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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | Blue Squad heads back to Crane Wing Refuge to help some neighboring jinyu. Everyone relates to Tired Shushen. They receive disquieting news from the Alliance, and head to the harbor beach to help out. Florande does not control the weather. Bran hopes the Admiral has dry socks. Bun knew that bug looked suspicious. Befound is proud but also soggy. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Atley converses quietly with Mei Barrelbottom, helmet tucked under his arm.
Bran is writing in his journal, ignoring Rude Sho, who is rudely ignoring him.
Shine is seated on a crate, quietly tearing slices of dried peach into smaller pieces and feeding them to Bun.
Florande is in her cat form, curled up to one side of the entrance, watching the rain fall.
Oranna comes into the inn from the outside, already soaking wet from the rain. Befound pads inside to sniff at Cat Girl.
Cat Girl raises her head slightly to sniff back.
Atley turns away from Mei to doubletake Oranna and Befound before he returns to the conversation, finishing up.
Bran is writing where it's nice and dry, thank you.
Florande gets a lick to her head, and Befound flops down next to her, grumpy about the rain.
Oranna waves hello to the others.
Shine feeds Bun the last piece of peach and then shows the tanuki his empty hands. Bun growls. Shine picks him up and drapes the tanuki across his shoulders like a fat scarf and gets to his feet.
Atley gives Mei Barrelbottom one last nod in farewell before he turns to the doorway and stops, seeing the two giant cats. He grunts at them and scoffs with amusement, shaking his head, before he steps over and/or between them. "Hullo', you lot."
Befound yawns at Dane.
Cat Girl mrrows a greeting to him.
Bran seems to pick up on a general sense of Movement in his vicinity, and shuts his book. Tucking it away, he jogs over toward Atley.
Shine nods in a general way to everyone. Bun blinks at Teeth.
Bran salutes.
"Koro Mistwalker's sent word for us to return to the Crane Wing Refuge," Atley announces, briefly eyeing Rude Sho. "Something needs doing."
Befound — Teeth — blinks back at Bun and rises back up. "Should we be worrying at all tha' the rain hasnae stopped yet?" Oranna asks, as she wrings out a bit of water from her braid.
"If we say nae, ye'll fash anyway," Bran says affectionately.
Atley shakes his head at Oranna. "Ms. Barrelbottom confirmed the people are in good health, in mind and in body. I was just inquiring, myself."
Befound’s opinion is that stopping the rain should be everyone's only priority.
"Maybe it's not raining there," Shine suggests to Oranna.
Florande reluctantly turns back into an elf. "It might be nice to see the Crane again."
Oranna frowns, but she nods.
Atley glances over his shoulder at Florande. "Right." He tugs his helmet on. "Let's move."
Bran pulls his blue hood forward as far as it will go. He is a hood with an orange beard-braid hanging out of it.
Befound is a cat with a dislike of water. So, they're basically twins.
Atley squints through the rain as they ride.
Bran is quiet and seems vaguely annoyed by the weather.
Florande trots easily through the forest, not minding the rain. Also, she is a deer.
Shine seems neutral about the weather. Bun seems annoyed. But maybe that's just because the peaches are gone.
Atley rides into Crane Wing Refuge and looks around, spotting Koro Mistwalker and Anduin Wrynn. He swings a leg over Hal'vyr's saddle and dismounts, marching over. "Your Royal Highness," he says with a bow. "Koro."
Koro looks up from his conversation with Anduin.
Florande shifts back into elf form in the presence of royalty. Maybe it's like taking off your hat.
Bran bows deeply before the prince, but his expression when he straightens is one of a perturbed babysitter.
The prince gets to his feet with a smile. "Sir Dane. Cobalts. It's good to see you." He looks tired.
Oranna waves hello to Anduin/Ian.
"You as well. In good health?" Atley begins, eyeing the Prince up and down with half-feigned gruffness. "And staying out of trouble?"
"Yessir," says Anduin with a rueful smile. "I promise."
Bran's turquoise eyes are rather piercing as he stares at the wayward adolescent.
