As Frank looks around the room at the pictures. There are five pictures in all; all of them are old, and seem to be of the same age, but the people in them don't all seem to be from the same time period. Some of them display tags with the same swimming language that you saw on the portal, and they materialize into names and titles: John Farson, First President of New Gilead; Joseph Gregor, Victorious General during the State Uprisings; and John Hennessey, Sec'y of War, 201-211AG.

Just as Tobias reaches the double doors he here's a tiny voice say, Don't open up that door. It's followed by dozens of tiny clicking sounds.

Dozens of tiny clicking sounds.

Toby had seen Toy Story, and was torn between reactions; Either 'Glee!' or 'Please God don't shoot me with your tiny bullets of pain.' He opted for something in the middle, turning around slowly and staring at the men on the table.

Tobias and Frank turn around to see the little army men, now ambulatory, scurrying around, having finally given up their pretense of simply being toys. Their former realism is now even greater as they rush to set up fortified positions behind small, plastic ramparts that they pull out of the tipped-over box. Small plastic men start loading two heavy artillery cannons, two tanks start up with a whir and a tiny puff of smoke, and the blades on the helicopters slowly start spinning, sounding like a slowly-building swarm of locusts.

Dozens of men point their tiny carbines at the two intruders.

See the combat map for specific locations of each unit

Tobias watched in fascination as the soldiers began erecting their little battlements, which turned to a little bit of worry as the soldiers clearly decided to take them as a threat. "Wait," he said, holding up his hands, "er, we want to negotiate with your commander."

He glanced at Frank. What would the implications be if they surrendered to these things? A scene straight from Gulliver came to him, and quickly nixed that idea.

Frank had been intending to go for a peaceful resolution if one was possible. There was no way to know how much damage the tiny weapons would do and he didn't want to be given the chance to find out.

To show he had no hostile intent, he slid his Five-seveN back into the holster at the rear of the waistband of his jeans and held his hands out in front of him, palms down. His choice of gesture was deliberate. He didn't want anything as submissive as 'reaching for the sky'. He wanted to show them he wasn't planning to attack them, not surrender to them.

"My partner is right," said Frank, keeping his voice calm and even. "There's no need for this to escalate into violence. Let's talk it out."

"We are here because we are trying to save lives. Childrens' lives," he said. "You're soldiers. Men of honour. I'm asking you to understand the importance of our mission here and to understand that we have no hostile intent towards you or this country."

[Private to GM: Diplomacy Skill Check = 20, + 1 Action Point Roll = 8, = 28

00:13, Today: Francis 'Frank' Decourcey rolled 8 using 2d6. Spend 1 Action Point.
00:10, Today: Francis 'Frank' Decourcey rolled 20 using 1d20+12. Diplomacy Roll. ]

You see the commander standing in the middle of the table, surrounded by men and ramparts. The helicopters' blades are spinning at full speed but they have not yet left the ground, the tanks have their cannons aimed at you, and the artillery crews are quickly readying their weapons.

The commander puts a megaphone up to his mouth and calls to his troops: You hear that, men? He's trying to save children's lives. He looks left and right, addressing troops by name.

John, they could be saving your little Suzy's life. Or Tony, they might be saving your little boy — what's his name? — oh yeah, Timmy. Think about it men, what do you say? Should we help them save lives?

The commander looks directly at Frank, and suddenly Frank notices the evil glimmer in the commander's eyes.

Maybe the life we save today is Henry Leyden's. A slow rumble forms among the men, and quickly turns into a round of laughter. The commander waits until the laughter dies down then says, Well we can't have that, now, can we? Men? ATTACK!

OOC: The soldiers win initiative, but it's late and I just now realized how long it's going to take me to do my round of combat... I'll try to have the continuation of this post up tomorrow (hopefully) or Friday (more likely).

23:45, Today: Facilitator rolled 18 using 1d20+9. Initiative.
23:44, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Francis 'Frank' Decourcey, rolled 14 using 1d20+3. Initiative.
23:44, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Tobias Byrne, rolled 16 using 1d20+9. Initiative.

