High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #105 | Leaders of the World (Part 1)

Episode Date: March 22, 2021

The stormchasers are moving on up, learning Lucius' 20 step introduction plan and meeting the leaders of the world in Horizon!  Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes (and more) on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pickaxe. Farm's new Quick Crisp onion rings, potato tarts, and french fries. Faster than ever before. Just 300 seconds between you and your all-time favorites. Quick Crisp from Cavendish Farms. Made our way. Enjoyed your way. Available right away. TD and your small business go together like TD's small business account managers have in-depth business banking expertise, so they can give you the advice and resources you need to make your day-to-day easier. So if you're ready to meet your small business match, we're ready for you. Visit td.com slash smallbusinessmatch to book an appointment with one of our advisors. Hello and welcome back to High Rollers. Last time, the party have arrived in the sky city of Horizon

to attend the Erosian Defense Summit and discuss the threat of Kallus Valkyrian and Hadar. After heavy security pat-down and questioning on arrival, the party met their liaison with Horizon's elite guard, the Velenar, a half-elf man named Rain Talavir. Rain gives them a brief overview of the security and rules in place to protect the visiting leaders and representatives before taking them for a private meeting with Horizon steward Danica Bloodfire. Danica appears as a young woman but reveals she

is a powerful sorceress imbued with the primordial spirit, the Phoenix, that allows her to be reborn if she dies. She has protected Horizon since the Sundering when the Elven nobles attempted to butcher the rest of the city for their own survival. Danica explains she wanted to meet with the party to get a sense of them on a personal level they explain their fears and concerns danica listens but makes it clear that her first priority is to the people of horizon she encourages the party to go out into the city before the larger meetings begin that evening the group used this as a chance to track down an old friend arval dagus a dwarven merchant who they traveled with when they first began their adventures.

En route to meet him, they bump into another old acquaintance, a centaur herbalist called Rosemeadow, who sells them potions that they are desperately in need of. Meeting with Arval is a much-needed and emotional reunion. They explain their adventures and even obtain a suit of wyvern hide armor they had commissioned months and months ago. Arval promises to aid them with his vast wealth and tells them to stay safe. Finally, before returning to the meeting, the party pass by a little shop adorned with plants and magical items called Solvin's Legacy. Quill spots it and encourages Sent to stop in where inside a young

woman emerges and is taken by complete surprise in Century's appearance quickly it becomes clear that the young woman is Petal the girl that Century had sworn to protect back as in her days as a guardian of Solvin sequestered away by her mother after escaping solvent's destruction petal now lives as an adult here in horizon and that my friends is where we pretty much left off last time uh i believe that there was a kind of very tender moment of agreeing to come by and find petal after uh you uh perform these meetings uh you you kind of meet with some of these other representatives and dignitaries. But if there is anything just before you wish to go, now is a good time to do it. Otherwise, we will assume that you make your way back to the Citadel of the Reborn,

which is the kind of main headquarters for the government here in Horizon. I imagine, you know, the whole Petal thing, it's a pretty big deal, right, for the whole party. Well, I mean, if you feel that Lucius or any of your characters would be as moved and see it as a big deal, it's certainly a big deal to Century, and I think all of you can see that Century definitely acts in a way that she hasn't acted in a long time she's always been

protective and caring but this the sight of this young woman means an immense amount to century and the two of them very clearly have a very tender uh an emotional moment um before petal begins to kind of compose herself and and petal is just the name that century calls her you don't know if that's her actual name or not. But she kind of composes herself and begins gathering things up with the understanding that Sentry is going to need to go, you know, to this meeting kind of thing.

But, you know, the hopes that you'll reconvene afterwards. But yeah, the rest of you, I mean, I guess like we see Quill had stepped outside. Quill had used the Storm Eye to try and see if anything was going to happen in what the next i think you said three days um yeah well the idea of the end of the meetings which i think what does this building look like i think you looked at the city line you said what does this look like over in three days yeah and you didn't see any dramatic change you didn't see any explosions or fire

or ruin or combat or anything like that the rest of you were just watching this quiet moment yeah for Lucius it would be very emotional for him too and he'd be very tried to get very involved

on the walk back i'd say it's like this is i can't believe it this is wonderful i'm so happy for you both oh thank you i can't believe it either of all the places she she'd be she's been here the whole time yeah petal doesn't come with you because she can't come in you know this is a big high security meeting she's she's she can't come with you into this meeting just thought essentially you had said wait here i'll come back and get you once we're done kind of thing that was the plan right yeah okay just so i understand and so everyone's on the same page cool uh but yeah you guys if you're continuing your way back this is a great. If you guys want to chat or discuss anything with Century, feel free. You know, the first time you brought them up, I think at least to my memory,

was when you were, should we say, you know, just a little bit distant and you were dreaming somewhat. And yes, and that's the first time I heard of it. And then I think Quill knows the rest and filled us in. So that's a long time. on her the first time, I... I knew my whole life would be dedicated to her. Hmm. And seeing her again is... is wonderful.

It's... I can't explain it. I feel like I'm whole again. Good. You deserve that. And we... we're all enriched by it. So let's use this. It's good energy going forward. This important meeting. Yes, I agree. There's so much to look forward to. Hopefully.

Winding your way through Horizon. Horizon is a very vibrant city. The streets, you don't really see any areas where people are divided in terms of wealth. There are smaller houses, but generally there's no lordly manors or extravagant estates. Everything here is either used for business it's used for pleasure there are lots of art galleries museums theaters and the people here not happiness but there is an energy there's a vibrancy to it people still get annoyed you still

people see people who you know are down on their luck but there is a a vibe here that things uh progress forwards um you see the red and gold uh guards the valinar uh walking around keeping an eye on everything there does seem to be a fairly strong military presence here uh they keep a close eye and as you get closer and closer to the citadel which is this main sort of tower with these branching bridges almost that stretch out into the rest of the city, these giant archways, the guard presence definitely gets increased

and it gets stronger and stronger. Several times, your two accompanying guards have been following you this whole time, have to step forward and kind of speak with the guards to let you pass. And they kind of give like reports. They have whispered conversations and then you'll motion through to travel in. Eventually, the guards lead you to the front steps of the Citadel,

which kind of heads up into this large tower. And you see the same half-elf man, Rain Talavir, waiting. Seems to just be waiting for you. You can see that they are formally dressed in a very pressed, very prim and proper military uniform with a breastplate. They have a sword at their side as well as a long kind of metal whip and a rod as well, like a mage's rod or wand. They are just waiting for you.

They've got their beard. They've shaped into a very kind of pristine little goatee uh their hair has been slicked back very presentable um and uh yeah rain just kind of nods his head i trust that you found the city Oh, yes, sorry. The formality's here. Yes, we're all just a little taken back by the city, I'd say. It's a beautiful place, I can understand that. A lot of people find it is quite different

to some of the places they visit. I'm glad that you had a chance to see it before the meeting, and perhaps I hope that you will spend some more time in the city. It's very dear to all of the places they visit. I'm glad that you had a chance to see it before the meeting. And perhaps I hope that you will spend some more time in the city. It's very dear to all of us. We're very proud of it. We are now conducting... It is sort of an informal introduction to everyone. Before we sit down for the full discussions tomorrow,

Danica thought it best for you to actually get to meet the other representatives, as well as they get to meet you and each other as well this in some instances this will be the first time that many of them will have ever met so we felt that a short but informal gathering would be the best way to do it there are drinks and some snacks but this is more an opportunity for you to introduce yourselves and to get an understanding of the other representatives. It is being conducted in a location which I won't disclose until we get there. Is there anything you wish to know or anything you wish to fetch from your quarters

before we take you there? Dress code. What sort of colours are in this city? Red and gold are the Horizon City's colors, but in terms of dress code, obviously a great impression, if you can make a good impression. Some of the people, the visitors, are nobility or royalty of other nations, but it is also left to you. This is your opportunity to make an impression as you see fit.

