The Summit Road Campaign Thread

River simply stares at Taran and hugs her sword closer to herself.

"R-r-right, sorry," Taran will say turning away with his eyes downcast, "That was... that was kind of a dumb idea, wasn't it? Sorry, I'll just..."

He awkwardly moves to stand in another corner, away from everyone else, and avoids eye contact.

Juhaan returns from the interview with a funny look "Always a pleasure doing this stuff" he says semi bitterly, before finding a seat to recover.

Vishal comes back looking exactly the same as he did when he left, a little more quiet than normal and like his mind is occupied on something else as he takes a seat. 

Spectators, feel free to PM me on DDB for a transcript of the interviews if you would like them

After a few more awkward minutes, the door opens and a female kalashtar with light golden eyes enters. "My name is Ranari," she says with a smile as she sits on the edge of the table. "I'm a newer trailblazer, you likely haven't heard of me, but I'll be debriefing you from your mission. You were escorting seven refugees across the border, yes? How'd it go?"

"One spy... *coo* ...dispatched with haste... *coo* ...Nice to met you."

"Y-yes, there were only six. Jharee turned o-out to be a spy, Esteemed Ranari. Um, I-I think it went well. We avoided all the patrols, I-I don't think we revealed the Monastery's location, s-since we took the long way b-back."

"Unless..." Taran looks at her uncertainly, "d-d-did we miss something?"

" We didn't miss anything apart from the fact we brought in confused, scared and eventually unpredictable new people into a secret Adaran base..."

Druhdaar raises himself to his full height as he faces the trailblazer.

" But I guess y'all are prepared for that, uh ? "

Vishal sighs and says, "Yes, Druhdaar. That's their job. They know. Can we not having a macho contest with the trailblazer, who is your superior." Vishal then turns to her and says, "We faced no external problems after dispatching the spy. They are obviously very nervous of the new place and such and still hold onto a lot of their Riedrans views and beliefs because thats all they know. We had a tense moment when attempting to explain what was really happening in their old home as they refused to believe it. However, overall I say all went well and as a team we eached used our individual talents to the best of our abilities." 

Druhdaar gives Vishal a cold stare but says nothing. Instead he slowly sits back down on his chair,  still facing the trailblazer.

" What he said. " he admits soberly, then shrugs, as he starts picking at his beard.

Ranari seem unfazed by Druhdaar's belligerence. "Not to worry, we're perfectly prepared. We have been doing this for several centuries, after all," she reminds him cooly. "That's why they're thoroughly scanned and kept away from any delicate areas until we're confident of their loyalty and have explained the truth of the Inspired and the quori to them. Does that satisfy your...worry?" Her voice becomes a little icy during the last sentence, before it warms again as she turns her attention to the other questions. "I'm glad you found the spy and were able to dispatch him. That's unusual for a first mission, but you performed admirably." A hint of reproach briefly enters her voice, and she glances at Druhdaar. "And as someone with all the information, I can confirm that you didn't miss anything, not to worry." Her voice returns to its calm, relaxed tone. "Denial and objection are common when trying to overcome the indoctrination of the Inspired. Don't worry, we have people experienced in explaining this kind of thing and in handling the aftermath in new Adarans."

"So," Taran says, looking a bit more hopeful, "W-we did... g-good?"

"Yes," Ranari says with a smile. "In a nutshell, you did well."

Vishal speaks up and asks, "What's going to happen to them next? Are we ever going to see them again? Can we see them again? Do they live here in this fort now or are they going to be moved to a village? Will they have a job and house and such provided for them to start off with?" Cleraly he is very concerned about the well being of these individuals and want to be reassured that everything will be alright and that this isn't the last they'll see of them. 

Ranari smiles. "Your concern is understandable. The first thing we'll do is work on breaking the Inspired's hold on them. Once we've done that, we'll bring them to a village unless they express interest in helping with the security of Adar's borders, in which case we'll start training them for that. They'll be watched for a while, as usual, but treated as equal Adarans and allowed to live their lives freely. If they're confirmed to be free of mental tampering, you'll be able to find and speak to them before your next mission or before they're moved to a village if you and they wish." She folds her hands. "But only if you both want to talk. The first priority is helping them become comfortable in Adar, which means not making them uncomfortable."

Vishal nods in understanding and then seems to retreat back into his own head as he has no more questions.

Ranari nods, her face turning grave. "Tell me about the spy."

"Smoke... *coo* ...went to sleep."

Taran would sink down in his seat a little, "Um, he showed up, and gave the password. But, his clothes were magical and when w-we asked, uh, his s-story, it kept changing and i-it didn't make s-sense. I... I should have shot him, the moment we werre suspicious. I hesitated though...I-I didn't want Shiazala  seeing us kill a man." 

Taran sinks more, eyes downcast, "It was because I hesitated ma'am, that he was able to unleash the poison smoke which knocked almost everyone out. And then I kept missing, even as Esteemed Vishal kept him distracted. He was so fast, if it hadn't been for Miss River and Mr. Druhdaar, he'd probably had gotten away, or alerted town to our presence. I'm sorry... I-I,ll do better next time."

Ranari gives Taran a stern look. "You most certainly should not have shot him the moment you were a little suspicious. Most Riedrans have no idea how to properly conduct themselves with these sort of operations, and nervousness can make them give their stories unclearly or act in what seems like a suspicious manner, when they're really just terrified. It's vital to wait for something to cause reasonable suspicion before attacking. It's a fine line, but the Road can't let paranoia force us to engage in hair-trigger violence. That's why there are so many layers of security, so that one group isn't completely responsible for making sure no spies get into Adar." She frowns faintly. "Still, it's unusual for a Thousand Eyes agent to be so sloppy. We'll have to look into it. Do you have the container the smoke was in, or was it through a spell? And did you find anything on the spy's body?"