• Graded • [Faldrass] FIre-Forged Group B

[Darius Baer]

!	Message from: peg
	All above has happened (!!!!)

Not Yet!

Darius kept reading Smooglenuff's Guide To The Flora & Fauna of Scalvoris: Volume 5: Faldrass - in between the interruptions of loose footing and packs being adjusted as people found their rhythm with the added weight - right up until the group reached the cave entrance. Once he was there, it only took a single glance into the darkness beyond to persuade him that the time for books was over, and the tome was bundled into his backpack as best as he could manage. He also took the opportunity to unclip the helmet from the back of his pack and sat it on his head before tightening the straps beneath his chin. It felt uncomfortable and awkward, but he could tolerate such things if it meant a falling rock could be deflected safely away from his head.

His lightstone was soon in hand, and with the rest of the group, he ventured into the darkness, his mind consciously gauging each step as the feeling of a gentle descent came over him. He naturally held the light nearer the cave walls, then, to assist his navigation, and at one point he held it aloft in the hope of seeing the ceiling, but he only saw shadows that made it seem as though the walls were endless in height.

"Such a...cavernous cave," he muttered to himself in awe.

Darius had been in vast spaces before - such was the nature of being at sea - but the high walls did nothing to prevent the sense that they might be closing in on them.

When ChiChi spoke, the bearded blond listened, though he was glad the darkness hid his cocked eyebrow. It seemed a little late to be deciding on a leader, especially given how little they knew of each other's talents, but it would help the group to hopefully find their way.

The human wasn't particularly bothered by who would ultimately lead them. He had followed ship captains, both good and bad, and he'd found that weak leaders tended to not last long. If a strong leader was in the group, they would probably naturally make their way to the front.

Just as long as it wasn't the minstrel, who, Darius had decided, quite enjoyed the sound of his own voice.

"We should go along the left path," he stated simply. "The other branches off, and keeping on the same path will make it easier to find our way out."

He had not engaged with the leadership discussion, for he felt such things would sort themselves out. That being said, he already trusted Yeva and Oram most of all, so without knowing their abilities in such matters, he would not protest their intentions.

"We should also leave some sort of marking or trail to assist us with navigation," he continued in his gravelly voice. "Perhaps an etching on the wall or the ground."

Without waiting for a response, he fumbled around for a rock, and if he was able to find one quickly, he would scrape it against the cave wall to make a rather crude arrow that pointed back towards the entrance.

"The last thing we need," he said under his breath between each scratching sound, "is to rush, lose our way, and find these caves to be an ineluctable maze."

Once he'd etched the arrow into the rock, he turned to leave, unaware of anyone else's unspoken observations and assuming that his comments had made enough sense that taking the path on the left would be the group's natural conclusion.

Inventory

Equipped:
Clothing (Tunic and leggings, leather gloves, leather boots)
Studded Leather Gambeson
Helmet
Lightstone
Backpack

Not Equipped:
Smooglenuff's Guide To The Flora & Fauna of Scalvoris: Volume 5: Faldrass
Torch (with oil and matches)
First Aid Kit
Rope (50' in length)
Crampons
Pitons
Climbing Hammer
Pickaxe
Shovel
Map (Faldrass Caves)
Map (Hollow Sea and the waterways around the island of Scalvoris)
Longsword
Dagger
Compass
Waterskin (full)

Skills

Leadership (0/250)
Navigation (4/250)

[Oram Mednix]

Who says you can’t get blood from a stone?

It was a motley and sundry group Oram found himself with. Some sort of wolfman -perhaps Karem marked?- an Avriel, a red-headed, white-skinned grump who could barely talk. He and Darius seemed like the only regular sorts here. The other two women might be alright, for all the hunter knew, but with his luck so far they would turn out to actually be Yludih or something.

!	Message from: peg
	All above has happened

Not Yet!

And now, in this dark and gloomy place, they had come to a branching where they needed to make a decision, which meant, as ChiChi pointed out, that they needed to decide how they were going to make decisions going forward -at least that’s what Oram thought ChiChi was saying.

The hunter did not like it here. His goats liked it even less. Mule, fortunately, went where he was led, calm and stoic, giving no indication that being underground worried him. Had the mule been as skittish as the goats, Oram wasn’t sure he would have been able to proceed at all with them. He had only brought his animals this far because he had not thought ahead to provide for them before embarking on this adventure. That might be something for their leader, whoever that ended up being, to sort out.

The discussion that followed from ChiChi’s suggestion got fussy very quickly, and his companions were using strange, long words Oram didn’t recognize. She had led them here, why wasn’t she taking charge? She seemed bossy enough. Maybe this was some sort of test?

Whatever it was, somebody had to say something, or nobody would ever do anything. Tentatively he cleared his throat for attention. ”I don’t think any of us knows one another well enough to say who’d be the best leader,” he offered, as soon as had it, ”maybe we should draw lots. It would save time, and I’m not sure the Immortals would make a worse choice than we would ourselves after breaks of arguing.

