The recap was a group effort, which I quite liked as a format! I am gracious and generous storyteller, they all get an Improve
Yashira wants to speak to Ruckus about getting Damien's new coat glamerweaved.
Charlie wants to speak to Damien privately
Eventually, when Tamara gets here, big family dinner at Ban's
Yashira and Ruckus
Yashira heads over to Charlie's, where Ruckus now lives, with a housewarming gift for him (a lamp and a wine bottle, and a tupperware of Ban food)
She knocks on the door and hears a bunch of cluttering on the other side as makes his way to the door, which he has to set up a stool to get
"Seems that you're all moved in..."
The foot stool he used was Charlie's piano stool
"If you're looking for Charlie, he's out right now"
Oh, but she was looking for Ruckus! She explains the gifts, and he doesn't really know what to do with em
Yashira ponders whether its rude to go through Charlie's cupboards, but decides that Ruckus is here so it's okay. She hunts down some glasses and pours them the wine
Ruckus goes into one cupboard and emerges from another one, with a glass
"Does Charlie know you've got tunnels in the wall?"
"Yeah don't tell Charlie"
That's gonna be fun to discover when they move out and the landlord finds those
Yashira starts devising a plan to complain to the city about giant rats eating holes in the walls so they can try and divert blame
Maybe they can hire some junior adventurers to deal with the problem
Yashira explains that she was wondering if Ruckus could do some artificery magic. She's made a jacket for Damien, and she thought it'd be nice if he could have his mark on it too and make it a glamerweave.
"You know what Damien's like, he's, lovingly, ostentatious. He loves his glitz and his glam"
Ruckus is unsure, he's not got much practice with glamerweave, his only attempt was Yashira's broken stealth cloak.
That was months ago though, and he's grown a lot in that time!
"I'm pretty sure I'm the same height"
"Personal growth, you've changed a lot. We all have. I think you could do it! My cloak was like a test run, but you've made so many incredible fantastic things on our adventures over the last few months"
She asks if he needs any additional tools or materials to do it? She'd also be interested in learning how it's done, being able to make glamerweave would be useful
Okay, he'll do it!
He starts examining what he has to see if he needs anything else. He also raids Charlie's stuff
Yashira is taking notes, and getting increasingly concerned. "Where did you learn to do this again?"
"Oh y'know, on the streets. You'd be surprised what you can find in people's pockets"
"Okay magic man, whatever you say"
We smash cut to a scene of someone falling from a bridge with no featherfall token, as Ruckus chucks one in the pot
Ruckus has enough materials to hand to do what needs doing
Yashira is like "yeah I can definitely see how these are things you've acquired, but this looks a little too new. I'm not gonna ask if that's Charlie's"
"Ah, you're learning, good"
Ruckus decides to use one of Charlie's chess pieces, the knight. "This looks like a horse!"
Yashira can't do the actual enchanting, but she watches and gives instruction on how she wants it to look/work
She channels her best Chantalyn Sarhain
Ruckus, obviously, fucking kills it. He really can do it! As well as the glamer, he also puts protection runes into the coat so that it can help keep him safe too (Damien does tend to get fucked up in every adventure)
We'll decide what the illusion looks like later. There are lots of good ideas
They share a victorious high five!
"Hey I've got these leftovers from Ban, you wanna share?"
They share the leftovers. Ruckus just fucking devours his half.
"Now I've gotta get this place semi-cleaned up before Charlie comes home"
Yashira stays to help clean up
There's a knock at the door as they're doing so, but then we pan to Charlie
Charlie and Damien
Charlie went to a florist to get some flowers, and then headed to Damien's room at Clifftop.
As his hand goes to the door to knock it, it opens, and Damien is stood there with his own flowers
God they're so fucking gay
"Oh, Charlie! Hello! I was just on my way to you actually"
SO GAY
"Oh I have flowers, I just wanted to talk to you, or something. No pressure"
Damien gets out a pocket watch, checks it, and goes "we have time, come in!"
