Fantasy Fire Emblem Divide: Attack on Stratham Village

[CallmeMyth]

Assault on Stratham

Time: Prior to Chapter 1.
Location: Stratham Village, south of Fort Castellum.

*There are more buildings within the village than the ones shown in this layout.

Alliance of Fire's 13th Battalion Raid Squad:

Spoiler: Members of the current assault unit

1. Nayu CallmeMyth - Squad Leader 2. Korvalt Truthblade 3. Quetzal DoctorDiggles 4. Pam Hachi Machi 5. Zane IG42 6. OPEN

Summary of the Mission:
A small group of transporters from the Alliance of Fire and their bodyguards were dispatched to the abandoned village of Stratham, in order to recover whatever supplies they could gather for the benefit of the Alliance of Fire's war effort. However, when they arrived they were ambushed by bandits which had came to pilfer the village and any supplies it may still contain. Most of the transporter's bodyguards were murdered in the process, and any survivors were quickly taken hostage along with the transporters. However a few of the bodyguards managed to escape with their lives, and immediately reported the attack to their superiors. In fact, the men recognized many of the bandits as former Alliance soldiers who had defected and carried away important documents detailing sensitive information. In response to this, the Alliance immediately dispatched a squadron from the 13th Battalion to retake the village, recover the documents and rescue the transporters. In addition to this, after the bandits have been killed and the town has been secured, the squad's orders are to set up shop within the village until they can deploy to the nearby Fort Castellum and recover any supplies which have been left there.

Mission Objectives: ​

• Rescue the transporters.​
• Kill the bandits​
• Recover the stolen documents.​
• Retrieve any remaining supplies.​
• Make preparations to deploy to Fort Castellum. ​

Fire Emblem Divide​

 

[CallmeMyth]

Nightfall had set upon Stratham village, and Nayu could no longer hear the sounds of men gabbing from the direction of the enemy camp. She peered out in the direction of the village, and it appeared that the bandits had left their dying campfire and had retreated to their tents. Now was their chance. She turned to the other members of her squad, who she had been assigned to lead for this mission. "Ok, listen up everyone. Here's what we're gonna do. The enemy are asleep, and its very unlikely that they will notice our approach. But we have to move quickly. Our goal here is to break inside these buildings and find out where the transporters are being held. Everyone needs to watch each other's backs, and in the event that we're discovered be prepared to attack." She told them with an authoritative tone.

She stood up from their position behind a line of dense shrubbery, before silently making her way along the dirt path that lead into the village. She looked behind her briefly to make sure everyone was following in pursuit, before turning around again and stopping as she surveyed the area. She noticed a church up ahead, as well as what appeared to be an inn and other buildings. She pondered very carefully on which building the transporters could be held captive in, before moving stealthily behind the buildings and around the enemy's camp. Torches were hung on sconces on a few buildings throughout the village, providing enough light necessary to navigate through the village while also remaining relatively obscured from sight.

Nayu leaned her body against the wall of one of the buildings, before motioning with one of her hands for the rest of her squad. "Ok, we're going to split up here. Pam, Korvalt, you two are going to be with me. Our group will be in charge of searching the buildings in the back portion of the village." She ordered. "Quetzal. I want you to go with Zane and scout the front part of the village." She gazed at Quetzal for a moment, making sure that she understood the plan. The woman was very talented with magic, and was more than capable of handling the job. Nayu had only recently joined the alliance, and this was her first assignment since she had entered the army. Nayu had no intentions of making a bad impression here, or failing the rest of her team. Nayu had seen a lot of combat in the years she had traveled with mercenaries, and she intended to use that knowledge to her team's advantage.

Truthblade DoctorDiggles IG42 Hachi Machi Count Gensokyo​

 

[DoctorDiggles]

Quetzal had some supreme doubts about this plan. Bandits may not be known for their intelligence but surely they had left night patrols on watch. Many of these so-called bandits were former Alliance soldiers were they not? Surely they had been trained better than to all sleep at once when any number of dangers could present itself when they were most vulnerable. It seemed very likely to Quetzal that they would be noticed. It also rubbed her Yuban sensibilities the wrong way sneaking into the village in such a cowardly fashion.

