"A Lesser Evil"
90th of Searing, 121 Steel
90th of Searing, 121 Steel
"Cut em’ down, Cut em’ down at the knees, yeah. Cut em’ down to the bone.
Just a lesser evil, born unequal. You show them where they belong.
Tear right through them, Tear right through them all."
-"Belgrade" by Battle Tapes
Just a lesser evil, born unequal. You show them where they belong.
Tear right through them, Tear right through them all."
-"Belgrade" by Battle Tapes
"All right, ladies and gentlemen..." Commander Brenner Dornkirk stood at the head of a map table that had been laid out in one of the parlours at his family manor. Behind him was a blank chalkboard, which looked at though it had been recently cleaned or perhaps never used at all. There were flagons of a rich red wine and pewter cups surrounding the large map which placed Zaichaer in its Northwestern corner and a red X marked well to its Southwest.
"I apologise that there are no servants present to pour the wine, but let that be the first hint at the gravity of what is to be discussed here today. Please," He gestured to the wine flagons, "Help yourselves." And he paused, to pour a cup for himself and his brother, Stefan, who sat at his right hand. He handed the flagon off to Air Commander Eitan Angevin, who was seated to his left.
"Before we begin in earnest, I must needs pose a disclaimer to you all." He took a fortifying sip of wine, and turned to claim a piece of chalk with which he wrote the words: "Mission Clearance" upon the chalkboard to his rear. Then he turned to address the nine assembled adventurers and spoke:
"All aspects of this expedition are to be considered top secret. If word of this endeavour were to reach Kalzasi or any other major power in Ransera, it would put all of Zaichaer at risk. Therefore, all members of the expedition party are to use the utmost discretion and must recognise that the State of Zaichaer will disavow any support or even knowledge of this mission. All those who have agreed to participate do so with the knowledge that their lives are secondary to the security of Zaichaer. If you are disinclined to agree with this requirement, now is the time to leave." Brenner paused and made eye contact slowly and deliberately with each of the nine people seated at the table.
"I am deathly serious. If you are not prepared to put your life, your reputation and that of your family on the line for the good of Zaichaer, you should leave this room immediately and never speak of having been summoned here tonight. Go on. No one here will hold it against you if you haven't the mettle for this." Brenner's eyes lingered a bit longer upon Florian's, but he waited a long moment to allow for anyone who might want to leave before he got to the meat the matter. Once the room was still and silent once more, he continued:
"From this moment forward, any attempt to quit the mission will be considered an act of desertion and any perpetrator thereof will meet a traitor’s death without trial. Now then..." He smirked and flipped the chalkboard to its other side, on which the expedition team had already been written out in the fine, precise penmanship of the youngest Dornkirk.
Over the next twenty minutes, Brenner slowly walked the team through his briefing- Using the chalkboard to complement the essentials of each item on the agenda and encouraging everyone to commit each point to memory or to take notes using a cipher whilst still making no reference to any State involvement, lest those notes ever fall into enemy hands and be deciphered.
BEGIN BRIEFING
The Expedition Party
Mission Commander: Brenner S. Dornkirk
Science Department
Chief Science Officer: Stefan K. Dornkirk
Biology Specialist: Dr. Isold Stechpalme
Engineering Specialist: Herr Dienerin
Reconciliation Department
Chief Reconciliator: Eitan S. Angevin
Defensive Specialist: Florian Albrecht
Preternatural Studies Specialist: Agata Beeman
Tactical Department
Chief Tactical Officer: Myles J. Arnnett
Ranger: Piers Lightborn
Infantry: Jonah Evanson
Mission Summary
Mission Objective: To locate surviving specimens of an aether-eating parasite purported to exist in the Warrens- a relic from the world that was.
Date of Departure: 5 Ash 121 Steel
Point of Departure: Zaichaer Central Sky Station
Means of Departure: The first leg of the trip will be spent aboard a prototype airship known as The Nachtherr. Small, sleek and built for both speed and stealth, the Southeasterly journey to our point-of-entry to the Warrens will take the better part of a day. The party will camp at the landing site after securing The Nachtherr. At first light of the following day, the party will embark upon the delve into the Warrens on foot.
