[3/11/2025]
The episode picks up immediately where the last left off.
Dayne looks over at Aelin.
Dayne:
“What do ya think? Pretty good fight, huh?”
Aelin:
“For you? Not really…”
Dayne:
“Ohhhkay. I was speaking in more of, like, a general sense, but —“
Aelin:
“Lorin, you were pretty good.”
Lorin:
“Oh! Um, thank you!”
Dayne:
“Okay, I feel like I need to clarify here that I don’t just fight physically, like… I have other powers, that I didn’t feel like —“
Aelin:
“Oh, really? Because I didn’t see you using them, so.”
Dayne:
“Yeah yeah yeah. It’s more of, like, an honor thing? Like an honorable fight? You know, I didn’t want to —“
Aelin:
“Uh huh, okay.”
Dayne:
“But like, in a real fight—“
Aelin:
“Well maybe Lorin held back, too.”
Lorin:
“Hey, hey. You guys can handle this.”
Dayne:
“Speaking of magic… there’s something that we haven’t really talked about, but we should. About… the dragon. I know it might be uncomfortable, and we don’t really want to face what happened, but… I don’t know why that went down the way that it did. But I will say: that was the moment I actually began to have a sense of trust for you all. Because you showed you cared for something other than… coin. That maybe there was something there. Some sort of motivation, or empathy. And I’d like to know why.”
They had been kind of bickering and joking before, laughing and smiling, but Aelin’s face falls as soon as he brings up the dragon. He looks directly at her.
Dayne:
“Why?”
Aelin avoids eye contact with Dayne, looking over at Olwynn.
Olwynn explains that it was just a creature who’d spent its whole life in a cage, and obviously we would care about it.
Dayne says he could understand that reaction from Olwynn and Lorin, even Ianoth, but from others… (Aelin)… there might be “more to it.”
Dayne:
“A cleric I can understand. Lorin… honestly, you seem kind of nice. But Aelin?”
Aelin:
“You don’t think I’m nice, Dayne?”
Dayne:
(laughs) “No, I don’t think you are. I don’t think that you’re not kind, but I don’t think you’re nice. I wanna know why you had that reaction. I think it’s more than just Olwynn’s empathy, or Lorin being a good person. I trust you understand what I mean.”
Aelin bites her lip and looks down, silently refusing to explain.
Olwynn:
“Does it matter, in the end, what our motivations were? Or is it more important that, in the end, we showed care? I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
Dayne:
“Whether or not you all like it, our fates are tied to each other now. I find the fact that I know your names and scarcely much else about you to be a bit concerning. So yeah, I care why, because I want to know more about you all. How else would I feel comfortable standing beside you in battle? Or risking my life for yours?”
No one really wants to say anything back to him. Dayne goes up to Aelin and says he’d like to talk with her. Aelin says go ahead, not really wanting to have a 1:1 with him and waiting for him to say his piece in front of everyone else.
Just then, Ianoth walks into the sparring room. It’s time for the duel.
Dayne:
“You came. I’m surprised.”
Ianoth:
“I wouldn’t want you to walk out of here with your pride in tact.”
Dayne:
“You should be careful. Some honest advice: before, you were just saying words. But now, you will face consequences. I hope that this will let me discover some piece of you worth respecting.”
Ianoth:
“Very well. Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Dayne re-explains the terms. This is Ianoth’s chance to show Dayne & the others that there’s something within him worth respecting. By the end of the duel, his attitude will have to change if he wants to remain in the party. If it doesn’t, then Dayne will give him the choice to leave forever, to beg for his life and change his ways, or to die.
Ianoth tries to use various tactics convince Dayne to make the fight “fair” (easier on Ianoth): taking off his armor, letting him have the first strike, etc.
Dayne:
“Is this a fucking joke to you? What do you think this is?”
Ianoth:
“I think that this is just another attempt of you to swell your ego.”
Dayne:
“That’s exactly why you’re in this position — because you don’t know shit. So no, I don’t accept your “terms”. I’ll give you a chance now to flee, or we can have our duel.”
Ianoth:
“Very well. If you don’t want to fight fair, then I won’t fight fair.”
Dayne raises his spear and shield, preparing to fight.
COMBAT ENSUES!