OOS 92

Korrinoth 10, the party leaves Wolis via rented carriage to retrieve Concludion from Eddelton. It occurred between sessions 41 and 42. It is immediately preceded by OOS 90 and 91; it is immediately followed by OOS 93 and 94. 
== Transcript == 
Lei: 
peek-a-boo, upside-down dangling lei knocks on the carriage window 
Teer: 
"[HIGH PITCHED GARBLING BEEP] Lei!" 
Teer nearly drops the iPad in his effort to stand up and open the door. 
Lei: 
with squire's help, lei pulls herself back up to the roof in a fit of giggles 
Teer: 
Teer shuts the door and leans his mask against it with a groan. "At least she's happy." 
Akaros: 
"You should try 'Puella Magi Madoka'," Akaros offers. "It's about some girls with magic powers that save the world from evil witches. Very pink and flowery." 
Teer: 
"Oh! Alright." 
Lei: 
lei climbs down the side of the carriage. not upside down. and clambers back inside. and sits down, assuming kiono isn't occupying the space that was hers. 
The Squire: 
The squire settles himself back into his spot. 
Teer: 
Teer nods at them as they climb in, currently typing 'Puella Magi Madoka' and 'Ouran High School Host Club' both into his watch list. 
Kiono: 
Kiono shifts her current project and herself back to her seat, somewhat sad to lose the extra space. 
Teer: 
"Glad to see neither of you fell off. Was it pleasant up there?" 
Lei: 
nods "not as comfortable as the seats in here though." 
Teer: 
Teer glances at the seat as if he wasn't aware they could have varying levels of comfort. 
The Squire: 
"It was nice. Very... spacious? Good views. Very smooth ride as well." 
Teer: 
"I see, excellent." 
Lei: 
glances between squire and teer 
Teer: 
Teer looks at Lei, then back down at his tablet screen. 
Lei: 
lei watches as teer clicks around on the tablet awkwardly for a long moment 
".....so, what are you doing?" 
Teer: 
"I am looking at titles of Anime." He says the word with a heavy elvish accent. 
Lei: 
"....those moving drawings you were watching?" 
Teer: 
"Indeed. They tell excellent stories." 
He puts the tablet aside and glances up. 
Lei: 
lei fidgets with her fingers and glances back at teer 
Teer: 
"I keep meaning to show you it. We should all watch it together some time." 
Lei: 
"sounds interesting. i look forward to it." 
Kiono: 
Kiono hands Teer her bottle of ink. 
"Not enough room," she says by way of explanation, barely stopping her writing as she copies a page out of a black book into her journal. 
Teer: 
Teer takes the bottle and looks at it. He doesn't know what to do with it. "You mean to see the screen?" 
Kiono: 
She looks up, confused. She sticks the middle of the pen in her mouth to hold it, then adjusts Teer's hand and the inkwell so he's holding it such that she can continue to use it. She redips her quill and returns to work. 
Lei: 
"....say, teer?" 
Teer: 
"Ah," Teer says to Kiono, comprehending. He turns to Lei. "Yes?" 
Lei: 
"um...." shuffles her hands around 
glances at squire again 
The Squire: 
Squire gives Lei a nod, a smile, and a thumbs up. 
Lei: 
"you told me to tell you if, um--well--" sighs 
The Squire: 
Nodnodnod. 
Lei: 
"my body died in donjon. part of me thought, if i had stayed dead then....it would have been better." 
The Squire: 
Squire puts his hand on her arm. 
Teer: 
"That's not true!" Teer says, a bit too loudly. He bumps his head on the roof of the carriage. "I mean... I'm sorry. Do you... You don't feel that way now, do you?" 
Lei: 
jumps a bit when teer bumps his head "um--uh--no, i....i'm trying not to." 
"anyway, i'm fine. you just asked me to tell you whenever those types of, um, thoughts come up--" 
The Squire: 
Pat pat pat pat pat. 
Teer: 
"Oh... Th-Thank you. I'm glad you told me." 
Teer uses his free hand to readjust his mask. "If you had stayed... If I had... I never would've forgiven myself." 