Regardless Quetzal reluctantly followed orders. Her eyes rolled and she made little effort to be stealthy. When they joined Nayu again Quetzal listened carefully and couldn't help but sarcastically responded in a whisper. "Splitting up sounds like a marvelous idea! That way it is much easier for the brutes to overwhelm us when their night guard inevitably notices several beautiful women and a hunk of a man sneaking around their camp." She winked at Korvalt. "I must admit it is a wonderful plan if we'd like to find the transporters. I'm sure if they don't kill us they'll tie us up nice and tight and put us in whatever storage shed they're keeping the transporters in."

Truthblade CallmeMyth Count Gensokyo Hachi Machi

 

[Truthblade]

Korvalt had rested his axe across his shoulder as the battle plans were given out. He didn't have any arguments against them, and they sounded perfectly sensible to him. Then, he really wasn't good with plans outside of following them. Korvalt just hoped the transporters weren't harmed. But he didn't really have many comments to give regarding what was happening (though he slightly rolled his eyes at Quetzal's comment), so he just kept quiet and nodded, assuring Nayu that he understood her commands.



CallmeMyth DoctorDiggles Count Gensokyo Hachi Machi

 

[IG42]

Until Quetzal started complaining Zane had been content to stalk along silently, learning to sneak quietly had been a requirement to follow his father in his work and animals often had sharper senses than humans. Meanwhile the shaman seemed more interested in joking about than trying not to blow their cover. "Smaller groups are harder to spot and will be able to cover more ground, if we're spotted they may try to kill the prisoners or use them as shields so it makes sense to search the village as quickly as we can."

Looking around he couldn't see any guards from where he was but there probably were at least a couple of them somewhere. "Maybe if we do find any night guards we could try to take them out quietly, that would make moving around the place much easier." He fell silent for a moment as the breeze picked up and rustled the trees. "Pay attention to the wind, we can use it to cover the sound of our movements." He glanced at Quetzal, impractical as her 'armour' was it had an awful lot of parts that could jangle against each other as she moved.

CallmeMyth Truthblade DoctorDiggles Hachi Machi Count Gensokyo

 

[DoctorDiggles]

Quetzal's eye shot toward Zane and listened as he spoke with an eerie smile growing on her face. "And water is wet, you know." she replied in a whisper. She was insinuating that most of Zane's information was obvious. She understood the logic perfectly fine but she had strong doubts this night would end without spilling blood. Death was on the horizon. "Any other helpful observations you would like to make Mr. Dragon?" She fluttered her eyelashes and did a little shake. The leaves and metal of her armor rustled as she did so. Her eyes stayed locked onto Zane daring him to say more.

"Off we go then on our merry quest to stave off the inevitable. Unfortunately our transporters are not permitted to feel the sweet release of death tonight. Mr. Dragon please take point since you're our local expert on infiltration. I'll stay behind and clear the path should we run into anyone unsavory." Quetzal nodded forward and prepared her Nosferatu tome.

Truthblade CallmeMyth Count Gensokyo Hachi Machi IG42

 

[Hachi Machi]

Pam Rhyl listened carefully to Nayu's set of instructions. After all, a team was only as strong as their weakest link, so she needed to work diligently to prove herself as a capable member for this small team of six. When Nayu finished her instructions, Pam watched her dash forward to one of the buildings. A quick briefing and already they were engaging in their plans. As soon as Nayu gestured for the group to follow her, Pam reacted with little hesitation, moving only as fast as her Pegasus scurried across the ground. She felt more comfortable flying, but she stuck to ground movement, waiting for Nayu's approval to begin an air assault.

Now near Nayu, she heard Nayu's commands for Pam and Korvalt to join Nayu's group in searching the backside of the village. Pam nodded at Nayu's orders, unsure whether additional comments would give away their position to the enemy. Despite her situation, she asked a question anyway softly, "Nayu, um, when do I fly? Or am I grounded for this mission?" She pointed towards her Pegasus, before finishing her question, "I can have her flying somewhere else, until she's needed." While she spoke, she scratched her left arm's outer garments, as if she were nervous about asking the question. She didn't want to seem like a burden to the group, since her strength relied on aerial combat.

