{"id":2782,"date":"2017-03-10T01:26:18","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T15:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/?p=2782"},"modified":"2017-03-10T01:26:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T15:26:18","slug":"banestorm-taken-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/?p=2782","title":{"rendered":"Banestorm: Taken, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SIX days later, they were in Min.<\/p>\n

For a city in Megalos, it was a miserable and rundown place,\u00a0possessing\u00a0only\u00a0streets thick with mud and shit and despair. The smallfolk who lived here in squalid poverty went out of their way to avoid meeting anyone\u2019s eyes, conveying in their body language just how utterly broken so many of them were. There were still the occasional signs of ostentatious wealth – nobles unwilling to risk contamination by the filth rode through the streets on magnificent destriers that likely cost more than any two tenements in the city or were carried aloft on litters borne by sullen-looking slaves criss-crossed with both old and new whip scars. Heavily armed warriors were everywhere, eyeing those they did not know – and the ones they did know as well, it seemed – with barely hidden suspicion. Here, it seemed the criminal element was in true power, no matter that Baron Martignac ostensibly ruled from his nearby fortress.<\/p>\n

\u201cMos Eisley seaport,\u201d Gestlin announced as they disembarked from their small ship hired to make the run from Alimar. \u201cYou will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.\u201d Gabriel glanced in his direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been here before then?\u201d he asked. \u201cGood. I\u2019ve only passed through once so having someone familiar with Min\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, no,\u201d Gestlin said quickly. \u201cI was just \u2026 it\u2019s something I heard once. I haven\u2019t been here before.\u201d On the wizard\u2019s other side, Merasi\u00ebl gave Gabriel a look that was partly confused, partly irritated, and entirely focused; he nodded in understanding to her unspoken suggestion.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s find an inn,\u201d he said. Venturing out into Min with Gestlin was a doomed proposition from the start – the wizard was simply too clumsy to take on anything resembling a stealth operation and that didn\u2019t take into account all of the simply strange things that occurred around him. Case in point, the school of mermaids they\u2019d encountered on the way here; the chances of them happening along their path and then all <\/i>of them inexplicably deciding they were in love with Gestlin was pretty low under normal circumstances. Thankfully, they\u2019d decided to fight it out amongst themselves which had resulted in an opportunity to slip by them.<\/p>\n

Finding an inn was not difficult but locating one that did not look to be on the verge of simply collapsing due to neglect was. Ultimately, they chose the best of the worst – it had an engraving of a rearing horse which led to Gestlin gleefully declaring that it was the Prancing Pony, no matter what the actual name happened to be – and rented two adjoining rooms; the locks on the doors were pathetic things that would not hold up to any attempt to breach them, so Gabriel and Merasi\u00ebl stored their respective belongings in the room that Gestlin would be in. The wizard almost immediately recognized their intention to leave him behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I can still help!\u201d he whined.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen help,\u201d Gabriel replied. \u201cYou got us to this point. Now find out why you cannot scry his exact location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut lock the door,\u201d Merasi\u00ebl added as she slipped out. Gabriel nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cLock it,\u201d he agreed, \u201cand bar it somehow. Use magic if you must.\u201d He retreated before Gestlin could start casting and found Merasi\u00ebl waiting for him at the bottom of the rickety stairs. She was eyeing the rough-looking louts in the common room cautiously; none seemed interested in her presence, not with their mugs before them. Their decision to avoid her gaze might also have something to do with her body language – she was visibly on edge and any damned fool who bothered her when she was like this deserved the knife in the eye that they would inevitably receive. For his part, Gabriel knew he was not much better; he kept shifting back and forth between Leopard in High Grass and Cat Crosses the Courtyard since both seemed appropriate. He wondered what his <\/i>body language was saying…<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see the soldiers in white earlier?\u201d she asked softly in Elvish. \u201cWhite and red. Like someone else I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did.\u201d Gabriel frowned. \u201cSerrun has a presence here. Did I ever tell you about that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany times. I thought you were exaggerating.\u201d He let her lead them from the inn and into the filthy streets outside. \u201cDo you think they can help?\u201d Gabriel gave her a cold, wolfish smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, they will absolutely help,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just need to ask <\/i>in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

