>>5555618
“Do you have a list of targets in mind?” Solaris asks you curiously.

“Yeah, like ammunition stockpiles,” Valentina suggests.

[Or any remaining armored artillery pieces,] Serana adds.

“I could see destroying or capturing field artillery as working to our advantage,” Alexa tells you. “Fits the developing theme.”

“Which is denying the enemy their tools to fight tomorrow,” Helen summarizes.

Alexa nods. “That is what I feel we seem to be attracted towards.”

“I agree,” you declare. “It seems the only way to push them hard enough but not too hard.”

“Then I suppose the only question remaining is to identify the type of war materiel to attack,” Solaris shrugs. “And then we destroy as much of that thing as possible in one night.”

>We’ll go after their ammunition. If we’re lucky that could cripple them as a fighting force, across the board.
>Taking away their field guns will make holding any remaining positions impossible. They’ll have to withdraw.
>If we destroy the last of their armored vehicles they’ll lose the ability to press an assault. It would cease to matter what they chose to do next.
>Other?

>>5555619
>>We’ll go after their ammunition. If we’re lucky that could cripple them as a fighting force, across the board.

>>5555618
>>We’ll go after their ammunition. If we’re lucky that could cripple them as a fighting force, across the board.

>>5555619
>>We’ll go after their ammunition. If we’re lucky that could cripple them as a fighting force, across the board.

>>5555619
>1d10
>best of three

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>5556401

>>5556401
And by this I meant 3d10 best of three.

Not sure what happened there.

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

>>5556435

Rolled 2, 2, 1 = 5 (3d10)

>>5556435

Rolled 4, 10, 10 = 24 (3d10)

>>5556435

>>5556435
“If we target only their ammunition, we can avoid causing too much resentment that could end up working against us,” you reason, “while crippling their ability to fight, both in terms of mounting any new offensives and in defending their remaining positions.”

[Ammunition is the only thing they need for both,] Serana agrees, glancing at Helen. [It’s a good plan.]

“The only question is how will we locate those targets?” Helen wonders aloud.

Surprisingly, it’s Justina’s hand that slowly rises to be recognized.

“... Justina?” you ask curiously.

“It's a pattern,” she insists.

“You know how to find their ammunition stores?” you ask for clarification.

She nods.

“You’ve been keeping track of the ones we’ve found previously,” Alexa guesses.

“Well, let’s hear it!” Valentina presses.

“Water,” Justina answers. “That’s the key.”

Water… ah.

“It needs to be close enough to water that they can use it to extinguish any fires,” you complete the thought, “but positioned in such a way to avoid flooding.”

“To keep their powder dry,” Alexa realizes.

“And they’re all under coverings to keep the rain off them,” Valentina adds. “I get it. So all we need to do is look at a map for areas that would have good natural drainage and are near a creek or some other kinda water source.”

“You’re the expert,” you suggest. “Let’s hear what you have to say, Valentina. Sergeant, bring up the best map you can find covering this valley and the connecting valleys.”
>1/2

>>5558236
“Well, here’s what I think,” she eventually begins after looking over the map brought to you by the Hazari sergeant. “I think there are three locations that are suitable - large enough, relatively flat but outside the flood plains, but close enough to a water source to fight any fires that could break out.”

“Three, huh?” Alexa muses. “Wonder which of them they chose to use?”

“If they have any strategic sense they’d spread out between as many locations as possible,” Helen suggests. “Though, not necessarily evenly.”

“Depending on the locations of their artillery,” you nod. “We could also watch for that movement to confirm the locations… moving ammunition around isn’t exactly the stealthiest operation.”

“Then I think we’re in agreement?” Solaris asks.

“I think so,” Helen confirms. “Noel, shall we?”

“I think we shall.”

>Split up into three groups, locate the targets, and use a signal to attack in unison.
>Attack in sequence - hit, fade, and reposition. Back off if you’re forced to do so.
>Use some Hazari cavalry units as a distraction to confuse and disorient any defenders.
>Other?

