Goblin Town -- Logs

Veles shakes his head and motions the group away from the door and back toward the van. Cinnamon follows quietly, not saying anything until they're at the van -- at which point she murmurs quietly, "So... tonight we have to deal with them?"

Veles' voice is low, "I know him, but he only knows me tangentially. His name is Baird... and yes: tonight we will deal with him. I am hoping that the dealing with them can be non-lethal. Terrifying, but non-lethal for the most part."

Cinnamon nods as she gets into the van, then worriedly asks, "So... how is it going to be terrifying? Can I help?"

Veles smiles, "We have a dragon, a werewolf, a mercenary, a half-sidhe that can see frightening well in the dark... there are already a few traps laid. I believe they are looking for what they think are disguised drones."

Cinnamon confusedly asks, "I thought... they were looking for a zmei?" It's rather clear, to the experienced, that Cinnamon is a complete innocent when it comes to tactical situations such as these!

Veles smiles wryly, "Oh, I don't doubt at least a couple of them know what they're hunting. It's concerning me that more than one mercenary group is looking into supernatural things."

Cinnamon blinks even more confusedly at Veles, "There are... more of them?!" She looks around a bit wildly, then back at Veles, where he's driving the van, "Dude, I completely missed them! Where were they?"

Veles looks confused for a moment, "How do you mean?"

Cinnamon says, "You said there was more than one mercenary group -- but I only saw the one! The one with Baird, you know?"

Veles ahhs, "Baird works for a different company than I did."

Cinnamon still looks confused, "So... so you're saying your company went hunting for zmei too?! Or... did you stop them?"

Veles glances sideways, "My group were hired to invade a trod."

Cinnamon thinks about that for a moment... then sighs gustily in relief, "Oh! Oh, okay... that's not the same, though, is it? You mentioned that your former company had no idea they were going after anything more than tree-huggers, after all... but these guys seem to be actively looking for a large flying creature! That says to me that their employers either trust them more, or aren't looking to get them all killed, you know?"

Veles nods and takes a deep breath, "This is true. Still, it is concerning." He looks into the rearview mirror, "Everyone is OK with working to keep these people out?"

Cinnamon says, "What?! Of course!" She's silent for a moment before she adds a little anxiously, "So... what's the plan, please?"

Thorn blinks, then nods, "Of course, yes."

Shane adds thoughtfully, "How many of them did you see?"

Veles considers, then replies, "There's not a large company. I counted perhaps eight. Ten at the most. This is a strike force. Not a platoon. That would be too noticeable."

Cinnamon blinks again, wondering how they crammed that many men into such a small room... maybe they had more than one room? She nods anxiously, listening as carefully as she can for what her friends want her to do. She really hopes she can be more useful here than she was at the trod! She's still a bit embarrassed at sort of losing her cool there, the way she did.

Shane actually says what Cinnamon was thinking, "In that tiny room?"

Veles ahhs, "True. I don't think they had more than one room. So, five at most." He considers, then looks at Cinnamon, "You are darker that Vladimir was. You will be good overwatch."

Cinnamon blinks at Veles, "You... want me to -- to fly? At night? I, uhh... I've never tried that before?" As he drives, Veles makes a couple of calls back to the village and speaks rapidly in the old dialect, so they've got time to get some things in place.

The gates are no longer unmanned when the van reaches them, and the group is waved easily through since all of the guards recognize them. As they drive, the van's passengers can see that all the fields are empty, and all the houses have been shuttered. This may be, in fact, the first time most of the people in the van have actually seen working shutters on windows! Even the doors are shuttered, though the meeting hall doors are open. Cinnamon looks worried as she glances around, murmuring softly, "Is... everyone okay? How long till sundown?"

Veles nods, "Everyone is good. These shutters are also used if there are bad storms in the winter."

Josie looks at the sky, "Maybe two hours." She's holding herself a little tensely.

At the town hall, they find mostly people between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five waiting for them. Cinnamon glances around a bit helplessly, wishing she knew what to do in situations like this! Hmm... Shane. Shane likely knows what to do! She'll hang around him, while Veles is organizing everyone. Shane puts an arm around Cinnamon's shoulders... probably about the moment she realizes people are looking at her. She smiles shyly at Shane, pushing her glasses up... then blinks and stiffens slightly as she realizes everyone's watching her. Her voice is soft and uncertain, "What... uhhh... did I miss something? I'm sorry, if so?"

Veles stands on the other side of her and says, "They will not harm us here. This is our home. My family has said they will help. I am very lucky."

Cinnamon nods slowly as she glances at Veles, then back at the watching people. Why are they all staring at her? Olga murmurs, "They are used to looking to a dragon for answers." She takes a deep breath.

Cinnamon's eyes widen as she squeak-whispers, "Me?! But I d-don't know what to do!" She glances in horror at Veles, then Shane, adding, "C-can't you guys c-come up with a plan?! I, I, I mean, my thought w-was just to, to ask the guys to leave us alone, y-you know?!"

Shane murmurs, "Just assure them, acushla."

Cinnamon says, "W-what? Assure them of what? That I'll help!?" She grasps that thought with relief -- maybe that's all the townsfolk want? Quaveringly she says in a more normal speaking voice, "I, uh, I'm d-definitely g-going to stay and, er, a-and... help? W-with... Veles' p-plan...?" Olga starts to open her mouth, but then smiles. She translates Cinnamon's -- and there's and obvious wave of relief that goes through the townsfolk. Shane too is nodding as Cinnamon speaks, though the young dragon gives Veles an almost pleading look when she finishes talking, and thinks as hard as she can at the former merc: [Please have a plan please have a plan pleasepleaseplease have a plan!]"

Thorn murmurs quietly to Cinnamon, "It's okay, Cinnamon. You got this. We're all with you one hundred percent, and we'll be on top of the plan. Those no-good-guys are not going to cause problems for these people." Cinnamon nods worriedly several times in a row to Thorn, pushing her glasses back up and hoping her hands aren't trembling visibly. Veles too nods, and starts speaking -- and this time Olga translates back to English. Veles is assigning patrols, and saying he wants Cinnamon to fly overwatch with one or possibly two passengers.

Cinnamon blinks again at Veles' plan, then turns to whisper to Olga, "Ummm... is there a harness thingie yet for me? 'Cause... like, I've never flown at night at all and I, er, I d-don't know if I can even see in the dark yet?!"

Olga nods reassuringly, "We've got it ready for you, dear. We have lights that will help... and we will check." Cinnamon sighs in relief -- at least she won't drop anyone, even if she does crash at night!

Josie volunteers to be one of the patrollers, since the mercs are likely to spread out, but only to ten foot distances between each. Once it's dark, the patrols have dispersed, and the noncombatants have been secured again, Veles explains that he wants Cinnamon to fly circuits, and he himself wishes to be one of the passengers, though he lets her choose who else she wants for the second passenger. Cinnamon blinks a bit bewilderedly at Veles, then slowly shakes her head, "Veles, I... I can't pick, er... riders? Not, um, not... until I even know if I can fly at night... without running headfirst into the side of a mountain or something!" She looks like she's about to cry as she adds, "I, I keep saying that I d-don't know how to fly at night! But, but like... like I'm not sure anyone is even listening to me?!"

Veles rests a hand gently on her shoulder, "Then let's try first, da?"

Cinnamon sniffles, throwing a grateful glance up at Veles, "O-okay. I, um, I j-just... want to know before I try c-carrying anyone around, you know? I d-d-do... I don't... w-want anybody d-dead because of me!"

Once she's determined that she'll be allowed to try flying alone, at first, Cinnamon calms down greatly -- she was starting to get really scared of maybe killing someone by accident while in a disastrous night flight. She shifts to dragon form in the broad meadow before the meeting hall, then takes a deep breath to brace herself mentally. Tilting her head down towards Veles, she adds, "When's the sun supposed to set? Should I wait for that first?"

Shane, who is quite used to having better sight than your average bear, murmurs amusedly, "Acushla, the sun set an hour ago."

Thorn deadpans, "I guess that explains if she has good night vision...." Veles put a hand over his mouth to hide the laugh.

Cinnamon blinks her very large eyes down at Shane, "Wait, what-?!" -- then her head jerks back up as high as she can reach as she stares around herself. A moment later she murmurs delightedly, "Whoa! I can see really good at night, guys!" She beams with relief, "Wow, this is great! Okay, if I can see this good, it should be okay to try flying with someone." She grins happily down at Shane, Thorn, and Veles, "Do you guys want to come? Oh!" She looks around again, "Where's Olga, please? She said the harness for me was done...?"

Thorn is really, really glad Cinnamon has gotten her confidence back up! "Sure, I'll be glad to go."

