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Kel Offline
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Keiko
with Broke, Dommi, Emmi, Wrath; Lady and Tomomi

The Young Master’s answer was instructive, and it helped Keiko understand how her fear was gripping at her, pushing her, trying to make her run too fast and perhaps too far.

For a favored follower of the Lady Trickster, fear was a motivator.

Yet Wrath’s words resonated with her as well. That first step that she had taken toward the Path — then so many after it — and away from the Caravan that had been her whole life? Those steps and that Path had been full of fear. But she faced it all.

For a predator, fear was a foe to vanquish.

In fact, she had faced many fears on her Journey from the Road East to Waverider’s Watch. And she realized that for each new fear that assailed her, for each one she transformed, another took its place. Was this any different than the first time she saw those fish walking out of the Blackwater River? Only in magnitude, really.

For a Rhoni, what was fear?

Regarding the fish... well, she had developed a healthy respect for them that translated to a safe distance between her and their journeys’ boundaries. Outside of the distance they were able or willing to walk, she could see them for what they were — sadly cursed creatures that tried to live their lives in the only manner they could. They were fish and yet not, and that realization had actually comforted her. As long as she maintained her distance, of course.

For the dratted bird that seemed to laugh at her and mocked her as she protected her trail rations, fear had turned to something else. While it had been tinged with anger, fear had transformed to protectiveness.

Keiko studied the Noble and his Bodyguard, the Pack Leader and her Second. She blinked as a realization washed over her like a wave. She looked around the common room of Home, at the Mice and Rats with no names yet, at Lyric and Lady Bekkah and Lady Bekkah’s friends. Her gaze lingered longer on Lady and Tomomi, but she finally looked at Dommi and Wrath again, smiling broadly.

“Thank you. You are both excellent teachers.” She nodded decisively. “And good friends, as wise as my Elders, for you have reminded me of the words of the Ancestors: Those who act with few desires are calm, without worry or fear.”

And so what was fear for a Rhoni, after all?

It was like everything else that was part of the World, of course. It was a lesson and it was that which was left behind after the lesson was completed. It was. And it was-not. And fear was a reminder of itself, as well as a natural reaction one had when moving closer to the truth.

If the Ancestors said that and generations of Rhoni had remembered it, then there surely was a lesson to be learned.

“My desires are few indeed in this endeavor — free as many of the enslaved Kin as we can and help them believe they, too, have worth.”

The young Rhoni sat for a moment in silence with those thoughts, with her far more peaceful heart and mind, before standing and walking back to sit with Tomomi. Lady still stood against the wall beside the window seat.

“I have said that I will not pretend to understand your concerns, Lady Friend, though I think some of my concerns might overlap yours. There is the worry for those doing the rescue, worry for those who are to be rescued. Worry and fear for one who might be a sister being left behind. Fear for a sister who might just be, although I can only find a similar feeling in my heart for my sisters who are, and could become... not.”

She sat more on the edge of the seat now so that she could speak with Lady and Tomomi both.

“I know my forever friend Tomomi is a brave Mouse and I can see the hope among the lill’uns who would help. Mice are so agile. Rats are so clever. I am not sure what skills the Raccoons possess, but I don’t doubt their abilities are as important as those of the Mice and the Rats and the Wuffs.” And then she sighed as she put an arm around her friend’s shoulders.

“I see your concern, too, about too finely planning a rescue that cannot be refined to the smallest detail. As Clever — and how wonderful it is that he has a name! — has made the point that those who are enslaved are one thing to us, and another to the Dwarves.” Shaking her head, Keiko alternately watched the Pack members and Lyric. “We believe, we know that they, too, are persons of worth, just as each one here at Home is a person of worth. Why else would we want to rescue them, ja? I do not want to do this because Lady Bekkah’s Goddess said that it was a price to pay for granting you all souls. I am Rhoni.

“I do this because it is only the smallest possible thing I might do to bring balance to a part of the World that has known evil for too long. It is not enough to right the scale, and perhaps it will never be enough. But it is a start, ja?”