>>5558331
>Attack in sequence - hit, fade, and reposition. Back off if you’re forced to do so.

>>5558331
>>Use some Hazari cavalry units as a distraction to confuse and disorient any defenders.

>>5558331
>>Attack in sequence - hit, fade, and reposition. Back off if you’re forced to do so.

>>5558331
>>Use some Hazari cavalry units as a distraction to confuse and disorient any defenders.

>>5558331
>Use some Hazari cavalry units as a distraction to confuse and disorient any defenders.

>>5558331
>>Attack in sequence - hit, fade, and reposition. Back off if you’re forced to do so.

>>5558331
>Attack in sequence - hit, fade, and reposition. Back off if you’re forced to do so.

>>5558331
You make arrangements for a distraction at just the right time - “don’t take too big of a risk” were words that came with your orders, but the Hazari cavalry aren’t exactly known for their caution or their discretion. They’re known for their speed on maneuvers, their aggression on the attack, and their skill born from constant training and drilling. But more to the point, they’re renowned for their ferocious loyalty to the Hazari cause. And as you have given them plenty of confidence in your abilities (and those of your chosen compatriots and representatives), your concern is that their loyalty may well express itself as fanaticism if left undirected.

In any event, as you near the first target you have to put that out of your mind. Instead you focus entirely on memorizing everything you see before you - the movements of the troops in the area, and those between you and your target. The location of the target itself and the landscape you’ll have to cross to reach it and then to escape. The locations of weapons emplacements, structures, and dug-in firing positions.

You wait for the telltale signs of a distraction.

>3d10 best of four

Rolled 4, 4, 8 = 16 (3d10)

>>5559933

Rolled 7, 10, 5 = 22 (3d10)

>>5559933

Rolled 7, 7, 3 = 17 (3d10)

>>5559933

Rolled 7, 1, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>5559933

>>5559933
And the distraction makes itself immediately obvious, with a chorus of horns blowing and a thunder of hooves falling. The noise is one you can never forget once you’ve heard it: the sound of a Hazari cavalry charge. You can’t see them clearly but you can hear the rifles, both Hazari and their enemy’s, at a distance.

“That’s the signal,” you declare. “Let’s go!”

You rush towards the target, one of the three large ammunition stores that Valentina predicted should be out here, as a group. You, Serana, and Alexa are the three warriors in charge of knocking out the first target, while the others have split up into roughly equivalent groups to hit the other two in a staggered succession to take advantage of the attention your first attack will draw. Valentina, Solaris, and Justina will be the third group, whose opening will be created by further chaos your team will sow based on whatever targets of opportunity you take note of along the way.

But for now, the target is your main focus.

[It’s right where she predicted.] Serana doesn’t seem surprised in the slightest of course, simply pleased you’d say. [What next?]

“We run the guards off,” you declare. “I’ll go up the middle, the two of you come around the sides!”

The defenses here are laid out in a sloppy fashion, where three guns that are closer to the nearest Hazari position can overlap their fire - but the fourth can’t. So it’s that gun you’ve targeted.

You draw your sword and awaken your legs, darting wildly through the incoming stream of bullets, every other one tracing a shallow arc in a burning white streak. The few you can’t avoid outright you block with your sword, which rings audibly each time.

All the attention you’ve drawn allows for Serana and Alexa to move up to your sides unhindered. You leap into the dug-out trench that the shooters were using for cover as they opposed your charge, and you quickly knock them down and send them scurrying. Not long after your companions take the next two trenches, before turning around the other side of the massive concentration of weapons and ammunition to silence the third gun.

You don’t know what Alexa said to those men, but it was enough to send them screaming into the night. So whatever it was, you’re just glad it worked.
>1/2

>>5560893
“So what do we do now?” Alexa asks you cheerfully.

>Simple. We set a fire to this whole place and let the ammunition finish our job.
>Seems a waste to destroy all this. Maybe our side can put some of it to good use.
>Seems a waste to throw this all away. Let’s use it to help the other teams.
>Other?

