#but neither is travis so i stand by this theory

[mysteryloversbookshelf]

The Afterparty: Sebastian

This week’s episode was a lot of fun and my favorite so far of the season. A lot of ground was covered and new theories have emerged so this will be another long post. Starting off with the “Not ___��� clue (shoutout to the subreddit for getting it so quickly omg). SPOILERS AHEAD

“Not By Camels Milk”

I don’t know what to make of this clue because when I looked up kumis/koumis, the results said that it’s milk from a donkey and not camel’s milk as stated by Ulysses in the first episode. I doubt the writers would make a mistake while researching it so it’s hard to say what this means. Are they trying to insinuate that Ulysses is a fraud? Isabel made an offhand comment about him always boasting about his travels. But let’s say that it is koumis: Edgar refused to drink it at the rehearsal dinner and after Aniq spit it out I assumed that there wouldn’t be much if any left. Maybe later on in the evening Edgar and Ulysses come to some sort of agreement that was sealed with Edgar taking a sip of the koumis. Ulysses is kind of going higher up on my list now because this is starting to get suspicious.

Confirmed Theories

As always Reddit was on it because four long-standing theories were confirmed:

•The wedding staff were in on the heist

•Sebastian kidnapped Roxana to open the safe

•Sebastian was the naked man

•SEC4 meant Edgar, Sebastian, Connect 4 and was a record of their scores

A lot of people suspected Sebastian was secretly Australian instead of British so the reveal he’s actually American is so funny to me 😂 And omg at Yasper’s brief appearance! That was a perfect little tie in to last season. Also I knew Travis wasn’t lying about being knocked out! It just didn’t seem like something he’d lie about. After watching the episode twice these are my thoughts:

Theory 1

I 100% think that Edgar calling everyone devils in that rant was because he knew their secrets and now I see that he himself is a devil as well it will be interesting to see how this will all tie in at the end. When Isabel told Sebastian to tell Edgar she remembered everything it gave me a feeling that Edgar might have actually been the one to poison his father. And as I write this I’m starting to wonder if maybe Edgar tried to poison someone that evening and then accidentally poisoned himself instead. If he’s killed someone before he probably got too cocky this time and accidentally offed himself instead. There’s a theory that Edgar has been drugging Isabel and tbh I’m starting to believe it because if he did kill his father, that would be a good way of keeping his mother in line and preventing her from telling the truth. He and Hannah were really close up to a point so I can’t help but wonder if they did it together since it’s Hannah’s garden that has all the poisonous plants. It’s just a vibe I’m getting but we’ll see.

Theory 2

Speaking of Hannah, I still think Grace killed Edgar and Hannah is covering for her. Like I’ve said before Grace is putting on this damsel in distress act and I wouldn’t be surprised if she were manipulating Hannah because she knows she’s in love with her. If neither are the murderer I think they planned to run away together after the wedding night with Edgar’s money since there was no prenup signed.

My current three suspects:

Grace because of all the lying and her playing Zoë like a fiddle the whole time ; Whether or not she’s also taking advantage of Hannah is unknown

Ulysses because I’m starting to think he’s a liar and after Edgar’s encounter with Vivian, she may have told him. That’s a pretty big motive because of how big a family secret it is (unconfirmed theory that he’s the father of Zoë and/or Grace)

Edgar as an accidental death caused by himself since he’s been shown to have that dark side and he already got bested by Sebastian with the card so he’s clearly not as intelligent as he thinks he is

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[anistarrose]

okay, I think I’ve finally got a hot take about why Order is older than Chaos: 

our universe (so why not also Nua’s universe?) was in a highly ordered, low-entropy state in the earliest moments after its creation. now, “entropy” and “chaos” aren’t exactly synonyms, and I don’t think the changes that Order and Chaos shepherd in modern times have anything to do with entropy — because entropy increases constantly in our universe, while chaos and order are a cycle on Nua.

however, I do think Order came into being at the very beginning of the universe, long before Chaos did. I think Order’s first purpose was to initiate that first shift from an ordered system towards a less ordered one, in which complexity and life could arise, and Chaos appeared eons later in this era of disorder to usher in the first-ever era of society and laws, from which the cycle we now know began.

[yo-momsin-mybed]

Request from wattpaduser on wattpad

"Maybe you could write a short fic about their confession? It doesn't matter who confesses to who:)"

Ryan straighten his tie in the mirror, smiling proudly at himself.

Today was their last court date and Ryan was the last to get his verdict. They tried to get Ryan to plead guilty but he stuck to his self defense theory.

Ryan shook the thoughts out of his head and turned towards the door. Travis stood in the doorway, it was hard to read him but from what Ryan could gather he looked guilty.

"Hey," he said breaking the silence, ryan nodded his head, looking away. "I'm talking on behalf of you today, not against you, Chris wanted the best for you" he said quietly.

They both stood there awkwardly, neither really knew each other and neither knew how to talk to people.

Laura and max walked in the room behind him, slowly nodding a greeting towards Travis, still nervous around him.

"Its time," Max smiled grabbing Ryan's shoulder.

"Yeah," Ryan said, turning around to take a last look in the mirror.

---

Ryan stepped into the box, swearing to the lord and greeting the judge. The session was going smoothly until Ryan slipped up on the story, mentioning the part where he was stabbed, despite the lack of injury.

"You were stabbed?" The judge questioned

"Well, yeah, no, it wasn't really" Ryan started to shaking slightly, tears pricking his eyes. "Chris other brother came at me with a knife, I mange to dodge it but it was still," Ryan paused a minute to take a breath.

"Its okay Ryan," the judge smiled sweetly, they were all lucky to have who they had on this case.

Ryan nodded and continued to explain his story, Travis and Laura agreed to go on after to back his story up.

Finally it was time to heard the final verdict, ryan looked up and seen dylans face, he was coated in worry. Ryan flashed him a small, reassuring smile as the judge spoke her answer.

"Not guilty," she said, hitting the desk infront if her happily.

Ryan smiled brightly, he could hear his friends cheering him on.

---

With the brightest smile on dylan skipped over to Ryan happily, "Hey big guy" he laughed, "I'm really glad your not being arrested for murder"

"So am I," Ryan laughed back

The two were at Emma's with the rest for a small get together, well it started small. Gradually they invited more and more people until it was a full blown party.

"Wanna go outside for a second, get away from the crowd?" Dylan asked, he couldn't tell if it was real confidence or the alcohol but he needed to tell Ryan how he felt before he nearly looses him again.

"Yeah," he yelled back, they left out the back door, and moved around the people until they were far enough anyway that the music was a low whisper.

Ryan pulled out a joint and lit it up, taking a puff and handing it to dylan.

Dylan took it and had a small puff, coughing aggressively after.

Ryan giggled taking the joint back, "you okay?"

"Yeah," he chocked out, "peachy"

Ryan laughed some more guiding Dylan to a rock to sit down.

"You better now?" Ryan asked a few seconds after dylans breathing became level.

"I'd but a lot better with your number," he flirted, looking up at Ryan who twas standing infront of him.

"Very clever," Ryan laughed, he grabbed dylands phone from his lap and put in his number, adding a heart to his name.

"There," he said giving dylan his phone back, "now you should feel better"

"Hmm I don't know I think another kiss would help," he joked, he closed his eyes giggling, he was trying so hard to work up the nerves to tell Ryan.

Though it didn't really matter, a burst of confidence went through Ryan hearing those words. He leaned down and started kissing Dylan, first slow then rough.

Dylans hands roamed up Ryan's back, pulling him closer. "Sit down," Dylan mumbled pulling ryan into his lap.

They continued making out, grinding softly every now and then.

"Uhm," they heard someone clearing their throat. Ryan jumped off of Dylan, falling ti the ground in the process.

"Told you so," Kaitlyn laughed, Emma who just cleared her throat started speaking again, "okay I forgive because you guys are super cute but your coming back to the party now," Emma half joked, spinning on her heels, Laura and Kaitlyn stood next to her laughing.

Dylan and ryan awkwardly stared at each other before bursting out into a fit of giggles.

"I really like you," Dylan said softly, watching the others walk up the path.

"I really like you too," Ryan mumbled back, hiding is face.

"We should go back," Dylan said helping Ryan up.

The two held hands walking up the path and meeting up again with the party.

---

I'm sorry it wasn't that short haha I wrote this in my car on a road trip so it's probably shit.

[keenie]

tell us about your jackal evil theory

Reasons why Jackal is fucked up and evil; A comprehensive list of my own observations. 

Manipulation Via Familiarity- Jackal mimicking Argo’s voice while he talks to him gives me Bad Vibes. If Argo sees Jackal as someone who is familiar and a kin to him, he is more likely to blindly trust him; Jackal knows this. The very first episode that Jackal started changing his voice to match Argo’s was episode 6, the same episode when he first started trying to recruit Argo into the Unbroken Chain. We can even see him practicing this tactic in episode 7, clearing his voice whenever he fails to impersonate Argo, practicing and perfecting his tactic. 

Manipulation Via Personal Connection- When Jackal introduces Argo to the UC, the very first thing he brings up is Shebrie. Not the ideals of the Chain, not what they’re working towards, not what Argo would have to do for them- just that he knew Shebrie. He knows that that’s a sore spot for Argo, who’s still mourning the death of his mother and is desperate for anything that could possibly keep just a bit of her in his life. Jackal is taking advantage of his heartbreak and grief. “Your mother asked me to give this to you when the time was right”. Your mother wants you to join this secret organization I’ve told you nothing about. It’s what she would have wanted. You don’t want to disappoint her, now, do you, Argo? 

“I’m on your side, but...”- Jackal is constantly taking this stance of “I hoped it wouldn't come to this” (episode 6) and “I’m only telling you this as a favor to your mother” (episode 21). It’s that “Great, now I’m the bad guy” rhetoric that abusers, usually those who serve as authority figures, use to make their victims feel like the abuser is trying to help them and the victim should shut up and comply. Jackal says that he’s helping Argo, that he’s doing him a favor, but if he really cared about Argo, if he really wanted Argo to be safe, then wouldn’t he defend him from The Unbroken Chain outright? Wouldn't he take a stand? He should, but he doesn’t. He sits back and watches as Argo is forced to spy on his best friend and is put on an unfair trial.

Hidden Intentions and Information- Jackal is hiding things. In episode 10, he tells Argo VERY little about what the Chain intends to do with the information Argo has gathered on Fitzroy. He tells him why they’re doing it- they want info on the Godscar Chasm- but not why they want that information or what they intend to do with it. He describes that info as “one of the biggest things I can tell you”. One. How many other “big things” are there, and why must Jackal keep that information a secret from Argo?

Vagueness and Keeping Argo in the Dark- This ties into 4. The way Jackal talks about The Chain and himself is very vague and could be interpreted a million different ways. “We do a lot of good, Argo. I can't tell you much more... there will be certain rules and certain missions you'll have to answer to, but I promise you it will be for the greater good.” Hm. ‘For the greater good’... What’s the ‘lesser’ good in this situation? Let’s say, hypothetically, someone wants to leave The Unbroken Chain. And this person escapes with their memories in tact. What’s the ‘greater good’ then; letting that person escape and live their life while knowing of your secret organization or... taking them out? We don’t know anything about The Unbroken Chain’s rules and policies and neither does Argo. Argo know NOTHING when he joins because Jackal TOLD him nothing. 

Manipulation Via Sympathy- Jackal exploits Argo’s empathy and kindness. In episode 6, he brings up the fact that Kenkus had their flight taken from them long ago. To which Argo responds, “That- that‘s sad. It‘s- that‘s unfortunate. That‘s sad. Come on, come on, just one little step down off the balustrade. Everything will be good.” Argo’s a very empathic person. By sharing this information with him, Jackal earns his sympathy. Argo can relate to having something important be taken from him. If he feels bad for Jackal, thinks that Jackal is having a rough time, he is more likely to do as Jackal says. 

Disregarding Argo’s Feelings- Jackal keeps telling Argo to do stuff that he doesn’t want to do! In episode three, he makes him steal something from Higglesmas’ office. In episode seven he makes him steal Tomas’ watch. And of course, he makes Argo spy on Fitzroy, who Argo clearly cares very much about and doesn’t want to hurt in any way. He doesn’t like stealing and lying, despite being a rogue. In episode three, Argo says in a somber tone, regarding him stealing from Higglemas, “Just like a- a good little thief would do...” He doesn’t like what he’s doing, he asks Jackal multiple times to just let him tell the Thundermen what he’s doing because it’s causing a divide in their friendship and it’s tearing Argo apart, and what does Jackal do? Absolutely nothing. He keeps making Argo steal things and keep secrets and lie and spy for the UC because he doesn’t care how Argo feels about any of it. 

The Unbroken Chain Evil- Listen. Maybe Jackal is a good person. Maybe he’s just doing what’s he’s told. But that’s the fucking point. The Unbroken Chain is messed up. They are overly secretive, controlling, and restricting. Their priorities are to stay a secret first and help the world not be overrun by a literal demon second. We don’t know why they’re interested in The Godscar Chasm and wild magic. We don’t know why they seemed fairly unphased by the fact that a demon is running the school. We don’t know their rules, their codes, their leaders, or their goals because they have shared none of this information with Argo, who is MEMBER of the organization! We don’t know why Shebrie never told Argo about them. We don’t know why Argo only remembers Shebrie having their coin as a kid. We don’t know why one of their higher ups was the one who killed Shebrie. But, boy, I sure do have a guess. Hell, ONE OF THEIR LEADERS IS THE COMMODORE!!! Which, this brings me to my last point.

ACAB (All Commodore [and his associates] Are Bastard)- Jackal is friendly with The Commodore. This racist, murderous, sleazy, arrogant piece of shit was in a meeting with Jackal. “As you enter Jackal’s classroom, you see The Commodore coming from outside the balcony, where, I [Travis] believe it is safe to assume, he was talking with the Jackal” (episode 21). Immediately, when The Commodore sees Argo approaching him, he says “Ah, so this is the young spr4y that I’ve been hearing so much about!” Hearing so much about from whom? It’s not Grey, why would he talk about Argo? Why would anyone else tell The Commodore about Argo specifically (Althea is the only other person I can think of and A. she’s not here and B. Argo asked her not to tell The Commodore about his existence)? Yeah. Jackal told The Commodore about Argo. Jackal is complicit in The Commodore’s abuse of authority, he is complicit in the way The Commodore treats Argo like dirt, he is complicit in The Commodore, who wants Argo dead, running Argo’s trial. So. Maybe Jackal isn’t evil. Maybe he isn't hostile towards Argo. But he sure is okay with letting those who ARE evil and hateful towards Argo run the secret society that he forced Argo into. 

TLDR; Jackal is manipulative and doesn't give a shit about the well being of Argonaut Keene.

[fangirlspammer]

Sparks Fly (part 3)

Okay I apologize for my delay, but you will be happy to know that I have the next chapter nearly finished as well (!!!!!) So hopefully it won't take me too long to post that one after all the editing😌 I hope you enjoy this chapter😌

Also, yes, I did use a Desperate Housewives plot for my murder case, and no I'm not sorry. I suck at writing crime😂

A flash of heat washed over you, the room was spinning, the loud music was drowning out your thoughts, and your vision was blurring.  You could feel your heart begin to pound and the blood rushing throughout your body.  The city lights blurred together as you tried to focus, but that was failing.  There was a voice trying to get through to you, but you couldn't make it out.  The next thing you knew you're head was hitting the dashboard and the sounds of screaming and car horns echoed in your mind.

*

"Y/N!" a faint voice sounded in the distance. "Y/N!"

The voice was louder now, and when you could feel yourself being shaken you shot up from your sleeping position on the couch and gasped frantically for air.  You couldn't catch your breath and hot tears rolled down your cheeks. The person behind the voice was holding you tightly to their chest, and after a few minutes you knew that it was your big brother.  He was rubbing your back and rocking you gently, whispering words of comfort in your ear until you could grasp into reality.

*

"That's your fourth one this month," he sighed from the kitchen 30 minutes later.

"I know," you acknowledge blankly and hugged the warm, couch throw around you tighter.

You watched your big brother roam around the kitchen making you his famous tea. He always knew how to calm your nerves after a night terror like this. Despite the every day frustrations of living with your brother; clothes all over the place, dishes in the hamper, towels on the floor; you were grateful to have him around these past 13 months. After your little incident nothing had ever been the same, and you didn't think you would have made it through without him by your side, especially in your line of work.

When he finally noticed you coming into the kitchen he shook his head at you and pointed back towards the living room. "No. No go lay down," it wasn't a request, but you didn't care.  That old couch was not comfortable in the slightest.

"You don't have to baby me, Travis," your annoyance was clear, but obviously he didn't care about that.

"I do when you aren't taking your meds," he frowned and set an ugly orange bottle in front of you.

"Oh god, don't say 'meds' like that," you rolled your eyes.  "It makes me sound sick," you huffed just as annoyed.

"This isn't a joke!" you jumped, eyes wide, when his voice filled the kitchen.  He softened and ran his hand through his messy hair.  "Y/N, I can't help if you won't even help yourself.  What does NCIS have to say about this?" his eyes were searching yours for an answer, but you couldn't even come up with a quick enough lie.  "Dammit, Y/N.  They don't know about this?"

"Travis, it isn't as bad as you make it out," the words rushed out of you, but he wasn't buying it. "I can still do my job, and it only happens while I'm asleep anyway."

"And how long until that's not the case?" he tested you.

You sighed and walked around the island to him and took the tea he had made you.  "Big brother I appreciate you looking out for me, I do, but it's too early for one of your fatherly lectures," you sighed and he rolled his eyes. "Now if you will excuse me, I have a shower calling my name before I have to be at work," you kissed his cheek and headed across the room.

"Does she know?" the words had you frozen in place.

You knew that he was talking about Jack. Who else would it be?  Ever since the that night she came prying into your life, you couldn't get your mind off of her.  She had been at NCIS for 6 months now, and the two of you had become the best of friends.  She hadn't taken the place of Ellie, but Jack wasn't like Ellie, and neither were your feelings for her, even if you couldn't place them.  Of course she didn't know.  What did he think?  That you were completely crazy enough to tell the NCIS psychologist about your night terrors?  That you hadn't been taking your medication?  Because if that's what he thought, well, he knew better than that.

"Why does that matter?" you tried to make your voice sound at level.  The grip on your mug tightened so the tea wouldn't spill.

"So that's a no," he rolled his eyes and you could feel him staring a hole into the back of your neck.  You hated how he could see right through you.  You almost responded, but bit your tongue and stepped into the bathroom and the door shut behind you.

*

When you arrived at the office Gibbs was already there and a cup of coffee was on your desk.  You dropped your bag on the floor and fell into your seat with a quiet sigh of relief. "Thanks Gibbs," you muttered tiredly and took a sip before furrowing your brow. "Wait, how did you know-"

"You've been early every day this week," he shrugged and glanced over his monitor towards you.

"Right," you nodded and began to set up your space.

"Anything wrong?"

You knew that Gibbs was concerned about any of the team who's pattern abruptly changed. What you didn't know was why it was such a surprise to you. Quickly you shook your head. "Nope," you could feel him staring at you but brush it off when you refused to say more.

You were grateful that he stopped there and you began to go through the paperwork on your desk. It was another 2 hours until the rest of the team arrived. You ignored the look of concern Ellie flashed you and finished up with the last of the paperwork. That was the 4th stack of paperwork you had gone through this week alone. Your mind needed a distraction and case files would do that to a person.