Charlie goes in. Damien's room is a controlled mess, to the untrained eye it's messy but he knows where everything is. Very lived in.
Damien puts the flowers in a jar. He doesn't have any vases just lying around (who does??)
He also puts the flowers he bought in there, so they keep fresh
"So did you just wish to bring me a gift, or?"
"Well, that, but I also just wanted to hang out with you, talk, maybe ask a few questions. That makes it sound a lot more formal than I intended, sorry"
"Ask away! We can miss the previews"
"What do you mean, miss the previews?"
Damien comes clean. "Okay, I was on my way to see you, to ask if you wanted to join me this evening for a show!"
"Yes, I would love that! Yeah, cool"
"I thought about a museum but thought that might not be appropriate given the last few days"
Yeah...
"Madame Truthfrost!"
Oh my god. It's Mrs Doubtfire
Charlie's heard of that. He'd love to!
"Maybe I shouldn't ask the question now, maybe later actually."
"Oh we don't have to rush, I can get us downstairs in like 2 minutes. Please, what's on your mind?"
Charlie stammers a bit
Damien goes "oh wait!" and disappears before reappearing with two glasses of wine
"It was just about the angel"
"Oh, uhh, that was one hell of a ride huh?"
"Oh yeah, and you umm...saw Drego."
Damien coughs and spits up his wine. "Maybe. I can't lie to you, yes, I did. I can't explain it."
He's choking on his fine wine. The most Aundairian way to die
"I'm not judging you or anything, Drego is a very handsome looking man."
"I just don't understand it. The angel was supposed to be a creature of desire or something. I don't desire him, I loathe that man! I'm sorry if that was distressing for you, I know you saw me. I'm flattered, obviously."
"Yeah." as he nudges closer and goes "and you called him daddy"
Damien gets so flustered. "No I didn't, I called him Dreeego! Why am I lying...I've never done that with any of my male partners and...that was also a lie. It was a toxic kind of attraction, I think"
Charlie says it's okay, he just wanted to make sure Damien's okay and that he doesn't think of him any differently
"Other than mortally embarassed, and in need of more wine, c'est la vie. At least we won't have to deal with any Sarhain's any time soon"
"Probably not, but we shouldn't keep mentioning them in case they appear"
Monkey paw curl. Deploy the secret third Sarhain
Sir, a third Sarhain has hit Medani headquarters
Greg Sarhain, the hottest of them all
"I guess the reason for me asking, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't feel obliged to hang out with me or whatever, I dunno"
Damien grabs his hand and goes "no no no no, Charlie you're a wonderful man. I've found myself more and more drawn to you as we've gone on. I guess you see things in people when you spend a lot of time together. It's mainly why I wanted to do this today, as all of our meetings have been engaged in some kind of mortal combat and I thought we should do something nice together and see if things are right? That's what dating is for, oui?"
He continues. "I won't lie and say I'm inexperienced, I've had a lot of past experiences, but I want new experiences with you! I'm always moving forward."
Charlie smiles and says "I don't know how long this will last, maybe we have a couple dates and you decide I'm kinda boring, but I'm happy to walk forward with you, at whatever pace you want to. Because I have been just...I don't know how obvious it's been, I think you could probably see it from space, it's been a while. I just wanted to check before we went further so you had an out, basically, but like I said, happy to walk forward with you."
Damien doesn't need an out. He clasps Charlie's hands and says "then let's walk together, we're gonna be late for the show!"
They race across the city to make it in time for the show!
They have a very cute date, and there's no phones going off with emergency alerts because of wildfires
After the show, Damien takes him to dinner
Ruckus Crime Time
As mentioned previously, there was a knock at the door while Ruckus and Yashira are cleaning up
Yashira answers, and is met by a goblin child. "'Scuse me miss, does Mr Ruckus live here?"
