#halfire

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: Does anyone want to talk to NPCs they missed yesterday?

Andy (playing Una): What's Diana doing?

DM: Mirror and Halfire are trying really hard to get along with people, but Diana is just hanging around the fringes of the party.

Andy: Perfect. I approach her. "Hi."

DM: "Hello, Una."

Andy: "Uh... having a good time?"

DM: "You've done a lovely thing here."

Andy: "Thanks. It was a group effort. So... have you decided on a name?"

DM: "We think we'll go for The Iron Circle. Thanks for your help with that."

Andy: "No problem. So, uh... I've read about House T."

DM: What's your Insight?

Andy: 22.

DM: She doesn't seem to react. As if she doesn't know the name.

Andy: "The House your armour comes from."

DM: She looks at you for the first time. "If you've read about it, you know they all died some years ago. I lived near their castle. After their demise I figured my employment prospects were gone, so I took what I could carry and left."

Andy: "So you... weren't involved at all?"

DM: Make a Diplomacy check.

Andy: *winces* 23?

DM: She laughs. "What kind of girl do you take me for? No."

Andy: "Oh, okay. Uh... what does it do? I'm an artificer, you see."

DM: Tati? You have their stats.

Tati (playing Seraph): It's called Verve Armour. +2 to death saves, and once a day she can treat a failed death save as a natural 20. Because Destrian got her into a lot of situations she would be likely to die in.

Andy: Ooh, neat. I say, "Well, that sounds useful. And... I guess if they're not around to need it any more there's no harm done."

DM: She winces at the phrase 'not around'.

Andy: Insight?

DM: You can't tell anything more than that.

Andy: Oooh.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Andy (playing Una): I point at the papers and ask, "So what's all this?"

DM: Mirror says, "Well, Servants of the Sun is kind of finished. We started with five members and we're down to three. The person who named it is dead. So we're trying to come up with a new name."

Andy: "That's uh... A good idea."

DM: "There's also the fact that a lot of people are calling you Guardians of the Sun now, and being called Servants of the Sun... it makes us sound affiliated with you. And while we're not offended by the association, it might not be something you're comfortable with."

Andy: "Ah..." *long pause* I really wanted to ask about Diana's armour, but now I feel like it would be super awkward to say, 'Hey, did you murder an entire eladrin family for their armour?' I was hoping she'd be on her own, though I'm not sure why I thought she would be.

Tati (playing Seraph): Just ask her out for a drink.

Hamish (playing Thaddeus): Just ask her in front of them.

Andy: It's really hard to make small talk with someone who never talks... I stammer a few times, then ask, "Well, what have you got?"

DM: Halfire says, "We've mulled over hundreds of names in the last few days, and we've got it down to a top four."

Andy: "I love a reduced list."

DM: Mirror says, "Well, first is The Carrion Crows."

Andy: "Right."

DM: They explain, "You know, we've picked ourselves up from quite a dire place, and-"

Andy: "It's a play on carry-on. I like it."

DM: Diana says, "Thank you. Next is The Spotless. Because we've gotten rid of the big blemish in our life."

Andy: "...Ooh. I'm not sure it says anything about you now."

DM: "True..."

Hamish: And TTC does?

Andy: We travel, and we experience trauma!

DM: Mirror says, "Right. Third, The Iron Circle. There's just the three of us, and we're so tight and close now... maybe it should be the Iron Triangle. We've been really tempered by so much hardship and we've come out so much stronger."

Andy: "I actually really like that."

DM: They say, "The last option, we're not quite sure how to break it down, but a variation on The Walkers, or The Path Walkers. We've done so many things in our time together, and we came together from different walks of life. It would honour that."

Andy: "That's beautiful."

DM: "So, definitely not The Spotless?"

Andy: "That was definitely... the runt of the litter."

DM: They cross it off.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Andy (playing Una): I want to talk to Diana.

DM: Okay! Servants of the Sun are still in the tavern they moved to after Destrian disappeared. It's quite nice, which is a novelty for them since they had to stay in dumps with Destrian since he'd break things all the time. Approaching their room, you hear them brainstorming a new party name.

Tati (playing Seraph): Aww.

Andy: I knock on the door.

DM: The voices go quiet, then Mirror opens the door. Their face goes from neutral to a sneer, then they blink as if correcting themselves and smile.

Tati: Oh, Mirror! You disaster!

DM: "Una, how nice to see you. Maybe you can help us out."

