After a Battle with Snakes

As the final sneaky snake hisses out its final raspy scream, the river becomes silent. There is no dust to settle with the air so thick and earth so muddy. No sound of cheering. It is oddly empty and somber until something fills it.
Something like Solus fussing over Alexa's injuries. Something like Ozy immediately boasting about how amazing he is.
Something like Paulo closing his book with a loud clapping sound to signify the conflict has reached a degree of finality. The conflict was different with him around. Everything had a calm intensity about it. "That was a smart move," Paulo says as he looks to Captios. "The snakes were positioned to do the least amount of damage and using grease further reduced their capabilities," he says.
The scent of fresh blood fills Rolfs nostrils. The blood flowing in the acid releases a caustic iron scent. What was just recently a battlefield lays still as Paulos' words and Ozys boasts break the silence.
Rolf, having just survived his third battle, is now unscratched in 2/3 encounters. Unluckily for him the one he was touched nearly cost his life. The feeling of accomplishment fills his soul as he is finally starting to feel more comfortable in his new skin.
"Yeah Captios, that plan was amazing. I have no doubt that I only made it out so cleanly because of your quick thinking. Thank you" -Rolf says in a tone of great gratitude.
Looking as a fresh bit chunk of snake meat in the dirt, Rolf pick it up feeling the latent warmth from the once living creature. It is a reminder that death comes swifter than what we intend.
In a curious tone, unsure of the future plans, Rolf states:
"Do you guys think there are enough whole bits of snake left to make that bridge across?"
The thought of entering the burning river sends a phantom shiver down his spine. He saw the pain that the acid caused Syn when she was dragged unwillingly into it.
"If not, it might be a good idea to extract some snake venom if we find intact glands. The scales could be useful too,"
Not mentioning the meat as the thought of eating the snake is mildly repulsive to Rolf. Especially since they are not currently lacking food.
Hearing Paulo's complements sends a wave of emotions through Captios. Anger, sadness, anxiety swirl through him as he tries to center himsef. "I miscalculated. Alexa got hurt. Smart is a huge overstatement." The young wizard doesn't even look at Paulo as he surveys the river before him. There are so many things he wants to discuss with Paulo, but he can't let himself get to close for fear of what Gig might have him do. Instead, he brushes off the Celestial with a quick reference to a previous encounter. "This is the second time an enemy has easily breached the defenses I've thought of." A reminder of the plant seige.
He turns to Rolf: someone to distract him from the stone-faced Celestial he is trying to avoid. "You did good out there. Kept your eyes open. Hit your shots. To be honest, up until now, I wasn't sure why Lancyte would choose you. Keep fighting like that and it'll prove he made the right choice." The words have a matter-of-factness to them, but it isn't hard to note a trace of envy at the end of the statement. "Yea, I think these snakes should fit across the river. They shouldn't sink even though they are dead. We do need to figure out how to get them across. If we could somehow "row" them back and forth? Or if we could get someone to the other bank to anchor them first?"
Captios goes over to inspect one of the snakes. "You are right, the parts of this snake could be useful later. Alexa, are these items that someone at the Shadow Market would find useful? It's not every day you get a snake specimen from Byle's lands. I wouldn't eat the meat though. Would most likely get us sick."
"I see," Paulo replies as he stands on the southern cliff face. Without his robes he looks less majestic than normal. A tall man with a white shirt and white slacks that defy the terrain's attempts at stains. "A shield is not absolute. You'll never know if the defense you create blocked a fatal blow if you only count the blows that bypassed it," he says in a voice that is muted. A teacher's voice. "Although you do sense the realities that can be," the celestial reminds Captios.
A well timed gust of wind brings a less-than-epic waft of the Festered Land's sharp scent. "Arhor'ha is in very good hands," he adds in, turning his head to Rolf as well to nod him into that category. Sweet Paak06/23/2020 "Pfffft." A sound comes out of Captios' mouth, half laugh, half dismissal of Paulo's last statement. "We've got a couple strong ass but chaotic AF tieflings, a warlock that can't go 5 minutes without her bird, a bright-eyed bushy tailed sorcerer who is just getting his legs under him and me, who..." Captios stops short. "Let's just say I'm a volcano of bad decisions."
