Maya keeps her small group in one place and observes the proceedings. Well, all except Dana in one place. The scarred girl shakes her head several times and keeps silent, wondering how she would deal with this situation if she were in Rick's position. She does not agree in spirit with his policies, but also does not envy him the job he took. She looks around at her group and smiles at them.

Rick normally keeps a pretty relaxed expression, not letting his emotions show often, but it is clear to all but the most unobservant that he is pretty upset as he stands up to address the group.

He summarizes the stories that the council had heard from Niyaf and Muhamed earlier, and asks them if either has anything else to say. Muhamed had been bouncing around where he sat through most of the speechifying, looking like he wanted to jump in -- but the look on Rick's face led him to just shake his head.

"All right," he calls out. "Listen up: this sort of drek will kill us. We are spending time adealing with this, when we should be doing things we need to do to survive out here. I'm not saying we don't deal with it when something happens, but understand this: it isn't just right or wrong, it could be life or death, maybe yours. Do your fragging jobs! You got energy left over? See what else you can do. You see something wrong, you call out or do something about it. No more of this drek."

He slowly looks around the group, meeting each set of eyes. By the time he's done there isn't a sound in camp except for the gentle sigh of the breeze.

"OK, the rules council is going talk about this and decide what we are doing -- no you don't all get a say, we don't have the time for that. So unless someone has something else to say that we didn't cover, I want you all to get back to work. Nothing, goo -- aw frag Addie, now what?"

The blonde girl ignores the thunderous look Rick gave her when he saw that she'd stood up, and obviously intended to speak. "The summary missed one piece, sorry. Last night you asked Lindsey and I to arrange additional guards. I told people to wake up Niyaf, and to partner her with one of the orcs. I knew she wasn't comfortable with them, but she had worked with them OK. I thought her nerves would make sure she stayed awake, which was my biggest worry. I didn't consider that all of the orcs in camp are boys, far bigger and stronger than she is, more able to see at night than she is, and that basically she'd be at her partner's mercy. And I never went and checked on the guard arrangements, or asked anyone else to, so I didn't do anything to make sure that she was OK."

"Done?" Rick growled.

"Yes."

"Good. Now get over here for council."

Turning toward the rest of the group, he added "The rest of you, get to work. We're taking the tents down to move camp, and we need to get everything else ready for moving too. Jugalo, Miguel, take the saw and go cut down some branches or small trees or whatever to make poles for carrying or dragging stuff."

Finally he turned to the small camp group, and called out "Maya, you want to join us on this?"

[Cailin, Main Camp] #78

Cailin sighs and grumbles under her breath, such that only her small group can hear "They should change the name of their council, it's certainly not a tribunal..." she shakes her head, dismayed. Looking at Maya, she waits for her answer.

Maya is silent for a long second then nods her head. "I will come to the council meeting. Thank you for asking me."

Once the council is back on the small hill, she looks around at the others and says, "I do not know if my words will carry any weight as I am no longer part of this camp, but I am part of the group of people that were tossed here without ceremony or explanation. I would like to speak first then let you get to this." She pauses, but she has been considering her words since this trial started and hesitates only a moment. "I have heard both sides of what happened and feel that this is not a black and white issue. Magic has been used to determine that both parties are telling the truth as they see it. Muhamed did not overtly try to rape Niyaf and neither did Niyaf did not bait Muhamed. Something very unfortunate happened and now we are all seeking justice of some sort for something that is perceived, not real."

"However, I do think that enough has been made of this that something needs to be done. In my opinion justice is not served if you punish this boy in the manner you have discussed. I would offer as an alternative that Muhamed be exiled from the larger camp to the smaller one. I have not had a chance to discuss this with my companions and would need to do so before I formally accept him, but I think this is the best solution all around. It allows you to demonstrate that there is a punishment for being stupid, and make no mistake, I do feel the boy made a stupid choice based on input from his dick rather than his brain. What he did was clearly wrong, but there are mitigating circumstances that seem to indicate that rape was not his intent. I would take the risk that he will not do anything like this in the smaller camp. If you allow, I would gather my friends and see if we would be willing to do this. If the answer is yes, then you have what I see is a reasonable alternative."

Nodding to the group and making sure to make eye contact with Rick, Maya then leaves the council to gather her companions, making sure to go to where Dana is so that she can have a vote.

"My friends, we are at a possible crossroads here. I have offered the council here an alternative to branding, which I consider a travesty. There is just too much that is grey in this situation and I personally feel that Muhamed made a bad choice, but did not intend to rape Niyaf. In short, my recommendation is that Muhamed be exiled from the larger camp to ours. I also said that this is not a decision I take lightly or can make on my own. I would like to get your opinions and votes on the matter."

[Cailin, Main Camp] #79

Cailin rather forcefully blurts a "No! No way!" shaking her head to add to the force of her rejection.

After a pause of a couple of seconds, she adds, in a much less forceful tone "I do agree that Muhamed didn't think he was raping Niyaf. And that branding someone is barbaric, something only a psycho would think of. But I don't want him with us. For two reasons: first, I don't want to have him with us, period. Even if he didn't think he was raping her, he did. In some respect, it's even worse: what's to guarantee us that he won't make the same mistake at a later point? We're too few to have the luxury to keep our guard up against one of our own in addition to everything else. And that's a big reason that explains why I'm with you in the first place. Not the only one, possibly not the main one, but it is one."