Shane chuckles, "She brought it and left it with us. She's gone with the noncombatants." He hefts the heap of leather and straps, adding, "Veles and I will help. Thorn can be the first person up."

The harness is comfortable and is quite easy to figure out; it's set up to carry two passengers easily. Cinnamon does her best to help, stepping into the harness as directed, and buckling the straps once her friends have flipped them around her body in the correct manner. Once she's done she turns her head around on her long neck to check her back, "Only space for two? Hmm... Thorn, do you want to be here in case there's any shooting, or would you rather fly?"

Thorn purses his lips, thinking, then nods, "That's a good idea, actually. I should stay in case there's, um, unpleasantness."

Cinnamon nods gravely -- then grins shyly at Thorn, "Still, hopefully there won't be any, and we'll successfully scare them all off with no problems!" She's not yet registered that her grin -- shy or not -- has a great many very large, very sharp teeth showing, of course. Thorn blinks at Cinnamon's grin -- at least he thinks she's grinning/smiling -- and hopes she, ah, favors their impending visitors with that smile! Cinnamon turns her happy expression towards Shane, "Do you want to ride along? You didn't say, earlier?"

Shane grins, "Sure, I'll go on the test flight." He reseats the sword he's wearing across his back so that this time it's in a diagonally-situated sheath. He's got no distance weapons on him, but he does have a walkie-talkie, along with a couple of smoke flares.

Now that she's sure she won't crash and kill someone by accident, Cinnamon's actually rather excited at getting to fly overwatch. As the two men mount up her tail swishes happily and she giggles, "I'm going to be just like a stealth jet! This is so cool! Thanks for coming along, you guys!" A breath later she adds worriedly to Veles, "Oh! What should I be looking for, please? Like, um... will the hunters have those shaggy suits again, or something? Should I be watching for those? Oh, and what should we do if we spot them! Should I land, or what?"

Veles smiles wryly, "Ghillie suits are wonderful camouflage if you aren't trying to be both stealthy and swift. Good ones are customized to the terrain and are also quite heavy. If they are in ghillie suits, they are likely to be sniping."

Cinnamon hmms as she considers that, then checks, "But... the company that invaded the trod -- they weren't sniping, were they? They were moving through the trod." She tilts her head as she shifts her weight from foot to foot, making sure both men are securely fastened in before she tries lifting into the air... then adds, "Though... these guys are likely moving through the forest too, right? Or would they be trying to find a hidden place that gives a good view of the sky, so they can snipe at any passing dragons?"

Veles says, "The two people you caught..." he smiles crookedly, then adds even more crookedly, "were snipers." He takes a deep breath and sighs, "Baird is not known as a sniper. He is an infiltration and extraction specialist." He pauses for a moment, "A kidnapper."

Cinnamon looks surprised... then frowns, "A kidnapper -- that's horrible too! Stealing someone away against their will?" She sighs, then adds more quietly, "I'm sorry. I guess I sound incredibly naive to you guys." She takes a deep breath, then adds more cheerfully, "Okay, hold on -- here we go!" She leaps up into the air, wings flapping powerfully and a gleeful, "Woohooooo!" trailing behind her! Over her shoulder she calls, "Which way do you want me to go, Mitya? Direct me, please?"

Josie has circled back around and decided to stay with Thorn, deciding she didn't like one of their group being alone -- well, not alone precisely, but without one of their own group. She's in her lupine form and her pupils are large, head tipped up as she speaks to the mage/healer, "Why are people so mean?" The healer sighs and shakes his head slowly once, his gaze also following the young dragon.

Veles directs Cinnamon toward the edge of the village's land nearest the town, thinking it will be the area most likely for the invaders to breach. He finally has to say, "Baird is also who they send after hostages they want freed."

Cinnamon sighs a bit gustily, "Well, at least there's one good thing he can use his skills for! Poor man." She ends up circling slowly above the border of the valley, her head tilting first one way, then the other as she carefully eyes the land far below.

If it were anyone else, they'd be missed: the terrain is difficult, it's night, the forest is thick due to the villagers having encouraged the undergrowth, and the infiltrators are good at their jobs. But in the end, they are only human -- while the people they're trying to evade are not. Whether it's a flash of starlight due to the moon not yet being up, or that the movement isn't quite natural, or even that Cinnamon is Just That Good[TM]... the young dragon catches sight of someone slithering up the trunk of one of the heaviest trees on the margin of one of the furthest fields of the village's edge. She whispers excitedly over her shoulder, "Guys, guys! Look there -- by the, er, the poky-tall tree on the far side of the field over there! There's someone climbing it -- the tree!" She pauses, adjusting her glide so they all drift that way... then grins mischievously, "Should I try grabbing him?!"

Veles peers down, though he can't really spot anything. Shane, whose vision is better than that of Veles, looks as well... though despite having really good nightsight, he too doesn't catch sight of the invader. He just shakes his head, then asks Veles, "Grab or mark?"

The ex-merc thinks a moment, then murmurs back, "Neither. Look twenty feet north along the treeline first, then twenty feet south."

Cinnamon murmurs, "Okay, moment... which way is north and south, please, Mitya?" After he tells her, she scans slowly and carefully 20 feet each way. North along the treeline, Cinnamon catches sight of someone else doing very much the same thing as this first guy -- but she doesn't spot anyone southwards along the treeline. Veles mutters quietly and triggers his walkie-talkie, letting the folks on the ground know what's up. The info gets relayed to the group both Josie and Thorn are with: the flyers have spotted at least two people in trees -- and they're at least surveillance and may be snipers.

Cinnamon reports that they're not in ghillie suits, but are probably in at least good camouflage. Then she grins mischievously again, "You sure you don't want me to try grabbing one?" She pauses, then adds more worriedly, "Wait a minute -- how'd they get in? Are the guys at the gates still okay?"

Veles is speaking quietly and actually seems to be lisping, "No fentheth near here. Gateth four mileth that way." He motions toward the south, "Probably watched the patrolth and thlipped between."

Cinnamon nods once, still circling slowly -- she remembers reading about using a lisp to hide the sibilance of words with the letter S in them, in the last Narnia book. She murmurs back, "Okay. Tho... grab or no?"

Veles mms, "Northernmotht one... quick. Then back to bathe."

Cinnamon grins, "Okay! Hang on tight!" She wings around so she can do a flyby and grab the man as she goes... then slows her glide down as much as she can without stalling. Angling inwards, she rolls slightly sideways and reaches out with her arms... and glides past the tree! As Cinnamon swoops by she reeeaches out for the merc in the tree... aaaaand! -misses. She mutters in exasperation under her breath as she misses coming anywhere near the guy. Well, no matter -- she'll just swing around again, have faith in her supernatural 'don't see me!' field... and try again!

There's a shout from the missed target, as something that is literally the size of a small plane comes out of the darkness with no warning, swoops by him with a rush of wings, and is gone before he even has a moment to aim his weapon! His reaction has his comrades checking in over comms and trying to figure out what it was they didn't see. Cinnamon has to cover a giggle as she's circling around again. She keeps an eye on the man in the tree, trying to come in from behind him this time.

This time Cinnamon stares carefully down at the man as she glides slowly over... reaches down... and successfully snags him! She's so delighted, she has to squelch the urge to crow excitedly! There's a shout from the man she's grabbed, as well as yells from the treeline. There's also -- probably as expected -- the sound of gunfire. She flips one wing down to turn sharply, so as to head back towards the main hall (as per Veles' directions), and whispers over her shoulder, "Got him!" She can feel the small body clutched carefully close in her front paw-hands, and she's careful that her claws don't rest against him -- she doesn't want to hurt the little man by accident! He's struggling in her grip, but he's not able to really get any leverage -- and he sure wasn't actually expecting to be snatched up by a dragon! His shouts into his comms are (unsurprisingly) a little incoherent: captured! Spy plane, grappled, witches, stroke!

Cinnamon giggles softly as she floats on over to the main hall... then, with much wing flapping, settles carefully onto her hind legs. Angling her wing wrists downwards to brace herself securely, she arches her neck so she can study the man she's holding. Did she get Baird, or someone else? Veles and Shane dismount quickly and come around to the man that Cinnamon has in her clutches. The people at the meeting hall also come running, with Josie tugging Thorn along so he comes with her.

The man is not Baird. His accent is also British, but more Manchester than Scotland. Cinnamon tilts her head and smiles her best smile, "Hello. What's your name, please?" Thorn rushes outside with Josie, just in time to hear Cinnamon's friendly query. He knows she means it to be polite, he really does! -but... he's pretty sure the mercenary is going to take the smile the wrong way. The merc is still trying to shout into his comms, while Shane and Veles are trying to divest him of said comms equipment. Shane doesn't succeed, though Veles -- knowing a bit more about it -- is more successful.

