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NORTH GATE - AFTERNOON
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Louma had received the reports that morning. The first was mundane, a caravan not arriving on time wasn't anything new, they could be a day off schedule either way for all kinds of reasons, but a scout report on a loud explosion and smoke plume somewhere along the North road led to a gathering call. Half a dozen trackers and fighters, all who could move fast enough. Louma lands at the gate and surveys the group of volunteers, a club at her side and a leather variant of her travel armor. She looks agitated as she looks at who has come, shaking her head slightly.
Nesseth arrives a minute or so later, having gotten the call while he was with Plume at the clinic and out of gear. He's perfectly presentable, however, as he draws to a stop and gives a salute. "Reporting as requested, Captain."
Louma returns the salute, waiting a few more moments for anyone else to arrive before coming to a stop in front of the group. The gathering catches curious glances from citizens, though rumors about why they're there have already started circulating. "No time for a lot of details. A strange fire has been reported on the caravan road, as well as an explosion, and a caravan is late."
Nesseth 's expression hardens at the news, and he turns to check the field kit Plume insisted he take with him. He nods a bit to himself once he sees it's still secured in its place at the side of his pack, then turns to look back at Louma. "Bandit attack, you think?"
Victoria arrives just as Louma begins to speak, giving a quick salute. She's as presentable as she ever is, ie. stubbornly refusing to wear any armor whatsoever, with just her wrapped cloths around strategic places and a pair of big knives hanging from her belt. "Something's off, I feel."
Louma turns to Victoria, her back stiffening slightly as the leopard arrives, though she opts to only quickly return the salute and reply to Nesseth's question, looking to each of the volunteers in turn. "At worst. At best nothing. It does not sound like nothing, though." She grimaces a bit, "I flew up, but there is a lot of smoke along the road. Nothing can be seen from this far out."
Nesseth nods at Victoria as she draws up among the group of volunteers. "We'd best get out there sooner, rather than later, then." He tilts his head curiously, "About how far out are we talking, though?"
Victoria crosses her arms, her tail whipping agitatedly: "Don't sound good, that. Best get going."
Louma nods, "The caravan was due to arrive yesterday. We can assume a day and a half of caravan travel. That's why we asked for fast volunteers. That said, we don't know what's happened, everyone is to stick together." She doesn't look toward anyone in particular, "Your duty is as much to protecting each other as it is that caravan."
Victoria stiffens ever so slightly, having heard similar words in more private settings before, but doesn't directly comment that. She instead looks towards the desert ahead of them: "At least the heat isn't the worst it could be. We can make fast tracks."
Nesseth nods as he tugs at the straps of his pack, tightening them for a run. "The wet season's over too, so the ground won't give under our feet. That'll save us some time in keeping up our pace. Ready when you give the word, Captain."
Louma nods again, giving them all a quick glance-over, her gaze lingering on Victoria for a moment longer before she gives the command. "Alright. Head along the road, eyes open, find that caravan. I'll scout from above and meet you there. Move out, Guard!" She stands and salutes the group, intending to let them pass before she might take off.
Victoria starts off down the road, not really waiting as much as she should but not quite getting enough ahead to be told off for it either. She's clearly been missing some action and is not being subtle about it.
Nesseth gives Louma a salute as he quickly leans into a fast jog, slowly spacing out into the gap between Victoria and the rest of the group. Puffs of dust from the road rise from under his boots with every step as he immediately begins to scan around, keeping an eye open for anything dangerous nearby, just in case.
Narrator: The travel is uneventful, and the night spent camping is equally quiet. Yet, there is a feeling of being watched all throughout. . .
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THE NEXT MORNING
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Narrator: The grizzly scene coming up on the guards starts to confirm their worst fears. A battle has taken place, with many spears strewn about the ground. Dead large raptor mounts and various deceased reptilian/dinosaur looking folk wearing bone and feathered armour litter the hill to the north of the caravan, having been shot down by a hail of flintlock fire before they were able to reach the caravan itself. Closer to the caravan, many spears litter the ground, as well some stuck into civilians and guards, with others having obviously been stabbed. There are less people here than expected, but those left behind are all dead. The lead wagon has been completely destroyed, burned to charcoal, with the wagons behind having caught fire from the front. Most wagons are ravaged similarly by the fire. Any corpses close to the caravan or indeed inside of it have been burnt to unrecognisable states, with the charcoal remains of spear shafts sticking through the chest of those unfortunate to have been hit while still inside the wagon. Any supplies that were part of the wagons are nowhere to be found, completely looted. Curiously, any valuables on the dead civilians and guards have been left behind, only touched by the fire. Finally, to the far south, approaching a tree line, is a singular dead raptor mount visible from the distance, with some damage to the ground and trees nearby.
