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Ashton Greymoore

Tal'Dorei

Ashton Greymoore is an earth genasi barbarian and a member of Bells Hells. Ashton is played by Taliesin Jaffe.

Ashton Greymoore is an earth genasi barbarian and a member of Bells Hells. Ashton is played by Taliesin Jaffe.

Appearance

Ashton is 5'10" tall and has green stone skin and short, dark-purple crystal hair. They have a prominent hole in the left side of their head filled with slag glass, through which an opalescent brain can be seen, and the eye on the cracked side of Ashton's head is milky white, and it has been implied that it is no longer functional. There are cracks across Ashton's left side, patched together with what looks like slag melted gold (like kintsugi). Their blood is a very deep red, almost black.

Ashton has piercings made mostly of nails, carries multiple leather pouches, and wears a lot of well-worn leather with red fabric lining. Originally, the back of his hand-decorated jacket said "JUST DON'T". He carried a big glass hammer which has "FUCK OFF" engraved in it. On Ashton's pant leg was a patch with a symbol of the Clasp.

During the party's voyage on the Crimson Abyss ghost pirate ship, Ashton got a tattoo on the shoulders and back of a flaming bell and the Primordial words, "From the earth, of the earth, to the earth." After Ashton's plunge into the lava pool within Athos Peak, the gold-filled cracks in their left side appeared to be somewhat healed, although the gold remained.

After Ashton absorbed the power of Rau'shan's shard, their entire body was destroyed and then reformed. The gold veins in their body became glowing orange before cooling to their original appearance, and their right arm was replaced by a larger, rougher, black stone arm, "halfway to an earth elemental's". When Fearne's touch awakened the Shard of Ka'Mort inside Ashton, they became one or two feet taller, stone spikes grew from their body, and their eyes became stone gray, with yellow vertical cracks acting as pupils, and a glass-like surface that makes them unaffected by dust and wind. His legs trunked out at the bottom. Ashton was able to drop this effect and return to his normal appearance, but his right arm remained hard and gem-like. While transformed, his constant pain was almost unnoticeable, but returned when the effect dropped.

When the party was preparing to travel to Aeor, Ashton altered their clothing slightly, having new gold hardware added to the boots and up the right pants leg. The pants themselves were half blue and half yellow-blue plaid, with a ripped black leather skirt piece and a torn cropped shirt. Only one black leather glove was spiked, because Ashton traded some of the spikes to Fearne to wear in return for a stolen piece of Fearne's lace. Their hair was chipped into almost a mohawk. A new black leather vest with gold shoulder spikes and grommets bore on its back the image of six bells, with two more faded into one corner, and the words, "Smiley Day".

After the dunamantic glass in Ashton's head was utilized and consumed in the Rites of Catatheosis to make the gods mortal, it was replaced during his resurrection. There was new cracking around his face, as yet unfilled with gold (although Milo would fix that days later), as if the replacement glass was slightly too large. It was both smoother and darker than before, and had a sense of depth that had not been there previously. Its center appeared to be a smaller dark opal pearl, orbited by tiny glowing lights.

Personality

When Campaign Three opened, Ashton was living in the Fownsee Hollow neighborhood inside the Core Spire of Jrusar, in what would be considered destitute surroundings by anyone of means. It is a location where people come or are thrown to be forgotten. However, they saw it as colorful and fun, and had decorated their room with cast-offs and bright trinkets of little actual value.

Ashton described himself as "cranky and unpleasant", and FCG immediately agreed with him. Ashton recognized that he could be difficult with people. He identified his main goals as self-reliance, and freedom to move about. He is not sure if he's ever been in love or not, but there are many different forms of love and he's had close friends in the past. On several occasions, Ashton has manifested an aggressive protectiveness towards members of Bells Hells, but they are also capable of being reassuring and understanding when necessary, even with complete strangers. After having spent a lot of time with the other adventurers, the genasi has become a little more hopeful too, being willing to become more heroic and inspiring.

On 4-Sided Dive, Taliesin stated that Ashton has a complex series of rules that they live by, including "If you have a deal, you don't fuck with it. If you fuck with the deal, [there will be a] new deal and I get to make up what it is," "Don't put your hands on me if I don't know you," and "Whatever's happening right in front of you is the most important thing." His rules also apply to the people they care about; in fact, Ashton gets angry with himself when he realizes that he is starting to care about someone, because he is aware that he is exposing himself to betrayal or other hurt. Right now he has a general distaste for any form of authority, preferring to cause chaos wherever he finds it. That and other things are part of what the barbarian considers "fun", although he is aware that not everyone enjoys the same things as him. Despite the most recent positive feelings towards their friends, Ashton still considers themself romantically unlovable, not being really aware of being someone's crush when it happens.

Ashton has always taken pride on being a "nobody", but secretly wanted to have some sort of legacy. Prior to joining Bells Hells, they saw themselves as a person who always loses. After learning about the Hishari and their connection with Ka'Mort, the barbarian was both glad and annoyed by finally getting a past of their own, and being biased regarding their origins, deliberately ignoring some of the controversy surrounding the Hishari. After unsuccessfully attempting to absorb the fire elemental shard of Rau'shan, Ashton realized it had taken them less than a week to do exactly the same thing as their father Efterin had done in grasping for power, admitting they were both selfish and conceited.

