• Closed • A Big Mistake

[Yanahalqah]

Vhalar 15 Arc 716
Aboard the Tall Ship - Kitchen

The shadow beast attack had been a huge disaster. About half of the Summoned had been incapacitated once way or another, and though none had been lethally hurt, they weren’t exactly unscathed either. Amidst of it all had been Yana, who had left the battle without a scratch on her, mainly because she was not an idiot. And also because she had gone to fetch some rope to subdue the gargantuan beast before it could inflict major damage. Oh, how big a mistake that had been.

To trust in the capabilities of the others, that is. Fetching rope had been a great idea. Subduing the beast too. But leaving the others to their own devices? Hell no! Why were they all morons? Why hadn’t even one of them been able to keep a level head and think even for a little? Immortals be damned, this quest was quickly becoming a gigantic communal suicide mission. If Yana would just stand by and do nothing they would all be wiped out by whatever threat was waiting for them next. They would all surely die, with the Ithecal doctor being the first to go. One would think a practitioner of medicine would have something of a high IQ, but nope, apparently not. That, or the woman had a death wish. Or maybe a strange perversion… the first time she’d met the snake, the doctor had undressed as well. Maybe she did get off on that? Maybe it was an Ithecal thing, maybe it wasn’t. Yana wasn’t one to judge, but there was a time and place for everything! If she wanted to undress that badly, perhaps she should give up her career as a doctor and join Madame Alessa’s place. The Yludih was fairly sure there was no Ithecal serving there yet.

She sighed then, rubbing her face briefly and taking a sip of her drink. She hadn’t bothered pouring the alcohol in a glass or mug, instead having taken the entire bottle with her to the empty kitchen and drinking it there. She did not mind it might make her look like a drunk. If anything, if she could, she would have wanted to get drunk so she could divert her attention from what big of a debacle this whole journey was turning out to be. With a shake of her head she placed the bottle back on the table and picked up her quill again, dipping it in ink.

However, as she prepared to start writing, her mind drew a blank. Or rather, it drifted off to the events, throwing everything at her at once. She couldn’t decide how to start. Great. It was only Trial two and her log was already hitting a wall. She took a deep breath in to order her thoughts, and decided to just throw her concerns on the page. Not all of them of course, some things needed to be filtered out, but still, it would get her started.

Trial 15 Vhalar 716

This trial I had an epiphany. This journey is doomed. I’m not even being negative here. Our group of summoned consist exclusively of unskilled, braindead individuals not suited for combat. Myself not included. I don’t know what the Immortals were thinking to place their trust in such an incompetent crew, but I suspect they were either high, or this journey is just an elaborate scheme to provide themselves with entertainment.

Either way, my companions had almost wiped themselves out this trial. We were attacked by shadow beasts, and one of us transformed into one too. As opposed to the other beasts, the transformed one was stronger, meaner and more durable, and while I moved to get the necessary supplies to restrain and interrogate the possible traitor, the others were almost all wiped out. I have no idea how they managed to survive. I’m guessing dumb luck. This promises not much good for the coming trials.

Yana leaned back in her chair, head turning as she heard someone approach. It was a rather tall man with a beard, the one who’d tried to get everyone to use fire to dispatch of the shadow beasts. In hindsight, it hadn’t been the worst idea, but it had not been necessary in fighting the small fry. Nevertheless, if everyone had used fire on the beasts, perhaps they could have dispatched the gargantuan one quite easily too.

“I thought everyone had headed to bed,” she spoke, “are you unable to sleep, perhaps? Looking for a nightly snack?” If she wasn’t mistaken, there were some crackers in one of the cupboards, though they were dry and not all that tasty. “Or are you worried about the continuation of our journey now that we have suffered some injuries?”

[Doran]

When his Immortal father had come to him and told him that his help was needed, the Mortalborn had followed his summons without hesitation. Once, several centuries prior, he had vowed to protect those that were weaker than him, but he had come to regret that decision time and time again – just as he had regretted the fact that he had agreed to do his father’s bidding in the first place. The entire mission seemed to be nothing but a morbid joke to him. It was as if his father’s kind had arranged the whole fiasco in order to entertain themselves. That, or they were high on whatever supernatural substances were available to them. He had never seen a more pitiful group of adventurers in his life.