Nesseth slows to a stop as the caravan comes into view. After a moment just staring at the carnage and destruction, he looks up and whistles for Louma to come down from her aerial patrol.
Victoria slows her pace as the scene ahead of them. Like all of the Guards, taking the sight in and looking for any survivors... or more ambushers. "...this definitely isn't good." She lets out a low growl and starts walking towards the carnage, looking for survivors or clues about what happened.
Louma took off the moment the others were ready to head out, unable to sleep too well with the breeze carrying the smell of smoke toward their camp every once in a while. She circles now overhead, surveying the damage as best she can from on high. She can see the bodies outside the wagons from her point of view, but the carts themselves look like little more than charcoal colored streaks. She catches Nesseth's whistle, banking to land in the clearest spot she can find. "I don't see any movement nearby. Anything here?"
Nesseth shakes his head as he starts making his way towards the caravan. "Nothing yet. Victoria's already searching around, but no sounds or movement at all." His gaze lingers on one of the nearby mounts, "...I'm not sure what to make of those things. They look like those things Vix and I hunted out in the desert a bit ago, but... not an exact match."
Victoria turns to Louma as she lands, slightly shaking her head. "There's no one left alive, Captain. But I don't think this is everyone on the caravan unless we've missed bodies."
Louma looks toward Victoria, then the indicated creatures. She slithers up to one, glancing toward the hills every few moments as she looks from the feral looking lizard to an armored corpse pinned under it. Her breathing is shallow as the bodies certainly stink, moving a bit away from them before speaking again. "What about the smaller ones?" She turns to Victoria, nodding slightly. "Manifest listed a few dozen, including the escort." Her eyes narrow as they flit to the defenders' bodies.
Nesseth scans around with a practiced eye. "I'm agreeing with Victoria, Captain... Unless some of these others in the bone armor were with the caravan, there aren't enough bodies for all of the folks that were supposed to be here. I'm guessing... maybe half of the caravan is missing, give or take a couple." He looks over to the south, at the lone raptor, and comparing it with the cluster a bit away in another direction, "Whoever was escaping might have tried running that way, towards town."
Victoria nods as she glances around, not particularly perturbed by the stench around them. She looks at one body of a small raptor: "Never seen those sort of guys before."
Louma is silent for a long moment, still counting the bodies that look like they may have been wearing uniforms of one kind or another before looking toward the lone mount. Her fingers unclench as she takes a breath before speaking. "Sounds about right. Maybe someone dropped a clue out that way." She looks to the others. "I'm going to count heads here. Check those tracks out, but don't wander out of sight."
Victoria nods at Louma and starts going about the remains of the caravan, looking for clues or... anything, really. If the sight of it all bothers her, she's keeping it inside her - as she always does. She locates one set of tracks going out and away from the caravan and starts following them, looking for anything that might help.
Nesseth nods and starts to make his way along the trail to the south, noting the scuffles and chaotic mix of normal footsteps and prints left by the large raptors. He frowns, noting a couple of fallen bodies in civilian clothing, but not enough to account for all the tracks. He kneels next to the bodies for a moment, just to check, then sighs and stands back up to continue towards the lone raptor further out when it's clear they're long gone.
Louma slithers along from one burnt wagon to the next, using her club to shift charred supports and cloth out of the way, her restrained anger and each small scene turning her stomach, mostly controlled by a combination of will and the skipped meals since the day before. When she gets to the lead, Louma takes note of the more extreme damage, slithering in a circle round the cart to view the scattered wood, much of it only singed rather than burned.
Narrator: Once the group starts to split up to look for further clues, a lone figure far off in the distance takes off into the sky and begins to head away from the caravan. While distant, their large figure is still enough for Louma to spot. Despite the distance, Louma may be able to spot the distinct, slim elongated head of the creature, streamlined wings and slim legs.
Victoria follows one of the tracks to a nearby low hill, noticing the track continuing. She looks back towards the scene, somewhat torn about what to do. The tracks ahead could lead to somewhere very useful, and it's what she's the best at doing... she's of not use writing reports or figuring out grand attack plans, anyway.
