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Yen’to wandered up to the library with a sense of foreboding. The reason for the meeting was unclear, but with Khan anything was possible. As he entered the library proper, he spied Strega and Khan already present. Damn... thought I would have some moments of peace to prepare for the drunken rambling that is sure to ensue. They engaged in a bit of small talk as they waited, much to Yen’to’s annoyance, but it was not long before the others who saw the posting started filtering in. Annoyance shifted rapidly to surprise at the steadily increasing number of attendees: Alyona, Alaric, Kouronne, Silf, Luka, Ghost, Lalatua, and Ramius. A mixture of new and old employees.... but Alaric does not even work for Lady Faye, does he? How did Khan rope him in?
The lingering questions were soon cleared up - Ramius indicated that he was the one that called the meeting rather than Khan. Oh good... maybe this time the briefing will actually be coherent. A strange screen popped out of a device on Ramius’ back, some sort of video feed from one of his drones that apparently captured sight of a suspicious person frequently loitering in the hills around the Shroudrose. Ramius wanted everyone to go out and attempt to find, capture, and interrogate the suspicious target. There were transmissions that potentially linked him to Garleans. I would say this sounds easy enough, but every time I have said that the complete opposite was true. Nothing involving Khan is every that simple.
As they began leaving the Shroudrose grounds, it was not long before Ramius spotted someone suspicious on a path up a nearby hill, leaning against a tree. At his suggestion, they split up to approach from different directions and hopefully catch the person in a pincer. Yen’to took about half of the group while Ramius took the remainder, and upon his signal they approached a visibly panicking miqo’te. He could not be more suspicious even if he was trying...
The unlucky miqo’te was sweating and fidgety, and cracked under pressure almost immediately. As he was not so gently prodded for answers, some in the group began remarking that they smelled smoke. That is odd... did something spark out in the forest? It is not storming, though. The sounds of bells clanging and shouts from Wood Wailers began filtering in from the south, where smoke was streaming into the sky. What in the... that looks like houses are on fire! Before anyone could figure out exactly what was happening, the twang of bows being drawn nearby forced everyone to take cover. Arrows loosed found their target easily - the poor panicking miqo’te spy. Strega and Alyona attempted to keep him alive while Yen’to and Kouronne returned fire with their gun and bow. Their targets were dressed like Wood Wailers, complete with wooden masks. Oh no... saboteurs?!
The two saboteurs went down quickly, a bit too dead to question. Ramius began picking up strands of chatter from the wounded spy’s linkshell, prompting him to scan for aether currents with his goggles. I swear, that man has a gadget for every occasion. The linkshell chatter made it clear that they were dealing with Garlean infiltrators. Yen’to barely had time to absorb this information before Ramius pointed them north. The band cautiously made their way forward before pausing at a bend in the path.
Half a dozen arrows whizzed by, forcing everyone to press up against the hill just before the bend in the path. Yen’to, Ramius, and Kourunne ran out to fire back at the archers, easily cutting the ambush short. Or so they thought. A shout came from the bushes nearby to “cut down the savages”, and more ‘wood wailers’ leapt out, flanking the party and trapping them in the middle of the path - lancers in the rear and more archers in the front. Damn it -- with the actual guards distracted by those fires we are on our own!
The fighting was brief but brutal. Yen’to yelped as an arrow embedded itself into his leg above the knee, avoiding the armored greaves he hoped would have protected him. Buckling down, he managed to level his rifle and return fire, felling his attacker. Most of the others managed far better, and the Garleans soon came to realize that underestimating tea house employees was a surprisingly bad idea. Lalatua used both fire and ice magic to great and terrifying effect, while Luka ended up burning and melting one of the wooden masks into a hapless soldier’s face.
The other Garleans fell one by one, but they managed to also injure Alyona before being defeated. Most of the ambushers were dead, but a few laid wounded and moaning. As with the spy, Alyona called Khan over the linkshell to gather the wounded Garleans. Hmph, I say let them bleed out... but the dead do not give up secrets. Once again, Ramius utilized his goggles to pick up the trail and the group rushed in the direction of the ferry docks. Or all but Yen’to rushed, who could only do a hurried limp at this point.
