Comrades Catching Up
Jun 28, 2022 10:31:50 GMT
Celina Zabinski, Velania Kalugina, and 3 more like this
Post by Derthaad on Jun 28, 2022 10:31:50 GMT
Co-written with the supportive comrade Kavel
Looking for a Goliath
Derthaad sees more activity in Fort Ettin than he has seen in the Dawn Market in the rush hour. He arrived a few days prior thanks to Lord Jaezred's Teleportation Circle he helped in 'persuading' Ormund to join our side in dealing with the githyanki threat that's coming.
The hustle and bustle, however, bothers Derthaad. When he departed Daring Heights, he heard that the council plans to make the stand against the invasion in Fort Ettin, that they have something the gith desperately wants and that they will lure them to Fort Ettin, the central hub for all adventurers, away from the major cities. The prospect of war has left Derthaad with a sour taste in his mouth. 'Tis not because of the fighting, no, he's been conditioned to accept it and to remain calm in times like these. 'Tis the unsure outcome of the following days that made him realise that, after almost a year, he barely talked to his most prolific adventuring companion, comrade Kavel. It also took Derthaad the life lessons of a lich for him to realise this.
He searched for his comrade the last couple of days, but Kavel's Iron Strong bros have told him that he's yet to return. Today, as he now approaches Kavel's Corner of Strength and Conditioning, meandering through the crowd of adventurers, some that he knew, some he only seen and other new, Derthaad spots the familiar sight of Tim, Sampson and Kruger. At first glance, through the sea of people, he does not yet see the familiar sight of a fourth goliath.
As Derthaad reached the corner, he calls out to the goliath bros.
"Hey guys! Has Kavel arrived yet?"
"Comrade Derthaad," Sampson began with a smile on his face, "you've come at the right time, I think. Kavel said he would arrive today soon, he's just been saying goodbye to his friend Mendal, in the City."
With perfect timing, the sight of a fourth goliath walks through the Fort's entrance and heads towards Kavel's Corner in the Training Grounds.
"Bros! And comrade Derthaad! Good to see you are all well." Turning to face Derthaad, "comrade, we may have many times to try another sorcerer-assisted Sky-High Elbow Drop - are you ready for that?"
Before Derthaad could greet his comrade, at the mention of the infamous Elbow Drop, Derthaad's eyes close, his mouth forming a wide grin and his chest shaking from a small chuckle.
"Hey, Kavel! Yes, actually, I just picked up another spell, one that may help us with some of the more higher up targets." releasing another chuckle. "However, I'm kind of spent at the moment, I've been doing some spell training in the early hours of the morning. Maybe we'll have another go tomorrow."
"However, I did not come here to discuss how we can improve the Elbow Drop, I've already done that in my mind... I realised that we never actually got to talk about whatever happened these past months, which seems to be a lot."
"So, how's it going Kavel? How have you been?"
"I'm doing really well actually. Very good. I'll tell you about it. But first, give me an hour and a half with my bros, and I'll come find you in the Great Hall, and we can catch up. How about that? Unless... you want to train with us?"
"Actually... meet me outside the south gate. This place, including the Great Hall, feels a bit too crowded. We can trot along as we talk."
Ramble Round the Fort
After about an hour and a half of waiting by the south gate, technically the only gate in Fort Etting, if it can even be called a gate, the blue dragonborn finally catches a glimpse of his goliath friend approaching. He stands up, closes and pockets a book he's been reading that seems to be missing a few pages at the end. "Right, want to go for a walk around the fort while we talk?"
"So, what's gotten you in such a good mood?"
"A woman!" Kavel responded beaming a wide grin at his dragonborn comrade, whilst slapping him on the back.
"Comrade! The Summer Court in the Feywild, there is a place in there called the Damphenite Tangle. I met a beautiful warrior there, Nathalie Walnut. She is the leader of that group, and she is magnificent. She said she hopes to see me again soon. I cannot wait to go back - but first we must defend the lands that we have made our own - she understands this, which is great, heh?" Kavel slapped Derthaad's nearest shoulder as he expected an agreeing response.
