Feb 24 18:53:54 110 PA - Dragons Are Apparently Easy to Kill
From Chronicles
Feb 24 18:53:54 110 PA.
TRADEWINDS COFFEE SHOP
Valeriya and Leonard are sitting in the coffee shop having coffee and muffins at a godawful early time in the morning. Dawn is a few hours away yet and they are conversing with each other at a lonely table in the mostly empty shop.
Gabriel is up, for some reason. Probably business, but who knows. His dog is with him even at this hour, but knows to wait outside by the door. In uniform, he gives the duo of mages a brief wave before making his way to the barista.
Leonard looks up from the conversation over coffee and confections upon spotting Gabriel's entrance and subsequent wave. He returns the greeting with a nod before continuing to Valeriya, "With that assessment, I'd say that our task won't be simple, but won't be terribly difficult either. Still, a direct confrontation shouldn't be our primary plan."
Valeriya can't refute that logic. Who would want to confront something that can swat you like a bug after all. "What do you suggest then?" She asks in search for an alternative.
Up at the counter, Gabriel pays out the few dollars necessary for a glass of milk, then turns to view the empty room. Since Leonard and Valeriya are an obvious destination, he makes for them, holding the glass steady as he does so. "Morning, folks," he says cheerily and more chipper than most people would manage. "Getting ready to storm the castle? Mind if I sit?" A gesture is made to a chair free at one of the empty tables.
"Conversation," Leonard is quick to answer. "If we can entice the new ruler to another location, there's no need to worry about a return. Good morning, Gabriel." Leonard gestures to an empty chair. "Please."
Valeriya looks really skeptical now, she will clearly need more convincing. "And you know of such a place in need of a ruler?" She asks with a raised brow. She also nods to Gabriel with Leonard's gesture. "Leonard thinks diplomacy may move our dragon Gabriel. Intriguing isn’t it?"
With a smile, Gabriel grabs the chair and pulls it quietly near the occupied table before seating himself and crossing one leg across the other. "Morning," he repeats. "I don't know dragons, Valeriya, except that in every biblical and fantasy tale I can remember, someone had to come along with a sword to kill it, in order to make it stop whatever it was doing. So.. diplomacy would be great, yes. But from what little I know, unlikely." He then offers a shrug and sips at his glass. "Not that it couldn't be worth trying, even as a distraction."
Leonard shrugs his shoulders. "It only seems prudent to consider the option. This is no feral beast, but a creature as intelligent, or likely more, than any of us. Destroying it won't be easy, and we don't want it to flee and return later. Its intelligence does make it as subject to manipulation as any other, however."
Valeriya nods in agreement to that. "That is correct. In fact trying to compare its intelligence on a scale to our own is probably folly. But, that intelligence is not human. It has no concept of humane as we do. It has taken a community to rule for itself because it can. Might makes right. So while reasoning is certainly well within its capabilities. The law of control is the same." Valeriya offers in turn.
Gabriel watches the mages converse with a passive eye, waiting for a moment to ask, "So some people call dragons gods, yes? Religion is rife with gods and false-gods being fallible to the little folk because they saw not just 'might makes right' but that their own greatness was so far above reproach, they neglected to watch for those insignificant things that could hurt them. Still? If it's true that a dragon is so smart - perhaps not wise, but smart - wouldn't it be true that assuming your bomb worked, it would still have the capability to rally some kind of ally, or even enemy, to attack Creel?" A glance is shared before saying, "I would suggest that by only wounding it, it will come back, and it will take out its wrath on the people."
"That is why we must convince it to leave and not return," Leonard agrees. "Aside from the obvious use of force, that is why I suggest influence. You are both correct on its mentality, but that can be used to our benefit. Perhaps we can find a more appealing target for it or tempt its ego and vanity in some other way? Not that we shouldn't have an established plan for combat, of course."
Valeriya smirks and leans back with a shake of her head. "Why, would it settle for one wealthy location when it could have two?" She asks to Leonard. "I agree it would probably leap at the chance to increase its holdings. But not that it would abandon Creel to do so. Which is where we come to Gabriel's point. Which is all but certain. Most practices of magic offer allies and alliances of sort. So naturally we should assume the dragon has those and will have them do its bidding should it be incapacitated. But, those forces are likely to be much less challenging than the dragon itself. And the dragon will need some measure of time to send them. So yes, crippling it and driving it off is not the end of the story. It's just the hard part."
Gabriel clearly looks to have been preparing to say something, but then closes his mouth and sips at his glass with one brow arched up, and one down in thought. His head shakes a little bit as whatever was said rattles around inside of his head.