>>5560944
>Seems a waste to throw this all away. Let’s use it to help the other teams.

>>5560944
>>Simple. We set a fire to this whole place and let the ammunition finish our job.

>>5560893
>Seems a waste to throw this all away. Let’s use it to help the other teams.

>>5560944
>>Seems a waste to throw this all away. Let’s use it to help the other teams.

>>5560944
“It seems like such a waste to destroy all this,” you muse. “Let’s see what we can use to help out our other teams.”

…

Before you set a fire to the ammunition and run for your lives, you separate out a few useful items - all explosives that you and your team can carry, along with short fuses to set them off with. The general shape of the plan is that you’re going to place these explosives in a position that will draw attention away from Valentina’s strike team. The only question is…

“Where,” you muse.

“To convince the enemy that the blasts are cannon blasts?” Alexa asks you.

You nod. “Any thoughts?”

“It should be from somewhere believable,” Alexa suggests. “I have a question for you.”

“Hopefully I have an answer. Let’s find out.”

“How far can you throw a cannonball?”

"... with or without awakening my arm?"
>3d10, best of three

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

>>5562990

Rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11 (3d10)

>>5562990

Rolled 10, 5, 8 = 23 (3d10)

>>5562990

>>5562990
In the end, you settle on awakening your arm.

In order to do what you have in mind your strike team steals several small shells, each maybe twenty pounds at most, before setting fire to the rest of it. The series of explosions is dramatic enough that if you didn’t have your enemy’s attention before you certainly must now, being quite the unmissable show.

Then you run into the night, spreading out to better achieve your new set of objectives in enough time for it to help your companions on Valentina’s team.

Helen’s team also finishes their own mission in spectacular fashion, setting off even more explosions while you’re running through the night. Perhaps more quickly than you’d have hoped, but this will have to do. A few minutes later, you put your team’s plan into motion.

By the time your teammates are in position, you’ve taken up a closer position with a clear line of sight to Valentina’s target. In the dim, you can see her team creeping forwards towards a heavily guarded line around the ammunition stores, which includes a number of armored vehicles whose engines have already been started. While that no doubt makes it even easier for Valentina and her team to move in closer, their guns will pose a serious issue.

That’s where you come in.

When you hear your team’s explosives go off you hold for a moment, before using your awakened arm to hurl a shell at one of the armored vehicles. The first throw misses, but after hearing a second blast you manage to bounce a shot right off the side.

It doesn’t explode of course, lacking any way to set the fuse built into the base of the projectile, but it’s certainly enough to get the enemy’s attention. Their armored vehicles all rumble away from the ammunition and towards what they probably think is the source of the incoming fire - which happens to be a straight line right through your current position.

… oh.

>Lay low and wait for the vehicles to pass, then attack their treads.
>Stand your ground, keep hurling shells as a distraction until you can’t.
>Move around their side, try to join Valentina’s team in their attack.
>Other?

>>5564869
>>Lay low and wait for the vehicles to pass, then attack their treads.

>>5564869
>>Move around their side, try to join Valentina’s team in their attack.

Wouldn't we want them to leave the immediate area? Granted them coming back might be an issue, but one thing at a time.

>>5564869
>Move around their side, try to join Valentina’s team in their attack.

File: sample-173bba0fc84b4bdc65(...).jpg (80 KB, 850x575)

80 KB JPG

>>5564934
forgot my pic

>>5564869
>Stand your ground, keep hurling shells as a distraction until you can’t.

>>5564869
>Lay low and wait for the vehicles to pass, then attack their treads.

Looking for a tiebreaker here

>>5565940
>>>Lay low and wait for the vehicles to pass, then attack their treads.

I'll swap to this

>>5565940
>3d10 best of three

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

>>5566156

Rolled 10, 3, 8 = 21 (3d10)

>>5566156

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

>>5566156

>>5566156
You can turn this to your advantage, you reason, and in doing so you can help your teammates up in the hills. So you choose to lie low, willing yourself to blend in with the shadows and the low grasses and the dirt. And you wait.