"Oh and we may have recruited some gemstone dragons to defend the Dawnlands, which would be good. This is why we went to the Feywild in the first place. Not so I could, you know, 'smash', but not my usual 'smash', if you follow?"
Listening to Kavel describe his new found woman with enthusiasm, Derthaad's mind drifted for a brief second, to something of a similar nature, but is snapped back by Kavel's slap on the shoulder. "Yup!" he says, clearing his throat.
After Kavel finishes, Derthaad, as if reminiscing something from the past, continues. "Interesting isn't it, how with the impending nature of war some soldiers tend to find their loved ones right before the battle. But-" he continues coming back to his normal demeanour "- I am indeed really happy for you. And I'm pretty sure I can drop you from the moon and you'll be able to walk it off. If there's one person that I know will survive this, it'll be you, so you can still go back and see her." Derthaad then slightly leans towards Kavel "By the way, I am way old enough to know the other meaning of the word 'smash'."
"Also, about those 'gem' dragons... I have not heard of gem dragons before. How powerful do you think they are?"
"hmmm. I'm not sure. Powerful enough to be our aerial support, I hope."
Kavel paused to see if he could remember anything more about the dragon he met. Nothing came to his mind. So, he tapped Derthaad on the shoulder with his fist, and asked, "how are things with you then? You must have closed the case on the hag business now?"
Derthaad's face lightens at the mention of the case "Hmh, yes, it's closed. Apparently, the cult was run by a dude who was really into summoning hags, or, 'his goddesses' - Derthaad says with a dramatic flair - into this world. The problem is that said summoning site was on the top of a volcano, covered in sunset stone that, if he succeeded, would have blown up the volcano and opened an unclosable portal to the sixth layer of hell." Derthaad then releases a disapproving sigh "Bloody idiot."
"What about you? I heard you, Sorrel and others went to hell to stop Adhyël, was it, and others?"
All that hag business started because of one guy's infatuation with hags? Kavel considered, "comrade. I will now be suspicious of anyone who shows an obsession with anything. Although, I would perhaps be a little sympathetic if someone was captivated by sprites. Sprites are great."
"And yes, Phlegethos - the fourth level of Hell. It was oppressively hot there. I would hate to think how much hotter the sixth level of Hell would be. We fought Adhyël again - you obviously remember him from the Angelbark - Marto killed him this time, but forever killed, since it happened in Hell. Marto was upset though, because it turned out he was 'smashing' with Adhyël, I think ever since he was first mind controlled by him. Zola was also smashing the enemy, but both her and Marto were professionals when it mattered. They did what needed to be done, and we saved the High Diviner Rholar."
"Oh and you know what?" Kavel paused for effect, "when we got back is when we learnt that Gadenthor was approaching. I think it was too much for a few of my comrades. Silvia almost died in Hell, haven't seen her since Phlegethos, nor Zola or Marto. Sorrel's okay. I think Velania is okay, but not sure."
Listening to Kavel's retelling, Derthaad was now able to piece together what happened to the High Diviner, but he still doesn't know why. But something else befuddled him "Marto and Zola... smashed... huh? What do y... y-you know what... I'll ask them separately."
"But yeah, imagine my surprise learning that, upon returning from the volcano, we were bound to be attacked by the githyanki and their swarm of dragons. Heck, a few nights later, me, Beets and Ambel ended up in the Midnight Realm trying to stop the gith from breaching through from the Astral Sea by the use of an Astral Dreadnought. Kavel..." Derthaad pauses a bit for effect "that thing was way bigger than a dragon, even the ancient ones."
"Not surprised that such news may have affected people the way it did." Derthaad releases a weary sigh "I only hope that our efforts these past tendays are worth it. And that hopefully we recruited the right allies in this."
"Bigger than a dragon? It must have been strong. Was it bigger than the dead elder brain where the big worm thing emerged from?"