She rubs her eyes, tiredly, but continues without a pause "But most importantly, we cannot have them think that our group is a dumping ground where they can exile any of their criminals or problems. Or that we are criminals. And if we start by accepting Muhamad, that's what we'll become in their minds. They already don't think well of us as it is. Well, Dana, you and me at least. We cannot afford to make things even worse. Joining us should be a choice, because someone likes how we do things. Not a punishment, where they will only disrupt us."

Maya listens to Cailin and nods. "You make some very strong points, Cailin. Thank you for being willing to speak up. I agree in principle with what you say, but see this as a way to heal. I agree that we do not want to be the dumping ground for base criminals, but I do not think that Muhamed is one. I think that he will not try this again, especially if we speak openly about it with him and among all of us. In this case, they are not forcing him upon us as we would be offering him a place to live. He might not even want to come. Yes, people do not think well of us and this may reinforce that, but it is a chance I am willing to take."

"I think the larger question here is if you feel so strongly about this that you would leave if the others voted to allow him to come."

Raferty speaks up. "I do not always agree with her, but I think Maya is right on this.

Maya nods and looks around at the others. "Please voice your opinions. I am not a dictator and Cailin's opinion counts as much as mine does. As do the opinions of everyone in our group. If the consensus is no, I will not force a yes on us. I happen to believe that this is a good choice, but I only have one vote."

[Cailin, Main Camp] #80

Cailin's shoulders slump, and answers in a very bleak tone, after a look at Summer and Vincent "I won't take them hostages." She laughs very darkly "Where do you want me to go? Alone in the wild, to end up as food to some mutated creature? Stay here, and be the evil witch, selling her talents hoping for the best, knowing that in the long run it won't be enough?" she shakes her head, spitting image of misery "I think this would be a huge mistake, but I can only take my chances and hope you're right.".

Maya shakes her head. "I do not want you to go anywhere. You are a valued member of our small society and I happen to like you............quite a bit, actually. Your opinion here counts as much as anyone else's. Each of us has to come to terms with what we as a group decide to do, and on everything, not just this. There is no way to please everyone all the time or a way to force all of us to be happy at group decisions. But as a group, I think we need to stick together, even with unpopular decisions. But I am not a great example of that. I made a choice to leave the larger group after a similar majority vote. My decision then was based on feeling that I would do more harm to the others if I stayed and constantly feuded with Rick over his decisions. I still think I made the correct choice, but there are moments of doubt. Anyway, as I have said before, this is a group decision to make, not one to be made by me unless you give me that power, and I would not take that power lightly, believe me. I want us to be a functioning group of decision makers, not a dictatorship."

"Am I coming off well, or just confusing the issue?"

As the crowd disbanded more and more people arrived to the camp fire, their sense of urgency subdued by their sense of smell. "Dot, What the F is that... ?!" asked an eastern looking girl in an assertive manner.
Dot mumbled... "I did not mean to Saki, it is Dana she brought meat and organized the place... it is a feast to honor Grok."
With a tense moment the girl sized Dot up and down - her face were expressionless."I love it!" She finally said and then added "Common girls and Pierre, we have a dinner to prepare and tonight there is meat."

Dana felt left out with all the commotion, suddenly sidelined in her own gig. Credit for that feast would probably skip he as well as the young Israeli teenager has learned not to expect any social credit for her action. She was actually relieved that Saki, short for Sakura? or an inside joke? took over the management of that dinner. Saki and her campfire crew quickly manned the crude table and delivered generous portions to each table. Food was plentiful, if any Saki was not sure if it is possible to finish all that food so quickly.

Not a half an hour has passed and the place was packed, rumor of new chairs and tables and free meat has spread throughout the camp like wildfire and for a moment people seemed happy. Dana stood there, a bit confused by the social situation, and clearly looking for some familiar face.

She was then approached by a short but bulky dwarf that introduced himself as if he knew her already. "Chris" he said and as Dana struggled to place him, he added "honor to meet you. I am not sure if you remember me, but I was told that you were the first to tend to our wounds, I feel good as new almost as if that terrible night did not happen. You are quite the healer" Chris looked at Dana that seemed embarrassed by the situation and added "And you also brought food and set up a nice looking dining room, we are leaving this place tomorrow but I appreciate it... You are welcome to seat with us, I am seating with the rest of the hunters... come we are a merry bunch!" He said and grabbed Dana's hand leading her toward one of the tables.

On the way to the table, Dana encounters Summers, while usually happy she seemed disturbed, and completely to the point. "You have to come with me, Maya has something important to discuss." Dana looks at Chris conflicted and say "I am truly sorry, I hope I can accompany you soon Chris"

Dana follows Summers to the hill where she finds Maya, Raff and Caillin in a heated debate. She say: "You are missing a party, what did I miss ?"

