonable, just as disbelieving her divine origin is fundamentally difficult. One look to her eyes is as much as it normally requires to believe that she's being fully genuine in her intentions. Something lays beneath, but it couldn't possibly be an intent to harm.
Chains Knight Hidden inside the treasure chest, Chains listens with some concern.

This was supposed to be a guaranteed thing. Ambush, counter-ambush, stalemates broken and the siege resuming at full force. He'd only really come along for the ride to fan the flames and take part in what was guaranteed to be an exciting event full of crushing villainry and resurgant heroes - the stuff that legends are forged in. Because endless stalemate is the stuff that crushes souls and stories - and anything is better than that.

Yes, even at the cost of lives. Shut up with your whataboutism.

But instead of fighting... there's talking. Talking. And the sort of talking meant to wind down the tension, even!

"It does not sound like this has turned into a fight," says Chains, morosely, from within the treasure chest. "It sounds as if this has turned into a cutscene."

"Let's see if I cannot fix that."

Everyone around the caravan gets a prompt.. It's invasive - intruding on their consciousnesses. It's easy to dismiss, with a focused thought, but likely not before they read it. Specifically, it is a Quest Tracker. With just one quest on it, that scans as true and binding on Chains' end if they fulfill the terms.

QUEST: Attack The Caravan or the Ambushers.
Reward: Vast sums of wealth.
Sleek Shimmer     THEN:
    Another thing that Staren gives Shimmer is a Com-Unit. The gadget, Shimmer's not so sure what to do with it. She pokes and prods at it for a bit while mulling over the things discussed with Staren - during which she introduced herself as Sleek Shimmer. Odd name, that? The Multiverse has heard odder, though.

    What Staren probably wasn't expecting though, is that, after fumbling helplessly with the Com-Unit, Shimmer would simply hold it between both hands, close both her eyes, and focus. Translucent, glittering white lights swirl between her palms into a pair of opposing vortexes engulfing the object. The com-unit quickly becomes see-thru and then begins to crumble and disintegrate as a swirl of glittering particles that flow into Shimmer's body. She remains like that for a good minute, whole body faintly aglow for the duration as her hands drift down loosely to either side.

    Staren's seen something similar to that, but will she be able to place it?

    NOW:
    On the notion that Staren has the right idea here, Shimmer is once again in fox form, keeping a low profile in the wagon and peeking out of it through a gap in the tarp covering or similar hole.

    Of the three who stand in the way, she of course takes special note of Tamamo. How can she not? "So many fellow shifters in this place. All of them free... none treated like crap. It's too good to be true."
Rita Ma      Rita stays close enough to the caravan to keep an eye on it, but far enough away that her footsteps won't be audible. Periodically she ducks behind a tree, well out of sight, and drops the invisibility for a few moments to rest before catching up again.

     In the meantime, she runs over the possible outcomes in her head.

1: Pharsei ambushers are repelled and remain dependent on caravans. Pharsei citizens continue getting aid. Good outcome.
2: Pharsei ambushers win and acquire Runeciphers, rejecting aid. Pharsei citizens become dependent on the Guild for necessities. Bad outcome.
3: Pharsei ambushers win, but Rita distributes a handful of real ones to the populace to prevent the Guild getting a monopoly. Good outcome.

     In the event of a fight, it only makes sense for her to side with the caravan and against Pharsei, with swapping the Runeciphers as a last-ditch save. But there's no sense at all in revealing herself too early.

     Her face lights up in surprise- and a moment later, darkens in annoyance- as Chains' quest notification flashes across her mind. Okay. In a minute. Instead she ducks behind a convenient tree and dials up her Watch contacts.

     Her questions are simple. What do their Watch sources know about the ambushing force? What Elites are arrayed against the caravan? Where do they intend to bring the Runeciphers once they're done (so she has a better shot at intercepting them, if she fails)? Are there any specific unpleasant surprises in store?

     When she can, she hazards a peek around the tree while talking, keeping an eye on the state of the parley in case it boils over.
Trudy Grimm     The Soldier remains stationary and his weapon undrawn. There is no hostility to detect with the giant man beside Trudy; though he clearly possesses some form of will and autonomy. The young lady beside him closes her bright green eyes, raising one hand in a shrug-like gesture, "As a magical scholar myself, I'm quite interested in these 'runeciphers' as well. I'd love an opportunity to compare them to the runic magic I've mastered myself."

    Above her outstretched hand, a rune in the rough shape of a < appears, glittering crimson. This Kaunaz rune bursts into flames, putting off no smoke as it does so. Something flashes across her vision, eyes snapping open with a surprised "Oh-!" sort of sound. The rune she was demonstrating with vanishes and she lowers her hand, resting it on the bound tome holding at her side.

    "...If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone is trying to start a fight. Are we poor peaceful scholars and priests to be victims? To what end would that serve?"

    The Soldier reaches for his rifle, breaking at last out of his Attention posture, but Trudy holds out a hand and he stops himself. She gives her fingers a wiggle and he returns to his Attentive state, single eye glowing behind the lens of his gas mask.
Undivided Queens     Usurprising to Darren, the vast majority of the standing army is stationed at the outer perimeter of the city, where it actually should be under competent military leadership. Those walls are thick and layered, and those towers have repelled many an arrogant conquerer in the past. The militia is certainly fully active, but even they're mainly stationed at positions mostly ideal for controlling a sudden fire or evacuation, additionally placed at the warpgate, docks, backstreets off of main thoroughfares, and on guard duty around major public installations.

    Fear of the army itself is generally unwarranted; they have more important things to worry about, and are primed to respond to attackers at the gates rather than disgruntled citizens already inside. Much of the militia would be in the way, but it's actually the main streets that are the widest and least overtly protected, if more watched, as those need to be used to distribute those supplies all day anyways. A fire would certainly be by far the easiest distraction, if he can avoid burning people's houses down. Most guild holdings are informal and owned by specific merchant 'families'; their personal manors are all over the place downtown, but they own warehouses and shipyards in large numbers down by the docks, close enough to shore that they haven't been obliterated by the Algwyllan armada.
Undivided Queens     After the first thing Tamamo says, Orinoka smiles faintly, but genuinely, back at her. "I should hope that we would feed them, on the account that it is our doing they must be fed." She really just says it out loud. "That would be the least of necessities, even in a time of strife. It is no honourable task of ours, therefore your honoured presence should be no less than my own. It costs me no pride to admit that your concerns are only natural."

