Outline:
The 8-Point Arc
Stasis
Lamera (Tox) faces Chmiro in a duel in the hopes of gaining the respect of her fellow mercenaries. Lamera defeats Chmiro in combat, breaking three of his ribs in the process.
Trigger #1
Thera tells Lamera that the Oak king has hired the Wolves to give him a viable excuse to invade Yew territory. Lamera has been chosen by their leader, Kaina, for an assassination mission.Lamera has gained the respect and trust she so desired and a highly valued assassination mission.
Kaina sends Lamera off on her mission and gives insight as to what it's like living as a mercenary. Lamera is shown friendship from Thera, albeit slightly reserved. Lamera leaves the Wolves with a branding knife from Kaina and a headscarf from Thera and begins her mission.
Quest #1
Tox is attacked by a Cusith and runs into Fletcher. Tox defeats the Cusith, saving Fletcher's life in the process, but not before being violently injured by it. She passes out from her injuries.
Tox wakes up to see that she's been healed by Fletcher, who fills her in on what she missed and tells her who he is. Tox reveals her true name and the fact that she's an Avrazoi.
Tox heads off, then reaches a borderstone and realizes she's going the wrong way. She argues with Fletcher and triggers the borderstone. The triggered borderstone alerts Oak patrollers.
Tox fights until the attacking Oak patrollers are all unconscious except for Pyrrha, who is the Wolves' deserter. Lamera brands Pyrrha. The Cedars respond to reports of Oak patrollers in the area.
The Cedar King and co. arrive and recognize Tox as the mercenary Lamera. Tox is shot with a Cedar blackout dart and is captured by the Cedars
Tox awakes in a cell and is called upon by Fabre to appear before the Cedar king and his son. Tox is lead out of her cell clapped in Iron.
Oaks and Cedars debate over custody of Lamera. Things get rather out of hand between the two groups, which does not escape Tox's notice.
Trigger #2
Citing the Root Laws, Tox makes a case for Cedar custody. Malo reveals the oncoming war, citing the destability of Yew territory, and reminds them that they don't want an Oak/Yew war because of the destruction it caused last time. Tox realizes the truth of what she's helping to start and passes out with brief visions of her past.
Tox hears a voice and then a scream, before waking up and jarringly taking in her new surroundings. Tox's behavior startles and deeply concerns Fletcher.
Mere Tzin attempts to explain to Tox what has happened to her, but Tox insists she needs to talk to the Oak patrollers. Mere Tzin leaves to go ask the King to allow Tox to speak with the Oak patrollers.
Fletcher questions Tox about recent events, but gets nowhere. Fletcher bursts with his feelings about what has happened. Mere Tzin returns to take Tox to see the Oak patrollers.
Tox offers her help in defusing tensions between the Oaks and the Yews in exchange for her freedom. Tox reveals her true identity. The Oaks and Cedars agree to her offer.
Quest #2
In a fit of sleeplessness, Tox finds Malo in the garden who apologizes for the situation presented in the throne room and explains what will happen tomorrow. Tox is able to fall asleep feeling better than she had before.
Mere Tzin says her goodbyes to the team and sends them through the borderstone leyline. They appear on the border of Yew territory, several hours away from Mavrilla, currently the most troublesome city.
While hitchhiking to Mavrilla, Malo explains the situation in this city and across Yew territory. Tox and Malo get into an argument about the Oak patrollers being in Yew territory, the registration laws, and the Genocide Treaty.
The team crosses paths with the Oak patroller guards at the gate who aren't letting anyone in. Zukac lets them through and informs Malo that there's a riot in the center of the city. The team enter the city despite the Oak patrollers by virtue of Malo's status in the Oak patrollers.
Tox tries to stop the riot with a display of her Avrazoi abilities. Tox makes things worse and gets in a fight with a young Yew resistance fighter, Darcel.
Bastia stops the riot and sends all the Yew resistance home. Malo sends the Oak patrollers back to their barracks. Bastia and Tox reunite.
After a brief bombardment of questions from Bastia, Tox insists that she wants to help Bastia, but she needs to know what's going on and Bastia agrees. Tox and Fletcher go with Bastia and Darcel to tour the city and the resistance base, while Malo heads off to talk to the Oak patrollers.
Bastia walks them through the city, displaying the destruction and harassment caused by the Oak patrollers. Tox and Fletcher are disgusted and horrified. When they pass the remains of a burnt neighborhood, Tox has flashes of her past.
Bastia walks them through the resistance base and then sits Tox down for intense questioning. Bas thinks that Tox wasn't even near the destruction and carnage, which would be why she survived. Tox gets overwhelmed with a vision of her past and leaves.
After Tox storms out, Fletcher attempts to help and ends up venting about his family. Tox feels better and less unstable after her vision.
The team reconvenes and exchanges information. They decide to send people to speak with the Oak king to stop what's happening in Yew territory.
Tox, Fletcher, Malo, and Darcel say goodbye to Bastia and leave Mavrilla in the hands of Bastia, her lieutenants, and Malo's representatives. The Oaks agree to stop any action in exchange for remaining in the city, the Resistance agrees to cease any action against the Oaks unless they break their agreement, this will hold until the team reaches an agreement with the Oak king.
The team is attacked by roadside bandits, who Tox recognizes as mercenaries from a rival group. Fletcher is shot in the right shoulder with an arrow (all the way through, cut arteries), Malo, Tox, and Darcel take out the attackers.
By Fletcher's instruction, Tox uses her own abilities (cauterize the wound, yay!) and Fletcher's cordials to save him from dying. Fletcher is alive, but generally incapacitated and the crew doubles their efforts to reach Skotadi, rainstorm be damned.
