Wulf lets himself get pulled along. He was willing to take anything Baine had to say. "It's no secret how I feel about your daughter. At first, it might have been just looks she is beautiful, but our time here has shown me she is strong in so many ways." He puts away any hesitant now.
"I take that word with pride we Kellid have deep traditions we have strong bonds no one can break. I might not be as smart as most of the people here but I intend to love your daughter. I've fallen for her and if she wants me to stick around I will, she's the first person to have shown me such kindness and compassion since this." He pulls aside his shirt showing his pox marked chest, the metal clear as day now must worse than it was the first day Ton and he steped into town.
"I'll listen to anything you have to say but if she wants to be with me there's not much that will stop me." He notices himself getting worked up withing about Val. "With all respect Baine, I didn't mean to get worked up. I wanted to come to you but I could never find the right opportunity, in my clan we would ask the fathers permission to court his daughter I don't think those traditions would work here. It could get very bloody. "
"Calm yourself, my friend. I can see that you truly care for her and this is not a conquest or fling for you. You are a Hero of Torch, you saved my life, and I trust you."
"Your metal skin... caused by a nanite swarm, was it not? A swarm of tiny microrobots so small that it would appear as particle of dust. It is not unheard of for such things to escape their prisons from below ground and tear through Kellid villages...Happens a couple of times every hundred years or so. Listen...I have the ability to heal you, if you wish it. It is not too late. The process can be reversed and you can go back to normal flesh and blood."
Charles looks around for Zeke, since he's actually known him the longest. He kind of wishes Sam was in charge now. Though Charles is in a great mood and kind of wants to talk, it's still not something that comes easily to him.
Zeke's been getting up around noon and spending most of his free moments with Khonnir Baine or by himself in the forge, working late into the night. When Charles wanders in, Zeke deposits his tongs into the water bucket creating a puff of steam. He pulls off his goggles and grins at him. "Hi Charles! Or is it Sam? Hey, I've got something for you. You remember how you were saying you wanted a magic belt that improved your speed? Well, why don't you try this one on for size? I'll wager it fits." He watches nervously, hoping his handiwork is fine enough to impress the laconic halfling.
Charles grins. "Hh. 'S'me." His eyes go wider at the belt. He puts it on and takes out a dagger, juggles it a bit, flips it a few times, and makes a quick stab. "Good. Very good. Will help. Thanks, Zeke." He looks at the young half-drow. "Never had a crew outside family. These mercs we found ...hrm. Not mercs, no. Dismissive of me. Solid crew. You, too. Glad. Glad you're part." Charles tries not to show how anxious this amount of conversation is making him.
"I just get worked up after everything I've been through, This whole hero thing is new. I expect people to just turn me away." He lets out a sigh. "It was like sandstorm it attacked my village a lot of us died but I lived, I woke to this and then abandoned by my people because of it." He then places a hand on the metal feeling its cold touch. "You can fix this? How?" He pauses a moment. "But, it seems to be growing, changing me and it helped save you."
Zeke regards Charles with a friendly expression and then picks up his tongs and continues to work while talking, making it clear that there's no pressure to keep up a conversation. He leaves long pauses as he works and occasionally responds in a measured, comfortable and lazy tone.
"Glad to help, Charles." He looks slightly concerned for a moment. "Would you prefer I call you Mr. Caskgrip? I've only ever known you as Charlie, what all the kids called you, but you're probably much older than me. And when Sam's in charge, Mr. Caskgrip won't be so disconcerting, right?" He shakes his head while he works. "I bet that's a might uncomfortable for you, friend. Sharing your head, I mean, no privacy. Or do you go away somewhere else when Sam's there?" He gives Charles a look of understanding sympathy. "I'm sorry."
Zeke ponders the last few words from Charles. "A crew, yes... he says, trying the words out. "I've never had a crew before either. I mean, apart from Mr. Khonnir and Val. Family." He sits with that for a while and then adds, "Mr. Wexley and Mr. Torstein will probably want to go after that android once everything settles down. You thinking maybe you'll offer to go with?"
"Charlie works. Mr. Caskgrip is pa. Sammy is Sammy. It's ...illuminating sharing a head with Sammy. He's ...relaxed. Memories shared, but kinda hazy. That android killed him. For a while. When I kill it, it'll be permanent. Damn straight I'll go with."