"Y/N," you looked up to see Jack standing up in the balcony. "Got a second?" She eyed you closely and you felt your chest tighten. You had been avoiding her lately. With all you'd been through the last thing you needed was for Jack to get suspicious. She always could see right through you.

"Got a body," Gibbs entered the bullpen in a hurry and grabbed his gear.

"Rain check?" You gave a sympathetic smile and quickly headed to the elevator. Thank God for this case. That was a horrible thought, one that you didn't truly mean, but you just needed to get away.

*

Jimmy was at the scene of the crime before anybody else had arrived, and with the help of Ducky they had gathered enough information to make a proper diagnosis of how this woman had died.  She was murdered, hit by something wooden to the back of the neck and then strangled by a fishing rope and hung from her banister.  It didn't take long for you to find a clue as to who the biggest suspect was while you and the team were looking through the house.  There was a threatening note on the desk that read: I know what you did.  I am going to tell.

"McGee," you looked over your shoulder and held up the note with gloves on.

McGee came over and read it, his brow furrowing the more he read.  "It looks like Cathryn Phelps had an enemy," he stated as he put it into an evidence bag.

"Who is Jamie Harris?" Bishop questioned as she read it now.

"Did you say Jamie Harris?" Torres entered the room.  He held up a picture frame with two women in it after you nodded.  "She was Cathryn's wife."

You couldn't fight the surprise that flashed across your face when Torres announced that.  "Why would she send a threatening note to her own wife?"

*

The rest of the car ride was full of theories tossed back and forth, and you knew Gibbs was thankful when the car finally came to a stop in the NCIS parking lot.  He didn't hesitate to get out and head towards the building, and you quickly followed.  You were eager to get your work done, and if you stuck around with the rest of the team you knew that they would start trying to analyze you.  The last thing that you wanted to do was talk about your problems, besides this case wasn't sitting well with you at all and you wanted to solve it quickly.

"There you are!" Jack bounced into the bullpen with a bright smile, but you could read between the lines.  She was up to something, you could tell by the way she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.  Not that you were analyzing the psychologist or anything as crazy as that.

"Here I am," you nodded and plopped down in your chair.  "Busy as a bee.  No time for chit chat," you knew you were giving yourself away, but you avoided her gaze.

"Go," you looked over wide eyed to Gibbs.  "Y/N Go," he repeated with a slightly irritated frown.

"Boss I-" you stopped when he gave you that famous death stare.  You frowned and closed your things before following Jack and muttering something under your breath as the team walked by and watched with curiosity.  They were always so curious.

*

You followed Jack into her office and sighed as she insisted you go in first.  It wasn't as though you were going to run away.  Gibbs would just send you back up, and Jack would probably handcuff you to the chair.  You shook your head as the thought of handcuffs quickly veered into a vivid fantasy you did not want to relish in at this moment. You sighed and took a seat on the sofa with your hands in your lap.

"What is so important that it couldn't wait, Jack?" you huffed.

Jack frowned, not understanding all of this hostility. "I'm sorry, Y/N, I didn't realize having to talk to me was such a chore," she pouted and crossed her arms from across the room.

"I'm sorry," you sighed and let out a long breath that you seemed to have been holding in.  "I just have a lot that needs to get done."

"That's what I want to talk to you about."

Your eyes shot up and you crossed your arms.  "My work?  Jack I don't really think that is any of your business.  It's not like I'm letting cases pile up or coming into work late every day.  Frankly, I don't understand what this is even about."

"It is my business when it's been brought to my attention by someone who is concerned about you," Jack frowned as you kept taking that defensive tone with her.  You had been doing it a lot lately.

"This is ridiculous," you huffed and stood up to leave in frustration.

"Y/N, sit down," her voice came out firmer than she anticipated.  You frowned at her, but slowly retreated back into the couch.  "The team is worried about you, and after all that they've pointed out... well, so am I."

"What the hell does everybody have to be worried about??" you snapped.

Jack opened up a file she had laying on her desk and came over to sit in the chair across from you.  "You were in a car accident just over a year ago, am I right?"

You felt your heart drop and your stomach turn.  Suddenly you felt nauseous and cursed yourself for not taking your medication this morning after Travis insisted.  Your hands suddenly started shaking and you hugged yourself a little tighter than before.  "Where did you hear that?" your voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

"It was in your file.  Vance gave it to me when I started," she stated matter-of-factually.

You could feel your blood boiling.  She had known from the start more about you than you even knew to this day about her!  Was any of this even real or had she been giving you the sympathetic shoulder this whole time?  You didn't know what to say, because if you spoke now you would probably regret it.  You were functioning on 3 hours of sleep, and your emotions were running high already.

"Who was the woman?" her voice interrupted the thoughts racing through your mind causing your head to pound.

"What woman?"

"The woman in the car," her voice was soft as though not to upset you more.  She could see this whole things was causing you to act on edge.  "The woman who died."

The tears silently fell down your cheeks and you held your breath.  You didn't even know that you had started to cry until the tears landed on your hands.  You took a deep breath and quickly wiped your eyes.  "It doesn't matter."

Jack sighed softly, this was going to be harder than she thought, but she needed answers.  Vance had told her that you had refused to talk to anybody about the accident after it happened.  At first it hadn't affected your work.  He had been informed that you had spoken to Ellie and that your brother had moved in.  It was as though the accident had never happened, but these past few months, especially the last 4 weeks, you had started to go backwards mentally.  You had been forcing yourself to work 3 times your normal work load, you had been coming in 2 hours earlier, and you had taken spontaneous trips down to the gym at every chance.  You had even started to doze off on occasion, and Gibbs hadn't been allowing you into interrogation lately.

"It matters, Y/N," Jack pressed on.  Her voice was calming, and it only made you madder.  "You can't keep carrying on like this never happened.  It is catching up to you, and it isn't healthy."

"Just stop!" you snapped and jumped to your feet.  "I didn't ask for your help!  I never wanted help in the first place, so why are you pushing?  This doesn't concern you!"

Jack let out another slow sigh and began to write something down.  You watched her and clenched your fists at your sides.  "I'm afraid it does, Y/N, and until you decide to talk about it, I am afraid that I am going to have to give you a suspension," she tore the paper from the notebook and handed you a copy.

You took the paper and looked down at it dumbfounded.  "What the hell is this?"

"You aren't to step foot back into NCIS until you decide to cooperate," Jack had to be tough, her voice was firm, but she was doing all she could to keep it together.  You and her were close friends, almost the best of, and this was harder on her than she was able to let on.  "Pack your things and go home, Y/N," she whispered and turned to go to her desk.  She took a seat and busied herself with her computer, avoiding any more contact with you.

"You can't do this," you argued, waving the piece of paper at her.  "You don't have the right to do this."

"Actually, she does," you snapped your head to see Director Vance standing in the doorway with his hands folded behind his back.  "Y/N, I trust you will won't need an escort," he eyed you carefully.

Your jaw dropped as you looked between the two.  Jack still avoided your gaze and Vance was calm, be it he had two escorts waiting in the hall just in case.  You rolled your eyes at the thought.  He should have known you better than that.  "You've got to be kidding me," you muttered and pushed past him before racing down the steps.  You went to your desk, slid all of your belonging into your bag carelessly and zipped it up angrily.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gibbs spoke up, but you didn't answer, only worked faster.  "Y/N!"

"Ask your boss," you snapped as you gathered the last of your things.  The team was wise not to get in the middle of this, but Ellie quietly took the note out of your hand to see what was going on.  What did you care?  She was your best friend after all, it was only a matter of time before she knew anyway.  "I've been suspended due to my hard work ethic and punctuality," you rolled your eyes in disdain.  The sarcasm didn't sit well with Vance, who was now standing outside of the bullpen, but you didn't care.

"Like hell you are," Gibbs came to your defense and looked to Vance.  "Leon, she's my best Agent for this case."

"I'm sorry, Gibbs, but my hands are tied," Vance apologized.

"Bullshit," you muttered and you could practically hear the teams eyes widen.  You glanced up to see Jack offer a sympathetic pursing of the lips, but you rolled your eyes and walked towards the elevator.  "Don't expect me back soon.  I don't plan on 'cooperating'," you frowned and with that you were gone.

[writing-realityawayfromreality]

More than a one night stand

*a/n: I am working on those requests. Tumblr didn’t notify me I had more so thank y’all for waiting for those to come out, until then hopefully y’all enjoy this little story. let me know what you think, as far as my other series, they will continue I just needed a little break from them in order to figure out where I want them to go next. all the love

-K. 

You were suddenly woken up by the sound of your screaming 2 year old. Walking into her room you saw Anika standing there in her crib crying and reaching towards you. Sighing you walked towards your child. “You wanna sleep with Mama?” you asked her picking her up and heading back towards your room. Laying her down on one side of the bed you tucked her in and walked to the other side. Laying down beside her you watched as she slowly closed her eyes. 

Her features were so similar to those of her fathers. All the features she contains were the features that made you fall for her father when you first met him. You were nervous as the date that you hoped would never come crept closer. After long talks with your parents you had come to the conclusion that it was time for Anika to meet her father. 

You felt movement in your bed, rubbing your eyes you were greeted by your child sitting on the bed staring at you. “Hi baby. Are you excited for today?” You asked Anika. “See daddy?” Your daughter asked with a smile on her face. “Yes Baby, we are going to see daddy today.” Getting out of bed you grabbed you daughter and headed towards the kitchen, you made Anika’s favorite food while you yourself hardly ate. You were so so nervous, thinking back to the last time you actually saw Anika’s father. You were young and dumb, you couldn’t believe that your fake I.d actually worked. 

You were running a little behind, grabbing Anika you went into the bathroom, giving her a quick bath you got her dressed and ready to go, hardly having time for yourself you sprayed some dry shampoo in your hair and doing some quick natural makeup. Grabbing Anika’s bag and the tickets you headed out the door. You reached the parking lot you turned your car off and just sat there. Debating on whether or not to actually go through with this. Clearly you wanted Anika to meet her dad in person, as hard as it is for you you put on every game the flyers played and made sure to point out her dad. 

To be honest it wasn’t like you and her father were dating but it did bother you not to tell him that he was a father. Pushing your thoughts away you opened your car door walking to the back to get Anika out. you headed towards the door, as you approach you took a big breath and headed in. You got you tickets scanned, knowing your way all to well around the Wells Fargo Center. Looking at your ticket you looked at the location of where Travis would be. It didn’t take long to get to where travis was set up however you happened to be the last in line to get a picture with him. The time ticked by ever so slowly as you got closer and closer to Travis. 

Finally it was your turn. Travis was all smiles until he spotted you. “alright Anika, you ready?” you asked looking even more nervous than ever. she just smiled and held your hand. Walking up to Travis you gave a weak smile. Travis looked at you and then at the little human. “would you like for me to take your picture?” the man working with Travis asked. “Yeah. just my daughter and him in a picture would be great. “And what is this little one’s name?” Travis asked. “Anika.” You said looking him straight in the eyes. Travis looked down at the little girl who was staring right back at him.

Travis looked closely at Anika, she had the same colored eyes as him, her hair was darker than Travis’s but she had facial features so similar to Travis that it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out they were related. Travis quickly looked at you with a confused looked. You could tell that he had figured it out but didn’t understand how you kept it from him. Pushing those thoughts aside he got down on one knee and pulled Anika in so the picture could be taken, as soon as it was you picked Anika up and started to walk down the stairs and to the concourse hoping that Travis didn’t follow. 

“I want daddy.” Anika cried. “i know baby, but we have a picture of you two together, we can see him another time honey.” you said trying to calm your child down without drawing attention. “I want daddy now!” she screamed. “He’s busy sweetie, why don’t we go and get some ice cream?” you asked trying to get Anika to stop. “okay mama.” she said. You had just paid for the ice cream when you felt a tap on your shoulder. dreading who it could be you turned around, coming face to face with a security personal, “Ms. please follow me.” he said before turning and walking. You grabbed Anika and followed the man. You ended up downstairs where the guys usually prepared for games. Looking confused the man told you to wait right where you were. a few moments later you saw a figure walking down the hall getting closer and closer. You were finally able to make out that it was Travis. 

You told Anika to go and sit in a chair while she and daddy talked, she didn’t argue considering she was too into her ice cream. Travis finally came face to face with you. “I think we need to talk.” Travis said. “Yeah...” was all you could muster. “When? how long? why didn’t you tell me?” Travis began. “She’s two now, I’m pretty sure it was the one night when we first met. I didn’t tell you because....” 

You were having a bad day at work and you wanted nothing more that to just have a drink. You clocked out and headed to your usual bar. You knew that you could get in despite being underage but you knew for a fact your fake i.d. worked. You sat in your usual seat ordering your usual drink. There was a good amount of people there considering it was a Thursday night. You had a feeling that someone was watching you, glancing up you saw a group of guys looking your way. 

You quickly looked away, watching the group of people on the dance floor. You felt a tap on your shoulder, turning in your seat you came face to face with the bar tender. “It’s from the guys at the end of the bar.” he said sliding the drink towards you. Typical you thought. You thanked the bar tender and then turned your attention back to the bar. a few hours must had passed because you felt another tap on your shoulder. Turning around expecting it to the be bar tender but instead you came face to face with this dark haired green eyed boy. “not your drink of choice?” He asked gesturing to the untouched drink sitting where the bar tender had left it. “Nah, I just don’t accept drinks from people I don’t know.” you replied not really giving him any of your attention. 

“Sassy, i like it.” He said taking a seat next to you. “There’s a bunch of other girls here to bother so why don’t you?” you asked. “Because they aren’t as pretty as you.” He responded. “Listen, I’m really not here looking to hook up with anyone, I came here to relax so like can you go back to your guys?” you asked getting a little annoyed. “Neither am I. Like you said there are plenty of girls here I could bother if I really wanted to hook up, they all know who we are  but I could tell that you needed a drink, if you wanna talk then here i am if not I will leave.” He said. You were honestly surprised. Turning around to face the guy you looked at him, studying his face you could tell that you’ve seen him but couldn’t put your finger on where.

“What’s going on?” he asked not moving. Not knowing why but you decided to engage in conversation with this stranger. “Just work, college, life. It’s all so hectic and feels like its never going to slow down.” you said taking a sip of the drink that was sitting in front of you. “ I feel that. It’s like its all going so fast that you probably feel like you can’t breath, right?” He asked. “Yeah, like I have a part time job but am literally always there when im not at class, they wanna promote me but I have to focus on my classes.” you said. “What are you majoring in?” he asked. “Nursing, I have theory for four hours and then lab the next for three then work the next day and then clinicals the next two days for about 8 hours each and then i work the weekends.” you said taking a huge sip of your drink. “Wow. All i do is play hockey for a living.” He laughed. 

You could feel your eyes grow huge, that’s where you knew him from. You were talking to Travis Konecny. “Oh my god.” was all you could muster. “Hi.” He laughed once again. “I am so sorry. I just.” you stuttered. “Its okay. tell me a little more about yourself.” He said ordering more drinks. You two must had sat there for hours just talking and drinking. It was about two by the time that you glanced at your watch. “Woah, i should get going...” you said stumbling as you stood up. “Where do you live? I don’t think that you should drive.” Travis said with concern. “I live about 15 minutes from here... by car.” you looked down. “Why don’t you just come to my place. you can sleep in my guest room. I live just a block away.” He said getting up. Going against your better judgment  you agreed. You were having a really good time with him would honestly didn’t want it to end. 

Walking down the street with Travis by your side he began to laugh. “You’re a real light weight aren’t you.” “Hey!!!! Rude.” You said back. You two finally made it to travis’s place. He showed you to the sofa before heading into another room, coming back he handed you a water bottle. “It’ll will help...” “Oh, right.” you said taking it. “So how old are you?” travis asked. debating on whether or not to tell him the truth you spoke before you could think about it. “19.” you said. “But you were in the bar...” Travis stated. “Fake I.d., aren’t you like 20?” you asked. “yeah but I’m a hockey player so like who isn’t gonna give me special treatment?” he laughed. The alcohol must had been hitting you because all of the sudden Travis’s lips were looking real good. Before you knew it you were kissing him. It was getting really heated in a matter of seconds. “You sure?” travis asked, you just nodded. You both were kinda drunk and probably wouldn’t remember it in the morning. 

“Because why y/n, don’t you think i should had had the right to know i was a father as soon as you found out?” Travis asked. “Because Travis! we were both drunk and it was a fling. A one night stand at most!” you yelled getting irritated. “I call y/n, I texted. I tried to keep in contact but you were the one to cut it off!” Travis yelled back. “Because I knew, I knew what had happened Travis. I didn’t want you to know because I didn’t want to ruin your career, it was your first year here in Philly...” you said. “I don’t care y/n, this is more important than a career.” He said gesturing towards Anika. “I didn’t want it to be a one night stand.” travis said. “You hardly knew me! This was a mistake, we are leaving.” you said walking over to Anika. “Please.... please, don’t keep her away from me.” Travis begged. “ready to go?” you asked Anika. “I want daddy to come with us.” Anika said. Looking between your daughter and Travis you made a decision. “Why doesn’t he come with us to dinner, that is if he isn’t busy.” you said looking at him. “Sure, just let me get my stuff, Anika, you wanna see daddy’s work place?” he asked. “Can I mama?” she asked. “Of course honey.” you said handing Anika off to Travis. 

“Mama, come with us?” She asked.  “Mama can come.”  Travis said smiling down at his child. “Okay.” you said walking beside Travis and into the locker room. Maybe this could work.... you thought. Travis brought you two into the locker room where all the other guys happened to be. “Guys, I want you all to meet my daughter.” travis told them, to be honest you were a little shocked. All the guys walked over to greet her. One of the guys asked to hold her, Travis glanced at me and I just nodded, of course I wasn’t going to make a scene but I wasn’t going to let Anika out of my sight. “Do you think we could talk about me seeing her more over dinner tonight?” Travis asked. You weren’t going to keep Anika away from him, you weren’t that type of person considering he has done nothing to prove that he would treat her poorly. “Of course travis.” You said. 

[bamby0304]

The Hart III: Secrets

Chapter Eight- Burn

Series Masterlist

Summary: Three months… Dean was gone for three months and now he’s back. He’s back and he truly has no idea how much things have changed. Life moved on while Dean was in Hell, and now things are complicated. With new faces and troubles right around the corner, will the trio find a way to come back together? Or has all hope been lost?

Warnings: Angst. Violence. Death.

Bamby

EPOV

I sat with Sam by his computer in my room, doing some research. I'd heard about rougarou before, I knew the stories and the lore. So, hearing Travis explain it to the brothers, well it had me a little concerned. I knew there was another way out of this. I knew we could finish the case without killing anyone. But I also knew the only person who would listen to me was Sam.

Which is why we were in my room researching, and not in his where Dean and Travis could hear our theories and concerns.

"You were right." He gestured to the screen. "There are stories of people fighting the urge to kill. They never take the last step."

Sighing, I stood up and walked away from the bed. "Yeah, only problem is, how do we tell Dean and your trigger-friendly-friend Travis?"

We shared a look, both understand what I wasn't saying.

This Jack guy was going through the same kind of things as Sam and me. Only, we weren't on the verge of tearing people apart with our teeth. Dean and Travis would never understand that. They'd never get what it feels like to have so little control over your future.

Dean's words from before started playing in my mind as I thought about the fact he hated Sam using his powers so much, he punched his brother and told him he would hunt him if they weren't brothers.

How did he see me, then? Was a monster? Was I on the edge of crossing that line? Was he as scared for me as he was for Sam? Or was he scared of us? Did I even mean enough that he wouldn't hunt me if things got bad? Was staying with him, putting myself in danger? Would he kill me?