Through the flurry of getting Fletcher settled in their room in Skotadi, Tox catches sight of Kaina and the Wolves. Malo tells the team what he knows about the Oak king. Thera gets a message to Tox from Kaina, telling her to meet with them after the sun goes down.
Kaina confronts Lamera about her mission and Lamera's true identity and she does her best to stay out of trouble with the mercenaries while trying to convince Kaina that this war is a bad idea. Tox reveals her true identity to Kaina, who allows her to continue with her mission to stop the war, as long as none of it ties back to the Wolves, that way they still get paid.
The team is attacked by Aesiths, who seem to go out of their way to ignore Tox, the team fights them off as best they can. Tox overuses her aura causing her to pass out with a vision, the team flees Skotadi in the dead of night with a still wounded Fletcher and an unconscious Tox.
Tox recovers from her vision and tries to get a gage on her aura. She has a bit of a breakdown. Stress, man, it's a killer. Darcel helps her feel better by talking to her about his family and how they dealt with this kind of thing, and if Tox suddenly notices he's the same age her sister would have been, well...
The team runs into a traveling band of Meres, whose campsite has been taken over by a Cusith. Darcel takes down the Cusith with Tox's help after convincing her it was okay to still use her aura, as thanks the Meres give gifts to the team, a book for Malo, a staff for Fletcher, an amulet for Darcel, and a little dragon for Tox.
The team arrives at the inn that Bas suggested they go to in Ash territory. They meet Aera, Kosmima, and Petro
A squad of Oak patrollers harass Kosmima and threaten to take her son. Malo and Tox fend off the Oak patrollers.
Tox manages to get to sleep. She has awful nightmares.
The dragon, Rubin, wakes her up from her nightmare and uses its abilities to make her feel better and give her someone to talk to. Tox doesn't fall back asleep, but she does feel a little better.
The team meets for breakfast in Aera and Kos's private rooms and discusses how to get them to Oak territory. Although there's arguing and debate, they agree to take Malo's way, they leave after saying goodbye to Aera, Kos, and Petro.
The team meets the Oak patroller squad at the border. They arrive as close to the Oak capital as possible.
With the Oak patroller squad as an escort, the team makes its way through the city. The citizens of the city are unsettled to see foreigners, people who are different from them, traveling with Oak patrollers and a crowd follows them to the city center.
Malo takes them to see the king, Eames and Corinthia give their report, and the team tries to express its concerns to Velan. Velan insists on throwing a large ball on the beach in honor of Captain Malo's return, ignoring the mission of those before him. Malo insists on a private audience with Velan so Tox, Fletcher, and Darcel can get their message across.
Tox speaks for them, voicing the frustrations of the Yews, the Ashes, the Oak patrollers, and herself. It takes every ounce of her self-control to keep herself calm in the face of the man who ordered the destruction of her whole world. Velan is shocked to see a Juniper still alive, and unfortunately for Tox, focuses more on that part than the troubles at hand. Tox sees flashes of her past, but she swallows them best she can. Velan dismisses them, saying they'll discuss it later when they've all had a proper rest from traveling.
Unable to sleep, Tox, Fletcher, and Darcel stay up talking in their shared guest room. Tox expresses her internal conflicts between what she should be and what is easier for her to be.
Tox and Fletcher are forced into preparing for the ball. The Oak court is mired in dos and don'ts (men covering their adam's apples for example, women wearing chain collars), Tox ignores them all and fights against it, Fletcher does his best to stay himself without antagonizing anyone on purpose.
Tox and co. try to survive the ball. Tox loses her cool and control of her aura and someone may get hurt and both she and Fletcher may get arrested (Tox is unregistered, remember) and thrown into what is, for all intents and purposes, the dungeon.
Rising/Quest Failed
Velan gives a great big speech about what he's doing and why they're terrible people and implies that he's going to question them for information to give him an edge against the Yews. Tox and Fletcher are left alone and terrified of what they've gotten themselves into, Tox feels overwhelming guilt, because of course she messed up again, she always messes up because she allows herself to feel.
When Tox awakens, Fletcher has been taken for questioning, he returns later bloody and unconscious. After Tox threatens him, rightly guessing about his feelings for Malo, revealing her identity as a mercenary in the process, Velan promises that she'll be taken tomorrow. Tox does her best to care for Fletcher through the bars.
Tox is taken for questioning, and Fletcher is there because Velan saw how they care for each other and is determined to use it against them. In the midst of torture, Tox slips into a vision of her past.
In frustration and in light of what is implied to be intense, violent protests from Malo, Velan throws them back into their cells, promising to work on them later. Tox tells Fletcher everything.
Climax
Darcel and Malo break Tox and Fletcher out of their cells. Velan catches them and uses his new weapons to cut them off and engage them in battle.
Velan tries to get Malo to fight on his side. Malo reveals his true heritage.
Enraged, Velan attacks Tox directly, verbally trying to convince her that she doesn't have to fight him, that she can give up. Fletcher runs to her aid. When he realizes he can't compete with Tox in battle, Velan targets Fletcher with his weapons, Tox tries to protect him with a shield, she isn't fast enough but Velan misses (This is how he sees it, Tox took away his love, he's going to take away hers). Because of the sheer force of the blast, Fletcher falls over the cliffs and disappears.
Falling
Tox's aura flares violently, with loud cracking sounds. She tries to lash out at Velan, he aims a weapon at her. She blacks out.
End
Tox wakes briefly to see that she's on Aera and Kos's doorstep. She looks up to see Aera, Kos, and Bastia worrying over her, but her senses aren't working properly. Everything fades back to black, but Tox feels strangely safe. The last image she sees is of her mother, father, and sister welcoming Fletcher and urging her to come with them.