Guild's War 4: Operation Popping Daisies

[Bacon]

((Spacefleet Communications Hub))

A junior comm officer swiveled in his chair to face his superior. "So, I take it from your little chat with the Commander that I should not have told Bacon to head planetside?"

The superior glared at him. "You think, Andy? That was a major breach in protocol! He leaves for years with no explanation and you don't even send a team to detain him for questioning? Can't you do anything right?"

The junior officer, who was named Andy apparently, pondered this question. "Sometimes... maybe. But in my defense, I wasn't exactly trained for this sort of work."

The elder comm officer nodded. "Yeah, I know. And if I ever find the personnel officer who messed up and put you under my charge, I'll probably go bezerk at him."

Andy blinked. From the man's tone he had assumed he was going to end the sentence with a much more visceral expression than just 'go bezerk'. "So... the situation has zombies, then?"

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

Andy shrugged. "I keep saying, no one tells me anything!"



((Planetside, Excalibur III interior))

Before Amneiger could respond, Bacon got a signal from somebody else. Literally the second the words were out of his mouth, the communicator in his ear rang and a familiar voice spoke.

"Bacon, this is Commander Fraze."

The sentence was more jarring than anything Bacon could have expected. Commander who? When did that happen?

"The Commander bit happened several years ago."

Bacon wondered if he had said that out loud by accident, or if perhaps Fraze had added telepathy to the repertoire of uncanny tricks he had hidden up his sleeve. He was about to reply, but Fraze's voice cut him off.

"I've got a lot of questions about where you've been, but they can wait. I know you're heading to the surface to take a look at the situation in Dunburrow. Find Amnei, if you haven't already, and follow his lead. However, do not make yourself known to the Mages. We've been in a delicate political situation since you left."

Bacon winced. He knew his absence would not be soon forgotten by the high-ranking officers of Spacefleet, he just hadn't counted on Fraze to be one of them. Before he could get much further along on this train of thought, another familiar voice spoke in his ear.

"Bacon, haven't seen you in a while. Follow me to the Manor. I'll go in first. Stay back, and after I go in head up into the sky and watch for anything happening."

Bacon smiled at first, but then frowned when he realized the gravity of what Amneiger had just told him to do. He paused for a moment, then replied into the radio. "Hmm... I don't know about that plan. My ship can fly itself almost as well as I can. I think I'd be more useful to you on the ground. And don't argue because I've made up my mind."

"You're not very good at following orders, are you?"

Bacon smirked at the computer. "Trust me, Amneiger thinks I'm the same combat-inexperienced mechanic I was before I left. He doesn't know how much I've changed since then."

"Technically, you haven't seen any more combat than before."

Bacon frowned at the computer. "You know what I mean. Unlock the combat lockers, Cal. Wait until he sees my pretty new toys."

"As you wish. And before I forget, what do you mean, I can fly 'almost as well' as you?"

"Hey, you know it's true."



((Near Mage Manor))

The Excalibur III hovered about twenty feet above a spot near where Amnei had set down. Bacon, clad in a thin suit of ultra-dense impact armor, leapt down to the ground, letting his gravboots cushion his fall.

As soon as he was on the ground, he spoke into his radio. "Cal, you're our eyes up there. High-orbit observation, but not so high that you can't provide air support on a moment's notice."

"I guess I'll have to 'fly casually', then?"

Bacon blinked at the movie reference, but shook it off. He pulled his blaster rifle, Stella, off of its perch on the side of the left leg on his suit of armor. He also brought his katana, neural stunner, and blaster pistol, although none of them had names.

He marched up to Amneiger. "I'm coming with you."

[Celestial]

((Castle Kestrel))

Celestial cursed as Huntry entered the library, hiding behind a convenient bookshelf. She stowed the books that she had found away, gesturing at the mages to move, casting a spell to cause the air to refract the light around them, hiding them from the pirate captain as they made their way to the door of the library and then hopefully out into the portal.

Just then, as though in a sitcom, the communicator went off in the Manor, causing Celestial's own duplicate communicator to go off as well. She picked it up, assuming her most casual dipolomatic voice.

"I'm glad. I shall hopefully meet Amneiger there shortly, if get out of Castle Kestrel alive."

There was no point hiding anymore. The mage dropped the illusion and urged the mages with her to run.

