The Golden Age. Act 1: Discoveries.

[Nanami Touko]

So the fight was over... But Telmara's panic was still only starting to subside. Isaac's men had lowered their weapons, and Juniper had wandered off without inciting anything further-- Telmara had piercing eyes on her the whole time, either way. With that said and done with, Velvet produced a bag of cash. Fifteen hundred for each, was it? As much as she simply wished to leave at that moment, heading off with no money earned from this awful excursion, and her weapons damaged, would lead to some terrible situations.

As such, she kept quiet, and headed towards the gold, taking what she felt was her share-- just the fifteen hundred. If someone wished to be greedy or try to oust her from the work she'd put in, she'd fight for it. She wasn't about to just leave with nothing...

[scorri]

"Thank you for being reasonable Isaac. I'm sorry that things played out like they did. I should have been paying closer attention to your man and then maybe I could have stopped some of this from happening but... What's done is done. If any of your men need more healing, I would offer my staff. It's one thing I'm good at at least." Even if I'm not good at this leading thing...

Velvet reappeared with excellent news. "Well then! A good find for you and a good find for us. It looks like the thieves here had Crusader's Calling. Sadly not the Emblem but still. If we can hold the Gifts, we can make sure they're protected and in safe hands. I understand your taking the gold and I agree. And yes, the gold should be divided evenly. Everyone take your fair share and nothing more. Aria, make sure you get your share, ok? You deserve it." There. That was all done. Take a breath, evaluate the situation... Right. Telmara needed to be dealt with at some point... Still... No. You're the leader. You can't pawn this off on someone else. You need to talk to her, figure out why she hates you, see if she can continue to work with the group or not. Deep breath. "Raz, if you and one or two of the others wouldn't mind trying to see if there's any more treasure around here? Judging by what some of these people were carrying, there might be more around here than what we've seen. The rest of you, take some time to relax and sort through the equipment we've found. Make sure that you're all fully equipped before we move out."

Can't put it off any longer Kaya. Suck it up and go do your job. Telmara seemed to be taking her gold and presumably then planned to leave, so Kaya knew she needed to speak now or not do it at all. Gathering what courage she could, she walked over to Telmara, hesitated, and then spoke. "You were wrong with how you handled things out there. But so was I. The thing is... Everyone chose me as the leader of this group. And I promised Isaac, leader to leader, that we wouldn't kill his men and would do our best to not harm them. Maybe I shouldn't have made that promise. I don't think that I was, but that's not the point. You let your anger control you. And that put the rest of us at risk. But I shouldn't have tried to stop you from attacking the man who attacked me. I had said that we wouldn't fight them as long as they did the same. They broke that so I see why you attacked. But I can't... I can't lead if people aren't going to listen to me. I get that for whatever reason you hate me. I do. But you're an asset to the group. A strong fighter and someone who is willing to teach and learn. So I don't want to see you go. And the only solution I see is figuring out why you hate me and seeing what I can do to fix that. So what did I do to you?"

[Nanami Touko]

Telmara was almost finished taking her share before Kaya spoke up, so engrossed in her own world that the coins almost spilled from her hands onto the ground-- what a mess that would've been. Taking a deep breath and listening, for whatever reason, to Kaya's last attempt to get her to stay, Telmara could already tell where it was all going. And when it was done, she still wasn't impressed. "You're naive. And y-you don't listen. I know what I d-did wrong; why do you think I, I'm leaving? But you... I, I'm not... Going to stay a-around here and wait for you to get yourself, and e-every, one else hurt, just because y-you're so trusting. What happens wh-when the next Isaac is some r-rogue with a silver tongue? Hhhhuh? What happens then, Kaya?"

"And fur, furthermore... I-I already told you, I, d-don't hate you! So pay attention, already..." Telmara tucked her gold away into her own travel pouch and turned to leave. "How am I, supposed to trust you as leader if I can't t-trust your decisions?" Telmara seethed on the spot over Kaya's last point. She was strong-- not as much as she used to be, but still. And she didn't want to see Raz go off learning magic without someone to help her... Perhaps Mikhaila was also worth speaking to, but... Kolmar, Aaron, they were not to be dealt with, and Telmara couldn't put herself through dealing with Kaya for those other two. There was a moment where she thought, what if they came with her, and the rest stayed with Kaya? But that was a dream, something that wouldn't actually happen.