    She glances back at the officer behind her with an expectant look when Tamamo mentions them being busy. He silently shakes his head. She seems slightly confused, but is well-practiced to show no breaks in the ranks when looking back to Tamamo. "Of course. Should our discussion be brief enough that none wait hungry, or better yet, moved by the side." she replies, without any apparent guile.

    Actually, she doesn't really seem to resist Tamamo's charms at all. Even less than usual. There is no reluctance in her mind whatsoever to simply take the gilded suggestions of glittering demigoddesses at face value and in good faith.
Undivided Queens     Unfortunately, the Watch is not terribly well-informed about the specifics of who was hired; Rita is mostly put in contact with local sympathizers and not a full blown professional cell. However, it does sound like the guild has 'equitably' divided the burden of cost (by relative standing) to acquire somewhere close to ten relatively infamous professionals from the East and North; from countries that are supposed to be Pharsei's historic allies, actually, but would rather not touch anything involving the New Empire.

    They're all local, rather than from other worlds, as the guild doesn't seem to trust contractors who can simply bail to another world out of their nominal reach, but at least a couple of them are professional assassins, and a couple more are allegedly fairly powerful freelance mages; important for a country as generally low-magic as this.

    The runeciphers, as well as the two they plan to abduct and interrogate, are all meant to be transported to an auction hall between the downtown and docks; something that is fully owned, jointly, by several merchant families rather than the state, and which currently sees no use in this period of siege. The guild already anticipates their contractors will probably dishonestly steal some of the runeciphers, but one person can only make use of one, and they won't be able to sell them at a higher price elsewhere, so they aren't too concerned. Only the lead officer and logistician --right now actually a reconcilliator-- need be delivered alive, and her contacts assume they will probably attempt to massacre the light guard.

    Still, with tenfold the number hiding in plain sight, and the Elites on the Alliance's side, it's hard to imagine a rout like that actually playing out. From what she hears, the Ilenjeh War-Queen is too shrewd in battle to casually underestimate the impact of even a tiny group of highly skilled contractors.
Darren A telepathic huddle is happening, between Darren and his team.

Alright. We need to force a turnover and we know any minute now they're gonna try an onside kick. Simple stuff. We already got someone on the kicker. So Nessie, you're gonna handle the main street tackle, then the rest of us blitz the shipyards. Y'all ready? Win on three. One-two-three WIN!

La!
Uweee!
GRAH!
Bweep!
Ch-ch!
WIN

    Within minutes, a friend-shaped plesiosaur is rampaging on the main street. Her horn casts a burning, white-hot laser in multiple directions at once, and her bulk slams into fixtures like lamp-posts, storefronts and the like. She's careful, aiming that laser, to keep it from hitting anyone's home--and she employs blasts of water to keep any fires she might start from escalating beyond her control.

    Utilizing the distraction caused by Nessie, Darren immediately gives everyone he'd spoken to THE SIGNAL, instructing them all to stick to the side roads and quickly head down to the shipyards, where, as promised, they'll show the guild who really runs the capital.

    "Never forget that all this," says Darren, levitating slightly in the air so as to make himself more easily heard by the gathered people, "Is more important to them than the will of the people. Never forget that they'd rather protect this than you!" A little humanoid ladybug with an aircraft early-warning system for a thorax pops out and utters a rallying cheer, psychic power bathing those brave enough to gather at the shipyards in protective light.

    "If property and capital is the language of psychic vampires, then let's speak their language, you feel me?! TELL THOSE FOOLS THEY BETTER LOOK BOTH WAYS 'FORE THEY CROSS YOUR MIND!"
Undivided Queens     Two things happen when Chains flashes his quest log. One is that the Imperial side . . . doesn't do anything more than look restless about suddenly seeing things. Somehow, the promise of fabulous riches has no allure to any of them. Actually, it seems to make them vaguely uncomfortable for being singled out as someone who would break ranks in return for wealth. It isn't simply 'high moral character and discipline'; the temptation of riches is genuinely abnormally low.

    However, the mercs in ambush are here for wealth in the first place, and the promise of getting paid twice is actually pretty serious for them; even for a normal soldier of fortune, thirty-odd fewer life-endangering battles before retirement is a big deal. Tamamo and Trudy, at least, are warned via curt radio message that they're moving the interception point up, and to keep the caravan distracted and busy until they arrive. Those with sufficiently acute senses (though, oddly, not thermal or magical senses) may notice signs of encroaching arrival in the flanking forest.
Staren     Staren can certainly hear the conversation outside after ducking back in. She doesn't know better how runeciphers work than a local, and Paladins *certainly* won't listen to her explaining that no, really, Seilatiya really is just that nice, so she stays in the wagon as Chains's prompt comes up.

    "You can *do* that?" She asks the Conspicuous Treasure Chest. "Do you really think elites will go for it, though?"

    Beat.

    "...It doesn't sound like they have..." She's kind of uneasy about provoking a fight this way, anyway. "Besides, they're not the ambushing force anyway, we're still too early."

    And then Staren-cat's ears perk up at the sound of a whole lot of people moving, somewhere. "Hey, do you hear that?"
Sleek Shimmer     It's rather noisy out there with all of the soldiers and the chit-chat, but Shimmer still hears a few odd noises that she wasn't expecting. Noises coming from a direction she thought was clear. Her ears perk up and swivel towards the forest. "Yes, Staren, I do. Something comes from the forest. But I don't feel its life. Are the woods haunted by restless dead?"
Tamamo     It's already been said, and it would be impolite to focus on it, so Tamamo allows these admissions by Orinoka to pass without further comment.

    "I am unfamiliar with your title, but should your group continue without the presence of yourself, and the one I assume to be your fellow officer, I expect there shall be little issue." She doesn't know that, for sure, but her understanding of the plan was that it was these two they wanted to kidnap. If they're not present, the plan is busted. They're better off waiting for another chance, at the very least. It's not a long-term solution, but she isn't so greedy as to immediately demand one. Making any sort of 'progress' in a situation like this is difficult enough.

    But there's that odd message that appeared, like someone trying to signal her, in a way unfamiliar to her own traditions. It's only after the fact, looking at Trudy, that Tamamo realizes it wasn't just her. And it's only after that, with the message coming in from the mercenaries, that she realizes just how far it had reached.

