dev 7 - candy land event

"WE HERE ARE GATHERED-" She was loud. She was always loud. "Oh, wait, HI Kalia! And Nathan and Naago and Rachel and Fox Girl!" She completely ignored Miyoko actually introducing herself, the time for first namings had come and gone.

"As I was SAYING! WE ARE GATHERED ON THE FORESTS EDGE FOR EXCITEMENT! WONDER! DANGER! BAD EATING!" She rubbed her hands together with glee, slapping Blyue across the back of the neck to get his attention.

"All the rumors and myths and mythical rumors keep saying that through THESE woods, not any other, we'll find the Grove of Treats!" She mutters under her breath. "Wonkerwilly better not have copy-written that..."

"A place made entirely from candy and candy accessories! WHO IS READY?!"
[Narrate]

You know what?

With so many things that are all gloomy, depressing and sometimes terrific, this has to be the only time Nathan gets to be a proper kid for a while, and he'll goddamn take that chance. So when the announcement is made...

He smiles.

That smile grows into a grin when he hears of the road of treats, about adventures and bad eating- you don't get many treats up on the mountain, and secretly, he was quite a sweet tooth, really. And so..

"Woa."

"Sign me UP."

He makes an exclamation on the last word, especially now that he finds out this is a place of candy and candy accessories. Who wouldn't want that?

"Let's gooooo."
(Nathan Cruor)

The Neries clapped her hands together with glee, vibrant blue hair shaking in excitement. "Okay, perfect! First one to get there gets first bite! And remember, if a peppermint dragon asks you to donate to his hoard, don't give him your feet. Walking on your hands is harder than it looks."

As if to demonstrate, she did a flip to land in a handstand, and without further ado began leading the way into the forest!

Surprisingly, it was a path traveled often. Or, if not often, frequently enough to have beaten the grass away. Soft dirt clenched underfoot... Underhand? Under-something, as Pynk walked backwards at a pace that matched the rest of the band. "Come on, don't be so embarrassed! It's just candy! The pixies there won't read out your diary to us, just the Jabberkin."

The hell was a Jabberkin.

"Anyone got any questions? It's supposed to be about an hours walk!"
[Narrate]

"Oh yes, yes. You have to look out for Jabberkin. They'll read it all and see it all and tell it to all your friends." Blyue had come out of whatever sort of stupor he had been in and was walking with the rest of the group, laughing along with his sister as she did her handstands and warnings.

"It's the biggest mountain you'll ever see, covered in gum drops and gummy worms and gummy gums and gumbledrops and gumpty galls and gibby gibs."

He started skipping while Pynk did her own show of actions. "It'll be great!!"
(Blyue)

There's one thing that he wouldn't have on this small adventure.

And that's anyone being sour. While the young Cruor was quite serious at times, he also inherited the mischief and quite literally the whole engine of energy that his mother used to be in her own youth- as such, he turns to glance back at the Rachel with a smile, sending a single cosmic sparkle her way.

It lands right on her forehead like a tap.

"Lighten up!"

Rather than taking too much time to nag her about it, though, he turned his attention back to the two guides they had, his eyes wandering around the scenery with a smile before they actually arrive.

"I see!"

"Wait- is actually everything in there made out of candy? That's awesome!"

Or at least, that's how he understood it.
(Nathan Cruor)

"No, that'd be silly!" She said in response to Kalia's question of Fizzy Rivers and Chocolate Trees. "Clouds aren't real, they're way up there! It's just your eyes playing tricks on you. You don't see any now do you??" It was a clear nights sky, with thousands of stars shining like candy buttons.

"And he doesn't JUUUUST want feet! He'll take anything!" She nodded sagelike, as though she knew all the answers, though the nod was rather wasted upside down as she was.

"And yeah! It's all made out of candy! Except the Candy, that's made from liquedized dreams."

And finally, to Fox Girl. "Of course it's edible! What kind of idiot makes a forest you can't eat?? Kraus, clearly..." She said disdainfully, bits of grass falling from her mouth. When had Pynk tried to graze?

"We'll be there in no time, just start counting!"

And in an hours time... The scenery began to change, beginning at first with the sweet smell of freshly baked chocolate.
[Narrate]

Everything made out of candy?

That actually brought about crazy ideas to Nathan's head, but at the same time, he wasn't really sure if it was true... but they had no reason to lie, right? If everything was actually made out of candy, then...

