Such an obvious ruse! The retrieval squad captain's smirk grew wider. This resistance movement - amateurs, the lot of them. She called out in a jeering voice.<br/><br/>"Lady, it doesn't take that long to get a pot. You have five seconds!"<br/><br/>Mostly because five seconds was about as long as it'd take to get the door open. Another soldier had already started on it. Mezmoriia had conceived of a tool for this particular purpose, and had military engineers design a useable model. It consisted of a long handle connected to an intricate system of gears and levers that multiplied any force applied to the handle many times over, and a strong cutting blade that projected forward from the front end. If the device were fitted over a doorknob, the blade would dig through the door and tear apart the locking mechanism. Applying it here indeed took approximately five seconds. The door, now with a doorknob-sized hole in it, came open. The captain and her men entered with careful hurry and drawn blades.<br/><br/>It wasn't a great tactical environment. Rugs would make slipping easy, the only cover was armchairs that would be more effective at preventing charges, lanterns could easily get knocked over or slashed open... A stupid cat could present a mobile tripping hazard... The defenders had a terrain advantage here. They were not, however, equipped for battle and didn't have any obvious command structure. The target wasn't among them.<br/><br/>Then the soldiers saw the trapdoor, still standing open, with indistinct noises of conversation emanating from it.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Shit.</span><br/><br/>"Right!" The captain immediately began yelling out. "No one move or I'll gut the lot of you! We're looking for an elf bitch and I've got a pretty good idea what you're trying here, so there's no point making yourselves collateral, cathartic as it'd be for me!"<br/><br/>She nodded to one of her soldiers, and in a calmer tone said, "Notify the others there's a leak. Make sure the boss knows."<br/><br/>He had already started leaving before her order was done, after which the yelling aggression came back.<br/><br/>"Now, since you sorry excuses for sapient life seem to insist on making things complicated, I'm checking out your stupid hole here. I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for - none of you look clever enough for much deception, or much at all beyond your peasant banalities. I'd tell you not to do anything stupid, but that's probably beyond you so just don't do anything at all! Winston, you're with me. Jenkins, you're in charge while I'm gone - don't kill anyone if you don't have to."<br/><br/>The captain approached the trapdoor, and Jenkins looked positively disappointed.