Sam, sick and tired of being blamed for... Well seemingly everything and anything, steps up andgets all up in Gewyn's shit. "Listen you little twit, one more crack like that from you and we'll be having a go. Ya understand??" Sam screams directly into Gewyn's face, spit flying and veins bulging. "If you all had followed me leaving this situation in the first place we'd all still be together and we'd know where the hell Elthana was right now! Don't be blaming me for the stupid ass choices you all made. Own up to your own shit. You keep trying to pile it on me and I am going to start pounding it down that lying little mouth of yours!"
Muir interjects “his animals were left behind Gewyn otherwise he’d have them gnaw you to death or near death as was done to me….Perhaps removing Sam from the equation currently as he’s attacked one of us and now threatens to pummel you would be best. This way cooler heads can speak openly.”
Ingram puts a hand on Sam's shoulder to try calming him, giving a disapproving look at such outbursts in this chamber.
Vinghov's horse legs step behind gewyn his torso towering over head backing up the tiefling should he need it.
Shenoh slams a hand down on her throne and it echoes round the chamber like a crack of lightning. "Silence! As we have been shown, there is a greater threat out there than your petty squabbling, if anyone lifts a weapon unnecessarily in my presence they will not leave this room alive, that goes for you too Vinghov. Sam you have displayed nothing but paranoia and disruption since you got here, Gewyn inciting aggression from your comrades is not going to help us, nor is it going help you find your missing group member.
We are here to figure out what is going on, any who lose sight of that will be subject to sanction. Does everybody understand me!.
The next things I want to hear are as follows and in this order.
Vinghov a report of your reclaimed memories.
Then one of your group, explain in detail to me who Elthana, and Ira are and what their relevance to Nivara is.
Then Muir, explain exactly what you mean by that."
She looks around the group, fire visible blazing in her eyes, awaiting some form of acknowledgement form everyone here.
Ingram drops a hand from Sam and stands at attention. Sol joins the line up with a sigh, and Vinghov takes a step back from gewyn once more a lingering glare at Sam before turning to shenoh and giving a nod.
Gewyn cringing inwardly when Sam lets ELTHANA’S real name slip, turns away from him, refusing to respond to the man’s rage, and bows his head to Shenoh respectfully. He keeps his silence and waits for Vinghov to speak.
Sam narrows his eyes and glances first to Gewyn who steps away and then to Muir when he opens his mouth when the queen pretty clearly wanted to hear from only Vinghov. But that is not Sam's problem. Sam takes a step back and then shrugs... Unfortunately the shrug has unintended consequences. A wee little "pfft" of air can be heard in the pretty silent room. Sam immediately looks embarrassed. "Sorry," he mutters.
"we will get to that, Vinghov's memories may have crucial information which could either implicate Mori or give us other leads." Shenoh states.
Vinghov clears his throat and then lets out a long breath, "Mori had knowledge that this group came from the shattered isle. She stated that they had been colluding with the dragon cult and the traitor Lumithor, but did not divulge how this information was gathered, I assumed spies, but we are not allowed to send anyone on excursion to the shattered isle, it is directly forbidden by Vox Tontritor. She also made it abundantly clear that it was not only their affiliation which made them dangerous but their skillset, her exact words were, 'a volatile group with interest in Nectyran's power and a lack of value for life when it comes to achieving their goal' I believe this was so that every precaution would be taken to use lethal force first without due process or time for question asking" he gives half a side glance toward Sam, a concerned look on his face at the words 'volatile' and lack of 'value for life'.
Shenoh sits back, "she wanted to prevent us from finding out that vox is dead. To keep up the charade put in place by Nivara. It fits the narrative. We may have been stopped from having excursions upon the shattered isle for these exact reasons... Sol, be the no man"
The golden skinned man thinks for a moment, and then his shoulders slump, "all holes in this theory require the assumption that the orders we have been given from Vox are not controlled by this Nivara, that the Vox Tontritor is alive and in control, but we know this to not be true, it casts aspersions upon the very idea that lumithor is a traitor, and that the residents of the shattered isle are working towards freeing nectyran. I cannot find a logical reason to argue against, we have been dumped for thousands of years, killed countless kobolds in the name of a undead god and then sent them unknowingly to the arms of our real enemy... I...
