The rope is mended, Caelius signs to Akuma four simple words followed by a more complex motion.

 Caelis turns to Siepha and pulls out his book,

"...B-R-E-A-The. You Are ...S-H-A-K-ing. Take ...D-E-E-P ...B-R-E-A-T-H-s." Caelius proceeds to model the breathing.

Siepha glances at Caelius and nods shakily, slowly following his demonstration.

“I Am ...G-L-A-D You Are Not ...H-U-R-T. You Are ...S-A-F-E Now.” Caelius gives a faint smile, “Be-ing H-U-M-An Is Not All It Is ...C-R-A-C-K-ed Up To Be.”

Akuma studies Caelius in thought before nodding simply, looking to the others to see if they're ready to go. 

Vishal has gathered up some of the armor and packed it away, ready to move out with the group. 

Seeing everyone getting ready to move, Taran moved up to Jade-Lin "Sh-Sh-Should, I-I t-t-take p-point? I-I n-n-normally d-do, b-b-but I d-d-don't w-want to im-im-impose." He asks, pocketing the last of the caltrops and tightening the strap of his Crossbow.

Siepha nods to Caelius. "Yeah..." she says softly. "I don't think these are exactly the circumstances the elders imagined my first transformation happening in either."

"You Are Do-ing A ...G-R-E-A-T ... J-O-B. The ...Out-Come-s Of The ...U-N-I-M-A-G-In-ed Are Not ...A-L-W-A-Y-S ..B-A-D." Caelius glances to shadow spirit next to him.

Siepha follows Caelius's gaze and nods after a moment, looking thoughtful.

The seven of you head towards the monolith, a pleased looking Jade-Lin leading the way. When you near the monolith, you see that the warm glow that characterizes an active hanbanali is gone. Instead, the inside of the metal shell is completely empty. Where the crystal core should be is nothing but a purplish-black circle in the ground that almost looks like it's made of glass. In addition, Dwarvish runes have been carved into the metal shell's exterior. Five Akiak are ranged around the shell with crossbows or spectral blades like Jade-Lin and Fane-Ro's, and they salute Jade-Lin as the seven of you approach. "No issues," one of them says with a grin in Riedran. "Now that you're here, we can head back. Others already started for the border."

Anyone who reads Dwarvish:

Vishal grins as he says, "This is great, lets get out of here before they come back though." 

Taran nods, keeping a sharp eye out for any signs of enemy movement.

You all make it across the border and to a new underground compound without issue around midafternoon. Jade-Lin leads you to a long hall full of the Akiak, which buzzes with excited conversation and the occasional celebratory shout. Before the Akiak leader goes in, she pauses and looks at the six of you. "If it hadn't been for you - all of you - this raid wouldn't have been as successful and damaging to Riedra as it was. Thank you. The Akiak won't forget what you've done, either individually or as members of the Summit Road. Tel-Lir and Tel-Kas will be ready to leave with you all tomorrow morning. Tonight, we enjoy our victory, and then rest." She grins, then walks into the hall to a welcoming roar in Dwarvish, which she responds to with a shout and starts moving among the dwarves and duergar, giving congratulations and summarizing the night's deeds.

OOC: Everyone, please tell me what your character is doing tonight. Are you joining in the celebrations? Going right to bed? Looking for the shifters to talk to them? Something else?

Vishal joins in on the celebrations particularly interested in any dwarvish dances. Doing his best to learn and keep up, speaking dwarvish to everyone as well. 

Taran looks at the party, and takes a step back. Too loud and intense. He couldn't.

But he also couldn't just go back to his room, he has the itch in his fingers and his head. He needs to do something, be useful somehow. But his companions would be upset if he went off to train.

Taran's eyes fall on Mister Caelius, and he gets an idea. Something he hadn't considered and that would be important enough that he would feel like he was doing what he should.

"Th-There is s-s-something I-I w-w-would l-like t-to a-ask the Ak-Akiak," Taran tells the group, "I-I w-w-will t-try an-and f-f-find s-s-someone. I-I w-w-will s-s-see e-e-everyone i-in th-the m-morning. M-Miss S-Siepha?" Taran turns and bows to the dragon woman, "I-I kn-know t-t-today w-w-was d-d-difficult, b-b-but I am h-h-honored th-that y-you f-f-fought b-b-beside us. Tr-Truly, th-thank you and I-I h-h-hope y-your dr-dreams a-are p-peaceful t-t-tonight. I-If th-they a-aren't... I-I c-c-can br-brew y-you an h-herbal t-t-tea th-that sh-should h-h-help."

With that, Taran left to find his quarry.

(Not for Caelius's Eyes)

During the festivities, Caelius walks over to Akuma,

"How Are You?" He points out in his book, "How Are The—" He flips the page, "—Shadow-s?"

Akuma studies Caelius with a calm smile. "After the fight? Pretty good. It went probably better than we all expected. Personally, it was really nice to get to use some old skills, as well as some new ones that they taught me here." She pauses for a moment in thought before glancing to her arms. "The shadows are calm. I suppose I gave them a little too much control during the fight. But, they are handled." She glances back up to Caelius. "And how are you? After all of that?"

"This Is ...U-N-U-S-U-A-L. You Do Not Have ...T-R-O-U-B-L-E With Your —Shadow-s." Caelius points out, half question, half statement.

Akuma is silent for a moment before nodding. "I guess I've never given as much freedom to my shadows. At least not to the point I did today. It's a delicate balance, and I suppose I found the limit I should not cross. At least for now, until I become confident enough to maintain control while allowing them more power. The shadows... are like a part of me, I suppose. So, much like I have to train my body to better my fighting, I also have to train a part of me to control the shadows. At least that is how I've been balancing it." She pauses for a second, eyes studying Caelius. "How do yours work? You also have a way with shadows. But yours are different. At least from what I've seen."

Caelius nods, "...M-In-E Are Not Of This ...P-L-An-E. They Want Me To ...S-T-A-Y ...A-L-I-V-E. Get-ing Them To Do ...Any-T-H-I-N-G ...Be-Y-On-D That Is ...D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T."

Akuma tilts her head slightly in thought before nodding. "At least they want you to live. I suppose that's positive at least? Even if they may be difficult to control."