"I think it will get worse, Wulf. It will get worse and worse and worse until eventually the metal will choke you and you will die. Eventually there will be no skin left on you, and will be more akin to a robot than a man... from the outside, at least. And I think I could cure it now, but I won't be able to fix it later after it progresses too far. Will Val still love you when you are metal from top to bottom? Will you have the capacity of love?"
"But here's the catch. The metal makes you tough. It blocks spells and weapons, doesn't it? Do you want to lose that...? You may need it in the battles to come, and I am sure your challenges have just begun."
Wulf is almost taken aback by Baine words, he hated what happened to him. How he was turning into something other than a man. But LaRA was good, she was metal and didn't want to kill everyone. "Baine I don't like where you're going with this... I hate the way I look, I hate how it happened to me but it brought me here, I've met a lot of good people that see me for who I am. It brought me to Val." He lets out a long sigh.
"I don't want to change I need this if I'm going to keep up with them, all I can do is swing a hammer. I used to think this was a curse." He taps his chest. "I was blinded by my people's superstitions. But I've seen things I never expected to see below. If it takes over me then so be it. I never expected to live a long life, it just gives me more reasons to live it to the fullest. If I need this to protect my friends and Val then I'll be a fool to give it up." He pauses a moment thinking about Val. "If she doesn't want to be with me because of this I respect her decision." He says sadly.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Khonnir nods. "I respect your decision. Your metal body could very well decide whether you live and die. Whether your friends live and die. It is good for you to see it as a blessing rather than a curse."
"I made this ring for you, and was going to give it to you whatever your decision. Metal body or not, you will need protection. This ring will prevent your defenses from going down when you are in the midst of the rage that comes to your people."
Khonnir approaches Charles one day when he sees that it is Sam in control. For someone who knows both, it isn't hard to tell... the body language and the facial expressions are completely different.
"Tell me Sam, what did you see on the other side? When you died. And what did it feel like to come back? I came so close myself. Would surely have died if your brother and the others hadn't saved me."
"Well, sir, I can't rightly say I remember too much. Guess I saw a light, heard some hoopin' and hollerin'. Ma and Pa ain't ever made none of us go to any church, but I've said prayers to Chaldira and her buddy Desna. But it didn't seem right yet. Then I felt a call. Saw, well, saw my body, which was weird as hell. But somethin kept me away from it. Then things got fuzzy, even weirder. Then I'm... I'm Charlie and I'm in that ship thing. Anyways, ain't been able to thank you for savin me. I truly do appreciate it! Now I can always make sure little Charlie's ok."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I'm glad you are so easy going about it all. One body, two souls... I hope the two of you can continue to get along so well! And I'm glad you are willing to continue on with the group. I am getting really close to cracking the code of that strange machine. I think it will give us a definitive answer for the next step."
"The way you and Charles flip back and forth, back and forth, we need to find a weapon that suits both of you. Take this dagger... I magicked it up a bit, so that at command it can instantaneously take the shape of what you would like... Within reason, I assume. I only got a chance to play with it a little. Watch..."
He concentrates, and turns the dagger to a sickle and back into a dagger.
Sammy's eyes go wide in one of the few facial expressions the two Caskgrips have in common. "Holy shit! This is amazing!" The dagger shifts into brass knuckles, a handaxe, and even more unusual shapes like a Tian sai. "Ah, geez! Charlie is gonna FLIP!" Sammy gives the wizard a giant (for a halfling) bear hug.
"Heh, happy to do it. You keep my son safe, you hear? Zeke needs a little watching over. Treat him like a little brother, ok, Sam?"
One evening, about three weeks after the saving of Torch, Khonnir closes the Foundry Tavern early and gathers the whole party together. He hasn't had a chance to spend much time with Ton'iel yet, but certainly plans to. But for now, he feels it is time. Time to do a little more explaining.
"I have your next task. But before we get there, before I send you out on another mission to save Torch, there are things you should know. History. Technology. Things that will give you a very important frame of reference in your travels."
"Eight thousand years ago, give or take a large handful of centuries, a disaster from above struck this land. The Kellid elders claim a mountainous meteor of flaming steel plummeted to the ground, trailing debris as it fell and scattering relics of mysterious, unearthly magic across Numeria. Chunks of extraterrestrial metals and alien materials as small as fists and as large as cities slammed into the plains, burying themselves in Numeria’s soil and bathing the landscape in otherworldly energies, an event that would be forever remembered as the Rain of Stars. Of course, we all here in this room now know that this meteor was a ship- a huge ship from the stars, a ship gigantic beyond comprehension. Before meeting La-RA, I had no idea why it fell on our world. But what she said to me of her memories gives some insight. There was some type of space battle out there. Our planet seems to have been the unlucky recipient of the debris."