Maya smiles at Dana. "I am sorry to drag you away, but we are trying to decide a serious point and would like your input before making the decision. You have been helping prepare the feast so might not know what has been going on. A girl, Niyaf, was out on guard duty with a boy, Muhamed. He has been hitting on her and thought that this was the chance to approach her. He tried to kiss her, she slipped trying to avoid him, but grabbed him as she went down, pulling him with her. She hit her head and was moaning and he thought that she was into the whole thing and had sex with her. It has been determined through magic that both people are telling the truth about the incident. There is a great deal of sentiment both ways in the camp and Muhamed might be punished by branding him. I have put forth an option to have him exiled from the larger camp and would take him in if this group is amenable to that. I will not dictate such an event and wish to have the voice of all of us before making the offer firm. So far, Raferty has said yes and Cailin has said no. What is your view on this?"

Dana laughed and say sarcastically "Did he really?, he claims to be a warrior and a hunter and was perceptive enough to successfully hunt, some mutated rabbit or something."

She bluntly add "Do you really believe that he could have missed her injury? Because I think he saw an helpless woman and took advantage of her. I spoke to him, and he seemed to be perceptive and intelligent. His Arabic was perfect, the kind spoken by social elite, not the offensive kind spoken in the streets. Perhaps he grew up in wealth, thinking he can just own people.

You are making excuses for a rapist, a sexual predator one that saw a nearly unconscious girl and knew very well that he was wronging her as he stripped her of a very tight, very difficult to take off body glove. He probably spent few minutes just taking her out of her clothes.

I get his urges, I honestly do - but I think that he seized an opportunity to rape and get away with it. I think that he should be branded regardless of whether or not you want him to join us, he pushed the limits of their laws, laws that he agreed on when he choice his sleeping arrangements and he should not be able to just change teams to avoid punishment.

It is also wrong to take him from another aspect, this camp is threatened - there is the attack yesterday and a toxic mage. This camp is full of non combatants and our has your survival skills, three awakened people, Raff that is the bravest boy in both camps and Summers. My point is that the main camp need a strong combatant more than we do. I suggest we take Nyaf instead if she like - I bet she would not like to live with a person that raped her. She would be easier for us to contain as a mainly feminine group - I mean we can have guys but I would not like to sleep in a cave with that specific one. "

Maya nods. "You have spoken wisely and justly, as has Cailin. I feel that Summer is also uncomfortable with my proposal. That makes the vote at least three to three, depending on how Vincent feels. If we cannot get a majority consensus, I have no option but to withdraw my offer." She turns to Summer and sees the rather obvious look of gratitude in her eyes then to Vincent, then to the rest. "I will return to the council and formally withdraw my offer. Now, it looks like a feast is going on so please go enjoy it. I will be down as soon as I can."

Maya smiles at the others, very glad to see that her idea of group governance is working, and walks back to the council. Facing Rick and the others, she says, "I am sorry, but I will have to retract my earlier offer of taking in Muhamed. The idea does not sit well with my companions and we have decided that it is not in our best interests. The most telling point against him is that he would have had to strip Niyaf from her form fitting body suit, which should have taken some minutes, and certainly should have realized that she was not helping him because she was nearly unconscious. Given that, I do question somewhat the efficacy of the magic that indicated he spoke the truth about his perception of events. Is it possible that he could have fooled the mage? If not, he may have convinced himself so strongly that he can turn a lie into truth. The third alternative is that the mage is either siding with Muhamed or his magic is not as strong as he would have you think. Whichever the case, we do not need or want Muhamed's presence in our camp. I am sorry for wasting the time of this council."

Vincent looks around. "Diplomancy is not your strong suit kid. I built you for conflict. I kinda regret it now" The Dragonslayer said with a low chuckle. "Well what can I do? I am gonna have to bide my time then..." Vincent sighed and looked up in the sky.

Dana watched Maya leave, she remains surprised that the scarred lady thought that she talked well. Nobody have ever considered Dana a good speaker. She was a fighter and a mage and felt that these roles are enough. She had no aspirations as to be able to convince people with her mind, or care much as to what they might think. Yet, she gave Maya a well crafted argument - that one seemed convincing. "Perhaps Caillin was right when she claimed that 9/10 of it was just trying." she thought to herself. Then she felt bad for all that wasted time doing politics and cooking, but there was the closest thing to a party and people seemed like they needed the relief. Perhaps Rick or Sim would cancel the party once Council is over - yelling their ever practical mantras about efficiency and productivity. Therefore, Dana felt a sense of urgency in returning to the party.
She said. "It is a feast for Grok, a warrior with a strong sense of morality. I figured out it would cheer people up, and perhaps inspire them as to how warriors should behave, protecting the weak rather than assaulting them. Are you coming? "

Once Maya has informed them of her group's decision Addie slumps a bit -- she doesn't blame them at all, but she'd hoped they'd take him. It would have take away the necessity of much else.

She squares her shoulders, and does as duty dictates: "Thank you for looking at the option, Maya. I think we all appreciate that you gave it serious thought. You've heard the punishment that we've thought of. My big concern is infection, which is why we are looking at branding. But you know more about treating wounds than I do, maybe more than anyone else in camp. Would you be willing to look, after, and see how the ... " Addie struggles to find an easier way to say it, but can't do better than ' ....the burns look? I don't know if Dana would be willing to do any magic healing, if we really botch this, but if you'd ask her? I know you don't owe us anything, but we are trying to NOT kill anyone, while still punishing. I'd be more comfortable if we were more sure we weren't leading to death."

