"Yeah, me too. I'm not much for talk either. You had to settle things with your fists on the streets or you didn't last long. It's still my go-to method of problem-solving, if only because I don't know much else." Victoria admitted to Nenet. The two made a good team because they had the same approach to a problem like slavers. They did not waste time with lectures or trying to empathize with slavers or outlaws... they just punched the problem in the face until it stopped being a problem. It was a simple approach devoid of tact or subtlety, but not too many people complained about slavers being apprehended or outlaws suddenly developing cases of lead poisoning.
Victoria was so focused on the threat in front of her and Nenet that she had neglected to watch for danger from behind. The brunette felt a presence behind them and turned to see Itori's vermilion eyes looking at them. It took everything the startled brunette had to not shout something that would give them away, but she refrained from it, instead opting to mutter incoherently about how she wanted a drink after all of this was over. Fox Lady sure knew how to be stealthy... she was either a master of stealth with several centuries of practice or she could cast a dampening field that muffled the noise she made. Considering what she had said and done in The Frozen Phoenix earlier, Victoria deduced that Itori could cast a dampening field to muffle the noise she made, which was a handy skill to have for an attractive fox lady who easily drew attention due to her species.
Victoria calmed down and kept her eyes towards the path while she listened to Itori and Nenet discuss the game plan for attacking the camp. Itori lamented that the slavers were so concentrated because them being spread out would have made it easier for the trio to dispatch them in small groups instead of having to fight the whole camp at once. The fox lady was right... the slavers getting spread out would have made things easier, but they had been alerted to the approach of the Sabertooth trio and thus remained in the camp and safely on the defense. The trio would just have to do this the hard way... or would they? This kind of situation was where Itori's planning ability was worth the fox lady's weight in gold.
Itori laid out a general plan that involved her using her magic to conceal their approach from observation until the trio could strike. Itori then assigned Victoria and Nenet the task of neutralizing isolated sentry teams after they were tired and unfocused from the monotony of patrolling the perimeter of their snowy stronghold. The pair would do so on Itori's signal, which was fine with the brunette. She was no great thinker and appreciated the direction from someone who had planning abilities that were superior to her own. Victoria listened the best she could while keeping an eye out for any response from the slavers.
After laying out the plan Itori conjured a simple but accurate schematic of the camp for the benefit of Nenet and Victoria. It was simple, but it was accurate enough to get the job done. Victoria took a moment to glance back at it and was surprised by the fact that it could be done, let alone be done with any semblance of accuracy. Magic was a wonderful thing. She then focused on her part of the plan, which was to work with Nenet to be the tip of the spear when the time to go loud came... in the meantime the brunette gave some commentary to make it look like she had been paying attention to Itori's briefing, which made the brunette notice that the schematic was an interactive one that would flash when Itori discussed a particular point of the camp.
"Using the barracks for cover is a good idea, Itori. They went to so much trouble to watch for infiltrators. They even went to the trouble to watch the cliffside on the off chance some either climbed it or flew in from that direction, but I doubt they'll expect an infiltration from the barracks area." Victoria chimed in, impressed with Fox Lady's quick planning. Itori had a solid plan that was also simple enough for Victoria to execute without too much chance of messing it up. The brunette heard that she was going to be one half of the offense and immediately began to plot what weapon she would bring to the party.
"I heard you need some firepower, so I'll give you a rundown of my best gear. I have a Grenade Launcher that can fire Tear Gas. It's less-than-lethal by itself, but it's not much good in the open 'cause the wind can blow it off-course. We don't need tear gas going back in our faces. I can also fire Bean Bag Rounds from it." Victoria chimed in to the duo. Firing tear gas into the barracks would be a good way to flush them out, but Itori was going to clean out the barracks, so that was a no-go. She would be better served firing bean bag rounds from the weapon because Itori needed the slavers alive.
"Then there's my Tranquilizer Rifle. It can sedate targets from long range and each dose is regulated to avoid accidental overdoses." Victoria offered another kind of firepower for Itori to consider.
"Then if you want a noisemaker, I have a Light Machine Gun that'll grab their attention. It's lethal, though." Victoria offered a noisemaker option in case all Itori needed was some noise to throw the slavers off. It was a lethal weapon that could more than take care of anyone caught in front of it, but unless the situation got dire enough to switch to lethal force the trio wanted to take the slavers alive. She also had to be careful to make sure her shots did not punch through the thin walls of the makeshift prison far to the north of their position.
"I have a few less-than-lethal spells too. Just tell me what you want me to use when we start to make our move." Victoria said to Itori. The brunette would use whatever weapon or spells that Fox Lady wanted her to use. Itori was in charge and Victoria was part of the muscle that would go about making the plan a success.
[Post Word Count: 1,252]
[Victoria's Word Count: 12,752/12,500]
[Total Word Count: 25,271/25,000]