Atapax's Kingmaker Campaign

Game Master Aluvian

Sia listens to Bregor's suggestions for a moment, then quickly does some math. "That's a three week trip out. Now, I want to get this done more than anyone, but we have to account for supplies too. The horses may get overwhelmed if we need them to carry that much food. If we leave off a bit north of where you're suggesting, we'll shave several days off the itinerary and be able to pack a bit less. It means we'll need to spend another week out in the wilderness, but it's a balance I'm willing to accept if you are."

Bregor favours Sia with one of his rakish smiles before bowing humbly.
"I was merely voicing an opinion, as the junior member of this little enterprise it is hardly my place to do more than that my lady Siarani, moreover, it does seem to me that you are the unofficial leader of this intrepid band of would be explorers, so the decision is yours."

Bregor sits down again and twirls his moustache for a few moments.
"A wise leader listens to the suggestions of others but still makes the final decision herself."

"I would like to make one point however, it seems like a lot of the western ground might be covered with difficult terrain, such as it would be difficult for horses to traverse it, and also...I personally lack a horse." Here Bregor has the good taste to look somewhat embarrassed.

"My final point is this, with the help of master Salinthas, we will be able to hunt and forage for food along the way, as such we will not have the need to carry overmuch supplies beyond emergency rations for days when we cannot find forage. Still, I will accept whatever decision you come to my lady."

Oleg tells Gorax that his potions have indeed arrived, and he'll be sure to complete the transaction before they leave out again.

As the group starts to form back up to discuss plans later that day, Salinthas quietly takes a seat. He's spent most of the day alone, though he did make a point of speaking briefly with both Jhod and Kesten that afternoon.

Considering Bregor's comments, Salinthas nods. "With Spring comming, there will be more game to hunt. Travel will get easier." He shrugs, "Aside from the mud."

"Why thank you Oleg, you know I'm thinking maybe I could get another weapon, just for a bit of variety you know. You wouldn't have a big weapon that I can use to bash things with, anything like that in your stores? Or those soldiers, some of them had big poles with weapons on the end, gosh if you could order me one of those, it would be fun to learn more don't you think? Might be useful, mind you it would have to be cheap, cos with the potions I don't know it I have enough money yet."

A great club would be fine and cheap, or a heavy flail might be fun. A pole arm of your choice, although I'd quite like a Bill.

"The problem with foraging for food along the way is that it'll slow us down a great deal," Kyrie points out, then nods at Salinthas. "I respect your hunting and tracking skills, but gathering enough food for five people will take several hours even with help - hours in which those not hunting can't continue traveling either. It's certainly an option we can use when we have to, but I'd prefer not to use it unless we have to."

She takes a sip of ale and looks the map over again, running along the unfilled portion on the northwest edge with the tip of her dagger in a northwest-southeast horizontal zig-zag, ending near the marker of the long-destroyed Thorn River camp. "If we keep our pace, we should be able to cover this area well within two weeks even allowing for surprises and looking for that trapper and Svetlana's ring -- and we'll be less than half a day's straight travel from Oleg's at the end of it, so we can make it back even if we run out of supplies..."

She leans back from the table again and offers Salinthas an apologetic smile. "Again, I mean no disrespect, and I'm not questioning your ability to hunt enough game to feed all five of us, but I'd prefer not to rely on that and that alone..."

Using Sia's map as a visualisation aid, the route Kyrie is suggesting is (a3, a2, a1, b1, b2, c3, c2, c1, d1, d2, d3, back to Oleg's) -- 1-8 being west-east, a-k being north-south

Gorax has a face of dismay at the conversation of what to do, "Look, last time Sia you couldn't wait to leave here and said you wanted to go out for a very long time exploring not coming back for several weeks. Now this time for some reason, we don't want to go out for too long. I really don't understand women. As far as I can see we follow Bregor's outline and get a lot done relatively quickly. And there ain't no problem with hunting for game and food on the way round, it'll give us something to do which ain't making maps and stuff. God that was boring the last time we went out, me I'd rather go off hunting for game and food and stay away longer. It'll make coming back here for Swetlana's food all the more rewarding."