"Yessir. Charlie said it, uh, when I died. Alla youse guys are Caskgrips now. Just freakily tall and not as handsome. And we take care of our own."
"The largest section of metal became known as Silver Mount, around which has been built our current capital city of Starfall, but across the hills and plains of the country fell innumerable smaller pieces of this metal mountain. Including here at Torch, where landed a very strange piece, a habitat module designed to keep an alien race imprisoned in a copy of their native environment. The propulsion thruster of that habitat module became the Torch itself, of course."
"Since the Rain of Stars, the Numerian countryside has been exposed to strange energies and alien substances that have mutated much of the local fauna and flora. The Kellids, the indigenous peoples of this Country, are a hardy folk, though, and despite this calamity, their culture endured. Their survival can be attributed partially to a deeply ingrained cultural taboo against technology, which originated from a singular event that took place, maybe 7 thousand years ago. Before this catastrophe, many Kellid tribes had been exploring the strange ruins left in the wake of the Rain of Stars. But one particularly headstrong chieftain delved too deeply into a ruin in the Felldales searching for weaponry that could subjugate his enemies, and he accidentally triggered a weapon more powerful than he could ever have imagined. The resulting explosion obliterated his entire tribe, poisoned the land for miles around, and left a blast of light and a looming mushroom cloud that served as a grim warning to all those who witnessed it."
"After the event, other tribes fearful of triggering a similar event began to systematically bury and conceal the strange technological ruins. Even traveling in regions known to house such ruins became taboo. Although the name of the chieftain who caused the event has been lost to time, the prohibition against exploring the ruins persists to this day. And for thousands and thousands of years, that was the case. Until about three hundred years ago."
"Explorers and outcasts broke taboos and came from beyond Numeria’s borders to explore the places where they could still gain access to the broken pieces of the starship. As word of the wonders of Numeria spread, more and more treasure seekers from far-flung lands came looking for strange fortunes and power among the alien ruins. One such group of treasure hunters formed the so called Technic League... a group which has grown and grown over the last 300 years. This powerful and corrupt cabal of spellcasters seek to control and exploit the technology hidden in the land’s dangerous ruins. However, internal strife and treachery have plagued the Technic League since its very inception, and control of the group shifted every few years from one leader to another, and they were really never much of a threat."
"That is, until now. Twenty five years ago, a powerful Kellid chieftain named Kevoth-Kul forged an alliance with the Technic League to gain the support he needed to claim the title of Black Sovereign Today, the Technic League controls the city of Starfall, and with it, access to the land’s most notorious and deadly ruin:Silver Mount. Kevoth-Kul has become self-indulgent and sedentary since his coronation. Everyone whispers that the Technic League are more than partners, but have some sort of hold on him... Thus making the Technic League the true rules of the County of Numeria. I'm not sure what their goals are anymore besides the collection and consolidation of power, political and technological. I'm sure you know that they claim that all technological items in the country officially belong to themselves? As if any group could control such power and not be torn from within from constant infighting and civil wars. The Technic League would be much more powerful if they weren't killing each other off every 20 years."
He pauses and looks at you to see if you have any questions.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sammy starts to space out as Khonnir gives the history lesson. Desperate, he stomps on his own toe so that Charles has to deal with it.
A drift of smoke rises from the cigarette that hangs limply from between Tom's fingers. With his other hand he deftly shells peanuts and tosses them into his mouth, idly wiping away any crumbs onto the floor.
"It's an interesting history lesson Mr Baine. But the first question I got is what does it have to do with us? You said "before I send you on another task to save Torch."" the mercenary elf shrugs. "I came here for a job and we done it. If you're sayin' there's another job - for adequate remuneration - then I'm still listening. But right now my priority is still puttin' the hurt on that bastard Sanvil. If what you say next gets me closer to that then that'd be fine too."
He goes back to his cigarettes and nuts.
"I knew you were a pragmatic elf, but aren't you curious? You've been wandering in an underground spaceship for days, and you don't even care about where it came from. Don't even care about where the Technic League came from. Don't even care about where androids came from. You are richer now than you've ever been in your whole life and still just asking about the money. Hmph. Well, what about the rest of you?"
"I've seen sh*t in the last few days I'd scarcely believe. Star ships lost underground, in LaRA a real life relic of a time and place no one ever knew existed and I dunno whats goin on with Chuckie right now."