The vehicles rumble closer, churning up the earth beneath their treads as they advance. Patience, nerves of absolute steel, and masterful control over your own body are your weapons in silence. The tendency for people to overlook things lying motionless in the corners of their eyes certainly doesn’t do you any harm.

After the vehicles have passed, you make your move.

Springing into action you slash at the treads of the nearest target, two moves that sever their treads and leave it struggling to continue churning forward as it has.

Before their compatriots know what’s happening you’ve done the same to the second vehicle, then soon after the third is also spinning its wheels in the mud. As you withdraw they spray bullets wildly, hoping to catch their assailant - which they do, putting one round through your left side. Were you a human that may have been the end of you.

But instead you find yourself reunited with Alexa and Serana, just about at the same time as you see Valentina’s target burst into flames. Then the explosions start.

“You’re hurt,” Alexa observes.

“Lucky shot,” you grunt. “Let’s get out of here before they get another one.”

[Agreed,] Serana signs back.

From here you have a few options, broadly speaking.

>Fall back to where you started.
>Move to escort Valentina’s team.
>Attack a few targets of opportunity.
>Other?

>>5568195
>>Move to escort Valentina’s team.

>>5568195
>Move to escort Valentina’s team.

>>5568195
>>Move to escort Valentina’s team.

>>5568195
Now that they’ve achieved their main objective, Valentina’s team is going to have to escape. And you figure you can help with that too, if you’re quick about it. Rather than joining them you decide to target the enemy units that are positioned in a way that they can fire on Valentina’s team as they withdraw.

You pick out one unit to hit, charging the soldiers in the dark and putting them under assault. Serana concentrates on destroying field guns and their carriages, while you and Alexa knock men to the ground and leave them disarmed and disoriented. But there’s no time to waste.

“Let’s keep moving!” you declare.

Flashes in the dark betray the locations of even more soldiers, all firing on where they seem to think your compatriots are. That won’t do.

You repeat the process with the second position, throwing another unit into chaos and giving Valentina’s team a clear opening to withdraw.

>Link up with the others and withdraw to safety.
>Link up with the others and continue your mission.
>Strike independently, continue sowing discord.
>Other?

>>5570829
>>Link up with the others and continue your mission.

>>5570829
>>Strike independently, continue sowing discord.

Duck and weave, they can't predict what you haven't pre-planned.

>>5570829
>Link up with the others and withdraw to safety.

>>5570829
>>Link up with the others and withdraw to safety.

>>5570829
>Link up with the others and withdraw to safety.

>>5570829
You’ve completed the mission - that is, you did the most critical thing you set out to do, and a fair bit besides. While it’s certainly possible to do more from here, your caution gets the better of you. Why take risks with your companions’ lives when you’re so close to victory?

For a moment you recognize the sensation of a profound tiredness, a sensation which you quickly push from your mind. Not quickly enough that Serana and Alexa don’t notice it, but quickly enough that neither seems to think of it as a problem.

“We’ve done enough,” you sigh. “Let’s meet the other teams and go home.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 9, 9, 10 = 28 (3d10)

>>5572241

Rolled 6, 7, 10 = 23 (3d10)

>>5572241

Rolled 3, 1, 2 = 6 (3d10)

>>5572241

Rolled 7, 10, 7 = 24 (3d10)

>>5572241

>>5572241
You almost make it away from the area without any interference, but perhaps that was too much to ask for. After reuniting with your other strike teams you head back for the Hazari-controlled hilltops, which you hope to reach before daybreak. The problem arises along the way when your group stumbles straight into an enemy patrol.

It’s not exactly a surprise to you, since you can hear them coming from a pretty fair distance. They couldn’t hear your group on the other hand, and it’s obvious from the look on the first man’s face. He’s a young soldier, barely old enough to grow fuzz on his chin, who probably only had the vaguest idea what he should even be looking for before he practically hit his nose on it.