Boy oh boy is he going to eat lots.

Eat so much that it'll be enough to make up for all the lost time back on the mountain and other less pleasant places; a huge smile was plastered over his face, taking in the fragrance of freshly baked goods, in particular chocolate. The scent alone caused his mouth to salivate.

"I can already smell it from here..."

"Can't wait!"

It's something that's rarely seen. This excited Cruor? Definitely new.
(Nathan Cruor)

The dirt path vanished, and very shortly afterwards...

"Ow!" There was a crunch as Pynk put her hand down in the grass, who's texture had changed to something almost like chocolate. A melt, to be precise for the candy experts...

She balanced on one hand extraordinarily... Poorly. The Neries came crashing down into the 'grass', holding up her hand, which had bits of translucent grey poking out of it. Looking where her hand was, it looked as though she'd trodden on a... Rock?

Rock Candy.

Trees were everywhere, and the difference in texture was very rapidly becoming obvious. The bark had turned a darker, richer color, with scrapings taken off by wildlife. A bird landed on a branch, strange translucent pink growths on its feathers.

A loud fizzing sound could be heard from a nearby brook of bright blue liquid.

Nice and bubbly.
[Narrate]

"...!"

Truth is, he's far too curious not to try. Even if logic and reason can suggest to him that it might not be the best idea to try this thing immediately, or that it can be dangerous in some way...

Here's a thing - screw logic and reason. It's boring.

And so, young Cruor reaches down to the 'grass' after walking over, scooping a little of it and looking up closer. Unsure of how it'd taste, he mulls it over.

"Well! Time to find out if it's really all candy."

Crunch. He tries to eat it.
(Nathan Cruor)

The grass melts in Nathan's mouth. It tastes of key lime.
[Narrate]

Even if he's not really the fan of citrus taste, he still clearly notes the taste- this is not the ordinary grass, and this is definitely different.

"Yo..! This is actually candy!"

He quickly looks around. The bark of the trees, right? It looks dark. That must mean it's a chocolate... that tastes like chocolate? Or maybe it tastes like hazel nut. Or something like that - you can't find out until you try it out!

And so, he runs over to scoop out a little. Maybe he even dares to melt it a bit with tiny application of fire magic, all to get a handful better... not until it actually melts, of course. He needed it more or less solid to carry!

"Rachel, try this out!"

He runs back, already offering her the candy.
(Nathan Cruor)

The bark is made from a milky chocolate!
[Narrate]

A quick nod!

While Rachel doesn't look all that enthusiastic, he couldn't help but entice the Kitsune further to actually try it out. Especially when the young Cruor enjoys the chocolate and by the look of it, it seems to be very good...

"Yeah! It's awesome!"

"Why nobody told me chocolate is so good?!"

Wait. He didn't know? That's kinda sad... but that's what being locked on mountain does to you.
(Nathan Cruor)

The fizzy brook tasted like carbonated juice, primarily candied blueberries, matching the incredibly blue color. Within, fish swam around, made from reddish material. The fish seemed to lack any sort of internal organs that could be seen through the material.

A leaf taken from the tree could be chewed up without issue, tasting faintly of apple. Candy, but not very strongly flavored.

Indeed, as more and more sight was given to the area, everything seemed to be candy in one way or another. Clawing through the chocolate tree bark, they'd find a hard sugary core that was like the same stuff in candy canes.

Before Pynk could speak up, her face stuffed with flowers, a snuffling could be heard from nearby bushes, followed by a low growl.
[Narrate]

Those joyous moments could go on and on.

So much that he'd probably end up trying at least a little bit of everything. But they had to continue further, didn't they? Maybe check out the rest of the place.. or even try and find something special, if anything at all. Comparing to the gloom and doom of Agartha, this was respite.

This was actually something good.

"Hey, so where are we going next--"

And yet, just as he was about to ask more from Pynk, he heard the growl, squinting at the bushes. Did some wildlife come here? Maybe they were followed by something?

Or...

This is a local one. After all, everything was made out of candy, and a single glance revealed that the fish was likely made out of candy as well. The normal one couldn't live there, right? Rather than being scared of the growl, however...

"...Let's see what's growling in there."

