[color=lightgreen][center][h3][i][b]Day 1: 21:32:05
Babuskha's House (Oksana's Grandmother)
Somewhere outside the village of Pristupin, Libor Province
Republic of Polavia

Magazines: Loaded
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[b]Soundtrack: [url=https://pie.yt/?v=https://youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I?si=_ZQPgX3Rb1HAvxyo&pieshare=1] Queen- Under Pressure [/url][/b]

Rowan had snapped at Felix and left without letting him get a word in. She had taken off outside to gather the ingredients she would need to speed up the process for a location glyph to the farm. Felix’s plan had angered her to think she had to leave what little she had managed to save from her old life behind. He didn’t even ask or discuss any other options. That was the part that pissed her off the most. She felt he had not even considered any other ideas or plans for moving forward. Borys had tried to jump in and calm her down but her temper was already activated and she was not in the mood to listen.  

[hr]

Rowan had calmed down as she worked. It helped her work out her annoyance as she pounded the bark into powder and chopped roots and mushrooms. She had stacked some stones as a base for her cauldron and then used her wand to control the temperature and fire under the large cauldron. It was excellent at producing an even heat which was so important to potion making. It was nice and sturdy and already tuned to her mana. Her large cauldron was familiar and comfortable. She knew how far she could push her efforts with it. The spell ink was coming along and the large caldron would reduce the ink to a batch big enough to produce maybe two travel glyphs each. She left the spell ink to condense into a final usable product. She left the ink boiling as she began to organize the supplies she had brought in from the car. 

She laid out the boxes of spices and food that she had brought with her. She had two boxes of granola bars and protein bars. There were 20 bars in each box. Some of the cooking spices were useful as spell components; she had already arranged them next to the cauldron in order of how often she used them in her potions. Next to the potions she arranged the clear partitioned Tupperware boxes that held various spell components. They snapped into a case with a handle on them. There was not much of each but there was a decent variety. It wouldn’t last her long but she had enough to make some potions for the team before she would need to worry about replacing them. Rowan had already made her decision to join them. It was not like the DSR or Reactor wouldn’t know where to find her now. She was pretty sure someone on the bumbling special forces team recognized their former colleagues. She sighed as she knew that her anger wasn’t really directed at Felix but more at the situation she found herself in. She was smart enough to recognize the real reason she was angry but petty enough to snarl and make her displeasure known to the world. She had hoped that her situation would resolve soon and she would get to go back to her comfortable city life. It was sinking in that she was stuck here in Polavia. She needed to start making plans to get comfortable here. Her original thought was still solid. There was some safety and comfort in numbers. She opened the duffle bag that was stuffed with stacks of DSR money with some smaller gold bars. She then gave her story to the others. 

[quote][color=f7976a]Oksana:"You picked the wrong country, Morgana."[/color] [/quote]

Rowan:[color=#39FF14] “Please see my previous answer. I am being hunted by the DSR and Reactor to be their escape goat I think. I didn’t have a lot of options. Polavia was closer.” [/color] She shrugged. 

Oksana asked her for healing potions. She listened as Felix gave her some suggestions for potions to work on, acid, non lethal deterrents, and anti-surveillance, and changing appearance potions. [color=#39FF14] “I will see what I have the materials for.” [/color]

[quote][color=f7976a]Oksana: "If you don't like here, you might enjoy Novy Jork. It has culture. Sights to see. But is very expensive now. Seriously. Tourism killed it. Borys is almost right there."[/color] [/quote]

Rowan sighed knowing her temper had Oksana sharing this little nugget of knowledge. [color=#39FF14]“I am not dead set on a city so much as a comfortable place to sleep that is clean, has modern plumbing and a lack of nasty smells.” [/color]

Rowan continued to set out her gear. She organized the specialized ammo she had for her pistol and the Mossberg shotgun. Her broom was leaning against the edge of the table. She looked up at Oksana as she mentioned getting Borys sober. She laughed and pointed to the large can of coffee and a variety of teas that had accompanied her food selection. She wondered where the others had gone off to while she was working on potions. Someone had asked about using the car. She had absentmindedly agreed and tossed the keys up in the air. She wasn't certain who had asked but meh. They would be back. 

[quote][color=f7976a]Oksana: "Seems like you maybe shouldn't gamble though. You need a coffee before your drunk ass falls over. I left hot water and a compress there. Felix might need some too. Or he will pass out.”[/color] [/quote]

Rowan smiled at Oksana. [color=#39FF14]“I might be able to help you with that. I have coffee if you want to brew some. I even have some sugar. No cream though.” [/color]

Rowan went back to organizing all her supplies so the others could see what was there and could ask for what they needed. She was willing to share. She had resolved herself to the necessity of leaving the bulk of her gear behind. So she put herself in mission prep mode and did what she could. 