FINDING the Serrun force was not difficult.<\/p>\n

Word on the street gave them early warning: Marcus, Count of Shambray, had come to Min to treat with Martignac in an attempt to convince the latter to cease cooperating with the plague of pirates who infested this rotten city. There were rumors of an impending war as the other city-states faced desperate financial times due to the rampant lawlessness; traders and merchants simply refused to even venture to this region of Megalos because of the pirate scourge and it seemed that Shambray\u2019s visit was a veiled threat: fix the problem or we will<\/i>.<\/p>\n

When they found him, Count Marcus was at the head of his ten-man squad and on his way out of Min. He had aged gracefully; now in his early thirties, he still had most of the color in his hair, albeit with a few streaks of silver that lent him a gravitas that Gabriel did not recall seeing in his youth. Unlike many nobles of his rank and age, he had not gained an appreciable amount of weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will need the scouts deployed for the entire journey,\u201d he was saying as Gabriel glided forward. The similarity in their respective colors allowed him to easily blend in with the soldiers under Marcus\u2019 command and the irritating drizzle of rain was an expert excuse to keep his hood up. \u201cI did not like that bastard\u2019s tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou expect an ambush, Lord?\u201d the speaker was young but bore a striking resemblance to the old war-captain Gabriel recalled being at Marcus\u2019 side when he was last in Serrun. When was that? Seven years ago? Eight?<\/p>\n

\u201cExpect, no. But neither would I be surprised if it happened.\u201d Count Marcus scowled. \u201cAnd with these damned pirates all around \u2026\u201d He trailed off abruptly as he finally took notice of Gabriel\u2019s presence and frowned in his direction. It took barely a moment – he could see the exact moment that Marcus realized who he was based on how the blood drained from his face – and in that same moment, the young captain who had questioned his lord also realized they had too many men. He went for his sword, which caused his troops to follow suit. \u201cHold!\u201d Marcus snapped harshly and the soldiers froze in place. \u201cI did not think to see you again,\u201d the count said slowly, hesitantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not here to reminisce, Lord of Serrun,\u201d Gabriel replied coldly. In the hours it had taken to track this man down, the cold simmer of his fury had intensified into a barely controlled inferno. He had thought it under control, locked away in the Void, but now, with them so close to resolving this and taking back their son, it was a constant struggle to rein in his temper. From the body language of the men before him, his voice absolutely betrayed his state of mind but Gabriel no longer cared. \u201cYou arrived in Min four days ago,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe following morning, a ship with red sails docked. We would know where the crew of this ship resides.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe.\u201d Count Marcus repeated the word and glanced around, as if to say something else, but the words died on his tongue as Merasi\u00ebl stepped out of her place of concealment. She had engaged the magics woven into her cloak which Gestlin had augmented last year and as a result, appeared to just be a woman-shaped shadow that had seemingly detached itself from the darkness. The count\u2019s reaction to her appearance drew the eyes of the soldiers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear God,\u201d one of the men murmured. \u201cIt\u2019s both <\/i>of them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel smiled a shark\u2019s smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed sails,\u201d he repeated. \u201cThe crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Captain Amalrith\u2019s ship,\u201d a soldier said. Gabriel looked at him. \u201cOne of the baron\u2019s servants told me about him. She \u2026\u201d He coughed and glanced toward the count with an embarrassed expression but continued. \u201cShe said he was once highborn but was stripped of his rank. He bought back his family\u2019s home with what he seized as a pirate.\u201d Gabriel glanced toward Merasi\u00ebl – she nodded very, very slightly and slowly backed into the darkness again; the magics of her cloak made it seem as if she was simply enveloped and vanished. With the eyes of the count and his men on him, Gabriel doubted any of them were even aware that she had withdrawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave the city,\u201d he ordered Count Marcus before turning away. Automatically, he fell into Cat Crosses the Courtyard as he glided across the filthy cobblestone. Behind him, he heard the murmurs of the warriors – they\u2019d just noticed that Merasi\u00ebl had vanished – and then Marcus\u2019 sharp orders. But none of it mattered, not anymore. The dead man who had dared lay hands on the child neither he nor Merasi\u00ebl were able to raise had a name.<\/p>\n