”And if you want my input as to what to do next”, Oram continued, ”I think we should take a moment and get a better understanding of where we already are before just picking a path and wandering on. Look!” he gestured towards a spot on the wall he happened to have noticed with the odd, dark trickle that he was guessing wasn’t just water. He carried the lightstone over and dabbed the spot it with a cloth. He looked at it and sniffed it. ”This seems like blood, of all things,” he said, amazed, as much to himself as the group. Looking up, he said more loudly: ”maybe we should figure out why there’s blood coming out of a stone right next to us before we go traipsing off to the left or to the right.” Looking up a bit farther up, he lifted the lightstone as high as he could to try to discover where the trickle was coming from.

[Rei'sari]

120th Ashan, 720

Location: ---



Being half avriel had distinct advantages. Ari'sora loved to fly. Flying had come to mean freedom to her, and she wasn't at all certain that she could live without it now that she had discovered the freedom of the skies. The ability to see wind currents was useful as well. It helped her when she was flying, but it had other uses as well. Knowing the way the winds were blowing helped her to take a guess at what the weather would be like since a wind blowing from the north was usually colder that one blowing in from the south. And while she had never found herself in such a situation, being able to see the wind currents while trapped underground might well help her to find a way out since the wind had to be coming from somewhere. That "somewhere" might be a way out.

But being half avriel had distinct disadvantages as well. Her Sev'ryn blood helped her to control the impulsive side of her nature some of the time. Unfortunately, when she was angry or upset, or even simply feeling completely out of her depth, it tended to get the best of her. And right now, she was all three. She bristled like a prickly porcupine.

"You don't like me. You might even hate me. And that's fine with me." she said sharply as she eyed their guide warily.

"I've been hated before, so I'm used to it. I can work with people who dislike me. And I can assure you that the feeling is mutual."

Ari'sora hesitated before continuing. But a memory rose up in her mind, and the words "a lie of omission" echoed in her head.

"Last Ashan I encountered a monster in the form of a child. It tried to eat someone that I respect a great deal. And although you are not a child, you remind me of that monster. You are creepy looking, and you have a sinister air about you that reminds me of that child monster. I don't have any proof that you eat people...but I also don't have any proof that you don't. That aside, I am willing to work with you. Seeing as how your employer asked people to come help with this, I am somewhat certain that you aren't going to try to eat any of the volunteers."

Ari'sora glanced at the supplies she had packed, and she felt another wave of anger surge through her.

"I am not greedy, and I do not appreciate being accused as such. If I have to elucidate, it's called planning ahead. Normally, I would not need to consider bringing a rope along. I can fly, after all. But we may find ourselves in places where it would be too dangerous to fly, or my wing might get injured leaving me unable to fly. Hence the rope. Take that a step further. Suppose you decide to bring a fifty rope with you only to encounter a four hundred foot drop that you have to climb down. What then? Are we supposed to climb down fifty feet, then drop down the remaining three hundred and fifty feet and hope we survive? Likewise, there may well be a situation where using a rope that is bigger than you need would be dangerous. So it seems to me that it would be a good idea to bring ropes of varying length along in case they are needed."

A tiny inner voice was telling her to shut up, but she was far too caught up in her impulsive need to lash out to pay it any heed.

"And yes. I did give some thought to taking extras in case they were needed. Someone might lose their lightstone, or a torch might get wet and be unable to be used. Or several people might get hurt, and we might need more than one first aid kit to deal with it. It really didn't occur to me that you would be bringing extra supplies in case we needed them, so I figured it would be a good idea to take some just in case. Also, when I asked my questions, I was thinking that you might tell us about any potential dangers now when there was time to do so rather than later when something might be attacking us."

If she was only allowed to take one of each thing she decided to bring with her, she would need to repack her supplies. So she unpacked her bag, and began looking through them. After giving it some thought, she decided to go with the two hundred and fifty foot rope. While there might be situations where using one that was bigger than it needed to be would be dangerous, it would be more dangerous if she need to climb a wall or descend down a cliff using a rope that was shorter than she needed it to be. Her first thought was to take the five hundred foot rope instead, but she grudgingly had to admit that their guide had a point. The weight of the rope was more than she could carry comfortably.

With that decision made, the rest was easy. She quickly took the best equipped first aid kit she could find along with a torch, a lightstone, a lantern with some lamp oil, a set of spikes with the hammer needed to pound them into a wall, a pair of spikes designed to fit on her shoes, and a tarp. These were all packed into her bag with the supplies she thought she would need quickly placed at the top. Her simple flint kit was replaced with a tinderbox that she found while repacking, and that went into her bag as well. She kept the tool belt around her waist, along with the shovel and pick axe she had attached to it. But she removed the tools that she didn't recognize. They would be useless to her if she didn't know how to use them after all, and if someone else knew how to use them and needed them...well, they'd better hope that ChiChi had some...and that she liked them enough to give them to them if needed.

