LogThe Watch-Jason-5

Game log for the 2020-06-14 session of The Watch, as taken by Jason

We open with Rezi and Lomo in a cave chamber in the depths of the Aerie, freshly captured prisoner metaphorically in hand, as Sgt Tyla arrives with the rest of the squad. Tyla looks at Rezi and says, "There must be an explanation for this, and I need to hear it." Rezi just says that something's going on and the prisoner needs to explain. The prisoner is not real talkative, and Tyla wants to hear that Rezi has to say.

Rezi explains that they heard the Sergeant talking to nothing, so they followed her, and then took her prisoner. Tyla's more than a little skeptical. Rezi gives the prisoner a shake and tells her they need answers now, and when the prisoner opens her eyes, they're still pure black. She laughs and says, "You have no idea how hopeless this is. You can't stop us. You can't stop what's going to happen here." Tyla's shocked, and the prisoner doesn't stop. Rezi asks how Tyla's going to take care of this, as Yeli asks how she can be confident that Rezi's any better.

Tyla says that someone needs to shut the prisoner up, so Lomo gags her. Then she decides to bring this matter to an officer, so Lomo and Tovy between them gather up the prisoner. Rezi begins offering to have her squad search for more traitors, but Tovy points out that the Corporal has a history of falling to the Shadow and can't be trusted. Tyla asks Rezi how she knew where to find the corrupted Sergeant, and the Corporal explains that she just had a feeling, a hunch. Tyla thinks and decides that the most important thing is to make command aware of what's going on.

The squad and Tyla return to the gate, which is still closed, and still held by a platoon led by the fallen Sergeant, who is named Roba. Seeing their leader bound and being carried like luggage stirs the gate defenders up a bit. Roba makes it worse by acting unconscious. Lomo shakes her, hoping she'll open her eyes and they'll be all black, but Roba just whimpers in pain instead. The soldiers she led do not like this any better, and Tyla's struggling to defuse things. Tovy shouts out that she knows it's a bad moment but everyone needs to stand to their duty, especially the ones who are supposed to be looking out. That pisses off the corporal in charge of the area, but it also works.

Tyla tells Lomo to get Roba out of here, motioning to the stairs up into the upper levels, and then starts talking to the corporals individually, trying to get things organized and ensure the defense of the gate. Yeli goes to help Lomo manage the prisoner. Rezi offers to help organize the troops, and Tyla says yes, she can stay here and make sure the soldiers know their duties, and then orders Tovy to stay here also, but if anything funny happens, she tells Tovy where to find the officers and report it.

Tyla then catches up with Lomo and Yeli and tells them she hopes they have answers, because command will need to get to the bottom of this. Loisa tags along wth them, and they all go well up into the Aerie. The find officers discussing the threat of the incoming battering ram. Tyla reports the problem at the gate and the corruption of Roba. One of the officers asks for a report, and Tyla leans on Lomo to report. As Lomo relates her tale, a lookout runs in and reports that the enemy is moving. A couple officers run out to the battlements to see that's going on, and the Shadow forces are charging. The officers sound the alert, they send the prisoner to the stockade, and order everyone back to their posts to prepare for battle.

This triggers a new mission, the defense of the Aerie. Tovy's on point, Yeli scouting, Lomo strategizing, and Rezi watching their backs. Rezi gets a partial, Lomo needs help from Tovy to get a partial (+1 complication), Yeli a failure that gets promoted to a partial by Rezi's hold and then a full by her move, and Tovy a partial (+1 weary and +1 complication). Complications are "The Shadow took hold of Rezi for a time", "We lost a pivotal asset or territory", and "Tovy betrayed or abandoned someone to accomplish a goal." After the mission, Rezi will have to Surrender to Weariness.

The Shadow surges forward. The battle lasts hour and it's a full press against the Aerie. At one point the gate defenders have to send a runner to request resupply, and a row breaks out within the fortress during the fighting. The Shadow has forces within the Aerie that are attacking the gate from the inside. Some of them are Shadow creatures, and the remnants of the clothes they're wearing are fresh, implying they were taken by the Shadow recently. Yeli warned the squad of this incipient treachery in time, so we had a chance to fight a battle on both sides. Tovy had befriended one of the gate defense platoon, a Warden named Droona, but then abandons her in the middle of the fight to rejoin her original squad and protect the gate from the treacherous attack from within. Rezi's got her head on a swivel, expecting treachery from every side, and in this battle she's not disappointed. Her squad is experienced, and while this attack might have been decisive if it had been a complete surprise, it's nothing they can't handle when they were prepared. Then the Corporal looks into a side tunnel, sees a pair of burning eyes, and blacks out.

When she comes to, she's alone, in a deeper part of the Aerie, and hears a voice like the one Roba followed. It says, "You can have everything you want, everything that you've dreamed of. Why do you resist that?" She replies that it's not right. The Shadow offers to return her daughter, but Rezi continues to say it's not right.

Lomo is the first to notice Rezi checking out and racing down a tunnel without a word. Yeli and Tovy both notice as well. She returns to the battle without any immediate explanation. We hear the defensive siege engines stop and then switch to volley fire, and Yeli sees that it's because they're aiming at the approaching battering ram. The defensive fire is tremendous and it's clear that absent treachery from within, the ram's going to get destroyed. Then the defensive fire drops off. That can't be good. It turns out that the Shadow has its own siege engines and their counterbattery fire is effective. The Aerie takes a pounding. The battering ram gets to the gate and makes a few hits on it before burning oil finally immolates it. The siege lasts for days before the Watch is victorious, at a very high cost.

