Lost Dig Mystery

The mysterious dig in the ruins of the destroyed church of Krwawa Ofiara in the recently abandoned community of Rubin Weis. The tractor that uncovered the discovery is visible to the right.  The adventurers that made the discovery have...disappeared

The contested field.

Militia squad of the Southern Combine Soviet of the Eastern Solvenes. Master Sgt. Iosif Imabod, Cpl's Marat & Pavel (all Veterans), militia men Sergei, Yakov, Vasily, Abram, Dmtry, Yegor, Ilia, Trofim and Mikal (all are Green). All are armed with rifles and bayonets.  The militia men all have fragmentation grenades. 

Briefing:  Rumors have long circulated around the superstitious of strange happenings at Rubin Weis and its church.  Things came to ahead after the church and much of the village were destroyed in recent fighting between the Red Army and Tsarist forces.  Peasants have reported unauthorised excavations in the church ruins.  This is obviously a Counter Revolutionary plot.  Master Sgt. Imabod is ordered to take a squad of Red Militia to investigate the facts, uncover the plot against the State and capture the Counter Revolutionaries! 

Cleansing Squad of the Broken Ruby with a section of Divination Sisters. Guards of the 2nd Circle Rod (rifle, bayonet, tear gas grenades), Pula (Sacred Knife, Submachine gun), Prefect of the 2nd Circle Vermell commands (Sacred Knife, tear gas grenades and submachine pistol), Guards of the 2nd Circle Kuq (Sacred Knife, Submachinegun), and Purifier of Fire Piros (Sacred Knife Flaming Death)   All are Elite. 5th Circle Sisters of  Divination Rosa, Kulay and Sarts (Sacred Knife & Light Revolver) All are Green. 

Briefing:  From the Grand High Supreme Master of the First Circle of the Sect of the Broken Ruby to  his loyal minion, Prefect of the 2nd Circle Vermell. Inital digs in the ruins of Krwara Ofiara have located the lost statue of the Grand Sacred Blade.  All non-Sect members in the excavation team have been "cleansed," and three Sisters of Divination are in the final stages of retrieval, unfortunately word has reached us that a force of unbelievers are attempting to prevent our righteous actions.  Take your Cleansing Squad and protect the artifact, eliminate all intruders and return the artifact to your local Sect hideaway.

Advance and be Recognised

The opening positions.  Due to a late start gathering his men,Sgt. Iosif Imabod and his Red Militia arrives after dark at Rubin Weis.  With the situation totally unknown, Iosif divides his men into two groups.  Cpl. Marat takes Sergei, Yakov, Vasily Abram and Dmtry up the main road.  While Iosif takes Cpl. Pavel, Yegor, Ilia, Trofim and Mikal through the rough terrain and the ruins on the right.

The Sisters of Divination are unaware of the intruders and continue to prepare the statue for removal. Prefect Vermell's Cleansing Squad is visible too their rear.

While the Cleansing Squad takes up defensive positions, the Sisters redouble their efforts to rope the statue to the awaiting tractor.  Rosa woman's the tractor under the watchful eyes of Prefect Vermell.

Sgt. Imabod's men advance and are lucky enough to sight some movement in the dig.  He orders his men to advance with extreme caution-Cpl. Pavel (directly in front of the Sgt.) disagrees and wants to advance at the run to catch the Counter Revolutionaries.

Cpl. Marat is completely unaware of the sighting (In his cautious state, Iosif forgot to send a runner to inform his left column of the suspicious movement ahead.) and advances at a fast walk down the road.

For the Red Militia the situation is still unclear, only Sgt. Imabod's men have seen any movement.  He has ordered his men into more defensive positions in the ruins and rough terrain while Cpl. Marat's force continues his advance down the road.  The Sister have successfully attached the rope to the tractor and more importantly they have sighted both forces of the Red Militia.  The Prefect is pleased and makes plans for their destruction and orders his men to quietly dig in.

Fire! Fire!! FIRE!!!

With a burst of fire from Piros' Flaming Death, Cpl. Marat's unit discovers they are not alone!  Vasily drops Out of Action (OOA) in flaming agony while Yakov is then cut down (OOA)  by an accurate burst of SMG fire from Pula.  Nonplussed Cpl. Marat fires and lightly wounds Piros. Unfortunately the rest of the section gives a ragged volley that misses badly. Even worse, upon seeing the loss of two friends, Sergi is pinned in fear and Abram is shaken. 