"Mmm, pretty much, yes. I think twice the size of that elder brain, mostly because it was also tall. Thankfully, we've dealt with it and I hope they won't find another to annoy it over here. From what I've seen, they don't have full control over something like that the way they control the dragons. They just annoyed it and pointed it in the right direction."
"Good. Well done dealing with it, comrade."
There was some silence between the pair as they continued to walk around the Fort's walls.
"Derthaad. When we helped Glint get knowledge on how Gadenthor is operated, that was very good. I think the gith book from the Runaway Library and the sentry were also good. What do you think about the mind flayer agreement?"
"Let's hope that was a good call." After a small pause, Derthaad releases a small chuckle and rubs his face "Honestly, I can't complain, not like my choice has been that great on paper."
"So, we weren't alone on that volcano, we were helped by a couple of powerful allies... a couple of very dead allies: a lich and her dracolich mentor. My brainy idea was to recruit them."
"Okay. I hear lich are bad. Is this or isn't this the case, comrade?"
"To be honest, seems it ain't." Derthaad takes a brief moment to rummage through events "So, not sure how much you remember from that time we went back to that basement, when we got jumped by those two wizards, but among the various material found there, one that was of most interest was written by one named Evira Tivior. She's a scientist who has studied the properties of the sunset stone. She's the lich in question. The dracolich, by the name of Ormund is her mentor."
"Ormund is old and grumpy, and just wants to be left alone with his collection of giant skeletons of different creatures that he has slain. He wasn't that hard to convince, just give him some new dragons, hopefully one of them that of an Ancient Red dragon, and he should be pleased. Evira, however, she just wants to do her research in peace, leaving her days of fighting behind. She did, however... gave me some useful life advice." As Kavel listens carefully, he notices a slight note of fondness in his comrade's last sentence.
"I'm pretty confident that neither of them may cause us problems in the future. More so, they may prove useful allies." The fondness in Derthaad's voice returned for a brief moment, but as he reaches the last word, his voice trails off, as if remembering something.
"Good job comrade!" Kavel gave another supportive fist tap to Derthaad's shoulder in approval.
"People might freak out when they see the dracolich and think it's on the other side. But they'll soon notice that the creature is our ally. Well done bringing in a new ally," Kavel said, impressed with Derthaad. However, Kavel noticed his use of the term ally interchangeably with comrade caused a reaction in his comrade's posture.
"... you prefer the term comrade to ally?"
"No, it's... not..." Derthaad's walk shifts into more of a waddle before coming to a stop. His eyes closed, his gaze upwards, as he contemplates his following words, the first life lesson that Evira gave him, ringing in his mind.
'Trust your friends.'
Unsolved Past
Derthaad’s gaze then turned towards the Angelbark, searching for the thin line of the forest, his eyes open and betraying an exhaustion not of the body, but one from deep within, of something old that has lingered for too long. Fuck it - he whispers to himself. When he finally spoke, the words were filled with a weight that Kavel has never heard before from his comrade.
"Kavel..." a few more seconds pass until he finally musters the courage to finally confess something that should have been said many years ago. "Something happened over 10 years ago... something bad. I know of what happened before, I know of the aftermath... but not of how it happened... not of why and of whom. I know of a fear of what has transpired. I know of a fear of discovering the unknown. I know of a horror that haunts for ages and that gnaws away until there's nothing left."
He takes another deep breath. "But I do not know what happened and why and by whom. It... it kind of feels like Chonk, when their memories were taken by Joon."
Concern could be glimpsed from the goliath's usual stoic expression, "what happened ten years ago, comrade?"
"That, comrade... is what I am going to find out. However... it is not the effort that may be needed to find out the truth that haunts me... but..." Once again, he steels himself, as he has always done for many years "The before and after make no sense. The outcome does not make sense when taking in the factors that lead up to it. But... somehow..."
