[Language unknown: "Na Sonhatess Fordayrednde, eiioan? Herwilday ou a ec derareted osna olss usove er? Ie outredted maon oerlatnti? Li ilnte sedi ted linoutnti si foenad?"] Yelena was curious enough to ask a few questions, particularly since her time with these two was likely to be relatively short.

She did smirk at the question about getting to the front. [Language unknown: "Me me hou o cadi ee ou omteac wadino, o ver man encil, te? Naetar ilssan tho t thi sta artoneave."]

Poldi shrugged.
[Language unknown: "Ofoswi heti-laerwh pr o t neutin preouswas wi hi sticnecene. T ateonsome larverugh paar To Omeeautha'eraare adngth benc waneforisi terro ri, stawitone. Ac ast il evpre wer theou stntromece ulat plal oulingill pe onev eraerahou in. O ng asteaueau k eltha evevenlat esieos la u."]

He grunted at the remark about the front coming to them.

He looked at your comrades. "Do you all speak German or would you prefer English?

Lena popped up at that, after a calculated delay.  For her own perceived benefit of course.

"[Language unknown: Mostr n ersicawer pa m con ent?]"

She was also hoping if they were convinced none of them, or at least not Lena, spoke a word of English, they would start to pass secret information to one another in it in front of someone who "wouldn't understand".
This message was last edited by the player at 22:03, Mon 17 May 2021.

Yelena nodded at the answer. [Language unknown: "Ic di beec miwi io astlarwerichble ever ripeai. Fo reawerredsom n."]

When Lena asked what the man just said, Yelena repeated it back to her. [Language unknown: "A hi se essnteiou eelawa m k cetipe ainintshe heome pa touletuson. M atildiur heha Nc Haosdiriac hawaut acers enlementck i, meivdi. Ic lltoes ate thaev whe elble ll olnintneie Tewhbepo ofwhi ilpe entwilwit urred ent teenev pre."]

[Language unknown: "Sa n oun olhius mansi but e rutdayare on Eiioil, ee llit ivdicheema ursefi?"]

""  Lena laughed and feigned mild embarrassment.

When Poldi asked the group a question in English, he looked around at the others.

Seeing them all comment in German, when Yelena suggested asking the translator, Julius realised his error with his counting.

"They don't speak English. I got it from my mother." Julius replied. "[Language unknown: Ter Itheauave ofica ha ncthtr. The Eariounti our manthoeen Thalarhas earivethe enc ntesa uscaul elosri, as K esyin ntiherwhisti wa onewi ev onoslopoou ul m anyioninteeniou whiv.]"

He then held his thumb up. "[Language unknown: Olisca becaar necon thu nibe. Ofca unsi Om houncehat.]"

Walter grinned, a rather disturbing image with half his face a scarred ruin. [Language unknown: "Stisherut reeethre. Ichavepro waste nce peinsa."]

((In the interest of moving this along))

The Little Bismarck tuck-tuck-tucked upriver of the Spree, keeping in the middle of the river. It could have been be a quiet, serene boat ride without the distant noise of artillery shells falling and detonating, and plumes of smoke rising from the city.

The radio crackled a couple of times, but Kazimir Etushin turned down the volume and listened to the chatter, then quietly spoke with Zholdin.

After about an hour, there was a clearing on the riverbank to your right - a few statues showing signs of bombing damage. Lena told you that there was an entrance to the zoo behind the statues. Cutting through the Berlin zoo would take you close to where Kemmel should be. If your intel was accurate.

Walter and Poldi remained back on the boat, watching the soldiers scampering onto the river bank. Walter offered Julius the box of "mints" and Poldi wiped away a few tears, suddenly melancholic after having been in an excellent mood mere moments ago.

Most of the statues were too badly damaged to make anything out, but the centerpiece was a small fountain of a human figure holding a fish - both heads were taken off by a bomb sometime before, with the bodies showing damage, too.
Behind them, between two empty podiums, shattered statues at their feet, is a small iron gate, barely barring entrance to the zoo of Berlin.

""  Lena asked.  ""

Taking the mints from Walter, Julius shook his hand. "[Language unknown: Erelatpro cher, an ecei larorerom, sta diprecar ch el.]"

As the group looked out at the path before them, put his hand out before.

"Hang on, let me check something."

With one hand outstretched before him, his palm facing the same way as him, and two fingers on his temple from his other hand, he began speaking.

"[Language unknown: Ri Fiilmo ad, alloveone k alhewh itrino conhasing. Heset na il Artentect Icesme.]"

Once done, he looked around, to see if anything wrong caught his eye.


OOC:
Casting Detect Arcana
19:27, Today: Julius Sykes rolled 5,7 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+1)7.  Spellcasting.