    Oh, dear. No, this isn't good at all. And she hasn't learned the first thing about runeciphers, which has suddenly become somewhat important, in that she isn't aware of whether stealing them involves as much blood as stealing the sort of magical crests that are familiar to her. Do the other members of the caravan even have them, or is it only the officers? Should she instead focus all her efforts on the here and now, at the expense of the future? Can it even be justified?

    In an uneasy moment, she makes a decision. It's one based upon limited knowledge, a desire to be away from this war, and an optimistic hope for others to be no more cruel than they are paid to accomplish.

<Tac-Paladins> 4 Tamamo says, "Ms. Grimm, our time appears to have been cut short. I shall ask these two to follow us, and protect them, during our exit, from both engaging and being engaged in battle. I ask that you provide any force as becomes necessary."
<Tac-Paladins> 4 Trudy Grimm says, "Happily! But please make it clear that my friends are going to protect them. I'd hate to be mistaken for a common highwayman."

    "Yes, I fear it is vitally necessary that the both of you step aside, for now, and that you follow me. Do not worry for the duty granted you. It shall be done, and it is within my power to guarantee one day's abeyance of misfortune, at the least." If nothing else, she has the wealth, magical and otherwise, to make up for one lost caravan. "I shall, even more so, guarantee your own safety, within my presence, on which Ms. Grimm and her comrade," Tamamo extends a hand, palm up, to gesture to Trudy and the nameless soldier, "shall assist. I shall divine a path. Follow me, if you please. We shall speak as it becomes safe to do so."

    Tamamo then does just what she said and, taking into account all those intended to go with her, examines the winding of threads only she can clearly see, to find that 'path of least harm' that arrives them, all together, at a portal out.

    Leaving this world, and arriving at one with easy access to Paladin enforcement, makes for the easiest environment in which to have a long conversation about various topics. As she said, she'll ensure they can return safely, afterward. Even if they're separated from both ruler-granted and land-bound enchantments, she expects they'll want to go back, though that process, too, will be informative.
Chains Knight And - there.

Chains doesn't necessarily have a good 'feedback' sense of who accepts or rejects a quest that's given out widely like that, but it does seem like not *everyone* is dismissing it right out, which - really, a few should be good enough.

"I believe we are in business," he says, opening the chest (carefully, after disarming the !!!ENCOUNTER!!! popup) and going to climb up onto the convoy itself, finding a good spot from which to watch whatever is going to ensue.
Staren     Undead?! "I don't think so... nobody's mentioned it..." Camera drones warp in around her and fly out the back of the wagon they're in, staying at wagon-height for now but getting more eyes for her to see by, although trying to stay out of view of where the Paladins are.

    Triangulating sound between them, they try to pinpoint the mercenaries visually, although without heat that may be difficult. Still, if knowing where to look from sound is enough, they'll give Staren a visual.

    The tacnet software comes up. Since Shimmer absorbed a com-unit, she gets the ability to bring up a map showing the relative positions of detected allies, enemies, and unknowns, as well as an AR HUD showing same in her vision. Chains is sent the same data if he has a way to receive it.

    Tamamo is trying to get two of the officers to go with her, but that's perfectly above-board and normal, so Staren doesn't worry about that.

    Chains is out of the box. "Tch... you're ready, huh...?" The cat stretches, then returns to catgirl form and takes a deep breath as she adjusts her cloak and headwrap for her upcoming Dramatic Entrance.
Trudy Grimm     Trudy is asked to provide cover, a request that brings a big shark-toothed smile to the girl's face. That sort of 'You only had to ask' smile that only a cretin such as her can really pull off. The Grimoire shudders at her side, but she quells it and raises her hands. Pushing them downward, the immediate effect is her shadow, which grows much darker and deeper; and grows into a pool of darkness around her.

    The Soldier beside her suddenly snaps his rifle up in both hands, dropping into a crouch with the weapon raised that could only be pulled off while holding a firearm. He lifts one hand off the weapon in a silent handsignal--

    Figures writhe within Trudy's expanded shadow, coat-clad arms reaching out, grabbing on, hauling faces similarly concealed behind gas masks and military helmets, tattered greatcoats and worn leather boots. A small squadron of soldiers, most with rifles, one with a much heavier LMG, and another with the telltale fuel tanks and flame-tipped nozzle of an early-era flamethrower. All in varying states of disarray, all with gas masks, all with bits of green crystal protruding from beneath their clothes or from beneath their masks in seemingly random places.

    Trudy's shadow fades back to normal, her eyes swinging up to the initial soldier, "Corporal, if you please. Your order is to protect our three VIPs." An eye closes, "And me if you've got the time~."

    This unit, all similarly crazy-tall as the initial Soldier bodyguard, file cautiously in the wake of Tamamo and her charges, covering the rear with an assortment of corroded, crystal-flecked firearms from ages long past.
Rita Ma      As Rita chats up her sources on the phone, she takes a breath that pulls an unfamiliar scent across her tongue- the mercenaries. The word she'd held the air for is never spoken. Instead, she says a sharp "I'll call you back alright?" and hangs up on the spot.

     She peers out from behind her tree and sees Tamamo trying to take the lead officer and the logistician- the two people that the ambush was meant to capture and interrogate. Everyone else, according to the Pharsei superiors, can be killed. But they'll be wanting much more than two runeciphers.

     A jumble of thoughts run through Rita's head as she tries to sort out the tactical implications. Hard to find a way to stay ahead of this development. But she settles on something that's sure to be beneficial. Rita drops to all fours and sprints ahead along her parallel path, hoping to find a point out of sight of both the caravan behind and the ambushers ahead, before the latter get close enough to render such a point impossible.

     Her tentacles, invisible, wind between the trees to become a complex network of organic tripwires. Each one is imbued with the power she'd gotten from the bugfrag monster in Forte's world: to spawn a monstrous, short-lived clone of whatever is snagged in it. That should tear up an elite force pretty well.

     She ducks back behind anything that can hide her presence and waits. The mercenaries are walking into- hopefully- a bloodbath. If need be, she's behind the Paladins too, to pincer them if things turn sour at the caravan.

     Rita sighs audibly and rubs her face with both hands. "Everything has to be complicated lately. I hate it."
Undivided Queens     Tamamo, continuing to turn on the brain microwaving, has no trouble in her immediate objective. Orinoka looks to her officer companion, but after his careful yet brief consideration, he nods to her, issues an order to the caravan to keep going, and says "Whatever will hurry this up to meet the timetable. It's a simple mission, so it's not as if they'll fail without me." Orinoka smiles and bows slightly to Tamamo, coming aside with her. "Prime amongst the duties of my title is trust and good faith, and so I will extend the same to you as I would my own people." The officer makes a bit of a scoffing noise at 'ensure your safety'. "I wouldn't call being surrounded by someone else's troops reassuring. More the opposite." Still, he doesn't seem concerned.