I recollect when Mori first came to this isle, she was said to be a scientist and wizard sent from Ginro to us by order of Vox Tontritor. She created the mornlyf we mass produced for the entire plane..." He stands an empty shell of a man, staring at the floor, though his divine light still flows surrounding his body, Sol is feeling hollow."
Shenoh stands, "I think it is about time we bring Mori here to answer for her accusations, but first I need to know how your friends Ira and Elthana factor into this. Gewyn has spoken already on the subject and I understand that both Ira and Novara have mothers called Mori, and that Mori and Ira look similar, but this has not been explained. Muir you wanted to speak on the subject..."
“So our friend Elthana is Ira and the “Mori” who was with us back at the pack. Nivara needs Elthana to complete a ritual to complete her total transformation and Become nearly unstoppable. Elthana is also Our Mori. She looks like the Mori that has tricked you for years and years but is not she. You can tell the difference between the Mori that had tricked you and our Elthana “Mori”. The Mori that has duped you is either Nivara in some sort of disguise, the real Mori from our realm which is a relation to Nivara, or Nivara has used another Shadar Kai Elf to act as a Mori. Either way we need Elthana here with us and you can see how she resembles the one that has duped you but upon questioning you can see she is our friend named Elthana/Ira. I am happy to help you with anything that is confusing about all of this.
Shenoh quickly rearranged the words that Muir speaks in her head and tries to make sense of it all. "Wait... So the Mori of this isle is either Nivara or a stand in for Nivara and has been given the name Mori, named after Nivara and Elthana's mother as a cover. But there's two Mori's... Because your friend calls herself Elthana and Ira and Mori. Why does she do that?"
“Ah yes I see how that could be confusing. So she goes by Elthana. When we got to this isle we were worried Nivara or an agent of hers would try to capture or kill her. She put on a disguise and called herself Ira. However, when she reached the pack the guards were going to arrest Ira and Vincent so she took her disguise off and tricked the guards into thinking she was Mori.” Muir says plainly or at least plainly to him
Ingram quickly puts his goggles on, a crystal stone flashes at the side, he steps forward and clears his throat. In reaction shenoh forgoes answering Muir to let Ingram report. "The uhh, my men in the door say that Mori tried to escape, say she's acting mad, and saying she isn't Mori, they've had to restrain her." He touches the side of his goggles, and asks something in the giant tongue. Then meets Shenoh's gaze once more trying not to look at any of the group, "says her name is actually Elthana... What are your orders?"
Shenoh sighs once more, sick of this day. "Have her brought here immediately, though, keep her restrained, if they are as identical as this group says it could be Mori, have the others do another sweep, quietly. Find the other one and restrain her too, we need to figure out who is who."
Shenoh looks around the group, "necessary precautions, but whilst we wait. The last agenda point I wanted to get to before we all interview Mori.. Muir you spoke of gnawing rats and removing Sam, why?"
“Sam was afflicted with an undead pendent. He clearly is not in his right mind. The Sam I know would not have threatened me and allowed his rat to gnaw me to death without any aggression on my part. It seems his behavior here is erratic too. He stands here naked threatening Gewyn. It is why I suggested he be removed until we can help him become his normal self again.”
"dispelling does wonders but it doesn't clear everything... Curses can remain, and we did not have chance for Sol to work his restoration on you too Sam. But, changes in behaviour are not always due to mind control or curses... stresses and constant danger can lead to suspicion and paranoia, that I have seen in soldiers many times over. One rarely resorts to violence for the sake of violence, and so I ask of you Sam, what provoked your ire with Muir, what brought you to the point where you would 'allow your rat to gnaw Muir to death'?" Shenoh gives Sol a knowing nod and he steps forward to retrieve the book that was summoned, preparing himself to cast the restoration spell should it be needed.
"With all due respect, your worshipfulness, I would suggest you are taking Muir at his word when, in fact, his word is suspect," Sam retorts. "Accepting the idea that it is my behavior that has changed instead of his own..."
Sam then steps up to his belongings and picks up his trousers. "If I may?" he asks, looking to the queen with a slightly bowed head. Assuming she allows, Sam begins dressing himself and then donning his armor. He stays well away from his maul to avoid any concern... "Thank you. You had said I could cover my shame but, truly, I have nothing to be ashamed of. But it is a bit chilly hear and... Well... Shrinkage is nobodies friend, am I right?"
