Dawn of the Jedi ~ Act I: There is no Emotion, There is Peace

[OldSchoolGamer7]

Bricriu

I'm not sure. Even if he can't, I can at least clean and dress the wound. My skill is nothing compared to a surgeon, but I can care for many lesser injuries." Bricriu gives the man the once-over, analyzing his condition.

Treat Injury:(1d20+8)[13]

[Ascension]

Rosa and Bricriu

Gorgias is conscious, and he seems to visibly grow calmer at Bricriu's words and actions, but he does not reply... at least not coherently.

Jo and Rover

It takes a moment for her to realize it due to the strange situation, but Jo recognizes the shooter as none other than Cyd Perio, the youngest son of a minor Lacaean noble family. The Perios have always held a bit of a grudge against the Gorgias, but it has never escalated to the point of open violence before...

While some cornered animals fight, others... beg. In the face of the citadel guard's implacable glare Cyd turns instead to Rover.

"I'm so sorry... It's all a mistake... I didn't mean to... Oh my goodness..."

The rifle drops from his hands.

"I don't want to hurt anyone! I never did!"

[The_Snark]

Rosa

Rosa is settling down; apparently Bricriu's manner is affecting her as much as Gorgias. She helps as best she can, holding Gorgias's head steady while the older man cleans the would.

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Aid another (1d20+1)[8]

[Liliedhe]

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Taking 10 on Use the Force to move the rifle away from both.

On a gesture of his hand, the weapon glides over the floor till it comes to rest in front of Rover's feet. He keeps an eye on both and says, calmly: "You have a very strange way to show this. How did you come here with a rifle, if your intent was not murder?"

[Ascension]

Rover, Jo

"It was all a mistake... I never should have come... Master told me it was a test, that I had to... had to kill to become a man... but... I... I just can't do it."

Cyd stares at his captors, eyes resting pleadingly on each one in turn. When he reaches Jo, a look of total mortification crosses his face.

"Is that... you? J-Jo Norala? Lady Norala? Oh krah, I wish you didn't have to see me like this..."

Rosa, Bricriu

The dazed Gorgias begins to sing the nonsense words of an old children's song in a far-away voice.

[Liliedhe]

He IS being impolite in front of a noble, but the turn of the conversation has started to turn his stomach into a bottomless pit...

"Your MASTER? Who is this Master that he would demand such a thing?"

[OldSchoolGamer7]

Bricriu

"This entire situation is troubling. It seems that there may be some puppet master pulling some strings behind the scene and I don't like it. No one manipulates me or my allies. Think about it...Gorgias seems intent on pushing us into learning of the Bogen without any preperation, then gets shot. Someone is trying to get us to tap into strong emotions..." His voice trails off, thoughts going internal. I don't know what's going on, but it stinks in twenty different ways.

[Ascension]

Jo, Rover

"G-general Falca!" the frightened boy stammers, "Of Lacae!"

[Rettu Skcollob]

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Argh! Missed yet another dramatic moment due to my timezone!

Li regretfully represses the urge to chase after the Assassin, knowing that the others would catch him if a guard did not. He stands over the body of Gorgias until he is satisfied that the wound is non-fatal, before running out into the corridor to find his companions. He is pleased to find that they have already cornered and disarmed him, and momentarily puzzled as to his youth. He walks up to the conversing group, glaring at the boy for a moment.

"What's going on here?"

[Minchandre]

Jo

Jo was relieved to see that Security had easily caught the assassin...until she sees his identity. "Cyd? Cyd Perio? How could you have possibly gotten caught up in this mess? And Falca is involved? Do your parents know about this? I know you Lacaeans are backwards, but this..." Her attempted humor falls flat on its face, utterly failing to defuse the situation. "Tell me, why did Falca say that Gorgias had to die? Do you know if he's working with anyone?" Please not Ra Mahk, please not Ra Mahk...

[Ascension]

Jo, Rover, Li

"N-no," Cyd corrects, "Falca didn't tell me to assassinate Gorgias... he only told me I had to kill someone... But my father's told me all my life about how eight generations ago the Gorgias family wronged our family, and how it was my duty as a Perio to avenge the slight... It seemed like the..."

His voice cracks.

"The logical choice! Oh, please forgive me! I'm sorry! It was such a stupid idea!"

[Liliedhe]

The soldiers face goes grimmer and grimmer.

"This is what you get for playing with powers beyond your control! Remember it well."

He turns on his heel and goes back to the hall, to look how Gorgias is fairing. His outward calm is masking a rising panic that even their refuge will be tainted and they will have to run again. The thought is enough to make his temper flare...

[OldSchoolGamer7]

Bricriu

The aged man rises slowly, his knees cracking loudly. Ooof... "I believe he'll be fine. I believe that I want to see what our would-be killer has to say." Striding out of the room in a contemplative manner, he arrives to hear the tail end of Cyd's empassioned pleas.

"Yes, child...it was. It was very foolish. You gave into pettiness and anger over nothing more than a slight...a slight.." His tone is even, with no malice or anger in it. "You must pay for your actions, but if you cooperate and aid us, I believe that your sentence can be mitigated. There must be a better solution to these events than your death, if that is what you fear. Death will only bring more death and the cycle never ends."

Joints popping yet again, he crouches to the captive's level. "Please, aid us."

[Rettu Skcollob]

Li clenches his teeth angrily, feeling the Ashla around him change its rhythm to something more primal, faster. He reaches down to the boy, picking him up by the collar and rising him into the air, shaking him angrily.