A tear rolled down my cheek at the painful thought of Dean killing me. There weren't a lot of things in the world that scared me more than that...

"Lizzie." Sam pushed himself off the bed and came over to me.

I wiped away my tears, shaking my head. "I'm fine," I tried to assure him, even though it was a lie.

"No. You're not." Grabbing my shoulder, he gently pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me as his cheek rested against the top of my head.

I leaned into him, enjoying the comfort from my friend. We'd gotten closer over the four months Dean had been in hell. Sam was like the brother I'd never had. I knew, no matter what, he'd always have my back. It was nice, having someone like him around.

But at the same time, I knew being with Sam meant being with Dean, and I wasn't sure if I could handle that for much longer. Not right now at least.

Sighing, I pulled back from Sam, looking up at him. "I need you to do me a favour."

DPOV

"So, Elizabeth?" Travis gave me a grin as we worked on fixing up some gas cans.

I chuckled lightly. "What about her?"

"Who's the lucky guy, you or Sam?" he asked, when I didn't say anything, he stopped working and turned to me completely. "Don't tell me you've got a girl like her around and you're not doing something about it. She's a catch. So, catch."

Shaking my head, I focused on the can in my hands as I responded, "Liz and I… we have a past. But things are complicated right now," I explained, not wanting to tell him anymore. Getting back to business, I nodded to the cans. "So fire, huh?"

"The only way I found to kill these bastards. Deep-fry 'em."

"Well, that's gonna be... horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"

He gave a short nod. "Uh-huh."

The room door opened as Sam came in with some papers in his hands. Looking over at us, he gave a slight frown, seeing the gas cans in our hands. "Not wasting any time, are you?"

Travis shrugged. "None to waste. The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

"What if he doesn't hulk out?" Moving to take a seat on the bed near the table, Sam gestured to the papers he held. "I did a little homework. Uh, I've been checking out the lore on rougarous."

"What?" Travis looked a little offended. "My thirty years of experience not good enough for you?"

"What?" Sam chuckled nervously. "No. No, I-I- I just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't..."

Seeing him struggle, I spoke up, saving his ass. "Sam loves research. He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his KY. It's a sickness." I looked to my brother. "It is."

Shaking his head, Sam got back to it. "Look, everything you said checked out, of course, but uh. I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this rougarou gene or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."

This was news to me. "Really?"

"See, if they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So what? Go vegan, stay human?" I asked.

Sam nodded. "Basically. Or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not-"

"Long pig," I finished.

"Right."

"Good on you for the due diligence, Sam." Travis got up and walked over to the kitchen in the hotel room. "But those are fairy tales," he stated, pouring himself a coffee. "Fact is, every rougarou I ever saw or heard of... took that bite."

Standing up, Sam turned to him. "Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will," he argued as I stood as well, taking his papers to give them a look over.

"So, what do we do? Sit and hope and wait for a body count?" Travis asked.

Sam shook his head. "No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it."

"Fight it?" Travis laughed. "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry?" he asked, pulling my attention away from the paper. "I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Yeah. Right then. So somebody slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?"

I thought about it for a moment before I realised I wouldn't. If I was hungry and the food was being offered, the there was no way I was going to give up the chance for a big, juicy steak.

"That's what we are to him now, meat on legs." Travis shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's pure, base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself 'cause he's nice?"

"I don't know," Sam started, not backing down. "But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for." He was final as he looked to Travis a moment longer before walking out the room.

We watched as he left, waiting for the door to close behind him.

"What's up with your brother?"

I shook my head, moving to sit down again. "It's a long story."

SPOV

"All right, so we're gonna go have a little chat with this guy which, you know... I'm down," Dean noted as he drove down the road. "But I just want to make sure, if push comes, you two are gonna shove." He looked over at me and then at Lizzie through the rearview mirror.

I frowned, turning to him. "Meaning?"

"Well, odds are we're gonna have to burn this guy alive." He shrugged.

"This guy has a name and a wife," I noted.

He nodded. "Yeah, who we're probably gonna make a widow, okay? I mean, you heard Travis. He's gonna turn. They always turn."

"You don't know that. And neither does he. Just because everyone he's killed has turned, doesn't mean they all do." The tone of Lizzie's voice made it crystal clear that she wasn't particularly fond of Travis' ways.

It's funny, when we first met her, she was a kill-first-ask-questions-later kind of girl. She hardly blinked at the idea of killing whatever monster we were hunting.

But it was different now. It was different because things weren't that black and white anymore. She wasn't on one side of the fence, and neither was I. Part of us was something else, something that wasn't human. We weren't completely human. That would change anyone's view on the world. It changed mine.

"Maybe he can fight it off," I noted, agreeing with Lizzie.

"And maybe he can't, that's all I'm saying." Dean was just as sure as Lizzie and I were, only we weren't all on the same side of the argument.

"All right, we'll just have to see then, okay?"

Dean shook his head. "This is what I mean, Sam. You sure your emotions aren't getting in the way here?"

I looked to him again, frowning once more. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, nice dude, but he's got something evil inside." He looked to me and Lizzie briefly before focusing on the road again. "Something in his blood. Maybe you two can relate."

I tensed my jaw, patience and temper at they're limit. "Stop the car."

Dean was genuinely confused. "What?"

"Do it, Dean, or I will," Lizzie snapped from the back seat.

Doing as he was told, Dean pulled over to the side of the road. But before he stopped the car, Lizzie and I were already getting out. Dean wasn't even out of the car by the time Lizzie turned and started to storm off to the lake we'd stopped by.

I slammed my door shut, turning to glare at Dean as he stood out of the car now. "You want to know why we've been lying to you, Dean? Because of crap like this."

"Like what?" he asked as we moved around the car.

"The way you talk to me, the way you look at me like I'm a freak!" I pushed past him, taking a few steps closer to the lake before turning to him again, pissed.

"I do not," he argued.

"You know, or even worse, like I'm an idiot!" Walking up to him, I got a little closer than usual as I went on. "Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong!" Sighing, I turned and started to walk a few steps away. When I turned again, he was looking at the ground, thinking. "What?"

Looking to me again, not pissed but not happy, he shrugged. "Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a dark road lately."

"You have no idea what I'm going through. None."

"Then enlighten me!"

"I've got demon blood in me, Dean! This disease pumping through my veins, and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak!" I shook my head. "And I'm just trying to take this- this curse... and make something good out of it. Because I have to."

As I looked away from him, I knew he was watching me, thinking it over before he spoke again. "Let's just go talk to the guy," he suggested, causing me to scoff. "I mean Jack. Okay?"

After a moment, I gave a short nod before looking over at Lizzie, seeing her leaning against a tree, looking out at the water, quite a few feet away from us.

"I'll go get her," Dean offered. "Should probably hear her side of the story too." He sighed, walking past me and towards Lizzie.

EPOV

I looked out at the water, wishing I could just float away and pretend none of my problems existed. Maybe I'd float off to a little island or uninhabited forest. I could stay out there and forget the rest of the world, even if just for a few days.

Shaking my head- knowing that deep down, I didn't want that- I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bottle of pills, pouring one into my palm and then popping it into my mouth. I swallowed it without any water, putting the bottle back in my pocket.

A small shiver ran through me, causing my arms to come up so I was hugging myself, trying to keep myself warm.

"Hey."

I jumped at the sound of Dean's voice.

Turning to him, I pushed off the tree and took a few steps back as I hugged myself a little tighter. "Hi."

"Look, I didn't mean-"

"To tell Sam that if he wasn't your brother, you'd hunt him?" I shook my head at him. "You were gone for four months, Dean. Sam and I, we didn't know what to do. Do you know what that feels like, do you have any idea? Losing you, it almost killed us. It almost destroyed your brother. And now that your back you feel like you have the right to judge him?"

"Liz-"

"Ruby is a demon. Yes. Castiel told you to stop, Sam. Yes. But that does not mean you get to throw a tantrum because you don't like the way your brother decided to cope with losing you. He did the best he could without you here. So, back off, and actually try to understand his side of things," I snapped before I turned to look out at the lake again as my arms came up to hug myself once more.

Dean stood there for a moment, watching me, taking in everything I'd just said. I was sure there might have been a line I'd just crossed, but I didn't care. It was about time someone told him off for being such a dick to Sam.

After a while, he stepped closer to me, lifting his hand to rest on my arm. I flinched back, causing him to sigh. "Liz, I don't want to hurt you. Or Sam."

"Could have fooled me," I mumbled.

Shaking his head, he stepped a little closer. "I know I'll never understand what you and Sam are going through, no one else will understand. But... I'll try," he offered, causing me to look up at him, surprised. "Now, come on. You're freezing."

Being my stubborn self, I stood my ground. "I'm fine."

He simply chuckled. "You're shivering." Stepping even closer, he rubbed my arm, warming me up- which actually helped more than I thought it would have. "You wanna get out of here?"

Giving in, I nodded. "Yes, please."

Chuckling again, he wrapped his arm around me as we started for the car.

...

Sam led the way as he walked through the gate of Jack's back yard, Dean was right behind me as the three of us walked into the yard. Jack was there, watering his garden with the hose, seeming to be deep in thought, or maybe just zoning out.

"Jack Montgomery?" Sam asked, catching Jack's attention. He turned to us, surprised but didn't say anything. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean. And our friend Elizabeth." Jack looked to each of us. "We need to talk," Sam noted.

Turning his attention back to Sam, Jack finally spoke. "About?"

"About you," Sam answered. "About how you're changing."

"Excuse me?"

"You're probably feeling your bones move under your skin," Dean started. "And your appetite's reaching, you know, 'hungry, hungry hippo' levels. How am I doing so far?"

Frowning, Jack looked to each of us again. "Who the hell are you guys?"

"We're people who know a little something about something." Dean shrugged.

Sam elaborated, giving Jack an answer he might actually like. "We're people who can help. Please, just hear us out."

...

After we'd tried explaining everything to Jack, we stood back and waited as it all processed. But it appeared, things weren't going to go as easy as we hoped. Not that I thought they would. Finding out you might become a monster isn't exactly a walk in the park.

Jack shook his head. "A-a what?"

"A rougarou," Dean repeated. "Sounds made-up, I know, but believe me, it's not."

"Alright, I've noticed certain things. I mean, some strange things. But I just, I-I don't know. I'm... I'm sick or something." Jack was completely in denial.

"Your father was one of these things," Sam told him, causing Jack to turn to him again. "Your real father. He passed it on to you."

"No. Are-are you guys listening to yourselves? You s-sound like you're-"

"Insane? Yeah, okay, we get it. But let's not ignore the facts, Jack." I took a step closer, my hands in my pockets. "You're hungry. Starving. And that's not going to go away easily. It's just going to get worse. "

"Hungrier for?"

"Long pig," Dean answered without hesitation. "You know, a little man-burger helper, may have crossed your mind already."

"No," Jack answered simply, but I could see it in his eyes, the doubt, the fear, the truth.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Jack. You can fight it off," Sam insisted.

"No," Jack repeated, turning away from us.

"Others have," Sam assured him.

"We're not gonna lie to you, though." Dean shook his head. "It's not gonna be easy. You're gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming around in whiskey. But I'm telling you. You gotta say no... or-"

Jack cut him off, turning to us again, "Or what?"

"One bite, and it's over. You'll change. And then we'll have no choice." I looked Jack in the eyes, not dancing around anything as I told him the complete truth. "We'll have to stop you."

"Stop me?" He looked down at me. "My dad, did uh, somebody stop him?"

"Yes." There was no need for me to lie.

That pushed him over the line. "Get off my property right now. I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops."

Sam stepped closer, still trying to get through to him. "Jack, your wife, everybody you know, they're in danger."

"Now!" Jack snapped.

Sam's hand landed on my arm, pulling me away. We both knew this was a lost cause, there was no getting through to him. At least not now, and not here.

As Dean, Sam and I headed for the gate again, Dean came to stand on my other side, looking over at his brother. "Good talk."

SPOV

We'd been following Jack all day, making sure he didn't do anything stupid- like kill someone. It was dark now. He was seated on a bench on the street, his phone to his ear. He'd been sitting there for a while now.

"So, have you told Travis what we're doing?" Lizzie asked from the back seat of the Impala, looking at the back of Dean's head.

"He knows," Dean answered without turning to her.

"And what? He has no problem with us stalking his prey without him?"

Sighing, Dean turned to look at her. "You got something to say, say it."

"Travis is a ticking time bomb. He's gonna do something stupid, probably get himself killed, and ruin any chance of Jack actually coming out of this thing alive and human."

As the two continued to glare at each other, I watched Jack, seeing him get up from the bench and start towards the apartment building across the street, while he looked up at the window where a pretty, young girl was closing her curtains.

"Damn it. Jack. No." I turned to the back seat, grabbing one of the flamethrowers Dean and Travis had made.

Dean and Lizzie got one each as well before the three of us hurried out of the car and started towards the building, hoping we weren't going to be too late.

DPOV

I kicked down the apartment door, hurrying inside, flamethrower at the ready as Sam and Liz stepped in to stand either side of me. The woman who lived in the apartment had just come out of her room and screamed at the sight of us before she ducked back into her room, closing and locking the door.

"Wait!" I yelled after her, a little confused. "Whoa, uh, we're here to save you, I guess."

"I'm calling the police!" she called through the door.

"We should go," Sam suggested.

I gave a short nod. "Yeah."

"Best idea yet," Liz added as she turned for the door.

Hurrying back out, I quickly grabbed the door and closed it, giving a short and embarrassed laugh as I did. Once the door was closed, I turned and rushed after Sam and Liz, knowing that if we didn't find Jack soon, things were going to turn bad, fast.

...

I pulled up in front of Jack's house, getting out of Baby as Sam and Liz did as well, all of us carrying a flamethrower each. We all looked across the street, seeing Travis' car parked there.

"I guess now we know where Travis is," I noted before pointing a finger at Liz. "I don't want to hear, 'I told you so'. Okay?" I warned as we started for the front door.

I stepped in first, opening the door slowly and carefully, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Creeping in, I looked around everywhere, keeping my eyes open, looking out for any movement. We had no idea what might be waiting for us.

Sam and Liz were behind me, closing the door behind them as we then headed into the living room. A chair rom the dining table was lying on its side, with some rope by it, but that wasn't what had us stop in the doorway. No, it was the large pool of blood soaking into the carpet, and the trail of blood leading to the back of one of the couches.

We moved over to see what was behind the couch, and what we found was not what I'd been expecting. It was meat. Raw meat. You couldn't even tell what it had once been.

"Oh, God. Think that's Travis?" I asked, looking around, keeping an eye out.

Sam sighed. "What's left of him." As I turned to him, I could see just how defeated he looked. "Guess you were right about Jack."

I was about to respond when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed Liz.

"Lizzie!"

"Liz!"

Sam and I turned to see Jack throw her against the coffee table, knocking her out.

We acted as fast as we could, pulling out our flamethrowers, going for the kill. But just as I got my lighter out and ready, Jack turned and jumped me, knocking the flamethrower out of my hands.

The next thing I know, I've fallen to the ground with Jack on top of me, grabbing my shoulders before he lifted me and then pushed me down hard, causing my head to hit the ground. Then I was out like a light.

SPOV

My head hurt like hell as I woke up. Opening my eyes, I looked around, finding myself on the floor in a closet. But worst of all, I was alone. Getting up, I moved for the door handle to get out, only to find it was locked.

"Dean? Lizzie?"

"Dean and Lizzie can't come to the phone right now," Jack called from outside the closet.

I slammed my hands against the door out of frustration and anger. "Jack! If you hurt them, I swear to God!"

"Calm down!" he snapped. "They're alive," he told me, and I relaxed a little, panting as I leaned against the door. "But not if you don't calm down."

Calmer now, I nodded. "Alright, Jack. Listen. Open the door. We can figure this out, okay?"

He laughed. "We'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session." I could hear the desperation in his tone, the underlining fear.

"Jack. Please."

"I don't think so. After what you did?"

I frowned, confused. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You send your friend here. He tried to burn my wife alive."

"What? Why?" I asked as I started searching my pockets.

There was a pause before Jack responded, his tone a little different. "He didn't say." Looking around, I spotted a metal hanger and grabbed it as Jack went on, "I guess psychopaths don't have to explain themselves."

"Listen to me. You gotta believe me. My brother, our friend, and I, we never would have hurt her, okay?" I told him as I started to untwist the hanger.

"Oh, God. I'm so hungry."

Finished untwisting it, I brought the hanger down to the lock to pick it. "Jack, don't do this."

"I can't ever see my family again. You three... your friend. You made me into this!"

"No one's making you kill us," I told him as I kept working the lock, but it just wasn't working. "Listen to me. You got this dark pit inside you. I know." I stopped working, leaning against the door with my eyes closed as I spoke. "Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster," I insisted as I got back to work on the lock.

He laughed again. "Have you seen me lately?"

"It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It's your choice."

EPOV

I began to stir, hearing voices in the back ground, waking up. My head throbbed, and so did the rest of my body. But a voice in the back of my mind was urging me on, pushing me to keep going, to wake up. I knew there were people I needed to help, people I cared about that were in danger.

As I opened my eyes, I quickly remembered where I was and what happened. Jack had attacked me after Sam, Dean and I found what was left of Travis' body.

Blinking a few times, I looked around, finding that I was lying on the coffee table in the living room. Over on the mat I could see Jack, between me and the closet, his back facing me as he reached over, his hand inching closer and closer to Dean.

I could see it. I could see it in his body language. I could hear it in the noises he was making as he neared Dean. If someone didn't stop him, Jack was going to eat him.

"No!"

As I screamed, Jack was suddenly pushed up on to the roof with a force that was so strong it cracked the ceiling. Just as suddenly, he burst into flames, the red heat swallowing him as he screamed in agony, unable to fight or even move.

The sounds coming from him sounded as if they should be coming from wild animals being ripped apart. He screamed, screeched and wailed as the flames continued to burn him until there was nothing left. Nothing but a burnt, crisp body.

As the flames died, his body fell to the ground, crumbling and breaking at the impact. That's when I noticed the two sets of eyes watching me.

Dean was sitting up by the body, while Sam stood in the doorway of the closet, both of them looking at me with unreadable expressions...

DPOV

There was tension in the car as Sam and I drove back to the hotel. Liz had run out of the house before either of us could stop her. She'd jumped into Travis' truck and sped off as we'd called and ran after her. Now we were hoping she'd be at the hotel, hoping we'd find her in her room.

What she did... it scared me. Shocked me, too. With everything Sam had been doing lately, that was just the cherry on top. I had so many questions. Did she know she could do that? If so, how long had she known? Could she do anything else? Did she use the power a lot? What did she use it for? Why burn him on the roof?

That had been just as frightening as her actual power. Seeing Jack burning on the roof. It was too real, brought back too many memories...

"She didn't know."

The sound of Sam's voice had me jump. "What?"

"She's never done that before. Used that power. I thought you should know that before you start judging her." The flatness of his tone told me a lot more than his words did. He was still pissed at me.

"I'm not judging her. I just wanna make sure she's okay," I told him, sighing as he still sat there, tense and pissed. "Sam, I'm sorry. I know I've been kind of hard on you lately."

He shifted then, just slightly. "Don't worry about it, Dean."

"It's just that your, uh... your psychic thing... what you and Liz do, it scares the crap out of me."

"Look, if it's all the same... I'd really rather not talk about it."

I looked over at him briefly, a small smile playing on my lips. "Wait a minute. What? You don't want to talk? You?"

He didn't smile back as he turned to me. "There's nothing more to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand."

"Why don't you try?"

