T'was early in the morn in the quest valley by the woodlands where our story had left off last, some ways down the main pathway leading through the forest, secluded away from the hustle and bustle of the post-apocalyptic cityscape, far from the server and far from the powers that be, the small farmstead was almost scenic, in its own way. Naught but the gentle chirping of the crickets disturbed the peace, and it would be very easy to nod right off...

Yet having riled up the highwaymen up the road, the adventurers knew better than to bunker down and just sleep the night away without putting someone up there to keep an eye, or rather an ear out for any trouble. This was not Otto, ofcourse... the wee fennec was busy tending to the jeep he'd parked within the barn, accompanying the rest of his team and spending the hours tending to the engine, buffing out the dents and checking for damage after that gunfight they'd gotten into.

Praised be the gods, two flat tires was the worst of what they'd suffered, and Otto was able to relax in the driver's seat, with his laptop in his lap. He seemed awfully nonchalant, even well distracted by what he was reading about in the faint glow of his computer's screen. Sleep seemed to elude him, but he was holding up alright nonetheless. In fact, he seemed quite happy! After having traded a weapon to the owner of the farm they stayed at, the team had managed to acquire some decent salvage from the barn they'd stayed in.

Indeed, within the trunk of the jeep was a collection of solar panels, the lot with questionable usability, but surely at least some of them were of use to the research lab, right? One could hope so...

Fenris is seated in an attitude of meditation, though the occasional snore eminating from the tubby tanuki puts the lie to that. He dozes pleasantly, waiting for his turn on watch.

Edel has been in far worse situations. This was barely on the radar. As such, she shibanuki has no problems sleeping. She found herself a little safe corner nook to tuck herself into after her first watch and promptly went right to sleep.

Ebreus managed to find a nice spot to lay down and rest, not risking removing his armor, while he waits for someone to wake him up because the bandits are attacking. Behind suitible ballistic cover against as many angles as he could get while still being in an area that he could fall asleep in.

Calmly, from the second floor of the house, Phosphorus scans the tree line, trying to make out moving shadows from the scope of her sniper rifle. She's largely unsuccessful, despite the zoom. However, as soon as she hears voices outside, she sighs, picking the rifle up and throwing the strap of the sniper rifle over her shoulder, and pulls her SMG from her rucksack, slapping the bolt into place. She quickly makes her way down the stairs, unfolding the stock of the weapon and raising it to a ready stance, ready to meet the intruders, and preparing to 'sound the alarm' with the rapport of gunfire.

Otto meanwhile was none the wiser. He expected a warning of some sort so he merely kept himself busy with his laptop. That is until those massive ears picked up on gunfire somewhere in the distance... He blinks a few times and raises his brows, then looks over towards Phosphorus, noting she was ready to rumble. "Trouble?" he asks, head tilted but hands ready to make a knife-filled pin cushion out of anything that threatened their haul. "You folks wanna check that out? I don't. I have a jeep to guard." he shrugs, then looks back at his computer screen and continues to browse lazily, albeit his ears were now perked all the way up, tilting slightly every so often like radar dishes, scanning for danger.

Fenris is totally awake. And was meditating, thankyouverymuch. The burly tanuki hops to his feet with surprising alacrity, his short spear seeming almost to materialize in his hand. "There was a scream!" he says, and charges out into the night, ready for action.

"Hmmm?" Edel sits up and stretches her arms. "Trouble? If they're causing trouble for the kindly family that let us stay here, well... I am not going to let them face it alone." She pushes herself up, grabbing her equipment. "Best get to it, then." She brushes her hair back and sets out into the night.

Ebreus' ears perk up on his sleeping head as they detect the comotion in the distance but alas hearing distant comotion isn't enough to wake the huge hellish hound and so he stays laying upon the ground in his makeshift safe area. His shotguns in range to be grabbed at a moments notice but alas not yet grabbed as their owner snoozes. Then as the Tanuki yells closer to him he hums, "Hmm?", as he stirs he opens his eyes lightly and looks around then it registers that the second yell was infact one of his friends and he grabs his shotguns and rolls to a crouching position. "What's going on?" he calls out looking around and ready to fire on anything that comes too close.

Phosphorus makes some quiet hand motions, gesturing towards where the source of the gunfire is. It's best if they can retain a bit of silence, to get a slight element of surprise. She drops her stance a bit, ready to fire. She glances backwards, over her shoulder, attempting to gesture so that half of them could go around one side, and the other half go straight into the door. Divide and conquer, and all.

T'was night pitch black out there, the flickering of the lights within the farmhouse hinting at the commotion within, shouts easily audible but indiscernible through the open window on the first floor... at least for now. Telltale lights scan the area near the road past the house, two more thugs immediately visible, both patrolling the area with their rifles at the ready. It is unclear how many more men there are, but this is definitely starting to look more and more like a raid on the farmhouse. Oddly enough... the two men approach one another and begin to converse. This would be a good opportunity to strike while they're distracted, or... perhaps sneak by if bloodshed is to be avoided. Perhaps someone stealthy and perceptive enough could listen in on their chat? It was hard to tell what was around the other end of the house, however. One would need to peek around the corner to tell...

Fenris pads forward in the darkness, hoping there is nothing in the grass to trip him up or hurt his feet. He moves quickly toward the men, ears perked and listening. His initial reaction to draw a weapon gives way to discretion and he hosters it nearly as quickly as he pulled it. He does, however keep his hands loose and free for some good, old fashioned fisticuffs. He kind of has an idea of clonking the goons heads together like in the movies should they catch sight of him.

Edel is short enough as it is, and she keeps low as she moves into the night, her dark attire assisting her in her skullduggery. Similarly, she draws near the thugs. If she could hear them, great. If not, they could be dispatched.