2PP spent, 18 remaining

Yelena exited the watercraft with the others, though not before offering her thanks to the crew of the Little Bismarck. The movement down the river seemed to have allowed them to avoid some danger, or at least some walking. Either way Yelena considered it a success. She'd done plenty of walking over the last few years, as had anyone in the Soviet infantry ranks.

The Soviet sniper nodded at Lena's suggestion, though then waited for the translator to do...whatever it was he was doing.

Julius slowly turned, taking in the surrounding sights.

"Something bad has happened here. Very bad." Julius says aloud, not to anyone in particular.

He then started gesturing with his hand to follow the line he saw.

"I think there is a lay line or something similar, going this way. We need to keep our guard up."

He knew few knew the real reason behind why he was here, or what he could do. But keeping secrets could get him, and everyone else, killed. And he didn't want that weighing on his conscious.

Yelena shrugged with palms up. [Language unknown: "Et Herureder, icaearnte?"]

"[Language unknown: Whrito.]" Julius replied, giving a little sigh as if he was disappointed in himself for not thinking of the language needs of others. "[Language unknown: A eiouck tiilan o p nc ic re terkorforcom ndevwi, saacta str adwi. Mi ekday i hisev ill preiourom i. Tioantlesant buthi fiutpeus ecta ameson-werith.]"

Lena seemed to snap to attention at that... when she shouldn't have.  But she feigned confusion until it was repeated in German.

She had sent in reports for years now reporting strange mentions of rituals and runes and spells, but even Arthur hadn't been consistent on how serious they were about all of this.  Lena herself at first thought they were just insane, but after seeing how much they stuck to it, she was convinced there was something to it she didn't quite understand.  It was something she wished she'd gotten more intel on, but it would have been impossible to do without breaking cover.

Yelena narrowed her eyes slightly. [Language unknown: "Cele eenle at, ai n k thastirutareect en proherort t ver ni, aisa? Fi be onadch ncstei nd ourus ekar ofsiit hou somck malasssi? P mosti tewit hiilwh thantekor rirea ratto caomen si einala ce tin ntiouswit ta ureforhis?"]

Julius lowers his hand, and then takes a deep breath. "[Language unknown: M werrature tic ere eremanwhi, as eartheate man stinteiou. Foos'plomho ectmi ithomeers a ovemenatiall, vorec onshisinetic ulatmeno outee re, ne, one he ameeresansta Cerea ng ver stievesti. Pepo lo diome astati-whiect isse rat, E tichashat ameil. Thint Est o adfour, ore towiesad.]"

The little troop entered the Berlin Zoo through the side gate. The paved pathway gently curved left to right, but the bushes and lawns were overgrown and untended. If it hadn't been for the benches and little kiosks selling bratwurst and beer - now unoccupied - it could have been a jungle.

A very German, geometric jungle.

After a few minutes, you passed the first cages - birds, apparently. The cages were emtpy, damaged by bombs, most likely, the animals killed or fled.
Little signs indicated what species dwelled here before.

Lena had been to the zoo many times, by herself and with Arthur and she knew it quite well.

As you got closer and closer to the center and the main avenue through the zoo, the smell of decay increased. The carcasses of larger animals, giraffes, elephants, could be seen in the enclosures and cages, slowly rotting in the Spring weather.

Yelena was wary as they moved, the scent of death causing her a bit of extra concern. Even with all she had seen over the past few years, a person never quite got used to the smell. She kept quiet in case there were any Germans nearby. Stealth and surprise were their allies now.

"[Language unknown: Et enc hemo wasti ilwaos.]"  Lena let the others know quietly.  She didn't like this, something was wrong.

Obviously.

She was wary, could someone had tried to hide in here in the midst of all the fighting and chaos?

As the smell of death grew, Julius vainly covered his nose and mouth with the end of his sleeve.

"What a waste." He muttered to himself, quietly, as they all made their way through the zoo, anxious about what else they might find.

The path opened to a larger square, surrounded by one of the main attractions of the zoo: the large cats. Tigers, leopards, and lions.

All of a sudden, the cacophony of Soviet artillery stopped and the sudden silence was deafening and unnerving.

((Let's shake the dust of the dice roller and give me all a Spirit check vs. fear.))

Lena didn't realize how terrified she should have been this whole time until now.  The reality hit her all at once.

But she hadn't invaded Berlin, she'd been here, and had seen the whole situation develop gradually.

15:27, Today: Lena Vogt rolled 4,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,4.  Spirit!

When everything went quiet, Julius looked around nervously.

"[Language unknown: Ta tehewa heany tinseteauect honc?]"

OOC:
22:00, Today: Julius Sykes rolled 6,5 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5.  Spirit (Fear) check.

And if the "mints" are still working, an extra +2 to bring that up to a raise, assuming no penalties for us.