"So yeah I'm curious. But you can't pay debts with curiosity. And don't think I'm an a*shole just because I'm asking what's in it for me, you've no idea what I need that money for." he says with a matter of fact look.
"Lets start with who is Hellion - they anything to do with the Technic League? And why were his followers siphoning power from Torch?"
"What do you need the money for, then? You are being really tight lipped about it. In any case, those are good questions. We will get to those, because I think they are at the center of this whole mess. Anyone have a question on the Numerian history? Just laying the groundwork."
Wulf holds the ring in his large hand rolling it about. "Thank you, I can take the hate from those who don't know me. If it means I can stand and take a few hits to protect those I care about." He then places the ring on. "Every little helps." He offers his hand to
Baine shaking it. "Nothing will happen to Val or Zeke with me around I promise."
--
Wulf listens on not really expecting to be given more missions but at least expecting at some point they would have to leave, they still had an android to track down. He looks to Ton and then steps up next to the elf.
"Baine is right about the Kellid, it's the reason I was thrown out of my tribe. They are very fearful of technology, so was I. But I understand it now, my eyes were opened after leaving my tribe." He lets out a long sigh. "I understand much more now how insane all this stuff is and just how bad it can get."
"The Technic League are a plague on my people pushing us out of our land just to get a scrap of some technology, my hate runs deep. But I have the same question as Ton, what is Hellion?"
"I have the same question about Hellion. Who is that? Who was Meyanda? They are not connected to the Technic League. At least... I don't think so. I have some knowledge of the League... you see..." He pauses for several seconds, not sure how to proceed. Then he blurts it out in a rush.
"You see, maybe you have already figured this out by now. I am a Technomancer, a wizard who uses his power to alter and control technology. And I was employed by the Technic League. I was a low level associate, but I was certainly a member two decades ago. But please don't hold that against me. I am now an outcast and traitor. I dwelt in Starfall, and spent my young adult years working as a scribe in the Palace of the Black Sovereign himself, during the period of time when he was still in his youth; a powerful and handsome man like none other. I was noticed due to my diligence and eventually recruited by the Technic League, and taught the mysteries of interweaving magic and technology. But while still in only in my thirties, I could not help but get get a sense of the nefarious and evil intentions of the group. Certainly the Technic League already rule Numeria by controlling the Black Sovereign. But they have plans to do more, somehow. I'm not sure. Anyway, one day when out in the city, I saw a couple of Starfall guards harassing and stalking an orphan street girl, just a young Kellid girl. I killed the guards, and fled with the girl, knowing my crime would be discovered, and eventually we arrived at Torch. Of course, Val and I got along great, and it wasn't too long before she was calling me dad. We both needed a family, you see. And just a short time later we added Ezekial to our motley crew."
"That is a long explanation to say that I know the Technic League. This Hellion is not part of the League. It seems that she or he is another thing entirely. And he and Meyanda were siphoning power off of the Torch for unknown reasons. And that is what I want you to discover. That is what the town council wants you to discover. This machine, the one Ulreth was hiding? It was picking up the power transmissions from the machine Meyanda was using, and it was sending it on. Based on my calculations, aided by Zeke and Garfaulk and La-RA, the machine was sending the power to Scrapwall. And giving headaches to half of Torch in the process."
"The town council will pay you 12,000 gold to investigate Scrapwall, find out who Hellion is and why he wanted this power, and make sure he (or she) never threatens Torch again."
Zeke's eyes widen and his mouth hangs open at Khonnir Baine's revelation that he is an outcast and traitor who belonged to the Technic League. He wonders if Val knew any of this, and realizes that she must have been curious where she came from. He never thought about that before, assuming that both of them came from Torch. He suddenly feels very selfish.
Garfaulk was seatedv towards the back, leaning back in his chair, nodding, listening quietly as Khonnir told them the history of both the Technic League and himself. He was surprised, sure, but knew that with two adopted kids, an interest in spaceships, tech, and magic, he likely had an interesting past, though that was a bit nite than he expected. He tiled his hat up, looking over to him, in proper mysterious stranger style. "Don't you worry none bout that bit of yer past Baine. I nearly fell in with them myself when I was on my mission fer my first firearm."