After taking in another deep breath, he finally dares to ask "Kavel... up to that moment, I have done nothing to suggest such a thing, but... the outcome doesn't lie. If... if in my quest I find that I am the cause of said horrible event... will you still be there? Will you still help me to find out why?" In that moment, Derthaad has never felt so vulnerable, so exposed, so weak. Not even when he was lying on the ground, hanging to his life by a thread from the dragon's breath tendays ago. He's gotten so used to hiding it, to keep it in that it became second nature to him.
The walking had paused for Derthaad to unburden from the solitude and prison of his own mind what was troubling him, and had been troubling him for many years - a mystery that the investigator could not solve, and one with a heavy, emotional connection.
One of the goliath's thick, grey, stone-coloured hands gripped the dragonborn on his shoulder. The other hand gestured openly to the sky, "comrade! Of course Kavel will come help you. Why would I not?"
Kavel was perplexed why asking him, Derthaad's most frequent adventuring comrade, for help with a personal matter was so hard?
"Look comrade. You were there when I needed help to find my bro Kruger. It turned out he was ashamed of his actions as a werewolf when he gave in to the curse's bloodlust, and an innocent victim was killed. I am not ashamed of Kruger, my bro. You are my most frequent comrade, you are like a bro, too. So I will help you... but not right now - we have a gith invasion to worry about first." With that, Kavel released his grip on Derthaad's shoulder, and then slapped the same shoulder.
"Sounds good?"
As Derthaad takes a deep breath and gives a long exhale, Kavel can definitely see that a weight has been lifted off of his comrade. There's still a lot more left, but some progress has been made.
"Thanks Kavel. I needed that." as he bumps Kavel's chest with the back of his fist.
Derthaad resumes the walk around the fort as he continues "Weird this place, isn't it? Somehow, there are so many 'End of the World' scenarios, so many threats loom overhead, about to end us, snuff us out. But... it still feels like a place I would stay in. And I wondered why. I realised... that it's because of all the inspiring people. Some of which have actually inspired me to finally close that dark chapter, once and for all: you, Glint, Sorrel. But, there's one person that inspired me the most."
"Oh? Not me, heh," Kavel replied jokingly, "who was more inspiring?"
"Comrade Gerhard."
"In a way, there is a similarity between us: we both lost someone. But the difference is that, unlike me, he didn't run away, he didn't cower behind a rock or tried to hide everything. He instead chased Henri down, vowing to not stop until he got him back. Unlike me, comrade, he didn't abandon his friend." The weight and sorrow returning to Derthaad's voice as he said that last sentence, but thankfully it slightly fades away as he continues. "His story comrade, is him literally about to go to the very end, walking the path of gods. He is willing to go to the very edge of the universe to bring back his friend. If that's not inspiring, then I don't know what it is."
"In a way, Kavel, helping him is a little like helping myself. It's like going back in time and telling my past self to stop, to turn back towards the truth, not away from it, to make things right."
In reply to Kavel's remark from earlier, he jokingly adds "Don't worry, Kavel. You're a very close second."
The goliath smirked at the last comment from his friend, "okay. I'll take second place for now."
"But yeah. Derthaad, that's what we comrades do. We come to each other's aid. You and I have tried to help Gerhard save Henri, and will help him again if he asks... I would like him to ask funnily enough. So, I can help, sure, but also the Staircase is pretty interesting. I didn't give a shit at first. Not really. So what? It’s teleportation. I’ve done that before. But, now we've travelled the Staircase quite a bit - it's pretty fun. Not quite weight-training fun, but fun...."
Kavel paused. Perplexed at where he was going with the talk about The Staircase. Did I, of all people, just wander off point? Where is my focus? Why did I wander when I talked about the Staircase? Also - why do I itch all of a sudden? Anyway..., "... anyway, of course I will help! I'm sure everyone you have mentioned would also gladly help. You should ask them."
It is Derthaad's time to bump Kavel on the shoulder. "When the time comes, Kavel, I will."