The hunter becomes the hunted.
Oh god, did he actually plan to eat animal made out of candy?
(Nathan Cruor)

"Ooh! New friend, NEW FRIEND! NEW! FRIEND!" Pynk took off at a bolt towards the bushes where the growling was heard, ignoring everyone else in the process, even Blyue. "Oh, hello there mister bear! I'm Py-" She cut off in a muffle and another growl.

Bear?

Almost immediately afterwards, the bushes shook and a giant bear came crashing through, only... It was made entirely of bright purple gummy candy. Translucent so that one could see Pynk stuck inside. It had literally devoured her whole, though for now she looked unharmed.

What the fuck.

Another gummy bear came crashing through, charging towards the gathered people!
[Narrate]

A giant bear made out of gummies?

Rather than being in the slightest, an idea that was a large mix of his hunger, mischief and perhaps even a little dark of a thought sparked up- and despite his next words, what remained upon his mind was certainly odd.

"We have to help her!"

What was it going to be? Fighting off against the bear? Melting it? Breaking it down?

"WE HAVE TO DEVOUR IT!"

…

…?

"Come on, we can take it!" Without waiting for the rest, he already leapt straight into the fray, the golden brilliance and fire mixed together into Starfire, the flames worthy of melting gummies.

Only to be eaten soon after.
(Nathan Cruor)

Surprisingly, the candy *did not melt* in the presence of violent flames and engagement. The bear was malleable, and surprisingly hard to take down compared to a normal bear, even of that size. It also hit surprisingly hard, candy paws impacting the ground with enough force to shake the earth, earth that no one had worked the courage up to taste yet.

No one would walk away quite unbruised, and without the bear having attempted to eat them! Thankfully, no one else was subjected to that particular trick other than Pynk.

And then engulfed in flames, the bear roared as though in agony, before its head was ripped clean without so much as a skull to harden the blow. How it was solid was a good question to ask without bone or fur to keep it together.

Pynk clawed her way out from the neckhole, absolutely covered in sticky gummy candy and no way to clean it off. "IT'S MADE OF YUM!"
[Narrate]

It was time for what he's been training for.

A peculiar technique that could be used as a weapon of terror, the flames infused with stardust and compressed together to create the potent energy of Starfire, enough to turn the fires into something entirely else, something deadlier.

Explosions.

A chunk after chunk, these were blown out by localized 'booms' that were sent all across its body, the young Cruor quite energetic in the action despite all the bruising and punishment taken as result of actually fighting against this bear. Was it just that difficult to deter him, or was he simply excited to eat it?

Who knows.

"We did it!" And at last, it falls with combined efforts, the final blow coming to Miyoko's way. When it's finally taken down, Nathan reaches down to scoop out a piece and try it. Surely, if Pynk was actually enjoying it and eating it from inside out, it'd be enjoyable, right?

A smile was plastered over his face while doing so.

"Where we going next?"
(Nathan Cruor)

After a few minutes of eating on the giant gummy bear and enjoying herself, Pynk finally pulled herself out completely, slithering out and covered in sticky red fluids, like digestive juices of the bear, made of candy like everything else. And for once...

She frowns.

"Heey, something isn't right here." She sniffed at the stuff, turning her nose up. "I-uh..." She offered her arm to Blyue. "Heeey, can you see if your weird inside-out magic can affect this? It doesn't really smell right."
[Narrate]

Blyue stepped up ahead to check the stuff out. As he got closer, something definitely smelled off. The boy poked at Pynk's arm where some of the red goop came off in a way a lot less than candy would. This time it actually dripped. He sniffed and then took a step back, blinking a bit.

"Uh..."

The Neries was a blood mage, and it didn't take that sort of magic to realize what Pynk was covered in. "P-pyknie that stuff- that stuff--"

He looked down at his hand again and said, "That's real blood-"
(Blyue)

This was awkward.

And while Nathan just took few bits and pieces, he squinted at the two talking like that. Well, even if it was blood... it was still made out of candy, right? It wasn't 'real' real, right? At least that's what he wanted to believe.

"...Oh."

With wide eyes, he looks back down at the corpse of a bear, and then at the rest of the group. Suddenly, he lost his appetite trying to eat that bear.. but he didn't particularly overreact about it either.