"Uhh, yeah?" and she opens the door a bit to reveal Mr Ruckus
"Hello!"
"...Hi"
"Is...that him?"
"Are you the goblin inventor in the Cogs?"
"One of them"
"No, I think you're the only one. Someone wants to see you"
"Who?"
"Have you ever heard of Kasslak?"
Ruckus has no idea who that is
"I don't know who that is"
"Okay, do you have a piece of paper or something?"
Yashira rips a page from her notebook and hands over a pen and paper to the girl
"If you could go here sometime soon, that would be great and I would appreciate it"
Ruckus is perplexed
Rhazala then looks up at Yashira and goes "who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Yashira" and she shakes Rhazala's grubby little hands
She makes an effort not to wipe her hand afterwards
Yashira comments that she's come far, does she live in Malleon's Gate?
"I don't really live anywhere. I just sleep where it's safe"
Yashira offers to walk her home. Ruckus agrees, and then they can hit up that address. He goes and gets his backpack.
"Oh you're going now! Can I come with you?"
"Well, we're walking you home!"
Yashira asks for her name, and she introduces herself as Rhazala and shakes her hand again
Yashira asks how she found out where Ruckus lived? Rhazala explains that Ruckus hired some of her friends when he moved, and they didn't realise who he was, but she did cos she's very smart
He didn't realise he had a reputation. "A good one I hope?"
"yes, he's a handygoblin!"
And what does she need a handygoblin for?
"Handy jobs! Like fixing doors, and palettes, so we can use them as beds"
She's working em real good
Yashira thinks that sounds doable, Ruckus is very talented. Yashira would help too but she's not very handy
Rhazala pats her on the leg and says she'll get there one day. "I'm six by the way"
Yashira is gonna die
"Okay let's go"
Rhazala grabs Yashira's coat sleeve and starts to go. Yash tells Ruckus to remember to lock the door.
Rhazala knows the way. She leads them down to Malleon's Gate, which is the first time for Yashira. It's basically a slum, and that's eye opening. Ruckus has spent some time here though.
There's a couple of black feathered herons down here, that's weird. When have you ever seen a bird in Malleon's Gate?
Yashira notices that Rhazala seems to be leading them on a bit of a goose chase, she doubles back on herself sometimes, like she's trying to confuse them and get them lost. She writes a note and passes it to Ruckus to explain what she's noticed.
Rhazala leads them to a run down building that might've been a tavern. She knocks on the door, and fuckin Yadha-Ro answers the door. "Oh, it's the Mouthy Medani"
Rhazala shows no fear. She tells them she's found the inventor!
"Oh yeah, he's got a wrench"
"Yeah! He's got a wrench!"
Yadha-Ro step aside, and go "you know the way, little 'un"
She does know the way! They go with her
Yashira's nerves are on fucking fire, as she enters a criminal den where she's almost certainly outnumbered.
Rhazala leads them into the den of monsters, through a kitchen, to the back where the innkeeper's quarters would be. She asks Yashira to get the handle, cos she can't reach, but to let her push the door! Yashira does her one better and picks her up
Rhazala pushes the door open, revealing a run-down office with some kind of shrine. There's a lone figure stood in the room, their back to them, and a long hooded cloak with the hood up. The hood seems to shift slightly as they say "avert your eyes" and start to slowly turn around.
Rhazala and Ruckus both look away, Yashira does not.
Yashira catches a glimpse of snakes from under the hood as the figure turns, and then her self-preservation kicks in and she quickly snaps her head away.
The figure instructs them to take a seat. Rhazala goes over to him, and he thanks her for bringing them, and then gives her a coinpurse after she pouts. She walks out of the room and goes "thank you, bye! See you later!"
"Hello Ruckus, and...who is this?"
Yashira introduces herself, she was just escorting Rhazala back down. "If you want some privacy with Ruckus, that can be arranged"
Kasslak says that's up to Ruckus. "Do you want your friend in the room?"