"I can't. Because this thing, this blood, it's not in you the way it's in me, the way it's in her. It's just something Lizzie and I have to deal with."

I shrugged. "Not alone."

He sighed, looking out the window. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. These powers..." He shook his head. "I'm done with them. I'm done with everything."

I looked over at him, surprised. "Really?" When he just kept looking out the window, I nodded, turning to the road again. "Well, that's a relief. Thank you."

Sam just scoffed lightly as he turned to me again. "Don't thank me. I'm not doing it for you. Or for the angels or for anybody. This is my choice."

...

Sam picked the lock to Liz's room while I kept watch. Travis' truck wasn't out the front, and all our knocks hadn't been answered, so the only other thing we could do was break in.

"Got it," Sam told me as he opened the door and stepped in.

I was right behind him, moving to start searching the room. But it was empty. There were no clothes, no food in the fridge, the bed was perfectly made. It was as if no one had even stayed in the room in the first place.

"Son of a bitch," I sighed, closing the doors to the wardrobe. I turned, seeing Sam reading a piece of paper as he stood by one of the bedside tables. "What is it?" I asked, moving over to him. He didn't answer. As his silence stretched on, my patience grew thin. "Sam?"

Turning slowly, he handed the note over without a word. Taking it from him, I wasted no time and began to read.

Boys,

You've got questions. I know. I swear, I have never done anything like that before. It scared me as much as it scared you, maybe even more. But I don't know where it came from, and I don't know if Dean can handle both Sam and I right now. So... I'm gonna go away for a while. Just until I can figure some things out, and until you two sort out your own problems.

Don't worry. I won't be alone. And no, I won't be at Bobby's. Or with Jo. Or Ellen. Tristan was coming to get me tomorrow anyway. Instead, we're meeting up somewhere else. He'll take care of me. He always does- you know that Sam.

I'll call you in a few days, and you never know, maybe I'll be back after a few hunts. Just give me some time. Let me figure all this out. And then I'll come back. I promise.

Elizabeth.

I frowned, reading the note over and over again, my confusion and worry only growing more and more. Eventually I lowered the note and turned my frown to Sam.

"Who the hell is Tristan?"

Bamby

[unpredictable-probabilities]

Valliant Crowns: Chapter 2 - Captain’s New Friend

Summary: The knights discuss their options on how to go forward with the quest; they consider asking for help from someone that Captain Julian had recently acquainted himself with. 

Word Count: 4,000

Includes: another wager, jealousy

(Picture taken from Pinterest)

<<-- Chapter 1

Julian vaguely noticed the daylight through his closed eyelids. The bed under him didn’t feel familiar; through the haze of his sleep, he remembered that they were escorting the crown prince back to the palace. They must have stopped at some inn.  

As he slowly woke up, he felt someone’s arm around his waist, and he was embracing them in return.

His eyes snapped open, and he saw the sleeping face of a woman just inches away from his. His heart skipped a beat.

Val.

Events from last night started flooding back into his memory; the storm, the tavern, him stepping in front of Prince Nicholas in a panic.

And… Val.

Oh, gods.

Her face looked so calm, serene. Like the surface of a deep river on a windless day; still as glass and deceptively tranquil, revealing nothing of its perilous depths.

No one would suspect how wild of a spirit resided underneath such a face.

Julian felt warmth rush to his cheeks at the thought.  

He had knocked on Val’s door in the middle of the night, demanding that she undo some sorcery which she had no knowledge of.

An ardent desire had taken hold of him and he thought kissing Val for a second time would be enough to quiet it. What a fool he was. He had only wanted more after that. And so had Val. Something had awakened in both of them and their desires escalated until Julian had lost all sense of why he was there. The only thing that mattered was that he was with Val.

He realized that neither of them were wearing anything. They had fallen asleep embracing each other and their bare skins touching; a thin blanket covering them up to their waists.

A day ago, the idea would have completely appalled him; engaging in such behavior in the middle of a journey with the crown prince? How deplorable for a knight of his status.

But at this moment, side by side with Val on a modest bed with sunlight streaming in through a tiny window, he felt at peace. He searched himself for any ounce of regret, any trace of dread or disappointment, and found none.

He had known about Val for a long time, the fearsome bounty hunter famed for her tenacity and precision in tracking criminals. A few times before, some miscreants had turned themselves in when they learned that Val had been set after them; they did not want to risk the chase.

As someone who had admired the rational and systematic methods of the knights since childhood, Julian disliked how Val relied on chaotic abandon; trespassing, altercations, even a fire once, all to catch one criminal.

When Prince Nicholas pointed her out in the crowd last night, it immediately put him in a sour mood. But when he noticed that the prince kept glancing at her, he got intrigued enough to steal a few glances himself, especially when he noticed how cheerful her little group seemed.

Stories about Val painted her as a fierce vigilante who could trample you to the ground if you looked at her wrong; the carefree traveller who was laughing and drinking with her friends just across the room seemed an entirely different person.  

It briefly crossed his mind that he would be interested in getting to know her better, but he quickly pushed the thought away as something impractical and unnecessarily dangerous.

He had almost succeeded in banishing her from his mind―until he noticed her walking towards their table. Being part of the prince’s personal guard for years had developed his peripheral vision; that was how he was able to step in front of the prince when it looked like she was going to attack him.  

As soon as her lips touched his, he knew that there was no hope of her ever leaving his mind. He had driven himself near madness with his theories of sorcery and conspiracy, refusing to believe that he would feel any sort of attraction towards a woman whose very name had prompted a scowl from him.

She sighed in her sleep, drawing Julian out of his thoughts. He gently tightened his embrace, touching their foreheads together. He knew they would have to part soon; people from their different walks of life simply did not interact for long. He wanted to savor every remaining moment they had.

He would always remember the sound of her laughter, bright and noticeable even among a sea of people, her playful smirk as she had faced him unflinchingly at swordpoint. He wasn’t sure what he felt about her, but he wished they had more time for him to figure it out.

Val stirred, and Julian snapped his eyes shut. He was not ready for a conversation and he thought it best to feign sleep.

She pulled away slightly, and he expected her to either leave or ask him to leave. Instead he felt her fingers brush softly over his face, trailing lightly over his eyebrows, his nose, his lips. It was all he could do to keep himself from sighing and pulling her closer.

“You know,” she whispered, “I can tell when a person is only pretending to be asleep.”

Julian slowly opened his eyes; her playful smile greeted him and for a moment he wondered what it would be like to wake up next to her every morning.

“G-good morning,” he stammered, he didn’t know what else to say.

Val chuckled and gave him a quick kiss on the nose. “Good morning.”

“I-I want to apologize for accusing you of sorcery,” Julian managed. He was caught off-guard by Val’s kiss and now her hand was resting on his neck. They had done much more last night, yet somehow those small gestures of hers sent his heart fluttering in his chest.

“Yes, that was a strange way to ask for a kiss.”

Julian blushed; he remembered how he had yelled at her before proceeding to ask for that kiss. “I’m sorry for acting so brashly, that was unbecoming of me.”

“Brashly? You said, ‘May I…’ twice.” She started stroking Julian’s hair, down to his ear and cheek.

He laughed lightly and looked away; her fingers seemed to leave tiny fires across his skin wherever she touched him. It took all of his willpower to utter the following words.

“I… have to get back to the others,” he told Val, a sinking feeling in his chest. “They’ll be wondering where I’ve gone.”

She nodded and retracted her hand, “Okay.”

They stared at each other for a few heartbeats. Julian still had his arm around her waist; he hadn’t moved at all.

A smile tugged at the corner of Val’s lips, “Are you alright, Julian?”

No, he was still staring at her, I don’t want to leave.

He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her softly, knowing it might very well be the last time he would feel her lips.

She responded with equal tenderness, putting her hand over his racing heart. Julian wanted to live in that moment forever; Val in his arms and the feeling that all was right with the world.

They pulled away slowly as they caught their breaths.

“I’m grateful to have met you, Val,” Julian stroked her cheek and looked right into her eyes.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Julian,” she smiled.

 Julian slowly pushed open the door to their shared bedroom, careful not to make any loud noise. If luck was with him, Travis and Marcus would still be asleep.

He had dressed in Val’s room and decided to just carry his cape and chest plate to save time; he wanted to get back to his room as quickly as he could.  

He peeked inside. Marcus was still sleeping but Travis’ bed was empty; perhaps he had already gone down to the tavern. Julian slipped inside the door, he would just tell Travis that he had woken up early and checked on their horses at the stables.

“Hello, captain.”

Julian jumped and almost dropped his things; he hadn’t seen Travis because he had been behind the door and out of his line of vision.

“Where have you been?” Travis asked with a straight face, his arms crossed.

“I―” Julian closed the door in case other patrons were walking along the hall; he did not need any more audience. “Why were you behind the door?” he asked, stalling for time while he thought of a believable response.

“I was about to go out when I saw the knob turn,” Travis smirked and turned to the beds, “Marcus!”

Marcus startled awake, sitting up and drawing his sword from his bedside. He stared at them bleary-eyed, “What’s going on?” he asked sleepily.

“Look who finally turned up,” Travis nodded his head at Julian who was looking more uncomfortable by the second.

A grin slowly spread across Marcus’ face as he took in Julian’s disheveled appearance. He sheathed his sword and jumped out of bed, “You went to her.” He spoke with wonder, like a boy who had just witnessed a miracle.

Julian hurriedly went to his bed and turned his back to them when he felt his face reddening. He started fastening the clasps of his chest plate over his uniform, just to have something to do besides stand awkwardly as his friends eviscerated him.

“And stayed with her,” Travis added. “For the entire night, it seems.”

“We were worried sick, Julian!” Marcus rounded on him, exaggeratedly adapting the severe tone of a strict parent. “Do you know how long we waited for you?”

“No time at all?” Julian placed his cape on his shoulders. “You both were ready to sleep when I left.”

“Did you catch the sorceress, captain?” Travis walked over and continued as if Julian hadn’t said anything. “You seem to have had an exciting night; I’ve never seen your uniform so wrinkled.”

“Is that a... bite mark on your neck?” Marcus leaned closer to have a better look, his voice filled with wonder again.

“Enough of these theatrics,” Julian roughly stepped away from them and adjusted his collar, his face turning a brighter red as he remembered exactly how he obtained that mark. “I shall fetch the prince from his chambers. We have duties to attend to.”

He stormed out of the room with his friends’ laughter echoing behind him.

 Val joined Zac and Isabel sitting across each other at the table.

“What’s on the menu today?” she sat beside Isabel.

“There’s porridge,” Isabel replied, “and mashed potatoes and sausage. But we haven’t ordered yet.”

“We’re playing for who’s going to pay,” Zac gestured to their ongoing board game.

“Greetings, rascals,” Trent appeared with a drink in his hand and sat down next to Zac. “Should I buy the first round of drinks? Courtesy of Val’s silver from last night,” he grinned. Only Trent would suggest drinking first thing in the morning.

Val heard people coming down the stairs and glanced over. She turned to Trent, “How about another wager?”

Trent raised his eyebrows, “I’m listening.”

“If I could make that cranky captain of the knights smile,” she jerked her head to the stairs where Prince Nicholas was surrounded by his knights, “you buy porridge for all of us. If I fail, I’ll buy the porridge.”

“Hah! If you could do that, I’ll buy you all whatever you want for breakfast.”

Zac and Isabel looked at each other and grinned.

“You better do it, Val,” Zac said. “I’m starving, and Isabel is putting up a fight,” he pushed the board game away from him.

Val held out her hand to Trent, “Deal?”

“Deal,” Trent shook it firmly.

Val turned in her chair and leaned back with her elbows on the table, facing the direction of the stairs.

“Good morning, sir knights,” she called to them and snuck in a quick wink to Julian. He blushed and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

“And Your Highness,” she tilted her head to the prince.

Prince Nicholas smiled and waved at her cheerfully, “Good morning, Miss Val!”

“Er… yes,” Julian blurted. “Good morning, miss.” He smiled shyly and looked away, his cheeks still rosy.

Val turned back to her friends, a triumphant smile on her face.

Trent’s jaw had practically dropped to the table; Zac’s mouth kept opening and closing as if he wanted to say something,

“How d'you do that?” Isabel asked incredulously. “Didn’t he almost kill you last night?”

“Nah, he wasn’t that rough,” Val said with a glint in her eye.

Isabel squinted, then her eyes widened with realization. “Oh my gods,” she dropped her voice to a whisper so only the people at their table could hear, “you rode the knight?”

Val picked up a board game piece and rolled it between her fingers like she would a coin. “We switched places at times, I’m not selfish.”

Trent coughed out the ale he’d just drunk, Isabel gave a small gasp, and Zac broke into a wide grin.

“Haha!” Zac raised his hand for a high-five and Val happily obliged.

“Not bad, Val,” Isabel sounded impressed and punched her arm.

“I feel cheated,” Trent grumbled as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You knew he was going to smile!”

“Maybe,” Val shrugged. “Now, I believe you owe us breakfast,” she reminded him with a smirk.  

 “Have you and Miss Val made up, Sir Julian?” Prince Nicholas asked as they sat at their table. “You seem to be on friendlier terms this morning.”

Marcus and Travis immediately smirked at that. Julian paid them no mind.

“Yes, sire,” Julian cleared his throat; he was still taken aback by Val’s sudden greeting earlier. He didn’t think she would speak to him again, especially not that soon. “I… spoke to her last night,” he said simply.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Travis couldn’t seem to hold his tongue, “Sir Julian got quite friendly with Miss Val last night.”

Julian wanted to glare at Travis, but he couldn’t do so in front of the prince.

“Really?” Prince Nicholas smiled happily. “I’m glad to hear it. I overheard from some patrons that her attempt to kiss me was merely because of a wager from her companions. It need not have escalated like it did. What motivated you to speak to her, Sir Julian?”

“I was bothered by our initial encounter, sire,” Julian spoke carefully; he did not want to lie to the prince. “I did not like how we left things, and I decided to knock at her door to clarify matters.”

Prince Nicholas nodded approvingly. “I am not surprised; you have always had such decorum. Of course you wanted to explain that your anger was only because you were protecting me. How did she respond?”

Julian shifted uncomfortably in his seat; his anger had stemmed from the shock and confusion that he had felt from Val’s kiss. The prince thought him nobler than he actually was.

“She accepted my apology, Your Highness. And we parted ways civilly.” Julian skipped over everything that happened between him and Val before he apologized this morning. The prince did not need to know those details.

“You apologized?” Prince Nicholas looked surprised. “I’m proud of you, Sir Julian,” he clapped him on the back. “You deserve that knight’s cape. And now I am more confident than ever that you should lead the quest to find Anton Ivanov; compassion is important when travelling across the kingdom and interacting with the people.”

“Thank you, sire.” Although Julian was still uncomfortable with the praises, he was glad for the change in subject. “I shall get us some food so we could break our fast while discussing the details.” He stood up and left the table before Travis or Marcus could say anything else.

Twenty minutes later, they had come to the agreement that half of them would escort the crown prince back to the palace and the other half would begin the quest. The three knights who would accompany the prince went out to the stables to ready their horses.

“You look troubled, Sir Marcus,” Prince Nicholas observed.

“Anton Ivanov’s scheme is as dangerous as it is ambitious, Your Highness,” Marcus said uneasily. “And we only found out about it two days ago. Who knows where he is now or what he’s planning to do next.”

After they got the information from the Duke and Duchess on their diplomatic mission, Marcus had told himself that he would not let his worries get the best of him. Julian’s meltdown last night was a perfect distraction; he had even made fun of him with Travis this morning. But now that they were discussing the problem again, his concerns were resurfacing.

“That’s why we need a plan of our own,” Julian said. “Once the prince is safely on his way to the palace, we would stay here to discuss the possible angles by which to approach this.”

“Ivanov has avoided the law for years,” Travis reminded them, “building up his connections to the black market and possibly overseas. How do we even begin tracking him?”

“We would need help,” Julian acknowledged. “We have to find the type of people who could point us to Ivanov’s contacts. My only worry is, how would we make sure that we could trust those people?”

“Wait,” Prince Nicholas said suddenly. “Are you saying that what we need is someone skilled at tracking criminals? Someone whose methods are unorthodox compared to what we are used to?”

“Yes, sire,” Marcus agreed and leaned forward on the table, seeming to pick up on what the prince was saying. “Someone with whom we have already established some level of camaraderie.”

“Of course,” Travis smiled in understanding and turned to Julian.

His breath caught in his throat as he realized what they were implying.

“Captain,” Travis asked him, “would you like to introduce us to your new friend?”

 “Heads up,” Trent said, looking at something behind Val. They had just finished their feast of porridge and mashed potatoes and sausages.

Val turned to look and saw Julian approaching. Her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity; what did the captain want with them?

He stopped a few feet in front of her.

“Good day,” he greeted them all with a straight face, then looked at her. “His Highness would like to invite you to our table, Miss Val.”

“Why?” her frown deepened. Was the prince angry after all because of their wager last night? But that didn’t make sense; he had smiled before going upstairs.

“He wishes to discuss something with you,” Julian said plainly.

She looked at the prince’s table; he was looking at her and smiling expectantly. And so were the two knights with him.

“At least it doesn’t look like you’re getting punished,” Zac said. Her friends were looking at the prince’s table too.

“Alright,” Val stood up. She wasn’t sure what was going on but she didn’t mind spending more time with Julian.

“If you don’t come back, can I have your backpack?” Isabel asked her.

“No,” she answered and walked away with Julian.

Val stared at him, “Are you always this tense?”

The prince and knights weren’t looking at them anymore but were conversing among themselves.

“I’m always on guard around the prince,” Julian replied, looking straight ahead.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Val said. “Not many people can intercept my movements like that.”

“I was just doing my job,” Julian looked at her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Oh, no, I’m not complaining,” Val smiled slyly. “You did a great job.”

Julian looked away, but Val noticed his ears reddening.

Gods, if he was that easily flustered, Val didn’t know if she could stop teasing him anytime soon.

They had reached the table and the prince smiled at her, “Hello again, Miss Val. Please have a seat.”

Travis stood up as soon as Julian sat down beside him. “Take my seat, miss. You’d be closer to the prince.”

“Thank you,” Val replied, sitting down beside Julian. “Sir…?”

“Travis,” he bowed his head slightly. Sitting on the chair across from the prince.

Marcus got up from his chair and smiled, holding out his hand to Val, “And I’m Marcus, delighted to meet you.”

Val smiled back and shook his hand, “I’m guessing there are no hard feelings about my little stunt last night?”

Prince Nicholas held out his hand to her next. “None at all, you had no malevolent intentions. All is forgiven,” he kissed Val’s hand.

“You’re too charming, Your Highness,” she smiled sweetly. “I regret not being quick enough last night.”

The prince laughed pleasantly. ��My lips are nothing special, Miss Val. I assure you there is nothing to regret.”

Val shrugged. “You remember what I said, though, Your Highness? ‘Maybe next time’?”

“I do,” Prince Nicholas chuckled and Julian noticed his cheeks flush.

Julian cleared his throat. “Your Highness, the matter at hand.”

“Yes, sire,” Marcus added. “The quest.”

“Oh! Yes,” the prince seemed to remember. “Miss Val, we are in need of your bounty hunting services.” He looked around to make sure no one was within earshot before he continued, “We must track a man named Anton Ivanov across the black market network and put a stop to his plans against the crown.”

“Anton Ivanov?” Val frowned. “I’ve heard of that name before. And if we’re tracking him through the black market, I suggest involving Isabel, one of my friends over there,” she nodded her head towards them. “She’s a seasoned merchant who knows the twists and turns of any type of market; I’m certain she has contacts who know about him.”