Rezi's surrender to weariness roll goes poorly. Yeli, Tovy and Rezi are both promoted after the battle, Rezi by two ranks.

During the battle, Rezi and Lomo shared a moment when Lomo followed her unquestioningly. Rezi and Tovy shared a moment where they fought back to back. Rezi and Yeli shared a moment when Rezi was one of the first to answer Yeli's warning of incipient treachey. Rezi and Lomo shared a moment where Lomo was watching as Rezi bolted down a tunnel for no apparent reason, confirming her suspicions.

The Aerie's a mess. It's going to be at least a month before it's rebuilt like it was before the attack. One of the Lt Cmndrs comes by to announce the promotions and that the squad's going to get pulled from the front lines. Lomo thinks about it hard, with a little help from brainstorming with Tovy, and figures that while the promotions are as advertised, the reassignment is about lack of trust. Yeli tries to find a dice game in which to forget her troubles, but can't. People aren't dicing. Tovy salutes Rezi and challenged her to prove she can drink like a Lt Commander. They go drinking and... it's terrible. Tovy has one drink and falls asleep, to general mockery. Rezi buys a round and tries to create a moment of cameraderie. Lomo gets a little lit and tries to get Rezi to buy drinks all nights, and then, once everyone's properly lubricated, asks the new LtC where she went during the battle. She admits that she was taken by the Shadow, as Lomo's hand slips to her dagger, and says that she fights the Shadow all the time.

The next day, Tovy opens up to Lomo about how they can't trust Rezi. Yeli has the same sort of conversation with Loisa, but it doesn't leave anyone feeling better.

The squad works for a couple days, helping with repairs, and then they summon Rezi to get the next assignment. They want the squad to go out and collect conscripts from the rear areas, where the clan system still holds sway. We'll be collecting from Sharn and Thason. During the planning, Rezi takes Tovy aside and kinda sorta apologies for letting the Shadow get to her. Tovy's militarily correct but not sympathetic.

It's going to be a march of several days to get to the clan lands, and at least as long coming back. Because of her exalted new rank, the Watch provides Rezi with a mount.

The squad takes their usual stations. Tovy's on point, Yeli scouting, Lomo strategizing, and Rezi watching their backs. Rezi gets a full success, Lomo gets a full success, Yeli gets a full success, and Tovy gets a full success. Complications: Something followed us home, and Rezi was wounded during the fighting.

It's a long mission to pick up all these kids. The conscripts are a mix of bravado, resignation, and fear. None of them really want to fight. By the time we're done, there are about 50 conscripts in the convoy. Rezi looks for the ones who are move motivated than others and gives them temporary promotions to Initiate to try to get some organization set up, and works with Tovy to drill them all. That takes more time than just marching them would have. Some of the recruits are pretty down, and Tovy tries to give them some tough talk about her training is gong to prepare them to fight and win, but others just aren't buying it. Some people are deserting as they go from place to place.

The last batch of conscripts are in Sharn territory, and it's late enough that weneed to camp there rather than march immediately. Some Clan Sharn civilians help with the camp, either to postpone leavetaking, or just to be helpful. It's peaceful back there, with no Shadow intrusion so far... until Rezi's helping organize the camp, and sees the burning eyes of Thin Boy. She orders Tovy to set a watch and be ready for attack, so the Corporal tries to make sure the watch standers are the real deal and not just conscripts who will think it's a chance for a nap by themselves. Rezi tells the other troops that she has a feeling there will be an attack, though nobody else has seen mysterious lights out there. Rezi tries to think of a way she could avoid Thin Boy, but can't. Lomo tries to figure out whether Rezi believes her own BS, and concludes that she seems to.

In the morning, as the unit packs for the march, Lomo finds a Sharn with a staff who's not just helping make camp. She's going to keep the conscripts from joining the Watch. Lomo sends for Tovy, Tovy sends for Rezi, and then the hostile civilian clocks Rezi in the head with the staff. Lomo instantly decapitates her, and shouts out that anyone who touches her commander dies. Tovy draws and stands with Lomo. Yeli demands to know what Lomo's doing, Tovy orders the civilians to step back, and then when Lomo tells Yeli to take the Commander back, she ignores the order. The recruits who were packing stop packing. Lomo tells the recruits to get back in line and prepare to march. Loisa and Yeli break their paralysis and get between Lomo and the civilians, and Loisa even disarms Lomo. Lomo's left with a clear feeling that the Shadow was rooting for her to hurt more of the Clan civilians.

During the march, Tovy finds Yeli and thanks her for keeping the Watch from killing more civilians. Yeli talks about how much she feels for the scared civilians, and how she wishes she was one of them. Lomo then apologizes to Tovy, who accepts, and Yeli, who's more skeptical. They conversation takes a turn such that it's not really an apology at all. The log's favorite exchange:

Lomo, about the war: "... everyone's in it." Yeli, referring to the woman Lomo killed: "She's not."

The convoy does reach Southern Legion HQ with a bevvy of conscripts.

Meaningful moments:

Rezi and Lomo share a moment.

Lomo and Tovy share a mutual moment, where they train and talk and establish that things are back to normal between them.

Yeli and Lomo had a meaningful moment when they stood on opposite sides of Lomo's blade.