Smelling beer at the table Gorax gets up, "And is that alcohol I smell, wafting through the air. We'll not travel with drunkards and brigands...that's for sure." He looks accusing round the table, not sure who or where the smell comes from. His eyes are wide, his jaw set and he leans across the table, threateningly, "If I can smell drink, then it is making its invidious incursions into your brains, making your decisions weak and actions slowed. It is a devil working inside you, bringing destruction to you and your friends." He looks intently into each and everyone's eyes, one at a time, trying to find the culprit.

"Um..." normally quite glib, Bregor hesitates a little before speaking.
"Friend Gorax, while I appreciate you speaking up for my plan I would like to point out that the ladies does raise fair questions...moreover, are you not trapping yourself overmuch with your own words now? After all, what if it is me drinking? If so the plan you approve of would be based on a "weak decision" would it not?"

At this point Bregor licks his lips nervously. "Also, it is not really a very nice thing to do to insult a friend’s religion..."

"Gorax..." Sia holds the bridge of her nose. "The whole point is to try to get it done efficently. Before we were going out for three or four days at a time and staying here for two, and at that pace we won't be done nearly in time for those settlers to be ready to receive a shipment from harvest. We do have to pick it up, spend less time resting and more time working. On the other hand, we have to plan against our limits. No offense to you or your skills, Salinthas, but you have to admit there's at least an element of luck to keeping all of us fed off the land. I would prefer to plan factoring luck out of the equation and assuming you can't come up with anything, so that when it turns out I was wrong we can simply thank our good fortune."

Once Gorax and Bregor start...discussing religion Sia's head drops a bit further to the table. One hand goes out and puts itself on Kyrie's shoulder.

More than willing to admit his own limits, Salinthas gives a nod to both Kyrie and Sia. "I would say... to use hunting as an... addition. It would be foolish to leave without proper supplies."

At Gorax's outburst he simply leans back, narrowing as he looks at the man more closely. Truly these are an unusual group of people. He watches the interaction, saying nothing to either side. For his part, he prefers good clean water when he can get it, but Gorax's complete aversion to a drink is quite curious.

Kyrie is about to open her mouth to answer Gorax' concerns about the length of the journey when he begins ranting against alcohol again. She inhales slowly through her nostrils and goes through the long version of the family mantra through her head, then forces herself to relax as she feels Sia's hand on her shoulder, a tacit reminder that she isn't alone in this and that there's no need to verbally dismember him just yet.

With Bregor's talk of religion, Gorax sits down again, with an emphatic resigned gesture into his seat. His face is unhappy, "I've spent too long picking up the pieces of drunks in towns to know that any god would wish drink on people. Tis always the precursor to some violence or felony of some kind. When I was on the city watch, too often did men and women disgrace themselves, so many thrown in our gaol, punished and corrupted through the alcohol they had drunk. It is the evil that makes devils of men. I'm sure no god would condone such." He lifts his tankard of water to his lips and takes a long drink. As he does this, his face relaxes slightly, and the dark clouds that thundered behind his eyes and countenance begin to dissipate. "Aye, alcohol has been the bane of so many, its hurts ripple throughout society whilst others grow rich at its victims expense. Just spend time on the city watch and you will see the real cost."

He sits back, relaxed in his certainty.

Salinthas' look becomes even more curious. "That is... Interesting. If it is the fault of the drink, then why did you punish them? If you were punishing the people, would that not say that the people were at fault?" He leaves the question as more rhetorical than anything else, turning back to the previous matter.

"I have not drawn maps of land that I have seen. But I have seen some of what you point to I think. The only thing I think you need to worry about, besides the usual, are the rivers. There are several rivers in this land, and few places to cross easily."

"You oversimplify...what about the vast majority that drink indeed get drunk but never cause trouble? For each belligerent drunk there are at least one hundred who never cause problems, except mayhap a few rude words at times."

Bregor is fighting to retain his good mood now, and succeeding mostly because he remembers some of the sayings of the faith.
"As for no good approving of alcohol, there are in fact several gods that do that, Torag, the chief deity of the Dwarven people is an avid brewer, and the Dwarven people enjoy his bounty, in addition, my own lord Cayden Caelian is the good of freedom, bravery, wine, ale and women. In life a staunch and upright man, always willing to fight for the cause of good, a foe to tyrants of all kinds, and despite being a mercenary, not above protecting people for free nor throwing down his sword and walking away from an unjust campaign..."

Bregor shakes his head sadly.
"You've made up your mind already friend Gorax, but it is your own loss, I am not trying to make you drink, but to condemn a person merely for not conforming to your own views...is very narrow-minded."