Danica has not enforced a strict dress code on the event. Absolutely fine. Everyone that's attending this introduction, sorry. Everyone that's attending this introduction, that's everyone that's going to be at the summit, right? Yes. Everyone has now gathered. Miss Vijja, did you have a question?

Well, I guess a question's valid for you as well, but Lucius and Rain, what's the protocol for greeting? What's the etiquette? I've never really hung out with royalty before. Well, apart from the prince. It varies. It varies from nation to nation.

I would certainly recommend that you let us walk and talk. I will begin escorting you to the location and I will give you some pointers on some of the attendees. Rain begins leading you through the citadel. You can see that they take lots of twists

and turns. The citadel is a military structure, so the corridors are pretty nondescript as a way to confuse attackers, but Rain seems to know the way that they are going, and they are leading you deeper into the main tower itself. On the way,

Rain will mention, I would recommend that you show the utmost respect to, well, there are King Telvin Rooksilver of Savona is one that you should show respect to. King Telvin is a well-regarded royal and is very well-liked, but their culture is still very traditional with respect given to nobility. I would also recommend you show respect,

but perhaps not the same sort of admiration as you would give to a king or a queen, to Vicerine Galilea Visprieto, who is representing the Sansian Commonwealth on behalf of Her Royal Highness, who sadly could not attend. The Dragonborn, I'm going to have to spell that one. Yeah, I can't guess that spelling.

Well, Viserine, you may refer to her as Viserine Galilea. Okay. Yeah, that's totally manageable. Okay. Yes. That's totally manageable. Yeah. I mean, it's supposed to be me. This Krieto is her sort of a family name,

a partial clan, partial status. The Senzian Commonwealth has interesting naming conventions. The Dragonborn generals show them military respect. They represent strength rather than formality. In terms of

the others, I don't feel that anybody else Duke Rogric of the Duchy of Hiljaden of Mjölkir is a fairly... He's a rather down-to-earth fellow. I don't think he would be too offended if you did not greet him

professionally, shall we call it. But respect would be appreciated, I imagine. The rest, I imagine, would be fine with normal, formal introductions. Okay. What he means to say, however... Do you have any other questions?

Yes. It's 20 simple steps. I'll outline the first three. Okay. Okay. Let me get my notepad. Inhale a little bit, not too much, so that you can get how...

Your first word has to be strong. What if you inhale too much? That's covered in the later steps, Quill. It's okay. Okay. Not too much. Your first word has to be strong. What if you inhale too much? That's covered in the later steps, Quill. It's okay. Okay, okay, okay. Second step. What if you don't need to inhale? What if that's not a problem?

What if you can't inhale? Then inflate your chest or something. I don't know. You're giving me an anxiety attack just thinking about the rest of the steps that we have to go through. Okay. Sorry, sorry.

Carry on, carry on. Your dominant hand. Whatever it is. If you're ambidextrous, pick one. Lean it forward slightly. Extend it. Not too much, not too little. In a gesture that shows respect, not too much, not too little.

You lean it forward. You lock eyes, momentarily. No more than that. Two seconds is too much. One and a bit. And then you look down at your hand and extend it and offer it. And then there's many more steps after that. If there is no hand

form or shake or anything like that, then bowing is fine. You just gracefully move it into a bow. Right. You know? Okay, okay. Alright. So I'm just gonna say hi. You've all met this Countus valkyrian and various royalty before and you've battled these creatures across the astral plane rain kind of looks at you

all very sort of freaking out over this meeting and he's like i mean when you when you when you hit things really hard in the face and kill them, you don't have to bow to them first. So, you know, this is new for me. And I think I might just, you know, say hi. It's a lot easier to make friends with action. And action is what we've done. Now it's kind of first impressions kind of deal, you know,

and that's where we fail a lot. I excel. Remember. I excel at that. I'm a delight with first impressions. Right, Quill? Right? I would recommend you all very much remember that you are not here

to do diplomacy. Nobody is expecting you to be the diplomatic agents in this matter you are here to present your knowledge and your facts you will be asked questions think of yourselves as witnesses more than anything you are not here to win anybody over good impressions will obviously always help your case if you have a particular case to make but in terms of uh do not worry so much about the formal protocols uh be yourselves that's what my mother used to say but you're wrong this is why i outlined these uh these aren't official by the way these are lucius's 50 steps to proper greetings um just 20 20. Yeah, it does.

Oh, did I? Oh, my bad. That's the quick and easy one, yes. Oh, okay. It's just to reduce my own anxieties, honestly, but I thought it might help you. Mr. Elanasu, we are here. Rain gestures to a large set of metal doors.

They seem to have been... These look very new. These doors seem to have very recently been created or furnished. There is at least four guards outside the main doors. The doors are heavily enchanted. You can see runic circles and wards and glyphs have been inscribed into them. They have been purposely done so they can be magically sealed that they can prevent things like scrying they can prevent

things like teleportation uh you can see these kind of wards have been etched into it um rain gestures uh the guards look uh they step forward one of the guards casts a spell detect magic for those of you who are spell casters examines rain uh they speak some sort of coded phrase in it's not really a language they just kind of repeat code words to each other uh you know maroon circle spear like they give like a series of code words back and forth to each other. The guard nods and then the doors are opened and you are kind of gestured through. The room beyond. It looks like it's bigger than the space that you are in. It seems to kind of become, you know, much larger than you would expect it to be.

High vaulted ceilings. It appears like a royal's uh ballroom great big chandeliers over the top there are windows that let in natural sunlight you can see kind of green rolling fields behind beyond them um you can see all sorts of uh kind of tables are laid out and all around you there are just these kind of ethereal humanoid shapes not real servants but actual just kind of these formless beings apparitions that carry around trays of drinks um papers anything that you might necessarily need at a moment's notice and there is this room is is there's a lot of people in this room. Rain gestures. Would you care for me to take introductions one by one,

or would you prefer to just mingle? One by one? Two? Mingle. We'd like to mingle. Mingle? No! Was that the second one? I was the second option. One by one one please. Yes

This I will 25 steps actions Very well. Thank you. I am here to remember. I am your liaison here I am here to assist you Danica has tasked me specifically with aiding the five of you. So if you need anything you ask Let us begin. Let us begin the Danica herself will be joining us in a moment. You already know Sky Prince Aradan. I will not waste your time introducing you to people you already know. Let us begin with some easier options then.

And Rain will lead you in, and he begins beelining towards a ember elf and a high elf. The ember elf is dressed in these luxurious silks uh they're kind of bald head uh they have these uh eyebrows that are studded diamonds um big golden earrings that seem to droop down uh covered in gemstones um variously you know wonderfully decorated in this clothing and they are speaking to a rather plain-closed High Elven woman but she wears a holy symbol of Siasca

and is carrying a staff which is engraved with the symbols of each of the gods of Erois, the Starborn Pantheon, they're called. And those two are seemingly having a conversation. Rain leads you over. He bows very deeply. Sumar Zemix Elodovian,

Starcaller Navarine of the Starborn Faith. May I introduce you to the crew of the Stormchaser, our experts on the Valkyrian threat. The two turn to you. The Ember Elf, who bows very surreptitiously, kind of really uh elaborately extends his arm back behind him you can see this almost onyx black skin but as he smiles each of his teeth is plated in gold um and his irises are almost a pure gold as well well welcome welcome

good to meet our uh saviors i am to understand my name name, I am Sumar Zemix Elodovian. I am the Grand Strategist of Zyfen, of Zyfenna. It is a pleasure. Your climate is a little chillier up here in the atmosphere than I am used to, but we are being very well catered for. How was your journey to Horizon? You have your own airship, I'm led to believe, yes? Lucius looks to

everyone and then presents a very elegant bow in response. Yep. Send you a follow along. Send you a solving salute. And then bow. Bow, then bow.

