The Summit Road Campaign Thread

Akuma nods calmly and quietly and offers the not-bird a slight somewhat reassuring smile. 

Druhdaar, who's quietly found a place at the back of the group, grunts his assent as he observes the scene with a frown, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Okay. Let's get started then." Vishal says with a smile not asking anyone to leave. Having Kaori stand in the front and center Vishal's eyes begin to glow their normal blue as he starts the ceremony. "Thank you everyone for being here today. We are here to celebrate our friend Kaori as she takes the first steps into embracing The Path of Light. From now on she will walk in the light and know that with it she can cast out any darkness. From now on she will know that she is not alone. From now on Kaori will have the full support of all the follows of The Path of Light. With the Light comes rebirth, truth, and a chance to make amends. All of us make mistakes, it's only in our nature. However, our mistakes are not what defines us, our darkest moments are not what defines us, what defines us are what we do after the moments. Do we choose to let the darkness swallow us or do we fight back, fight for the Light. Kaori is fighting for her own light, and we are all here, to help her find her way. May the Light guide your path." Taking the powdered silver Vishal uses it to make a rudimentary crystal shape on Kaori's forehead. Eyes still glowing the symbol on Kaori starts to glow as well and with a smile Vishal says, "Go forth Kaori, fight for your Light, we are all here for you, may the Light forever guide your path." With a brilliant flash of blue, the ceremony ends, and Kaori feels a sense of warmth and reassurance inside of her. 

Kaori coos happily at the feeling of warmth, bowing her head. "Thank you ... Vishal ... Everyone."

Taran smiles from the back of the room, "An-Anything f-f-for you K-Kaori."

Druhdaar walks up to Kaori, glowers at her for a second, then grumbles:

" Erhm, so... about our talk, earlier... when I... you know, when you... Mmmph. Arh. Well, I'm glad we... hum... Yep. Anyways. Good. Looking good."

He then gives a gruff, awkward pat on the Kenku's armored shoulder and goes back to his corner, scratching his jaw self-consciously.

Caelius nods and gives Kaori a big smile,

"M-Mister C-Caelius s-s-says W-welcome to the L-light, th-they a-are h-happy to h-h-have you." Taran translates.

Akuma gives Kaori a simple nod and a slight smile, otherwise saying nothing.

Kaori coos happily as everyone says their bit, looking genuinely happy for the first time. She coos and raises her closed fist to her heart, nodding her head and then grabbing her helmet and sword, ready to finish their mission.

Seeing Kaori getting prepped, Taran speaks up, "Th-The r-r-room is pre-prepared, I-I en-encountered the o-others when I-I w-w-went to g-g-get Tashana and t-told th-them w-we wanted to m-meet with th-them. T-Tashana is th-thinking th-that if w-we were able to st-startle them w-we might be able to g-get a anomalous reading fr-from  detect thoughts in the room, b-but I st-still think the Z-Zone is our b-best bet to get the truth of the situation and begin resolving this." 

Caelius looks to Taran,

"Ri-Right, an-and Mister Caelius s-s-says they did not f-f-find anything at the p-portal."

Akuma nods and looks between Caelius and Taran before speaking in a slightly lowered tone. "I did acquire some extra information on our way to the portal. We were required to prove our affiliation with Shen before being granted access to the portal. Naturally, as he is one of our main concerns, I followed him. I believe he may have noticed me at first as he attempted to lose me in the halls, but I was able to follow him without further detection." Akuma pauses in thought, opening the piece of paper in her palm and skimming it for a second before nodding. "He met with Bhimaani in the hall near the meditation chambers. Seems the two of them are doing research on us to determine if any of us may be the murderers. As it stands, Taran, Kaori, and Vishal are off their suspect list, but they aren't sure of the rest of us mainly because of our quiet or outcast nature and the fact that they 'haven't seen us all and the killer in the same place'. Our original fight was merely 'too unwitnessed and chaotic' for them, mainly Shen, to trust." Akuma crumples the paper in her palm, an annoyed expression on her face. "Based on what they said, they'll be doing some form of 'detective work' on us during the Zone, trying to determine if any of us have been 'possessed' or are hiding anything. It's best we be prepared for whatever they intend on doing, especially if they are part of our suspicions." Akuma goes quiet, shoving the crumpled piece of paper into her pack before crossing her arms and looking around at the others, eyes occasionally flicking between the group and Tashana. 