Ephemera: 
Ephemera sends 'There, there, pat, pat' emotions Teer's direction. 
Lei: 
firmly, contrasting her stumbling through words prior “you didn’t do it on purpose.” 
“you’re one of the main reasons i’m even alive right now.” 
Teer: 
Teer looks away. After a moment, he asks "Do we know what cured you, after the Donjon? I woke up and everyone was fine." 
Lei: 
eyebrows furrow “...i-i dont know.” 
Teer: 
"I may not have done it with intention, but I was still careless. My actions in the card could have cost you everything. I'm sorry, Lei." 
Lei: 
a pause 
“do you—are you going to—“ 
“don’t be—“ 
“.....i don’t want to see you get upset about it.” 
Teer: 
He looks at her. "...Of course. I will be fine. I just wanted to make my apology clear." 
Lei: 
leans in and scrutinizes teer’s mask, as if the expression could change 
Teer: 
Teer remains impassive. "What is it?" 
Lei: 
shakes her head and breaks eye contact “okay.” 
Ephemera: 
"Oh my gosh," Ephemera mutters. 
Teer: 
No okay he mentally texts a question mark. I won't bring Tim Allen into this. 
Ephemera: 
"This party is still such a disaster," she sighs. "Carry on or something." 
She is mentally rubbing her temples. 
Teer: 
"What do you want me to do? I said I wasn't going to be upset about it." He transfers via Halberd. He doesn't sound annoyed, just defeated. 
Ephemera: 
"You're allowed to have emotions, Teer. If it upsets you, then it upsets you. Hiding it does nobody any good." 
"Hiding things just makes everything worse," she adds via mutter text. 
The Squire: 
Squire glances at Lei. <Another time, perhaps.> He suggests. <She did say she didn’t want to see it.> 
Ephemera: 
"It's not fair of her to demand your emotions to be convenient for her." 
"You know what, poke her with me. I need to talk to her." 
The Squire: 
<She’s not— I’ve heard it’s bad for a guardian to do that sort of thing in front of their child.> 
Ephemera: 
"He is her friend, not her guardian," she says emphatically, in italics. 
Teer: 
"I'm not her - I mean I - yes, that. Friend, protector, not guardian." 
Ephemera: 
"Someone let me talk to her, or I'll have to make Kiono stop what she's doing." 
The Squire: 
“Ah— Leitha, Ephemera would like to speak with you.” 
TEer: 
Teer grasps the halberd as he attempts to pass it over. "Alright. But to be clear... I am choosing not to be upset about this. Not just for Lei. It would be better for me to not be distracted by the incident." 
Lei: 
face very quickly goes through an array of emotions before landing on resigned 
she looks out the window and barely touches the halberd, ready to let go at any point 
Ephemera: 
Kiono, who has not been part of this conversation at all and has been focused on her work this entire time, gently sets aside her books and forward to lean on her knees so she’s looking at Lei. Surprise, it’s actually Ephemera. You can't get away without leaving the carriage. Her words are measured, even. 
“Your emotional needs are important, and you are allowed to feel them. But your emotions have an impact on those around you that you frequently don’t seem to care about or haven't noticed. Your emotions led us to the Shadowfell, to dealing with Strahd. 
"My emotions led me to lie — badly, I'm bad at lying — in an attempt to keep Kiono away from your anger, to attempt to placate you instead of reminding you that high-stress situations like that lead to mistakes. And that everyone makes mistakes, moreso when they are afraid. I know that people being afraid pisses you off, but if we're going to make concessions for your mistakes, then you have to do the same in return. 
"I lied about being the one to kill Anna, and I'm sorry I lied to you about it, but by the gods am I tired of being afraid of a sixteen-year-old's emotions." 
She sits back up, eyes still on Lei. 
"You're allowed to be angry, but remember that people are all stupid and make mistakes all the time." 
Teer: 
Teer swears, but very softly. 
Lei: 
lei turns around away from the window when kiono starts talking, and her face goes from resigned, to confused, to upset. she bites her lip. 
The Squire: 
“You... Kiono, you killed a child.” 