Still, there... There seemed to be some humanity left in the snake, as she shivered and glanced back at Kaya. "Give... G-Give me, one good reason to stay. One... A-And I will... But, i-it had better be a good one. Because I... I, I'm not dealing with this, a-anymore." Having to sit back and watch you get attacked over your own mistakes, I can't do it. Not again. I'm not doing it again.

[scorri]

"I just don't understand why doing something wrong means you need to leave. No one hates you here. I don't want you to leave. I doubt most people want you to leave. I won't say I know for sure what everyone is thinking, but I can't see that. I just... Maybe I am naive. So what? Why is being trusting such a bad thing? I'd like to think that we're strong enough to protect ourselves if things go badly! And we could hardly afford not to trust people here. We would have been so badly outnumbered if we'd tried to fight everyone, that there wasn't much of an alternative. Would I still have trusted them even if that wasn't true? Yes probably. But that's... Ugh."

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and think rationally. Why was this woman able to push her buttons so easily? She was just so stubborn, refusing to trust people or even try to understand why someone might. And then the truth. "So that's it... I'm not a good enough leader. I... yeah. Probably not. Funny that one. I would have been perfectly happy staying with the Order, learning and studying for my whole life but then I just had to have that vision... And it's my vision and my knowledge so I had to be the one to go after it. But I couldn't do it alone, so I needed to find people. And I needed to lead them because if I didn't, how could I prevent us from getting sidetracked by whatever that leader considered most important. So... so maybe I'm not the best leader. But I'm doing my best. And I would be able to do that more easily if people cooperated. But it seems you've made your mind up on me already... I guess the only reason I have is that I'd like it if you stayed. Because despite how much we seem to fight, I do like you. But since you can't trust me as a leader I... I can see why you would want to leave. At least... At least see if any of the others want to go with you. It would make me feel better if you had someone with you. At least... at least that way I could know you would have a better chance at being safe. I guess... I guess goodbye Telmara."

She turned away from the snake, headed as quickly as she could away from the group and towards a clump of trees. She couldn't let others see... Telmara see... Anyone see how much those words had hit her. She knew she wasn't a good leader. She'd known that from the start. Or feared it at least. But to have it confirmed that she wasn't trusted as a leader... Maybe I should just step down. Let someone else lead. Like Aaron. Or Mika. They both seem strong and to know what they're doing. Maybe that's what... But I can't. I can't risk the Emblem. I need to be the one directing the search. It has to be me. I have to do this. I can't fail. I just... I *can't*. Tears were starting to leak now and she angrily brushed them away. Failure wasn't an option here. She had to push on. She couldn't give up because if she did, she knew the fate of the world could be at risk. She had to succeed.

[Nanami Touko]

That's the problem, Kaya. I can't. I can't trust people. Turning into this monster has shown me how we really think. How humans truly are... How willing they are to discard someone because it's the right moment for them, for their own selfish nature. So, I just... I can't. I can't trust. And you trust too easily. So if this continues on like it has, I know I'll do something like this again. Because I can't watch you become another Stella. I can't do it. So this is for the best. You can lead these people that like you, and I won't get in your way, anymore... And I can save myself the heartache if something goes wrong. I won't be asking anyone to come with me...

Unfortunately for Telmara, Kaya's reason wasn't compelling enough. "G-Goodbye." She stuttered the word, biting her lip after muttering it, and started to slither off. There was no need to hang around to watch her cry after what had been said. It's best that you don't like me, anyway. It'll make this easier for you. Go on and complete your journey, Kaya... Maybe I can find my solution back in Grunan... Or at least live in a place where I'll be treated decently. This gold will help, surely.

[Bluedoom]

Joviana breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Thane fall. Anyone who tries to take the Greatforger from me will pay with blood.  She looked around to observe the current situation that the group was in. The lady who had started a spat with them earlier was back, and Joviana assumed that the battle would resume, given what she had seen of her earlier.

