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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeremy" data-source="post: 371555" data-attributes="member: 4036">Collin smirked and said, “Even after all we do…  Fate bends over and shows us his white ass.”  He grinned at the metaphor and sauntered out to find Zerin.  Laughing he approached the troubled creature and said, “Well, we killed another one.  Who do you think will go next?  C’mon,” Collin leaned in close and whispered privately as if it was some personal jest, “Let’s go save the world”  He drawled melodramatically.Zerin was thunderstruck by Collin’s tone, behavior, and manner and didn’t know what to make of it, but if there was a leader of the party, it was he and so he did as he was told.  Lifting Collin’s slight frame into the air he returned them to the Sara Ardon where it lay anchored off shore.  With a careless gesture he summoned forth an ape to crank the anchor back up as he went below decks.  Who knows what happened to it when Collin lifted the ship out of the waters and shot off to the south.Back in Galearon tactics were being discussed among the adventuring companies.  Several plans were proposed, discarded, and modified before one was generally agreed upon.  The elves themselves were battered and numbed with their own losses and kept to the woods, quietly watching and waiting for the inevitable return of the phalanxes.  As for the individual adventurers, each reacted in their own way.  Some grew more focused, others nursed barely contained rage, while others spoke with eyes brimming with unshed tears.  But today things would change.Today retribution would crash down like a thunderstorm.The elves kept watch while the warriors, wizards, and priests discussed placement, fall back points, spell preparations, and possible offensives.  Three separate strike teams were formed with strict instructions.“Hit hard, hit fast, and get the hell out,” Borindra summed up.Imver nodded, adding, “And if a horn blows, don’t wait to see the dragon, retreat then.  We’ll give them one hell of a surprise today, but we can’t afford to lose a single person.”  He looked around the room, gathering eyes quietly, “Divided, we’ll be easy pickings, so this is a one-shot opportunity to deliver as much firepower simultaneously as possible,—” He punctuated his statements with a gloved fist pounding down on the table, “—before we have to group together to overcome the dragon.  Do not, I repeat, do not engage the dragon until we are all collected and replenished.”Discussions were covering various minutiae when Collin returned with Zerin and strode into the commons with a strange light in his eyes.  Borindra looked up, irritated, but Collin swept his gaze past her and latched on to the wan form of Zon, the half-elf.  Zon had been the first of New Galdomond to accept Collin and his friends and despite what Borindra blamed them for, he still offered a weak smile upon the fiery-haired young man’s return.  That smile was returned by Collin as he almost skipped over to Zon suppressing a giggle that would have sounded more than a little mad.Zon fought to hold onto the smile in his confusion and looked at questioningly at Collin who motioned him to lean close.  Collin bent over and whispered in Zon’s ear in a cheerful and excited voice, “Guess what?”Zon was definitely in need of some good news, he and his friends had been through tough times as late, and looked down upon as he was in Galearon, it still hurt to see it decimated so.  He leaned in closer to Collin.“We, the great heroes that we are, went to visit the Circle of Oaks again to bring back an innocent life.  Two Moons, came with us just as Durchek did and being the wonderful fellow he is, took her into the mists with him.  And…”  Collin paused dramatically, leaning over even closer before loudly announcing, “He’s dead!”Jaws dropped all around the room at Collin’s sick idea of a joke, as Zon froze not knowing what to think.  It couldn’t be true, he wouldn’t have said it like that, but what would ever possess Collin to…  But it only got worse as Collin barely paused before almost seeming to taunt Zon.  “Yup.  No good deed goes unpunished, and yet another one of your friends has died in an utterly meaningless fashion.  Who do you think will be next, hmmm?  It could be me!  It could be you!”Zon eyes brimmed with tears as his face screwed itself up in rage and his fingernails clawed into his palms but Collin didn’t even notice and continued, “It doesn’t even matter, it’s all just blind luck!  Any second now some terrible fate is just waiting to spring on anyone of us or anything we care about!”  Collin continued on laughing and jesting and pointing as Zon’s chair overturned and he flung himself at Collin as an anguished scream clawed its way out of his chest and howled through the room.  His hands closed around Collin’s scrawny throat as Zon’s eyes blazed and brilliant explosion detonated point-blank on the two of them, hurling them to the floor and blackening and crisping their skin with the sickening smell of burning flesh.Collin was totally insane and cared not a whit, he just kept laughing through gasps and did nothing to protect himself.  Zon slammed his head into the floorboards repeatedly, a wordless shriek pouring from his lips.Zerin would have gone to help but he was busy interposing himself between them and Borindra who had drawn live steel and had murder in her eyes.  Most of the room was aghast at what was occurring, and while some had been injured and hurled back by Zon’s brilliant blast, Valhallet and Frederick kept their heads and worked to pull the two apart before Zon killed him.  A thunderous crack like a whip snapping full brought Collin momentarily back to his senses as Valhallet nearly took his head off with a backhand then threw him bodily from the inn.  Frederick handed Zon into Vithas and Durchek’s care before hurrying after him.To be Continued…</blockquote>

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