Now, she looked at the Squire, the Dama, and the Lost Rhoni — just a glance before she looked at her friend Lyric, who was trying to... to... to be herself. Except that across the distance of a common room, it appeared that Lyric was warring with herself. Keiko had said the only words she could to reassure the Minstrel that her friendship was true — as true as her friendship with Tomomi. Perhaps her friend only needed to let those words be true inside her heart.

“I worry, Lady, that even after all of Clever’s words, they cannot understand that the Dwarves will put their tools away before tending to any thoughts of fighting. I have uncles and cousins who are smiths and make our daggers. They are very careful with their tools. Yes, the Dwarves can always make more if a tool is broken, but one that still serves its purpose well is set aside in a safe place where it will not be broken.”

Keiko hugged Tomomi tightly for a moment, brushing her cheek over the Mouse’s still-fuzzy hair. “I don’t mean to speak so heartlessly about those who are persons with worth. I only mean to point out the difference in the way all of us think — and that this difference is so very unlike the way the Dwarves think.

“I don’t know why this difference is so clear to me. I don’t know why it is such a clear picture in my mind. Perhaps because I heard Dommi and Emmi’s story this morning, and their mutual rescue is something I will remember all my days.

“But it makes me think... what if someone had flooded the mines when they were trapped in their little cells? They were just tools tucked away in their proper place when the day’s work was finished. Well, perhaps the young Noble was a treasure more than a tool, but he was still locked in a cell.

“Water coming in everywhere and no way to escape. Where do you go? If you are a Mouse, you can only go where you have been before. Is that place any safer than a cell filling with water? And what if you are a Rat or a Raccoon?”

By this time, Keiko was speaking softly, speaking more to herself than to anyone in particular. She was trying to understand how to rescue Mice and Rats and perhaps Raccoons and even others before the waters rose to the levels where the Dwarven tools — where the persons of worth — were locked away.

“The Mice of Home can tell them to flee to the highest point they know,” she murmured. “Will it be high enough? We must hope that it is. But then there is the door you spoke of, Tomomi, the one that is locked from the outside. If all the Kin know this door — is there more than one door? — then someone must make sure it is unlocked. Or they are unlocked if there are multiple doors.

“And then what? How high is that level? Well, it seems that no one would know, would they? Would the Rats know? Tomomi, when you told your story, I remember you saying that they — the Dwarves, the miners — did not let you see more than the few things they wanted you to see. Perhaps not everyone has even seen the door.

“There is so much unknown. There is so much that cannot be known without seeing what needs to be seen. I am only a young Rhoni, of course, still learning all the ways the World can be. So I ask many questions and...” Keiko paused and smiled. “...and answer far more of Renyard’s than I ever thought could be asked. And, oh, how I miss him!

“But all the stories the elders tell, all the stories I have heard from the elders of other Caravans, all the Lore of the World that I have learned — goodness, even the tale of Lady Bekkah’s sister! — make it seem like adventurous heroes simply, well, do what needs to be done.”

She leaned back against the window frame, giving every impression that she was exhausted. And then she sighed as she looked across the corner of the room at Dominic.

“It’s no wonder Dommi’s tales are so outrageous. He leaves out all the thinking, boring bits and then all you’re left with is a merry chase around the Skaefla Plateau.”

Then Keiko half-smiled as she looked up at Lady again. “On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if our Tone-Deaf Lord doesn’t even know what a plan is. Why... a plan might even jump up and bit him on the nose, and he’d think it was a fish!”

She had managed to transform this afternoon’s visitation of fear into something else. She wasn’t quite sure what, but if it gave Lady a chance to smile by poking a little fun at Dommi, well...

Keiko was fairly certain neither he nor his Lady would mind too much.


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Lyric

The Minstrel opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the light again.

"Then it will be so," she said as though she were picking up right after she last spoke or, at the least, right after Clever spoke. She had heard the words of her companions but it was Clever who had made her consider his objections to tailor alternatives.