Since he had set a foot on the ship he had wondered how the Immortals could possibly expect them to succeed, and he had finally come to the decision that they didn’t. They wanted the mission to fail. Those people were unreasonable, hard of hearing and untrained, and half of them had already been incapacitated during the first small attack. He had broken his vow back then and stayed away from the main fight, out of fear that one of those fools would stab him by accident. He did not trust any of them, and if it had been possible, he would have left the ship. But alas, some sort of dark magic effectively trapped him there so that he could do nothing but wait for his impending doom.

He was loath to go to sleep next to them – one of them might just sink the ship without planning it – and had thus made his way into the kitchen, to do something that he rarely did. He poured himself a glass of wine and looked for a place to sit down, to think about the journey so far – and how he could keep them all from dying. He didn’t particularly care about the others – not after that fight – but if they died, so would he because he was trapped on the ship with them. But how could he possibly prevent what seemed almost inevitable from happening?

As he looked around, he realized that he was not alone. An Eidisi was already sitting there and writing something, possibly her last will, if the near disaster they had experienced was any indication, he thought somewhat bitterly. He vaguely remembered seeing her during the fight. She was one of the few people that had not gotten hurt and seemed to know how to handle themselves in a combat situation, and thus he came closer to her as she spoke even though he was not normally a particularly sociable person.

“It seems unwise to sleep under such circumstances”, he replied and sat down opposite of her. The tone of his voice was comparatively calm, albeit a hint cool as he was loath to show his emotions openly, despite the fact that it might be justified at such a moment. He said nothing to her question as to whether he was looking for a nightly snack, but quietly raised his glass to take a sip before he spoke again, looking directly at her as he did so. “You were there as well when the shadow creatures attacked. What do you think of our mission so far? Does it not seem strange to you that the Immortals claim that Idalos needs help only to gather such a motley group of adventurers?”

[Yanahalqah]

The man sat opposite to her, a glass of wine in his hand. He spoke calmly, with arguments that made sense. Yana could tell he was unlike the others in the group, he was far more collected and restrained, less ignorant and more rational. His face was blank, almost a mirror of her own, and his voice too lacked in emotion. It spoke volumes about his mind, Yana believed, and she nodded slightly at his words. “Indeed. While I do not doubt that the captain will wake us instantly if danger presents itself, it would be difficult to sleep when knowing there is a possible traitor among us.”

She paused briefly to take a sip from her drink. Her asterism felt as if on fire when the alcohol reached it, spreading warmth and energy to the whole of her body. “Of course, he is locked away and bound, but I would not be surprised – not after this trial, that is-- if someone else of our group were to release him for one or other reason. ” She sighed, shaking her head. This ordeal was tiring, and to deprive oneself of sleep was not a great idea when more such trials were in front of them. She would sleep though, barricading the door to her room, but not just yet.

“Strange?” She raised an eyebrow. “It is ridiculous, that is what it is.” She studied his face for a brief couple moments before continuing. “I would not normally say this, but frankly, this group has more flaws than there are holes in that colander over there.” She gauged his reaction, though wouldn’t be too bothered if it was disapproving or negative. He’d asked for her opinion, and he got it. No beating around the bush, no soft words. Harsh truths.

“Not only have we too many people aboard who seem to be unaccustomed to combat, as made clear by the battle of this morning, but most are also oblivious, stupid, or downright suicidal. Or all of those.” Her brow furrowed as she prepared to list all of the Summoned. “What we got was a house slave, a private tutor, some sort of professional male beauty model, a doctor with a penchant for getting into trouble –by her own hand, apparently— and a traitor.” She took another sip of her beverage. “Oh, and two girls. One of which hid during the battle, and the other was willing to trust a traitor right after his rampage. And then there is you and me.”

“I know for a fact that I am a fairly reasonable pick for a journey such as this, but where are the other soldiers? The Knights? The Skyriders? I saw one board with us, but he somehow vanished before dawn?” She sighed. “It does not make any sense. And what is even stranger is that everyone seems to have boarded without knowing our destination?” She shook her head again. “I am afraid this ship has been filled with naïve people with some kind of fairy tale image of what this quest was going to be.” She paused, closing the journal she'd been writing, carefully shoving the inkwell to the side.

