"Taran, you're a perfectly equal part of the team," Diamond says evenly. "And you have three arrow wounds. Drink the potion, or you'll be no use in a battle if reinforcements show up early, if you want to think of it that way. But you deserve that healing just as much as the rest of us."
"Th-then g-g-give them to Miss Sirkashtai,"Taran says refusing to look at River, "I-I w-was barely able to g-get her back on her feet. A-And sh-she probably needs stitching, I-I thought about g-giving her my p-potion but," he looks over at the pulsing crystal, "I-I'm saving it for an emergency..."
"I don't deserve friends."River repeats in his voice in a whisper, pointing at herself before switching back to the calm female voice."I will be your friend."
When she's sure that he actually drank the potion and is feeling better, River makes her way over to the stack of things they've gathered from the fallen enemies and grabs the shield that the medic used, walking away from the others and looking at herself in the blood-spattered reflection.
(River's Inner-Monologue)
"This is it... I'm making friends, Mother. Ones who don't tear out my feathers or break my beak... I promise I will make you proud... One day I will speak, and I will fly. One day, you will walk among the living again... One day you'll meet my new friends, even if it costs my own life in return."
She lets out a deep sigh and turns away from the reflection, disgusted. After a moment of quietly breathing and repeating Vishal's words to herself, the Kenku straps the metal shield to her arm and knocks her head against it a few times, shaking her head and feathers before rejoining the others.
Diamond makes his way into the monolith. "Hope this works," he mutters, so softly you barely hear it. He places his hand on the crystal core, tattoos flaring with a bright glow that plays over the inside of the steel shell.
Arcana: 19+3
A few moments later, he comes running out. "Done. Sirkashtai, get them back to the camp to collect any stuff. I'll watch here until the core blows, then rejoin you guys near the border."
"Good job. Let's see if there's anything useful here in terms of magic items or military plans and get the hell out." Juhaan says and starts looking for stuff until he speaks again "Maybe we should remain hidden at a distance, just to verify the explosion with our own eyes?"
Diamond shrugs. "I'm fine with staying alone to verify the explosion while you guys pack up camp and get going towards the border. We'll have pretty limited time to get into the safety of the Shroud and away from Inspired hunters."
Taran wouldn't look at Vishal, "I-I'd help m-make sure M-Mister Diamond g-got away. I've st-still got most of my g-gear, since I c-couldn't use it during the a-attack."
"Taran. Look at me."Vishal demand making sure the young man is looking at him before saying, "If they come back or ambush you can't reset it. The thing will not explode. Diamon can hope to do it. Even if its the overload explosion." He then takes a deep breath as he continues on saying, "You keep trying to sacrifice you life for ours. Like that will help or give your life meaning. However, all you are doing by that is putting yourself and the rest of us in more danger. We're not going to leave you behind. I'm not going to leave you behind. When you rushed the scout to take those arrows, all you did was make me worry about you. I care and worry about you Taran. And you keep trying to put yourself in unneccesary danger to prove you're not useless. I'm telling you you're not. You don't need to keep putting yourself in danger. Because then I have to follow after you because if I lost you I don't know what I'd do. Diamond is trained for this. He knows what he is doing. He has been spying on this monolith longer than us. I understand doing everything we can to help him. But all we can do now, is give him our luck, maybe a potion, and let him do what he does best. Our job isn't to needlessly sacrifice outselves. Our job is to protect Adar. And we can't do that if we throw our lives away. So please Taran, stop trying to throw yours away."
"I-I didn't th-think I would st-stay instead of Mister Diamond," he says, his voice... tired, lacking the passion of Vishal's argument. "B-but, we d-don't leave people behind right? I'm faster, and st-stealthier than an-anyone else in our t-team. Who else c-could help Mister Diamond? And I c-could heal him, if he gets hurt... everyone else is t-tired or injured... I-I'm used to this, I c-can keep going."
