Gunpowder, Gelatine

    Wake greets her guests in one of several places these days. Never where it would be expected. For the good doctor, directions are given to go to a familiar tower, where once a troublesome orc met his end and signalled a new era for this realm.

    The Olympus guards in the area know enough to leave Prophylaxis alone on his way, providing direction if needed. The lights of the castle are less bright than they used to be. One might suspect that an air raid is feared.

    Wake's Right Clothes have garbed her in a midnight dress, slit for ease of movement. Though it fits well, it is a modest affair. Her only visible ornament are the pair of rough, silver bracelets she wears, showing a reverance for the Beautiful One.

Prophylaxis on the other hand has one outfit, and makes it work for all occasions. The sight of the white labcoat, the purple armband and the big ol' hat on the battlefield is a sign that the Doctor is present, for good or for ill. Of course, that doesn't mean he has just one set of clothes, it's just that pretty much every single one of them is the same.

Because sometimes you need to change labcoats.

This time, the doctor arrived with a curious gift in tow. Several wagons full of strange, tightly packed parcels now sit parked just inside Eas' main gate, watched carefully by a handful of high level Scale Emblem adventurers. This delivery is important, after all, and allowing it to be intercepted would be disasterous.

"Wake," Prophylaxis says as he enters, "I have come with a proposition."

    Wake doesn't need to rise. She's already standing. The curtsey that follows is swift, elegant, and doesn't cause any interruption in the flow of her crossing the distance between them.

    "Prophylaxis, it is good to see you! You have a way of showing up in my moment of need." A moment's pause and she replies, "I am certainly listening. The enemy is not at the gates yet, but there can be no doubt just what they want in the Dukedom."

"I have come bearing gifts," Prophylaxis says with a devilish glint in his eyes. "The Scale has successfully invented magical landmines, and I wish to provide our first batch to turn the approach to Eas into a veritable corridor of death once the Palace Lands begins its march on the castle."

"We can't make the best use of them ourselves, and Shibuya is much too open to attack from multiple directions," the doctor explains with a shrug. "But Eas has only two viable approaches that don't involve traipsing through the mountains along night impossible routes. If you temporarily seal the cave route, the main approach is all that remains-- an ideal place to set up these kinds of traps."

    That news surprises the Baroness. The smirk that forms on her lips is positively wicked, though. "Now.. that is a most wonderful housewarming gift for Eas, indeed." She draws her hands together, laughing softly.

    "So.. how do they work, exactly? Do they have delay switches, by chance? It would be so pleasant if our enemies could fill the pass and find themselves trapped in front and back by avalanches just before everything else goes off."

    Wake is rarely so animated. But the invaders have earned a special place in her heart. "I wonder.. how small are they and how much damage can a couple of them do?" Prophylaxis may recognize the look she wears now. Whenever the assassin would come up with a way to deliver death to the heart of a dungeon her eyes took on that same glint.

"They're pressure activated. I'm sure with some work you could rig up some kind of timer to activate the mine, but we didn't build that function in," Prophylaxis explains with an apologetic shake of the head. "The real treat is that they're entirely customizable. Each one can be charged by a magic user with a spell of their choice, which is then released the moment the mine is activated. Each one is about the size of a small dinnerplate, so they're not too massive, but also not easily concealed anywhere but underground or beneath cover without some work."

The doctor strokes his chin thoughtfully, his expression one of a strategist considering the best means of bringing ruin unto his foes. If he wore glasses, they'd be glinting right now. "You could set them to cut off the enemy's retreat or divide their advance if you detonate a mine at the right place and time. If you do it right, you might be able to force them to hastily dodge out of the way of the incoming landslide, and right into a prepared minefield."

    "We'll need to make some pattern decisions relatively quickly," Wake muses. "And.. any spell? Including some of the most powerful we've seen? Fire, earth, water, dark, and air?" A pause as a random thought comes to her, "How about healing spells?"

