If I think  they can manage on their own for a week, I'm going to tell them I'm going to try to deal with the problem.  I don't go into details because opsec and I don't trust everyone.

My plan is to circle around to the opposite side of the village burn site, and stalk and kill an animal, and then later a couple Tuatha.  I want to make it look like I killed an animal, began to tote it somewhere, got surprised, and jumped one of the Tuatha.

This will hopefully draw them off inn the wrong direction.

GE 21

You're fairly certain that leaving them would not be a wise idea. They're used to "An honest day's work for an honest day's beatings." and they need a leader and structure. You can't go 20 minutes most days without being interrupted by someone asking you a stupid question.

So leaving, probably not wise at the moment.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 59):

Sigh.  That is a problem, and one not likely to be fixed soon.  I keep on workng with them, building skills and trying to get them more thoughtful so they don't do stupid stuff like toss a black smoke causing weed on the campfire to signal to one and all 'hey, come kill us now.'

GE 14

So far nothing overly bad has happened to anyone. You've had to break up a few fights. One guy wanted to surrender to the Tuatha and another guy beat him up for stupidity. Nobody's really been hurt yet.

You've got a few ladies paying you more attention than they probably should. Nothing you can't handle.

After a few weeks though, one of your scouts comes back with a new person. He's ragged and wearing one of the metal collars. He says he escaped from a ghetto. He's got news for you.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 61):

I free the guy from the torc, and get him some food and drink and a place to sit down in private and talk with me and the scout who brought him in.

The guy is so worn out and dehydrated that he can barely talk. After some food and drink, he stammers out:

"They're coming. They're coming. They deci-decimated the gh-gh-ghetto where I lived. Because because of you and-and-and your escape. Killed dozens of people. And they're coming here."

He doesn't know how they know where you are or when they'll be here. But he's positive it will be soon.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 63):

I pale. And then I gulp.  Of course. slavemasters must be vicious.  What would the Romans do?  The Maccabees chose suicide rather than being captured and who knows, maybe crucified by the Romans.

So I have to be more terrifying.

I gather everyone and speak of the Truth of Christ in short, blunt statements.

"I tell you this because you might die soon.  The slavers are coming.  And I go to slaughter them, to bring terror and madness and fear.  But I may fail.  Be ready to die."

And then I teleport away, heading toward the targets.

Several of the hardier men take up spears and sharpened sticks and ask if they can join you. They vow to defend the campsite with their lives.

Several of the women offer to pack you a lunch to take with you.

You can only teleport as far as your eye can see, but you teleport to the horizon. Off in the distance you see:

GE 24

More of them than you can count coming this way. But they're still several days away.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 65):

I tell the hardier men to guard the camp, and prepare themselves to flee with the others.  I take the food, I always take food.

Looking at them, at the targets, I remind myself, and I look for some sort of canyon they will have to pass up to get to us.  Or a very large pastureland.  I need a wildfire, a very large one.

GE 16

As it happens, they're walking and riding horses through a field of tall, dry grass. A couple well-placed torches ought to do the job.

I would like to state though that this isn't just Tuatha warriors. It's families and children traveling with their fathers and husbands. You wouldn't just be killing your enemy. You'd be killing innocent women and children as well.

But an innocent child today is your grown-up enemy tomorrow. An innocent woman today is the mother of your enemy tomorrow.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 67):

This is odd, I realize after spending some time considering whether I should wipe them out or not.  Few invaders or destroying armies march with women and children amongst them.  Unless its some sort of whole tribe thing....

I need information.

I wait until nightfall, and then look for a sleepy sentry or someone heading off to relieve themselves in the middle of the night.  A little Tuatha napping seems in order.

So you get the drop on a Tuatha female bathing her child in a nearby river. She's frightened by you. She tells you that this is normal. Men often travel with their families when combat is not expected. When the time of engagement comes closer, the men will leave the women and children in a relatively safe place and go off and fight. At the moment, you're 20 plus miles away from the humans they're planning to attack. When you're more like 5 miles away, the women and children will set up camp and most of the men will go off and fight.

