LogThe Watch-Jason-11

Game log for the 2020-07-26 session of The Watch, as taken by Jason

The Watch holds a ceremony for Dirdu. Many people step up to talk about her, including Risoc. Payli then approaches Tovy and asks how she feels about the assault she's meant to be planning. They go to the command tent, where Payli offers wine. Tovy shows her the plan she's working on, and Payli seems a little overwhelmed with that's going on, but basically happy with what Tovy's done.

Risoc's been praying, wondering if the mutineers were in league with the shadow, and concludes that they were not.

Yeli's socializing, looking to relax just a bit. She blows off some steam and gains a sense of purpose.

Lomo's also blowing off steam, but through drill and meditation. She finds a moment of true peace in the process.

Payli tells Tovy that the tribunal will meet in a few hours and Tovy must be there with her squad. Tovy spends the intervening time briefing her non-coms on the upcoming mission. Nobody has much feedback on it.

At the tribunal, the mutineers are brought in, shackled. The tribunal takes testimony from everyone who fought in the fighting. The tribunal eventually decides to send them to the rear for hard labor. The one who actually killed Dirdu was already killed in the fighting, which makes it easier to show the rest a little leniency. The mutineers were from many clans, with a slight plurality from Molthas, and of course none from Dolthas.

Lomo asks Tovy what she knew about Ealle's plan, and Tovy tells her she warned Dirdu and really thought there was time to head it off. Then she reminds Lomo that there's work to be done, and they talk about the use of squirrel scouts.

To the mission! Time to assault the camp. Tovy will watch their backs, Lomo will strategize, Yeli will scout, and Risoc will take point. Tovy gets a strong success, Lomo needs help from Risoc to manage a weak success, Yeli a strong success, and Risoc a weak success. The squad owes two complications, which are Lomo panicking at a critical moment, and that this mission was particularly hard on Risoc who is still very nervous about being on point. Bonus complication: Marro gets wounded in the fighting.

The platoon knows the way to the tent city, so that part is manageable. While crossing a creek on the way, Lomo feel in, and couldn't find her squirrel. Risoc grabbed it and Lomo both and reunited them on the bank. Once the fighting starts, Risoc gets panicky, trying to see everything and spot every trap all at once, and ends up overlooking something important. Yeli sees some Shadow creatures that seem to be directing the battle, and feels surprised that they're leading troops. Once the battle begins, some of the more human-esque monsters move back toward the stronghold, as if by a prearranged plan. Marro also sees this and orders her squad forward at the maximum, which enables them to cut those Shadow leaders off from their retreat, but gets wounded in the resulting heavy fighting. Tovy orders her squad forward to cover her and breaks through to keep her from getting any further injury. The fighting is going well enough that the citadel begins preparing a sortie, which is the Watch's cue to make a retreat.

Back in camp, Marro goes directly to the healing tent. Tovy goes to report in, Lomo to blow off steam, Risoc to get treatment, and Yeli makes sure the squad encampment is in order. In the healer' tent, Marro's angry, disappointed in herself.

Memorable moments from the fight: For Lomo, it was Risoc saving her squirrel. For Yeli, it was when she identified the enemy command. For Risoc, it was pulling Lomo out of the river.

Loisa comes to Lomo and offers to teach her to swim. Awwww. Lomo opens up to her about her experience in the water. Loisa isn't really interested in feelings. She focused on things like how to swim in boots.

In the command tent, Payli is happy with Tovy's report, but concerned with how to take the fort with minimal casualties. Tovy suggests bringing heavy siege weapons so they can make it a short battle, not a long siege. They both agree that Tovy should run a feint to uncover the resources available to the Shadow for defense of the citadel.

Risoc blows off some steam with prayer. It doesn't go well. So much happened, and is happening all around her now, that she can't find her center.

