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The more theatrical entrants die down after the halflings, a few solitary entries signing up to attempt the race on their own, and you get the feeling the opening ceremonies are starting to wind down.
But just as the Baron and organizers are starting to get up from their table, to announce what's next, one last entrant makes his presence know, as a dark mwangi man steps forth defiantly onto the platform, pushing past Utilinus, before the Baron can step up on the stage.
"No." He says. "We will not be pushed aside."
The man looks out at the crowd with a proud, defiant, look, before continuing.
"I am Bunawei!" He declares, thumping his chest with one balled fist. "And we are the Resistance! We represent the subjugated Mwangi peoples of Sargava."
You notice a number of dark faces in the crowd suddenly break out in wide white smiles at the announcement, and the Baron looks back at the other organizers with a furtive look, frowning.
"For too long, our Chelish oppressors have conducted this charade of a contest as a means of patting themselves on the back and distracting from the hardships they impose upon the rightful people of this glorious land." The mwangi man continues, making no effort to introduce any of his teammates by name. "We will win the Sargava Chalice for our people... just another step in taking the nation itself from the interlopers!"
The ethnic mwangi members of the crowd suddenly applaud at the unexpected entrant, some of them crowding forth to congratulate the newcomer, while the non-native residence look troubled, and the visitors confused.
The Grand Custodian and the race organizers appear a little flustered. Baron Utilinus starts calling loudly for any other last minute entrants, clearly trying to distract peoples' attention from the Resistance group, but to little avail. The Resistance leader pushes past him again, this time on the way down, and makes a few angry slashes with a pen on the papers there. None of the organizers look too happy about it, but soon the name of the Resistance appears on the board with all the others.
Dale's retort, during Cornella's introduction results in more than a few laughs from those in the crowd who hear it. Cornella herself seems intent on ignoring the comment, as if it were not worth listening to, though you do note a pointed glare Dale's direction, as she seems to take stock of who said it.
The tribal halflings ignore everyone, keeping to a corner out of the way, clearly out of place and uncomfortable being here. Even Tad's friendly smile doesn't seem to do anything... though its possible a grippli smile is not something folks are familiar with. But without a common language, there's little else Tad can offer.
When things finally start to settle down up on the podium, the Grand Custodian, Baron Utilinus, once more steps up, calling an official close to the call for entries, and tells those who've signed up to bring their entry fees to the organizers at the front.
Bellaugh is ready for this, pulling out a large purse, bulging with coins, and goes up to hand it to the Baron himself, sharing a private word with the Custodian before doing so.
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Brady nods to himself at the diverse array of entrants. Some--most--of what he'd heard on the street had proven to be quite true. This Resistance. It almost seems a shame to compete; I hope they can use this to amplify their voice win or lose. ...because they sadly must lose; the Chalice is bigger than these politics, way bigger for us, at least.
Fali and Monty's introduction might have been lost on the crowd, but Brady himself hadn't missed a word. How can we lose?
...and then he lightly raps his knuckles on the tabletop.
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Dru claps and cheers loudly at the Resistance speech, as it speaks to her heart.
Scuse me, holy duty calling, gotta pay a round of drinks to these folks, by Cayden's never-empty mug!
She rises from her seat, and walks to the halflings, offering her hand to shake and enquiring politely about their favorite beverages.
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Dale is happy to introduce himself to the other teams, at least not Cornella's. He does his best to keep things light and friendly as the others all seemed to put out a good impression. He introduces himself in Polyglot to the Halflings, then of course in Common to the remaining teams.
"The Pathfinder Society wishes you a safe and fair race ladies and gentlemen. May you go far for your cause and your cause go far!" He does certainly intercept one of Dru's beverages to raise toasts to each team.
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Fali simmers down as soon as she realizes that they've lost the attention of the crowd, and instead sits down and listens to the other's introductions with a pint in hand. She gives Monty a hug, and slightly reproachful look. "Dearie, you know I group up in a traveling circus and know how to work a crowd! Let me handle the first impressions next time, eh?"