    Examining the future for options regarding a strategic retreat is tough. Falling back to the camp would quickly put her out of the reach of the Pharseian side, but there aren't any warpgates all the way until the next town over. There are many inside the city itself, and most are undefended after being struck repeatedly by Imperial artillery, but there's an entire wall of defenders between her and that, and they won't just casually let her in; especially not with two of the enemy in tow. Charming that many soldiers over that massive an area into ignoring their orders doesn't seem feasible. If Trudy can get her in, it'd be safest. Otherwise, she might have to simply try and make the travel away. Theoretically, a future in which she secures the cooperation of one of the Concord Elites would be easiest, if she can swing it.

    It isn't long before Rita's trap is sprung, but it's not before at least one sniper within the group --probably explaining the stealth with which they'd moved off-- takes their shot from the brush. One of the undead soldiers Trudy has assigned can easily get in the way, at the cost of its head and upper body from some unknown weapon. This immediately raises the alarm, and the as-of-yet unnamed officer moves to put himself in front of Orinoka; a heavy metal-coated shield is summoned to him with a radiant burst of light from his runecipher to further cover the pair. Given Tamamo's ally had gotten in the way, there is no suspicion cast on them yet.

    Shortly thereafter, someone in the lead of the mercenary advance trips Rita's wires, and then another two, and hell breaks loose off the caravan road. Unfortunately, it seems the group is too canny to all keep blundering into the trapped zone, but three seems to be enough, as the sudden proliferation of monstrous howling, yelling, crunching steel noises, loud bangs, and flashes of fire, erupts from barely fifty meters off the road and a hundred ahead. Of course there are now a lot of soldiers awaiting orders from their leader, who could conceivably have them storm ahead on a moment's notice, though this doesn't fit the parameters of their original plan at all. It doesn't seem as if the mercenary group is about to be obliterated by monstrous clones a fraction of their number though; mostly the current engagement is buying time.
Chains Knight The roof of one of the convoys is home to one Chains Knight, the armored figure watching things progress...

"... Hmm... good amount of chaos so far, but..."

"... Hmm. This fight does not seem quite one-sided enough, though..."

He gets out his deck of cards, gives it a shuffle, and starts playing.

The mercenary group (at least, those surviving members of it) receive a boost - a bit extra speed, a bit extra toughness, focused most on those closest to the convoy, trying to encourage them to break through and start some more direct violence there...
Staren     SHOTS FIRED. Staren's drones immediately pinpoint the sniper, but she has no appropriate weapons ready to fire.

    She wanted a fight, but... Not if it gets Isahane's soldiers killed. And what the HELL was that weapon?! The damage it did to Trudy's undead make her question whether today's defenses are enough.

    But... a *competent* elite succeeds at the mission (she... set for herself?) AND doesn't lose anyone, right? She's got to try. To prove herself to herself AND the Concord.

    Snipers have GOTTA go though.

    A short cloaked figure runs out of one of the wagons, trying to get to where she'll have line of fire on the sniper, who the drones try to stay on.

    Staren tosses the cloak aside. The helmetless, twintailed catgirl in futuristic armor is certainly: A Target, and she's not sure how long she has before they draw a bead on her. With a practiced series of quick motions, she pulls the caps off the rocket launcher, extends it, aims at the feet of the sniper with a slight lead ('aiming' in this case meaning making two indicators on her HUD get close to eachother) and fires.

    And then she drops the expended launch tube and runs/dives for cover because THAT surely got some attention.
Tamamo     Tamamo shows immediate concern for Trudy's soldier as the presence of a sniper is revealed by the attack. "Oh, no! Oh, dear, I would much rather have bypassed this route altogether, but such appears impossible. On to the next plan, then."

    This is going to rely a lot on Trudy. To the extent of leaving her wholly responsible for handling matters for some while, in fact. After confirming something via tactical radio, Tamamo continues, "Ms. Grimm, I shall secure our exit point. In the meanwhile, you shall need only consider attaining a defensive position, regardless of where it might be found. If no other path appears, I would move directly away from the fighting, though I am, I shall admit, no soldier."

    With a burst of light like golden flakes falling away, the Eightfold Blessings of Amaterasu manifests, a heavy mirror that floats through the air -- and to the soldier nearest Trudy, needing someone on the stronger side to carry it, if it's not being moved around by Tamamo's will. "Here, take this with you, as well." And from Tamamo's sleeve, she hands Trudy a small lock of pink-red hair, wound in navy blue thread. "I shall arrange for the mirror to show my location, though it requires a key, such as this." A sympathetic connection is easy to establish, if it's to locate your own self. "Oh, are you already versed in such things? In either case, it is simply accomplished, given this arrangement. Wait some little while, and I shall go ahead and find you a convenient shadow to which to move. As for myself, I expect I shall meet less trouble, to a great extent, should I move alone."

    And with that, Tamamo is off. If it's only to find the route for getting herself in the city, it should be far easier, and between her divination, her surprising all-terrain mobility on those tall geta, and her own blessings of fortune, she has an effective combination of tools for the purpose.

    As quickly as reasonably possible, she needs to find a shadow near one of the warpgates, and let Trudy see it through the mirror.
Sleek Shimmer     Hunkering in the wagon while listening to the exchange between the officer and Tamamo, Shimmer once again questions her entire purpose here. She's agreed to help Staren undermine the local rulership, but--

TWell, but nothing. Her musings are cut short by the sound of GUNFIRE. Growling, she leaps - in fox form - clear out of the wagon and then up atop it, looking this way and that... and trying to make sense of the confusing input from the gadget Staren gtave her, which she since absorbed. With her awareness pinging some as 'friend' and others as 'enemy' wholly separate from her conscious judgement, it's a bit overwhelming.

    She's got to be more careful when absorbing something like that again!

    She dives down off the wagon and off into the brush, having realized the situation of the snipers... she now seeks to root them out.

