Log:Regretful Decisions

2019/10/22 Artemis Portennant 1

Victory's final words still echo, nearly literally, in Artemis' ears as she is recalled. "...Assuming that was you! You! You insufferable trollop!" Those last few are not Victory's, but rather those of a Portennant who sounds (and then appears as he steps into view before her) to be rather annoyed. "Now we've lost valuable assests, and must also go and collect an ally!"

His eyes narrow at her. "For one who espouses valor and honor, you are no less inclined to twist those concepts to your own end than those you claim to abhor." His look of ire suddenly twists, inverting into a smile. "I am quite proud. You can no longer deny your own hypocrasy."

Her surroundings are the familiar confines,or lack, of a large briefing/ante room contructed entirely of a satin-lustre metal, yet seems to bear a raw dirt floor.

The words of her friend attacking her already smeared honor cut Artemis deep as she fades away. But Urth's guardians won, and that is one thing she can be glad for despite her own terrible situation.

After she solidifies before Portennant, her expression falls back into neutral, her eyes peering down at him as he pronounces her trollop. "'Twas not only I who failed. The War-Thorn and Silence were not mighty enough to defeat the Guardians of Urth. I followed your instructions. Struck a hero in the back. I kept my fealty at the risk of breaking the highest code to the Ashildr," she tries to reason. The last thing she wants is his pride in her. More words cut. What does her honor even mean now, when it requires her to pledge herself to an evil man?

"They failed as they expected aid from an ally, a teammate, who did not deliver," he offers. "I know that you ARE familiar with concept..." A gesture with his hand brings up a holographic display to present an image. It is a view of the depot's interior, with Artemis on the ground, trapped in the netting, with the heroes just inside. The view is from further to the rear, at a somewhat oblique angle, and somewhat distant.

Another gesture and the image becomes video and audio that plays, showing Artemis addressing several of the heroes by name, the camera briefly panning to each in turn: the shield-bearer, the robot, the fire giant.

"Or perhaps I should say you -were- familiar..." A new gesture and the feed cut forward to a few key moments, such as the re-designation and Victory striking her. "If this is a measure of your loyalty, it seems that you never rally did have anything of value to wager, afterall..."

"They did not attempt to free me from my bonds, either. I freed myself and attacked the heroes as soon as I could," Artemis frowns. She did still stand by that oath. "If you have this footage, then you saw they no longer see me as an ally or teammate." And that hurts the Ashidlr. "If it is my prowess you are questioning...I still stand after fighting the heroes, with little help from the War-Thorn or Silence...my Liege," she adds the honorific at the end. "I fail to see how I was disloyal to you."

"Perhaps you were. Perhaps you were not." Portennant eyes her in a very scrutinizing fashion. "It is a subjective term, and perhaps our views on the topic differ." After a moment, his smile returns. "You asserted before that one of your oaths was the defense of others. I feel we can both agree that your recent performance, in that context, was abhorrent. While I could punish you for that, I have decided, instead, to grant you the oppurtunity to redeem yourself. Both to myself and, perhaps to a degree, to your former friends and allies." A gesture brings up three excerted images arranged alongside one another to fit the display: Victory, Voyager, and Sinmore. "Would you still protect them if given the opportunity?" He asks the question rather rhetorically.

Artemis flinches slightly at having her performance called abhorrent. She tried her best with the oaths she was bound by, and failed both her unfortunate Liege and her friends. The battle today tested her heart in ways she never thought she'd experience.

She expects some sort of trickery or bedevilment in his question. "I would want to. But we cannot always do what it is we want...my Liege." Always adding the title as if forgotten, and said reluctantly.

He seems to have no issue that the title is granted a moment slow and with some reluctance. While he never explicitly demanded the honorific, he is not likely one to deny its usage, either. "I am granting you that right, that freedom of choice, here and now. If you would protect them from annihilation, you need only state it." He gestures to the display. "Choose, if you will. It is your decision. Your Liege happens to feel most generous, so you are most fortunate." He holds up a hand, two fingers up.

"You may choose two."

Artemis feels hope well up a moment at Portennant's offer, but it crashes again as he only offers two. How could she possibly choose? Those three are particular special to her. Even if they hate her now. She also realizes she's dealing with a serpent. "What would my Liege Lord's salvation entail for them?"

"That trio is deemed to be of significant interest to the Asrani," Portennant explains rather nonchalantly, "and targetted for elimination. Those whom you choose shall be spared from that focus. I will not guarantee that they will not happen upon some unfortunate fate at some point in the immediate or distant future, but I will not actively seek it for the moment."

Artemis is surprised by the news. "The Asrani?" she asks unexpectedly. She purses her lips at his offer and looks down at her feet to think on it. There's conflict written all over her face as she thinks of her former friends and the times they spent together. The high-fives with Voyager. Learning to play the game of soccer with Wade and enjoying drinks. The spa day with Talia after butting heads with her over the mead hall for so long.

With a great and weighty sigh, Artemis' head lifts up to look Portennant in the eye. "I choose Victory and Voyager, my Liege." No hesitation in calling him that title in her plea.

"Consider it done, my Battle Maiden." A hand gesture dismisses the screen and the display. "You should ensure that you are ready for the next battle. One shall happen quite soon, or not at all... While improbable, I will not ignore the ingenuity of the desparate. Nor should you."

Artemis finds this very unexpected. She feels a weight in her heart over not choosing Talia. She goes over the choices in her mind again, and will most likely agonize over it for quite some time. "Thank you for your generosity, my Liege. I shall prepare," she says obediently.