((Mage Manor))

The librarian did not like the two men standing in front of him. While they did match their reputations, the fact that they were going to take over the Manor did not suit him. That was the Archmage's decision and the Manor probably would not have appreciated being invaded by zombies anyway. The two generals would not harm it and his books would be safe but to access the books was controlled by the Manor. It was already suspicous enough of him as it is without him betraying it.

He did not feel the stench. The librarian watched the other mages, including Krisseh and Tiger, charge at the two generals. He suspected it would be futile. The zombie army was too strong and the two generals far too clever. While some mages did step forward to try talking, he knew it would only be a matter of time before they would be defeated and the Manor would be under attack.

Only then would he step in. The librarian never did anything unless his library was in danger. Only when the other mages were defeated would it be in danger and he would be forced to do something.

For their sake, he hoped he would not have to do it. But just in case, he prepared to take off his gloves.

[Zylaa]

Zylaa was entirely happy to participate in Operation: Stuffing Faces, and Operation: Take Massive Horse to Library had gone smoothly as well, assisted by continual bribes of stolen apples. The weasels had awoken from the blarf at some point and came along, many attempting to clamber onto the horse, who managed to deter them with an incredibly pointed look and a ruffle of feathers. The weasels probably still had lingering memories of Shiva the gleefully carnivorous demon horse.

The rest of the night was spent reading, and at one moment, Zylaa reflected that zombie apocalypses were definitely underrated. She then realized with a guilty start that in attempting to find information on valkyrie horses, she'd gotten sidetracked and read the entire Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Well, at least if they ran across a Lethifold or Chimera in their adventures, Zylaa would know what to do.¹

But when Hunty exclaimed over a new and interesting book, Zylaa shuffled over to take a look. Her eyes widened as she saw what was open. She smiled the smile of one long used to doing potentially unwise things in the name of adventure.

"We're gonna need a raw egg."

Twenty minutes later, around a hastily cleared spot in the floor, they had assembled all the ingredients needed for the Rite of Ashe'kente. The raw egg had been easy. The 2 ccs of mouse blood, also easy-- the weasels, never prone to sitting and reading for long periods of time (or any periods of time), had been hunting through the castle like especially bouncy cats in their own search for tasty food. Some meepits stood in for the extra wizards needed.

Surely, this would provide them the answers they needed about this takeover and what to do. After all, who would know more about the undead? Or at least the dead.

Zylaa had attempted to think of something suitably impressive and formal to say, but had failed. When the figure appeared in the middle of the circle, therefore, she went for the obvious.

"Hi there," Zylaa said to Death. "Nice to meet you. If you don't mind, we have some questions."

---
¹ Run away as fast as her legs could carry her.

[Terra]

Castle Kestrel

Zephyr, along with the other mages, had combed through many, many library bookshelves, but while he found many interesting books, there were only a few that seemed relevant to the situation at hand. The ones he picked up were a military history of Dunburrow, a book that compared and contrasted some of the most prominent conquerors in history (arbitrarily chosen by the author), the Encyclopedia of Undead Creatures (Zephyr wondered why the knights would possibly need a book like this), and a book entitled How to Succeed in Battle Without Really Trying, which he picked up only because he was curious about what a book with such an outrageous name could possibly contain.

Then someone entered - someone he didn’t recognize, but who Celestial obviously did. Zephyr followed Celestial as she cast an illusion spell to hide them (he made a mental note to look into learning this).

Then Celestial’s communicator suddenly went off.

Is that Spacefleet technology? Zephyr wondered briefly, before thinking, Oh, we are in a bit of trouble now, aren’t we, and, Really, was there not a way to silence that thing?

He didn’t hesitate to obey when Celestial bid the mages to run.

[Fraze]

((Mage Manor))

Well. That went about as poorly as expected.
Alabaster took a step back, and his cadre closed in around him. Several soldiers were struck by Krisseh's spell, turning into an assortment of zombie confections. ((Hayati--I'm assuming this is what dessmute does, since you didn't describe the effects anywhere.))

One mage leapt in front of Tiger's ox, constructing a barrier to block its path. The barrier held for only a few seconds before breaking, and the mage was trampled underfoot as the ox continued its charge toward Hellas, who drew his sword and shield. He jumped just as the ox's horns hit his shield, flipped over its head and landed on its back. He stabbed his sword downward into the animal's neck.