Leonard's response is also delayed as he considers Valeriya's valid, prominent points. After imbibing more coffee, he must accede to her logic. "Perhaps hitting it hard and fast is the best option, after all."
Valeriya nods. "Part of our initial reconnaissance will be solely focused on determining what sort of magic the dragon is commanding and the allies that that grants. We will then weigh what will be needed to defend against those allies for the counterattack before we even step foot into Creel." She explains. "When we attack it's going to be as brief as possible. But as I told Rasputin, we'll take as much time as it takes before that to prepare."
"Well. I have some details to discuss on your bomb, some suggestions and such. But they can wait for now. This reconnaissance, how many trips do you plan? Or are we setting out with whatever we can fit on our backs, make a base camp somewhere and fight for a few months?" Gabriel smiles, "Either way is fine."
"I assume," Leonard looks to Valeriya pointedly as he seeks to confirm, "That she intends us to make a camp relatively nearby, rather than make multiple trips. Our planned jumps will make travel quick, but also tiring. For me, at least. The delays between ventures could make the information from the last irrelevant, also."
Valeriya chuckles lightly. "Oh I doubt we will be fighting for months. If we are, then this is a much older and more experienced dragon than alluded to. In which case we should call for assistance from our sponsors." She points out. "No I expect to have Creel liberated in less than a week, and supported by weekly visits from Leo and I thereafter. Also, our sponsors have vested interest in the town's recovery as well, so I imagine once we've done the bulk of the work they will be happy to step in."
"I disagree slightly about the delays and time-frame. A first and very course inspection could be extremely useful. In fact, it might be wise to make sure that we do it. Make a pass, gather information about the terrain, the population and even the weather. Note locations of import." A hand is waved, and Gabriel nods very soldier-like. "Then come back here and go over the information so that when we *do* set up a forward post, the detail work can be done as efficiency as possible. What can you tell me about the 'sponsors'?"
Leonard hmms softly around a few bites of danish. "That would double our travel... though it would make it much easier to plan without unexpected interruption. So long as there is some brief rest before the return, it is a decent compromise." He leaves the question of sponsorship to Valeriya.
"I can tell you they don’t like dragons. But you probably figured that much out." Valeriya offers with a shrug before raising a brow at Gabriel and Leonard. "Someone is going to carefully explain to me, who isn’t particularly worried about anything in Mexico besides the dragon, why two trips are better than one. Rasputin was keen on this notion as well. But I still don’t see why we should not learn what we need and attack in the same visit."
Gabriel sighs a little and collects his thoughts. "Let's say that what you want to do is kill Rheevus over in Whykin, but you've never been there. You're operating out of... I dunno, Tolkeen. First you need to know about Whykin the city, the military and the people. That way you'll know things like general patrol routes, locations where you can expect to be stopped for identification. Walls that can't be scaled. A good spot to run to if things go badly." He taps an index finger on the table. "Then you go back to Tolkeen, with photographs and audio tape, personal interviews with people who didn't know who you were. Now you can prepare properly, make a model of the city. Have some good guesses about where the General might be at any given time - though you can't know precisely or absolutely. But what you can do now, after having cleaned this information, is to pack up the tools that you need to do the job; nothing more, nothing less. You return to Whykin, and you know that you can stay in a hotel in this sector. You know that on this day, you can go to this place. Spend a few days inspecting the area in detail until finally you know when Rheevus is going to be alone in his sleeping quarters with light security, at which point, you go in, kill him and walk right out the front door." After the somewhat lengthy explanation, the old soldier folds his fingers together. "It's really no different with this project. I'll need to know more about the sponsors." The last is tacked on as an important aside.
"We want to be prepared," Leonard's mixed justification begins to Valeriya, then turns to Gabriel, "But maybe you are expanding the scale beyond what it is. The dragon is a single being, possibly with some conjured assistance, in a small town in forced occupation, not a military force in a fortified position. I'm willing to make two trips, if that becomes necessary, but we will not know that until we make the first. There are also others in the area who detest the dragon. Should matters go awry, they may be of use."
Valeriya yawns and nods to Leonard. "He's right Gabe, way over-thinking. And we are going in prepared. We're not camping out to gather ten times the magical power the dragon will have because it's popular. Topography, lay of the land, routine can all be ascertained in a day with our resources. You must also remember that we are mages, and crafty ones at that. If I wanted to kill Rheevus I'd walk into Whykin and kill him. No Coalition soldier would see me enter, or leave. Their psi units would detect a large amount of magical energy in the city that day. But wouldn’t be able to pinpoint it. Getting in and out of well-defended areas is what I'm trained for." She counters before cocking her head slightly. "You'll have to tell me what you need to know, so I can ask them if I can tell you."
