Tristan

Tristan watched as Manama, Kitara, and Opie walked over to celebrate the scaleborn, relief evident on all their faces. But he didn't join in himself. What's more, he noticed that Sophie and Chessa hadn't either. Both of them were standing apart from the others' excitement. Their eyes were both glued, Tristan realized, to the two tanks.

Drannis, for all his dwarven height, was standing face-to-chest with Cross, who had Laura at his side.

"You know I would be absolutely within my rights to remove you from the raid right now. I could remove the both of you!"

Cross raised his chin defiantly, while Laura didn't meet Drannis's gaze. "You could, I suppose, but it would be an absolute waste. Think about what we've already accomplished! What more we could do here."

Drannis lifted his chin, too, as if to prove that he wasn't intimidated in the least by the much taller half-giant. His braided black beard brushed against the half-giant's armor. "That is only possible if I can trust my raid members, and as of this moment, I have a concerning lack of trust in you, Cross. You, who are supposed to be my second tank, endangered the entire raid! And for what, a challenge?! What you just pulled--especially the insult you have thrown at my leadership--is inexcusable!"

The dwarf was on his tip-toes, thumping a finger against Cross's chest.

Chessa suddenly appeared beside the pair and began pulling at the raid leader's arm. "Drannis, hold on. We can work through this."

The huntress's words seemed to reach the dwarf, who took a deep breath and eventually stepped away.

"I am nearly of mind to cut our losses and end this raid entirely."

"Nearly?" Laura asked, perking up with what Tristan interpreted as a glimmer of hope. "Does that mean we still have a chance to work this out?"

The entire raid had gathered around them now.

Drannis's eyes narrowed as he faced the thunder mage. "Your partner endangered the group and insulted me. Since he still has shown no sign of remorse or contrition, I must weigh whether his tanking skills are worth tolerating such reckless behavior." His scowl deepened. "I have yet to decide where I stand. Ask the others."

Cross pursed his lips while Laura looked to the others.

"I'll add my thoughts then," Sophie began, striding forward. "What he did was dangerous--"

"And foolish," Kitara cut in.

"And he's lucky no one was seriously freaking hurt," Opie chimed in too.

Sophie raised a hand to stop and calm the others. "Yes, all of that's true, and then some. But at least we learned that it was something we could--and did--handle. What's more, replacing two members--"

"Including a tank," Chessa added.

Sophie nodded, "especially in the middle of a raid like this, is going to prove pretty difficult. Adding pick-ups at all would be flirting with disaster, but to need two? I can't imagine it going well."

Tristan could see that the astralist's words were swaying the dwarf. It was even more compelling when the other members of the group approached and added their thoughts.

"I respect the frustration you must be feeling now as our leader," Xanax said, "and I will unquestionably follow your judgement in this, but I also must admit that these two have earned my respect despite this most recent lapse in judgement. They are brave and powerful, however foolish they might be."

Opie was next to weigh in. "He's a massive freaking asshole for what he did. No one will argue that. Laura, well, I guess she's only guilty of bad judgement by dating the idiot. Honestly, whatever. Just don't do it again. Use your freaking words, man! That's the whole point of talking all this out before each fight. We literally freaking asked."

"The battle was pretty legendary," Manama admitted. "Besides, we've already seen what we're capable of with the two of them. Might as well keep the band together all the way to the end of the run."

Kitara didn't say anything, just stared down Cross.

Drannis looked around the circle from one set of eyes to the next, eventually landing on Tristan. "What say you, {Student of Jamal}?"

Tristan leaned against his sword in thought. "Maybe I'm being naive, but I say, if they swear this was a one-time mistake on Cross's part, then they stay. We all make mistakes--Gods only know that I've made plenty--"

Opie scoffed at that, but Tristan continued anyway.

"--And some are far worse than others. But I think they deserve the chance to learn, improve, and even make amends. Yeah, that's what I think."

Perhaps because another member of the raid was now leaning toward allowing Cross to stay, Kitara spoke up. "You think his giving of his word is enough to make him any less unreliable? He is not fae; he doesn't have truth coursing through his veins! He may be able to wield a shield, but can he uphold our trust?"

Xanax spoke. "If he has any care for his name and reputation, he will."

Manama wore a strangely intimidating grin. "And if not, well, I've been practically dying to write a blistering roast for a while!"

"That could kill my Path though," Cross injected. "As a tank, I rely on getting groups to progress."

Drannis bowed his head and stroked his beard. "Whilst I would not agree, perhaps you will take that as motivation to better yourself going forward. Furthermore, I appreciate the various perspectives displayed here today. If the majority of you can overlook this lapse in judgment, then so too will I. With leadership must come extra flexibility, as well as a willingness to listen to one's followers."

"I wouldn't call us followers," Opie objected.

The dwarf continued without acknowledging the comment. He looked straight at Cross. "If you swear to abide by all my directives going forward, then I shall endeavor to put this disrespectful incident behind us, and you both may stay."