On the Militia's left, the sad remains of Vasily continue to burn and smoke.  On the right, having advanced slowly Iosif's men see the enemy firing and under Cpl Pavel's screams for action his soldiers send a volley that both misses the targets and exposes the entire section to the eyes of the Cleansing Squad.

With everyone sighted (except for the Prefect who has yet to shoot) massive weapons fire brightens up the battlefield. On the right, Sister Kulay is lightly wounded and  is pinned, Sister Sart is taken OOA, as are Ilia, and Trofim who fall to Kuq and Rod. Mikal panics and is pinned. On the left, Abram is the next victim to fall to Flaming Death, with no luck shooting Dmtry tosses a grenade that lands at the feet of Pula. The rest of the firing misses, while Rosa tries to start the tractor.

Fire engulfs Marat's men, while the grenade spins at the feet of Pula who desperately attempts to to grab it before it goes off...will he?

Hanging back from his men to "better direct" the action, Iosif contemplates his next move now that two men are down, one is pinned and he has lost contact with Cpl. Marats section. What on Earth has he he walked into??? 

Victory is in Our Grasp...or is it?

Pula grabs for the grenade...just as it goes off and he goes Out of Action (OOA).  The Prefect is unconcerned, the rest of the squad is doing well soon the last of the non-believers will be eliminated.

Pula's Flaming Death engulfs another militiaman, Dmtry.  But in a twist of fate, while burned and "slightly" on fire Dmtry is still standing!  Worse yet for the Sect of the Broken Ruby, Piros is shot by Cpl. Marat, hit by a grenade from Sergi and goes OOA.  On the right Rod's excellent shooting gives Yegor a heavy wound.  Meanwhile, Rosa has the tractor moving and succeeds in pulling the statue free.  Iosif's section scores another light wound on Sister Kulay but misses every other shot. Cpl. Pavel is livid, the Counter Revolutionaries are escaping with...something?

With a slow and gentle tug the Grand Sacred Blade is free... but not yet safe! (The pennies signify the figure has dug in, tails=light cover, heads=heavy cover. Red dice are the number of wounds a figure has received, white is shaken and brown is pinned.)

Prefect Vermell is no longer quite as confident, he has lost forty percent of his Cleansing force including two of his best weapons as well as one of the Sisters pinned and one OOA .  The statue is free but must be moved slowly...if only Sister Kulay could help.

Cpl. Marat and Sergei move to cover while Dmtry burns.  Marat contemplates the situation, his section is down to one man, but his Iron Will and Faith in the Revolution will bring Victory yet!

(Against all odds Marat has held his sections morale together under the worst possible conditions a true testament to his leadership-although seeking cover a couple of phases earlier might have helped even more.)

Grenades!

Seeing the success of Sergi's grenade, Cpl. Marat lobs his own at the tractor but falls short...right at the feet of the Prefect!  Without hesitation the Prefect deftly grabs the grenade and tosses it back at Marat.

"What the"...are Marats last words as he is taken Out of Action (OOA) by his own grenade!   Next to him Dmtry succumbs to the affects of the flames and goes OOA. In the left background Cpl. Pavel races forward.  His leadership calling for strong action motivates Sgt. Iosif', and the finally rallied Mikal to sprint forward towards cover near the dig.

Yegor is felled by eagle eye Rod, another Militiaman OOA.  Iosif is shocked by his losses but his Morale soars as he watches the last of his men advance fearlessly. Now behind the ruins Cpl. Pavel and Mikal ready grenades.

"Opps"...the last words out of Mikal as he fumbles with his grenade, drops it at his feet and is put OOA.  More practice for the Green troops would appear to be in order flashes through Iosif's mind as he ducks behind cover.  Cpl. Pavel as a veteran places his grenade directly into the dig...

Where Kulay, wounded, pinned and unable to pick up the grenade at her feet, enters a state of deep meditation before the inevitable.  A moment later she too is OOA with Sart.

Cpl. Pavel's success is short lived as he is blasted OOA with a perfect burst from Kug. Iosif is now alone...and filled with rage!  Little does he know that Sergi is still alive and also filled with patriotic fever as he takes careful aim at Rosa as she tries to drive away with the Grand Sacred Blade.

The situation seems secure for the Sect of the Broken Ruby.  Only two Soviets are left standing, fanatic Soviets that is that have only begun to fight.  The Prefect is in for a shock...

