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[berelinde]

Longsword 2

 

Summary: Digger Dace wings Beldin for 6 health

 

Spoiler

Attack(Beldin, def=15): 3d6+5;2d6+3;3d6;1d6 → [4,5,3,5] = (17) -> HIT

Damage(Beldin, AR4): 3d6+5;2d6+3;3d6;1d6 → [3,4,3] = (10) -4 -> 6

Attack Site: 3d6+5;2d6+3;3d6;1d6 → [5,2,6] = (13) -> Right Upper Arm

Who?: 3d6+5;2d6+3;3d6;1d6 → [4] = (4) -> Beldin

3d6+5(attack);2d6+3(damage);3d6(attack site);1d6(1=Merc; 2-3=Tessa, 4-5=Bel, 6=Tempest

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4653223/

[mysteriouspast]

Rael does 12 damage to Archer 2 and 4 damage to Digger Dace.

 

It was bedlam up on that hill as Rael could barely keep track of who was attacking whom. Seeing an arrow sticking out of Etienne’s neck, however, made things somewhat clearer. “Etienne!” she shouted, but didn’t think he could hear her as he turned his attention to Sarel instead of tending to his own wound. She was momentarily entranced by the gold light that danced from his fingertips until she heard Beldin hit the ground with a heavy thud. “Beldin!” she cried, her voice lost in the din of the battle.

 

Things were not going well. They had no plan, no strategy, and the results couldn’t be more obvious. She had to… she had to think. Her inclination was to attack the archer that wounded Etienne, but the real danger was… the mage.

 

Leveling her crossbow at the woman who was barely back on her feet after Bartha had viciously dragged her to the ground, Rael shot a bolt that delivered itself deep in the woman’s chest. She expected to see a spurt of blood, hear a groan as the woman fell, but what happened instead made the hairs on Rael’s neck stand on end.

 

The instant the bolt pierced the woman’s heart, she made a strange, horrified face. Her skin suddenly blanched--no, that word was not strong enough. The color disappeared in an instant as tiny ice crystals solidified around her in less time than it took Rael to blink. The mage moved no more as her body stood in the place she died, but a body no longer. She was nothing more than ice in a woman’s shape.

 

The man with the longsword over Beldin looked like he wouldn’t last long and he’d be her next target. When she went to reload the her crossbow, she saw that the lever was still halfway cocked and her hands moved automatically as she loaded it and shot without aiming as carefully as she might. But it was enough. It winged the man in the side and he went down, overcome and lifeless.

 

Spoiler

Rael’s attack:

[4,5,5,4] = (18)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4650330/

 

2d6+1+3 → [4,4,1,3] = (12)

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4650353/

 

Lighning Attack

3d6+3 → [5,2,4,4] = (15)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4650513/

 

Damage

2d6+1+3 → [1,1,1,3] = (6)

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4650518/

[obsessedwjpn]

Mercuriel attacks Pavel (Longsword 1) for 8 damage. Dog attacks Pavel as well but does no damage.

 

Spoiler

Mercuriel's rolls: http://invisiblecast...r/view/4653542/

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4653543/

 

Dog's rolls: http://invisiblecast...r/view/4653545/

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4653547/

 

 

Despite the blood pouring out from his shoulder and thigh wounds, Mercuriel fought to stay standing and in the battle. He turned his attention on the other longsword handler now that his original opponent was with the Creators. 

 

Dog stayed close by his master's side, fearful of moving too far ahead of him, and responded immediately when his master ordered him to attack the longsword enemy. Unfortunately, Dog only managed to graze the man's skin before being swept aside and into the dirt with a defensive punch.

 

Seeing the attack on his mabari companion spurred Mercuriel further into action. He charged on the enemy and readied his attack. He swiped the sword horizontally to cut Pavel's head clean off his body. The head flew a few feet before landing on the ground.

 

"Nobody messes with my friend and lives to tell the tale," Mercuriel spit on the corpse. It seemed that the tide of battle was turning in their favor. He quickly rushed over to Dog, checking for any wounds but finding only superficial scratches. Dog stood up and licked his master's hand to reassure him. Mercuriel smiled weakly, the loss of blood making his vision hazy and his body weak.

 

He looked up across the battlefield at Laurelin to see if she was alright. Luckily, she seemed to have avoided any serious injury. He smiled at her warmly before turning on the final enemies left standing.

 

[berelinde]

Pavel's lifeless head gazed unseeing at the sky for a moment before the encroaching film of ice crystals covered it completely. His body was undergoing the same transformation a few yards away.

 

"To the Void with this!" Archer 3 scoffed. Throwing down his bow, he ran, with Archer 4 close behind.

 

"Get back here, you two louts!" Marl cried, and took off after the archers. Archer 1 looked panicked for a moment, then threw down his bow and ran in a completely different direction.

 

The chest they dug up refrained from making any rash decisions. It remained behind.

 

{COMBAT IS OVER. We will continue to post in the current posting order until we have gone through everybody's actions.

 

If you want your character to take a parting shot, your character may take a parting shot, but if you want your character to take a breather, you MUST say so in the exact same post. We'll go through the rest of Round 5 and the first half of Round 6 in order, but after Mercuriel posts his post-combat round (he was the last one to attack, so he will be the last one to post a post-combat round, we return to exploration mode random posting.

 

If you do not post now that your character is taking a breather, your character is not taking a breather. Period.}

[mysteriouspast]

Etienne takes a breather for 7 points

The enemies still left alive had fled, and Etienne permitted himself to sink to the cold earth and tend to himself. The arrow that pierced his flesh was cast on the ground and he used his bandages to cover the wound, almost surprised that his body could mend itself without the aid of magic.