“You agree, then?” The prince’s face lit up.

Val nodded. “Anton Ivanov has caused a lot of trouble over the years, it’s in everyone’s best interest if he is caught.”

“Excellent!” Prince Nicholas stood up. “Accompany me to your table and let us invite your friend.”

“Oh,” Val looked mildly surprised at the prince’s enthusiasm. “Of course, Your Highness.”

Julian noticed that Marcus stared after them as they walked away. His eyes almost looked… yearning.

“What’s this?” Travis grinned at Marcus. “Has the bounty hunter caught your eye too, Marcus?”

Marcus looked back at them guiltily, as if he was caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. “I― Sorry, Julian,” was all he said before looking down at the table.

Julian had noted how Marcus enthusiastically greeted Val, saying it was a delight to meet her. And how he appeared less cheerful after Val had flirted with the prince.

He had hoped that he was just reading too much into things, but Marcus’ apology confirmed his suspicions. Even so, he felt undeserving of it. He didn’t want to go around telling people to stay away from Val just because he didn’t know what to do with his own feelings for her.

“Why?” he asked Marcus. “I am not entitled to Val. Anyone who wishes to pursue her may do so; she’s perfectly capable of making her own decision.”

“Tsk tsk,” Travis was looking at the bounty hunter and the prince. “It seems like you’ve got a third competitor, lads.”

They watched the prince merrily interact with Val’s friends as if he’d known them for a long time. He and Val were practically beaming at each other.

“Ah, well,” Marcus smiled sadly, “we can’t do anything about that.”

Julian thought back to how he had stood as stiff as a board when he greeted Val’s friends. The crown prince certainly had an air of charm about him, as Val said so herself.

When the possibility of Val joining their group was presented, Julian told himself that he didn’t have to decide on his feelings yet. He could focus on the quest first and figure out his relationship with her later.

But with Marcus and Prince Nicholas, the man who Val had originally planned on kissing, Julian felt the pressure of having to decide soon.

He sighed internally. The quest was going to be even more difficult than he thought.  

[takaraphoenix]

Percy had been doubtful about dating both Stoll brothers. He liked them both, had liked them since his days in the Hermes Cabin - they had taken care of him, shown him the way around, had been the first ones to make him feel at home at the camp. So when the war ended and both Travis and Connor were standing in front of him with blue-dyed roses, asking him out, he was lost. How could he pick one? The Stolls were, fundamentally, a duo. They pulled every prank together and they had always been there for Percy together. He liked them both equally, he couldn't reject one. Travis and Connor suggested that he could date them both for a while to see who he liked better as a boyfriend and choose then. In theory, maybe a good plan. Yet in execution...

“Thanks, Trav,” Percy grinned a little as he accepted the blue chocolates.

“Anything for you, babe,” Travis leaned in to kiss his temple.

“Look, I made you blue cookies. After your mom's recipe!” Connor held up a box proudly.

Percy accepted it and opened the lid. Mh. They sure smelt good. He offered Connor a smile too as he kissed the trickster too. His eyes wandered over his cabin and his smile turned into a bemused and exasperated look. So many sweets, various flowers – roses, orchids, even forget-me-nots – and stuffed toys. Kittens, puppies, teddies. Connor and Travis were trying to outdo each other. It was ridiculous, really. Though he absolutely loved the attention, he had never been pampered like that, it was so nice to have them show just how much they cared for him. However, with how much they competed with each other, Percy felt like he was lagging. He was running himself ragged baking cakes and cookies and organizing twice the dates. He loved them both, but he also wished they would ease up a little. This was getting more exhausting lately.

“You are both amazing,” started Percy, taking a piece of chocolate and a cookie.

“Did... you make a choice?” Travis furrowed his brows in concern. “I mean, it is totally fine whoever you pick. I would be super happy for you and Con too. I just...”

“The thing is. I love chocolate and I love cookies. I wouldn't want... to give one up for forever. You are both amazing and I adore you both. And I love all you've... been doing to show me how much you care. But you don't have to. Also I think I'm going to get fat if you guys keep piling candy on me like this. Can I just... be with both of you, without you competing to see who's better?”

He offered them the convincing baby seal eyes and both Travis and Connor melted a little. They also both relaxed, heaving a sigh. This had been kind of stressful and neither liked being in this rivalry. Travis and Connor collapsed on either side of Percy, kissing his cheeks in relief.

“I love you both,” Percy grinned and wrapped his arms around them both.

If you’re still doing the rare pair thing, how bout Stolls/Percy? Some sibling rivalry if you will ;)

Hey!

Sorry for the late answer, but I was trying to find a way to write them. Unfortunately, I have no plot idea for them :(

Maybe I will in the future, maybe I won't, but I wanted to say that I did not forget to answer, I just couldn't.

Thank you for the pairing idea ❤️

[darkelfshadow]

Session Summary - 33

AKA “The Gladiator Games”

Adventures in Taggeriell

Session 33 (Date: 21st October 2017)

Players Present:

- Rob (Known as “Oloma”) Human Female.

- Bob (Known as “Sir Krondor”) Dwarf Male.

- Travis (Known as “Trenchant”) Human Male.

- Sean (Known as “Seanicus”) Elf Male.

- Paul (Known as “Labarett”) Elf Male.

Absent Players

- Phil (Known as “Nac”) Half-elf Male. <Played by Rob>

- Arthur (Known as “Gim”) Dwarf Male. <Played by Bob>

NPC

- (Known as “Naillae”) Elf Female. <Controlled by DM>

Summary

- Toilday, 9th of Kuthona in the year 814 (Second Era). Winter.

- The party begin this session, in the Throne Room of the Ruins of Reckoning.

- There is much treasure to sort out and deal with. For the next hour, the party take out all the coins and fill them into sacks which they then use the Bag Of Sharing to transport them over to Valthrun in his Wizard tower in Winterhaven. Trenchant puts on the Elven chain shirt and removes his master work studded leather armour, sending that over to Valthrun too. The three potions are identified by Seanicus and they are a Potion of Heroism, a Potion of Clairvoyance  and a Potion of Hill Giant Strength (Strength 21). The various art objects, the masks, pendant and handkerchief, are kept by Oloma for safe keeping.

- Sir Krondor spends a great deal of time searching and going over the dais in the centre of the Throne Room, as he is sure there must be another way out of here, before standing up and proclaiming that there definitely is no hidden buttons or secret panels on there.  

- Oloma, who had previously walked off for a short time, comes back then just as Sir Krondor is about to insist that all the walls get searched for secret doors again, and she says, “I’ve just been to look at the black entry door. It’s open. We can leave when ever we like.”

- Once the party gather all the gear they leave the dark ruins. The sunlight from outside, even though it is a cloudy overcast day, is enough to blind them for a few seconds. Blinking they leave the ruins and walk along the long paved plateau lined with black pillars on either side. The black stone pavers are wet, it looks like it has been raining.

- As they reach the the far side of the plateau the air before the small engraved pillar begins to shimmer and take form. The party ready their weapons as a figure takes solid form. Neither male nor female, neither young nor old, faceless yet resembling all faces at once, familiar yet unknown. The figure wears a simple green robe with a star stitched in golden thread across the chest.

- A voice, ageless and without definition, speaks: “Well done. You have done that which no one else has done for a thousand years. All who came before you failed. Take your gifts, the gifts that my followers and acolytes left here so long ago, and use them wisely. And now, let me give you one last gift, from me personally, I give you a warning. You go now to see the Wizard whom sent you here. Be warned, the Wizard wears two faces and has two names. The powder that you hold in your hands, within the golden vessel, is not what he seeks though it will take him some time to discover this. The remains of my beloved Gweyer, who showed me there is more to existence than self desires and wants, are not here and never were. She remains in peaceful repose at a proper and fitting place for one who showed me the path to redemption. It may not be in your best interests to be close to the Wizard when he learns of the true nature of the powder and nor would I reveal this to him, else you will face the burden of his wrath. I would wish you luck but I can see you already have more than luck on your side, I can see you influence of the others behind you.”

- The figure turns to look into the forest as if looking at something and nods.

- The voice continues, “And now this place is no longer needed and I shall allow the time that has been held back to return.”

- The rocks start to break and fall down behind the party with a loud crash, as the mountain face collapses blocking the entrance into the ruins. Dust and debris shoot up into the air. The black pillars start to crack and break, some of them falling over. The black paved stones underfoot begin to crack and split and the stone steps before the party brake away in places.

- Loud bangs and crashes echo around the forest. After a moment the sound and dust fades mostly away. The faceless figure is still floating in the air.

- Oloma holds out the pendant with the picture of Gweyer on it, “Here take this. This means more to you than us.”

- The face without details smiles, “Thank you but I do not need that. Take those and do as you will with them,” and the voice and figure fade away. The air shimmers momentarily and then all is still except for some drifting dust carried on the wind.

- Seanicus examines the powder within the golden vessel and declares that it is not magical. It appears to be ash. Nac The Death Cleric looks over it and says that it does indeed look like the burnt ash remains of an adult size human.

- The party then discuss the powder and what the warning means. Sir Krondor is convinced that Yonochen will immediately know the powder is fake and as such they must force him to send them through the mirror before they hand over the powder. There are many theories and ideas put forward about who or what Yonochen might be: a Necromancer, maybe he is both Yonochen and Manzoor, and many other suggestions.

- The discussion is lively and no one notices that Nac and Oloma have walked down the broken stairs and away. Twenty minutes later they return to the sound of the party still debating what to do.

- Nac speaks, “Well, unless you wish to stay here and watch the slow regrowth of the forest to reclaim these ruins, I suggest we go. We checked on our horses and they’re still tied up where we left them.”

- The party leave the plateau and walk along the now cracked and broken black stone path to eventually find the cliff face again. Looking down, their horses are indeed still there. Using the climbing poles that are sticking out of the cliff face, the party slowly and carefully climb down.

- Mounting back onto their horses, Seanicus is forced to ride on a horse with Naillae, as they are now one horse short and Naillae is small enough that they can both ride the horse together.

- The party ride through the broken black pathway until it ends and they are forced to dismount and walk their horses through the thick forest. For the first hour the trees and bush are so dense that they have to weave in and out, leading their horses. Occasionally a light rain falls around the party.

- During this time Oloma sees a flash of gold off to her side and turns her head to see a fleeting glimpse of a magnificent golden stag (Successful Perception check). Its regal form moves behind a tree and vanishes. Though she only saw the creature for the briefest second, the hairs on the back of Oloma’s neck raise, and her breath is taken away.

- Oloma starts to move off quickly towards the spot, about 60’ away, where she saw the noble beast.

- Trenchant turns towards the fleeing Oloma and yells, “Problem?”

- Without slowing down or turning back Oloma quickly replies, “Have to relive myself, give me a moment.”

- Immediately all the men in the party turn away from the direction of Oloma, as if a silent general had barked an order to about face, and start to obviously and awkwardly adjust equipment and gear, to make sure they don’t accidentally look in the direction of the female Mystic. Naillae  laughs, “Oh for petty sake! We’ve been travelling together for ages but every time there’s the slightest risk of seeing a woman’s ass and you all turn into adolescent boys!”

- After a few minutes, Naillae wanders over towards Oloma, “Hey, Oloma! You look like you’re searching for something?”

- Oloma explains that she thought she saw a golden stag whilst she was over here and the party move over to the spot and begin to search the wet ground for tracks but no one can find any.

- Sir Krondor speaks, “What do you think it means?”

- Trenchant replies, “Well the figure that appeared back at the ruins mentioned something about us being influenced by the others and then he figured looked into forest.”

- Seanicus adds, “Remember the hunters that I tried to save from the Grungs? They said they were following a golden stag that lead them to that exact spot. And that made me find them and in turn that made you find me. Is this all connected?”

- Oloma speaks, “Golden stags are often messengers of powerful beings. Omens of great portent.”

- “Yes,” Labarett adds, “but for good or evil? That is the question.”

- The party continue and eventually the forest becomes sparser and they are able to mount up and ride through the trees. Thanks to Labarett guiding them they cover the distance in half the time (Barbarian ability).  

- Riding through the sparse trees for roughly another hour the party finally come to the each of the Changrove Forest and come out into the grassy plains. Pressing onwards they come to the main road and following that. The sky is still cloudy and threatens to rain but holds off. An hour later the party come into view of Lington. The city walls loom before them and they approach the east main gate which is shut and guarded by half a dozen Red Guard soldiers.

- After Trenchant and Sir Krondor demand entry, as the party are Wardens, they are allowed into the city without delay or search.

- All the party decide to go see Valder at the Royal Library, except for Oloma who says she has some shopping and business to conduct and Naillae who advises that she will leave for a short time to check in with the Lington’s Thief’s Guild. The party arrange to meet up at The Eldritch Arch, where Yonochen resides.

- Sir Krondor, Nac, Trenchant, Labarett, Gim and Seanicus ride their horses towards the Palace Compound where the Royal Library is. Seanicus is obviously looking around at the city, his head turning this way and that.

- Trenchant speaks, “Never been in a large city before Seanicus?”

- “Yes, of course,” begins Seancius, “But the city I am from is very different than this.”

- The group arrives at the Palace and after securing the horses enter the grounds of Palace, as the guards at the main gate recognise the group.

- They enter the large, tall library and are greeted by the Head Librarian, Simimar the Elven Sage. Simimar summons Valder, the newly appointed Librarian Assistant, and the party reunite with the former travelling companion.

- After catching up with what the party has been up to, Valder tells the party what he has so far learnt from reading Dragons Of The Council. Valder speaks, “About two thousand years ago all the Red Wizards of Thay and the Cult Of The Dragon Queen formed together to bring about the coming of Tiamat into this world, when Nirvas The Seer foretold of the coming of an alignment of the slowly drifting stars across the heavens and the coming of a double red lunar eclipse known as the Wounds Of Pelor. This double blood moon marks the start of a period of 12 days in which it would be possible for Tiamat to leave her banishment in the Nine Hells, with the proper ritual. This alignment of the stars and the double blood moon eclipse occurs very infrequently.”

- Trenchant speaks, “Let me guess, about every two thousand years?”

- Valder nods, “Yes. I have calculated the next time this conjunction will occur. In two hundred and thirty seven days from now. We have less than a year.”

- Next the party ask if there are any books on Erevan Ilesere or about Gweyer. Simimar goes and collects a book on Elvish Gods and within the book there are a few pages devoted to Erevan Ilesre, the Elvish God of mischief, Rogues, changelings and Dopplegangers. The book goes on to tell the tale of the God. Originally Erevan used to be one of the lower tier Gods within the larger pantheon of the gods but during a short fought war of the Gods, in which originally Erevan had remained neutral, he eventually joined the war when one of his followers, Gweyer swayed the god with her words and deeds. Eventually Gweyer was killed during the war serving her god, in a mighty battle, when a massive magical explosion occurred. This explosion came about as the result of a small army of wizards trying to manipulate the forces of life and existence during the war. At the end of the war Erevan’s perspective and attitude had changed. He was on the winning side of the war and as such his status within the pantheon rose to a mid level god but in doing so he direction and focus changed. He now valued the power of self redemption and was more concerned with working with others rather than as an individual.

- Nac speaks, “That would make the Ruins make a little more sense now.”

- Trenchant asks Simimar about what he knows about Yonochen and the Head Librarian states he knows nothing about anyone called Yonochen.

- Sir Krondor exclaims, “What? How’s that possible? He and Manzoor defended Lington against the Cult Army and their Dragon. You must have heard of him!”

- Simimar replies calmly, “Really? I knew about Manzoor The Great and Powerful, after all he has told everyone in Lington he saved us, singlehandedly. We never hear the end of it really. I never heard about the other gentlemen. If he lives here in Lington he has have been keeping a low profile then for me not to have heard of him.”

- Trenchant speaks up, “This is weird. We heard talk around Lington before that it was really Yonochen that did all the work. It was his spells, apparently very powerful ones, that turned the Dragon away and Manzoor was really just there for show. Now Manzoor goes around taking all the credit and Yonochen is happy to stay in the shadows not drawing attention to himself. And now we get warned that Yonochen isn’t who he appears to be.”

- With no other options, the group give their farewells to Valder and prepare to head over to Yonochen’s premises. Valder promises to keep the party updated with what else he learns from the book Dragons Of The Council, as he has only read a small portion of it.

***

- During this time, Oloma had been around to various business and shops. Sometimes she would enquire if they needed the services of an alchemist supplier, and if so would leave one of the business cards of Felyur the Alchemist from Anwich, or else Oloma would do some shopping for gear and supplies. Having completed the last of her shopping at The Red Wand, the tower of Manzoor The Great, Oloma started to make her way over to Yonochen’s premises to regroup with the party.

***

- Naillae has also been busy. She heads over to the secret location of the Lington Thief’s Guild, making sure no one is following her. Once inside she updates the Guild that she and party will be heading to Earthcloak in the next day or so. After a short time conversing Naillae heads out again to make her way over to Yonochen’s premises.

***

- Just before midday, with the clouds over head and a light drizzle falling, the party once again all reunite back together outside the plain two story building of Yonochen and tie up their horses to a wooden railing near the building. As before all the windows are shuttered closed and the single door on the ground floor is closed. The very small brass plaque next to the door reads, in small writing that can only be read if someone leans in close, “The Eldritch Arch.”

- The party knock on the door and as before, a small wooden eye window, low down opens up, and the small eyes of the Halfling Wizard look out. His voice, with the strong accent of someone from the eastern lands of Tikoran, is angry, “Why you here! You should be getting my vessel! Go get it!”

- Oloma speaks, “We have the vessel Yonochen. Now open …” but before the Mystic can finish her sentence Yonochen slams shut the small window and then opens the door.

- The Halfling Wizard smiles at them broadly, his slanted eyes shinning with anticipation, “Excellent. Of course you have! Now, come in, quickly! Show me!” Yonochen is almost shaking with excitement to be getting his vessel.

- The party all enter and Yonochen, after looking around the street to see if anyone was watching, shuts the door with a loud bang.

- Seanicus walks into the back of Labarett, “Sorry. My goggles went black, I couldn’t see.” Seanicus then lefts up the goggles from his eyes, careful that his hood is still low enough that no one can see his eyes.

- Nac speaks, “This place has some type of anti-magic field, that effects everyone except Yonochen. Your goggles, or any of our enchanted gear, or any of our spells won’t work in here.”

- Sir Krondor immediately begins, “Now listen here Yonochen, we aren’t just going to hand over the vessel. You will send us through the mirror first and the last person through will give you the vessel.”

- Yonochen’s face goes red with anger, “You what!? No. No! You give me my vessel Knight or you will regret this!”

- Sir Krondor laughs, “I don’t think so Yonochen, we out number you. You will do as I say.”

- Yonochen’s eyes narrow, the hatred pouring through him is visible, “Really? Is that what you think?” There is a real edge of menace on the Wizard’s voice.

- Trenchant sees Yonochen pull out a blue crystal pendant from under his shirt and starts twirling it angrily, “Now Yonochen I’m sure we can sort this out like reasonable adults. There’s no need to resort to violence. Sir Krondor misspoke.”

- “I did not! I meant it!” bellows Sir Krondor.

- “I agree with Sir Krondor,” adds Seanicus, “I don’t trust this halfling more than I could throw him. How far do you think we could throw him Sir Krondor?”

- “Oh I think I could throw this pipsqueak very far indeed,” answers Sir Krondor with a smile.

- Yonochen’s fingers are getting tighter around the blue pendant.