Taran gives a wan smile, "D-don't w-worry, I w-won't throw my life away. I'll m-make sure to sp-spend it, d-doing good, pr-protecting Adar."
"Taran. You went down. You're not doing any better than the rest of us." Vishal replies to his rebuttle before adding, "Sometimes....we cannot help people even if we think we can. Sometimes...out help does more harm. It's been a long and hard night. Things haven't been going our way. Let's leave things to Diamond. This is his part of the mission now. Not ours. Ours it to return to camp and prepare for our quick getaway. So we can return home and keep protecting Adar in the future."
"I d-drank a potion, V-Vishal, you s-saw that. I-I'm all better now." he shrugs, "B-besides, F-father would have m-me keep tr-training after passing out two or three t-times, th-this is easy. B-but, I'm n-not leaving an ally behind. N-now, if you need to g-go, go. The c-countdown is already t-ticking... I'll be f-fine..."
Taran places a hand on River's shoulder, "No,"he replies quietly, "B-but, Vishal isn't... he w-wouldn't order m-me to abandon a-a c-comrade. He's j-just worried, b-because I'm n-not very g-good... but it w-will be fine."
He turns and looks back at Vishal, "I'll b-be f-fine."
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Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
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River opens her pack to show the two other health potions she has.
"Drink crr I have more."
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
"Taran, you're a perfectly equal part of the team," Diamond says evenly. "And you have three arrow wounds. Drink the potion, or you'll be no use in a battle if reinforcements show up early, if you want to think of it that way. But you deserve that healing just as much as the rest of us."
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
"Th-then g-g-give them to Miss Sirkashtai," Taran says refusing to look at River, "I-I w-was barely able to g-get her back on her feet. A-And sh-she probably needs stitching, I-I thought about g-giving her my p-potion but," he looks over at the pulsing crystal, "I-I'm saving it for an emergency..."
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
"I'm perfectly fine," Sirkashtai says calmly. "Drink the potion and take the arrows out. I'm at some of the least risk of this whole team."
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
"Drink crr I have more crr You have three arrows crr"
River once again attempts to hand him the healing potion, giving him sad birb eyes.
"You are my friend crr Don't be daft."
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
Taran would look at his two seniors, then at River.
He'd reach out, and take the potion, whispering low, perhaps low enough that only River could hear him.
"I-I don't think I d-deserve friends, River."
Then, he'd rip out the three arrows, and drink the potion. Storing the glass vial while he got back to work removing the armor .
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
"I don't deserve friends." River repeats in his voice in a whisper, pointing at herself before switching back to the calm female voice. "I will be your friend."
When she's sure that he actually drank the potion and is feeling better, River makes her way over to the stack of things they've gathered from the fallen enemies and grabs the shield that the medic used, walking away from the others and looking at herself in the blood-spattered reflection.
(River's Inner-Monologue)
"This is it... I'm making friends, Mother. Ones who don't tear out my feathers or break my beak... I promise I will make you proud... One day I will speak, and I will fly. One day, you will walk among the living again... One day you'll meet my new friends, even if it costs my own life in return."
She lets out a deep sigh and turns away from the reflection, disgusted. After a moment of quietly breathing and repeating Vishal's words to herself, the Kenku straps the metal shield to her arm and knocks her head against it a few times, shaking her head and feathers before rejoining the others.
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
Diamond makes his way into the monolith. "Hope this works," he mutters, so softly you barely hear it. He places his hand on the crystal core, tattoos flaring with a bright glow that plays over the inside of the steel shell.
Arcana: 19+3
A few moments later, he comes running out. "Done. Sirkashtai, get them back to the camp to collect any stuff. I'll watch here until the core blows, then rejoin you guys near the border."
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
Juhaan
"Good job. Let's see if there's anything useful here in terms of magic items or military plans and get the hell out." Juhaan says and starts looking for stuff until he speaks again "Maybe we should remain hidden at a distance, just to verify the explosion with our own eyes?"
