Explanations, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Monk

The boat rocked gently in the airborne waves, and Kallista's stomach rocked with it, but the sickness was getting better, and at least she could walk around now without the constant threat of throwing up. She looked up when she heard the door to the ship's single cabin creak open and Delona emerged, yawning.

"Your turn for some privacy, K..." she said with a friendly smile.

She got up from the deck and stretched, feeling her joints pop satisfyingly. As she headed back for her turn in the cabin, she passed by nashira, who was standing at the railing staring out over the passing landscape.

"Hey, you got a minute?" she asked, trying to sound friendly "I've been meaning to talk to you."

The paladin looked up from the water and smiled trying not to appear as wary as she felt. This was about to be about Tzesira. She could feel it. She hoped she hadn't already fouled up chances of cooperating with this team by ruffling feathers.

"Sure. I'm not busy doing much else on this boat. Water doesn't change much no matter how long you stare at it. And anyway, I've been hoping to talk to you, too."

Kallista smiled and led the way to the cabin, lighting a small oil lamp as Nashira closed the door behind them. The tiefling sat down on the room's cot, leaving the chair for the paladin.

"I uh... I wanted to talk about what happened the other day... with Tzesira..."

Nashira took a deep breath and launched into a atypically defensive ramble.

"Ok. Let me explain something quickly. I still don't know any of you very well. And it's obvious that I overstepped some lines by calling her out especially given that it's becoming increasingly clear that Tzesira doesn't actually bother anyone but me. I've been tense since meeting all of you because you're a hard group to understand, and then we landed in this place. I just could not stand her attitude. She acts like a school bully 80% of the time. What is the situation there? Because I have no desire to be adversarial with any of you, but she sets off every instinct that I have to bring her into line despite the fact that I am normally a far more adept people person." She stopped only because her breath had run out, but it seemed a good place to let the tiefling speak anyway.

"Whoa, whoa, it's ok, I'm not trying to accuse you of anything," Kallista said, holding up her hands, "I know that T is difficult to deal with sometimes, trust me. I get into my share of fights with her and I'm her best friend. I realize being stuck here with all of us is... unnerving at best, I guess. I just wanted to try to maybe explain where she's coming from."

She sighed and leaned back against the wooden wall of the cabin.

"She's from the Shadowfell, and her culture is... different. When you called her out, she saw it as you challenging her, and in her way of thinking, that's not something she can permit.She's confrontational because she doesn't really know how else to be sometimes. She means well. She really does."

"I get cultural differences. I truly do. I can come to terms with her personality. My worry, to be honest, is how difficult this particular incident will be for her to move beyond. What I hear you telling me here is that it's not in her nature to just talk through things and agree to let bygones be bygones. I can't constantly be looking over my shoulder for as long as we're in this place."

Kallista shook her head.

"I don't think that'll be the case. She's not really the type to hold grudges. Not over something like this, anyway. Besides, she's not the stab-in-the-back type. If she has a problem, trust me, you'll know it. Just try to respect her and she'll be fine. I like you, Nashira. You seem like a good person and a strong leader, and we're gonna need your help to get out of here. Try to show Tzesira that and she'll respect you too."

"I will certainly try. And I rather like you, too, Kallista. You're friendly and kind. So would you do me a favor? Maybe give me a rundown of folks...any land mines I should be avoiding or just details that might help me understand how these people tick a little better? For the most part I'll go by my own observations, but I don't want to miss a cue and make a mistake before I have a chance to see more."

"Sure!" Kallista said with a smile, "Although other than that incident, I think you've been doing fine so far. We tend to be a pretty casual group. For the most part there's not a lot you could do to piss people off... with the notable exception of Tzesira, off course. Just bear in mind that to her skill and dominance are everything. Show her you're capable and the rest will fall into place."

"I guess maybe don't ask about Aleyn's scars, at least not unless he brings it up. He gets kind of sad when he thinks about that whole incident. I don't think I need to tell you not to mention Delona's parentage. She's an orphan, raised by her master. Only since her dragonmark came in has she really begun learning anything about her parents, and I think it stil makes her sensitive sometimes."

"Roscoe and I are pretty much open books. I think the rest of the party tend to be kind of protective of us at times, though, so try to be nice to the metal man. It's really pretty easy since he's so adorable."

"And then there's Warryn... who apparently you seem to know better than we do. He's kind of the group loner, and none of us really know terribly much about him. Maybe you could help us rectify that. Having you here might make him more willing to talk about himself and his past."

She shrugged.

"Or maybe not, but I would appreciate it if you'd give a shot to helping us crack his shell."