As they approached the docks, they could see the Garleans’ sloop shrinking in the distance as it sped away. There was only one remaining boat at the docks, with a goblin skipper drinking away the day nearby. He seemed wary at first of the anxious group, but a bag full of gil changed his tune. He promptly called over his own linkpearl to Khan that he was taking a break and that Khan could go fook himself. Oh gods -- this is Khan’s ship?!
The little sloop had seen better days, and seemed to be held together by little more than rusty nails, rotting boards, and pure hope. ... Do I also smell liqour? It had a black flag emblazoned with red glasses, reminiscent of the pair worn by Khan. A kobold on deck gave them a happy little wave and nonchalantly returned to swabbing the deck. This... both makes complete sense and is utterly stupid. At the urging of Lalauta and Strega, Yen’to sat down to take the weight of his injured leg. Strega once again took the opportunity to stab him with a magitek medical device, despite their previous discussion about advance warnings. At the direction of Ramius, the others grabbed what they could to use as oars and employed aero magic in an attempt to catch up with their targets.
‘Their’ ship came within a few dozen yalms of the Garleans before a shout came from behind some rocks in the river, and another boat slipped out and sped in their direction. Seven hells, how many ambushes are we going to stumble into?! The party braced for impact, and the two boats soon collided and locked into place. Belting out war cries, the Garlean boarding party swarmed onto Khan’s floating coffin.
Yen’to had managed to stand by this point, and upon seeing a saber swinging his way he managed to block it with his armored gauntlet, then returned the favor by slamming the butt of his rifle into the man’s head like a club. Alaric had ripped off one of the boards from the deck to use as a makeshift weapon; a vhan below deck looked up through the hole and simply returned to whatever it was doing. Uh... I hope that bit was not important. Ramius finished off the remaining Garleans with his quick-firing pistol, and managed to free the boats by cutting entangled ropes.
Upon arriving at shore, they were met with a scene of carnage. Dockworkers and a few Wood Wailers were crumbled on the ground, seriously wounded but not yet dead. A jumble of tracks led deeper into the woods. Alyona once again used the linkshell to inform Khan that there were wounded that needed tending, but his response was a complaint that it would take a while because someone had stolen his boat. ... Oops? Well, that is what he gets for being sloppy! One of the injured workers confirmed where the Garleans fled, and the group was soon hot on their heels.
The party caught up to the remaining Garleans soon enough, who were busy at work doing something near a patch of trees. They did not have long to observe the enemy before being spotted, and a Garlean officer called for his troops to form up. They did so with alarming speed and precision, and soon let loose a fusillade of bullets from their gunblades. Thankfully, their aim was not as precise as their formation but a few in Ramius’ group were still hit. Damn it... if I die here I am killing Khan!
The gloves were off now, and no mercy was to be given. Yen’to finally activated his machinist aetherotransformer and spewed a gout of flame from the end of his rifle towards an unfortunate clump of Garleans. The others did not hold back either, letting loose with their fiercest techniques to utterly obliterate their targets in a storm of explosions and fire. I almost feel sorry for the bastards.... almost. As the smoke cleared, it was made apparent what the Garleans had been concerned with - a secret door leading underground.
Cautiously, the group made their way into the underground store room. It was unlit and barely any light made its way inside. Yen’to’s moon-keeper eyes quickly adjsuted to the darkness, but few of the others were so lucky. Lalatua used some aether to light up her staff, and what it revealed gave everyone pause.
There were numerous desks and cabinets filled with papers, and posters and flyers covered the walls alongside maps. Almost in a stupor, they fanned out to dig through the papers to figure out exactly what they were dealing with. It was worse than suspected. On the largest desk, there was a stack of flyers with names and brief descriptions, many from previous missions with Khan:
By the Twelve.... these are signed by tribunus Lucian. He knows so much! How?! Aside from Lucian’s signature, there were directives commenting on multiple phases and local assets. Some of the other posters had vaguely familiar sketches, but were lacking descriptions. Sensing time was of the essence, everyone gathered whatever they could carry and made haste back to the Shroudrose to disseminate the information later and lick their wounds.