But it turned out that she was more reasonable than she had let on. Their acquaintances were instead busy helping each other and healing their injuries. Among them, Joviana recognized the knight from earlier. Oh yeah, he's the one who attacked me all of a sudden. And made me almost kill him for that. I suppose talking to him would not be a bad idea. At least to clear the misunderstanding.

 

"Hey, we're sorry for the mess that happened a while ago. You kind of missed  Isaac and our leader talking about a truce so...uh, yeah." Joviana said to the knight, twidling her thumbs. It was awkward to say a sorry to someone who tried to kill her, but she didn't know what else she could have possibly said.

[SB.]

Aaron tried to listen to Juniper's agreement on a truce and Velvet's findings with a level head, but he could hardly remain stoic. We arrive to rescue you after how you treated us earlier, and you don't even thank us? After everything that had happened, he wasn't exactly left in a talkative mood. As soon as the demi-human finished speaking, he rounded the corner without a word, returning a short distance along the path they'd came.

Ignoring the littered bodies of the thieves they'd cut down, he set to work. Taking his axe, he etched another shoddy drawing of a crown into the base of one of the tree trunks. "That was a poor showing." he mumbled to himself, making no attempt to return to his 'kingly' persona. Losing his temper like that, no matter the reason, was something hardly expected of the man fated for the the throne. 

The quiet helped him to cool off, however. For a minute, he simply stood quietly, observing his handiwork. "...At least it looks a little better than the last one." He cracked a small smile, before leaving to rejoin his allies.

When he returned, the relative calm air of the group informed him that Telmara had most likely made good on her word. Good riddance. he thought to himself, but there was no sign of it on his face. The realisation wasn't a particularly happy one, but moreso it came as a relief. From his perspective, Most (if not all) of the conflict within the group had stemmed from the slithering mage. Whatever they decided to do now would likely be a much quieter affair, even if her talents were missed.

As for dealing with the spoils, that could wait a minute. Instead, he approached Aria - with Kaya nowhere to be found. He stretched out his left arm in order to reveal a cut he'd taken during the fray.  "If you wouldn't mind healing this, I'd be grateful." Although he felt much less agitated than earlier, he still wasn't quite sure what to say. Perhaps he was just more tired than he'd realised, and the exhaustion was clouding his mind. Either way, his speech lacked its usual fervor.

Edited February 28, 2017 by SB.

[Ether]

It seemed that at last, the ordeal was over. Their enemy vanquished, and Isaac's group apparently no longer out to cause trouble, there were a few things of note. The merchant they had picked up appeared to have come across a large sum of gold, one of the cutthroats had been in possession of one of the gifts, of all things, and Telmara and Kaya appeared to be walking away from one another, neither looking particularly pleased... oh dear. Mikhaila had been about to walk towards them, try to intervene, but... should she? Was it her place to decide that they should be friends. if they so clearly did not seem meant to be? Perhaps she had simply been pushing something unattainable? She couldn't be certain, biting her lip as she considered what to do.

[eclipse]

Huh, Telmara's gone.  Sheesh, you'd think that she'd be a bit more grateful after our group put our lives on the line for her way back in Vespen.  She'd gone absolutely berserk on that axe bitch, not that I blame her.  If someone's so violently racist that they're willing to kill, then they have no business being in the treasure hunting business.  At least this bunch knows how to cooperate when it matters.

His reflection about the not-too-distant past meant that his attention wasn't on the more-pressing present.  Kolmar bit back a yelp as he walked straight into Mikhalia.  "Somethin' on your mind?" he asked, fairly certain that she'd been just as distracted as he was.  It wasn't like he was particularly stealthy, unless he put his mind to it.

[riariadne]

"Hm?" Aaron seemed none too pleased to Aria. "Oh... s-sure," she responded meekly, healing him before moving over to the pile of gold to collect her share. "This should be plenty. I'm gonna bring it home to my family to help them, since this'll last a long time... not going to leave right now, of course, but it is important to me. If you guys all go in a similar direction, we can maybe go together for some of the way. My house is in northern Grunan. But if you guys went somewhere else to learn more about the other gifts or something, then I'd understand that too..."

.

