Chapter 35: Chapter 34: Banshee

A few hours after Lia and Rose checked out the fortifications and had their meal, they had gathered all the enlightened members of the swarm save for Lily, who was still clearing the biology building, in a clearing in their base camp. Lia was back in her fox form and was sitting on Rose’s lap, enjoying the sensation of Rose idly petting her.

Before we begin, is there anything super important anyone has to say? Lia asked, looking over the three people in front of her. Stuff that will shape our entire discussion important, that is.

There was silence, so Lia continued. In that case, I’ll present the findings of myself and Rose first. We’ve determined the walls to be good enough for now. We couldn’t get into the main turret because it was locked, though, we’re going to need Bella or Chrys to take care of it. Can either of you pick locks?

“I…think I can, Queenie.” Chrys said. “I haven’t tried it, but it just feels like something I’m capable of, you know?”

“If it can be unlocked from the other side of a door I can slip under the gap and open it that way.” Bella said. “But regular lockpicking is not one of my specialties, I’m afraid.”

Good. Depending on the results of your investigation, I’ll send you two to check it out. So…what did you find?

“The dorm buildings are mostly untouched.” Chrys said. “They should be suitable as housing the moment we clear them of monsters. Said monsters are mostly undead, but none of them are particularly strong. There are a fair number of them, but so long as you work slowly and methodically, they won’t swarm you or anything. Should be a piece of cake to clear.”

“Did you encounter the boss?” Rose asked.

Bella made a face. “No, but we really didn’t check that building much. We could tell it was in there, because the moment we entered the lobby there was a huge screech from up above that didn’t stop until we went away.”

“Probably a banshee, then.” Rose said. “Annoying, but as long as there’s only one it should be workable. We’ll need some way to plug our ears, and communication in the middle of the battle will be somewhat rough, but they aren’t that strong in direct combat.”

We could try and fashion some earmuffs out of modeling wax. Lia ventured. Though I’m not sure how soundproof they’ll be. The modeling wax isn’t really going to stick to us while it’s malleable, and I’m not sure how soundproof it’ll be once it’s hardened, but it’s better than nothing, right?

“We should probably look in the Dimension of Discounts first.” Rose said. “If we’re lucky you can find something that’ll do the job.”

Good thought. Lia replied. I’m going to do that now, you guys keep brainstorming other countermeasures while I do. She turned her attention away from the conversation, and opened up the Dimension of Discounts, then tried to search “soundproofing”.

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