After the glass in Ashton's head was utilized and consumed in the Rites of Catatheosis and then replaced, Ashton's personality seemed changed, and he observed that since he now had a new brain, it would be odd if he weren't different. He had achieved his greatest wish in life: to be irritatingly heroic in a way that was both inconvenient and obnoxious.

Background

Although at the beginning of the Campaign Ashton only very vaguely remembered his early childhood, he was born part of a group called the Hishari in a village in Issylra, a commune built around a charismatic leader named Efterin, his father. At that time, Ashton was a normal-appearing child without the rocky elements that later became a part of their physicality.

The Hishari delved into esoteric elemental worship without fully understanding what they were playing with. As a child, Ashton was part of a climactic ceremony around a vibrant, glowing gateway, and watched a cataclysmic event rip everything apart. It was his last memory of his parents before he was found wandering the deadlands outside Bassuras, and after passing through the portal, Ashton began to slowly change into his present rocky form and was taken to the Greymoore State Home in Bassuras. The people running the place "weren't that bad", but they always seemed to be exhausted. Ashton attended school for a while, but before 835 PD he had already dropped out to do odd jobs and go on adventures, running with a crew called the Nobodies who had grown up together as kids in the Greymoore Home.

Several years before 843 PD, Ashton and the rest of the Nobodies broke into Jiana Hexum's home in Jrusar as part of a job. Jiana walked in on the attempted burglary and used magic to push Ashton back. They fell out the window and were gravely injured. Milo Krook was able to patch them up with "some weird chaos fairy magic bullshit". Specifically, Ashton still had a grip on a crystal vial of a magic-looking, shiny gray liquid he had found in a trapped crate inside the room, and when nothing else seemed to be reviving Ashton, Milo poured the contents of the vial into the hole in Ashton's head and sealed the wound with glass. This was later confirmed to be distilled dunamis, otherwise known as a Potion of Possibility. Ashton's arm was patched with the gold he would have received as payment for the break-in. Ever since then, Ashton is in constant pain whenever he moves.

The rest of the Nobodies left Ashton behind when they left Jrusar, and Jiana eventually was able to track down Ashton because of his distinctive head injury. Rather than turning them in to the authorities, she instead asked for their services as a means of paying off their debt to her. Ashton accepted.

As of " The Trail and the Toll " (3x03), Ashton was in debt with multiple third parties, which included Hexum.

Ashton claims to have done a lot of work with the Clasp. He mentions having done a lot of work with smuggling between cities, as well as brawling, breaking and entering, and work as a bodyguard.

Ashton has since lived in Jrusar for some time. A few months prior to the events of " The Draw of Destiny " (3x01), Ashton was hired by the Rayia family to investigate the disappearance of the Division of Public Benefit, who they hired a week before to clear out their silver mine from unknown monsters. Upon arriving at the assigned place, they discovered Fresh Cut Grass, along with several corpses of the other party members scattered across the camp. The automaton was very kind and helpful from the very beginning, and Ashton took them home, thinking he had found the perfect roommate and cleaner; however, they would end up becoming very good friends.

Fresh Cut Grass

Ashton was hired to investigate the disappearance of the party of adventurers who had gone missing and discovered Fresh Cut Grass and their comrades' corpses. Ashton emotionally supported FCG and helped him bury his dead comrades, and FCG followed Ashton to their home, something the genasi initially allowed because he thought the automaton would be useful as a roommate and cleaner, although that sentiment quickly developed into actual friendship. The two have remained close ever since, with the genasi being quite willing to hurt whoever made the aeormaton feel bad.

However, Ashton also believes that, while FCG means well, they are, in their own strange way, selfish in their generosity, being willing to risk and/or harm other in the process of "helping"; the barbarian finds his friend's desire for martyrdom particularly concerning, and that's why he stays with him. All the time they had been together the genasi truly wanted to give the aeormaton a true reason to live, being exhausted by their destructive tendencies; they have also expressed their frustration when FCG took advice from a new person, despite being the same type of advice Ashton and their friends had been offering the cleric all along. In the same way, after the barbarian showed similar dangerous tendencies, FCG scolded him for it. After FCG's death Ashton was very affected, and angry, since they had been right about their friend's self-sacrificing nature.

Fearne Calloway

Ashton and Fearne enjoy each other's mischief. The two have a form of good-natured flirtatious pick-pocketing game going on between each other. Ashton began this game by pickpocketing her when they first met, stealing a large earring of the Allhammer's symbol, which Fearne herself stole from a pachydan priest she met on her first day in Jrusar. She then countered and stole the earring back, offering it to Preio Madali as payment for a bottle of Elvish alcohol. In return, Ashton stole a chamber pot with a flower growing out of it (which she originally lifted from Dugger's house) when she was blinded by electric shock. At some point, she offered to let Ashton drink some of the liquor out of her hair after Bertrand Bell accidentally threw it at her.