Turning back to the large camp council she adds "Obviously my vote is we brand Muhamed, and finally get around to doing Fig too." She takes a long, deep, breath, visibly bracing herself, then adds "I'm willing to do it. I thought of the punishment, it wouldn't be fair to ask anyone else to do it."

[Cailin, Main Camp] #81

Cailin looked quite depressed when Dana joined them to discuss the fate of Muhamed in their camp. As the older elf talked though, she seemed to cheer up a bit. And when Maya announced after Summer made her position known that they wouldn't take Muhamed, she seems...not exactly happy, but very obviously relieved.

Standing up, she hugs Dana for a couple of seconds and then steps back with a smile "Thanks. I didn't know him, but I'd be happy to." she smiles wryly "Especially since I'm rather hungry, but don't tell the organisers..." she winks amused, and walks in the direction of the feast.

Maya nods at Addie, but she is watching the mages on the council, her eyes narrowed slightly. No one has jumped up to defend the magic that was used or those that claim to have gotten to the truth. Dana's comments had surprised her, but they should not have. Shaking her head, Maya nods again. "Yes, of course I will look at the brands afterwards. I actually have some experience in that. I have spent time with native tribes who use branding for religious purposes and to mark the valor of their warriors." She pauses to look around at the others. "I know I am a guest here and so not really a part of this council except by invitation, but I think something needs to be said about what has happened here. Magic was used to question both people involved and everyone, including me, blindly accepted the words of the mages involved. It took someone outside of that to bring my attention to the fact that the magic used was flawed. No matter what the boy Muhamed said, there is little doubt that he took the time to access the appropriate slots in Niyaf's clothing to allow him to have intercourse with her. I have watched Dana and Cailin use the clothing and it seems to me that he would have had difficulty doing so by himself without some effort and time involved. Niyaf was barely conscious and would not have been helping him. During this time, he should have been able to realize that she was not being as agreeable as he said she was. So, at some point the magic failed you. I think that it is dangerous to rely on magic so much that it is the major implement in determining the truth, especially if the magic can be fooled so easily."

Maya pauses then adds, "I understand that we still need to discuss the toxic shaman. One of my companions thinks that he knows the general location of the creature and might be able to guide a party there."

Dana is happy with Maya's decision, while she would not feel personally threatened by Muhammed, she is a warrior, but she does not want him around her or around Caillin and Summers. Lindsey seemed to have some keen insights about the man, insights that Dana was completely oblivious at. She seemed so perceptive, perhaps the right person to consult in such affairs - despite her offensive and overly impulsive language.

Dana happily embraces Caillin, and as she does her thoughts wonder...

Caillin was an embodiment of her dreams and fantasies. After all, she was an actual princess. She was loved and celebrated rather than scorned and feared. Clearly living such life has rendered Caillin vulnerable to the hostility of others, she was uncomfortable in the camp - and perhaps now when people are a bit more off guard and relaxed she would feel more comfortable. Understanding that a camp of 30 people, should not be seen as a single person.

Summers and Caillin seemed to be relieved as well as Dana rejected Muhammed.
When Caillin breaks Summers warmly hugs Dana and say softly "You talked so well..." Oddly enough, that was a first to Dana - nobody has accused her of that before. Summers relief has assured Dana that Muhammed could have never been part of them. A thought, that was also a bit painful as he was the one guy in the camp that seemed to have a romantic interest in Dana. How oblivious she was, first to his interest and then to that person... "I am such a social klutz" - she thought.

Her train of thoughts and emotions is cut short as Caillin speaks with her most beautiful voice ever.


"Nobody actually did, he died so quickly after all." Dana replied and then softened her words with a smile.

Dana then looks at Vincent, that seemed completely distracted and at Raff and added "Come! Join us - we are seating with the hunters... " At least she hoped that that her invitation could to be extended to the rest of them.

Dana happily and then walked next to Caillin. Dana was relieved to not have to brave that social situation all by herself. She always felt a bit awkward in a crowd, her red hair seemed to continuously reflect her emotions. So far, nobody seemed to mock her for that hair. Dana smiled as she figured out... "Perhaps my tight and sexy body glove is good in more than one manner. It distracts people away from my hair toward my other feminine features."

Vincent snapped out of it. "Wait... Me? You uh... Want me to join you?" Vincent asked confused at first. "W...well alright... I guess ive wanted to meet you to be honest." He says with a smile. He goes over and offers his hand. "Vincent Elmas. Im the adept. I hear your magical too."

[Cailin, Main Camp] #82

Cailin's smile is quickly wiped from her face when Dana mentions the quick death. Head low, she tentatively takes Dana's hand. When Vincent emerges from wherever he was, she looks furtively at him, a bit curious...but tactfully, almost as if she was just making it easy for Dana to talk to him, she puts Dana between him and herself. Not that she's afraid of him but... Well... This Toxic stuff comes from him after all...

