As you enter the Captain's office, you take a deep breath, sigh, bow your head. You fucked this up the first time. Here's to that not being fatal to what you and yours plan to do next.
He looks up over his desk full of parchments and papers and scowls. "Didn't I tell you lot to stay out of my way?" he says, pouring himself a glass of something clear.
"Yes, Captain," you say.
His eyebrows raise. He pours from another bottle. "And yet here you are, and my soldiers say you have something to tell me. Out with it, Adventurer, I have your defense to plan."
You clench your fists. This is a terrible idea and you shouldn't be here but it's a less terrible idea than going ahead and...
Deep breath. The captain slices a lime with his dagger, impassive.
"...I, on behalf of my Free Company and the Adventurers here, wish to place ourselves at your disposal in the defense of Costa Dulce," you say, head still bowed, face burning with embarrassment. "Please let us know where we might fit in with your plans."
The man stops with his drink halfway to his lips to look over you. Broken off his stride, and re-evaluating.
"In exchange for...?"
"Our lives? Respectfully, Captain, if this town falls we're either killed in the battle or we run, and then get picked off by the pirates later," you say, trying to hide the annoyance in your voice. "Speaking only for my Free Company, we are not asking for or expecting reward for our own defense, though poor as we are we're not foolish enough to turn anything down."
He considers this for a second, drinking a pull of his cocktail. A fact buzzes in your brain, something about scurvy and malaria and sailors, but it doesn't land.
"...what's your name, girl?" he asks, finally.
"Deedee," you say, and grimace. It's not like he'd get the joke, right? "Deedee Yeowoo."
"Hmn." He gets up, leans over his map. "And, to rectify your disadvantage, I am Captain Miles Diez Caballero Valencia."
You've forgotten just enough high school Spanish to know that's name, 'Son of Diego,' probably an honorific, matrilineal name.
"I wish we had met under better circumstances," you say. "We're, uh, not holding up well either."
He snorts. "Given that most of you were acting like spoiled nobles who just realized your free lances are heavy, I would imagine the danger to be an unpleasant shock."
Your breathing is starting to become easier, but you still need to consciously direct it. "Less than you'd think, but enough, sir."
Captain Miles indicates a chair. "Let's talk about how you might save your skins and mine, then," he says, taking his dagger and pointing it at the map.
You relay the plan to the others. Alesha and Hikaru don't see obvious holes in it, from a strategic level; Ace has a million questions, but then she would. It involves splitting into teams of six, each slowing down and softening up the enemy for the teams of common soldiers with pikes.
"Defense in depth," Hikaru calls it. "Break the wave against many walls."
Captain Miles has his own handpicked officers, so you need one more. You don't have much time, and ask for someone to do crowd control: the eithyr from before, who's mostly coral and rippling seafoam green, raises her hand. Cora Philomena, she calls herself, with promises to do her best.
"How are you building?" Hikaru asks her.
"Uh, I was just following your guide, so mostly Vigor and Mind?" she says. "Blast folks away with TK Wave when they need to be gone, and otherwise just alternate Healing Kythe and Ravaging Kythe to keep myself from bleeding too much health from healing. - God, this is weird, is that your pride or mine?"
Hikaru blinked, swaying back.
"Trust me this is even weirder for me," she blurts out. "God, I never considered what telempathy feels like on this side. I thought AV feedback gave me a headache," she says, and laughs, more to vent than anything. "If I could turn it off I would."
"Is it better or worse than wearing this stupid metal thong?" Ace asks, flat-eared. "At least I have the padding now."
"Please don't make me find out firsthand," Cora says. "Turns out being Psychic sucks."
Ace smiled. "How long have you been playing, anyway?"
"One of my friends bought me a sub last week," Cora said, shrugging. "It's a lot to take in."
Ace clapped her on the back. "Look on the bright side: at least you were trying to make a character that works."
For the moment, at least, you had found your sixth.
Something tickles the back of your mind the moment you see the pirates in the distance, at the front of the fort. This is almost certainly a smaller group sent as a diversion and recon-in-force; your party and Captain Miles are both sure that more are looping around the back looking for stray farmers to carry off and take as slaves.
...from a sugar plantation. That's weird, right? You definitely met the people who actually plant the cane to explain the plan and they're definitely in it for the money, but it's kind of a No Longer In Oakland, Toto situation for you.
You're woolgathering. There are a core of elites and a bunch of weaker press-ganged soldiers; you set eyes on one pirate lieutenant in wizardly robes and start running a second before Sekhmet and Ace move. Then you're up in the air with the greatest of ease, at the top of your arc, shifting into what's swiftly becoming your opening move.
You laugh, then just to shake them, call out what you and doubtless belt-collector Hikaru been calling this in your head:
"KAISER KICK!"
The one with a shield is too busy getting doubleteamed by a cat with two shanks and a very angry foxgirl with an axe to stop you from flipping behind him and kicking the wizard right into Alesha's shield, and from there to his back.
But the enemy tank does have time to mouth seriously? at you, and that's when the braintickle gets a voice.
Since when do the locals watch Kikaiser?
You haven't got time to talk about it now, but you need to tell the others once your side stops exploding in pain after that deafening crash. Did someone get you with a thunderbolt?
You look down. Oh. No, that was just a bullet from flintlock pistol.
