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>Give a completely neutral account: just the events and the thought processes that led you to taking certain actions. But without any value judgments or opinions.
>Where appropriate, take responsibility for decisions that proved to be mistakes in hindsight. Avoid excuses.
>Spread the responsibility out a bit. Don't make it overt, but insert a few subtle reminders into your story that it was Yarra who originally dropped the ball and that you were out of your depth throughout the whole affair
>Other


Links:
>Quest archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Dragon%27s+Champion+Quest
>Mechanics: https://pastebin.com/nHEJwXqx
>Character sheet: https://pastebin.com/LBSGvrFn

>>3464531
>>Spread the responsibility out a bit. Don't make it overt, but insert a few subtle reminders into your story that it was Yarra who originally dropped the ball and that you were out of your depth throughout the whole affair
Try to pin the whole affair on Yarra as subtly as possible

>>3464531
>Neutral account.

Lets not do a politic. Megerix will determine when and where we have fallen short.

>>3464531
>Give a completely neutral account: just the events and the thought processes that led you to taking certain actions. But without any value judgments or opinions.

>>3464535
Support

>>3464531
>Neutral account

Trying to out-politics a spymaster votes no doubt brought to us by the same people who let Kresh talk to Ivar alone. Seriously people.

>>3464531
>>Give a completely neutral account: just the events and the thought processes that led you to taking certain actions. But without any value judgments or opinions.

>>3464531
>>Give a completely neutral account: just the events and the thought processes that led you to taking certain actions. But without any value judgments or opinions.

>>3464531
Where appropriate, take responsibility for decisions that proved to be mistakes in hindsight. Avoid excuses.

>>3464531
>>Give a completely neutral account: just the events and the thought processes that led you to taking certain actions. But without any value judgments or opinions.

No bullshit, just pure honest facts. Megerix appreciates honesty.

>>3464531
>Give a completely neutral account: just the events and the thought processes that led you to taking certain actions. But without any value judgments or opinions.

>>3464541
>>3464551
>>3464639
>>3464644
>>3464645
>>3464720
>>3464741
Honesty and objectivity in one simple package.

>>3464535
Let's throw Yarra under that large, dragon-shaped bus.

>>3464676
A little self-deprecation never hurt anyone, right?

In your time, you've seen plenty of people try to ingratiate themselves to Megerix, attempt to shift blame, take credit, make emotional appeals, exaggerate, or any of the myriad other ways people have learned to manipulate others through speech. Reasoning that since the dragon can speak and think like they do, he must also be susceptible to these methods.

Invariably, these people fail to understand that the dragon not only sees straight through their attempts, but also considers them a criminal waste of time better spent on doing what the dragon asked from them.

Your Lord Sovereign did not ask you to explain yourself. He did not ask you to explain what went wrong or why. He asked that you explain what happened. And that is what you do. Nothing more and nothing less.

Starting with the chance encounter with the revenge seeking hillfolk, through Kresh's confession, the fight with Celia and her goons, the conversation with her agent, the escort, the ambush, and Ivar's death, you describe every event as it happened, without giving them any emotional weight, or injecting your own opinions or speculation. At most, you establish the train of thought that led you to making a particular decision. Such as why you let Kresh and Ivar speak alone. But you avoid defending your choices or, conversely, apologizing for them.

It's up to Megerix whether or not he deems them a mistake. And if he does, he will certainly let you know.

As you talk, you make the occasional sideways glance toward Varra. Her expression tells you she certainly has opinions - and plenty of them. And the moment you finish, her mouth is already halfway open to let loose a no doubt scathing assessment of your various misdeeds, when she seems to pause and catch herself, turning toward Megerix, eyes deferentially downcast.

Uncharacteristic.

For his part, the dragon listens attentively as you speak his unmoving gaze fixed upon you. Only once you're done do his eyes stray as he looks off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

"I have three tasks for you, Yarra," your Lord Sovereign speaks finally. "First, you will arrange for the writings of the high mage Oliver killed to be delivered to my study. Second, you will devise and implement a series of escalating provocations and repressions against the hillfolk: restrictions on openly carrying weapons, travel, dress - I'll leave the details up to you. Third, immediately upon leaving my presence, you will find Peregin and have him prepare a proclamation denouncing Kresh Hundred Spears for treason against the Domain and sentencing him to a public execution a week from now - to be announced by town criers tomorrow."

(1/3)

To call Yarra surprised would be an understatement. The elf spends a good ten seconds simply gawping at the dragon, utterly speechless.

"M-my Lord Sovereign," she staggers out finally. "This... could be viewed as a rather extreme reaction to what is a rather," here she glances at you, "contentious incident. Perhaps if you waited to hear Kresh's side of the story-"

"I certainly will, in due time. And I am certain doing so will reveal a few interesting details," the dragon rumbles. "But no matter what knowledge Kresh holds, it will do nothing to quell his people's desire for a rebellion. It will not somehow erase the fact that they chose to squander the time I've given them on harboring grudges and plotting against me."

"But there are clear signs this is being orchestrated by a third party. Someone wants-" Yarra breaks of suddenly, frowning. Then, realization dawns on her face. "Oh."

"Indeed."

The spymaster takes a deep breath and composes herself, schooling her face into an impassive mask.