"I'll take a Wrynn at their word, then," Atley remarks wryly with a nod before he looks to Koro. "Wot' news?"
Koro speaks up. "Anduin has continued to help us at the temple. There is still… much to be done there."
"But the sha are not.. resurging, I hope," Florande says.
Atley grunts.
Oranna chews at her bottom lip.
"No," says Koro, shaking his head. "No resurgence. But still… cleanup to be done. But that brings us to our trouble."
Atley looks to Koro.
Florande nods. She is ready to bite trouble.
"'Course there's trouble," Bran says wryly.
Befound is sustained by biting trouble. Cat Girl knows what's up.
"There is a small village of jinyu nearby. They are troubled occasionally by saurok raids, and we usually go to their assistance. The saurok have returned to harrass them, and we are… occupied, here." Koro spreads his paws in weary shrug.
Atley nods slowly. "We'll make contact."
With our TEETH, Befound adds.
"Thank you." Koro nods gravely. "You will find Fallsong Village to the west. I appreciate the help. As will they."
Oranna glances off to the north.
"Aye, we've experience with the bast– the er, saurok," Bran says reassuringly.
Koro smiles at Bran. "I remember."
Bran beams, pleased to be remembered.
Atley scoffs with amusement at Brannagen.
Florande smiles and bows to Koro. Wait, to Anduin. It's an awkward spinny bow.
"Right," Atley says. He briefly eyes Anduin and then bows to him before he turns and gets back on Hal'vyr. "Stay sharp, then, you lot."
Oranna waves farewell to both Koro and Anduin. "Try ta stay at least three paces from trouble, aye?"
"Maybe four!" Anduin calls cheerfully after Oranna. He still sounds tired though.
Florande gets to be a deer again, whew.
Bran looks up at the sky. "STOP IT!" he bellows cheerfully.
Atley crookedly glances up as they ride to see if Brannagen's ploy worked.
Alas, the sky seems unconcerned with Bran's orders.
"Found the sauren," Atley says, before looking to the village. "That must be the jinyu. Best behavior," he adds idly.
Oranna looks nervously up at the rain. "It's raining here, too," she mutters.
At the center of the village, in conference with a pair of warriors, stands a weary-looking jinyu in an elder's robes.
Atley slowly steps into the village, hands raised. "Hail! We are friends of the Red Crane and his disciples. We've come to lend aid against the sauren."
"Ah, friends." The robed jinyu looks them over and smiles wanly. "Welcome, then. We are grateful. I am Tired Shushen, Waterspeaker of this place."
"Ach," says Bran in concern as he looks at Shushen.
"I am Sir Dane Atley," Atley says, before looking to the squad.
"I'm Cheerful Bran," says Bran.
"Shine," says Shine, and nods.
"I'm — I'm jus' Oranna, Oranna Stormbreaker," Oranna says.
Bun shows his teeth. His name is Little Teeth.
Befound is Her Royal Highness, the Ultimate Superior Form, Cannot Be Found, of the great Stormbreaker Tribe.
"And I am Florande," she says. "…Helpful Florande? Here for helping."
"Aye, that's wot' we're here for. Wot' needs doing, Waterspeaker?" Atley asks.
"As the Red Crane's disciples must have told you, we are being raided by the saurok. They carry away our prized possessions as… souvenirs, each time they attack. If you could kill raiders and recover our items, we would thank you.
"The leader of these raiders is one called Slovan. He dwells in a cave north of the water, and orders the rest on their attacks. If he could be stopped, then perhaps so could the raids." Tired Shushen looks wistful. Dream big, guy.
"This is the kinda job we really excel at," Bran says, beaming Tired Shushen a crescent-eyed smile.
"Yes, we are expert stoppers and retrievers," Florande nods eagerly.
Tired Shushen tries to look optimistic. He mostly just looks tired but with a smile this time.
"Consider it done," Atley says.
Oranna frowns her worry line deeper but she nods. "It's nae the first time we've done it. Yer fellow jinyu village to the, ah, direction from here had the same problem."
"East," Atley adds.
Bran gently turns Oranna east.
"East," Oranna says to the Tired jinyu.