Both characters do seem to be fascinated with one another; with Fearne frequently finding Ashton beautiful despite their broken appearance and Ashton finding Fearne's eccentric personality and fey lifestyle captivating. Ashton, despite their intense dislike of physical contact due to their chronic pain, frequently seeks physical connection with Fearne, usually to commit mischief. He is the only person within Bells Hells who pickpockets Fearne, and often seeks her out during moments of levity, as seen during the end of the crawler chase when he called her name and fell within the same hole she had accidentally fallen in earlier. Ashton hugged Fearne, then tried to pickpocket her, before the group disbanded to battle the activation of the Malleus Key. When she caught Ashton, Fearne asked what they had wanted from her, to which Ashton responded that they had wanted "something personal and irreplaceable". Fearne then kissed them on the forehead, with a surprised Ashton responding, "Well, fuck, now that's just really hard to steal back."

Many days later, after a conversation during which Ashton referred to the faun as a potential "sister" she was confused, so he clarified that he didn't mean it, and that he actually considered her very attractive; they had a candid conversation which ended when Fearne called him hot and ran away. That same day, Ashton kissed Fearne (officially stealing her kiss back) before using the Quintessence Array to absorb the elemental power of a titan. This process almost killed them, and although the druid had helped keeping them alive with her magic, when the process was over she angrily kicked their face, shouting, "I am never listening to you again!"

Ashton later felt terrible for what had happened and talked to the faun; although they reached an agreement despite the tension, Fearne told him that she didn't like him at the moment. In the following days they worked together as part of a team, and after a particularly difficult mission in which an explosion almost killed them both, they were more comfortable, and even held on to each other when Fearne thought she was going to float away due to the influence of Ruidus.

After the traumatic death of Fresh Cut Grass, Fearne was concerned about Ashton and hugged him. He later suggested they spend the night together. She accepted on the condition they just hold each other and Ashton replied that that was exactly what he had meant. They ended up cuddling, with Fearne being the big spoon. Later that night when Fearne and Orym were in danger, Ashton showed visible concern. When they were found safe, he recognized that Fearne's nature was such that she couldn't realistically be asked not to follow cute creatures, but asked her to at least take a buddy with her, and she agreed.

After a game of Truth or Spin the Bottle Ashton decided to be blunt and hold the bottle to point directly at Fearne, and she happily followed that action, which led them to share some affectionate kisses covered by a blanket.

Jiana Hexum

Jiana became one of Ashton's first clients after the Nobodies left town to pay off their newly acquired debt.

Ashton considers her a powerful person, even if he doesn't like her, and he's willing to be in debt with her again if he knows that she can help him.

Laudna

Unlike various other members of the party who seem to find Laudna scary or off-putting, Ashton immediately takes a liking to her and is fond of her particular aesthetics, reacting favorably to her showing off of the dead rat puppet Pâté de Rolo and even going as far as to call the performance "amazing". In turn, Laudna seemingly appreciated their enthusiasm and, following a prank in which a drink was spilled over Bertrand Bell's clothes, cast Prestidigitation to pour the alcohol into their glass (even though the prank did not involve them).

As they became closer Ashton grew aggressively protective of the warlock, to the point of confronting and threatening people if he thought that could benefit Laudna. In a private conversation with her they stated that while both shared similar experiences facing extreme loneliness and death, the barbarian was actually jealous of Laudna's second demise, since when she was revived her friends were around her, worried, while in Ashton's case most of his previous group had abandoned him. The barbarian and the shadow sorcerer would maintain this cordiality between them, and when they were separated from half of Bells Hells (including FCG and Imogen, their closest friends respectively), Ashton reassured the anxious Laudna that they would bring Bells Hells back together.

After Ashton tried to take the power of Rau'shan for himself, Laudna considered it a betrayal, and struggled dealing with those feelings. However, the following morning the barbarian, worried, spoke to her, and was surprised when she gave him a doll that represented him, stating that he was like a child and needed to find his childish joy again. Despite the previous tensions, Ashton was moved by the gift, and Laudna was very glad they liked the doll. In the following days they regained some trust, and when the group was in Zadash and Laudna had an argument with Orym, Ashton acted as one of the mediators, and tried to make Laudna feel like he was on her side, so she wouldn't feel alone.

Orym

Orym was the reason why Ashton joined Bells Hells, since the halfling's Ashari background sounded very similar to " Hishari ", the only word the genasi remembered from their past. The fighter has always been a member of Bells Hells whom Ashton has seen as morally superior, making comments about it as if it were an irritating trait, though not a bad one. The two coordinate well in combat and come up with strategies, but outside of battle, while Ashton continues to maintain their tough demeanor, he has begun to show a softness and concern for Orym, because of the pressure the halfling puts on himself.

Despite their general rejection of physical contact, Ashton has tolerated it on several occasions when it came from Orym, and never seemed to mind when the halfling initiated it first than the genasi; specially when Orym would hug Ashton to have them open up more emotionally with the rest of Bells Hells, or when the halfling would seek physical contact in distressing emotional moments. Orym always tries to be careful whenever such contact occurred, or was allowed, to which Ashton always seemed to appreciate.

