Lena, Yelena and Zholdin cross the railway tracks, subconsciously stopping to look if there's a train coming, then hurry to the other side of the road. The other ten stay behind and take cover, ready to strike at any unwitting German patrol.

Across the tracks, you notice the remains of a few billboards, apparently hacked up by Berliners in search of firewood. Beyond is a patch of wild, untamed bushes and high grass.

The three sneak forward, until they spot a small boat anchored on the make-shift pier on the Southern - so their - side of the river Spree.


There are two men visible on deck, facing each other. One of them is sitting at the prow, one hand dangling across the reling, the other holding a metal cup.
He faces a man leaning against the window of the bridge, who's right now taking a big gulp from his bottle.
Both are wearing faded German uniforms which have seen better days.
The name of the boat is faded, but Lena can make out "Kleine Bismarck". Little Bismarck. Possibly a reference to the former pride of the German Kriegsmarine, which had been sunk a few years ago.

Yelena raises her rifle and Zholdin takes a few tentative steps forward, then trips as his right for goes into a well-hidden hole and he can't suppress a curse as he falls flat on his stomach.
Both men turn towards the noise.

Now, you can see that the left man, the one leaning against the captain's bridge, is standing merely on one leg, his right one, the left missing above the knee. The sleeve of his left arm is also pinned up, and the left side of the man's face - who otherwise could be considered quite handsome - is a scarred ruin, with part of his lower jaw and his eye missing.

The other man, sitting on the prow, turns more awkwardly - both of his legs are missing.

"I'm sorry, the Little Bismarck is unavailable for tours at this time!" the half-man yells ower.
"Don't be so hasty, Walter, don't you see these are two very lovely ladies?" The other one chimes in.
"Come on over - hope you are not too thirsty, but we're drinking to the end of the war! We'll be happy to share!"

Walter mutters something and the legless man shrugs.

Since she was made anyhow, Lena dropped the hat she was wearing and sauntered over, crossing hip over hip like she owned the place.  Her tone, she slurred just a little to suggest inebriation, and she was a little breathy, a little sultry.  Well, actually, a lot sultry.

"[Language unknown: O, ioure ie theev, thove eetha iv hound past se aveiveproith ainlesall?  N wi utble ers e notwi romenthis eenwas'prolin, nce mi ioous ckou beiv urnc ndle undrutven.  A neteol il a ei moder fi stressenc, n con saess beofll un.]"

She ran her hands up and down her sides suggestively as she could in clothes that were meant for a very different body.  It was both to tease, to show off what she had acquired.

"[Language unknown: Ck itacncon eauic letiri tinoioli sti, mared meee ivter?]"  She walked right up on them.

Audacity.  It was all Lena could think to try.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:18, Mon 19 Apr 2021.

Yelena simply smiled at Lena's attempts at seduction. The sniper was trying to figure out how to take them both out with a single bullet, but perhaps the spy's idea would work. If it didn't there was always time for more shooting.

Her rifle was pointed downward as she stepped in front of the fallen officer to hopefully conceal his presence, waiting to see how Lena's offer would be received.

Zholdin, for his part, seemed more than happy to lay there as Lena attempted to talk her way out of the situation.  Well, happy might be the wrong word, he was positively fuming, but still.  Thankfully Yelena had the presence of mind to step in front of him and provide some sort of concealment, so all he could do was lay as motionless as possible and wait.

((08:52, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of Lena Vogt, rolled 2,2 using d6+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Persuasion + Attractive.

08:53, Today: Warmaster, for the NPC Legless and Walter, rolled 3,4 using d6,d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4.  Smarts
))


No-Legs tilts his head and seems confused, but Walter shakes his head.
"What are you, SS? Volkssturm? Go bother someone else and let us be in peace. This country has already taken everything from us. You should run that way", he points to the West, "and hope you reach the Elbe before the Russians do."
His friends slightly nods in agreement.
"They're already in Marienfeld, I've heard", No-Legs shakes his head and points to the bridge, "at least that was the word on the radio." He shakes his head. "That they put rifles now in the hands of the women, too..."

Lena switched tactics. lol what a roll

"[Language unknown: Atugh us p antng werpe, sstial i Ha te hernd E wittheant evepr towaho t annt omeionrom preresoulredventha a stnti urth encdinnde.]"

She didn't quite drop her initial disposition, but she let it slip a little.  It wouldn't do to radically shift all at once.

At hearing their ruse had seemingly worked, Yelena prepared to move on, but stopped short when Lena chose the path of more talking. She was a talkative one, it seemed. Yelena was mentally ready to fire her rifle, but was following the lead of Lena for now.

[Language unknown: "Nieen Ntadpl?" ] They both start to chuckle.
[Language unknown: "Es ispa ameantlar reahatmanatiati esrolo avest lininerataveonshis tise iveineave wepafi."]


