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>>5243477
“Fewer if we strike at your commanders than if they were allowed to invade Hazaran,” you observe, “and fewer than if Hazaran were to build a coalition and go on the offensive.”

“A coalition?”

“Of other nearby nations,” you clarify. “Every free government on this island sees your presence as a threat, and particularly if Hazaran were to take the initiative they would likely be easy to convince. Our army would essentially become a well-funded proxy.”

“And what makes you think that this will make a difference?”

“Because we know how to fight you.”

“How’s that?”

“Your weapons are very effective,” you admit, “and your armor designs strong. But they’re mainly built from local materials, to what I must imagine are lower standards. That means there are exposed mechanics, your technology would be more prone to breakdowns, and I’d be willing to bet they’d fare poorly under winter conditions. Am I wrong?”

The pause tells you everything you need to know.

“I want you to help us,” you reiterate. “Help us help you.”

“... convince me,” captain Klemel insists. “I won’t say no outright, because I do think that an end to war is always a good thing. But I need you to convince me that betraying my superiors is the right thing to do.”

>It’s a simple question of math – how many civilians and soldiers would die as opposed to the outcome of a more focused strike on your leadership?
>Your leaders lied to you about who you’re fighting, about why you’re here, about what they did here. You want to be convinced? We’re living proof.
>How do you reckon the geopolitics of your continent would change with the appearance of humans with asarakam power and characteristics?
>Other?

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>>5243480
BOOBA

>>5243480
>>Your leaders lied to you about who you’re fighting, about why you’re here, about what they did here. You want to be convinced? We’re living proof.
>>How do you reckon the geopolitics of your continent would change with the appearance of humans with asarakam power and characteristics?

>>5243480
>How do you reckon the geopolitics of your continent would change with the appearance of humans with asarakam power and characteristics?

>>5243480
>How do you reckon the geopolitics of your continent would change with the appearance of humans with asarakam power and characteristics?

>>5243480
>Your leaders lied to you about who you’re fighting, about why you’re here, about what they did here. You want to be convinced? We’re living proof.
>How do you reckon the geopolitics of your continent would change with the appearance of humans with asarakam power and characteristics?

>>5243480
>>It’s a simple question of math – how many civilians and soldiers would die as opposed to the outcome of a more focused strike on your leadership?

>>5243480
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 7, 1, 4 = 12 (3d10)

>>5244555

Rolled 5, 2, 2 = 9 (3d10)

>>5244555

Rolled 8, 5, 8 = 21 (3d10)

>>5244555

>>5244555
“I want you to consider something for me,” you tell the captain, “a question that I have no possible way to answer, and that has nothing to do with the current war.”

“What could you possibly want to know?” he frowns.

“If it were to become public knowledge back on the continent that there are humans who can use yōki,” you ask him, controlling your emotions tightly, “up to and including controlled awakening, how would that impact society? Humans of all factions you know of, as well as the asarakam – how would they all react to the knowledge of what your faction has done here?”

There’s a long break in the conversation, enough time for Lucia to glance at you curiously, and for Jargar and Klemel to stare awkwardly at each other – clearly there are some doubts about how to answer. “I can only speak to the human response with any certainty, and it would definitely be mixed. Some would hail you as saviors, some would fear you as the end of humanity itself.”

“How does that work?” Lucia frowns.

“Another superior species,” Jargar shrugs. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous.”

That’s honestly not all that different from how some people on this island see you. It’s probably even similarly hard to tell what the distributions look like, so it doesn’t even make sense to press them on that point.

“And the asarakam?” you press. “What do you think their response would be?”

“Much more difficult to say,” Klemel admits, “because for all the time we’ve coexisted we still know precious little about how they think.”

“Speculate,” you insist. “As I said I have nothing to base any speculation on.”

There’s another pause. “It could go two ways.”

“Enlighten me.”

“The asarakam could see you as an existential threat,” Klemel tells you, “and seek your total annihilation. They could also see you as an existence similar enough to their own to be considered in a different standing from humans.”

“And is that it?” you muse. “Continue to speculate on the latter possibility.”

“There are legal arrangements that determine the relationship between humans and asarakam,” Klemel frowns. “The silver-eyed witches, or claymores, or whatever you want to call yourselves, would have to be given their own standing, and the existing rules would need to be rewritten to account for your existence.”

>What are the odds that information will never make it back to the continent?
>In that case I think leaving this island is all the more important for our future.
>Interesting though that is, the focus still needs to be on ending this war.
>Other?

>>5244912
>>What are the odds that information will never make it back to the continent?

>>5244912
>In that case I think leaving this island is all the more important for our future.

>>5244912
>>What are the odds that information will never make it back to the continent?

>>5244912
>In that case I think leaving this island is all the more important for our future.

>>5244912
>>In that case I think leaving this island is all the more important for our future.

>>5244912
“In that case,” you decide, “I think it’s become that much more critical that we be able to leave the island. It’s clear that we can’t stay hidden here forever – one way or another it’s clear that the Organization’s secret is going to come out, and it makes a certain amount of sense to get out ahead of any potential problems.”

“How would you even go about doing that?” Jargar asks you skeptically. “We’ve already established that nobody on this island has a ship capable of running the blockade.”

“One could be built,” you observe.

“According to what plan?” Klemel frowns.

“One of three broad concepts,” you continue. “The first concept is to slip past unobserved, the second is to outmaneuver the blockade ships. The third concept is to build a ship capable of defeating the type of armament it should expect to face – but not fighting back.”

“Well, I don’t mind telling you why it’s impossible,” Klemel scoffs. “First let’s deal with avoidance – the only way to do that completely would be by constructing a long-range submersible, which is impossible even with our own technology. The second concept is also impossible, as to evade our warships you would need to use either the fastest sailing ships possible, which would lack the maneuverability necessary, or to use even higher-pressure oil fired boilers than we ourselves possess.”

“And the third concept?” you ask.

“You would have to design an armor scheme that can defeat both armor-piercing explosive shells and high explosive shells,” Klemel explains. “I mean, come on. If our rivals back home can’t manage that, how could your nation?”

“Well, I don’t think it’d be that hard,” Jargar shrugs. “All our shells are one of two types – capped explosive or high explosive. One tends to pass through light armor, the other tends to shatter against hard armor. So get something thin and hard backed by teak, like two or three inch thick face-hardened steel plates, and you could conceivably get through.”

“Two and a half we could do,” you muse, “though for an entire ship it would be ruinously expensive.”

“You could only place armor over enough of the ship to protect its engine, and maintain enough reserve buoyancy,” Jargar replies. “Add more wooden bulkheads inside the ship to contain flooding, and this could work.”

“It would have to be a small ship,” you decide. Then you glance at Klemel, who stares in absolute shock at Jargar.

Jargar stares back. “I’m a combat engineer, remember?”
>1/2

>>5246201
That could happen – there are a few small ships that belong to Hazaran now, single gundecks, cargo space, a little extra weight here and there to counterbalance the increased weight of the armor and steam engine. In fact there’s one that immediately comes to mind from some of the records you read when Hazaran’s borders expanded to the sea: Teresa, named for the goddess, which may actually be an ideal starting point due to its dimensions and nominal armament.

“I’m not a shipwright,” you admit carefully, “but am I right in thinking that the weight of the armor can possibly be offset by increasing the beam?”

After a moment, Jargar shrugs. “To a degree. But in principle it should work that way, yes.”

>Then I’d like to thank you for your time. We’ll speak with the local government and make arrangements for you and your men.
>Or we could just steal one of your ships. No reason that Hazaran can’t pursue plans for both options at the same time.
>Don’t be too concerned with this, Captain Klemel. It’s still a secondary concern to ending the war on the ground.
>Other?

>>5246246
>Don’t be too concerned with this, Captain Klemel. It’s still a secondary concern to ending the war on the ground.

>>5246246
>Don’t be too concerned with this, Captain Klemel. It’s still a secondary concern to ending the war on the ground.

>>5246246
>>Don’t be too concerned with this, Captain Klemel. It’s still a secondary concern to ending the war on the ground.

>>5246246
>>Then I’d like to thank you for your time. We’ll speak with the local government and make arrangements for you and your men.

>>5246246
>Don’t be too concerned with this, Captain Klemel. It’s still a secondary concern to ending the war on the ground.
Also, I think a long-ranged submersible could be possible if it was designed for Claymores, not humans.

>>5246246
“Don’t be too concerned, captain,” you muse, “this will have to be a secondary consideration while our primary focus must remain winning, or at very least stalemating the war with as little loss of life as possible.”

“Lucia, please make a note that I’d like to begin conversion of the Teresa immediately.”

“As little life lost as possible,” Klemel muses. “That’s a plan I can get behind.”

“You have an idea?” you ask.

He nods. “The idea of stalemating an opponent – if that can be done without loss of life that is something I would help with.”

“You would trade us information,” you realize.

“I would,” he agrees.

“Prove it,” you insist. “Give me one target we can focus on.”

“What sort of target?” he asks.

>Something simple – a key bridge we can destroy.
>A resource we could help deny, like fuel or iron.
>Another supply stockpile like the one here.
>Other?

>>5247515
>>Another supply stockpile like the one here.
We seem to be doing well hitting these supply stockpiles, also, like I said before, an army marches on its stomach.

>>5247515
>Another supply stockpile like the one here.

>>5247537
>>5247515
/K/anon has it right

>>5247515
“Another stockpile of supplies,” you insist curtly. “An army can only be stretched as far as its supplies – no further. Once they reach their logistical limits they can no longer generate momentum.”

