((OOC: Max may also notice something amiss...
20:26, Today: Max Lewis rolled 1,8 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+2)8.  Vigor.

20:26, Today: Max Lewis rolled 19,5 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+6+5)17,3.  Notice.))

((OOC: Not exactly sure how group Vigor rolls should work, but I've assumed no wild die, just a d6 for these guys. The notice roll was a resounding success, though, at 20.


20:28, Today: OSI Rangers (US Squad) rolled 20,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+8+4)20,3.  Notice, Vigor.))

Lena did not like her odds at taking  three of them. Hell, not even one of them.  She wanted to do something brilliantly effective, but brilliance was probably not in the cards here, but effective could be.  So she produced her permanently borrowed pistol and fired a single shot into the air, even taking care to cup one ear on her shoulder and put her hand over the other.  It would be much louder than her voice, and get more attention.

"[Language unknown: Hitarong!]"

And with that, Lena hit the deck.  She would observe, follow, report, but she was going to leave the bloodletting to the professionals here.

When Julius saw Lena and Yelena moving around, his figured they were simply restless, just as he was.

But when he heard Lena shout out and fire her gun, he shouted out in English, so that those who hadn't learnt German yet would know what's going on.

"Intruders!" He yells, as he looks for sign of them, clenching his hand into a fist, to prepare if he needs to invoke any spells.

Konnikov was asleep sitting up, so he just opened his eyes and took stock of the situation.

At the shots and the shouts, the whole cave erupts into activity, with men and women taking firing positions, somebody spilling water over the glowing embers, casting everything into almost complete darkness.

But there's nothing. There is no attack. No grenades are getting lobbed. A few tense seconds pass, then stretch into minutes. Suddenly, one of the Thompson SMG of the Americans fires into the bushes, followed by a second one, then all the Americans and British opening fire.

Not to be outdone, the Russians open fire as well and the mountains echo with the cacophony of gunfire, tracer bullets from the Russian MGs lighting up the night, directing more fire.

It only lasts for a few seconds before Captain Jackson of the British soldiers bellows: SEIZE FIRE, SEIZE FIRE!!

Konnikov also shouts for BPO Company to hold fire, [Language unknown: "On it!  ETAS TE!  Aisemadi, voronstha eenkorman sti comerenot!"]

He stands but doesn't leave side of the cave, his eyes adjusting to the new darkness.

The noise quiets down. Night and silence surround you.

(Semyon: please draw three cards from the deck)

Sergeant Knight, standing next to Major Lewis mutters: "Fucking darker than a whore's arsehole in a bunker."

Zholdin, crouching next to Konnikov, asks: [Language unknown: "Bleichver, ughwerand Butughyin?"]

Julius hadn't learned a way to see in the dark with the aid of magic. However, he wondered what if the darkness wasn't mundane? Or that there was some other trickery that the Nazis were using. Or even worse, some protector for these tunnels that was from beyond?

Once again, Julius invoked a spell to let him see beyond this world. If there was something magical going on, he would find out.

OOC:
Casting DETECT ARCANA
23:22, Today: Julius Sykes rolled 8,3 using 1d10-1,1d6-1, rerolling max, unique dice with rolls of 9,4.  Spellcasting (and 1 fatigue).

As it feels like the fatigue from bumps and bruises is going to haunting me for some time.

At least I got it with a raise (assuming there is anything to see).
This message was last edited by the player at 20:20, Sun 06 Mar 2022.

[Language unknown: "Ica, Politruk.  Int wh ntrat, thakorbut ver ateeli a a fond antmaniou oneonethu.  Ai dilo ove io ilan m siwi atlerica ie."]


((  OOC:  23:38, Today: Semyon Yegorovich Konnikov drew the 3 cards: 10D, 4D, QH using a deck of 54 cards.  Drawing 3 cards. – 10D, 4D, QH  ))

Lena moved her way back to the others, doing her best in the dark.  She needed to find a lamp, or something.

Julius strained to see more than the pitch black of the night.


The Soviets fumbled with their flashlights, the British and Americans had them ready just a little faster. Slowly they fanned out and started searching.

The "good" truck had a slashed front tire. That was annoying, to say the least.

It didn't take long for one of the squads to shout - they had found something! There was a dead body, riddled with bullets, slumped against a tree, not far from the concrete platform in the forest. The barrel of an MP40 stuck out from behind him, a knife lay next to him.
There was more blood on the edge of the platform, where they must have pulled themselves up to sabotage the trucks.

Yelena looked about using the tools at her disposal to attempt to put a hole in the intruders, but she had little luck. The sniper sighed at their collective lack of success and waited to be assigned to one of the search parties.

Looking out, Julius couldn't see any signs of magic being used. Whatever was happening, it must have been mundane in nature, albeit from people with significantly more combat training then he had.