"I thought you might have understood when we shared our pasts with each other...but it seems you did not understand...it saddens me, but I do understand..."

Sia mutters "Not that Cayden Cailean makes a distinction between temples and alehouses. Some just haven't been officially blessed yet." After she mutters, she blinks in surprise, then looks at her meal for a moment, slightly puzzled.

After a moment, she shakes it off. "I suppose I should also point out that you're also factually mistaken on a number of points. I've already tried to remind you of some of the common uses, but since you decided to ignore those, I should also take care to point out that wine is a common component of spells used by those wizards who seek knowledge, and brewing it into a liquor is a common method for stabilizing a great many mystical concotions, to prevent them from going bad. There's a good chance that the bottles you just paid Oleg for have just such a component to them, though the content will be fairly low in most cases."

Gorax looks across at Bregor, concerned about his answer, "Another lord of the manor who thinks his life's been hard. What does he really know of survival, its one thing being beaten and fed, and another when you're hungry, cold and beaten. I should have known he didn't really understand." He looks suspiciously at the mug containing Bregor's drink, not sure if that contained the evil liquid or not.

Returning his looks to Sia and the rest of the group, a gruff gravely voice "Well, if you've decided where we're going, then its just a case of getting ready and being ready for when we head out." As he says this, he wipes his hand across his lips, before taking a hunk of freshly baked bread and a large slice of meat, before stuffing it the makeshift doorstop of a sandwich in his mouth and eating.

As Gorax launches into yet another rant, Kyrie has finally had enough.

"So does that make your good friend Oleg a criminal?" she asks Gorax, meeting his gaze unflinchingly "Just because I don't share your delusions about alcohol, am I a 'drunk' and a 'brigand' ?"

She snorts derisively. "How did you ever find a city watch willing to put up with these rants of yours? Or is that why you're out here now?"

Her eyes narrow. "You're casually dismissing and insulting a great many people, from deities to tavern owners and honest merchants. And while I suspect the Lucky Drunk is perfectly capable of dealing with insults to him by himself, I'm less willing to sit here and listen to your imbecilic blathering denouncing my family as criminals and victimizers."

She tosses her head once, indicating the rest of the room's occupants, then once again matches Gorax glare for glare across the table. "No one here shares your delusions. And no one here feels particularly obligated to cater to them anymore. What do you intend to do about it? Rant some more in the hopes that we'll agree with you just to make you shut up? Threaten to swing those fists of yours like the bully you pretend not to be? Or - and I realize this is a faint possibility at best - are you going to listen to sanity and realize you're being an idiot?"

Gorax, his mouth full of food, leans back on his chair as Sia speaks. His eyes glaze over as she talks about things he just doesn't understand, potions are potions, drink is drinks, obvious. He sticks his finger in his ear, to see if removing some of the wax makes any difference. After concentrating on wiggling his finger vigorously, a large orange yellow blob of gunge emerges on his digit. It takes his interest as he rolls it round into a ball before he flicks on the ground to his left, watching how far it flies through the air. With his mouth full, a muffled reply is heard. "Of course Sia." he says mindlessly as she finishes her speech and lecture on the components of potions.

Then he finds another voice wandering through his consciousness, for some reason Oleg's name bites like a bullet into his mind. His body stiffen in an involuntary reflex motion as his brain shuffles the words into some sort of order, and immediately his chair tilts past the point of no return, throwing him onto the floor in a mass of spouting bread and cheese erupting like a fountain from his mouth. Arms and legs wave furiously in the air as he tries to gain his balance, his mind confused by this sudden turn of events. "Oomph!...Ooow!" Somewhat disorientated he pulls himself slowly up from the ground, looking at the chair as though it had betrayed him, searching for a fault in its structure, that might have caused his fall. It takes a moment or too, be fore he responds, "What do you mean, Oleg's a criminal? I won't have a bad word said against him or his wife. They are good hearted people, hard working and he's a man I would have been proud to call my father, if I were his son."

Kyrie nods. "I agree that he's a decent, hard-working man. He's also a fairly decent brewer," she replies. "Or as you would put it, someone who grows rich at the expense of those 'victims of alcohol'."

She motions with her cup. "Where do you think this ale came from? Magic beer pixies? Cayden Cailean's personal tankard?"