Bran beams and pats Oranna.
"You are the same strangers who helped the Pearlfin?" Tired Shushen perks up a little. He bows solemnly. "Thank you."
Atley returns the bow.
That's them, the Teeth Helpers, Befound demonstrates in a giant yawn.
"Let's get to it, then," Atley says, before jogging north.
"The jinyu seem neat," Florande says. "I have not much spoke with them. Just wandered through Pearlfin. It is a pretty village."
"River folk," Atley says.
Atley lowers to loot a saurok corpse, shaking it around for jinyu trinkets.
Oranna nods. "Aye. It's pretty an' should be a lot quieter than it has been. We… there's a lot less of them than there were afore the whole clash."
Bran nods solemnly.
Shine nods grimly. No one can see it.
"Ah," Florande says quietly. "The hozen thing. I read about that."
"But the hozen that were troublin' them, there's a lot less of them, too," Oranna adds.
"Ach, Hozen," Bran says. His opinion is clear in his tone.
"I've a mind to learn wot' tribe Ken-Ken's from. He's more tolerable than the rest," Atley says.
"There's always people from any place tha' are kind," Oranna says. "Maybe his people are like him, or maybe he's different. People are people."
"From wot I could tell," Bran says, "They seem to on occasion have an individual that chooses ta mix with Pandaren society, rather than say, a whole peaceful clan or tribe of 'em."
"Exceptions," Atley says to Bran.
Bran nods.
"Florande, have a look about in the water. I mean to cross it. The cave's there," Atley says.
"Behind a waterfall! Ah, it's jus' like a story, and how they always say, check behind a waterfall fer a secret cave," Oranna says.
"Yes, sir!" Florande says, diving into the water and transforming into a sea lion as she moves below the surface.
Florande surfaces and shimmers back into elf. "No sharks. No piranhas. Just friendly-looking fish."
Atley nods. "All in, then."
Shine returns Bun to his shoulders to swim.
Befound awkwardly paddles through the water, until she can scramble up on the land again.
Oranna squints harder to try to hear better over the sound of the waterfall.
"But it speaks to a certain mental diversity among 'em that I'd not've assumed from the ferst batch we met. It's interestin'." Bran looks like he wants to grab his journal, but… it's still very damp.
"I am glad we got to meet one who wanted to meet us," Florande says. "Ken-Ken seemed nice."
Bran spots a scroll!!
"And helpful," Atley says, before nodding to the scroll. "Brannagen."
"Oh, looks like the saurok have had mogu troubles too," Bran says, reading it.
"Less inclined to feel sorry for them," Shine observes.
"Oh? Enemy of our enemy, but… still not friend," Florande says sadly.
"Aye, they were tryin' ta wipe out the saurok entirely. Might be why they're so hostile. Defensive, preemptive-like," Bran muses.
Befound reaches out a paw to bat the dangingly things above the scroll.
"Ach! Nae," Oranna chastises.
Befound wasn't even going to bat at it, Oranna, gosh. She licks her paw, the thing she was obviously going to do.
"Guerilla warriors. Must've been some time ago. They don't seem as formidable now," Atley says.
"Mogu empire was a long while back, aye?" Shine asks.
Bran nods.
"Aye. Some ten thousand years…?" Atley asks, looking to Bran.
Bran says the exact right amount of years.
It's over ten thousand!!!!!
"These would be… descendants of survivors," Florande says.
Atley nods ahead. "That'll be our enemy, then. Cut 'em down."
Oranna peers curiously at the fallen saurok. "It's interestin' that they've developed in different colors, better suited fer their enviroments."
"Yes, maybe camouflage," Florande says.
"There's a theng tha' can happen in peoples that were subject to an attempted extermination," Bran says, "where they can develop a culture of aggressive hostility in response to a deep rooted fear for collective survival tha' gets passed doewn."
Shine nods at Bran thoughtfully. No one can see it.
Oranna nods at Bran thoughtfully as well, but everyone can see it.
"That is sad, but makes some sense," Florande nods.
"A hound that bites at every hand won't fare well for long in this world," Atley says.