    The possibilities are exploding in her mind, so to speak. "We can turn the pass into hell on earth. There are severe choke points near the bridge, where we can tear them to ribbons and lay on with a sudden ambush, pulling away at the last moment. We can retreat into the mine, then bring it down behind us. At that point, they can face the rest of the pass with mines placed in sporadic fashion. Do we have enough for all of that?"

"We haven't tested the limits of how powerful of a spell the mines can take, so far we've only used simple spells. Earth Pillar. Spore Explosion. That sort of thing. I don't see why a healing spell wouldn't take to the crystal, if you wanted to place emergency recovery zones in the castle. Otherwise, yes, they can take spells of any element and type. You just need to have someone expend the time and MP to imbue each mine."

He shakes his head, then. "Sadly, this is a new development, and we've not yet reached the point of mass production. We have enough mines to seed one area. You'll need to use them with care, place them in locations where the activation of even a simple spell can cause massive damage. They can be remotely detonated as well, if you know where they're placed. Throw a heavy enough rock, or launch a spell at the right spot, and you can set off a mine whenever you like."

    "In that case, we had better make it count. In any case, if we mined everywhere they would eventually just slow down and start minesweeping with spells. While that is a great way to bog them down and weaken them, it wouldn't bring us too much closer to ultimate victory. Instead, we will have an experiment in seeing what we can manage here."

    Wake considers her options. "I favor laying them down on near side of the bridge. Let their ranks form just past that choke point, then hit them with everything we have. With luck, we'll cause a stampede as they try to pull back. That might kill as many of them as the mines do, and the forests on either side of that area give us places to ambush them in their moment of panic. All the better if they are left unaware of just what it was that really hit them."

Prophylaxis shrugs. "You know the terrain around the area far better than I do. I'll leave it to you to decide how and where to place the mines, and what sort of spells you would like to infuse them with. Deploying them on the near side of the bridge would potentially enable you to goad them into a charge directly into the minefield, but that would require making sure that they don't realize what's going on before then."

"I come bearing some other news as well. We're going to be attempting to remove a crown from one of the Palace Landers soon," the Doctor adds, rubbing at his chin, "If you wanted to test whether your rank in Fourlands enabled you to perform such a removal, please come by. But we've also discovered something else, a critical weakness of sorts."

He taps his head, then, right at the edge of his brow. "The crown, when damaged, imparts a disproportional amount of damage to the one wearing it in lieu of taking damage itself. In other words, if you aim for the head, and end up damaging the crown in the process, you might be able to double up the amount of damage you're doing to the one wearing it."

    "I will ensure they are deployed swiftly and effectively," Wake assures. "The enemy will be surprised in the rudest of ways. Perhaps this will buy us more time and make the fight far more costly than they are willing to pay. If they should take Eas, I have many more ideas for these mines. I will pay handsomely for a steady supply. I will light up Yamato like a Christmas Tree."

    Having her attention brought back to the most distasteful aspect of her enemy's behaviors, Wake wrinkles her nose. "The crowns. Filthy things. I will certainly test myself on one. I would suffer a great deal of pain to free our enslaved people. Ultimately it's the only way to end this war. And it figures that the damned things would be designed to kill the wearer. Everything about them is vile."

"The Divine Dragons would be glad to see them going to good use," Prophylaxis says with a smile, the irony of a savior of life becoming a merchant of death not lost on him. "Use them wisely. We'll do our best to make sure that you have an ample supply on hand."

Harrifenas Potimas certainly feels no small amount of joy at seeing Adventurers take such pains to slaughter their fellow players. But such is the way of war.

"Good. Once all the necessary parts are gathered, I'll send word out to attempt the removal," Prophylaxis nods. "One last thing. A group of Palace Landers attacked the front gate of the Tower not long ago. We drove them back, but when they were pushed to the limit, they imbibed some sort of potion that massively increased their abilities, at the cost of their own lives. Be sure to keep an eye out for potion vials if you've managed to put their backs to the wall. In such situations, the best strategy may be to pull back and slow them down until they burn themselves out."

