Red Dead Annihilation: Campaign Thread

Velan:

 Commander Breakbone's eyes narrow at Meili's challenge, then widen at Mica's laugh.  His teeth are clenched so tightly one might expect them to shatter....

But at Danica's reluctant concession, he settles himself and tries to put on a mask of command to cover his fury.  "Very well.  Your gear and possessions remain yours, but for the canoes.  And we will do our best not to separate you."

"But make no mistake... this is a military camp.  You do not make the rules.  There is a chain of command here and you will follow it.  Lt. Salhana and Lt. Firebeard speak with my authority.  Now, go and see them about lodging and duties for tomorrow.  You are dismissed."

Ran picks up his pack and leaves the tent before anyone has a chance to reply. He looks around the camp and sighs.

”Hope you just paddled on by,” Ran says quietly to himself.

He looks around for the nearest guard and asks directions to wherever Salhana might be. Once the others come out he’ll start off in that direction.

Meili stepped back quietly, not arguing anymore and since that minute shadowed Danica without commenting on surroundings but continued watching and listening.

[Lt. Salhana is Perne Salhana, introduced in post #1095.]

As you emerge from the Commander's tent, the guard outside steps out of your way, then enters the tent once you are all outside.  A light rain is starting, and the wind is picking up out of the south as well, bringing cool air to break the sweltering heat, but also the distant rumble of thunder.  

Perne Salhana is addressing a pair of soldiers, who she dismisses as you approach.  Both make their way toward the back of the camp, past the commander's tent.  She then turns her eyes toward the seven of you.  "So?  How did it go then?  Will the Commander be granting you permission to stay the night?"

Ran looks back at the others, then back to Perne.

"Yeah. He said we can stay," Ran says.

If you just answer the question asked it's not really lying, Ran thinks to himself.

"We can just look around to find a decent spot to put up our tents," Ran continues "and then go grab the rest of our gear."

Perne listens to Ran, looks to the commanders tent... and then sighs.  "No.  There's no sense looking for a dry spot.  There are no more dry spots.  The northern watchtower is empty.  It is just past the infirmary tents.  You can set your camp on the lower level.  It is dry... enough.  When you are ready to empty your canoes, come back and let me know.  I will have the gate opened."

Mica looks over at Danica with a raised eyebrow and a look of concern as she agrees with the Commander’s demands.  “As you say, Cap’n. Let’s go get settled” he gives a short nod and follows the others out of the tent without a second glance at the Commander.  

“Maybe we should go get settled before unloading the rest of the gear.  Let’s check out this watchtower and see a little of the camp first.”  Mica will lead the others toward the watchtower when they are done with the Lieutenant.

"Aye," Ran agrees with Mica.

As they make their way back to the northern watchtower, Ran keeps looking around the camp for sign of where the prisoner might be kept.

 Once they're clear of Perne, and walking towards the tower, Ran speaks to the others.

"If you can make a big production of setting up camp on the tower," Ran begins in a low voice, "I can just have a quick traipse about the gardens here and find their jail and see what's what. Then we go get in the canoes and get the hell out of here."

Passing by the infirmary tent, you can overhear Will Quick talking to someone about the fate of Sir Dominick and about his own ailments.

The lower floor of the northern watchtower is a 11' x 11' partially enclosed space.  There would just barely be enough room for everyone to sleep on the floor if you actually intended to do so.  The floor sits on a wood platform that keeps the interior dryer than the muddy ground, but that is not to say it is a welcoming space.  Prickly vines are growing in one of the corners, the whole space smells faintly of mold, and a long black snake slithers indignantly down into the floorboards when you enter.  You can hear the guard on the platform above pacing back and forth as he watches the jungle for signs of danger.

The moment they are out of earshot from any guard Velan approaches Ran. His mind wanders to Ninlil as he commands the familiar to watch their surroundings. The wizard was not entirely convinced the commander would not ambush them.

“Their prisoner is a woman, but she is half-elf.” He whispered unsure if that meant they didn’t need to worry about her. Ran was human, sure, but that didn’t mean his sister was. Either of them could be adopter, one of the parents could have been related to elves in some capacity. A flame from the past, a new marriage or even distant descent. Either way he approached Danica. “And are we really going to stay here? If not, the note we have from Jessamine may be useful to persuade the commander somehow. The Order has its fair share of fanatics, and our dear commander is clearly not the most reasonable of the bunch, but they are also politically connected. This don’t mean that they could put enough of a word to have us wanted in Faerûn but also means they can be affected by the rulers of this land. Showing our connections with the Princes may dissuade them to interfere with our quest. We can even try to make them believe we are acting under her orders. This way they could believe that interfering with us is interfering, risking the enmity of the rulers of Chult - the sort of thing our canoes are simply not worth. Specially considering how plausible it is that someone who opposes Jessamine, in particular, doesn’t do it for long.”