At first he tries to raise his weapon, but you glare at him. “Stop that.”

He doesn’t raise his weapon after all. “... stop what?”

“Whatever it was you had in mind,” you grumble. “I don’t feel like dealing with it. So just don’t, please.”

Several of his companions seem ready to shoot as well as you and your party pass them by, but Helen pauses. “Let’s all just live and let live for now, shall we?”

Dismayed, several of the other soldiers lower their weapons - and none fire, allowing you to depart.

…

The next morning dawns in rusty tones, the smoke from the fires of last night’s raids clinging low around the valley.

“So what do you want to do?” Valentina asks curiously. “How do we know it worked?”

[I can think of one way,] Serana suggests.

>Agreed. I will go and seek their formal surrender, personally, alone.
>We will send a small delegation. Two warriors, and a small Hazari escort.
>We’ll wait. They haven’t counterattacked yet, but that’s not an answer.
>Other?

>>5573277
>We’ll wait. They haven’t counterattacked yet, but that’s not an answer.

>>5573277
>>We will send a small delegation. Two warriors, and a small Hazari escort.

>>5573277
>We will send a small delegation. Two warriors, and a small Hazari escort.

>>5573277
>>We will send a small delegation. Two warriors, and a small Hazari escort.

>>5573277
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 5, 6, 10 = 21 (3d10)

>>5575172

Rolled 6, 10, 9 = 25 (3d10)

>>5575172

Rolled 4, 4, 3 = 11 (3d10)

>>5575172

>>5575172
“We’ll take a small delegation,” you decide. “Alexa, I want your sensory abilities. Valentina, you’re Hazari - this is your homeland. You should be there when this happens. Helen, do you disagree with either choice?”

Helen shakes her head. “Makes perfect sense to me.”

“I’d be honored, miss Noel,” Alexa inclines her head politely.

Valentina is also quick to agree. “You need only ask.”

“Then we’ll assemble a Hazari honor guard,” you decide, “and they will ride with us into the enemy’s camp… or rather what’s left of it.”

“Ride?” Justina repeats.

[In case they need to retreat,] Serana signs. [I assume you mean the soldiers?]

You nod.

“Ah,” Justina replies in understanding.

After a moment, Solaris speaks up. “Apologies for troubling you, Miss Noel, but your mother would wish for at least one more to go with you - were she present she would be your fourth. In her absence, I offer myself.”

After glancing at Helen and receiving a subtle nod, you agree.

…

Four armed Hazari cavalrymen in cuirass ride ahead of you, and four ride behind - the four in the lead are armed with lances and pistols, while the four behind carry carbines and swords. In the middle of this formation are you, Alexa, Valentina, and Solaris in a specific formation. You are in the ‘center’, with Alexa right behind you, while Valentina and Solaris are ahead a few paces and off to each side. Not only did Solaris and Valentina insist, but the Hazari cavalry captain leading the formation reminded you that a head of state should be taking her own safety at least this seriously.

The morning breeze catches your cloaks as you move unopposed across the valley, which for days has been a constant battlefield. The late morning sun glints off sword and helm, and catches in the crown which you wear openly. The stares you attract are a mixture of suspicion, fear, and wonder.
>1/2

>>5576474
Word of your arrival clearly preceded you, because an opposed delegation of officers rides out to meet you as well, seemingly making the attempt to appear as dignified and purposeful. But more than one of the dozen or so men who come to face you look like they didn’t get a chance to shave any time in the last week, and a few even have soot stains on their faces or uniforms from having helped fight the fires last night.

Your cavalrymen take up defensive positions, horses shifting and champing warily. The enemy stop short, clearly unwilling to leave themselves any more vulnerable.

>State your business here this morning. Make sure everyone is on the same page.
>Step forward. Show an early interest in meeting them on neutral terms.
>Hold your position. Force them to commit to this process before beginning it in earnest.
>Other?