He stood from his chair, talking a swig of his brandy, then grinned widely. "Huntin down those who were hurting the town sounds like something only we could do. Plus that much coin would sure be nice. Ever since we figured out the stuff was going to Scrapwall I've been itchin to head there and give them trouble. I think Sanvil heading there is likely. Not to speak for everyone when it's unwelcome, but I find it unlikely any of us would turn such a chance down you can count me in, though I may need to user yer worship before headin tha way "
"I'm in."
Khonnir nods his head at Garfaulk. "I do think Sanvil Trett will be there. From what you said, he was very interested in the wireless technology. Scrapwall is the next logical destination."
Ton looks sullenly at the ground.
"We've all done things we ain't proud of. I lied and cheated and drank and gambled for longer'n most humans live. When my wife got sick I was too drunk day to day to even notice until it was past curing. And then, because I hadn't f*cked up enough, I wasted the last of her days chasin' scrap jobs and using the money to get one big win at the tables to pay for some powerful cleric to take her sickness away."
The cigarette burns down to Ton's fingers, singing the skin. But he lets it burn, he takes the pain.
"When my boy found me to tell me she had passed I was literally in the gutter. I never seen hate in someone's eyes like that. Since then he enrolled in university across the border to study alchemy and engineering. He thinks he's on a scholarship but I been sending money through the Banks of Abadar for months, he'd never take it from me direct."
"So that's what I need the money for. And don't worry about falling in with those bastards Baine, least you took steps to put it right before it was too late."
"Now, what do we know about Scrapwall?"
"Not much. I can point it out on a map. I know it is a wasteland ruled by gangs, not a city... though surrounded by a huge wall of rusted metal. Scraps of the spaceship pushed in a pile over thousands of years. I think Father Joram knows someone who lives there."
As the party breaks up, Khonnir says, "Anyone feel free to find me to ask more questions. But it is probably time for you all to get going, maybe within a couple of days after you do the rest of your preparations. You know that Hellion probably has plans a foot, and they aren't to send Torch a gift basket."
Khonnir grabs Ton's arm as they leave. "Hold up, elf. I'm sorry to hear about your family. We've all got baggage, and a long-lived elf like yourself has had more time to pick it up than others. I myself lost the one I loved from sickness too, a long time ago. And I know that I would do whatever I could to help Zeke and Val."
"Listen, I've been watching you handle that technological gun. It is a short stubby thing, probably can't fire at a distance worth a damn. Take this contraption that I've built. It should give you a fair bit of accuracy, though it will slow down your rate of fire. Just attach it to the top of the pistol, and the laser will guide your aim."
"Let me tell you this, Khonnir, you never get used to that loss, you never feel ok about it. But you got kids that love you and that helps like you wouldn't believe. If he heads out with us, I'll keep an eye on Zeke."
"Appreciate this." he adds, taking the contraption. "It'll make switching from bows to guns a lot easier. 'Cept for Sanvil. I want to see the whites of his eyes when I put him down."
"Not much. I can point it out on a map. I know it is a wasteland ruled by gangs, not a city... though surrounded by a huge wall of rusted metal. Scraps of the spaceship pushed in a pile over thousands of years. I think Father Joram knows someone who lives there."
"That don't seem like the kind of place capable of harnessing power stolen miles away from Torch. Gangs and what not. Maybe Hellion is someone who has United or mobilised these gangs. Let's ask Joram who he knows there."
Zeke, hanging back as Ton'iel and Khonnir speak, approaches once they're done. "Mr. Khnonnir, with the torch re-lit there's going to be a lot more demand for mechanical goods here at the forge, and you've only just recovered enough to get up on your feet! Plus with opening up the tavern again, Val's going to have her hands full trying to run things by herself. You need me here, not running off to Scrapwall. Right? Mr. Khonnir?"
He absently fingers the drow noble's sigil, which he now wears pinned to the lapel of the leather cloak he enchanted for himself. It's a bit of an odd look, a fancy magical cloak over his simple work clothes, but it does slightly conceal his pistol hanging in its holster at his belt. Since the confrontation with Sanvil Trant he carries it everywhere, even when he's working.
"My dear boy. Had you asked me a month ago, I would have never let you out of my sight. But you are getting older. You want to learn more about your parents. Your birth parents, that is. Your capabilities have grown much with your new friends. And they are competent too. You are as safe with them as anywhere other than locking you in your room... No, you must go. They need you and you need them. Val and I will be alright. And who knows... maybe if the threat to Torch is eliminated, her and myself will come travel with you next time."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zeke cannot hide the shining pride he feels at the idea of adventuring with Khonnir Baine. I've got to continue to learn and grow, so that I'll impress him with my abilities, he thinks. He's right, he's always right. But I hope he'll be okay without me, him and Val. If not for my new friends helping me find him, he'd still be down there.