Winning can be a Costly Experience

Sergi, as the last of his section, might take advantage of the situation to retire with honor.  But nothing was farther from his thoughts than fleeing, rather he burned with patriotic fever and sought revenge for his fallen comrades.  He has no idea that the same thoughts were filling the mind of Sgt. Iosif Imabod (just visible in the building to the far left).

With careful aim, Sergi drops Rosa Out of Action (OOA) with a shot through her back...and the tractor, with the priceless Grand Sacred Blade, drives out of control.  The Prefect is stricken with fear...he must act NOW to save the Grand Scared Blade!  He, Rod and Kug lay down a withering fire on the upstart Militiamen...and they all miss.

Sergi is not impressed and with another crack shot he drops Rod OOA.  Even worse for the Sect of the Red Ruby the position of Red Militiaman covers the road that the tractor, if under control, must travel.

Rod is down, Kug is under fire from Iosif, and Sergi is shooting at the Prefect as he desperately attempts to climb onto the out of control tractor.  Both forces have but two men left standing.  This phase will determine victory or defeat but for who? 

With one more fantastic shot, Sergi lightly wounds the Prefect...Sergi is then cut to ribbons and put OOA by an equally lucky, maximum range, burst from Kug's SMG.   Even wounded, the Prefect succeeds in gaining control of the tractor and its precious cargo.

Another SMG burst gives Iosif a heavy wound, finally breaking his fanatic willpower and he departs the field.  He will make his report to the local Soviet NKVD, what they do next only the future will tell.  Kug stays to cover any possible return while the Prefect heads for a more secure location with the Grand Sacred Blade.  The cost was excessive but the prize is more than worth the price...the non-believers will soon realize just how great a prize is the "Grand Sacred Blade."

Results

Sect of the Broken Ruby: 

After retrieving the Grand Sacred Blade and securing it in a Sect Safehold, Prefect Vermell made his report to the Grand High Supreme Master of the First Circle of the Sect of the Broken Ruby. 

"Master, it is with sublime pleasure that I report to you the complete success of our efforts to retrieve the Grand Sacred Blade which is now safe in Gemstone Hold.  As  required in such actions, all evidence of Sect of the Broken Ruby involvement in this event have been erased.  As this was a righteous night event, feel secure in the knowledge that the unbelievers have no clue as to who vanquished them.  Losses to the Brothers and Sisters were painful, Brothers Prios, Pula and Sister Rosa have succumbed to their wounds and joined the ranks of or other fallen hero's.  It is with happy refrain that I report that Sisters Kulay, Sart and Brother Rod have, through your grace, survived their wounds and are on the way to full recovery.  For their stalwart fighting abilities in eliminating our enemies may I recommend the advancement to 1st Circle Warrior status for Brothers Kug and Rod.  I will send additional facts supporting this request in my next dispatch.

As always, I your Obedient Servant, send you my Blessings and Loyality

Prefect of the 2nd Circle of Warriors Vermell"

The Grand Sacred Blade in the Dig and Free, wait...has the blade started to transform?

Militia Squad of the Southern Combine Soviet of the Eastern Solvenes.

"Report on results of the engagement with Counter Revolutionaries in the liberated community of Rubin Wies, as submitted by Sgt. Iosif Imabod to Commissar Tarin Redblod. 

Comrade Commissar, it is with pleasure that I report to you that Rubin Weis is now fully clear of any Counter Revolutionary activity.  After a brutal firefight against vastly superior forces (in both number and equipment and might I suggest the investment in developing some sort of fire breathing weapon they are quite impressive) the Militia under my command behaved heroically in the finest manner of the Red Army  in expelling the enemy.  Upon returning to the battlefield, the Dig is in our control, with the full company of local militia, minus some loses from the engagement.  I commend to your records the brave men who fell fighting for the Revolutionary Government: Cpl. Pavel, Militiamen Abram, Dmtry, Ilia, Vasily, Trofim, Yakov and Yegor.  May I further commend to your notice the valiant Cpl. Marat, Militiamen Mikal and Sergi who (as was I) were seriously wounded but are recovering from this fearse firefight.  Cpl. Marat is as I mentioned recovering but has unfortunately lost his left leg to wounds from an enemy grenade, but he insists he will be ready to stand for duty to protect the Revolution as soon as a wooden leg can be fitted.  Such are the Hero's of our Southern Combine Soviet of the Eastern Solvenes.

Victory to the Revolution!

 Sgt. Iosif Imabod, Red Army, Detached."