"'Till then, let's get back to the invasion at hand. We got some gith that are very eager in getting their asses kicked."
"Okay. Good idea. Let's go."
Looking for a Goliath
Derthaad sees more activity in Fort Ettin than he has seen in the Dawn Market in the rush hour. He arrived a few days prior thanks to Lord Jaezred's Teleportation Circle he helped in 'persuading' Ormund to join our side in dealing with the githyanki threat that's coming.
The hustle and bustle, however, bothers Derthaad. When he departed Daring Heights, he heard that the council plans to make the stand against the invasion in Fort Ettin, that they have something the gith desperately wants and that they will lure them to Fort Ettin, the central hub for all adventurers, away from the major cities. The prospect of war has left Derthaad with a sour taste in his mouth. 'Tis not because of the fighting, no, he's been conditioned to accept it and to remain calm in times like these. 'Tis the unsure outcome of the following days that made him realise that, after almost a year, he barely talked to his most prolific adventuring companion, comrade Kavel. It also took Derthaad the life lessons of a lich for him to realise this.
He searched for his comrade the last couple of days, but Kavel's Iron Strong bros have told him that he's yet to return. Today, as he now approaches Kavel's Corner of Strength and Conditioning, meandering through the crowd of adventurers, some that he knew, some he only seen and other new, Derthaad spots the familiar sight of Tim, Sampson and Kruger. At first glance, through the sea of people, he does not yet see the familiar sight of a fourth goliath.
As Derthaad reached the corner, he calls out to the goliath bros.
"Hey guys! Has Kavel arrived yet?"
"Comrade Derthaad," Sampson began with a smile on his face, "you've come at the right time, I think. Kavel said he would arrive today soon, he's just been saying goodbye to his friend Mendal, in the City."
With perfect timing, the sight of a fourth goliath walks through the Fort's entrance and heads towards Kavel's Corner in the Training Grounds.
"Bros! And comrade Derthaad! Good to see you are all well." Turning to face Derthaad, "comrade, we may have many times to try another sorcerer-assisted Sky-High Elbow Drop - are you ready for that?"
Before Derthaad could greet his comrade, at the mention of the infamous Elbow Drop, Derthaad's eyes close, his mouth forming a wide grin and his chest shaking from a small chuckle.
"Hey, Kavel! Yes, actually, I just picked up another spell, one that may help us with some of the more higher up targets." releasing another chuckle. "However, I'm kind of spent at the moment, I've been doing some spell training in the early hours of the morning. Maybe we'll have another go tomorrow."
"However, I did not come here to discuss how we can improve the Elbow Drop, I've already done that in my mind... I realised that we never actually got to talk about whatever happened these past months, which seems to be a lot."
"So, how's it going Kavel? How have you been?"
"I'm doing really well actually. Very good. I'll tell you about it. But first, give me an hour and a half with my bros, and I'll come find you in the Great Hall, and we can catch up. How about that? Unless... you want to train with us?"
"Actually... meet me outside the south gate. This place, including the Great Hall, feels a bit too crowded. We can trot along as we talk."
Ramble Round the Fort
After about an hour and a half of waiting by the south gate, technically the only gate in Fort Etting, if it can even be called a gate, the blue dragonborn finally catches a glimpse of his goliath friend approaching. He stands up, closes and pockets a book he's been reading that seems to be missing a few pages at the end. "Right, want to go for a walk around the fort while we talk?"
"So, what's gotten you in such a good mood?"
"A woman!" Kavel responded beaming a wide grin at his dragonborn comrade, whilst slapping him on the back.
"Comrade! The Summer Court in the Feywild, there is a place in there called the Damphenite Tangle. I met a beautiful warrior there, Nathalie Walnut. She is the leader of that group, and she is magnificent. She said she hopes to see me again soon. I cannot wait to go back - but first we must defend the lands that we have made our own - she understands this, which is great, heh?" Kavel slapped Derthaad's nearest shoulder as he expected an agreeing response.