The man stares wide-eyed at Cinnamon, saying a few things that are probably English, but mostly sound like swearing. To his eyes, a very large monster is bearing her teeth at him! He absolutely failed to parse the cheerful and polite question. Cinnamon settles down a bit lower so Shane and Veles can more easily reach the man she's holding, and once the comms equipment has been removed, she tries again, "Hello, are you all right? You didn't hit your head or anything, did you?"

The fact that Cinnamon is speaking to him finally percolates through the merc's shocked brain: "Holy. Fucking. Shite...!" He looks around wildly, then back at Cinnamon, almost yelping, "You're not a bloody drone...?!"

Veles sighs, "See, this is what happens when you give your force only half the information: they are ill-prepared and are easily taken by an enemy they are not expecting."

Cinnamon too sighs, though in relief, "Oh, good -- you can talk to us! I was worried you'd gotten hurt on the flight in!" She smiles in a friendly fashion again, "So, what's your name, please?" She turns her head to curiously ask Veles, "So... they weren't trusted either? Or... oh, wait: you mean they really were looking for big flying drones?"

Veles nods ruefully, "I think at least some of them were told they were looking for unusual drones or unusual aircraft. I suspect that at least Baird and perhaps his lieutenant know what they are actually looking for."

The man they've captured tries going for something at his belt and Shane moves to grab his hands. Cinnamon gently squeezes, murmuring, "Stop struggling, dude -- you really don't want to startle me, okay?"

Thankfully, Shane is the faster one and gets the man's hands before he reaches whatever it was. The beansidhe grins ruefully, "Acushla, give us a moment to pat him down. Disarm him and such, yeah?"

Cinnamon smiles at Shane, "Sure! Do you want me to let him go first, or what?"

Shane grins and shakes his head, "Hold onto him, but let me pat him down before we try asking him anything. He's going to keep trying all sorts of shenanigans..."

Veles nods, "He will. And he's likely got a tracker. We'll want to try to disable it." Cinnamon nods and does her best to help while Veles puts out a call on the walkies to let the villages know the general location of the invaders. It's not to tell the villagers to converge, however -- it's to tell them to stay clear. If anything bad is going to happen, they want to minimize casualties and give the mercenaries a clear path. Baird, after all, didn't think it was going to be enough of a challenge to inform his whole team of what they were really after.

Veles and Shane do have a little trouble getting all the tech off the captured merc. He struggles against them and gets one lucky block in that knocks the wind out of Shane -- meaning that it takes them more time than anyone wants to get all the tech off the man. Cinnamon growls and carefully closes her big paw-hand around the man's head when he strikes Shane. Her voice is unfriendly, "Don't you go hurting my friends, buster!" She will, if it takes too much time, simply carefully claw the man's gear off him. She can't get all of it off -- some of it is a little small for clawing without hurting the man -- but she neatly tears off most of the harnessing and belts.

In the end they find no less than three pieces of tech with trackers attached. Veles is a little uneasy, "I wish we hadn't put Spice in the cellar. I bet he's got at least one imbedded..."

Cinnamon glances at Veles, "Why not ask him?" She waits until Shane is watching the man, then says politely, "Are you carrying any embedded tracking gear?" The man refuses to talk, staring obstinately back at Cinnamon. The young dragon glares right back down at the man, her words getting clipped, "You are a danger to my friends, buddy, so you are going to tell me right now... are you carrying any embedded tracking gear?!"

Unfortunately the fifteen or twenty minutes it takes to get the man stripped of gear -- as well as failing to get him to talk -- does indeed allow some sort of tracking to happen. A voice comes from outside the reach of the light, "I think you need to return my man." It's the familiar Scottish lilt, "I would very much hate to put bullets through several brains here."

Thorn scowls at the words. [Mercenary scum,] he thinks, [Of course he would say that.] Cinnamon turns her head and snarls quietly, "I would hate it too... because if you did that, I would obliterate you and all your remaining men!" She glares at Baird, the faintest red glow showing from her mouth... then she takes a deep breath and says more quietly, "Or... you could act like a decent human being, and come talk to us peacefully."

She can see that Baird is standing quite casually, back far enough that someone without nightsight wouldn't be able to see him. He actually doesn't have a weapon drawn, and he appears to be alone -- or at least he's the only one that's within sight and not under cover. Cinnamon narrows her eyes as she glances around, checking for where all the men are. She'd ordinarily just extend a wing to protect her friends... but she doesn't want some hidden sniper to still be able to reach them. Baird replies, "I believe you would if you could find them. But my job is to get them all back alive, if possible. Along with our target."

Cinnamon tilts her head curiously, "What's your target?"

Baird's voice is dry, "The gentlemen who paid us said we were here to rescue his uncle, Vladimir Dragan. We were told he was an aeronautics expert working on creating drones which were such good mimics of nature that they could pass most borders undetected." There's a bit of a smirk on his face as he adds, "I myself was told some of the drones were created in larger forms meant to inspire 'fear and panic.'"

Cinnamon laughs! She grins down at Baird, rumbling, "Yeah... no. Sounds like you got lied to." She glances at Veles, "You want to comment? He's not holding a weapon right now. Or..." she turns and looks back at Baird, "Dude, seriously, why not come in and talk to us?"

Thorn murmurs, "He can't seriously think Cinnamon's an animatronic, can he?" Cinnamon giggles at that!

Veles murmurs, "No, I don't believe he thinks that. That smirk in his voice says to me that he understands now why he was told this story."

Out beyond the circle of light, Baird holds up both hands, "I'm showing you my hands, but I'm not going to insult anyone by saying I'm unarmed."

Veles murmurs dryly, "Ah, yes -- that is the kind of story one would tell an exfiltration expert." In his normal speaking voice he adds, "Da, come into the light."

Cinnamon nods to Veles, then turns to watch Baird... then frowns thoughtfully. Just because she didn't immediately spot potential snipers... doesn't mean they're not there -- especially since Baird seems quite unconcerned about coming into her reach! She stares around herself thoughtfully again... can she pick out any snipers this time around? As Baird steps into the circle of light, he dryly adds, "I am beginning to think that I may have been sold something of a bill of goods. At this point, my main concern is getting my men back out of here alive."

Cinnamon's frown gets even more worried at that -- are the men all close enough right now that her flame might reach them, and that's why he's so worried? Though... wait, he hasn't seen her use fire yet, right? Although... oh, drat. Right, western dragons always have flame, duh! She stares worriedly around herself -- those men better not try anything! She's just got to spot them first... so she can shield her friends better. Baird's hands are still up as he says, "Right now, my choices are call them in or let them stay out there and hope they're able to stay out of sight... though apparently they didn't do such an exemplary job so far." Baird's voice is quite cultured and he seems calm. Of course, he seemed calm yesterday, too.

Cinnamon tilts her head thoughtfully at Baird, wondering if he's telling the truth. Hmm... well... okay, for now she'll believe him. She smiles politely, "Well, you also have the choice of talking to us peacefully, remember? We'd actually rather like to know who's sending mercenaries out to 'liberate' folks that don't really want to be liberated, you know?"

"I wasn't given his name." That's likely true. Baird continues, "I was given his supposed uncle's name, this location... and a thumbdrive full of bullshite." He tips his head, looks at Cinnamon and then at Veles, "Does she... is she a she? -have any idea just how unnerving that is?"

Cinnamon blinks, "What what is?" Then she brightens, "Oh! Can we see the thumbdrive?" Her excitement, of course, causes her to grin unwittingly -- she's willing to guess that Spice can figure out a bunch from the thumbdrive!

Baird replies, "I don't have it on me -- you don't take your intelligence with you on the mission. It's a good way to get it compromised in a large way." Shane frowns, "Then why are you...?" and Baird replies wryly, "Because that-" he points at Cinnamon, "is not a drone!" He looks at her and adds, "I'm thinking, going by your tone of voice, that you were smiling at me. Howsoever, you've got a damn lot of really large, very sharp teeth! -and you don't like me much. It's... a wee bit disconcerting!"

Cinnamon blinks again down at Baird -- then looks shocked as she hastily covers her mouth with both forepaw-hands! Her voice is muffled, "I'm tho thorry -- I didn't know!" She tilts her head a little awkwardly, so she can look at Shane and Veles while still holding her paw-hands over her muzzle, "Thould I change?"

Shane laughs and tugs at one of Cinnamon's forearms, "It's fine, acushla! It's not like you necessarily care if you're disconcerting him just now, is it?"

Cinnamon lets Shane pull her arm down, though she looks a bit uncertain, "Well... well, if, um, if we want to make a friend instead of an enemy out of him, umm..." She glances at Baird, then back at Shane and Veles as she adds a bit sheepishly, "Am I being naive again?"