Dana's grip tightens as Vincent acts as if he does not know her. "Nice to meet you Vincent, I am Dana" She said and with a serious face shook the boy hand. Dana felt a bit ridiculus with the entire situation but she went on with it. She felt as something was very wrong with the boy and the stronger hand grip was a hint to Caillin. She added "Heard that I am awakened? You have seen it first hand, don't you remember?"

"Oh... Yeah! Sorry. The bird thing messed me up a bit. Sorry if I forgot. So your a mage? Whats it like going astral?" Vincent asks sitting down.

Dana deflected "You are really curious about the astral, aren't you?" to be honest, she had no idea what it was like. She could sense magic, active spells, foci and spirits but could not perceive the astral in the way that Vincent intended.
To Dana it was like being reflexively aware to supernatural influences around her in a nearby dimension. Dana could not just pop into that dimension like many mages could, her magic seemed to be hard linked to her own body. Though, she chose not to get into the details of what she could and could not sense - not with a boy that barely recognized her.

"Sorry Maya -- we really do need to talk about this toxic shaman, but letting other things get ahead of enforcing rules may be part of why we had things happen today. We need to close off this discussion, decide on punishment, and do it. Then we can focus on the toxic shaman without distractions."

“I’ve never heard that magic can discover objective truth – if it did that is all we’d ever need in court. I don’t know much about magic, but surely what Sim was looking for was people intentionally lying -- something many people are pretty good at picking up without the benefit of magic, anyway. My impression of both their stories was that they were telling us what they were telling themselves. Whether what they were telling themselves lines up with what a trid recorder would have picked up, I don’t know.”

“In other words, I suspect Muhamed has done a fine job of self-deception -- I don’t get the feeling that he sees himself as a bad guy, so to have done what he did he must have convinced himself at the time that it was OK, and no doubt reinforced that afterward, and even a couple of hours is plenty to edit your memories. It is why modern courts try to avoid relying on metahuman testimony.”

“I probably trust Niyaf to have less self-deception, but that doesn’t mean she saw her own behavior as someone else would have. If she was trying to do her duty but was scared of Muhamed, she was probably on edge, might have been friendly enough some times and more distant at others, her pulse and breathing were probably accelerated. All things that could have been read as ‘excited and playing hard-to-get,’ especially by someone who wanted to read things that way. So she could be telling the truth of how she saw her words and actions, but still not have told us what someone else might have seen.”

Seeing the looks that the others are giving her she rolls her eyes “I’ve studied some psychology, I’ve dealt with all sorts of kids -- between babysitting and helping teach judo -- and this is what passes for dinner-table conversation in my family. Sim can speak for what his magic was doing, I’m just pointing out that ‘the truth’ is a slipperier concept that it appears at first.”

Looking around she realizes that nobody else looks like they much want to get into a philosophy debate, and probably not an ethics debate either, so she gives up on the more nuanced approach that she'd planned, in favour of bluntness. "I say we brand both Muhamed and Fig. Make everyone watch, let them think what that would be like. And make it clear that punishments aren't going to get lighter if more of this stuff happens."

She lets that thought hang for a moment, before going to something a bit less daunting "Plus, I think Muhamed, Pierre, and Abraham all neglected their duty -- Muhamed was surely not keeping good watch, and Pierre and Abraham should have done something when they saw that the other team wasnt't doing their jobs. They need to pay back for that. I'd suggest they get watch every night for, I don't know, maybe five days? Plus when we move camp they build a new lean-to -- Pierre knows how, the others can learn. And on days where they don't need to do lean-to work, they go firewood gathering towards evening after other work is done -- and they eat after that. Split them up on watch with people who won't be so tired, to help them stay awake."

"How does that all sound?"

Maya nods and smiles. She understands the priority and accepts that the Muhamed/Niyaf thing needs to be resolved before talking about the toxic shaman. Besides, she really is just a bystander here and is more than willing to watch the council at work.

"Sorry. Other then my tutors at the Renraku classes I haven't met any other Awakened. And they aren't very talkative." Vincent said. "Oh.... Damn I hope they won't be pissed I am missing." Vincent said his expression turning worried.

Dana sighed "Come Vincent you need to eat and do not ask me more mojo questions in public. " That boy seemed curios indeed but he was so unaware of the explosives in his questions. Is there a reason to publicly discuss her strengths and weaknesses? What if the rest turn on her? Nora has outed Dana as a mage and Dana has used some spells in public. She felt like she was relatively open about it, yet an open question about sensing the astral could only backfire if people decide to go 'witchhunting' the walls have ears in these camps.

The quartet walked to the bonefire where a dinner party happened. Dana scouted the place for Chris and found him seating with most of the metatypes, apparently they were the ones considering themselves 'hunters'. "That one is Chris, he invited us to seat with them... comon there." She said.

"Gotcha." Vincent said and went over to Chris's bonfire and sat down. "Hello!"

[Cailin, Main Camp] #83

Cailin walked silently by Dana's side, still holding her hand. From time to time, she glances at Vincent with perplexity clear on her face. Completely unsure of what to make of him. When they stop in front of Chris, she greets him and his companions with a small wave "Hi. I'm Cailin, thank you for inviting us to join you."