    Of course, if she does come across a sniper in the brush, she's going to bite them in the leg or arm or something and rapidly drain their lifeforce to exhaustion, if possible.
Trudy Grimm     One of the subservient Soldiers under Trudy's command does indeed lurch into the path of the incoming bullet. It vaporizes his left shoulder and most of his torso, separating the arm from his body in the same split-second. Only the forearm hits the ground in a puddle of nameless, off-colored viscera. He whirls in place, half of his head missing as well; showing a great deal of exposed bone, skull, and spine in addition to blackened, desiccated flesh. With his remaining arm, he raises his rifle-- and what's left of his spine breaks. The undead soldier folds in half without firing a shot, collapsing in on himself.

    The remaining soldiers snap up their rifles and step forward, including the one toting a heavy machine gun and the one with the flamethrower, who also ignites his weapon's pre-lighter with a faint hiss-pop. All save for one, who shoulders his weapon to carry Tamamo's mirror while Trudy accepts the fox miko's trinket with a quick nod, "Got it. You can count on me!"

    Shadows beneath the feet of her minions deepen and extend in front of them, then erupt upward with a great clattering noise. As the darkness melts away from this upswell, it reveals a rampart of bleached white bone which the undead soldiers she commands promptly press against as cover; as one would the walls of a trench in some ancient, forgotten war.

    The HMG-toting soldier hauls his weapon up, deplying a tripod from the bottom of his weapon and mounting it atop the wall of bone. Stabilized so, he sweeps the weapon across the line of bushes that the initial sniper shot had originated from, unleashing a spray of heavy-calibur rounds in a steady back-and-forth sweep.

    "Please don't mind the noise," Trudy states, lowering one arm while glancing towards her two still-living charges, "Miss Tamamo and I will ensure your safety to the best of our abilities; and a witch of my talents has a great many tricks at her disposal." When she raises her hand again, the Grimoire nests firmly in her grasp, still closed, but unbuckled.
Undivided Queens     Darren is off doing something completely different and of a wildly separate scope. Darren was (tentatively) welcome on the streets up until he started this, so getting into a prime position isn't hard. Once Nessie starts lasering the streets, the few people outdoors start screaming and running, people in adjacent houses semi-frequently start grabbing their stuff, hiding their children, and trying to bail, and the soldiers that are posted around the main streets immediately get in his Pokemon's way.

    The road ahead is blockaded immediately with soldiers scrambling into position, shield walling Nessie and posting marksmen behind. The crack of galloping horses comes from behind, and mobile response cavalry quickly show up from adjacent squares to surround her, with more no doubt on the way. Unfortunately, being an unattended monster 'loose on the rampage', there is no diplomatic action inbound. She is immediately showered with a volley of heavy crossbow quarrels from the front whilst men on horseback charge from behind, some with lugged spears to try and pin her down, a couple of others with nets 'just in case' the monster survives.

    Of course, this being an assumption of 'the enemy's doing', other teams are ordered to fan out elsewhere and look for further enemy interference, 'a random monster lasering buildings' seeming like a fairly obvious distraction or one part of a multi-pronged attack. Darren only has a little while to gather support.

    The racket alone is strangely heartening to the people Darren already canvassed for support, though. The sounds of fighting outside the gate carry far, and add to the din further down the street, creating the illusion of a larger movement. Not everyone he spoke to comes with him --many simply shut their doors and bar their windows-- but many do, and swiftly enough, he has a bit of a procession following him, carrying whatever improvised weapons they can manage (especially farmers who previously lived outside the walls and are most disgruntled for being unable to return to their actual homes) and yelling loudly enough to constitute a rabble, figuring out a few conflicting chants as they go and gesturing more people looking from their homes to come with them.

    Horses arrive to block Darren's path before he reaches the shipyards; all the noise he's making is just too easy for them to track down. It doesn't take that many mounted spearmen and archers to block him off through the side roads, at which point he gets a promise of 'one warning' and a demand that he personally surrender before they'll move on to dispersing the crowd. A few bricks and bottles are thrown, but the crowd isn't about to surge past him and risk getting shot just yet.
Darren      Some of the soldiers are fanning out, realizing it to be a distraction. Nessie, faced with immediate and maximum force by those who yet remain, changes her tactic to deal with both problems. Her cry pierces the air as a curtain of thick, vision-obscuring mist rolls in. It's just tall enough that the tips of helmets and weapons can be seen--were one to have a vantage point above the mist. Very shortly, she does.

     Purple light dances within the mist, and the Lapras rises high above it, having grown so large that her head easily clears the tops of homes and storefronts. The nets tossed upon her split apart after digging painfully in. Towering above the battlefield, her features turn more fierce than friendly, her shell much larger and thicker, with a few marks left on her scales by the ropes.

     Her eyes flare, aglow with white energy, as crossbow bolts and hand cavalry batter her. This large, she's also a lot more durable--she quickly begins sweeping through the crowds of soldiers with concentrated beams of freezing cold, prioritizing the marksmen.

     Darren, meanwhile, stops in his tracks, with his procession behind him. He doesn't waste time--they can come up with a unifying cry for this movement soon, but now, the obstruction to his path has to be dealt with. "Y'all seem to think you're still the ones that give the warnings. We're giving -you- the chance to surrender."

     As Saucer weaves protective barriers around the procession, Darren remains perfectly still. An invisible wave of force radiates outward--it's like being hit by a heavyweight boxer, at the top of a full sprint. It's aimed at stomachs, at the sides of mounted riders (the horses, after all, don't really understand materialist dialectics). Those few bricks and bottles are redirected, to find suitable targets, rather than clatter uselessly against the ground.

     "OUR WORK, OUR CITY! Say it with me! OUR WORK, OUR CITY!"
Undivided Queens     Chains Knight buffing the mercenary team one-sidedly is making the slightly offscreen battle fairly one-sided. Staren arrives just in time for a certain sequence of events to play out. One, she locates a small woman in a dark green cloak that shifts colours based on perspective, perched in a tree, with something that looks vaguely like a rough-hewn crystal-barreled rifle over her knee, sighted on Tamamo, evidently debating on whether to take a shot at a probable traitor. Staren uncloaking draws her immediate attention, and the distraction delays her shot to a trade rather than an immediate overwatch interruption. The barrel flashes a glow from within, kicking silently, and Staren is struck with an immensely focused shredding force, like being hit with fifty heavy swords all at the same time in mostly the same place. The rocket hits the tree and sends her flying away into the air with a high-pitched scream, tumbling into the bush behind.

    She's pretty easy prey for Shimmer to find at that point, still trying to walk off what is probably a concussion, her camo cloak punctures with wooden shrapnel and not hiding her nearly as well. One more shot mostly goes down Shimmer's side in a moment of silent, life or death panic, on a barely successful reflex roll, and then the sniper topples over and collapses, without the strength to move.