Gorax rips off his shirt, showing his muscular fairly bronzed body underneath, he points to two pale white long jagged scars running down his flesh to the right of his stomach, turning there are several on his back. "You want to see a victim of alcohol, then witness these! With love from my alcohol affected father for my 13th birthday present!" With that he hurries away to his cot and things.

Kyrie doesn't seem to have much sympathy for Gorax' outburst. She snorts derisively. "It sounds to me like you're desperately trying to pretend to yourself that your father was really a good person victimized by something else rather than accept that maybe - just maybe - he really just was an abusive lout and a sorry excuse for a human being, and that his drinking was just a symptom rather than the cause."

She finishes her ale, then places the cup back on the table. "Fact: The vast majority of people do not become criminals, thugs or monsters just by drinking alcohol. Fact: The only person at this table who routinely threatens people with violence if they don't agree with his idiotic delusions is you."

She finishes enumerating, then smiles thinly at Gorax. It's not a nice or even a friendly smile. "Face them, if you're man enough. It wasn't the drink that turned your father into a monster. It was all him -- and you've learned his habits."

Bregor hurries after Gorax "Listen..." Bregors voice is soft, all the more audible for not being raise. "My objection is that you seem to think of Alcohol as something living, a sentient evil...but it is no more evil or alive than a sword, or fire...think about it, fire can be used to warm you on a cold night, so can alcohol, both may save your life, but if used irresponsible they can cause great harm, yet, why blame the fire or the bottle and no the hand that wielded it?"

Bregor shakes his head. "I realize this is a deep seated thing, and trust me, I understand it all too well, perhaps your situation was worse than mine, but perhaps it was better. I had no other kin, I had no home, always on the move, always watched, always abused. But we are not here to compare scars...because we all have them I think, all at this table have his or her own scars, and nobody’s suffering should be overlooked or made light of."

"While the point could have been voiced with more diplomacy it is still valid, I do not think that anyone was ever turned into a monster by drinking alone, it brought out a devil that already lived within, and by hating alcohol so much, your own devil may emerge despite not touching it at any time, I consider you a friend master Gorax, and I was hoping it might be mutual, but look at yourself for a moment please? You are shouting at your allies, people who could be friends or already are...surely you see that it is not right?"

Sia remains quiet as the others speak, her eyes closed now, taking deep breaths, as if either waiting for the inevitable storm or holding it back through sheer force of will. When her eyes do open, she looks right at Gorax.

"It's hard for me to think of anything to add, Gorax, except for this - in a strange way, you're the worst drunken bully I've ever seen. After all, no man can afford to truly be intoxicated his whole life, even if it might seem that way. But at all times, anyone might be, and you enter a drunken rage when anyone near you seems intoxicated. Your vice isn't alcohol, but your own passion. And, more than liquour, more than pesh, that's the far more dangerous drug."

Bregor winces at both the words and tone of all involved. This could get ugly very fast...what to do? I am all at sea here, lost for a way out.

As Bregor catches up with Gorax, his shoulders and body heaves as he attempts to control the sobs of hurt. He is kneeling down head buried in the off white pillow of his cot, his white scars almost a life of their own as they shake with his movements. He turns to look round, to find Bregor's arm on his shoulder's. The giant of a man, appears broken under the concern of the other soldier. He quickly looks away wiping the salty tears from his red puffed eyes. Quietly he speaks, "No, don't you can't see me like this. And it was the booze, my father was kind and loving when he was sober. Well he treated us reasonably well for a man of few means. He was a good father, a good miner, its just when he had a drink." Gorax, stiffens up, as he tidies himself and rises from the bed side. "You can't tell the others, they'll think me weak and not strong enough to be a soldier."

Bregor shakes his head with a sad smile. "My dear friend Gorax, just as courage is not the absence of fear but rather the ability to overcome it, so is strength the ability to overcome weakness, not a lack of having weakness in the first place. But yes, your "secret" is safe with me. As for your father, mayhap he was, mayhap he was not, you would know it better than me, I certainly would not appreciate if someone told me my father was anything but a bastard so I can see your point. My problem is that you seem to think EVERYONE who ever drink is the same, you know, there is a land cursed by the gods...that land has become a desert, the water is scares and often not drinkable, the land is too dry to support cattle so no milk, nor fruit juice, they have little choice but to import vast quantities of beer and ale since it is the only thing that would survive the road, and the only thing available in such quantities. To them beer is life as water and milk is to you, and few would drink it in excess because of what it represents. The reason I tell you this is so you can understand how things can be different. I can respect your wish to not drink, but you must try to respect that some WILL drink, save your anger and rancour for those that deserve it, the drunken bullies that prey on others, and ignore those that just drink of the pleasure or taste. I do not think you meant any slight against my god, and because he is such a nice fellow I doubt he took any offence either."