After a few moments, Klemel nods. “I can share the location of just one major stockpile – it’s north of a border town called Rosemarkie.”

“How well defended is it?” you demand.

“At least as well as this location should have been,” Klemel tells you.

“What is the terrain like?” you press. “How are the defenses and the stockpile itself situated within that terrain?”

“The stockpile is positioned beneath the ruins of an old castle, in a series of vaults,” Klemel informs you. “The castle itself is on a hillside, which constitutes the majority of the defense – its walls are not exactly what you would all airtight.”

>Show us on a map and we can strike immediately.
>That sounds like Sabela’s turf – she may know more.
>How do we know this isn’t just a trap you’re setting?
>Other?

>>5249094
>>That sounds like Sabela’s turf – she may know more.

>>5249094
>>That sounds like Sabela’s turf – she may know more.
>>How do we know this isn’t just a trap you’re setting?

>>5249094
>That sounds like Sabela’s turf – she may know more.

>>5249094
>>That sounds like Sabela’s turf – she may know more.

>>5249094
“That sounds like it’s very close to...” you muse, stopping yourself from finishing the sentence aloud since you’re mindful once more of the fact that everything you’re saying is being recorded. “Very well. We’ll see to the arrangements for you and your men, then we’ll pursue the lead you’ve just mentioned to us.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

...

After arranging for the long-term imprisonment of the captured Organization soldiers and surveying the surrounding area, with the hopes of bringing in further support for Daria’s defenders, you head back for home along the northern border region. Along the way you stop at a few defensive positions held by a mix of ‘ethnic’ Hazari and local troops, many of whom are still working together to negotiate the general standards of military practice and culture in the new Hazaran.

There are a few good ideas you gather from those stops, where local commanders have made decisions about how to lay out their limited resources for the greatest effect. The most common trend you’ve noticed is that positioning has been key to your success – low profiles, height advantage, and lines of sight that while limited can cover everything they need to in order to deal with an advancing force.

You’re also keen to take suggestions for how to improve the defenses – some sort of stationary armored enclosure for infantry to fire from, ideally paired with a rapid-firing, multi-barreled gun, are the main takeaway. These are several commanders’ ideas for how to better cover the approaches to stationary artillery and mortar positions. One of them even gives you a rather primitive schematic drawing for how the weapons requested would be arranged at his particular location, and several volunteer that they’ve already begun excavations for tunnels to connect dug-in defenses.

...

“I’d like to request a series of four-inch cast-iron caps made to these specifications,” you tell all the assembled metalworkers in what used to be Cuilan on your way back to Scaithness. “They’re to be delivered to the listed positions in the specified order of priority.”

...

Letters sent across the whole kingdom of Hazaran give the same instructions. Concrete ingredients and twisted iron reinforcement bars are to be amassed, cast-iron shells for gun emplacements fitted, ammunition and specialized rotary guns shipped out to high-priority locations. All of these are projects that were in various stages of completion, but which are now being rushed into the field in preparation for a possible full-scale invasion concentrating on the northern cities and passes.
>1/2

>>5251379
At the same time a letter is taken to the coast, ordering conversion to proceed on Teresa. Just one-half inch of hardened steel belt armor from her gunwales to just below the waterline is all you can probably afford to fit to her to shatter the explosive shells she’s likely to face, laid on top of a foot and a half of live oak. Internal wooden bulkheads are to be fitted as well, in order to limit potential flooding but not to stop an armor-piercing shell from passing clean through, as well as to support the weight of a half-inch thick armor layer over her deck. The ends of the armored ‘box’ at the fore and aft are also one-half inch hardened steel, like the deck and belts.

In theory, particularly if it takes a while for your enemy to figure out what sort of shells to be shooting at you, these improvements should allow Teresa to sail right past the blockade and absorb a few shots in the process. At least, that’s assuming the shipwrights in charge of actually building the damn thing are able to use the materials specified, which could be difficult given the immense cost involved and the technical challenges created by the scale of the endeavor – just under a hundred and fifty feet long, Teresa is going to be a tough sell and a long project.

Finally, you come to Scaithness – where you meet with your mother immediately and repeat to her exactly (with the help of Lucia’s notes) what was said when you met with Klemel.

After a moment, Sabela nods. “I know that ruin, yes. But I have not been there for quite some time.”

“Do you still have any contacts in the area?” you ask.

Sabela seems uncertain. “If they haven’t all gotten themselves killed, I theoretically have contacts in many places.”

>Then you and I are going to call on a few of them in preparation for a raid.
>Then I’ll bring you along with the raiding party as a local expert.
>Then we can’t count on having any real information. I don’t like this at all.
>Other?

>>5251418
>>Then you and I are going to call on a few of them in preparation for a raid.

>>5251418
>>Then you and I are going to call on a few of them in preparation for a raid.
Its our best chance for local support

>>5251418
>Then you and I are going to call on a few of them in preparation for a raid.

>>5251418
>>Then I’ll bring you along with the raiding party as a local expert.

>>5251418
“Then let’s call on a few of them,” you muse, “you and I. We’ll lay the foundations properly, for a raid they’ll never forget.”

...

You and Sabela head out first thing in the morning, heading for the first crossroads at Ardlui to the west. Unfortunately for a trip of this nature and distance, Alysheba is saddled with a real anchor to drag – in the form of another horse, rather than his own advancing age. Despite being in his early teens already what you’ve heard seems to be true about well-conditioned horses keeping their competitive edge in endurance riding even as late as their early to mid twenties. None of the other horses that have been trained to tolerate a rider with a yōki aura have anywhere near the level of endurance to ride a hundred miles in the fourteen hours Alysheba could comfortably do it in, so you have to break it into two nine-hour days instead.

...

“He truly is a magnificent creature,” Sabela muses while you carefully check Alysheba’s condition, stopped for the night on the outskirts of Ardlui. “You two share a strong bond.”

“Hazaris have that tendency,” you shrug, having just double-checked your mount’s pulse before taking time to brush him. “You know what father used to say about showing one’s appreciation.”

“That it seldom goes unappreciated,” Sabela sighs. “I do still think about that man sometimes.”

“How’s yours doing?” you ask. “That’s... Traveller, right?”

“See for yourself,” your mother gestures for you to take her mount’s pulse. It’s not bad... not ideal, but the poor dumb beast is holding out and should be ready for another hard ride tomorrow morning.

“It should be fine,” you decide aloud. “Let’s get an hour or two of rest before we continue on.”

...

You reach the border late the next day, riding straight into Rosemarkie and into the local citadel where you put Alysheba and Traveller up for the duration of your trip into Sakia.

To the commander, you give stern warning. “This is my personal horse, a completely unique and irreplaceable creature,” you tell him. “Should anything happen to him your punishment will be to carry me into battle on your shoulders in his place, until such time as your miserable life ends. Do I make myself clear?”

“That was a nice touch,” Sablea muses.

...

The next morning you find yourselves in a small village. “This is the place,” your mother insists after leading you to the door of a shop – which has yet to open for the morning. She pounds on the door.
>1/2

>>5253063
“No thank you!” a man’s voice bellows inside, muffled through the door. “We are closed this morning, and want nothing to do with any salespersons, papermen, or anything of the sort!”

“And what about very old friends?” Sabela replies.

A few moments later the door opens to reveal a man just on the downslope from his mid-life, probably once a very strongly-built man but one who has since gone slightly to seed. He recognizes your mother standing on his doorstep, and for a moment you’re not sure which way this encounter is going to go.

“... nope.”

He tries to slam the door shut... only to find your foot wedging it open.

“Oh no,” the man insists, slamming the door on your foot a second time. “I’ve had quite enough of your kind for one lifetime, thank you very much! So if you’ll just... excuse... me...”

After the fourth slam it should be obvious to him now that it isn’t working.

>Mother, what did you do to put this man so on edge?
>We need your help to free Sakia from the invaders.
>This isn’t worth our time. Let’s find the next one instead.
>Other?

>>5253068
>>Mother, what did you do to put this man so on edge?

>>5253068
>Mother, what did you do to put this man so on edge?

>>5253068
>>Mother, what did you do to put this man so on edge?

>>5253068
>Mother, what did you do to put this man so on edge?

>>5253068
>>Mother, what did you do to put this man so on edge?

Did we ask the prisoners where their command post is or where they saw clarice?

>>5253068
“... mom, what did you do?” you demand.

“I dealt with a threat!” she protests. “The leader of a local gang of thugs and reprobates threatened this poor man’s business, and many others besides, and so I agreed to take care of him.”

“You killed him and ate him!” the shopowner protests.

“Yes, but that was a different time!” Sabela counters. “Not only did I get rid of a notorious local criminal, I kept myself fed for six months! At his request!”

“I didn’t mean to have him killed and eaten!” the shopowner continues to protest, quite strenuously in fact.

“You were okay with him being killed though,” your mother observes. “It was just the eating part that bothered you.”

“Of course it was the eating part that bothered me!” the man insists, astonished to even be having this discussion. “Normal people don’t eat people!”

“Well, I’m not a normal person!” Sabela insists. “By the goddesses, Stanchion, you’re being uncommonly dense today.”

“Gods,” the man grumbles, “what do you even want with me after all these years?”

“What I only ever did,” Sabela insists. “Information.”

The shopowner glares at you, as if noticing you for the first time. “Who’s the pink-headed loser?”