CallmeMyth Truthblade

 

[CallmeMyth]

Most of the members of their small squad had accepted Nayu's orders without complaint, and Zane in particular seemed to understand the plan quite well. "Yes Pam, you will be grounded for this mission until we are able to locate the transporters. When we do, I want you to immediately summon your mount and carry them to safety." She told the young woman. She then looked toward Quetzal, her expression serious. The woman's lack of stealth had not gone unnoticed.

"I will require your full cooperation for this mission. As Zane mentioned, if we alert the bandits too soon the transporters will most likely be killed or used against us. They are hostages, and the bandits will have no qualms against using them as bargaining chips or worse. Our first priority is to get them safely out of the village. After that, we will almost certainly have to engage the bandits in combat. They will not surrender this village to us, so we will have no choice but to kill them.'' She spoke.

"We will be splitting up our forces so that we will be able to locate the transporters as quickly as possible. Quetzal, I did not place you as second in command of this assignment for nothing. The bandits will almost certainly have night guards on duty. You are skilled with medicine and other concoctions, correct? I want you to locate the night guards, and when you do I want you to very quickly shove a toxin down their throat. Something lethal, that will take them out quickly. We need to make as little noise as possible."

While it was true Nayu had barely ever spoken to Quetzal, she knew quite a bit about the woman from rumors she had heard around camp. Many soldiers had gone to receive medication from her, and Nayu remembered overhearing their tales of horror while they were subjected to Quetzal's treatments. "Do you understand?" She asked. Nayu knew the woman was fully aware of the plan, but she wanted to make sure that there were no mistakes. Put simply, they couldn't afford any mishaps, or the transporters would die. Although Nayu wasnt particularly fond of these types of tactics, it was their best chance for success.

DoctorDiggles Hachi Machi Truthblade IG42 ​

 

[IG42]

Zane sighed a little at Quetzal's attempted at needling him and met her stare easily, he'd been insulted by professionals in his time and she was going to have to try harder than that to get a rise out of him. "You rattle like a pit of angry snakes." He said in an almost bored tone while returning his attention to the buildings ahead.

Listening to Nayu he glanced back at her when she suggested that Quetzal use poison. "Force feeding toxins would take way too long if we're going to try poison it needs to be something that can be jabbed straight into the bloodstream, don't suppose anyone has any girtab venom?" Looking down the street again he abruptly jerked back and pushed Quetzal against the wall. "One spearman on patrol, next to the inn." He hissed quickly and hazarded a glance around the corner. "He's heading the other way."

CallmeMyth
DoctorDiggles

 

[DoctorDiggles]

Quetzal rolled her eyes while Nayu emphasized her importance in this endeavor and reiterated that lives were on the line. The witch doctor didn't give a damn. For all they knew the transporters were already dead. And if the transporters were such valuable bargaining chips then the bandits would not be so quick to kill them. Even if they did death comes for everyone. It also seemed unlikely that they would be able to get them out before the fighting began. Still it wasn't the plan that irritated the dark mage. She was annoyed at how serious everyone was taking themselves. Because a stealth hostage rescue mission was not the time to take yourself too seriously. Quetzal refused to. "A toxin?" she interjected and scoffed as if she were offended. Her sly smile said otherwise. "I am a doctor. I heal people. I don't make such foul potions or keep them on my person."

The shaman didn't miss a beat with Zane's dismissive snake comment. "Ssssss..." She made a sensual hissing sound. It sounded like a compliment when you really think about it. No one wants to mess with a pit of angry snakes. Quetzal agreed that poison by force feeding did not seem like her best action. In fact it seemed like the quickest path to alerting the guards and getting herself killed or imprisoned right along with the transporters. They just got through talking about how poorly fit she was for stealth. "Yes and I doubt I'm strong enough to make an adult man eat anything he doesn't want to. Not without him making a loud and transporter-killing fuss anywho. I'm a mage darling not a wrestler."

Then Zane pushed her against the wall. She let out a small huff and whispered "Is this how you treat all the girls Mr. Dragon?" before he took a peek around the corner. Her heart started to race in anticipation of a battle. She wondered if they had been caught. Quetzal opened her Nosferatu tome in preparation. "A spearman?" she asked as if she had finally invested herself in this mission. "How big do you think his spear is?" She asked in a suggestive manner and snickered softly.