Yes, yes he does, even if it puts her at risk
It's fine she has a strongly devolved risk center in her brain
"Yes she can stay"
Kasslak asks if he knows why he's here?
"You're looking for a handyman?"
"I would like, ideally, to formally invite you to join our ranks, but if that's not possible, I'll settle for odd jobs"
"Your ranks?"
"Daask"
"You want me to join Daask?"
"Yes." he looks to Yashira. "I'm sorry, am I being unclear?"
"No, it's just a lot to take in"
"Very well. We are prepared to offer substantial monetary rewards for any work done for us."
Ruckus says he's willing to work for money (lmao)
Kasslak asks how scrupulous he is?
Ruckus isn't sure what that means, Yashira leans down and quietly says "it's how far would you go for coin, how much would you compromise your morals, I suppose is what they're asking. Would you decline certain jobs because you don't believe it's right to do them"
Hmm
Ruckus has to think about it.
Kasslak says they don't need to answer now, there's plenty they can use him for that is morally uncomplicated. The infrastructure in Malleon's Gate is breaking down, the city has abandoned these people.
Kasslak explains that they also have equipment that needs maintaining, and they lack the skills to do it. They're operating a field hospital out of this building, and they're running out of medicine and their wands need recharging.
Ruckus is willing to do repairs and maintain the district, but he's not sure about helping with criminal activity. He wants to work on a per job basis.
Yashira has a lead to pursue with Daask, but she decides not to pursue it now so she doesn't potentially mess this up for Ruckus
Kasslak says they don't need an answer today. "Do you have some time to recharge some wands for us, in the infirmary?"
He'll do that. Yashira speaks up here, "and will there be a contract for those wands, or is this for exposure?"
Kasslak produces a purse that is heavier than anything Lhara has given them. "For the wands"
Ruckus sees money signs. Yashira has to stifle a laugh.
"Funny shaped contract that, very few words"
"We're very efficient."
Ruckus recharges their wands, and Rhazala annoys them the whole time and asks Yashira questions incessantly.
"How do you know Yadha-Ro? I think Yadha likes you but Ro doesn't"
"Why do you think that?"
"One was smiling and the other was frowning, aren't Medani's meant to be smart?"
Just getting roasted
Yashira asks what Rhazala thinks their relationship is like with Yadha-Ro?
"You must've mouthed off cos they called you the mouthy Medani but it can't have been too bad because they didn't break your legs"
It's chaos
"Is it normal for Medani's to have criminal contacts?"
"Sometimes"
"Is that how you met Ruckus? Doing crimes?"
"Not quite"
"I think you've done crimes"
"What do you think is my worst crime?"
"Aggravated assault"
"and my least bad?"
"Breaking and entering"
"Small potatoes"
Yashira asks what Rhazala's worst and least worst crimes were?
"I'm not telling that to a stranger"
smart girl
"Stalking, for one"
"That's not a crime"
"Yes it is, that's what the law says"
"I can't read"
"I think you've got bigger crimes in you, I just haven't sussed them out yet"
"and you won't, because I'm smart"
Yashira asks if they can come back later, with Ruckus?
They're playing mindgames with each other
When they're done, they're asked if they know how to get home, and they don't, because Rhazala obfuscated the route. Guess she'll have to take them home!
More Rhazala time
She grills them the whole time, and roasts them a little
"Are you his roommate?"
"Why would it matter?"
"Maybe he needs help. Maybe you're holding him hostage"
Hmm
"I'm just looking out for my friend, wouldn't you do that for people?"
"I'd do lots of things"
"For free?"
"Yeah, sure"
Mhmm
Yashira explains that it's quite dangerous for her to be out and about on her own, she's clearly capable, but be careful
"Oh I'm way faster than the cops, and if I get caught I have a secret"
She gestures for Yashira to lean down, and shows her the nastiest shiv she's ever seen
"The negotiator"
"Have you had to do much negotiating?"