When a child in Whitestone called Orym an "old man" Ashton was more than willing to throw a snowball with a rock in the center at them. After Ashton almost died trying to absorb the power of Rau'shan, Orym kept his opinion about it to himself for an entire day, but when he finally spoke to the barbarian he was gentle and efficient with his words, reassuring them and even kissing their forehead.

Percival de Rolo

Although Ashton finds Lord de Rolo's resources useful, they don't really like each other, and the barbarian has been actually dismissive and disrespectful in his presence just to annoy him.

According to Taliesin, the reason for this mutual disliking is that both Percy and Ashton are very similar, having a lot of family trauma, ego, and they usually feel like they are the only adults in the room.

After Percy gave Ashton some advice about how to deal with mistakes and regret, the barbarian was genuinely thankful, declaring they now owed the lord a favor.

Essek Thelyss

Ashton and Essek feel mutual appreciation for each other that is based around the former's natural source of dunamancy. The wizard is fascinated by an unique being connected to his subject of study, and the barbarian is pleased by the attention and being found fascinating, as well as by the chance of getting information about his powers. Since the wizard saved their life and restored their crystalline head after it was destroyed, Ashton visited him again and did some favors for him.

Kingsley Tealeaf

According to Taliesin Jaffe if Ashton and Kingsley met during the celebration of Fjord and Jester's wedding, they probably had sex.

Notable items

  • Magic glass hammer, with the words "Fuck off" engraved around the base. It was made by Milo Krook from the glass left over from the repairs to Ashton's head. Milo later added an Immovable rod to the handle and a green spell-splitting crystal was infused into the glass which allows a spell cast by another into the hammer (with an ability check using the spellcasting modifier and a DC of 6 plus the spell's level) to be split, with one rebounding on the caster). After the end of the Era of Reclamation the hammer was damaged and Milo fixed it, giving it a more spherical design.
  • Chain knuckles (Ashton's weapon of choice before he obtained his glass hammer)
  • A knife
  • Chamber pot with flowers in it stolen from Fearne
  • Slightly damaged Hishari ceremonial cured leather mask with leather tendrils curling up in the back like a flame stolen from the Twilight Mirror Museum
  • Portable hole given to him by Fearne.
  • Belt of Momentum
  • Ring of Volcanic Flesh
  • Paper and quill, a gift from Prism Grimpoppy
  • A doll made by Laudna
  • Ruidian glass jewelry from the Jagged Edge
  • Coin of the Changebringer, taken after FCG's sacrifice
  • Ring of protection, originally Imogen's and given to Ashton
  • Focal point for a number of dunamantic magics, a gift from Essek Thelyss. Can be used when Ashton feels out of control and wants to focus the cloud of possibility. Looks like a small black marble.
  • Dusk Hunger, the Blade of the Black Flame, taken from Sorrowlord Zathuda
  • A pamphlet about the Traveler
  • A small dick made of jade, a gift from Jester Lavorre
  • Mysterious mushrooms stolen from Caduceus Clay
  • A portrait of them painted by Braius
  • FRIDA's jacket with FCG's initials
  • Shell stolen from Ethel Rivergold

Former items

Abilities

After absorbing the power of Dusk Hunger, Ashton gained the ability to deal additional 3d6 fire damage with one of their attacks once per short rest.

Unexplained

  • Immune to poison.

Feats

  • Crusher: The episode after leveling up Ashton asked Annaline for some training with their hammer, very likely as a way to explain the recently gained feat.
  • The Shard of Ka'Mort: Grants Ashton several earth-related benefits for one hour at the cost of two points of exhaustion, including:
    • + 2 to his AC
    • Increase his Strength modifier to +6.
    • Earthglide: Can meld into unworked stone or earth and move through it as though it were water (including vertically), surfacing to breathe and even carry someone while "half-submerged" While merged with stone in this way, Ashton was able to sense nearby tunnels and caverns, and how far he was from the surface.
    • Enlarges Ashton to almost twice normal and changes his appearance into a creature of spiked crystalline skin like a merger of human and earth elemental. His chronic pain becomes muffled.
    • Siege: Ashton's melee attacks deal double damage to objects and structures
    • Diamond Form: As a bonus action, for one round Ashton is entirely invulnerable and takes no damage from spells unless they exceed a certain DC
  • Fighting Initiate: You learn one Fighting Style option of your choice from the fighter class. Ashton took Great Weapon Fighting, which allows rerolling ones and twos on damage dice.
  • By absorbing Dusk Hunger using the Quintessence Array, Ashton gained +2 to Dexterity, and once per short rest can add 3d6 fire damage to a melee attack.

