(Loyalty Is,) The Source

[Saber Sloth]

Circe with her mind a fire, Wrath pulsing, sees more about the structures. Mind on her dynamite. There are three zones. The Barn, the orchard, and the hives. The Barn is here Iron Meg retreated to after barking her orders, and the plants are what they came to fine, the hive however, is more unknown.

Rhodes see the same, mind focused on other things, he knows that this is the source of the Jarmyn Fruit, that there are some sort of Hedge Bees being farmed for their honey and with the presence of the Jarmyn Fruit he can guess why. He knows the Barn is important with the two guards on the door, but the whole of the operation is important, he notices it being continually patrolled by teams of two, their circuits overlapping before they'd switch off for a different part of their patrol.


Sera on the other hand, sees all this and more. She sees that each of the work zones have their dedicated guards, and that they weren't like the other guards, guarding the Orchard, but they seemed to be wardens to the workers. Weapons ready for any worker who would stop, or who would take the chance and run....

[Circe]

"There's a lot of guard," Circe growls softly. And slaves too. That was a problem. Just blowing it all to Kingdom come was less appealing now, "Barn has bitch boss, orchid is the source, and uh bees."

Circe doesn't see any pattern or method to the patrols, just numbers. This was a problem. The stealth games let you pick them off solo but this? They'd need to drop a lot of guards a lot of fast. Or distract them.

"Fanculo," she drops her hand from the barrel to squeeze it into a fist,"Fanculo,fanculo,fanculo,fanculo,fanculo," Circe couldn't see a way to do this. She was good with a gun but not black ops good. She could probably drop 2 guards at most before there was an alarm from the rest or the workers. At this rate the only real solution she saw was getting very lucky, coming back with good military hardware, or coming back with numbers. Hob mercenaries could be bought she'd found but it would be difficult.

"I'm really regretting not focusing soley on gun empire building. Then we could just go ta that spider market and hire all the thugs with guns ta wipe this out fer us."

Yes because giving a large number of hobgoblins access to guns couldn't go wrong for them. Well, Circe would supply them with ammo as long as they didn't attack Freehold members but still not a great idea. "Barn seems important, Iron Meg," the name oozes with hatred, "Must be guarding somethin' important. Orchid is source but couldn't they grow more?" The only method she saw to do this right now was somehow stealth kill all guards, then Iron Meg, free the, blow up stuff, and somehow burn what was left.

How to plan such a thing? Circe sighs, "I don't know how we'd do this. Only way I see is ta wipe out all guards, Meg, and then destroy everything, and wait? Slaves? Mundy slaves Sera?"

The Summer finally looks away from the scope to look at the Spring. The Wrathful Lost gives a indifferent shrug, "I really wasn't looking fer mundies, sorry." She looks back to check and see if the workers are actually enslaved.

[Rhodes]

Following Sera's gaze The Dread Lord spots what she saw. "So. I was right. The motel was a kidnapping from for the hedge. Well, it's ash now."

"The patrols loop around the whole orchard. The Barn is the main base, but I can't see any breaks or loops," Rhodes mutters. "Now we know it exists, I should be able to find it again because of how the dream and the Hedge are connected. But we need an army to take out this many. If we can take on the guards, I can deal with the trees. But there must be a dozen at least. Plus Meg." But it still didn't get over that initial problem.

"I think we may need to com back, in force." Such as the Sacramento's force really was.

Saber Sloth , how are the guards armed? Guns or Melee?

[Saber Sloth]

Ope Sorry, knew I was forgetting something :P
Yes, the answer to that is yes. Some have guns, while others have swords, spears and other melee weapons.

[Seraphina]

Chewing a nail, she watches the scene. There was no right answer, no easy one.

And they weren’t getting anywhere.

Circe worried about needing guns, but not many were trained to use them.

“The humans have guards it seems.” So a rescue might not be on the table. It was important, but not as much as ending this operation.

And the idea she threw out was either a bad one, or no one heard her. Both were a strong possibility. Both irritated her.

“If the barn is important, maybe we focus on that. Like what was mentioned earlier, the trees can be replanted, but if we hit that barn and whatever is in there, it could buy us sometime to plan a bigger strike.”

Nodding, “Yes. The one the client sent us looking for, and his secretary are down there. But as much as I hate saying this, I think we need to focus on the barn.” Not helping the humans hurt, but sometimes, you had to focus on the bigger picture.