Chris eyed Caillin for a moment and then said "Welcome!, I am Chris. Nice to meet you, come seat with us." The tables are packed with large chunks of meat and are surprisingly relatively aesthetic although made from earth. The meat and vegetables are already placed on the tables and everyone seem to be feasting without limitation. The table includes most of the meta's in the camp and Caillin can identify Klarissa and Dot that greet her warmly. Another rather large and masculine human boy introduces himself as Todd.

At the corner of the table there is Muhammed actively whispering in Orz'et with three other male orcs. When the group approach the table he smiles and nods- the three orcs also nod but do not introduce themselves. The quartet seem to be deep in a conversation.

Chris then said "Dana was the first one to treat our wounds after that awful attack, Todd and I are very grateful that was some impressive mojo, thanks for the food as well though we are kind of afraid to ask - how did you manage to hunt such a big animal"

Dana moves embarrassed, she slightly blushes when she say "It is not about me, it is about Grok. The beast took grok we followed the beast on the rescue but were too late." Chris seems surprised "You mean... that thing ate Grok?" Clearly he is unsure if to laugh or to be upset by the shocking discovery.

Dana seems even more embarrassed "I believe so, the rest of us were a sleep at the time so we can never be sure. We have not seen a body and his flats were never found."

Todd said "It happens, it was non of your fault you are only human... ehm elves." Chris frowns "Yes, this camp seem to eager to exploit us as the stronger meta's. They send us to the most dangerous of tasks as if our lives are cheaper, when it is time to devide the plunder the pesky girls go to the front of the line. They show no respect for us, doing all the hard work. It is bad enough that they exiled Grok, and now with the mysterious attack.

Thank you so much for taking Grok in by the way, it made no difference - but at least he had a chance. He was such a great guy, I blame Rick for his demise. He should have been our man at the council but that populist hypocrite sacrificed him for popularity."

Todd adds "A bunch of hypocrites... all of this council. They are just wigging it, I tell you Chriss, they know no better than us." Chris looked at Dana and Caillin moving uncomfortably in their chair and at Vincent that seemed to struggle with their conversation and said " I am sorry you had to hear that, we are a bit tense in here as you can see with the attack and everything and Muhammed making such a mess is only going to make things worse. Have any of you figured out why we are here?"

Summers on the other hand seems to be quietly talking to Dot, the two seem quite befriended and already submerge in their own private conversation.

[Cailin, Main Camp] #84

Cailin seems happy to see Dot, and smiles warmly. She smiles to Klarissa too, maybe not as warmly, but as she would a friend. After that, she sits and tries to enjoy the feast. She obviously tries to avoid looking at Muhammed and his companions however wondering how he can be so...calm...when there are talks of branding him...

She is clearly really uncomfortable with any "political" subject - or the death of Grok for that matter - and doesn't say anything on those topics, preferring to quietly express her relief that Dot reached the camp safely. When Todd asks if they found anything yet, she shakes her head and speaks for the first time at the table "We didn't find anything new no, and it's only one of the questions we should find an answer to. Another one would be why us? How were we selected? Do we all have something in common? A gene maybe? Or we all caught the same sickness at one point in our lives? or on the contrary, were we selected as a...a panel, representing the diversity of the world? And what about our ages?" Frowning, she stops, and smiles apologetically "Sorry, as you can see, I have a lot of questions...but no answers..."

Todd say " A sickness or a gene would put us in a hospital, somebody clearly oversee this thing - gave us body gloves and tents but no explanations. I find it disturbing actually, like we are all part of some sociological experiment.... and about that attack yesterday, the magical theft I could swear i heard someone mentioning a toxic mage among us. It feels like someone tries very hard to make us hurt each other. I cannot explain it."

Day 4, Big Camp

Rick clearly weighed everyone’s words carefully before stretching himself up from the crouch he had been maintaining…

“Right, it seems we are agreed more or less…we brand Mohammed as we promised we would, no excuses, let’s hope the memory of pain will be enough to stop it happening again. Thank you Addie, but I will do the brand, if there’s any come back on this, and there might be as it’s hardly going to be a popular decision, I want it directed at me not you. I know this case isn’t black and white and he might well have made himself believe his version of the truth but this will be an object lesson to those who would put the group at risk. I said then that this would not be tolerated and I mean to keep my word.

As for Fig, that’s a different case…the boy’s a fragging weasel and no doubt he would have done something had it gone further but I’ve spoken to the girl and nothing actually happened, Grok saw to that, and we didn’t punish him. Our rules weren’t spelt out before the incident, he has had his warning and the branding will reinforce that.

I don’t want this to be a big spectacle, nobody needs to come to the public hanging, we’ll do it tonight quietly away from the others, once I’ve had a chance to speak to Mohammed alone. If Dana is willing to heal the burn so much the better. Word will get round quickly enough even without an audience and might help Mohammed maintain some dignity. I’m not entirely convinced he deserves this but he’s a stupid fragger and he will serve as an example that we are serious about this. Let’s hope it doesn’t blow up in our faces!

Ok…?” and he left the question hanging a moment…

“Maya, our real business has to be with this toxic…!”

Addie jumps in, aware that she has been hogging floor time, but there are things unmentioned which are important to her.

