Flashback gien weroux the fourth, mien weroux the fifth.

[Eridanus]

Day 12, Winter of 416 AV
Afternoon
Aylasa Caves

"Are there increased security in the region, Coinsmith?" Voodoo asked, repeating the question he asked earlier when he was told of the fact earlier. Medal and Yeller had carelessly executed quite a few people from the previous mission, causing more people to disappear than normal. In turn, people began hiring more mercenaries to guard the area - especially where informal gambling tents set up infrequently, and Knight patrols have increased as well. However, Voodoo seemed to be more interested in mercenaries being called to guard the particular gambling business that Mark Three used to work at. Jimmy's Make-Your-Fortune, one of the more successful underground casinos that could afford the better mercenaries.

"Aye," Coinsmith replied, his voice affected by his blocked nose due to the cold of Winter. "Five guards, all seemed to be seasoned warriors to me. Three swords and two crossbows-"

"Two crossbows, you say?"

"Yessir. Two cross-"

"How do they look like?"

"Now that you mention it... they both have short cropped blonde hair and dark green eyes-"

"Scars on their shins and wrists?"

"Maybe. I didn't take a good look-"

"Do their faces happen to look like these pictures?"

There was silence as Coinsmith considered. Voodoo's voice had been rising with excitement as he questioned the scout, and it had ended with him tearing the two drawings he placed on the caverns, brandishing them to the man.

"I... think so. General face features are rather similar," Coinsmith mused, though Voodoo already got the answer that he wanted. He did not need a perfect match, for his previous questions were meant to cut down on red herrings in the first place.

"Gien and Mien Weroux, the twin crossbow guards. Said to be lucky in their shots, though skill plays a large part as well. We do know, however, that luck had been a major factor in their shots, since they have been cultivated by The Organization. Now that they have left behind their legacy, it is time for them to be harvested."

"Gee, it seems rather... difficult to try to take down lucky archers, ain't it?" Coinsmith questioned aimlessly.

"Well, yes. That is why we are not going for a frontal assault. Their luck in blind-shooting will be fatal to us all. We will observe their routines, and opt for a silent night strike. Remember, our priority is to deal with the twins as soon as possible, or their arrows will be in one of our hearts. The rest are just your normal guards that should not be a problem to Redeemer. Middleman, will you-"

"I will join you gentlemen in the field this time," Middleman rasped, waving his bony fingers about as if to sense the djed in the air.

"Alright," Voodoo replied. "In that case I will be overall mission coordinator for this instance, and I will take care of logistics and escape. Middleman, Medal and Yeller will be in Task Force A; Middleman to lead, while Yeller to take point. Your team will be to strike the twins down before they can react. Task Force B will be led by Redeemer, and will consist of Redeemer and Coinsmith. The two of you will be in charge of creating general chaos, dealing with everyone else besides the twins, and creating a large enough distraction for Task Force A to load the cargo and escape."

"Hey, why do they get to have all the fun?" Yeller interjected.

"Let me finish. Once Mark Four and Mark Five have been secured, Middleman and Medal are to load the cargo into the escape carriage, while Yeller is to aid Task Force B. More precisely, Medal will provide arcane support as well, and the priority is for Middleman to escape with the cargo. The rest of you will escape in the secondary escape horses instead, after buying some time for Middleman to escape with the cargo. Remember that horses travel faster than carriage."

"Sweet," Yeller drawled, satisfied with this arrangement.

"Coinsmith will take charge of surveillance and guard routines, and when he gets hold of information for when the twins are resting, we will strike. Any question?"

There was a chorus of "nope's", "no's" and "nada's".

"Alright team, move out!" Voodoo declared.

[Eridanus]

Days 13-36, Winter of 416 AV

After many days of excruciating observation shifts and stakeouts in the cold, hiding in the snow-covered shrubbery for hours while trying not to be frostbitten, they managed to extract solid information regarding guard shifts. Eridanus had the slight advantage of magic on his side, for he often recycled and mentally moved flux within his body to keep his internal body warm as he lay hidden in the shrubbery watching the guards move out to map out their patrol timings.

Fortunately, the Seventh Order of The Organization managed to retrieve the information they needed, and after some deliberation by Voodoo and Middleman they figured out the plan of approach.

Day 37, Winter of 416 AV
Midnight
Jimmy's Make-Your-Fortune, Outside Syliras

They had plotted the path of Jimmy's gambling caravan during their days of observation, and had predicted that tonight would result in Jimmy setting up shop for the night near one of the travel hovels on the road leading from Syliras to Zeltiva. That meant that it was a patrolling area for Knights, and that also meant that they had to do their work quiet and silently. And quickly.

Eridanus ran through the plan in his mind as he lay hidden before a hill, with Coinsmith similarly beside him as they squinted at the caravan from the distance. If all went perfectly well, they would even be needed. However, if they had to revert to Plan B, that was where Task Force B would come in. Coinsmith shivered as he rubbed his gloved hands together, but Eridanus simply continued to move the djed threads throughout his body using flux. Since he was lying on his belly and observing, there was no need for him to power his limbs at any moment of time, and so he simply redirected the whole bunch of djed threads with his mind, making the whole route of his body. The act of doing so created internal heat and warmed his body from within, helping him to deal with the cold.