Bow, big bow. Nice to meet you. You're not used to these sort of endeavours, are you? This one does seem to understand any points, Ayla. Oh, well, in that case, hi. You do not need to... My title is of Grand Strategist. I am no royal or leader. Think of me as um a philosopher a

scholar but also a general uh and that is why i've been sent by my nation you do not need to have such formalities with me so the high priestess here perhaps and he gestures to his side and this she's an older elven woman you know she must be you know quite old for a high elf um you can see wrinkles beginning to crawl in at like the sides of her eyes around her mouth uh long white hair that is bound with all these different ribbons which seem to sparkle like starlight embedded with tiny gemstones that reflect the light but then just very plain priestess robes um she bows her head yes thank you very much jordan strategist i am star caller navarine of the starborn faith um i have heard much about you especially you uh kilek i believe is it not spoken to me in my prayers of you uh Yeah, I hear from him a lot.

But what about Aayla as well? She's had some close calls with some of those guys too. Zephir has mentioned Miss Aayla, but Zephir does not communicate with many of our priests. She prefers to speak with her Orcish followers, but also she finds organized religion irritating, which I find to slight an amusement. She has many followers, but she does not like the organization that I represent.

But I have heard your name in the winds and in the storms. It is a pleasure to meet you all. And must I offer my greatest thanks for everything that you have done for Eros so far, especially in Mias gear. Many lives were saved thanks to you all and your efforts. Thank you for coming. Yeah. Thank you for being a part of this.

You thank me now, Sentinel Prime. Is that correct? Sentinel Prime is correct, yes. It is. I am grateful for your words now, but I fear that you will not appreciate them in tomorrow's discussion. I represent all of the gods of Aroas, and unfortunately, much like this room,

the gods themselves are dividedis, and unfortunately much like this room, the gods themselves are divided on what should be done. I'm afraid that my voice is a conflicted one in this matter. All the pain, all the pain. This is why gods are a problem, Starcaller.

This is why we must rely on logic, we must rely on strategy, if we are to survive. And these warriors have already proven themselves. I'm sure that we will be able to come to some agreeable solution. Hopefully. I hope so. Well, there's kind of that awkward moment where nobody really knows what else to say.

Rain takes the moment to kind of that awkward moment where nobody really knows what else to say. Rain takes the moment to kind of say, well, if there isn't anything else that either of you, either party we should discuss, we must introduce the Storm Tracer crew to many more people. You must understand, Grand Strategist Starcaller. Yes, of course. I'm sure that we will have many opportunities to discuss matters tomorrow in the greater conversations.

But if you have any questions if I can assist you in any way with the faith with the knowledge of the gods please come and speak with me thank you we will do if you are interested in a game

of dragon chess or cards or dice please come and see me instead I'm afraid that I have little advice on the matters of gods and magic but I can give you excellent strategies for winning games Lucius awkwardly smiles Rain bows

his head thank you for your time and he's like come along storm chasers we shall move on to speak with some others and he'll begin sort of dividing you pulling you away you know in that kind of like polite i am the host he gonna introduce my guests kind of thing uh he leads you over to a group of three uh beast folk in fact no a group of four beast folk, one of whom you recognize. Stood with the first three you see is you see an elderly rabbit folk woman, much older, gray fur, kind of hunched over, carrying like a walking cane of some kind,

dressed quite well, but quite plainly. Next to her is a large, wolven-like man, similar to the wolf pack, but much burlier, broad-shouldered, grey-furred. Looks a little bit like the guy from World of Warcraft, Greymane. This kind of big, hulking form, large, wolven-like features, bushy, kind of mangy, tattered furred tail, but wearing a kind of elegant looking coat and jacket. Next to them both is a woman. She is actually taller than the Wolven Man. She must be close to like seven, eight feet tall. And it's made even more impressive by an enormous pair of antlers

that kind of stretch out from her skull, long brown hair that kind of cascades down, long brown hair that kind of cascades down, very thin but tall, like a willow tree. And then stood next to the elderly rabbit woman is a warrior woman that you recognize. You see Sana Long Ears, the rabbit folk warrior that accompanied you for a little bit of time, long white hair, long tall furred white ears,

kind of like digigrayed legs, still armoured boots on her feet, and she kind of cracks a smile but doesn't say anything yet. She seems to be stood behind the elderly rabbit woman. Rain leads you over. Crew of the Stormchaser, please allow me to introduce

our ambassadors from the various beast tribes. May I introduce Warren Keeper, Nana Greytail, speaker for our rabbit folk. The elderly barrow woman kind of like grins and you can see this big kind of pair of buck teeth. And she's just like, I am aware of who these fine people are.

He gestures to the elk woman, Grove Maiden, Maya Dewstorm, speaker for our elk people. And Packmaster Haragen Greycloud, speaker for the wolves. And the Elken woman kind of peers down at you all from this enormous height, probably kind of just about

keeping eye level with Sentry, but kind of looks around at the rest of you, just nods her head, doesn't say anything. The wolfman is like, ah, nothing better than a fine crew. Fine warriors. I've heard a lot about you and your exploits. A pleasure.

And he extends a big kind of back, you know, very hairy third arm. And he kind of gestures that forward for somebody to take and shake. Lucius nudges Aelif forward. Yeah. I'll do it. Sure.

Pleasure to meet Sure. He like, licks your hand. Give me a, roll a strength test for me, Aayla. Just roll a d20 plus strength. You're about to throw this guy across the room. Crushes him.

Oh my god, I rolled a nat 20. Oh my god. There's this moment where like, he's doing that thing where he goes to like, your hand like not in an aggressive way but like a like let's see kind of like how you know let's see how firm your handshake is and you don't even need to do anything like he he just squeaked and he's like oh i can tell you're a warrior all right well it's a pleasure to meet you we've heard a lot about you apparently you have a lot to say? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. We've heard a lot about you. Apparently you have a lot

to say in our meetings tomorrow talking about these threats, this Starbane and the like. We do. We really hope that our information is valuable for everyone here, including you. We look forward to your insight

as well. We shall see. Atelicus has spoken much. Seems to be aware of what you've been doing as well. Our priests and our priests who speak with Atelicus mention some things. But yes, I'll be interested to hear what you have to say. The older rabbit woman kind of steps forward.

Enough of your posturing let me speak with these fine people sana greetings she like looks over santa's kind of like yeah hi like it's like makes her like stop talking yeah she's kind of like i was gonna say like while uh while everyone's doing formal introductions nova's kind of like peeking around the side like giving little waves like i'm sure that you are all very excited to speak with miss uh long ears again she spoke highly of you when this matter first came up we uh in the iron borough we were not so familiar with your endeavors but sanna has spoken highly of you we are cautious we are loath to be loath to be put into another war but from the sounds of it we not have much choice so i'm very interested to hear what you have to

say what threats we need to be aware of. I will let you speak with Miss Long Ears, but it is a pleasure and I am very grateful for everything that you have done and we look forward to hearing it. Pleasure to meet you. Indeed.

She kind of steps back and Santa does kind of help her along and she kind of gets waved off by the elderly rabbit who picks up like a glass of champagne or something and begins drinking this. Santa kind of just shakes her head. The elk woman doesn't say anything. She just folds her arms and just watches.