"Sir...LET US TALK PEACE BEFORE WE FIGHT! I apologize for my rash companions, I do. Can we talk this over... like the civilized folks? I'll bring out some tea!"
Alabaster cocked his head at Ellen. "You have an odd sense of negotiation. Our offer of surrender stands, but you will need to convince your companions to stand down first."

"Why do you want the Manor, though? Maybe we can help you find whatever it is you need without the need for a takeover."
"The Manor and Castle Kestrel are the two seats of Dunburrow's power," Alabaster answered. "If we control these, we effectively control the country."

[Lord Hayati]

(dessmute turns things into a random dessert, like ice cream, chocolate, or candy. It takes a bit more magic than Jellify, which turns things into jello.)

"If you are wanting this place to control, I won't let you have it then! >_<"

She started charging up a jellify spell. She wasn't going to target the generals directly, though. If she did, It would probably be suicide. Instead, what she wanted to do was hinder their forces. After all, a zombie that can be eaten, is one that can't be resurrected. But something was still on her mind. What if the underdeep makes her fight for the zombies? That would be bad. very, very, VERY bad.

[Pixie]

She glances at Krisseh, then at back at Alabaster. The situation is moving too fast. She grapples for words desperately, unable to form them solidly on her tongue.

I... I don't want my friends to die... we are outmatched, but... they won't stop fighting. I know they can't loose their home.. but...we didn't even try to buy time. If I can just wait for their leader to return... That jelly girl is reckless. I wish they knew I have a plan!

"Sir. Sir.. Alabaster... they aren't stoping? mustn't there be another way?" She pleads, blinking back tears. " One that doesn't involve any of us dying or complete and total surrender of our home?"

She turns away before he can catch the tears streaming down her face. The news of the day and the day past, all of it, came too quickly for Ellen to really let sink in, and it left her emotionally fragile.

How do I even know if this silly plan of mine will work? Ugh... I..don't know if I can do this alone...

"CELESTIAL!" She shrieks skyward, even though she knew the dragon couldn't hear a thing.

She fiddles with the strings on her bodice anxiously, but her mind lay on her satchel, where she kept her potions... and her small dagger. She had never attacked with the dagger before, and she feared that day that would change.

"Can we please halt the fighting?" She asks the mages, hoping at least one of them could read her mind and realize her plan.

[Celestial]

((Castle Kestrel))

Celestial waited before the other mages cleared out before she saw what the pirates were doing. Yeah, with a zombie army around, summoning death was probably not something you should let your enemies do. She wanted to run back to the Manor, to prepare themselves there but she could not let this pass. Magic was the speciality of the mages so running away from a ritual like this was not wise.

"Go on without me. I'll be fine, I can fly if it comes to it," she called to the other mages and went back into the library, noticing that Death had already been summoned. Celestial gave him a curt nod before she tapped Zylaa on the shoulder.

"Hello. It seems we meet again...now, may I ask just what exactly are you doing?" she asked her casually. It probably wouldn't work, nobody explained their plans just like that. But it was a good ice-breaker.

((Mage Manor))

The two generals had deserved their reputations. The librarian was still watching Krisseh, keeping a careful eye on the mage as she turned the various zombies into desserts. She really was an odd creature, not something the underdeep would normally pick. But every bit of underdeep was different and there was no accounting for taste.

The piercing call for the Archmage filled the air. The new mage was clearly afraid. Of all the emotions running high in that place, it was the only one that he could clearly pinpoint.

He had made up his mind. He did not want to get involved in politics. But in order to get back to his books, he had to. If there was any chances the mages could negotiate or wait it out, he would have gone back inside. But these kinds of situations always ended in conflict. He would be forced to fight and it was better sooner rather than later.

The librarian stepped forward in front of all the mages, gripping his gloves. He looked the two generals right in the eye.

"Leave," he said, not breaking from his usual monotone. "Or else."

[Tiger]

The ox burst into gray-green smoke as Hellas impaled it; some of the mist drifted back to Tiger, reabsorbing into her fingertips, but most simply disspiated into the air. Ellen's cry for peace sent a stab of angry impatient through her gut - and then the generals responded.

We need to stall them...