She gives a glance over at Dale, and his loudly rumbling tummy, and freezes for a second. Dangit! I've been away for so long I forgot to double check that Dale actually ate something today! She reaches into her pack and pulls out a day's worth of trail rations, and tosses them over to the hairy man. "Eat up! They're not going to be much use during the race and you should eat something!"
After nursing her drink some, the half-elf gets up and wanders around making introductions, though noticeably not visiting with Cornella, the riff on her ill-timed speech well noted. She first approaches the Ashen Leave leader and tries to give the man her best courtier bow. "It will be a pleasure competing against you in this race! I don't think we ever got your name in that grand intro of yours, but as you might have heard, you can call me Faliana. But I do have to admit I am curious, is it common for nobles to participate in this race? It almost seems beneath your station..."
After a few minutes with the nobleman, Faliana excuses herself, having caught sight of the halflings satnding around awkwardly in the corner, and heads over. She sits down so as to not tower over the halflings and gives them a congenial smile while offer her hand. "Tensa'i was it? I've heard that in Tian that can mean genuis, though I could be wrong. But I'm sure you are probably all 'genuises' at surviving with out supplies. I'm Faliana, by the way, though there's no special meaning behind my name. Anyways, thought I should come over, introduce myself, with you good luck though you probably don't need it, and say no hard feelings if we this!"
She times the end of her speech just in time to see the resistance take the stage. She cheers with everyone else, but decides to refrain from going and meeting the leader, instead noticing the movements of the Ashen Leaves. She pops by the table where everyone else is. "Anyone got the entry money? I'm going to go submit our fee."
She then tries to get close enough to the Custodian and other man to catch a hint of what they are discussing, silently wishing she'd brought Fritannia along. She moves in close her nose burried in the coin purse, obviously unaware of the fact the two men are discussing something.
The Song'o halflings seems very skittish, and avoid anyone approaching them. You get the impression only the one of them, Tensa'i, even speaks Polyglot as she constantly appears to be talking to the others as if translating. They definitely do not appear to be partaking of any of the libations offered at the tavern.
The leader of the Ashen Leaves eyes Faliana as she introduces herself, as if trying to decide whether to ignore her, or talk to her.
Finally, he seems to land on the later, and bows, smiling slightly.
"Lucca Verase." He finally says, offering a courtly bow. "I would not normally expect folks to now know my family name here in Eleder, so did not think to add it earlier. They are quite prominent, here in town."
He grins slightly at her observation. "Well, there is only so much entertainment riches and power can attain... sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty with the riff raff."
"And it gets his old man's knickers in a bunch as well." One of his companions interjects, with a laugh.
Lucca only grins.
Before you can do too much more interaction though, the call for payment is made, and people start shuffling to the back rooms in small groups.
Faliana tries to nonchalantly work here way over to where Bellaugh is paying the Pathfinder entry fee and talking to the Grand Custodian, but the Venture-Captain notices her almost immediately, raising one eyebrow... and she is forced to abort her attempt before it becomes too obvious.
At this point, you are all lead to a room in the back, that is probably used for storage the rest of the year, but now contains a number of fancy wooden chests.
You are instructed to pick a chest, and place all of your possessions inside it, as you are handed a simple outfit consisting of loose breeches and shirt, and a pair of sandals... all died in a red, black and white pattern.
A number of guards oversee the process, and are very instant on making sure that everything gets locked away. They seem to be paying very close attention to each of you, perhaps more diligent this year due to the cheating of the past.
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Fali nods along with the explanations of being bored, understanding but not finding much she could add to that. The comment about getting his father's knickers in a twist though, does get a genuine smile and laugh from the woman. "Now there's something I can get behind! If it's not too much trouble I'd love to hear how that works out!"
Sheepishly found out, Fali slinks back to the rest of the group, and gets one last meal, digging into her trail rations if needed, and drink before they get stripped of even these simple luxuries.
Inside the room she quickly strips of everything but her clothes and places in in her chest. She gives her brand new, softly glowing magical spear and headband one last look before handing them off with a sigh. When the time comes to change, she stands for a second contemplating very openly striping down and hiding a relic, before getting dressed, but at the last moment her will falters and she puts her bag of relics in the chest as well.
