Introductions and Farewells

Well, that went poorly. Maybe I should have just shared the drink, but... I don't trust her and, who knows, maybe it would have permanently given me crab claws or something. I guess it doesn't matter, I still wouldn't have trusted her not to sell us out even if we had parted more amicably. Hopefully she takes my advice and that's the last we see of her. Regardless, we should probably be safe here for tonight.
 
I can't believe they took Raiya. I keep replaying that fight in my mind; if I had stayed with the group would things have turned out differently? I had Expeditious Retreat cast, maybe if I had caught up to Raiya and we faced them together... No, Flicker was right, it's no use thinking about maybes. She seemed to think that Raiya would be fine on her own, but I'm not so sure. Those dragon-faced fucks were no joke and with the state she was in... We need to try and help her. But they were in a cart, even if we could somehow pick up their trail they have such a lead on us. We need to try and figure out where they were going. Maybe we can sneak into the manor and try to find some information? No, that's stupid; sneaking has never gone well for us and it's not like criminals just leave out a big ledger with all their crimes in the open. We'll need to get one of them alone and ask some questions, maybe we can camp outside and try to grab one of them? But that's just going to lead to a fight and I don't love our chances. It went terribly the first two times with five of us and now...
 
With Raiya gone I need to step up and protect Flicker and Wolf. I need to stop being so reckless and dumb and really think things through. But I don't know what the right thing to do is. I've never been any good at all of this. God, I miss Mom. She was always so good at figuring this stuff out. It doesn't matter, we can make a decision in the morning (evening?) once the others are awake, I should just focus on getting through tonight (this afternoon?) first.
 
...
 
Nothing ever goes right for us, does it. Shortsighted again, now Qelline has lost her barn because of us. We'll make it up to her somehow. We need to deal with the Redcloaks first, though. I'll do what I can to try and find information about Raiya in the process, but we're in danger as long as they are still operating and we can't help her if we're dead. I need to keep everyone safe.
 
These new people are odd. Damaia seemed relaxed and not, like, overly friendly like a spy would be. Eethyl seemed genuine and talked so much, but maybe it's just an act? He knew so much about us, what if he's actually the leader of the Redcloaks and, like, went undercover with Toblen to lure us into a trap? But wouldn't he have kept it a secret that he knows so much about us then? But wait, what if that's exactly what he wants us to think and it's all a part of his plan? No, Toblen trusts him, I should give them both the benefit of the doubt. And we do need the help.
 
Why would Eethyl think I'm the leader of the group, I'm not leader material. And when he said it the others didn't object, is that what they think? That's ridiculous, who would want to follow me? I'm not smart, or charming, or inspiring, or anything that makes a person a leader. I can barely even manage to be good most days. Am I being too confident and giving off that impression? Should I be making it more clear I have no idea what I'm doing and no one should follow me? No, there's too much at stake with Raiya and the Redcloaks, I can't let my own bullshit get in the way of protecting Flicker and Wolf. I mean, I'm not becoming the group leader or anything crazy, but I can't afford to second-guess myself. Hopefully tomorrow we can finally finish this and get a chance to take a breath.
 
...
 
Well, that... could have gone worse. None of us are too hurt (well except Eethyl, what an absolute madman) and it seems like we've cleared this place out. What was I thinking, trying to be all diplomatic? You know people don't like you, you idiot. It's frustrating that the leader got away, but this should put a major dent in the Redcloaks' operations, at the very least. Now we can get the townsfolk's stolen goods back to them and maybe try to find another lead. Plus Eethyl and Damaia didn't turn on us; it seems like we really can trust them. Flicker and Wolf are both safe, which is the most important thing. That's what Raiya would want me to focus on, even if we did just lose our last chance to find out where she was taken.