"I'm very persuasive"
Between Ruckus and Rhazala, Yashira is in a criminal sandwich
She gets them back to Charlie's apartment, and goes "okay, this is your address"
"Okay, so if you need to contact Ruckus, you know where to go"
"Yeah, where do you live?"
"What if I live here?"
"I asked that and you were cagey about it"
"I'm cagey with everyone"
"It's okay, even if you give me an address I can't read"
"Anyway, off you go, you little scamp"
Rhazala walks away, and then breaks into a sprint
Small criminal children are clearly Yashira's weakness
Yashira then notices that both her and Ruckus's coinpurses have been stolen.
"Ruckus, you understand that you did all of those wands today for free? Because your coinpurse has been stolen, as has mine"
"Ah, shame" he responds, as he tightens some bolts on a bomb
"No no, we can't do that. Not yet...okay. Fuck me, I guess. TIme to do another job, I'll see you at the dinner tonight. Fucking children, they're evil. They're actually evil. They use their childlike beguiling aura to make you seem so unaware. Okay, let me rephrase, children in Sharn are the devils. It's specifically this city, I've never had issues with children anywhere else. There's so many child criminals it's a nightmare. See you later, Ruckus"
Charlie Getting Home
Damien walks Charlie home and he immediately senses the vibes are off. "Wait, were you robbed?"
"No...Ruckus. Ruckus! Where are you!?"
Ruckus emerges from a cupboard, and goes "what's up?"
"What happened!?"
"Oh, just a job"
Okay, okay okay
"Why were you in a cupboard?"
"How else am I gonna get around?"
"THE FLOOR!?"
Charlie puts his face in his hands and goes "I'm not gonna get my deposit back"
"Yashira needed help with a job and we happened to have the supplies around that she needed!"
"Then where are my chess pieces!? I don't know what you're doing with them but I've had to buy several sets!"
"I dunno, I don't know how to play"
"THEN HOW DO YOU KEEP WINNING!?"
He hasn't realised that he keeps eating the pieces
1st Aryth, 998 YK
Family dinner time!
They all head to Ban's bed and breakfast for the big dinner. They can't have the whole thing to themselves, but he's moved tables around and put some together to get everybody together. He brings out everything with his sister, and is still setting the table when the first of the others arrive. He ushers them to the table, the lighting is warm, and the vibes are cozy as can be.
Nerys is there first, of course. Like, 2 hours early. They were there before Ban was.
They're munching on snacks that Ban keeps putting in front of them.
"Do you need any help? I hope I'm not in the way"
"No no, you're the guest!"
"I would rather be a friend than a guest, if that's okay"
"I would rather be a host!"
Okay
Yashira arrives on time. She goes into the kitchen to greet Ban and gives him a bottle of wine, her go to, and says they need some more sunflower seeds.
Damien, Charlie and Ruckus arrive together, but later than they intended because of trying to get Ruckus out of the house.
By the time the last of the group has arrived, the table is laid and bread is out so they can munch. But not too much, don't wanna ruin their appetite.
Damien is sitting like a pansexual disaster
Between them they keep running out of the sunflower seeds and one of them has to go into the kitchen to request more.
The actual food doesn't come until everyone is seated.
The atmosphere is relaxed, nobody knows why Nerys has requested this
"Charlie you have to try these sunflower seeds. I don't know what he does to them but they're amazing" - Damien
"Oh they've got some kind of seasoning on them" - Yashira
Yashira grabs Nerys for a quiet chat. "You must've got here early, I was the second to arrive and you were already comfortable"
Nerys is so nervous. They started chewing on their finger nails once the others took over the sunflower seeds.
"Oh, sorry! Yeah, I was, I was, I don't live that far away so I thought I might be able to help but Ban really is the master of the kitchen and got everything under control"
"Oh that's true enough, I don't think I could ever help in the kitchen if Ban is around. I could stop us from starving to death, but it's hardly a five star meal like he makes...are you okay, Nerys? You seem tense, I thought that perhaps you arriving early was a good sign but is everything okay?"