"And we give extra duties to those who were not doing their job well -- including Mohamed? And I need to face some punishment for my negligence in putting Niyaf into that situation -- rules council shouldn't be immune to rules. I've got an idea on that part, and it ties into this 'toxic shaman' stuff, so that much I can hold until later."

Turning to Maya, she shifts topics "For this part, do you want anyone else? Dana, or whatever?". Turning back to Rick she adds " I think Jamal is our most experienced hunter. Not a big talker I'll admit, but did you want him in on this, or is this part more the organization side?"

With that she sits down, and does her best to be quiet for a bit. naturally she has her own ideas and agenda, but that is probably best sold by starting with other's ideas.

Maya nods at Rick as he speaks. He has clearly surprised her by his words and she would be the first to admit that she may have been wrong about him. He is willing to enforce rules and being the one to mete out the punishment shows a good point. A very good point. Maya considers that she may have misjudged him from an early experience. That, or this leadership experience has added some growth to him. She nods when he addresses her. "Thank you, Rick, for including us in this discussion. I am certainly very willing to admit that this toxic mage is a problem shared by both camps and needs to be dealt with."

She is a bit surprised when Addie turns to her, but nods. "Yes, actually. I think that if we are going to take people out after that mage, we might want to include them in the discussion. I know that both Dana and Cailin are accomplished mages and can probably contribute, but I do not really know enough about their magic to say how they can best help. Perhaps one of them has some prior experience with a toxic mage. And Vincent might have some knowledge of where the thing is and can help guide the hunting party there."

Maya is about to step back and let others talk when she pauses. "Rick, I am not an easy person to get along with. I am as opinionated and stubborn as the next person, perhaps more so. But I also know when I might have made a mistake and it seems I may have misjudged your ability to lead this camp. Congratulations and I apologize if I have made that task harder than it should have been."

Rick grinned a tusky grin "Every leader needs a dissenter, keeps things fresh! Ok, go and drag the others away from the feast down there and let's get the hell on with killing this fragger!"

Addie jumps up and offers "I'll bring some food up for us, and I'll bring back Jamal too."

As she walks down the hill with Maya she quietly says "I could just hug you right now. I'm guessing that you aren't a big hugger, so I won't -- besides I think Simon might enjoy that a bit too much -- but thank you. I can't promise that Rick will keep it together if things get tougher, but so far he's been pretty reasonable."

Down at the feast she keeps her comments to "We're still discussing stuff, but its hard to focus while watching everyone else eat!" It quickly becomes apparent that transporting the meat up hill could be a messy affair without having dishes, but Dot suggests "You could use your, uh, sun-hat. Put some fresher branches from the lean-to inside it. It looks like its about ready for replacement anyway."

Addie can't disagree with that last bit -- the vegetation has gone brown and leaves and needles are starting to fall off, but the loosely intertwined twigs still for rough, shallow, bowl. She puts some fresher sprays of leaves lining the 'bowl' then puts some chunks of meat inside to take up hill.

By that time Maya is ready to head back up, so Addie heads back up with her.. As they go, Addie asks "What did it look like, the thing we are eating? I mean, was it normal? It is just, when we went foraging yesterday none of the plants were quite what we expected. They seem to have been OK, and maybe we are just far away from where any of us have familiarity, but ... I don't know, does this whole place seem really weird to you? You all have seen more if it than I have."

Dana is surprised when Addie arrives and invites them to the hill 'again'. That entire time Muhammed has been whispering with the three orcs and barely gives Addie attention. Dana looks at Caillin an the way that conversation was going - they are probably better off, leaving. These hunters were so bitter that it catches up to you.

"Time to leave friends, apparently we are needed. Politics... " and the tone she said the last word did not leave much room for doubt as to how Dana felt about it.
She looks at Caillin apologetically and say " I haven't trained my afternoon one..."
She said to Addie "Do you run?" and when the shorter human explains that she has to gather meat and start consulting Dot about how to carry the meat. Dana figures out that even if Addie can run, she'd be too slow carrying around a big pile of meat for the council snoobs in their ivory tower.

Dana looks at Vincent and say "So can adepts run?" and before the boy can reply Dana is already sprinting toward the mountain, jumping above rocks with her natural elven agility. She hopes that Vincent follows her, but she is actually competing against herself, strength and stamina - need to be developed and maintained.

Content with how the punishment of Muhammad is playing out, Lindsey avoids sticking her nose in and lets Addie and Rick run the show. The presence of Maya and her friends is unwelcome, but it seems temporary at this point, so not worth making a stink over. Yet. Once Addie takes off down the hill, Lindsey stands up from the rock where she'd been sitting as the discussions went on and turns to Rick. "I'm going to go check on Niyaf and the other girls. She needs to know that the issue is being addressed. I won't give her details until you've talked to Muhammad, but if I don't tell her something it's going to be trouble, and we don't need any more of that right now." Quickly turning away, she heads down the hill, commenting over her shoulder, "I'll do my best to help with whatever you guys decide to do with the mage, but I'd just be a burden if I actually went with you, and someone needs to keep an on things back here in case that guys comes back. Or lions. Or whatever..."