All this from one little information gathering mission that went sideways almost a moon ago. If the Garleans do not kill us, Lady Faye just might.
I had a dream the other night where I was trying to argue with someone that Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was the most boring film in the TOS canon (as opposed to, say TMP) except for a few little moments like the one-liners and Uhura locking some dude in a closet and how the heck did she even get to Vulcan anyway and how can anyone say Star Trek III was that good when it was bookended by Star Trek II: From Hell’s Heart I Stab at Thee and Star Trek IV: The One With the Whales and then DeForest Kelley walked directly into my ceiling fan and died.
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Gru-patine: adopts 2-3 children for some unworthy reason, cuteness and fluff ensues, heart melts/grows 3+ sizes, evil? naughty? badness? whatever it is Lilo talks about. level goes WAY down...
family science project: 1 "adopt" a physics or physics-adjacent person 2 do research into the actual power output of Sith lightning
the Doof[us] (~"G. Khan"): acquire adorable but suave Jedi nemesis. they become the closest thing you have to a friend. you start to care about them. And they about you. X') in flagrant violation of accepted conduct, get adopted into THEIR ~ family group
ksfshdsksfdgk Ohio "Damask" (his name. is too long. for the format. So invoking random Muun adoption that makes no sense for the plot.)/burglar: gets way too curious about weird artifact. Possibly gets seriously but not potentially fatally injured. Accidentally joins adventuring party who are just too good natured not to adopt one more and goes on Way More Adventure than intended.
Yen’to frowned as he stared at the messy stack of papers on his desk. They contained various notes and information on all the messes that had cropped ever since the cursed day he ran into Khan and took that damned castrum scouting job. The previous few moons had seen no let up on the pressure against the Shroudrose staff by Garlean forces, sent directly by Tribunus Lucian or otherwise.
Kaia’s Regret
It seemed like forever ago, when Yen’to and a small group set out with Kaia to rescue her family from anti-monk brigands known as the Corpse Brigade. They had set out towards a remote part of Gyr Abania, expecting relatively light resistance. With the help of Leth’s magitek devices, they soon bypassed the defenses and infiltrated the village.
Kaia’s family had trained as monks and were formidable fighters, but the Corpse Brigade also had specialized training that countered much of the monks’ advantages. The clan had been defeated and was being held prisoner, but Kaia and the group were able to make fairly short work of the brigands, who did not expect to be fighting against heavy armor and weapons. Her brother was freed, who informed them that Kaia’s mother was being held in a nearby cave.
There were many more brigands within the cave, and were all almost defeated until the leader took Kaia’s mother hostage. Even in such a dire situation, her mother made time to berate Kaia for picking up the way of the bow instead of the way of the monk. Kaia attempted to argue back, that her way was just as strong, but unfortunately they were unable to save her before she was unceremoniously executed. However, they did manage to rescue many of the villagers alongside her brother who would become head of the clan.
Strega’s Lament
Not long afterwards, the end of a tea service was rudely interrupted by a so-called hyper-tuned soldier - beings mechanically augmented by Garlean magitek and were more machine than person. He blamed Strega for what the Garleans had turned him into, and warned that his brethren would come to kill Strega messily and violently. They cursed her and her former Garlean allies for making them unable to feel anything but pain and despair. Strega and Alyona worked all night to come up with a convoluted scheme to piss off the conjurer’s guild so they would detain Strega within their walls.
Somehow the plan worked. The hyper-tuned set off a nearby distraction to draw off conjurers and Wood Wailers before turning their attention to Strega and the rest. It was a hard fought battle, but the hyper-tuned had spread themselves out in an effort to maintain the distraction and tried to attack Strega and the group one at a time. They were nearly overwhelmed when two engaged them together, but they somehow overcame the odds to overcome them all.