Ran claps Velan on the shoulder when he mentions the prisoner is a half-elf.

"Ta mate. That's maybe good news. Shepard's my twin sister," Ran says with a smile and then he holds his arms out wide. "And as you can see. There isn't any pretty elf blood in here."

He listens to the rest of what Velan has to say with a tight jaw.

"If these were a bunch of mercs or hunters, I'd agree with you. They'd not want to get on Jessamine's bad side. But these nutters are a cult."

Ran slips off the platform but sticks his head back in.

"I'm going to go have a chat with this prisoner and see what she knows. But my vote is we just go down to the docks later and just take our canoes and paddle away. By the time the archers on watch ask if that's okay we'll be out of range."

Ran then looks around for the least muddy and least well lit way to make his way around to the back of the camp and the jail cell Velan described to him.

Meili nodded energetically to Ran's idea, not so to attract his attention as to answering her own thought about the place. The offered "comfort" made night at the river look like the luxury room in an expensive inn. 

She did commented about the papers, though. "They are going back to the city and need supplies and people. They might not want to anger the Princes." Meili sighed. "One never knows about fanatics, of course." 

So far the river-run looked like the better option and she was ready to play her part in the escape.

Ran, you make your way toward the rear of the camp.  Passing the soldiers tents, you can tell some are occupied as you can hear quiet prayers, or snores.  The open-air latrine pit has a gods-awful smell, bringing a bit of the stink of the big city out here to mix with the natural funk of the fetid jungle air.

From a 50' away you spot a pair of cages sitting near the back wall of the compound.  One of the cages contains three ape-like creatures.  They are a little smaller than a man, with longer arms and shorter legs by comparison, and large yellow eyes.  All three are slumped listlessly on the ground, looking weak and malnourished.  Their ribs are visible under their thin, mangy fur.

In the other cage, the form of a woman can be seen curled up on a mat of straw.

Two guards stand watch in front of her cage.  So far, they don't seem to have picked you out of the gloom.

Ran frowns, then shrugs. Direct approach might be best.

He strides out of the gloom, directly towards the guards, his hands away from his weapons.

”Evening gents. Your commander gave me the okay to have a bit of a chit chat with your prisoner there. I’ve been trailing a couple of thieves up the river and I wanted to check if this one of them or if she knows where the other one went.”

Deception if needed: 12  

Before they can react though he calls into the cage.

”Hey dearie, mind if I have a word? Where’s Shepard at?”

Mica gives Ran a nod at his plan and whispers “Good luck.  I will check out up top and look around to see about getting out of here.”  he gives Danica another look “You don’t really intend on staying, do you Cap’n?” 

 Mica looks for a way to climb to the top of the tower and calls up to the guard on watch to avoid surprise “Hello the tower, I am coming up”  As he reaches the platform he looks around at the jungle outside of the walls.  “Name is Mica, we will be bunking below you.  How goes the watch?  Heard there was a bit of trouble last night.”  Mica turns and looks back toward the main gate, trying to get an idea of how many guards manned the other watchtowers.  Perception: 18.

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((OOC: Apologies for the absence, haven't been very good at work/life/responsibilities/hobbies balance lately.))

Danica was quiet as they exited the tent, the conversation replaying in her head and trying to work out if there was anything else she could have said or done. Any way out. But as Ran answered Perne's question, she simply gave a single nod. Simple, to the point and without any lies or embellishments. If the Lieutenant really wanted to fact check them, all she had to do was go ask the bastard. She tried to get a better gauge of how many there actually were in the camp but it was difficult to tell if they slept in shifts. 

As Velan told them what he was able to discern about the prisoner, her eyes shifted to Ran and smiled at the good news, teasing him with a flick of a finger to his round ear. "Well that's something at least." Eyebrows raising as the learned man brought up the writ that Jessamine had gifted them, she just as quickly furrowed them. Lowering her voice to just enough where they could hear, "No, we're not staying if I can help it. Just need to play it smart and look for the right opportunity. But no way in the Hells are we staying here for near two tenday. As to What that Prince gave us... I'm of the same opinion as Ran. It lets us legally do what we must against those Theyans but not a step more. If these were local Chultans that might have more sway but I doubt it would change Breakbone's mind even an ounce more. He also seems the type'o person to rip up something if he doesn't like what it says." 