The knight nodded at Joviana, seeming groggy from his awakening, but offering her a hand to shake. "I apologize for my own haste, too. In the moment I had thought your group to be enemies, since I hadn't seen you arrive, but I thank you all for being merciful." The knight retrieved a scroll from the ground next to him featuring a picture of a sun. "Consider this a token of thanks. It can bring much needed healing in the heat of battle."

Sol Scroll obtained. Since Joviana's inventory was full, her Vulnerary was sent to the convoy because flavor.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Reinfleche

[Ether]

Mikhaila's thoughts were abruptly interrupted, as Kolmar walked into her, seemingly also lost in his own mind, he seemed more perceptive than that, usually. It seemed he had a decent idea of exactly that, asking of her what was on her mind.

"Oh, Kolmar. It's nothing much, really... just, seeing Telmara and Kaya like this, I wonder if it was right of me to try and get them more friendly... they seem rather pre-disposed to dislike eachother, looking at all of this now... I just worry that I might have worsened things by meddling too much."

[Xinnidy]

By the Shade

For a brief moment, nothing else mattered.

Raz lifted the Crusader's Calling, holding it close to her cheek. It was always something she wanted to do with the gifts. Something of that power usually had an unique aura to it, and whether true or not, Raz was always sure she could 'feel' that aura, like a scent, though hard to describe. As if she'd hit the peak of a mountain and took in a breathful of indescribably pure air. Maybe it was just her mind, but it was her way to tell true from fake, powerless replica from omnipotent artifact. A smile crept up her face, turned away from all the chaos of the post-battle. She stored the gift back in her pouch, where it'd stay unless Kaya pushed to shove.

A turn was all it took for Raz to understand what had quickly unfolded during her moment of deliberate distraction. The other group had not put up a fight, so that was good enough as it were. Whether they'd keep on good terms, she could catch up by observation. Raz herself held no opinion on Juniper and Isaac's crew, expecting them to be gone soon. They were superfluous, and adding to their group would only increase the miscreant risk. Of course, assuming the group was going to be intact.

She could well hear the height of Kaya and Telmara's voices before, but their distance only cemented how the argument went. The group was well unstable, as it were. A turn of events much too soon. With her blank, ever curious expression scanning the forest, Raz seemed to take time deciding her next course of action. Time broken by a sprint in her step, walking away from the group in a moment, trying to chase their problem demihuman.

"Ah, Telmara!" The ever curious, airheaded demeanor came back to the explorer quickly, waving a hand towards her crimson partner. "Are you really going to leave?" Airheadedness turned into apprehension, her pleading eyes looking towards the half-snake. "Hey... Tell me how you feel. Please..." She took a few steps forward. It'd be a start, hoping her sentimentalism wouldn't scare off Telmara immediately. "It's not going to be any easier out there alone, for you. We're going to be concerned... I know I will."

[Nanami Touko]

Telmara was almost gone when the one person that had any chance of getting her to stay caught up. She'd been hoping that Raz was preoccupied with something and she could've snuck into the woods, unseen, and not about to be followed... Unfortunately, there was one more person to let down before that could happen. "Hello... Raz." Was she really going to leave? Yes. Aaron didn't want her there, she couldn't bring herself to deal with Kaya's way of leading any further... What reason would there be to stay? Ahhh, but Raz's pleading face, her tiny little magic student...

"You can find a better t-teacher, Raz. I've got... Too, many p-problems. How I feel... Is th-that I'm scared. And I, d-don't want to repeat the past. That's... Th-That's all. So please... I... Unless there's some otherworldly, r-reason, let me leave." She couldn't look at Raz any longer, feeling like she could be swayed by that gaze if she did any longer.

[Xinnidy]

That was good, she was talking back, yet trying to avoid Raz's face. Interesting, but it woudn't do.

"I can't find somebody like you readily available... not if we're travelling around like this. Besides... how are you going to deal with being scared now, all alone?" Stubbornly, Raz stepped to Telmara's side, blocking her vision as she could. The half-snake wouldn't be avoiding her sight for too long, lest she left. "If you go, alone, you will already have repeated the past... If you still wish to, I won't press the matter, but surely there's another way, other terms?" She looked at Telmara with a hopeful stare, her speech slowly more elaborate. She would not stop appealing to the demihuman's conscious. Perhaps Kaya is too young to help you, but she'll grow too slowly if you leave. She's untested, set in her ways. The explorer's stare, half-vacant, denounced her mind at work.

