She would've killed him. Her mental dam had burst, and she was ready to bring forth the entire might of Peema against the small speck of aether, Lero. Yet, Namura's words stayed her hand from exacting the retribution she felt he so justly deserved. But, it was not enough to cause her to stay with outsiders who hardly knew her and yet accused her of such betrayal... of being a dhaerow [traitor]; an u'rannu [elf without a family or clan, in this form perceived as the highest insult in elven society].

Her words felt like ice as they resounded throughout the nearby forest. "No, we are not good. I will not be dragged through the mud like some athuum [mud crawler], especially by some kuu'datto [bastard]" she looks to Lero, spitting on the ground, "who knows nothing of me and what I am going through. You fear because you do not accept your part in the Great Cycle, nor do you accept your inevitable death and return to the Conduit. No, you have lost your guide, an ally, and a friend. You journey alone, wild-one."

She turns to Lero, outstretching her hand and pointing at him, "My hand is only stayed because our common enemy are the tanar'ri and Barad'Ellil who skulk through my forest, and killing you for your insolence would not serve the Great Conduit and greater good of Peema. Though I would certainly relish striking you down with lightning. But know this: if you call for aid, the forest will not answer. I promise it, outsider."

With that, her form shifts, as her body begins to dissipate into thin air, and she disappears from sight.

"Well, that went well." Buama's voice was like cracking ice. "So now that we all have been through the deepest pit of dark and made it worse, we might as well keep on going. We might get out of here faster by going to the darksite and get something working to get others to come get us out than to just give up and hoof it out. And everyone who came that still lives and everyone left back in that village has lost friends and family. I could fly off on my mechanical servant and say the hell with it, but that's not how my aether flows.

"I made a promise no matter what happened I would get to the darksite. The only way I'm getting out of that promise with how close we are is if I die trying. Besides if these cultists are using the station to produce naether beasts, I'm going to blow all their heads off." She glares like she's ready to pull out her thunder cannon there and then to blast something.

Lero waited in the forest for the group to begin moving again. He might not have been directly in front of Lefelynn when she snapped, but the forest seemed to echo and reverberate her words so that they met his ears. He didn't know what half the words meant, but he could tell that his accusations hit a nerve. What's done is done, he thought to himself. 

The forest was a foreign place to him and the residents a foreign people. The elves out here live by a different set of rules and a different set of customs. On a ship, you'd be told to get over it and keep working. Here, you seem to anger beings that claim to speak for the conduit.

Lero can't help but think the great conduit a farce. As if some great force had decided to drop his airship to the ground and slaughter his family while he stood idly by. "You can shove your conduit up your ass," he whispered.  

"Come back Lero, please," Namura pleaded to the shadows. "I need you right now."

The ranger was in crisis mode, trying her best to come up with some semblance of a plan. "If we go to the town, perhaps we can find a monk that could help us," she mused aloud. "But we could shave off a day or two if we go the more direct route..."

"I suggest we try to find the docks she was talking of unless you want to swim across a swamp. I think some were hoping to check out the monastery in the town ahead. I'll go with whatever but I can fly over the water or breathe in it, so either way I'm not worried about a swamp other than disturbing the natural residents by accident. That latter goes for anywhere since I don't want to have to kill animal cubs."

"Quite the headache that conflict just now caused me. Can we please not do that again? I can't think straight because of that, but I agree with Buama - we need to go to the docks at least."

The aetherborn ability to feel the emotions of others was usually a useful tool, but with the flurry of ever-rising tempers that had just occurred, Flux now had a headache.

Lero emerges from the forest, a newfound resolve (as well as a blooming bruise) apparent on his face. Gone is the normal jovial expression he wore when he met them or interacted with his shipmates. This was Lero without the pretense of happiness or joy. The situation demanded action and resolve, so he stored all social graces in a vault in the back of his mind and decided it was time to be serious.

"Cutting through is fine. Everyone stick close to each other and respond to Namura's cues. We know the extent of each other's skills and how we all fight, so work to those strengths as we travel. The order through the forest will be: Namua, Azi, Duncan, Flux, Buama, and myself. I'll be watching for danger from the back and Namura and Azi will take up the front. The presence of the druid was a distraction to our own survival. She won't be missed." 