Bregor gives Gorax a pat on his shoulder. "Come, this is an adventure, and we still have a lot to learn, from the world, from each other, and from the others, and we can teach by example. By the by, when I drink, I prefer wine to ale, and trust me, at the cost of a good bottle of wine, I will not waste it by drinking myself drunk ha-ha."

Kyrie says nothing more as Gorax stumbles off, but what flashes in her eyes as she glares at his retreating back does not bode well.

Sia sees the look in Kyrie's eyes and quickly grabs her by the shoulders, steering her into a nearby tent. Once there, she quickly hugs the elf lass. "Kyrie, I know you're angry, but try to keep it under control. Whatever decision you make, I'm with you. Just try not to make it without thinking, okay?"

Salinthas watches everyone hurry off, leaving him alone at the table with the map. After waiting a few moments to see if anyone will come back, he shrugs and goes off to find himself something constructive to do until tempers cool down. These outsiders certainly are something else.

"Listen Gorax, I will not lie to you, there is bound to be some tension in the party for now, sometimes people clash before they mesh. I would suggest you leave it alone for now, let tempers cool and saner heads prevail, but eventually you will have to tell your story in full to the others, and you will have to apologise for becoming so angry. Remember, we are allies, and in at least my case also friends. And my guess is that you can become friends with the others as well, but you will have to give it some time, let it come naturally."

Bregor shakes his head a little, this was more adventure than he had bargained for initially, but somehow, if he could overcome the challenge of making the big passionate slugger of a man mesh with the fiery beauty of a lady elf, he would have accomplished something grand, maybe even grander than slaying the Stag lord, something he was sure he would be doing personally.

"Do not get me wrong, certainly things were said on the other side that also warrants an apology to you, but in this case I believe you may have to be the "big man" and be the one seeking reconciliation rather than expect it. We need each other, and our differences can be a great boon, not just a challenge to overcome. Besides, I don't know about you, but I always did enjoy the company of sharp-tongued beauties such as those two." Here Bregor gives Gorax a nudge with his elbow and winks.

Gorax smiles at Bregor, "Two beauties, well there were girls at home, but none so sweet as my little sister. It's why I came down here on this adventure, to make something for them to come down to, my mother, sister and brother. Something better than having to scrape a living off someone else's land, picking fruit or whatever work they can get. Once my brother is older, he can get a real job, mining like my father or maybe something better." His mind wanders from his present predicament back to the maternal home he had left.

Pulling himself together, he says "Well, tis best I keep away from that lady when she's drinking, that way I might hold my passions in check. The path I have traveled down, has not been one where drink has not been a constant influence and mostly for ill. If you say that even a god might favour drink and him being a goodly god, then it surely is something to think on, for this is the first I have heard him so. You must tell me more, if what I know is against the god. But my father was one of many, and when I went to the city and pulled the drunks from the streets. They did never learn and begged the next day for money to drink again. Is this all so untrue, that drink did not cause all that pain. Yet your god is good and noble, and you drink in honor of him. Tis confusing to one such as me."

He looks up at Bregor, watching his face, wondering how this man has not fallen foul of alcohol. Yet his features show a different legacy, pain in the past, but not born of the bitterness of drink. With his sight his eyes are knowledgeable and strong. "Thank you, I will ready myself and practice, to think on what you say. Tomorrow, I will be ready to ride out wherever. Despite their natures, those ladies need to be protected out in the wilds. Though Sia has proven brave, she is not strong. Kyrie has shown herself a fine fighter, but her frame is slight."

As Gorax straps on his armor, he invites Bregor to practice, before leaving to go outside and beat a target dummy, using his sword and shield to bash away his confusion.

Bregor nods at Gorax and then smiles in a friendly manner. "A fine offer friend Gorax, however, when two people fight it is never just one persons fault as they say, I should have a few words with the ladies as well, as I said before, tis most likely something that will take some time to be resolved."