“I fear this is not a mission at all, but merely the Immortals having a laugh. Throwing a bunch of random people aboard a ship with some vague quest to see how many survive or so. And if it is not a joke and the Immortals are desperate for help, well, then they are doomed, I suppose.” she shrugged. “Unless something is done to steer our companions in the right direction.” Yana fixed her eye on the man's face again. She wondered if he would agree.

[Doran]

“Did you already interrogate him?“ the Mortalborn wanted to know as she spoke about the possible traitor in their midst. For a moment he wondered if he should offer his help. He had means and ways to uncover hidden information – at a great cost for himself. He would mention something, he decided, claim that he had experience in interrogating people, but only if she had not spoken to the man yet as he was neither a Good Samaritan nor a martyr that sacrificed himself and his eternal youth for a group of cowards that might never appreciate what he had done.

He didn’t ask her if she had been able to garner any sort of useful information. If the interrogation had been fruitful, he thought, she would likely say that. He was not a man that talked unnecessarily. “If you are worried about one of the others trying to release them, out of a misplaced sense of pity”, he said slowly. He had been wondering about the same thing since Quio had been taken below deck. “Then maybe one of us should stand in front of the door behind which he is imprisoned at all times and carry a weapon. It is likely that they will think twice about taking on an armed man or woman. They do not seem to have much in the ways of combat experience.”

As she compared their group to a colander, he raised an eyebrow, although, he decided, she spoke the truth. He inclined her head to let her know that he agreed with her assessment entirely – although he would not have used such words. “At first”, he spoke. She would notice that he held himself straight despite his lack of sleep and was comparatively calm even though they might be sailing towards their doom. Panic was, as far as he was concerned, counterproductive. “At first I thought that they might have hidden abilities, that they might be mages or even children of the Immortals. Mortalborn come from all walks of life after all. But neither of them showed any sort of power, unless being unusually accident-prone can be considered such.”

He didn’t smile as he said that. Getting hurt really did seem to be the only area in which they excelled. “Most mortals would not dare to question the Immortals”, he reminded her as she spoke about the fact that they had boarded the ship without knowing their destination. “They have faith in them, at least most of the time.” He did not mention that the two of them were there as well as there was no need to. They had both come to regret their naivety countless times since they had embarked on that suicide trip.

“I have come to the same decision”, he let her know. “This is very likely just some sort of game to them, an experiment.” His gaze darkened almost imperceptibly. He had not thought that his father would be capable of such a thing. Ziell had always seemed like such a peaceful man to him and protective of mortals. When had he changed?

“It would be up to us”, he reminded her. “I do not trust any of them. I am not sure how we would be able to prevent another such disaster on the ship, but I am familiar with Ne’haer and could possibly be of help if we manage to reach our destination. Are they worth saving though?” he asked and looked directly at her. He would not beat about the bush.

[Yanahalqah]

Yana gave a deep sigh, supporting her head with a palm. “I did interrogate him, yes,” she said, “but he did not spill anything useful.” A frown crept up her brow, thinking back to the session together with Ruq. “He claims to know nothing. That he was suddenly overcome with immeasurable rage. That is all I could find out.” Despite her usual poker face, it was easy to see she was not happy with it at all. She’d been playing nice for the most part, not uttering threats or resorting to physical harm to get him to answer truthfully. Of course, she’d tried to manipulate him a little, playing on his guilt and his conscience to get answers out of him. But maybe it had not been enough. Yana wasn’t entirely satisfied.

She nodded slowly at the man’s next words, considering and agreeing with his proposal. It would mean a night without sleep and rest, but as a Yludih her body could handle it. A good swing of alcoholic beverage would fill her with energy anyway. “You have good ideas,” the woman spoke, thoughtful, “I had been entertaining the same one too. Though not the best of the best, our current companions are the only ones we have for the moment. Wasting them could prove disastrous. Even if they are killed by a prisoner they released in their stupidity. Though I do not like it, we do need them. At least they are good enough as a meatshield.”

