OOS 91

Korrinoth 10, the party is traveling toward Eddelton to retrieve Concludion. It occurred between sessions 41 and 42. It is preceded by OOS 89; OOS 92 occurs immediately after. It occurs concurrently with OOS 90. 
== Transcript == 
kiono, ephy, teer, squire, burben, scabacca, and lei are traveling via carriage, the first day of a 3-day trek. burben, lei, and squire are sitting atop the carriage. another oos between teer, ephy, and kiono is going on concurrently. 
Lei: 
lei adjusts herself on top of the carriage trying to get comfortable and trying to find something to hold onto in case they lurch to any sudden halts. 
Plosi: 
“I suppose the view must be better from here.” Squire says, lounging atop Burben. “Better vantage point and that.” 
Lei: 
“i suppose so.” 
“thanks for coming up here.” 
“not exactly the proper thing to do, but i find myself unable to care.” 
Plosi: 
“Well, nobody seemed to mind.” 
Lei: 
sits quietly for a bit, taking in the view surrounding them 
she seems to have settled on shoulder-length hair for the moment 
Plosi: 
Plosi glances at her, and experimentally lengthens his own hair, studying his reflection in Burben’s shiny exoskeleton. 
Lei: 
lei smiles as he does so 
after a long silence “do you mind if i share something with you?” 
Plosi: 
“Not at all, go ahead.” 
Lei: 
“.....thanks.” twisting her hair around in her fingers, her other hand firmly holding something sturdy atop the carriage 
“i promised teer i’d try to tell him if i had....” trails off 
“i’m not....” 
sighs after a couple of false starts 
Plosi: 
Plosi sits up and looks at her expectantly, ears lifted. 
Lei: 
“so my body really did die, in donjon.” her voice is flat. she speaks somewhat slowly. 
“i have some burn scars from it, after all, so that entirely makes sense. i just shifted them away, but it did happen i suppose.” 
Plosi: 
“Ah.” 
Lei: 
is quiet and contemplative for a bit 
Plosi: 
“I can see why you would talk to me. It’s something we have in common.” 
Lei: 
“what’s that?” 
“...are you referring to the glow worm?” 
Plosi: 
“Well, I’ve died too.” 
Lei: 
“ah. yes. actually that’s not why i brought it up with you, but....well that’s an interesting connection i suppose.” 
a small soft smile tugs at the corner of her mouth 
“it’s a good thing you didn’t stay dead, huh?” 
Plosi: 
“Likewise!” 
Lei: 
“i know i already apologized about the glow worm but....sorry.” 
“i stood in the way of accomplishing getting rid of it.” 
“and now it looks like dort will have his out while we’re nowhere near oceanside.” 
Plosi: 
“What? No. That’s not your fault.” 
Lei: 
shakes her head “i don’t see how it isn’t, but thanks.” 
Plosi: 
“Remind me what happened?” 
“I mean, how you wound up in the Shadowfell.” 
Lei: 
“......hehe, timely question.” stops twisting her hair and absentmindedly strokes burben with that hand instead 
“i overheard izora and kiono talking about how to channel magic from external sources. it was interesting. i was curious. i figured it would surely end up getting me killed, but....” 
“somehow harnessing power from the dimension room landed me in the shadowfell instead.” 
her hand stops abruptly, resting on burben “i figured it was....better than being useless. but i wasn’t thinking. it was worse.“ 
xelbari‘s voice saying ‘selfish’ rings through her mind 
Plosi: 
“You could have gotten really hurt. Live and learn, I suppose.” 
Lei: 
“that was the goal.” a sigh 
“i think i’m doing it again. thinking like that.” 
“i promised teer i would try to tell him when it happens, but i don’t want to make him upset about donjon.” 
Plosi: 
“Well, at your age, that’s what you’re meant to be doing.” 
Lei: 
“hm?” 
Plosi: 
“Making mistakes, getting hurt? Learning?” 
Lei: 
“is it...normal to want to—um, is it okay to have thoughts about...?” 
Plosi: 
“About... what?” 
Lei: 
her hand is no longer on burben, and is now very tightly holding her shoulder 
“um...wanting to...hurt myself.” saying it out loud is a weird combination of feeling guilty and relieved 
Plosi: 
“Oh. Oh, I understand that’s pretty common. Um— it’s not ‘okay,’ exactly— how do I put this. It’s... a symptom. It’s not okay in the way bleeding ‘isn’t okay,’ it just means you probably need help.” 
Lei: 
eases up on squeezing her shoulder “have you felt that way?” 
Plosi: 
“Remember when Teer had to make me promise I would stop throwing myself off cliffs?” 
Lei: 
“ah.” 
“do you still...?” 
Plosi: 
“Not so much.” 
Lei: 
a pause “how do you avoid it?” 