When she had finished packing, she turned back to their guide.

"I hope that this satisfies you? As for your extra supplies that you are bringing for us, I am pretty sure that we both know that should I be the one to need something, you will mysteriously be out of whatever I might need. You did say that some of us would probably die, after all. You don't like me, and no one would blame you for keeping your emergency supplies for the people that you do like to better their chances of staying alive."

Something butted against her leg, and startled her out of her anger at their guide for the trill. Ari'sora glanced down to see what it was. It turned out to be the winged cat named Ari. Wald pulled the cat back, and apologized before asking if he could call her Sora. She gave it a few trills of thought before nodding.

"I don't mind." she told him simply.

The fangs that showed when he smiled gave her pause, but she didn't comment on them.

"Is your friend friendly?" she asked.

It never occurred to her that the winged cat might be nothing more than a trained animal to Wald. Hew own best friend was a talking cat, after all. So it seemed only natural that other people had animals they were friends with too.

!	Message from: peg
	All above has happened

Not Yet!

When it was time to enter the volcano, Ari'sora pulled out her lightstone, and followed the others. The first thing that she noticed was that it was icy cold. Confused, she touched the rock wall next to her, and it was as she was touching an ice wall instead. That was strange. They were inside a volcano. Wasn't it supposed to be hot? It seemed logical that it would be at least. Lava was hot, after all.

Their guide spoke of nature being beautiful. Ari'sora couldn't help but agree. While she was rather nervous about being surrounded by rock on all sides as she was, there was a beauty in the tunnel. The rock had been shaped by lava, and in some places, the forms it had been shaped into were quite elaborate.

They came to a branch in the tunnel, and ChiChi told them to pick a leader and decide which way to go. Ari'sora shrugged.

"I really don't care who the leader is as long as it isn't me." she said.

"I don't really care which way we go either." she added a few trills later.

When Kalortah asked if anyone had a tinderbox to light the lantern he was holding up, Ari'sora offered to let him borrow hers. Then she glanced at their guide.

"This is one of the reasons I wanted to bring extra supplies." she said pointedly.

"If I had an extra one, I could give Kalortah this one in case his lantern needs to be relighted later. Unless you have an extra tinderbox for him in your supplies?"

Ari'sora was curious to see whether their guide would give Kalortah a tinderbox. Judging from the tone she had used with him earlier, she didn't like him much more than she liked her. So it wasn't impossible to believe that she would refuse to give him any extra supplies the same way Ari'sora was certain that she would refuse to give her any.

!	Message from: Peg
	The conflict between Ari and ChiChi will mean that this group does not leave the house and will be stalled. Therefore, future posters do not need to include information in the caves and those who have already posted will be given the opportunity to put what they've written in the posts - when they happen. Thanks all! (loving scrappy Ari <3 )

[Yeva]

120 Ashan 720

Chichi's sentiment was kind, or at least that was how the Yeva received it. Yes, the maid's accent was thick with hardened syllables, but the medic liked to believe that those with great responsibility were also under great stress. Like a stern mother she directed them, trying to corral both the experienced adventurer and rookie alike. Their success- even their lives - depended on it. She offered a soft thank you and returned her attention to Smooglenuff's book. There was quite the story of her own servitude, but such details were not to be told now. Neither the time, nor place. It was important that she stay focused and while they regrouped at the cave's entrance, Yeva was flipped through the pages with a look of determination for anything that tended to thrive underground. Glancing up, it seemed Darius had the same idea spurring her confidence.

That is until she found the page that read:

Scalvoris Giant Spiders

While exceedingly rare, these creatures are found primarily within the caves and catacombs beneath Scalvoris, however there have been few reports noting their existence in the Scaltoth Jungle. They prefer warmth so are more likely to be found underneath Faldrass especially, but also Scalvoris Town and the parts of the island where the volcano runs beneath.

Yeva's breath caught. What?

She looked up to see if anyone else had seemed to stumble upon a similar article. A few had referred to their books, but if they had any stroke of fear, it was well hidden. 'It's fine,' Yeva thought, chewing her lip raw at the sight of Faldrass' mention, 'I'm not scared of spiders.'

The group was nearly ready to continue and so she turned the page, but unlike the other articles in the tome, this one was particularly short. Their rarity must have lead to a lack of study. Yeva's dread deepened, her grip on the book tightened:

Reports of their size vary greatly, between six foot body to a twenty foot one....multitude of eyes... their venomous fangs...They crave meat, especially if the kill is alive. However they can live on certain fungus... Vicious killing machines with eight legs. Avoidant of fire and light. Highly dangerous.

Yeva had stopped breathing entirely and she jumped at the sound of the other voices.

!	Message from: peg
	All above has happened

Not Yet!