Andy: "Okay?"

DM: Diana nods to you and Halfire gives you a smile. They each have a piece of paper in front of them with a list of possible party names on it. Mirror pours you a tea and says, "So, how have you been doing since we last saw you?"

Andy: I say, "We've been doing pretty well. It's interesting having days that aren't totally flat out and dreading things two or three events in the future."

DM: They nod. "Yes, absolutely! Though we know as well as anyone that the troubles aren't done, we know he is still out there. But it's nice to have some down time for now."

Andy: "How have you been adjusting? Big changes. Big days."

DM: They say, "Honestly, we used to do as little as possible each day anyway. Most of our energy was spent keeping Destrian out of trouble. We're trying to find things to fill each day with now. So next, after we're finished here, we're going to look for a new quest." They look at you quickly. "Which we'll do after we, you know-" Diana says, "Kill that bastard."

Andy: *smiles grimly* "Yeah, that."

[we-are-a-dragon]

Thaddeus (khajiit paladin): Where's Destrian now?

DM: Mirror shakes their head. "We haven't seen him since. We cleared the rest of the tomb and then came back. Not a whisper."

Billie (gnome ardent): *glancing at Duke Farlaing* ...Did Farlaing react to Destrian attacking him?

DM: Halfire snorts humourlessly. "He laughed and said this adventure was exciting."

Seraph (siren sorcerer): *under breath* Yikes...

Billie: Farlaing, are Servants of the Sun finished their round or is it still going?

DM: He says vaguely, "Oh, no. The adventure is complete."

Billie: Hey, what do you think about what's going on?

DM: For a second he looks extremely confused and almost lucid, then his eyes go completely fogged over. "About what, Billie?"

Billie: Forget it. Sit there and shut up.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: Servants of the Sun answer your summons and turn up to the war room Emperor Cherish has given you. They look around, impressed. Mirror says, "You’ve gone up in the world."

Seraph (siren sorcerer): You could have too if you’d come with us.

Billie (gnome ardent): (simultaneous) You could have been here too.

DM: They instantly look ashamed.

Seraph: *gentler* Destrian wasn’t here. We didn’t face him.

Billie: That means there’s a next time. Will you be with us?

DM: Diana steps forward and says in her raspy voice, "We should have been here this time. We were so afraid. But next time we won’t fail, as we’ve done so many times before."

Billie: You didn’t have a team before. I can’t imagine how hard it was for just you. But- *sweeps arm around TTC, Galwyn, The Craftsmen* -you have all of us this time.

DM: Mirror looks at Halfire and nods slightly. Halfire takes a half-step forward and says, "Servants of the Sun is with you."

[we-are-a-dragon]

Tati (playing Seraph): I love Mirror offering Halfire the lead!

DM: *smiles*

Tati: I would have given so much to be a fly on the wall the first few days after Destrian left, when Mirror and Diana had to confess everything to Halfire. I’m so glad it seems to have made their team stronger instead of destroying them.

DM: I’m sure it was extremely awkward at first, but they’ve had a solid week in isolation together and seem to be working things out.

Tati: I suggest that they should change their group name now. They haven’t had a cleric of Pelor for years, and now that Destrian is gone maybe it’s time for a new era and new associations.

DM: They really like that idea and say they’ll think about it.

[we-are-a-dragon]

Seraph (siren sorcerer): Mirror, what do you think?

DM: Mirror says, "I don't know. We're focused on Destrian. Not just for our own wellbeing-"

Seraph: *shrugs* If you had any selfish motivation, you'd have run from him years ago.

DM: They sag and say, "Thank you. For trusting us." Halfire throws them a look. Diana says, "There's been no sign of Destrian. Which in itself is conspicuous."

Seraph: *chews lip* He's on a tight leash.

Thaddeus (khajiit paladin): It has to be someone pretty invincible to leash Destrian. And that thought makes me uncomfortable.

[we-are-a-dragon]

DM: The party goes on for a while.

Kjell (half-elf barbarian): I'm just sitting gazing at my new axe.

Billie (gnome ardent): I've gathered a crowd of nobles and I'm schmoozing.

DM: That's no trouble, they all want to talk to you after your performance in the arena.

Godric (fairy warlock): I keep an eye on Servants of the Sun.

DM: They appear to have gone from outright hatred to resentful respect. Destrian has passed out from drinking, and Halfire seems to be assigned babysitter.