The Summit Road Campaign Thread

She shakes her head, keeping her face pressed against Vishal's chest.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

Her voice is that of an embarrassed little boy, muffled by her mountain of scarves and Vishal's chest.

"O-O-Okay," Taran says, looking away awkwardly, "I-I-I un-understand, b-b-but, y-y-you sh-should t-t-talk to s-s-someone. Y-You a-a-all h-h-helped me, m-more th-than I-I d-d-deserved, s-s-so, i-i-if you n-n-need h-h-help... I-I'll d-d-do it, wh-whatever it is..."

Taran stands there awkwardly for another few seconds. "I-I'll g-g-go ahead an-and s-s-send a m-m-message to Mister D-Diamond, i-i-in c-c-case w-w-we have t-t-time for more tr-training. A-And, I-I-I'll m-m-make a f-f-few st-stops around b-b-before he-heading to the m-m-medical center... I-I th-think it will take an h-hour or so... s-s-so, I-I-I'll b-be th-there if y-y-you n-n-need me M-Miss River..."

Spoiler for Books:

“Why don’t we get you to a room to rest. I think we all have a lot to think about. I know for one I need some meditation time. Maybe see if I can squeak a word in with the speaker.” Vishal replies as he carries River towards their dorms. 

River nods at Vishal's words, letting him carry her to a room.

Druhdaar gives a curt nod to the others, accompanied this time by a wry grin, half-burried in the mess of his coarse beard:

" Well, looks like we're here. And still alive. Mmph. Now, I need me a bowl of soup. And then, some sleep. "

The burly, hemp-clad warrior hermit starts strolling towards the nearest gate, apparently intent on finding exactly what he said.

Yet before he gets too far from the group, he can be heard grumbling again: " Tell that Bird I'll bring her some soup. "

The group goes about their evening activities before heading to bed. The next morning, you are each left a note or sent a message informing you that a trailblazer has arrived, and you are to report to a meeting room for debrief.

Coming in, you see that rather than Ranari, Ishhareth is the one sitting at the table (your trailblazer from all the way back at your first mission). He nods at you all. "Welcome to Kasshta Keep, and congratulations on your successful mission. We've already gotten the story from the guides - nice job getting them all, by the way - but I want it from you all too, especially the parts before the Kintam."

Taran nods, blearily, large bags under his eyes.

"U-Um, w-w-well sir, w-w-we l-l-located th-their campsite wh-where th-they, um, w-w-were attacked w-w-with relative ease. Th-the site h-had been r-r-ravaged, w-w-with cl-clear u-um s-s-signs of a struggle. W-We st-still d-d-don't kn-know how th-their l-location," Taran stifles a yawn, "w-w-was um, l-learned. M-Mister J-Juhaan h-headed back to th-the monastery... in-in c-c-case there h-had b-been a leak..."

"W-W-We d-d-did f-f-find a m-m-message st-stone from, u-uh, i-it w-w-was f-from...M-Miss L-Likashtai, r-r-right, f-f-for K-Kalashtar only..."Taran gives a few long blinks, "A-After w-w-we g-g-got th-the me-message T-Tiem sh-showed up, h-h-he h-hadn't b-been in c-c-camp when it w-w-was attacked. W-W-We c-c-convinced h-him t-to j-join us, o-or h-h-he c-c-convinced us t-t-to l-let him j-join. Th-that w-w-was wh-when M-Mister Juhaan left..." Taran stifles another yawn, "W-We um, w-we f-f-followed the sl-sled trail th-they left as th-they had dr-dragged the pr-prisoners away. W-W-We f-f-found e-e-evidence th-that one had es-escaped. W-We tr-tracked Liira to a sm-small cave. Sh-she was gr-gravely injured, at-at least half a liter of bl-blood loss an-and th-the b-b-eginings of a st-stage tw-two in-infection, p-p-possibly st-staph be-because i-it is s-s-so c-c-common, b-but sh-she w-w-was s-sitting in a c-c-cave so it m-may have de-developed from a m-more ex-exotic s-s-source..." Taran blinks realizing he is getting off subject, and tries to straighten his posture.

"A-A-Anyways, s-s-sir, I my-myself and M-Mister Caelius st-stayed b-behind to tr-treat her in-injuries, wh-while the r-r-rest w-went t-t-to in-inflitrate the K-Kintam."

“Entering into the city we were easily able to find a gathering place and start gathering allies for the infiltration. First was the woman who worked in the kitchen. Simple peasant girl who agrees because she thought we were Inspired or something. Next I tried Riikana. That didn’t end up going as well and she attacked us. During the attack I was talking mentally to Ryder. Getting him to help us and admit what was happening. We were all able to escape the attack and get back to the others.” Vishal explains next, the kalashtar looking different now. Having changed his outfit into a pair of black leather pants and boots along with a red leather jacket with a crystal attached to it. The biggest difference though is his hair. No longer long and brown the edges of it have turned white. Cut to be about shoulder length now with a simple braid on the side. 

River pokes her head into the room, being uncharacteristically late to the meeting. After a brief scan of the room, she plants herself firmly on the side of the room farthest from Druhdaar, saying nothing though she keeps her sword in her hand the entire time.

Taran gazes at River, concern clearly etched across his face as his tired mind chugs along hoping she is okay. Then, he realizes that the next part is for him.