Nashira felt rather relieved to hear that perhaps not all was lost with Tzesira. And maybe it was worth getting to know everyone. It had been a long time since she considered staying with one adventuring party. This might be just the place to start, especially if she could connect with a few people

"Well, what about you, Kallista?" she said. "I still don't know much about you yet. Tell me your life story."

Kallista's eyes suddenly got slightly wider.

"Oh... ummm... ok." she said, somewhat nervously, "Well, I'm not from Highmark either, as you may have figured out."

She sighed and mentally pushed herself into continuing.

"As Tzesira said, my father is one of the leaders of the cult that we've been investagating. The one whose compound we raided in Thantopolis. It was... pretty awful. I escaped from there when I was twenty. I wandered for a while, ended up in Highmark, joined the union. So I guess you could say I have a much more personal stake in this whole mess than some of the others."

"Yes, I gathered from recent events that this whole cult situation is personal for you. I didnt' really know much about it when my church sent me to Thantopolis. I mostly just went because the cultists were a threat that I was meant to help contain and possibly eliminate. I haven't been sure of much since you all came along, honestly. Anyway, I'm sorry this all seems to be dredging up painful things for you."

Kalista shrugged.

"It's ok, I'm starting to get used to that, I think. At least I can talk about it now. When I first joined the Union I wouldn't even tell anyone where I was from. How about you? where are you from originally?"

"I was born in Highmark, but my parents are from a city in Ahkas. They decided to immigrate to Nerath when they thought tensions were getting high. I guess they hoped they were choosing the winning side? All I know is that they've been relatively comfortable and succesful in Highmark."

Nashira trailed off a bit. She wanted to talk about about her life with the tiefling, but she didn't want to detract from the opportunity to learn more about the group she was traveling with.

"I guess I've been asking a lot about everyone else and not really saying much about myself. I typically want to know everything I can about my surroundings and the people I'm with, but I don't tend to stay in one place long enough to share much about me with anyone."

"I know how that is." Kalista said with a sympathetic grin, "I did my fair share of wandering after leaving Bael Hexott. It's hard to get to know people when you have no idea where you'll be in the next week. Fortunately it seems like all we have right now is time."

She cocked her head slightly.

"Soooo... what do you like to do? Like, for fun, I mean? Surely you're not a paladin all the time."

Nashira hesitated a beat. Did she have fun? Sure she did. Just not in a while.

"Well, the thing is I think I have the most fun traveling and exploring. Since that's a big part of doing my work for the church, I tend to consider that my fun. I like nature when I have free time and I'm in one place long enough. I really like being around people, but roaming on my own so much has made it hard to build anything like a stable groupf of friends. I wonder sometimes what I might do or be if I were around the same folks all the time. Anyway, how about you? What do you do when you're not on guild time?"

"I'm kind of a city girl," Kallista said, "I love exploring Highmark when I'm not away. I like traveling too, though, which is why I adventure. I wanna see everything there is to see out there. I do other stuff, though. I go to the theater when I can. Tzesira and I work out and train together. I spend a lot of time volunteering for the orphanage or the church. I used to play the flute, and I still do once in a while. Oh, I also have a lot of sex. I guess those are really my main hobbies. I try to keep busy."

Nashira batted an eye at the passing mention of Kallista's amorous activities. "Well, this one's frank isn't she?" Nashira thought to herself. It occurred to her that she might have blushed a bit, but likely it was because she was caught off guard. For the most part not much surprised the Paladin anymore. She felt pretty certain that 10 years ago she might have been thrown but instead she moved on.

"I love the city myself. Always so much to see and experience. I try to take in the local culture when I'm in a town. I save the solitude for when I happen to find myself tromping through the woods or otherwise alone in the landscape. Are you all on the move on business a lot or do you have lots of time that you're doing your own things?"

"A little of both, really. We usually spend a week or two on the job and then two or three weeks off of it. Sometimes it varies, though. Even when we're back home, though, we usually end up spending a lot of time together. You tend to get really close to your teammates in this job. It's good work, though. Travel, time off. Ridiculous pay. You ever consider adventuring?"

"Well, a lot of my work for the church is similar to the things career adventurers get up to, but I don't typically work on a team. I have to say that in some ways the company sounds appealing after spending a few years more or less wandering on my own. But to give up that sort of free range independence...I would have to find a team that really made me feel like it was worth launching into that life over the one I've been living. Admittedly one hears that the perks to being in the adventurer's guild are enviable."

Kallista smiled.

"Well, I may be a bit prejudiced, but if you do decide to adventure, come join the Explorers Union, where we work, rather than the Adventurer's guild. I've met some of them, and they tend to be more snobby and less welcoming. I mean, there are some good people there, of course, but overall..."