She just hasn't spoken anything. She just clicks and keeps a very quiet eye on all of you. But Santa steps forward. Didn't quite expect to see all of you again, but when we said that they were coming to Horizon and Nana needed somebody to look after her, well, I knew

that it was, uh, I knew I had to take my chance. I'm glad to see you all alive and well. How are you? How have you been? What's going on? Yeah. Where have you been? What's up? Are you well? Are you well?'s going on yeah where have you been what's up what did are you well are you well are you eating well are you warm yes i forgot how much you talk nova yes i'm fine we i after kaylee's rest uh after everything that happened there i went back to the auto

spoke to a lot of the people there um yeah there was a lot of things that needed to be figured out i wasn't particularly looking forward to going home, but I think you all showed me that there were some bigger problems in the world and that maybe my little family spats needed to be resolved sooner than later. And I'm glad I did. Nana, she needs

somebody, she needs people around her. I'm worried that she's... Borough folk don't like to get into fights. It's kind of one of the reasons why I'm a bit of a... I was a bit of an outcast. I'm trying to convince her that this is maybe a fight that we can't walk away from. I saw what they did, those spirits, the ship,

everything that happened in Kaylie's Rest. I really felt that I needed to be here. But we'll see. She's a stubborn one, but she's pretty wise too. She knows what she's doing. She's also in extremely safe hands with your protection as well, Sana. I certainly hope so. Man, they've been really tough on the security here.

It's been a real challenge just making sure everything goes down all right. I mean, they've been following us every second we've got here. We've been told we shouldn't leave our rooms. The guards here are pretty strict, so hopefully I can still do something. Yeah. So for good reason. Anyway, I'm sure you've got a lot of people to speak to there's a lot of people here uh i'm gonna be sticking around so if you want to come chat to me catch up feel free but it's good to

see you all again well all of your connections with the telekis we might need to speak at some point during the meetings yes yeah i mean i'm not so much me but and she kind of gestures her head to uh the wolf uh hog and gray cloud and the elk grove made uh grove maiden maya dewstorm um she gestures to those two they're much closer to italicus than the borafo car we've uh funny thing with being rabbits the warrior god doesn't see a lot of value in us apart from our tracking and numbers. But they're much, much closer to Italicus. They'll generally do whatever he thinks, whatever the earth warden thinks they'll follow. But if I can help in any way, let me know.

Great, Thank you. She just nods. The whole time, Elk Lady doesn't say a damn thing. Just kind of watches, nods her head, and then turns back to the others. Rain kind of tugs along, just like, we still have many more to meet. Come this way.

He pulls you over. As we're walking away, can I look back and see if the elk is saying anything to the others? Doesn't say anything. It's listening. The wolf is talking at her, but isn't really speaking. Okay. All right.

Fair enough. Rain pulls you over and leads you over to... I'm just going to mark off which ones I've done. Those guys. He's keeping you away from the dragons. You can see that the... Oh, good. Quill, you notice that there are three...

There are three very regally dressed... They're humanoids. They're in humanoid form. So very much like Amadrasos did. And in fact, Amadrasos is one of them. You recognize the other as the general dragon that you spoke to. You saw them in dragon form, but they have got enough traits that you think that this might be them in human form.

And you see these three figures. The other one is one that you've not seen before, a woman with long blue hair, very tall, kind of seven feet tall, very similar to century and uh maya deuston um very very tall powerful build and the three of them they have noticed that you have arrived and they are just kind of talking quietly amongst themselves but they are glancing in your direction in the way that like when you enter and like somebody you know when you're like there i'm on them uh they're able to pick up

awareness of where you are i'm able to pick up what they're saying when they look at us um i mean yeah you can read lips right because you have observant oh yeah baby so yeah the things that you catch because you're kind of like glancing at them and then turning back like he's leading you away yeah uh you do see them say things just like storm chaser crew is here that's them over there general uh amadrasos this is he's speaking to the woman in blue hair that's them general uh that's the storm chaser crew okay yes and then like you see, like, little snippets of conversation. The other general, the one that you remember meeting, Nathirol, Nathirol Amalaz is just

indeed is the only word that you can read on their lips as they're speaking. This whole time, because I think Nova will have been, like, dreading being in the same room as them. Like, the whole time we're wandering around, I just imagine Nova, like, kind of trying to hide behind Sentry and Aayla,

just, like, so wherever we position around the room, Nova's just making sure she's the other side of Aayla and Sentry and the dragonborn, so it's just like, I'm not here right now. Rain will lead you over to the far, one of the far walls of the room where there are several chairs that have been laid out. And there's a group of four individuals.

They all are speaking to each other. There are three orcs. Some of them are half orcs, but, you know, orcs on a row, so it'll kind of look the same in the sense that you can see them with their kind of, you know, green, blue skin, big tusks, all of them wearing

very naval looking uniforms. One of them has a giant admiral's hat. One of them has more like a kind of traditional pirate tricorn. One of them doesn't wear a hat, but has got like a kind of like very elaborate, huge collar on his coat.

Three orcs stood amongst them. Ayla, what note you pick up on this person, is a wild elf, like a full tattooed tartan wild elf. Her tartan is more of a blue, white, and gold, but she seems to be speaking with the three half orcs. Rain leads you over. Admirals, and I believe just no title, Miss Frostblessed, is it?

And they all kind of turn around. The wild elf woman just folds her arms and kind of like grunts like, the half-orcs all kind of gesture. Ah, yes. If it isn't, what was your name again, boy? Terrain Tel Aviv. I would like to introduce you to the Stormchaser crew, our experts in Valkyrian warfare.

This, and he gestures to all of you, please, Stormchasers, please meet with Admiral Suntusk, Admiral Stormeye, and Admiral Goodwind, the Tide Kings of the Archipelagos. They each represent the major island chains here in Arois and the Orc fleets. And also may I present Miss Morgaine Frostbless. I believe, is there a full title, madam? The Wild Elf woman just folds her arms and in Elvish,

so only those who can speak Elvish understand, woman just folds her arms and in elvish so only those who can speak elvish understand uh she will say i i am the champion of the teleth do uh if you wish to be formal and fancy or they can just call me morgane and she looks at what she looks at ayla directly when she's kind of saying this and there's kind of a grin like she's kind of glad that it's not all stumbles they're like an approval kind of like she looks you up and down there's definitely an assessment of like yeah looks fit looks like a good strong warrior hmm approval kind dismisses everybody but ayla and century doesn't seem to really kind of take that much note of the the rest of you uh who are athletically inclined. The three admirals... Ayla's probably just going to smile

and nod at the elf at Morgaine. Yeah, the three admirals kind of step forward, big grins on their face. Most of them have either kind of like thick dreadlock hair or they've kind of got it all shaved off and they just have like a bit of fuzz. The woman has a proper kind of like buzzed on the sides and then just one big kind of braided dread mohawk down her back. She's the one who's got the big coat with a big collar as well.

The other two are wearing hats. The Admiral's hat is ostentatiously large and decorated. He has numerous, not medals, but they're like gold coins, and they appear to be all from different eras of Eros's history, or different locations, like different minted gold coins, and he's got them arrayed as if they were medals on like a naval jacket.

Well, well, if it isn't our heroes of Mirskir. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Admiral Suntusk. A pleasure. Very, very happy to meet the folks who rescued Mirskir. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Admiral Suntusk. A pleasure. Very happy to meet the folks who rescued Mirskir. Tends to be a favorite little stop of mine. So,

you're here to give us expert opinion on this warrior, this legend, Starbean, that we're supposed to be fighting or something, I hear. Expert is one word. More of a... We have experienced his presence. Oh, additional insight.

Ah. I thought that you'd... I thought we were speaking to professionals, experts here. I mean, we have... What are you, scholars or something? No, no. Believe us, we've been in confrontation and defeated many parts of what Starbane is trying to do.

There's just a bigger picture that maybe some people don't know as much about. So I figured we should share. Though Admiral Goodwin, the female, kind of steps forward and kind of slaps Lucius hard on the shoulder, just like, ah, you should be more confident, lad. Speak bluntly and plain. We don't need no, oh, we're not that special.

