vivala | MISSION #02 A MAN OF WORTH PLANNING PHASE

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MISSION #02 A MAN OF WORTH PLANNING PHASE

EVENT #02: A MAN OF WORTH PLANNING PHASE

The time has come to begin preparing to engage and capture the VIP. The knowledge he holds will be imperative to further Corsair operations, and they absolutely cannot let this opportunity slip by.

By a narrow vote, the Corsairs have elected to destroy the escort fleet, deeming a capture operation on the ships far too risky while also attempting to secure a VIP. As such, the Corsairs have two primary duties - discern information on the movement of the troops and prepare heavy munitions to sink the airships.

Since the game’s population is still in flux due to our new status, we are scaling back the people requirements and opening all event logs to everyone. Now, in order for a given log to be complete, we only require that players start logging it out. We’ll continue to assess and refine our mission style as the game continues and we see what works and what doesn’t, please bear with us as we get this all figured out.

CORE MISSIONS

Gather Information: Negotiators will need to connect with the Imperials in Elysium and wring as many details about the upcoming visit as they can. The more the Corsairs know about the timetable, expected escort, and armaments, the higher the chance of success.
Conflicts: A delicate touch will be needed to avoid arousing suspicions. Corsairs will need to be able to justify why it is important for them to have the knowledge, and Imperials tend not to like to give information to staff if they acknowledge they exist at all.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read GATHER INFORMATION.

Gather Munitions:Suppliers will need to start preparing and developing heavy munitions to attack the escort fleet. It is imperative that every airship in the escort sinks beneath the waves, and the crew along with it, and the Corsairs will require a lot of firepower to see it done.
Conflicts: Working with explosives is risky business, and unskilled hands are liable to get blown off. Suppliers will need to be careful with both their preparation and their handling, even moreso if they go out to gather particularly volatile materials from particularly volatile wildlife.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read GATHER MUNITIONS.

SIDE MISSIONS

With Hesaeth captured, the Corsairs will now need to hold it. Players may propose Player Plots to see to its defenses, in the likely event that the Empire attempts to reclaim it in the near future. The below prompts are potential things that may be done, but players are encouraged to think up their own plans and run their own logs if they think of anything. These Plots may be submitted here.
Trap the Mines: Line the mines with explosives so they can be collapsed in the event of an attack.
Undersea Route: Carve an undersea route into the mines so people can be evacuated via submersible.
Rallying Point: Set up a Rallying Point in the Hesaeth wilderness where evacuees can rendezvous for escape in the event of attack.
Defense Systems: Set up cannons to fight back against Imperial Invaders.

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Link nods, a flash of determination across his face. He doesn't realise the revelation she's just made, being all too focused right now on the missing Sword, and the task at hand.

But her support is still welcome, all the same. Link's used to be the one who quietly supports others. The list of those who support him is a much, much smaller one. But...it's nice, to have that list grow.

And Nephenee was right. They were going to get the Sword back. And anything else of his they could find. Even if he had to fight the entire Empire to do it.

"Let's go," he says. They had a Merchant House to raid.

Eh, it's just an entire Empire, it could be worse. Could be the world. Could be the gods. But an Empire? Bah, their ragtag band's got this.

Her sense of scale could also be monumentally screwed due to what she's seen, too.

Nephenee knows the feeling of being the quiet support. Most of her adult life she'd say qualifies as that (aside from some of the things she's done that are obviously more leadership roles than she gives herself credit for...). It's always nice to have someone in your corner; everyone needs people they can depend on. Especially those who think they hold the world on their shoulders...no matter if they do or not.

"Mhm." She nods back, releasing his hand (she'll flounder about that later when she's not getting into Sentinel mode). She does a quick scan through the rest of the logs before she scoops them up, and puts the rolled bunch in her satchel, completely missing a few things that would be of interest to her.

"Let's check this desk 'fore we move on. Might be more stuff." Even if it's not immediately useful, it might prove to be later. Or at least inconvenience the merchant and others. She's annoyed enough with these guys that she'll take that.

That doesn't stop her from looking up and muttering quickly in her mother tongue, "{Sorry, Pa. Know ya an' Ma taught me to not steal stuff, but the rebellion needs this. An' it's not theirs anyways. We're jus'...gettin' it back to where it belongs...}" Apology done and some guilt assuaged, she starts rummaging as quietly as she can.