Dressed in the basic but austere robes, she disparages over the colors. "Ah, such a basic color arrangement. The red is somewhat approriate for the occasion, but the purity of white and immutability of the black aren't the most suitable. They should've used use some orange for hopes of success at least, if not some green and turquoise as well. Well, it'll likely get pretty muddy anyways, so it's probably moot."
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Before the group are ushered into the back, Brady takes a moment to gather everyone around. "Listen," he begins softly, "I did some asking on the street, and it sounds like they've implemented some kind of delay to a team's start time if they find minor infractions... but they could disqualify us if we're found to be cheating in a big way."
"As much as I'm inclined to try for an advantage... it may not be worth the risk."
"Orange? Turquoise? It should be nothing but greys, greens, and browns. Do they want to make it easier for predators to find us?" Brady holds up his uniform and inspects it with a look of disdain, then tosses it on the lip of his chest as he begins packing his own personal items away. Once he seems to be satisfied that everything is safely stowed, he puts the garish uniform on, and stands by his chest.
"So, what kind of protections do you have for our things? We Pathfinders tend to accumulate significant valuables. These gonna be safe? How do you guarantee that?"
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Monty slips his clothes on, not altogether different from the cloth wraps that he normally wears. He stashes his gear, and gives Fali a hug as she stashes her things away.
No worries darling. When we get back, I'll buy you a pretty scarf, something in green and orange perhaps, or maybe even yellow.
Monty stops and considers swiping Fali's relics... but he's not a young monkey anymore, and his fingers aren't as fast as they use to be. Hopefully they'll be able to make due without them for a bit.
BesidesHe thinks Might be nice to spend some time, even on a mission, just me and Fali, with no one in our heads but ourselves. It feels like a cop out, but he can't help it. Instead he just gives Fali a tighter squeeze and flicks the air with his tail.
Let's get this show on the road!
You will realize that colors on the clothing represent the colors on the Sargavan flag.
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Dale gives his prized notebook, wrapped tightly in cord to their Venture Captain before stripping down and putting everything else away into the trunk. You thought Dale a hairy man BEFORE. He truly does rival that of Monty in terms of body hair. "Oh these colors aren't too bad. Besides, its easy enough to mask their level of brightness and smell Brady. We will be easily prepared don't you worry." He says through a mouthful of Fal's jerky and following up a solid chug of water.
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Dru puts everything she owns into the chest-and that takes quite a lot of place, with her armor and different weapons, amll and large.
Then, taking the offered basic clothes, she changes herself quickly, without exposing more than modesty allow.
You get a few glimpses of her tatooed, muscled body, with a few scars here and there, reminder of the battles you shared together.
She takes the time to braid her blonde hair, and smiles at her team.
sharing the same colors is a good thing, for team morale, I heard. And if you don't like the colors, this trek in the jungle will give our clothes a muddy, dirty outlook anyway.
It doesn't take long to strip down and put on the provided clothes. Tad's are small enough, but, as he feared, don't fit particularly well. He needs to get a little creative with some of the sashes to shore it up, so its not constantly slipping off his diminutive frame. The colors definitely won't be helping with going unobserved out in the jungle, to be sure, though it does make it easy to tell who's a competitor.
When Brady starts going on about 'guarantees', the guard glances towards one of his compatriots, rolling his eyes slightly as if to say 'another one of those', though he forces a smile and assures Brady that everything will be quite safe... though it sounds more like a stock answer, than any sort of official word on the subject.
As each of you is finished divesting yourselves of possessions and clothed yourselves, they lock up the chests, label the keys, and carry the chests off. A second set of guards comes in, and thoroughly frisks each of you a second time, to ensure you didn't try to sneak anything past them, then you are all lead outside, to where the rest of the competitors all wait garbed similar to yourselves.
From there, begins the grand procession... as you travel from the Filling Cup, through the streets of Eleder. All along the way, enthusiastic fans of all sorts line the streets, despite the late hour, cheering and waving, shouting praise and encouragement. A number of other people join the procession as you start out, leading the way. You soon learn they are apparently former victors of the Sargava Chalace... most notably last year's winner, Philt, who seems to be enjoying the spotlight.
