Mission 4: Among the Masses

Exalted: Grass Spiders
Grass Spiders On You Organizational Info Charms
Chapter 2
10: A Proper Sendoff 11: The Rat that Caught the Canary 12: A Proper Introduction 13: A Pearl Necklace 14: The Spider and the Slug
The Circle With No Name
Ash - CS Fay - CS Mesa - CS Opal Zealot - CS

Nellens Duhon.

The Grievous Ravager of Flesh and Bone.

Suggested music: Avenged Sevenfold - Strength of the World

The Job

Client: The General Staff of Lookshy
Target: Nellens Duhon and The Grievous Ravager of Flesh and Bone
Type: Assassination
Target background: Nellens Duhon is an elder commander among The Realm's legions, the dragon-lord has long served the Realm's military but has not ascended to higher rank due to his low birth. Duhon was a lost egg from Nexus, discovered by The Immaculate Abbot and sent to the Blessed Isle to become a part of the Empire. Duhon was already too old to attend an academy and receive a typical upbringing, House Nellens was the only house that would take him in. Duhon proved to be a good choice and a hard worker, devoted to helping his adopted nation. Duhon has served a majority of his military career in Greyfalls, he has been there longer than any of the other Dragon-Blooded commanders though he is not the highest ranked. Despite this intelligence reports indicate that he is likely the most wise and powerful of the dragon-bloods stationed there, and as a result Lookshy would like to be rid of him.

Lookshy is more than capable of launching a military campaign or even a typical assassination in order to rid themselves of this dragon-lord. However, this hit is a part of Lookshy's larger plan to convince The Realm that the Threshold has simply become too volatile and unstable to maintain a base so far from the Blessed Isle. It is imperative that Duhon die in a way The Realm never even suspects assassination, or they will immediately blame Lookshy, for this reason The Grass Spiders were hired.

Duhon is scheduled to lead his Dragon into combat against a particularly troublesome barbarian horde being led by a powerful beastman, named The Grevious Ravager of Flesh and Bone. Lookshy would like Duhon to be killed during this battle, though his forces far outmatch the forces of the barbarians, losing a commander of Duhon's quality to a barbarian horde would go a long way towards convincing The Realm to leave Greyfalls once and for all.

Lookshy of course also does not want to actually destabilize the region, simply to convince The Realm that it is beyond their control. As a result they would like to see the The Grevious Ravager of Flesh and Bone eliminated as well, also to be killed in action and not assassinated. Crusher, as he is known by most, is a rogue beastman of Ma-Ha Suchi who somehow managed to escape the derangements inherent with serving Ma-Ha Suchi. Noticing that most of his companions, as well as his father and master were derranged Crusher left the community he was born into in search of something far less out of control. Despire Crusher's outside appearance and physical ability he is not an overly violent man by choice, more a philosopher than warrior. However, he certainly understand the need to protect and lead his people into war when the time calls for it, and the Time of Tumult certainly does. Over the last decade Crusher has built up one of the most significant barbarian communities to the southeast of Greyfalls through moderately peaceful raids, recruitment, and when necessary military expansion. Furthermore Lookshy fears that the beastman is backed heavily by The Silver Pact and does not wish to risk angering them by interfering with their feud against Greyfalls. It appears The Silver Pact is testing the effectiveness of a beastman leader without the aid of any exalts; hoping to make strides towards mortals being capable of protecting themselves, Crusher has had some very strong success in this regard and there is no doubt The Silver Pact would be very upset if their experiment was prematurely ended.

Critical Notes:

• Both Nellens Duhon and The Grevious Ravager of Flesh and Bone (Known as Crusher) must be killed during the midst of the battle against one another and appear to be killed within the natural course of the battle. Neither The Realm or the Silver Pact can suspect outside involvement.
• Non-combatants are not to be harmed as always, however participants in the battle on either side could likely be excused from this.
• It is not important who actually wins the battle, simply that it lasts long enough for both targets to be eliminated during it and that it appears the battle has not be altered by an outside force.
• While The Realm's forces are likely to remain in battle after Duhon is eliminated, the same cannot be said for the barbarian horde. Barbarian hordes tend to disperse quickly when their leader is eliminated. Expect the horde to route quickly after the beastman is killed.
• Reconnaissance from our associates tells us that there should be no other Dragon-Blooded present within Duhon's dragon, however it is possible he could be accompanied by more if Greyfalls believes The Silver Pact will step in to help Crusher.
• Whitaker, a native of the region, suggested avoiding combat with any of the patron lunars in the area. Most of their are old and powerful, if they became involved in the fight it would be impossible to hide, perhaps impossible to win.
• Whitaker also mentioned a lunar contact in the region, Exaltant Willow as well as the Zal'tora Pride which could provide information to The Grass Spiders on The Silver Pact's movement. However, both parties would be strictly against the assassination of Crusher if The Grass Spiders motives were somehow given away, avoiding them to not arouse suspicion may be the best option.