Tiger hadn't yet moved from her defensive position. "We aren't giving you the Manor," she said flatly. "Even if you did beat us, I doubt the Manor would let you take it."

She glanced around - still not nearly enough fighters. Krisseh, looking...unsettling, Ellen, in tears and obviously frightened, a single ninja, a single knight, and the librarian, of all people. Where in this crazy universe were the other mages?

"Why are you taking Jensen's orders?" Tiger asked, trying to bide for a little more time. If these two were ancient conquerers or enemies of Dunburrow, that would make sense, but Tiger was wagering that her companions would know who they were (well, the librarian probably knew, but he wasn't exactly communicative at the best of times, in Tiger's experience). "If it's some...obligation, some part of being resurrected...maybe we can help - "

The sound of footsteps made her glance back; the librarian came forward and delivered his monotone ultimatum. Tiger tensed, ready to leap to the man's aid if he was attacked...but not too keen to charge in and try to haul him back. There was something unearthly about the mages' bookkeeper - maybe he had the situation in hand.

[Amneiger]

((Just inside the back of Mage Manor))

Amneiger looked behind him as Bacon came up behind him. "I thought - " Amneiger began, and then stopped. Bacon seemed better armed and armored than Amneiger remembered. Amneiger reconsidered for a moment, then mentally shrugged. An extra person wouldn't hurt, and it wasn't like Fraze had specifically told Amneiger to keep Bacon out of the Manor. "Sure, all right," Amneiger said. "Don't forget you can use the minitanks as cover. Keep an eye out for any mages, we won't have time to talk to them when the zombies attack. I'm hoping that a few mages stayed back in here instead of all of them gathering out front."

[Bacon]

Bacon relished the look of surprise on Amneiger's face as he noticed the new equipment the mechanic was carrying.

"Sure, all right. Don't forget you can use the minitanks as cover. Keep an eye out for any mages, we won't have time to talk to them when the zombies attack. I'm hoping that a few mages stayed back in here instead of all of them gathering out front."

Bacon nodded. "Right. I'll follow your lead."

Zombies, huh? That might explain the strange readings on the ship's life-signs detectors just a moment ago. If they were animate but not alive, or rendered "alive" via some supernatural means, they'd likely be declared both dead and alive by different sensors.

[Huntress]

Castle Kestrel library

"Is there even the slightest chance that this won't end with wacky hijinks for you and a massive pile of incident reports for me?"

"None whatsoever," Hunty said. "Just... look me up if you decide to come this way yourself. Things might be getting interesting now."

She switched the communicator off and turned to look at the hastily drawn chalk circle.

Slanted moonbeams fell on the library floor, only barely lighting the room. The circle stood away from direct light, so you had to strain your eyes a bit to see the tall, seven-foot hooded figure who hadn't been there a second ago. Then it raised its head slowly, showing empty sockets in a bone-white face, a hand reached out, holding a staff, and a glowy blue-white blade sprang out, casting an eerie light on everything as its owner turned to look at the weasel girl who'd greeted him and the archmage who'd just appeared next to her.

OH, NOT YOU PEOPLE AGAIN, said Death.

Hunty turned to give Celestial a stern glare. She didn't particularly like mages, for less personal reasons and more because having no magic of her own, she was generally uneasy around people who could turn you into frogs. And now they were on opposite sides, although come to think of it, the archmage would probably be equally interested in Death's information.

"We're never all too sure what we're doing," she admitted. "That's kinda our thing. Hello, Death, you're better at this protocol, how are we supposed to go about this? Do we only get one question? Do we need to use honorifics like O Great Ferryman and the like?"

STRICTLY SPEAKING, NO, Death said glumly, BUT I'M ALSO NOT STRICTLY SPEAKING REQUIRED TO STAY WITHIN THIS CIRCLE, IF YOU WANT TO PLAY THIS WAY.

"That's what you get when meddling with the occult," Bloody Mary pointed out. "Look, consider this a consultation relevant to your field. We have a case of zombies in the country. Can you tell us how that happened and if resistance is, shall we say, futile? ...please?"

Death eyesocketed him for a brief moment, then produced an hourglass from his robes. He bent to look at it as little grains began to dance around in it and formed tiny intricate patterns.