Amalrith.<\/p>\n

Under his hood, Gabriel was smiling and he knew it was a terrible thing to behold.<\/p>\n

\n

THEY located their prey just as the sun was beginning to set.<\/p>\n

Lord Amalrith\u2019s villa was a high-walled compound on the outskirts of Min and it was crawling with armed guards. To most eyes, the place would appear impregnable and well-defended but within a handful of heartbeats, Gabriel could see that the villa\u2019s security was little more than a cleverly disguised lie. Too much of the compound was in disrepair, with crumbling walls or unrepaired breaches. Most of the guards patrolling were either incompetent, drunk, or distracted, and the few who were <\/i>paying attention were scattered all along the walls and could cover only portions. No, the real problem was magical in nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s warded,\u201d Gestlin murmured. He was crouched alongside Gabriel, staring intently at something only he could see. Bringing him along was necessary, given what they had learned in the hours since meeting with the count of Shambray, but still, Gabriel was uncomfortable with having him exposed like this. \u201cThey\u2019re strong too. Whoever threw them up knew what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you take them down?\u201d Gabriel asked. He had stopped studying the walls and was now watching Merasi\u00ebl as she stealthily crept closer to the compound. Unlike him, she actually could sense magic though it was a talent she rarely used, so she would at least be able to determine where the wards began.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d Gestlin tapped the ground with that stick of his. \u201cYou have two options: Smil-Blam and I can take the wards down slowly and quietly or we can explode them all at once.\u201d He shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know what will happen if I blow them up but I think \u2026 these feel like informational wards. If I\u2019m right, they\u2019re designed to just warn the villa of attackers, not to stop someone from kicking in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if you collapse them all at once \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery alarm in the villa will go off at once.\u201d The wizard made a face. \u201cTaking them down slowly is probably the safer option but I don\u2019t know how long that will take, even with Smil-Blam\u2019s help. Like I said, the wizard who erected them was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen take them down fast.\u201d Gabriel reached under his armored corselet and tapped the elven amulet he wore; instantly, Merasi\u00ebl froze in place and looked toward him. With quick hand gestures, he passed on the plan and she nodded once.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait.\u201d Gestlin was scratching something in the dirt. \u201cI have an idea.\u201d Giving him a quick sidelong look, Gabriel held up a closed fist, knowing that Merasi\u00ebl would understand the instruction to delay. \u201cI think \u2026 I think I can cheat these wards. If I wrap you and Merasi\u00ebl up in inverted versions of what already exists, the villa\u2019s wards will recognize you as part of the existing structure and not set off the alarm.\u201d He frowned. \u201cIt would require me to stay here though. I\u2019d have to concentrate to maintain it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo that.\u201d Another hand gesture to Merasi\u00ebl; she started retracing her path to join them. Once she was close enough, he filled her in. She nodded her approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother thing,\u201d Gestlin said as he extracted two rocks from the dirt. He closed his eyes, murmured something in a language that sounded like so much gibberish, then pushed the rocks into their hands. Gabriel looked at the stone in slight confusion, especially when both of his companions flinched away from it. \u201cKeep it covered!\u201d Gestlin snapped. Merasi\u00ebl had already pocketed her rock. \u201cTo a mage,\u201d he said before nodding toward Merasi\u00ebl, \u201cor someone capable of magery, those rocks glow. If you need to signal me for some reason, I should be able to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you do,\u201d Merasi\u00ebl stated calmly, \u201cyour first action is to destroy the villa\u2019s wards. Make it loud and bright and confusing. Sow chaos.\u201d Gestlin grinned brightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that,\u201d he declared, \u201cI excel at.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took the wizard long moments to craft his inverted ward and during that time, Gabriel crouched alongside Merasi\u00ebl quietly, his eyes ranging along the walls of the villa as he planned out his approach. As he was on her right, that meant the right side was his to handle while she took the left. Already, he\u2019d identified his first targets and the best path inside \u2026 presuming Gestlin\u2019s spell actually worked. He thrust that thought aside, buried it in a layer of ice and wrapped himself in the Void. Focus and control. That was all that mattered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wisest course of action,\u201d Merasi\u00ebl murmured, \u201cwould be for us to find him, retrieve him and leave the rest behind. They would only slow us down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed.\u201d Even floating in the emptiness of the Void, that decision felt \u2026 wrong to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not intend to be wise this night,\u201d Merasi\u00ebl added after a moment. Gabriel smiled again.<\/p>\n

