[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BjtZNtv.png[/img][/center]
[color=ed1c24]Location[/color]: Kindeance, Pesti, western farmstead.
[@A5G][@Remuri]
[hr]

Veronica nodded her acknowledgement to Chounan. It seemed he was, as expected, very skilled with a bow. Unfortunately, with only him and her as functional archers in these conditions, it seemed the archery plan wasn't going to work. Or, at the least, it was best kept as a backup option. That was fine. Veronica had honestly considered it something of a long shot, in both the physical and metaphorical sense. Her clairvoyance had limits. Even with complete surprise on her side, the vampire was only confident in being able to kill five or six of the guards, [i]maybe[/i] seven at a stretch, with arrows before the remainder might raise the alarm. And it really only took [i]one[/i] of them to make things a whole lot messier than preferred.

Her brow furrowed in consideration at Matilda's suggestions, before she sighed. [color=ed1c24]"I had put some thought into those routes, Dame Matilda. However, the whole reason I suggested archery was that there's no telling how good the nightvision of the guards is. For all we know, they could have mages among them with detection magic, regardless of their apparent awareness."[/color] She drew a line straight through the formation sketched in the dirt. [color=ed1c24]"[i]If[/i], however, we can pierce their lines, we'll be in the clear. The hard part is getting inside the guard circle to begin with. Past that? We'll be practically home-free. We could approach the remaining guards from behind and quietly eliminate them, and then it would just be a matter of falling upon the remaining sleeping forces."[/color]

Cupping her chin with one hand. [color=ed1c24]"Interrogation would be nice, but that runs the risk of the guard making enough noise to be heard by his fellows. Besides which, that might not be time we have, depending on how stubborn he is or otherwise loyal to his employer. Which is to say nothing of the fact that we don't actually know when the next guard shift change is, and we can't afford to wait for it. Because then, we'd be dealing with rested and alert sentries, and our odds become much more harrowing."[/color] Closing her eyes, she tried to consider how to make that approach viable. [color=ed1c24]"Perhaps... Hrmm, if we got enough distance? Grabbing a guard quietly, shouldn't be... too much issue. I should be able to avoid any detection magic. One sleeper hold or slit neck later, and I suppose we'd be in... assuming the other guards don't notice anything happening. The chances of doing that quietly get lower if we want to drag the guard away to interrogate, but as long as we get enough distance, I suppose we could find ways to keep them from screaming for help... or out of spite."[/color]

Sighing, her palms motioned in the air like a pair of scales. [color=ed1c24]"Capturing a guard... Risk of detection is significantly higher, but we might get information on any secret defenses in the camp. And we could potentially get confirmation that the Prince is actually here without committing. By contrast, we could just kill the guard and work our way around the other ones, before attacking the sleepers. In a conventional sense, it seems the more natural approach, but the unknown will potentially be a factor."[/color]

Rocking lightly on her heels, Veronica nodded. [color=ed1c24]"As much as I don't like it, we may need to play this by ear and have faith in our skills."[/color] Glancing around the group, Veronica continued. [color=ed1c24]"For my part, unless there are particular objections, I intend to kill all the guards forming the perimeter ring, one at a time, quietly. I can make us an opening and then approach the rest of the sentries from behind in turn and deal with them. If you like, I can leave the first guard alive for you to interrogate, while I eliminate the possibility of the others noticing his absence."[/color]

Dropping the stick she had been scrawling in the dirt with, the pale girl retrieved a leather case from the small of her back, drawing forth a shortbow and beginning to check it over. She had already taken the liberty of stringing it shortly after the group's arrival in case they were made right out the gate, but it never hurt to double and triple-check. Satisfied that her bow was strung properly, Veronica placed the case back in its proper place and strapped the bow to the outside of it, ready for swift retrieval. [color=ed1c24]"Either way, I feel eliminating the perimeter forces is important. The last thing we need is to have them attacking us from all sides if or when things go loud in the camp proper."[/color]