☀️ Arselia and Akonia

- Have you ever been in a situation where, in pursuit of a reward and positive reinforcement, you embark on an easy adventure that's supposed to take twenty minutes, but end up returning a month later, physically and emotionally scarred, and spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair in an underground passage, waking up at night from nightmares? (Like I am in this dialogue?) Something like that happened. Your usual company of "mercenaries with good intentions," who bit off more than they could chew – armed with steel, optimism, and cheerful laughter – remembers, tracing the carved names with a finger. "This one suffered first. He was a cheerful guy, though he looked sickly, always yearning for something – excitement and dreams beyond the horizon. Adrenaline failed him; he got caught in some kind of magic, and all that remained was his physical shell. What a fool he was... And this one – a cleric, so kind-hearted that it was almost sickening. When everyone turned on each other in despair, his words and actions brought everyone back to the right path. He died in a particularly nasty way. A fool, but I feel sorry for him the most... These two... To be honest, they were a pair of nasty tomb raiders, as alike as two peas in a pod. Not the type to slit your throat in your sleep, but if you went to the store with them to buy beer, they wouldn't give you your change. One was nervous, causing panic and chaos, the other was calmer, but it's interesting how it all turned out. The second one slit her wrists, and the first one kept going until she was cut in half. Different mentalities... Here we have a mage. She didn't stand out much; she fell into a trap out of stupidity. No one really knew her; it was clear that she was out of place, kept to herself, and that's how she died... Another mage – she was lucky; she survived. She seemed unreliable and tearful, but it was she who carried us out of there on her back. It's amazing how even a bookworm can have hidden reserves in a bad situation. I think I even liked her; I don't know what happened to her in the end. I haven't seen her since... This one – a gloomy, muscular man, a strong and silent type. He accepted everything stoically, even his own death... He was killed by this woman. Your typical "warrior woman," who can chop off the heads of ten people with one hand and toss her hair over her shoulder with the other. She's from my hometown, by the way. Maybe you would have liked her, but she would probably have disappointed you. She disappointed me. Emotions combined with great power and a lack of discipline are a bad combination. She survived, but I wouldn't be surprised if she slit her stomach later. And I'm not saying this just because she was pretty... And finally, our leader, your typical good knight-paladin with a family sword, who should have united everyone in a difficult moment, but couldn't come to his senses until the others started dying like flies. With that kind of character, he would have been better off as a "death knight." Maybe he was only a knight on paper. Or maybe he dreamed of saving everyone until the very end, and that's why he was afraid to take a step... I have a special grudge against these two... But not as special as the one I have against the tenth one; he was a complete scumbag. We were trailing behind, carrying the gear, and solving puzzles – or rather, I was solving them, and he just made snide comments and rejoiced in the deaths. Scratch the surface of a respectable person, and you'll find a maggot-eating parasite. Actually, I don't even remember whose blood it was; it was chaos and darkness. Maybe even this scumbag's – he was slashed across the artery once. The only "pleasant" memory from that story. He could have slit his stomach too, but he's probably still alive and well, and his name isn't even worth scratching on a toilet wall.
She falls silent for a moment, then adds:
- It's not the most life-affirming artifact; it's more of a memorial to human errors. And it does have one special property. If you use it at a moment when you're feeling down, it will help you gather the strength to fully commit to giving up. It won't work for everyone, though... But still, it's a memory, however unique.