The air grew chilly. Somehow, without moving a fraction of an inch, Death went from "observing quietly" to "observing quietly so loud that you couldn't hear your own thoughts".

Finally he looked up, and when he spoke again, the meepits squished themselves flat on the floorboards and Hunty took a quick involuntary step back. Death's voice was teeming with barely suppressed rage.

SHE USED OUR TOOLS, he said, heavily and deliberately. SHE USED MY SCYTHE.

[Fraze]

Hellas caught sight of Krisseh's spell. This one has strange magic, he noted. After a moment's consideration, he decided that testing the enemy's unknown power would be more in line with their orders than killing her outright. With a mental command, several mages threw a barrage of fireballs and lightning at Krisseh.

"Even if you did beat us, I doubt the Manor would let you take it."
"We have foreseen that contingency," Alabaster responded, "and we have prepared for it."
Before he could answer the rest of Tiger's questions, however, the Librarian issued his ultimatum.
"That line was a cliché when I was alive," Alabaster quipped. "I don't think it's improved with age."
This exchange caught Hellas' attention as well. "If you want us to leave, you will need to force us to do so." His voice was as steady as the Librarian's.

Surrender did not seem likely at this point. It never had, but Alabaster had wanted to give the opportunity. That tiger girl was right, the Manor wouldn't allow entrance to people with such obviously threatening motives. It was effectively another enemy. And enemies could be overcome.

Alabaster issued a telepathic order to a particular group of undead mages. One corner of his mouth twitched upward as he allowed himself the slightest bit of self-praise for this plan. He had hidden them very well--in the last place anyone might think to look.

The mages sprung into action. They had spent their entire lives working in the Manor. Many of them had helped to fortify it. They understood not only its defenses, but its mind.
Winding through pathways that were made of thought and magic just as much as brick or mortar, they began to pick away at the Manor's defenses, breaking them down from the inside out.

[Gelquie]

((Castle Kestral))

Gelquie had looked around the bookshelves obligingly, although still grumbling about the whole situation. She understood Celestial's reasons. She just wasn't sure if Celestial understood her reasons for not giving Spacefleet an ounce of trust, which they certainly didn't deserve. But she wasn't sure if it was a good time to argue. But even without the Archmage on her side when it comes to Spacefleet, it didn't mean she couldn't keep a good eye on things.

Gelquie did look through the books, but between her grumblings and not knowing much about Dunbarrow history, she didn't have much luck. Later, when she came back to report her lack of findings, she found Hunty coming in. She didn't know much about her, to be honest. She hadn't really dealt much with pirates. But she did seem to have a communicator. And Celestial had reason to put up an invisibility sphere at their presence. That was automatically a bad sign.

Invisibility spheres... Gelquie resisted the urge to sigh. It was the one type of illusion magic that she hadn't quite gotten the hang of yet. She had been working on it with mixed results. But if things were going the way they were, she might need it soon.

Then Celestial's communicator went off, and the spell stopped.

"See Celestial? This is what I mean," Gelquie thought to herself. She then complied with Celestial's bid to run. However, she couldn't help herself. After the last of the mages left, she slammed the door behind her, stopped just outside it and put her ear to the door, casting an illusion on herself to make her the same color as the wall. She knew she couldn't really help more than Celestial could handle herself, but she had to know something about the state of things. She could sneak away later.

Death... They summoned Death? Gelquie listened with interest.

[Draco]

((Mage Manor))

Dragus and Draco watch the mages fighting for their manor. A all out attack was not a good idea, it was the last thing either of them would have done, but what other choice did they have at the moment? Dragus looks to Draco.

"I have a plan. Use the shadows. Using magic we can both get in and pass the front lines. Once past the enemy lines, we could pass from undead shadow to undead shadow until we get to the generals."

Draco nods his head until the last part.

"No. Right now it would be best to use the tactic to take out as many of those undead mages as possible. They seem to be the worst of the army right now."

Dragus nods his head in agreement.

"I'll hang back a little. You're better at this then I am."

With that they both melt into shadowy puddles. The puddles zip across the ground hiding inside someone's shadow. The puddles continue to move along the ground, from one shadow to another. Soon they are across the enemies line and solidify right behind several undead mages. With a few quick slashes the zombies are down and they are back hiding in shadows. They continue this method to other zombies along the way.