There was no need to hold her tongue with this man, the Yludih had decided. He was other than the others, intelligent like the Paladin had been, but different still. Calculating, observant. Rational. No sense of altruism in him. That was good. They already had enough of altruists and wannabe heroes on board. She took another sip of her drink, listening to his words all the while. He seemed to be of the same mind as she was. Though it was not always a good thing –the smarter the person, the harder they were to ‘steer’ and deceive – in this case it was a blessing. A spark of logic in a maelstrom of chaos and disaster.

“Quite,” she agreed as he spoke of the two of them being the most fit for the leading role. “The others would only drive us deeper into disaster, I fear.” She did not even need to think very long on his query. “It is likely we will not be able to save anyone, whether they be worth saving or not is besides the question. We might have our hands full with our own tasks. Worrying about others will only divert ones attention on the field. However, that does not mean we cannot make use of them. We should work out a strategy that leaves us with as few casualties as possible –if such a thing is even possible on this quest, with this group—so we do not come to stand with only two to face our last ordeal.”

She pondered for a brief moment or two, staring into space. “I take it you also have contacts in Ne’haer then? Information will be crucial to understanding the situation we are in. If you can, I believe it might be helpful to do some digging once we arrive. I will be babysitting the prisoner in the meantime,” the Yludih decided. “If he truly is part of the enemy forces and has been deceiving everyone the whole time, it would not be a great idea to leave him unchecked. I will remove his binds and return his weapons though. Maybe giving him the impression he has been cleared of suspicion will lure him out.”

[Doran]

“Do you believe him?“ he asked her as she informed him that the traitor had claimed to know nothing. “Do you think he could have been manipulated by somebody, that he could just be another victim rather than the perpetrator?” From the tone of his voice it was obvious that he had his doubts about Quio’s story. He had seen too many thieves and murderers in his life claim innocence, even when the things they had stolen and the people they had killed had already been found, and their hands were still covered in blood.

As she told him that he had good ideas, he inclined his head, but said nothing as he had no interest in praising himself, finding such a thing unnecessary and in bad taste. “I would rather spend a night without sleep than never wake up again”, he spoke. He was confident that a night spent guarding a traitor would not affect him too negatively. He had already spent more nights than he could count at the university studying and conducting his research and before that on the battlefield and protecting the lord he had once worked for. He was used to not sleeping much sometimes if he had to.

“As for your statement that wasting the others could prove to be disastrous”, he continued. “You may unfortunately be right – although I have to admit that the thought of simply abandoning them and our mission did occur to me. I am loath to risk my life for a group of strangers that give us little in return and immortal beings that thought it unnecessary to give us what we need to be successful. Have you never wondered if this is worth it?”

Had he been talking to anybody else, he would have chosen his words more carefully - he might not even have said those things at all - but he had the feeling that she was like him, a realist. She knew what was at stake, and that coddling their so called companions and trying to see the best in everything would do neither of them any good. They really weren’t useful for much besides acting as meatshields and ensuring that the two of them would stay alive.

“There is one man that I feel might be of use, although he is somewhat ignorant”, he spoke. “His name is Aeon, and he is one of the few with prior combat experience, a squire or a knight, if I remember correctly.” They had sparred prior to the shadow beast attack, and although he had defeated Aeon in the end, the one-handed man had not made it easy for him. He was one of the few besides Yana that he would want to have by his side during whatever it was that awaited them at Death’s Door.

“I used to live in Ne’haer for almost a decade”, he replied as she asked him about his contacts in the city. “I am familiar with Ne’haer’s layout, and I know a few people that might be able to tell us more, scientists, merchants, even the odd soldier. I’ve already decided to leave the group and make a few inquiries once we have reached the harbour. I just hope that my acquaintances are still alive and that we will not only find ruins and dead bodies on the other side of the ocean.”

He paused for a moment to take a sip before he asked, “Does it not seem unusual to you that the two of us seem to be the only ones that are capable of independent thought and willing to question this here? The others, they are like cattle, patiently waiting to be slaughtered and thanking the butcher for the great experience.” His voice was laced with contempt, although he had been exactly like that once. He had eagerly done his father’s bidding, and he had had utter faith in the Immortals until he had been denied that which he had desired more than anything else.