So typical of Yashira to go off the script that Nerys had so carefully crafted in their head.
Ban saves them by bringing out the starters!
"Can we maybe talk later, if that's okay?"
"Yeah of course, look, if you wanna sit next to me we can find a quiet moment during the dinner, if you want"
"Are you sure? You wanna sit next to me? You've been spending so much time with Ruckus and Damien, wouldn't you rather talk to them a bit more?"
"Oh, well, Damien's Damien. We'll always find something to bicker about, and Ruckus...uhh, there's a whole story to that. It was a complicated day the other day. I can always make time for you, though! And if you ever need me, you know where my apartment is"
"Honestly, I forgot where your apartment is"
"Okay, I'll give you the address. Maybe you can stay over some time, I'll make it presentable. Ban's right, let's have food, food makes everything better, and as I said you can grab me for a chat or we can arrange something for the near future!"
This has lifted Nerys' mood quite a bit already
The appetiser is little potatoes with sour cream and roe on top. Delicious, very cottage core.
Ban says he's trying out new recipes, so please give him feedback! If they like them, he might put them in the menu.
We roll for it. Ban has never made a bad meal, ever, in his entire life.
Fort Bones are still looking for him, they need their cook back
Everything he makes is the best thing they've ever tasted
Nerys says as much, and Ban is bashfully like "oh you guys always say that"
Nerys asks what the "orange stuff" is? "Oh, it's Roe"
"What is that?"
"Fish eggs. It's a delicacy in some areas. It's kinda funny how in some places it's treated as a comodity, like a poor man's meal, but in others it's a delicacy. It tastes good either way!"
Ban quietly asks Nerys when they want to bring up the thing?
They have slipped back into avoidance mode after the positive interaction with Yashira. They'll need Ban's help.
They tell Ban maybe they don't need to talk about it today, let's not ruin the dinner. Ban goes "no no no, we should talk about it, but if you want to wait we can bring out the dinner first and see how you feel. Enjoy the nice relaxed time, and sort your thoughts"
NOW FOR THE MAIN COURSE
Inspired by the adventure they had in Darguun, he brings out a banana curry! He somehow acquired them fresh-ish!
It triggers memories for all of them. Damien reminisces about their time with Fairytale Fumbus and Boblin the Goblin. Yashira has a thousand yard stare, as she has a terrible time in that adventure.
Continuing the trend, it's the most food to ever food. Ban has a gift, truly
While everyone has their mouth full, Nerys starts talking.
"I have something I wanna talk to you all about, it's about the dynamics of this group and me potentially wanting to go back home"
Everyone is flabbergasted, some of them start choking
Yashira goes "wait, Nerys...you want to leave?"
Nerys looks to Ban for support
Ban blinks encouragingly
"I...I was thinking about it." They sigh. "I feel like there is some dynamics in this group that I am not enjoying, and I can't say for certain if this is just how adventuring groups are, because I umm." They sigh again. "I really want this group to work, I think you're all very very amazing and I want us to be not just adventurers but also like, y'know, a group of friends, and there is some stuff that I think is not what friends do. But also, I haven't really had friends in a long time so maybe...I think that Ruckus you sometimes just disappear and don't think through how your actions affect other people, and Yashira I think it was really messed up when you left Damien to be punched and ran up that train. We thought you were dead, and then happy you weren't dead, and then we never talked about it again. I just thought this isn't how an adventuring group should behave with each other, we're supposed to have each other's back, like a found family, and not leave anyone behind and prioritise each other."
"It's been hurting me a lot and I should've brought it up sooner but I didn't want to upset anyone, I didn't want to upset Charlie or Damien since they seem to have a lot going on, but this really isn't how I imagined or wanted this to be, and that makes me really sad. But if this is just how adventuring is, and I was just silly for thinking it would like the stories, maybe it's just not something I can do anymore."