"These ones are not faring so well," Florande agrees.
"Well, an' people aren't hounds. Hounds are domesticated, they rely on people as part of their development," Oranna points out. "Peoples might be more isolated an' aggressive, but still survive."
Bran nods at Oranna.
"If the sauren continue to wage war on everything that's not them they may as well be wild animals. If you behave like a beast, you will get treated like one, regardless of the true difference," Atley says.
Befound behaves like a beast, but she is a majestic beast, so she's not sure what Dane's talking about.
"Sometimes ef a people get a reputation fer bein' dangerous people leave 'em alone. Especially if they live in titan-forsaken rainy jungles," Bran adds in a bit of a grouchy mutter.
Florande looks up at the rain.
Tired Shushen is speaking tiredly to one of his warriors. "And he is still contained?" he asks the warrior, and then glances up at Blue Squad's arrival.
Atley nods. "We've recovered a number of your artifacts, and killed their raid leader."
"Which hopefully will stop them, at least fer a while," Oranna says.
"Ah." Tired Shushen looks like 0.2% less tired. He bows solemnly. "Thank you, friends. Your reputation is justified." He hesitates and glances at the warrior beside him.
Atley looks between them. "Something else the matter?"
"More sauren?" Florande asks.
The warrior nods briefly at Tired Shushen, who sighs. "We have… uncovered a traitor among us."
Florande gasps.
Atley knits his brow under his helmet and glances around.
"Oh," Oranna says, also glancing around.
"It seems that Cournith Waterstrider was dealing with the saurok in secret, in hope of… becoming the next Waterspeaker." Tired Shushen gestures at a nearby building. "He has been detained. But he possesses dark magic too powerful for our warriors to face."
Atley glances over his pauldron and grunts before he looks back at Tired Shushen. "The five of us can handle him."
Tired Shushen smiles again tiredly. "I believe you can. Thank you."
The warrior guarding the door of the building surveys Blue Squad and steps aside with a nod. They look like they got this.
"Courinth Waterstrider. You've been sentence to die for your treachery. Any last words?" Atley asks.
Cournith laughs harshly. "The water will speak for me, outlanders!" He begins to channel a spell.
"So be it," Atley says.
The water did not have that much to say, it turns out.
"Another scroll," Atley says.
Bran races over.
Florande looks eagerly over at Bran.
Atley looks around at the engravings on the inside of the shrine. "More murlocs."
"Will ye look at tha'," Bran says, pointing. "Looks like drawin's of some… proto-jinyu type creature."
"Sort of murlocky," Florande nods.
Shine nods thoughtfully. No one can see it.
"That makes sense, aye? They say water creatures are some of the oldest types of life," Oranna says.
"The writin' weren't pandaren so I canna even guess wot it said," Bran says regretfully.
"Let's return to the waterspeaker," Atley says.
The guard who was stationed at Cournith's impromptu prison door is speaking excitedly to Tired Shushen.
"The traitor is dead," Atley says.
Tired Shushen looks like 12% less tired, and smiles with warm relief. "Thank you. Thank you, my friends."
Oranna nods to him. "I hope it lets ye take a wee nap sometime in the soon future."
"Perhaps you would be so kind as to report back to the Red Crane disciples and tell them that all is well here now?" Tired Shushen asks. He is too tired to walk over there himself.
Atley nods. "We'll see to it."
At the Crane Wing Refuge, an unfamiliar horse is tethered outside. A young man in Alliance colors is waiting near Koro and Anduin. He has a rifle slung over his shoulder and betrays no sign of impatience. He's just here, waiting, in the rain. NBD.
Atley furrows his brow and dismounts, walking over. He bows again to Anduin before saying, "We've seen to the jinyu. They're sorted."
"Thank you," Koro says. "We are as grateful as our jinyu friends are, no doubt."
Bran peers at Anduin as though checking him for scrapes and bruises.
Befound wanders up to some pandaren under a hut and sits down, licking at her coat. Honestly, Oranna, how is she supposed to work under these conditions? Water from the sky, water from the water.