He looks back to Namura, "Lead us."  

Being left out from Lero's marching order was a clear reminder to Kraithee of the way he dealt with Namura and him back in the caverns, when he was overwhelmed by the knowledge that he needed others to survive in that place, not being able to distinguish north from south while under the earth.

It did not say nothing, and did not look at Lero or the others, falling in line next to Flux without a word said.

It needed to gain the party leaders respect again and would do that through deed instead of word.

Buama let out a slow breath though she scowled some for a moment. After listening to Lero come out and pretty much only note Namura's possible idea of going straight through made her wonder if he was still thinking or just wanting to get it done. He even left out a party member in the line up. She was not impressed anymore and wanted to give him a swift kick in the head to go with his bruise to maybe even it out, but she knew that wouldn't work at all. Besides she might hurt her foot on his hard head. That thought made her smirk. Lero was a good guy, but now she had seen his breaking point. He was probably trying to figure it all out himself.

She went up behind both aetherborn as they moved to walk together and pulled them each closer in one armed hugs. In a very quiet voice she says, "Don't worry. I got your back." She pulls away as she looks around at everyone again.

"Well, we have two votes for the docks and a vote for straight through for sure. Namura, I know you don't know this side of Peema as well, but for the heart how much of it is swamp? I rather have a boat if we hit a swamp for ease of moving the party faster there." 

She couldn't help smirking again because she suddenly felt like she was back in the lab again trying to organize a crew to get some project accomplished.

Lero traveled at the back of the group, not just because someone needed to watch the rear, but because he felt like he couldn't stand them all watching him if he picked a position ahead of them. He really just wanted this done and over with and he wasn't sure he was ever going to win their respect again. Maybe they'll all just die and return to the conduit anyway...

He noted Kraithee as he added himself to the line and shook his head as he realized he forget the aetherborn in his lineup. Maybe he's losing it. The loss of his normal moral support might be affecting him more than he thought it would. He decides it's best to focus on the task at hand so he keeps an eye out for any danger as they travel, remaining silent the whole time unless addressed. (Perception 25)

Buama's hug was a strange thing to Kraithee since it does not interact physically with many people but at that moment, the "got your back" part did indeed made Kraithee's nerves ease themselves.

Thank you Buama, I am grateful for your support and know that I too have your back.

Before taking point, Namura brushed her fingers against Lero's shoulder, a cure wounds erasing the bruise from his face. "I'm sorry I punched you," she said simply.

Despite what the others had said, Namura decided to make an executive decision and head toward Gonjibil. Perhaps a monk New some of the codes she didn't. Her eyes peeled, she lead the group through the forest as quietly as possible. A small part of the ranger was relieved to not have to deal with Lefelynn, as she quite liked being in charge of navigation. But a bigger part of her was terrified. Namura had not had the greatest track record so far, and she hoped that her bad luck wouldn't continue. 

With the decision made, the party continues on the path towards Gonjibil. The rest of the day passes by without incident. Various travelers pass you by, some moving fastere on lifecraft steeds, other travelling in the other direction. You see no signs of tanar'ri or the Barad'Ellil, unless they disguised themselves as fellow travelers. The shadows from the trees move with the position of the sun, and soon the sun begins to set as the nightly glows of the forest begin to rise as the light of the sun falls.

The party can choose to press through to Gonjibil, reaching the city in the early morning, or break for camp, and reach the city in the following afternoon.

"I believe we should make camp for the night. I'll start to get some firewood." Duncan began the process of gathering wood from the forest. Once he had enough, he found a nice spot and made a campfire. He then got out his kettle filled it with water and but it over the fire. He then pulled out his little box for tea and waited patiently by the fire. Once it was ready he made several cups of tea for his companions.  

Buama has her mechanical servant help find some wood while she helps setup the camp. Then she decides to try this tea since she never did get a taste of it. Last time he made tea was back at the crash site as far as she remembers and she was busy patching a hole in the side so it could fly again at the time.

