A selfless act during troubled times

The gleam boys were the first on our list of allies that we approached for help in defeating the Triad. We found them at their usual tavern in the Emerald district and spoke briefly with Rider about our plans for the Triad. She told us that the only way the Gleam Boys would help was if we could convince their leader Hard Tom to agree to help us.
 
We spoke to him about why it would be in his best interest for the Gleam Boys to aid us. We also reminded him that If the Triad took over Zyniii they would cause trouble for his Gleam Boys anyway, and it would benefit everyone if we took them down now before that happened. Unfortunately we were unable to convince him to help us and he was adamant that he did not want the Gleam boys to get involved with the Triad.
 
I was annoyed that Hard Tom was being so stubborn about the whole thing, and I was not the only one. Arthom must have telepathically said something nasty to Hard Tom, because he clutched his head and screamed at Arthom to stop. Then he punched Arthom and Arthom retaliated by using his magic to wrap vines around Hard Tom. I half expected a fight to break out in the tavern, but was surprised instead when Chatter held up Arthom’s arm, and announced that Arthom was the new leader of the Gleam boys. Arthom appeared to accept this and I could sense that he was prepared to lead the Gleam boys, at least for now. He did not order them to aid us and left the decision up to them, which I felt was a good start to his leadership. Luckily for us most of the Gleam Boys agreed to help us.
 
Our next stop took us to the Azurite district to visit the gang of Aurelian Elves that we knew through Chatter. Our conversation with the gang leader called Cousin Vinny was a breeze compared to the difficult discussion we had with Hard Tom. I got on well with Cousin Vinny and enjoyed our conversation. He did not hesitate to offer us the aid of his Aurelian elves when the time came for our battle with the Triad. Not only did he promise to help us but he even tried to persuade me to marry one of his cousins. Little did he know that since I had already run away from one marriage proposal, I had no intention of entering another. Hopefully I can stay in his good graces despite me not marrying his cousin.
 
_________________________________________________________________________________
 
Our final stop took us to the Yakuza headquarters in the Rose district. Thank goodnes we had Ko Rava with us, i doubt we would have made it through the front gates without her. We were granted an audience with the Yakuza boss and then Ko Rava brought forth our proposal to him. He appeared to be getting upset despite what Ko Rava was saying and then placed a sharp blade in front of Arthom. I could only just make out what the Yakua boss was saying and got the impression that he wanted Arthom to make some sort of blood sacrafice.
 
The situation then turned from bad to worse when Arthom handed the blade back and the Yakuza boss got offended by Arthom's actions. I could feel the tension building in the room and did not know how we would persuade the Yakuza boss to seek an alternative outcome. Ko Rava intervened and offered to take Arthom's punishment instead. She continued to argue with the Yakuza boss and he decided that in the end she would be exiled from her Yakuza family in Zyniii, once the Triad were taken down. She agreed to these terms and cut off the Yakuza patch on her robe which she then handed to the Yakuza boss.
 
I wonder if she felt like she was cutting off a piece of herself when she handed over that Yakuza patch. I could only imagine the amount of courage it must have taken for her to make that sacrifice and the sadness she must have been feeling after agreeing to these terms. I thought it was a very brave and selfless thing that she did to prevent Arthom from getting hurt.
 
She told us that she would meet us later that night because she still needed to say goodbye to her Yakuza family. Before we left her i let her know that she would always have a home with my tribe if she ever needed it. I think she appreciated my offer and i prayed that it offered her some comfort.