\u201cNor I.\u201d He considered saying more, something pithy or witty or perhaps he could actually verbalize the depth of his feelings for the woman next to him, but the thought was distant and fleeting. Action was always better than words.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo,\u201d Gestlin whispered suddenly. Gabriel was up and moving almost before he realized.<\/p>\n

He kept low as he darted toward the villa\u2019s walls, hugging the shadows where he could find them and relying entirely on speed where he could not. The moon was swollen and full, but a trick of the sky had turned it blood red which suited Gabriel\u2019s mood wonderfully. As an added bonus, the steady drumbeat of rain that had begun while they were in the city had not abated and no guard wanted to stand silently in this. And then, he was there.<\/p>\n

Up the wall he scrambled, sacrificing stealth for speed, and he slid over the lip of the rock mere seconds after beginning his climb. Crouching on the battlements, he paused, halfway expecting an armcry to be raised or a storm of arrows to descend upon him. Nothing stirred. He could hear the muted grumbles of the nearest guards, their words lost to distance, and the sizzling hiss of something on a fire. Anger at the necessity for this and elation at his success warred within him, but Gabriel thrust them both aside and silently drew Compatior<\/i>. This would be close work, where the rapier required space he did not have. He smiled darkly once more. Now the killing began.<\/p>\n

He was an angry, vengeful ghost in the night, gliding from darkness to darkness and striking without a sound. From behind, of course. Always from behind. His free hand would curl around his victim\u2019s mouth in the same instant he thrust Compatior <\/i>through the man\u2019s skull or neck or heart, whichever was most exposed in that instant. A few moments of brief struggle before his victim when still and limp, then it was off to the next man. Across the villa, cloaked in her own shadows, he knew Merasi\u00ebl was doing the same with Angrist.<\/p>\n

Without warning, chaos erupted. Later, Gabriel would never quite be able to identify what caused it – perhaps he misstepped, perhaps Merasi\u00ebl had, perhaps Gestlin\u2019s inverted ward was not as effective as thought – but in an instant, the entire villa was exploding with activity. Men in the courtyard below were seizing their weapons or shouting or running. With no time to even consider alternate options, Gabriel did the only thing that occurred to him.<\/p>\n