"Still at night as it is the best way to hide our true intentions and numbers. The first layer of engagement will become all the more important. The Weasel Patrols must be neutralized quickly. If that means one thing, so be it, but if it means to subdue them that is fine as well. That decision should remain with each individual who has to engage a patrol weasel. Traps would be good. If they are as fierce and ferocious as I have heard tell, then perhaps they can be baited into a chase and drawn into traps that take them out of action. But, no matter the solution here, they must be neutralized as silently as possible. The remaining layers of subterfuge and the actual rescue descent will rely upon this minimization of forces, and drawing more forces away from the Keep is paramount to success. But it requires the Pack take on a greater burden along the shores in these layers of plan."

Lyric paused a moment to collect her revised thoughts.

"We will need to adjust timing such that we can reach the keep itself while the subterfuge layers are playing out. There is risk and so I believe the point of approach should be from an angle away from the bridges. The defense must be occupied and focused elsewhere in order to scale the wall and send the Mouses and Rats and whoever else is best suited for the rescue efforts. They must be able to blend in down in those ever descending levels. They must be coordinated and led. Stealth is key. And, as Clever said, they must be on their way back up before the water hits the lowest levels, so time must be allowed for the rescuers to reach the mines and work up from there."

"We will need to secure the keep walls as the rescuers descend. If we can not do this, then we will not be able to take control of the bridges. Again timing. When we reach the walls to send the rescuers down, the part of the Pack and those who are handling the Patrols will need to have done their job and must commence the feints on the Dam and the Dark Metal pipe. I no longer see the need to space these events, in fact it might benefit our efforts to do them at the same time. Force the defense forces to make choices but still focus them in the direction we want. Get as many as we can get to head down the bridges as possible, but those that remain become the responsibility of the fighting force that goes with the rescue teams. We will have no choice but take those forces out quickly and gain control of the keep's wall. We will need a signal from below and when it comes we open the sluice gates fully and lock them open or destroy them."

"There is a lot more risk in this plan since it relies much more on stealth and the timing to get forces deeply embedded below before we release the water. I also believe we will take more casualties because of the increased pressure on the Pack, and the chances that the rescuers will be discovered without the benefit of the Chaos going on around them. BUT- I think we can save more lives with this variation in the plan."

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Cesare

"The signal from below could be a fiery arrow or bolt if one could be fired high enough?"

He nods, wondering where he might be best placed for the benefit of the Forest Kin. He can do stealthy and has other skills that might help in that area. But he can fight, particularly with his crossbow, if needed more up top.

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Keiko

She was only half-listening to the group gathered around the drawings she had made. However, when the Lost Rhoni made his remark about fire arrow signals, Keiko giggled as she looked at Emmi.

“Maybe someone should tell them you are more than just a Priestess of Krysta, more than just a bodyguard for our Silly Friend Dommi.

“Maybe someone should tell them you are the finest messenger to be found in all of the World.”

And then she winked at the pretty green-eyed Mouse before looking at the Young Master.

“And you are silly,” she said with a grin.


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Kadri:
"In al ikelihood. I think my place is below, in the shafts. I am more of a sneaker than a fighter, and it would be where my talents best fit."

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The Heartwood
The Dirkwood Forest
Home Again
Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Cesare, Kadri, Keiko, Lyric, Pietro, Tomomi, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald Mouse, Broke, Soft, Clever, a pair of Rats and most of the Pack, Lady and various and sundry other Forest Folk

Cesare’s words had the young master look up. Dominic blinked, tilted his head and gnawed a bit on his forefinger.

“That signal from below …”

His brow furrowed for a moment.

“That’s a good thought, needing signals between the groups and all. You do know we have the finest messenger to be found in the whole world.”

Clever Rat’s whiskers twitched at that before he nodded in agreement. He was a pragmatic and results oriented rat after all. Then he continued, looking to the group’s leader, seeking answers more sure and concrete, to help craft desires, considerations and thoughts into a plan.