Thorn murmurs to his friends, "Maybe we should offer an exchange? His man for the thumbdrive?"

Cinnamon rumbles worriedly, "Wait, don't, er... d-don't we want to be sure they won't talk about me, too?"

Baird snorts, "And who'll be believing us, eh?" He smiles a bit, adding, "I'll call them in." He taps his ear, murmuring, "All clear, come in. Drop your rifles at the edge of the illuminated area and come in with your hands up. You'll be patted down."

Cinnamon sighs in relief, then grins happily at Baird, "Thank- eep!" She hastily covers her mouth again, "Fangoo!" Then she leans to whisper to Shane and Veles, "Seriously, should I get out of sight? The fewer that have seen me, the better, surely? I could come out of the main hall with the others?"

Veles nods and murmurs, "Go ahead in and change. Come back out when you're bipedal."

Baird nods, smiling somewhat lopsidedly, "I agree with your friends. My men can't see, in this close where I've got them just now. So far it's just me and him." He nods at the one man they've already patted down.

Cinnamon blinks startledly at Baird -- she'd whispered! Does he have supernatural hearing too?! Baird is smiling, hands still up placatingly, but he does motion toward his ear. Veles rolls his eyes: not supernatural hearing -- just a really good earpiece. Veles nods toward the meeting hall and Shane moves to go with her. Cinnamon whews, but doesn't waste time -- instead she turns and slips quietly out of the circle of light, heading for the treeline behind the main hall. She can return once she's successfully changed. She glances over her shoulder as Shane follows, and grins, "Want a lift?" Shane grins and grabs the harness, swinging himself aboard without a word.

Cinnamon's spirits lift at that! She moves more swiftly, her tail swinging happily behind her, and is soon out of sight in the trees. At that point she stops, settling down so Shane can more easily dismount, and says, "Okay... cross your fingers that this goes smoothly!" She starts to concentrate, then remembers herself enough to add a bit sheepishly, "No peeking, please!" Then she tries shifting shape.

Shane turns his back, eyes twinkling a little. He wouldn't peek. He's mostly there to make sure no one else tries to. Cinnamon glances down at herself, squeaks with embarrassment, and hastily changes back to a dragon! Shane grins to himself -- he knows the squeak means she made it but her clothes didn't. She sighs gustily, "Well, fooie! Let me try again..." A second or three later, Cinnamon whews! "There we go -- okay, I'm good!" She straightens her clothing a bit and pushes her glasses up, hoping her embarrassed blush doesn't show... much... as she adds quietly, "Should we slip into the back of the main hall, and come out the front with some of the other folks?"

Shane nods, offering her his hand to hold onto. His eyes are moving constantly, however. He's got good night sight, though he's fairly sure it was a small cadre and Baird wouldn't be quite so reckless as to try to ambush them. Cinnamon blinks in surprise at Shane's hand, then nearly glows with happiness as she takes it -- maybe he likes her a little! Even if he just thinks of her as a baby sister or something... that's good, isn't it? She manages to push down the urge to give a happy little skip, though, trying to walk next to him in a manner that won't potentially embarrass him.

Thorn is still in the front of the great hall, with the main group of people, keeping his arms folded. He's guessing Baird and his crew aren't all that hip on not harming healers, so he's not going to try starting something or mouthing off. He does wonder what Baird's exit plan is, though -- the man has to know that he can't get what he's come for.

Behind the main hall, Cinnamon notices Shane's alertness and whispers, "What are you looking for, please?" She looks around too, wondering what he's after. Shane gives her hand a squeeze as they slip in through the back door of the meeting hall, smiling at the people inside and then back out the front doors just about the time the first of Baird's men is being patted down by Veles. This dragon-hunter is tall, almost emaciated, and has a shaved head.

Cinnamon makes sure there are a small handful of folks who emerge with them -- she sees no reason to effectively wear a big imaginary neon sign for Baird that says: 'DRAGON HERE' accompanied by a flashing arrow! She sighs as it registers: she should probably release Shane's hand too. She does so, albeit somewhat reluctantly, to allow the other people to follow him out. She'll emerge as part of their group. Shane arches a brow when Cinnamon lets go of his hand, but smiles at her when he realizes she's mingling.

Everyone comes out of the meeting hall -- though of course by now, all those left are the more martial of the villagers, so there are even a few weapons present. Baird has been thoroughly patted down and divested of weapons and tech. His hands are in his pockets and he seems relaxed as his eyes scan the area. Cinnamon watches Baird curiously from where she's peering out behind the others, and wonders what he's looking for too. Is it the same thing Shane was looking for? She glances around carefully as well, since she has good night sight. Are there any of Baird's men who are trying to set up as snipers or something? Does he not trust his own people?

Beyond the circle of light, Cinnamon sees two more men; she realizes they're coming in, but they're doing it one at a time. They don't seem to be setting up as snipers, however. Cinnamon tilts her head puzzledly as she watches them, and wonders why they're doing that. Is one covering the other, or using his comms, or something? Or... maybe they're just being polite, since only Veles is doing the pat-downs? Cinnamon starts to lean to whisper a question to Thorn -- then frowns and stops. Right: really good earpiece. Unfortunately, while folks are being divested of tech... she has no idea if Baird's earpiece got taken or not. She sighs thoughtfully, then decides to just watch the two men. Maybe she can tell that way.

The moment the extremely thin man has been thoroughly patted down and all his weapons and tech added to the pile, Cinnamon sees the next man relax and step forward. Cinnamon looks relieved -- it wasn't anything bad then! Good, she's glad to see that. She goes back to staring around curiously, wondering how this will go.

The next man to come in is a compact Asian, looking serious as he's patted down and similarly divested of his tech. None of the men are speaking as this is happening. They all look at Baird as they're being frisked, however. He gives each of them a small, reassuring nod. The last man is built like a bear... or at least what someone that had never encountered Vanya or Bjarke would think a bear is built like. He's broad-shouldered, with biceps that look as big as an average thigh, and he's got a heavy beard and a bald head. He also looks like he's got a perpetual grumpy expression. Baird catches Shane's skeptical look and smiles, "Don't mind Russell. He's got resting bastard face."

Cinnamon blinks a bit nervously at that! She counts mentally: there's Baird, Iliya (the one they captured), the emaciated looking guy, the Asian one, the baby bear one, and the other guy that came in as well. Shane snorts at Baird's comment, "I take it you mean that to be the equivalent of resting bitch face?"

Baird nods with faint amusement showing, "That is exactly what I mean: he looks like thunder, but he's the most patient of us all." There's a flash of a grin, "Well, aside from me."

When it's done, there's a half-dozen of the men -- Cinnamon missed an almost completely nondescript black man. If it weren't for the fact that almost everyone else here (aside from Josie and Spice) is as white as white can be, he'd not stand out in the least. Cinnamon murmurs softly to Thorn, "So... what now? Do they all just go home and tell their employer that there isn't any Vladimir?"

Thorn murmurs back to Cinnamon, "I honestly don't know, but I doubt it. They got paid or will get paid a lot of money for bringing Vladimir back, I don't think they're going to leave without something they think their employer will pay for. But I also don't think they came here prepared."

Cinnamon nods ruefully, then puzzledly adds, "But... surely their contracts include stuff like what to do if it's not possible to fulfill the contract? You know, like kill fees and such?" She winces slightly at the term 'kill fee,' even though she knows it's the correct one... at least for accounting.

Thorn grimaces -- he hates that term, too. "I was National Guard, so I didn't work with mercenaries much, but as I understand it, the contract should have stuff in it like that... but I doubt that they'll get paid anything if they don't bring anything back."

Baird is still smiling in a way that would be quite charming and friendly if one didn't know that he was a mercenary known for -- depending on who you asked -- either exfiltration or kidnapping. He waits for the whispering to die down before he speaks in that cultured burr of his. He's got the sort of voice that says he's quite educated but never saw any reason to completely hide where he's from, "It would seem that we've been given... ahh... I'm going to be generous, and say 'incomplete' information." He looks around the area in which they're all standing.

Cinnamon nods ruefully at that! There's a snort from the gaunt, shaven-headed man that speaks volumes. The other four stay silent, even if Russell's eye-roll is almost audible. Baird continues, "From what we saw of the perimeter of the place, electric fencing is about the most advanced security -- and most people that bother to kidnap and hold hostage someone working on advanced spy gear are going to at least have perimeter cameras and alarms." He rubs a thumb along his lower lip.

Cinnamon whispers confusedly, "But... why would we be holding someone hostage? That... makes no sense?" She figures Thorn, having been in the military, knows more about this sort of thing than she does.

Thorn replies, "I think he's referring to Vladimir? Baird's mission brief said that Vladimir was being held hostage here... which he has to know by now is patently untrue."