>>5576478
>>State your business here this morning. Make sure everyone is on the same page.
>>Step forward. Show an early interest in meeting them on neutral terms.

>>5576478
>State your business here this morning. Make sure everyone is on the same page.
>Step forward. Show an early interest in meeting them on neutral terms.

>>5576478
>State your business here this morning. Make sure everyone is on the same page.
>Step forward. Show an early interest in meeting them on neutral terms.

>>5576478
>>Step forward. Show an early interest in meeting them on neutral terms.

>>5576478
You slowly take a few steps forward, breaking formation. The horsemen yield for your group, taking up positions at the flanks to come riding in as a screen if need be, while your fellow warriors tighten up on you and shift into a formation that allows you to stand a little more out in the front.

“I am Noel Tiberius, Queen of Hazaran,” you declare yourself. “And I have come here seeking your surrender.”

“And what makes you think we are prepared to do so?” one of the officers, a colonel by the look of him, demands in response.

“If you weren’t considering it you wouldn’t have sent a delegation to meet us.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11 (3d10)

>>5577821

Rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13 (3d10)

>>5577821

Rolled 1, 10, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>5577821

Rolled 1, 5, 7 = 13 (3d10)

>>5577821

>>5577918
>>5577978
>>5577995
Unlucky

>>5577821
“Or we could be here to capture you,” comes the surprising response. “We still have the numeric advantage.”

Even as the officer speaks, the enemy’s group is joined by infantry, who fan out into two doubled lines eight men across. It’s a total of thirty-two riflemen, and all their guns are pointed at you. You knew there were other soldiers in the area, but it wasn’t so clear that the enemy had a plan.

You gesture for your cavalry to hold where they are. “That could be true. However it would be an act of desperation - and a foolish one at that.”

“And why would you say that?”

“Because you couldn’t possibly capture us,” Valentina explains. “Not if we chose to resist seriously.”

“That’s quite a boast.”

“What is?”

You gesture now for Valentina to pause.

>She’s right though. Try it, and you’ll just make me angrier at you and you’ll lose your chance to surrender now.
>Consider your position - isolated from support with dwindling fuel, ammunition, and weapons. Why continue fighting like that?
>Okay. Then we’re going to walk away for now, and think of more ways to make your lives miserable.
>Other?

>>5578978
>Consider your position - isolated from support with dwindling fuel, ammunition, and weapons. Why continue fighting like that?

>>5578978
>Consider the following: I can deflect bullets.

>>5578978
>>Consider your position - isolated from support with dwindling fuel, ammunition, and weapons. Why continue fighting like that?

>>5578978
>3d10 best of four

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

>>5579772

Rolled 2, 2, 1 = 5 (3d10)

>>5579772

Rolled 6, 4, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>5579772

>>5579772
Still need one more roll.

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

>>5579772

>>5581066
“I suggest you examine your situation more closely,” you counter. “Your supplies of critical materiel are dwindling - we have attacked your fuel, your ammunition, and your heavy weapons. Morale is waning, your men’s courage hangs by a thread. We have demonstrated time and again that your tactics and your superior technology simply aren’t enough to counter the superiority of Hazari positioning and the strike capabilities of the silver-eyed warriors who have come to call this place home, and to call you our mutual enemy.”

“And, not to belabor the point,” you continue with a confident smile, “the members of my party are skilled enough to parry even your artillery.”

“What point is there in continuing to fight us?” Valentina asks with a frown. “If you hadn’t come here trying to wipe us out in the first place we’d have no quarrel with you.”

“We fight for a world where humans can live free from the tyranny of inhuman monsters,” the officer in charge counters angrily.

“So you’re fighting for what these people would have had were it not for you?” Solaris counters, crossing her arms. “What we could have had? Think very carefully about your next words, if you can, because I lack the patience to be lectured by a child a mere quarter my age.”

“And what would you propose?”

“Unconditional surrender,” you insist.

“No,” he refuses. “Absolutely out of the question.”

“What terms would you have me offer?” you counter.