    Chains is being pretty effectively sabotaged (including by his own ally) at this point. The Concord's interests sort of generally. The soldiers are holding the caravan down, tensely waiting for an attack to actually come at them so they can retaliate according to the plan, but none is forthcoming at this point, with the team so scrambled. Trudy's mass of troops spraying into the bush evidently hit something, going by the sound. The private radio uplink to her and Tamamo is immediately hit with a barked grievance of friendly fire; they at least seem to think she was aiming at the monsters.
Undivided Queens     Tamamo running from the kerfuffle happening outside the walls seems fairly believable at this point. The soldiers on the wall naturally assume she is trying to 'not end up in a pitched battle, as a soft and delicate lady', and so she doesn't even have to scale anything; a concerned sergeant has his men roll down a rope ladder for her, whereupon she is immediately fussed over at the top. Simply asking to be shown to the warpgate actually makes this all rather trivial, since, as far as they're aware, she's a foreign diplomat working with the senate, because of last time.

    The only real issue is getting them to leave her alone when they take her there (and they will insist on taking her there, with chaos unfolding within the walls. Trudy can see her clearly of course, and there's no shortage of buildings to cast shadows around; it's bringing the two Ilenjeh with her that will raise problems if they're shadow warped into the city. The pair remain, as of yet, unaware of the plan.
Chains Knight "... Hmm."

"Fortunately, I have a plan for this as well..." he says to himself.

Chains discards a few cards, draws new ones, foregoing the usual self-narration for the sake of expediency... and for nobody around to pick up on what he's doing.

"Yes... this hand will do," he says, and then starts tossing it out - aiming each thrown card for some part of the cover around the caravan, just somewhere reasonably out of sight...

... Because what happens next is that soldiers start coming out, stepping out from behind trees or from inside bushes, anywhere they could be reasonably 'coming out from nowhere' without actually literally obviously spawning in from thin air. It just needs to be *somewhat* believable.

The soldiers don't bear any insignias or markings - they're painfully generic, which still should work well enough. They've also been given as many defensive buffs as Chains Knight can fit onto them, because if any of them die they don't tend to leave corpses, which may hurt the pretense somewhat.

"An ambush!" calls Chains, as his units start attacking the caravan and its guards. "To arms! Protect the caravan!"
Tamamo     Having gotten roughly where she's trying to go, unknowingly thanks to Staren's interference, Tamamo allows the escort, but only until she's within eyesight of the warpgate. It's at this point that she gently insists that they return. "There does seem to be quite some danger of the enemy advancing on the city, should the violence of the situation continue to grow as it has. I regret that there is so little I can do to halt this, though I shall still hold to my hopes. Please keep a watchful eye to the outside, for some may be making their plans in shadows."

    Having left them with sensible suggestions, Tamamo removes a few talismans of particular purposes, and lays them out at some space from each other, after taking a moment to consider the shape and flow of the space surrounding this warp gate, as well as the nearest, suitably convenient shadow. When she's done, she nods, claps her hands once, and erects a subtle barrier of semi-separated space, as she has many times before, to cause attention from the other side of the boundary to turn away from those things inside of it. They won't need it to last very long, if they hurry.

    Tamamo speaks into her radio, "Ms. Grimm, all is ready. Can you clearly see the point behind me, or shall I need find some others?"

    Once the two Ilenjeh are through, Tamamo can then reassure them that the safest place to have a conversation is on the other side of that gate, where there is certain to be no further need for fighting. That's even true.
Undivided Queens     Nessie, with the element of Surprise Large, pretty quickly wiped out the soldiers near her, sending the remainder scattering as far away as possible. Being Fucking Gigantic has many perks, as it allows her to better weather the attacks and now represent the Definite Primary Threat, grabbing attention from all over. It also has many downsides, as the groups splitting off are now wheeling back so as to avoid 'falling for a double feint', and large numbers of soldiers are now able to aim and fire massed volleys at her from all over the city. Her size sort of plays havoc with perspective, and so some of them fall short, but it's certainly hard for anyone in range to miss. In fact, some of the wall weapons are being revved up and trained on her, meaning incoming ballistae and cannon shot pretty soon.

    Darren's suggestion that the soldiers surrender is met pretty much immediately with a few shots from the horsemen least patient with his bullshit and who were already waiting for the barest opportunity to justify it. The remainder are disposed of with a surprise wave of force that crunches them into alley walls, puts them through windows, and sends them tumbling into gutters. The horses spook and flee, a few remaining seated riders just arriving finding their own mounts carrying them away in the stampede, pelted with bricks and bottles to their helmets.

    This is the small victory that riles up his mob with new confident. "OUR WORK, OUR CITY! OUR WORK, OUR CITY!" begins roaring up behind him, the mob starting to grow in size again, and speeding up as well, until he's pressured to jog ahead of them to avoid being trampled. Arriving at the shipyard isn't difficult to do shortly. He is of course met by the heavy armed guard posted there, some of which aren't city soldiers, but private military types hired to protect these assets by their owners. By this point, his mob is large enough to be an Actual Problem, and a few attempts to throw powder smoke grenades of some kind into the crowd are largely just deflected by his barrier. Of course, none of the merchants he's looking for are anywhere to be seen outdoors, but he has a modest run of the place.
Sleek Shimmer     Shooting at an onrushing fox is a bit strange, but thankfully, Shimmer's on guard. She twists out of the way and suffers only a nasty, stinging graze along her side, causing her to stagger and limp for a bit on approach.

    But now that she has tracked down the sniper, she finds the result... already downed by Staren. In the end she really doesn't have to do anything short of glare at the fallen sniper, who is no longer a threat.

    Well, that's not entirely true. Shimmer's going to appropriate that rifle to inspect! And, after looking it over, hold between both hands and attempt to absorb it.

    "Coward who can't face an opponent fairly, be glad I have a heart." The heart to not finish her off or otherwise worsen her situation, that is...

    Shimmer bounds back once again towards the convoy.
Staren     Staren is about to toss the launch tube when she's hit.

    She knew doing something showy instead of just homing missiling the sniper from cover was a risk, and she took that risk, but still, ow! The shot tears through Armor of Ithan, crumbles one of her armor plates into powder, sends her tumbling backward, and FRIGGIN HURTS.

    An observer might find it almost comical the way that she's smacked out from under the expended launcher, which just drops to the grass with a dull thud.