[Language unknown: "Tic ughsheerecon. On ro heieho allte naenc hisaesme sa atestaant."]
They both turn serious again. [Language unknown: "Artie stbete eceve thaithund on linndeill taven tra dicom k iseiti, P enllfi."
"Vir iend whlo es iehoth fonofo ck."
"In ommachtr wesassho somingtra. Iv ssomen ithprough eau tr ou atom Nono Ect."
"Is, hestr. Not mololo ortch sesa a menhouhouwhe outicaenc, mo hisiverom and er toiopa a ort sonourredarerea derin and onndmi sapack."]
They both chuckle again.

[Language unknown: "Ca we eenoutverpre herat cate pron itlllo ut natr Ear ratbutsta?"]
He scratches his chin. [Language unknown: "Al, intonsoer ousarered. Ecal, din niee olwh ma omend u aslime. Ivllll witibe ilndni ch nall, ereconted nde, rat ng. Nohe ereul at si li ev poaihi erastrame ioecme a."]

Wehrkraftzersetzung. The "undermining of the fighting ability of the Wehrmacht". A chill runs down Lena's spine. Until recently, you'd be picked up by the Gestapo for talk like that, never to be seen or heard of again.
Well, not quite true. There might be a letter, telling the family that their husband, father, daughter or sibling had unfortunately fallen ill and died of pneumonia.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:23, Wed 21 Apr 2021.

Lena raised a hand and signaled the other two should close in.  This could go badly.  Very, very badly.  But, well, audacity.

"[Language unknown: But ersonevor ant is ti ntereaone hi unons.  Iclodi kor esch prosetsom, ll hoilmo etmi thu a hi ilou Ta Dayur setlathis ich cepa omtebe ine p hihis and icaswa ica meos icapr ith sechai lenaen wilos erasth p essandeen riel omasadwi ha sancat ac be eealiv ortredrut ers undandshe titest t?  Venmentrayinion M hasughman lin loha castnd lienbe u thaul.]"

Yelena still felt she had the advantage of firepower at her disposal, so she obeyed the beckoning of the spy from Pennsylvania. The Soviet sniper was wary, however, as she didn't know what these men might have hidden away on their boat.

[Language unknown: "Llätheectave, fi lar asthi esour herlatess, an sonus hi thfool. Ca ar entantcon latek noonho artnd Preher'lartio his wil wilitrpr"], he vaguely indicated the East.
"And I've never seen three Russians at once. More like 300."

The legless man pursed his lips. Then he said:
[Language unknown: "Aiadwick-adto, hereveessnde ver no?"]

Walter seemed to take this in stride.

Yelena frowned at this change. But it seemed the one that liked legends was switching tactics. The sniper was nothing if not agile, and followed along as best she could. [Language unknown: "K relepe eareeners the thusontic pe. N prtopr mo in, O vorstiain llth areavewit. U etle o tedainday en eraingate."] She paused and frowned. [Language unknown: "Ter redte beil notectave thewilugh linni sa ck out e sael linoeratewashas, A ingounrut?"]

Yelena looked at the men for some sort of response to her observation. They were probably well aware that the 1930G she held was issued to Russian infantry. Not that fascists hadn't captured plenty of them during their various offensives.

This message was deleted by the player at 18:49, Wed 21 Apr 2021.

((If you're impatient, you can get closer, of course. :-) ))

[Language unknown: "A tinlatourundwhi ta os Inheit."]
[Language unknown: "Fi teni weranyted i Chthme ilmoen."] The man without legs rolled his eyes.
Walter giggled.[Language unknown: "Esne Aconntna Thoos Ncesomwer meck Illeremanatiiou. All esse Mevor iv Manreaintome blekorand larereion." ]
[Language unknown: "Ie e unan! Adek enmi... eststawil thayinain, tesame heweun. Era p Estiveyin, etilin."]

Poldi looked at the Red Army detachment before him.
[Language unknown: "Nt ver ll Saatelse dineauforoun?"]

Yelena smiled thinly as the men argued about their proximity to the English monarch. [Language unknown: "Neurerweio om ev? Pl o ho Undthuain-redons capemo alta int loma erastioulallnce, Ndaies." ] She inhaled and exhaled slowly.

The sniper briefly looked to the East then back to the men. [Language unknown: "Salaad Ntethunot Urnipo we ar ich os romatende. Thont nent ma outillout nineelhowh ol iveoulhouand. Men nengng artartion lin ca ectncepro leiv acolpa il ie her red osntmo we po stamenher. Pa mo M u."]

She jutted her chin toward the boat. [Language unknown: "Ng tibut urprro onbe k at icmiislo ev ha enev? Sino o m icaicaill traforvor ai n les Eveingnti stti poive whwese."]
This message was lightly edited by the player at 04:24, Thu 22 Apr 2021.

Walter and Polid looked at each other, but the man standing replied first.

[Language unknown: "Po antcomtic? Stcene? Ticwerent ilst arnt ionti un ureureble a eveac ch ort com naar Uüvirlatstrthepro."]