Plosi: 
“Well... now I’m part of this mission to save the world.” 
Lei: 
squeezes shoulder tighter again “oh.” 
“....what kind of help can you get?” 
Plosi: 
"That's something you usually ask around about in your clerical areas. Um... places of worship. Temples and the like." 
"It's a kind of healing, you see?" 
Lei: 
"....why haven't you gotten it?" 
Plosi: 
“I... well, it’s not that bad, for me. It didn’t occur to me. I suppose by the time I might have pursued it, I had something to live for.” 
Lei: 
sits quietly, holding her shoulder and the carriage, looking at the clouds 
after a bit "i'm glad you stopped throwing yourself from cliffs." 
Plosi: 
“Thanks. I’m glad you’re here too.” 
Lei: 
more silence, more cloudgazing 
Plosi: 
“...Did you say you were telling Teer when you thought about hurting yourself?” 
Lei: 
"yes. he asked me to. i don't....know if i really should this time, though. i was hoping telling you would be good enough." 
Plosi: 
“I was about to ask you to tell me.” 
Lei: 
looks at plosi "o-oh. i....i'll try my best." 
"i don't always--it's not always...." 
Plosi: 
“If you can’t tell Teer, at least.” 
“...I could tell him. Or we could tell him together.” 
Lei: 
pause "he's worried about protecting the group." 
"talking about what happened in donjon is going to..." 
Plosi: 
“...Make him more worried than he already is?” 
Lei: 
"hehe. point taken." small smile 
"okay. i'll tell him. i promised i would, after all." 
Plosi: 
“Oh, excellent! I’m proud of you, Lei.” 
Lri: 
lei blushes and looks back at the clouds 
Plosi: 
“Thank you for telling me about all this.” 
Lei: 
"how is it something....to thank me for?" 
"really, i should be the one saying that to you." 
Plosi: 
“I think... secrets can be like ghosts. Sometimes you can feel that you’re missing something, but you don’t know what. You’re out of the loop.” 
Lei: 
"oh. i'm....sorry that you've felt that way. i didn't realize." 
Plosi: 
“It’s okay! This is why we talk to each other.” 
Lei: 
stares at her lap, talking more to herself "information is powerful. sharing it with those i trust is beneficial." 
lifts her head to look back at plosi "let me know if there's anything else you may want to know about." 
Plosi: 
“I’m worried about Dort.” 
“I keep telling myself that he’s in good hands with Dorianus and Boskin and Jin-Ri, but I’m worried. I’ll be happy to see him after the procedure.” 
“It’s hard for me to shake the feeling that I should be there with him.” 
Lei: 
"......i wish you could be." 
"have you tried writing to him?" 
Lei: 
"even if you don't want to actually send it. sometimes writing a letter helps, i think." 
Plosi: 
“You didn’t know what would happen, I don’t blame you. Um, but that’s a good idea! I’ll— we’ve got time, so I’ll try that. I’ll write him.” 
“Thank you.” 
Lei: 
suddenly lei bursts out in a fit of giggles 
in the midst of laughing "i'm--i'm sorry, it's rude, i shouldn't be--" 
"it just occurred to me--if three or four months ago i'd heard i was going to be on the roof of a carriage with you talking about the goblin who stacked things on my head while i was passed out drunk....hehehehe." 
"i'm--i'm sorry." 
Plosi: 
Plosi catches her laughing fit. “If you told me I was going to be on the roof of a carriage, full stop...” 
Lei: 
"hehehehe." 
Plosi: 
“I’m writing a letter to Dort!” 
“I didn’t think he could read back then.” 
Lei: 
"i'm on the way to some backwater town riding atop a commoner carriage! with a goblin!" 
Plosi: 
“Look how far we’ve come!” 
Lei: 
"i think i would pass out, how about you?" 
Plosi: 
“I’d be furious.” 
“The slander of it all!” 
“I’d be beside myself. Flabbergasted.” 
Lei: 
"the audacity!" 
"the impudence! what a disappointment i'd be to my parents, surely!" 
her voice gets lady renn-like, but in an over-the-top manner 
Plosi: 
Squire mimics her in as much as he mimics himself, making his voice particular and reedy. “Cavorting with the enemy! The shame of it. He’s a dreadful influence. Soon I’ll be tearing curtains to ribbons and snacking with abandon.” 
Lei: 
"hehehehehehe." 
Plosi: 
“Ehehehe!” 
“What do you suppose we’ll be like in Xodenth?” 
Lei: 
lei's laughter comes to a stop, replaced by thoughtfulness "oh...i hadn't...thought about something like that." 
Plosi: 
“Well... there’s no telling. I’m excited to find out.” 
Lei: 
lei bites her lip "say, do you have anything you want to do someday? like....a dream?" 
Plosi: 
“I’d like to go back to... it was Oceanside, was it? That had a dungeon? I’d like to reform that.” 