Cinnamon shakes her head, "No, I mean... why would anyone hold this Vladimir hostage? Like... if he's doing glorified animatronics, then wouldn't they want those for themselves?" She bemusedly adds, "Or... am I missing some important point here?"

Veles says dryly, "You would think, wouldn't you?"

Shane leans in and murmurs so both Thorn and Cinnamon can hear, "You could ask..."

Cinnamon blinks at Shane, "I can?! Oh! I thought... er, I mean... um, well, I guess... why not?" She straightens a little -- though she's still peeking nervously out past the three men -- and calls softly, "W-why, er... why w-would a farming village n-need animatronics, though? Uh, a-and... even if the v-village was like, a front, or something... w-wouldn't they, er, sort of want th-the animatronics themselves? So like... they wouldn't be holding the guy a-as a hostage?!"

Baird's attention moves to what -- to him -- seems to be a very nervous young woman without a trace of Slavic accent. His blond brows go up as he says, "You don't deal with espionage and especially military espionage often, do you." Cinnamon shakes her head in agreement with that statement, and Baird continues, "We were hired by someone that works for -- or at least has believable credentials saying they do -- an aeronautics contractor that works with a different country on a different continent. We were told that one Vladimir Dragan was one of their top experts in stealth drones."

Thorn comments, "That's a heck of a bill of sale. Hopefully you can go back to your employer and tell them that they're full of malarkey."

Cinnamon listens carefully, then confusedly replies, "B-but that... that still, uh, s-still... doesn't say w-why we'd want t-to hold some guy hostage?" She takes a quick, nervous breath, then adds, "Though, uh, I g-guess that doesn't really matter since, um, since... wh-what are you guys g-going to do now, please?"

The Scotsman goes on, "Supposing the Bulgarian government -- or an aeronautics company working for the Bulgarian government -- had arranged for the... mmm... coercive immigration of such an important personage, you wouldn't have them in a normal, easy to find lab. You would put him somewhere out of the way. The United States did it in World War II. Their two most secret, most dangerous research laboratories were built in the back of beyond. One such had the entrance disguised as a farmhouse that hid an underground laboratory."

Cinnamon blinks, pushing her glasses up, "...oh. That... uh, okay." She sighs, then adds, "Um, b-but... what now, please? 'Cause, like... he's not here?"

Baird nods, "I'm quite willing to believe that. We were warned that there might be drones or cameras disguised as birds or bats. Or that there might be stealth aircraft of different sort." He smirks, "I was even warned that there might be psy-ops going on and that we should try to..." He pauses, then glances at the black man, "What was the wording?"

The nondescript black man has a deceptively basso voice, "That we should keep in mind that we live in the real world and there are drugs which can be administered through inhalation that can make us very suggestible."

Cinnamon's eyes are a little wide, and she doesn't quite squeak, "W-what are you g-going to do, then? Does this m-mean you... can't go home?! Er... back? Or... wherever you came from?"

Thorn resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Hallucinogens don't work that way," he says flatly. Cinnamon glances with relief at Thorn -- that's good to hear!

Baird chuckles, "I believe they were trying to warn us against scopolamine."

Cinnamon whispers to Thorn, "Is that like, umm... truth serum or something?"

Baird thoughtfully adds, "Mmm. Well, it means I am quite unhappy we were sent on a wild... well, not exactly a goose chase. I know what myself and Iliya saw, and that was no drone. Nor was it any kind of animatronic." Cinnamon watches silently... and wonders if they really know what they saw. Does Baird know of the supernatural? Her guess would be no, since Veles' group knew nothing of it as well.

Iliya nods to Baird, frowning and muttering in modern Bulgarian, "It could have killed me!"

Baird mutters back, "But she didn't."

Cinnamon tilts her head at Iliya, then smiles. She wouldn't have hurt him! Thorn murmurs back to Cinnamon, "It's used for that, but it's also a dangerous anesthetic. I'm not sure I believe him, though."

Cinnamon nods worriedly to Thorn, then also whispers a very quiet translation to him, so he knows what was said too. She watches Baird thinking for a moment as she whispers back to Thorn, "So do you know how anyone would get scars like that? Or why they call it a Glasgow smile?"

Thorn grimaces, "A really unpleasant run in with unpleasant people. I don't see it as being something someone would willingly do to themselves. Don't know why they call it a Glasgow smile, though."

Cinnamon nods in puzzled agreement -- then blinks as it registers, her eyes widening -- then whispers hotly to Thorn, "Oh my gosh, are you saying someone did that to him?! That's horrible!"

Baird switches back to English to address the group, "So honestly, right now I'm trying to decide if I actually saw..." He takes a deep breath before continuing, "If I actually saw a dragon. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I've trained extensively to stay calm under pressure, I'm not sure I wouldn't be in hysterics." The four men that didn't actually witness a dragon all turn like their heads are on coordinated swivels, to stare at Baird.

Cinnamon grins at Baird, "A... dragon. Really?" She can't resist teasing just a little! Thorn considers this. Baird may not be lying. His men's reaction to him saying that is fairly telling. So the question becomes: what is he wanting this parlay for?

Baird looks at Cinnamon and smiles his slightly twisted smile at her, "Oh, yes: a dragon. Who spoke to me in English. Without a Slavic accent." He rubs his face with both hands, "At this point, if I go back without this possibly nonexistent or not-at-all-what-I-was-told Vladimir Dragan, we will not have fulfilled the contract -- unless I have a plausible excuse." He smirks and all his charm is gone. For the first time, he looks very, very dangerous, "Though I really dislike being given information that actively puts me and my team in danger."

Cinnamon grins shyly and murmurs in really native sounding Bulgarian, "What would be a plausible excuse?" She also quietly keeps translating in whispers for Thorn and Shane, of course.

Baird replies in the same tongue, "Oh. Already dead. Incorrect coordinates. Location change. Though..." he looks around the area, "I suggest you change your security here. I don't think they'd come after you in force, though."

Cinnamon tilts her head curiously at Veles, wondering if he'll mention that Vladimir is deceased. She also wonders why Baird is sticking to Bulgarian, even as she continues whispering translations. It's right then, in fact, that Veles murmurs in modern Bulgarian, voice soft and carrying real grief, "The first is the truth. The person they sent you here to kidnap passed peacefully not long ago... and he was not a scientist."

Baird sighs and switches back to English, "I thought that might be the case." Cinnamon whews quietly -- maybe this is all it takes! That'd be good, if so. Then she feels a slight indignation, unwittingly caused by nerves -- she wouldn't have hurt them! Not unless they tried hurting her friends... so they weren't really in danger, either! So no need for these men to be mad at her or the nice people here.

Baird rubs his temples and then his thumb rubs over the shorter of the two scars in his incomplete Glasgow smile as he considers, "We were told that he was actually quite elderly. I think that poor Vladimir was found safe and sound, but due to age and poor health there were complications getting him back to the rendezvous. And since getting seven live people across international borders is hard enough and explaining dead bodies is extremely difficult, we had to bury him along the way."

Thorn starts to relax; this might be easy to resolve after all. Cinnamon blinks in startled confusion -- that's not what happened! -- but then just as quickly realizes what Baird is doing. She whews quietly again... then glances at the other mercenaries to see how they're taking this. Fortunately they seem to just be nodding -- all five disparate men clearly trust the scar-faced Scotsman. Baird himself looks at Veles, "I still think I know you." Cinnamon covers her grin at that! Then Baird sighs and says, "Do we get our tech back before we leave?"

Cinnamon sighs and smiles, relaxing a bit as she steps back from the person she's standing behind. At this point it sounds like all that's left is Baird and Veles negotiating on Baird and his men going away. Whew! She doesn't need to be here for that. Hmm... maybe she can get a bite to eat? It's been a somewhat nerve-wracking day, after all. Thorn lets Veles answer Baird, but for his part, he has no problem with letting the tech go. He's quite relaxed now, glad that this was resolved without injuries. Baird gets the men kitted back up, tells them to go back to the hotel and that he'll meet them back there.

Inside the meeting hall, there's some food -- after all, they figured there might be guards coming in and needing food and drink. Baird looks around, asking, "May I stay? I have questions." Veles nods and motions Baird to follow him in to the hall. Baird's eyes seem to fairly easily pick out the ones that don't appear to belong, but he doesn't make a huge deal of it. Cinnamon glances over, then blinks as she sees Baird enter with Veles. She pushes her glasses up and watches with curiosity -- she doesn't think Veles is being forced, but... she'd like to be sure. Though... nope, his body language is fairly relaxed -- not the screaming-mad tension she'd expect if Baird were threatening him.