The American pretending to be a German pretending to be a Russian tried to pile on.  "[Language unknown: I ma eenresand eltrma leases me, le evtant yince i ieevsa ca urethuill a stibe.  Evedayeau whehi ametiocon ur ec menoreble ckfiur ta e ic ur i ionun ou was lar.  E setlarhas oul etbut nc isev tomell, taout der eve ta iv ounderameter, lo intsonnce ine wh mois-thic.  I a to pa tr elarpelo, enc thuom omshe liitie ouseveres aren ll butwitureint ofic'mela.]"

Yelena narrowed her eyes slightly. She first looked at Lena. [Language unknown: "Preratsta, ive foai t nte tinortove olwiwa eswh no si le utver ie ne paie Ndetho'areatiare. Tradi urecomith ive ateintundwhehas tatha alliveverblevir di, a, ichshetraout a Utanannipa."]

She then looked back to the two boatmen. [Language unknown: "Ain ereamerea tr unut k p ngill. Ver ofnotiurck e nde e re siunut. Ck il the ch tic vorst machus p we. Nde Ithvirhat Forameear mimima omseta u e intanykorwer estshethiati i onsch Fi Diofes. Ence ho, re, llwholss her ropre ofpano?"]

Walter and Poldi looked at each other, then, finally, Poldi shrugged.
Walter responded: [Language unknown: "Intughiou, uthaur. Iveill, o ad artprethu ul eisetiun. ar il p atpaom isofli usnt p unet ntidinent."]

((In the interest of moving this along))

A few minutes later, the vanguard of the united Russo-Allied forces occupied the boat. More than anything, Walter and Poldi seemed to be mildly amused by the recent chain of events.
Poldi, showing surprising agility, grabbed the side of the roof over the bridge, swung to the side, and then into the bridge itself, grabbing the steering wheel.

Walter, in the meanwhile, pointed towards a few ropes tethering the Little Bismarck to the small pier.
A few minutes later, he joined Poldi in the bridge, where he grabbed a small tin box, opened it, grabbed what seemed to be a mint and threw it in the air, catching it with his mouth. Poldi grabbed one of the little tablets, his fingers shaking and he dropped one with a mild curse. The second one landed between his teeth. Both men chewed in silence for a moment and then sighed with relief.
Poldi started whistling a tune. Lena recognized it - a popular song about Berlin and about Berliners keeping a positive outlook.
Whatever happens in the world... the Spree keeps running through Berlin.

((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfOzVVarvTg))

Once everyone had boarded, Yelena stood near to the crew of the Little Bismarck. Ostensibly to keep them in line, though most anyone could have played that role. She helped guide them to the destination. Or at least she would be ready to point to a spot for their landing when it became clear where that would be.

When it seemed they were cruising and necessary attention for piloting was at a minimum, Yelena attempted conversation. [Language unknown: "Lo al as con traac. Reoun as ica plati n a ng om?"]

Lena acted as a spy, listening to the conversation.

She actually faded into the rest rather innocuously when she didn't have attention on her.

Julius sat on the inside of the boat, under the shade. It wasn't to get himself under cover, but because he was never keen on boats. Even though he knows that it won't rock on the river, and feel completely different to the sea voyage that brought him across the Channel and into Europe, even the slight movement of the boat distracted him.

He tried to ignore the movement of the boat by counting to himself, starting with one, but then saying that number in another language, and then another, going through all the languages he knew, before doing it all again with two, and continuing on.

Poldi shrugged, carefully steering the Little Bismarck into the middle of the river and going upstream.
[Language unknown: "Ststpl un oulio comiontha. Atievelin nc sadi ha andichshe oul hi, m er eerisi realarine nana ich inenteter. A ofndul has thu ll ntwhi acoer p eiseev a maprisng."]
He grinned. [Language unknown: "I teratewhe m icera Tinounvir Olprtoas. I thosanoer derai meat."]
He seemed more focused now than before.
[Language unknown: "Io con acadic iess cenchast ne os ha con ersratard tameie, e omwhwi un homeio blein aire hiore." ]He tapped one of the instruments in front of him, showing a needle that was just a little over the red "R" line.

Walter hopped over to Julius, and offered him the tin can with the mints. [Language unknown: "Ove ithanywer illpr rota fiun. Sataee asugh allardder, ntere? Us, nti laris, nenoom milar ur ounle ionessted."]

Julius reaches out to take one of the mints. [Language unknown: "Ionthuwhe. Sa a, Lepr amestitra artithill whprhi. Lar, elonfo ha, nievth?"]

Sucking on the mint, Julius focus on the smell and taste to distract him from the movement of the boat.

The mint had a sharp tang to it, but it worked wonders. The movement of the boat, a moment ago nauseating, was dimmed into a minor distraction and then disappeared altogether.
Julius swallowed and could feel the cold travel down his throat, then spread out into his whole body, invigorating him. The rough wood under his fingers seemed to raise its grain and he could make out small imperfections in what he had thought to be a smoothly planned wooden rehling.

He felt... great, to sum it up in a single word. He hadn't felt that great in a very long time. The chances of their mission succeeding seemed to increase with every wave the Little Bismarck broke on her way upriver. Soon, they'd have their target. And he'd be right there to wrestle Kemmel to the ground. Mentally, of course.