Bregor nods and stands up and gives Gorax a bow. "I do not doubt you can make a life here for your family, what exactly your brother will end up working as is uncertain for now, there may well be metal and minerals in the hills to mine, trees to cut down for timber and many other such manly practices, mayhap he will become a soldier like yourself and protect those that cannot protect each other, we will find out in time. For now, let us work to build such a future."

With that Bregor excuses himself and instead heads over to the table, seeing only Salinthas there he smile and asks. "Excuse me friend Salinthas, might you enlighten me to the whereabouts of the two ladies?"

Salinthas points to a tent with a half finished arrow, saying nothing. If you've learned anything about him in the past week, it's that he makes a point of only talking when there's something that needs to be said.

Kyrie returns the hug a little stiffly at first, but lets some of the tension she'd been holding bleed out of her shoulders. "I've been thinking about this off and on since the first time he ranted at me over this."

She sighs and shakes her head. "I'm not going to do anything rash... But I don't want to spend the rest of this job looking over my shoulder and tiptoeing around him for fear that he'll get violent the next time he goes off on a stupid rant like that."

Sia returns the sigh with one of her own. "Makes me wonder just whose idea this charter was, what with the people they keep sending."

"... Gee, thanks," Kyrie murmurs with the first sincere smile - a wry one, but still a smile - since Gorax' outburst.

She gently disentangles herself from the embrace and sinks into a seat, then looks back up at Sia. "... And how are you doing? Are you still having trouble seeing?"

Sia closes her eyes and slowly nods. "Honestly, you'd think they'd have a little more consideration for a cute girl's problems." She smiles weakly, to try to show that she's joking.

Kyrie return the smile. "... That bad, huh?" she asks, deliberately keeping her voice light.

Sia's eyes fly open, betraying her surprise that Kyrie picked up on that. "....yeah. I'm used to knowing what's going on...this is just...so far beyond me or anything I've heard of." Another shake of the head. "I can't say I like the idea that I have to rely on others to tell me what's going on past my nose, either. But...well, as long as someone I trust is there, I'll get by. Luckily I can still see what's right in front of me, or I'd probably have to get a job fortunetelling or something."

Kyrie can't help but chuckle at Sia's comment. "Oh, I don't know. I think you'd do pretty well wrapped in exotic silks and gazing into a crystal ball to tell anxious housewives and superstitious merchants what their future will hold..."

She sighs again and leans back in her chair. "The future... Not something I've put much thought in myself, I admit. Sure, we've got this job right now, and I'd like to do it well, but I honestly have no idea what I'd do afterward. Hopefully Father'll have smoothed things over in Stoneclimb by the time we're done."

Sia chuckles softly. "I don't know. I prefer to get up and be out there....speaking of...if things aren't smoothed over, you could always come with me after. I was planning to head back to Absalom. From there, well, the Grand Lodge and maybe some other journeys. This map-making is...nice, I guess, but I'd prefer to be going after something a little more real. The lost city of Savinth-yhi, or maybe some lost Numerian artifacts."

Bregor aproaches the tent where siarani and Kyrie is, he takes a deep breath, does his best to seem cheerfull and calls out "Excuse me ladies, may I come in?"

Sia's eye mischeviously glints at Kyrie's as she takes a breath....

Kyrie recognizes that look. "Come on in, Bregor, we're here," she calls out quickly before Sia can answer while glaring halfheartedly at the young woman.

Sia pouts a bit at being cut off, but Bregor entering is enough to wipe that off of her face.

Bregor opens the tent flaps, steps in, smiles rakishly at the ladies and bows formally.
"Ah, I have just spoken to Gorax at great length, and I feel I understand him somewhat better now, and I think that HE understands us better as well. To be sure, he is not at all happy with the way that went, his passions got the better of him...and yet he revealed to me a side as vulnerable as he previously was agitated."

Bregor rubs his temple a little, trying to find the right words.
"I advised him to cool down a little, and he in turn promised that if he spotted us drinking, he would walk somewhere else to make sure that his passions would not get the better of him again. I believe that we should leave this alone for now, and in time he will offer apologies for his actions...when he has found the right words to explain why he acted like he did without passion, and when he is able to voice his apology."

Here then was the tricky part...how to say this without starting another argument.
"I feel I should add that while an uncalled for outburst as it was, we... (And I include myself here as well) did not handle it quite as well as we could. When the apology comes as I am sure it will, be magnanimous please, I fear our words cut a part of his soul that none of us would wish hurt in ourselves, all I am saying is, try to keep an open mind, in that big man rests a soul full if kindness, and I think he would be more than happy to allow us in once he himself knows himself a little bit better..."