[Bluedoom]

Joviana shook the knight's hand firmly and gently took the scroll from his hand. "You're welcome, and good luck with you're journey!", she replied, and walked away, staring at the contents of the scroll. The picture of the sun on the scroll seemed familiar to her, and she spent a few seconds to recall the name of the scroll. Why, of course! A Sol scroll...I bet someone in our group would love learning the secrets in this scroll, but I'm not sure if they're good at reading scrolls. Healing in the middle of a battle, now who would find that most useful...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in the shoulder. Oh, that's right! I got cut by that guy...and I never paid attention to it. Must have been the adrenaline that kicked in. She scanned the area to see where the healers were, and found Aria near the pile of gold that Velvet found, collecting her share. Walking up to her, she asked, "Oh Aria, if you wouldn't mind, could you please heal this?", pointing to her shoulder. Lowering her tone, she continued, "I'm not sure if we're heading towards Grunan, but the guy that gave me this wound told me that he possessed one of the Gifts, so we're already a step ahead of the rest. I wonder what Kaya has in mind..."

[Nanami Touko]

She was right, where was another magic teacher going to pop out at, let alone be willing to travel around? Telmara sighed, holding herself with her claws, still trying not to look at Raz as she walked around her. She was making it difficult, likely on purpose. "You barely know m-my past..." Being along isn't what I mean, Raz, I mean Kaya... and I can't do that. Not like this. I can't stick myself through that, and I'll kill myself if I just let her get into trouble... But I can't control myself enough to teach her properly. She sighed again, grumbling.

Other terms... Telmara placed a claw on her face and finally stared at Raz, unsure of what to say. Both her and Kaya were desperate to get her to stay with the group, was it out of a real wish to have her around, or because they wanted what she brought to their strengths? Kaya wouldn't feel awful as a leader and she'd have another powerful mage, and Raz would have a teacher... She studied the girl's face, trying to figure out which it was.

"Help me keep myself in check," she finally croaked out, flushing red. "And in turn... H-Help, me make sure Kaya doesn't do something stupid. This... This, was my fault... I still think sh-she trusted Isaac too readily... B-But, I was far... F-Far too paranoid. But if... If I l-leave her alone, she'll make that mistake, without thinking. And, I... I c-can't watch someone do that, a-again..." She stared at Raz intensely, for once not meek in some aspect.

"That's... Those are my terms..."

[Xinnidy]

Hmm.

Raz crossed her arms, taking a finger to her chin, as Telmara made her terms clear. So.. she wants to help Kaya, after all. It made sense, and as far as the information Raz had, she could pin down Telmara's frustrations and walls a bit closer. "I see..." The explorer's gaze turned to the ground, for a moment... I don't need a drastic move now, but I wonder for how long I can actually make this work.

"I'll help you keep yourself in check... you'll have to teach me what's fine or not, as far as that goes." She stepped closer, looking at the half-snake with calm eyes. "I haven't told a soul about what you told me that day, if it is worth something." She nodded concurrently, moving herself between Telmara and the group. "I'll mediate, if need be. I'll speak to Kaya shortly..." Raz remained stoic, perhaps uncharacteristically so, as she continued addressing Telmara in an elaborate, clinical manner. "You will need to conquer that fear, though. I can only keep you in check. If you're not ready to blunder... you can be honest."

[Nanami Touko]

is this really the right decision? I could still just leave, ignore Raz and be gone. Sure, I'd be alone again, but I could get back to Grunan, forget about this lofty goal, live with people stuck like me... She tossed the thought away almost in an instant, remembering the sight of their shark man, and how much he disgusted her. She needed to be among humans... But humans would never accept her, not enough of them. There was no way out of this, was there? Even if she was scared or upset, this... Was her best chance. Not that she liked it.