Florande looks over at the Alliance Man curiously.
Shine raises his eyebrow. "Baird," he says to the young man, who nods back at him and then salutes Atley. "Sir."
Atley looks to the rifleman and salutes back. "How fares the fleet?" he asks.
Oranna peers curiously at Baird.
"The Admiral sent me. He would appreciate your help," says Baird. This sounds like an understatement. Baird's like that.
"Wot' needs doing, Marine?" Atley asks.
"Oh, the Fallon? Shine's Fallon Admiral?" Oranna asks.
Shine nods straight-faced at Oranna. His Fallon Admiral.
"Admiral Siamus Fallon, of the Stormwind Navy," Atley says.
Oranna nods. "Oh, aye." Admirals of the Navy, Gravy.
"The Horde has discovered our harbor plans," Baird says. "There are scouts in the woods along the beach where we're operating. Most of our people are devoted to the harbor operation at the moment, or back in Jade Forest. The Horde scouts need to be dealt with," says Baird matter-of-factly.
"Hoew's he feelin' these days? I hope the weather's nice where he is?" Bran apparently just forever associates Siamus with hypothermia. Very embarrasing for Siamus.
Baird looks politely to Bran. "The weather where he is is the same as it is here, sir. He is just off the coast here."
Bran frowns. "Make sure he's dressed proper, aye?" he says.
"Oh, then I'm sorry for his rain," Florande says. She pauses, and then adds, "I didn't make it rain, though."
"If they're on land, I should be able ta pick up some trails, but if they're above or by sea…" Oranna shrugs.
Bran suddenly looks suspiciously at Florande. He has perhaps Heard Things about druids…
Florande tilts her head, looking back at Bran curiously.
Atley nods at Baird. "Right. Are you a messenger, or have you come to join our force for the day?" he asks, swinging himself back aboard Hal'vyr.
"The messenger, sir, I'm afraid. I've other messages to deliver as well." Baird nods respectfully toward Shine. "Lt. Shine knows the harbor beach, I believe."
Shine nods.
"Very well. Off you go then. We'll sort it out," Atley says.
Baird salutes.
Atley salutes.
Bran catches Florande's look. "Bit peculiar ye'd suddenly say ye didna cause the rain, when nobody asked such a theng, hmmmmm?" He's mostly joking, but there's a hint of genuine curosity in there as well.
"To the east," Atley says.
"Right," says Shine grimly. "Aye."
Oranna looks over at Bran, and then to the west.
"Oh some druids can do some… nearby weather things," Florande says casually. "I can't, though."
Oranna is slightly surprised when they start moving east, but she gets there.
"Hoew nearby?" Bran says, persistently curious.
"The beach is east of the Incursion, horseshoe south of Zhu's," Shine says.
Atley grunts. "Not far."
Oranna just nods and follows Dane. Cardinal directions. Mysterious language.
"Horseshoe south?" Bran repeats. "Wot's tha'?
"The beach is horseshoe-shaped. And south," Shine says.
Bran nods, nods, nods… and then says amiably, "Wot's a horseshoe?"
"Oh," Oranna says with a laugh. "I thought it migh' have been another directional word."
"Right?" says Bran to Oranna.
When Shine drops down from Khamsin's saddle, he bends to lift one of her hooves and shows Bran the metal crescent there. "That's a horseshoe."
"Not tha' I'd put them past makin' up new cardinal directions, like Sou'nor' of do a loopy loop of south and north," Oranna says.
"Metal forged and placed on a hoof to prevent wear and tear." Atley tugs on one of Halv'yr's reins and the horse obediently lifts his back leg, showing it off to Brannagen.
"Woooooew," says Bran at the sight of the horseshoe, and risks getting his sketchbook wet to draw it, as though it were a rare artifact. "So wot are those for? Is it like, fer war horses, so they can kick thengs harder?"
Florande says to Bran, "For protecting feet from hard ground, like cobblestones, I think."
"Aye, horsehoes will protect the steed's gait. Help prevent injuries. They're beasts of speed, first and foremost," Atley says.
"They don't really work great for me," Florande confides. "But then also I mostly walk on soft ground."