"Any who know me can confirm I am hot headed. Stubborn. Quick to anger and slow to change course once one has been decided," he continues, continuing to dress himself and cover his naked gloriousness. "Some may see these traits as flaws. Maybe they are right. Then again I suspect it is why I was chosen for this little task force we are a part of and something my compatriots value. At least when it keeps them alive and doesn't cause them any embarrassment... Gods forbid, am I right?"
"I stepped away from Vinghov because he was being rude, hostile and all around a detriment to our goal here - to see you. It was clear to me he was an obstacle to that and rather than allow hostilities to break out I walked away from that particular situation. I can, on occasion, be reasonable... I had expected my teammates to support me and back my play by following. I am ashamed to admit that to a person they let me down..." Sam takes a moment here to collect his emotions rather then let them show and/or get the better of him.
"I returned to our conveyance to allow them to play whatever tactic they had decided on instead. I was soon joined by Muir..."
"Muir joining me in and of itself was peculiar. In truth I had though him acting strange for a while but it was subtle and hard to put into words. Muir just hadn't been acting Muiry enough. I know that is not very definitive but sometimes things are just a bit off and you can't really explain how, or am I alone in that?" Sam looks around to allow people to nod or reject as they saw fit.
"Anyway, his joining me in the pack was extremely un-Muir. Muir is one who addicted to information and new data. He questions everything and everyone. He is the most eager creature to see and hear new things that I have ever dealt with. So him passing up the chance to explore this shard? To potentially have an audience with you, the great Queen Shenoh? Absurd! Preposterous! Very un-Muir... Ask anyone who knows him if Muir would rather learn new things in a new place or spend time with a bull-headed Half-Orc with less wit than a flea. Go ahead, ask... I'll wait..." And Sam does indeed pause for several beats in vase Gewyn or Vin wish to chime in on the curious nature of Muir.
"Blah, blah, blah, yackety schmackety, words were exchanged. I've already mentioned my wit so forgive me if I can't recite them by memory but basically Muir got quite inquisitive about topics and subjects that he had previously shown no interest in before. Personal matters sure to press my particular buttons and enrage me. Matters we have had plenty of down time in peaceful settings to explore, if he wished, but suddenly here, on hostile ground (thanks to Vinghov) is where he decided to come at me alone and raise these questions. When there is a new Queen to see and question, when his big brain and ability to clarify matters would be hugely helpful in convincing her of the truth of our envoy... Instead he chose to spend time with me. Gewyn? Vin? Is this very Muir-like to you?"
"I asked him to leave me alone. I asked him to leave. He refused. Did I set a rat on him? Yes. Yes I did. A rat. A meager creature about so tall and so long," Sam says while making appropriate measurements with his hands to demonstrate. "I set such a fierce tiny little creature against Muir. Muir with the huge brain, the powerful magics and, as a druid, one would think an ability to deal with animals... I did it so demonstrate to Muir that it was indeed best he leave me be. I did it as a test to see if this was really Muir or not. Muir... The Muir we have known and worked with for... I don't even know how long it has been at this point... But to our Muir a rat would be no real threat at all."
"A rat would be no real threat to anyone in this room, at all...." Sam furthers, looking around the room.
"And I ask you... Who in this room would allow a rat to render them unconscious? Who would suffer innumerable tiny bites and allow themselves to be so felled? What being in their right mind would sit and allow this? For yes, I did stand by and allow it to happen... But worse, Muir did the same. He allowed it. How? How can any right minded sentient creature allow such torture to go so far, for it was no quick matter...It took Ratatouille about an hour to knock Muir unconscious. An hour were Muir did nothing to save himself. No spells. No shooing Ratatouille away. No walking away himself. I ask... What sane being could do such a thing?"
"As for myself? Well as mentioned, pigheaded, quick to anger and slow to change course. Yet Neferox nor Vin took any real action to prevent it's happening either. Vin may not have been there in person but he was present through the presence of Neferox. If either really felt I was SO out of bounds then surely they would have stopped me? Or, to be more precise, stopped the rat? For it was obvious to any observer that I was not looking for the rat to win. If I wanted Muir dead... Well I would have done it myself. I am not squeamish about such things. But I also had an owl and a mastiff there who could have done things more efficiently. Alone or as a team. It was my goal to get Muir... This un-Muirlike Muir... to depart as I did not want to have to do lasting damage. They chose, instead, to go the way of blood. They chose."