"Oh and we may have recruited some gemstone dragons to defend the Dawnlands, which would be good. This is why we went to the Feywild in the first place. Not so I could, you know, 'smash', but not my usual 'smash', if you follow?"
Listening to Kavel describe his new found woman with enthusiasm, Derthaad's mind drifted for a brief second, to something of a similar nature, but is snapped back by Kavel's slap on the shoulder. "Yup!" he says, clearing his throat.
After Kavel finishes, Derthaad, as if reminiscing something from the past, continues. "Interesting isn't it, how with the impending nature of war some soldiers tend to find their loved ones right before the battle. But-" he continues coming back to his normal demeanour "- I am indeed really happy for you. And I'm pretty sure I can drop you from the moon and you'll be able to walk it off. If there's one person that I know will survive this, it'll be you, so you can still go back and see her." Derthaad then slightly leans towards Kavel "By the way, I am way old enough to know the other meaning of the word 'smash'."
"Also, about those 'gem' dragons... I have not heard of gem dragons before. How powerful do you think they are?"
"hmmm. I'm not sure. Powerful enough to be our aerial support, I hope."
Kavel paused to see if he could remember anything more about the dragon he met. Nothing came to his mind. So, he tapped Derthaad on the shoulder with his fist, and asked, "how are things with you then? You must have closed the case on the hag business now?"
Derthaad's face lightens at the mention of the case "Hmh, yes, it's closed. Apparently, the cult was run by a dude who was really into summoning hags, or, 'his goddesses' - Derthaad says with a dramatic flair - into this world. The problem is that said summoning site was on the top of a volcano, covered in sunset stone that, if he succeeded, would have blown up the volcano and opened an unclosable portal to the sixth layer of hell." Derthaad then releases a disapproving sigh "Bloody idiot."
"What about you? I heard you, Sorrel and others went to hell to stop Adhyël, was it, and others?"
All that hag business started because of one guy's infatuation with hags? Kavel considered, "comrade. I will now be suspicious of anyone who shows an obsession with anything. Although, I would perhaps be a little sympathetic if someone was captivated by sprites. Sprites are great."
"And yes, Phlegethos - the fourth level of Hell. It was oppressively hot there. I would hate to think how much hotter the sixth level of Hell would be. We fought Adhyël again - you obviously remember him from the Angelbark - Marto killed him this time, but forever killed, since it happened in Hell. Marto was upset though, because it turned out he was 'smashing' with Adhyël, I think ever since he was first mind controlled by him. Zola was also smashing the enemy, but both her and Marto were professionals when it mattered. They did what needed to be done, and we saved the High Diviner Rholar."
"Oh and you know what?" Kavel paused for effect, "when we got back is when we learnt that Gadenthor was approaching. I think it was too much for a few of my comrades. Silvia almost died in Hell, haven't seen her since Phlegethos, nor Zola or Marto. Sorrel's okay. I think Velania is okay, but not sure."
Listening to Kavel's retelling, Derthaad was now able to piece together what happened to the High Diviner, but he still doesn't know why. But something else befuddled him "Marto and Zola... smashed... huh? What do y... y-you know what... I'll ask them separately."
"But yeah, imagine my surprise learning that, upon returning from the volcano, we were bound to be attacked by the githyanki and their swarm of dragons. Heck, a few nights later, me, Beets and Ambel ended up in the Midnight Realm trying to stop the gith from breaching through from the Astral Sea by the use of an Astral Dreadnought. Kavel..." Derthaad pauses a bit for effect "that thing was way bigger than a dragon, even the ancient ones."
"Not surprised that such news may have affected people the way it did." Derthaad releases a weary sigh "I only hope that our efforts these past tendays are worth it. And that hopefully we recruited the right allies in this."
"Bigger than a dragon? It must have been strong. Was it bigger than the dead elder brain where the big worm thing emerged from?"
