It didn't take the truck too long to arrive back at the crossroads. The troops fanned out again, setting up a makeshift perimeter. Mattaki and Bhalla now also saw the strange letters on the roadsigns. They couldn't read them, but were told they pointed toward Adolfstadt, Reinhardsdorf and Heinrichsburg - with the latter pointing into the direction they'd come.

None of these names meant anything to them. Mattaki would have needed a map to orient himself, to have a chance of pinpointing their location. The only thing that was clear: the crossroads were Fakadian, the apshalt of the road old and cracked, certainly laid down decades ago, if not longer. It meant that this was a busy road - or was a busy road at some point, a trade route of some importance. That gave him at least some idea. They would be in the Southeastern part of the Empire, closer to Fakad's enemies than their allies, the mountain range behind them surely the one shielding them from the Ef-Fruk's plains.

Yelena, Lena, Zholdin, Julius and the commanding officers set down on a few rocks on the side of the road; the next best thing to a table and chairs.

The last to join them were Jackson and Lewis. The British captain quietly talking to the American Major before the two joined the rest of the group.

Lena was still taking this in.  Creatures that talked and seemed to be intelligent, but not human.  This was a discovery bigger than the war.  Of course, if the war killed them all (either the creatures or the people currently assembled), it'd be a moot point.

She looked around.  "I'm going to say it.  We don't know enough."

Bhalla, having eaten a complete meal for the first time in weeks, was drowsy--Properly drowsy rather than the hazy exhaustion of deprivation. Once her spell wore off, she found herself dozing despite the strangeness of it all. There were other tribes of the--she realized she didn't quite know what to call them--and the tribes were at war, and the war was coming here.

It already came here. The Deutsche brought it with them.

When the truck stopped, Bhalla woke. She'd managed to scrounge the makings of a sling from the detritus in the Lastwagen, and set about hunting stones that would be a good fit for it.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Thu 28 July 2022.

Max quietly responded to Jackson.

Yelena nodded at the statement from Lena. "We don't know very much at all, no. But I think we have enough knowledge to begin to formulate some long-term plans and goals. Any or all of which we may find ourselves changing as we learn more, yes?"

Once the Brit and the American join them he outlines things as he sees them, [Translated from Russian]"Gentlemen, short-term, as I see it, we have five basic options; we return to the abandoned fort we passed through initially, it is near water, but no easily identifiable food sources.  We take the town of Fischbach on the way to Adolfstadt, it should at least have farms and food.  We go native, we have local guides. We do some combination of the previous three, like go native and take Fischbach.  Lastly we do something completely different."

He gives the two a moment ot digest Zholdin's translation, and then follows up with, [Translated from Russian]"I prefer the first option."

"I'm not the soldier here, but could we hold that fort against the Germans if they try to attack?"  Lena asked, genuinely not knowing the answer but feeling like it was important.  "Securing a place to operate from is a good idea, provided we can hold it."

"But now that we know they are enslaving the locals, perhaps our goal should be to help turn the tide against the Germans.  I would imagine what they may lack they can more than make up for in many other ways, strategically speaking.  For instance there are possibly hidden approaches to the German position we wouldn't find, at least not quickly."

Max chewed over the options. ”I don’t see us holding that position against an assault once we’ve been discovered. It seems like the best option for us is to integrate with the natives, if possible. From that position, we can use guerilla tactics to chip away at supply lines and manpower until we find a chink in their armor. Once we have discovered that opening, we can make an attempt to eliminate the Nazis for good.”

once they were settled Mattaki found the lady (Yelena) he'd been talking to in the truck about the elements " I need but a pinch of the element I wish to commune with, be it earth water, a breeze of a flame, the fire is the more difficult as it rarely occurs naturally so we would need a source first but the others are around us in abundance so are easier to control"

He took up his spear this is the weapon of my ancestors, it has their essence in it of many lives that used the elements to help my people. I come from a line of warrior mages I no not if I am the last, the knife you gave me was the focus for my friend and mage brother if I now hold it then he is dead. I wish to go home to find out if my tribe has survived but I have a responsibility to my people and the earth to protect it. my journey must wait while I help you to destroy the evil that has come to my land.