Proficiencies

  • Skills: Athletics, Intimidation, Sleight of Hand, Stealth.
  • Tools: thieves' tools, disguise kit

Genasi abilities

  • Subrace: Earth Genasi
    • Earth Walk (move across difficult terrain as if normal)
    • Merge with Stone (cast Pass without Trace 1/Day)

Barbarian abilities

  • Danger Sense
  • Primal Path: Path of Fundamental Chaos
    • Chaos Burst:
      • Add 2d4 extra damage to an attack with a melee weapon twice a day. Damage increases to 2d6 at Level 6 and again at Level 14. Damage type depends on a rolled die and includes lightning, force, cold, fire, psychic, thunder, and acid.
    • Erratic Defense: At Level 10, when a target hits Ashton, Ashton can roll a d4 for one of four possible random effects. Recharges on a short rest.
      • Space: Ashton gets resistance to the damage and pulls the enemy through a portal, teleporting them 30 feet away.
      • Gravity: The attacking creature suddenly slows down and is tipped over, missing their target and falling prone.
      • Time: Ashton gets resistance to the attack damage, while the attacker's speed is halved and they can't make more than one melee or ranged attack until the end of their next turn.
    • Four Rage builds, determined randomly by rolling 1d4 whenever Ashton begins raging: Ashton's rages gain additional abilities as he levels up.
      • 1, Gravity: The glass inside Ashton's head start to dim, and everything gets dimmer around them. The light seems to bend around Ashton's form, and the area around their head becomes black and white, and gravity seems to have more of a pull for everyone in the room.
        • Orbital Decay: Ashton generates an aura of heavy gravity. All creatures that start their turn within 15 feet are pulled up to ten feet towards him and suffer disadvantage on attacks against creatures other than Ashton until the beginning of their next turn.
        • Density Well: Ashton cannot be be knocked prone, pushed, pulled or forced to move, and when he hits with a melee attack, he can burn a Chaos Burst to do additional damage. If the target doesn't succeed a strength saving throw, they get knocked prone.
        • Singularity Assault: All creatures within range of an attacked target must make a strength saving throw or take damage and be pulled 30 feet towards the target.
      • 2, Space: When raging, Ashton's head becomes "less there" and their brain becomes slightly transparent underneath the glass. The glass becomes transparent all the way through their head, like a bad photoshop effect.
        • Violent Gateway: Whenever Ashton brings a creature to zero hit points he falls into a portal and teleports up to 60 feet away.
        • Wormhole Strike: Ashton can burn a Chaos Burst to make a ranged attack of up to 60 feet through a portal with additional damage. Ashton can also put their arms through the portal and use their strength to move objects.
          Ashton's Time rage, by  and  from "" (3x76)

          Ashton's Time rage, by Kamille Areopagita and Kevin Areopagita from " A Gathering of Heroes " (3x76).

        • Scattering Blow: Ashton's hammer carries the target through a portal to a location of Ashton's choosing.
      • 3, Time: When raging, Ashton begins flickering with blue and red after-images, and the timing of their movements become erratic. They don't provoke opportunity attacks.
        • Temporal Morass: At the beginning of their turn, a target within fifteen feet must make a Constitution saving throw to avoid having their speed halved and losing their reactions until the beginning of their next turn.
        • Hyper Rage: Ashton can burn a Chaos Burst to enter Hyper Rage, becoming a red and blue blur. They can move twice their normal speed, and gain an additional attack.
        • Acceleration Wave: Ashton can target up to ten creatures, imbuing them with accelerating energy.
      • 4, Luck: When raging, the crystal in Ashton's head flashes with rainbow sparks.
        • Probability Matrix: Ashton and each ally within 10 feet of him can add a d4 to attack rolls and saving throws.
        • Dreadful Misfortune: When a target misses Ashton, he can burn a Chaos Burst to trigger Dreadful Misfortune, which forces an enemy to attack themself against their own AC. If the target hits themself, they take half damage.
        • Mark of The Messy End: Ashton can mark a creature, allowing critical hits for the entire party to occur upon rolling an 18, 19 or 20.
  • Rage
  • Reckless Attack
  • Unarmored Defense (AC is 10 + DEX + CON)
  • Extra Attack
  • Fast Movement (speed increase of 10 feet)
  • Feral Instinct (advantage on initiative)
  • Brutal Critical (2 extra damage dice on crit)
  • Relentless Rage (drop to 1 HP instead of 0 on a CON save)
  • Persistent Rage (rage only ends at will or if knocked unconscious)

Daggerheart abilities

For " Oaths & Ash – Indianapolis Live Show 2025 " (Sx100), which was played using the Daggerheart game system, Ashton had the following characteristics, skills, and abilities:

  • Level: 8
  • Class: Guardian
  • Domains: Valor and Blade
  • Abilities:
    • Shrug it Off: spend a stress to ignore damage
    • Shard of Ka'Mort Unstoppable Havoc: Spend a Stress to transform into 1) a gravitational black hole 2) probability
  • Experiences: "You in Particular, Fearne"