"Oh good God, don't take it so literally," Gabriel chuckles. "Let's say that here, we would go in once. Find out that there are three mountain peaks, with Creel in the southwest plain below. To the north is a large forest and there are six repositories for mined gems with a single processing facility. Turns out that there's more than just a dragon around, there are others helping to guard the mine. That the dragon likes to take human form and march around the city. We come back here, and prepare to set up a camp in that forested area with good sight lines to defend ourselves from vampires and a safe spot from which to examine the various mine shafts before jumping." He pauses and says, "Two visits is a wise thing to do. People plan things against deadly, tough things for a reason. Or is there some kind of premium on our time and your valuable ability to get in and do anything without getting caught? I need to know who they are, so I can visit or ask around for myself. Or have someone representing them visit them in the presence of a psychic or magic which would force them to tell the truth." Sip.
Leonard speaks up with some answer to that, "Our time is valuable, yes. We have other projects underway. As for your reconnaissance, I've already gathered some general knowledge of the town and the surrounding area. Topography, settlements, ley lines, et cetera. That will cover some of our coarse knowledge, yes?" He finishes the remainder of his own cup. "What could we learn in two trips that we couldn't learn in a week?"
"For one, we will be camping about a hundred miles out from Creel. I'll not risk our camp's detection to a dragon's considerable resources. Second, we'll ascertain the dragon's habits and guards. I don’t expect it to be either defenseless or scaly. But regardless of it being 30 feet long or 30 inches long, unless it's keeping its arcane energy down to the levels of the mundane I can recognize it." Valeriya states firmly. "Beyond that is subject to what we discover. So let's focus on those points for the time being.""
Gabriel nods to Leonard. "I've done what I can from here in Kingsdale. We'll need to share and get that better picture, Leonard. At any rate, the point of two trips is that one is fast, then you get out to plan an operation based on that information. The second trip might last a few days of detailing before executing whatever the final mission may be. If nothing else, it's safer than staying in the area - more time in country, more time to get caught." However, for now he moves on with Valeriya. Not personally, but bluntly. "I want access to the funds that our sponsors can provide, so that I can provide our team with a weapon system more likely to chase off the dragon, should it come to violence."
"What sort of weapon system do you intend?" Leonard asks of Gabriel. "And what of the risks of travel? The dragon having driven off the vampires, even if temporarily, makes the area less dangerous than the travel to it. I also doubt that any of our final planning will take days. I must agree with Valeriya that a single trip is best, and I don't feel that anyone has made a strong enough argument against that."
"Doesn’t matter. Our sponsors are not supplying any money to this endeavor. Not that sort of arrangement." Valeriya points out to both Gabriel and Leonard with a shake of her head. "They are experienced in the field and well-organized. I've arranged for our mission to Creel to be a sort of tryout to affiliate with them further. If we perform to their standards we will be considered for future endeavors that are more lucrative."
"A better system, better than one cobbled boom," is all that Gabriel says to Leonard by way of clarification at this moment in time. "Okay, I'll need access to your funds, Valeriya. Or someone's funds. The sponsors are well organized, I'm sure. Experienced in the field is an interesting phrase. Which field would that be? I'm happy to help the needed, but I'm not a dog, I do not do tricks for strangers who know the right gesture and whistle. Who are they, as in a name that I research? If they meet my standards, then I'll perform to theirs."
Leonard offers, "Well, when you have a more specific purchase in mind, I can assist you with an advance of funds, Gabriel. Just don't overestimate too greatly. I understand that you know little of dragons, but they are not as invulnerable nor omnipotent as some tales might suggest.""
"If they consent I'll tell you who they are. Otherwise, you are doing tricks for me. This mission to Creel is happening regardless of outside motivators. Our sponsors are merely opportunity for future endeavors." Valeriya points out to Gabriel with a mild shrug before eyeing her cold cup of coffee and the time. "Now we should depart. We have much to do."
Gabriel nods and smiles to Leonard. "I'll get a design together, then get together with you, Leo. It shouldn't be overly expensive, and I don't expect to go overboard. Just perform the original task better." Then to the antsy magess, "See that they consent then. You guys have a good morning, okay?" He then takes his cue and starts to fade back from the table.