- Quickly Trenchant speaks, “For the love of the gods, could you two shut up! Yonochen, please ignore them. Talk to me, we can ….”

- Just then Yonochen screams, “Where is the vessel!”

- Oloma calmly takes out the vessel from her backpack and says, “Here, I am sure we can come to a mutually agreeable arrangement.”

- Yonochen looks at the vessel, and replies, speaking each work slowly and with menace, “We already had an arrangement. Give me the vessel now!”

- Trenchant nods, “Give it to him Oloma.”

- Sir Krondor yells, “Keep it Oloma! I don’t trust that small barstard!”

- Oloma keeps the vessel close to her chest, “Before I give you this vessel, there’s other business I would like to discuss. Also I would like to look over your wares and see …”

- “ENOUGH!” yells Yonochen and brakes the blue pendant with a snap. Immediately a wave of Eldritch energy blasts forth. In the four corners of the room appear four elementals, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each starts to take form and shape. At the same time, a blue energy envelopes around the whole party. It grows and becomes a solid film of ice and crackling force energy covering Sir Krondor, Labarett, Naillae, Nac, Oloma and Gim. Both Trenchant and Seanicus feel the effect fade away from them (Successful save throw).

- Yonochen reaches out towards the immobilised Oloma and takes the vessel out of her hands, “Idiots! Had you just given me the vessel, like we agreed, I would have rewarded you. It’s mine! IT’S MINE!” and Yonochen begins to cackle in laughter.

- Trenchant and Seanicus move away from the laughing Wizard.

- “Oh yes, you two. I am impressed, not many can resist the effects of that pendant. Still want to throw me now?”

- As Yonochen asks this the four elementals, towering up to the height of the ceiling of the room, stand waiting and ready.

- Seanicus shakes his head, “Not any more.”

- Trenchant asks, “What do you intend to do now Yonochen?”

- The small wizard laughs, “Oh exactly what I said I would. I shall honour the bargain. You all go through the mirror to Earthcloak. Now!”

- Yonochen walks up set of stairs, the captured party floating behind him, whilst Trenchant and Seanicus follow. Two of elementals, the fire and water ones, also follow behind the group.

- Yonochen leads them to a mirror that appears to be a simple plain dressing mirror that is about 5’ wide and 10’ high. Around the edge is a simple design of silver leaves. The Mirror Of Ailmer.

- When the Wizard touches it, a scene appears, of a large walled city, set in a deep forest valley that lies at the intersection of two rivers. A large lake and river cuts the city in half. The scene quickly zooms in to a large garden park in the city.

- Yonochen speaks, “Here. Earthcloak. Walk through.”

- Trenchant speaks, “How do we know you are actually sending us there?”

- “You don’t,” Yonochen replies and then bursts out in a loud laughter.

- With a flick of his wrist Yonochen sends the captured party to levitate through the mirror, each one disappears with flash as they touch the mirror. Lastly, with no other real choice, Trenchant and Seanicus step through the mirror.

- The party see whirling colours flashing past them. A deep cold envelopes them. A voice comes to them, the voice of Yonochen, that starts of loudly but fades of as he speaks, until the voice is gone, “Yes, brave heroes, go and save the world from Tiamat. Save my world. But do this knowing that you are mere pawns in my game, you and all the other ignorant fools! You do as I wish. Rid Tiamat so that I can rule this world as a God in her place!”

- As the party suddenly pop into existence, within a large garden park, the last thing they all hear fading out is the evil clacking of Yonochen.

***

- The sun over head indicates that it is still noon, as the sky above is mostly clear of cloud. A fierce wind blows in from the east, where on the horizon in the far distance white peaks of tall mountains are visible, and with it comes a bitter cold that sweeps over the party. The large park square the party are now in, which has a central temple and smaller shrines on each of the four corners of the park, has frost on the grass. The party are no longer held fast by Yonochen’s spell but there is a residue of frost still on Sir Krondor, Labarett, Naillae, Nac, Oloma and Gim and that along with the cold and wind is making things very uncomfortable for them.

- Nac, his teeth chattering, speaks, “I knew Yonochen was an evil, arrogant Wizard but what was that all about?”

- Trenchant speaks, “Team meeting. The next time we face an evil, maniacal wizard can we please try to not antagonise them?”

- Labarett the Barbarian, trying to pull his cloak around his bare chest, speaks, “We need to get out of this cold soon, dry off and put on our cold weather gear or we will freeze.”

- The party look around them. They are in a large heavily fortified city, much larger than Lington, and it appears that it is at the bottom of a steep valley. As such, they party can see both sides of the raising city around a large central lake filled with many boats and a river leading away. Three large forts, are spaced around the high city walls. Though the largest building visible is a massive stone stadium that dominates the city.

- “Does anyone actually know that we are in Earthcloak?” asks Naillae.

- Olomat speaks (Successful Intelligence History check), “I’ve read a bit about Earthcloak from my mother’s books. It is supposed to be cobbled, slate and tile roofed stone city that completely fills the valley at the junction of the Tufford and Ledale rivers in the Halfling kingdom of Singbury. Earthcloak is built around the Ledale river, with a large defended city wall surrounding it. It is the ship building centre for Taggriell, building boats for Tyriba, Asalea, Singbury, and Afrandul. Of course, the elves of Elanion build their own boats and the Dwarves of Fanur don’t use boats.”

- Gim speaks, “Too right, dam boats always sinking!”

- Oloma continues, “The city is supposed to rise above the man made harbour and raises so steeply in places, that a buildings can be different heights from inside to outside. Most the buildings are at least three stories and some go up to six stories. In winter ice makes many of the streets almost impassable except for those that love to risk falling and sliding. It has many streets of winding, steep stairs. And it is supposed to have a lot of boats coming and going as it is a major trade route and ships in many goods and attracts many visitors, especially sailors looking to be picked as crew on a newly commissioned boat. Earthcloak is known for it’s impressive gladiator games and for the unusual fact that the casting of spells and the sale of magic services and items is prohibited here.”

- Trenchant speaks, “Well, I guess we can assume we’re in Earthcloak. Let’s get out of the cold, dry off and sort out our cold weather gear.”

- Trenchant and Oloma ask one of the many pedestrians walking along the streets, most of which are Halflings or Dwarves but with some Gnomes, Tieflings, Dragonborn and Humans as well, that surround the large garden park and are directed to a nearby Inn, directly across the road from the park, called Rosee’s Warm Rest Inn. The Halfling male they speak to is very chatty and he speaks of news about Dragons fighting alongside men to the far west, which the Halfling does not believe, and also speaks about a witch that was caught trying to sell magic potions near the city and was arrested by Captain Jannon who is the Chief Constable of Earthcloak. The Halfling warns the visitors not to use magic in the city.

- Along the way to the Inn, the party pass by one of the small shrines in the park, and they see a symbol of a shield with a cornucopia motif on the front, which some in the party recognise as the symbol for the Halfing Goddess Yondalla who is the patron of Protection, Fertility, and Halfling Children.

- Just outside the Inn, on a sign, written in Halfling, Dwarvish and Common states:

“The Following is strictly prohibited and enforced:

* The casting of spells, either from book, item or self.

* The sale of Magic Services or Items.

By order of Lord Conlan.”

- Entering the Inn, which appears to be three level building, the party find themselves in a warm and cossy common area. Various Halfings and Dwarves sit around the Inn, drinking and talking, at various tables or at the long bar on one side. A large fireplace gives the room a pleasant warmth. Serving girls are moving around taking orders and delivering jugs of drink and behind the bar is a middle aged Halfling male of solid build. He has a warm smile and waves the party in, “Welcome to Rosee’s Inn. I’m Geneegin, what can I get you visitors?”

- The party take a table near by the fireplace so that can warm up and get the frost of them, whilst they break out their cold weather gear from their backpacks to put on. Seanicus informs the party he has no cold weather gear so will need to go shopping.

- Whilst waiting for one of the serving wenches takes orders from the party, Trenchant and Sir Krondor break out their instruments. Trenchant tunes his lute whilst Sir Krondor prepares his mothers flute. The pair then start to play a song together, as they have many times before, and on a hunch Trenchant sings a song of praise about the Goddess Yondalla. The song is well received and the crowd loves the performance (Successful Charisma Performance checks by both Trenchant and Sir Krondor). At the end of the song the crowd erupts into enthusiastic applause, throwing a sum of silver coins at the pair (26 silver coins in total).

- During the song, an attractive Halfling female comes out from a rear door and stands behind the bar next to Geneegin, holding his hand fondly. At the end of the song, the female comes across smiling to the party, “Beautiful, simply beautiful. I’m Rosee and this is my Inn. That was such a lovely song, and about the Goddess too, you lot can have one round of free drinks on the house.”

- Oloma speaks up, “Instead of free drink, what about free board?”

- Rosee smiles but instead offers the party half priced board instead and the party take up the offer for four days. She organises some of the staff to get the rooms prepared and gives a numbered iron key to each of the party for their seperate rooms upstairs.

- Trenchant moves around the Inn trying to discreetly see if there are any Harper agents present but none of the patrons seem to be or don’t come forward.

- Whilst Trenchant is doing this, some of the party buy drinks. Most get a simple mug of ale, but Gim orders an expensive Depth Charge, one shoot of Dwarven brandy dropped in a large mug of ale, which he then chugs down in one quick drink. He manages to keep on his feet (Successful Constitution check and advantage on any cold effects for the rest of the day).

- Nac, Oloma, Sir Krondor and Gim state they will go over to the Gladiator Stadium and see if they can enter. Seanicus states he will join them just until they stop at a near by shop to buy some cold weather gear. The group leave Rosee’s and head over to a nearby shop that Geneegin pointed out to them. Two blocks away, on the corner, is a shop that occupies the ground level of a tall four story building. The sign out the front states Diam’s General Store. Sir Krondor and Seanicus enter the warm store, whilst the others wait outside. The pair are greeted by a friendly and cheerful male Dwarf, Diam the shop owner.

- Seanicus selects a set of well made cold weather gear, that Diam sizes up for Seanicus, and when the matter of payment comes up Seanicus is a bit low on funds. He tries to haggle with Diam but does not get very far as Diam won’t budge on price (Failed Persuasion check).

- Sir Krondor says to Diam, “You ever heard of the war hammer Nedumlin?”

- Diam nods, “Yes. In my youth I read many books on the great Dwarven heroes. Yes I know of the brave Knight, Sir Krafulim Longshield and his legendary war hammer. Why?”

- Seanicus pulls out the war hammer, “Because this is it.”

- Diam speaks, his voice shaking, “It can’t be. That has been lost for an age and only one that is worthy can wield it.”

- The war hammer speaks in Dwarvish, “Hello there. I am Nedumlin, pleasure to meet you.”

- “By Marthammor’s beard!” exclaims Diam and then after he catches his breath continues, “But why does the elf carry the war hammer and not a Dwarf and a Knight of Anvil at that?”

- Sir Krondor replies with a hint of frustration, “Why indeed?”

- Now that Diam has seen the war hammer, he gives the pair a discount on anything they need, so they buy a few extra items as well. The shop keeper seems quite excited to see the war hammer and thanks the pair for their business when they leave with a wave and smile.

- Exiting the store, Seanicus waves farewell as he heads back to Rosee’s Inn whilst everyone else, Nac, Oloma, Sir Krondor and Gim, all make their way over to the far west side of the city to where the large stadium looms over the other buildings.

- Seanicus walks back to the Inn and is grateful to enter the warm establishment. Oloma is seated at a table with a drink so the Warlock joins her.

- Oloma informs Seanicus that she was talking to some of the locals in the Inn and the only information she could obtain was about the Cult uprising in Tyriba, which the party already are well aware of, and of the uprising of a large Drow war band to the far North in the Dwarvish lands. The party had previously heard of the Drow attacks but had not realised till now the extent of the attacks.

- Oloma puts her drink down, “You want a drink?”

- Seanicus replies, “No.”

- Oloma looks at Seanicus. He still wears the metal Goggles Of The Night over his eyes, a cloth is wrapped around his lower face covering all his features and his hood, as always, is worn up and pulled down low as to hide his hair. Oloma says, “You know, I just realised I’ve never seen your face, I have no idea what you look like. It’s warm enough in here. Take your hood and goggles off and relax.”

- Seanicus replies, “No thank you.”

- Oloma presses the point, “Why do you wear those goggles all the time? It’s not dark in here.”

- Seanicus stands and replies, “Enjoy your drink. I’ll be sitting at the bar.”

***

- Meanwhile Nac, Oloma, Sir Krondor and Gim have walked a long distance to the west side of the city, arriving at a section of the city that the buildings appear less well maintained, and seeing more sailers and poorer folk. They eventually arrive at the Gladiator stadium. It is shut, the two large black metal gates in the tall archway entry are closed and locked. Through the gate, the group look through a long arched corridor, and beyond the opposite side into the inner stadium. Some distance off they can see and hear some Gladiators training.

- Nac shouts out and enhances his voice to become louder (Spell Thaumaturgy) to get the attention of the people inside. A tall, solid looking dark skin male comes into view and walks towards the gate. He wears hide pants, fur boots and has a fur lined robe hung over his shoulders but under the robe he wears no shirt. His bare arms, shoulders and chest reveal an impressive set of toned muscles that are sweating with exertion. He does not seem overly concerned with the cold.

- The party learn that this male is called Awamir, and from his strong accent and dark skin, obviously comes from the kingdom of Afrandul. After enquiring about entering into the games Awamir unlocks the gate and invites the group in to see. Going inside the group see many gladiators, of various races, in vigorous training inside the inner area of the stadium. All the gladiators look impressive and very capable.

- Awamir explains the rules of the games and unless the party were to be sponsored by someone they could not enter the actual competition which goes over many weeks but they could enter a single round as a one off outside competitor with some of the gladiators. The games are every Wealday and Sunday, which would mean there is a game tomorrow. On those days they have four rounds. Outsiders may enter a single round to join the gladiators on payment of 25 gold coins and if they are the last man standing they win 200 coin golds. There are no magic items allowed in the games and of course, as per the rules of the city, there is no magic or spells allowed of any kind. The other rule is that a competitor may not refuse to fight another or aid another, though ganging up is allowed. Also once a competitor is dropped to the ground unconscious they are out and can not be further attacked but nor can they receive any healing until after the match is over, whether they live or die is up to the Gods. A competitor can yield and take a knee to leave the round at any time.

- The group thank Awamir for his time and information and state they will consider entering the games tomorrow on Wealday. They make their way back to Rosee’s Inn and rejoin the rest of the party. The party discuss what it is they need to do here in Earthcloak and recall the information that was discussed in the alliance meeting back at Lington. The information the party has is that some of the Cultists will be joining the wagon train run by the Red Scale Transport Company leaving Earthcloak on Starday the 13th of Kuthona, four days time from now. They will be disguised as to not draw attention to themselves and will be secretly transporting some of the treasure the Cult stole to somewhere called Naerytar that no one has ever heard of. The alliance needs the party to join the wagon train, ascertain who the cultists are and follow them to the final destination of Naerytar, where it is hoped that the Dragon Masks are located so they can be stolen by the alliance.

- After Trenchant makes some enquiries with Geneegin where the Red Scale Transport Company might be and Sir Krondor learns where there is a Dwarven hang out, called the White Wolf Tavern, they head out into the cold, thankful for their cold weather gear, and walk over to the south side of the city. They follow the winding roads that climb up the steep valley side. Ice covering many of the stone stairs on the roads means the party have to careful not to slip and slid down. They see many Halfling children out playing, purposely sliding down the icy streets and laughing as the hit the many safety nets that are strung up across the ends of the streets to catch people.

- The party make their way up the valley, past many tall buildings, until they come to the outskirts of the city. A large open flat area lays before the tall city defensive walls, upon which the party can see many large ballistas facing outwards to defend the city. Off to the north the party can see a section has been fenced off for a graveyard with multiple headstones and mausoleums with a large temple of some sort and off to the south the open area has been sectioned off into various sections by low wooden fences. Inside can be seen numerous and varied cattle and live stock. There are multiple buildings around.

- One large building, with it’s own large fenced off area, has a sign marked Red Scale Transport Company. Sir Krondor and Gim advise the party they will head off down the road to where the Dwarf tavern is and everyone else enters inside the Transport Compound.

- The compound is a large two story building with the ground section being one large open area obviously designed to allow horses and wagon easy access and storage. Past the building in a rear yard can be seen half a dozen wagons. People are going about various tasks.

- A Halfling male approaches the party. His name is Teorin and he is the compound manager. When Trenchant informs him they may wish to join the wagon train the manager introduces them to a solid looking male Dwarf in armour called Brumohn whom is the Wagon Master for this particular wagon train heading out. The party learn that Brumohn is short on security at the moment, as he lost some men on the last trip. The party discuss the terms of payment and duties and tell Brumohn they will think about joining the security detail. It’s a low paying job and beneath the party, which Brumohn is aware of, but is a means for the party to get on board the wagon train.

- Whilst there they look over the six wagons getting ready. The party are told that about 22 wagons all up will be on this train when it leaves in four days time. It will travel to Lightfingers, Aduren, Dunfrun, Mahik, Afenal, Sabi, Delcal and then finish at Crescent Moon, all up a journey of about 960 miles and about will take 45 days.

- Oloma talks to one of the wagon drivers, a friendly male Halfling called Enom whom appears to enjoy talking and hearing tales of adventure. Enom is a paid courier transporting various chests, boxes and barrels to various locations along the route.

- The group decide to leave and head over to meet up with the others at the Dwarf tavern whilst Oloma decides to pop into a blacksmith on the way.

***

- Meanwhile, Sir Krondor and Gim head over to the Dwarf tavern that Geneegin told them about. A sign out the front of the Tavern, only written in Dwarvish states White Wolf Tavern and has a picture of Dwarf with a large white wolf cloak wrapped around him.

- Sir Krondor and Gim head inside and within are about a dozen Dwarves, some dressed in armour, some dressed common clothes, seated around tables and at a long bar, drinking, talking and gambling. The pair learn that the bar keep, a rough looking male Dwarf, is called Torroc. Sir Krondor orders a mug of ale whilst Gim orders one of his depth charges.

- Whilst there Sir Krondor speaks to Torroc, “Are there many Dwarven Knights that come in here?”

- Torroc laughs, “Here! Oh no, this is more a pub, not really a Knight club.”

- Sir Krondor and Gim learn from a few of the Dwarves around the tavern about some news about the Drow uprising in the Dwarf kingdom Fanur and also mention of an Orc problem at Dunfrun, which is a Dwarf strong hold to the north, with no Clan.

- Whilst there, Sir Krondor spreads talk amongst the Dwarves that the war hammer of Sir Krafulim Longshield, the legendary Nedumlin, has been found and is being carried by an Elf.

***

- Oloma finds the blacksmith, a large building which unlike most buildings in the city, is only single storey. A large chimney bellows out smoke into the air. A sign out the front in common and Dwarvish reads, Wilya’s Small Hammer.

- Oloma enters the Blacksmith and makes enquiries with the Dwarf blacksmith there, Wilya, about purchasing a new weapon, as she will need to use a non magical weapon rather than her soul blades if she wishes to enter the gladiator game.

- The conversation is not going well when Oloma insinuates that the quality of Wilya’s wares are not up to scratch.

- Oloma asks, “So where are your good weapons?”

- Wilya’s eyes narrow, “All my weapons are good.”

- Oloma, not hearing the edge of anger on Wilya’s voice, presses on, “Yeah, I mean, these weapons are alright. But what about the blades you make that are really sharp. The special stuff.”