A look of half shock was still planted on her face as everyone began down the tunnel. She had to bite her tongue to stop words that would no doubt make her appear craven. She closed the book and slid her copy of the map upon it and pulled the light stone from her pocket to fight the over-exaggerated sense of darkness that made everything else feel just out of reach, despite their close proximity.

The ground felt slimy beneath her boots and the temperature began to drop. Behind her, she recognized Wald's voice, ""The tunnels are... strange... Sand, plants, burning and freezing. Did we step into someone's rabbit hole?"

"Really? Strange how?" she twisted, and tried to side step, allowing Ylfa to push past as directed.

"Cold arctic like air, with the smell of burning ahead of us. Plants and sand clear on our path... Despite how close we are to lava, this place is practically ice."

She hadn't noticed! Of course! Yeva wanted very much to write this down, especially after her all too brief chat with the Baron. Could such thing exist?

The Core of all the elements... The Heart of Scalvoris.

She turned this information over in her head... Plants and sand were completely opposites in nature, stirring pictures of both the jungle and desert in her mind. There was rock... She reached out to to touch the cold surface, cold like ice, in a volcano... Fire. What other elements were there? Water? Wind?

Yeva had to stop herself from getting ahead. She needed facts, evidence... All this was nothing more than myth... Right?

Chichi called for leader and to her shock, Kalortah, whom now she recognized, called her own name, "Me?" Yeva's mouth was dropped and she looked at ChiChi. The Avriel appointing a former slave? Surely he had heard her, or was he simply mocking? In the dim glow of light stones, Yeva couldn't tell.

Darius, nor Ari'sora denied this. Oram suggested drawing lots with practical reasoning. He then pointed out a bit of blood and Yeva pressed her map against her chest, buckler facing out. This seemed to be somewhat missed among the prattle of discussion, Ari'sora taking the chance to throw another jab at their guide for criticizing her desire to turn into walking inventory, "Please!" Yeva broke from her spot between Wald and Darius to step between the two women, "It's alright, I've have matches in my pocket, we're not short for anything. Not yet. We all took medic kits and I think..."

She swallowed, realizing everyone must now be watching her, "I think we all have the same goals. We should plan for the worst, but not throw accusation. It will only divide us.... Truly, I'm flattered to be nominated.... Kalortah," she turned to face the red-winged speaker. He seemed so much better at this than her, she still wasn't sure what to think of his words, "But Oram might be right. I'm not sure if I'll be good leader, or good at any of this really," she sighed to expel the concern in her voice, "I don't care if you're Avriel, or human, OR something else... But that?"

Yeva pointed to where Oram had spotted the blood, looked at each of them, "Not to sound timorous, but we are beneath Faldrass. I don't know anything about leading others, but I know how to read. In our books," she tried to shuffle her things and hold it up, "There's an entry on Giant Spiders. Huge ones. They're very rare... but this is their territory and they like to eat living things. Maybe the blood has nothing to do with it, but please," Yeva's face was burning, she didn't want to do this public speaking thing, "We need to stay focused."

She rushed to return to her spot, thankful her plea was over.

► Show Spoiler

1. Tautology used to describe surroundings - Close proximity/over-exaggerated
2. Fancy word in dialogue - Timorous
3. Discover 1 thing in depth, or two on surface level - Yeva discovered information on Giant Spiders and shared her knowledge.

[Darius Baer]

A Break Or So Earlier...

Meanwhile, back at base camp...

Darius, like ChiChi, had felt his eyebrows lift when Ari'sora had overestimated the amount of equipment she would need to take on the expedition. But he also assumed - correctly, as it turned out - that she was thinking of the group as a whole, despite her overconfidence in how much weight she could actually bear.

The group's guide, however, was less than impressed, and she made her opposition very clear.

Darius assumed - incorrectly, as it turned out - that that would settle the matter. Despite being there to help, the group were Baron Smooglenuff's guests, and so they would naturally defer to his staff, would they not? But Ari'sora clearly felt differently, and before the bearded blond knew what was going on, an argument had broken out.

"Please, please, good people,An obscure reference to this scene: " he interjected, with yet another assumption, stepping between the pair with his hands raised in an attempt to calm the situation down.

The human had broken up fights in the past, using his bulky frame to calm drunken fighters down at the Scalvoris Town docks, but that had usually been a simple case of acting as a physical barrier. He hadn't had to negotiate before.

"Please, let us put our differences aside for the sake of Faldras. Some of us have family in Scalv Town. We should not allow an argument put their lives at risk."

Darius knew he risked bearing the wrath of one or both of those in the argument, but he hoped they might pause long enough to see reason.

"This was a simple misunderstanding," he offered in an attempt to enable Ari'sora to save face, "and the clarification has come. We each have enough items for ourselves and nothing more, and now we can continue our essential task in the service of Baron Smooglenuff, yes?"

Inventory

Equipped:
Smooglenuff's Guide To The Flora & Fauna of Scalvoris: Volume 5: Faldrass
Clothing (Tunic and leggings, leather gloves, leather boots)
Studded Leather Gambeson
Backpack

Not Equipped:
Helmet
Lightstone
Torch (with oil and matches)
First Aid Kit
Rope (50' in length)
Crampons
Pitons
Climbing Hammer
Pickaxe
Shovel
Map (Faldrass Caves)
Map (Hollow Sea and the waterways around the island of Scalvoris)
Longsword
Dagger
Compass
Waterskin (full)

Skills

Leadership (0/250)
Negotiation (0/250)

[Kalortah]

Kalortah was largely nonplussed by the half breed's eruption of anger. Yet he shouldn't have been. Half breeds were rarely raised in a proper manner. Their avriel blood often left them tempestuous and full of anger, a whirlwind of emotions that rarely found a proper outlet, such as proper avriel that were sent away from their nests to purge the savagery.

In the midst of the chaos between ChiChi and Ari'sora, several came forward to try and tamp down the situation, with very little apparent effect.

Then the human made an abhorrent assertion, a great assumption. A series of them really.

"and the clarification has come. We each have enough items for ourselves and nothing more, and now we can continue our essential task in the service of Baron Smooglenuff, yes?"

Kalortah's cheek visibly twitched at the word Darius uttered, regarding service, "Is that what we are? Servants to this upjumped, wingless cattle thief?" Kalortah snarled. "If that's the case, perhaps I should take my leave."

Then again, Darius did make a point, they had family in Scalvoris Town, and Kalortah was no exception. He couldn't jump up and fly away everytime a disaster happened, especially when misfortune seemed to follow him everywhere.

"But I won't, you're right we all have friends and family back on Scalvoris. Let us put aside our differences and at least pretend to get along."

He turned his head upward for a moment, then lowered his gaze to sweep over the group. "If none of you is wishing to lead, then I'm the natural choice. However, it seems none of us is willing to put aside our pride for the sake of following another. Yet we cannot go forward, taking a vote every single time a thing needs to be done."

Kalortah clapped his hands together, "I propose a compromise. One person among each of us will make a suggestion at each step along the way. We will follow that person's direction, whatever comes. I will not lead us, but will remain in an advisory role as my voice is strongest, and I am undeniably the most inspiring among us. Does this sound like a viable compromise?"

Skills used

Leadership (25/251) Novice
Socialization (10/251) Novice
Acting (10/251) Novice

[Pegasus]

120th Ashan, 720

Chichi spoke to Ari'sora, and her words were sharp. Wald, Yeva and Oram remained quiet, watching and not involving themselves in the conflict. Darius and Kal both stepped in and tried to calm things down. And, in fairness, both of them managed quite well.

Except.

"You speak of me as monster who eats children!?" Chichi literally spat on the floor in disgust at that. "I care not zat you tink I am 'creepy looking' you silly little girl, you are a spoiled child! You zink zat wven I haff brought you here and offered you equipment, you haff a right to speak such!? You haff behaved badly, and zen, you react verst! And I would accept zat, for you are obviously not knowing better, but zen! ZEN!" Chichi looked at Ari'sora and the woman was obviously furious. "ZEN you accuse me zat I vould leave you vizout supplies! I would NEVER deny help to a member of my team, you nasty little evil-minded bitch!" She was furious, and as Darius stepped in between them, he was literally stepping between as ChiChi stepped forward. "HOW DARE YOU!! I am risking my life, and offering equipment and supplies an' you liken me to a monster and accuse me of somezing I vould NEVER do because you are a greedy and self-absorbed little creature!! I vill not work with you! I vill not!"

She was prepared to go in to a full on rant, and she turned to Kal, "Zis is my job, do you understand? My responsibility! I am responsible for you all - your safety! This silly child is carrying rope heavier zan she is! Tarps, five of zem! She is arrogant and foolish and that silly behaviour will get her - and others killed! I vill protect all who go zere, I am responsible. You vish to speak for ze group, you do zat, but you must understand, I am trained for zis, and prepared and she is NOT coming viv me! Her evil little mind is tvisted and she will get ozers killed!!" Looking at Darius and Kal, she seemed a strange mixture of furiously angry, upset at the accusation thrown at her - and trying to get them to understand around her broken Common. But, unlike the second that the pair of them started to intervene - she was trying to explain to them, at least. Around angry and upset, she was also earnestly trying to point out that she was acting (as she saw it) in the groups' best interest.

"I vill not risk others wiz her attitude! She has behaved badly, done a stupid and now! Now she lashes out and resorts to names and suggesting zat I am not helping my people!!!! Ven all that weighing her down would slow her and endanger ozers if zey haff to help her!! It is her or me, I vill not be responsible for her!! I tell you......"

...... whatever it was that she would tell them would have to wait, it seemed, as the door opened.