As soon as he noticed the evil look in the commander's eyes, Franks right hand was dropping and reaching for his weapon. As the laughter died down, Frank had cleared his holster and the gun up in both hands as he brought it to bear on the Commander.

Cut the head off the snake...

He squeezed the trigger and let loose a shot at the tiny military leader, praying that his shot hit.


OOC: Attack Roll 26 Damage Roll 12
09:55, Today: Francis 'Frank' Decourcey rolled 19 using 1d20+8 (+1 for PBS).
10:01, Today: Francis 'Frank' Decourcey rolled 7 using 2d6. Spend 1 Action Point.
10:04, Today: Francis 'Frank' Decourcey rolled 12 using 2d8+1. Damage Roll (+1 for PBS).

Frank hits the commander square in the chest, blowing a gaping hole from below his left shoulder to just above his hip. He falls down, but still has enough strength to command his men. While he weakly barks out orders the men closest to him close ranks, and the medic rushes in and begins pulling tiny tools out of his tool bag.

Meanwhile, rest of the troops move into action. The two squadrons nearest Frank and Tobias charge forward; there are tiny popping sounds, and then Frank and Tobias feel a stinging sensation, like being stung by bees. The tiny bazooka men unleash a rocket in a cloud of smoke then begin reloading as their partner takes aim with his own bazooka. The artillery and tanks unleash their payloads, sounding like firecrackers on New Years Eve, and Frank and Tobias are each hit by explosions of surprising force, considering their size.

Frank
Infantry: 3/6 hit for 5 total damage
Grenade: 1/1 hit for 0 total damage (made Ref save)
Machine Gun: 1/1 hit for 0 total damage (made Ref save)
Heavy Machine Gun: 1/1 hit for 0 total damage (made Ref save)
Bazooka: 0/1 hit
Tank: 0/1 hit
Artillery: 1/1 hit for 26 total damage (failed Ref — if you bump your save by 6 with an AP you will take 0 damage)

Tobias
Infantry: 4/6 hit for 10 total damage
Grenade: miss
Machine Gun: 1/1 hit for 2 damage (failed Ref — if you bump your save by 5 with an AP you take 0 damage)
Heavy Machine Gun: 0/1 hit
Bazooka: 0/1 hit
Tank: 1/1 hit for 11 damage
Artillery: 1/1 hit for 6 damage (made Ref save)

[Private to Francis 'Frank' Decourcey: 15:46, Today: Facilitator rolled 12,25,19,13,10,20,3,1,2,3,3,1 using d20+8,d20+8,d20+6,d20+6,d20+6,d20+6,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1. Infantry Attack (Frank).
15:49, Today: Facilitator rolled 16,1 using d20+6,1d6. Grenadier Attack (Frank).
16:02, Today: Facilitator rolled 17 using 1d20+7. Grenade Reflex Save (Frank).
15:58, Today: Facilitator rolled 24,4,24 using d20+10,2d3-2,d20+7. Machine Gunner Attack, Ref Save (Frank).
16:03, Today: Facilitator rolled 19,4,27 using d20+11,2d4-2,d20+7. Heavy Machine Gun Attk, Ref Save (Frank).
16:06, Today: Facilitator rolled 14,6 using d20+10,3d6. Bazooka Attack (Frank).
16:07, Today: Facilitator rolled 12,10 using d20+7,3d10. Tank Attack (Frank).
16:08, Today: Facilitator rolled 11,26 using d20+7,4d8. Artillery Attack (Frank).
16:27, Today: Facilitator rolled 9 using 1d20+7. Artillery Reflex Save (Frank).]

