"Perhaps it would be safer if you simply provided me with a map, or directions and I proceeded alone? I do not wish to risk my companions on what could easily be purely personal concerns."
"I'd be glad to. East of here lies the passage to the Woods. Beyond, the halls advance towards the Spiral Road. Above rest the three cities of the Teraphim, Vanirskeep, as well as Nova Palatine and Amberilan's Heart; below are the Gates of Undru, beyond which the tribes live. It is there that you will find the Iron Cemetery." - she gestures around, as if trying to draw a rustic map with her fingertips. "If you have parchment, I'll draw the way to the extent of my capabilities."
"Do you think you could take the miners with you? They could protect you as much as you protect them and they would have some time to recover from this ordeal. Or we could escort all of you somewhere safer, if you know the way."
Her eyes betray a turbulent wave of sentiments as she hears Thulwar's suggestions. In the end, though, the smile upon her lips win the struggle, turning the harshness of her eyes into an amused sign of friendship.
"A warrior of Vanirskeep needs no protection! Your miners, on the other hand..." - she turns over her shoulders, meeting the ragged group, as well as the greenskin prisoner. "Nevertheless, the odds of falling prey to another ambush are, at this point... Rather large." - she breathes impatiently, remembering the cause of her bruises. "Although..." - she glances once more at the prisoner -"...the small rat might know if his companions are still inside the Woods or not. I believe they might find shelter here, since they're, at least for the time being, immune to the madness that plagues the place."
"And yes, my people don't ever associate with demons and their kind. Too destructive. Life in the deep is dangerous without bringing our own destructive forces into being."
"Indeed, no healer I heard of would partake of the blood sacrifices demanded by the demons below. That which they can't build under guidance of the Old and Young Gods they take by force, sharing in the blood of their victims and feasting on the flesh of the innocent. Monsters." - she seems disgusted to mention their brutal practises. "Many a greenskin has tried to do the same" - she points out towards Sardath - "hoping to become godlike as well. And many an aberrant as well..." - her poignant tone grooms her to silence.
"You were lied to. The world is rich in life. Sentient life. Both below and above."
"
You are convinced that I was, no doubt about it. Still..." - she looks once more at Aanzu, carefully phrasing her ideas - "...if you are right, then the 'lies' you denounce came straight from the mouths of the Teraphim, who protected us and guided us for ages. Why would they do so? Wouldn't it make more sense to assume that you have been plagued by the afflictions of the impregnable garden that separated us, not so long ago, from the outside world? I've said it before, no one has come this far in ages, not even the inhabitants of Nova Palatine - not even those who craved this place's innermost secrets. No, I do not call you liars, but neither am I eager to accept such explanation." - she seems as direct as Thulwar, leading the topic to a halt before she might offend someone... Yet again.
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION]