Anavren listens to Elscene, shaking his head in purely philosophical isagreement. Anavren says in a reasoning tone, "Elscene, I certainly hope you are wrong. I'm certainly not going to just lie down and accept this curse. It is my understanding that The Healer is an artifact of great power and can even lift the curse that is on me. Granted, it could be that The Healer can only heal Rao's clergy of their madness, but I think I somewhere got the impression that the Haler could even lift the cave's aging curse. Seems like if The Healer can't 'heal' my aging, it wouldn't be much help Rao's clergy. Maybe I assumed that idea from what I was told about the old men. I guess a decent working assumption is that the Healer is a curse-lifting artifact if the clergy of Rao is cursed with madness from using the Crook of Rao to banish The Old One's abyssal servitors. If it can lift their curse, hopefully it can lift mine. At least, that's my hope," Anavren concludes sadly.

At hearing Steven's insults, Anavren's face turns dark. "Step outside the cave, Steven," Anavren says in challenge. "Your heart is as black as midnight and your cruel jokes about my condition reflect your black heart quite clearly. I would never laugh at your condition had you suffered the curse instead of me, nor try to suggest that you were deserving of such, but I see that you eagerly stoop to such depths." Then Anavren surveys the rest of the party and says, "To be honest, the lot of you are in the same boat I am. It's do or die for all of us. You either perish in the attempt to retreive The Healer, give up and step outside the cave to age like me, or you bring out The Healer in victory. You may all soon look just like me." Anavren then turns back to Steven, saying, "I just may have the last laugh, Steven, I may have the last laugh. I may be able to find a temple of Solonor Thelandira that will be able and willing to lift my curse in exchange for a lifetime of service. It may be a restored Anavren that returns to retreive The Healer and your corpses. I sure as The Great Archer's goodness hope I don't have the last laugh, but I may."

Anavren turns to Duras and politely declines going inside the cave. "Duras, respectfully, I decline to go with you. Elscene is right. Granted, I would be happy to be what help I could for you in there, cooking meals, tending the wounded, or what have you, but I think I can do more good out here. What if the party desperately needs something outside the cave? What if you need holy water, or sunrods, or a mirror, or chalk, or rope, or a ladder, or a 10' pole? I'll be here, outside, for you. Otherwise, I'd have to risk a second aging or death on exiting the cave. Or what other alternative would you have other than to have another party member age to goget something from afar. No, Duras, I'll stay here." Anavren jokingly mimics a crotchety old codger with an aching back, "Now, go an' git me my Healer, ya young rascals!" Anavren straightens as much as he can and laughs at his own joke.
Anavren is a tall high elf with typical black hair & green eyes. He stands 5' 5" tall & weighs about 133 lbs. Anavren is dressed in forest colors, studded leather armor, helmet and buckler. He is seldom without his mighty composite shortbow in hand!