Destination: We are seeking to enter a realm known as the Fademire. Our intel suggests that we may access this realm through the Warrens and that its location may be divined by following the path left by Ghostblooms protruding from the skulls of the deceased. The Fademire is purported to be a nightmarish place replete with both venomous and psychically predatory hostiles. The former can be remedied by milk of the Drimera’s Whisper blossom and the latter can be mitigated by the use of Dreamstones.
Mission Instructions
Tactical Department: The physical safety of the party is your main priority. While every department is comprised of capable fighters in their own right, their main priorities on the mission lie elsewhere. Your foremost duty is to see that all of us survive the notorious dangers that lurk within the Warrens. Your duties shall include scouting, locating and securing viable campsites, protecting all personnel and supplies, fending off all threats to the mission objective. In the unruly lands we shall soon travel you will not be subject to the laws of Zaichaer. You have leave to execute your duties by whatever means necessary to see us to our destination and back safely.
Science Department: Your primary aim is to locate and securely obtain specimens of the aether-eating parasite for safe transport back to Zaichaer. You will all be briefed on the legends of these creatures with a particular focus on common themes that appear in multiple independent sources. Based on these briefings, you may requisition the necessary supplies to carry out your task. Your duties include gathering data, seeking out and collecting clues that might lead to our objective, taking note of any additional opportunities presented in the Warrens or the Fademire that may be beneficial to the Fatherland. You are also charged with keeping and administering the Milk of Drimera curative, should any members of the party be compromised by the venomous creatures that dwell in the Fademire.
Reconciliation Department: Yours is a mission of support. We grudgingly accept the reality that science alone is likely ill-equipped to provide us with all the tools we need to carry out our mission successfully. We call upon you who have given up a part of your soul in service to the State to make another sacrifice. You are to work in concert with the Science Department to fill in any holes in logic with your understanding of sorcery. Additionally, you are permitted to utilise what magicks may benefit the mission with no fear of reprisal from the State or any member of the party during this expedition. As Science may not be enough to locate the creatures, physical force may not be enough to protect us from the wretched, ensorcelled creatures that populate both the Warrens and the Fademire. You are therefore charged with supporting the Tactical Department in keeping your fellow-adventurers safe from the myriad horrors that lurk where we soon dare to tread.
Note: The entire team is aware of the particular threat your department faces as magic users on the hunt for an entity that devours magical aether. Whatever our feelings on witchcraft, please know that your safety remains all of our concern.
Requisitions: We have been allotted a budget for this mission. Please compile a list of whatever supplies you believe will be helpful for you to carry out your duties on the expedition, and gold will be allotted for the purchase of any resources the Mission Commander approves as necessary.
Timeline: We have until the end of Ash 121 to complete our task, but the mission commander has allotted one month’s time to complete this endeavour. Without having had the route to the Fademire mapped in advance, there are a tonne of variables in play that make an exact timeline difficult to conjure. The best case scenario is that we’re in and out within two weeks, but if we spend two weeks searching with no viable leads, we will return to the ship and assess whether it’s time to resupply and attempt another route or to abandon the effort and return home empty-handed.
Conclusion: Upon completion of the expedition, whether successful or otherwise, we will return to the Nachtherr’s secure location and fly back to Zaichaer as heroes. Even if we fail, this undertaking is the work of true-hearted patriots of our glorious Fatherland. All of us have been marked by the Office of the Grand Marshal himself who will be briefed on our work and the sacrifices we make here in the name of the State. I am proud to stand amongst heroes of Zaichaer who understand the gravest threat that looms over our modern world and are putting their lives at risk to combat it. Tomorrow is promised to no man, but I truly believe that tomorrow belongs to us.
END BRIEFING
"So..." Brenner clapped his hands once together, "Questions? Comments? Concerns? Go."