“First, of course we can – we were once true rats, true mice, true children of Lady Nature. So we can all swim. Though some are more clumsy and we are not fast and some cannot swim as far as others – as I spoke earlier, their experiments with softpads never worked very well.

The Forest Folk rescuer took a deep breath. When he spoke again it was guidance he sought.

“We have never tried anything on this scale. If it succeeds or fail, the fate of Home and many souls will be saved or lost. Where do we begin?”

Clever Rat’s dark eyes started with Lyric, moved to Kadri, then to Cesare and ended locking with Pietro’s gaze.

“Those who go for the forges and mines will have to be fast and strong, they must be like one of Long Fang’s arrows, sure and true and unstoppable until it reaches its destination. They must be able to open a stone and black metal door and then bring our kin safely back up the stairs to the open air.

“Those at the water gates must be strong and clever. If they are discovered they must be able to hold the mill towers until the signal for flooding comes.

“Those who hold the bridge must be able to make a loud noise and bear the brunt of the Keep’s wrath. They will be the first to face our enemies, must face them th longets and they will have to keep them on the bridge, to keep them fooled until the rescue is done and they too can retreat back to the Forest and Home.

“And then there are the final questions. Which group does the Lady Yurisdotter accompany? What of Lady’s fear? Who cares for those we are rescuing? Beyond sword, shield and bow, besides something to confuse a weasel’s sense of smell, what else do you need?”

His head tilted, his ears perked forward.

“Who do you wish for each task?”

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Keiko

She had rolled her eyes at the Young Master’s repetition of her words, but it was an expression born from fondness more than anything else.

And regarding Clever’s questions, well, she did have a dilemma. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that there were two currents to choose and she would have preferred to choose both. Of course, that is never possible. And one could never be sure that divergent currents would flow once more into a common river.

Still, it might be possible to approximate the riding of two waves with the help of friends.

Looking at Dommi and Emmi, she nodded to herself. She knew their stories because they were stories worth remembering, and she was very good at remembering stories. Besides, their stories had become intertwined in a way most Rhoni stories never are.

Although Keiko spoke to Clever, her eyes remained on the Noble and the Mouse beside him; her arm remained around Tomomi’s shoulder.

“Clever? Dommi and I will do all we can to assuage Lady’s fears. If the others need his help moving frightened kin, Emmi can always find him.” The Rhoni smiled. “Tomomi and I have already said we will do what we can to help the rescued persons not become Lost.”

She looked at her friend then. “You’re very brave, you know.”

But she looked at Dommi again and winked. “I do hope it is only your horse that finds your methods of travel so distasteful.”

Finally, she did look over at Clever and the group around the drawings. The Lady Bekkah was a powerful Healer, and would surely need to be where she could do the most good.

It would be nice to have Lyric’s company as she and the Young Master searched for evidence of Lady’s potential sister, but Lyric was Lyric was Lyric. And as such, Lyric would find her own Path on this journey. Keiko merely hoped that this journey they embarked on would lead them all to a rejoining of the currents. While she knew that everyone rode their own waves and that nothing — not any particular thing nor any specific relationship — lasted forever, she had come to a realization that wandering the World for a while with Lyric might be an interesting thing to do.

And, of course, Keiko knew very well that for everything that was there would also be something that was-not. Nothing lasted forever — except the friendship of a Mouse.


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Pietro


The squire of Lord Dames frowned, chewing lightly on his lower lip as he pondered the situation for perhaps the hundredth time.

"I am strong and I am fast, but I am not clever. I have sufficient courage and, perhaps you'd call it doughtiness to have a chance in accomplishing this rescue mission..." he paused and shrugged, not bothering to mention he was entirely unsure whether he'd survive.

Not that it mattered all that much... Pietro shrugged again. People had tried to kill him before and he'd never been dead yet.

"I think the our best healer, the Lady Bekkah, should be in position to assuage the freed Forest Kin's hurts."

He thought another moment.