Baird is offered a cup of tea; he smiles, thanking the young man in Bulgarian and sitting down with Veles when the ex-merc brings the Scotsman over to Cinnamon, Thorn, Shane, Spice, and Josie. Baird looks around at them and says, "Dragan. That can't be a coincidence."

Cinnamon grins at Baird, her voice soft, "It means Beloved in Bulgarian. You know that. You speak the language well, after all."

Baird chuckles, "Oh, yes, I do know that. I also know that people trying to be clever sometimes outfox themselves."

Cinnamon nods curiously at Baird, then goes back to eating her nice hot stew... thought she pauses after a moment, glancing back at the man, "Um, may I ask a... maybe personal question?"

Baird looks at Cinnamon, "Certainly. Asking is always allowed."

Cinnamon hesitates, nervously tearing her crusty slice of bread into several parts -- she hopes this isn't offensive! Finally she gives it a try, "W-why, uhmm... er, I m-mean... w-well, d-did someone... do that to you? The, uh, th-the Glasgow Smile? A-and... w-why is it called that, p-please?" She reaches out with one finger as if to trace the line of the scar, even though Baird is out of her reach, to show what she's referring to.

Baird smiles and touches the longer of the two scars, "Yes, someone did this to me. I certainly didn't do it to myself. I was seventeen, in with a bad lot..." He snorts, "Eh. Tell the truth and shame the devil -- I was in a gang. I got on the wrong side of the wrong bastard and he caught me out all on me lonesome one night." He runs his thumb over the longer scar and says, "Luckily, some polis came along before he finished the other side. Otherwise, I'm fairly certain I'd have woken up dead."

Cinnamon's eyes widen, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Baird! Though, uhh... w-what's a poli-" She blinks, then answers herself, "Oh! Police, right?"

The Scotsman takes a deep breath, "It's called that because Glasgow used to be even a rougher place than it is now and that's where this kind of thing started." He hooks his index finger into his mouth and pulls the side of it open, tipping his head so she can see for a moment that there's no scar on the inside, "Also luckily, he didn't slice it all the way through, or I'd be even more hideous than I am today. Yes, police. My slang starts coming back." He looks around and says, "The dragon... was that the dragon I was sent here after, or another? And why in hell would I be sent after a creature like that?"

Shane smiles ruefully, "Someone wanted you dead?"

Cinnamon winces slightly as she watches Baird... then sighs in relief. She smiles as she adds quietly, "Your outside doesn't make you hideous. It's what kind of person you are that does that." She feels slightly proud of her friends and family as she says that -- they've been encouraging her to believe that, and she's starting to think maybe they're right!

"Also..." Baird's smile twitches a little, "I didn't scream. Sometimes if you do that... they tear." Cinnamon winces at that! He takes a deep breath and nods to Shane, "Possibly. Or they expected us to find him." He does pull out a photograph from a pocket and lay it on the table. It's a picture of Vladimir that looks like it was taken from some small distance, "Is this your late Vladimir?"

Cinnamon leans to look in fascination at the photo -- she'd so wanted to meet him! She sighs softly as she sits back again, then smiles sadly at Veles. The ex-merc touches the photo and nods, "That's him." He scowls.

One of the other young men, who has been standing fairly nonchalantly behind Baird, says, "That is recent -- the last two or three years..." He looks troubled.

Veles growls, "It's in town. I suspect someone that was saying they were a hunter."

The only tech that Baird put back on was his comms unit earpiece, explaining that he wanted to make sure his men made it back safely. "There's one more back in town. We had to get two rooms. They've only got two that adjoin." He chuckles, "I'm glad we came on separate vehicles and I have the quad-bike we were going to take this Vladimir out on. I'll be able to get back on m..." His brows draw together suddenly and his hand goes to his ear.

Cinnamon curiously asks, "One more ma..." Her voice trails off as she watches his reaction. Is that... consternation, maybe? Thorn frowns slightly as, apparently, Baird gets a message from his men.

A heartbeat later Baird mutters, "Bloody hell!" and pushes abruptly to his feet, snarling again, "Bloody hell. First, bad intel -- and then they fucking well double-book..."

Cinnamon leans back startledly, "They... they what, please?"

Thorn blinks, then stands as well, "They double-booked the hotel rooms?" Well, that's comparatively minor. He hopes. Baird seems to be taking it more strongly. Cinnamon glances at Veles, figuring he'll get it faster than her if it's a merc emergency or something.

Baird looks around the building, face grim, "I apologize. My comms expert is still in town. He said there's another force rolling through: two Humvees, a lot of guns. I think they expected us to be blitzed and then to send in another force." He rubs his temples, "It's a dirty tactic. Usually..." he sighs, "you send in one force. They get annihilated. Your medics and backup go in to pull out your wounded -- and then the real bad-arses come down on your heads."

Thorn frowns, "This is... not good." He looks to Veles, "I guess we're not out of the woods, yet."

Cinnamon's eyes widen in horror, "What?! No! I would never have done that! I d-didn't even hurt your guy -- I was really careful- uhh..." She blinks again, thinking, [Oh, that was subtle -- not! If he didn't know already, he sure does now!]

Baird shakes his head, smile crooked -- and politely doesn't mention Cinnamon's slip, "No. I'm saying me and my men were the Judas goat. We were sent in to get blitzed: given bad intel, expected to get mowed down, and then that'd put you all at your ease... thinking you'd taken care of the threat."

Cinnamon sighs in exasperation at herself... then blinks, her voice grim, "Wait, more guns?" She takes a deep breath, then looks unhappily at Veles, "Mitya... this is my fault. Er, I mean, it's because of -- well, no, they don't know about me, but... but my being here is... it's just making things worse right now, isn't it." She sighs, glancing at her friends, then back at Veles and Baird, "If we're gone, will these new guys calm down?"

Veles blinks, "How is it making it worse? They are expecting Vladimir. He would show up like a moon against a night sky."

Cinnamon looks confused, "He... he would? But I thought... er, don't all dragons have the 'no see me' field, then?"

Baird looks a bit confused, "No see me?"

Shane says, "You mean SEP?"

Cinnamon blinks as she considers that, pushing up her glasses... then smiles uncertainly at Shane, "I, uh, think so? That's the someone else's problem thingie, right?"

Shane smiles, "It is. But it's a tongue-in-cheek thing. Douglas Adams made up the term. It's when something is just so out-of-place that you can't believe it's real and your mind just classifies it as someone else's problem and you just go on about your day."

Cinnamon nods worriedly, "Okay. So, but, really! Do all dragons not have that... that thingie?"

Veles shakes his head, "No. Especially if the person looking for a dragon is expecting a dragon. Someone not expecting a dragon seeing something large in the sky will think 'That can't be a dragon. Either I mistook the size or I mistook the way I saw it moving. Must be.' Someone looking for a dragon won't try to explain it away in their minds."

Shane nods, "Just like someone that knows how to find..." he thinks how to work it, "a hidden entrance can see it."

Cinnamon nods slowly, thinking hard... then says softly, "So... so what should we do, then... if they're expecting to find a dragon here?"

Baird says quietly, "Don't give them one. The one they want is dead, yes? Vladimir Dragan?"

Cinnamon nods worriedly to Baird, absently wringing her hands together, "But... but w-what if they're hostile? Like... you said... lots of guns?"

Baird says quietly, "That... may be a problem. You may still escape with minimal casualties if you can convince them that what they came for isn't here anymore." He looks across at Veles, "The less witnesses the better." His eyes flick around meaningfully.

Cinnamon's eyes widen, "M-minimal casualties?!" Her voice squeaks on that last word, causing her to wince in embarrassment -- but then she takes a deep breath and adds, "But we -- w-we don't want any casualties! ...do we?"

Thorn grimaces. "Would they be that ruthless?" he asks Veles and Baird. "That, even if they don't find what they want, they'll kill people here?"

Baird's voice is dry, "Of course you want zero casualties. That's in there with 'minimal.' But PMC employees are not known well-known for their respect for human life." His lips twitch, as if he's aware of the irony in his statement.

Veles says quietly, "I think he means they may kill people to be sure we're telling the truth about Vladimir."

Cinnamon glances between the two men with an almost anguished look on her face, "Then what -- but how... how do we stop them, then?! A-and... sh-shouldn't we be hurrying?!"

Thorn lets out a breath, lowering his head. "We... I don't think we can leave, then. We may not have brought the mercenaries here, but we're here now... and we can protect these people."

Veles nods, "Hurrying would be good." He turns to start getting more of the villagers to the boltholes -- but before he can, there's a gunshot that goes over the heads of everyone there and a rough voice nearly drawling, "Dmitri... I'm surprised at you. You used to be so much more observant than this."