"The "Logical Choice"?! You have just tried to kill an innocent man! What gives you the right to decide life over death! What gives you the right?!" Breathing heavily, realising the eyes of his companions are on him and looking into the boys eyes, Li places the boy back down gently, before moving back towards Gorgias in the dining room.

[OldSchoolGamer7]

Bricriu

"Easy, Li...please don't feed into how you feel right now..." Bricriu does not follow, but hopes the boy doesn't do something rash. They must learn control...and I am the only one who can teach them here. I'm the only one who has stared into the face of the Bogen among them and come out the other side.

[The_Snark]

Rosa

Rosa looks up at Rover as he enters; she has no desire to go chasing after an assassin. For whatever reason, she'd rather just stay in here. "Bricriu says he'll be okay. What happened? Did they get away?"

[Rettu Skcollob]

Li stops, heading back towards Bricriu and the others. Bricriu had been the main reason that he was going to head to the dining room again in any case - she was something of a calming influence in these matters, he found.

"I am sorry, Bricriu. Life is so precious... I just can't stand to see someone treat the incomparable gift of Life with such..." Li looks scornfully to the boy, trying hard to restrain his anger. "With such scorn!"

[Liliedhe]

"No, the guard caught him. It was just a stupid boy..." The big man's voice sounds strangled. "Sent by the same general Gorgias wanted us to study with. It seems you can only become a real follower of the Bogan, when you prove it by KILLING A MAN. And because of a stupid family feud the youth decided the Lord would be the right target."

He closes his eyes and tries to get control of his temper that manifested in his voice growing louder... "This is what they create. With their curiosity, and their carelessness. A religion that demands MURDER as an entrance exam."

[Ascension]

Cyd merely breaks down into uncontrollable sobbing in the face of Li's reprimand.

"May I take him to the dungeons now?" the nearby guard asks.

[Minchandre]

Jo

"Mehk, calm down! Do not give into your anger, eh?" To the guard she simply waves, saying, "Yes, I think we're done for now. Treat him gently."

[Ascension]

The guard leads the still-sobbing Cyd away as you continue to discuss his crime.

[OldSchoolGamer7]

Bricriu

"Perhaps he has not been educated properly on the value of a life. Not all have been trained as you have." He places a hand on Li's shoulder. "Calm yourself, please. On the next stage of our journey...and I'm sure we will know where we are needed next...I want to share with you some of my more deep musings. You may need them for the road ahead. As well, there is much I may learn from you...all of you." He turns some to regard the others. "No matter what the enemy throws at you, you must remain in control at all times. That is one of the most important core teachings of the master and it is what seperates us from those who oppose us."

[Rettu Skcollob]

Li curses his impulses silently - in the heat of the moment he had forgotten to employ his Master's technique for controlling emotions, and now look at him.

"I am sorry... Just to see someone so young, willingly commit such a horrendous act and then claim it to be Logical... I have seen too much of what the Bogan demand of their followers - my tolerance with such acts has grown thin. The boy at least seemed repentant... It is possible he can be brought back from the brink of the abyss on which he stands."

He tenses for a moment as Bricriu lays a hand on him, then visibly relaxes, letting go of his anger.

"Thank you Bricriu. I had not finished my training completely under my master before he was taken from me by the Bogan. I have not yet the control that I would like to have. I appreciate your advice in these matters."

[OldSchoolGamer7]

Bricriu

"Then you will not mind if I lean on your strengths? I'm not a young man. The thing I miss the most is my quickness. I will gladly take all of you under my wing and teach you what little I know. We must all grow in this endevor. And in the end...I fear it may not be enough."

[The_Snark]

Rosa

Rosa grimaces, moving a little away from the door as if to distance herself from the whole thing and scrubbing her hands against her dress. "Guess we're not going to go study with that one after all," she mutters; she'd be glaring at Gorgias, if he hadn't just been shot. It was a little awkward to dislike someone who was lying on the floor with a head wound, so instead she stares at the floor.

[Liliedhe]

The big man just nods. "I suppose we should get a physician for him, right?" He gestures towards the fallen Gorgias.

[Ascension]

A fussy little bespectacled man rushes into the room, clutching a medical bag.

"I've already been informed of the situation. Good heavens! At least it is a minor wound..."

He nods at the two of you.

"I'll take care of it from here. You run along."

[Liliedhe]

Rover allows himself to be shushed from the room. "I suppose this concludes our invitation", he remarks a little sarcastically. "Well, if you need me again, you know where to find me..." And with that he will leave the residence and return to his family's tiny hovel - after all of this soulsearching and looking into abysses of his own and of others' creation he just wants to hold onto something real...

[Minchandre]

Jo

Somewhat shaken by the evening's events, the young Miss Norala nevertheless composes herself and goes to her rooms. There, she locks her door and changes into looser cloths, spending some time practicing her fencing before showering and going to sleep.

[Rettu Skcollob]

[Assuming that nothing else notable happens and that none of the characters have anything more to say to Li]:

Li returns to his chamber, somewhat worried by what has happened. He engages in his traditional pre-sleep ritual, donning a blindfold and practicing the varied combat footwork routines he had developed, his vibroblade slicing through the air rhythmically as he practiced the complex steps. He knew that he would most likely never use these steps in combat - each fight's rhythm that he felt through the Ashla was unique - but it kept him in shape, and helped him to work off his passions.

He chose a more primal music disc to practice to today, and his blades movements, though retaining their elegance, are more aggressive than normal. An hour later, his anger worked off to his satisfaction and his body tired enough to make sleep easy, Li retires uneasily, still troubled at what tomorrow's day may bring.