Strega had wished the hyper-tuned subdued rather than killed, with the aim of having the Conjurer’s Guild heal both their bodies and minds. In the end, one was inadvertently killed but the others were handed over in custody with the hopes that their pain and suffering would be eased, and that they could eventually recover. Only time would tell if that would be true.
Silf’s Hunt
It was an odd request, but no one really questioned it when a messenger came and informed them that Silf had invited them along for one her hunts. They headed out to the East Shroud, finding a very confused Silf who had no idea what was going on. It was then that the deranged Ala Mhigan hunters with bestial race’s heads as helmets launched their ambush. The very same ones who nearly killed them when they were interrogating a Garlean prisoner so many moons ago. They were Tribunus Lucian’s figurative attack dogs, although he also had literal ones.
The hunters used the ponds and trees to their advantage and strike nearly unseen, but Silf knew the terrain even better. With her guidance, the group managed to avoid detection long enough after escaping to turn the tables and launch an ambush of their own. The hunters had assaulted a nearby camp of Wood Wailers in their search, and Silf’s band used the distraction to flank the hunters and attack.
One of the hunters remained, wearing a Hrothgar head as a helmet, amidst a pile of Wood Wailer bodies, and challenged the entire group to a duel while screaming about “the wrath of the Hawk’s Talons.” The false Hrothgar proved to be a challenging adversary, surviving multiple wounds and retaliating with aero based attacks. In the end, Silf was able to finish him off through cunning - slitting his throat in a surprise maneuver.
Alyona’s Past(s)
The strange pink haired miqo’te had an even stranger past. One night, the group was informed by Sergeant Baxter that a Garlean prisoner, named Octavius, demanded a dinner with Alyona and her friends before he would reveal his secrets to his Ala Mhigan captors. It felt like that meeting with the Maelstrom prisoner all over again, where everything quickly went horribly wrong. But they seemed to have little real choice, since the information promised by the Garlean would save lives and no other interrogation technique had gotten him to loosen his lips.
The dinner was bland, but the conversation was particularly enlightening. Octavius seemed to know Alyona better than she knew herself. He had revealed that she had been many things before: a teacher, an orphan, a drunkard, a ditz, and most importantly of all - an Ala Mhigan agent named Mockingbird. In the course of her work she nearly killed Octavius and rescued an indoctrinated Ala Mhigan named Ragnald. She was forced to leave Ragnald for dead after a later attack, and he was subsequently captured by the Empire for “re-education”.
Having gained all the information they needed, Sergeant Baxter led them to the war front near Ghimlyt Dark where they were expected to run into Ragnald’s squad in the course of capturing a castrum for Alliance staging operations into Garlean territory. The battle was brutal and bloody, with many on both sides falling in the fray - including Sergeant Baxter. Ragnald was eventually found and recovered, Alyona having managed to bring back the memories of his past life. General Raubahn came in at the last moment with reinforcements and drove back the remaining Garleans, allowing the group to retreat and recover.
A Sign of Things to Come
(Text taken from a post by Khuron Khan, credit is not mine)
In a linkshell conversation that jogs Yen’to out of his reverie...
"....Does this involve Allagans?"
"No."
"....Does this involve the Empire?"
"...No?"
"...Does this involve anything spooky or traumatizing?"
"By Gods, lad- this is a simple naval reconnaissance job. This is what yer 'Teahouse' does under'dae table, aye? We'll pay upfront, you are ju-"
"WE'RE IN!"
Khan placed down the linkshell with a shit-eating grin, slouching back as he rested the back of his head against his hands. "Oi! Lu Bu! Let Faye know we have an easy job'fer once!" The tiny Kobold saluted before scampering away to the hallway. "Ah- why am I such a fookin' genius?"
Somewhere in the seas...
"Plonker took'dae job, Cap!" the Pirate barked out, nodding to her Captain. The Moonkeeper bit down her apple, crunching it down as she stacked her legs on top of the table, leaning back with a satisfied grin.