CallmeMyth IG42 Hachi Machi Truthblade

 

[Hachi Machi]

Pam nodded her head in agreement. At least, once the transporters were located, she could finally utilize her strengths properly. While Nayu communicated with Quetzal and Zane, she brushed her Pegasus' hair with her fingers, calming her nerves, before the mission began its first phase. She stopped soon after Zane relayed that a spearman was making its rounds, influencing Pam to fear that the group's cover may get blown. Another questioned popped in her mind, but this time she chose to remain silent, waiting for Nayu to lead the group onwards to the next phase. It seemed a burden to travel on ground with her Pegasus, especially since the Pegasus' body mass may hinder their recon mission. At least in the skies amidst the dark night, she could efficiently use her Pegasus for this particular reconnaissance.

Being silent was never Pam's strong suit, since she enjoyed communicating with others, but considering her current position, she really didn't want to pose any burden upon the group. All she could do now was wait for Nayu's further orders. The job of being a subordinate surely was difficult. All she desired was flight above the skies, helping the group with her special aerial maneuvers. Still, she realized she couldn't bring her Pegasus alongside her, due to its size. She ordered her Pegasus to fly over the encampment, only coming in, whenever Nayu's group located the transporters.

CallmeMyth

 

[CallmeMyth]

Nayu tried her best to retain her composure, breathing a sigh of displeasure. It was obvious that the members of this squad weren't the best at working together, and Nayu feared that the mission would quickly go to hell in a hand basket if everyone couldn't put aside their differences long enough for the plan to succeed. Just then, Zane abruptly pushed Quetzal against a wall, and Nayu held her breath as she caught sight of one of the guards on duty. The group could not afford to be spotted due to their bickering. As the spearman turned and walked away to continue his rounds, Nayu turned her head around sharply to where Zane was still holding Quetzal against the wall. "Just get this done." Nayu replied, as her blue eyes bored into Quetzal. Despite her procrastination, Nayu had not missed the woman's smirk, and she knew that she would see the job through. "I am fully aware that this task will be difficult for you to pull off on your own. That's why Zane will assist you." Nayu told her, meeting Zane's gaze before giving him a nod. "Everyone else, come with me." Nayu ordered, as she stalked away toward the opposite side of the village.

DoctorDiggles Hachi Machi Truthblade IG42 ​

 

[Truthblade]

"Couldn't have said it any better." Korvalt said. He was glad they finally were able to quit the bickering and get to the job. It felt as if he was waiting forever to get going. And then there was the guard that was possibly this close to spotting them. See, this is why you don't have chats in fights. "Just remind me again why she's second in command." He muttered to himself. As soon as Nayu started heading out, Korvalt gripped his ax and followed her as quietly as he possibly could.

CallmeMyth DoctorDiggles Hachi Machi IG42

 

[IG42]

Rolling his eyes at Quetzal's flirting Zane leaned carefully around the corner again, he might only be 126 but that he was more than mature enough not to blush at her seductive tone and also old enough to take a half-step back a little too hastily. At her cheap spear innuendo he snorted. "He's probably compensating." The manakete quipped tonelessly just as Nayu started giving orders.

As the rest of the group slipped off Zane sized up his assigned partner, Dark Mages weren't famous for keeping quiet in a fight but at least they had subtlety as a rule. "I assume you actually do have something we could use on you? Maybe something we could use with just a needle?" He wasn't exactly happy about the idea of using poison but he felt ambivalent since his other ideas involved bashing the guard against a wall or simply clubbing the guy with his dragonstone.

DoctorDiggles

 

[DoctorDiggles]

Quetzal snickered at Zane's comment about the spearman's spear as she directed her attention toward Nayu. She rolled her eyes as the woman simplified her order and Korvalt questioned her being put as second in command which Quetzal also questioned as well. Because she didn't take any of this as seriously as everyone else was. Just because it was a rescue mission didn't mean it had to be a boring rescue mission! The shaman blew a kiss to Nayu, Korvalt, and Pam as they left her alone with Zane. "Good luck!" she whispered ominously to them before they left.