"I think Cesare should lead the group which goes after the forges and mines, perhaps with Lord Dominic's help. The Lady Kadri should lead those who take the water gates, perhaps with Keiko's help."

"Then I and a group of fighters hold the bridge as my largest asset is my fighting ability."

Pietro looked around at the others, eyes moving from one to the other and ending back with the Clever Rat.

"As you are clever, you should be the one to assign our Forest Kin allies to the posts where best they can serve."

"Lyric..." he shrugged and smiled. "Lyric should decide for herself where she would serve our allies best."

"Now..." he frowned again as another thought occurred to him.

"Will the imprisoned Forest Kin come willingly and follow our directions or will they have to be... persuaded?"

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Bekkah

It all sounded like a well crafted plan. Of course there would be troubles, there always was, but it was a very good start.

"If things go well, then I would be most needed at the bridge where there is actual fighting. I should be there."

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Cesare

He nods looking around at the others.

"Yes that sounds good. And Bekkah I agree. The bridge group will be at the forefront of the main assault and will likely need your services the most. Plus hopefully we can bring any other injured to you."

He looks at Clever.

"It is good that most of the Forest Folk can swim. But if we can get inflatables to those with less strength, they have a chance to float out as the waters rise. Who would benefit most? And how many inflatables can we assemble?"

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Lyric

The minstrel had hoped that the Forest Kin would find their own voices and help her fill in this plan. Neither herself nor her companions gathered around the table had a true understanding of what the Forest Kin could inherently do. Lyric had an inkling, though not direct proof. She had seen things happening and she was the type to watch and listen and remember. Still, she had hoped that Clever, a voice for Rats and a veteran of several other raids upon the Keep of the Evil Dwarves, would have more input and offer experienced wisdom.

Lyric did not feel she had the authority to make assignments and direct the composition of the various forces and that was why she had only detailed the elements of the plan she had devised.

None of the Pack had gathered close enough, especially their leaders, to take an interest and offer help. That was mildly discouraging to her. It was as if...

Perhaps a breakdown in communication. Maybe they waited to be invited. Maybe their own nature compelled them to be reticent in such things. Outsiders had been tasked with devising a solution to a problem when such solutions had evaded the Forest Kin for too long now.

Her own companions were trying to find a place within the plan themselves. But they lacked a certain understanding of critical facts and their time away from Home had not afforded them the same opportunities that Lyric had come across since she first thought she had been left behind.

Lyric had hoped to turn over the remainder of the planing to her companions and to those Forest Kin with leadership skills and experience so that they might utilize their assets best. But it didn't seem like it was happening. Not quickly enough any way, and soon enough the many voices would be come discordant and the rhythm would fail and then the balance between success and failure could tip away from them.

But why not assume more control again?

It was a risk to her. She felt she had already risked too much. She believed her place was never to be more than an observer and companion. To be more was dangerous... to herself, and to her companions.

The scales balanced more than just her own personal feelings though. They balanced more than success or failure in this mission. More than the lives of those who willingly walked toward danger. The innocent and the enslaved, who could not control their own destinies, were hung in this balance as well.

Sometimes you do a thing because it seems to be the thing that needs doing and you are content to accept the role within the thing and be content just to be a part of it, feel the friendship and love, and never think differently about it... but, then along the way you learn of something that could change the thing, a circumstance so grave, a hope so faint, a need so great, and then you are faced with a choice...

Except there was no choice as far as Lyric was concerned. A little indecision maybe and no small amount of self serving fear that kept increasing as she took the least steps possible at each confrontation with the decisions she knew she had to make. But not a choice. Lyric is Lyric is Lyric, or so she had been told.

"I am a tool," she interjected. "Forgive me again. But I am. In a way, we all are tools, created by someone or something and endowed with gifts and as such, we are no different than the Forest Kin. We are no more or no less worthy to exist, to pursue our dreams and our happiness, to exult in freedom and weep in slavery, to bask in joy and feel sorrow as they are."