“I’d like to go to the Dragonlands and try to find my clan...” 
Lei: 
"those are some big aspirations. do you, um, plan to....work towards them?" 
Plosi: 
“Of course.” 
Lei: 
"how will you do it?" head cocked 
Plosi: 
“Well, it probably depends on where I am— I mean, what situation I’m in after all this is over. I might go back to Oceanside and try to find people who are already trying to fix things there.” 
Lei: 
"i hope...you manage to do it." 
Plosi: 
“Thank you. What about you?” 
Lei: 
"me what?" 
Plosi: 
“What do you want to do next?” 
Lei: 
starts twirling her hair again, back to biting her lip 
"......follow after you guys as you accomplish the goals." 
Plosi: 
“Oh, then you don’t need to hope. You can help me.” Plosi grins. 
Lei: 
"Heh, you know we have to make a pitstop at Akaros' lair if you let me tag along to the Dragonlands." 
weak smile 
Plosi: 
“Oh, of course.” 
“...This is the first time I’ve thought about him having a lair other than Teer.” 
Lei: 
"well, if akaros wasn't joking, he apparently had a throne of goblin skulls...that died of natural causes." 
"...sort of." 
"so i wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to go there." 
Plosi: 
“I’ll keep you posted.” 
Lei: 
hair twirling intensifies 
"....there is something. sort of." 
Plosi: 
“Yeah?” 
Lei: 
"i don't know how it could even be done. it's silly." 
Plosi: 
”Leitha.” Plosi coaxes. 
Lei: 
"especially not from some child who--" sigh 
"promise you won't laugh?" 
Plosi: 
“Promise.” 
Lei: 
she has her legs up against her chest and is looking away, biting her lip 
"i want to...make it so people like me don't have to hide." 
speaks really quietly 
Plosi: 
Plosi lowers his voice to match. “Changelings?” 
Lei: 
"anyone who is different. goblins included." 
"but, um--it's....i know it's just silly. um, please don't, er--" 
Plosi: 
“Leitha, what’s silly about that?” 
Lei: 
"it's....there's not really anything i could do about that." her voice gets even quieter 
Plosi: 
“What do you mean?” 
“You made me feel less afraid.” 
Lei: 
shakes her head "i was part of the problem." 
Plosi: 
“If you were, then so was I. We both got better.” 
Lei: 
lei's hair grows a bit longer so she can twist it further. she sits in silence for a long moment. 
The Squire: 
Squire drops Disguise Self entirely and looks at the clouds. 
Lei: 
"thanks for, um, not laughing." 
The Squire: 
“Of course not.” 
Lei: 
notices him looking at the sky "that one looks like a fish." 
The Squire: 
“I was just thinking that! Or a bird, maybe.” 
Lei: 
"eh? how do you see a bird?" tilts her head sideways 
still just twirl, twirl, twirling her hair 
The Squire: 
“If you look at the tail like more of a beak...” 
Lei: 
"hehe, oh--that one looks kind of like burben, if you squint." 
The Squire: 
“Oh, you’re right! I see the mandibles.” 
“Burben, do you have any goals and dreams?” 
“...Yes, that sounds lovely. I appreciate your perspective. Revolution is wonderful, but we do have to set aside some time to eat vegetables as well. I love you.” 
Lei: 
"Hehehehe." 
some time passes, and they find all sorts of odd things in the clouds. eventually, lei says, "..........i should probably not put off telling teer, huh?" 
The Squire: 
“Sooner than later is probably best.” 
Lei: 
nods solemnly 
The Squire: 
“Do you feel comfortable doing that in the carriage, with Message?” 
Lei: 
"yes, though i'm oddly enjoying sitting on top of the carriage, even if my bottom is rather sore." small smile 
The Squire: 
“Maybe you can lean over and let him know that way. I’ll hold your ankles.” 
Lei: 
"hehehehehehe." lei's eyes light up 
The Squire: 
The squire grins. 
Lei: 
"they're not going to let us back on the roof." she says grinning as she tightens her shoes so they won't come loose 
The Squire: 
“Maybe not. I hope you’ve had your fill of elevation....” 
Lei: 
lei is ready for dangling 
The Squire: 
The squire wraps his legs around Burben’s head to keep himself secure and grabs hold of Lei’s ankles, snickering. 
Squire pulls Lei back onto the roof, smiling faintly. “Did you tell him?” 
Lei: 
giggles a bit more, then shakes her head "no, i realized it's probably not the best way to go about it." 
"i'll go down properly." 
"hehe, thanks though." 
The Squire: 
“You know what, you’re probably right. Live and learn, heheh.” 
Lei: 
and lei climbs down the side of the carriage. not upside down. and clambers back inside. 
The Squire: 
The Squire pets Burben and climbs down after her.
Category:OOS