Regret Makes Heavy Baggage

We set out in the morning to make the climb to the mountain known here as "the Betrayer's Rise." With such a name as this, we should have known that it was foolish. We all carried such different motivations with us, so it should come as no surprise that this would end in loss and a final goodbye.
 
We were contracted to enter an ancient temple and retrieve pieces of Rhudium for a proclaimed scientist of some consortium. We accepted, myself included, despite my worry that this would be at best a distraction and at worst injurious. We heard nothing all too helpful (and even less that was hopeful) about our expedition. And so we set out from the inn with only our wits and a few spare potions from the infirmary.
 
There was an ancient, stone stairway that led upward to the temple embedded in the mountain's peak. As we climbed, the mountain slope dropped a thousand feet below the staircase. At the top of the staircase stood an impressive stone gateway. It was guarded by a contingent of men, though we didn't have time to determine their motivations or provide our own before it all went to hell.
 
A pair of Gloomstalkers burst through the doors, knocking the soldiers to the ground and immediately targeting us. My recent battle with one was fresh in my mind: their tactic is to paralyze, snatch, and drop their prey. And with the precipice on either side of us, any missteps would be deadly. We spread out, and I was immediately split on which front to defend. As one Gloomstalker hovered near, I stepped forward to strike. Instead, I found loose footing and began to falter. I knew that I would be able to teleport as a last resort, but the state of the other fighters was deteriorating around me. Yavari was down, and Ezra was in peril. I realized a tactical disadvantage lacking ranged attacks. I would have to wait for the opportunity to attack on approach.
 
The other Gloomstalker snatched Ezra from the ground, and lifted him into the air. We were in a frenzy as Ezra was pulled further from us. We were wary of hurting the wyvern, for fear of dropping Ezra to the ground far below--certain death. Yet the Gloomstalker was just out of reach of our other myriad abilities.
 
The only hope was a plan that Armani devised -- a good one, though perhaps not the perfect one. If he could warp the Gloomstalker to his position by the readied soldiers, then the soldiers would be able to attack en masse. It was a good plan, except that the Gloomstalker resisted the vortex and maintained its grip on a target far more susceptible to the vortex. The allure of glory is hard to resist.
 
And then we watched it fly away, with Ezra collapsed in its claws. It diminished in the distance, away to devour its prey, and now lost to us, despite our fixation and mark on it. And just like that, Ezra, as well as the medallion he carried, in was gone.
 
I felt such a strong cocktail of emotions -- bewilderment, anger, shame -- as I watched yet another victim pulled away from me. The vision from my dream nights ago, of Fionn snatched by a Gloomstalker, resounded in the dark parts of my mind. I failed my duty once again.
 
Still now, I replay every moment of that battle in my mind. Perhaps if I had instead told everyone to group up rather than disperse, we would have had strength in numbers. And if I had protected Ezra instead, he would still be with us.
 
I said that each of us had individual motivations. In my youth I proved to myself that greed and glory make poor advisors. The one motivation beginning to bind us together to a larger purpose was that medallion and the sense of its importance. Without it, we were free to return to our individual quests. What this group may have become in time, we will not know.
 
And so I carry forward, once again on my own, and likely the better for it. I have a lead now: "The Veil". An organization dealing in human trafficking. They are elusive and hard to track by their use of mysterious portals, but I will find them. And I will kill them. And I will recover the children that were taken from us, as many as I can.
 
And then I will return home, with Fionn and my dear Róisín. And with hope we will continue our days in peace, far from these conflicts and these rulers that lust for conquest. I'd like to return to Odessloe once more, next to Erdeloch, maybe in time for the next fair. That would be nice.