Expected Threats:

• Nellens Duhon (Threat Level: Very High, probability of encounter: certain)
• The Grievous Ravager of Flesh and Bone (Threat Level: High, probability of encounter: certain)
• Realm Legionnaires (Threat Level: Medium, probability of encounter: medium)
• The Barbarian Horde (Threat Level: Moderate, probability of encounter: medium)
• The Silver Pact (Threat Level: Extremely High, probability of encounter: low)

Team A: (Duhon) Valen, The One-Eyed Queen of Silk and Lace

Team B: (Crush) Zealot of Iconoclastic Virtue, Mesa, Fay Morgana

Team C: Ash will run pickup and delivery for both teams if possible, but is preoccupied with a necessary run to the southern desert to obtain supplies for the ship and will not be a part of the official mission. Opal will be accompanying Ash to the south, Ash prefers not to buy from the major markets to avoid questions about an airship, but as a result he goes to less reputable sources. Queen is a capable sorcerer and can provide a quick return if Ash is unavailable.

Mission Status

Job: Complete
Dates: Resplendent Earth 27 - Descending Earth 5, R.Y. 769
Kill:Mesa, Fay, and Zealot disguise themselves as All Seeing Eye Agents, presenting Duhon with intelligence gathered by Valen to gain his trust. They alter the plan to ensure Crusher cannot escape, and the three of them join with Duhon's calvary unit that will envelope Crusher's barbarian horde. The battle is fairly even until the calvary joins the battle, and the battle turns in the direction of The Realm. The team pounces on Crusher, clinching him and cutting him down quickly within the scope of the battle. Crusher's death is coordinated with Team A and the battle is quickly put to an end, even without Duhon. Both Teams escape the field and meet up to head back to The Range Homes.
Quote of the night: "I didn't know what we were doing! Are we just thinking?!?" (Zealot/Brian)
Exp. Awarded: Base - 4 (5 for Fay and Zealot)

The Aftermath

Descending Earth 5, R.Y. 769, Night

Team A and Team B both floated restfully in the surprisingly calm eye of Queen's stormwind rider, swirling winds propelled the tornado and its passengers back towards The Range Homes. Queen was at the center of the cyclone, guiding and concentrating on the spell though she was somewhat able to remain a part of the gathering. Valen was comfortably crouched not far from the center carving a small block of wood with her white jade switchklave; most of the Grass Spiders were at least aware that instead of taking trophies from her victims Valen carved small wooden sculptures of them.

Mesa reclined in his floating position, tucking both hands behind his head and looking back and forth between Valen and Queen. "Don't suppose you've got a barrel of booze on this thing?"

Valen glanced up from her wood working as the carving started to take a human shape, but it was Queen who responded. "I'm afraid we aren't traveling in the luxury of The Geronimo, we are sorely lacking a cargo bay."

Zealot sighed softly, finding the confines of a stormwind rider less appealing than the smooth sailing of an airship, traveling by tornado was boring and loud by comparison. Plus it lacked a well stocked cargo bay. Fay changed the topic as Mesa shrugged to Queens response, producing a flask from within his shirt.

"So how'd you deal with Duhon? Lookshy made him sound like a pretty tough hit."

"Unfortunately for him, a Dragon is no match for a Spider." Responded Valen without looking up from her wooden sculpture.

Queen picked up where she left off, "Valen infiltrated the barbarian horde, while I found a place in Duhon's medical staff. Early in the battle Valen delivered a painful strike to Duhon, it wasn't enough to kill him but it was enough for him to get brief medical attention so it wouldn't hinder him throughout the battle." Queen paused for a moment as she was forced to concentrate as the stormwind ride moved across a small river as it headed south.

Zealot pulled a small pack of rolled cigarettes from his cloak, as he pulled one up to his mouth Mesa extended a hand with a snap of his fingers to bum one off of him. Zealot sighed as he relented and handed one over to Mesa who grinned, "Can I get a light?" Zealot struck a match and lit his own cigerette before extending the flame towards Mesa who leaned in enough to light his.

Zealot exhaled the first puff as he spoke, "Your welcome."

"Thanks bro."

Fay had produced a small bottle of wine for herself from her traveling bag and was taking a long drink from it when Queen continued, "After that, it was a simple matter of the right touch and the appropriate time delay. Admittedly, I may have underestimated your team slightly." She paused briefly and smirked a bit, glancing to the three of them for only a moment. "My apologies."

"Don't mention it." Mesa took a big gulp from his flask which had already been emptied, "Happens all the time."

Fay smoke up with an amused smile between pulls from the bottle of wine, "Yea, I thought we were in some trouble when Zealot almost fell off his horse."

"Ah, shut up." Zealot spoke with mostly mock annoyance as he flicked the butt of his cigarette over his shoulder into the swirling winds, after a few cycles it was tossed from the tornado and left somewhere behind them.