She also tells you that they would not hesitate to burn entire families of humans. And that no less would be expected of attacking humans. It would be kind of understood if not condoned for you to burn the innocent women and babies. This is war, after all.

The innocent child today is your mortal enemy tomorrow.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 69):

Sigh.  Tell her they are all going to die.  Leave her, and as they say on Nascar...kick the tires, light the fires.  I'll burn them out.

OOC) Dummy!!!!!!

GE 15

Slightly better than neutral, so she actually waits a few minutes for the reality of what you've said to sink in before she begins screaming bloody murder and trying to alert her people. Within minutes, the entire camp is up and in arms. Loaded for bear and hunting you down.

You try to light the grass on fire, but that only alerts them to your presence. You've got spears and arrows sailing in from all over the place.

Teleport and light. Teleport and light.

GE 18

It just occurred to me. With what are you lighting the grass on fire? If you'd like, I'll allow that you discovered a feature on your gauntlet that would let you light fires.

But anyway, you light the grass where you're standing. Then you teleport 30 feet away. In the dark, you can't really see where you're teleporting to, so 30 feet is about the best you can manage at the moment. But you light the grass there. In the confusion, they continue shooting at where you were. You teleport away just as they realize you've moved. You manage to stay one step ahead of them for the most part.

Then you teleport and run face first into a Tuatha warrior. He had his back to you and you slam face first into him. He whips around and raises a sword.....

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 73):

I'll go with the feature.

Light the Tuatha warrior on fire and teleport.

So, add one flamethrower with a three foot range. The downside is that every time you use it, they immediately begin shooting at you.



GE 9

So you fire the flamethrower. He brings his sword down directly on top of your helmet. Little bit of ringing and a headache, but you're fine. Your opponent on the other hand.... He starts screaming whilst his shirt catches fire. You teleport away.

The batteries in your armor are still at a decent charge.

It's not long after that you have most of the encampment surrounded by flames. You smell meat cooking. Women and children are screaming. Some of them look at you, pleading for mercy through the flames. A few manage to escape, but they're too badly burned to offer much resistance. Mostly they just run off into the night. You get a few challenging you, but you dispatch them quite handily with the flamethrower.

When the smoke clears (Literally) you're looking at dozens, maybe hundreds of corpses. You do hear some moaning and crying coming from it, so they're not all dead. But it's good enough for now. The others will think twice before messing with you.

(Doing Therapy)

I head back to tell the village that the enemy raiders have been destroyed.  Then I head toward another human slave village intending to free them.  Occasionally I stare off into the distance feeling a tinge of horror, but it goes away.

When you get back, someone asks you "Did any of them survive?" (Answer, yes.)

"That's great. That's just great. Now they're going to come back in even greater numbers. And you're not gonna be here to protect us. You should have left us in the ghetto!!"

Complain complain complain.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 77):

"If you've got time to complain, you've got time to work." I say with an icy coldness staring at them straight in the eyes unblinking.

Later I go find another slave village.

Somebody slaps that complainer in the back of the head and yells at him to shut up.

"Don't you remember how horrible it was? This guy's done everything he can to make our lives better. Don't we owe him respect?"

This gets a few cheers and a few more moans. All in all it's probably about 50/50 for and against.

But you activate your rocket boots and take off flying in search of another village. You find one. Your armor is at about 50% charge when you get there.

Do you want to wait for it to charge when you get there or just go into it?

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 79):

Wait to charge.  At night, kill sentries, and set the barracks on fire.

GE14

The day isn't completely sunny. It's kinda cloudy and dull. You find that laying spread eagle on your back recharges it somewhat faster. But at nightfall, you're still not to 100% charge. But it has increased.



GE 16

As before, guards walk the perimeter. They're almost clockwork in their motions. They don't see you. But you stand at a corner and observe two guards meet there every so often, with uncanny regularity. They're armed with swords and halberds.

How are you attacking?

(Doing Therapy)

I'd like to find a place where the guards are out of sight of each other, and take one on.  Then go to the meeting spot and take the other on.  Then go to the other side of the camp and repeat.

This is teleport in and stab stab stab.  Aiming for the first stab to be one that will keep them from yelling.