"Uh-uh, s-s-sorry sir," he says turning back to the Trailblazer, "Um, r-r-r-right, af-after they c-came back, th-the n-next day I m-mean, my-myself, Mister C-Caelius and Liira w-w-went to con-continue scouting. W-We m-made contact w-with M-Miss Hama and c-convinced her to sn-sneak us in-into the K-Kintam. Th-Then w-we st-stole some uniforms fr-from the w-wash... Af-after th-that the infiltration w-w-went sm-smoothly and w-w-we m-made it to the c-c-cells without incident. W-We went thr-through all the cells f-f-finding the g-guides, a s-s-sage name Iker an-an-an-and a-a-a-a-a-a-a...." Taran locks up, taking deep and slow breaths. He has to give his report, he has to report what happened, he has to, just say it, say it "t-two chchchchchchildren, sir..."

Caelius raises three fingers.

“One child was destined to become possessed. We left him there and alone. Another had prophetic abilities, he left once we escaped. In our escape we encountered some Inspired with a presence enough to make me and every other Kalashtar nauseous. Once we were out of the Keep and on the move Riikana ran into us. Had a slight standoff but we convinced her to come with us. Give this a try. Figured with the mental scanning and elders and this place already being known it’d be safe.” Vishal answers finishing the report 

Ishhareth nods as Vishal finishes the report. "All right. All lines up with what we've gotten from our guides and the stories Riikana and Ryder each told us. Your teammate, Juhaan, got here several days ago and gave the trailblazer at the Keep at the time his report of what had happened when he left you. However, he has also been reassigned to deep cover at the moment in a bastion city, so he will not be rejoining you for the immediate future. However, we want you to stay at full strength, so we've assigned another Road member to your group. She's got about the same experience level as you, and she'll fit in well with your needs." He smiles and glances at a side door. "Akuma, you can come in and introduce yourself."

Vixen, feel free to introduce Akuma!

Also, for Vixen's eyes only:

  After a short pause, the side door creaks open. Akume enters, roughly 5'8 with a slim but fit body adorned with bandaging and flexible tiny pieces of monk "armor". Her hips and legs are hugged by tight flexible pants, various straps and darts hooked on her upper thigh and waist along with her shortsword. A tight sleeveless top fits her body perfectly, matching up with the bandages and "armor" pieces. Clinging close to her knuckles are what appear to be sharpened knuckle blades, closely resembling brass knuckles but as individual linked rings that shimmer slightly. Her dark black purple hair flows just past her shoulder blades, flicking infront of her dark violet eyes messily as she calmly strides her way into the room with a confident aura. Just under her armor, tattoos cascade up  each of her arms, starting from the wrist, in what look like black flames. 

 Her violet eyes skim the group infront of her with a mix of curiosity and amusement as she steps towards Ishhareth before stopping relatively center of the new group before her. She tilts her head slightly with a smirk. "I'm... Assuming... This is the new group placement we discussed? Is that... A bird? Very interesting. Regardless. Akuma Meishu at your service. " She doesnt seem to extend a hand or offer any for of formal introduction and instead cocks her head to the side with crossed arms as she assesses you all. 

Books: 

River stays unusually silent.

Taran studies the new arrival, despite his tiredness he immediately starts cataloguing her stance, weapons, armor... he shakes his head.

"H-H-Hello, M-Miss M-M-Meishu, m-m-my n-name is Taran Cragshollow." he says after a moment, glancing to the side as he finishes to look at Mister Druhdaar and Esteemed Vishal's reactions, "I-I-I h-h-hope w-we w-w-work well t-together."


Edit: Reminding everyone of Taran's general look. He's medium height with messy brown hair. He's wearing dark leather armor, with a crossbow on his back and various straps with a med-kit, vials and wooden tools run across him. Everything is in easy reach. His posture is withdrawn and inward, and he speaks quietly with a stutter.

“Nice to meet you.” Vishal replies with a smile, “I’m Vishal. That is River.” Pointing everyone out as he says their name he continues, “Caelius here is mute so don’t be offended if he doesn’t talk. Then we have Taran and Druhdaar.” 

Caelius nods towards Akuma as he's introduced. He opens his book to the first page and presents it to Akuma. It reads: "This book belongs to: Caelius Crystaljumper." Below that in smaller writing is "Excuse my silence, I can not hear nor speak. Please speak clearly but not too slow and I’ll be able to understand."

He flips the page and points out from a chart of letters and words, so only Akuma can see it. 

 He sits back down and gives her a smile.

Akuma's eyes scan over everyone again, taking a minute to read Caelius' notebook before nodding with a slightly curious mixture of a smile and a smirk. "You're quite the interesting group then. I'm sure we'll get along just fine." She looks to Ishhareth, eyes suggesting that he continue if he wanted as she makes some mental notes of the new group. 

Books:

Taran nods, then looks up, "O-O-Oh, M-Miss Meishu, um, i-if w-w-we end u-up in a c-c-combat situation, d-d-don't drink the p-potion with the gr-green topper. It..." Taran looks down, "I-It isn't s-s-safe to dr-drink..."

"A-And, u-um, i-if you n-n-need any s-s-sort of p-potion or oil or p-powder, um, l-let me kn-know? I-I t-t-tend to re-restock after th-the d-d-debriefings."