“We might be able use their willingness to blindly follow orders to our advantage though”, he mused. “Perhaps they are waiting for somebody to take charge and tell them where to go and will be grateful if we do it.” At least he hoped that that would be the case, although a part of him doubted it. Their so called comrades might just decide to be stubborn and do the opposite of what was good for them because they didn’t want to admit to themselves how weak and ignorant they truly were. He had seen people react like that in similar situations.

“That is a good way to go about finding more”, he decided as she informed him how she intended to proceed in regards to the traitor.

[Yanahalqah]

The man wanted to know whether or not Yana believed the prisoner's story, a difficult question to answer thoughtlessly. She frowned. Did she believe him? Perhaps, yes. She did believe that the man believed he spoke the truth, or at least she was willing to entertain the thought. But she did not trust him because of it. Even if he was innocent there was no telling if he would or wouldn't turn back into a monster at some point. Besides, he could have had his mind wiped, triggers implanted that turned him into a tool without his consent. From his point of view he could be speaking the truth, but it needn't be the absolute truth. “I am willing to believe that he believes he is speaking the truth,” Yana answered, “but I will not discard the possibility of me being deceived by him.” Though if she recognized she was being deceived, was she really? “That aside, everything from body language to inflection of the voice points at feelings of guilt and sadness when I spoke to him. He seemed devastated by his actions.” She paused. “Manipulation sounds about right. A victim, yes. Mayhap. But if he was so easily manipulated into doing something he clearly did not want, that speaks volumes of his mental strength... or the power of our enemies.” A hint of worry flashed across her face for a moment, then she drank from her drink again.

While her companion spoke his mind, she stared at the bottle in front of her for the majority of the time, only every now and then flicking her eye up to glance at his face. “Constantly,” she admitted, having pondered whether her decision to board the ship had been a good one or not for the longest time since having met their companions. She had known it wouldn't be an easy journey of course, but she still wondered if she had not underestimated the trial just a little bit. Was knowing what was going on even worth all this? “I have yet to come up with an answer that satisfies me though. After today, I am leaning more towards 'no'. However, I do not think we still have a choice. We cannot leave the ship, and Ne'hear will probably be no better. I only hope that if there others called upon by the Immortals that they are more competent than those we have now. I have my doubts though.”

He spoke of someone with combat experience then, and Yana knew who he was talking about. She'd seen him board the ship, and she'd seen him wander around from time to time when she left her cabin. “The skyrider, yes,” she nodded, but did not hide a sigh. “I will admit that he has skill in combat. I will also admit that he would likely win against me in a fight.” The Yludih was well aware that her own combat abilities were not all that impressive, even for a squire, but she made up for it in other areas. “Forget about using him. He is stubborn and foolish. Last time I saw him he was trying to get us to open the city gates for him, so he could go find his skyrider colonel. Oblivious to the fact that it would get him killed and allow the beasts locked outside to swarm the streets. And we already were having trouble destroying the few that spawned within the city walls. Andaris would have fallen if we'd given him his way. He was even ready to cut me down for his suicide mission.” She sighed, taking yet another sip of her drink. Aeon was not someone she had a high opinion of, at all. “If you can find a way to use him though, go ahead. I am positive he will not listen to me however.”

Her eye fixed on the half-empty bottle of brandy then, and with a deep breath through her nose she decided to put the cork back on and shove the bottle aside. While she could keep on drinking without having to feel any of the negative effects other races experienced when consuming too much alcohol, she was not by her lonesome anymore. It would look a little strange to see someone down an entire bottle of brandy and be all fine and dandy the next trial. Half was more than enough already. She'd been relaxing too much from talking to the man, and the simple act of having a drink.