He attacked.<\/p>\n

From the crumbling battlements, he sprang down, landing briefly on the top of a large metal cage that he only then realized held a living person before twisting into a spinning somersault. Even before he landed in the midst of an armed group, he had drawn Misericordia<\/i>. Kissing the Adder sent one man to the ground in a shower of blood and Gabriel flowed into Falling Coins on Stone. The men were just now beginning to turn toward him, startled and fearful expressions on their face as he struck. Black Pebbles on Snow became Parting the Silk. Another man joined the first and overhead, the night turned to day as a cataclysm of light indicated that Gestlin had shattered the wards in a fierce pyrotechnic display. Snow in High Wind flowed into Mongoose Takes a Viper. Despite his rage, despite the fury singing in his veins, Gabriel was still in control, still tightly focused. Kingfisher Circles the Pond caught a desperate thrust from one of his foes and left the fool wide open for Ribbon in the Air. There were more of them on the ground than upright now and they knew it. Even more terrifying for them was that Gabriel had only accounted for some of their fallen; Merasi\u00ebl struck from shadow and silence, her knives blurring and bloody. Another of them fell, gasping out his last as crimson life gushed from his ruined throat. One of the men turned toward her at this, eyes widening at her sudden appearance, and Gabriel flowed toward him. River Undercuts the Bank sent him to his knees with a startled gasp and Merasi\u00ebl buried both of her knives in his eyes. In mid-step, she twirled away, dropping to a knee as her blades carved lethal furrows upon another. He too fell, screaming as clutched at his belly in a desperate attempt to keep his entrails from slipping out.<\/p>\n

And then \u2026 silence.<\/p>\n

Without consciously realizing it, Gabriel had sidestepped so his back was to Merasi\u00ebl\u2019s and they scanned the courtyard, weapons at the ready. Men were strewn about haphazardly, some still alive and moaning but most already dead. The stench of blood and shit was thick but here in the Void, it was a distant thing, like something someone else had smelled. Gabriel\u2019s face ached – he had been smiling his terrible shark\u2019s smile the entire time, he realized – and he forced the expression away.<\/p>\n

The door to the villa opened, revealing a man matching this Lord Amalrith\u2019s description. He was screaming, raving, gesturing \u2026 a mage. The man was a mage. Gabriel was sprinting toward him before he was truly aware of it. An explosion of light screamed toward him but Gabriel twisted up and over it, spinning through the air and landing without even breaking stride. He could see Amalrith\u2019s face contort in terror.<\/p>\n

And then, Angrist flashed over Gabriel\u2019s shoulder and took the man in the eye.<\/p>\n

By then, Gabriel was already committed to his strike; Arc of the Moon flashed in the night and Amalrith toppled, his head rolling away from his body. With Angrist buried hilt deep, it did not go far. Gabriel hooked Misericordia\u2019s <\/i>blade under Angrist\u2019s quillions and, with a casual flick of his wrist, wrenched the blade free and sent it spinning toward Merasi\u00ebl. She caught it almost without looking. For long seconds, silence reigned.<\/p>\n

And then, Gestlin blew up the villa wall.<\/p>\n

\n

NO one tried to stop them as they led the freed captives back to Min.<\/p>\n

Behind them, they left Amalrith\u2019s villa on fire, having stripped everything of value from it. The rescued children huddled together in the covered wagon – Gestlin was still <\/i>complaining that they\u2019d left his in Cardiel at Whiteoak, but seemed temporarily assuaged with some of the magical paraphernalia taken from Amalrith\u2019s study – and the three adult women pulled from the cages were watching everyone with wide, nervous eyes. Even Merasi\u00ebl, it seemed, though she was ignoring them as much as everyone else.<\/p>\n

They found Amalrith\u2019s red sailed ship unoccupied save for a trio of fools who thought Merasi\u00ebl was there to entertain them; their bodies made satisfying splashes when dumped into the bay and that, more than anything else, made the statement that Gabriel hoped it would to the port\u2019s onlookers. He waited to make sure that the children were securely aboard – the three women had vanished almost as soon as they entered Min, but that was their decision – and that Merasi\u00ebl knew his mind before striding back down the ramp and re-entering the city.<\/p>\n

He located the crew of the small craft that had brought them to Min days earlier in a miserable-smelling tavern. To his very great pleasure, none of them were drunk as they\u2019d already run out of money. When he made his offer to them, they accepted without hesitation and set about recruiting others they considered trustworthy.<\/p>\n