    Staren has drawn the matter manipulator and put up a wall. FRIGGIN OW. She needs a moment. For the Internal Robot Medical Surgeon System to deploy painkillers. Another rocket tube warps into place on her back.

    Staren groans as she tries to get up, and then lifts herself to one knee with Fly as the Eagle instead, combat buffs having been activated before she left the wagon. She pulls something bulky and boxy from her armor and wields it like a two-handed firearm. The big boxy casing and three spinning barrels are evocative of the kind of heavy rapid-fire plasma gun you'd expect to be carried by a power armored mercenary, a combat cyborg or other enhanced human, or some kind of super-strong alien. It looks like it's gotta weigh at least 50 pounds.

    It's actually a fraction of that weight, and someone familiar with such weapons might notice the projectiles are smaller than you'd expect from such a weapon, and she's burning through e-clips like crazy but seems to have an unlimited supply in her bag.

    Anyway, she turns it on the nearest enemies, firing bursts of little comet-shaped projectiles that 'splash' on impact into superheated flame that has a tendency to find any openings in the target's armor.

    It is several seconds before she remembers to shout, "So this is what you do to supply caravans trying to feed your people?!"

    For the moment, Staren's in cover shooter gameplay mode, except she has the advantage of the drones; so she repositions or turns and attacks if someone tries to get into position behind her, and moves around wagons and other large obstacles like she's already seen what's on the other side, because she has!
Trudy Grimm     Trudy raises a hand to her mouth, calling out over the wall, "Sorry~! You shot one of my men first, they reacted on their own..!" Which might also explain the wall going up, even if it also somewhat obscures what's going on behind it, from the direction of the road and the bushes on the other side. Mercifully, at least, the HMG-wielding soldier does cease fire, the barrel of his weapon hissing with an ominous red-orange color. He hauls it up off the tripod and slides down behind cover amidst the clatter of bones.

    "Nothing protracted here, of course~," the witch assures her charges, "Though that was awfully rude of them." She tucks the Grimoire back down, then gestures; the destroyed soldier sinks into his own shadow, arm and all. Her head cants at a voice on her radio and she draws up the charm she had been given, invoking it within a matrix of a glittering pink-hued Gebo rune; a stylized X-shape that wraps itself around the charm and dissipates. When this activates the divine mirror, the soldier holding it shifts how he holds it so she can peer into it, tapping her chin in thought.

    "Sir and Madam, if you would be so kind, I'll be giving you the express treatment." Turning back to the two Ilenjeh, Trudy's smile is broad and genuine and perhaps only a little offputting due to her shark-like teeth, "Though I'll recommend closing your eyes while we cross over. The void between spaces isn't the nicest view."

    She presses her hands down, both of them, deepening her shadow and expanding it until it encompasses not only herself and her guests, but the undead soldiers and even the base of the bone wall. On the other side; near Tamamo, the shadow cast by a building deepens and grows into a pool a meter or two across. She drops the Ilenjen in first, followed by her troops and her wall; and lastly, herself.

    On the other side, the Ilenjen rise; followed a heartbeat later by Trudy herself. "There's a fight going on out there, by the way," the witch addresses the fox as she hauls Tamamo's mirror out of the shadows as well, "Something good can come of this, I'm sure, but if we were trying to avoid escalation..."
Darren      Nessie's in a difficult position--were she just dealing with all of this force in a vacuum, she could cut loose. Her options here are limited, however--as she's already done some damage to the city with the lasers earlier.

     The play clock is running, and she's getting battered. Even as tough as she is, she can't outlast all of this on her own--especially not with those siege weapons setting up. So, swatting at the soldiers with her fins and that long neck, she doubles up on the fog and calls for help.

     Saucer departs from Darren's side, zipping past chanting townspeople, weaving in and out of alleyways to reach the Lapras.

     By now, the fog has risen so high that only a glow is clearly seen--a protective screen formed around Nessie, first, and then that same startling purple glow as now there is a giant UFO shrouded in that same mist. Saucer sends out a crushing wave of gravity, intended to splinter the siege weaponry.

     Meanwhile, with the mob, Darren is happy to jog. Slabb is called out next, passively improving the strength of Darren and the mob just by his presence, as if they were plugged into some ever-present, ancient source of power.

     Acting as soon as the pokemon is out, Darren blasts the guards, city and privately-hired alike, attempting to knock them into submission, or, in some cases, just throw them into the sea. "TORCH THIS TRASH! GIVE 'EM SOMETHING TO REMEMBER WHO RUNS THIS!"
Undivided Queens     The situation gets very complicated, but the sequence of events that awkwardly plays out is somewhat less.

    Neither Ilenjeh is disturbed at all by slightly abhuman features, being a thing for their whole people (and their Queen has sharp teeth anyways). The officer makes the call to go along with it to get Orinoka out of harm's way, though he has little idea they're being taken to a warpgate until it actually happens.

    Tamamo actually doesn't have much trouble once she's sent the soldiers away, as the giant disaster Pokemon currently happening sort of has all hands on deck. The combination of scrying and shadow teleportation hurries the VIPs through the gate before anyone can do much more than fail a will save against the barrier. As the mercenary team has no way of knowing they've been 'double crossed' (really, the Paladins didn't actually pledge to help here; they just assumed), they simply don't know.

    Chains Knight's soldiers are fairly unexpected, and a teeny bit unconvincing, but the Ilenjeh officer has obviously arranged a chain of command, and the officer beneath him makes the call to retaliate, more or less presuming this 'good enough'. Massive soldiers clad in imperial steel come surging out of the wagons, runeciphers flashing to collectively engineer fortifications out of nothing and ammunition to fire at the faceless goon hordes, whilst others hold the line in hand to hand combat.

    A team of cowled and fast-moving individuals is sent out into the brush to capture the fallen sniper. The mercenaries, seeing the counter-ambush being sprung, are not stupid enough to commit to attacking the caravan anyways; they're down one, a few are injured, and ostensibly gravely outnumbered, so being paid top credit isn't really enough for them to get involved. They radio a 'mission abort' to the two Paladins and begin pulling back, but cleaning up their own mess as per their employers' implicit wishes and professional non-idiocy, they send a couple to grab their own sniper and carry her back with them as well, so as not t needlessly leave implicating evidence; it'll make for a conflict very shortly.
Undivided Queens     Darren, meanwhile, is leading a successful insurrection inside the city, 'unopposed'. Unfortunately, the fact is that, despite his strong pokemon and sick powers, he alone is not adequate to conquer the entire capital and the literally thousands of heavily armed soldiers that are getting more and more drawn in by his induced chaos; it's just sort of the reality that an entire standing army is here, along with several private armies, and currently only two steps away from carpet bombing and storming his position, so he has only a short window of time to work with.