That evening, Marro seeks out Tovy, one arm in a sling. She's sure she can manage but Tovy reminds her how important she is to the platoon and asks if she's really sure she's ready. Marro admits that she wasn't thinking of how the troops would respond to her falling in battle. Tovy offers that if Marro can beat her, even injured, then she can come on the mission. Tovy kicks her ass but reminds her that she's still expected at the platoon leadership meeting in the morning.

Lomo looks beyond to think about how to prevail in the upcoming battle, and concludes that it's quick and decisive movement.

At the NCO meeting, Tovy lays out an idea for a feint as a siege, and Yeli suggests setting up an ambush for any pursuers. Tovy defines that as a followup mission after this one. Lomo sends out her squirrel to scout again and gathers intel about what's up there.

Mission time! Tovy will watch their backs, Lomo will strategize, Yeli will scout, and Risoc will take point. Tovy gets a strong success. Lomo needs a little helo from Tovy to manage a week success. Yeli gets a strong success. Risoc gets a strong success. Complications: something followed us home, Lomo and Risoc are both hurt. Bonus GM devastating complication: the platoon suffers devastating losses. As good as our plan is, the Shadow's sortie happens earlier than expected, and not through the main gate, anf it's overwhelming. Risoc gets hurt during the battle when the enemy assault takes the squad off guard. Lomo's right nearby when they happens and tries to pull her out, and also gets hit. Tovy decides not to try to save the situation and orders an immediate retreat. The mission overall is a success, because we found out how the Shadow was going to respond to a siege, but we lose a lot of troops getting out. Yeli notices that the Shadow's tactics have changed- they used to be willing to let the Watch retreat, but now they want to destroy the Watch. She uses her knowledge to extract as many wounded as she can. She has to do some triaging but saves many.

The Shadow pursuit is hard-pressed. It's a pitched battle right up until the platoon gets back to the lines and the rest of the Watch takes over the fighting. Payli comes to find Tovy, donned in full battle dress, and asks for a report. Once Tovy brings her up to date, she orders the Lt Cmdr to go to the Northern Legion and get their help. Tovy orders Lomo to take the platoon to Marro and report in, then goes to the Northern Legion. Lomo finds Marro conflicted, because she always wants to be in the fighting. Marro, for her part, has ditched her sling but still favors that arm, and keeps twitching like she wants to fight. Lomo chats her up about the change in Shadow tactics and how hard it will be for the Watch to stand up to maximum force. Lomo's opening up to her but also trying to make her snap out of it and act like a Sergeant. Marro's trying to do what she thinks Tovy ordered, which means being ready to fight but not heading into battle. Yeli gets some food and then chills out with Loisa.

Tovy reaches the northern legion tent and finds Paemo and her leaders. She updates them on her mission, its outcome, and the battle taking place at the Watch's lines right now. Paemo sends a Captain and what troops can be spared to reinforce the Southern Legion and liase with Payli. When they return, Marro's keen to know what's going on and how she can help. Tovy doesn't fully commit the platoon, tired as they are, but uses them as spot reinforcements where a brief period of action might make a local difference. This is enough to end the shadow attack.

Once the battle ends, Payli and Tovy agree that the feint basically worked. The stronghold is changing rapidly and the intel we were depending on doesn't seem valid. If we'd tried to actually mount a siege, the counterattack might have been a disaster. As it was, they only got part of a platoon.

After the battle, Tovy promotes Risoc to Initiate. Just to have a little fun, she does a detailed inspection on every squad member first, nitpicking their flaws, then announces the promotion and dismisses them. Yeli then comes to her privately and asks her to promote Loisa as well. Tovy thinks Loisa's well-worthy but doesn't like that Yeli came trying to advance her best friends' interests. She asks Lomo's advice, and then decides to make it a challenge the next day. If Loisa can demonstrate that she knows all the elements of the Watch drills with standard weapons, she becomes a Warden. If not, she owes the Lt Cmdr 20 pushups for each mistake. Loisa prevails.