"Whatever is going on out there, it's not magic." He called out.

Yelena looked over at Julius as he called out and frowned, though she didn't say anything to him. Perhaps later they would chat, if Yelena survived the coming hunt.

((OOC: I'm assuming Yelena will be heading back out with some members of the same squad to start searching? Would you like me to roll anything for Yelena and the Soviet squad she's with?))

Likewise Lena just tries to be useful by finding a lamp or something and trying to help canvas the area.

Lena can grab one of the flashlights from the Russians and can help searching.

((Anybody going into the bushes to search further: Survival roll for Tracking.
Anybody who wants to take a closer look at the dead body: Notice.

Semyon: I'll assume that Yelena is in the search squad closest to the dead body, with other squads further away))

Searching corpses (and living people) for clues was actually in Lena's skillset, and she figured trying to traipse off into the brush was not a wise one.

15:43, Today: Lena Vogt rolled 9,5 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,3.  lookee da body.

Kapitan Konnikov confers with the Lieutenants and the Brit and American officers while waiting for the squads to report back in...

Warmaster:

((Semyon: I'll assume that Yelena is in the search squad closest to the dead body, with other squads further away))

(( OOC:  I'm fine with that, Konnikov doesn't micromanage, he gave the order to gather torches and do a close search, he expects the Lieutenants and Sergeants to take care of micro-managing, that's what they're here for...
Say, what time of the night is it? ))

Yelena did not pick up a torch for herself, wary of making herself a target. She also reminded others around her that there could be snipers out that and made some subtle suggestions about what sorts of things would confound her if she were out there with a high powered rifle trained on the newly established camp. "Keep moving, even if you're searching something. Keep the torches low and swing them about. Don't light up your comrades if it can be avoided."

She spoke to Lena quietly in German. [Language unknown: "Ntno tra ivestapronti. Anwhwe iemion sses omit k essournce thi blewa o llchhi plof iturad ei ch oveicaint vortedhas."]

((OOC: Yelena will take a look at the body while speaking to Lena, then will head out to the bushes with appropriate members of her squad.


18:36, Today: Yelena Malkin rolled 1,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2.  Tracking.

18:36, Today: Yelena Malkin rolled 13,7 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,5.  Notice.

LOL, wish those rolls were reversed. Oh well.))

((It's just after 2:00am))

Lena crouches down in front of the dead body. He still wears the distinctive helmet of the Wehrmacht, and the camouflage uniform of the Waffen-SS. Lena recalls that none of the soldiers they had fought back in the bunker - or outside of it - had worn a camouflage uniform, but the standard field-grey uniforms they had shared with the Wehrmacht.
One thing stands out - he doesn't wear a belt, with the loops cut open.

In the last few months of her career as a nurse, Lena has seen enough wounds to know that this young boy died very quickly - at least three bullets holes would have been enough to kill him, but she sees a total of eight.

According to his collar, he was an SS-Sturmmann, like a private in the US Army. On the other side of his collar bone, she can make out the insignia of his unit. Two crossed axes. Not something she has seen before.

---

Yelena and her squad-mates slowly fan out. There are obvious tracks leading away from the spot, of at least two people. One ran off quickly, but she loses the tracks just a few steps later.
But there is one more... blood and somebody seems to have been dragged (or dragged themselves) into the bushes. Suddenly, that tiny voice that has saved her live so many times in Stalingrad is yelling at her to get down!

((Give me an Agility roll, Yelena!))

This was baffling.  Lena pulled out the knife she'd kept as an emergency weapon, but more as a tool, and opened it.  She cut that strange unit insignia off.  This whole thing was weird, had her soldiers put all these bullet holes in him?

She braced herself.  She'd been in the hospitals long enough.  She was going to cut out a bullet.  She was curious what had actually been used to kill him.

And why no belt?  A soldier very much needed a belt.  She pondered it as she sliced in.

Yelena's life had been saved more than once by listening to her intuition. When a little voice in the back of one's head beckoned one to get down, one did not argue.

The sniper did a quick roll off to her right, hoping that her comrades would also be ready for whatever was out there.

((OOC: Agility of 8

08:02, Today: Yelena Malkin rolled 8,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 8,2.  Agility.))

Once the Soviet commander gave his orders and they were translated, Max want over to Arthur. "Help take a look at the body, but be careful. We don't have home field advantage here."

((Before resolving Yelena's situation....))

Arthur salutes and jogs off to join Lena.

With everybody else occupied with the search, the three senior officers stand close enough to each other that nobody else could overhear them. Politruk Zholdin is close as well and turns his attention to them as the British Captain beckon's him closer.

((Zholdin will translate))

Leaning in closer, Captain Jackson was the first to speak.
"Major, Captain - what do you think is going on here?"