- Wilya grabs him large hammer, a small vein on the side of his temple is throbbing, “Are you insinuating that my blades are blunt? Is that what you’re saying lassy?”

- Oloma, finally realises the grave mistake she has made in questioning the workmanship of a Dwarven Smith, starts to back track, “No no, of course, all your weapons are amazing. I am just saying you probably have better stuff, you know, in the back, that …”

- The Dwarf slams the heavy hammer onto the anvil with a loud crack, “Get the fuck out of my shop now!”

- Oloma leaves the shop and decides to head over to the Dwarf tavern to rejoin the group.

***

- The group reunite at the White Wolf Tavern and after a few drinks walk back to the other side of the city and return to Rosee’s Inn. The rest of the night is uneventful and the party go to their individual rooms to sleep for night.

- Wealday, 10th of Kuthona in the year 814 (Second Era). Winter.

- The next morning sees a cloudy day, with a strong chilly wind. The ground shows frost from overnight but soon clears and melts away with the coming sun.

- At about mid morning the party start to head over to the stadium on the far west side of the city. They are not alone, as many of the locals are also walking towards the stadium. When they finally arrive there they have to line up to get to the ticket office. Sir Krondor, Nac, Gim, Oloma and Labarett all decide to enter the game as an out side competitor and pay the 25 gold coin joining fee. Trenchant and Naillae pay the 5 silver pieces to enter stadium to watch the show. Seanicus decides not to spend any money and instead stands just outside the main gate, along with a group of children and some of the poorer locals to watch the show through the entry tunnel.

- Sir Krondor, Nac, Gim, Oloma and Labarett are lead by one of the gladiators to a lower level that runs under the stadium. There Awamir checks over their gear and weapons to make sure they are within the rules. A female elf, using some sort of gold monocle looks over the party’s stuff and determines that Nac’s boots and long sword, Gim’s Dragon Breastplate, Oloma’s cloak and pendant, Sir Krondor’s cloak and Labarett’s cloak will have to come off. These items, along with their backpacks and other gear, are taken and stored in a locked property room. Gim borrows a spare set of breastplate from the armoury of the gladiators but there are no spare boots for Nac so he has to go out barefoot.

- Trenchant and Naillae walk into the stadium and take a seat on one of the many levels. The stadium is packed with people watching the game. There are vendors selling food or drink, or bookmakers taking bets on the game. On a board are the names of the various Gladiators and their details and odds to win for betting. Sir Krondor, Gim, and Labarett have been given 2 to 1 odds, whilst Nac and Oloma have been given 3 to 1 odds.

- The competitors are all taken to a random door, there being 12 doors stationed equally around the inner stadium. Each of the doors open and all the competitors step forward to the cheer of the ground. There is about 50 feet distance between each competitor.

- Starting from the main entrance into the stadium, the order of the competitors are Labarett, Nac, Gim, a Human gladiator, a Half-orc gladiator, a Dragonborn gladiator, a human gladiator, Sir Krondor, a Human gladiator, a Half-orc gladiator, Oloma and then a Human gladiator.

- The human gladiators are armed with shields and spears, the Half-orc gladiators have shields and scimitars and the Dragonborn gladiator has a shield and longsword.

- The Dragonborn gladiator stands a foot taller than anyone else on the field and the other gladiators seem to be wary of him. His gear, looks more impressive than anyone else’s.

- A loud voice, booming out of a brass cone, as an announcer shouts into it, fills the stadium: “People of Earthcloak, we present the next round. Along with seven of our regular gladiators we have five outside competitors.”

- A loud cheer erupts from the crowd. Naillae leans into Trenchant, “Isn’t this romantic?”

- Trenchant moves away, “What? We’re about to watch people trying to kill each other, including our own friends!”

- Naillae smiles at Trenchant, “Yes but you and I are together. Alone. Is this our first date?”

- Trenchant turns to look back at the stadium, “We are not alone, there must be two thousand people in this stadium and this is not a date.”

- The booming voice continues, “Competitors. Remember the rules. No magic. No aiding another competitor or refusing to fight another competitor. And no attacking any unconscious competitors or competitors that have yielded. On the sound of the horn, fight for honour and glory!”

- All the competitors braced up, getting ready for the horn blast. When it comes, the Dragonborn immediately sprints towards the centre of the large stadium and crouches low, scanning all around him.

- Gim and one of the human gladiators move towards each other and engage, likewise Oloma and another human gladiator move towards each to engage but Oloma can hear one of the Half-orc gladiators running towards her from the rear. Sir Krondor gets rushed by two human gladiators and the three all start fighting each other. Labarett sees that Oloma is in a bad position so decides to run over and charge into the human gladiator attacking her to free Oloma up to deal with the approaching Half-orc gladiator from the other side. Nac and one of the Half-orcs cautiously move forward towards each other, watching the fighting, until the Half-orc breaks out into a run and charges towards Nac.

- There are now four combats going on. A battle between a Human gladiator, a Half-orc gladiator, Oloma and Labarett. A battle between Nac and a Half-orc gladiator. A battle between a Human gladiator and Gim. The final battle is between two Human gladiators and Sir Krondor. All the while, in the centre of the stadium the Dragonborn gladiator stays ready, watching all the battles and waiting patiently.

- The combat is hectic. Gladiators are attacking each other and also the members of the party. The party members are refraining from directly attacking each other and instead are attacking the gladiators.There are many mistakes and outstanding moments in the first initial stage. One of the gladiators rips open a wound on another gladiator (Critical Hit - Triple Damage), likewise another of the gladiators fumbles his hold on his weapon and hits himself (Fumble), another gladiator gets his armour torn half off by another gladiator (Critical Hit).

- Trenchant stands up shouting at the game, the same as all the other people in the stadium crowd. The difference with Trenchant’s loud shouting is that the Bard’s voice is having an effect on the party members. With the Bard’s help Labarett scores a deadly strike on a gladiator (Bardic Inspiration).

- Sir Krondor is getting battered from the two gladiators and shouts out a rally cry of defiance, “For Fanur!” and continues the battle renewed (Second Wind - Healed).

- Nac shield bashes the Half-orc gladiator into the ground and then smashes his war hammer into the downed figure.

***

- Outside Seanicus is trying to look over the heads of people crowded at the entry gate, to look down the long corridor through the stadium and look at a slice of the middle of the game. The Warlock can make out some of the party and gladiators but it is hard to know what is happening.

- Inside the stadium, in the upper seats, Naillae looks over the crowds of people, “How’s it looking?”

- Trenchant leans over a large head sitting in front of him, “Well, Sir Krondor and two of the human gladiators are bashing the crap out of each other, it seems to be an even match there. Nac and Gim are locked in a one on one combat with a gladiator each, Nac is keeping his one down and the battle with Gim seems evenly matched. Labarett, Oloma and two gladiators are all attacking but it looks like our two are getting the upper hand, manly because Labarett is getting hit but mostly ignoring the blows (Barbarian Rage - resistance on non magic attacks) but Labarett’s fighting style is a bit erratic (one Critical hit and two fumbles). Yes! Labarett just smashed the Half-orc scimitar and bent it (permanent damage reduction three quarters). It’s close but there’s still the Dragonborn gladiator in the centre, he hasn’t been touched yet.”

- Just then the crowd jumps up and starts to cheer louder, stamping their feet.

- “What happened?” asked Naillae.

- “Lion!” answers Trenchant with a worry.

***

- One of the doors of the stadium, near to Nac, opens and out leaps a lion that runs and leaps towards Nac. The Cleric manages to sidestep out the way but now he has a lion and a gladiator attacking him. The gladiator keeps moving around to keep the lion away from him. The battle with Nac, the Half-orc gladiator and the lion has become a struggle of the two competitors trying to attack each other and keep out of reach of the lion. Nac stumbles as the lion lunges and both change places (Fumble - swap places). Nac is forced to keep attacking and bashing the lion to keep it back and that allows the Half-orc the time to attack Nac without come back. It gives the gladiator the opportunity to swing his scimitar in a deadly blow that slashes across Nac’s face and cuts open a deep and ugly scar on his left check (Critical Hit - permanent scar).

- The first competitor to be taken out is one of the Human gladiators that Oloma and Labaret were dealing with. He is dealt a blow that sees him falling backwards to lay at an odd angle, blood pours out of a wound. The gladiator’s chest is raising and falling in shallow breaths. Whether he lives or dies before the game ends is up to the Gods; the same fate awaits any of the party should they fall. His departure from the game allows Oloma and Labaret to turn their attention on the Half-orc gladiator that is left near them. He is struggling to defend himself against the combined pair and is desperately shield bashing at Labarett to force the raging Barbarian back.

- Gim and the Half-orc gladiator he is facing are dealing blow to blow, they appear evenly matched but Gim is taking a beating through bad luck (DM was consistently rolling high attack and damage rolls versus Gim). Gim is using every trick he has just to stay in the game, matching the skill and brute strength of the gladiator but to no avail (Second Wind and Action Surge). Gim is badly wounded and tired. The Dwarf can see his opponent is only somewhat injured. Gim knows he has to yield now or else he faces possibly losing his life. The Dwarf Fighter kneels down on one knee and shouts, “I yield!” (down to 14 Hit Points)

- Another of the Human gladiators, next to Sir Krondor, blood covering most of his face and blinding him, drops to one knee and shouts, “I yield!” Sir Krondor still has one gladiator left who is relatively uninjured. Sir Krondor is struggling against this Human gladiator. The gladiator’s spear is jabbing constantly at the Dwarf Knight. Sir Krondor knocks away some of the spear jabs but not all and he is getting more and more wounded. Blood seeps into his Order Of The Anvil tabard turning the off white into a rose colour. The Knight of the Anvil considers yielding but his opponent is wounded too and he hopes to get in a lucky strike. The gladiator thrusts his spear towards Sir Krondor’s throat in a killing blow but at the last second the tired Dwarf knocks it aside with his shield (Critical Hit on Sir Krondor but Trenchant used his personal Inspiration to force the DM to re-roll the dice, it still hit but was no longer a critical hit). Sir Krondor is swinging wildly now, his strength spent, half blinded by the sweat coming into his eyes. The gladiator lunges low and down with his spear, his spear skewers the Knight in his guts, and with a grunt Sir Krondor falls over unconscious and bleeding to death (Sir Krondor took more than 30 points of damage in a single attack). His fate now lies with the Gods for no one can aid him. The gladiator turns to look at the other side of the stadium and begins to make his way over to where Oloma, Labaret and the Half-orc gladiator are in battle.

- Nac swings his war hammer into the side of the head of the lion and with a sickening crush the beast tumbles onto it’s side dead. As Nac and the Half-orc gladiator again face each other, hopes of a far fight are dashed when another of the doors on the edge of the stadium, near to them starts to raise.

***

- The crowd starts to cheer and hollow louder.

- “Now what? Dam it I can’t see a thing!” shouts Naillae.

- Trenchant pushes the head of the person in front of him to the side, “The door near Nac has opened again. Oh no, how can that be fair!?”

- “What?” shouts Naillae. She grabs Trenchant and pulls his head toward her, “What!?”

- Trenchant shouts over the roar of the crowd, “Saber toothed tiger!”

- “You’ve got to help them. They’ll be ripped alive!” demands Naillae.

- Trenchant turns back to stadium and pushes aside three people to get a clear view. The Bard starts to scream at the top of his lungs, using his Bardic powers to aid the party down there in any way possible (Bardic Inspiration).

***

- As the door opens a massive saber tooth tiger appears and growls. It’s muscles ripple under its fur.

- Oloma, Labarett and the Half-orc gladiator are now joined by another gladiator, the Human gladiator that dropped Sir Krondor. Now the four are in a frantic battle, with weapons swinging in a chaotic storm of metal on metal. Sir Krondor, on the far side of the stadium has stopped bleeding and has stabilised, the Gods have smiled on the Dwarf (1 Failed and 3 Successful Death Saves).

- For the first time in the game, the Dragonborn gladiator moves. He moves backwards, away from the direction of the large tiger, keeping an eye on the beast and the competitors around him. The injured Human gladiator that bested Gim, leaves the kneeling Dwarf, and looks around for another opponent. He sees the un-injured Dragonborn gladiator near him but decides to instead run forward to attack the injured Half-orc gladiator that is paired against Nac. The Half-orc doesn’t see the Human gladiator running at him as the Half-orc has his full attention on the growling tiger but at the last second knocks the spear aside with his scimitar. Now the Human gladiator and Half-orc gladiator are locked in battle, but careful to keep moving away from the tiger.

- Nac too is slowly backing away but unluckily for him the tiger bolts towards him and lunges at the Cleric. Nac is disparately smashing his shield into the tiger to drop it but the beast manages to avoid most of the shield bashes. Nac is doing little against the beast but at least the Cleric is managing to avoid the claws and teeth by staying close to his shield.

- Back and forth the Half-orc and Human gladiator trade blows, always keeping their attention on the tiger and trying to get away from it. The Half-orc gladiator slices the throat of the Human gladiator, dropping him to the ground, but before the Half-orc can rest, the Dragonborn gladiator finally moves in to engage in battle. With an easy and merciless attack the Dragonborn leaps at the back of the injured Half-orc and thrusts his long sword in the Half-orc’s back, killing his opponent.

- The intensity of the battle has grown now. The Half-orc gladiator near Oloma and Labarett is dropped to the ground bleeding to death (after receiving and dealing a Critical hit) which causes the very badly injured Human gladiator adjacent to drop to his knee and yield instead of risking death.

- There is now only the Dragonborn gladiator, who is uninjured, Nac who is struggling against a saber tooth tiger and Labaret and Oloma standing facing each other on one side of the stadium.

- Labaret speaks to the very badly wounded Oloma, “Take a knee Oloma. You are hurt. I am barely scratched. I will take on the Dragonborn and win this fight.”

- Oloma has a look of pure determination, “No. I will win this fight! I will not back down, to anyone!”

- Oloma wildly waves her scimitar around pretending to attack Labarett but in reality she sends her mind against the Elf Barbarian, in her most powerful psionic attack, the force raging through Labarett’s head, injuring him from the inside.

- Labaret braces himself, stumbling backwards. He looks at Oloma in shock and then his eyes narrow in determination, “I too will not back down!” and then begins to move forward swinging his long sword at Oloma.

- Oloma ducks under the first swing but takes a blow from the back swing of Labarett’s sword. She kneels down and then pretends to swing her scimitar, which is no where actually near Labarett. Her mind sends forth another powerful psionic blast and causes Labarett to black out and fall over, bleeding internally (more than 24 points of damage done in a single attack).

- A horn blasts and a loud voice, amplified by a horn, shouts, “Foul! Disqualified for magic use!”

- One of the doors near Oloma opens and two very angry looking gladiators come out and wave for her to get off the field of battle. She slowly starts to walk towards the door as the crowd near her boos and call out to her, “Cheater!”. She has survived the battle but in disgrace (down to 11 Hit Points).

- Now there are only two competitors. Nac, who is badly injured, barely standing and still fending off the saber toothed tiger, and the Dragonborn gladiator who is not injured at all.

- Nac kneels and shouts, “I yield!” whilst he pushes his shield forward towards the tiger.

- The crowd erupts as the Dragonborn waves his sword in the air in a victory salute. A door near Nac opens up and two animal handlers come running out with long poles with metal rings to capture the tiger. But before they can reach him, the tiger leaps around the kneeling Cleric and slashes him with a pair of mighty claws. Nac tries to keep his shield in the way, whilst the two animal handlers arrive and capture the beast to lead it away. Nac lives but barely (down to 8 Hit Points).

<And as the crowd roars in applause at the end of the gladiator battle, that is the end of the session.>

XP Allocation

Group - Combined (This is equally divided by the number of players who were involved)

Quests (Only quests that are completed or rendered undoable, during this session, are shown here)

- Return Vessel to Yonochen (Partial Only - he took it from you) = 1000 XP

- Enter The Gladiator Duel = 2000 XP (Sir Krondor, Gim, Oloma, Nac and Labarett only)

- Win The Gladiator Duel = FAIL

- Assist In The Gladiator Duel = 50 XP (Trenchant only)

Creatures Overcome

- N/A (Part of Gladiator Duel Quest above)

Individual (This is only given to that person and is not divided amongst all players)

Special Bonus (Outstanding Role Playing)

- True To Their Flaws (Friendly Fire) = 100 XP (Oloma and Labarett only)

XP Levels and Player Allocations

Player : Start +  Received = Total  (Notes)

Phil : 25025 + 394 = 25419

Rob : 31499 + 718 = 32217

Arthur : 21727 + 394 = 22121

Bob : 20711 + 656 = 21367

Travis : 19208 + 175 = 19383

Paul : 16565 + 575 = 17140

Sean : 16750 + 125 = 16875

NPC (Naillae) : + (63)

[ecoorganic]

The Problem With Donald Trump's Insults About the NBA

Breaking down the factual inaccuracies of Donald Trump's statements regarding the NBA.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Donald Trump went on Fox Sports Radio on Tuesday and did Donald Trump things. He stumbled through an answer about China–Hong Kong relations, told a few of the usual lies and spent a sizable chunk of the 20-minute interview congratulating himself for things he hasn’t really accomplished.

And then he went after the NBA.

“Basketball is not working,” Trump said, “because of the way they treated our flag and our anthem.”

This was inevitable, wasn’t it? The waters were stirred last week when Trump called athletes kneeling for the anthem “disgraceful,” claiming he turned off his television when he saw NBA players take a knee. LeBron James responded, suggested basketball wouldn’t miss his viewership. Doc Rivers pointed to his hat, the word VOTE imprinted on the front. "[This] is what our president is trying to get us to not do," Rivers said. “Which I think is just as disgraceful.”

On Tuesday, Trump dug deeper.

“I think [the kneeling] has been horrible for basketball,” Trump said. “Look at the basketball ratings. They are down to very low number. They have enough politics with guys like me. They don’t need more as they are going up for the shot. There was a nastiness about the NBA the way it was done, too. The NBA is trouble. Big trouble. Bigger trouble than they understand.”

Sigh.

Let’s start with the factual inaccuracies, of which there are several. The NBA’s ratings are not “a low number,” as Trump suggested. The ratings have not skyrocketed, as some hoped, dousing the theory that the return of live events would drive sports-starved fans to their televisions. But the first full week averaged 1.56 million viewers, down 4% from the pre-pandemic average. Ratings dipped further in the second week, but remember—beyond the race for the final playoff spot in the West, a race that the most television-friendly star, Zion Williamson, has barely been a part of—these games are largely inconsequential.

Many of the top stars are either injured, resting or both.

The NBA isn’t doing cartwheels over the ratings.

But until the playoffs start, it won’t panic about them, either.

NBA players aren’t being political in the bubble, at least not in support of a candidate. No one is walking around in the sweltering Florida heat with VOTE BIDEN T-shirts sticking to their skin. They don’t kneel for Trump, but for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year old EMT who police shot and killed in her home last March. They kneel to draw attention to incidents of police brutality, which Jaylen Brown would like to see reclassified as domestic terrorism. They kneel because their dealings with police have been much different than those with a lighter skin tone.

“Some Americans have the birthright and the privilege to see police officers as protectors, maybe even peacekeepers, even embraced [as heroes],” Brown said. “I’m not from that side of America.”

Besides—Trump doesn’t actually care about the kneeling. He didn’t serve. He picked up five—five!—military deferments in the 1960s, deftly avoiding the Vietnam War. Anyone can see his passion is purely political. Trump is facing a challenging reelection campaign, and there’s a wide swath of voters who refuse to believe a black athlete's kneeling is anything but disrespect for the military, anthem champions who, let’s face it, are more likely to be chewing popcorn or taking bathroom breaks than standing at attention.