[Private to Tobias Byrne: 16:11, Today: Facilitator rolled 20,7,21,15,16,9,3,2,3,3,1,1 using d20+4,d20+4,d20+2,d20+2,d20+2,d20+2,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1. Infantry Attack (Tobias).
16:13, Today: Facilitator rolled 7,2,24 using d20+2,1d6,d20+5. Grenadier Attack, Ref Save
(Tobias).
16:13, Today: Facilitator rolled 20,2,10 using d20+6,2d3-2,d20+5. Machine Gunner Attack, Ref Save (Tobias).
16:19, Today: Facilitator rolled 10,3,24 using d20+9,2d4-2,d20+5. Heavy Machine Gun Attk, Ref Save (Toby).
16:19, Today: Facilitator rolled 13,15 using d20+8,3d6. Bazooka Attack (Tobias).
16:21, Today: Facilitator rolled 27,11 using d20+7,3d10. Tank Attack (Tobias).
16:26, Today: Facilitator rolled 23,13,25 using d20+7,4d8,d20+5. Artillery Attack, Ref Save (Tobias).]

Tobias muttered an oath, his wounds turning his clothing a bright read as he dove to the side, away from the line of fire for most of them.

[Private to GM: Let's burn that action point for the save.
Before I decide what to do, can I make the magic missile spell affect a 5x5 box?]

PM [Private to Tobias Byrne: Action Point used and check succeeded. Do you mean that you want to aim the missile to effect everything in the 5x5 box, like an area effect? Don't think it works that way. These guys are small enough that I guess you could hit two of them if they are sharing a 1x1 box, but currently that's only the commander and the medic.

19:27, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Tobias Byrne, rolled 10 using 2d6. Action Point. ]

He scrambled a bit in his scroll case, looking for the correct paper before bringing it out. "Let's see how you like this!" He spat a word and made a gesture, completing, hopefully, the spell written there.

[Private to GM: Using my burning hands scroll, but I don't remember the roll I have to make.]

After Tobias finishes his mutterings and gestures the ancient scroll turns to dust and he holds his hands with the thumbs touching and fingers spread. Suddenly a jet of flame streaks out, enveloping the nearest squadron of soldiers. The men scream and wail as the fire melts and scorches them. The two infantrymen nearest the source of the flames as well as the slow-moving machine gunner are reduced to a puddle of molten goo, while the other soldiers are still barely mobile. They trudge forward, their misshapen bodies and faces full of evil intent.

[Private to Tobias Byrne: Since you are of high enough level to cast the spell, you don't need to make a check. You have to take a 5-ft step forward in order to target anyone, so I'm assuming that's what you are doing.

20:12, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Tobias Byrne, rolled 11 using 4d4. Burning Hands Damage. ]

Frank gave a shout of pain as the artillery round slammed into his chest, ripping through bone and flesh as it passed through him, leaving a ragged wound. He staggered a little as Toby cast his spell, and there was a grim look of satisfaction on his face as the gout of flame melted the soldiers.

Frank used the momentary distraction to back away from the table, towards the door. He knew the last hit had badly wounded him, and he wanted to be able to keep an exit clear if they needed to retreat.

He dropped into a kneeling crouch and lined up a shot on one of the tanks. The weapon bucked twice in his hands as he let off a couple of shots in rapid succession.

OOC: AP roll of 5, so not enough to boost reflex save vs artillery.

Frank moved 3 squares down, so now adjacent to small door on left hand wall.

00:39, Today: Francis 'Frank' Decourcey rolled 9 using 1d20+5. Attack Roll vs Tank. - Looks like that wound really threw off Frank's aim.

Current HP: 27/58 Current Defence: 21 vs Ranged (+2 from Kneeling position) 19 vs Melee.

Frank's shot goes wild, but in his quick thinking he buys himself some time. His squadron follows him, but their tiny weapons prove to be not powerful enough to reach the greater distance, and their legs are too small to cover the gap. The tank's scale 105mm cannon, however, has enough power, and deals Frank another devastating blow.

Tobias's squad, while injured, continue pressing the attack. They fire and pinpricks of blood appear, soaking the mage's clothing.

Meanwhile, the medic patches up the commander, who, though still missing a large part of his plastic body, is now mobile and back in command of his troops. The ambulance rushes south to try and save any melted troops who still have a chance.