"I'd like to try some of that tea." She sits down crossing her legs facing the fire.

Lero sits a bit away from the camp on a fallen log that leans against a large tree. Resting his back against the tree, he pulls one of his boots off and hits it against the log to dislodge a stone. He straps the boot back on before digging into his pack for a strip of dried meat and some nuts. Unwrapping the ration, he watches the camp and eats.

"I'm going to hunt us some dinner," Namura announced, dropping everything except for her weapons. "I need to kill something. If I'm not back in an hour, you can start worrying." The ranger needed a moment to herself, so she didn't invite anyone to come with her. She could manage this by herself.

The hunter stalked out into the deep woods, finding the fresh tracks of a rather large elk after only a few minutes of searching. The poor beast never saw her coming, but its death came swiftly and mercifully. Namura found herself dragging the 500 pound carcass of a majestic elk back to camp after only half an hour. Even though the time away was brief, it was rejuvenating. This was the world she was used to; hunting the forests for food, not to cleanse them of demons. She was in a much better state to deal with everyone else's emotions.

"Anyone know how to cook this?" the elf announced her presence, dropping dinner right in front of the fire. Blood stains littered her arms and hands, and her arms ached wonderfully from carrying the animal so far. Namura drew a dagger from her belt and began butchering the beast, further covering herself in blood. The intestines and other organs went in one pile, while steaks of elk meat were placed in another pile. After this was done, she planned on rinsing off in a stream she had passed.

Stumbling through the bushes, Quill was very annoyed with his situation. He couldn't tell if it had been weeks or days or even hours since he had been captured by those cultists. "I suppose I've at least got you for company," the Aetherborn muttered, referring to the raven companion that circled over his head. "Caw," it said, flapping its wings as it went up a few more feet. "Well I'm not happy about it either, but I suppose your- I guess 'our' boss now- was right about me being able to "make it out unscathed. But," Quill paused. A quick glance at the surrounding area told the Aetherborn that someone was nearby. "He didn't say anything about me being safe at this point." With a wave of his hand, Quill materialized a longsword from thin air. The blade was thinner than normal make, and the etching of a feather was visible at the base of the ebony blade. The raven alighted on his shoulder, allowing Quill to see further ahead. The scent of fresh blood washed over Quill, inducing both naseau and anticipation. That would mean danger. Animals? People? Definitely intelligent. He crept forward through the brush until he could see Namura in the process of dismembering the elk. Guess there's no choice but to charge in. He readied himself, and charged into the clearing sword at the ready.

As he entered where the party had made camp, he spotted Kraithee out of the corner of his eye. "Oh. Hey Kraithee." Quill was frozen mid-swing, his sword hovering above Buama's head. His raven flapped its wings, cawing loudly at the sudden shift in momentum. He saw Lero a short ways away and waved with his free hand. "And that guy who dropped me off before that raid is here too. Cool." His sword vanished as he dropped his guard, heading over to speak with Kraithee. "I'm happy to see you're still with us. I've been somewhat out of commission, after being captured and all. I was a little bored with no one to talk to except for him." Quill gestured at the raven on his shoulder, somewhat irritated. "He doesn't eat, sleep, or do anything super useful. I mean, I can see better and stuff with him around, but not much else. On that note, how are you?"

"Who have we here? An aetherborn, it seems. And you know him, Krai?"

Flux had just sat down as Quill arrives, and nearly cuts Buama in two. They look up from their work - checking an aether valve on Turbo. It seems like it had been set up in reverse, and was allowing too much aether through while the construct wasn't in combat mode. Can't have it limiting the flow too much once combat mode is activated.

How did Quill managed to find them? Kraithee thought to himself but seeing Quill alive does make Kraithee feel better since he two was a survivor from the Consulate experiment.

Quill it is really a surprise to see you here, alive, but I guess it is a good one. Flux we know each other from the place we were rescued when we were prisoners from the consulate, but I haven't seen Quill in a long while. Didn't even know they were alive.