"Well! It was, uh... still made out of candy. So like, it's fine?"
(Nathan Cruor)

Pynk looked down at herself, frowning and tasting it again. "It's still really sweet, like cherry syrup." The entire bear tasted of cherry. "It just seemed a little... Weird?" Her smile came back as she looked around. "I feel fine, but... Maybe we should go check out where that bear came from?"
[Narrate]

"Heeeyyy..!"

Just as he gets the canteen and the rags, as well as some cleaning done to him, he squinted a few times, unsure of what to think about it- wait, did he just eat the actual bear, and not something that he expected to be the candy? Now hold on, that brings another thought...

Was he eating actual grass?
Did he eat actual tree bark?
And now a bear?

Suddenly, Nathan violently coughs, and looks quite nauseous; the thought alone almost causes him to vomit, but rather than focusing on that, he decides to take the canteen after all, and begin washing out his mouth violently. All of this suddenly just became so...

So weird and so gross.

"...This is why I was told to never eat things off the ground."

He keeps coughing up, almost on the verge of it, trying to spit out whatever he still didn't swallow all the way through. This turned so much more gross out of sudden.

"I hate this... I just wanted some chocolates..."
(Nathan Cruor)

"Well, we don't need to see where it came from!" Pynk said, pointing to the ruined candied shrubbery. There were massive gouges in the ground where the gummy claws had torn up the earth, making tracks that could be followed by even the most novice tracker.

"See? Simple as that!" And without consulting the rest of the group, began to lead the way once more!

Occasionally licking herself.
[Narrate]

Off they go, it seems.

Figuring that there's no need to stick around here, despite mild hesitation to actually proceed and potentially spray yourself in more blood from gummy-slash-real wildlife, he carries on; now, a little bit more cautious.

And less eager to taste things they come across.

"Well, yeah..!"

"Journey isn't finished, right? Let's get going."

He walks with the rest, holding onto silvery staff with the bell atop.
(Nathan Cruor)

And off they went! Traveling down the trail left by the bear was incredibly easy, more a path of following ruined scenery. Though, not all of it could be blamed on the bear as they trudged on through the forest...

The sweet aroma of chocolate began to turn sickly, like that of sweet rot. The rich bark had turned a disturbing yellow, the leaves shriveling up. Grass crunched underfoot like stale bread, with patches of it a disturbing green hue.

"I don't think things are right here in candy land!" Pynk said, frowning at the state of her wonderland. "This stuff looks like it's been rotting..."

The trees cleared out into a wide grove, the smell hitting the strongest here. The grass had turned from yellow to grey, turning to ashes when one stepped upon it. And in the center of the grove? Four massive support beams, each one as thick as a tree trunk and made out of swirling peppermint. At the top was a dilapidated shack, though first...

It seemed to have a sentry. A rather large thing of blue taffy, its face an ugly brutish thing. A massive club of hard hand was gripped in its hand, or upon closer examination, melded with it. The tip ended in an absurd jawbreaker.
[Narrate]

Things have taken a grim turn.

Where Nathan expected this to be at least some respite from the constant gloom and doom of Agartha, and all the responsibilities he had and violence he's been involved into, it seems that steadily even this place was slipping back into the 'ideology' that Agartha holds.

A horrible, horrible place.

Or maybe just about anything with magic in it was destined to be that way. It caused the young Cruor to quietly sigh... and he knew that it was no time to indulge or be simple anymore- it's about time that he gets to being serious like he always does. But oh well.

Even if it's kind of ruined, what can you do?

"...Seems pretty dangerous here." The lighthearted mood was quickly waning.

"I think those support beams might be responsible for supporting the sentry- or well, the candy land in general. Maybe something is wrong with it? Or maybe that's actually what's been causing the trouble?"

For better or worse, this ruined mood allowed him to think... a little clearer, really. A little more mature too.

"--Kaila, don't just go on like that... silly."
(Nathan Cruor)

Well, with stealth out of the question... The call of the child immediately alerted the troll who had otherwise gone completely unawares of the group! Scratching its head with a stretchy finger, it began to amble over, shaking its club as it did so.

"Hey little fleshies! None-a you's is allowed up here until da candies has spread! Liry isn't gunna like dis..." Its footsteps brought booming shakes of the earth. "Already started on one-a you's." It's gaze looked at Pynk, covered in candy juice. "In a few days you'll be like me. Den Liry will luv you!"

It looked at the rest of the kids and raised its club. "Resta you's... Gotta get infected!"
[Narrate]

Infected?