Ephemera: 
"I mean no offense, Squire, but could you wait until I'm finished with Kiono's body before you express your righteous indignation toward her, please? It's a bit awkward to hold that conversation in this state." 
Lei: 
after long silence from her, lei’s expression goes flat. “why are you telling us this now.” 
The Squire: 
“Right, sorry, I’ll just stew until you’re done.” 
Ephemera: 
"I'm sorry. Thank you, Squire." She turns back to Lei. 
"Why do you always ask why? Sometimes people just decide to talk to people, share information just because, to become friends, to get to know people. Sometimes people reach a threshold of guilt and annoyance that pushes them over the edge. Sometimes those motives are personal and aren't motivated by you at all." 
Lei: 
lei doesnt respond 
Ephemera: 
Ephemera waits, then says, "If that's all you have to say, then I'm going to let Squire be angry with Kiono." 
Lei: 
“you said you were sorry.” 
Ephemera: 
"Yes." 
Lei: 
“that you regretted it. that you’d do things differently if given another chance.” 
“that was also a lie.” 
Ephemera: 
"The breach of trust is a thing I regret immensely. Given the chance to do it again, I would not have lied to you." 
Lei: 
“how am i supposed to belie—“ tears start welling up but she gives a quick ‘huff’ and goes back to a flat vale-like expression and tone 
“did you know what kiono was going to do.” 
Ephemera: 
"We had discussed the pros and cons of the matter. I wasn't aware whether she would do it then or after spending a day or two going through his research or perhaps never." 
Lei: 
lei’s fists are tightly clenched “why didn’t you talk about it with squire and teer first.” 
Ephemera: 
"The matter was discussed with the party. It was discussed with Strahd." 
Lei: 
“no. it wasn’t agreed upon to kill anna.” 
The Squire: 
“I must have missed that.” 
Ephemera: 
"That's—" 
She gets frustrated and runs her hands angrily through her hair. 
"That's not the question you just asked." 
"No, we didn't decide anything as a group. Kiono decided to act independently. Sometimes people do that." 
Lei: 
“you went along with yumia discussions. why.” 
Ephemera: 
"What?" 
Lei: 
“shortly before kiono left to kill anna, we talked about potentially seeking out yumia. you seemed...potentially supportive of the idea. why.” 
Ephemera: 
"She was my friend at one point. I thought maybe it could work. It didn't." 
Lei: 
lei’s face starts to transition briefly to a glare before she gets control on it “you agreed to be committed to work together.” 
Ephemera: 
"That's not an accusation for me." 
Lei: 
“you didn’t tell us what kiono was going to do, and then you lied about it.” 
Ephemera: 
"I didn't know she was going to do it." 
"And yes, I lied about it afterwards." 
"You also promised Teer you would stay safe and then ended up trapped in Barovia." 
Lei: 
“you didn’t know she wasnt going to discuss it with us first before doing it.” 
Ephemera: 
"Why are you asking the same question so many different ways? Yes, that." 
She leans back in her seat and sighs, tired. 
Teer: 
"Could I offer my two silver?" 
Ephemera: 
"Please do." 
Teer: 
Teer starts slow, careful. "Lei, Ephemera didn't know that Kiono had intention to kill Anna when she did. We've been travelling together long enough to know of her character. Yes, she lied yesterday, but it has been a very stressful couple of days for all of us, and it's better she's telling the truth now than to have to come out later." 
He turns. "Ephemera, Kiono, I understand that you felt you a decision had to be made, but there was little stopping you from finding a way to discuss it with the party. Maybe we would have made a different choice together. I don't know if it would have been the right one. But the choice to take the life of an innocent isn't the sort of thing to take into your own hands so lightly." 
Teer: 
"Some times I think we will have to make quick decisions. But that wasn't one of them." 
The Squire: 
“Well said, Teer.” 
Lei: 
hearing teer’s voice makes lei’s flimsy mask crumble, and her expression becomes troubled and tears well up. she looks away. 
Teer: 
"Unless we want to appoint a group leader, but that hasn't been popular," Teer adds lightly. 
Ephemera: 
"That wouldn't work at all," Ephemera muses, mildly amused at just how badly that would go. 
