The past burns (Afina, Tryll)

[Anastasia]

'It may be that Lethe is more important to things than the others, or has a secret Asmodeus is protecting for his son,' The Master considers, head bowed in thought. 'His other targets were well defended but not impossible, he even sacrificed the one on Vacuum in an attempt to destroy Aurora's heroes. What moves on the wind in such a way to be so stoutly defended?'

[Ebiris]

'He's probably had some help from Asmodeus in defending what he has left after losing three other strongholds, but I expected Lethe to be a softer target than Castle Crumbling, relying more on obscurity for defence. A dangerous assumption, I now recognise.'

[Anastasia]

'A wise man once said assumptions litter the road to ruin,' The Master says, 'Many great warriors have fallen under the weight of assumptions and hubris.'

[Yuthirin]

'We may yet retain an opportunity here. That assumption can work in our favor. While the Aurora may be facing stiffer resistance than expected, we have not yet received a call for aid. We must trust in our allies, and our selves. Forces placed at Lethe are not placed here. Aurora is better equipped than our small group to deal with a large or entrenched foe. If they maintain communications similar to we, they likely will not expect us to be here, on Lifasa. Unless we are mistaken, we have them at a disadvantage here.' Tryll sends. 

[Anastasia]

'I hope you are right.' The Master says, 'Lief deserves rest.'

[Anastasia]

'Update,' Afina hears in her mind, 'We're preparing a general fallback and retreat. Jaela has aborted her mission as well. Gisfal's opinion is that Lethe is far too protected to be a viable target right now.'

[Ebiris]

'Understood. Get out cleanly and let me know if you need support disengaging,' Afina says, somewhat disappointed. 'Otherwise we'll remain here and continue with our mission regardless. We have to hold position for a while so my magic can recover after I used a limited wish to evade detection earlier.'

[Anastasia]

'Understo-' Tepen stops, 'The sphere of force has been penetrated from behind, Lixer's gotten faster. We'll update you.'

[Ebiris]

'We can be there in an instant if you give the word,' Afina says, starting to shift back further into the burnt undergrowth while the winds start to die down to more of a gusty breeze. They'll stop if she gates out of here, so it may as well seem natural.

[Anastasia]

'Hold position in case we need that,' Tepen sends back, then silence.

[Ebiris]

All they can do is wait, then.

[Anastasia]

'Withdraw complete,' Tepen sounds in your mind. 'We're still dealing with losses, but assuming the amnesia can be reversed, they should be minimal. Our fairly defensive posture paid off,' Tepen sends to you.

[Ebiris]

'Pass on my compliments to everyone. We're going to hold here and continue with the mission in around half an hour. I'll keep you posted.'

[Anastasia]

'Understood.' Tepen says.

Going to do anything or fill the others in, or just wait?

[Ebiris]

I assumed Tepen was talking to all of us so they're in the loop. I'll wait, continuing to screw around with the wind so it's variable enough that any surges when we cross later won't draw special notice.