Ahead of him, he could see Middleman approaching the caravan with a group of revelers that came from the direction of Stormhold Castle, pretending to be one of the group even though he was not. The limited vision that darkness brought as well as unusual proximity with a group of people often made others perceive one as part of the group, which was precisely what Middleman did. To the other end, Eridanus could vaguely make out the shapes of Medal and Yeller as they crept up on the premises of the unpacked caravan, towards the guard tents where the guards taking shifts would rest.

One Bell Later

Time passed by as they watched, and Eridanus could tell that Medal and Yeller were getting tired of waiting at their spot. Middleman was still in the midst of establishment, and it seemed that the twin brothers had no intention to go to rest at all. At the end of their shifts, they simply moved to one of the tables to begin gambling.

Contingency plan B-3 is likely to be executed.

As if Middleman could hear what he was thinking, the old man walked innocuously behind of the gamblers, reaching forth with his finger stealthily and began to draw djed from the unsuspecting man.

Immediately, his victim began convulsing, and collapsed while gibbering incoherently. Middleman, who just so happened to be in the area, managed to cradle the man as he collapsed, looking like the helpful passer-by.

"That conniving old corpse!" Coinsmith gasped silently beside Eridanus, to which the ethaefal nodded wholeheartedly to.

"Very sneaky," The moonchild agreed.

It was then that one of the nearby tents burst into flames thanks to an incendiary throwing spear launched by Yeller. Instantly, a commotion broke out. The leader of the guards continued to attend to the fainted man, instead gesturing for the off-duty twins to investigate, since the other two guards had to continue to patrol the premises and the rest of the tents. Especially the carriage that kept the profits of the business.

Medal and Yeller sneaked up on the twins as they approached the burning tent. At seemingly the same time, Yeller leaped forward and rammed his assault spear into the neck of one of them, while the other's head seemingly twisted a full circle on its own accord. A civilian noticed and screamed.

"Ah shykes, that means that it's our turn," Eridanus sighed, beckoning for Coinsmith to follow as he gathered his gear.

"Why can things never go to plan," The brawler agreed, strapping on his spiked gauntlets.

Together, the two of them sprinted down to the establishment, covering their faces with scarves.

"Bandits!" One of the guard called out before he gargled as Coinsmith slammed his elbow into the man. Before the other could raise his blade, Eridanus grabbed his head and tore it out of the neck socket, his arm coursing and bulging with flux enhanced strength. He threw the head into the crowd of civilians, causing utmost panic.

"Someone call the Knights!" Jimmy called out somewhere, and Eridanus immediately sprinted after the courier. Coinsmith was drawing the attention of the leader of the guards, who was immediately drained of his djed by Middleman the minute he showed his back to the aged nuit. Eridanus caught up with the courier with the unnatural magic pumping through his legs, and he basically stampeded the courier onto the ground, crushing his skull with his legs as he ran him over like a bull. Grasping the man's head viciously, he tore it out from his neck when he redirected djed to his arms to fortify his raw strength, throwing it back into the crowd again.

More screams, more chaos.

In the midst of the chaos, Yeller had been indiscriminately killing people and causing even more panic, while Medal was helping Middleman to load the corpses of the twin brothers onto a unsuspecting carriage that appeared nearby. Eridanus could vaguely spot Voodoo's smirk as he sat atop the horses. Middleman quickly loaded the corpses into Voodoo's carriage, and as they moved out, Medal cleared the path ahead of them by pushing the obstacles - people and objects - out of the way with his astral arms.

Eridanus ran back to the premises, and together with Yeller and Coinsmith they ran the hell out of there, making a detour around a nearby hill where three horses were tethered "miraculously".

"Glad it's there. If Voodoo forgot about these horses I woulda killed him," Yeller declared. Together, the three of them slung their legs over the horses and rode the hell out of there, heading straight first to the clump of trees in order to throw off any would-be pursuers, finally making a large detour and arriving at their base in the caves.

Mark Four and Mark Five secured. Though contingency plan had to be invoked, cargo still secured with no casualties. Mission accomplished.

[Eridanus]

Skill Requests

• Leadership
• Stealth/Camouflage
• Flux
• Unarmed Combat
• Running
• Riding (Horse)

Lore Requests

• Lucky Seven Milestone: Gien Weroux (fourth)
• Lucky Seven Milestone: Mien Weroux (fifth)

[Cloud]

XP Reward!

From the sky falls your reward!

PC Name: Eridanus

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Leadership	+2
Stealth	+1
Camouflage	+1
Flux	+2
Unarmed Combat	+2
Running	+2
Riding	+1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Using The Flux To Generate Body Heat
•	Lucky Seven Milestone: Gien Weroux (fourth)
•	Lucky Seven Milestone: Mien Weroux (fifth)

Plans never follow through so easily, but lucky for Eri he has extra! A great job and a great thread, I'm really excited to see the turn out of all this. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to send me a pm!