There was a moment in which Laura's arm tightened around Cross's waist but nothing was said. The half-giant was simply staring into Drannis's eyes. The quiet stretched, and even though Tristan knew it only took a handful of seconds, it seemed to be much, much longer.

"Yeah, alright, I swear," Cross said. "I'd really rather not have a black stain on my reputation."

Kitara practically exploded. "You should have thought of that before you pulled that collar shit then!" But she managed to calm herself somewhat as she saw the others around her react less angrily. "At the least, we should refrain from giving him any of the remaining loot!"

Drannis grunted with distaste. "I am a Dwarf of the Petrified Woods. I would never dream of dishonoring myself, my clan, or my ancestors in such a way. He is competing with me alone for loot, and if we allow him to stay, he will have his fair share of the rewards. Though again, this assumes his behavior corrects itself."

Tristan heard Kitara muttering something about 'fair' under her breath, but not exactly what.

Cross's nostrils flared slightly, perhaps in response. Honestly, Tristan was mostly glad the half-giant didn't react with more outward distaste.

"I also swear," Laura said. "I'd like to finish this."

Drannis inclined his head to her.

Chessa cleared her throat. "So, are we all agreed then? We're moving on and putting the past behind us?"

Around the raid, heads bobbed in agreement, especially Opie, whose real priorities were shown immediately. "That means it's loot time, right?"

"Indeed," Drannis replied, kneeling by the split hydra's body. "Let us see what completing this hardmode has earned us."

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He made a show of rummaging around in the hydra's remains, which by now Tristan suspected was wholly unnecessary.

"Aha! Here's our first item. Ancestors be praised, it's an epic! Though..."

He left the statement unfinished as he lifted a glittering gold-and-black, flat rectangle, roughly the size of Tristan's hand. The raid leader twirled it a bit, showing off both faces, which Tristan now thought resembled some sort of oversized card. There were intricate designs and symbols all over its back and a strangely shaped cat creature on its front.

Filled with curiosity, Tristan used [Identify] as soon as Drannis held it still enough.

[Arcane Card: Weaver of 9 Lives (epic)]

A beautifully embossed card that allows its bearer to summon an elastic eldritch cat for up to two hours, once per day. It will acknowledge the bearer's commands and at least briefly consider obeying them.

"That is cool," Manama commented immediately.

"I wonder what it can do," Chessa said.

Opie, in a perfect deadpan, replied, "It summons the cat."

Chessa rolled her eyes. "The elastic eldritch cat, obviously."

"And what does 'eldritch' mean?" Tristan asked.

Opie shook his head. "It means really freaking bad news. It's basically the label for anything that doesn't normally exist in our realm--and probably shouldn't."

Tristan stared at the black cat-like shape on the front of the card. "But it's just a cat?"

"Yes and no," Kitara said. "To oversimplify a bit, saying it is just a cat is like saying your greatsword there is just a greatsword. The description is far more misleading than true." She pivoted to face Drannis. "I think I would like to have it."

Manama raised a hand. "Me too. Sounds like it would make for some wicked stories."

"Any others interested in such a treasure?" Drannis asked, looking specifically at Sophie.

"No, thank you," the astralist replied. "I have no need for that kind of trouble."

Meanwhile, Kitara turned to Manama. "It's merely a curiosity for me. I'm not sure it would have much actual use, but..."

"Would it help your Path?" the entertainer asked.

After a brief pause, the fairy shook her head. "I do not believe so."

The tall, bearded man turned his attention fully toward the card, stared at it, and then held that position as he closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he reopened them and nodded. "I sincerely think it will help mine. It'll be the stuff of legends! With the mischief it will cause... I can practically hear the songs calling out to me, and taste the ale it will earn me."

The fairy bobbed mid-air. "Then I respectfully withdraw my interest."

Manama bowed to her. "Thanks, Kit. I'm super excited for what this little card can do."

As Drannis handed it over, he proclaimed, "Then I hope you find great success with your well-earned prize! Do you think we might see it here?"

Manama hesitated. "I... don't know about that. The timing is fairly restrictive. I'll have to think on it. Normally I'd like our first time together to be more private."

Opie chuckled, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Chessa.

Kneeling back down into the remains of the hydra, Drannis announced that there were two additional healing potions and two mana potions to distribute. Again, none were Soulbound, so Tristan didn't really think much of where they went, other than hearing Opie's grumbling about how there were never enough mana potions.

Instead, he was more excited to see the final piece of loot, which Drannis eventually held aloft. It appeared to be a long coat made of unblemished hydra scales, topped with a hood that resembled one of its heads.

[Hydrascale Lightcoat (rare)]: [Hydra Sight], [Compounding Toughness]

This deceptively lightweight hooded garment protects the wearer increasingly the more it's needed.

Despite the initial letdown from the lack of a Soulbound property, he still expanded each property to see what the coat had to offer.

[Hydra Sight] While wearing this coat, you can project your vision from any part of it as if your eyes were there. While in use, your normal sight will be overridden, and your new sight will reveal magic and illusions of your tier within range.

[Compounding Toughness] For every 15% of your maximum health you are missing, gain 10% stacking damage reduction.