 "Th-That is f-f-fair." Taran says, "Es- I m-mean V-Vishal has c-c-confirmed all of our id-identities, and n-none of us h-have b-been alone ex-except for me, b-but the k-killer d-d-defeated th-their detection b-before. Th-The only pr-problem is if th-the k-k-killer is u-using th-the sus-suspicions to sm-smokescreen th-their own actions."

Taran looks away, clenching his fists, "I-I h-hate this, ev-everything uncertain, un-unable to trust a-anything and w-w-with l-lives hanging in the b-b-balance. O-Once we f-find him, n-no m-matter what, w-w-we can't let him es-escape again. W-We have to end this."

Tashana crosses her arms, looking unrepentant. "None of us know you. Do you truly blame us for not fully trusting you?" She shrugs before narrowing her eyes at Akuma, voice growing sharper. "We do not suspect any of you because of your personalities. You are all suspects until we find something that fully exonerates you. Shen and Bhimaani may have been describing aspects that would allow the killer to better impersonate you, but we do not make judgements based upon someone's temperament. It is entirely possible that one of you was attacked and replaced during your trip, a great deal more likely than the possibility of one of our inner council being successfully abducted and impersonated. Yet we are humoring your suspicions, even assisting you in preparing what is to be an ambush. So do not presume to be offended that we have closely investigated you yourselves, even without informing you of that fact." She takes a step closer to the group, voice hard as iron despite her calm demeanor. "I will be informing the others that you have learned of our suspicions. We will be preparing other countermeasures, that you will not know of. I will not be informing them of the trap you have set in the training room. You will not know of our preparations, and they will not know of yours.There is only one killer, that seems overwhelmingly clear, thus if any one among all of us is tricking the others, they will be outnumbered, and only know half the plans laid against them. We will have to trust each others' judgement. That should not be a problem, if you are all truly innocents. Will it be?" She raises an eyebrow, face deadly serious.

"Wh-Why n-not ch-check us all, r-r-right now?" Taran asks, "W-We h-haven't asked th-them to c-come to the r-room, an-and it isn't a tr-trap... n-not really. Th-the d-door w-will have a l-light c-covering of pl-plaster, but it will b-b-be easy enough to open. J-Just n-not dis-dissipate as gas..."

Taran nervously puts a hand on her shoulder, "Th-The w-way you re-reacted, I-I d-don't think you are T-Tariq. An-And, you kn-know I am not. T-Test the others. R-Right now. N-No ex-excuses or de-deflections on our p-part. Th-that will help, right? Pr-prove to you th-that we aren't the killer."

Caelius frowns,

"M-Mister Caelius is c-confused by the logic o-of the gr-group," Taran translates, stepping back away, "He points out th-that w-we were all at th-the attack in the c-cafeteria, and w-we all s-saw each other th-there. I understand th-that y-your gr-group f-finds the ev-event ch-chaotic and it m-may b-be p-possible th-that s-someone sl-slipped away, b-but I r-remember s-seeing everyone."

"H-He al-also p-points out th-that w-we all ar-arrived after the murder's began f-four days ago. Th-There w-w-would have b-been a v-very sm-small w-window to re-replace one of u-us be-before we b-b-began st-sticking to-together. I-I am aw-aware of only m-myself wh-when I w-went to re-retrieve you, an-and M-Mister Dr-Druhdaar be-before this ceremony wh-who w-w-were not in e-eyesight of an-another party mem-member, a-all of wh-which h-happened after th-the attack. E-Even if w-w-we were re-replaced, wh-who w-was h-he dis-disguised as b-before..." Taran stops getting thoughtful.

" Okay, I've listened to enough auroch's dung for one day, so let's cut through it. " Druhdaar growls as he steps into the middle of the room, " As far as for me, I had to turn into a bloody rat  to track your killer." he glowers at Tashana, " And I hate bloody rats ! "

He shrugs: " I understand the suspicions, but Taran has the right of it: they will only divide us. We need to end this now. "

Waving towards the corridor outside of the chapel he adds: " I caught a good whiff from that thing, while crawling into the cracks. Scent went cold soon as I reached the main artery connecting the Dining Halls to that new makeshift Security Center. "