Eventually, the procession hits the outskirts of Eleder, and continues heading in a northeasterly direction, towards this year's starting line. Once out of the city, things seem to become much less ceremonial and formal, and the various contestants are able to mill about and talk to each other as you continue walking northeast.
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Dale smiles and waves on occasion, giving out high,low, and medium fives to the crowd when the opportunity arises. "Well hello there! Hi! Nice!" Enjoying the scene, especially on the look out for a stray piece of fruit!
Along the way to the camp he'll happily chat up the local resistance team. "Hello there. I'm Dale. Do you guys not usually enter the race? The Pathfinder Society has a long and a bit of a 'hush hush' division that specializes in freeing oppressed people. Maybe I can put you in conversation with someone on that front after the race?"
Bunawei looks at Dale with a frown. "Oh, we have heard of the Pathfinders." He finally says. "We will not trade one oppressor for the pawns of another. We drove you out of Kalabuto. And soon we will do so from Eleder. You and all the rest. Ridding all of our glorious lands of you northerners."
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Mr. Monty frowns at the resistance fighters.
I will ask you to treat my friend with more kindness than that brother. If it were not for this man, you might be in the belly of the snake demons right now.
He takes on a more serious tone as he speaks.
We need to drive the oppressors from the Mwangi, yes. But we must not BECOME them as we do so. The Northerners have lived her for many years. What will you do of the children who where born and raised here? Or of those who have married and become part of our tribes? If you have no heart for the suffering that you would inflict upon them, then you are just as cold hearted as the Oppressors, and you will find your victory barren and hollow.
"The Mwangi people will not truly be free, until the Northerners are all gone." He replies, eying Monty curiously. "Inserting themselves into our tribes, and ingraining themselves in our lands, is just another way they keep their oppressive hooks into what is not theirs."
"You have clearly not lived here for a very long time, or have your head so high up in the trees you can not see the world around you. Your words ring very hollow, given that you appear to be working with those who oppress us all."
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The race procession continues for some times into the Bandu hills northeast of Eleder, until they eventually stop at a large encampment of tents already set up waiting for your arrival.
Each team is assigned a tent for the evening, and you soon realize that one last meal is to be provided when a number of start bringing in food, clearly prepared on site before your arrival. They are careful to remove anything you do not finish, and all the cutlery and serving dishes before they leave.
As you are finishing the meal, and it is being cleared away, one of the race organizers comes to you, and hands you a folded up piece of cloth, with the sargavan insignia on it.
"This is the course for tomorrow. You will have the remaining hours to plan or rest... but the race will begin shortly after dawn!"
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Dale frowns at the man for his close minded view. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Good luck in your race." He heads off, nodding to Monty for coming to his defense. Try to be nice to the locals and all they do is shove the 'you're from away' back in your face. And they wonder why they can't get along with foreigners.
For the rest of the hike Dale is more introverted, studying the local plant life along the way, trying to see if there is anything he recognizes as useful as he goes. Maybe I can do some scouting for things to look for at least...
Once at the camp Dale eats. And eats. And eats. He takes his time as he looks over the food to be sure he can recognize it if it grows wild in the area. "This stuff is pretty good eh? Gotta stay well hydrated too... and not with alcohol Dru! You need water!" He quickly adds in "Water WITHOUT alcohol in it!"
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Faliana finishes up her rations and makes sure to get enough water to satisfy her before giving it one more crack at the halflings. Before heading over she gives Tad a nudge asking, "You wouldn't have any magic that can help with communicating? No? Oh well. Here goes nothing."
After watching for a bit, she tries approaching the only one she might be able to communicate with, trying to express an open and honest interest, mostly curious. She shows that she is not holding on to anything dangerous, well actually anything at all, trying to hlod back the wry smile.
She then moves in a bit closer and starts talking, very slowly and calmly in Polyglot. "I never heard much about the Song'o halflings before now. Would it be too rude of me to ask about what your lives are like?" With a genuine cuiosity, she tries gently probing questions such as how they live, where they came from if they know or the fables they might have that expain otherwise, at least as far as they are willing to share.