Bregor sighs..."I am sorry, this is much harder than I thought it was, I try to explain, but for once, my words seems insufficient..."

Kyrie stares at Bregor as if she doesn't quite understand what she's hearing. "... The first time I tried to explain to him that the problem isn't drink but with people who abuse the drink he implied that I was unwittingly working for the god of corruption by suggesting that alcohol wasn't the source of all evil. The second time he insults me, my family, every innkeeper and wine merchant in the world -- not to mention your patron deity -- and yet somehow our response was uncalled for?He denounces all drink as the work of an evil deity without reservation or exception, and we need to keep an 'open mind'?"

She rolls her eyes. "I'm sure he's congeniality and fraternity personified with his friends... Just as long as they don't mention alcohol."

Kyrie sighs, then shrugs. "I'll tell you what I told Estruven earlier. I'm perfectly willing to let him keep his crazy beliefs. I'm just not willing to cater to them - or let him dictate what I am or am not allowed to say. He is the one that reacts close to violence every time someone brings it up... And I'm not particularly fond of tiptoeing around him as if he's a cranky bear that might turn violent the moment someone says or does the wrong thing."

Sia sighs. "A bit emotionally-put, Kyrie, but to the point. The problem here is not Gorax's intentions, which I'm sure are just fine. The problem is his reactions. Let me list them off."

Ticking off on her fingers, Sia begins. "First, we retrieved some treasure from one of the Stag Lord's remote camps, which had been threatening Oleg's. One of the things there was a small case of low-grade liquor, which I took thinking it might be useful as either medicine or to bribe fae, or perhaps trade with some of the others around here. Gorax apparently didn't notice at the time, because when I mentioned it casually, he went behind our backs, stole it, and smashed it. And when I tried to explain to him what it was, he smiled at me and congratulated himself on a job well-done. He still hasn't offered any recompense, and I am scared to ask."

Another finger. "Then there was the second incident Kyrie mentioned. Her words were something to the effect of how the taste of wine might be enjoyable, and the only response he could come up with was an implied threat. No attempts to talk him down actually worked, either, so we have no real idea whether he would have gone through with it."

And a third. "And then today. He has proven that he's not a rational person, and he has no desire to try to become one. And his madness is triggered by something so absurdly common that my fear is that he will one day kill someone for merely mentioning that they are going to the pub later, unless this is stopped now. And I'm not qualified to even begin to do that, because he refuses to see that he needs that kind of help. In civilized lands, he would be locked away for his own protection. Out here, the options are much narrower, and even less pleasant."

Bregor holds out his hands in an appeasing gesture, clearly he was not doing too well, but he had to keep trying here.
"All good points and fair made, however I think the big man may be coming around, at least a bit, and the fact that it took so long should show you that it is not an easy road to tread, but the point is that he seems to be willing to actually adjust his way of thinking, to I by no means think it will be a swift path. He even asked me to teach him a little about Cayden Caelains faith would you believe?"

Here Bregor chuckles a little. "To be honest, I think he has more of a worshiper of Erastil in him, he seem to share some of Erastils rather dated believes in the importance of core family and such, I always did find those sermons a touch too stodgy myself."

Bregor purse his lips and thinks for a moment. "What I am trying to say is essentially this, we have given a man not used to question his path in life nor his place in the world a lot to think about, and it seems likely that now he WILL indeed think rather than use his fists. I share a lot of his pain due to similar pasts, so I guess I feel like I want to help guide him to a more steady path in life...now you have already done a lot to guide him, and even though it may not have looked like he took any of that to heart I think he did, it just took a long time for him to start reacting to what you said. if you feel like you have done all you can, that is fair enough, you can leave him to me, I'll stake my honour, sword and life on it. I shall find a way to dispel the phantoms of grief from his soul or you may have me executed."

Then, having spoken seriously at length Bregors entire face twitches and twists until a big grin finally flashes forward. "Though I fear that winemakers, sword masters as well as ladies shall mourn my passing for various reasons."

Sia looks the man over speculatively. "Now that is an...intriguing offer. A bodyguard is always handy, and other services are nice as well. Plus, ofcourse, the ethical enchantress is always short on willing experimental subjects. I can promise you would enjoy that.