The doctor's expression falls into a grimace at the thought. "...Such as it is."

    "Suicide attacks," snarls Wake. "I.."

    She shuts her eyes and visibly struggles. She takes hold of the rough bracelet on her right hand. At closer range, it/s design as a manacle is easier to see. A few breaths follow as she forces herself to stillness.

    "No. I will not kill every one responsible. Not unless there is truly no choice. Not unless I fail to redeem Laira and the others. Whatever controls them, be it madness, grief, or dark magic, I will not give up hope so easily."

    She directs her attention back to Prophylaxis, her eyes open and clearly focused once more. "We have come too far to fall into darkness now. We shall exercise the craft of war and victory and sacrifice will be glorified, but we must not lose ourselves to it, no matter how tempting it might be."

"One can hope that they're simply being controlled by some dark power," Prophylaxis sighs, long and tired. "...But the leader of the group who used those potions died professing their undying, absolute love for Laira Lorelei. Love, to the point that he was willing to throw away his life for her sake. If it comes to be that they are sending forth these adventurers, coordinating these attacks, developing these strategies, all of their own free will..."

"...Evil is evil. One can only tolerate so much before it must be punished. Whatever comes at the end of all this war, first and foremost we must make our own survival a priority. Our enemies are willing to die for their cause. A much easier task, I'd wager, than living for one."

"Ah, and it turns out that the crowns were once used by Helba the Queen of Darkness against the Cursed Wave. The description is very clear. 'They Place the Kingdom's True Ruler's Wishes upon those who bear them, and empower them in their employ.' Perhaps Laira and the others are not the true rulers of their kingdoms, but if not, then who is?"

"Feel free to ask Uta, if you wish to verify. That bit of information comes from her."

    The Baroness nods, "I imagine that Uta has little more to say of this Helba. Queen of Darkness, indeed. Perhaps in a day to come she will face a Queen of Light and explain why such an evil creation was ever thrust into this world."

    Wake turns her attention to the leaders. "And as you say, if this is the responsibility of the lander leaders we know, regardless of their previous grief, the punishment must be high, indeed. If that is the case, my hands are not too beautiful to mete justice out. I have killed for much feebler reasons before. Ultimately, what they know is dangerous and their war crimes disgust me."

"Mmn. One way or another, there will be justice, I can promise you that," Prophylaxis murmurs, stroking slowly at his chin. "If my method works of removing a crown... It will need refinement. There will be too many moving parts. But if it /works/, then we will have proven that this war can be won. From there, it's a matter of surviving until we can make victory a reality."

The doctor gestures vaguely toward Eas' courtyard, "Regardless, I've brought the information and materiel I wished to provide. I should return to the tower before long, there's far too much to take care of and far too little coffee in supply. By your leave, Baroness, unless there was something else you wished to ask of me."

    Wake sighs softly, her eyes following Prophylaxis' glance. "There is one last thing. I am happy to see you. You place the world on your shoulders, my friend. I suppose we all do. We are not alone, and we are not wrong. Surely a world built to glorify heroes will not ignore our efforts."

    She will see him out, then. It is a silent walk, but in the end, Wake smiles warmly and hugs the good doctor.

    "Please take care of yourself! I.. miss being able to have a good talk about things. All these crazy, young people racing about this world.." More seriously, she adds, "We will keep them safe. We will protect them all. It is what we do, and why they look to us. But that's enough of that. You have a long journey ahead. Farewell!"

"It's not easy being the reliable one," Prophylaxis sighs, his fatigue plain in his voice. But this is not the first time he's pulled ihumane hours to realize the impossible. He returns the hug, of course. "Take care as well, Wake. We'll get through this alive, I'm sure of it. Make sure to stay safe; I don't want to have to test my crown removal on you, or Yuuki, or any of the Knights if I can help it."

And with that, the Doctor goes to leave. He glances back one last time at Eas and her queen, tips his hat in farewell, and once more makes the journey back to distant Aincrad.

...Minus several carts full of magical traps.