“Noel Tiberius, queen of Hazaran,” you reply curtly. “May we come inside?”

There’s a long pause, before the man slams the door on your foot again.

“That’s not going to work,” you tell him flatly. “It didn’t work the last five times either.”

“Was worth a try.”

“Not even close.”

Eventually the man lets you enter his shop, where your mother takes a seat on a small couch near the righthand wall. “Stanchion here is a cobbler. Best in the region.”

>And what sort of information does this cobbler typically provide you with?
>Clarify something for me – was this an opportunity, or did you choose him?
>Let’s cut straight to it, we need to know about the Organization’s garrison.
>Other?

>>5254553
Refused to answer the former, didn't know the latter for certain.

>>5254597
>>Clarify something for me – was this an opportunity, or did you choose him?
>And what sort of information does this cobbler typically provide you with?

>>5254597
>Let’s cut straight to it, we need to know about the Organization’s garrison.

>>5254597
>>Let’s cut straight to it, we need to know about the Organization’s garrison.

>>5254597
>And what sort of information does this cobbler typically provide you with?
>Clarify something for me – was this an opportunity, or did you choose him?

>>5254597
“Let’s cut straight to the heart of the matter,” you suggest. “We need to know about the nearby garrison.”

The shopowner crosses his arms defiantly. “And why’s that, miss ‘queen of Hazaran’, if that is your name?”

“It’s a title, and yes, it’s mine,” you reply testily.

There’s a long pause. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No,” you assure him. “I really am the queen of Hazaran. I have a crown.”

You take it out of your little backpack, slung in line with the same strap that your sword’s holster is on, then put it away.

The man continues to stare. “And you said Sabela was your...”

“Mother, yes.”

“In what sense.”

“In every sense including the literal,” Sabela muses.

“... oh my gods,” the man realizes.

“So will you tell us what we need to know?” you press. “And can we count on you for a degree of discretion?”

“Why shouldn’t I just report you to the occupiers now?” he demands.

“Because I’d eat you,” Sabela replies with a shrug.

“Mom!” you protest... though you feel like you understand what she’s doing here.

“That was a joke,” Sabela clarifies. “Though I will most certainly kill you, Stanchion... and before you say anything, Noel, I am perfectly aware of your self-imposed rules, and I am certain I need not remind you that I have at no point agreed to them.”

“I love you, and I wish to keep your respect,” she concludes, “but if I am forced to I will absolutely kill to ensure your safety and your success.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 4, 9, 2 = 15 (3d10)

>>5255837

Rolled 8, 1, 3 = 12 (3d10)

>>5255837

Rolled 3, 4, 1 = 8 (3d10)

>>5255837

>>5255837
In addendum, maybe mention that we have somewhat solved the 'having to eat people' issue for the most part.

Rolled 2, 5, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>5255837

>>5255837
“She means that,” you admit with a sigh. “But she’s stopped eating people, we found a work-around for that. So you shouldn’t have a problem with that?”

“She just threatened to kill me if I don’t cooperate!” the man protests.

“Yes, but you’ve already established your tolerance for killings,” you point out. “So long as she doesn’t eat you afterwards.”

“That is what I heard,” Sabela agrees.

“Oh gods there’s two of them now,” he grumbles. “Okay, so maybe I heard some things.”

“Do tell,” your mother insists.

“So I heard there was a big shipment of this new kind of weapon,” he explains. “They’ve tightened the defenses because of it.”

“What sort of weapons?”

“Buried explosives I heard,” he tells you. “They go off if you step on ‘em.”

“So an area denial concept?” Sabela frowns. “That sounds almost as if they expect to be waging a defensive war, not an offensive one. How can their position be so bad?”

>The alternative is that they intend to use this weapon against civilians.
>Doesn’t matter. It just means a bigger boom when we destroy them all.
>What sort of defenses? You need to be more specific to be of any help.
>Other?

>>5256930
>What sort of defenses? You need to be more specific to be of any help.

>>5256930
>>The alternative is that they intend to use this weapon against civilians, thats worrying.
>What sort of defenses? You need to be more specific to be of any help.

>>5256954
>>5256930
This is good.
I love Sabela.
I miss Serana

>>5256930
>>5256954
this

>>5256930
“The alternative is worrying,” you admit.

“Using them in civilian areas?” your mother guesses your mind.

You nod. “Precisely.”

“Since when are you interested in protecting the ‘innocent’ and the ‘weak’?” the shopkeep frowns, evidently confused at Sabela’s abrupt change in attitude.

Sabela shrugs. “My wonderful daughter basically runs a recovery home for monsters like me. Weaning us off... well, monstrous things.”

“In any event that potential necessitates action,” you declare. “What sort of improvements have they made to the defenses?”

“I have heard that they were digging lots of small holes around the old castle,” Stanchion tells you. “Everywhere except the entry bridge, which they rebuilt. Positioned guns covering it too.”

“So they buried the explosives there,” Sabela does it again, saying exactly what you were thinking.

You nod. “It seems likely.”

>This adds a new dimension to the whole business. I think we need to study some of those explosives.
>Then there’s nothing else for it. We need to strike right up the middle, take the castle by the bridge.
>Sufficient shelling of the area approaching the walls should serve to clear an alternate path into the castle.
>Other?

>>5257939
>This adds a new dimension to the whole business. I think we need to study some of those explosives.

>>5257939
>>This adds a new dimension to the whole business. I think we need to study some of those explosives.

>>5257939
>>This adds a new dimension to the whole business. I think we need to study some of those explosives.

>>5257939
>This adds a new dimension to the whole business. I think we need to study some of those explosives.

>>5257939
“That’s a new dimension to the whole situation,” you admit. “So I think what we need to do is get a hold of some of these explosives.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 9, 6, 9 = 24 (3d10)

>>5258859

Rolled 1, 6, 1 = 8 (3d10)

>>5258859

Rolled 1, 10, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>5258859

>>5258859
There are three ways you could go about this.

First way you could do it involves minimal risk and no significant planning – you just have to go to the castle and dig up a few of the explosives, which you reason you can identify by the signs of recent digging. Second, you could sneak into the castle and steal a shipment of the explosives right from the source, which would be an unusually daring raid even for you and yours.

Third, the way you can do it is to capture a shipment of the weapons. To do that you’d have to figure out where those weapons are coming from and where they’re going. It’s almost a certainty where they’re coming from, but at the moment you’d have to guess at their destination.

“I’m not sure how best to play this,” you admit.

Sabela frowns, after you’ve explained all your thinking to her. “Well, the one that probably involves the least risk to us involves the most uncertainty at the moment.”

“Stopping a shipment.”

“Correct.”

“Then we have two which involve a nighttime raid,” you admit. “One where we sneak around with shovels, one where we sneak around inside the castle.”

“There’s a fourth option,” Sabela muses. “You let me kill every single man in the castle.”

>Can’t you do that... you know. The thing you got your nickname for? Can’t that help us?
>I think we need to get information to plan an intercept of these new weapons.
>I think if we go to the castle and examine the defenses we can finalize our next steps.
>Other?

>>5259204
>Can’t you do that... you know. The thing you got your nickname for? Can’t that help us?

>>5259204
>Can’t you do that... you know. The thing you got your nickname for? Can’t that help us?

>>5259204
>>I think we need to get information to plan an intercept of these new weapons.

>>5259204
>3d10, best of two

Rolled 2, 2, 4 = 8 (3d10)

>>5260327

Rolled 5, 10, 1 = 16 (3d10)

>>5260327

Rolled 8, 10, 6 = 24 (3d10)

>>5260327

>>5260327
“Could you maybe... do that?” you suggest to your mother.

Sabela glances at you in momentary confusion. “Do... what?”

“You know,” you prompt her with a vague gesture of your hands. “That thing that gave you your nickname from back in the day?”

There’s a moment of realization. “Oh, that. No, I can’t use it the way you might be thinking. I can’t use it too widely, or as strongly as that. It could turn the tables in our favor with just a few people however.”

“So either way we’d have to be careful,” you frown.

Sabela nods in confirmation. “The best way to use it would be to limit the number of people who can see us at any given point.”

“That sounds like you’re suggesting we sneak into the castle,” you muse. “It would certainly seem simpler than trying to identify the spots where the explosives had been buried – weeks ago. While in the very depths of night. And quite possibly under continuous fire.”

“You make it sound so desirable,” Stanchion rolls his eyes. “I might have to take a little vacation there.”

“Nobody likes a smartass, Stachion,” your mother slaps him back down. “That being said, Stanchion has a point.”

“Could you use that same trick to help ambush a shipment?” you ask.

“Especially at night,” Sabela confirms. “If you can find one.”

>We should go after the stored explosives at the ruined castle.
>Let’s be patient, watch the roads for a convoy to raid.
>Other?

>>5261658
>>Let’s be patient, watch the roads for a convoy to raid.

>>5261658
>Let’s be patient, watch the roads for a convoy to raid.

>>5261658
>Let’s be patient, watch the roads for a convoy to raid.

>>5261658
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 10, 9, 1 = 20 (3d10)

>>5262389

Rolled 10, 1, 7 = 18 (3d10)

>>5262389

Rolled 3, 7, 1 = 11 (3d10)

>>5262389

Rolled 5, 3, 5 = 13 (3d10)

>>5262389

>>5261658
“Then we’ll just have to lay low and wait for a likely target,” you sigh. “I don’t like the idea of rushing straight into the enemy’s stronghold – past the weapons we’re trying to investigate – when there’s an alternative.”