Appearances and mentions

Quotations

  • Ashton: Never take copper. You never take copper. That's just kicking someone while they're down. You take silver if they're an asshole, and you take gold regardless.
  • Ashton: I like getting paid and living.
  • FCG: What is the thing that you're trying to get to, that you think that you want, maybe?
    Ashton: That's a very interesting question. Self-reliance. A certain amount of freedom to move about.
  • Ashton: "Friends" is always a complicated word. I try to avoid it. It implies a layer of trust that is not necessarily healthy.
  • Ashton: (introducing himself to Chetney) I'm Ashton. I hit things for money.
  • Ashton: (to Dorian, after finding out Dorian gave the other sending stone to Cyrus) I'm not disappointed, I'm just angry.
  • Ashton: When you leave the site of an explosion covered in blood, there is nothing more suspicious than saying, "I didn't hear or see anything!" Just say, "Yeah, that shit was crazy, and I don't know what the fuck happened, but we're bleeding and going home." We're going to get caught, motherfuckers.
  • Ratanish: (during his fistfight duel with Ashton) The offer still stands. When this is over, if you want work, I could put it to you.
    Ashton: (panting) We'll talk later.
    Ratanish: But first, you understand I have to finish the show.
    Ashton: I'm not backing down. That'd be rude.
  • Ashton: (to Laudna) There's always a lesson to be learned, and I feel like it's one of my favorite lessons today, which is: sometimes there's no lesson to be learned. Sometimes shit's just fucked up, and the only thing you can do, because you didn't do anything fucking wrong, is get the fuck back up and do the exact same thing all over again, knowing that there was nothing to learn.
  • Ashton: I haven't said "yes" to a lot of stuff in a while, and this group has made me want to say "yes" to things, and that's the only way to ever get the fuck out of this kind of place. [...] Sometimes you just don't want to find out that the problem isn't the city. That maybe the problem is you.
  • Fearne: (after catching Ashton's failed pickpocketing of her) You can always just ask. What do you want?
    Ashton: I want to not ask.
  • Ashton: I'm having this moment where I'm realizing that perhaps one of the reasons why I allow myself to get the shit kicked out of me is in the hope that people are actually fucking watching.
  • Ashton: I don't like people trying to kill me. That was not part of this fucking deal.
    Imogen: Sure, but sometimes you've just got to get over the shit and make it better, right?
    Ashton: No, no, sometimes you've just got to hold a fucking grudge.
  • Ashton: (advising the group to not attempt to steal from Jiana Hexum) Yeah, "don't steal" is usually a suggestion; "don't get caught" is a rule, that's my philosophy.
  • Ashton: (to Jiana Hexum after her conversation with FCG about her playing the violin) Thank you for the violin. That was - beautifully unsettling.
    Jiana: Good. I'm trying to achieve such an effect, hopefully. So that is high marks in my mind.
    Ashton: Everyone loves to be seen.
  • Ashton: I love smuggling! It's basically a vacation someone else pays for.
  • Matt: (Describing Ashton's existence) There is strength, but there is pain. There is pain, but there is strength.
  • Ashton: (to Percy, about Laudna) I have lost fucking everything, everybody. I have had a lifetime of bad hits, problems, lost people, promises fucking broken, people died. It is the background of my daily life. I have died. This - (points to their head) - is madness up here. This is not something that just fucking happens. This is what happens when the universe really doesn't like you and decides it wants to keep you around for a little while longer. At least that's what I used to fucking think. And then I met these fucking people and life changed in a very intense way. And I know you think I'm just going to be like, "I found love again," all of that bullshit. Fuck no. The world got weird and there is weird shit happening out there. And suddenly, I'm feeling very small in a very big world, as opposed to small in a very small world, which is where I'm usually so fucking comfortable. But it got really big out there, and for some strange fucking reason, that body down there, as fucked and as corrupted as it may be, and it is, believe me, seems to be a part of this. So hope, and joy, and love, and all of that shit, I don't give a fuck. That is not what I'm down there for. I'm there 'cause it's important, and it's necessary, and I have lost so many people. And I am not here begging for fucking any of them. Many, I've known longer than her. This is not about that. This is important. Clearly, someone you don't fucking like thought it was fucking important so maybe you should just pay the fuck attention.
  • Ashton: (to Imogen, about Lord Eshteross) That letter, we're the fucking legacy. We are not what fucking killed that man. We are the thing he set into motion to make sure it mattered as little as possible. We are his eventual victory. We are his fucking revenge. We are all these things. We are not the cause. We are -
    Imogen: I'll be his revenge.
    Ashton: I have no fucking doubt.
  • Ashton: (to Bells Hells about the Ruby Vanguard) See, this is what happens when you start externalizing every fucking problem you have. Easy to take a look at. There's a bunch of people who are treating other people like they're fucking nothing, like they're fucking pawns. It doesn't matter what the fuck they want. They are doing it wrong. It is not hard to see. (points to Imogen) You're being fucked with. We're all being fucked with. Whatever the fuck they say that they're doing, that's where I draw the line. If they had such a great idea of what the world was supposed to be and what that thing was, they could just tell people. But instead, they're making everybody miserable. They're killing people. Fuck that. Fuck them. I'm going to be more than happy to drop a fucking ship on them..