“Free passage north, guaranteed safety,” he insists. “And we withdraw with all war materiel.”

>No deal.
>Leave your war materiel behind and your men will be safe. You have my word.
>You can’t have much worth taking with you anyway. Better to get you off my land quicker.
>Other?

>>5582232
>Leave your war materiel behind and your men will be safe. You have my word.

>>5582232
If you can move it you can take it. But we're not giving up the material we've captured.

Throw them a bone I guess.
Deleted and reworded slightly for clarity.

>>5582232
>Leave your war materiel behind and your men will be safe. You have my word.

>>5582232
>>Leave your war materiel behind and your men will be safe. You have my word.

>>5582232
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 10, 2, 1 = 13 (3d10)

>>5583237

Rolled 10, 7, 5 = 22 (3d10)

>>5583237

Rolled 5, 1, 8 = 14 (3d10)

>>5583237

>>5583237
“Leave your war materiel behind,” you declare. “You have my word your men will be allowed to withdraw.”

“That’s quite a lot of faith you’re asking every single one of us to put in your word,” the officer counters with a frown.

Valentina speaks up. “The word of Lady Noel is the word of Hazaran.”

“And we will be defenseless after returning across the border,” the officer continues, essentially conceding the point on your word. Which makes sense, as he has no alternative.

You also decide to make a concession. “Take what weapons you can carry, and what horses you have left.”

“We have hardly any horses,” another officer insists curtly. “And our supplies are almost gone.”

>We can offer you water and the temporary use of horses, which we will want back.
>We can offer you water, and maybe some dry food. Our horses are off limits.
>We’ll offer you water. Anything more than that would be insulting to my people.
>Other?

>>5584186
>We can offer you water, and maybe some dry food. Our horses are off limits.
Do they even know how to take care of horses?

>>5584186
>We can offer you water, and maybe some dry food. Our horses are off limits.

>>5584186
>>We can offer you water, and maybe some dry food. Our horses are off limits.

>>5584186
>>We can offer you water, and maybe some dry food. Our horses are off limits.

>>5584186
“We can offer you water and some dry foodstuffs,” you offer calmly. “But in Hazaran, our horses are a point of pride. They’re off-limits.”

“Is that because you don’t trust us, or because it would be an embarrassment to your nation?” the officer in charge demands.

You stare him dead in the eye. “Both.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 3, 8, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>5585272

Rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5 (3d10)

>>5585272

Rolled 6, 8, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>5585272

>>5585272
“... what are the chances we could get more out of you?” the officer in charge asks you wearily.

“Nonexistent,” you insist curtly. “Accept the current terms, or don’t.”

…

In the end they accept the terms, of course. When it comes right down to it they don’t really have much of a choice in the matter, because by your reckoning fighting to the last man was never something they were willing to commit to, so they have nothing to threaten you with and they know it. One overextended force, whose combat ability has been consistently sapped since they crossed the border, couldn’t possibly hope to defeat an entire kingdom whose citizens are motivated and well-led.

Their cannons you seize, including those that can be cut away from their remaining armored vehicles - which you learn they call dreadnoughts where they come from. These dreadnoughts will be useful as sources from which you can harvest engines and steel, but too many of the parts will be difficult to machine and require too tight of a mechanical tolerance to hand-forge.

In terms of their personal equipment you keep your word, and allow their infantry to keep their rifles and sidearms. More than a few of them abandon anything heavier than that without even having to be told - it will be a long march for them to get back to relative safety.

…

“As promised,” you tell the assembled officers calmly, “we’ve brought you dried meats, fruits, and rice in some small amounts, along with clean water from which your men may fill their canteens. I’ve also brought you notes on the locations of drinkable water sources you may pass on your way, and a list of edible herbs and plants common to the area.”

“I suppose this will have to suffice,” the ranking officer grumbles.

“It’s likely you know this already,” Valentina presses the point home, “but while you may have the ability to defend yourselves you lack the weapons and ammunition to wage a significant raiding campaign.”