After a moment, Sabela nods. “Right, I think that makes good sense.”

“So what do I do?” Stanchion asks you.

“Forget we were here,” Sabela insists, “and never speak to anyone of what we discussed. If you do, I hope you know what the penalty will be.”

“Death?” he offers.

“I will at very least make it painless,” Sabela offers.

...

“I wouldn’t actually kill the man,” Sabela admits after you’ve left town. “He has been far too useful a source of information over the years – observant enough to know many useful rumors and facts, but foolish enough to believe my bluster.”

...

You and your mother settle in together to the north of town, where there is a major road that a few locals mentioned is used by the invaders. Then you wait, hardly moving a muscle for hours at a time. It’s two days before you see a target, a small armed caravan with a few riders and a line of four carts, each guarded by men in uniform and an automatic gun. In the open beds you see many wooden crates.

“That seems likely,” Sabela muses. “Let’s follow it, shall we?”

“Until sundown,” you muse. “They should stop to make camp.”

It’s not hard to slink along, roughly paralleling the road, only poking your head up over the ridges to check the carts’ locations.

When the sun starts to dip the carts pull off onto the side of the road.

>Make your move shortly before dawn, when the last guard shift is the most tired.
>Move quietly in the dead of night, try to avoid being seen at all.
>Pick one angle which has the fewest people, rely on Sabela to muddle the defenders’ minds.
>Other?

>>5262810
>Move quietly in the dead of night, try to avoid being seen at all.

>>5262810
>>Move quietly in the dead of night, try to avoid being seen at all.

>>5262810
>Make your move shortly before dawn, when the last guard shift is the most tired.

>>5262810
>>Move quietly in the dead of night, try to avoid being seen at all.

>>5262810
>Move quietly in the dead of night, try to avoid being seen at all.

>>5262810
>3d10, best of four due to Sabela's help

Rolled 3, 2, 5 = 10 (3d10)

>>5263752

Rolled 5, 3, 6 = 14 (3d10)

>>5263752
i have substantial odds of outdoing /k/ripple

Rolled 10, 7, 1 = 18 (3d10)

>>5263752

Rolled 1, 5, 4 = 10 (3d10)

>>5263752

>>5263752
You decide that a night action would be ideal – move in under cover of darkness in the hopes that you won’t need to rely on your mother’s befuddling and somewhat damaging ability. Should everything go well you will get in, get what you came for, then get out without so much as a single shot being fired.

As the two campfires the caravan’s soldiers lit start to die to embers, you sneak towards your goal. As you draw close the horses grow uneasy and restless, champing and stamping and snorting in ever-increasing agitation. Then, someone spots you.

“We’re under!” he begins to protest, before your mother starts to work her magic. “We’re under...”

[I’ll go for the cargo!] you swiftly signal.

“What is it, Perlman?” another soldier demands.

You swiftly knock them both to the ground, kicking each gently in the head to make sure you don’t crush their skulls by mistake, before heading for the nearest cart. It’s just a matter of pulling the sleeping man out of the gunner’s seat and slinging him through the air, and you’re good to go.

“Enemy attack!”

The sense of unease is palpable as you work, sorting through crate after crate of totally irrelevant supplies. Occasionally you throw something at a soldier who gets too close, but for the most part Sabela seems to be handling things – her speed is impossible for any normal human to keep up with even if she weren’t using her yōki to interfere with their thinking, slowing their reactions and influencing their judgment like a strong, heady ale. If she wished them dead it wouldn’t have even slowed her down to do the deed.

“Got it!” you shout as you crack a case of what look to be labeled as explosive charges – wooden boxes with a hinge on one side and what looks to be a fuse on the other. You grab several of the devices.

>Look for a way to set off the shipments. Take them all out at once.
>Try to steal the whole cart, maybe crash it in a river later if you must.
>Just take what you can and withdraw. You got what you came here for.
>Other?

>>5265065
>>Just take what you can and withdraw. You got what you came here for.
smash and grab.

>>5265065
>>Just take what you can and withdraw. You got what you came here for.

>>5265065
>Try to steal the whole cart, maybe crash it in a river later if you must.

>>5265065
>>Try to steal the whole cart, maybe crash it in a river later if you must.

>>5265065
3d10 best of three on the order of the Queen of Hazaran!

Rolled 8, 6, 10 = 24 (3d10)

>>5266147

>>5265065
>Other?
You notice one of the soldiers is impossibly scary and ugly. His sunken eyeballs, his pale, white, sickly skin, contrasting his black, slicked back hair... and NO EYEBROWS?! There's no way this guy is just a normal soldier. Interrogate him.

Rolled 9, 4, 9 = 22 (3d10)

>>5266147

>>5266147

>>5266238
nope, try again in the options part ofthe post

Rolled 4, 9, 8 = 21 (3d10)

>>5266147

>>5265065
Things have gone somewhat sideways in a hurry, but there’s one strategy that suggests itself – and that’s to make the hastiest possible exit in the biggest, most spectacularly confusing move you can think of. And to do that, you’ll need to engage in a little bit of horse theft.

You call out to your mother to warn her, and leap down off the cart to slash at the post to which its horses have been hitched. Now free to run wild they do exactly that, fleeing in panic from the confused shooting and shouting, as well as from your yōki. They continue to flee as you leap into the back of the cart and shout out to your mother again, who does an elegant backflip to get away from her attackers and join you in the back of the cart.

“Thanks for your hospitality, boys!” she taunts.

...

“Well that could have gone better,” your mother eventually admits, after your cart has gone off the road and into a mud-filled ditch some half-day’s ride from the scene of the attack.

“Agreed,” you confess, “but when a cracked wheel goes there’s not much you can do. Now we just need to destroy the bulk of this shipment, and at least we can do it well away from any bystanders.”

“Too bad about the horses though,” Sabela sighs.

You had to put the poor beasts to the sword – with only three good legs between the two of them, it was clear they would never walk again.

You shake your head, before offloading what look to be several bedsheets and about twenty of the explosives in their wooden pressure-triggered boxes. “We have to keep moving.”

After a few minutes of examination you determine that the explosives aren’t black powder, so it will take something a bit more energetic to set them off. You figure that one of the explosives themselves should be sufficient to trigger a chain reaction between all of the charges still left in the cart, so you carefully release the pressure mechanism on one of them and leave it sitting exposed in the cart while you and Sabela retreat to a safe distance.

...

“So what now?” Sabela muses.

“Now we through stones at it,” you declare, before sending a rock about the size of your fist sailing through the air.

It takes a few throws to get a solid hit, but the results are quite spectacular.

>That explosion should draw in the rest of the soldiers. You can set another ambush here.
>You have what you need. Take the twenty or so examples and find a way to counter them.
>We have plenty of explosives. Let’s use them to destroy the supply cache we came here for.
>Other?

>>5266760
>>We have plenty of explosives. Let’s use them to destroy the supply cache we came here for.
keep a few to study later, we won't need 20 to learn a counter

>>5266760
>>You have what you need. Take the twenty or so examples and find a way to counter them.

>>5266760
>We have plenty of explosives. Let’s use them to destroy the supply cache we came here for.

>>5266760
>We have plenty of explosives. Let’s use them to destroy the supply cache we came here for.

>>5266760
>>We have plenty of explosives. Let’s use them to destroy the supply cache we came here for.

>>5266760
Your plan is to use the explosives you stole from that shipment to finish your attack on the occupier’s fortress. The only question remaining is how to go about doing that in such a way that it doesn’t violate your oaths not to kill humans.

“I can do it,” your mother offers.

You shake your head. “That feels like cheating.”

“We could have it be an accident.”

“If we intended it to happen it wouldn’t be an accident.”

“What I mean to say is that we could set them up for their own recklessness and disregard to do them in,” Sabela clarifies. “For example, rig the explosives we captured to detonate when moved.”

“That would certainly have an impact,” you admit. “But a finicky plan.”

“So what ideas are you entertaining?” your mother asks with a sigh. “Since you’re not a big fan of my ideas so far.”

“We could use those explosives to slight the defenses,” you suggest. “Plant them at the base of one of the remaining walls.”

“Which we would need to do without being noticed,” Sabela observes.

>We should endeavor to keep casualties to a minimum.
>Arranging an ‘accident’ is probably the most realistic plan.
>I think we should observe the area further. If we learn nothing we’ll go with your plan.
>Other?

>>5268060
>Arranging an ‘accident’ is probably the most realistic plan.

>>5268060
>>Arranging an ‘accident’ is probably the most realistic plan.

>>5268060
>I think we should observe the area further. If we learn nothing we’ll go with your plan.

>>5268060
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 6, 8, 1 = 15 (3d10)

>>5268703

Rolled 2, 3, 8 = 13 (3d10)

>>5268703

Rolled 5, 2, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>5268703

>>5268703
“Now that we’ve studied the devices we could arrange to have them ‘accidentally’ go off,” you decide. “That being said we don’t have any of the original crates.”

“That’s true,” your mother admits, “so we’ll have to have someone deliver them for us.”

“How would you intend to...” you begin, before you realize what she means. “Oh, that is bold.”

“If we were to ambush that same convoy a second time and replace some of our ‘special’ explosives,” she nods with a wicked grin.

“Then they’ll deliver those explosives for us,” you complete the thought. “Did something happen to you in the last time I was gone, or were you always a devil wearing a human skin?”

“Oh, I’ve always had that aspect,” she shrugs.