Pangur jumps off Captios' shoulder and walks over to Paulo, sniffing his boot. Captios looks at the cat, realizing the biting nature of his words. "I'm sorry that wasn't nice of me. I don't like it when I'm like that. Please accept my apologies, I've been nothing but a pessimist since we started. Tell me, Rolf, how did you end up meeting Lancyte in the first place? You seem like an odd guy for him to choose as his vassal, no offense."
Being included in Paulo's words bring a wave of confidence over Rolf. He has been acknowledged by not only an Immortal dragon, but by Paulo as well.
While the words from Captios' probably stung the party; there is a large portion of truth in his words. Not being against Tieflings, unlike many of his peers, Rolf was wary of the chaotic nature and how dangerously strong they were in this party. His thoughts drift to the arm of the former "Friend?"; could he be next if he miss stepped?
They had just started on this newest adventure and strife might be building already in the group. Looking to possibly diffuse the situation Rolf attempts to explain, in a lighthearted manor, to Captios his meeting of the immortal bronze dragon:
"Well, it starts off with some tragedy, gets worse, gets even worse, gets painful, and bam I can use magic."
Rolf chuckles at the very vague and hopefully funny initial exchange.
"The meat of the story is that my family took on a very big financial risk on one of our ventures. We ended up sinking about 80% through the journey losing everything in the process. Even my friends, mentors, and father. Coming ashore in a dangerous area I met Lance, in human form, and he accompanied the rest of the survivors to safety. On the way, we ended up getting ambushed and had to fight for our lives. I ended up taking a nasty chest wound. Blood was pouring out of me. Lance saw my bravery and took a liking to me and saved me. he used his blood to heal my wounds and replace what was lost and Bam here I am."
"I appreciate the kind words though. From both of you (Paulo and Captios). Did anyone have any ideas on what's next after we get across?"
Captios ruffles his brow and strokes his chin. "Once we get across we've got to high tail it to where Shirley is. We can't really spend time wandering. Luckily Paulo has decided to guide, for whatever reason that may be. Once we get close, we'll need to scope out the lair, wait for the distraction, and then pounce. Shirley may be expecting us if she's smart enough to recognize the white raven."
He takes a second and breathes in deeply. "I wish I knew what was going on with the dragons. Based on what another person said, if Jacob, a mortal, is holding the white dragon as a prisoner, the dragon council would know about it. Either Lancyte isn't aware of all the happenings of the immortal dragons, or the white dragon hasn't communicated anything to the council. It makes me wonder if a) the white dragon is even a prisoner, b) if the white dragon is incapacitated beyond, or c) the white dragon doesn't know it is being used. I'll need to go back into my head to remember what i've read from the books in Jacob's lair." "But that's neither here nor there. My mind is too distracted right now. We have to focus on the task at hand first."
As Captios brings up an interesting serious of questions Rolf is focused on making the best use of the snakes possible.
"I hope no one minds but Im going to grab some scales and hopefully some venom/venom sacks, their hormonal scent glands, and their adrenal glands."
Before Rolf starts slicing snakes to bits, he takes a second to think and remember what he knows about snakes.
Since all four snakes died on shore this is a relatively easy task. Since Rolf was weak, uncoordinated, and hoping to be a wizard he spent a lot of time reading. Most of his knowledge is on the sea snake variety but it should be consistent throughout types. He knows that in nearly all snakes, the adrenal gland is located at the start of the lower third of the tail Best way to get to it is slicing from above to remove the muscle exposing the glands without damaging them. Slightly past the the cloaca is the scent gland near the tip of the tail. Just look for the change in scale pattern. The venom glands are tricky. Its located under the eye. If the skull is too crushed you can always take a water skin and milk the venom canal by pushing the base of the neck down as the fangs extend and capture the drops. A standard meter long coral sea snake produces around 100mg of venom with an injection rate of 10-20mg per bite. The scales are the easy part; since they will need the majority for the bridge the ones to take are the end of the tails as well as the sides and nape of the head.