"Okay. I c-can try... And outline all of that." I'm glad you haven't, Raz... You're slowly turning into the one human I feel like I can trust, even if my mind is telling me not to. Your explanations are... Surprisingly sound, despite how you tend to be. But I've only known you for a few days... Perhaps you've just got this side to you in arguments. She didn't want to address that, all she wished to do was answer Raz's mentions, and hopefully not anger anyone by staying around. "I know, I-I have to... But, it's... Have you ever felt y-you knew yourself, an-and others, and then suddenly... Something ch-changes, and you didn't? You... Y-You didn't know anyone." Because that's what it's been like for me, Raz. Every human that used to greet me with a smile, or at least basic acceptance, is now disgusted with what I am. You don't just get over a fear like that quickly...

Nevertheless, and hopefully not to anyone's chagrin, Telmara turned around and made back towards the group, sitting at the edge of it and hiding herself in her cloak, staring at the ground. Hopefully people would leave her alone... She didn't want to disappoint anyone by saying she was staying.

[Xinnidy]

Raz slowly nodded, stepping back and giving Telmara some space, as the reply was given. She's trying to put in perspective... her transformation, is it? Raz felt a bit puzzled, giving the half-snake words some thought, as far as it went into trusting people, believing that you knew them well, Raz wasn't especially a paragon. It was not the same when learning about your peers on the go, taking risks. "I can't say I know that feeling, Telmara." She confessed, stepping aside for the snake to move on, to the corner she craved. "But... I'll try what I can." Raz let her go, a paused stare, making sure Telmara would keep herself in the corner. Step one, over with for now. And with that came a new mission...

With far less of a haste in her step, Raz walked Kaya's way, having caught the general direction the priestess moved towards. A silent sigh, accompanied with silent steps, and soon enough she was in hearing distance of Kaya, there was no need to surprise her. "Hi... Um, Kaya." Raz moved forward, the naive, hopeful tone resurgent. She took bold steps, silent after the initial greeting, until she sat herself besides --but yet a decent distance from-- Kaya, turning a glance over the priestess. "Would... you mind if we talk?" This one was more passive than her approach with Telmara, with less of a clock against her. "I... think I convinced Telmara to stay." No absolutes, not yet. "But, I need to ask you something first... what, do you feel makes you struggle with Telmara?" The best way to start this one would be to understand where Kaya was coming from. The priestess was somebody that, for as important to the group as they were, Raz had let her do as she pleased and not asked questions before

Edited March 2, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Juliette]

(slightly collaborated post to fit in Aria stuff too)

Velvet observed the group's interactions, idly rummaging through her bag or sitting quietly. Whether or not Kaya and Telmara got over their disagreements wasn't up to her, and so she instead played with the gold or took note of some of the newer items that had been acquired. Raz in particular she paid attention to, eyes glimmering at the sight of the Gift. She started to frantically write something at the sight of it before hiding it away in her bag and strutting towards Raz as she went towards Kaya and hearing the start of her discussion with kaya. "Complications, hmm? Well, hopefully everything is going well enough..." She poked her head over the other girl's shoulder, standing on the edge of her paws and putting a map in front of her. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is important. You should look too, Kaya! There's so many places to go for further research now, so we should probably decide on one, right? Many of the major cities could be of valuable information for our treasure hunting group, of sorts. Veiro, Fordright, and Madrigal receive a lot of traffic, or we could return to Vespen where many explorers headed from to see if other expedition groups found a different Gift. Alternatively, we could all head to a smaller place like Lake Hart... there's plenty of options. Do either of you know other places that you could think of looking into?"

-

Aria nodded at Joviana, healing her wound and smiling. "Well, it's good to have somewhere to start! As for me, I just wanted to come to find something worth selling or for having a lot of money. So even if I can't stay with you all, I've gotten what I needed... Anyway, hopefully that should help you feel better."

Edited March 2, 2017 by Juliette

[eclipse]

Kolmar shot a snaggle-toothed smile at Mikhalia.  "Kaya's fairly simple - she ain't the type to assert herself that often, but she means well.  Telmara, on the other hand, would rather run than accept kindness.  Honestly, bein' friends with both of 'em is a good thing.  Shows Telmara that there's people worth trustin', and gives Kaya some new things to consider."