Link waits while she searches the desk, but it's clear now that he's itching to get going. He bobs up and down on his feet, waiting need the door, full of restless energy.

Which reminds him. He had wanted to look in those vases, to see if there was anything in there. Couldn't hurt to have a look while Nephenee searches...

Meanwhile, inside the desk isn't much else of interest. More ledges and records. Assorted stationary and writing implements. The boring minutia of a Merchant House.

Hmm, yeah, these papers are boring and, worse, don't seem to be super useful...at least to a farm girl. But she'll yoink the ledgers and records anyway - maybe something in them the Corsairs can use. Some of this stationary might be good for if they need to forge something, and that's a seal...yoink.

Before she moves on, though, a thought occurs. One time when she was very small and went with her Ma and Pa to market day, a neighbor had shown them a pretty box he'd bought his wife that, at first glance, just looked like a small box for holding whatever. But he'd then pressed a button hidden in the carvings, and, to her amazement, a compartment revealed itself from seemingly nowhere. Her Pa had said some people did similar with bigger pieces...

So she feels around, knocks, and listens intently. But despite trying her best, after some time, nothing pops up, literally or metaphorically. Aw, well, she tried. Maybe there isn't anything like that here, and she isn't about to literally tear it apart to find out. The owner might be a dastard, but this is a piece of art. You just don't do that unless you don't have a choice.

When she's done, she shuffles things around to try to hide that some of the contents are gone, and looks up over the desk. "Find anythin'?"

As Nephenee searches the desk, Link's been giving those vases a closer look. He's sure there's got to be something in them.

Only problem is, the vases are quite large. Large enough that they're as tall as Link...and he can't easily reach inside. So he's dragged over a nearby chair and stood on top of it while he peers inside.

He's so focused on the task that he almost forgets Nephenee is there...and startles when she calls out to him. His arm slips, knocking the vase sideways and tumbling to the ground.

CRASH! The vase hits the floor and shatters, and Link winces. For a moment, he doesn't move.

At least not until he notices a flicker of something reflective in the shattered pieces - there's coins in there! Link hops off of the chair and reaches down to pull them out of the rubble. Nice!

Oops! She hadn't meant to startle him (she thought she was making enough noises for that to not be an issue...), and she freezes when it shatters. Aw, horsefeathers... Hopefully no one heard that.

Wait, why is he stooping down, he can't think he'll put it back together...hold up, what's that glitterin'? Carefully, she tiptoes over...

"...Who in tarnation puts coins in vases???" She whispers, her voice a little squeaky from trying to keep it quiet even as she's absolutely befuddled.

Link shrugs, as he fishes through the rubble for a few more coins. He rarely knows why anything ends up where it is; he just knows that if he looks properly, he'll usually find something interesting.

Still, that noise was a bit loud...and they don't know if this floor is guarded.

"We should go," he says, jerking his head towards the door.

Nephenee isn't the greedy sort at all, but she spent enough time in poverty that there's a small moment of wondering if there's more in those other vases...that thought is batted away quickly. No, bad.

Nodding at Link's statement, she stays put just long enough to lay the chair on its side like it was what knocked the vase over, before following after him with her lance and shield at the ready.

...Look, she's too much of a nice country girl to be actually good at making something that passes the slightest test of scrutiny on this. But maybe they'll get lucky and this merchant's a moron!

"R-right."

Don't worry, Nephenee. They have the rest of the House to search. Not to mention the real valuables are more likely to be stored with Link's things, not here in an office.

Link opens the door, sticking his head out to listen. The hallway is dark and unlit, apparently empty. And Link has absolutely no idea where in this place they might have his things.

There's only one thing for it, then. They'll just have to search everything.

So Link turns to the left, finds the next room, and opens it looking inside - and then proceeds to do the same with every other room. If it looks like somewhere that might have storage or valuables, he'll pause to search further. But otherwise, he's going to try and move quickly.

He might have to make her take something fancy or sneak her a thing, honestly...if it were just the Corsairs, that'd be easier to justify for her. Herself? Not so much.