"For myself? I chose to bind and heal Muir after he had fallen. I could have let him die if I meant him harm. What I meant was to protect myself with the least amount of permanent damage to them as possible. Muir chose how it all played out... And that, I submit, is the most damning argument that they are not of their right mind of all..."
"Was I wrong in pitting the rat against Muir? In trying to persuade him to depart in that way? In thinking surely nobody could really be harmed by a single tiny creature such as Ratatouille? Was I an ass? Hostile? Quick tempered and slow to change course? Perhaps. But are any of those things really unlike me? Really?" Sam looks to Vin and Gewyn, the only two here who have known him the longest. "Between myself and Muir, which acted more out of character?"
((And I will throw in a persuasion roll for good measure, since Sam indeed is trying to persuade everyone. 16 - Could have been better but I'll take it.)
Shenoh leans back with raised eyebrows, "hmph. That was quite the tale, I tell you what, we do something here to keep bias out of decision making, and I will extend this to you too. The 'yes man' 'no man' strategy. Someone presents evidence and a third party argues against to the absolute regardless of their own personal beliefs, another argues for in the same manner, delving into every facet of the argument. We have time until whichever Mori arrives and so I think we should give this a shot what do you say? You have irritations with vinghov already and in an effort to no exasperate those irritations he will be your yes man Sam. Sol, the no man... Any arguments?"
"You are the Queen so you do what you wish but I'm not interested in your reindeer games nor in having some weak willed snob chosen to represent me," Sam explains. "I said what I said and as far as I'm concerned it stands on it's own."
Muir wonders what should be said about Elthana…. “May I have my things? They were taken from the pack earlier”
Sam, sick and tired of being blamed for... Well seemingly everything and anything, steps up andgets all up in Gewyn's shit. "Listen you little twit, one more crack like that from you and we'll be having a go. Ya understand??" Sam screams directly into Gewyn's face, spit flying and veins bulging. "If you all had followed me leaving this situation in the first place we'd all still be together and we'd know where the hell Elthana was right now! Don't be blaming me for the stupid ass choices you all made. Own up to your own shit. You keep trying to pile it on me and I am going to start pounding it down that lying little mouth of yours!"
Muir interjects “his animals were left behind Gewyn otherwise he’d have them gnaw you to death or near death as was done to me….Perhaps removing Sam from the equation currently as he’s attacked one of us and now threatens to pummel you would be best. This way cooler heads can speak openly.”
Ingram puts a hand on Sam's shoulder to try calming him, giving a disapproving look at such outbursts in this chamber.
Vinghov's horse legs step behind gewyn his torso towering over head backing up the tiefling should he need it.
Shenoh slams a hand down on her throne and it echoes round the chamber like a crack of lightning. "Silence! As we have been shown, there is a greater threat out there than your petty squabbling, if anyone lifts a weapon unnecessarily in my presence they will not leave this room alive, that goes for you too Vinghov. Sam you have displayed nothing but paranoia and disruption since you got here, Gewyn inciting aggression from your comrades is not going to help us, nor is it going help you find your missing group member.
We are here to figure out what is going on, any who lose sight of that will be subject to sanction. Does everybody understand me!.
The next things I want to hear are as follows and in this order.
Vinghov a report of your reclaimed memories.
Then one of your group, explain in detail to me who Elthana, and Ira are and what their relevance to Nivara is.
Then Muir, explain exactly what you mean by that."
She looks around the group, fire visible blazing in her eyes, awaiting some form of acknowledgement form everyone here.
Ingram drops a hand from Sam and stands at attention. Sol joins the line up with a sigh, and Vinghov takes a step back from gewyn once more a lingering glare at Sam before turning to shenoh and giving a nod.
Gewyn cringing inwardly when Sam lets ELTHANA’S real name slip, turns away from him, refusing to respond to the man’s rage, and bows his head to Shenoh respectfully. He keeps his silence and waits for Vinghov to speak.
Muir nods "I can answer both your second and third requests. I feel it is time to be forthcoming, Vin and Gewyn agree?"