The current squabble between Kaya and Telmara vaguely reminded him of his younger sister and mother.  Little Selma always ran away when her mother spoke to her - or her father, or just about anyone else that wasn't Elzan, the eldest of the siblings.  While she never came out of her shell around Kolmar, she at least acknowledged her parents after Elzan moved in with the local blacksmith - probably because he told her to.  He kept her secrets, except for those that were too important to keep to himself. . .but how am I supposed to explain that to Mikhalia?

He took a deep breath before returning to reality.  "The thing between Kaya an' Telmara ain't your fault.  They both gotta figure themselves out, and deal with it.  Be there for both of 'em - that's the best you can do."  Now I remember why I didn't take part in the family squabbles, if I could help it.  Ugh, this is hard!

[SB.]

Aaron responded to Aria with a nod, picking up his own cut of the spoils as well. Where are we going next? Hm... They knew Timaeus' destination, and he was supposedly after the gifts as well. There were of course other leads which they could pursue, if they wanted to avoid the enigmatic wizard, and there was no guarantee that they would even meet again if he was quick about things. 

Either way, Joviana had arrived and seemed fairly intent on not being overheard. He left the pair to their devices, overhearing the conversation between Kolmar and Mikhaila and making his way to join them. "I think the problem will sort itself out." he interjected, careful to keep his voice even. "Either Telmara leaves, or we learn to all co-exist. It's just a matter of time before one of them happens." He knew which option he favoured, but there was no need to broadcast that to the whole party. 

Edited March 2, 2017 by SB.

[Ether]

"I suppose you're right, thank you Kolmar. It's just... difficult, seeing them continue like this, I suppose is the best way to out it. As much as I thin they would make great friends were they to sort out their differences, I would rather them both be happy, above that. I just hope that things work out." Mikhaila replied with a sigh. Kolmar seemed rather wise beyond his years, honed by the rough edges of the world, in a sense. Simple, but effective, almost like a blunt object... though he might object if she said such comparisons aloud.

"I'll just have to keep trying. Neither of them are bad people, surely things will work out."

[scorri]

"Huh? Oh. Hi Raz... Sure I can talk." She wasn't really in the mood to talk but she didn't really have the right to turn down someone who she was supposed to be leading. "Wait, what? You did? I... Good. That's good." Too bad she still won't trust me. I should just let you be the leader. That's a better idea. "What do I think? I mean... I don't-- Ah. Hi Velvet."

 

Kaya was oddly glad for the distraction, quickly focusing on the map. "Well... Going somewhere smaller might be nice. Less of a chance we'll run into others that way. What do you think Raz?"

[Xinnidy]

Raz had gotten enough of Kaya's attention with her news of persuading Telmara to stay to warrant the priestess to spill some of her feelings. Surprise meant something, and the willingness to confide her problem with Raz would make things go smoother. With relief reassuring her, Raz was keen to listen to Kaya pour some of her heart out for the first time --or would, if a certain demihuman hadn't come and peeked through her head to intrude the conversation.

"Ah... Velvet?" The name escaped Raz for a moment, standing mouth agape, in part frustrated at the timing of the conversation shift. The topic was reasonable enough to get Raz's attention, and so she listened politely, nodding as the map was placed in front of her. It was... weird, though, that Raz of all people was the one being told about it, and Kaya seemed most an afterthought, even asking the explorer for her two cents! ...Why would you want to know what I think, in this situation? You're the leader.

"Lake Hart is an option, though it's fairly out at the edge of Titan, we'd be on our way for a while. At least, it's unlikely that many others would go looking there. This also means we'd waste our time gravely if it turns out to be a red herring, but it is possible we might gain some more information on the way." Raz crossed her arms, turning to Kaya with an analytical eye. If you have a feeling about it, I'm eager to trust you. Otherwise, we should look for a closer location. "It's not unreasonable to head to Madrigal first if we're planning to travel so far. It's the centerpiece of Titan, pretty literally, so we'd be able to gather some information as well." Not only that, but they'd left Vespen to journey to Uvara Forest, Raz doubted there'd be much fresh information if they headed there again.