As Rolf prepares to filet and scavenge the snakes he lets out a quick:
"Does anyone has any vials on hand? I may need some sooner rather than later. Id rather not waste another water skin and potentially dilute the venom. I'm already going to have to store the glands in one."
"You don't need to be nice and my skin is thick enough take venting from time to time," Paulo replies to Captios as he stands there on the edge of the cliff. "There is a lot weighing on you and sharing that burden is a good thing, even if it takes you some time to figure out how to do it." A breeze, far from perfect, singes the nostrils. "You are not wrong in that the people of Arhor'ha are imperfect. They may falter and they may fail, but they rise and they will ultimatley succeed. It is that struggle that gives it value and all of you have struggled along your path." He turns to look to Captios, "You are not alone. None of our stories go without impacting another's. That struggle may save another from despair." He looks back to the sky, "And with that strength they do great things. Like stop a plague, saving thousands, and dedicate it to the man that saved them. Without which, none would be saved at all." The silver haired man turns and steps more directly toward Captios and Rolf, before the merchant goes to Operation Solid Snek. "I told you that I am here to protect you as you go through this dangerous land. I do not lie. I can only be in one place at one time, unlike Gig. Of all the places and times, this is where I want to be. There is good left undone." A hand gestures to the river as he begins to speak more. In the background Ozy is boasting how he killed more snakes and Solus is mending clothes that have acid burns and puncture wounds by the use of luminescant magic. "The dragon council is aware of the situation Frostmourn, the White Winter is in. The Arhor'ha Alliance is aware of the situation Nexus is in. Kings and Queens move methodlgically. The move against Byle was decided before the counsil was ever called."
The attempt at harvesting snek juice is fruitful for the sneks that were not brutally obliterated by Syn and Ozy. Its a good handful (12) of snake venom that Rolf knows sells well on the market for tipped arrows or oiled blades for the shadowy-types, anti-venom for the alchemists, and even as reagents for the magically inclined. One person even decided it gave the right kick to alcohol.
Captios reponds without looking at Paulo, but his voice takes on an excited pitch like it did back in the village where he last met the celestial. "Alexa mentioned that we may just be pawns in a bigger game, pieces being moved by the likes of you, infernals, Jacob, you know... people of greater power and understanding than ourselves. With the entrance of Lancyte and Rolf, I'm starting to get even more worried that we are getting taken advantage of by certain individuals. People that are seeing the whole board and not just one row or column. Synthesizing the bigger picture has always been our problem. You said the move against Byle was decided before the council was convened. It seems the strike is occurring at a rather opportune time for us. It couldn't be coincidence, could it? Who made the decision to take on Byle?" Captios shakes his head in frustration. "The problem isn't that the powerful move methodically, it's that the ground forces don't know the next move til it happens, and are left reacting with imperfect information. It's why, if I had to guess, Alexa relies on you so much. She has to react to everything and never has all the information to make the 'right' move, if there even is one. For once, I'd like to see the whole board, to play the game with context of what has already happened. Unfortunately, only you get to do that Paulo." Captios lets out a chuckle. "In the meantime, the rest of us have to rely on our inductive reasoning. It is what it is, but it's suboptimal, for me at least."
Paulo closes his eyes. His arms cross over his chest where a simple shirt covers it instead of his more majestic robe. "Pawns in a game," the Sage of Light recalls, "as you stand there you feed the air and the earth. Just as the air and the earth feeds you. On a boat you are pulled by the wind and the water. So it is with powers of that magnitude. By existing in the world you are subject to gravity and sunlight." Opening his eyes again he speaks, "Do you feel manipulated or coerced? If fate wasn't pulling you along, would you still be here? Its your own will, no one can take that from you. Neither Gods or Devils can."
A pause to make a very. Specific. Point.