"I had hoped that a greater spirit of such unity in our kindred souls would bring us together, no longer as those from without the Forest and those from within, but rather as a people with a common goal, one that surpassed all differences in who we are and what we look like and not cling to the differences in our experiences but rather find the common ground in them."

"I am sorry that I have failed you in this. I offered a plan and wanted others to take it from me, like a burden or a weight. I wanted everyone to find their place within it and openly offer their thoughts as to where they each might best serve. But I lacked perspective and understanding and my hopes became expectations and I am truly sorry for that."

"Because I listen and watch, and I observe all things around me I see things differently than most. Even among the people of my own village. And I think my companions have missed certain important things around them, or might not have witnessed them... and the shyness and wariness of the Forest Kin has given them pause to share more openly."

She stood up from the bench, stepping over it to stand straight and as tall as her small frame would allow. She held her head high.

"So let me start with this... My best place is to the deepest darkest depths of this evil. It is my plan, and it is my design that asks many to risk everything, and as such it must fall on me to go into the greatest danger with those who would volunteer to do likewise. I would be honored if the Pack, the whole Pack, for that is how they are their very best, would join me in this foolish dance with Fate. We would run hard and fast, clear a path, cause chaos... We would live or die within the bounds of our own strength and courage."

She paused for a moment, and then she nodded and continued. Her attention turned to Pietro.

"I would think one as brave and strong and as resolved to stand fast against evil as Ser Pietro, Squire of his God Rames, would be much needed in the effort to take the Bridge, but more importantly to hold that bridge. Those who have the task of challenging the patrols can only stall the Weasels for so long before they turn back. I think if the Rats were to stand with Ser Pietro and use the Gift I think they possess... each armed with a bag of small rocks... pebbles even, launched so fast and so hard they become a deadly weapon, a storm of stone. Hold the bridge."

Her attention shifted again.

"To the Trickster's Dama, I would suggest this... Your Gifting, from your Goddess, makes you a powerful force for Chaos. I think I have seen it in play from another follower and if I am right, then you, leading the Deer and other Forest Kin suited for the run in the wilds could deceive and confound the forces we must keep at bay if we are to survive this. We have to have as many of the patrols engaged, and even to have more patrols drawn out of the keep for support... and have them give chase only to become the prey... in such a way they still think they are the ones doing the hunting."

Her eyes, somewhat sad now, for she understood the thing which she had hoped to slip free from, the responsibility for telling others not only the place where they were needed, but also the role that might lead them to their deaths... as if she had any right to play at War with the lives of others she had come to care about.

"Cesare, the questing Rhoni... You are nimble and light of step and quick of hand. The Keep Walls with Raccoons I think. Hands equally as deft and smart and agile. Those walls must be taken, and held for I think that those Sluice Gates are the final act to destroy the evil below. The forges will not survive the water, but if we are to wait until as many if not all the enslaved Forest Kin are rescued, then your task might be the hardest for you will face an assault coming up from below, The Pack will move too fast to the bottom to clear every level, and if the dwarves reside in upper levels they might very well see this plan for what it is and know that you are the linchpin to our success. Hold the keep walls, control the sluice gates, support those on the bridge to trap the defenders between you and have their backs once they control the bridge. But you also secure the entrance and egress for all those who go below. Your task here will be the hardest for you face fire from all directions."

She then looked to Friend Keiko. She had heard Keiko volunteer for a particular role, offering her aid as a promise to The Lady herself in the search for another Vixen... a sister of sorts. A kindred Soul for certain. That The Lady had been held and her enslavement was to serve at the whim and will of those in the upper levels... Old Masters, dwarves, whoever they were in those upper halls... conjured horrific thoughts for the Minstrel. Lyric's next words would agree with Keiko's offer, but it was that sense of resignation to her role here, that she accepted she was sending her first Friend outside the hidden boundaries of her home to a potential fate worse than death should they not prevail against the dwarves. And should her plan be flawed in even the slightest way and the enemy discover it, then that crushing weight upon Lyric's own soul would overwhelm her. She had just the barest preview of it right now.