Frank
Infantry: 0/3 hit
Bazooka: 0/1 hit
Heavy Machine Gun: 1/1 hit for 0 damage (made Ref save)
Tank: 1/1 hit for 16 damage
Artillery: 1/1 hit for 0 damage (made Ref save)
9/58hp

[Private to Francis 'Frank' Decourcey: Wisdom (12): As you lose blood and you start to fade, for some reason you get the idea that you are forgetting something very important, something from very early in the day. You just can't remember exactly what it was...

20:56, Today: Facilitator rolled 11,4,1,1 using d20+2,d20+2,d4-1,d4-1. Infantry Attack (Frank).
20:57, Today: Facilitator rolled 19,2 using d20+2,d4-1. Infantry Attack (Frank).
21:04, Today: Facilitator rolled 10,7,25 using d20+8,3d6,d20+7. Bazooka Attack, Ref Save (Frank).
21:08, Today: Facilitator rolled 15,5,16 using d20+9,2d4-2,d20+7. Heavy Machine Gun Attk, Ref Save (Frank).
21:12, Today: Facilitator rolled 21,17 using d20+7,3d10. Tank Attack (Frank).
21:14, Today: Facilitator rolled 13,19,8 using d20+7,4d8,d20+7. Artillery Attack, Ref Save (Frank).
21:18, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Francis 'Frank' Decourcey, rolled 12 using 1d20. Wisdom Check.]

Tobias
Infantry: 2/3 hit for 4 total damage
Grenadier: 0/1 hit
Bazooka: 1/1 hit for 4 damage (made Ref save)
Heavy Machine Gun: 1/1 hit for 0 damage (made Ref save)
Tank: 0/1 hit
Artillery: 1/1 hit for 7 damage (made Ref save)
2/44hp

[Private to Tobias Byrne: Wisdom (8): As you lose blood and you start to fade, for some reason you get the idea that you are forgetting something very important, something from very early in the day. You just can't remember exactly what it was...

21:21, Today: Facilitator rolled 25,13,26,1,3,3 using d20+8,d20+8,d20+8,d4-1,d4-1,d4-1. Infantry Attack (Tobias).
21:23, Today: Facilitator rolled 9,6,6 using d20+8,1d6,d20+5. Grenadier Attack, Ref Save (Tobias).
21:26, Today: Facilitator rolled 17,9,20 using d20+8,3d6,d20+5. Bazooka Attack, Ref Save (Tobias).
21:29, Today: Secret Roll: Facilitator rolled 31,2,18 using d20+11,2d4-1,d20+5. Machine Gunner Attack, Ref Save (Tobias).
21:30, Today: Facilitator rolled 14,22 using d20+7,3d10. Tank Attack (Tobias).
21:31, Today: Facilitator rolled 19,14,15 using d20+7,4d8,d20+5. Artillery Attack, Ref Save (Tobias).
21:38, Today: Facilitator rolled 8 using 1d20+1. Wisdom Check.]

PM [Private to Tobias Byrne: Wisdom (12): As you lose blood and you start to fade, for some reason you get the idea that you are forgetting something very important, something from very early in the day. It was some form of language that had no power in your world, but maybe it will have some use here. It's just on the tip of your tongue...]

No.

Toby was a delf-taught spellcaster, one of a very select breed who could do this and not blow themselves to bits while doing it. There was a reason for this; mainly that one didn't muck about with things they didn't understand until they were damn certain that they would, in fact, work.

That meant that no spellcasting anything until you at least had an idea of what it was supposed to do, and especially not to do it for the first time in the middle of a combat encounter, when you were bleeding out and losing both mental and physical willpower that might very well be sucked out by the spell and kill you.

Toby thought all these things.

Then he threw them out the window. "Ram Abbalah! Can-tah Abbalah-doon!" There weren't any accompanying gestures, so he settled for pointing vaguely in the direction of the soldiers, hoping for the best.

As the tank shell ripped it's way through his shoulder, Frank knew they had to get out of the room. Another few seconds of this and they would be dead, and that meant that Henry and possibly countless other children would die. That couldn't happen.

