Chapter 18: The Hunt
You stand with Thaïs and Gareth surveying your respective groups, "You both understand how we are going to do this?"
They nod, "Yeah Derryth we got it. Thaïs will take the kids and the wagon back to the tower while we press on after Miosguinn."
"Alright then," now that you have made the choice this all seems easier somehow though your next order is a difficult one.
You look Thaïs dead in the eyes, "With only three people you won't be able to fight off any substantial attacks. If... if it comes down to it I want you to abandon the children and escape. They are replaceable, the three of you aren't... understand?"
She hesitates at first but nods, "Alright Derryth... we will do what we have to. Just be careful alright. Miosguinn will be dangerous now that he has nothing left to lose."
You nod, turn on your heels and march off with Gareth close behind, "Has Brigit finished warding the relic room?"
"Yep, it is all set to blow if anyone tries to force an entrance. It should give Miosguinn a surprise if we... well if we fail..." the veteran trails off.
"Good... good," you nod to yourself, "Now where is Bari? I have something to show him and-"
"Farmer!" Christine storms up to you.
"Go on ahead Gareth. I should probably deal with her now rather than later," you wave Gareth on as you take a seat on what used to be a wall and wait for the mage to approach you.
She looks terrible. She must not have slept much last night. You know the feeling all too well, "What do you need Christine?"
"I... I would like to come with you," you can tell she is having trouble being civil to you but she is making an effort, "please..."
You are not feeling terribly charitable this morning, "Polite? Well that is a new trick for you. Why would you, master of magic that you are, need little old me to help you?"
She frowns, "I should have known. Should never have trusted a farmer, a damn peasant to understand.." she turns to leave.
You sigh, "Hold on, hold on," you gesture for her to come back.
She stops and slowly turns back towards you.
"Okay, maybe we just got off to a poor start here. You want to avenge your mother right?"
She nods.
"And you are prepared to follow my orders in this."
She nods.
"Alright then, I can respect that. You can come with us but you have to listen. If we are working against each other Miosguinn could still kill us both."
She exhales, letting out a sigh of relief, "Thank you farmer..."
A thought occurs to you, "You know, your mother would probably want you to guard the children."
She frowns and nods, "I am not really the nurturing type..."
She says it as if it is some great secret which strikes you as immensely funny. You laugh, slap your knee and feign surprise, "No shit, really?"
She stares daggers at you as you sit there laughing but slowly the wall of hostility she has built up crumbles and she begins to laugh as well. As odd as it is the two of you share a good laugh at her expense.
She sighs, "Thank you farmer. I think I needed that," she turns and begins to walk away.
You call after her, "Any chance you're going to stop calling me that?"
She does not miss a beat, "Nope," she disappears back into the chapel. Probably gone to find Serpent.
You close your eyes and mutter to yourself, "Baby steps... hell maybe I won't have to kill her after all... maybe..." you look up into the darkness, "One thing at a time, one step at a time..."
You hop back down from your perch and head off to find your team.
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"Well Bari, think we can find him?"
The dwarf lets out a confident bark, "Derryth, have I ever told you about the Pathfinders."
You shrug, "Can't say you ever have beyond the fact that you are one and that Ari was as well..."
You can see the rage wash over him as he thinks about his wife. He looks down at his right hand, two gold bands rest on his ring finger.
He looks back at you, "Well, there is a damn good reason for that Derryth. The Pathfinders are dwarven spec ops... strictly black ops you understand. As far as most of the world knows we do not even exist and that is the way we like to keep it. When a Pathfinder wants a person dead, Derryth, they tend to die. We are very good at what we do and that bastard Miosguinn is about to find that out. So yes, I know that I will find him and I know that I will kill him. It is just a question of time."
"Are you sure you should be telling me this Bari?"
He smiles at you, but it is a hard thing without warmth, "Don't see why not. You have done well by my people Derryth. At every opportunity you have stood with us and I know you are doing everything you can. Ari liked you, don't know if she ever told you but she did. I trust you..." he shrugs, "haven't known you long, but I trust you. Besides if you go around screaming about dwarven assassins and secret agents well, you will wind up dead."