We're just here to give it. No, tell us who you are. We don't care for any of this nonsense. That's why we, honestly, this Morgaine is the only one that we've had any interest in speaking with all night. The rest of everybody's all just so tense, caught up on titles and ceremony. That's not our way. It's a bit hard to speak to without the in common, though.

Right. Well, I was only speaking plainly in terms of truth. We are experts as much as anyone else. However, we have experienced a lot of things in our travels. Very close to Kallus himself. That makes you more of an expert than the rest of us. You say that you're not an expert, but none of us have ever fought against any of Starbane's forces. We've never seen what sort of weapons that they can wield. We've dealt with the

Remnants, yes, but they're just a bunch of cultists with old weapons and technology. Don't sell yourself to them. Wait till you fight Hadar Touch. Now that's something. Yep. All three of them seem to kind of respect that.

The Elven woman kind of steps forward and in sort of broken wait uh lucius is an elf like i don't think she would realize that you speak the same tongue um in a broken common she's just like hmm hadar tough strong

uh i'll respond in elvish please uh you can speak elvish ah If it helps. It does. Common I find it crude language. It's not one that we really

need to speak up in El Seraph. Yes, Kim? As they're speaking in Elvish, I'll translate into common for everyone else. For anyone who can't speak. She kind of looks over and nods in thanks to Nova.

Thank you for translating. The orcs actually appreciate you translating as well, because it looks like they were having a hard time having a full conversation with this woman. The wild elves of Al-Saraf

we're very much looking forward to hearing your warrior's opinion, your tactics concerning this enemy. We fought Calus a long, long time ago. We remember it well. Worthy battles. Many champions were

interned into the tombs of the Tereth Du that day. And it's good to know that one of our own is accompanying you. You actually have a real warrior amongst you. She nods at Aayla. Yeah, I mean, I'd love to hear

more about your clan actually, at some point. Of course, Of course. Of course. What clan do you hail from? Unknown actually. Part of a long

long gone clan. I don't really know. I don't have anyone else that I've met who's from my clan they seem to have all passed away a long time ago but somehow I'm here and I have some kind of a

power that was blessed upon me power? what kind of power? lightning ah ah we've heard of you there's uh Power? What kind of power? Lightning. Ah. Ah, we've heard of you. We've encountered a few wild elves that have the power of flame,

but on Al-Saraf, there's only ice. Ice and snow. Where's a few of us like you? And you can see that her skin begins to frost up. Like, you can see, like, ice begins to kind of form along her arms in a similar way that lightning crackles up yours. And she kind of gives you, like, a grin. I'll let the lightning do the same on my arms as well, then,

to show her. She, like, extends, like, a hand, like, half covered in ice towards you as if sort of like you know i'll do the same yeah so you kind of grip on the ice and the the ice kind of like you hear the crack of ice as the lightning passes down it the two of you like it's bitterly cold for you to touch ayla and she seems to wince a little bit from the the lightning coursing into her but she kind of breaks it off and just indeed of... Indeed. Well, good to know. Well, yes, if you wish to hear more about the Teleth Du, I'd be happy to tell you.

We've been secluded in Al-Saraf for a long time, but as far as I know from what these others have all told me, it's the largest collection of wild elves on Eorowis. I think that's where most of our people came to settle. But most of us have have we've never seen lightning like yours i've seen one other elf who had the power of fire he came to us uh not that long ago really a few days uh claiming the power of flame hi rethra that's his name he uh he came some great he just appeared out of nowhere there was reports of a giant flying creature up in the sky

and when we went to investigate it we found we found him standing in the open uh no weapons which was suspicious at first but uh he showed us his power and we've taken him in we've been teaching him about the wild elves of arurus yeah we we found actually. We brought him back here. He did mention that there was a bunch of... a group had brought him here but he was seeking his own answers. Well, a friend of Rethra's is a friend of mine. And she's just gonna nod. Rethra and I seem to both hail from Alfheim, which is, and my clan is part of the Laird-le-Lan, and I don't know much else about them

other than the fact that it was a long, long time ago. Haven't seen anyone else with lightning. Seen fire. This is the first time I've seen ice. The Laird-le-Lan is a name that we're familiar with, eh? It's an old name. We only have trace records of it in Al-Saraf a few stories passed down

thing with living amongst the snow and ice, things like ink doesn't tend to stick around but we have a few stone tablets that speak of the Leatherland before the Sundering maybe that we can help each other, but still there's many people for you to meet here tonight

well on behalf of... You are a friend of Morgaine Frost, Frost... Blessed. So come speak with me again sometime. Aayla, was it? Yes. Aayla of the Unknown Clan. She just nods and kind of gives you a hearty nod.

The orcs kind of turn around they say to Nova like thanks lass it's good to finally know that she can see a few more than ten words but still we'll leave you to discuss with everybody else but we look forward to hearing what you've got tomorrow

the orcish fleets well if there's adventure to be had the orcish fleets will Well, if there's adventure to be had, the Orcish fleets will sail for it. Yeah. Adventure. That's one word for it. All out total war before the destruction of this planet. That's another

series of words. Sounds like adventure to me, lass. Yeah. Looking at any of them, do any of them bear any resemblance to Oriah? No. Thank God. Oriah's brother is on here.

I see what you're talking about. Yeah. He wouldn't be important enough to be an admiral uh he probably one of these he's probably connected to one of these admirals he probably serves under one of these admirals but i don't think he would be important enough to be an admiral so but he definitely will work for one of them um cool rain will lead you off off again because there's a lot of people to meet. Mm-hmm. They will take you over to...

There is a collection of three individuals. Sky Prince Aradan is one of them, and he appears to be speaking to a very shabby-looking man. The man... Maybe you think half-elf, or maybe there's, like, maybe some Goliath in him,

but not maybe full Goliath. Very tall, very broad-shouldered, tattoos, bald of head, but a great big long beard that comes all the way down. Almost looks like a little bit of a friar. His robes are green in color. They are sewn with thorns and emblems of the wilds around him he seems to be wringing his hands constantly and like looking around

nervously next to him is a much more regal looking fellow very viking looking kind of viking esque tunic big blonde beard leather headband jewelry like a big golden torque and bracelets.

And the three of them appear to be talking and Aradan kind of waves over and Rain kind of lets Aradan make the introductions for this time. Aradan mentions like, ah, my friends, I'm so glad that you are here. I hope that everything is well. Before we get into it, let me introduce you to somebody who is very keen to meet you. They wish to thank you both personally. I'm so glad that I can do these introductions. May I introduce Shepard

Parik, the representative of the Council of Shepherds of Myrskir, and Duke Rogrik of the Duchy of Hiljaden, representing the country of Hiljaden to the north. Ah, so these are the heroes who helped save my homeland from this terrible storm.

Well, it is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Duke Rogrik. You did not unfortunately come into my wonderful homeland when you last visited my country from my understanding, but I am very pleased that you were able to help us. Those storms, terrible, terrible things. Luckily, the storm wall kept them away from my dookie for a long time, but after these recent events, I was not sure if they would hold back this terrible blackness. I sincerely hope the storms didn't ravage your land for too long or cause too much damage before we were able to get to it in time.

The shepherd, the kind of bald-headed, long-bearded man, the druid, you can all tell he's very clearly a druid, he bows his head. Please make no apologies, Master Krelig. The storms had ravaged Mjölnir for a long time and neither I nor my other shepherds could ever find a way to stop them. When they grew in power and strength, we had no choice but to flee our homeland. We lost many lives, but that is not because of you.

If only we had found the wisdom, if only we had had the power to put an end to them before we would have. It is thanks to you that our homeland is now peaceful. There are no more storms for us to be afraid of. Our land can prosper in a way that we have never known. It is with my humblest of thanks, the thanks of the spirits of the earth, the spirits of the rivers of the mountains, I thank you humbly. I am Shepard Harik. Well, I mean, we...