"Did they now? Aye- get the other crews ready and in position..." The Keeper stared down the horizon of the sea- gazing at the skyline of Limsa Lominsa. "And prepare the gaols- it's been sometime since I've met the half-breed; mayhap we should make the reunion at least comforting. Eh- a pillow, blanket, and a bucket should be fine until we can deliver him to'dae client" the Keeper's grin widened as her underling did a quick salute before running off to the corridors.
"Yen’to, Yen’to..." the Keeper stretched with a sigh before prepping her ammunitions for her flintlock. "Who the hell did you piss off to make me this rich?"
An envelope is placed on Faye Covington’s desk, signed by Yen’to and containing a document within. There are various words and phrases crossed out and re-written.
Lady Faye Covington,
I am writing this report of recent events since it seems no one else bothers with such things around here will. Strega, Alyona, Lalatua, Kouronne, and an unfamiliar miqo’te named Naoko were all idling in the lobby when Sergeant Baxter arrived and let himself in. He announced that one of the Garleans from our previous encounters was being held prisoner and was being kept in a secret location ready for interrogation. Somewhat regrettably, Sergeant Baxter made it clear that the Alliance would still need the prisoner alive after we are finished with him. But not unharmed. We were then escorted most of the way by airship to an island off Costa Del Sol, then trekked the remaining distance by foot through jungle.
The building was guarded by a small squad who would remain outside to keep watch. We made our way inside into a dimly lit room, likely so to keep the prisoner from being too aware of comings and goings. A sort of mirror allowed us to view the prisoner in his cell without him being able to see us back. Sergeant Baxter then provided linkpearls so we could communicate regardless of who was in the cell with the prisoner. We discussed amongst ourselves for a brief time until deciding to use the figurative kraken root rather than the stick, at least to start with. At the suggestion of Strega we sent her in to begin discussions interrogation. We thought it safe enough that she would not need a guard, and we did not want to spook the prisoner by throwing so many unknowns at him.
The first attempt went about as well as one would expect from a Garlean. He was maniacal, so assured of his superiority that there was nothing a savage could offer him that could compare to Garlemald’s riches and might. We did at least discover his name was Marcu, likely a nickname of Marcus. That is, unfortunately, all we really managed to learn before Strega attempted speaking in his own language and raised his ire warranted suspicion.
It was at this point that ideas were thrown around with about as much care as rocks in a quarry. Insults started being hurled some tempers were starting to get frayed by this point, and Lalatua’s patience was becoming rather short wearing thin. She left soon after we settled on a plan. A shame, since she had some of the best thoughts on the matter. At any rate, one of the more promising ideas was to forge a document stating that Marcu’s masters had left him to rot and abandoned him. Lalatua’s plan was to try to get his ego stroked so he would be more likely to talk at length. We opted for the forgery as a plan B, and sent Strega back in to proceed with Lalatua’s idea. In the meantime, Alyona and Kouronne worked on the forged document, but I use the term work loosely.
Lalatua’s idea appeared to be working, and we managed to get much more information on the second attempt. The soldiers under tribunus Lucian are running an experiment and were none too pleased that we had set it back by destroying the main testing ground, along with a castrum. The Garleans are confounded by the ability of Eorzea to put forth warriors of extraordinary strength, who manage to consistently beat back their magitek enhanced legions. They wanted to discover the source of this strength, to understand it and either harness it or nullify its advantage.
While Strega was questioning the prisoner, an uninvited guest managed to sneak past the guards - a female with hyur features. It was my fault for not being more attentive. I should have had Naoko watch the door. The stranger expressed familiarity with us, and extended an offer of assistance. There was something familiar about her, but I could not quite place it. We were wary of this surprise offer, and were still trying to figure how much trust we could extend when she slipped into the prisoner’s cell while Strega was exiting. She immediately began speaking in Marcu’s native tongue, much to my regret since I have no understanding of it. Strega could understand it, at least, but gave a not-so-reassuring statement that she could not determine if this stranger was a spy or actually being helpful.
