Early in the morning

Having passed out early the previous day Pha shows up still eating breakfast and half a dried fish sticking out of his mouth as he gnaws away at it. With a scarf around his head and gauntlets on his belt he shuffles in for the meeting curious what would be decided from the Elders point of view.

Carrick hadn't slept very well the night after the attack. Nightmares of fire and violence and monsters had haunted him. Well before the sun rose, he decided to stop fighting it and went for a walk along the shore. He didn't know what had happened to him yesterday, whether it was the stress of the Rite then facing the Timmermen, or if it was racing into the flames, but the early morning darkness fled from him. He could tell it was predawn, but he could see as clearly as if it was midday. This new ramification of his power was unsettling. But the steady pounding of surf always had a calming effect on him, and this morning was no different. When the sky lightened, he made his way to where the gathering was to be held and sat there, wondering what was sort of response he and the others would receive from the Elders for their actions the previous day.

Yaru sheepishly wanders where he's meant to go, all too aware that while he did prevent the escape of the Timmermen he also managed to set a goodly portion of the village on fire. He'll find a spot not too far from Pha -- he had quite the adventure, after all, so he perhaps can hide behind his glory and see what is afoot.

Galen wakes late compared to normal, having been up all night at Irving's side. He stumbles out of his house and winces at the bright morning sun. He shakes himself awake and begins stretching, trying to work his muscles into a state of usefulness. After several minutes he is fully awake.

Memories of the previous day flash through his mind. Killing those men, finding the ring that's such a match for his mother's, and seeing Irving taken down by a collapsing building... It's all too much, and for a moment Galen's knees tremble and threaten to drop him to the ground. He takes a deep breath, calling upon the training that Irving gave to him, and calms himself.

He takes a few minutes to seek out Kylia and Amburn just to make sure they're alright, then heads over to the council meeting.

Pha finishes chewing down the rough dried fish and listens to the discussion. Once the head councilor speaks and then looks at them Pha looks around to make sure he's looking at them.

"Oh yeah, we're adults now..." Pha comments quietly and stands before walking up to the pulpit and looks around. Scratching he neck he gazes out at the audience and speaks frankly.

"It's not IF but WHEN they come. If the village does not see one of it's vessel return even after an appropriate delay we search. They will likely do the same. Fortunately none of the envoy escaped so they won't know what happened to them if they don't find evidence. Also it's been a while since they've come here so they have no idea if we're still alive here or if we've left. To stay and wait for the next group of envoys or go into hiding until we do something and find out why this is happeningis really the village's decision. As you know I don't like bullies... The Timmermen are bullies so I don't see why I shouldn't box them right in the nose, they are human although a bit prone to aggression and violence and more combatlike than the village as a whole are it seems but I can tell you they do not stand up if I hit them hard enough. I stated it at the Seer's Spire and I'll state it now, we need to find out where they live and why they're doing this. Since we have the Skycutters and the armor mostly intact from some I'm going to find out where they come from and find out why they want our young and why they stopped." Pha stated and looked around and started to move back to his seat before going back up and clearing his throat, "Uh... thanks for listening." he added before sitting back down.

Pha was surprised how hard that was since it was probably the most people he'd talking to at once in his life and he said a lot of stuff. He also kind of wished he had another dried fish...

Galen steps up after Pha gets down, "I agree with Pha. The Timmermen WILL be back, and they will not be happy. We have to stand together, or we will fall. I will be going with Pha to find out what we can about them and put an end to them if we can. We proved yesterday that they are mortal; they bleed and they die as any other man does, and that gives me hope that we can win the day, but we will need all of you to help us." With that, Galen steps down.

Yaru nods with Galen and Pha and simply offers, "Perhaps we can be a distraction to the Timmermen that they might leave the village alone."

The Seer enters the hall. It appears he was listening outside.

"I can tell you how to find them. I can program the Skycutter to fly you directly to Stronghold. With the paths closed it is the only way I know of to get there. I can also provide instructions on how to operate the teleportation device that will allow you to instantly travel to my Spiram when you wish too." He hesitates before offering his next words, "Or I could return with you, I don't know how much help I can provide beyond guidance, but I will try, for the sake of the aldiea."

This causes a murmur to ripple through the crowd. Some seem unsure they can trust the Seer anymore. Mostly this seems to be the sentiment of those who finished the Rite with you, but some older folks say it as well.

From his seat Pha slowly holds up to upturned thumbs towards the Seer as he begins, "Uh... shouldn't you stay to help them fix the Cloudchaser transport in case people want to start relocating more spread out from the village or to take supplies to build various hidden shelters away from the village in case there is another attack again?" Pha asked skipping a few steps in the process of explaining himself.

"The Seer took a great risk to intervene on our behalf in order to give us the opportunity to take out the men who had come here." Yaru observes, "You should not be questioning his intent or your level of trust in him. If anything, he knows the most about how to protect the aldiea from them should we fail."

Yaru frowns at the persnickedtyness of the villagers. He is all too familiar with a quick rush to judgment and being on the receiving end of that particular short stick. "While I'd welcome the help, it seems like he could best ensure our collective safety by remaining here."

Carrick had been silent up to this point, but couldn't remain so any longer. He stood and addressed the naysayers, "I can't believe you would turn your back on the help the Seer is offering you. You don't trust him because he held back information from you...information that would have been of utmost importance. But how is that any different from what the rest of the village did to us? Until yesterday, we had no knowledge of the Timmermen."

He turned to the head of the council, "You say it was to protect us, and the Seer likely has such a misguided reason for his decision as well. Let's not forget about the fact that you lied to us. Each and every day! And now that the truth is out, it's not you who look to make it right. No, you send us off to do your work for you. Is it because you believe we will fail and the Timmermen will be satisfied by our sacrifice? For all we know, we are headed straight to our deaths. But we do it because it's the right thing to do. You're our family; this is our home. We won't abandon you to your deaths, and we certainly won't willingly hand you over to monsters!. We will do all we can to protect you, and the least you could do is to set your cowardice aside and take the help offered you."

He then turned to the Seer and answered, "I agree with Pha and Yaru. You would be of greater use here. But if your help will not be accepted here, then you should journey with us."