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:as Serena crept into the in and up the stairs to her room she would notice one room with the door wide open with a familiar looking dagger protruding clear through, as she passed and looked inside, the room was in shambles. the bed had been upturned and the mattress and bed coverings strewn all about the room, both were littered with slashes or stained black from a concentrated energy blasts. the walls also had slash marks in them except in one place.

sprawled in a heap on the floor, his tunic ripped and torn into rags, laid braidenvayl. he was shaking and had a white knuckled grip on the handle of his saber that was thrust into the wall, above him scrawled into the wall were two words:

"I failed".

Serena dropped to her knees and pulled Braidenvayl into a tight hug. holding back her tears of mourning, she began to shush like a mother.

"It's not your fault, not at all. I was the one who failed 'im. An' mark my words, I will see 'im returned to us."

"the greatest sin of all is that of inactivity" :braidenvayl's voice quivered as he quoted his fallen friend:

"i should have done something, i could have stopped them. i should have know she was a monster, I...I...I :Braidenvayl punched the wall as tears started to stream down his face, he clung to Serena like a frightened child.

"its always the people close to me that suffer." : he laid his head on Serena's shoulder:

"why, is it always the people i care about?"

Something inside the archer snapped. She pushed away from Braidenvayl and stood. Her voice was cold and dangerously quiet.

"It's always about you, isn't it? The people you care about. The responsibility you get left with.

I lost my first love because I wasn't strong enough to follow. Now, because of my inaction, the man I loved is dead. Dead, because I gave the order to stand down. And there is no way I can bring him back to me.

Now, I stand as one of the only remaining forces of goodness and authority in what is left of a dead city. It is up to me to carry on Alrion's work. And I don't know what to do!

Now, stop sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. Or maybe you are as much of a coward as Alrion suspected."

:the word entered through his ear and began to wreak havoc in his mind. hearing it every time cut deeper than any blade and burn hotter than any spell.

coward.

when the word exited the her mouth. something awoke inside braidenvayl, something that he tried to forget for so long. however, now it was awake and it wanted to remember. the memories came rushing back like a torrent. every sleepless night caused, the cry's for mercy ignored. all of it came back as braidenvayl remembered what it was like to be skull crusher.

"you should watch yer tongue young lady" braidenvayls voice was deeper and took on a disturbing rasp to it, and a flurry the likes of which nobody had ever seen, braidenvayl swiped the archers feet from underneath her, pulled his blade from the wall and was now holding it to her throat.

"before some one cuts it out and shows it to you"
:braidenvayl's face was cold and his eyes were dead. this was in no way the same person that she had known in avangard.:

Hearing the growing comotion, Tyr runs upstairs into the room where two of his friends set on the brink of utter chaos

"You'll thank me for this later Braidenvayl"

With a single blurred movement, the bard produces a dagger from the folds of his cloak and konks the half elf on the head with enough force to fell an ogre (14 Knockout)

Tyr retrieves the blade from Braidenvayl, stowes it, then turns to Serena.

"Are you unharmed?"

Serena was pressed against the wall, her eyes wide and her chest heaving in fear. She nodded vigorously to Tyr but made no movement to stand.

"I...I'm alright... I think... I've never seen 'im like that before..."

:braidenvayl let out a grunt and then lurched to the wooden floor dropping his sword in the process, he convulsed once and then lie still. the troubled half elf was out cold.:

Tyr glanced at the unconscious form in the middle of the room then back at Serena

"Nor have I. This is quite peculiar."

Tyr bends down and lifts Braidenvayl into the remnants of his bed

"I think what we all need is some time to think, time to cope, so that maybe we can deal with what has just happened. I would suggest that you two keep your distances until you both cool down but if anything does happen, please let me know"

She shakes her head slowly and stands, still shaking a bit.

"Maybe you're right. I didn' realize 'ed react that way... I meant to snap 'im outta his stupor..."

She sends a quick glance at Braidenvayl.

"Ya sure it's safe t' leave 'im like this?"

"Tell you what, you go on ahead, and I will wait for him outside the door. Once he wakes up I am sure he will have calmed down a bit."

Tyr flashed his token cavalier smile.

"Trust me, it will all be fine. Just give it a little time."

She nods and smiles back gently.

"Ok, if you're sure. I'll just be aroun the corner if ya need me. 'M sorry bout all this, Tyr."

"I assure you that there is nothing to be sorry about. We are all going through a tough time, we just all handle it differently."

Tyr closes the door. He quickly produces his pipe, lighting it as he begins his watch

After a good night's sleep, the archer finds herself once again outside Braidenvayl's door. She taps lightly to find her friends, hoping to not experience last night again.

"Tyr?"

She calls, her voice hesitant, then growing softer,

"Braidenvayl?"