"Mmm, pretty much, yes. I think twice the size of that elder brain, mostly because it was also tall. Thankfully, we've dealt with it and I hope they won't find another to annoy it over here. From what I've seen, they don't have full control over something like that the way they control the dragons. They just annoyed it and pointed it in the right direction."
"Good. Well done dealing with it, comrade."
There was some silence between the pair as they continued to walk around the Fort's walls.
"Derthaad. When we helped Glint get knowledge on how Gadenthor is operated, that was very good. I think the gith book from the Runaway Library and the sentry were also good. What do you think about the mind flayer agreement?"
"Let's hope that was a good call." After a small pause, Derthaad releases a small chuckle and rubs his face "Honestly, I can't complain, not like my choice has been that great on paper."
"So, we weren't alone on that volcano, we were helped by a couple of powerful allies... a couple of very dead allies: a lich and her dracolich mentor. My brainy idea was to recruit them."
"Okay. I hear lich are bad. Is this or isn't this the case, comrade?"
"To be honest, seems it ain't." Derthaad takes a brief moment to rummage through events "So, not sure how much you remember from that time we went back to that basement, when we got jumped by those two wizards, but among the various material found there, one that was of most interest was written by one named Evira Tivior. She's a scientist who has studied the properties of the sunset stone. She's the lich in question. The dracolich, by the name of Ormund is her mentor."
"Ormund is old and grumpy, and just wants to be left alone with his collection of giant skeletons of different creatures that he has slain. He wasn't that hard to convince, just give him some new dragons, hopefully one of them that of an Ancient Red dragon, and he should be pleased. Evira, however, she just wants to do her research in peace, leaving her days of fighting behind. She did, however... gave me some useful life advice." As Kavel listens carefully, he notices a slight note of fondness in his comrade's last sentence.
"I'm pretty confident that neither of them may cause us problems in the future. More so, they may prove useful allies." The fondness in Derthaad's voice returned for a brief moment, but as he reaches the last word, his voice trails off, as if remembering something.
"Good job comrade!" Kavel gave another supportive fist tap to Derthaad's shoulder in approval.
"People might freak out when they see the dracolich and think it's on the other side. But they'll soon notice that the creature is our ally. Well done bringing in a new ally," Kavel said, impressed with Derthaad. However, Kavel noticed his use of the term ally interchangeably with comrade caused a reaction in his comrade's posture.
"... you prefer the term comrade to ally?"
"No, it's... not..." Derthaad's walk shifts into more of a waddle before coming to a stop. His eyes closed, his gaze upwards, as he contemplates his following words, the first life lesson that Evira gave him, ringing in his mind.
'Trust your friends.'
Unsolved Past
Derthaad’s gaze then turned towards the Angelbark, searching for the thin line of the forest, his eyes open and betraying an exhaustion not of the body, but one from deep within, of something old that has lingered for too long. Fuck it - he whispers to himself. When he finally spoke, the words were filled with a weight that Kavel has never heard before from his comrade.
"Kavel..." a few more seconds pass until he finally musters the courage to finally confess something that should have been said many years ago. "Something happened over 10 years ago... something bad. I know of what happened before, I know of the aftermath... but not of how it happened... not of why and of whom. I know of a fear of what has transpired. I know of a fear of discovering the unknown. I know of a horror that haunts for ages and that gnaws away until there's nothing left."
He takes another deep breath. "But I do not know what happened and why and by whom. It... it kind of feels like Chonk, when their memories were taken by Joon."
Concern could be glimpsed from the goliath's usual stoic expression, "what happened ten years ago, comrade?"
"That, comrade... is what I am going to find out. However... it is not the effort that may be needed to find out the truth that haunts me... but..." Once again, he steels himself, as he has always done for many years "The before and after make no sense. The outcome does not make sense when taking in the factors that lead up to it. But... somehow..."