"I will do as my Lord Sovereign wishes," she bows, turns, and marches off.

Leaving you alone with the dragon. And feeling extremely left out.

There is a grunt and a movement of air as the dragon stands up, his head rising above the dome of light around the dais.

"Come," floats down from the darkness.

The dragon turns, heading off toward the back of the hall, and even though he deliberately slows down his pace to let you keep up, it still takes a dozen of your steps to match one of his. Following your Lord Sovereign through the gloom, you can still clearly see the pronounced limp to his gait - not even an entire team of Araskian healers could restore full functionality to muscle that's been nearly completely burned off.

There is a growing tension within your chest - a sense of apprehension as you realize the dragon's destination. A place you yourself only visited once before and under diametrically different circumstances.

You didn't want to weaken yourself running a gauntlet of alarms, traps, and guards...

Megerix comes to a massive door that you know to be locked by various means both magical and mundane. Yet as the dragon approaches, it ponderously swings open without making a sound and your robes are immediately buffeted by a strong wind.

Besides, all you cared about was killing the dragon...

You follow your Lord Sovereign out onto what you know to be a large, circular terrace at the top of the fortress, offering an unparalleled view of the valley below during the day. But by now, the last vestiges of light have disappeared from the horizon and you can barely see a few feet in front of your face.

So you ended up climbing the mountain from the other side, then descending toward the fortress from above. The whole thing took nearly four days and you almost slipped and fell to your death six times...

(2/3)

(3/3)

Megerix used to hold court here on sunny days, heedless of freezing winds sweeping the mountainside at this altitude. Or he'd simply spend time sitting on the edge, his imposing silhouette clearly visible against the sky from the city below.

But it paid off. It wasn't a direction the dragon expected anyone to attack him from. You even managed to time things so that you were entering Duarch just as you reached the platform...

You hear Megerix come to a stop and, moments later, darkness begins giving way to a soft, white glow. And your breath catches in your throat as you realize that the place hasn't been repaired. It's all still there: the cracked marble, the scorch marks, the... the crater.

Your first hit wasn't a killing blow like you hoped, but your spear still managed to score a deep gouge in the dragon's flank. From there, you had him on the defensive, battering down his barriers as quickly as he was putting them up. Time wasn't your friend, because it never is, but you knew you were gaining the upper hand.

But then the dragon addressed you by name. And you realized you walked into his trap...

"You could've killed me," your Lord Sovereign's voice snaps you back to reality. "Even had you failed to stabilize Triarch, the backlash would've destroyed me as well. And you had no reason to expect mercy from me. So why not choose the meaningful death?"

"You must already know the answer." you say, having to force the words out of an unexpectedly dry throat. "Else why take me into your service?"

"I have an educated guess. But I'm not so conceited as to consider myself infallible," Megerix raises his left forelimb and flexes the massive clawed hand, which refuses to close fully. "Simple experience has proven otherwise."

The traps placed around the terrace immobilized you for long enough for the dragon to grab you. You responded by deliberately dissolving parts of your shell, producing flames whose sheer intensity flayed scale and flesh away in large, charred chunks. But it was already too late.

You were slammed into the ground, what was left of your shell disintegrating under the pure brute force of the blow. And as your control faltered and inferno unending began spilling forth, you realized you could try to suppress it, or tame it - and die, should you fail.

And so you made your choice...

>You'd lost that fight. Sacrificing yourself would've done nothing to change the fact and you didn't want your last act on this world to be that of a tantruming child
>Losing control over the channel would've meant giving the inferno what it wanted. Letting it win. You surrendered because it meant dying on your own terms

>>3467750
>Losing control would be letting it win.

Honestly both sound bad to my ears, since we are presumably ready to die for megerix anyway. But I suppose dying on our own terms fits.

>>3467750
>>Losing control over the channel would've meant giving the inferno what it wanted. Letting it win. You surrendered because it meant dying on your own terms

>>3467750
>Losing control over the channel would've meant giving the inferno what it wanted. Letting it win. You surrendered because it meant dying on your own terms

>>3467750
Losing control over the channel would've meant giving the inferno what it wanted. Letting it win. You surrendered because it meant dying on your own terms

>>3467750
>>Losing control over the channel would've meant giving the inferno what it wanted. Letting it win. You surrendered because it meant dying on your own terms

>>3467750
>You'd lost that fight. Sacrificing yourself would've done nothing to change the fact and you didn't want your last act on this world to be that of a tantruming child

>>3467750
>>You'd lost that fight. Sacrificing yourself would've done nothing to change the fact and you didn't want your last act on this world to be that of a tantruming child

>>3468093
>>3468135
>>3468686
>>3468824
>>3469381
Fear.

>>3469442
>>3469472
Pride.

>>3471523
I figured it was more stubbornness and vanity than fear and pride.

>>3471523
OP, are you still here? Please don't tell me this quest is dead.....

>>3476171
Not dead, just got hit with way too much work again. And on top of that, got a bit of writer's block on the next update, no clue why: I know what I want to write, but when I write it, it reads like shit. I have a couple days off coming up starting tomorrow, so I'll try and push through that then.

Apologies for the silence.

>>3477465
Thank you for keeping us updated.

Dead for now.