“Perhaps that is why we are here,” she suggested, “to lead. We use our heads, we give thought to the reasons of the Immortals. It might be exactly the reason for our being here. Well, if we consider that all of us have been chosen carefully for one reason or another, that is. I cannot see the use of most of our companions though, so maybe it is just a coincidence.” The woman shrugged. She disagreed on what he said next however, at least with the latter part of it. “Perhaps they are waiting for someone to take charge and become the scapegoat they can blame if things go wrong.” She did not doubt that was exactly what would happen if they suffered losses. It was the leader's responsibility. “But yes, maybe they will follow orders willingly. We could probably do it. But we would need to make sure the others agree with us as leaders. As annoying it might be, they will refuse to follow us if we just start giving orders without them consenting.” Right now there was a whole lot of chaos, and trying to boss people around without unifying them first would have no effect at all.

“If we word our reasons and motivations nicely, I believe we could have everyone agree with it. But first we need to establish that we should be a unit. That working together is crucial. And if that works, and they agree that we will lead them, then we can start directing them in the direction we want. Or, alternatively, we could wait for a dire situation to occur, take charge, come out victorious and have established ourselves as the leaders already in their minds.” Obviously, the former would be easier to do.

[Doran]

“So am I”, the Mortalborn admitted as Yana told him that she was leaning more towards ‘no’. It really didn’t seem to be worth it, to risk his life and his eternal youth for them, for cowards and liars. He wondered if there was anything to be gained from fulfilling the task they had been given – whatever task it really was – besides a pat on the back. Besides, it still irked him that his father had sent him on this journey, but decided not to risk his life himself. Why was Ziell not there when Idalos was supposedly in so much danger? Why did the Immortal of Peace not stand on the battlefield himself and defend the world that he had helped shape?

“We don’t have a choice here”, he agreed, emphasizing the last word. His gaze darkened. He hated feeling trapped. This was not how it was supposed to be. He was not one of their playthings, to be used and discarded when he was not needed or wanted anymore! He was meant for so much more than that! “Did you notice that they put some sort of spell on the ship so that anybody who jumps into the water ends up back on deck again? One cannot help but wonder why the Immortals are so worried about their so called champions abandoning the mission that they have to resort to such measures.”

He paused here to take a sip from his drink, giving her the opportunity to think about what he had just said. How could it be that nobody besides the two of them had asked those questions?

“But I doubt that even they have the power to surround all of Ne’haer with their magic”, he continued. “We might be able to leave then, if it turns out that we are facing a battle that we won’t be able to win. As for whether the others are more competent. I have my doubts as well. I am not impressed with their sense of judgement so far. The Immortals are unlikely to realize their mistake so soon and recruit a group of experienced warriors to make up for the people that they filled this ship with. Sometimes miracles happen, but I doubt that this will be the case here.”

“I didn’t know that”, he admitted as Yana informed him that Aeon had almost let the beast in and fell silent for a moment as he continued that new piece of information. “But he seems to be as disillusioned with those that brought us here as we are. If we watch him, he will not be able to cause much harm. He does not seem to be entirely unreasonable. I would not write him off. I believe that he will at least respect me. I defeated him once”, he finally revealed, not in order to brag about his skill in combat – such a thing seemed inappropriate to him, especially since there were still men and women that were better than he was - but merely in order to explain why he thought that Aeon would pay heed to his words whereas he wouldn’t listen to hers.

He too stopped drinking, but for a different reason. He needed his mental faculties to be intact if he wanted to survive what was awaiting them, if he wanted to have any chance at changing the course of their mission.

“Perhaps one of the Immortals does have at least a modicum of common sense and made sure that the two of us were on this ship”, he mused as she suggested that the two of them were there to lead the others. As she spoke about them becoming the scapegoats if things went wrong though, he subtly shook his head. “I do not intend to become a scapegoat, no matter what happens”, he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Having said that, he fell silent again as he thought about how they should establish themselves as leaders. How could you get a group of random strangers to work together and obey orders?

“Your last suggestion may have the greatest chance of success”, he finally decided. “If – or rather when – another dire situation occurs, we need to take charge and make sure that we come out victorious. After that they will be less likely to question us.”

[Yanahalqah]

Yana raised an eyebrow as he spoke of the odd spell cast on the water surrounding the ship. She hadn’t thought anyone of her group had noticed it. She hadn’t seen any of them fall overboard anyways, though it was possible they had seen what she had. It didn’t really matter. “That, or it is just a safety measure so they do not lose their champions to the waves before reaching the destination. Accidents happen.” A tiny smile cracked her face for a brief moment. “Though I do not mean to shoot down your observation, of course. Perhaps it serves both purposes. I cannot be certain.”