“Your best allies will be speed and deterrence,” you summarize. “If you do everything you can to avoid fighting you should be fine.”

And with that, the enemy begins their long march out of your territory.
>1/2

>>5586987
“Do you trust them?” Valentina wonders aloud.

[No further than I can throw them,] Serana is quick to reply.

“That far?” Solaris muses. “You know, with your partial awakening you can throw a man a fair distance.”

[True. It is a figure of speech with a different meaning to us.]

“That aside,” Valentina continues, sparing you a glance. “Do you trust them?”

>About as far as I can throw them… so more or less.
>No, and I want them escorted out of our territory.
>Yes, but I’m concerned what may happen north of our border.
>Other?

>>5586989
>>Yes, but I’m concerned what may happen north of our border.

>>5586989
>>Yes, but I’m concerned what may happen north of our border.

>>5586989
>>Yes, but I’m concerned what may happen north of our border.

>>5586989
>No, and I want them escorted out of our territory.

>>5586989
>Yes, but I’m concerned what may happen north of our border.

>>5586989
“I’m concerned what may happen north of our border,” you admit. “Both because we made it a point to spare these soldiers’ lives, and because the citizens of Sakia may well have been emboldened by recent events.”

[You think there may be a fight even despite their weapons?] Serana asks you with a frown.

“The enemy has rarely been so exposed,” you muse. “In one sense, this would be the first time any Sakians would have had a nearly fair fight.”

“You want options?” Justina asks you.

You nod. “Helen, do you agree that this is something we should be thinking about?”

“I think it isn’t wrong,” she admits. “But I think it should be a low priority. We’ve already gone out of our way for them once.”

“Then let’s hear it.”

“I don’t think that there is a substitute for following them,” Valentina observes.

Nobody disagrees.

>Then let’s do it.
>Then we can’t do it.

>>5588380
>Then let’s do it.

>>5588380
>>Then let’s do it.

>>5588380
You consider for a moment.

“Serana, Alexa, Solaris,” you eventually decide. “That’s the team I want with me for this. Helen, please divide everyone else into a reserve team to stay on the Hazari border and a team to return to Scaithness.”

Helen nods in agreement. “You anticipate a problem?”

“I can’t rule out complications,” you admit. “Clarice is still unaccounted for, for one thing.”

“I would hope that she would make a move at this late hour,” Helen frowns. “But what I hope and what I believe are two separate things - and I absolutely believe she would go out of her way to kill us, if she can.”

[How far shall we go as part of this?] Serana asks you.

You make sure Solaris is kept current with the discussion, since her mastery of hand signs is not quite at the level of many of your fellow warriors.

>We will escort them at a distance, halfway. They are unlikely to be attacked any closer to ‘home’ than that.
>We should move ahead of them, try our best to pre-empt the situation and convince Sakians not to attack at all.
>We observe them the whole way. If we’re going, we may as well turn this into a reconnaissance mission.
>Other?

>>5589957
>>We observe them the whole way. If we’re going, we may as well turn this into a reconnaissance mission.

>>5589957
>We observe them the whole way. If we’re going, we may as well turn this into a reconnaissance mission.

>>5589957
>>We should move ahead of them, try our best to pre-empt the situation and convince Sakians not to attack at all.

>>5589957
“We’ll follow them the whole way,” you decide, “or at least as far as we can.”

[Understood,] Serana replies curtly, with a quick couple of gestures.

“What will determine when you turn back?” Helen asks you.

“When we’re faced with any real resistance,” you suggest. “The retreating soldiers won’t be able to offer it, the civilians of Sakia won’t either.”

“But we need to know what happens to them?” Valentina guesses. “In case they meet reinforcements and turn around?”

You nod. “That’s one possibility, yes.”

“Very well,” Helen sighs. “I know I do not need to tell you this, but remain vigilant - all of you. And Serana, keep an eye on her?”

Serana smirks. [My specialty.]
>TBC

>>5591934
Scratch that, too many windows open, too little sleep.