Simultaneously Cinnamon blinks worriedly at Thorn, thinking about that... then takes a deep breath and sits up a bit straighter, "That... Thorny's right, you guys. We should stay... and defend the people here, if they need it. So..." she frowns, thinking carefully, "s-so how d-do we convince these guys that, um, that... eek!" She ducks in reflexive fright... then stares with huge eyes at the window and nearly squeaks, "Who is that?!"

Perhaps they were listening in to comms somehow. Perhaps they're just that much better prepared. Perhaps they came in from more than one direction... but the second contingent of mercenaries have sneaked up on them fast. Cinnamon goes pale with fright as she whispers nervously, "Wh-what happened t-to the gate guards?! Are they okay?!"

Veles' voice is quiet, "I don't know yet." His face is grim, "But I know that man." He makes a 'stay' motion with his hand as he moves toward the door, calling back, "That is because one does not usually expect armed intruders when one comes home for a funeral, Eduard." He steps into the doorway of the great hall. There's laughter from outside, and it's more than one voice.

Thorn hisses a soft curse, murmuring to Erin, "Pretty lady, stay close, okay?" He knows Erin doesn't have the night vision that Cinnamon does, and he doesn't want anything to happen to his little familiar. Erin caws quietly and mantles. She finds a place in a quiet, dim corner. She's easy to overlook if you don't know she's there, after all.

Cinnamon has one fist up to her mouth as she stares around herself in fright. This isn't like the Council room attack! There, the attackers all came in through one area, but this time... they're all around! She can't defend everyone like this -- she isn't that big a shield! Then she blinks at that thought: a shield... yes! She turns to Thorn, whispering with quiet urgency, "Thorn! Thorny, y-you remember how I asked you t-to imagine a, er, a magical fan or b-broom at the trod? W-well now... d-do you think maybe y-you could form a, er... like, a big shield, like... like an armadillo shell, but that can stop bullets? O-one that you can maybe... like, wrap around several people at once?!"

Thorn blinks to Cinnamon, gaping at her, "A shield? I can't-" He breaks off, biting his lip. "I'll tr-" He breaks off again, from saying 'try' -- they need more than 'try' right now! He nods, albeit nervously, "I'll do it." [Somehow!]

Cinnamon's face is still pale as she nervously shushes his initial shock -- then she beams in shaky relief at his reply, "Fantastic! But -- but wait until I say 'now,' okay? Let's let Mitya d-do his best t-to quiet everything down, right?" Thorn nods silently, his pulse starting to race. He think Cinnamon's idea is a good one -- and he hopes he can pull it off!

From outside, the raspy voice comes again, "Send Baird out... and the strangers. The villagers can stay in there. We know the old dragon is dead, but we also heard that there's a new one."

Cinnamon glances around, thinking furiously -- then her eyes widen in shock as she hears the speaker's demands! She takes a deep breath, then looks at Baird and leans to whisper very softly, "M-mr. Baird... are your men going to come in with guns blazing? Or w-will they trust you to give some signal? C-cause if so? ...c-could you wait for Mitya's signal first, p-please?"

Veles starts to say something, but he's cut off, "Don't even try, Dmitri. There are windows in that hall and we have very good night vision equipment. We can see the Americans are in there. They're all going to come out -- and if they don't, we're going to put a bullet into one villager every ten seconds until they do."

Cinnamon takes another breath, trying to calm the shocking zing! of adrenaline that's coursing through her right now. She swallows hard, rising to her feet -- then remembers Olga telling her the villagers are used to looking to a dragon for leadership. She forces a smile onto her trembling lips, and calls quietly to the villagers, "It -- it's okay -- really! Everyone s-stay calm, please... okay?"

Cinnamon wishes her stomach wasn't quite so full of overly agitated butterflies right now... but no. She's going to be like... like Shane told her Liam was: she's going to be totally chill -- until it's time to not be chill any more. She murmurs to her friends, "Everyone stay as c-close to Thorn as you can, okay? He, er... he can keep us all s-safe..." She hopes so, at least! -- because she's not sure she can, even though she's going to do her utmost. Admittedly, Cinnamon's version of 'chill' includes feeling like her knees should be knocking together, and desperately hoping she's not visibly shaking... but she's trying her best!

Baird looks like he could chew nails and spit tacks, but he nods and starts toward the door, motioning Thorn, Cinnamon and the others to come with him. At the door, Veles asks, "The guards at the perimeter?"

Eduard smoothly replies, "Neutralized but not eliminated." Cinnamon sighs in relief at that! Thorn glances to Shane at that comment, to see if this bastard is telling the truth. Otherwise Thorn's not going to trust this guy as far as he can spit! He goes with Cinnamon and the others, along with Baird.

Fortunately Spice had not yet been brought back from the cellars, so it's just the four Americans right now. Shane is breathing slowly and carefully, but Josie is scowling. Shane's face is stolid, but he doesn't scowl at the comment about the guards, so it's likely true. As they're moving, Eduard sneers, "You really do look like shit, Dmitri. You know, we thought you'd died in that botched raid."

Veles shakes his head and says almost gently, "No, Eduard. I was reborn."

That makes the man outside laugh as if this is the funniest thing he's ever heard, "You got religion?!"

Veles chuckles, though there's no humor in it, "Let us say, I remembered something I had forgotten."

Outside, Baird's men are all looking frankly murderous. Cinnamon's eyes widen at sight of them -- did they all get captured too?! Baird's men are looking rather the worse for wear, actually -- it's pretty obvious they fought. Given the numbers of uniformed mercs out there, it looks like the troop is a bit of overkill, and it's likely Baird's men were simply swarmed under. Cinnamon glances around, trying not to hyperventilate as she pushes up her glasses. Okay, if Thorn covers their friends -- eek, that's a lot of folks now! Well, maybe... can they all get closer to Baird's men, maybe? That'd mean she can cover most everyone... maybe? She frowns at all the laughter, and decides this Eduard is not a nice man at all! Thorn suppresses his feelings of anger. He needs to focus, and to remain calm. He is starting to envision a shield, a dome, something to protect the others when Cinnamon gives the signal.

Eduard looks like he learned discipline in what might have been an actual, legitimate branch of some armed service. His haircut is high and tight. He looks quite fit and he stands in a way that just screams 'military.' There's nothing at all sloppy about him. Where Baird's men are all dressed in dark, practical clothes that are only 'military' in that they had the kinds of things needed to hold their tech and weapons, Eduard's men are in actual uniform and body armor.

Cinnamon has unwittingly brought one hand up to her mouth again as she stares around herself -- this is terrible! Then she shakes her head impatiently once -- no! No, she's not going to... to have an anxiety attack. Gotta remember: Don't Panic! She takes a deep, slightly shaky breath, and looks again. Who does she have to defend? Baird's men, her friends and family, and... and the folks in the hall behind them. Okay... okay, she has a plan. Now... where are Baird's men relative to she and her friends... and the PMC guys?

Baird's men have obviously been re-divested of their tech and weapons, as Eduard sneers, "So, you found God and became a traitor all at the same time." He glances towards his men and jerks his head toward the little group straggling out of the hall, "Search them. Separate them." He points with his gun at Cinnamon and Josie, "Those two especially. The new dragon's a girl. Ten feet between them at least." He looks Baird over and smirks.

Thorn bites his tongue. He has some very choice words about mercenaries using the word 'traitor.' He stifles that thought, though. He needs to see where everyone is... and where he needs to throw the shield when it's time.

Cinnamon can see it happening because her night vision is so good, but the others might have issues, due to the difference of illumination: the PMCs are pulling Baird's men out past the circle of light and separating them, with two more mercs stepping forward to frisk each of the almost casually dressed troop. Cinnamon is shaking with nerves as she glances at Shane -- should she just step forward and admit she's the dragon? Will that keep them from separating the little group of friends? Also... why are Baird's men getting- no, wait -- doesn't matter! This... right, she's going to be positive about Baird's men being separated from the PMC guys -- because maybe she can get between them at some point!

As Baird's men are being frisked, Eduard says quite casually, "If any of you give us trouble, I will choose someone at random to put a bullet through." He looks Veles steadily in the eyes as he adds with a chilling smile, "Dmitri here will tell you that I am not bluffing. It is not something I do well."

Cinnamon glances back at her friends, hoping they manage to stay close to each other -- then blinks at Eduard. Wait... that's it! She takes a deep breath, then steps forward and tries not to sound too quavery, "M-mr. Eduard, I, um... I'm the d-dragon. If I come quietly with you, w-would you please let everyone else go?"

Eduard looks her over, and then his eyes also flicker to Josie. They're both sturdily built young women. Both of them are what he would call plain or even dumpy. One of them looks like she might be a dyke. "I don't care if you are the dragon, you and the others -- including Dmitri, because he's got things to answer for -- are coming with us. Because whether or not you are this..." he makes a dismissive waving motion, "'dragon' or not... I'm sure you'll behave if your friends here will be tortured if you aren't."