!	Message from: Peg
	Current status = Oh so very stalled At least one member of basecamp is coming here. Further instructions will depend on that, I'll keep everyone informed Since I'm not prepared to hassle anyone to post - and these negotiations will take more than a soft word, this thread is stalled for this round.

[Devin]

Devin was definitely not a nice and helpful man. He didn’t care about the people in ChiChi’s group particularly (apart from Kalortah who was more or less a rival of his, he really disliked him). The Baron would probably be very happy if he managed to resolve the conflict somehow though, share his bed without him needing to seduce him first, let him live in his mansion and give him lots of money, so he decided to intervene, nevertheless. Before he left the room where he had met with aforementioned Baron, he grabbed his first aid kit. At this point, their argument turning into a violent conflict wouldn’t surprise him. Besides, he might be able to wrap a couple of bandages around their faces and get them to shut up that way!

~~

A bit or so later, the Mortalborn walked into the room with his head held high, a spring in his step and nearly brimming with confidence. His outfit was just as elegant as the Baron’s had been, but suitable for adventuring nevertheless, and there was a smile on his face.

"Good trial, ladies and gentlemen", he greeted the group. "There seems to be a problem so the Baron asked me to intervene. For those of you that didn't pay attention before, I'm Doctor Thorn."

He looked at ChiChi who seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, looked at Ari’sora, barely paying attention to the impossibly vain and arrogant Kalortah for the time being, before he approached Ari’sora, reaching into a pocket of his jacket as he did so.

He removed what looked like a bag from it and tossed it towards her in a very casual manner, remarking brightly, “This is a domain bag. You can put as much as you want into it, and it will remain nearly weightless, nevertheless. So, you can pack all those ropes and all those other things without slowing the group down”, he explained which pretty much solved the first problem this group was facing in his opinion.

Having taken care of the rude winged women, he turned to face ChiChi, offering her a dazzling smile.

“ChiChi is not creepy looking, by the way, and she doesn’t look like a cannibal either”, he said. The words were directed at ChiChi and not at Ari’sora, even though he was speaking in the third person. “So, stop implying that she eats children. She’s beautiful!” he added. He really thought so, but then again, he had strange taste when it came to women. One of his previous bedmates had been Mackenzie, a sadistic junior warden at Slag’s Deep who quite enjoyed beating prisoners up in her spare time. And then there had of course been the Kudi’Eltu that had had crawled into his tent in Desnind ….

“And you should all listen to her. She cares about you. She is literally risking her life for you. Besides, there is a reason why the Baron put her in charge and not one of you. She knows the area better than any of you. She can help you in case of an emergency. Have any of you noticed that there’s a volcano nearby, by the way?” he asked and raised an eyebrow questioningly. He was actually sounding concerned. He hadn’t thought of the volcano much before because he had been too busy considering various seduction strategies in regard to the Baron, but now he couldn’t help but wonder if this group here would accidentally cause a major catastrophe. He’d always thought that he was bad, but they were much worse!

They might just destroy all of Scalvoris – and all of the treasure that he had collected over the arcs with it! He couldn’t allow that to happen. He didn’t want to be poor again!

“If you don’t manage to work together and solve whatever mystery you are facing, something bad will happen. I’m a seer. I can see the future. I don’t even have to use my gift in order to know that though”, he said. He was not lying. The cycle before, Devin had suddenly developed a strange new ability. He could see things that hadn’t happened yet. That was awesome. What wasn’t so awesome was that using his abilities made him nauseous though. He decided to keep that to himself though, of course.

“Do you want something bad to happen? Do you all want to die?” he asked which was of course a purely rhetorical question. Nobody wanted to die, but then again, maybe they were all suicidal fools? He considered that possibility for a moment, frowning slightly.

“Your compromise won’t work, by the way”, he remarked to Kalortah and added, in case feather-face decided to get mad at him, “And I’m not saying that because I don’t like you. If you all take turns making decisions, you won’t get anywhere. You’ll probably end up constantly arguing and contradicting each other and rescinding your predecessors’ decisions.”

“Listen to ChiChi! As I said, there’s a reason why she’s here! By the way, ChiChi, would you mind writing which group you are on the scroll? One of the people at basecamp would like to know”, he remarked, remembering what Alyssia had said. With that, he ended his little speech and looked at them expectantly, hoping that he’d gotten his point across and that they’d all start to be reasonable. He really wanted to return to the Baron and enjoy his company and be complimented on his great ideas and problem-solving skills!

► Show Spoiler

Domain Bag bought with PB points. Devin has Expert Seduction and Expert Persuasion, among other things.