She turned back to Zane who also seemed to lack some much needed levity. "Making assumptions of a lady Mr. Dragon? That's not very polite of you." She continued to jerk him around despite the negative reactions she'd been getting so far from her allies. Quetzal shook her head and passed a tiny brown bag to the dragon. "I'm afraid I don't have any needles Mr. Dragon. However I suppose if you were to blow a pinch of this powder into a man's face then you could effectively silence him for an hour or two. Just make sure you don't breathe any of it in."

The doctor paused and put a hand under her chin. "Actually... that may not be the proper mixture." Quetzal pulled another tiny brown bag from her person and passed it to Zane. "One of these powders will put our friend to sleep. The other will turn his skin pink and give him quivering boils. I can't be sure which one is which... I should really start labeling them!" Quetzal smiled brightly. Of course she knew which one was which. She never needed to label any of her "medicines" she knew what they were from where she placed them on her person. It was just more fun to confuse her allies. "That's all I have Mr. Dragon so use them sparingly!"

IG42 Truthblade CallmeMyth

 

[IG42]

Involuntarily Zane smirked a little at his partner's snickering Quetzal seemed like the type who would use her own severed arm as a sock puppet before taking things seriously. He wondered to himself if Nayu had paired them up because he was used to dealing with noisy creatures who's idea of fun often involved things bleeding everywhere.

At Quetzal's air of false offence the manakete scoffed quietly. "Would it have been more courteous to work under the assumption that you're useless? I would happily do that if it would make you feel better about your abilities or lack thereof. You really don't have any needles?" Idly he rubbed his arm, most 'doctors' he met told him he needed to get blood taken for some reason or another, it didn't take him long to find out that a lot of them moonlighted as alchemists and manakete blood was a rather rare ingredient for them.

Taking the bag Zane tested the weight carefully. "Just make the guy inhale it? That seems simple enough-oh here go..." He rubbed his forehead in exasperation when Quetzal pulled out another identical bag. "I may regret asking and not just getting on with this but what happens if I just use both on the guy?"

DoctorDiggles

 

[DoctorDiggles]

Quetzal nodded and smiled brightly. "That would be the polite thing to do Mr. Dragon! Tsk tsk! You would bring a tear to your mother's eye if she heard the way you speak to ladies!" She chastised him playfully before confirming she didn't have any needles. "Back home we use needles to do the opposite of healing. And as I've told you I am a doctor."

What really made Quetzal excited was that she genuinely had no idea what effect the powders would have if both were used. "A fascinating question Mr. Dragon! It's one I've yet to answer myself. Maybe they'll put him to sleep and cover him in boils. Maybe they'll do something entirely different! Maybe they'll neutralize each other and become completely ineffective! You must sate our curiosity Mr. Dragon!" She grinned with a slight look of madness in her crimson eyes. "These bandits can be put to good use darling. Instead of being useless stains upon society they can give their lives for the cutting edge of medical science!"

Quetzal had allowed her voice to rise a little above a whisper. "Is someone there?" The guard turned around and faced the wall Quetzal and Zane had hidden behind. The shaman smiled deviously and spoke more softly. "Time's running out Mr. Dragon. Make your choice!"

IG42

 

[IG42]

Zane snorted at Quetzal's needling about his manners. "My mother is not one for flowery words, people run for cover on the rare occasion she stands up to make a speech."

When the Shaman started going on about the possibilities of using both mixtures on the guard he banged his head lightly against the wall a couple of times in frustration until he heard the guard call out and begin to approach their hiding place. "You do know that if we're spotted people will die, or do you just not care?" Dumping the mystery bags in the dirt he palmed his dragonstone and waited for the sentry.

When the bandit's footsteps drew close to the corner Zane jumped out and punched him sharply in the stomach with his free hand driving out his breath and cutting off the shout of alarm, as the man doubled over Zane clubbed him heavily in the temple with his dragonstone leaving him slumped against the wall.

After waiting a moment to make sure the sentry wasn't getting up Zane wiped the blood off his dragonstone on the man's clothes before hauling him behind the wall and dumping him in the dirt, calmly Zane checked he was still breathing. "Well he'll live for the moment, probably."

DoctorDiggles