  • Ashton: We don't leave people behind. That's just the rule. You do not leave people the fuck behind.
  • Ashton: (to Laudna after the battle in the temple) My very first divine intervention. The gods saw me. A god saw me. I was not invisible, and it was not hungry, it wasn't fearful, it wasn't--
    Laudna: It wasn't a god. It was an angel.
    Ashton: It was a messenger, it was sent, and it told me what I really didn't want to hear. She does not fucking care; that I might as well be fucking gone; that I'm a mistake.
    Laudna: You mean the whole consecration, leave or you will be judged situation?
    Ashton: I have been judged by better shit than that. Fuck them. Fuck him and my whole fucking life.
  • Ashton: (to Prism about her leaving the Cobalt Soul) Here's the fucking deal. The thing you just felt last night, you will feel that again, and it will not feel better. More adventures end this way than the other way. You're pretty fucking good at this. And you impress. And I think, maybe, if you try not quite as fucking hard to be someone else - I think this is not a good way to run from yourself. But I don't think you have to. Just... be a criminal nerd. You are clearly good at being a criminal, and definitely a nerd. And yeah, I think it's a good idea. I'd do it. You're asking me? I'd fucking do it. I've done worse.
  • Ashton: (after FCG talks about F.R.I.D.A.) I'm so proud that you finally got the thing that I have been trying to fucking give you since the day we met, and I've just -
    FCG: A kiss?
    Ashton: No, no, a reason to fucking live. So, please keep that, because I am so tired of saving you from yourself. I can't anymore. So do not forget that there is some reward at the end of this.
  • Ashton: (discussing the gods) I feel like there's a lot of vague conjecture about the blowing of wind and the flipping of coins and a lot of things that just happen. I've had a life. I think a lot of us here have had a life. I can count the really good days practically on two hands. I've had bad shit happen. My first fucking memory is one of the worst things that ever happened to me. One, I fucking watched my parents get ripped to bits in a fucking maelstrom of god-knows-fucking-what. I was dumped into a desert where I crawled until I nearly died, to only be picked up and saved by shitty people who then threw me in a fucking orphanage where I stayed. It was more or less what you'd expect. Fought a lot, shit happened, made some friends, got out, lived the best we fucking could. Fell out of a window and lost everyone I cared about. Woke up damaged and in pain that has never stopped since that fucking day. There were little sections of my life where I prayed and I begged for anything to all of them, to any of them. The only time they've ever spoken to me was the one who tried to fucking kill me less than a week ago. So, I'm here to save us. I'm here to save the people who live here. Hell, I had one fucking word that I spoke to a giant pile of earth that was more responsive and made me feel better and connected me to something bigger than anything in my fucking life. Just the ground itself did more. So yeah, you know what? I am all for faith, and I'm not going to pick a god. They can pick me. It'll be the first one that actually praises me and then maybe I'll fucking answer. I'll wait. They can fucking beg. And I will listen, which is more than they ever fucking did.
  • Ashton: (inspecting his enhanced hammer) This is good. I need chaos. I have faith in chaos.
  • FCG: (when the party voted on how they felt about the gods) You're abstaining from being undecided?
    Ashton: Yeah.
    FCG: Wow. You really are a punk.
  • Ashton: (to the party on the topic of parents) I come from a place and a particular - I'll say where I lived, the people I've known do not have the best track record. So, you know, I feel like it's important to keep a little bit of an open mind when it comes to how people were raised. Because in my experience, most of them are kind of shit.
    Orym: It's easier to be there for folks when they're there for you.
    Ashton: Mm! And I like found family. Found family is fucking great. That's the way to go. The people you are randomly, you know, just assigned to. Even the people who ran the house that I was fucking raised in weren't that bad. I mean, they were exhausted, which is fair. But, that's my could've been worse.
  • Ashton: (to Orym and Imogen about Chetney wielding Graz'tchar, the Decadent End) I'm torn between self-preservation and just enjoying a cautionary tale. I really don't know what to do right now.
  • Ashton: (to Shady Sally) I spent all this time indentured to that fucking bitch, paying off your debts, and now, we're gonna get even. We're gonna be dealing with the fucking big red fucking ball in the sky. The gang needs to get back together, and they need to get here. We're not getting the gang officially back together, but you're really fucking good at what you do, and we're going to need everybody who's good at what they fucking do. If you can find everybody, if you can be ready when shit goes down, I will never darken your door again.
  • Imogen: Ashton, you're so special.
    Ashton: I know. That's why I am fighting for you. It's because you're fucking special too, and we all know it.
  • Ashton: (to Jirana the Shore Shrew) How do you grieve if you don't know what was taken from you?
    Jirana: Mm. Often, you don't focus on the loss and try to concentrate on what you've gained since. Maybe answers will come in time. Maybe they won't. And it will never go away.
    Ashton: That I've figured out.
    Jirana: But, it only weighs as much as you're willing to give it. Perhaps, you will fill yourself with a happier weight.
    Ashton: Well... I guess we'll see how broken I am.
    Jirana: I am perpetually surrounded by broken things. Everything can be mended, given time.
  • Evontra'vir: (slow and ancient) What is it you seek?
    Ashton: I am the abandoned child of the Hishari. I am the blood of titan. I seek what is owed to me. I seek my past. I seek power. I seek to know what I am.