[Rei'sari]

Insert TimeStamp Here

Location: ---


Ari'sora listened to ChiChi rant and part of her wanted to point out that she had not said that ChiChi was a monster that ate children; merely that the woman reminded her of a child monster that ate people. But the tiny part of her mind that was capable of rational thought warned her that doing so would only make ChiChi even angrier. The sharp stinging in her side warned her of the dangers of becoming angry, but she couldn't help it. She had answered a request for help. No one had forced her to do that. But she wanted to do what she could to help others because she had been helped when she had needed it the most. So she had come here to do what she could. ChiChi had offered to loan them equipment that they would need to complete their task. Should she have known that ChiChi would be bringing extra supplies for them? Maybe. But she had never been a part of something like this where they were given a chance to choose supplies for themselves before doing something potentially dangerous. The closest thing she had to compare this situation to was when she had tried to save Emea...which was nothing at all like this really.

So she had planned accordingly and tried to take the supplies she thought she might need if a variety of situations happened, and some extras in case someone needed them. If she were to choose not to take a piece of equipment that was offered, and it turned out to be needed, then she was partly to blame if anyone got hurt or killed because of that lack. She didn't want that on her conscious. Should she have realized that even though she could lift the supplies she wanted to take, they were too heavy for her to carry for long periods of time? And that didn't even begin to touch the fact that she wouldn't be able to fly with them. Probably. But what was the solution, then? She needed the supplies if she was going to be prepared...so that she could be of use to the others in the group...and if she was too weak to even carry the supplies she would need in order to be useful, what use was she to the group at all? Maybe she really was the burden that ChiChi said she was.

Blood welled in the cut she could feel in her left side above her hip. But it had not yet soaked through her clothes enough to become obvious. The pain served as a warning, and even if it wasn't enough to calm her, it was enough to keep just enough control to prevent herself from descending into full fury.

Until ChiChi accused her of being a spoiled child. Her anger erupted into fury, and she felt the cut along her left side deepen considerably as her fury literally tore into her. The intense pain made her inhale sharply, but she resisted the urge to cry out against it. She had suffered worse pain in the past, and she was so caught up in what was happening that she was able to ignore it to some degree.

But the pain did accomplish one thing. She knew that the wound in her side would get worse if she wasn't able to control her fury and that gave her just enough willpower to wrestle her fury back down into anger. But try as she might, she couldn't quell her anger completely. Not after hearing what the guide had accused her of.

"I may be many things, but I am not spoiled." she said, her tone icy and filled with anger.

Her teeth clenched against the pain in her left side as she spoke.

"You have no right to call me that. I didn't even exist until Ymiden of 718...not in the eyes of Scalvoris, anyway."

She could feel the blood soaking into her clothes, and she instinctively shifted her position so that it would be harder to see that she was injured. Ari'sora knew from experience that it was a very bad idea to let others know when you were weak. It made you a target.

"My mother was a slave. Until Ymiden of 718, so was I for all intents and purposes. I was never registered as a slave legally, but that made very little difference. My mother was given to a man named Ren'zar as part of a payment for something. She was pregnant with me at the time, and when I was born...well...if Ren'zar is anything, he is good at saving money. Why have me registered as a slave legally when he could have a slave without ever paying to register me by simply raising me as one? And when slavery was abolished, he didn't have to free me because no one in authority even knew I existed."

Memories assaulted her, and she struggled to keep from getting overwhelmed by them.

"I never went to school like most children do. I was nineteen before I ever saw anything beyond my master's house and yard. Most of the time I was allowed one small meal every other trial. Less than that affected my ability to work, after all. But if I didn't get my work done fast enough, or well enough, or if my master was in a bad mood, there were both consequences, and punishments for my failure. One of the more common consequences was losing the privledge of eating for a week. When I did please him, I was given time to read as a reward. He learned early on that my knowing how to read made me more useful to him, so he ordered my mother to teach me how when I was little. Giving me time to read when I pleased him made me more useful to him too because it allowed me to learn things. I learned how to cook that way, and one thing he insisted on was a good meal for himself and any of his friends he had over during mealtimes. Everything I know comes from either teaching myself when I was a slave, or from classes I've taken since I was found in his house when he was arrested."

Her wound was bleeding steadily, and Ari'sora knew that she would have to treat it soon. Or try to, at least. She knew enough about medicine that she could tell her wound wasn't an insignificant one. But before she could try to use the first aid kit she had packed, she needed to find a way she could treat her injury without betraying her weakness to the others.

"Everything I have now, I've earned. So...no. I may not be worth much, but I am not spoiled. And at twenty one, I am not a child either." she told ChiChi sharply.

Ari'sora needed to find a private place so she could tend to her injury. But before she could even think of making an escape, the door opened. A man wearing fancy clothes entered the room. As he introduced himself as Doctor Thorne, Ari'sora wondered if she could escape while he was doing whatever he had come here to do, but that idea was quickly shattered when he explained that the Baron had asked him to come resolve the argument she was having with ChiChi.

The man tossed a bag at her, and Ari'sora caught it reflexively. Pain shot through her side as she did so, and she clenched her teeth to bite back a small cry of pain. When Doctor Thorne explained what the bag was, her eyes widened in awe. She had never heard of such a thing before, but it would definitely solve the problem of being unable to carry as many supplies as she needed.