“Leaving and coming back is always a possibility. But when? What is the time frame?” they seem comfortable here, but if they were smart they would move around.

“My offer still stands, I believe I can distract the guards long enough for someone to get to that barn and blow it up.” Though she was expecting it to be shot down.

[Saber Sloth]

Operations continue, the workers work, their guards guard. The patrols patrol. Seemingly oblivious to the Lost on the hill.

So, do we have a plan? Going back out and recruiting more Lost, or trying to sneak around the Orchard and plant the bombs?

[Circe]

"So which? Attack ta win? Attack then retreat? Or retreat ta buff up?" Because Circe wasn't clear. "I mean I could try just killing some slave guards ta start a riot too," though Circe didn't sound too enthusiastic about it.

It was a guaranteed distraction but the slaves would have low chances of survival. If they attacked it would probably be a better distraction then Seraphina or her alone. Safer too if, "Does that dodging trick of yers work on guns Seraphina? Because if it don't we'd have ta switch outfits first," she looks at Rhodes, fairly certain he'd object to the decoy detail.

Because a lot of bruising was better then a bullet wound if she was going to be a target. Them shooting at Seraphina, not pleasant, would cover Circe's shots. All three? Slave riot, sniper, and silly Seraphina would be plenty of distraction if Rhoes snuck up with a bomb. Though there was still Iron Meg.

[Rhodes]

A thought ripples through the Dread Lord's mind. What were the man and his secretary doing at a motel in the first place? Very few cliche options presented themselves....

But that was a thought for later. For now, an Idea was rapidly forming. Sera's idea.

What if they could play the Autumn game? What if he could play it better than Anne?

"We're looking at this all wrong, darlings. They outnumber us. We can't fight them. But Sera is right. We use our strengths. Between one of the most beautiful women in the world, and some talents I have kept somewhat to myself, namely, a con-artist powerfully aligned with Anne's former court, we can distract, misdirect, and deceive them...." Wheels were turning now. "Circe, you focus on the barn. You know how to use your demolitions - either of us would likely place them poorly. Look for the opportunities we make." He looks to the Spring Queen. "Sweetheart, we are going to be agents of Queen Anne, the fallen Dread Lady of San Fransisco." He looks to Circe again. "This is the right Ann, yes?" He smiles, eyes turning back to Sera. "Naturally you will be the charm, and I will be the misdirection. You handle smooth talking, I handle outright deception and, if necessary, intimidation, though that might not go so well for us in this company. We will keep the overseers busy while Circe drops the bombs. We keep any contracts in reserve for when we truly need them. If we can, we make the opportunity to prepare the slaves for escape. They aren't soldiers, so we cannot bank on them either. Also, if either of you can write my name on a tree, I can end that tree. Call it a... bonus. Once the barn explodes.... we make our escape. Once things go bang I'm in no way able to fight guards, nomatter what weapons they have."

"What do you think?"

Stupid Virtue of Fortitude is starting to come into play... or Vice of Envy, I can see it either way. Really, really wish I'd spent some more WP so far...

[Seraphina]

Shrugging, “Honestly? I have no clue, never actually used the Contract before. So, uh, maybe?” she just knew it would be hard to attack her. And she was sure that her not knowing that was going to make Rhodes dig his heels in.

Then a blink. Wait, she was right? She was half tempted to check him for a fever.

Charm? Oh, she can do that. She was a Fairest after all. “I can be charming, and I can use my voice if I need to.” One of the fun parts of being a Nix.

“There is one I will need to use before we go down there.” You want charming? This is how you get it.

Though him not being able to fight back had her nervous. “Once things go bang, you move, as quick as you can.” She’d distract them long enough to get him out. At least, she hoped.

"Sounds like out best option right now. Lets go."

[Saber Sloth]

As before, the Orchard is secure in it's operations. Every one acts as they ought, unknowing of what's to come...

Time to use Contracts if you want to use them before heading down!

Circe will need to make an extended Dex+Stealth check to make it down to the Barn and then Int+Crafts to place and ignite her explosives. One roll for each stick of dynamite.

Sera and Rhodes can do their social rolls. I'm assuming Pres+Expression for Sera to draw attention before any Pres/Manip+Persuasion if she wants to persuade them at all. If not, keep with the Expression.

Rhodes, Manip+Subterfuge to keep himself as appearing less then Sera, until he's needed for his Intimidation.