    He puts it to pretty solid use though. Being able to see him fearlessly fighting swarms of hired toughs and state military on his own (well, with pokemon), his mob is emboldened to exactly the desire acts of anger, quickly finding means to light up oil and wax, cloth and rope and wood, and the odd alcohol and lamp fuel brought with them, which are amply present. They don't have to clash with the military and win, merely set a lot of fires until they begin raging out of control. When reinforcements start arriving in earnest, the desire of the crowd seems to be to break and flee before they get caught and jailed, or possibly shot or cut down; now that they've made their displeasure known, they don't seem to be so motivated as to brawl the army.
Chains Knight Yes. This is good.

There is an old computer game - Skyward Collapse - that has as its goal to not *win* a conflict, but to modulate both sides of it so as to cause maximum mutual destruction - carefully placing building on one turn, and then sending opposing units to raze those buildings on the next. This is what comes to Chains Knight's mind as he looks over the ambush and plans his next moves.

More openly, he plays some cards to help the convoy defenders - helping them to fight back and defend themselves against the warriors he himself sent their way. Wordlessly, he also signals to those same units - positioning them where the fighting will be more exciting and believable against the armaments the convoy defenders are bringing to bear, but also generally getting them to back off and start 'breaking formation' and retreating.

The word of the day is 'good enough', and this *should* be enough to accomplish that.
Staren     A some point a chainsword comes out. Staren can't mess with appearances as much for an effective melee weapon, but it's dramatic anyway, weighted for her but sized to *look* a bit too big and unwieldy.

    Staren assumed the Ilenjah were busy -- when they actually start the counter-offensive in earnest, she stares for a couple of seconds at the coordinated use of soldiers and runecipher-deployed fortifications.

    There's no sitting back and resting, though; she continues supporting them, once or twice even pulling the collapsable hoverboard from her back to zip across the battlefield to where drones indicate she's needed. She does that trick sparingly, though, it's practically begging for someone to shoot her out of the air if it gets predictable.

    Also, should she see an Ilenjah soldier fall, she'll slap something like a nanobandage on to stabilize them and try to cover the medics with her weapons.

    All the while, the drones, in addition to providing tactical data, devote some cameras to getting good angles and footage of the Ilenjah underdogs fighting the nefarious and underhanded, uh.

    Okay yeah the whole coordinated army on the attack thing probably doesn't make the Ilenjah look like the underdogs here.

    That's okay, that's why we have plenty of shots of Staren, weapons and armor emphasizing her youthful figure and small size.

    They might not have TV news in Pharsei, but the Concord's news-spinners are getting some material to work with for Multiversal coverage of the conflict...

    That... that was Staren's plan the whole time? But will it actually help anything? She has no idea what she's doing, but she's trying anyway.

    And isn't that kind of the heroic underdog thing to do, really? Or maybe it's just really stupid. Time will tell.
Tamamo     It's not as if Tamamo has done anything to harm the city, nor is it as if she didn't wish to help! The ability to stop an army simply isn't something she possesses. All Tamamo vs Army events have, historically speaking, turned out badly. The definite presence of Concord elites made it all the more dangerous. But she won't speak too loudly of the poor fate to which the city is most likely doomed, here. She is, after all, accompanying two of its invaders, and has every intention of being a good hostess.

    "Thank you, Ms. Grimm. I should have expected this much trouble and yet, embarrassingly, I had been somewhat rushed, it seems, by the schedule to which others kept. I would have had quite the time, without your aid."

    And now they'll have all the time necessary to calmly sit in civilized surroundings, have some refreshing tea -- she's quite confident in her skill in making it -- discuss the details of runeciphers, how they relate to the individuals who hold them, what the empress's own power of them entails, and what would (hypothetically) happen should some number of them be stolen by people without much knowledge.

    She can, at the same time, learn about their typical army life, what a Reconciliator's duties entail, Orinoka's own impressions of anyone highly-ranked of her acquaintance, and the reason for her being part of the supply caravan, if not as a guard. Were they attempting to do more than carry the supplies to the city, and there hand them away?

    Between herself and Trudy, Tamamo expects they'll have the necessary expertise to do a solid magical analysis of the two Ilenjeh, and determine the truth to the claims of rampant 'witchcraft' (a thing very familiar to Tamamo, by some definitions) and mind control (likewise not unknown). Whether she can undo it is another matter, but Tamamo can be somewhat optimistic, there. Whether blessings or curses, and whether it is the life, spirit, or the threads of Fate that are tugged, she holds some pride in her abilities.

    Naturally, she'll have no reason to keep them, after all that is concluded. A warp gate to some other town near the siege will do to return the two. If they've been good guests, she might even provide souvenirs.
Darren This is going fantastically. Darren knows well his limits--and the limits of his team. Indeed, there's no point in going hard here--the statement's been made, the damage is done, and he couldn't have asked for a better showing. The crowd seems to get the idea, too--and so, he sends a message, primarily to his team, but also to any stragglers. There's always One Guy, after all.

That's a wrap! Let's get outta here, and don't get got.

     Darren recalls Slabb, seemingly vanishing from the shipyard. In truth, he'd simply made a series of rapid-fire blinks around blind corners to confuse any pursuit.

     Nessie and Saucer are still in the thick of it, but they've played their parts admirably. Darren takes off, flying while keeping low to the ground so as not to attract any archers or crossbowmen that've set up on vantage points. He pierces the fog like a bullet. Two lateral passes--one left, one right--and two pokeballs that swell to enormous size visible as large shadows in the fog.

     Nessie and Saucer are recalled, worse for wear, tired, but fulfilled. Another series of rapid-fire blinks through the chaotic melee, and Darren's on the other side of the city wall, making a break for his RV. The engine turns over once, twice, then rumbles to life with a backfire. It peels out, kicking up a spray of dirt. Darren stops a book with an alien on the cover from sliding off of the dash, as the RV hauls ass away from the city.

     By the time he's reached a safe distance, the fact that the little satellite dish on his RV has taken several crossbow bolts doesn't faze him. He's too busy high-fiving Roswell, pumping his fist and hollering.