"Hold," Atley raises a fist.
"Wolfriders." Shine drops into stealth immediately.
Bran holds.
Oranna considers that. "If… if ye did get horsehoes, or deershoes? on yer deer form, do ye have them on yer elf form?"
Atley squints at the raiding party for a long moment in the rain.
"Or do yer shoes in yer elf form… carry over to how yer hooves and paws are?" Oranna asks. Now she's the one with too many questions.
Florande tilts her head, considering all the questions. "You know, that might hurt on elf feet. But no, they are like clothes, I think. They would vanish."
"Oranna — Horde," Atley whispers tersely.
Bran Fades.
Shine glances at Florande. No one can see it.
Florande hushes.
Oranna's not talking loudly, but she hushes further, and scopes in.
Atley narrows his eyes. "I count four dead Aliance. Two or three dwarves. A human woman."
Shine tenses at mention of a dead human woman.
There is the very soft sound of Bran's knuckles cracking.
"Shine, kill that raider on the left. Florande, the one on the right. Oranna, take up a post on the cliff here, and focus on the priests, one at a time," Atley says.
Florande slips into a cat form, and also the shadows.
"Brannagen, charge up the center with me — keep me alive," Atley says. "Strike on my charge."
As they battle, another group of wolfriders bears down on them from the west.
"Incoming!" Shine calls.
"From the — that way!" Oranna shouts.
Atley leaps into the path of the incoming raiders.
Oranna keeps to her position, until the Horde starts shooting back and the dwarf on the higher ground is now an easy target. She hops down, getting herself back out of line of sight.
"They signaled. There must be more," Shine mutters as he falls back into stealth.
Atley looks back. "All sorted?"
After the protracted and intense battle, as soon as it's quiet enough again, Bran says as though nothing intervened in the conversation, "Rams dinna need hoof protection 'cause they're designed fer rough terrain."
Florande nods a cat head.
"Bet my ram could beat a horse," Bran says amiably.
Shine goes to check on the Alliance corpses.
Atley turns and waits for Shine's investigation.
Shine shakes his head at Dane. "Don't know two of them. Two were Fallon's marines, though. Others might have been Rogers'."
Oranna points off to the southeast. "That way. Flags an' a whole lot more of them." She frowns. "There's… so many of them. These aren't scouts, this is…"
"An expedition," Atley says.
"Oh ach, we dinna need ta get in the middle o' that," says Bran.
Atley shakes his head. "We do. Our largest objective is to win the war. Every life we take here spares more of our own."
Florande shifts back to elf to ask, "Making a harbor?"
Oranna nods, her worry line a visible chasm. "I dinna know. I canna tell. Shine?" Oranna offers up her scope.
"Can ye tell what they're doin'? I dinna what ta look fer of harbor makin'," Oranna says.
"They've got Orgrimmar banners planted," Shine observes. "No proper encampments yet, nor vessels in the water. An advance party."
"This is an 'observe an' report' situation an' not a 'charge in' situation, aye, Red?" Bran says, looking to Atley.
"We'll do wo't we can, and withdraw once it's clear we'll be overwhelmed," Atley says.
"Aye, pick away a' the edges," Bran says amiably.
"There's a lot to these edges," Oranna cautions.
"If the Horde wants to lay claim to this beach, they will be made to pay for every inch in blood. Right now," Atley says.
"Pandaria will be like Tol Barad," Florande says quietly.
Atley kicks over an Orgrimmar banner. "Not if we do all that we can to stop them establishing a beach head."
Oranna fires on the taurens with rifles first, and cries out when a priest hits her with some mind flaying.
Shine steps over an orc's corpse and stoops to wipe one of his knives off on its tabard expressionlessly before following Atley.
"Raiders — !" Atley says.
"More banners," Shine reports.
Oranna doesn't say a thing — she just shoots, aiming for the eyes.
Atley beheads a charging wolf, sending its rider rolling in the dirt.
Florande stays in cat form, the better to fight with.
Befound also stays in cat form, the best to fight with. And to defend Little Teeth with. Be brave, apprentice, but not too brave.