It was at this time that some of us heard voices from outside, apparently the soldiers talking amongst themselves about investigating a nearby disturbance. I paid it little mind, but Alyona left to go check it out with them. Meanwhile, Strega was making notes on the conversation overheard on the linkpearl between the prisoner and the strange woman. It seems that the prisoner is a medicus, not a scientist. Also, tribunus Lucian moves from castrum to castrum, staying in one place just long enough to continue his experiments and satisfy his urges to hunt. Based on past experiences, that could only mean adventurers or any hapless villagers unfortunate enough to be within range.
It was at this point, that everything went to shite wrong. The strange woman had just begun revealing who she was when we heard shouting and gunfire from outside, and hustled to see what was the matter. Sergeant Baxter and a few other soldiers were fleeing from the jungle, yelling about a strange monster that was stalking them. Behind them, I could make out some hyur-like figure that was wearing a Hrothgar mask. Yet it was not a mask at all, but an actual Hrothgar head, removed from the body it was once attached to. The thing creature monster moved with unnatural speed and ferocity, cutting down some of the soldiers before they could react.
We set up a defensive position just outside the building’s entrance. I confirmed with Strega over the linkpearl that we still needed the prisoner alive, and she set to work in freeing his restraints to bring with us. I am not sure on the exact details, but Marcu was somehow being tracked. Between the blubbering and screaming, I can only guess that it was some sort of device that Strega had to cut out. He also seemed to know what the monsters were and grew ever more frantic, his pathetic cries coming in clearly over the linkpearl. Sergeant Baxter reassured us that he had called for reinforcements, but our enemy also had more reinforcements arriving by every moment we delayed. Each had some sort of ghastly head from bestial races such as lupin and vath set upon their shoulders.
Just when I thought we would soon be overwhelmed, Strega ran out with the prisoner and we made haste to the nearby bridge upon Sergeant Baxter’s urging. A hail of arrows from the hunters threatened to cut us down as we ran for cover. Most of us were unscathed, but Naoko took a hit to the leg. We turned to make a stand, and managed to fight off the first wave of monsters, but more injuries were incurred. I foolishly assumed we had gained the upper hand but was proven wrong when some giant lizard with one of those monsters as its rider came barreling towards our group from the tree line.
Most of the others were knocked off the bridge into the shallow river below. Strega was caught in its jaws. The strange woman and I managed to hold our own long enough against the beast and its rider for the others to make their way back to us. Combining our might we managed to fell both beast and rider, and the other monsters fled back into the jungle upon its defeat and timely arrival of Maelstrom reinforcements.
The victory was not without cost. Strega, Naoko, and the strange woman were seriously injured; Alyona and Kouronne to a lesser extent. The Maelstrom chiurgeons tended to them, so they will be fine, but will take some time to be back up to fighting strength.
The prisoner will be remaining with the Maelstrom but can be accessed at our discretion if need be. However, I seriously doubt we will glean any more useful information out of him and that he has truly given up as much as he knows. I suspect he only has knowledge of the big picture, since at no time did he mention the dossiers we discovered at the Garlean safehouse or any specific plans for the Shroudrose. I am more than willing to attempt to beat it out of him question him further if need be.
The last thing I want to inform you of is the nature of the strange woman. I knew she sounded familiar, and her knowledge of us seemed to prove my suspicions. I thought I had observed her coming and going from the Shroudrose back rooms. That annoying miqo’te brat Luka is actually a annoying hyur brat, and had been using some sort of disguise. Luka is not even her real name, although she provided nothing else to call her.
For what reason she did this I do not know, since she was too injured for me to fully question. I am inclined to believe her loyalty lies with you, but her knowledge of Garlemald and her deception makes it difficult to fully trust her. However, she did risk her life to fight with us, nearly getting killed in the process. She was also instrumental in getting Marcu to fully open up about the Garleans’ plans. My suggestion is to keep the little fool her close as a potential asset.