This feels like what Groetus wants for me, he decides as he sits with the decision, and he says as much to his travel companions. Over the next few days, he says good-bye to all the familiar sights of his youth growing up in Torch. It is very possible I will not return, he thinks, and wonders if he will find evidence of his mother and father as he travels closer to the Technic League's lands.
"You know, Mr. Wexley, you got quite a limp. Ever wish that it would simply... go away? You came back with a cybernetic leg from the ruins. I could custom fit it to you. I could install it with a little bit of surgery. Sure, your appendages would be one fourth robot, but to walk without pain? No longer limping? I would do it in a heartbeat. You tell me if it is something you would do."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
LaRA spends the next couple of days alternating between her human and android form. The former is often accompanied by the occasional "Hmm..."'s and "Oof."'s, when the human body's inherent lack of coordination lead her to stub a toe, impact a doorframe, or even drop something.
The android stands perfectly still and quiet as Khonnir explains his musings, occasionally pausing to write down something in her already bristling journal. As he finishes, she nods. Observation: Entity Khonnir Baine possesses large amounts of relevant information and abilities in deductive reasoning. She raises a hand in the air, before standing up. "Statement: I have pondered on the purpose and goals of Hellion. Hypothesis: By analysing goals, abilities and methods, I believe that both Hellion and the aforementioned Divinity are highly advanced artificial intelligences, most likely performing critical roles for the ship prior its uncontrolled descent."
She raises her notebook, beginning to draw with arcane energy on the backside. "They both appear to possess great understanding of technology, yet are not deities in the strict meaning of the verb. If so, they would be known quantities to the faith of Brigh." She continues. "They both appear to use primitives for their goals. Akin to most artificial intelligences, they do not appear to have emotional responses towards mortals. Extended notes are available to those interested.", she points towards her notebook.
"Summary: Additional information required. Travel to Scrapwall required, and with latest upgrades from Khonnir", she grabs her scarf. "integration speed will increase by several orders of magnitude. However, I have a theory that requires discussion."
She looks around the room. "Based on memory data recovered, I stipulate that I was once subservient to an artificial intelligence of the ship. It is possible that yet undiscovered routines are stored in my databanks, which may lead to slow or radical behavioural changes from this unit, let alone malign interference." She blinks, then pauses. "Please do not terminate this unit without a good reason.", she blurts out.
"Sanvil Trett" He says that name with such disgust. "I want Sanvil Trett. Scrapwall does seem like the place he'd slink off too, I guess we'll go pay this Hellion a visit see what all the fuss is about. What is an... artificial intelligences?" He turns to look at LaRA
--
He scratches at his beard nodding at Ton's worlds. "Yah, let's go see Joram and then we can prepare for the journey anyone know how far away Scrapwall is?"
Garfaulk grins at the thought of Ton with a pair of metal legs-for some reason, he found the idea amusing. Then he looked to LaRA as she spoke. "Sorry lass, ya talk a bit more complex then I'm normally ready to here. Waddya mean? We don't have any intent on terminatin ya, even if ya do go loon on us fer a missin memory. If I catch yer meanin anyway" Though as they conversed, Garfaulk made a mental note to talk to her after their meeting.
The dwarf scratched his head. "Not sure, though not terribly far, right Baine?"
He tells them exactly how far away it is. "I dont think the trip'll take too long, relatively speakin."
Despite his smile and cavalier attitude, Garfaulk winced at hearing Ton's story. He knew need heard bits of it before, but not that in depth-he hurt for his hurting friend. He'd have to talk to him later too, if he could
Ton looks almost longingly at the metal leg for several minutes. He thought about what it would be like to look at himself in the mirror and not be disgusted by misshapen bone and withered muscle. He thought about not waking up in pain every single day, like glass was grinding in his joints.
He sighs and says;
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass. You may not understand this, I don't really get it myself, but this messed up leg reminds me of all the sh*t I done. If I hadn't been the way I was with my family, taking them for granted as I did, I wouldn't have been there to get shot."
"I... I ain't earned not feeling like crap every day."
"You do a penance in pain, Mr. Wexley? Fair enough. You hold onto the leg. You know where to find me if you change your mind."
Khonnir rolls out a map and consults with Garfaulk. "About a week travel. It isn't too far."
"We all pay some kinda penance. This is mine."