"I can sense your fear, Gabriel - if you know something we don't, by all means feel free to tell us," Nikolai says - almost commands - in a stern voice.

Even the silent, nomadic wolf-guy is speaking up now.

Aight. Two things.

One - Sorry for being unclear as to what you all should do. This next round is purely for conversation, and after it is over, you will have arrived in Auid.

Two - No one else talk to Gabriel. The reason I assigned the task to Torrent is because I needed a single person to say something. If a ton of people talk to him all at once, it'll be awkward for me to type it up. Therefore I picked someone at random. O.C. - You can keep your move the same. It works fine with two people talking to him, and your words seem to well thought out for me to tell you that you can't use them. Nice.

That's all I've got for you guys right now.

Oh, and if you want to actually have a move, do something funny. It's Comic-Relief-Round. Don't use this as a skill-training opportunity, as that would be unfair to Torrent, being forced to talk to Gabriel as it is.

Why don't you guys try to catch a wild turkey or something? I'll make a funny story out of it.

Sorry guys! This round is long overdue! I've just been busying myself with other stuff. But I've remembered now that people are waiting on me.
Here it is!

Torrent

You walk towards Gabriel, mumbling to yourself - "Just because I'm the mysterious stranger..."
It feels odd, calling yourself that. You do seem to fit that role, but then again, everyone else could, too. We've all forgotten our past lives. Now the only thing that matters is our quest. All that matters is that the world is in peril, and we have to save it.

You stand beside Gabriel.
"Hey Gabriel, you seemed agitated back there. Something on your mind?"
Gabriel looks away for a moment, and you're thinking he's going to say something, but then he simply shakes his head, as if it isn't worth mentioning.
Nikolai comes up from behind and walks on Gabriel's other side.
"I can sense your fear, Gabriel-" he says. "If you know something that we don't, by all means, feel free to tell us." It surprises you that Nikolai isn't talking in accent. It's as if he's disposed of it for this occasion. (How do you get rid of an accent?)
"Damn." Gabriel finally speaks. "You guys have all noticed my pouting." He looks up, and for a second, his smug look is pasted onto his face again. But then it fades, and his tone grows dark.
"It's just a memory of when I was younger..." he says, growing quieter. "...when my parents were still alive."

"When that rat mentioned the Jester, at first I thought nothing of the name. But then I remembered."
"I was seven. Everything about my past life - my happy life - I have forgotten. When I was seven... my village was attacked. I woke up in the morning, hearing cries of terror, and I ran outside, only to see my home being pillaged and burned by a group of traveling bandits. My parents had heard it as well, and they were soon at my side. That was when he appeared.

He saw us, and came running, whirling knives in his hands. My father pushed me away, drew his own weapon... but he didn't stand a chance.
My father fought well, but eventually his weapon was knocked away,"

Here Gabriel holds up the strange, shape-shifting sword he has been fighting with.

"I picked up his sword from where it had fallen, but I couldn't fight. The Jester tossed me and my mother aside like dolls. I kept waiting for him to come and finish me, but he didn't. He must have thought I was dead. Part of me wished I had died there. But the rest of me wanted to kill that man. Jester.
Now I'm here, leading a party of the warriors chosen to save the land, and I find out that the Jester is the very man we need to kill." Gabriel utters a hoarse laugh. "Ironic, isn't it?"

You don't know what to say. You don't know whether to give Gabriel a pat on the back, or say that he's a damn tough kid for survivng that long, or what. What do you say to a story like that?

Ociamarru (-)

You help to convince Gabriel to spit out what is on his mind. (SEE ABOVE PLAYER'S MOVE)

caekdaemon (2)

"I don't suppose we can go slow while waiting for my stuff to cool down? I don't want barbecue hands, at least not without sauce."
Gabriel seems to have just finished a chat with Nikolai and Gillian. He turns around.
"I don't think we should. If the enemy really knows where we are, we need to keep on the move, unless we want them to catch up."

Hm... You suppose that is logical.
You see that Raphael has just gotten his butt kicked by a turkey, so you try to stop it before it gets away.
Unfortunately, you trip on a rabbit-hole as you run after it, and land face-first in the dirt. Turkeys are hard to catch...

CaveCricket (1)

You detect a turkey with mind powers, and, jumping with glee, chase it into some bushes.
"Heeeere, turkey, turkey, turkey... come to-"
*POW!*
Wings hit you in the face and send you sprawling to the ground as the turkey runs off in the other direction.
You see Anderson try to catch it, but he falls over and the bird gets away. Argh.

Tokochiro (8)

You chill on Nikolai's back, and fall asleep just as he begins talking to Gabriel. Apparently you don't snore, because Nikolai doesn't drop you.
(Happy double regeneration this turn thanks to sleep! And your pain fades, as well!)

Adam (5)


Let's see if this squirrel has a voice.
"Do you have a name?"
The squirrel shakes his head, but says nothing. No voice, you're guessing. Well, can't blame Hork for that. He's done so much already.

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EVENTS

As night falls, you arrive in the town of Auid. You hear it well before you see it. It's as loud as fifty squads of trumpeteers.
The place is well lit up, and as you approach, the sounds get louder and louder until you can't hear yourself think.
Many bars seem to make good business here, and there is hearty music and dance wherever you go. A pretty lively town.

"WE SHOULD PROBABLY HEAD FOR ONE OF THE BARS IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION," Gabriel yells. It's hardly loud enough to be heard in this town.

He leads the party to the nearest bar, where, of course, everyone is eating, drinking, singing and dancing, just like every other bar in the whole town. Hopefully, they're more intelligent than they look, these townfolk.

I can just imagine how FEATS OF DARING can go horribly wrong.

Ask the townfolk about the talisman I have.

I forgot my accent because in Psychic I'm not allowed to use it - I'll try and remember from now on.