"This would be a big help, thank you. How much do you want for it?"

Ari'sora had no idea what such a valuable item might be worth.

"I was shopping at the market before coming here, so I have some money with me. If it isn't enough, I can give you more later when all of this is over."

Assuming she was still alive at the end of it, of course. Between her injury, and the doctor's attempt to resolve things, Ari'sora felt her anger fading. She glanced at ChiChi.

"If I can afford to buy this domain bag, will using it satisfy you? I won't hold anyone back because the supplies are too heavy to carry if I use this."

Her injury on the other hand...unless she treated it soon, she wouldn't be of any use at all on this mission. It would be a lie if she said she was sorry for telling ChiChi that she reminded her of a child monster...a thrall if Faith was right about what it was. So she didn't apologize. And she truly didn't understand why ChiChi seemed so upset about her acknowledging the fact that none of the emergency supplies she was carrying would be available if she were the one to need them, so she didn't say anything about that either. Why was that something to get mad over? It was only natural for people to help only the people they cared about. Ren'zar never helped anyone who he didn't owe something to unless there was something in it for him. And Mi'zuri had helped her in the past...but only when it didn't cost her anything, and it amused her to do so. It was just something that normal people did. Ari'sora wouldn't do it herself...but she knew that she was far from normal after being Ren'zar's slave for so long. She just didn't understand people the way Mi'zuri...or anyone else seemed to.

The doctor said that ChiChi cared about them, and while Ari'sora knew that to be a lie when it came to her, she knew it might well apply to the others, so she didn't protest that statement. He spoke of being a seer and knowing that something bad would happen if they didn't work together. But she was distracted at best by her injury, and she was starting to feel a bit lightheaded. Little of what the doctor was saying made much sense to her. She turned to ChiChi once more.

"Is it okay if I use one of the spare kits to treat an injury? I'll pay for it, of course. Or work to earn it. Something. No need to accuse me of being greedy again."

She hated telling ChiChi she was injured. Ari'sora knew that telling people when she was hurt was only asking them to punish her for being a burden. But if she didn't treat her injury first, she really would be a useless burden if ChiChi did change her mind about letting her go with the others.

OOC: One of the sacrifices made here means that when Ari'sora gets angry, the emotion cuts into her...literally. The stronger the anger/fury, the deeper the wound. Her injury is a moderately severe one that is bleeding steadily, but not at a degree that she is at risk of bleeding out quickly. It does require stitches to stop the bleeding though.

[Devin]

When Ari’sora opened her mouth and started to speak, Devin immediately understood why ChiChi was so upset. The messages that he had read on the Baron’s scroll had only conveyed things insufficiently. He had thought that ChiChi had a bit of a bad temper, but really, the woman was displaying a nearly supernatural amount of self-control, everything considered. If he’d had to deal with Ari’sora, he he’d probably have punched her out of sheer frustration or just glued her mouth shut!

The prospect of the Baron’s eternal gratitude (and all the things that would result from it!) kept him from saying what was on his mind though. Instead, the Mortalborn who was not only a doctor, but also a masterful liar and quite a skilled actor smiled a soft smile. When Ari’sora asked him what he wanted for his domain bag, he shook his head and remarked in a gentle tone, as if he were pretty much the epitome of the Good Samaritan, “It’s a gift, my dear. Your group being successful and not falling into the volcano will be payment enough for me.”

The things that the Baron would share with him if he managed to resolve this messy situation were worth a lot more than a measly domain bag! It wasn’t even a particularly nice bag!

When Ari’sora asked ChiChi if it would be okay to use one of the spare kits to treat an injury, the Mortalborn did a double take and furrowed his brow. How could he have missed her injury? Right - because she was so incredibly annoying that he had been unable to focus on anything else! Only a cycle or so earlier, Devin would probably have let her treat herself since she seemed to be quite willing to do so. He had spent so much time in hospitals and such recently though that he automatically entered doctor mode upon being confronted with a medical problem!

He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t help it!

“Let me take a look”, he asked Ari’sora and set his own first aid kit down. If she let him, he’d inspect her wound, furrowing his brow some more before he proclaimed in no uncertain terms, “We can’t leave the wound as is. I’ll have to treat it. I’ll have to disinfect it and possibly stitch it. How did that happen anyway?” he wanted to know and looked at her in confusion. How was it possible that she had gotten hurt before even leaving the equipment room?

That was really weird!

“ChiChi, where shall we go?” he asked the group leader, hoping that she’d tell him which room he should take Ari’sora to for treatment (the equipment room wasn’t suitable for such a thing in his opinion, there were too many people who’d possibly be in his way and distract him). He didn’t ask the half-blood for her opinion. Ari’sora would either come with him and let herself be treated or she’d possibly die from a nasty infection!

Notes

Devin has Expert Medicine and 25 Surgery, in case it matters.