Sam narrows his eyes and glances first to Gewyn who steps away and then to Muir when he opens his mouth when the queen pretty clearly wanted to hear from only Vinghov. But that is not Sam's problem. Sam takes a step back and then shrugs... Unfortunately the shrug has unintended consequences. A wee little "pfft" of air can be heard in the pretty silent room. Sam immediately looks embarrassed. "Sorry," he mutters.
"we will get to that, Vinghov's memories may have crucial information which could either implicate Mori or give us other leads." Shenoh states.
Vinghov clears his throat and then lets out a long breath, "Mori had knowledge that this group came from the shattered isle. She stated that they had been colluding with the dragon cult and the traitor Lumithor, but did not divulge how this information was gathered, I assumed spies, but we are not allowed to send anyone on excursion to the shattered isle, it is directly forbidden by Vox Tontritor. She also made it abundantly clear that it was not only their affiliation which made them dangerous but their skillset, her exact words were, 'a volatile group with interest in Nectyran's power and a lack of value for life when it comes to achieving their goal' I believe this was so that every precaution would be taken to use lethal force first without due process or time for question asking" he gives half a side glance toward Sam, a concerned look on his face at the words 'volatile' and lack of 'value for life'.
Shenoh sits back, "she wanted to prevent us from finding out that vox is dead. To keep up the charade put in place by Nivara. It fits the narrative. We may have been stopped from having excursions upon the shattered isle for these exact reasons... Sol, be the no man"
The golden skinned man thinks for a moment, and then his shoulders slump, "all holes in this theory require the assumption that the orders we have been given from Vox are not controlled by this Nivara, that the Vox Tontritor is alive and in control, but we know this to not be true, it casts aspersions upon the very idea that lumithor is a traitor, and that the residents of the shattered isle are working towards freeing nectyran. I cannot find a logical reason to argue against, we have been dumped for thousands of years, killed countless kobolds in the name of a undead god and then sent them unknowingly to the arms of our real enemy... I...
I recollect when Mori first came to this isle, she was said to be a scientist and wizard sent from Ginro to us by order of Vox Tontritor. She created the mornlyf we mass produced for the entire plane..." He stands an empty shell of a man, staring at the floor, though his divine light still flows surrounding his body, Sol is feeling hollow."
Shenoh stands, "I think it is about time we bring Mori here to answer for her accusations, but first I need to know how your friends Ira and Elthana factor into this. Gewyn has spoken already on the subject and I understand that both Ira and Novara have mothers called Mori, and that Mori and Ira look similar, but this has not been explained. Muir you wanted to speak on the subject..."
“So our friend Elthana is Ira and the “Mori” who was with us back at the pack. Nivara needs Elthana to complete a ritual to complete her total transformation and Become nearly unstoppable. Elthana is also Our Mori. She looks like the Mori that has tricked you for years and years but is not she. You can tell the difference between the Mori that had tricked you and our Elthana “Mori”. The Mori that has duped you is either Nivara in some sort of disguise, the real Mori from our realm which is a relation to Nivara, or Nivara has used another Shadar Kai Elf to act as a Mori. Either way we need Elthana here with us and you can see how she resembles the one that has duped you but upon questioning you can see she is our friend named Elthana/Ira. I am happy to help you with anything that is confusing about all of this.
Shenoh quickly rearranged the words that Muir speaks in her head and tries to make sense of it all. "Wait... So the Mori of this isle is either Nivara or a stand in for Nivara and has been given the name Mori, named after Nivara and Elthana's mother as a cover. But there's two Mori's... Because your friend calls herself Elthana and Ira and Mori. Why does she do that?"
“Ah yes I see how that could be confusing. So she goes by Elthana. When we got to this isle we were worried Nivara or an agent of hers would try to capture or kill her. She put on a disguise and called herself Ira. However, when she reached the pack the guards were going to arrest Ira and Vincent so she took her disguise off and tricked the guards into thinking she was Mori.” Muir says plainly or at least plainly to him
Ingram quickly puts his goggles on, a crystal stone flashes at the side, he steps forward and clears his throat. In reaction shenoh forgoes answering Muir to let Ingram report. "The uhh, my men in the door say that Mori tried to escape, say she's acting mad, and saying she isn't Mori, they've had to restrain her." He touches the side of his goggles, and asks something in the giant tongue. Then meets Shenoh's gaze once more trying not to look at any of the group, "says her name is actually Elthana... What are your orders?"