He chuckles a little, "You should see us at our best Derryth. With resources, supplies, proper intel, we are a beautiful and terrible thing to behold... That mage is dead, he died when my wife did... just does not know it yet..."
You cough, a little uncomfortable, "Speaking of which I think I may have something that could help," you reach into a pocket and pull out a small stone.
You hold it up so Bari can see it, "Miosguinn was under contract with me to provide magical support. Mostly illusions to hide my expedition. Well, we needed a way for our scouts to find us cloaked behind his spells. Miosguinn gave Tyrvard this stone, he still had it on him when he... when he fell and it is keyed to the mage so..."
Bari grins from ear to ear, "So we have the bastard by the short hairs! What are we waiting for, lets go get him!"
"Hold on. Before we go anywhere I need you to promise you will work with us. Everyone here wants a piece of the mage but we are going to have to work together if we want to get him."
He nods, "Of course Derryth, but I have one request. If we get him alive I want you to give him to me. I am going to make it slow..." the dwarf tests his knife as he says those last words and for a moment you feel sorry for Miosguinn...
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The creature waits. In darkness, just below the surface. The new master has promised more food if it just waits... quietly... patiently... the food will pass this way and it will hunt. It will kill. It will eat.
It waits. For the past eight hours it has waited but it will stay as long as necessary to eat. To feel the sweet taste of fresh meat in its mouth. To hear the screams of its prey. To feel it weakly thrash beneath the creature as it dines. Such things give purpose to its existence.
Its thoughts are interrupted by a faint noise and the vibration of its threads. Something draws near.
It can hear something close. The voice of a girl, it can feel footsteps, it can smell a human. Perhaps this one will be less tough than its last meal. Perhaps this one will fight less. Perhaps this meal will come quicker.
It springs its trap, it feels happy.
It bursts forth, it feels excited.
It lunges forward, it feels...
Pain...
So much pain... impaled upon two feet of steel the creature dies...
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Biliku gives the creature a kick and turns to you as you dispatch your target with an assault spell and your knife, "So that is number six right? Miosguinn is alone?"
You wipe your blade off on the Blue's robes, "Maybe kid but I would take nothing for granted here."
Your group stands in front of the Blue outpost. It is a single building, two stories tall with a pair of large metal doors out front. Brigit walks the perimeter and it seems that there is only one entrance and exit.
You push through the main gates, prepared for anything, but all that meets you is silence and emptiness. Though the exterior of the building lies in ruin the interior is remarkably well appointed. The rugs, tapestries and furniture would be worth a fortune if it were not all splattered with dried blood. A battle was fought here, maybe a week or two ago but you can't be certain.
Thanks to Tyrvard's stone you know Miosguinn is in here somewhere but you are not sure where exactly.
You and Gareth set about coming up with a plan to find the man and prevent any escape attempts he may try to make.
The Plan:
Your Assets:
Derryth - skilled mage, focus mental spells, some combat skill
Gareth - warrior, great combat skills, great commander
Brigit - archer/mage, good shot, good combat skills, magic arrows, focus mental spells
Serpent - medic, some basic attack spells, expert surgeon
Christine - skilled mage, focus movement spells/attack spells
Biliku - warrior, great combat skills
Uttu - archer, good shot
Bari - Pathfinder, good combat skills, improvised explosives, expert infiltrator
1. The Front Door: You should probably leave a team to secure the door in case he tries to slip past you.
A) You leave a team at the door (List who)
B) You do not leave a team at the door. You want the extra bodies to help search.
C)freeform
2. Groups: You can move as a single large group or as a pair of smaller ones. Gareth recommends against traveling individually.
A) You travel as one group, safety in numbers and all that.
B) You split into two groups to quickly search the building. (Who is on each team?)
i. both groups search the same floor.
ii. each group searches a different floor.
C)freeform
3. What floor do you want to search first? (Top two will be picked if Bii wins, Derryth's group will go with the top pick and group two will go with the second highest pick.)
A) Second Story - It seems to mostly be the offices of high ranking Blues up there. Miosguinn may have something in his office he needs.
B) Main Floor - The barracks, kitchen, common room, and armoury. If he has any remaining forces they would probably be around here somewhere.
C) Basement - there is always a basement and you may find something down there. If there is a secret escape route it might be down there.
D)freeform