As dawn broke over Min, a ship with red sails set out to sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot take him back to Cardiel,\u201d Merasi\u00ebl told him some time later. They were both hanging back, watching the young boy who was a strange but somehow wondrous mixture of them both. Like all of the other children, he was still frightened – the ship was a reminder of how he got here and Gabriel expected the boy would never be able to forget his foster parents being cut down – but Gestlin was entertaining them all with a strange magical puppet show and the fear was temporarily abated. Gabriel had long ago stopped trying to follow the plot; it was nonsensical at best, involving a man who dressed up like a bat and a boy who was a bird fighting against a clown and woman who was also perhaps a werecat.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Their son looked once in their direction, then back to Gestlin\u2019s tricks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you will not return to Caithness.\u201d There was no judgment in Merasi\u00ebl\u2019s voice at that – she understood better than most why he could not go back. \u201cBut I know of some in Harkwood who could be more \u2026 effective defenders of our son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill they accept him?\u201d Gabriel asked softly. The boy was <\/i>half-elven, after all, and he\u2019d known enough elves to recognize they were just as capable of cruelty as men.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we have a choice?\u201d She placed a hand upon his arm. \u201cThe chances of this Amalrith simply stumbling upon our <\/i>child seem \u2026 small.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d Gabriel tried not to frown. \u201cI will look into that. Shake some trees, see if I can make any traitors slither out.\u201d He did not have to say what it was that he would do to anyone he discovered linked to the abductions. Merasi\u00ebl nodded and went back to watching their son.<\/p>\n

\n

THAT evening, Gestlin sent Merasi\u00ebl and the boy to Caithness.<\/p>\n

He did not understand the reasoning behind this decision but accepted it nonetheless. Not being familiar with Harkwood, he instead sent them to the monastery that was Mendel\u2019s abode. It was late and Merasi\u00ebl hoped the cover of darkness would allow her to avoid any of the more uncomfortable questions should she have the misfortune of encountering the old priest. Gabriel watched her gather the sleeping child up – he folded all of his thoughts and feelings and emotions into the Void – but said nothing. In the last instant, before Gestlin spoke the final Word of Power that translocated the two halfway across the world, Merasi\u00ebl looked at him and smiled softly.<\/p>\n

And then, she was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not understand you at all,\u201d Gestlin told him later. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even tell her goodbye!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it isn\u2019t goodbye.\u201d Gabriel stood on the prow of the ship and concentrated on maintaining his balance. \u201cMerasi\u00ebl knows how to reach me. I know how to reach her. So, it isn\u2019t goodbye.\u201d That caused Gestlin to give him a questioning look, but Gabriel ignored it. The elven medallion had been a gift from Merasi\u00ebl and simply wasn\u2019t the wizard\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut \u2026 what about your son?\u201d At that, Gabriel\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank you for your assistance in this, Gestlin,\u201d he said, \u201cbut this is a matter between myself and Merasi\u00ebl.\u201d If his tone did not adequately convey that the matter was closed, then the look he gave the wizard did. Besides, he did not know how to best explain himself; he had thoroughly failed Auqui simply by being in his life. He would not <\/i>fail this child in the same way. Merasi\u00ebl would find someone better suited to be the boy\u2019s father, someone who was more than just an exceptional killer. And then, the child could grow up to be something truly exceptional, perhaps someone who never had to even pick up a sword.<\/p>\n

It was a good dream.<\/p>\n

\n

Author’s Note: <\/b>This is intended to be the very last bit of Gabery, though honestly, I said that about Chance Meetings too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SIX days later, they were in Min. For a city in Megalos, it was a miserable and rundown place,\u00a0possessing\u00a0only\u00a0streets thick with mud and shit and despair. The smallfolk who lived here in squalid poverty went out of their way to avoid meeting anyone\u2019s eyes, conveying in their body language just how utterly broken so many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,20],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-2782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-banestorm","category-bs_pcs","tag-gabery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2782"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2789,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2782\/revisions\/2789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.olympusrpg.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}