>Would you mind doing the sneaking this time? I can be a distraction.
>Would you mind doing the sneaking? I’ll watch for signs of trouble.
>I’ll do the sneaking. Make sure nobody catches even a glimpse of me.
>Other?

>>5269133
>>Would you mind doing the sneaking? I’ll watch for signs of trouble.

Mom has at least limited shapeshifting and can read/mind trick people. Our face is widely known as is our distinct hair color.

>>5269133
>I’ll do the sneaking. Make sure nobody catches even a glimpse of me.

>>5269133
>Would you mind doing the sneaking? I’ll watch for signs of trouble.

>>5269133
>>Would you mind doing the sneaking? I’ll watch for signs of trouble.

>>5269133
“Would you mind doing the sneaking this time?” you ask your mother. “I’ll be watching for any signs of trouble.”

“Okay, I can do that,” Sabela agrees. “But we’ll need to plan this a little more carefully this time.”

“I trust you have an idea?”

Your mother smiles. “Naturally, my dear.”

...

As it turns out your mother’s plan is to buy a cart and a new outfit in the nearest town. You then wrap your chest aggressively while she puts a bunch of crates in the back of the cart. You also take a little bit of time to practice stretching your vocal cords to deepen your voice. On the side of the road you set to work wrecking your own cart, breaking the axle and pulling the leather straps where a horse would usually be harnessed.

Then, it’s a waiting game as to when to take the last half-tablet of yōki suppressant you have in your possession – a chemical mix that your faction has so far yet to replicate.

...

When the caravan passes you on the road your hair is red, tied back, and belongs to someone who is dressed as a man with a voice to match.

“Hello there!” you greet them as they scramble, already suspicious of you. “Sorry, have I done something wrong?”

“Who are you, and why are you out on the road this late?” one of the soldiers demands.

“Alexei Silva,” you lie, “I’m a merchant from Kraljevo? My cart had an axle split, and my horse bolted in the chaos.”

“What are you hauling?” the soldier presses.

“Sundries, really,” you insist. “I just got done hauling a load of peppercorns and salt.”

“Why?” the soldier demands.

One of his companions taps his shoulder. “That’s actually valuable here.”

The first soldier can barely hide his disdain. “So primitive... in any event, we’ll need you to move off the road, you’re blocking the way.”

“Sorry,” you apologize, “but I’ll need some help.”
>1/2

>>5270353
It takes a good number of men to move your rather large and still-laden cart out of the way, and it produces more than enough noise to disguise the wrenching sounds of the wooden crates in the last cart in their caravan being prised open and shut again.

Sabela has enough time to do this three times, before she’s forced to slink off into the darkness.

“Sorry to trouble you,” you press the soldiers, “but I could use some help?”

“We’re already late,” the first soldier insists. “Solve your own damn problems.”

...

“So you think it’ll work?”

You nod. “It was a bit awkward, but those new bombs you placed have had their triggering mechanisms reversed – to detonate when the wooden body springs open instead of when they’re depressed. So when the crates open...”

“Boom,” Sabela muses.

You nod. “Boom. You did place them inside the correct crates, right?”

“In with the powder charges for their field guns,” Sabela nods. “Yes.”

>We should track this shipment and observe the effects ourselves.
>I think we should try to draw as many of the soldiers out of the fort as possible.
>We should maneuver some Hazari soldiers into position to follow through.
>Other?

>>5270361
>>I think we should try to draw as many of the soldiers out of the fort as possible.

>>5270361
>I think we should try to draw as many of the soldiers out of the fort as possible.

>>5270361
>We should maneuver some Hazari soldiers into position to follow through.

>>5270361
>I think we should try to draw as many of the soldiers out of the fort as possible.

>>5270361
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 3, 7, 6 = 16 (3d10)

>>5271510

Rolled 3, 2, 10 = 15 (3d10)

>>5271510

Rolled 8, 4, 1 = 13 (3d10)

>>5271510

>>5271510
“I think we should try to draw as many troops out of the fortress as possible,” you suggest. “Keep casualties at a minimum, assuming this works at all.”

“If you believe that to be best,” your mother nods quietly. “I agree it would be consistent.”

“Okay, so it’s agreed.”

Sabela frowns at you for a moment. “So, what exactly is your plan?”

...

“Hey there, invading scum!” you boom, standing right in plain view of the fortress. “I challenge you to a duel!”

Yes, you told your mother yesterday, your intention was to duel a castle. Men scramble to meet your challenge, and dozens of weapons are suddenly aimed at you ranging from rifles to cannons to mortars.

“Come no closer!” an officer barks back. “Stay right where you are.”

After letting that thought hang in the air a while, you finally offer your reply.

“... bye.”

Then you turn tail and run.

“After her!” you hear the order given.

Men scramble to charge down the ramp and out onto the flatlands to give chase, and you suppose the plan must have worked because there’s a massive explosion behind you not long after. The debris is scattered widely over the surrounding fields, the castle having largely disappeared in the blast.

How... how is it possible that a single mis-handled charge could have caused that much damage? What the hell were they even storing here?

As the soldiers start to recover, you’re forced to adjust to the reality that more people were probably just killed there than you're comfortable with.

>Demand their surrender. With the fortress and supplies gone they have no reason to be here.
>Just run. Their misfortune works to your benefit, so just avoid any further problems and leave.
>Regroup with your mother and assess what just happened.
>Other?

>>5272183
>REGROUP!

>>5272183
>>Regroup with your mother and assess what just happened.

>>5272183
>Regroup with your mother and assess what just happened.

>>5272183
You and Sabela quickly withdraw, and a number of the surviving soldiers scatter.
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 9, 4, 1 = 14 (3d10)

>>5272924

Rolled 7, 8, 6 = 21 (3d10)

>>5272924

Rolled 3, 9, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>5272924

Rolled 3, 3, 5 = 11 (3d10)

>>5272924

>>5272924
In the panic, you manage to capture a pair of soldiers and drag them away to be temporarily detained and questioned – perhaps the only way you can puzzle out what just happened. They seem to share the sense of confusion and alarm, and it’s a bit of a task to get them to stop struggling long enough to start questioning them. But once you do, things become muddied.

“There were two crates of ammunition that had been sabotaged,” one of them tells you. “Maybe we missed one, maybe someone tried to use one anyway... maybe it was just bad handling.”

You glance at Sabela, who flicks a few quick hand signals at you despite having to hold down the other soldier by his shoulders. [I only did two.]

So they found both of the crates, but might have fallen victim to them anyway – or else the explosion may have been totally unrelated. It sounds like it’s impossible to even know what caused the explosion, and how much responsibility you bear as a half-blooded warrior and as a queen for the greater fatalities than intended. That being said these people were involved in the trafficking of explosives meant to kill or injure civilians in an insidious way, so it does seem justified to come down harder on them with less concern for their safety.

“And you?” you demand of the second soldier. “Those explosives – what were your intentions for them?”

“What we call ‘area denial’ missions,” he replies hastily. “See, where we’re from we have this strategy where we...”

“I think we could piece together what you mean,” Sabela insists, twisting his arm ever so slightly, “even if we didn’t already understand perfectly well. You put these blasting devices out where people could trigger them, and then you hope they don’t go there for fear of triggering them. That about right?”

“Where were you planning to use these weapons?” you demand. “And what do you and your people call them? We can’t just keep changing the terminology we use like this.”

“Fair point,” your mother agrees. “All the phrases we’ve come up with feel really stilted.”

“We call them mines,” the first soldier offers.

“And the self-propelled artillery you use?” you press while you’re getting answers – the proverbial iron is hot right now, so why not.

“That’s the technically correct term,” the man replies. “The shorthand is to call them ‘land dreadnoughts’, or just ‘dreadnoughts’ or ‘armor’.”

“So, back to the subject at hand then,” you declare. “Where did you intend to plant these ‘mines’?”
>1/2

>>5273380
“Speak,” Sabela commands, twisting the second man’s arm again.

“Be careful,” you speak up – falling just short of asking your mother to stop. While causing purposeful and unwarranted pain is something you’d try to avoid, and you’d encourage your mother to do the same, this does in fact have a purpose in prising the truth out of your temporary captives.

“There was some pass into Hazaran!” the man blurts out.

“The Dari pass?” you question him.

“Yes!”

>You are both free to go, Do with yourselves as you see fit.
>We need you to take a message to your commanders that this is unacceptable conduct.
>We’ll be taking you back to Hazaran to get sworn statements. You will not come to harm.
>Other?

>>5273382
>>We need you to take a message to your commanders that this is unacceptable conduct.
we can write out a short statement, if we have paper, otherwise the commander just has to trust them on who they talked to
plus, good treatment like this is further damage to moral

>>5273382
>>We need you to take a message to your commanders that this is unacceptable conduct.

>>5273382
>You are both free to go, Do with yourselves as you see fit.

>>5273382
>We need you to take a message to your commanders that this is unacceptable conduct.

>>5273382
>>We need you to take a message to your commanders that this is unacceptable conduct.

>>5273382
“In that case, we still have a purpose for the two of you gentlemen,” you muse with a smirk tugging at your cheeks.

“Oh gods no,” Sabela’s captive groans. “Bend over, Steiner, here it comes again!”

“The queen of Hazaran would very much appreciate it if you would deliver a message to your superiors,” you declare. “Recently there’s been a trend of putting civilians in harm’s way – often deliberately. This has to stop.”

“... what?”