Coming back from the adventures with skittish halflings, Faliana is jsut in time to see her lover getting into conversation with someone. She gets in a bit closer and catches the tail end of the conversation. She moves in closer to give Monty some support if he needs it and comments. "Ah, I see. We'll be on our way then, right dearie? But before I go, if I may be presumptious enough to suggest one thing, please give some consideration to HOW you do that, because murdering everyone who even has a speck of 'northerner' blood is not going to be pretty. Alrighty then, bye!"
As the group starts to reconvine, she takes a look at the map and contemplates it for a second. "Hmmm, Dale any ideas on how impassible the mountains, swamps and maybe forests would be? 'Cause that'd really inform us as to how direct we can be. The mountains would be easy enough to skirt, but the forest and swamps might be a pain."
She then takes a moment to talk with Tad before the little one heads to bed. "I don't have to get up early next morning to get my seance in, but I'm probably going to wake up anyways, you want some company with your prayers? I've also heard of a few spells that might be good to have..."
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Once its time to start talking about race prep and strategies, Dale makes sure they are away from prying eyes and ears before the discussion gets going, and even then he tries to keep things to a whisper.
"My time in the library was excellent! So much unavailable information relative to our library in Absalom. Let me summarize some of the key points:
1. We're starting the wet season, expect rain and maybe flooding around low areas.. like that swamp. I may be bigger than that when we get there.
2. The water around this area is usually pretty clean to drink, not that we need to worry about that so much with Tad. But if we need to hold it in something, the locals use a bamboo! Fascinating right?
3. The hills around here have lots of obsidian.. great for making tools and weapons. Perfect right Dru? I also learned the best trees for making wooden weapons if we see any, for spears and staves and clubs!
4. I also picked up some great info on local plants, fungus, and insects that are safe to eat so it shouldn't be too hard to keep us fed!
5. I'm afraid I didn't find any old routes through the mountains or anything, and I know I'm not much of a climber... it may be good to skirt to the south a bit to avoid them and if we can walk over water long distances I'm sure that'll come in handy!"
Dale finally takes a breath and promptly stuffs some food and water into it. "We should try to get extra rest. The less we have to rest on the trip the more time we can spend getting to the finish line first!"
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Tensa'i is polite to Faliana, but she does not appear to open up any more to Fal than the other patrons. The leader of the Ebansi responds politely to some of her questions, but eventually Fall will realize she did not learn anything that you had not already gleaned yourselves, or that she had not already said during her introduction.
As you go over the map, you will realize that certain terrain types will indeed be a little trickier to navigate than others.
Based on your own experiences, you know moving through jungle is a slow and tedious process, but it appears you will have to pass through at least part of the Laughing Jungle to get to the finish line... and that's not counting things you come across or other non-terrain hazards common to such places. You are on the southern edge of the mountains of the Bandu Hills, which can be a little imposing as there are some sections that will require some steep climbing... luckily, you can avoid them if you want, sticking to the lowland hills. The bonus to traveling through both the jungle and the mountain routes though, based on Dale's research, is that there are likely to be numerous resources you can use for fashioning tools and equipment if you need it... unlike say, crossing the M'neri Plains, where resources will likely be scarce, even if travel would be faster.
As he slips through a camp mostly silent, as the various groups bed down to be ready for the race in the morning, you see a second figure come out to meet him... you think it might be Lucca Verase, the leader of the Ashen Leaves group. The two of them exchange quick words, then both slip off together.
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Brady seems focused on the match, with most of his attention turned inward. You should have tried to sneak something in. Sometimes the rules are the challenges, man! Remember, the winner last year slaughtered the other contestants.... At a certain point, there are no rules!
He eats heartily, his own appetite supplementing Dale's good advice; he also tries to get an early sleep, to be ready first thing in the morning.
Monty immediately heads after Lucca and the official, though moving quietly is not something he's that good at. Dale quickly follows, but even though he is a better at stealth than the vanaran, he can't seem to find a spot to put his feet in the dark, that does not have a dry twig in need of breaking, or a loose pebble needing to be kicked.