Teer: 
"This would be much easier if you were all warforged, 87% of the time we would simply come to the same conclusion." 
Teer looks at Lei, but says nothing. 
The Squire: 
“Warforged can’t bleed.” Squire says weakly. 
Teer: 
"Er, that too." 
Lei: 
“i dont want to—not be able to trust you.” quietly, looking away still 
“but i can’t.” 
Teer: 
"Plants are mostly water, so when you do find purchase it's not very dramatic," Teer whispers to Squire. 
Ephemera: 
Ephemera gives a defeated half-shrug. "I can't trust you to be left alone." 
The Squire: 
“We’ll stay together.” Squire announces. “We don’t all have to be friends, but we need each other. And then, once we’ve saved the world, we can go our separate ways.” 
“...then we’ll talk about consequences.” He says gravely. 
Ephemera: 
"...which consequences?" 
The Squire: 
“For killing a child. People go to jail for that. At best.” 
Ephemera: 
"Oh." 
"...I think Squire is ready to talk to Kiono. Did anyone have anything else for me specifically?" 
Lei: 
lei would give a lot to leave the carriage at this moment. she doesnt respond, looking away, her fingers intertwined tightly. 
Teer: 
"No." 
Ephemera: 
"Very well." 
Flippity doo da, it's Kiono Time. 
The Squire: 
“So.” 
Kiono: 
Kiono glances at Squire, then settles into her seat and picks her books back up, flipping slowly to where she had been working. 
The Squire: 
Squire gazes at her cooly. 
“Would you do it again?” 
Kiono: 
"Which part?" 
The Squire: 
“Killing a child in cold blood.” 
Kiono: 
"Unless something about the circumstances changed drastically, then yes." She finds the page she was on, smooths it out. 
The Squire: 
“I see. I’ll have to drastically change the circumstances, then.“ 
Teer: 
Teer suddenly feels immensely afraid of Squire. 
Kiono: 
Kiono glances at Squire. "In a hypothetical, or do you intend to invent time travel?" 
The Squire: 
“I’m not going to let you out of my sight.” 
“So, I suppose that’s hypothetical.” 
“But I don’t intend to let the same circumstances arise.” 
Kiono: 
"It would be impressive if they did." She looks back down at her books. Now where did she leave off... 
The Squire: 
Squire settles back in his seat. Seething. That’s the word for it. 
Teer: 
Teer gives Squire a respectful nod. 
The Squire: 
Squire returns it. 
Kiono: 
Kiono pulls her pen back out, then glances at Squire. "Was that everything?" 
The Squire: 
“Mm-hm. Carry on.” 
Kiono: 
Kiono gives half a nod and returns to her work. 
Lei: 
she doesnt get to return to her work for long. 
“what does teamwork mean to you.” 
Kiono: 
She stops writing, takes a moment, then without looking up says, "A group working toward a common goal." 
Lei: 
“do you consider yourself part of a team?” 
Kiono: 
After a moment she continues writing. "Yes." 
Lei: 
“did you consider talking with the group before killing anna?” 
Kiono: 
"I considered it." 
Lei: 
“why did you decide not to.” 
Kiono: 
"It was the best course of action given the circumstances. The ensuing bickering would have alerted Strahd, and he would have killed us." 
Lei: 
“i disagree.” 
Kiono: 
"Okay." 
Lei: 
“you doing it alone without notifying anyone could easily have gotten you killed.” 
Kiono: 
Kiono looks up at Lei. "You only care that your opinion was ignored. Any concern for my safety is a lie to make you look better in front of your friends." She returns to her work. 
Lei: 
brows furrowed “why would i be traveling with you and working with you at all if i thought that way.” 
Kiono: 
"Because you need me to do the rituals to stop Varren." 
Lei: 
“try again.” 
Kiono: 
Still not looking at Lei. "You didn't even know I existed until a couple weeks ago. You have only gotten angry with me since then. Any claim of friendship is a falsehood. 
"Beyond my use in stopping Varren, I'm also host to the halberd, I'm the one who created the spell to align the ley lines, and I'm probably going to be the one to actually perform that particular deed. I'm a useful tool." 