If Nathan knew anything at all, it's the fact that such infections are magical, and typically tend to either originate with the flesh and then spread into mana circuitry of the living being, or directly infect it. Eitherway, it could use a little 'wash' with the cosmic dust.

With his heritage? He's known plenty about it.

Not an expert, of course- not as certain renowned people on Agartha, but still vaguely aware that at least something can be done, should it fail at first. Regardless of the scenario, the young Cruor furrowed his brows, the Starfire gathering around his form; the flickering flames were being bolstered in numbers and strength, the stardust fed into their core.

So much that it already threatened to explode.

"Guess that means we're fighting." Because obviously, they wouldn't just hand themselves over like that.

"No one's getting infected." And yet, a glance at the rest. "Don't get it killed. We need it to find out the origin and source!"

Hopefully, they'd understand. For now, he prepared himself for what's to come.
(Nathan Cruor)

The fight was far from easy.

Then again, someone this young shouldn't even be fighting magical beasts like that; it quickly showed itself as the being of immense strength, thrashing people around like that and capable of delivering blows that would give a pause even to seasoned magi.

What their group was supposed to do in that case?

Gang up, of course. Such opportunity is found in the group circling around the beast, engaging in unison like a swarm- although the initial plan was to simply bring it down, it became quickly apparent that such thing isn't going to be possible. Not when he took one of the heaviest blows.

It almost felt like attempt to dislocate his jaw.

Instead, it ends up a horrible bruise and the young Cruor is flung backward; shocked as result of pain, perhaps this amplified the fiery magic, the instinct of defense coupled with aggression suddenly fuelling Starfire to be sent outward in rapid manner. Perhaps, even a little too much...

For when it reaches the troll, the chunks are blown out of its legs in explosion.

Parts of the body spill, littering the ground with each explosion set off by Nathan. If only after assurance that he's truly incapacitated, he comes over, slowly- his hand holding onto jaw.

"This hurts... hurts to talk..."

"Ask.. ask him where this Liry is.."

Until then? He falls silent, holding onto his wound.
(Nathan Cruor)

As it turned out, going through a fight where the children were fighting with brutal magic and *having its legs explosively destroyed* tended to leave most things on the verge of death. Candy was no different!

Throughout the fight, not only had it displayed incredible power, but incredible durability. Not so much through being hard to hurt, but rather it was regenerating from most wounds! Taffy sealed shut as soon as it was opened back up.

When it finally came down, it looked dumbly at Kalia, face impossible to read. "Liry... In da... House." It slumped back, looking up at the shack atop the candy cane pillars.

Well, at least it was close by!
[Narrate]

There's a moment in which he considers throwing more Starfire..

But when he looks down at the troll, despite the clear frown displayed over Nathan's face due to injury taken, he shrugs off that thought- he was vengeful and even petty enough to do that, had he been really up to it. After all, he still remembered what a certain Nethradin did to him when he was only ten...

And planned something accordingly.

Instead, he followed Kaila. This had to be their resolution - or at least, a new lead.
(Nathan Cruor)

Exploding house and stair crisis averted, the walk up the candy stairs was easy enough. No Bubblegum Bats came flying to impede progress, no Licorice Lizards came climbing the pillars. All the way to the top, where a platform of actual wood rest atop the pillars.

And atop the platform? A run-down looking shack, the door open. "Come in, come in!" An elderly voice called from within. The smell of baking chicken wafted from the open door. "I've just finished preparing dinner!"
[Narrate]

"Oh, no no no. This isn't going smooth like before."

Nathan was actually vehemently against this. Having his jaw hurt, making him eat up what's basically real blood? Yeah, that wasn't cool with him. Instead, he holds onto that silvery staff with the bell atop, utterly unconvinced with any of this.

"Has to be that Liry or whatever. If she isn't one, then ask her where she is." Even while he speaks, he clearly keeps holding onto his jaw, an occasional struggle here and there.

"Just tell her- or whoever else does this- to stop this."

Gods, he was sure agitated.
(Nathan Cruor)

The interior of the shack was a far cry from the exterior. It looked like a comfy little cabin, with only a single room. A bed against a wall, a wood stove in a corner, a large table dominating the center of the room.