Between the two of you, you quickly realize you're not sneaking up on anyone. Ahead of you, Lucca and the official suddenly change directions, and quickly part ways, the former going back to the Ashen Leaves tent, the later, to the area set aside for the race organizers.
Whatever they were up to, it seems to have ended before it could start... you suspect because they heard you following.
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Monty sighs with frustration, and is about to head off after Lucca when he is snatched by Fali. It only requires a swift bit of unspoken eye contact between them before he shrugs and decides that it was really none of his business anyways, and follows Fali to the spot they will sleep for the night.
Who needs a blanket or pillow when you've got a boyfriend who's fluffy as a pillow anyways?
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Dale doesn't give up quite as easily but once he figures he's been spot he slumps his shoulders and heads back to camp, letting the others know of he and Monty's discovery. "Sure looks like shady dealings. Maybe a bribe for some info or equipment? Who knows. But I sure bet the local resistance team would like to know.."
Tad is up early the next morning, beginning his morning prayers a little early, so that they finish, just as the sun comes up over the hills. The light shines down on the little grippli like it has come to greet him personally, and he feels a special connection with his goddess in that morning light even stronger than normal.
There are a few others up that early, mostly officials, and most of the Ebansi group, all of the halflings performing some sort of ceremony amongst themselves, in preparation.
By the time the sun rises, the rest of the camp has assembled, and a strange hum of excitement can almost be felt rippling through the teams and individuals ready to compete for the Sargava Chalice!
The Pathfinders wait with the rest.
Once again the contestants are assembled, and a group of race organizers once more go from group to group. One of them goes over the race rules and formalities once more, while the other merely stands and stares at each of you in turn. You realize relatively quickly that the second official is scrutinizing each of the entrants with divination magics.
Once the pre-race check is done, all eyes go to a lone man standing atop a nearby rise. He raises one hand, pointing towards the sky... pauses for just a moment, then suddenly raises the second hand, and a fiery blast of flames shoots into the sky, in the Sargavan colors, signifying that the race has officially started!
You note the Trail Hounds immediately start off to the southeast at a brisk trot, Philt calling out a last minute shout of encouragement as they go.
The Resistance members follow close on their heals, after taking a moment to mock the fireworks display for its symbology.
The Ebansi do not appear to move at all at first, all of them still gathered around each other, but the next time you look back at them, they are all gone, you're not sure which direction they went.
The Ashen Leaves are more laid back about their start, making a great show of being overly casual about it all, before sauntering off with a few self-assured waves back at those left behind and some posing.
As for the Pathfinder team... well, that's up to you guys!
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Faliana enjoys the extra time in bed with Monty, not having to get up early to commune with a spirit... Though not with in ten minutes of the sun being up, she's up and moving about, nervously going over what she could possibly do to help. I could... no, that'd not be much use.. What about ... maybe?
After a moment to sit down and breathe, she finally feels the loss of the second voice in her head constantly adding something to the discussion... the extra 'space' in her head where her spirits stayed. With a shudder of lonliness, she quickly cuddles up agianst Monty again. "It's so... empty in my head right now. It's been a long time since I've been by myself, completely. Of course when I wake up it's always like this, but I know I can grab my relics and fix it, but now I... can't.... Jsut let me hold you like this for a bit and I might be able to face today."
A bit later she's actually up and ready to go, though not feeling too good after having slept in the same clothes she's wearing now, and feeling the 'empty space' in her head just echoing back her own thoughts, fears and worries.
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Monty doesn't speak, just holds Fali close and strokes her hair softly. He doesn't move until she does, and even when she does, pulls her close for a moment and whispers to her as he places her forehead against hers.
It'll be alright my treasure. You are stronger than you realize... the others augment it, they are not it's source.
With that he kisses her forehead, and helps her prepare for the day.
As the signal finishes, Monty looks to the others, and begins a gentle lope in the direction they had all decided, slow enough not to tire himself or leave the others behind, but quickly none the less.
The Pathfinder team, undaunted by the difficulty, decides to start off due east, heading towards the higher mountains, hoping to take advantage of Tad and Monty being able to climb with unusual alacrity.