Once the spell ink was done she poured it into larger potion bottles and passed it off to Felix. She then used her broom to clean out the remains of the spell ink so she could start working on the other potions she had been asked for. She had limited spell components so she started with the more beneficial ones first. She made a small batch of minor healing potions. She made enough for everyone to get one. She used some of the stuff she collected in the woods to supplement what spell components she brought with her. She made 10 acid potions, 10 minor electric shock potions, and a change appearance potion for everyone; they only lasted about an hour though. She combined some ingredients from the electric shock potion with some spell components like stainless steel scrubbing pads she pulled apart and dropped in along with a battery. She concentrated and applied her mana to the potion, she hoped it worked as she bottled up what she hoped would be a good anti-surveillance potion that would tackle electronic surveillance in an area of effect attack. She was getting tired by now. She had been pushing her mana. Luckily she had a little recovery time between potions. Her last batch of potion would affect the people in a small area. It would create a gas that would confuse them and make them temporarily forget what they saw. When she finished she explained to Felix what they did. Then she went to get some sleep. She was so tired that the dirt and smell didn’t register anymore. 

[hr]

Rowan was grateful her headache was gone and she felt more clear headed after waking up. She went outside and used her wand to clean up. It was never the same as hot water but a cleanliness spell would work in a pinch. Was it vain and a waste of mana, maybe for others but it was necessary for her. She went to her car and pulled out her tactical gear. She changed into it and repacked her tactical backpack to include a change of clothes. She might need something less military tactical to enter a populated area. She joined the others inside. She brewed herself a cup of her special tea. It was a custom blend she had put together herself. She had a stainless steel tea infuser in her gear. It would help energize her and give her a slight buff to replacing mana faster. She sipped her tea as Felix began his briefing. 

Rowan hid a smile behind her mug as Oksana basically told Felix to skip the briefing and tell them the plan. She paid attention as Felix suggested they should travel to Novy Jork to meet up with an underworld representative that Oksana knew that could help them get new papers. Rowan was amused when Felix seemed to direct the next part of the conversation towards her. 

[quote][color=fff200]Felix: "And I get it. Driving would be easier with spells changing us. But we're too many for the car, and one ward-carrying cop, and we are screwed. But we need to check our situation to see if we can salvage it. There's a ridgeline in the forest where it looks like we can get an overview on Pristupin. Get an idea of how much police there is. I didn't come here to kill innocent people. But if we have to, if fired upon, shoot back."[/color][/quote]

Rowan calmly replied to Felix [color=#39FF14]“I concede the necessity to use Babushka’s farm as a homebase for now.”[/color] She looked over to Oksana. [color=#39FF14]“I warded certain parts of the farm to warn us if Babushka has uninvited company. I moved and hid the car in the forest behind the barn. I used my broom to clear away the tracks. Stacked some brush around it to make it look like an overgrown thorn bush thicket. Hopefully that will deter anyone from finding it. It should work on most people.”[/color] Rowan shrugged noncommittally. The others might not care about warding Babushka’s property but Rowan was leaving the bulk of her belongings behind. She would like to retrieve them at some point. 

[quote][color=f7976a]Oksana: "Or if you find former Security Apparatus, shoot on sight."[/color][/quote]

Rowan sipped her tea before asking Oksana. [color=#39FF14]“How do we recognize the former Security Apparatus in Polavia?” [/color]Rowan thought she knew the answer but was curious how Oksana would answer. Besides one of the others might need to know the answer. She found the other woman’s humor compatible with her own. She found her amusing and liked her sass. 

Rowan grinned as she noted Felix’s growing irritation with Oksana. She looked over at Oksana who appeared to be somewhat high. She would have to remember to work with Oksana to help push this further at a later time. She gave Oksana a knowing smile and a wink. Her thought was that Felix looked like his fur was getting knotted. 

Felix droned on and finally got to the point as he described their target and what they needed to do. 

Rowan couldn’t resist yanking Felix’s tail a little. She had to agree with Oksana; he was way too wordy for a briefing. Rowan’s brow furled as if she was struggling to process what Felix was saying. [color=#39FF14]“So if I understand the plan right, we are going to walk through the forest to a ridge overlooking Pristupin. At that point we will stop and review what we can learn about what is between us and the freight line? Then we will make a plan to hop the freight line towards Novy Jork where we will attempt to meet up with Oksana’s contact for new papers. We will need cash.” [/color]

Rowan double checked her gear as she listened to Felix’s reply. She adjusted her potion bandolier to be in a more comfortable and secure position. Her pistol was loaded and ready to go. Spare magazines in her utility belt pouches. Her whip was clean, oiled, and supple ready for use. Her backup wand was in its holster on her belt. Her tactical pants were tucked into tall heavy black cotton socks which were covered by the tops of her tall combat boots. Her long black sleeve shirt was hidden under her kevlar vest and bandolier. Black leather gloves covered her hands. Her long curly red hair was braided back out of the way on the sides revealing the shaved sides and the comm piece in her ear. Her CBRN cape hung open with the hood down her back. It was black and trimmed in the darkest purple. The mask rested against her back connected to the hood. 

Rowan turned towards Borys with a sigh. [color=#39FF14]“I almost forgot. This is for you. Make it last and Cherish it. I only have one bottle left of the good stuff.” [/color] She handed a tall dark bottle filled with her home brewed wine. She had only brought two bottles with her. The one she gave him was a rich dark spicy Sangria style wine with citrus notes and warm autumn spices. The one hidden in the trunk of her car was a strawberry and cherry blended wine. 

Rowan turned back to the team. She had forgotten her Mossberg. [color=#39FF14]"I have my whip and pistol both have wands embedded in the handles. I have a Mossberg Shotgun with ammo as well. I am not as good at distance. Does anyone else want to use the Mossberg? If not I will strap it to my backpack."[/color] She waited for answers.