“If you planted these mines in the Dari pass,” you clarify patiently, “it would be civilians who would mostly be killed or maimed. Likewise, I’ve seen multiple cases of soldiers going out of their way to either threaten or kill civilians on the flimsiest of pretenses. That has to cease.”

“And why should we agree to that?” Sabela’s captive demands. “Do you mean to kill us if we refuse?”

“No,” you admit. “However if you refuse, then we will be forced to assume that other strongholds will have similar stocks of ordinance. That would be cause for another series of raids into the territory your invading army has occupied in Sakia.”

“See, it’s in your interests to comply,” Sabela offers, “and in your commanders’ interest to listen.”

“So,” you muse, releasing the man called ‘Steiner’ as a show of good faith. “Will you do it?”

After furnishing your captives with a letter to carry, you have to decide the next move.

>Withdraw to Scaithness. Coordinate with your own comrades.
>Head for the capital. Check in on the domestic political situation.
>Head to the south coast. There’s a ship there being rebuilt at your request.
>Other?

>>5274712
>>Head to the south coast. There’s a ship there being rebuilt at your request.
<spoiler>Are we stillx on the boat?</spoiler

>>5274712
>>Head for the capital. Check in on the domestic political situation.

>>5274712
>Head to the south coast. There’s a ship there being rebuilt at your request.

>>5274712
>>Head to the south coast. There’s a ship there being rebuilt at your request.
but send a letter with what we learned to scaithness and the capital.

>>5274712
>Withdraw to Scaithness. Coordinate with your own comrades.

>>5274712
>Withdraw to Scaithness. Coordinate with your own comrades.

>>5274712
There is some prepwork you need to take care of before anything else can happen. You need to return to friendly territory, and once you reach Rysa you can make the further necessary arrangements. This mainly consists of orders, which are dispersed through official military channels. One missive goes to the capital, laying out the actions you and Sabela took as well as what you learned about the potential threat of these explosive mines to be used against civilians.

Next you return to Scaithness, in order to build a more official-looking entourage for the trip to the southern sea. Sabela will continue traveling with you, but you will be joined this time by Serana and, in a rare decision, Solaris.

In the mean time...

“Despicable,” Helen grumbles. “A new low, certainly.”

“We need to be more vigilant now,” you advise her, “and we may need to have a discussion when we get back about the morality of striking humans to spare innocents from suffering – because that is what’s at stake here.”

“I don’t like it, but I understand your concern,” Helen nods in agreement. “We’ll speak more when you return.”

...

“So what should we expect?”

Solaris’ question is so honest in its simplicity that you have some trouble answering it immediately. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what should we expect?” she repeats. “When we get to this town?”

“AH,” you muse. “Well, Hazaran has historically never been in a position to have a navy – the closest we have ever come has been to construct the odd river or lake barge with a mortar or two on it, but these were only ever temporary allocations from the national armory.”

“And so there is no institutional experience?” Solaris guesses.

“That’s right,” you admit, “so it’s possible we could have some difficulties getting our orders filled.”

“Why?”

“Because the Teresa was in an odd place,” you clarify, “in terms of its final dispensation under the new territorial arrangement. It was actually drydocked for a full maintenance haulout at the time, so the government of Noroit had to decide whether it wanted to hulk her, try to recover her from the docks before Hazaran took over, or write her off. They ended up striking her from the naval register and leaving her to us without guns, and in an incomplete state.”

[Quite a gift,] Serana offers her sarcastic analysis. [Quite hospitable, bringing your new host more work.]

“In this case it suits us fine,” you point out. “It’s simply that we’ve told the shipbuilders to do something very unusual and very expensive with Teresa, so I suspect they may not have taken us seriously.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 5, 3, 8 = 16 (3d10)

>>5275977
May Poseidon bless this ship

Rolled 4, 4, 2 = 10 (3d10)

>>5275977

Rolled 7, 7, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>5275977

>>5275977
“Yeah, we got your message ma’am,” the head architect muses when you arrange to meet with him. “I have to admit however, we’re all a bit puzzled.”

“Puzzled in what way?” you press him politely, before sipping from the cup of coffee that has been brought out for you. Your compatriots all do the same... there’s sugar and whipped cream in it, which is nice actually. “Depending on the nature of your issue I may be able to offer some clarity.”

“Well, you’re talking about adding quite a bit of weight,” he explains. “We ought to remedy that with a metal hull, were cost no object. But see, you can’t copper an iron hull, which means there’d be mighty bad fouling of the hull.”

“Why’s that a problem?” Solaris muses. “This would essentially be a single-use vessel.”

[She could be at sea for a while,] Serana correctly observes.

“Both points could be fair,” you admit. “Though it does make sense to plan for the more challenging voyage.”

“Understood,” the architect nods. “Then that leaves us a problem which calls for a novel solution.”

“How about reinforcing the keel and replacing some of the ribs with wrought iron?” you suggest. “That would be more economical than an entire hull in any event.”

“Aye, that would work,” the architect agrees.

“And what of her buoyancy?” Solaris questions.

“Well, that depends entirely on the weight of armor,” he tells you calmly. “Three inch thick of steel belt, twelve feet high by one hundred long at a weight just shy five hundred pounds a cubic foot comes out to under a hundred fifty tons. Less the weight of shot, powder, and cannon, aye. I think this tub can handle that. Add more and we start getting a little tenuous.”

>One hundred feet covers two thirds the length of the ship. Will that be enough?
>Three inches seems a little iffy. What’s the absolute limit of what we can do?
>That should be adequate. We’re really hoping our speed will do the work of armor.
>Other?

>>5277314
>That should be adequate. We’re really hoping our speed will do the work of armor.

>>5277314
>That should be adequate. We’re really hoping our speed will do the work of armor.

>>5277314
>>Three inches seems a little iffy. What’s the absolute limit of what we can do?

>>5277314
>Three inches seems a little iffy. What’s the absolute limit of what we can do?

>>5277314
>>That should be adequate. We’re really hoping our speed will do the work of armor.

>>5277314
“The idea is that speed should make up for any deficit in armor,” you muse. “And am I correct in assuming that the dimensions you’ve stated are about the most you can do?”

The architect nods. “We could maybe do four inches. But we couldn’t guarantee quality.”

“Then at the unprotected ends, can we have the compartments filled with cork?” you ask.

“It would chew up all our supply,” he admits, “but yes. That would be doable.”

“Great,” you clap your hands cheerfully. “Then that’s the plan. Three-inch steel belts, cast iron reinforcement of the keel and replacements to the ribs, fresh copper below the waterline, and cork in the unprotected ends.”

“Now, if I might ask,” the architect muses, “what, precisely, is this ship being intended for?”

>Tell him. May as well make this public.
>Tell him a lie.
>Don’t tell him anything. State Secret.
>Other?

>>5278614
>Tell him a lie.

>>5278614
>Other?
A mission of discovery.

>>5278663
>>5278614

>>5278614
>>5278663
this but also
>Don’t tell him anything. State Secret.

>>5278614
>>Tell him. May as well make this public.

>>5278614
>3d10 best of two


ho boy, this won't be good

Rolled 8, 4, 1 = 13 (3d10)

>>5279179

Rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18 (3d10)

>>5279179

>>5279187
>

>>5278614
“Call it a mission of discovery,” you shrug, largely dismissing the question entirely.

“A mission of discovery that calls for three inches of face-hardened steel?” the architect asks you with a disbelieving frown. “If it’s a state secret you can just tell me that, ma’am, and I’ll stop asking questions.”

“To be fair that wasn’t untrue,” Solaris offers, “the ‘discovery’ could simply happen to be violence.”

You find yourself staring at her in disbelief.

“What, am I wrong?”

“Why don’t I bring you along for stuff more often?” you wonder aloud.

“Fair enough,” the architect shrugs. “You will have your ship ready in four months.”

>Not fast enough. Take all the personnel you need to make it quicker.
>That’s acceptable. It’s already going to be tough to justify the expense.
>Fine, but I also want it done in secrecy.
>Other?

>>5279618
>>That’s acceptable. It’s already going to be tough to justify the expense.

>>5279618
>Not fast enough. Take all the personnel you need to make it quicker.

>>5279618
>>That’s acceptable. It’s already going to be tough to justify the expense.

>>5279618
>That’s acceptable. It’s already going to be tough to justify the expense.

>>5279618
>That’s acceptable. It’s already going to be tough to justify the expense.

>>5279618
>Fine, but I also want it done in secrecy.

>>5281101
>You see her move – or rather, you can tell she moved, but even with your eyes you can’t quite respond quickly enough for it to matter. It’s like she left one of the mirrors and moves into another, throwing senbon at you along the way. Then she does it again, from a different angle. Then it’s a trio of kunai with explosive tags.
>Then she emerges from a mirror and strikes with her spear, an attack you barely manage to parry, before she turns in place and strikes for the back of your head with the haft of your weapon. You duck low and sweep at her but she’s already gone, having returned to one of the mirrors, then bounced to another one with a trio of senbon that very nearly hit you in the shoulder.
>Next she takes potshots at you with the Tsubame Fubuki, one of which hits you, before returning to one of the mirrors.
>She’s mixing in all sorts of attacks, moving in unpredictable directions, and using very different timings. It’s hard to even decide on a way to counter her attacks because her attacks are so different each time.
>>Try to hit one of those mirrors with your white flames, see if they can be destroyed.
>>Use an area-saturation attack, like a trap for when Kōshū-kun moves between mirrors.
>>This may be a good time to try out the Hibana Shisshin, which can be used in an area.
>>Other?

