Johnathan answers Mittens, "That is also correct. There are people who need to die. But the act of killing, while necessary, is still unhealthy for the person doing it. Healthier than letting villains live, but... for most people in this world, killing effects you negatively. There is a reason it is called 'getting your hands dirty'. Killing isn't a game."

Maverick says, "...and what if I have learned to enjoy killing?"

Cristy looks sad when Maverick says this.

Johnathan says, "Then it sounds like you found a way to cope."

Angel says, "It is entirely too late for us, Johnathan. We have killed so much I lost count."

Raichel says, "But you do so saving people. Nothing to be ashamed of."

Johnathan says, "What she said. You all are heroes and I am happy my son has kept your company."

Timothius goes to sit in front of Cherub and Carla. "Raichel and I are going to need your help, sis. I know you feel helpless... so do I. But if you and your friends are any indication; not giving up was key to a lot of your success."

"Ah.  That sermon I was going to sing to you.  My origin story in a way.

"I dreamed I died, ended up at the gates of Heaven
Greeted by a man Saint Someone, said 'How's the ride hon?'
'It's been alright, at times a little rough, why am I here?'
'You did alright, lived a little dark and that's alright
'Cause frailty's the darkside, and the rightside is to have no fear. No fear!'

My whole life flashed in front of me
I saw everything that I was and what I had done
Even let me look back on some good times for a little fun
Yes, a little fun
And then I heard 'Damn girl, you done good,
'Did the every little thing that you could.'
And then I heard 'Damn girl, you done good - Damn good!'

When you hear the call, bury them all
Destroy all villainy!
When I hear the call, I will bury them all
I will destroy all villainy!

When the sky opened up and the clouds parted clear
There wasn't any doubt to why I was here
And I knew I'd done a good job, the best job that I could do
So now it was time to move on, to get on, to get back
To the question of why I was here and what I had learned: No fear!

When I hear the call, I will bury them all
I will destroy all villainy!"

Cherub is facepalming at the "sermon."  Imp is bobbing her head to the music.

Adam sweatdrops.  "That's uh... interesting.  Did that really happen?"

"Yup!  Was shortly after watching my body get mutilated by a gnoll and just before getting resurrected by a priest of Tempus!  So I became his apprentice."

Cherub leans in to whisper to Timothius.  "It's going to take quite a lot of work."

  "Right, you definitely need more hugs in your life Mittens.  Also, did the Raven Queen complain about Tempus stealing her bit?" No Matt, that's what revenant paladins are for, not live ones.  No, seriously.  The stock flavor text revenant clawed arms and legs are basically getting the raven queen's trademark logo stamped on you.

  He sighs, and says "I prefer the less innocent people dying part to the killing, but that does tend to involve a bodycount even when you try asking nicely.  Even when all I'm trying to do is keep my friends safe"

Angel gives Mittens a skeptical look. "Sooo... let me get this straight. You've experienced death first hand, but a god decides to resurrect you personally? Then to top that off, you claim you don't need affection like normal people and the things we've been through don't bother you now. Remind me why you need us in any way, shape or form? Or have you always just been here because we need you and not the other way around?"

Maverick says, "Frankly, as long as villains get destroyed, does it really matter?"

Angel says, "It matters to me. It is difficult to process Mittens on a normal day, but this latest claim is taxing my mind for more reasons than normal."

Carla glances at Matt as he mentions the Raven Queen. Carla pulls out her Raven Queen symbol and says a quiet prayer for resolution.

Raichel looks at Mittens. Then at Mav's parents. Then Mittens again. She just saw a boy get his parents back through the power of a magic crown. She doesn't doubt what Mittens just said. But she does look a bit shocked anyway.

Timothius answers Cherub, "Nothing worth while is easy."

"No recollection of anything Raven Queen related.  The priest was the one to perform the ritual, but according to religious texts, all resurrections need the permission of one deity or another for it to work.  So I was resurrected by a god the same way Mav's parents here were.  As for my emotional needs,

'Listening for wisdom, pushing past fears
Eyes like like diamonds, heart of steel
Slaughtering you for your selfish gain
A gifted youth, kneeling at the altar of pain'

"Mittens, Paladin of Tempus! is indifferent toward hugs.  Only need is a burning need to slay villains!"

Cherub nods to Timothius then heads over to hug Angel.  "She doesn't speak for all of us."

"Hugs from awesome people are awesome," Imp concludes.

Adam nods with a smile, "I agree."

To Angel he says, "I suppose since this Paladin is only a fragment, she's incapable of the impishness of Imp or the compassion of Cherub."

  "Previous tall Mittensses were able to do both those things with the short Mittenses around... We really should work out just what the official plural term for a Mittens is."

  Sorry Carla, we need to balance out the Bahahahaamut jokes with some Raven Drama Queen jokes.  But if it helps, Bahamut's per canaries are so fat, I hear they weigh as much as a gold dragon!