Yeah, we owe much of our thanks as well to a very insightful traveler with us, Johan, and also to Hesper himself for guiding us. I'm sorry that your companion is not here for me to thank them.

If they were a part of your saving us. No, he's not. But, kind of. Well, no. But also, yes. Anyway. If we see him again, we'll be sure to just, you know, pass that on. I'm sure he'd like to hear that. Please. Please do. Please do.

And we are very grateful as well, the Shepherds and I, having seen the power, not necessarily of this Starbane, but to know in a situation when we are outmatched, when there is something that we do not understand, that we cannot control, even with all our might. I am glad to be part of this meeting now.

I am to believe Hesper has informed me that Zarkira, the Great Serpent, the commander of Kallus' armies, was involved in what was causing the storm, is this correct? She was, yes. But again, that's been...

What a great enemy. Yeah, we've seen her quite frequently, in fact. But we have some insights to share and the meetings to come on Zarkira, as well as Starping. Good, good. to come on Zarkira as well as Starbane good yes my kingdom has forces that we can lend but

I'm afraid that all of this talk of legends such as Starbane and Zarkira to me and to my people they've always just been children stories stories of a long past we knew that the war was a thing but nobody ever expected that he would be able to return I'm very interested to see what you have to say in these discussions tomorrow. But still, do not let us keep you. There are many people here for you to meet.

But I'm glad that we could at least thank you in person for your great work that you've done. We very much appreciate your support, especially now and in the coming days well still uh let us let us continue prince aradan you were telling us uh about some of uh uh the things in gustaven trade and such let us begin that discussion and rain kind of gestures you all away kind of uh you know many many people still to meet. Too many people. Having too many NPCs. Okay.

At some point, as Rain is beginning to lead you towards what appears to be a very regal-looking human man and then two dwarves who are arguing right in front of him. and it seems to be quite heated rain kind of looks and he's like trying to decide between dragons and this heated conversation which one he should take you over to next when quill you see them coming you know you have a

high passive perception and it's unmistakable who they are you didn't expect to see them here but dressed in the messenger guild uniform like this kind of vibrant uniform satchel uh engraved with symbols um you see another hawk like arakokra very similar coloration and you all see them as they approach quill uh it's hard to tell with aracocra but you get the impression that this is maybe a female uh like a female aracocra approaching him um but for quill this is unmistakably uh this is your mother marika marika adkola uh there's no evading that like there's no way she hasn't seen me already as well god damn it you can't say no to your mom um there's a kind of with the dragonborn amazing we amazing what if we just rush the dragonborn now huh

I mean Quill you've got a second if you wanted to rush off you could you could easily try and like rush off and engage someone because she's hovering she's like waiting for like you not to be speaking to somebody look if anyone has equal perception to me it's all

Marika I've got 19 Look, if anyone has equal perception to me, it's all Marika. I've got 19. Do we all notice this? I think that you would all see an Arakokra who looks a little bit like Quill, but none of you would know about this familial connection. None of you would know that this is Quill's mum. Like, it's not like

you know, we are, you guys are trained at like, recognising another elf, recognising another Ganassi. This is like, trying to compare two birds and trying to decide if they're related or not. Like, it could just be a similar species to Quill, you don't know. But Quill knows it's his mum.

So, Quill, do you want to jastros or are you just going to engage and embrace this incoming conversation? Super quick recap, guys. When I fell to the lowlands, I kind of died and vanished and disappeared and never contacted my family ever again because of the messenger guild that I bailed out of

and considered myself a complete mess and did not want my family to see me with one hand. And that's when she slaps him. That's when she walks up and it's like a wing slap across the face. Ow! Ow! How dare you? How dare you?

It has been months, Kelek. It has been months since you... If it was not for your brother checking in at Kaylie's rest and hearing about an Arakrokro with one wing, we would not have thought that you were alive. We would have buried you. And instead, we have been waiting for you to contact us to let us know what has happened.

Now I find out that you have been flying around, saving continents and stopping storms. Only very recently flying. Prior to that, I was nothing. I was useless. I crashed to the earth with one wing. I wasn't even an Arakokra anymore. Of course you were.

You were not nothing. You were my son. The wings come round. There it is for Lucius. Lucius audibly gasps at that. Whoa. Quill! You were not nothing. Quill! I'm not nothing.

Quill's mom! Hi, Quill's mom! You didn't see me like that. I was better off dead. I may as well have been until I found Sentry. Silence. Enough.

Perhaps that speak, perhaps that is what your brother has made you think. Perhaps that is what your brother has made you think. Perhaps that is what your sister has made you think. You have a brother? I'm so sorry. You are all very excited about this, but this is the first time I have seen my son in

months when we thought that perhaps he was dead. Everyone calm down. Give them some space. Lucius is right next to them. Quill, you totally should have told us that you had a mum and a brother and what a sister and that you had pretended that you were

not alive. You did not even tell them about your family? I mean, to be fair, I exist, so it was kind of a given. Right? He did mention that you thought he was dead once, but he kind of said it under his breath to only just me, and I felt like that was probably something I shouldn't have shared with everybody.

You shared it with everybody? I did. I was ashamed of who I was. Was. And with the Stormchaser crew, I have found a place I I'm sorry you always had a place You always had a place whether you could fly or not. You would have always had a place with me and your father

I'm glad that you are alive more than you can know. I'm Your brother we think that he knew that you were alive. Apparently you went to the guild in Kali's Rest. You spoke with the attendant there. She knows your brother quite well and mentioned seeing one like him with one wing. We put two and two together. I was going to write you a letter there.

I mean, with my left hand. So it wasn't going to be a well-written letter. But I just, I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to approach the situation. I didn't like who I was and I didn't want you to see me that way. I'm sorry I never contacted you I am and what of now?

are you proud of who you are now? I'm Aayla's just beside Quill going to be motioning at his right wing going show the wing show the wing

Nova built me right wing going, show the wing! Show the wing! Show the wing! Nova built me a new wing and with Hesper's guidance, I found power that I've never had before. We cleared Mere Scare of all of its storms. We've done so much together. I'm not proud of who I am. I'm proud of who the storm chasers are now. Oh my gosh. Quill, I'm not proud of who i am i'm proud of who the storm chasers are oh my gosh quill i'm not accepting that when i fitted this wing on you and stood with you i can

give you the technology but you are the one who took the leaf up leap off the storm chaser and flew into the unknown that was you all you and you have done nothing to show your best he is constantly putting himself down. He constantly speaks about others. He never speaks about himself. He does. He really does. He used to be so proud. When he used to fly and perform tricks in the guild, he would be so glad. He did tricks!

Of course, Kylak is one of the best flyers in our family. He is the best flyer in our spire. He... Well... You have let this injury shape you you have now you are more than just a wing you are more than just a god you are you you are my son and i am glad that you are alive i'm i'm glad you're here too and I'm sorry again. Introduce me to your friends now. Well this is Lucius, captain of the storm chaser. I. He's my best friend.

And this is Nova. This is Nova Vija. She repaired my arm. She is unbelievably intelligent. Unbelievably. And she speaks a lot. She speaks a lot. Be wary of that.

This is Ayla. She has a giant hammer. She's a delight. Just get to know hammer. She's a delight. Just get to know her. She's a delight. And this is Sentry. The reason why I didn't just wander into some forest and sit down and accept my fate. I found her

shortly after falling into the lowlands and she gave me a purpose and gave me a direction. Quill's the reason why I'm here. Yeah. If it wasn't for you finding me quill i wouldn't have found the storm chasers i owe everything to you we owe everything to each other that's that's who i'm traveling around with now and and and getting into dangerous stuff and i don't know maybe maybe i don't know either way that's everyone i'm sorry again

i won't forget it but a messenger's life is one of a messenger's life is fraught with danger. I do not expect that to change. To the rest of you, I am Marika Adkola. I am Kilek's mother. I am the representative of the messenger guild at this summit, and I humbly thank all

of you for looking after my son. He looks after us, kind of, mostly, to be honest. But, yeah. I'm still glad that he has had allies by his side. It seems that he has gone

through a difficult time, and I'm glad that he had people close to him. As far as I am more concerned, she raises like a wing up to her chest. You are part of our family now. Lucius is fanning his eyes there.

