Polyphemus

The Guardians of Dara [Fantasy]

Okay, I've posted, hopefully it'll help to get the ball rolling.

The Guardians of Dara [Fantasy]

"Not quite yet. One more day, perhaps two."

Her professional judgement handed down, Skorrin Halvar flicked the long braid of blond hair back over her sinewy shoulder, then removed the tap from the barrel full of pale, fragrant ale. Carefully, she shoved the wad of cork into the hole made when they bored the tap, used her long fingers to smear beeswax all around the aperture to prevent seepage. Without so much as a grunt, she casually lifted the entire keg, one-handed, and placed it back on the shelf. It had taken two beefy men to gently lower it to the ground.

Her workers had long ceased to wonder at these displays, instead accepting them as commonplace, expected. Her manager, Lund, nodded. He was a thin, acerbic man, destined from birth for a life of clerking. Numbers and facts were what he understood- that which made him so valuable to Skorrin was also what made him frustrating to be around. "Madam," he said delicately, his voice little more than an extended cough. "I seem to recall you saying it would take thirty days for this batch to ferment. It has been thirty days exactly, and now you feel it is not ready?"

"Lund, my dear, this is an art, not a science," she said, then laughed. Skorrin Halvar's laugh was not the ladylike titter preferred by the other women of her age, the rich landed countesses she met at balls and other gatherings. Her laugh was ill-suited for high society. It was a horse-like guffaw, starting deep in the pit of the stomach and then radiating throughout the shaking limbs until every inch of her body seemed to be sharing in the laugh. She slapped the thin man on the shoulder, not seeming to notice the pained look or sudden jerk forwards he made. "You're one of the cleverest men I've ever met, but some things can't be found in a book or ledger, old friend."

"Very well, madam," Lund said, the small note of displeasure in his raspy voice cheerfully ignored by Skorrin. "Does madam wish to inspect the other batches?"

"May as well. With everything going on in this city, half our laborers are afraid to unbar their doors long enough to come to the brewery."

"And yet madam continues to pay them half wages."

Skorrin frowned at the sour note in Lund's voice. "Lund, dear friend, those men have families to support. I very much doubt they are simply at home sitting on their asses, they are busy protecting their children and fearing for their wives. I have no intention of compounding their miseries by withholding their bread as well. Really, Lund, it's quite simple. . ."

Her words drifted off as her head began to feel light, as droplets of sweat forced their way up from under her skin. "It's really quite. . ." she tried again before her eyes rolled back into her head and her tongue failed her.

And then she was there again.

This time it was bereft of the blood and violence and fear that had marked her last visit, and was instead empty- which, somehow, made it worse. She had only physically been in this room once, but had visited it many more times on nights when she couldn't sleep. There were some things that could not be forgotten.

The light, and the sphere. That horrible, horrible sphere. She was transfixed, looking at nothing else. And then a voice, a voice he had never heard but somehow knew belonged to oldest Halvar, the one who had marched on the towers.

Unlocked.

And then, just as suddenly, she was once more in the comfortable, cool cellar of her brewery, Lund looking at her intently, the two apprentices apprehensively. She looked at the handprint she had left on the stone wall, perfectly formed by the sweat on her palms. "I'm alright, men," she said quietly, struggling to get the words out between pained gasps, greedily sucking in far more air than she needed. "I'm alright. For now."

"I can fetch a physician," one of the apprentices offered, before being silenced by a dismissive wave from Skorrin.

"Thank you, that won't be necessary. Lund, I'm afraid I will have to leave the brewery in your care for a few days. There is something I must do."

The thin man made no comment, only a curt nod. "Understood, madam."

"Continue on as normal. And make sure to seal the barrels of coriander, I have no wish to find mice living in our spices again. There. . . there is something I must do," she said, her words faltering. "I think my friends might have need of me."

"Madam?" Lund asked her quietly.

"I had been offered a certain position. I turned it down, I wished to focus solely on my business, but now I think that may have been unwise," she said dreamily, wiping at her damp forehead with a sleeve. "Most unwise indeed. Yes, yes, something is happening and they will need my help." She thought of her armor, still carefully oiled and polished, sitting in a closet at home, waiting to be used. Her gigantic iron truncheon- they had called it an oslop back home, far away to the north- sitting beside her bed. Perhaps there would once again be need of these things, quite soon. But at the moment she could offer her counsel. Without further comment, she started for the stairs leading out of the storeroom.

"Madam," Lund's grating voice called after her. "If we should have need of you, where shall we look?"

Skorrin turned back, a broad smile on her face, and that spark that had defined her life was once again dancing in her big green eyes. "You may ask for me at the Hall of Guardians."

The Guardians of Dara [Fantasy]

Still working on a post. ETA tomorrow night, holiday slowed me down

The White Gloves

It's all good- I understand that between the holidays and school this can be a difficult time of year for people. Good luck with your exams!