Unfortunately, Nephenee's no better than Link for knowing where things are. At some point, as they search around somewhat blindly, she mutters, "Next time, lessee if we can find house plans..." Assuming they can get an in with someone who deals with that, of course. She takes turns with him searching and keeping watch, meanwhile. So far, though, this floor isn't doing too hot aside from the office. But having items waiting to find buyers on lower floors makes some sense: means less effort to move it.

When they've exhausted the area, she nods towards the stairs. Down they go?

Link nods in agreement; a map would be really appreciated right about now.

Down the go, a slow search on every floor. And it's not until they reach the very bottom floor, that they finally find something promising - a solid metal door, adored with a large heavy lock.

Now, they might be getting somewhere. Link approaches, peering into the lock. How exactly to open it...?

Finally; she was starting to wonder where the heck this merchant stored things...

Nephenee looks at the lock for a second as well, thinking, before asking, "...Want Ah should break it or the door? Might cause a ruckus, but...can't pick locks." She's never needed that skill before now...usually she's had someone who can do it nearby or, if not...well,"Nephenee Smash" works most times.

Link considers this. Normally, this is the kind of puzzle that would have him hunting throughout the place, searching for secrets or anything else that might help him find a solution.

But then, sometimes he'd also solved problems by throwing bombs at it. Maybe more than sometimes. He didn't see any reason not to try the 'Nephenee Smash' approach.

So Link nods, and steps back to give her room to move.

Normally, the Sentinel would just smash through it with a halberd. But metal makes that a bit more difficult. So she knocks around on it quietly, trying to gauge where it might be weakest. Hmm, kind of a solid metal, whatever it is. But the frame seems to not be as sturdy...especially the hinges.

Stepping back, Nephenee lines herself up, and swings her halberd hard on the verticle with both hands behind it. But her halberd isn't as strong as she's used to, and they're showered in shrapnel as it shatters on the second hinge! Being right there in front of it, she takes the brunt of it, and earns herself more than a few cuts to the arms with a sharp hiss of pain. If she hadn't reacted by letting go of the shaft on the bounceback and throwing her hands up, that could've been a lot worse!

Whoops.

Oddly enough, Link shows absolutely no surprise at seeing her weapon shatter. It's almost as if he's seen the exact same thing before, many many times.

He does make a sympathetic noise when it happens, though. Having weapons break on you can be irritating sometimes - especially if you haven't got any good backup weapons.

But she hasn't sacrificed we weapon for nothing - because as Link step forward to look at the hinges, and curiously pulls on the door, the entire door just pulls away. It's hinges had shattered too, and now there's nothing keeping the door in place.

Link gives Nephenee a thumbs up. She did good!

Unlike Link, Nephenee hasn't had this happen a lot. In fact, wincing as she lowers her arms to check the damage done, she's not sure she's broken a weapon except for, perhaps, at the very beginning... she honestly can't remember. If so, it hadn't been a critical fracturing like that; she hadn't been strong enough then to do this sort of thing.

Well, aside from some cuts across her forearms at haphazard angles, and a few embedded pieces that are carefully plucked out before she bandages them, she's not too bad off. But that halberd head... yeah, it's toast, and she groans quietly. She can probably utilize the shaft like a quarterstaff if she breaks the rest of the head off, but...it's sure not ideal.

The sound of the door giving way gets Nephenee's attention away from applying some very quick battlefield first aid, and she returns Link's gesture with an uneasy smile. Well, they've taken out that obstacle, at least.

"Ya get hit by anythin'?" She's not seeing any blood, at least?

Edited 2024-08-24 03:17 (UTC)

Link shakes his head. No, he's fine. Honestly it's a bit strange that she's been cut at all; usually Link doesn't have that problem when his weapons break.

Turns out though that things that shatter can be dangerous. Who knew?

But the door's open, and Link doesn't hesitate to now head on in.

Inside, it looks like your typical storeroom. The room is filled with large warehouse-style shelves, filled with crates and boxes. They're also labelled - each containing the date the items where acquired, and a very short description.

Once again, Link can't read them. He has to resort to opening things at random, and looking inside. But Nephenee might be able to check them quicker.

~~Sorry, Link, she doesn't have Main Protagonist Armour.~~ Who knew, indeed? Satisfied with his answer, she nods with a "Good," and ties off the gauze as they enter.