They're looking into the curry the entire time, poking the bananas with their spoon.
There are several seconds of stunned silence. Damien breaks the tension first.
"Nerys, I apologise if things haven't been how you pictured them, but we are friends. We're all friends. How do I put this? A lot of us are maybe...colleagues? Sure, there's small dynamics between all of us but at the end of the day we work together and that is the dynamic. It doesn't work that way for everyone, and I understand it's not what you expected, I'm sorry for that."
"I'll be okay, I just...it's like you said, it's not what I expected. It's okay"
Yashira chimes in. "No, I don't think it is okay. I'm sorry, Nerys, you're right. There have been times where we've been together and I've operated like I was working alone. I have to admit, I haven't been part of an adventuring group before, I'm not sure how other groups operate if I'm being honest, but I've spent a decade working alone for the most part. It's been hard for me to adjust to relying on friends. When I left Damien on the train, I admit that was a shameful decision that I made, and I thought it was the best one at the time for the group. It was the same in Daanvi, when I made the decision to surrender without discussing it with the rest of you. It doesn't come naturally to me to rely on people. I joined Clifftop at the recommendation of my family, they thought it would be good for my...lesser qualities. It'd be good for team building, and I agreed, but I haven't been honing those teamwork skills as I should, and it's not okay. I'm very sorry that I've treated you all like...chess pieces on a chess board, and not colleagues or friends or something in between, I'm not sure what we'd call ourselves at this point. I am sorry, and if you feel this can't be rectified and you want to leave and find another group that might...treat you better, I would understand but I'd very much like it if you stayed so that I, at the very least, can make it up to you. So that I can apologise with actions as well as words, for how I've treated you and some of the others in the group. I can only do that if you stay, but please don't feel like I'm forcing you to."
Nerys was looking down through all of that, their eyes a bit puffy and watery. Pre-crying, like it'll all fall out if they blink, which they're trying very hard not to.
Charlie hands them a handkerchief.
Nerys accepts it, looks up, and gives Yashira a smile before looking to Damien. "Are we friends?"
"Of course we are! I enjoy your company!"
"I don't think I've considered any of you not my friends" - Nerys
"Nor have I, to clarify what I just said, some groups from what I know are just colleagues, they may not even have consistent teams. We've all managed to stick together, and that's good!" says Damien
"We've done so much together, just the six of us" responds Nerys. "We snuck into a Karrnathi fort, we've been to multiple other planes, we fought incredible things. I thought that would mean something"
"It does! I just want you to understand that sometimes those things are just jobs. I'm not saying that's our dynamic, but sometimes that's how it is" Damien responds
"Do you feel like that, Ruckus?" Nerys asks
"Each of us joined the guild for different reasons, and that could affect how we all feel about it. Some of us joined to see the world, others because they fell on hard times, others to improve their skills. We have been on many trips together now, and we've helped each other and saved each other multiple times. We've been to different planes and fought things we absolutely shouldn't be fighting, and somehow winning. That builds a bond! I like you lot, I wouldn't've stuck around if I didn't, but at the same time I haven't been doing this to see the world, I've been doing it because I needed stuff. So maybe I'm just not doing it for the right reasons, I dunno, but that's neither here nor there. I am gonna ask you something though, Nerysdeth, are you certain leaving is what you want to do? I would be sad to see you go, but I won't stop you if you've made up your mind. I will say that if you do decide to leave us, I'll remember you."
The tears have begun to flow. "Of course I don't want to leave. This is such a special place and I don't really...I don't wanna go home, I don't fit in there, I don't have friends there, but here i have you guys and I thought this was, even if you were doing it for money, we're still a community. Like, y'know, outsiders...underdogs sticking together and"
Ruckus hugs Nerys, and Nerys hugs him back and sobs into his neck, which is actually improving his hygiene.