"You and Dommi should go after the Vixen, if for no other reason then to determine if another was created... and if so... get her out... Take a mouse or more with you... I would say more, but you know where my heart in this is for you. My feelings of friendship give me pause in putting you into such unknown yet dire peril."

"And Emerald... You are the messenger. You go where you are needed but you will know all parts of this plan and it's timing. You will jump from place to place, help those who need help, but know the times to be where you must when you must to keep all things on schedule. You know us all now, and our lives and those whom we seek to help will depend on the timing of this."

"And I should not and will not forget you Lady Bekkah of Attera, You already know your role. This is your quest. Your kindness and sacrifice of heart began this. I am nothing in the face of such Mercy and Charity. With your favor and blessing of your Goddess I hope we find success."

Again Lyric looked across the room. That burden was amplified looking into so many eyes. She couldn't help but wonder whose eyes she might never see again and it hurt her heart.

"When the pack clears the mines, and ushers the enslaved Kin to a proper place I think we send in the mice. I know not the best place for them to wait for their signal from Emmi, be it close by, or on the walls above, or here at Home... but wherever it is best, given the nature and limits of their Gift as I have seen it demonstrated, they will be the ones to know this and do this. They will make the actual rescues and retrievals"

"We must all do our parts when they need to be done. We must trust each other. And so, what I must have now is word from each of you. I must hear from the Wuffs, and the Mice, and Emmi, and the Rats. Deer and Raccoons... anyone... everyone."

She glanced at Clever who was very close to her. "I must hear from you Clever... Wrath, Broke, Soft... Lady... And you Tomomi... any and all of you. From my companions who have been kind to humor me as I tag along on their quests and adventures."

"I can see a plan in my head, I can speak it aloud, but I am not so arrogant to think it will work without your input... In fact I am humbled by the enormity of this task before us and... I am scared that I am not good enough to be entrusted with your lives, with their lives," she said with a gesture into a distant place.

"I am desperate to try and account for every detail and every contingency... because so many lives depend on this working as I envision it. But I also know that my plan will change as it unfolds and have to adapt in the face of conflict. Each of you will have to be able to make this plan your own and be able to adapt it as needed... because I know I have missed things and never having faced a Dwarf, never having seen one before... I am planning for an enemy I know nothing about... You have heard what I have offered. I never wanted to bear this responsibility. I wanted to be a Minstrel... play songs, tell stories... watch as Heroes did great and glorious things."

"I never fully understood that those stories were born out of some reality where agonizing choices had to be planned that would lead to life and death decisions with unyielding consequences... before there is any story to witness and tell. Now I am faced with it first hand.:

"If those who would be better placed elsewhere can see things I need to know, then say so now. Please help me..."

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Keiko

She watched her friend speak eloquently; Lyric spoke with an authority of an elder and the humility of... well, Keiko was fairly sure Lady Bekkah was the only person she’d ever met with so much modesty regarding the great things she did.

And then Keiko listened to the silence that reverberated through the room. Heartbeats of silence, long breaths of silence — silence stretching into forever.

“I know your heart, my friend,” she whispered into that silence. “Let your heart be at ease, for I have chosen this wave to ride. I trust in my elders’ teachings, I trust Dominic Korie at my side, I trust my forever friend Tomomi, and I trust that my fate will be as it should be.”

Her smile offered encouragement to Lyric. Each of them must do the things that made the best use of their talents. She could fight well against someone unarmored, but avoiding a fight was even better. Her Rhoni magics complimented the abilities of the Shadowlord. Hiding, fleeing, distraction — if it came to a fight, she and Dommi probably wouldn’t fare as well as others, no. But for seeking out a Vixen to rescue?

Maybe, just maybe, a Rhoni Card Reader, a forever friend Mouse, and a Noble rapscallion would succeed.


"Everything is bad except unicorns." -- Phoebe
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Cesare

He nods slowly. He had thought to go below but the Forest Folk are much quicker than he, so an alternative is acceptable. He waits to see what others will add.

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