The resulting back and forth surprised Tristan at first, as it was between Laura and Sophie of all people. The tanks both passed on it because it was a cloth chest piece that offered much less armor than what either already had. The thunder mage was trying to argue that she was much more likely to draw aggro thanks to her explosive crits, and thus should get the item for how its [Resilient Toughness] might keep her alive to deal more damage.

But Sophie countered with what Tristan found to be a better reason. "So what makes it interesting to me is that, when I look at that property, it has extra text. For me, [Compounding Toughness] talks about 'you or your astrals' maximum health...' That would include Mister Biggs. Would that not serve all of us better, since it would quite effectively be increasing the survivability of someone who would always be taking damage?"

"Damage reduction on a tank does have the potential to be really strong," Drannis confirmed, "especially when it stacks."

Around the raid, heads nodded in agreement. Chessa even whistled. "That's especially good for a tank that tends to handle groups of little adds. Though I suppose having more effective health always helps a tank, decreasing the likelihood of being knocked out before a heal can arrive."

"Exactly," Sophie agreed.

It didn't take long for Laura to give in after that, and so Sophie immediately donned the blue-gray, hooded coat, which then shrank itself down to better fit her thin frame.

With the final piece of loot given out, the conversation turned to the next step of the raid. Despite Drannis's official position, Chessa ended up taking the lead in the conversation.

"So, just to be clear, we're definitely not going into the ooze wing?"

Tristan shuddered. "Please, by all the gods, no."

Opie laughed. "You really hate oozes that much? You haven't always hated them like that, have you? What happened, man?"

Tristan looked down. "They... killed someone. Almost killed me, and Aaric, too."

"Aaric Longbloom?" Chessa asked, while Opie snorted.

"You should have let them."

Tristan looked up sharply. "No. You don't understand. You weren't there. And no one deserves--Just trust me. Oozes are the worst."

Opie pulled back, sobering quickly. "Yeah, alright man. Sorry."

Cross coughed, daring to speak up at last. "It would make the next encounter harder, so you know I'm game."

Drannis's face was a barely-concealed scowl. "Yes, let us all carefully consider the increased difficulty this will mean for the Cinderbark event. Are we willing to face additional and stronger reinforcements? What say the rest of you? We should all reach an accord."

Tristan swallowed before asking, "How much harder will it actually be?"

The huntress was the one to speak up. "With both Oozymandias and Oozolplexx still alive, there will be new types of enemies added into the assault phase of the Cinderbark encounter. And since we're already set on All Sides Lose as our final choice, we're going to have to follow the Protecting The Tree path here. So quantifying their addition--"

"Just say 'a lot freaking harder,' Chessa," Opie cut in.

Chessa sighed. "It'll be a lot freaking harder, Tristan."

The raid leader rose up to his feet, his mace and shield appearing in his hands. "But if we are all willing to undertake this as our path forward, then I believe we have proven our capabilities. I have faith in what we can do when united, and such a simple change to the battle should not daunt us now."

As Drannis spoke, Sophie inched over to Tristan and whispered quietly, "Just so you know, I expect a full explanation of the whole ooze thing once we have time." "Sure, the next time you've got a few hours and the desire to waste them, let me know."

At his reply, Sophie stifled a small laugh.

Manama spoke up. "At least, with the added difficulty, we should get better loot, right?"

"That's correct," Chessa answered. "Not always better in quality, mind you, but the guide did say that it usually results in one additional drop."

"Sounds worth it to me, then," the entertainer said with a smile. "In fact, I've already got some lines to go with it, about how:

The Swordsmith did fear, Though the raid's strength was clear. No oozes would stand in their way. So the bravest stepped forth To push onward, of course, And protect Cinderbark from the fray!"

As Manama finished singing, he ran a hand through his beard. "Or something like that. It's obviously still a very rough draft. No time to properly scratch it out yet, but--"

"We get it," Opie cut in. "You're a good singer and songwriter. As long as you make us sound like epic freaking heroes, I'll be cool with it."

The entertainer raised a finger. "And greater exploits are far easier to inspire with."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm in," Opie said.

"I'm willing, so long as we all agree to it," Kitara added with a pointed glare at Cross.

The scaleborn, Xanax, dramatically flung his new scarf over one shoulder. "I, too, am interested in this more difficult fight. Especially after the Hydra has proven our ability, I welcome such a test!"

Cross waved a hand, dismissing the attention that was inevitably coming his way. "Of course I'm game."

"And I'd never hold Cross back from his fun," Laura added. "Besides, I just stand in the back and start blasting."

Drannis beamed. "Wonderful! Then we have a unanimous agreement, as all raid decisions should be." There was a moment's pause as he let the clear jab stand. "Anyway, let's be off to the Flaming Willow, then, and along the way Chessa and I will brief you more fully on what we can expect."

Tristan followed the dwarf, whose step suddenly held so much pep he was practically bounding forward. "What's made him so happy all of a sudden?" he whispered to Sophie.

"I don't know," the astralist responded, "but I'm not sure it's entirely genuine, and that's kind of troubling."

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