One of Bahamut's canaries: http://www.crazysunshine.com/f...2014april/fatbo2.png

Carla does not appear to be upset about the Raven Queen jabs.

Angel hugs Cherub back with a smile and kisses her little cheek. Then says, "You know... I wonder what the rest of us would be like if we got separated into different components like Mittens..."

Raichel says, "I would hate to be separated from my compassionate side. Without compassion..." she glances at Mittens and then shrugs. "Things would still get done, though."

Timothius says, "I wonder how indifferent..." and goes to hug the paladin Mittens.

Angel turns her attention to Adam and asks quietly so as not to draw too much attention to her question, "By the way, Adam... I don't suppose you would be able to join us on our next venture? Or maybe the one after that? We all miss you."

"Unsure how to react to the kitten hug, Mittens has an internal debate with her other selves."

"You should totally cuddle the cute kitten!" says the bard, "And sing him a song about love!"

"Hmm.  I suppose with the other two, I can technically hug three or more at once," says the Shaman.

"If ever I had to hug a villain, I wonder if I could bust his spine and squeeze his guts out," says the Savage.

"Why am I not cutting Lord Evilface into itty bitty pieces yet?" asks Paladin of Tempus!"

Cherub flutters over to hug Timothius.  Imp grins at Raichel and thumbs-ups, then answers Matt with a smirk, "Mittenzezezes."

Adam rubs behind his head and shrugs helplessly.  "Missed you too."

  "Knowing my luck, my Apathy would be what spares lives while my Angry side would be punching villagers for not killing undead monsters themselves."  Good news, we found your good and evil sides!  Bad news, your evil side took all the table manners.

  "Right, thanks for the official term, Imp." Three ze's, got it.

As Timothius lets go and holds on to Cherub, Carla hands a note to Mittens.

The note reads:
"To the bard: Yes. You should.
To the shaman: Yes. You could.
To the savage: Yes. You could.
To the paladin: Because Lord Evilface is not here."

Angel says, "I feel sorry for Mittens. There are parts of me I'd rather nobody know about. And I'm sure that will come out for Mittens... eventually, if it hasn't already happened."

Maverick shrugs. "Adam. Could you could send us to him on official business? After all, I know where he is, seeing as he's the lord of where I used to live."

Angel looks back at Adam, ready to press the question of him joining them, but decides to wait since Maverick asked a question.

Mits looks at the note and sweatdrops.  "Um.  Thanks."

Imp giggles at Matt's answer.  Cherub cheek-kisses her brother.

"Unlikely..." Adam answers Maverick.

A runner returns with the requested info on Lord Wrashk.  He flips through it.

"Kinda figured.  He and his king are hostile toward our kingdom and allies.  Nothing from Unity is permitted to enter his region by order of his King.  So a subtle approach would likely be wisest.  You need to sneak in."

  "Only about half of us are really suited towards 'subtle'."  Less than that if you didn't count Imp and Angel towards the total.  "Though I can see why you wouldn't be able to go out and cause a dimplomatic face punching incident, even if you wanted to."

Timothius cheek-rubs with Cherub.

Maverick smirks. "...sneaking is what I do."

Angel says, "I wonder how much word of our exploits have spread to that kingdom... and if they are evil enough to consider us enemies for what we've done."

Carla hands a note to Adam, pulls out chalk, and begins drawing up a ritual right there.

The note reads:
"I'm going to use a ritual to see if we can use the direct approach."

Meanwhile, Timothius peeeeeeks at the note Carla wrote for Mittens. And giggles.

Kitten cuddles make Cherub purr.

"Sweet!  I LOVE the direct approach!" Imp cheers!  "And sneaking totally counts."

"Any approach is fine with me so long as it's the quickest one to us taking out Lord Stupidhead."

Adam shrugs and answers Matt.  "Pretty much nothing we can do will make diplomatic relations any worse with the Allagan Alliance.  I was suggesting you sneak in because I figured you'd rather do that, like you did against that demon cult, than have to carve your way through hundreds or thousands before getting to your goal."

"Infiltrating the cult was possible because Evil is stupid beyond measure."

"Speaking of...  The Alliance is rife with internal struggle.  I have in this report the location of the assassin's guild.  It's near the border between Lord Wrashk's lands and his main rival Duchess Thango.  If you were to take on the assassin's guild, you likely could raid their base for information on how to bypass the palace guard."

  "Please do no make claims some may take as a challenge."

  Mittens finds these diplomatic relations quite dire.... But let's see how they fare when on FIRE-Maaaaatt, I was gonna torch the slavers private bedrooms while they were inside! No fair!

  "Are we talking detached professional or crazed idealist sort of assassins?"

Carla finished up the ritual and the familiar ghostly hand she summoned long ago appears. She hands a note to Angel.

Angel reads it real quick and then says, "Carla wrote down what to ask the hand of fate."