Shenoh sighs once more, sick of this day. "Have her brought here immediately, though, keep her restrained, if they are as identical as this group says it could be Mori, have the others do another sweep, quietly. Find the other one and restrain her too, we need to figure out who is who."
Shenoh looks around the group, "necessary precautions, but whilst we wait. The last agenda point I wanted to get to before we all interview Mori.. Muir you spoke of gnawing rats and removing Sam, why?"
Sam’s interest is caught by orders to restrain this ‘Mori’ but he keeps himself in check. Whether it be Mori or Elthana they should be brought here…
“Yes, please,” Sam says sarcastically after Shenoh speaks. “Tell us how I wronged you…”
“Sam was afflicted with an undead pendent. He clearly is not in his right mind. The Sam I know would not have threatened me and allowed his rat to gnaw me to death without any aggression on my part. It seems his behavior here is erratic too. He stands here naked threatening Gewyn. It is why I suggested he be removed until we can help him become his normal self again.”
Sam yawns. “I believe he is suggesting the Queen failed in her spell work,” Sam says.
"dispelling does wonders but it doesn't clear everything... Curses can remain, and we did not have chance for Sol to work his restoration on you too Sam. But, changes in behaviour are not always due to mind control or curses... stresses and constant danger can lead to suspicion and paranoia, that I have seen in soldiers many times over. One rarely resorts to violence for the sake of violence, and so I ask of you Sam, what provoked your ire with Muir, what brought you to the point where you would 'allow your rat to gnaw Muir to death'?" Shenoh gives Sol a knowing nod and he steps forward to retrieve the book that was summoned, preparing himself to cast the restoration spell should it be needed.
"With all due respect, your worshipfulness, I would suggest you are taking Muir at his word when, in fact, his word is suspect," Sam retorts. "Accepting the idea that it is my behavior that has changed instead of his own..."
Sam then steps up to his belongings and picks up his trousers. "If I may?" he asks, looking to the queen with a slightly bowed head. Assuming she allows, Sam begins dressing himself and then donning his armor. He stays well away from his maul to avoid any concern... "Thank you. You had said I could cover my shame but, truly, I have nothing to be ashamed of. But it is a bit chilly hear and... Well... Shrinkage is nobodies friend, am I right?"
"Any who know me can confirm I am hot headed. Stubborn. Quick to anger and slow to change course once one has been decided," he continues, continuing to dress himself and cover his naked gloriousness. "Some may see these traits as flaws. Maybe they are right. Then again I suspect it is why I was chosen for this little task force we are a part of and something my compatriots value. At least when it keeps them alive and doesn't cause them any embarrassment... Gods forbid, am I right?"
"I stepped away from Vinghov because he was being rude, hostile and all around a detriment to our goal here - to see you. It was clear to me he was an obstacle to that and rather than allow hostilities to break out I walked away from that particular situation. I can, on occasion, be reasonable... I had expected my teammates to support me and back my play by following. I am ashamed to admit that to a person they let me down..." Sam takes a moment here to collect his emotions rather then let them show and/or get the better of him.
"I returned to our conveyance to allow them to play whatever tactic they had decided on instead. I was soon joined by Muir..."
"Muir joining me in and of itself was peculiar. In truth I had though him acting strange for a while but it was subtle and hard to put into words. Muir just hadn't been acting Muiry enough. I know that is not very definitive but sometimes things are just a bit off and you can't really explain how, or am I alone in that?" Sam looks around to allow people to nod or reject as they saw fit.
"Anyway, his joining me in the pack was extremely un-Muir. Muir is one who addicted to information and new data. He questions everything and everyone. He is the most eager creature to see and hear new things that I have ever dealt with. So him passing up the chance to explore this shard? To potentially have an audience with you, the great Queen Shenoh? Absurd! Preposterous! Very un-Muir... Ask anyone who knows him if Muir would rather learn new things in a new place or spend time with a bull-headed Half-Orc with less wit than a flea. Go ahead, ask... I'll wait..." And Sam does indeed pause for several beats in vase Gewyn or Vin wish to chime in on the curious nature of Muir.