Nesseth continues to move along towards the fallen raptor, noting the explosions. He sniffs at the air, detecting a faint whiff of what smells like black powder, but extremely faint. Stooping down, he swipes a finger through one of the blackened areas, and confirms that explosion was at least a conventional one. The other explosion looks far less conventional, though, which leaves him considering that whoever was escaping had some tech on them.
Louma catches sight of the flying creature, its odd silhouette sending a slight chill into her. Maybe she's being paranoid, but that thing doesn't look like it belongs. The whole situation has her on edge, looking from Nesseth toward Victoria. "What have you found?"
Victoria frowns at Louma yelling, glances at the tracks she wants to follow, then reluctantly starts walking back towards her Captain. Once she's closer: "More tracks, leading outwards in several directions."
Nesseth spots a glint of something resting on the ground nearby. He moves to pick it up, then realizes there are two of the curiously shaped weapons resting beside one another. Upon hearing the call from Louma, he stands back up and holds both of the ornate sai in the air. "Found something, here! Looks like someone tried fighting their way out and got pretty far! A few others didn't get as far, but went in the same direction!"
Louma nods, moving away from the lead cart as the others make their reports. "So it certainly looks like some were taken from here. Hopefully alive, and somewhere they can be found... Do you recognize those weapons? I don't think anyone in the ranks carry anything that... flashy."
Victoria points towards where most of the tracks are heading to: "Well, we can always find out, improve our odds by going now."
Nesseth is about to head back to the group when another glint catches his eye. He stoops down to scoop it up as well, only really getting a look at the object on the way back to the caravan. "Looks like the weapons that stingray lady used while sparring at the training grounds. Lianne, I think her name was? This necklace might be hers, too." He shakes his head, "No body, though."
Louma pauses, looking toward the tracks, considering what they've brought. "No. We know they took a large number of people, and killed eleven soldiers armed with guns and blades." She turns to look at what Nesseth has found, nodding. "Mh, she was on the manifest. We should regroup and assemble a search. I wish we had time to call in help from Bairnell's Foothold, but we can't afford to wait that long."
Victoria gives a soft harrumph but concedes the point... for the moment, at least. "The more time we wait, the worse our odds get." She crosses her arms and frowns, but doesn't offer a further argument because she really does not have one.
Nesseth sighs, nodding as he hooks the pair of sai to his pack and stows the necklace for safekeeping once the group (hopefully) rescues Lianne and the others. "If any of the kidnapped folks are still alive, we need to get to them sooner rather than later, but we're not getting far in a fight with just scouts, trackers and light armor."
Victoria gives Nesseth a glance: "Well maybe you aren't."
Nesseth gives Victoria a glance, then nods at the rest of the search group. "Wasn't talking about myself, anyway, Victoria."
Louma gives Victoria a look, nodding. "We aren't going to waste time. You will all head back to town. Straight back. If night comes and you want to stop to camp, do so, but stick together. I'll fly ahead, I can get back by evening today."
Victoria frowns, clearly not happy: "Let's do that then. Hope no one more gets killed." She cracks her neck and starts heading back towards the edge of the caravan that would have headed to Respite had it survived.
Nesseth raises an eyebrow at Louma, standing in place for the moment as Victoria heads away. "What, by yourself? I know you can fly, but you're also a really obvious target up in the air."
Louma watches after Victoria before turning to reply to Nesseth. "You're right, and Victoria isn't wrong. I can clear the ridges you all had to skirt, and fly much faster than you as a group can run. Hours could mean lives here."
Nesseth draws in a breath and sighs again, nodding after a moment. "Right... well, you just make sure you stay safe out here. If I hear from May that you've not come back when you said you would, Victoria and I are coming back out to search."
Louma blushes slightly, hesitating for a moment. "I'll take your word for that. And I'll let Plume know you're on your way."
Nesseth chuckles a bit. "Alright, then. I'll see you back at town then, Louma." He salutes, then turns to head back towards town with the rest of the guards, "Calm skies, Captain."
Louma returns the salute, "Warm scales, Guard." She surveys the line of ruins again with a defeated expression, taking off into the sky a few seconds later, sending ashes scattering and keeping her word on outpacing the others with a beeline in Respite's direction, disappearing over a crest.