Nodding to Ran as he said that he was going to chat with their prisoner she called out quietly, "Play it smart and safe." Patting Mica on the back as he began climbing up to the platform to give him Guidance. Turning back to Meili and Velan she continued their conversation, "Logically, it makes sense. He should agree. But damn he should have agreed the first time!" She apologized as her voice rose with her emotions and finished, "If we'd thought to bring it up at the time, maybe. But even if we turned around and presented it to him right now, there's no way he'd bend after all that posturing and threatening. We're just as likely to get thrown into one of those cells Ran's goin' to look at if we did I'm sure." Pacing around the space and watching the snake disappear under the floor boards, Danica stated in just a breadth of a whisper, "Let's just see what Mica and Ran say and then I think our best and quickest way out of here is like Ran said, we just make a bolt for it in the canoes while we're "getting our stuff out"." 

Guidance to Mica's Perception Roll: 4

Ran, as you approach the cage, the two guards exchange a look, then take a step forward, crossing their spears in front of the cage to block your progress.  "Is that right?" one of them asks.  "Funny.  Lieutenant Salhana just posted us here.  Said she thought you lot might be up to something in regards the prisoner here.  And looky-loo.  Here you are."

From behind the guards, a weak voice answers your question.  "I'm a bit parched.  If you have questions, I could do for a spot of nettle tea first."  You can just make out her figure, lying against the inside of her cage and watching you.  It could be your imagination, but it seems like she put a strange emphasis on 'nettle tea.'

******

Mica, the guardsman stops his pacing and pulls out a rolled cigarette and lights it off of the nearby torch.  "Aye.  Trouble last night.  Trouble most every night."  He takes a long drag and then exhales a bitter, heavy smoke.  Its not tobacco; likely some herb the soldiers found in the jungle.  He offers the cigarette to you and looks out at the jungle.  You can see that the soldiers have posted torches every 40' or so on the far side of the moat beyond the pallisade.  They light the area around them well enough, but they seem to make the darkness past them that much deeper and more ominous.  "Don't see too many of the big carnivores these days.  The ones we haven't killed outright must have learned we aren't worth the trouble.  But the dead... the dead don't quit.  They won't quit.  Not till they've leveled this place and ground us into dust."

You can see that each of the towers is manned by a single guard, with two posted atop the gatehouse.  More are still gathered around the campfire, where Lt. Firebeard seems to be trying to lighten the mood with a loud story.  And Lt. Salhana... is leaning in the shadows near the stairs to the gatehouse.  Though she is partially hidden by the darkness, now that you've seen her, you can feel her green eyes observing you cooly.

Ran looks at the two guards and their smug attitudes.

”You lot have been out in the wopwops too long. You forget how things are in the cities. Punters still steal things from people and some of those blokes want their pretty baubles back. While I’m out in this bloody jungle I figured I’d at least follow up on a few bounty leads.”

Ran looks back to the prisoner and then to the guards.

”So where do you find this nettle tea? Sounds lovely.” Ran says without believing a word of it.

 Mica takes the cigarette with a quiet thanks and lets out a small cough as he inhales too much of the bitter smoke.  He wrinkles his nose and tries to determine what type of leaf he is smoking before handing it back to the guard.  Nature: 16.

.“Yeah, we ran into some of the dead downriver.  Nasty business, need to burn the bodies, but I don’t need to tell you that.” Mica gestures down to the piles of burned corpses outside the walls.  “Guess I need to go farther inland to get to some of those big meat eaters.  How long are you on shift? Give a yell if you need any help.  I’m a fair shot with this bow.  When do they usually attack anyway?”  Mica finishes some idle conversation with the guard before heading back down and sharing what he has learned with the others.

Ran, the woman in the cage drops her eyes at your response, looking... disappointed?  "If you can get them to let me out of here, I'll tell you about Shepard.  Otherwise, we're no help to each other."  She turns back over and looks to be trying to get comfortable in the dirty straw mat.

The guards ignore her words and remain focused on Ran.  "Don't much care what you figured you'd follow up on.  Our orders are to keep you away from the prisoner.  And if that keeps us here in camp instead of on some suicide patrol, you better damn well believe we are going to keep you away from this prisoner.  Now get gone."

Mica, if you had to guess, the plant is wild dagga, or some similar native variety.  It's a relative of mint, though it is most often found in damp, humid grasslands.  The dried leaves and flowers have a mild calming effect when smoked.   It has also been reported to cause mild euphoria, visual changes, dizziness, nausea, sweating, sedation, and lightheadedness.  The soldier takes the cigarette back and pulls another draw.  "Depends.  I might be up here all night."  He exhales another cloud of bitter smoke.  "The dead don't keep a regular schedule.  Some nights they hit us right after sundown... other times we'll be thinking they took a night off, just to have them come at us right before dawn."  He stares out at the jungle for a long moment.  "We thinned them out pretty good last night... maybe...".  He doesn't finish his thought, as somewhere in the distance a creature howls at the night sky and the guard continues to gaze into the darkness.