    Evontra'vir: (sighs) As it was fated. (long pause) You are the son of Efterin; a broken man of burning purpose, who endured an odyssey to walk under my boughs and ask for the golden purpose that he felt he was owed by the world. He claimed visions throughout his life that promised greatness. A fated path that would leave his mark on history. He was not wrong. I let him gaze into his future and showed him the relic he was fated to own, that he would use to usher in a renewed ancient power. I showed him the way to the necropolis of Toramunda, where this relic lay uncovered and waiting. His ambition met his destiny, and he recovered his artifact, this remaining shard of Ka'Mort; the Primordial Empress of Earth. A lingering remnant of her power. He thought his destiny was his to embrace. He was wrong. I granted him this knowledge, because he was meant to take it, to create and destroy the Hishari; meant to destroy himself; meant to create... you. You were his destiny. But in his arrogance, he could not see beyond his own aspirations, as it was fated.
  • Ashton: (to Fearne) Sometimes I think you're crazy on a level that I might be crazy on, too.
  • Ashton: No matter what happens, I won't leave if I'm allowed to stay. I will, no matter what we do, no matter what mistakes we make, no matter what we have, I will stay and I will be there and I will not-- I will not walk away. I don't know what love is, but I'm going with this.
  • Ashton: Trust, I think, is just better when it's not easy - is what I'm starting to realize. That the only way we're going to be okay is because we are all in the same place of being deeply capable of fucking up, and maybe that's good, because who else would fucking tolerate or forgive any group of us? This is -- You are the only people I can think of who would put up with this shit. And I am forever fucking grateful.
  • Matt: (when Ashton touched Fearne after she absorbed the Rau'shan shard) You suddenly, in that moment - even above the tree, not fully connected to the stone of the realm itself, see a flicker of flame in her eyes. Then as your vision fades out, you can feel yourself pushing through darkness, like you're burrowing through sand, but the sand itself is shale and rock. You are burrowing through the very earth of Exandria. You are pushing through the ground, and yet you are one with it. Suddenly, you emerge like a massive whale breaching through the ocean, but through the rock itself. You look beyond to an endless mountain range that is ever growing and folding on itself. You feel a time before time. You feel where the land itself was still forming, being made and unmade, where all the elements swam between each other, and in such creation and destruction was a singular process. As you come back from your vision, you feel this strength begin to fill your chest. You feel this sense of strength and sturdiness that you never understood until now. You feel like, as a being that spent their life feeling broken and un-whole, for the first time in a long time, not just because of what power you found in yourself, but the people that surround you, you feel complete.
  • Liliana: (to Orym about Ludinus not being an altruist) Ludinus is following a plan that was set out for him by The One Who Sleeps, and The One Who Sleeps just sees him as a part of its plan. It's so hard to convey if you haven't seen or felt what I have, but -
    Ashton: It's not hard to understand at all. I know self-delusion when I see it. I know it myself. You're in. Clearly, you're in. And you're going to think you're going to be careful, but I think your worst fear is probably my worst fear. And we've just got a fucking sample of it. I want you to think about that, and think very carefully when things start to go wrong, and they will for you. Will you hear the mental cries of your daughter when Ludinus finally decides it's time to murder her on Exandria? Do you think that'll break through, or do you think you're going to be surprised?
  • Ashton: (about Liliana) I hope she's right. I really do. I hope her ends are fucking great because these means are just not forgivable.
  • Ashton: I think I need to break something, and then, in the morning, start having some thoughts about who we're going to be next. (to Evoroa) You seem very lovely. I hope that you do great work. You were very expensive.
  • Ashton: (to Laudna about her losing control) When it was my turn to attempt to absorb a piece of shit, ill-advised and everyone wanted to fucking kill me because I betrayed their trust and the closest thing to a real family I had ever seen spent a significant more time giving me shit. You forgave me, asked. You did something no one had ever done to me. You gave me love. You're not the first person I've ever had in my life who had problems, and... Sometimes I think of you as like a big sister. And I will never not stand in front of you to keep things away. I will always step in front.
  • Bright Queen: (after seeing Ashton's dunamantic powers) We will have to talk when this is done.
    Ashton: I'm so excited.
    Bright Queen: You shouldn't be.
  • Ashton: (to the people in the Platinum Sanctuary) I serve the weak. I serve the forgotten. I serve the dirt beneath our feet.
  • Ashton: Not to be dark, but I didn't actually think I'd live this long. People who come from Greymoore, that's not a beginning that promises a very good ending. Had a good time, seen a lot more than I expected, and met better people than I thought I would.
    Fearne: And now you're going to save the world.
    Ashton: Barely deserves it, doesn't it? I'll save you. I'll save you all.
  • Ashton: (to the Raven Queen) Don't think I don't know how small I am.
    The Raven Queen: Very.
    Ashton: Not the first to remind me.
  • Ashton: (offering to the Matron to sacrifice himself) I am Ashton Greymoore of Bassuras and I am nobody's child. Not the gods, not anybody.

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