[Cailin - 4th day - Main Camp] #85

Cailin frowns, and after a glance at Addie looks at Maya, apparently not eager at all to move again "I'm sorry but... Why do they need us? It's their camp, can't they run it by themselves?"

Maya looks at Cailin and smiles. "Yes. They seem pretty well able to run it themselves. The reason I thought you might want to come up is that they are soon to talk about going after the toxic mage. As a mage yourself, I thought that you might have some insight into dealing with him. Would you be willing to come talk to us? Or perhaps even accompany the team that goes after him? I will not force you to do either, so please remain here if you want. But I feel that this is an important topic and that your ideas might help them......help us all."

[Cailin - 4th day - Main Camp] #86

Cailin grimaces visibly "I don't know a lot about Toxic Mages. And it's only a bit of theory, for obvious reasons I think, I don't have any first hand experience..." She sighs dejectedly "I suppose I can talk to them but as for being a part of a team... I have absolutely zero combat expertise. Magical or not, and believe me, I'm not trying to sell myself short... I'd be a target and nothing more. I can't say I'd be pleased to be one... I see two ways I'd be able to help, a bit, but that wouldn't go far and it would make me a prime target so..."

Maya frowns. "I have no intention of making you a prime target at all. If you feel that way, I will advise against including you in the group that goes. However, it would be a help if you can add anything to the conversation. Anything at all."

[Cailin - 4th day - Main Camp] #87

Cailin sighs with a nod "I guess I can..." she stands up, shoulders slumped, clearly not excited to do it "I don't believe Rick will be satisfied by just that you know...". Something seems to catch her attention on the side. She looks at...nothing...then sighs again "I know. I know..."

After that she follows, not really pleased, but trying to put on a brave front.

Maya puts a hand on Cailin's arm. "I will not let you be pushed off on this if you do not want to go. We are here as guests and advisers, remember? Rick is not our leader and cannot order you to do anything. Just be tactful when saying that you do not want to go."

On the way back up to the council meeting, Maya turns to Addie. "The creature? It was as large a mountain lion thing as I have ever seen, capable of carrying Grok off in its jaws. It had six legs and was very strong to have carried him that way for as long as it did. When we got to its cave we found there were two of them. Dana was ahead of the rest of us and killed the first one before we got to the cave it was using as its den. At the time, we thought there was only one. We were going back into the cave to search for Grok or his remains and encountered the second one. Dana killed it as well. We brought the meat up in the pelts we took, so you can see what they looked like, if you want."

"Six legs? I'd add that to the 'something is weird here' file.".

Which she realized was actually a good idea, and she makes a " weird" folder in her link, to start gathering all the little oddities. She doesn't know what to make of them, but if she can organize the material, maybe someone else can make sense of it.

Dana arrives before Addie, Caillin, Maya and the rest panting. It takes her a few moments to catch her breath but once she does she begins doing push-ups, for now ignoring Rick and Lindsey, and when she is done with push-ups she'd just move to a different exercise. She is in her zone, it is like they are not even there.

She thought
" I am a warrior not a cook, as tempting as trying to be popular - it is a distraction. Life are pain, and there are no second best warriors. They end up dead, I must improve myself to stay alive."

Dana knew one thing, she is not going to dedicate a single thought to speculate about a presumed toxic mage. She needs her mind cleaned focused on one thing. On fighting as hard as she can, and on being fast, wild and sharp. Thinking about who is more powerful, her or the mystery mage is only going to make her under-perform. If she fears him than he has already won.

Yet, toxic magic is believed to make mages a lot more powerful. Dana quickly shakes that thought. The Fear was there, but the least she could do was to channeled into a positive action. A more intense training, she was blind focusing on trade for Caillin - she is a warrior either she fights or she trains - the rest are distractions.

Dana would only stop training once Maya and the rest arrive.

As they approach the council’s spot with the food, Addie has to work at not gawking at Dana. She schools her face a mildly friendly expression, but can't help but think “Is she crazy, or just hyper-dedicated? Has she been through some sort of extreme athletics training? Whatever, it seems that she is all about training, fighting.” Addie has the merest flash of a mental image -- a rounded cone, dull grey, cleaving through its surroundings, unfeeling, focused entirely on the kill. The vividness of the image surprises her, but after a moment she is able to classify it “She’s like a bullet.”

Which immediately raises the question “Then who is the gun?” The answer there would seem to be Maya, as the scarred girl seems to be someone that Dana actually respects and listens to. Addie let’s out a short sigh – it would be nice to have the respect of someone as dedicated as Dana, but it probably just isn’t going to happen with the middle path that Addie is trying to walk. And having someone as ferocious as Dana under the influence of somebody as willful as Maya does make things more complicated.

Only, maybe she won’t ever have Dana’s respect in general, but perhaps there is one specific thing she can hopefully do, something that might at least earn her some consideration. She struggles for a moment to figure out how the role she envisions for herself would fit into this metaphor – she’s had an introductory firearms course, but no more than that – then it comes to her: "I can be that little red targeting dot."

[Cailin - 4th day - Main Camp] #88

Reaching the "council", Cailin goes to stand near Dana, not to close to the others. After a couple of seconds, she asks curious "Are you punishing yourself for something Dana?"