Atop the table were a variety of dishes, none of them candy related in the slightest. "Oh I'm sure your appetite for sweets has been ruined by my lovely little forest!" A baked chicken garnished with a sliced lemon and herbs across its browned skin. A pot of stuffing and another of mashed potatoes, green beans and boiled corn on the cob.

And a plate piled high with buttery rolls.

"Oh, we can talk it over dinner, can't we little ones? Just because you're so young doesn't mean we can't be a little civilized! You'll have to forgive the troll, he's very mistrusting of things not like him!" Liry herself looked to be over a hundred years old, with deep green hair. Her face was covered in wrinkled, her hands trembling as she set forks and knives at the table, a place prepared for every child.

"Please, I can't possibly eat all this food!"
[Narrate]

A groan. The agitation of the pyromancer only builds up further; he's already a fairly headstrong individual, and can be pretty aggressive when pushed into it. Combine that with actual hurt and the rest... you get the picture.

"Enough playing games."

He says with a clear, stern voice to him. If the time up on the mountain taught him anything, it's the fact that shady adults who were up to no good initially should never be trusted otherwise. If they failed the trust once? They should never be given that again.

"I didn't come here to sit it over the food. I've had enough of eating real blood that you apparently made up - and had to ruin it all for us."

For someone this young, it's surely laced with venom like no other. He steps even closer, the heat radiating, even threatening to become more.

"Are you going to stop doing all of this or not?"

He had no time for this. Any of this.
(Nathan Cruor)

The elderly woman frowned at Nathan, completely ignoring the rest of the children for the moment. She pointed a fork at him accusingly. "Brats like you are why I started this in the first place!" Her voice had turned sharp like a crow's.

"Always so ungrateful, always just taking! My forest is PEACEFUL when ungrateful beasts like you aren't infesting it! I invite you to my home, offer you dinner, and you come in here with fire blazing? You come to MY home like that, after killing your way here?"

She shook her head, clucking like a hen. "No, that won't do at all. You'll be much more sweet and taciturn when I'm done with you!" Vines suddenly erupted out from the wood, the entire house coming alive in a flurry of nature to restrain the children!
[Narrate]

Nathan accepted neither her words nor her accusations.

Instead, his frame visibly tensed up, eyelids narrowing in preparation for what's to come; he could already tell that she would be hostile from get-go, or have ulterior motives in trying to lure them in one way or another... and truth is, none of this would really work for the young Cruor.

Once his guard is raised, there's no backing away from it.

"None of this is right!" The yellow brilliance of his cosmic emerges, a flicker coming together with the stardust flames, conjuring the dangerous explosive potential that was seen previously.

"You can't just pretend to be some welcoming host when you're poisoning people with whatever you have!"

No, this wouldn't sit with him. In his mind, all this would do is let her have the space in pretending to have moral high ground.. but aside of that? Nothing. She would just try and turn them into something else.

Something out of forest.

"You're not taking anything!"

A sentence much more passionate and fiery, the emotion fuelling his fires all the same. The young Cruor was already fairly talented with the flames as it is, especially for his age... and so the Starfire reaches out to burn against the vines, seeking to eliminate each and every that tries to restrain them.

But more than that?

He aims it right at her. The house is quickly set ablaze, the environment rising in temperature.
(Nathan Cruor)

Nothing like the fighting which lets him blow out the steam.

Although the furious flames were thrown around the house, it would seem that in the end, the elderly woman was still quite capable despite her age- clearly a magi that amassed significant power, perhaps going as far as acquire old trinkets and artifacts that only bolstered her further.

This would be the only explanation so far.

Yet, he didn't ponder on it too much. The Starfire went off time and time again, exploding chunks of the house- he didn't restrain himself all that much, out of consideration that she would simply turn them something... wicked, should they actually fail to win against her.

That only drove him to fight harder.

In the end, when she's submitted, it almost looks like the young Cruor is about to send her back to creator, but.. if only at the final moment, when he intends to strike her down, he stops. She's already defeated...so there's no need, right? She was also old.

It's that spark of the heritage which almost drove him to kill.

"...It's over." If only for now, he showed restrain. Perhaps, because he was young and not ready yet.

"Just... take whatever's useful around here, I guess, and let's move." The house was no doubt quite damaged from all this combat too.

"I'm tired..."

For now, it'd seem that Nathan isn't feeling all too well. A return home would be for the best - for him, at least.
(Nathan Cruor)