Cinnamon winces slightly at that... then pulls herself together and tries again, "Uh, o-okay, but... but you'll let everyone else go, r-right? B-Baird's men and... and the villagers?" Thorn focuses completely on getting the shield ready when the signal is given. He knows that if he says something he'll just make things worse.

Eduard thinks for a moment, then says with an absolutely straight face, "Yes. You and your people come peacefully, and Baird's men and the villagers will be left alive."

Cinnamon shivers at Eduard's answer -- somehow that expressionless face scares her! The PMCs haven't gotten around to frisking the Americans yet, so behind Cinnamon, two things happen: Shane snorts derisively and Veles mutters in Bulgarian, "They'll leave no witnesses, Lady..." Hearing her friends just verifies Eduard's untrustworthiness for Cinnamon.

Eduard snaps, "Quiet!" and casually turns to pull the trigger of his sidearm. There's a scream and a thud; from the voice, it's likely Russell. From the cursing, the man is still alive and wounded -- and from his first words, it's a leg wound.

Cinnamon gives a small, shocked shriek at the loud report from the pistol -- then gulps, trying to swallow tears as she nearly yells at the man, "W-we didn't do anything! Why'd you shoot?! W-we're trying to do wh-what you want!" There's a muttering growl from the rest of Baird's men and the Scotsman starts to tense up, mouth opening as if to shout something to his men. Veles reaches out and grabs Baird's wrist, hissing at him to wait. Baird starts to protest and Veles hisses at him to be quiet -- trust the girl.

Eduard snarls at Cinnamon, "It's rude to whisper in company, and speaking in a language I don't know is the same fucking thing." He turns his handgun on Baird, "One word out of you, Scottie, and the next one won't be a fucking flesh wound." Cinnamon wails unhappily and he sighs, "Screw it! It's late; we're done here. Frisk them and let's get the fuck out." Cinnamon is frozen with indecision -- change? Stay human? But... if he's going to kill everyone, how does she cover the building full of villagers and Baird's men?! Or... will them clearly seeing her as a dragon cause them to do something like... like call in more folks? Or what?!

Eduard turns and barks some orders to his men, who all snap down some sort of eye shield on their helmets. The mercs out beyond the light start to drag Baird's men in toward the hall, while one of the PMCs starts pulling some canisters off a bandolier slung across his body, as he heads that way too. He's pulling pins as he goes, and grinning with entirely too much enthusiasm. Then all the lights abruptly go out -- and there's random shouting from several directions. Apparently the mercs are doing the shouting, all the better to sow fright and chaos.

However, Cinnamon, Shane, and Josie -- with their better-than-human night sight -- can see Eduard's men have made a mistake if they thought putting out the lights would put Baird's cadre at a disadvantage. It just means that men who are already used to working in low-light conditions can evade their captors and get out and away from their attackers. Two of them have even managed to grab a weapon.

Cinnamon's fright-widened eyes get even wider at sight of the canisters -- she knows what those are, from the Council attack! They'll start fires and make a ton of stinky smoke and -- she shudders, remembering the white, crawling flame that was consuming Killa. No... no, that's not happening here! She screams, "Now, Thorn!" -- and a heartbeat later she's in dragon form, rearing up in front of the canister-man and roaring, "NO!" She wishes she could protect Baird's men too... but they're all mixed up with the PMC guys now, darnit!

Thorn shuts his eyes, thinking as hard as he can: [Please work, please work, please work!] "In Athala's name!" he roars, thrusting his hands upward to imagine, to visualize, to manifest a shield -- a protective bubble around them to keep them secure; safe from the weapons of the mercs. He focuses all his anger at Eduard's men and the situation, at the casual brutality they're displaying, into a wall of magical energy as fierce and as impenetrable as he can make it! The shimmering dome envelops the four, appearing like a sheaf of spectral blue-purple folds of energy, reminiscent of Erin's feathers. It appears always in motion, wavering and flapping to prevent the impinging of projectiles and such on those within.

Cinnamon sighs in internal relief at the slight whump! and change in air differential, as the shield goes up -- then spreads her wings to try and stop random bullets, and glances around to see who needs stopping... and wryly hopes Baird's men don't shoot too much at her! That can make things really confusing, she knows, even if it doesn't actually harm her. There's indeed a confusing chatter of gunfire as the PMCs try to mow down what they thought were unprotected civilians... only to have very deadly bullets (that should have turned into deadly shrapnel inside vulnerable bodies) shatter against something that looks like a curtain of light!

The grenadier screams in reaction to the enormous dragon appearing right in front of him! -- and lobs the canisters directly at her! The brilliant white phosphorous fire just splashes off her scarlet hide and back onto him, though -- which only makes him scream more and frantically try to wipe it off himself. He rapidly realizes this is a huge mistake! -- because his gloves are a lot thinner than his body armor. He's soon screaming as much in pain as in terror -- the roaring of the dragon just panics him that much more. Eduard himself thought he was prepared for a dragon... but he also halfway thought it was just metaphor! Even Baird's men panic, turning their guns on Cinnamon in atavistic horror despite Baird yelling, "Shoot the mercs, ye pillocks!"

Veles hisses at Baird to stay put for just a few more seconds, "Wait for it! You'll get your chance!" Nearby, Cinnamon sighs as she looks around herself... looks like changing into a dragon wasn't really helpful... and is, in fact, drawing fire from Baird's men. Drat. Well, where are the PMC guys? Don't want them to creep around her to the building... though... should she put out the fires first? [This is all getting very messy and confusing,] she thinks unhappily to herself.

After those first few seconds -- where things go dramatically and horrifically different than he expected! -- Eduard shouts into his earpiece, "Troop converge on target now, goddammit!" Cinnamon looks around a bit confusedly, wondering what the 'target' is... her, maybe? Hmm... if so, maybe she should try shifting a bit, so any stray gunfire goes out into the woods, rather than back towards the main hall behind her? She watches the mercs carefully, trying to figure out what's going on. She'd like to do at least something useful for her friends tonight, after all! Beneath Thorn's shield, Shane grins and draws the sword the PMCs never had a chance to find, while Josie changes, howling as she twists and grows, turning from a stocky young Native American woman into something that must be a nightmare to a few of the people here.

Cinnamon blinks as all the mercs turn towards where she, her Thorn-shielded friends, and the hall are -- then realizes they must be about to charge her and the shield! It's not like the hall can escape later, after all... so she crouches slightly and breathes in all the phosphorus she can. It'll stop the grenadier's burning, but she doubts he'll be participating in the charge, considering his injuries! Then she spreads her wings slightly, thinking as fast as she can -- if they try to surround her, or head for the hall to use the villagers as hostages, what can she do?! She wishes Baird's men would get their heads on straight and fire at the right people... then blinks again. Fire! Of course -- that's what she'll use!

Eduard's men are completely discounting anything less fearsome than the enormous beast that is Cinnamon, though a couple are still trying to fire at the shielded humans and the... whatever is making that eerie howling. The flash and sputter of gunfire, tracer rounds, and even more grenades is filling the night with confusion. Night vision tech is better than it used to be, but even good mercs are freaking out and blinding one another. Cinnamon herself sees two flashes of red light -- and then, within split seconds, a pair of fiery rounds hit her -- one on her chest and one very close to her eye. She hasn't got time to pay attention to them, unfortunately -- the mercs are focusing on her! She steps forward, bracing herself with one wing, and swings the other one out as widely as she can -- then whips it forward hard, trying to knock back as many of her attackers as she can. On her other side, she turns her head and sends a streaming blast of white-hot fire roaring from her mouth towards anyone foolish enough to approach from that direction!

Somewhere in the screaming, tossing mess before Cinnamon... Eduard is discovering he's very, very sorry his men didn't get around to frisking what he took to be an almost effeminate young man and a stocky butch! Veles has a hand on Baird, his eyes huge as he ducks them both into Thorn's Shield -- just as Josie and Shane duck out! Baird's men are terrified and shooting almost wildly, and he's not having much luck shouting them down... though the screaming isn't just Baird and his men, of course. None of them were really prepared for the visceral horror of a huge, half-seen, nightmare monster pretty much obliterating a troop of highly trained and heavily armed -- but completely supernaturally unprepared! -- men. Cinnamon doesn't know it, but in the flashes of firelight and tracers and popping grenades and such, her immense, half-shadowed and half-gleaming form is real nightmare fuel to some of the men there.

[Previous Log] [Index] [Next Log]

Last modified: 2019-Jun-12 19:53:32

All material on this site is
Copyright © 2019-2024 Reality Fault
unless specifically indicated on each document.
All Rights Reserved.
Administrated by Reality Fault Webmaster