Yeah. That means so much. I'll make sure that... I'll make sure he writes you often from now on. Every day. Yes, please do. I like this girl. Nova was it? Was that your name? You are a good child. I'm sure that your mother or father

is very proud of you. She comes up with a lot of ideas, yeah. She kind of puts a wing around Nova like this is a good child. This is a good child. Listen to this one. Okay. I will do better. You do not get to have a say.

You let us think you were dead for months. I just said I will do better. You no longer have any opinions. Good, you will do better. It's not I will, it's you will. I will, I will, I will. Okay. Good.

Good. I have other business, but I was not about to leave without speaking to you. Okay. Love you, Mom. She looks. I have other business but I was not about to leave without speaking to you okay love you mom she looks yes I will tell your father that you are alive your brothers and sisters

we will tell them later but your father I will let him know tonight are they here no no they are busy this the messengers guild has never been busier there are people sending words across eros airships have gone missing villages are people are losing contact with them it is a mess uh we are doing our best to work with armies with uh with nations. It is stressful. Your father is back at the spire and is coordinating

everything. Your brothers and sisters are all out delivering messages wherever they can. Okay. Okay. Well, hopefully we can all be of some help in the future for the Messengers Guild. You will be.

She just kind of like, one last hug, and then kind of steps away. Rain is like, Madam Kalar, if I may, I must borrow your son. There are many more dignitaries for us to meet today, if that is all right. Yes, yes.

I must go and speak with some others as well. She just looks at you one last time Quill do not forget to contact me I won't okay alright well I think we're ready for the dragonborn now if he does I can slap him across the face like you did with your wing

your arms look a lot stronger than mine perhaps I'll tone it down. Like a little... Just a little slap, you know? Contact your mum. Me and Nova.

Listen to Nova, yes. If Nova tells you to slap him, I think she will be aware. She seems to be a good child. Nova, you tell me. I'll be on it. I'll be on it. Remember when I used to be the unofficial leader of the group and then somehow Lucius took over? How am I falling down the ranks so quickly?

Because you didn't tell us that your mum thought you were dead. I've seen that look. I've seen that mother's look. That's a serious look, Quill. You give it all the time, Sentry. I know. You don't make your mom cry.

Okay. Anyway. He's the hardest one so far. So Dragonborn? There are two more groups and one more individual I'd like to introduce you to. I know the Dragonborn

have not been, they have been very vocal in questioning your attendance. Would you like to go and speak with them or do we avoid them until tomorrow? I feel like it would be good to get a heads up with them. Right, guys? You know, instead of going into the massive meeting where everyone, they talk to us for the first time

in front of everyone because, you know, we have pissed them off just a smidge by you know just a smidge they are suddenly displeased with you but to be fair we were just trying to do other really important things and they kind of got pissed off in the turmoil of that. Do you know what, though? Everybody, after seeing Quill and his mother reunite and face this head-on and face his consequences, we've got to do this.

I'm going to do this. And Nova just starts beelining straight towards the Dragonborn. Okay. Please wait a moment. Everyone kind of chases after you. I would probably stop her because she probably made the most mad... Yeah, yeah. Rain steps up and is like,

allow me to introduce you, at least give it some formality to it. Rain leads you over. The Dragonborn all... One of them, General Nethereal Amalaz, stands up. And as you all approach, and the other two step next to it, you recognize Amadrasos, who is the copper dragon that initially kind of contacted you when you flew over Korsari and was kind of your liaison when you were dealing with all the affairs

with the Dragonborn. Amadrasos was the one who dealt with that. You recognize General Nethereal Amalaz. He appears as a quite thin, elderly-looking human man, but very tall, way taller than a human man should be. He's probably like six and a half feet tall. He has a long, thin, kind of like a goatee long beard with a long kind of mustache that joins it.

He has like, his hair has been pulled up tight and is bound by like a kind of brass circlet dressed in very ornate looking robes and has his hands folded in front of him with these piercing coppery eyes looking down at you. Next to him is a very muscular looking woman. She appears to be wearing armor, but there's no sleeves to it. So she has these bare arms where you can see patches of blue scales

across like her skin. And they end in these very powerful looking, strong looking hands, which have these bright blue nails. They're almost like claws, but they're ladies' elongated painted nails. She has a long dress bottom, but the top half is a tinted blue steel breastplate. And she has this beautiful azure blue hair

that just spills down her back. Rain steps forward. Generals Nathiru Amalaz and General Felisa Thalaras and Amadrasos, Ambassador Amadrasos, I believe you are familiar with the crew of the Storm Chaser. And before they can say anything, of course, I would like to just remind all of our guests that everyone here is obviously under the protection of horizon and that we would appreciate

people keep things civil and he looks at the dragonborn when he says that and then he steps back uh the generals kind of stiffen amadrasos is the first to speak. Crew of the Stormchaser, we meet again. Sentry will stiffen up in turn and just say, Dragonborn, it's good to meet you again.

Sorry, but she's... Dragonborn! Dragonborn! Okay, let's start laughing. Dragonborn! sorry but she's dragonborn dragonborn hello hello my dragon my dragon

the woman in blue clenches her jaw a little you see she's got quite a strong jaw piercing blue eyes so clenches her jaw a little. You see, she's got quite a strong jaw. Piercing blue eyes. So, you are the ones that came to us before, that took on our

good nature, and kept things from us, we are to believe. We are the ones that came to the Vivex and defended it when it was attacked. Indeed. Such things are not forgotten.

Your companionship of Eterna, companionship of the Guardian. These are very much reasons that dragons were not sent, that our warriors were not sent out to find you after our shall we call them our ambassador that was sent to aid you

that was sent to be our eyes and ears aboard your ship was mistreated, shall we call it. We understand that you were carrying Valkyrian technology you had kept from us. So where do we stand,

crew of the Storm Chaser? We stand with honesty. If I could, Ayla I am the one I am the one who is responsible for the technology and I own up to that I made a mistake I thought it could be used to all of our advantages and it faltered

I have faced the consequences of my actions with the crew of the storm chaser I have been running from my responsibilities for the consequences of my actions in terms of the dragonborn and that is why I have been avoiding you but I stand here today

because I am the sole person in the crew responsible for that but that is a noble gesture Because I am the sole person in the crew responsible for that. But we stand... That is a noble gesture. General Nathiras, this is the general you spoke to, the one who sent Viz with you. A noble intention.

But that is not how things work, Nova Vija. You may be the one who performed this deed, but your crew, your companions, are still part of it. You cannot absolve them of responsibility. The rest of the crew

were not in full possession of the facts at the time. I was dishonest to them. And what of my companion Viz? With respect, we do not know what happened to Viz. Shortly after its various incidences, we were teleported to the other side of the universe. And when we came back, Viz was gone.

other side of the universe. And when we came back, Viz was gone. You were also very much aware that whilst Viz was on your ship, you purposely kept conversations and things hidden from them. I sent Viz to be

an aid so that we could be aware of matters, of these threats, and now we find ourselves in this summit i do not have those answers i do not know there has been more developments i trust the guardian race how do i know that sentry has not been compromised how do i know that you have not been compromised you have have Starbane technology. Perhaps this is all some ruse. Perhaps you are all working for him in some manner. You understand that

by keeping secrets you have invited suspicion. Whether you believe it fair or not, this was meant to be a way for us to trust one another. I understand the full consequences of my actions. And if you wish to seek punishment, I will stand for that. But I request that it happens after our affairs with Starbane and Hadar are done. Girl, do you think that we are so foolish? Do you think we are so foolish as to take petty actions against one individual when we face a greater

threat such as Calus? Of course not. Do you think we were going to lock you in prison or execute you? It's not about disrespect. You have made assumptions about us, I can see. We are concerned with the safety of Aroes. We know

what Kallus is capable of, what other threats exist beyond. And he looks at all of you when he says that. This is not about punishment. This is not about being offended or disrespect. It is our

duty to fight Calus. It is our duty to protect the home that we were given. We offered a claw in friendship. We offered trust. And it was rejected. I think you misspeak. There is no punishment.