Bun skitters in Teeth's wake growling formidably and definitely not getting involved in combat.
Atley kicks over another Orgrimmar banner. "Proper force of them, indeed."
It's Hunter vs Hunter violence in Oranna's world, as she tries to outshoot their shooters.
"Woo hoo!" Bran calls in support of one of Oranna's finer shots.
Shine appears behind a tauren rifleman on the fringes of the combat and neatly dispatches him.
Bun dispatches a savory beetle that looked suspiciously Horde-affiliated. It was close to the Horde, anyway.
Befound is proud.
"Another patrol here. Wipe them out, search them for missives," Atley says.
Oranna is on high alert.
Atley briefly lowers to pat down Horde corpses before moving on.
Shine crouches down to search orcish corpses. He does not touch the nearby Forsaken.
Oranna shoots at the Horde hunters like this is what she trained for in the shooting olympics, which is pretty close to the truth.
Bran seems vaguely distracted, but does manage to keep everyone healed.
"Stay on the green. Wipe out every group we come 'cross," Atley says.
"More'n happy not ta get sand in me boots," Bran agrees.
"Fallon's going to be apoplectic. This'll set us back," Shine observes quietly. "Haven't got the manpower for this and harbor construction at the same time."
"Ach, and I'd thought ta ask if he'd be losin' his mind," Oranna comments, wiping her brow.
"Right," Atley says to Shine. "We'll do wot' we can."
"They can't have either, can they?" Florande asks quietly. "They work by same rules of time and space."
"Ye'd be surprised how fast ye can get some things done if ye've goblins with no safety standards," Oranna points out. "But aye. At least ta me it doesnae seem like it."
"We don't know how many Hellscream's got here," Shine points out to Florande.
"But we know many he's losing. Let's keep adding to it," Atley says.
"Woo hoo!" says Bran.
"And I hope the Horde's nae doin' sommat with time an' space with their own ancient scrolls an' teleportin'…" Oranna worries.
"Oh Boomer, sometimes yer imagination is a curse on ye!" Bran smiles at her affectionately.
Doesn't Oranna know it, Bran. Doesn't she know.
"They've a diverse force. Battle priests, raiders, marskmen," Atley growls, thinking aloud.
"Well, aye, they'd want tha' same as we do,' Bran notes.
"We wipe out this group then bugger off, and report this to the Admiral at once," Atley says.
Shine nods grimly.
Oranna lowers her gun. And then raises it again immediately as another patrol hits them.
"Blast it!" Bran says. It's not clear if he's just cursing or giving instructions to Oranna.
"They've a righ' damned army out here," Oranna mutters darkly.
"I'm going to get those marines' tags for Captain Bray," Shine says, and slips back into the shadows to return to the dead Alliance marines.
"Tags?" Bran echoes.
"Dog tags. With their information and identity on them," Atley says.
"Dane, they know we're here," Oranna cautions, scoping out along the beach. "They're sendin' more."
"When Shine returns, we're buggering off," Atley says.
"Dog tags?" Bran repeats incredulously.
"It is good their families will know," Florande nods.
Befound looks over incredulously. Dog tags? Why not cat tags, the superior form tags.
Atley looks to Brannagen and nods. "Aye. To keep track of the dead 'war dogs.'"
"Ohhhh… I see," says Bran. "Dead useful, come ta thenk on et." He nods. "Oh er, pun not intended there."
"Dead…useful," Oranna repeats to Bran with a yikes face.
Bran echoes the yikes face cheerfully. He agrees in retrospect.
Shine emerges from the shadows. "Got them."
Oranna keeps watch, nervously tracking the progress of the Horde.
"If there is an army, we have at least…" Florande pauses, looking for the right words. "Bloodied their nose? That is what soldiers might say?"
"We've broken the wave," Atley confirms with Florande, before he looks to Shine. "Let's move."
They move.
"I'm making for the Jade Forest. For now, keep eyes on the beach if you can do it safely," Atley says. "Dismissed."
"Aye ser!" says Bran amiably
Shine salutes Dane impassively.