Trump was teed up on the NBA’s relationship with China and, yes, this is where the league has earned criticism. “The way they cater to China, the way they bow to China, it’s a disgrace, frankly,” Trump said. The NBA has raked in the cash from China, in the neighborhood of $400 million, per Adam Silver, and with league interest growing by the year, the NBA hopes to earn more. When Rockets GM Daryl Morey fired off FREE HONG KONG” in a tweet that enraged Chinese officials, the NBA’s initial response was tepid, at best.

When James, the NBA’s biggest star, was asked about Morey’s tweet last October, he fumbled through an answer that actually blamed Morey, a response that rippled with reminders of how much money James makes in China. Last month,

ESPN exposed allegations of abuse at three training academies in China, facilities one American coach described as “a sweat camp for athletes.” The Chinese government is reportedly incarcerating more than a million Uighurs, stuffing the predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group in oppressive reeducation camps.

The NBA has to answer for that.

It should consider severing its relationship with China, at least as long as its human rights record remains abysmal.

But should players be held to the same standard? Asking James to speak about the situation in Hong Kong with the same passion he has for issues at home is wild. James has lived these issues. Before he was LeBron James he was just a kid trying to climb his way out of poverty. Many NBA players share a similar story. They aren’t reading about dangerous encounters with police—they have their own. “You could be killed in your own backyard, reaching for your wallet,” Brown said. “Your parents have to teach you certain behaviors because of the fear that if you run into the police, you might not come home.”

They know that life.

They don’t know the long, complicated history of China and Hong Kong. Not enough to offer any kind of lengthy comment on it, anyway. The fact that that some of their income is derived from Chinese citizens buying sneakers doesn’t obligate them to, either.

Besides: On China, Trump can’t claim any moral high ground. He’s critical of China now, with the coronavirus originating on Chinese soil, but that’s a relatively new development. For years, Trump has sought a cushy relationship with China. As recently as last year he called the violent clashes between Hong Kong and China “a very tricky situation,” adding “I hope it works out for everybody, including China.” As a businessman, Trump sought a foothold in China. Over the last four years, China has been rubber-stamping trademarks for Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Trump doesn’t even know what he is criticizing the NBA about. Clay Travis, the Fox Sports Radio host, has expressed strong opinions about the NBA’s reluctance to condemn the Chinese incursion into Hong Kong. He asked Trump why Americans should care about China’s actions.

Travis likely hoped for an answer that decried the human atrocities.

What he got was a rambling word salad.

“Well look, for years, Hong Kong was making a lot of money that we could have been making in the New York Stock Exchange and our great exchanges,” Trump said. “We have the biggest exchanges. We have the great dollar. The dollar, which I've made stronger, much stronger than it used to be. I hope people recognize that in the world of sports.”

“Our country is in good shape and we're coming back so strong. It's incredible, when you look at the numbers that we're producing and putting up. We're coming back very strong. We've saved millions and millions of lives by closing down and restarting. I will say that with Hong Kong, we gave tremendous incentives and costs us a fortune to keep Hong Kong viable and going.

“Now what we've done, I've ended everything. I've ended all of that. There is no incentive whatsoever. We're not sending money through incentives back to Hong Kong. We're going to make a lot more money, because they're not going to be competitive. It will be a competitive market. Can't be with the government running it.

“They're going to have a different kind of a deal. We're not participating from the standpoint of, we're not spending billions of dollars on making life comfortable with them for freedom. That was O.K. We'd do that if they were free, but they're not free. It's a part when you look, I mean, take a look at a map. It's attached to China, so it's a little bit tough from certain standpoints. We will do very well by not having a good competitor. I guess it'll be a competitor, but on a much smaller scale.”

You get all that?

Me neither.

The NBA isn’t above scrutiny, and questions about its relationship with China won’t—and shouldn’t—go anywhere. Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, told ESPN the league needed to exercise more oversight over the Chinese academies, but even there the NBA needs to do more. Still, this is a fictional feud, designed to fire up a base of people, many who feign outrage at the sight of peaceful demonstrations and more who needed Wikipedia to grasp what the Hong Kong–China conflict was all about.

The NBA is in the middle of it now, and the league would be wise not to take the bait. Silver knew when the NBA embraced the Black Lives Matter movement there would be some blowback, that conservative outlets would attack them, that thirsty politicians would get involved. It was anticipated, and it’s here. Trump huffed and puffed on the radio this week. Best to just sit back and let him puff himself out. 

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[awesomethoughtfulcollectionnut]

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10 Quick Tips About Musically Youtube

Welcome to the Golden Joystick Awards presented with PROPHECY by HP! I am the earliest of six kids, and also I remember my Mom gathering all of us together to sing while she played the guitar. 's new music and art collection North/South/East/ West, out December 1, uses a collection of photos (actually and musically) of four local scenes at the center of the existing avalanche of blunted beat songs. Qbadisc drifts away from the typical Cuban canon - which typically contains either pre-Castro Cuban dancing bands or later on things taped in the States, or the glossiest of the contemporary Cuban bands ... Not that I necessarily have an issue with any one of that material, however it is nice to listen to another thing, and also child, do these compilations perform! This is a jaw-droppingly great document, and a model historic collection. Discovering master tapes for a lot of old music is next to impossible, but tidy records that are very carefully recovered can sound great, so obtain digging. There are some good percussive performances on numerous tracks, but likewise a lot of weak vocal performances and average setups ... barely the slam-bang funkfest implied by the cd's packaging and rather thin lining notes. Although the term appears to come to be of unpredictable beginning with usual presumptions recommending it stands for a contraction of footwork" or perhaps a portmanteau from words spin" and jerk", the Oxford Dictionaries blog site mentions the most likely theory is it is absolutely a difference in work, because that word has actually past obtaining made use of in comparable ways, with professional dancers being asked to function it". https://hubpages.com/@michaelcashman

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[mikevrivera]

Uber’s dismissive treatment of employee’s sexism claims is all too typical in the sector

Uber has suffered a spate of bad publicity in recent days after allegations of harassment and discrimination from a former software engineer.

In a blog post, Susan Fowler described being propositioned by her supervisor within weeks of starting her job.

She complained to the human resources (HR) team. According to Fowler, the supervisor received a “warning and a stern talking-to” but no other discipline at the time because he was a strong performer and it was his “first offense.”

Uber then offered her a choice: Transfer to another team or stay and risk a retaliatory performance review from the harasser.

Fowler also described a larger pattern of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Others reported being harassed by the same manager, apparently contradicting what HR told her.

Fowler’s performance review was downgraded, making her ineligible for a subsidised graduate program. When Fowler asked a director about “dwindling” representation of women in the division, he attributed it to their failure to step up and be better engineers.

When Uber ordered leather jackets for engineers, they were ordered only for men. Apparently, there weren’t enough women to qualify for a bulk discount.

Fowler complained repeatedly. HR responded with escalating indifference, ultimately suggesting that Fowler herself was the problem.

After Fowler’s post went viral, Uber sought to distance itself from the incident and hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate. CEO Travis Kalanick issued a response:

“What she describes is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.”

Fowler’s story – which Uber neither confirmed nor denied – is not unique in the tech sector, where women remain underrepresented.

Women make up only 12% of engineers. These women face substantial headwinds.

In a survey of women in the tech sector, 84% reported being told they were “too aggressive” and 59% said they were offered fewer opportunities than male counterparts.

The majority also reported receiving unwanted sexual advances. And of those that reported the harassment, 60% were unhappy with the company’s response.

The Uber story provides a window into how companies have developed HR infrastructure to address anti-discrimination laws. These structures occupy a marginalised status within organisations.

As I learned while working as an employment lawyer at a large law firm, legal mandates rarely disrupt business objectives.

Instead, they are largely viewed as an inconvenience delegated to HR. That explains, for example, why the CEO learned about Fowler’s allegations only after they went viral.

Symbolic structures

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act safeguards an employee’s right to equal opportunity in the workplace.

It initially protected an employee against discrimination in hiring, pay, promotion and termination. Courts later expanded definitions of discrimination to include harassment. Title VII also protects employees from retaliation for complaining about discrimination or harassment.

As sociologist Lauren Edelman documents in a recent book, employers responded to civil rights laws by setting up complaint processes for employees. She argues that these processes are less focused on meaningfully assuring equal opportunity and more about creating the appearance of compliance.

The ‘first bite is free’

According to Edelman, courts have become complicit in this development, crediting employers for superficial procedures without assessing whether they actually work.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton is a case in point.

The case gives employers a defence in harassment cases if they took reasonable measures to prevent and correct harassment and the victim unreasonably failed to make use of internal complaint mechanisms.

However, courts don’t require employers to do very much to satisfy the defence. Merely adopting and distributing a policy gets an employer credit, as does adopting an investigation process.

Courts do not require employers to take strong disciplinary action against the harasser. Rather, they need only take action reasonably calculated to stop the harassment – even if it does not.

In theory, a plaintiff would still have a viable claim if they used the employer’s complaint procedure. But one empirical study found that even short delays in reporting the harassment can be considered “unreasonable” on the victim’s part.

So if a victim waits a few months to report the harassment, and the employer goes through the motions of investigating and responding, the victim may be out of luck.

This doesn’t give employers much of an incentive to crack down on harassment. As one scholar observed, it essentially allows employers to escape liability for a harasser’s first offence. In other words, the “first bite is free.”

This helps to explain Uber’s underwhelming response to Fowler’s initial complaint.

Uber wasn’t really on the hook for the “first report” and did not have a strong incentive to punish the harasser. For Fowler’s harasser, that meant a “warning and a stern talking-to.”

It’s just a ‘business decision’

Lauren Edelman’s research also documented a tendency among HR and lawyers to characterise civil rights obligations as “legal risks.”

This is consistent with how I talked to employers when I worked as an employment lawyer. I offered advice on “legal risks” while they were tasked with making “business decisions” on how to proceed.

However, this frame ultimately treats legal rules as one of many factors to take into account (or ignore) when employers make important decisions.

Consider Fowler’s situation. Uber evidently considered Fowler’s harasser to be an economically valuable employee that might be difficult to replace.

Transferring the harasser to another team or terminating his employment likely would have been costly. By contrast, offering Fowler a transfer seemed a cheaper alternative, notwithstanding its effect on Fowler and the increased litigation risk.

When framed as a business decision, companies have a tendency to displace the victim of the harassment to preserve the profits associated with a high-flying harasser.

Swatting mosquitoes while ignoring the termites

Fowler’s allegations of sexual harassment have received a lot of press attention, but in many ways her allegations of systemic discrimination and retaliation were more troubling.

The director’s comment that women weren’t stepping up. The altered performance evaluation that cost Fowler a spot at grad school. The leather jackets.

HR was even less responsive to these complaints than to the harassment allegations and blamed the problem on Fowler herself.

Why? They may not have believed her.

But HR may have been limited in its capacity to fix the underlying problem. Yes, it could have paid for the leather jackets, addressed the doctored performance evaluations or scolded the director for his sexist comment.

But HR, on its own, is poorly situated to fix a business culture that is indifferent to (or in denial about) offering meaningful opportunities for advancement to women or other minorities in the workplace.

As political scientist Frank Dobbin has argued, human resources professionals have long struggled to establish their legitimacy within organisations. They are rarely the locus of power within corporations, which instead resides in revenue-generating departments like engineering and sales, and in the executives that preside over the business.

HR advises. Business decides.

Rooting out discrimination

Business leaders make a Faustian bargain when they outsource civil rights compliance to HR and lawyers. They gain credible symbols of compliance.

But they also lose touch with a business identity that includes doing right by their employees. As Mary Gentile argues in her book, “Giving Voice to Values,” we lose touch with our shared values when we define work roles too narrowly.

In retrospect, Uber’s decision to side with the harasser over Fowler was a bad business move. All the bad press has reinforced existing narratives of Uber as a bad actor. But the decision was also – to use a word that has fallen out of favor in the business vernacular – wrong.

Until business leaders view themselves as guardians of civil rights, those rights will continue to be framed as a tax on profits rather than important values to uphold.

Elizabeth C. Tippett is an Assistant Professor at the School of Law, University of Oregon. 

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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from StartupSmart http://www.startupsmart.com.au/advice/growth/young-entrepreneurs/ubers-dismissive-treatment-of-employees-sexism-claims-is-all-too-typical-in-the-sector/

[ecoorganic]

The Problem With Donald Trump's Insults About the NBA

Breaking down the factual inaccuracies of Donald Trump's statements regarding the NBA.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Donald Trump went on Fox Sports Radio on Tuesday and did Donald Trump things. He stumbled through an answer about China–Hong Kong relations, told a few of the usual lies and spent a sizable chunk of the 20-minute interview congratulating himself for things he hasn’t really accomplished.

And then he went after the NBA.

“Basketball is not working,” Trump said, “because of the way they treated our flag and our anthem.”

This was inevitable, wasn’t it? The waters were stirred last week when Trump called athletes kneeling for the anthem “disgraceful,” claiming he turned off his television when he saw NBA players take a knee. LeBron James responded, suggested basketball wouldn’t miss his viewership. Doc Rivers pointed to his hat, the word VOTE imprinted on the front. "[This] is what our president is trying to get us to not do," Rivers said. “Which I think is just as disgraceful.”

On Tuesday, Trump dug deeper.

“I think [the kneeling] has been horrible for basketball,” Trump said. “Look at the basketball ratings. They are down to very low number. They have enough politics with guys like me. They don’t need more as they are going up for the shot. There was a nastiness about the NBA the way it was done, too. The NBA is trouble. Big trouble. Bigger trouble than they understand.”

Sigh.

Let’s start with the factual inaccuracies, of which there are several. The NBA’s ratings are not “a low number,” as Trump suggested. The ratings have not skyrocketed, as some hoped, dousing the theory that the return of live events would drive sports-starved fans to their televisions. But the first full week averaged 1.56 million viewers, down 4% from the pre-pandemic average. Ratings dipped further in the second week, but remember—beyond the race for the final playoff spot in the West, a race that the most television-friendly star, Zion Williamson, has barely been a part of—these games are largely inconsequential.

Many of the top stars are either injured, resting or both.

The NBA isn’t doing cartwheels over the ratings.

But until the playoffs start, it won’t panic about them, either.

NBA players aren’t being political in the bubble, at least not in support of a candidate. No one is walking around in the sweltering Florida heat with VOTE BIDEN T-shirts sticking to their skin. They don’t kneel for Trump, but for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year old EMT who police shot and killed in her home last March. They kneel to draw attention to incidents of police brutality, which Jaylen Brown would like to see reclassified as domestic terrorism. They kneel because their dealings with police have been much different than those with a lighter skin tone.

“Some Americans have the birthright and the privilege to see police officers as protectors, maybe even peacekeepers, even embraced [as heroes],” Brown said. “I’m not from that side of America.”

Besides—Trump doesn’t actually care about the kneeling. He didn’t serve. He picked up five—five!—military deferments in the 1960s, deftly avoiding the Vietnam War. Anyone can see his passion is purely political. Trump is facing a challenging reelection campaign, and there’s a wide swath of voters who refuse to believe a black athlete's kneeling is anything but disrespect for the military, anthem champions who, let’s face it, are more likely to be chewing popcorn or taking bathroom breaks than standing at attention.

Trump was teed up on the NBA’s relationship with China and, yes, this is where the league has earned criticism. “The way they cater to China, the way they bow to China, it’s a disgrace, frankly,” Trump said. The NBA has raked in the cash from China, in the neighborhood of $400 million, per Adam Silver, and with league interest growing by the year, the NBA hopes to earn more. When Rockets GM Daryl Morey fired off FREE HONG KONG” in a tweet that enraged Chinese officials, the NBA’s initial response was tepid, at best.

When James, the NBA’s biggest star, was asked about Morey’s tweet last October, he fumbled through an answer that actually blamed Morey, a response that rippled with reminders of how much money James makes in China. Last month,

ESPN exposed allegations of abuse at three training academies in China, facilities one American coach described as “a sweat camp for athletes.” The Chinese government is reportedly incarcerating more than a million Uighurs, stuffing the predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group in oppressive reeducation camps.

The NBA has to answer for that.

It should consider severing its relationship with China, at least as long as its human rights record remains abysmal.

But should players be held to the same standard? Asking James to speak about the situation in Hong Kong with the same passion he has for issues at home is wild. James has lived these issues. Before he was LeBron James he was just a kid trying to climb his way out of poverty. Many NBA players share a similar story. They aren’t reading about dangerous encounters with police—they have their own. “You could be killed in your own backyard, reaching for your wallet,” Brown said. “Your parents have to teach you certain behaviors because of the fear that if you run into the police, you might not come home.”

They know that life.

They don’t know the long, complicated history of China and Hong Kong. Not enough to offer any kind of lengthy comment on it, anyway. The fact that that some of their income is derived from Chinese citizens buying sneakers doesn’t obligate them to, either.

Besides: On China, Trump can’t claim any moral high ground. He’s critical of China now, with the coronavirus originating on Chinese soil, but that’s a relatively new development. For years, Trump has sought a cushy relationship with China. As recently as last year he called the violent clashes between Hong Kong and China “a very tricky situation,” adding “I hope it works out for everybody, including China.” As a businessman, Trump sought a foothold in China. Over the last four years, China has been rubber-stamping trademarks for Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Trump doesn’t even know what he is criticizing the NBA about. Clay Travis, the Fox Sports Radio host, has expressed strong opinions about the NBA’s reluctance to condemn the Chinese incursion into Hong Kong. He asked Trump why Americans should care about China’s actions.

Travis likely hoped for an answer that decried the human atrocities.

What he got was a rambling word salad.

“Well look, for years, Hong Kong was making a lot of money that we could have been making in the New York Stock Exchange and our great exchanges,” Trump said. “We have the biggest exchanges. We have the great dollar. The dollar, which I've made stronger, much stronger than it used to be. I hope people recognize that in the world of sports.”

“Our country is in good shape and we're coming back so strong. It's incredible, when you look at the numbers that we're producing and putting up. We're coming back very strong. We've saved millions and millions of lives by closing down and restarting. I will say that with Hong Kong, we gave tremendous incentives and costs us a fortune to keep Hong Kong viable and going.

“Now what we've done, I've ended everything. I've ended all of that. There is no incentive whatsoever. We're not sending money through incentives back to Hong Kong. We're going to make a lot more money, because they're not going to be competitive. It will be a competitive market. Can't be with the government running it.

“They're going to have a different kind of a deal. We're not participating from the standpoint of, we're not spending billions of dollars on making life comfortable with them for freedom. That was O.K. We'd do that if they were free, but they're not free. It's a part when you look, I mean, take a look at a map. It's attached to China, so it's a little bit tough from certain standpoints. We will do very well by not having a good competitor. I guess it'll be a competitor, but on a much smaller scale.”

You get all that?

Me neither.

The NBA isn’t above scrutiny, and questions about its relationship with China won’t—and shouldn’t—go anywhere. Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, told ESPN the league needed to exercise more oversight over the Chinese academies, but even there the NBA needs to do more. Still, this is a fictional feud, designed to fire up a base of people, many who feign outrage at the sight of peaceful demonstrations and more who needed Wikipedia to grasp what the Hong Kong–China conflict was all about.

The NBA is in the middle of it now, and the league would be wise not to take the bait. Silver knew when the NBA embraced the Black Lives Matter movement there would be some blowback, that conservative outlets would attack them, that thirsty politicians would get involved. It was anticipated, and it’s here. Trump huffed and puffed on the radio this week. Best to just sit back and let him puff himself out. 

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