Their speech has become unintelligible, maybe something about a street vendor that was delicious?
Ruckus just pats their back through it, and says "I know this group hasn't turned out how you were dreaming about, but I still hope it can be what you want it to be. Sometimes what we need and what we want don't line up, but you can still be better for it in the end"
Nerys is no longer able to talk. Some kind of silence spell I'm sure
Ban asks if anyone wants seconds? Nerys says "yes please" and starts hiccuping
Bless
Their curry is really salty now because of the tears
"I hope I didn't ruin this really nice dinner, it was so nice and Yashira wanted to sit next to me and you're so cool but you're overworking yourself and I wanted to help and be like your assistant on a quest, I even bought this magnifying glass that I've been carrying around"
Damien starts to go "that's what I was say-" but Yashira shoots him a look that shuts him up
Yashira hands Nerys a handkerchief. They're collecting em
"Look, I'm grateful that you want to help me, and it is a help, I'm sorry that I just...I'll be better. I'll stop being so stubborn, and lone wolf. How about, in the next few days, you can help me? Come to my office, we can get some odd jobs done, maybe make some headway on that thing we were working on."
"And maybe you can sleep a bit more and drink one less cup of coffee in the morning" says Nerys
"We can try. We'll pinky promise on it, I'll drink less coffee and wine and get...an hour more sleep than I do at the moment"
Instead of grabbing her pinky, Nerys pulls Yashira into a hug
Nerys has another outburst. "I'm sorry that I oveslept on our first day and didn't jump with you guys from the tower!"
Charlie says that if it's any consolation, they didn't miss much
Nerys says they're feeling better, and asks for more curry?
"Of course, but save room for dessert too"
Damien chimes in that he also hasn't addressed the abandoning on the train, as Nerys put it, but he didn't think he had to. Yashira knows he wouldn't hold it against her, and he gets punched in the face all the time! It comes with the charm, or lack thereof
"I think you're charming" says Charlie
"Thank you dear"
But if he was upset, he would've spoken to Yashira about it!
They did, actually
lmao
"My concern was more that she was alright, not my bruised ego or jaw"
Nerys quietly says it wasn't okay. Ruckus says they can all agree that the train was rough.
They did the best they could with the situation, that's what teams do
"So what can we keep having adventures together?" asks Nerys
Of course, if they're happy to stay, they'll gladly have them
Nerys doesn't really want to go home. Their mom really wants them to pick up an artisan job, but they don't want to. They have the hands of a writer, not a blacksmith.
They've never met people like the party before, and they've learned so much. "I'm not the best at having friends, I don't really know"
Ruckus interrupts and says nobody writes a guidebook on how to have friends
Damien says he probably could, if he tried.
Ban asks Nerys if they're feeling better?
"Yeah, and I also feel really really tired"
Ban says that sounds like it's the perfect time for dessert then, and then they can wrap up the night (or stay, if anyone wants to!)
The dessert is inspired by Risia, but it's shaped like a mountain so they all latch onto that and decide it's the Mountainsoul. This is the cross that I must bear, for the rest of time. That's what will fix them.
It's like a frozen cake, it has a creamy texture, with berries on top.
It's Banging, as is all of Ban's cooking
He says they're all his favourite tasters. It'd be nice to do this again on occasion.
Yashira suggests they could do it once a week, and everyone can bring their own ingredients and then decide what to do with them. Maybe Ban can teach them all to cook so he doesn't have to do all of it.
Ban says they may need to do it elsewhere if it's weekly, since this is a business, but they can go to peoples apartments or homes provided they have something to cook with! They can alternate
Damien is staying at Clifftop, but there's a communal kitchen!
Yashira thinks Lhara would kill them, but Ban says they can invite her too
Ruckus says it'll smooth things over for him making rat holes
Ban says "what?" and he goes "nothing"
Charlie says to just keep an eye on him when he's in your kitchen