Mav's parents look amazed by the floating ghostly hand.

Angel reads the questions aloud:

1) Hold up 1 finger for "barge in to Wrashk's home", 2 fingers for "sneak in to Wrashk's home", and 3 fingers for "take over assassin's guild before 1 or 2". Which is the best coarse of action?

After the hand "answers" that question, Angel reads the second question:

2) Thumbs up for "yes", thumbs down for "no": Is it safe to walk into the Allagan Kingdom where Wrashk resides?

And after the hand answers, Angel reads: "Carla left a blank spot next to the 3. Probably so we could ask based off the answers we got. Or if we come up with a question she didn't think of."

Carla nods.

"From what I'm reading here, sounds like they'll work for anyone who pays," Adam answers.

To the first question, the hand holds up 3 fingers.

To the second, thumbs down.

"I coulda told ya that," Imp says, "We're going there.  So clearly it's not safe...  for badguys!"

"I can think of some questions, but they tend not to be the yes or no type," Mits comments.

  Matt says "Will taking over the assassins guild mean we get to use the assassins against our enemies in this case."  Because taking it over just so it won't do anything at all seems silly, even for a mostly attempting to be good person.

Carla offers a note to Mittens in the meantime that reads, "Ask anyway. I can phrase it in a way the hand can answer."

Maverick says, "I'd like to be in charge of an assassin guild..."

Angel smirks at Imp and says, "True enough. But the fact it isn't safe to so much as walk in tells me they know enough about us that they may have arrest or kill orders on us already. So we will need to sneak into the kingdom, much less the assassin guild. Which presents a huge problem; How will we find the assassin guild?"

Raichel says, "We could just wear disguises. And then use this ghostly hand to find the guild."

Timothius asks, "We? What's this "we" stuff? If these ogre-stomping super heroes are forced to sneak and can't safely walk in, then you and I are not going anywhere near that place."

The hand thumbs-downs at Matt's question.

"The quickest way to be getting on with the quest is my question," Mits answers.

"You managed to sneak into a cult," Adam reminds, "And the assassin's guild is on the border.  So your exposure will be less than if you went directly to the center."

Imp shrugs.  "Sorry, Sis.  Bro's got a point."

Cherub headshakes at Mav.  "No.  Assassins are evil.  They kill for money.  Not for justice."

  "I'm wondering if it said we 'take over' because that was the closest answer to 'destroy'." floating hand only has so much to work with.

  "Big cult of open violence, compared to group of sneaky violence...  Then again, even the Bane cult had assassins so I'm wondering if the difference will be their fashion sense now."

The hand of fate vanishes once it gives the answer to Matt's question.

Maverick says, "Adam knows the quickest way. So we follow his directions and each take either horses or find a portal that takes us most of the way there."

Angel looks at Adam. Then at Mittens. Then back to Adam. "Timothius calls us ogre-stomping super heroes, but honestly, those ogres were somewhat tough. But at the same time, it wasn't as much of an endurance round as we're used to, so we should be good to go. I'm up for going to stomp this guy, but I also agree with Cherub that Maverick needs to spend time with his parents."

Maverick says, "If you promise to bring him to me alive, then I will feel safe staying here. If not, then I have no choice but to go ahead of you lest Mittens get to him first." He looks at Mittens. "And no matter how fast you are, since I am the sneakiest of us, I know I will beat you to him."

The ritual that was drawn has also vanished. Carla looks at the group for a consensus.

Johnathan says, "Maverick, don't be hasty. Remember; this man could be killing others. Justice is more important than your pride or your feelings about him."

Cristy just pulls Maverick close.

Raichel and Timothius have nothing to add to the topic.

"Your revenge is important," Mits says, "And I'd just love to take the guy alive.  But as I said before, I'm not making any promises.  Your dad's right.  Saving lives is more important."

"I'm sure Mav would agree with those priorities," Cherub agrees.

"And as Mav said earlier.  If the guy dies, he'll just resurrect him later," Imp reminds.

Adam nods.  "Our wizards could likely teleport you to within a day's ride once you're all ready."

  Matt nods, "Choice of more orphans being made, or a former orphan being made happier, sorry Maverick."

  At Adams offer, he says "If when that time happens is less than a full day from now, I'll get the serious impression resurrection is being taken for granted."  I mean, yeah it should be once it becomes accessible, but principle of the matter!  Even Batman would probably take a day off.

Maverick calms himself. "The resurrection power of the crown is only once a month. You guys go ahead of me as soon as you're ready. I'll be spending time with my parents. This man makes me too mad; I might get in the way or do something stupid."

Mav's parents look relieved. So do Raichel and Timothius.

Johnathan assures Maverick, "To recognize that you could lose control because of your anger for this man is a sure sign of maturity, Maverick."

Angel says, "If he winds up dead, I'll bring you his body." she then looks at Adam. "I'm ready whenever everyone else is. The sooner, the better."