She has the pen near the paper, but isn't writing. Too many things to focus on. 
Lei: 
“you’re making a lot of assumptions.” 
Kiono: 
"You've yet to prove me wrong." 
Teer: 
Teer looks like he's half ready to say something, but doesn't interrupt. 
Lei: 
“i did think of you as a tool at one point. to help me gain my parents’ approval. but i realized pretty quickly that you were too awful to be around for it to be even remotely worth it.” 
“you’re not the only way varren can be stopped, you know. you’re not the only one who can be a host for ephemera. but you are a part of the group, and you’re friends with people here. that’s why your safety matters, you idiot.” 
Kiono: 
"That's the way we've chosen to stop Varren, and I'm the host she's chosen. If you wish to change your mind about those choices, I will leave. I am, after all," —she looks at Lei— "too awful to be around to be worth it." 
Back to work. 
Lei: 
rolls her eyes like, why did i even bother? 
Kiono: 
"My safety matters because of my usefulness, not by any connections within the group. My friendship with you is nonexistent, with Plosi severed I'm sure by my killing Anna, and Teer tenuous at best. You are the one making assumptions." 
Teer: 
Quietly, "Ouch, okay." 
Lei: 
lei is quiet for a moment as she has a realization. 
Teer: 
"I would like to throw out there that I consciously decided to become friends with everyone here, regardless of their perceived usefulness. Do you know why? Because it's actually really enjoyable! Being friendly with people! The stress I feel is entirely unrelated." Teer is half talking to himself. 
Kiono: 
Kiono freezes, looks over at Teer with an expression that says, 'wait, we're friends? like actually?' 
The Squire: 
"Friendships usually make for better teamwork." Squire admits. 
"I mean... if you're going to be spending time with people, it's nice to like and trust them." 
Scabacca: 
"Kiono is my best Friend." Scabacca says from the floor of the carriage, tail thumping happily heedless of the tone of the conversation. 
Teer: 
Teer is incapable of understanding or displaying human facial emotion so he just looks back at Kiono. 
Kiono: 
Kiono's hands are quite occupied, so she gives him a rub with her foot or something idk. Dog friends are important, but not exactly relevant to the conversation. 
Kiono hesitates a moment after being Looked At, and returns to her work. She has thoughts about Squire's observations, but she's getting tired of repeating herself. 
Teer: 
Teer looks out the window. "And your safety matters because you're a person. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that." 
The Squire: 
“Mm.” Squire agrees. 
Kiono: 
"I'm glad we've agreed I'm a person," Kiono mutters sarcastically. 
Teer: 
"Then stop thinking of yourself as a tool," Teer says flatly. 
Kiono: 
Kiono glances in the direction of Teer's feet, then hunches closer to her books. "This is stupid," she mutters under her breath. 
Then she shoves the books aside and curls up into a ball again, simultaneously hiding her face while trying to stare out the window. She can't risk crying on the spellwork. 
Teer: 
Teer is still holding up the ink bottle, somehow. 
Lei: 
lei sighs, unfastens her cloak, and tosses it on top of kiono 
The Squire: 
Squire, looking away, hands Kiono the silver bird and not a pocket square. 
Kiono: 
Kiono jerks the cloak off the second she feels it. She then hastily opens the window and leans out it, missing the offered pocket square. 
She then disappears, uncharacteristically leaving behind her journal, as well as the spellbook, quill, the cork for the inkbottle, and the inkbottle in Teer's hand. And the halberd. 
Kiono is going to have her cry on the roof via teleportation. 
Teer: 
"K-Kiono!" 
The Squire: 
“Where did she—“ 
Lei: 
can absolutely hear her plop on the roof, starts to climb out after her 
Teer: 
"Lei!" 
The Squire: 
“Lei, where are you going!?” 
Lei: 
“the roof. i’ll be back.” 
The Squire: 
“Please be careful.” 
Teer: 
Teer looks at her. "I swear on Belxari you both better behave up there, or I will ask the nice carriage driver to stop." 
Squire” 
“...both?” 
Teer: 
"I believe Kiono is up there now as well." 
The Squire: 
“Oh. That makes sense.”
Category:OOS