Seth turns his back on the horrific display of the pikes at the Kingdom perimeter. He gathers Miller and Scout, signaling them to move out before a patrol returns to claim credit for the carnage. The forest air is stagnant, heavy with the scent of damp earth and rot.
Seth
I cannot let this place be our grave. We need a fallback position before the Saviors decide to finish what they started.
They trek for hours, crossing a shallow, silt-heavy river to reach the ruins of a suburban neighborhood. The houses here are hollowed out, their windows jagged like broken teeth. This is the staging ground for the counterstrike.
Miller
Seth, this cul-de-sac is too exposed. If they come in behind us, we are trapped.
Seth
That is why we are taking the high ground. See that water tower? It gives us eyes on the entire approach.
They move into the shadow of a rusted, half-collapsed garage as a light drizzle begins to turn the dust into slick gray mud. Seth maps the perimeter, his fingers tracing lines in the grime on the wall.
“That was not work of the saviors The whispers did that did they secretly breach and get inside of our walls somehow or did they catch our friends outside of the walls somehow I guess we'll never know”
SUCCESS (Legendary Tactics, rolled +1)
Seth
The pattern of the wounds, the specific way the flesh was torn, it carries no arrogance. The Saviors leave mess, they leave symbols, but this is cold, calculated anonymity. The Whisperers. They bypassed our defenses not by force, but by silence. They are already inside our skin.
Seth
Miller, look at the edges of these pikes. This wasn't a raid, it was a message left by ghosts. If they can slip past our walls to take our people without a sound, then our current perimeter is a lie.
Miller
If they are already in the perimeter, the Kingdom is a death trap.
Scout
We should head back and warn them, Seth.
Seth
We go back and we become more pikes on the wall. We stay here, we bait them out. If they think we are weak, let them come to this cul-de-sac and find out what happens when the prey turns into the predator.
+ Scene Quest Added
Bait the Whisperers into an ambush