You wobble a bit.
Then you feel a wave of confidence overwrite the pain, as the bullet floats out of your side and your flesh knits. Cora Philomena's eyes are closed and yet, somehow, she's still looking right at you; the bullet moves with her gestures. Her eyes open, and lock with a man with a pistol and cutlass already turning around.
Cora gestures, stamping the bullet 'return to sender' with a whipcrack noise. The mook falls.
Your thanks is to shout "look out!" as the wizard on the ground before Alesha raises his hands and screams.
You sweep away the lightning, grounding it in your aura; Alesha grunts as it catches her square in the chest, her armor useless against lightning. Cora has already stepped forward, out of the line of fire - and out of position, dancing and whirling to parry the cutlass and hook hand of another pirate lieutenant.
Which is when that pirate is pinned in place by a spear of ice, freezing him to the ground.
"I am so glad I picked up range for that,' Hikaru mutters, gesturing to the ground at his and Cora's feet. "Stand in the circle, please; you'll know why when you feel it." And with that, a magic circle springs to glowing life around them, centered exactly between the two and with Alesha in it; a pentagram described in a circle, with Greek lettering and more glyphs around that, bound by another.
You're pretty sure if you knew Greek, you could read it and it would mean something. You don't.
You whip your head around; Sekhmet and Ace are mowing down lesser guards, Sekhmet blurring with the Zephyr's Grace you put on her while Ace stays closer to 'the front line.' Arrows from the guardhouse are starting to fall past your party into the waiting enemy backline, so you think it's safe to fall back into the circle yourself.
Oh. You feel stronger, your Breath more charged. "Thanks," you say to Hikaru.
"Of course," he says.
You drop your healing on the circle and offer your hand to Alesha, who smiles, takes it, and lets you hoist her up. You take a deep breath and look away, back to the battle; make your double palm gesture and send a Gale Cutter into the tank.
The battle takes a little longer, a little more blood and sweat for you to win, but not by much before the pirates decide this wasn't as easy as they were promised and turn to run.
You sigh and fall to your knees, and there's a friendly hand on each shoulder when you do; Alesha and Hikaru, both. You're too tired for useless bisexual flailing about it right now, but you're sure that's coming soon.
You breathe in. You breathe out.
You loop around to see how the rest of the battle is going.
The rest of the battle went well. Foes expecting prey don't react well to hunters, it turns out, and the enemy retreated across the board - though some killed livestock out of petty revenge.
It's as good an excuse for the Captain to throw a feast in honor of your shared victory. "A shame to waste that mutton," he says, to general hooting and applause. The Adventurers pool what rations they can towards such a thing, knowing that ships will come to relieve them soon, and there's soon a long table in a church.
Well, it looks like a church, anyway. No Jesus, but rather an armored goddess: dark skinned and fiery haired, with a golden halo and four arms. A spear, a sword, a torch, a cornucopia. This is Aurora, Alesha's paladin patron.
She makes the sign of the cross when she first sees it. Almost wary.
Most of the adventurers are very happy at the party, though you notice the tiger-striped catte in the white robes and witch hat has gloom written all over her features, and she's not the only one subdued. The farmers, also, join in the fun - bringing and cooking local drinks. There are many desserts, a fierce pride in the things they make from the local sugar. There are many toasts, things burned in the brazier to Aurora and Scherzo, seeds planted for Eranda, and a few libations to Flamma and Delvar.
You are going to need to keep track of 14 of these names and your head already hurts.
The last toast is from the Captain, who toasts his soliders, the adventurers, the Queen, and the Gods, in that order - in order of importance, you think to yourself. "All of you adventurers who shed blood and tears for us shall have a writ in my hand," he promises, "that will open castle gates in Viacruz. It is the least you deserve for such a magnificent battle on our behalf."
You nod, and smile, and thank him, and accept your prize, and slip away as soon as it's polite because this is way too many people making way too much noise and you want to avoid eating way too much meat and cake. It's dark, and you're cold, and other adventurers are starting to leave too.
This is... not what you were expecting from the NPCs here.
That's not what they are, anymore, though. Is it? These people from Mundus? There's something going on, more than canned welcome to Corneria! lines. And any Adventurer who forgets it is liable for that to bite them on the a--
"Fuck," you say, and look around.
You need to tell someone that some of the maurading pirates were players.
Thank you for your patience. I feel much better now - able to think clearly, finally, though I still have some muscle pains.
You and your allies have become wounded and exhausted in the fight, though none of you are at critical. A short rest will alleviate this but not eliminate it. A long rest will fully heal you.
For seeking to understand and protect Her people, above all other concerns, you gain the Least Boon of Eranda, the Bountiful:
When you seek to understand and comfort someone in emotional distress, you grant them +3 to their Resolve roll to confront their own pain. This is often called the Midwife's Touch, though it has many other uses.
Who do we tell first about the rogue players?
[] Alesha.
[] Hikaru.
[] Sekhmet.
[] Ace.
[] Captain Miles.
Do we go out after them tonight, or wait for tomorrow?
[] Now. They might get away before we can confront them. (Short rest and combat.)
[] Tomorrow. We're too wounded to deal with this now. (Long rest and challenge.)
Vote opens at 9. Discussion opens... now.