He fell silent for a moment you asked me if I can make explosions I can do that and much more I was bred to fight not with weapons but the power Nhur left us and it is yours to direct upon my oath

[Translated from Russian]"I put 'go native' third because it is for now, third best option.  If the natives decide they don't like us anymore than they do the Nazis, we have no fall back.  Mission ends, everybody dies.  It is also bad precedent for soldiers, would not be good for morale.  The forest fort has one and half of the three immediate things we need, and only the drawback of being known by our enemies.  Fallback there for now, rest, regroup, and put out feelers to the natives.  Raid Fischbach for further supplies and info.  That is the safest forward motion."

He looks about at the countryside, and casually waves a hand at the woods, "Is this where you wish to rest tonight?  Two bears do not lair in the same cave.  It's best to have a fort and then find out the disposition of our allies."

Mattaki chuckled when he heard the man speak I to doubt you would be able to go native you definitely couldn't pass for one of my people he said with a smile

I am a warrior mage of my people I have a little sway if you need to speak to the elders I am respected for what I am

Lena didn't speak, she just looked at the others and gave them that look.  They needed to speak to those elders.

Yelena greeted Mattaki with a smile as he approached. Any information he provided was very helpful to understanding their current situation. After translating what he said, she responded. <German> "Going Native in this case isn't an attempt to look like you, but rather to live in a similar manner. I think it will be very helpful to speak with your elders, yes. How far would we have to go for an audience?" </German>

She waved Sarwan over to join them before offering a few thoughts to the gathered group (in both Russian and English). "Assuming we don't start enslaving, killing, and experimenting on their people, I expect them to be able to tell the difference between us and the Nazis."

She didn't argue with the Kapitan's plan - he was in charge and she would follow his direction.

<German>"In time, yes. At first, maybe no? Many dead. Many changes."</German> Bhalla said. She'd had a good look around the makeshift rest stop as she collected stones. <German>"This is all your tribes? So-vyets, British? American? No more warriors?"</German>

Yelena listened closely to what Sarwan said, then translated for the others and added her own response. <German>"Yes, this is all. At least all that are here, in your world. We have many, many more where we are from, but I don't think we will ever see them again."</German> The sniper was rather matter-of-fact about that. Perhaps all those years on the front lines had deadened her emotions, or perhaps the Soviet just had an excellent poker face.

She looked between both of the natives. "Is there any way a small number of us can return to your peoples and tell them what we know? See if they can help with our planning. I don't think our small group can deal with the entirety of the Nazi base. At least not quickly. They will theoretically run out of munitions and fuel eventually, assuming they haven't found ways to make more here." Though given the mountainous terrain, it wouldn't be too surprising if they would eventually be able to mine the various ores needed for making weapons and ammunition.

Mattaki listened before speaking "All the way to the Imperial court would be many many days travel  as the bird flies and might be too far" he replied.

"There are fortified military towns dotted along the route with local law enforcement, but they're not very high up in my peoples chain of command"

"One potential route could  be to march north, keeping the mountains to our left and we will eventually, reach the Thatumrud. Following that downriver, we will eventually  the city of Teveh at the coast, one of the largest cities in the Empire and ruled by one of the Ungals, a deputy to the Lugal"

It would take About 12 days march to the river, but then it should be possible to commandeer a river boat to Teveh. Depending on the boat and a few other factors: 2 to 4 days river travel" .
This message was last edited by the player at 08:13, Tue 23 Aug 2022.

[From Russian] "I don't know that we need to speak with your imperial court.  Can not your local leaders handle making local decisions?"

[From Russian] "Politruk Yevgenievich, lead the squad that forms, investigate the local village.  See if we can work with them, if they can accept that we are at the very least the enemy of their enemy, if not allies.  Get what intelligence you can and report back."  He turns to Yelena, "Serzhant Malkin, form a squad, pick those with keen eyes, quiet feet, and a strong sense of direction who you can trust to take your orders, you are second under Zholdin for this mission.  Your orders are the same, investigate, make friends if possible, then return."

He addresses the whole small group, "If nothing else, I suggest we split here, the main of the BPO will move to the forest fort and encamp there until the diplomatic mission returns.  At which point we'll reassess and make further plans."