Looking ahead

These have been a hectic few weeks.
I had avoided West Zothlan for a while; the wound of the Dark Lands is ever fresh, and being there is difficult, not to mention that as far as the Church of Purity is concerned, their presence there was limited. But I had to face the worst side of the past some day. There's more to just revenge in the oath, after all.
If anything, helping around was... refreshing. Relieving. Felt good. It's not nearly enough, of course, but then again, I don't think even confronting the Duchess will be enough. Truly, I can't erase the past. But I can do something about the future, and if anything, making the Dark Lands a bit brighter is as good a start as any.
I just didn't expect it to get so insane.
Working with a group wasn't something new in and of itself, but the representatives certainly were. All women, and most of them barely seemed like the adventuring type, let alone the mercenary one. In a way, it's better than some good-for-nothing sellswords I've been tagged with in the past who were more interested in my breasts and extorting the last copper piece they could rather than actually doing anything useful, but in another, it's worse. A blind girl claiming to be some sort of fighting monk, an obviously noble-born one who'd do a lot better in a formal dinner, and that bard... At least the shapeshifter was in her element, for the most part.
Yeah, I don't think even the Mistress, back in her better days, would begrudge me a sigh and an eyeroll.
And my, they proved a handful too. Guiding them has always been our task, but I think I've begun to understood how difficult a task it is to actually get invested. Running around heedless of danger, provoking with no thought of consequences, and that bard... Goddess, that bard...
But after fighting through an invading gnoll horde, the local forces of the Crimson Dawn and the monster army assembled by a hag coven, I can safely say I was a bit rash in my judgement. They pulled through, even the wizard who joined us later on and who had probably never even considered shooting someone in the face with a frost beam before. If anything, the one I was initially counting more on, Swift Strike, ended up bailing.
Except that bard. I was too lenient with her, even. Though her suicidal tendencies caught up with her, eventually.
Not everything went perfectly. My failure at Wolford still hurts, and the region is still devastated. But they can look to a better tomorrow, I feel. And I can look ahead myself. While making sure that whoever sticks around doesn't die. That boy who joined us for the siege doesn't look to be much in the ways of self-preservation either.
But before I leave, I need to settle things with Tirali. I know she's up to no good, even if I do feel for her. I can't let her set up house in the region while they're trying to rebuild. The people don't deserve this, and last thing I need is for them to end up worse off than before.
Damn that bard. She may be dead, but I still gotta clean up her messes.