Well, that sure is a fair few boxes, but at least they're labeled...not that that does the Hylian much good. Nephenee makes a mental note to try to help him learn later, and starts her own search with the bane of all short people's existence: the top shelves.

"Land's sakes, how much are these dastards swipin' from folks..." She mutters, looking over the labels. Lots of different types of goods...too bad the list didn't say exactly where in here that sack was. The merchant probably has a system he's got this sorted by, she reckons.

Actually..."When was ya captured, again? These dates might help."

Link briefly pauses in his shameless ransacking of boxes, to rattle off a rough approximation of when he was captured. It's not entirely exact, since Link isn't completely sure of the timeframe. But it's close enough.

In the meantime, he's discovering all sorts of things. Some nice fabrics. Silverware. A crate entirely filled with rather unsettling looking dolls. (That one makes him pause, a little.)

But so far, no pack. And no weapons yet, either.

Approximation is good enough for their use, here. "Some o'these look like they're maybe grouped by date?" Also dang it Link, tell her about the fabrics, the woman likes to sew. But she doesn't know he found them, so she can't comment.

"Oh, here's some in that range...ornamental fans, shiny carved stones, cartography supplies..." She mutters some stuff as she reads out loud, then... "Pack holdin' various odd supplies that shouldn't fit in it? Hey, Sir Link, wonder if this is it!" Luckily, the box isn't that heavy, but it is a bit odd getting it down, even with her height...

Well, he does leave the fabric crate opened and pulled half-way out into the aisle. So maybe she'll notice it, if she wanders in that direction later.

Right now though, Link perks up at the mention of that pack holding various odd supplies that shouldn't fit in it. He immediately heads over to Neph, and then just starts climbing up the shelves once he sees the one she's pointing too.

Once up there, he opens up the box - leaving it where it is on the shelf. "Ha! he cries, victorious, as he pulls out a small leather pack. He'd recognise it anywhere!

Edited 2024-08-25 06:09 (UTC)

Oh, well, alright then. She forgot he's apparently quite the climber, but it's easier for him to do that than her - there's not enough space up there for her if she got up there...

~~And then a familiar (to Link) jingle plays out of nowhere, and she doesn't know how or why.~~ As Link shows off his reclaimed pack, she blinks at it - it doesn't look particularly fancy, is there really all that much in it?

But, that doesn't matter that much. What matters is he got some of his stuff back, and she's quite happy about that, if her smile and single clap is any indication. "Woo!" Well, they got the pack back! Now... "What's all in there?"

Link reaches inside. The first thing he reaches for is the Master Sword - and while he's disappointed to find that it's not there...he's not really surprised either. It's what he was expecting.

He can tell all his other weapons are gone too. All his bows and shields. His armours. The only thing left are some of his materials.

And there's an exhale of relief, as his fingers close around the second thing he reaches for.

In his hands is a flower. Delicate stems, five star-shaped blue and white petals. A silent princess.

Zelda's favourite.

He doesn't say anything to Nephenee. He's just looking at the flower, lost in a bittersweet, wistful expression.

A...distinct and beautiful flower isn't what Nephenee is expecting to be pulled from the pack, but when she sees his expression...she understands. Not entirely, of course, because he's generally even more private than her, but that's someone's flower. How does she know?

Her mom gets a very similar look when around rowan trees or berries. Her father's name, her father's tree. And he's been gone ten years now.

Did this person die, or is Link missing someone living and very close to him that he can't be with right now? Nephenee doesn't know, but her heart aches all the same seeing that look.

"...That's someone close to ya's flower, ain't it?" She asks him quietly, knowing the basic answer already.

Edited 2024-08-26 04:52 (UTC)

Zelda hadn't died. Something Link was forever grateful. He wasn't sure what he'd do, if she died.

The worst part about the Upheaval had been not knowing where she was, or what had happened to her. And then Link did find out...and that became the new worst part. Zelda hadn't been Zelda anymore, and Link hadn't known if she would ever be herself again.

Now she was back. She was herself, and she was home. And...Link was here. Away from her.

All of this goes through his mind, as he answer's Nephenee's question.

"It's Zelda's favourite," he says softly.

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