The Wizard of Lancaster [Thete and Val]

[Valerian]

"Cybermen," Isabel repeated, nodding her head as she affixed the name of the enemy in her mind.  There would be more victims like William, that much was clear, but with luck and determination they would find the true menace soon enough, the Cyberman made all of metal, and he would pay the price for what he had done.

She paused a moment before continuing, taking a clean handkerchief from her sleeve and kneeling to place it gently over William's face.  "I had not seen him for years," she said, quietly.  "We were betrothed for a time before his family changed its allegiance.  Naturally we could not ally with Yorkists."  Her voice was somewhere between serious and sarcastic, unhappy with this aspect of her world but accepting it as something she could not change.  "But William was always kind to me, and I am sorry he is gone."

Then she took a deep breath and stood, drawing another arrow from her quiver and setting it to the bowstring.  "I am ready, Doctor.  Will my arrows harm them at all without your lightning power?"

[Theta Sigma]

It wasn't as he suspected, but he understood. There was likely some sort of feelings hidden underneath, though he assumed she would never admit them. Not even if it was socially acceptable to do so. There would be a time to dwell fully later, now was not the time, and she understood.

With a nod, he shone the torch further down the path. 'They will stun them, which should be good enough. It'll stop them instantly lunging for us, at the very least.'

[Valerian]

"Then that will do," Isabel said, standing straighter and letting her gaze wander ahead down the path.  It was really quite an ordinary path, giving no hint of what lay at the end of it, yet the Doctor's words made it seem strangely ominous as well.  Whatever happened, by the time this night was over she knew nothing would be the same again.

"I flatter myself that I am a fair shot, though I will allow that I have never been tested in... quite such a fashion," she added dryly.  "But my lord father assures me that I am the most obstinate young woman in all the shire, so be assured that I will do my best, Doctor."

[Theta Sigma]

'That's good enough for me. You never really quite know what you're made of until you're standing in front of something that wishes to kill you, I find.'
Turning the torch off would give them the advantage of stealth, but it was also a risk in that they would be unable to see traps or holes. Though if the Cybermen truly never expected to be found, it seemed unlikely they would be watching for any humans, and they were not exactly the type to set traps.

It was a tricky one.

Without further warning, he stepped ahead, moving onward.

[Valerian]

Perhaps it was simply because William's body was still so near, but the reminder that some thing would very likely soon do its best to kill her left Isabel strangely unaffected.  She'd known she was moving towards danger the moment she'd left her home, and this was far more important than a single life.  She set off after the Doctor as he moved ahead again, slightly hesitant at first in the dim light but slowly gaining confidence.

Soon the opening to the caves loomed not far ahead of them.  It was a small opening for the first two or three yards, one that would force even Isabel to duck a little, but it opened up quickly into a larger space, as she recalled from her furtive, forbidden explorations of the caves as a child.  Beyond lay more than enough room for these Cybermen to work their terrible mischief on the countryside, unless and until they were stopped.  She was still not sure she was up to the task of stopping them, but she did not allow herself to dwell on that thought.

As they drew nearer, the noise of the vibrations became a gentle hum, as the Doctor had predicted, a steady sound that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, like the humming of a huge, hidden swarm of insects.  And inside the opening she could also barely detect a faint light, a glow that seemed to suggest a much brighter light that was mostly hidden from view.  Something gave her the sense of movement inside as well, though that could just as easily have been imagination, and she looked to the Doctor for guidance as she slowed her pace.

[Theta Sigma]

He had also drawn to a halt when they reached what he highly suspected was the heart of the Cyberman colony. Was colony the best word? It seemed too buggy, but it was the best he could really think of. Tomb didn't fit, though he strongly suspected it would look very, very similar to the Cyberman nest on Telos. Which had been, in its very purpose, a tomb, though a tomb for humans.
Nest didn't fit either.
Maybe tomb really the best thing to call it.

But they had work to do.

It was going to be hard to get a grasp on what their setup was without really giving themselves away. He glanced back to Isabel, and then towards the tomb.

Oh, he couldn't.

Could he?

'Do you class yourself as brave, Isabel?'