>>5280952
Que?

>>5281101
God fucking dammit my chromebook still had the last nardo update on the clipboard. It does this sometimes.

Will fix.

>>5279618
You agree with the schedule to complete the work on Teresa, and hash out details of a payment schedule to ensure a steady stream of revenue for the builders as well as to minimize the month to month impact on Hazaran’s finances – much of which is still going to hardening border defenses in the newer expansion territories.

[That went well,] Serana muses.

“Suspiciously so,” you admit. “I’m not used to this.”

“Occasionally things do go well,” your mother cautions you, “all you need do is be wary of the averages.”

“Thanks,” you grumble. “It seems like that should conclude our business here.”

“Perhaps it would be good to return to the capital?” Solaris suggests. “Confer with that regent of yours... what was his name?”

“Noventus,” you tell her.

“Yes, him.”

... there have been some developments, after all. It would probably be appropriate.

“I think we should,” you admit.

...

Your arrival in the capital carries as much fanfare as it usually does – which is to say, hardly any at all. Plenty of people recognize your kind by their cloaks, and a few note the circlet crown you don every time you appear as the queen of Hazaran in some sort of formal capacity. But even here, very few people actually approach you, or try to talk to you – either because of your status as queen or because you’re a silver-eyed warrior, both of which are intimidating for most people on their own. It might be nice at some point to do something about that.

...

Within the palace, you find a meeting already in full swing.

“My queen!” Noventus greets you, rising from his seat – suddenly much more lively than he seemed mere moments ago when it looked like he was about to be put to sleep by a particularly droll conversation. “We can put this discussion on hold for a moment, if you would like.”

>No, I’m interested in the goings-on of my kingdom. Please, by all means, continue.
>Thank you. I mean to provide a brief update on the situation north of the border.
>We can take a break first, let everyone have a moment. You and I can step out?
>Other?

>>5281165
>Thank you. I mean to provide a brief update on the situation north of the border.

>>5281165
>No, I’m interested in the goings-on of my kingdom. Please, by all means, continue.

>>5281165
>We can take a break first, let everyone have a moment. You and I can step out?

read the room he needs to be saved

>>5281332
>>5281165
this one

>>5281165
>We can take a break first, let everyone have a moment. You and I can step out?

>>5281332
>>5281165
kek, poor bastard.

>>5281165
“We can take a brief recess if you’d like...”

“By all means,” Noventus declares, rising from his seat. “We shall reconvene in half an hour.”

...

“I’ve been saved...” Noventus sighs wearily once you’ve left the room. “I haven’t been looking forward to this meeting.”

“What, I thought you loved meetings. So what’s different about this one?”

“It’s a budget meeting,” Noventus tells you. “Regional consuls bickering over a limited pool of finances, presenting conflicting arguments over what the best use of those finances would be. Bad enough when they’re mutually exclusive, even worse when they’re different lines of evidence that can all be correct at once but indicate different things. Then to make matters worse, they start doing deals behind my back, arranging to support one another in exchange for kickbacks and off-the-books trades.”

“No wonder they say that every revolution should start by shooting the bureaucrats.”

“I recall you were a bureaucrat once,” you muse.

“That was uncalled-for,” he sighs. “And anyway, how do you think I know all their tricks?”

After a moment, Noventus sighs. “Alright, lady Noel, what is it you came here to tell us?”

“We had an encounter or two with the Organization’s occupational force north of the border,” you tell him. “I sent you the initial reports?”

“We received them this morning,” he nods. “By all means, please. Any further detail you can offer would be appreciated.”

...

“Ominous,” Noventus admits. “How do you feel about the casualties caused in your little raid?”

You shake your head. “I would hesitate to resort to such measures in the future, but as things stand two things can be said – first, that it isn’t clear at all that our actions were directly responsible. In fact, signs seem to indicate that our ruse was discovered. Second, even if we were responsible, I feel that as queen those deaths would have been justified.”

“Whether my comrades feel the same way or not, that I can’t speak to. I suspect opinion would be divided.”

“More to the point, do you think this can happen again?” Noventus frowns. “Is this something we need to consider from now on?”

>I expect they won’t stop doing it just because I told them to.
>Maybe, maybe not. It depends on their own situation, really.
>I think we may now have an understanding about it.
>Other?

>>5282338
>I think we may now have an understanding about it.
this is the least wishy-washy answer, and I am in my feelings rn about politicians/leaders in power being wishy-washy

>>5282338
>I expect they won’t stop doing it just because I told them to.

>>5282338
>I think we may now have an understanding about it.

>>5282338
“I think we may have come to an understanding of sorts,” you muse, considering the likely responses that could come from your ultimatum. “Either they stop doing things like that or there are consequences. That should be simple enough to understand.”

“What manner of consequences?” Noventus asks you curiously.

“I left it up to the imagination,” you shrug, “but direct intervention, disruptive raids, and the like should all be on the table, as should harsher terms in the event of our final victory or any negotiated settlement.”

“Negotiated settlement?” he frowns. “We are hardly in the sort of advantageous position you would want, nor are we in a position where capitulation is the only solution. So that suggests to me you have some alternate plan. Care to enlighten me?”

“I have commissioned a specialist warship,” you explain. “Fine lines, fast and relatively light to start, with cast iron reinforcements to her keel and ribs to support a three-inch belt of hardened steel, from her deck to just below the waterline. The belts will run two-thirds her length and her unprotected ends are to be largely filled with cork.”

“What ship is this?”

“She was called Teresa,” you add. “She was a clipper-style hull to be armed with cannon, which will now remain in our national armory instead.”

“You will have built a blockade-runner,” Noventus recognizes.

“She will likely have the advantage in speed,” you suggest. “The steam-powered armored warships used on the continent are unbeatable in a straight fight with anything we could build.”

“And what of their propulsion?” Noventus asks. “They may be slower but they will have the advantage in maneuverability against the wind.”

>True. A screw propeller and a steam engine as secondary propulsion MIGHT fit within the designed weight limit – at the cost of livability.
>Adding steam power would alter the sail plan. It would compromise her speed when the wind is with her too much to be worth the risk.
>In the event that she is caught, there would have to be a boarding action to seize the attacking ship and make off with that instead.
>Other?

>>5283255
>Adding steam power would alter the sail plan. It would compromise her speed when the wind is with her too much to be worth the risk.

>>5283255
>>Adding steam power would alter the sail plan. It would compromise her speed when the wind is with her too much to be worth the risk.

>>5283255
>True. A screw propeller and a steam engine as secondary propulsion MIGHT fit within the designed weight limit – at the cost of livability.

>>5283255
You find yourself considering the possibility. One of the main problems would be that the ship’s existing structure normally wouldn’t be strong enough to handle the extra weight of a steam engine sitting on her keel, and there would naturally be a weak point at the stern where the shaft for a screw or propeller would have to exit the hull. But that could be remedied as part of the overhaul on her keel and ribs. Even the problem of overcrowding would be alleviated by the removal of any guns from her main deck, ammunition, and powder, freeing up significant space for her crew and any required supplies.

No, the main point you run up against every way you approach it is the sail plan. Teresa has three masts, each of which is stepped to the keel for structural strength. In order to fit in a steam engine and a propeller shaft, at least one of the masts would need to be removed or stepped to the deck above, either compromising structural strength and reliability under heavy seas or reducing the amount of sail she can carry, affecting her speed when the wind is with her. Then you have to factor the weight of fuel back into the calculations, either further reducing her speed or necessitating a change in armor plan to a thinner belt – when the belt is already about as thin as you would want it.

“There’s no satisfactory solution for making that work,” you eventually sigh.

“I see,” Noventus nods. “Very well. Shall we inform the council of everything you’ve taught me?”

...

You’re met with shock and disbelief, but eventually you manage to convince them that everything you’re saying to them is true – as far as you know it.

One of the councilmembers does ask you a question that isn’t totally asinine and that you didn’t expect.

“Who will crew this ship? Hazaran has typically never had a navy.”

>We can hire a private crew, sent with volunteers from the Hazari government.
>My faction will be backed by trained volunteers from the army and privateers.
>A skeleton crew. I will go with them myself as the representative of Hazaran,
>Other?

>>5284760
>We can hire a private crew, sent with volunteers from the Hazari government.

>>5284760
>>We can hire a private crew, sent with volunteers from the Hazari government.
we never had a navy, true, however i bet there are some people that actually made a voyage or own a ship in other parts of the island with dedicated crews, hopefully some of them will volunteer.

>>5284760
>A skeleton crew. I will go with them myself as the representative of Hazaran

>>5284760
>>We can hire a private crew, sent with volunteers from the Hazari government.

>>5284760
“It will have to be done by volunteers,” you sigh. “A private crew gathered from the other kingdoms, ideally captained by someone from Hazari territory along the southern ocean. Representatives of the Hazari government would also need to be sent.”

“I’m somewhat relieved,” Noventus admits. “I seriously expected you to suggest that you would go along.”

You shake your head. “Not this time. And I have to admit, I have no idea how the mainland will react to learning about our existence.”

“You speak as a silver-eyed warrior.”

You nod. “Exactly.”

“Who will this crew consist of?” another councilman demands. “Where are you going to find men crazy enough to make that journey?”

“I made promises as the queen of Hazaran,” you muse, “and I intend to keep those promises. Noventus, by royal decree, the survivors of the invading forces and the ship that ran aground in Sakia are to be gathered here at the palace. I’m going to make them an offer.”