Diamond shrugs. "I'm fine with staying alone to verify the explosion while you guys pack up camp and get going towards the border. We'll have pretty limited time to get into the safety of the Shroud and away from Inspired hunters."
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
Taran shakes his head, speaking quietly, "I-I w-won't l-let you st-stay b-behind alone. It's t-too risky. I-I'll stay behind with you, in-in case you g-get ambushed."
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
“And what’s your plan if there is an ambush?” Vishal directly ask Taran, perhaps, for the first time a little anger coming out of him at the boy.
Taran wouldn't look at Vishal, "I-I'd help m-make sure M-Mister Diamond g-got away. I've st-still got most of my g-gear, since I c-couldn't use it during the a-attack."
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
"Taran. Look at me." Vishal demand making sure the young man is looking at him before saying, "If they come back or ambush you can't reset it. The thing will not explode. Diamon can hope to do it. Even if its the overload explosion." He then takes a deep breath as he continues on saying, "You keep trying to sacrifice you life for ours. Like that will help or give your life meaning. However, all you are doing by that is putting yourself and the rest of us in more danger. We're not going to leave you behind. I'm not going to leave you behind. When you rushed the scout to take those arrows, all you did was make me worry about you. I care and worry about you Taran. And you keep trying to put yourself in unneccesary danger to prove you're not useless. I'm telling you you're not. You don't need to keep putting yourself in danger. Because then I have to follow after you because if I lost you I don't know what I'd do. Diamond is trained for this. He knows what he is doing. He has been spying on this monolith longer than us. I understand doing everything we can to help him. But all we can do now, is give him our luck, maybe a potion, and let him do what he does best. Our job isn't to needlessly sacrifice outselves. Our job is to protect Adar. And we can't do that if we throw our lives away. So please Taran, stop trying to throw yours away."
While Taran and Vishal are talking, River approaches Diamond with a vial of yellow liquid, cooing.
"Psychic Resistance *crr* Should be helpful."
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
"I-I didn't th-think I would st-stay instead of Mister Diamond," he says, his voice... tired, lacking the passion of Vishal's argument. "B-but, we d-don't leave people behind right? I'm faster, and st-stealthier than an-anyone else in our t-team. Who else c-could help Mister Diamond? And I c-could heal him, if he gets hurt... everyone else is t-tired or injured... I-I'm used to this, I c-can keep going."
Taran gives a wan smile, "D-don't w-worry, I w-won't throw my life away. I'll m-make sure to sp-spend it, d-doing good, pr-protecting Adar."
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
"Taran. You went down. You're not doing any better than the rest of us." Vishal replies to his rebuttle before adding, "Sometimes....we cannot help people even if we think we can. Sometimes...out help does more harm. It's been a long and hard night. Things haven't been going our way. Let's leave things to Diamond. This is his part of the mission now. Not ours. Ours it to return to camp and prepare for our quick getaway. So we can return home and keep protecting Adar in the future."
"I d-drank a potion, V-Vishal, you s-saw that. I-I'm all better now." he shrugs, "B-besides, F-father would have m-me keep tr-training after passing out two or three t-times, th-this is easy. B-but, I'm n-not leaving an ally behind. N-now, if you need to g-go, go. The c-countdown is already t-ticking... I'll be f-fine..."
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)
River approaches Taran and tugs on the bottom of his shirt so he'll look down at her.
"You would disobey a direct order?"
The same voice of the abusive man is back, sounding high and exasperated despite River's cool, pleading face.
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
Taran places a hand on River's shoulder, "No," he replies quietly, "B-but, Vishal isn't... he w-wouldn't order m-me to abandon a-a c-comrade. He's j-just worried, b-because I'm n-not very g-good... but it w-will be fine."
He turns and looks back at Vishal, "I'll b-be f-fine."
Taran Cragshollow (Summit Road)