[Valerian]

The question surprised Isabel, but she didn't show it, simply standing up a little straighter.  "Brave enough to leave my home alone to seek the truth in the dark of night, when the men of the shire would do no more than talk and wonder," she said, quietly and crisply.  Then she half-smiled, nodding at the Doctor.  "And brave enough to throw my lot in with an unknown man who has led me to the very heart of the trouble.  Yes, I dare to call myself brave, and foolish as well, for there is often little difference between the two," she admitted.

"I know there is great danger, Doctor, and I am ready," she added, more seriously, glancing towards the cave.  "What would you have me do?"

[Theta Sigma]

Oh, she was brilliant. So clever, a woman beyond her time to recognise the similarities between bravery and foolishness. One did not exist without the other.

'I am... Very sorry to have to ask this of you. If there were any other way... Alas...' He paused for a moment. 'I'm going to have to ask you to be bait. Offer yourself up to the Cybermen. No harm will come to you, I assure you, I will rescue you before any conversion. But I need to know what we're facing, and they'll kill me rather than use me. I would like a little more stealth in this mission than I can provide us. You won't be alone, though.'
He reached into his jacket, and pulled out a small, individual earphone. And in another moment, out came the screwdriver once more, and he held the two together. A quick, simple device. He could do the twin momentarily.

'I need you to put this in your ear.'

[Valerian]

Though all too many of the Doctor's words were strange to her, "bait" was a word and a concept that Isabel was all too familiar with.  She raised her eyebrows, surprised that he was bold enough to make such a request on so little acquaintance, though upon further reflection perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised at all.  If there was any man in the world daring enough -- or perhaps foolish enough, she thought with a smile -- to speak his mind without thought to consequence, it was the man standing in front of her right now.

Doubtful but ever-curious, she watched closely as he produced a small, mysterious object and performed some obscure procedure upon it.  "You seem very certain that they will slay you on sight, yet not harm me," she said, uncertainly, stowing her arrow and reaching for the object as he offered it to her, no doubt more of his 'technology'.  "And will this keep me from being alone?" she asked, still more doubtfully, sure that she must have mistaken his meaning, hardly for the first time.  "What wonders does it perform?"

[Theta Sigma]

'Yes, yes. I'll have another, same frequency. You'll be able to take directions and tell me what is going on, but try not to give anything away. It'll carry my voice right into your ear. I'm incompatible. No reason to keep me alive. I'll put an end to this before they harm you. I promise. You have my word.'
This truly was the best way to infiltrate. A camera might've offered more support, but he lacked one of those. Endless pockets and yet no camera.

'This will be all over soon.'

[Valerian]

Automatically, she tried to parse the word frequency but was quickly forced to give up as the Doctor kept on talking.  Apparently this tiny object would allow him to talk to her and hear what transpired from a distance, though she could not imagine how.  Her vague ideas about how something like that might be possible were each more outlandish than the last, and she reminded herself to ask the Doctor about the workings of the device later.  Assuming there was a later, of course.

But she had known all along she was moving towards danger, and while this was a far different sort of danger than she had imagined, in the end it would hardly matter to her if she died at the hands of an outlaw or through the strange science of a Cyberman.  Still, she shuddered to think of being transformed as William had been, without even her mind her own, and she studied the Doctor unhappily as he spoke.  "I will trust you in this, Doctor.  If this is what must be done to put an end to these Cybermen and their cruelty, then I will do it."  She reached up and fitted the earpiece awkwardly into place, then turned towards the cave.  "I hope this will be over soon," she added, touching the earpiece gingerly.

[Theta Sigma]

'It will. They will not take another life. You're very brave, very... Strong.' He said, for lack of a better word to describe her. They could pounce her the moment she stepped out, or, as he suspected, they would be sluggish and capture her only once they realised she was human.
That would give him enough time to finalise a plan of attack and get everything sorted.

'They're old, decaying and dying. They'll be slow. They'll be stupid.'

[Valerian]

"Very stubborn," Isabel corrected, dryly, recalling the many times her father had said exactly that of her -- then wondered if she would ever hear him say that again.  But this was not the time to think of that; if she let herself be distracted that would only make her even more likely to be killed, and the chances of that were already high enough.

She nodded at his description of the Cybermen, hoping he was correct.  "Slow and dying would be very useful," she remarked.  "And we need some advantage.  We may be sorely outnumbered.  But I shall divert as many of them as I can, and I trust you will be ready to act."  Again she looked uneasily towards the cave, then back at the Doctor.  "You are ready to act, are you not?"