The Guardians of Dara [Fantasy]

Well, this might be a dumb question brought on solely by my lack of reading comprehension, but only the PCs had this vision, yes?

The White Gloves

Though the situation was grave, Colonel van Eyck was pleased by the number of questions and discussion his briefing had generated. Good. The team was interested and already committing themselves to the problem. One of the scientific staff- Glasgow, was it?- was even leaving the room already, hopefully to pack a bag. That was the kind of enthusiasm he appreciated.

First things, though, he had to deal with the men and women in the room. Walters, for one. While the man's combat record was excellent, his discipline was appalling, which seemed to extend to the rest of his firm. If the man couldn't be bothered to even address him properly, what assurance did Van Eyck have that Walters would follow an order given in combat?

Still, the mercenary's offer was tempting. Granted, the boats he was pushing were probably just some rusty Vietnam-era PBRs, but it would help pad out their scanty resources. If they even existed. If Walters could come up with the crews, fuel, and ammunition for them. If the money he wanted didn't just end up in a Grand Caymans account. There were a lot of "ifs" involved when dealing with Silver Talon, it seemed. But ultimately, lives were at stake and the man was offering to help. That outweighed the alarm bells going off in his mind. "Very well, Mr. Walters. You will be paid on delivery of these craft. Not before. I do intend to deduct the price of a soldier's manual from your fee, however."

He opened his mouth to address Rio Toma, but then allowed Diakopi to answer, far better than he ever could. "Thank you for your analysis, Professor, it may give us the knowledge we need to handle this situation. Everything seems to indicate a creature that is primarily aquatic but comfortable operating outside the water for short periods. It is worth noting that one of the dead farmhands was completely bisected, almost like with a huge knife blade- something straight, not serrated or jagged like teeth would be. Possibly sharp talons, we do not know for sure. I hope that may help you form an idea of what we're up against."

"As for your question, Warrant Officer, our preliminary reports mention no prints. I will relay a request to the Kenya Police Service to send us more photographs of the scene. Alternately, we could take care to inspect it ourselves upon our arrival."

He looked around the room. "United Nations aircraft are ready and waiting to fly us out. We will be setting up our base at Entebbe Airport, outside Kampala. If there is no further business. . ."

The Guardians of Dara [Fantasy]

I apologize for how long it's taking me to compose a post, I just don't one to give this one anything less than my best effort.

The White Gloves

Well, we've got police officers in the hospital, planes being turned away due to rampant automatic gunfire, and fires raging out of control because firefighters can't do their job. Another fun night in STL.

The White Gloves

Van Eyck arched a single eyebrow at the mercenary's comments. "You are mistaken, Mr. Walters. It is not Marius. It is Lieutenant Colonel van Eyck. As for naval assets, how do you propose we bring them inland to this lake? Disassemble them and bring them in by truck? Try to float them down shallow, dammed rivers? Unfortunately, there is little we can do in this area. Our hosts operate a few fast attack craft and police launches on the lake, that is as much as we can manage. I have taken care to request that our air wing brings along sonar buoys to drop, as well as some antisubmarine weaponry. We will have to compensate for our weaknesses as best as we can."

He nodded to Cade as well. "Thank you, Lieutenant Cade. We have very little hard information on our adversary- there are no known photographs or witnesses of this secretive creature. We have no real idea of the general size, though some biologists have suggested it weighs at least sixty tons, given the damage it has wrought and the amount it seems to eat in one day. I have faith in both your abilities and the .50 cartridge, however, I trust if there is a way to harm it you will find it."

Miller also addressed questions to him, her worries echoing many of his own. "We will be working closely with the Kenyan Navy and the coast guards of Uganda and Tanzania. What little we know seems to suggest this creature is amphibious- keep in mind several of these attacks occurred on land. Accordingly, General Laprasse and I feel that any decisive battle will likely occur when this creature comes ashore. As for refueling aircraft, the Ethiopians are bringing one. Slow and outdated, yes, but it will have to do. Otherwise you'll have to keep flying back to Entebbe Airport."

The White Gloves

Honestly, I think a sniper would come in handy for several reasons.

One, if it does have a small weak spot he can target it more precisely. Besides, it's not just bullets we might decide to put into a kaiju. If our science boys come up with some sort of tracking device or anti-kaiju poison, that sort of thing, he's the man to deliver it.

Two, a sniper is observant and used to working on their own or with a spotter. They might see things others miss. A good use during a kaiju attack on a major city might be to set him down on a rooftop with binoculars and a radio to keep the rest of us informed on where it's going and what it's doing. Valuable intelligence.

Three, we're not always going to be fighting one huge animal- sometimes it might be a number of smaller ones, or even humans.