And I mean no disrespect but actions speak louder than words what we have accomplished as the Storm Tracer since us meeting you at the Vivex has only been to defend

Herois so you claim this mere skin matter defend Aroas. So you claim? This mere skin matter? How were we to know who we could trust at the time? We were in a position where we were the ones coming across

these difficulties, fighting for Aroas, as Lucius has said. We don't know who we could trust. We still don't. That why look around look at the security of this place nobody knows we're trying to all be secure here and if that means that we're in trouble for you for being a bit guarded on this secret because we didn't want to panic the entire world especially back then then so be it you were guarded because you were afraid that we would discover that you had

kept Valkyrian technology. Let us not pretend that it is anything but. We didn't know about the Valkyrian technology when we were with you. We didn't know that existed. And we immediately but we immediately

destroyed it. And in doing so actually blew a hole in our own ship so and lost one of our crew yes we lost one of our wolf pack in the process

but we destroyed it now the dangers of sub weapons sigh sigh sigh sigh We destroyed it. You see now the dangers of sub-weapons. Understand this. We are here to protect Arois. We are not allies of Valkyrian. And to me, that makes things quite clear. You stand with us against him

or you are in the way that is how we see things when war comes and it will come as you all know there will not be room for these petty arguments.

So, there is no punishment for you, Nova Vigia. We are displeased, yes. We do not trust you fully, yes. But ultimately, we will all have to make a decision. Do we trust each other now and fight against Kallus or do we continue these squabbles?

This pointing of claw. I think we could use people of your strength on our team here. And you have clearly proven your strength. And you now understand. If you were... My understanding from the Sky Prince is you have seen the world beyond the Astral, beyond the Cradle. You have seen the Astral Sea.

We have only had the stories passed down from our elders but some of our eldest dragons, myself included at least remember the war for what it was you know the power that Valkyrian can bring you know the threat to Eroeth

is that not why we're here willingly indeed perhaps you see Is that not why we're here? Willingly? Indeed. Then do us the courtesy. Perhaps you see another meaning in my words. I am merely stating that we are... We have strength. You have knowledge.

It is better for us to work together. Yes. That's why we're here. We are not here for petty grudges nor arguments that is your doing I think we needed to just clear the air a little bit though

they're going to look pissed off with Lucius because they're very like they grit their teeth we have done no such thing you are the ones who are keeping secrets from us please Miss Veja They grit their teeth. We have done no such thing. You are the ones who are keeping secrets from us. Please, Miss Vija. If I may, I wish for us to walk forward tomorrow together.

This is only a small gesture. It is not something I can do to repair my mistakes, but I wish you to have this. And she'll take out one of the data crystals. On this, I have programmed, I have recorded all of my information about Starbane, everything we've learnt, everything our encounter with Zarkira and Starbane, our experiences beyond the cradle, and notes about the greater threat, Hadar. are experiences beyond the cradle and notes about the greater threat Hadar. I will be sharing these notes at tomorrow's meeting, but I want you to have this first so that you may have time to digest, read,

and learn everything we know. And I hope that it works as a gesture that there is no secrets between us. And yes, while we did keep things from you, it was only so that we could investigate things further and bring you this data today. Amadrasos steps forward and takes, like, you know, if you're offering the data card, kind of grips it with you and bows his head. And a very...

considerate gesture, Nova Vija. You can see the generals are kind of looking. There's still a little bit of unease. Like they're not sure if this is like a political ploy. You kind of quill. You definitely pick up on like, they're not sure if Nova's just saying this to try and earn points.

But Amadrasos turns. Generals, I know I am but a humble ambassador, but you know me, and you know that my speciality is more in intelligence. This will be of great value to us before tomorrow. I think that this shows a considerable amount of trust on behalf of the Stormchaser crew, and Miss Vija in particular.

We should accept this as a gift, and I would like to retreat and discuss its findings amongst the three of us. Fail, General Fail, kind of folds her arms. Very well, Amadrasos. You understand these matters far better than I, and I have no history with these storm chasers. This one, she looks at Lucius should mind his tongue but the others are strong capable and if we are all allies against this matter I would much rather

have their strength added to ours than to calluses whatever has happened in the past, I see it as a mistake. She looks at Nova, and mistakes can be corrected. I thank you for this data and this information. Egnasi. The general and Atherol are kind of,

hmm, very well. It seems that we are about, we are about... We are speaking in circles now. We will go and examine this data. Tomorrow the real conversation of strategy will begin. Good day. We look forward to having you on our side in that meeting.

As long as your side is the one that opposes Calus, we are on it. It always is. Nods. As long as your side is the one that opposes Kallus, we are on it. It always is. Nods. Amadrasos kind of gestures the two of them to start moving away, turns around and just mouths a well-played Nova.

It's like a smart move. And then he kind of gestures the two military people away like, yeah, that was, you know, I think that's the best we're going to get, and begins leading them away. Oh! Just a bowler, so win-win. They never were.

Nicely done, Nova. Yeah, good move. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I'm so sweaty, I'm so sweaty. You did good, my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Disgraceful. Well, hang on. It might not be disgraceful. Your attitude was correct. You need to frame us in a position of strength and honor. And we know who we are.

We know what we're trying to do. We are not here for royalty to swing their tails and their claws at others, demanding that dragons be put on ships because they deserve to know the truth, yet we cannot reciprocate and do the same to them. It's disgraceful. They didn't have the honour of us giving all of our secrets away to them. They didn't prove themselves to us. What Lucius was saying was correct. It was, which is what I said to them.

We didn't know we could trust them. Now we do, but... I did lie, though. At the time, we didn't know that. Also, we did put Viz in a cupboard. We did, but again, we just didn't trust anyone at the time. I kind of feel bad about that.

I did also really want to kill the little dragon, and I shouldn't have because he was just a little dragon. Consider it a learning experience. We've grown since then. We're different people now. You know, I feel like we've come out of it the other end and we can move on together. We'll have our meeting tomorrow and everything will be back to normal right you're you're right century what we need to do is encourage trust without this pervasive idea that we must steal

knowledge from each other and mistrust what is being said we need to unite as a rowis not as our own factions back then they arrested us for flying over their place and you know that didn't set up a good precedent so of course we didn't trust them like i think that's fair enough i still stand by that at that time we didn't know what to tell anyone Rain has just kind of stood in the background listening to all this but isn't saying anything he's just kind of politely like turned away but is definitely within earshot

shall we take a break here because there is still a few more people to meet yes we should Rain and we should have a break for nibbles grab some champagne is there ferrero rocher here Mark should have a break for nibbles yes rain nibbles and drinks i would like a champagne and yeah yeah is there for a rush day here mark is there all of those onion rings there would be an equivalent of uh you know this is high class this would be nice nice high class foods so you know like a

roasting equivalent of uh of ferrara russia do they have party yeah no as long as there's a pyramid of chocolate what the fuck am i doing here no pie rings no sausages uh no sausage rolls uh you know on sticks or whatever this is the kind of place it's more like um tiny brioche uh like veal burgers it It's all really fancy foods. It's not like, you know... Tiny, coin-sized little snacks. Chocolate coins!

Aged meats. No chocolate coins. Thank you.