...

“So this would be the long and the short of it,” you declare. “I am offering you all the opportunity to sail to freedom – I cannot tell you that it will be easy. I cannot even guarantee that you will survive. But right now this is the best chance I can think of for you who may choose to volunteer to return to your homes. And if this mission is successful, and you do as I ask in exchange, you may all get the chance to go home – along with all the soldiers and sailors who were brought here to take part in this idiotic invasion.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 8, 4, 1 = 13 (3d10)

>>5285860

Rolled 10, 4, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>5285860

Rolled 2, 2, 7 = 11 (3d10)

>>5285860

Rolled 4, 4, 7 = 15 (3d10)

>>5285860

>>5285860
You soon find yourself with a full crew’s worth of volunteers - some of whom are clearly desperate to get home from what they see as a backwards hellhole that’s already swallowed the lives of many of their friends and comrades, which is okay. Others are guided perhaps by more noble aims, seeking an end to the war that dragged them here in the first place and a happy return for all of the outsiders who have been brought here - ideally before this war kills them all.

“Whatever your motives,” you decide, “you have volunteered for a noble venture - and one I hope will be successful. Her majesty’s ship Teresa will be ready to sail in about four months. Until then, please study her design and sail plan.”

One of the volunteers - the highest ranking officer to have washed ashore during that incident - raises his hand. “Yes?”

“The kingdom of Hazaran doesn’t have accurate nautical charts of the areas through which we’re to sail,” he observes. “How do you wish to remedy this?”

>I’ll be relying on you all to know enough to make something up.
>The invading forces have those. So, with some effort, we can too.
>What are the odds you can operate without a set of precise charts?
>Other?

>>5286967
>The invading forces have those. So, with some effort, we can too.

>>5286967
>The invading forces have those. So, with some effort, we can too.

>>5286967
>What are the odds you can operate without a set of precise charts?
Capturing nautical charts can clue the enemy in to our plans.

>>5286967
>What are the odds you can operate without a set of precise charts?

>>5286967
>>The invading forces have those. So, with some effort, we can too.
>>What are the odds you can operate without a set of precise charts?
If they don't feel confident about their odds, then we'll see about getting charts.

>>5286967
>The invading forces have those. So, with some effort, we can too.

>>5286967
>>>The invading forces have those. So, with some effort, we can too.
>>>What are the odds you can operate without a set of precise charts?

>>5286967
“So what are the odds you can make do without a nautical chart?” you ask him.

He shrugs. “Not as good as if we had one. We would need to go by dead reckoning - using established landmarks to determine the necessary course changes. Unfortunately there aren’t really any features here in this part of the ocean.”

“My concern is that if any of the enemy’s charts go missing that could give them a hint of what we have planned,” you admit. “So I would prefer an alternative.”

“A star map could work,” another volunteer offers, to which the officer nods in agreement. “It could bridge the gap,” the officer admits, “but only if it extends to star formations we would be familiar with.”

“Got it,” you immediately agree. “We’ll see what we can do.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 9, 1, 3 = 13 (3d10)

>>5287788

Rolled 4, 3, 2 = 9 (3d10)

>>5287788

Rolled 5, 6, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>5287788

Rolled 5, 6, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>5287788

>>5287788
You adjourn for the day, before heading across town to the national archives of Hazaran – a tall building made from cut quarried stones, which is intended to be completely fire-proofed. That goal is served by the large number of windows for a building its size, as well as by the skylights lining its sloped roof. Inside are books, scrolls, manuscripts, and most importantly maps, all organized loosely by subject and author. The total collection you’re told comprises the better part of one hundred thousand documents, some of which exist nowhere else to the librarians’ knowledge.

“I must speak with the head librarian,” you insist upon entry. “I must also ask that all civilians be temporarily removed from the premises – a matter of state security.”

“But ma’am…” the first librarian you ran into tries to make a case.

“I understand,” you face him directly, meeting his gaze firmly. “This library exists not just for the government, but for the public. However at the moment the government’s needs must come first. This should not take long, then your operations can return to the usual.”

…

“What is this about, ma’am?” the librarian demands, albeit as respectfully as a ‘demand’ can come. “Am I to understand you require something of us?”

“Correct,” you nod. “Star charts.”

“… star charts?” he repeats.

“Yes,” you insist, “chartings of various astronomical phenomena focusing on the motions of stars and appearance of constellations.”

“Yes ma’am,” he insists. “I’m familiar with the concept -”

“I assumed so,” you assure him. “You’re a well-educated and intelligent man, after all. So please try to refrain from repeating anything else I say back at me like one or the other of us is an imbecile.”

The librarian winces. “Of course, ma’am. My apologies.”

…

There are quite a number of astronomical charts available, with one in particular having been drawn from a mountaintop in the eastern part of the country near what would have once been the border with Cuilan. That’s good – the higher up the observer the more details around the horizon can be included, and it’s those details that the mariners from the continent are most likely to recognize.

>I need a room set aside for study. Official government business.
>I will have monks from Daria brought here to copy these maps. They’re experts at this.
>Are there any other maps showing more distant features of the ocean? Mythical, perhaps?
>Other?

>>5288085
>I will have monks from Daria brought here to copy these maps. They’re experts at this.

>>5288085
>I will have monks from Daria brought here to copy these maps. They’re experts at this.

>>5288085
>I will have monks from Daria brought here to copy these maps. They’re experts at this.
>Are there any other maps showing more distant features of the ocean? Mythical, perhaps?

>>5288085
>>I will have monks from Daria brought here to copy these maps. They’re experts at this.

>>5288085
“I will have monks brought in from Daria to handle copying,” you decide. “They are experts in the field.”

“The monks use a secret language -” the librarian begins.

“Which I learned,” you interrupt.

The librarian stares at you in disbelief. “They taught an outsider?”

“As thanks for helping deal with a murderer in their midst,” you clarify. “And with the understanding that I was to teach it to a companion of mine who was rendered mute after a near-death experience.”

“It’s now standard training.”

“Then I suppose there is nothing left but to set aside the room…”

“... why are you shaking your head, ma’am?”

“The charts need to come to the palace,” you declare. “They will be sealed in a secure storage vault until the monks arrive.”

“Let me guess - national interests,” he frowns.

“Critical,” you insist.

“Then I suppose we can allow this once,” he decides.
>3d10, taking the fourth

Rolled 10, 7, 8 = 25 (3d10)

>>5289290

Rolled 1, 5, 4 = 10 (3d10)

>>5289290

Rolled 2, 2, 5 = 9 (3d10)

>>5289290

Rolled 2, 6, 8 = 16 (3d10)

>>5289290

File: Map-June_2020.jpg (70 KB, 380x529)

70 KB JPG

>>5289290
You’ve been waiting for several days when you get a report from the north, a spy recruited by the former rookies whose surgeries hadn’t quite led to full hybridizations - you’ve tried hard since folding them into your own organization to never think or refer to them as ‘failures’, which is a challenge sometimes considering that the process used to turn them into warriors did, objectively speaking, fail to produce the intended results.

In any event, the report that falls into your hands paints a familiar tactical and strategic picture - low morale, supply troubles, signs of overextension. Two points however do stand out. The first is a standing order to avoid any unnecessary contact with civilians in occupied areas, which you can interpret to be a direct result of your own threats issued towards the occupiers camped on the northern Sakian coast. It’s a new development that will have to be considered in your future dealings with the now-stalled invasion effort.

The second point is that there has been a massing of troops on the northern border of inner Tarsus, the region still remaining in Tarsus that lies directly west of the major city of Merced. Until recently this was a strategy that the invading force had not pursued, instead choosing to focus on the broad front of the northern border of Hazaran - now extending from the Sakian town of Kraljevo in the west to the former Cuilan border well east of Acerrae.

“There are three possible strategies here,” Noventus muses thoughtfully, staring at the same map as you are. “The first is that they intend to take Merced. The second is that they intend to occupy the border along that edge, leaving Hazaran isolated from the west end by their forces, besieged in the northern passes with Sakia, and hemmed in by the mountains of Shukzan to the immediate east. That leaves only the sea lanes accessed through what was once western Noroit, and through Noroit itself which is hardly what one would call friendly territory.”

“And the third strategy?” your mother presses curiously. “Would it have anything to do with seizing the port of Talje near our present southwestern border with Tarsus?”

“That is one strategy I had considered,” Noventus confirms. “Seizing that location would open a friendly port on the south side of the island where troops could be landed and a blockade of our southern ports established.”

>Any of those things would be bad. We should coordinate with Tarsus to stop the southward thrust.
>Attacking Merced seems the most achievable goal… the ONLY achievable goal in fact. Plan for that.
>The worst case is that they seize the southern ports. We should mobilize civilian populations and prepare against any landings.
>Other?

>>5291775
>The worst case is that they seize the southern ports. We should mobilize civilian populations and prepare against any landings.
This is probably an option play:
-- Go for the border if moderate opposition is encountered.
-- Take Merced if light opposition is encountered.
-- If the natives take the bait, go for a landing on Tarje.

>>5291775
>The worst case is that they seize the southern ports. We should mobilize civilian populations and prepare against any landings.

>>5291775
>>The worst case is that they seize the southern ports. We should mobilize civilian populations and prepare against any landings.

File: 49b72c065b227e232d0fdd617(...).jpg (568 KB, 1344x756)

568 KB JPG

>>5291831
>>5291775
This guy's reasoning is good.