"Blah, blah, blah, yackety schmackety, words were exchanged. I've already mentioned my wit so forgive me if I can't recite them by memory but basically Muir got quite inquisitive about topics and subjects that he had previously shown no interest in before. Personal matters sure to press my particular buttons and enrage me. Matters we have had plenty of down time in peaceful settings to explore, if he wished, but suddenly here, on hostile ground (thanks to Vinghov) is where he decided to come at me alone and raise these questions. When there is a new Queen to see and question, when his big brain and ability to clarify matters would be hugely helpful in convincing her of the truth of our envoy... Instead he chose to spend time with me. Gewyn? Vin? Is this very Muir-like to you?"
"I asked him to leave me alone. I asked him to leave. He refused. Did I set a rat on him? Yes. Yes I did. A rat. A meager creature about so tall and so long," Sam says while making appropriate measurements with his hands to demonstrate. "I set such a fierce tiny little creature against Muir. Muir with the huge brain, the powerful magics and, as a druid, one would think an ability to deal with animals... I did it so demonstrate to Muir that it was indeed best he leave me be. I did it as a test to see if this was really Muir or not. Muir... The Muir we have known and worked with for... I don't even know how long it has been at this point... But to our Muir a rat would be no real threat at all."
"A rat would be no real threat to anyone in this room, at all...." Sam furthers, looking around the room.
"And I ask you... Who in this room would allow a rat to render them unconscious? Who would suffer innumerable tiny bites and allow themselves to be so felled? What being in their right mind would sit and allow this? For yes, I did stand by and allow it to happen... But worse, Muir did the same. He allowed it. How? How can any right minded sentient creature allow such torture to go so far, for it was no quick matter...It took Ratatouille about an hour to knock Muir unconscious. An hour were Muir did nothing to save himself. No spells. No shooing Ratatouille away. No walking away himself. I ask... What sane being could do such a thing?"
"As for myself? Well as mentioned, pigheaded, quick to anger and slow to change course. Yet Neferox nor Vin took any real action to prevent it's happening either. Vin may not have been there in person but he was present through the presence of Neferox. If either really felt I was SO out of bounds then surely they would have stopped me? Or, to be more precise, stopped the rat? For it was obvious to any observer that I was not looking for the rat to win. If I wanted Muir dead... Well I would have done it myself. I am not squeamish about such things. But I also had an owl and a mastiff there who could have done things more efficiently. Alone or as a team. It was my goal to get Muir... This un-Muirlike Muir... to depart as I did not want to have to do lasting damage. They chose, instead, to go the way of blood. They chose."
"For myself? I chose to bind and heal Muir after he had fallen. I could have let him die if I meant him harm. What I meant was to protect myself with the least amount of permanent damage to them as possible. Muir chose how it all played out... And that, I submit, is the most damning argument that they are not of their right mind of all..."
"Was I wrong in pitting the rat against Muir? In trying to persuade him to depart in that way? In thinking surely nobody could really be harmed by a single tiny creature such as Ratatouille? Was I an ass? Hostile? Quick tempered and slow to change course? Perhaps. But are any of those things really unlike me? Really?" Sam looks to Vin and Gewyn, the only two here who have known him the longest. "Between myself and Muir, which acted more out of character?"
((And I will throw in a persuasion roll for good measure, since Sam indeed is trying to persuade everyone. 16 - Could have been better but I'll take it.)
Shenoh leans back with raised eyebrows, "hmph. That was quite the tale, I tell you what, we do something here to keep bias out of decision making, and I will extend this to you too. The 'yes man' 'no man' strategy. Someone presents evidence and a third party argues against to the absolute regardless of their own personal beliefs, another argues for in the same manner, delving into every facet of the argument. We have time until whichever Mori arrives and so I think we should give this a shot what do you say? You have irritations with vinghov already and in an effort to no exasperate those irritations he will be your yes man Sam. Sol, the no man... Any arguments?"
"Plenty," Sam sneers.
"You are the Queen so you do what you wish but I'm not interested in your reindeer games nor in having some weak willed snob chosen to represent me," Sam explains. "I said what I said and as far as I'm concerned it stands on it's own."
Muir jumps in "Please forgive him...as I said he's not been himself....I will stand in instead since I am the other party."