"It is not a coincidence. If I recall correctly, a member of this party participated in the plot to strike when you did. It is a coordinated effort," Paulo says, "Targryn initially brought up the concern. Skybreaker seconded. Lancyte agreed readily. Other members were not as vocal. Even Vyne was not able to contribue, although his brood were likely behind the tug at Targryn's sense of duty and Lancyte's bravado. The feud between Byle and Vyne does not serve Arhor'ha when all dragonkind is at risk. It took that amount of convincing to mobilize only some of the dragons."
Another pause about something Captios says. He turns to face him very seriously, "I pray that you never have to see the board the way you are asking. It is not a burden I would wish only any living thing. There is no 'right' move. If you save one person, you damn another. No one should be playing at a deity like that, not even me."
Covered in the sinew of snake, drenched in its fluids, and victorious in his harvest Rolf starts to clean himself up a bit.
The reward was worth the mess. 12 snake venom samples would fetch a fine price at market. It could also prove useful later. This is probably not the last time they encounter snakes.
With bits of snake still trapped in his robes, Rolf is quick to thank Paulo for his protection.
"I really appreciate that you're looking out for us Paulo."
Hearing Captios talk about the bigger picture in the frustrated tone buts Rolf on edge. He knows that he is a piece for one "player" (Lancyte) already. Viewing his request from Paulo more as fulfilling a debt owed. But the possibility that he may be a piece for many bring a bit on visable uneasiness to his face.
Hearing Paulos' explanation and really taking in his words lifts the worry off of Rolf. Taking a quick look at his gift confirms his thoughts. This is the place where fate has brought him too. There is comfort in being part of something bigger yet having the free will to step away.
Reaffirmed in his conviction. Rolf takes a moment to listen to the woods. They lay still. The acid flows fast but all signs of life outside the party are halted.
"Hey Paulo. How do you handle the weight of having to choose who you save? The act of condemning another person in the same choice seems difficult. Though something we all might have to struggle with someday."
"I don't," Paulo replies to Rolf with all the simplicity of reading the answers from the back of a textbook. "Until recently it was formulaic. There was no choice required. The celestials follow a similar pattern. The only thing that sways their mind is to show an oversight in the formula itself. When they start to interpret the formula creatively or selfishly, the system breaks down." He looks over to where Solus, Alexa, Ozy, and Syn are. "So that is poor advice unless you are secretly a celestial creature. What I have learned is to keep finding ways to atone for your sins when making decisions of your own. You are the only person who can keep yourself accountable. Also, forgive yourself for not being perfect and not being able to be everything at all times, even if others cannot forgive you while you make reparations. That is their choice, you only have agency over your own."
A pause. "When I am done atoning for my own sins, I'll let you know the results. Seeing the permutations of fate doesn't lend itself to matters of the heart, only cause and effect. The weight you speak of is a condition of the heart. Ask Iolanthe Targarius. She is the only current holder of a heartstone, though that is going to change very soon."
The fact that Paulo feels Rolf will be around for the culmination of Paulos' atonement brings a small comfort. Though there is some surprise to the fact Paulo feels the need to atone. Maybe he won't die in such a terrible place.
Wiping away some leftover bits of snake guys. Rolf is starting to get a feel for who Paulo is. Maybe that's how all celestials are? I mean Paulo is his first.
"I want to become a great leader. Your words really illuminated a lot for me. Thank you for that and for giving me a person to seek more information from."
Despite not having his question answered directly; Rolf does take a lot away from Paulo.
Looking out over the party questions overflow in Rolfs head. Wondering the purpose of this grouping, why everything is working out this way, if they will all make it, what is going on with Lancyte right now, will he be able to help them after defeating Shirley, and many more.
The sounds of Ozy boasting again about his kill count breaks his endless line of questions. If he starts thinking too much he might miss something, make a mistake, and end up dead.
"If you ever feel like I need to know something Paulo; please don't hesitate to tell me."
Shooting a look over to Captios. Then Alexa. Followed by Syn, Ozy, and Solus.
"That goes for you guys too. I'm going to lean on your experience if that's alright."