Then Toby spoke the words from his dream. Words that he couldn't have know, words Frank hadn't told him. When Toby spoke the words, there was a power behind them that hadn't come across when they'd been written on the pad next to his bed.

Frank gaped at him for the briefest of moments and then kicked the door as hard as he could, assuming it was locked and not wanting to risk the time it would take to check if that was the case.

[Private to GM: OOC: Please make the appropriate roll for Frank kicking open the door. Please roll for 1 AP if the result is less than 20. If it opens, my intention is for Frank to use his move action to get out of the room into total cover and hope Toby can follow suit.]

Frank kicks the door open, completely wrecking the latch. Tobias shouts what he can only assume to be magical words, but he feels no strange energies coming from his fingers; in fact, nothing otherworldly at all seems to happen.

As Tobias cringes to face the onslaught sure to come he notices that... there isn't one. The tiny green men are all standing board-straight, jaws open in awe. A few infantrymen even forget they're holding rifles and let them slide to the ground. The commander slowly puts his megaphone to his mouth and, sounding shaken, says, What did you just say?

[Private to Francis 'Frank' Decourcey: Ended up using 1 Action Point to boost your total strength roll to 15. Luckily the building is not well cared for.

22:49, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Francis 'Frank' Decourcey, rolled 5 using 2d6. Action Point.
22:48, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Francis 'Frank' Decourcey, rolled 10 using 1d20+1. Strength check. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:16, Tue 15 Feb 2011.

Tobias paused, then looked down at the soldiers. He blinked, then blinked again.


"NOW you want to talk?!"

Frank stepped back from the open door and moved to stand next to Tobias. He wondered if he should also say the words, but Toby saying them seemed to have done the trick, whatever that was.

He'd thought that maybe the words were some sort of password, but the reaction from the men was more than that warranted. He didn't know what to do next. He was going to let Toby take the lead on this one, at least for the moment.

The commander looks a little perplexed. Why do we now choose palaver? You call upon the name of the Crimson King in the High Speech, yet I suspect you don't realize it. We can-tah, or Little Gods as you might say in your language, may just be mercenaries, but no promise of wealth, no matter how great, can be worth the risk, no matter how small, of opposing Ram Abbalah.

Toby wished he had taken those drama lessons he had been offered in college more seriously... "Mind telling us your whole conniving plan, then?" He asked, edging towards the door, ready to bolt if it went sour.

The words were unfamiliar, but the sentiment was one that Frank understood. It was the same reaction seen in gang-bangers when they realised that the shipment they'd just ripped off belonged to real gangsters. That mixture of fear and respect.

The Little Gods' belief that he and Toby were somehow involved with this 'Crimson King' was enough to get them to back down. The fact that Toby knew the words seemed enough, even though they had worked out pretty quickly that he didn't know the significance.

He was willing for Toby to take the lead on this one, but was ready to step in and assist if it looked like things were heading south. Neither of them could take another onslaught from the Little Gods.

[Private to GM: OOC: Frank is trying to 'read' the situation. Could you please roll a Sense Motive check for Frank if it becomes appropriate?]

We may be small, High Speaker, but we aren't dumb. But I suspect you aren't either, even if you do call upon powers beyond your ken. You already know our part in the plan, and I'm sure if Mr. Monday* wants you to know his part he'd much rather tell you himself...

* The actual word the commander said is incomprehensible to your ears and would be impossible for you to recreate with your tongue. The closest approximation, and that's using the term loosely, would be "Mr. Monday".

[Private to Francis 'Frank' Decourcey: Sense Motive (24): You can tell that the Army Commander is conflicted. He may just work for the highest bidder, but at the end of the day a paycheck doesn't do him any good if he crosses the wrong guy and loses.

00:11, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Francis 'Frank' Decourcey, rolled 24 using 1d20+7. Sense Motive.]

Tobias was not often in the position of someone assuming he knew more than he actually did, and it was perhaps the first time he was uncomfortable in that situation. "Yes, of course..."

He looked over at Frank. What now?