text | un: 76

[personalwar]

[ Given everything that 76 has learned in the past few days, there's no doubt in his mind that he needs to inform the rest of the refugees about what might be coming. That bandit seems to have been telling the truth, or maybe what 76 saw up on Namarak Mountain was staged, but that seems like way too much work for no real gain that he can foresee.

Enough of the details have checked out that a warning seems necessary. Only a few of the refugee group had actually been on the missions to transport the heart and the skull, and there's no telling that all of them learned what he did.

While this is his first time posting on the network, 76 doesn't introduce himself, but just gets right down to business. Who he is isn't really important here. ]

Word probably got around that Nithor's skull and Ysverai's heart were being transported back to Olympia and Wyver, respectively. Well, things didn't really go as planned. Both caravans got attacked on the way by a group of bandits. I managed to chase down one of them and question him. He was surprisingly forthcoming.

Assuming he was telling the truth, and that's seeming more and more likely at this point, it was the heart that they were really after. These bandits are part of the same group responsible for the abductions, and they took Ysverai's heart up to Namarak Mountain to perform a ritual.

Apparently, that ritual was to revive Ysevrai, and if you've seen some of the skeletons of the old dragons, you know what that means.

I went up to the mountain to see if I could interrupt the ritual, but it was already over and cleared out by the time that I got there. I did find a cryptic note that looked like it was written in blood. It said "He Shall Rise Again."

According to the radical I interrogated, this dragon could mean the end of Olympia and Wyver and everything else. I don't know how much I believe that, but we need to be ready for anything. If you've seen anything, let me know. If you have questions, I can try to answer them, but this is most of what I know.

[ Not everything, though. There's one detail he's still sitting on. But Wyver family drama isn't something he wants to report to all of the other refugees, aware of what kind of unrest that could cause among the natives. ]

Comments

[personalwar]

Then he could rule Wyver the way he thinks it should be ruled: like a tyrant.

[baguablade]

Exactly. I'm sure that's what he has in mind.
Which is why he can't be allowed to have things go the way he wants.
No matter what, we have to throw a wrench in his plans.

[personalwar]

Stopping the ritual would have been the real way to do that. Now all we can do is keep as many people out of harm's way as possible, and kill this dragon ASAP.

[baguablade]

Then that's what we'll do.
If he thinks he can terrorize us, we won't be terrorized.
If he thinks he can lead us around by the nose, we won't show fear.
We have time to prepare. We may be too late for one part of his plan, but not others.
I refuse to give up and let him have his way.

[personalwar]

So do I, but we can't control how people other than ourselves react to this. We can try to advise people on where to go and what to do, but there's going to be mass chaos no matter how well we prepare.

[baguablade]

Still, we can try to offer hope.
If people see that someone thinks things aren't going to be so bad, they'll listen.
As long as someone has a plan, as long as someone's not worried, they won't worry as much, too.
As many people as possible, not panicking — and the more people who don't, the more will follow that example.
That's how we'll start fighting Raysc. Our first step.

[personalwar]

[ That's an extremely idealistic viewpoint, although 76 can agree with parts of it. The less that they panic, the more that people around them will also keep their cool. He doesn't think that mindset alone will solve all their problems, though. ]

Do whatever you need to do, but at the end of the day this is going to be a fight. And the sooner we can put Ysevrai back into the ground, the better.

[baguablade]

[ It is extremely idealistic. Cain himself knows that. And he knows that it's not enough to solve all their problems, too. But still, he wants to try it, in the hope that it can help, even while they have to keep working, knowing that it alone won't be enough. ]

You're right. But we can't forget all the people who can't fight while we're preparing for battle.
The people who'll be scared, who'll be trying not to panic.
We have to give them something to do, too. Some way to feel like this isn't the end.
That's part of preparing for battle, too. Preparing civilians, while we figure out a way to kill the dragon.

[personalwar]

[ It's not like Cain is wrong. At one point, 76 would have been the person who would come out onto the holo-screens with a speech, something meant to calm the public and also give them hope in light of the most recent tragedy.

In spite of that... ]

That's true. I'm going to have to leave that job to you, though. You seem perfect for it.

[baguablade]

I don't know about that. I just know it's what needs to be done if we're going to make this work.
Ideally, Shanrian and Simwe would be the ones making this kind of speech.
We're still outsiders, no matter what kind of titles we hold.
But you seem like you'd be pretty good at this kind of thing if you put your mind to it, if you ask me...

[personalwar]

[ Not this again. He makes an active effort to not give people that impression!! ]

What makes you say that?

[baguablade]

[ Maybe you should be less level-headed in a crisis then!! ]

You've got that whole calm, not going to let things get to you personality.
You're the kind of person who gets things done. Even if you're kind of gruff about it.
In a situation like this, that's reassuring. The kind of thing people look toward.
It gives the sense that you'd be pretty good at taking charge.
Am I wrong?

[personalwar]

[ No, Cain isn't wrong, but that doesn't mean that 76 wants to hear it. He sighs to himself on his end of the text conversation, but replies eventually. ]

I've got some experience in a leadership role. It's been a while, but I guess there are some habits you can't shake.

[baguablade]

That's a good thing, in my book. Most people aren't going to be able to keep their heads.
What kind of experience is it? I can keep it to myself if you want, but knowing would be helpful.

[personalwar]

[ Cain already knows more about him than a lot of the other refugees, which makes 76 that much less willing to offer him more information. ]

Let's just say I've headed my fair share of missions in the past.

[baguablade]

[ Ah, well. Cain can extrapolate enough at least from this. ]

No wonder you've got such a level head on your shoulders!
In that case, I'll be counting on your experience to help see all this through.

[personalwar]

[ All of this positivity is giving him indigestion. Was Cain really a general, back home? ]

You ever fight in a losing battle?

[baguablade]

[ He really was. Though the other generals also didn't like his optimism... ]

I did. But that's why I don't want to lose any more.
That's why if there's any chance to give us a win without people getting hurt, I'll take it.

[personalwar]

If there's such a thing as a battle where no one gets hurt, I haven't seen it.

[baguablade]

It probably doesn't exist. But it's still what I'm going to aim for.
I'll settle for the fewest number of casualties in the meantime.

[personalwar]

Fair enough.