5th Section Barracks

Seacliff leads you into the headquarters, in the front there are some offices where people are working on the mundane tasks of the Home Guard. She takes you through these offices and upstairs into a long, wide hallway with doorless openings on either side going all the way to the back.

She takes you to the fifth door and motions for you all to enter. Inside is a fairly large room, quite long with a row of beds on either side. The beds are simple with a locker at the foot. On the far wall are two doors and between the doors is a painting of a black dragon.

"Pick a bed," she says. "Doesn't matter which, in the morning you need to make sure the bed looks exactly the same as it does now. We don't work like the army, but the barracks must be spotless. Put your gear in the lockers, washrooms are in the back. Then I'll take you down to the quartermaster and we'll get uniforms."

The black dragon is painted directly onto the stone wall. The room is very spare, very clean, and lacks any advanced amenities you might find elsewhere in the city of Sambar. The washrooms at the back are two identical rooms, each containing half a dozen toilet stalls, sinks and the same number of shower stalls. Truth be told there's nothing to find. Leothorn probably gives up before even finishing.

Currently we have Ryvelli, Leothorn, Orlias, Chastity, Devochka and Kade in the barracks. I imagine Orlias is able to see any equipment that no one is trying to keep secret. There are a dozen beds in the room, six on either side, so no one can be too too far from anyone else.

We do have one character, Chastity, carrying a piece of gear that would definitely draw attention. The pistol that Chastity is carrying is not just any shop-bought pistol it is stamped with the seal of Lantan, which means it was bestowed to an ancestor who performed meritorious service during the aftermath of the catastrophic transit to Abeir. Lantan law dictates that that nothing can seperate this weapon from it's owner. It can only be transfered to a new owner by bequest. There are only a few thousand of these and they are of the highest craftsmanship and confer great honour in society. Each one is recorded and registered in the records of Lantan history. If one of these weapons is damaged beyond repair they are intered with full military honours.

Seeing that everyone is situated Seacliff returns and instructs everyone to follow her to the quartermaster. Down the opposite end of the hall you came up in there's a flight of stairs going down to a depot where all of the Home Guard's equipment is stored. The quarter master and a dozen subordinate soldiers are waiting for you.

The Home Guard is not as bespoke as the rest of Lantan, nor quite as industrialised as we might be used to so each of you is measured and then uniform pieces are assembled on the spot to fit you. Everyone gets one uniform: olive trousers, olive shirt with maroon sleeves and shoulders and a spare. Boots and underclothes as necessary. Everyone gets a patch on their shoulder that features a '5' and a black dragon, on their sleeve everyone gets one chevron, except Ryvelli who gets two. You all get a maroon beret with a patch of the coat of arms of the Home Guard.

Those in no armour get a leather jerkin (coat, no AC bonus) with the same markings. Those in leather armour get traded for a suit of the same in the appropriate colours with the appropriate markings. Those in metal armour get a surcoat with the appropriate markings and colours.

All this take about an hour. During which Seacliff explains that once you are in uniform you are soldiers of the Home Guard. The Home Guard is not the army and therefore different standards of discipline apply. Furthermore the 5th section is a reconnaissance section. Your purpose will be to be air dropped into unfamiliar territory, usually at night, and perform reconnaissance or surveillance as required. Sergeant Seacliff is you Sergeant that means everything she says goes, you have a problem with that you can talk to her afterwards. Same goes for Master Corporal Warryn, anything he says or does is with the same authority as Seacliff. Both Seacliff and Warryn are non-commissioned officers, so do not 'Ma'am' or 'Sir' them, do not salute them.

Because they are a reconnaissance section discipline might seem relaxed but that is only because while in the field you are to act as though you are in enemy territory at all times. The goal of the Home Guard is to defend Lantan from all threats, so wherever they go in Lantan they must be prepared for danger. In a world of magic and (Lantan) technology your enemy can appear anywhere, at any time, and you must be prepared for it.

You were all sorted into the 5th section because you have unique skills and abilities. These will be tested in your first mission, which will occur tomorrow, details to follow. As such you are expected to be prepared to perform at your best.

"At this time does anyone have any questions or any material they require in order to be prepared to meet their expectations tomorrow?" asks Seacliff in a sunny tone.

Seacliff eyes Orlias carefully for a moment and then shoots a glance to the quartermaster, who shrugs. "We'll see what we can do Private Orlias."

The quartermaster provides you all with combination locks.

Seacliff looks at Ryvelli, looks at the uniform and takes him aside away from the others in the depot.

@Leothorn. Once the measurements are done the assisting soldiers zip the uniforms together with huge sewing machines. It goes quite quickly, but they gladly accept Leothorn's asistance.

Seacliff responds to Leothorn by saying: "We'll go over the details of our assignement once we return to our barracks," she says happily.