Though intelligent, Yana found the man to be a bit too suspicious of the machinations of the Immortals for someone who’d been uninvolved for all of their lives. Perhaps he had been wronged by them once, or felt he had been? But then, why was he here? Surely he would have refused to come if that was the case. Then why? Perhaps he had come into contact with an Immortal once, maybe more times, which had allowed him to discover the hidden agenda of the deities? And now he was suspicious of all of them.

It surprised her that the man before her had apparently beaten the skyrider in combat. Obviously, an airman wasn’t the best of the best, but even so a civilian wasn’t usually going to best them. So he’d had some training, probably more than Yana herself had gotten. That aside, it was very well plausible for … Aeon, was it, to listen to someone with superior skills. They said that true warriors only listened to those they respected. She didn’t know what Aeon considered himself to be, but he’d probably listen to someone with a good head on their shoulders, and skill with a blade. “Try to reason with him then. I suppose it cannot hurt to have him on our side.”

She listened to the rest of his words then, only speaking again when he gave his opinion on the leadership problem. “Agreed, it would be the most successful way. Finding such a situation is another matter though.” She gave a pause, rising from her seat. “Either way, I suppose I will go keep an eye on our prisoner now. It was nice talking to you, …?” Her voice trailed off as if to ask for his name, then introduced herself when he answered. With that the Yludih ended the interaction, striding off the lower decks to go stand guard at the prisoner’s door.

[Siren]

Name: Yanahalqah

Knowledge:
Tall Ship: Incompetent Crew
Tall Ship: Crew incapacitated after first attack
Tall Ship: Possible traitor among you
Ithecals: Like to undress?
Intelligence: Keeping a log
Shadow beasts: Those transformed are stronger
Shadow beasts: Using fire against them is smart
Leadership: Addressing group concerns
Doran: Suggests one of you stand guard the traitor at all times
Doran: Believes the crew is incompetent
Doran: Agrees the Immortals are doing this for entertainment
Doran: Familiar with Ne’haer
Doran: Thought about abandoning the mission
Doran: Questions the mission
Aeon: Prior combat experience
Doran: Lived in Ne’haer for a decade
Doran: Has contacts in Ne’haer
Aeon: Stubborn and foolish
Tall Ship: Enchanted to keep everyone aboard
Doran: Thinks Aeon will heed his words
Doran: Doesn’t intend on becoming a scapegoat
Doran: Overly suspicious of Immortals

Loot: Please deduct the brandy for your ledger if you haven’t already.
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A

Story: 5
Collaboration: 5
Structure: 5

Name: Doran

Knowledge:
Tall Ship: Incompetent Crew
Tall Ship: Crew incapacitated after first attack
Yanahalqah: Has skill in combat
Yanahalqah: Came out of first attack unscathed
Yanahalqah: Thinks there is a possible traitor
Yanahalqah: Believes the crew is incompetent
Yanahalqah: Believes the Immortals are doing it for a laugh
Yanahalqah: Interrogated the traitor
Yanahalqah: Didn’t get any useful information from interrogation
Yanahalqah: Views the crew as a meatshield
Aeon: Prior combat experience
Yanahalqah: Believes the traitor believes he is speaking truth
Yanahalqah: Enemies are powerful or traitor is weak
Yanahalqah: Hopes for more competent Summoned
Yanahalqah: Thinks Aeon is stubborn and foolish
Tall Ship: Enchanted to keep everyone aboard


Loot: Please deduct the wine from your ledger if you haven’t already.
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A

Story: 5
Collaboration: 5
Structure: 5

Comment:
Though this was very dialogue heavy, I still found that the content was very interesting. I enjoyed their banter about their incompetent companions, even if it made them seem a little on a high horse! Also, their doubt of the Immortals and suggesting it was done for entertainment gave me a good laugh. Wonderful collaboration and excellent structure. Great story. =)

If you feel that I've missed anything or have any questions or comments, please PM me!