After taking in another deep breath, he finally dares to ask "Kavel... up to that moment, I have done nothing to suggest such a thing, but... the outcome doesn't lie. If... if in my quest I find that I am the cause of said horrible event... will you still be there? Will you still help me to find out why?" In that moment, Derthaad has never felt so vulnerable, so exposed, so weak. Not even when he was lying on the ground, hanging to his life by a thread from the dragon's breath tendays ago. He's gotten so used to hiding it, to keep it in that it became second nature to him.
The walking had paused for Derthaad to unburden from the solitude and prison of his own mind what was troubling him, and had been troubling him for many years - a mystery that the investigator could not solve, and one with a heavy, emotional connection.
One of the goliath's thick, grey, stone-coloured hands gripped the dragonborn on his shoulder. The other hand gestured openly to the sky, "comrade! Of course Kavel will come help you. Why would I not?"
Kavel was perplexed why asking him, Derthaad's most frequent adventuring comrade, for help with a personal matter was so hard?
"Look comrade. You were there when I needed help to find my bro Kruger. It turned out he was ashamed of his actions as a werewolf when he gave in to the curse's bloodlust, and an innocent victim was killed. I am not ashamed of Kruger, my bro. You are my most frequent comrade, you are like a bro, too. So I will help you... but not right now - we have a gith invasion to worry about first." With that, Kavel released his grip on Derthaad's shoulder, and then slapped the same shoulder.
"Sounds good?"
As Derthaad takes a deep breath and gives a long exhale, Kavel can definitely see that a weight has been lifted off of his comrade. There's still a lot more left, but some progress has been made.
"Thanks Kavel. I needed that." as he bumps Kavel's chest with the back of his fist.
Derthaad resumes the walk around the fort as he continues "Weird this place, isn't it? Somehow, there are so many 'End of the World' scenarios, so many threats loom overhead, about to end us, snuff us out. But... it still feels like a place I would stay in. And I wondered why. I realised... that it's because of all the inspiring people. Some of which have actually inspired me to finally close that dark chapter, once and for all: you, Glint, Sorrel. But, there's one person that inspired me the most."
"Oh? Not me, heh," Kavel replied jokingly, "who was more inspiring?"
"Comrade Gerhard."
"In a way, there is a similarity between us: we both lost someone. But the difference is that, unlike me, he didn't run away, he didn't cower behind a rock or tried to hide everything. He instead chased Henri down, vowing to not stop until he got him back. Unlike me, comrade, he didn't abandon his friend." The weight and sorrow returning to Derthaad's voice as he said that last sentence, but thankfully it slightly fades away as he continues. "His story comrade, is him literally about to go to the very end, walking the path of gods. He is willing to go to the very edge of the universe to bring back his friend. If that's not inspiring, then I don't know what it is."
"In a way, Kavel, helping him is a little like helping myself. It's like going back in time and telling my past self to stop, to turn back towards the truth, not away from it, to make things right."
In reply to Kavel's remark from earlier, he jokingly adds "Don't worry, Kavel. You're a very close second."
The goliath smirked at the last comment from his friend, "okay. I'll take second place for now."
"But yeah. Derthaad, that's what we comrades do. We come to each other's aid. You and I have tried to help Gerhard save Henri, and will help him again if he asks... I would like him to ask funnily enough. So, I can help, sure, but also the Staircase is pretty interesting. I didn't give a shit at first. Not really. So what? It’s teleportation. I’ve done that before. But, now we've travelled the Staircase quite a bit - it's pretty fun. Not quite weight-training fun, but fun...."
Kavel paused. Perplexed at where he was going with the talk about The Staircase. Did I, of all people, just wander off point? Where is my focus? Why did I wander when I talked about the Staircase? Also - why do I itch all of a sudden? Anyway..., "... anyway, of course I will help! I'm sure everyone you have mentioned would also gladly help. You should ask them."
It is Derthaad's time to bump Kavel on the shoulder. "When the time comes, Kavel, I will."
"'Till then, let's get back to the invasion at hand. We got some gith that are very eager in getting their asses kicked."
"Okay. Good idea. Let's go."