Once he was satisfied that the blood flow was under control, he looked around to survey the carnage that surrounded him.

[berelinde]

Bel holds his round (upcoming joint posts, so he has to wait). He will not be taking a breather.

[berelinde]

{Breather = 5 + constitution + level, so Etienne's breather heals 7 points.

 

He sees the bandits flee, and he has a rough idea which direction they went, but he doesn't gain much more information from them than that. He notices that four bandits lie dead, most in more pieces than they had going in, and that there are two longbows on the ground. And a chest. A nice sized chest with handles.}

[Lorien19]

Laurelin sighed with relief at the sight of the fleeing bandits,it would seem that the battle was over and that everyone from their party was alive.Although,she couldn't say the same for the bandits one of them in particular was skilfully decapitated by a single swing of Mercuriel's blade.He was a skilled warrior that Mercuriel...Laurelin's gaze instinctively turned towards the elvhen warrior,her heart began to race like the bracing Ferldan wind,  as soon as she noticed that he was injured,from what she could tell he lost a lot blood from his wounds.

The brief feeling of relief she felt, was now overshadowed by her that of extreme concern and fear.

 

Hastily,she rushed towards the Dalish warrior,thankfully she still had bandages and poultices in her back,even though she used plenty of them to mend Beldin's arm.For the moment being, they would stop the bleeding,until someone heal him with magic.

As soon as she reached him and took a closer look at his wounds her head nearly dropped,he was indeed seriously injured. Had his attacker being a tiny bit more precise in the way he slashed his thigh with his blade,the cut could have been lethal.But thankfully for him,the angle of the cut would allow her to stop the bleeding.

"Creators..."

Was the only thing she managed to say and that in a shaky voice, and hurriedly opened her backpack.

 

(Laurelin will attempt to heal Mercuriel but I won't roll the dice until Ann replies,just in case she prefers Merc to take a breather instead.)

[berelinde]

{Characters can take a breather while being healed by other characters. They just can't take a breather and treat someone else at the same time.

 

And even if Merc takes a breather, he's still going to be down a lot of health, so healing him is probably a good idea.}

[TreeHuggerHannah]

For a moment, Tempest stared in horror at the mutilated corpses on the ground, and shivered.

 

She understood that they'd had no choice - the bandits would almost certainly have murdered Bartha in cold blood had they not acted - but somehow that didn't make it feel good or comfortable that lives had been taken. These had been people, after all. People who had made devastatingly bad choices in life... but still, far different than slaying wolves.

 

It wasn't the first time Tempest had been in combat. Her little homemade Circle had been forced to fight for their lives and handful of times, and her friends from home had helped her to finally end her abuser once and for all. In today's skirmish, Tempest had done nothing more than heal her allies, but she'd been part of if.

 

Tempest didn't regret fighting to save Bartha. But she was still sufficiently unused to battle that it didn't feel normal. It didn't feel right, even if she didn't logically think it was wrong...

 

She was a healer, not a warrior. Her natural role was to relieve suffering and stave off death, not to inflict it.

 

With effort, Tempest forced these thoughts aside. This was not the time for philosophizing about death and life. Some of her comrades were wounded, including Beldin, who although out of mortal danger still appeared intent on charging off in spite of serious injuries.

 

The healer stepped forward and touched Beldin's arm, channeling more healing magic into him. At least maybe she'd be able to keep him on his feet.

 

(Tempest casts Heal on Beldin whether he likes it or not. 3d6+3=15 (TN 10.) Again she uses three mana points and heals him for 13 HP because apparently I roll 13s a lot. 3d6=13)

[BFace]

Tessa looked around for an enemy to strike.  Thank the Maker, she thought, the fight was over. She let her sword drag on the ground for a moment as she looked around at her fellows.

 

When her gaze rested on Beldin, she narrowed her eyes and raised her sword in her left hand before striding up to him.

 

“GET YOUR SHIELD UP!” She stopped close enough to him that she had to look up slightly to shout at him.

 

Beldin swayed where he stood, his axe dangling from his hand. The fight had been grueling, but it was over at last. He turned his head to stare at Tessa, blinking in weary confusion.

 

“GET IT UP! NOW!”she shouted.

 

He pulled himself together enough to obey.

 

Without further warning, Tessa pounded his shield several times with the pommel of her sword.  Even as she did, she could see his weariness and the small part of her brain that was still rational told her to stop it, but the overwhelming fear she’d felt when he fell was overriding her common sense.

 

“NEVER. DO THAT. AGAIN!” 

 

Beldin nodded.

 

"It was probably the dumbest thing I've done," he said. "This week."

 

Tessa blinked stupidly at him before pounding her pommel into his shield one more time. Without another word, she turned and stalked off toward the chest the bandits had apparently unearthed. 

 

He stared after her for a moment, shaking his head and once more thinking back to that stolen caress. Usually, anger was an ugly emotion, but on her... But probably best not to make a habit of it.

[berelinde]

{Tempest has 5 stunt points, by the way. You can get in the one that reduces mana cost and Mighty Spell }

[TreeHuggerHannah]

(I always forget stunt points! I'll take the reduced mana cost, then Mighty Spell adds 1d6=6 healing.)

[TreeHuggerHannah]

"We'll need to do something about the... the bodies," Tempest said aloud to anyone in earshot who might consider it as important as she did, trying to keep her voice from shaking when she said 'bodies,' but not entirely succeeding. "I know the Chantry would say that bandits do not deserve a proper pyre, but..."

 

But were they not all the Maker's children? The Maker alone knew what sufferings of their own had set these people on the path that led them here tonight. It seemed wrong to leave the remains of any person to feed wolves and carrion birds. Of course, there were more practical considerations too...

 

"The corpses show evidence of magic."

 

There, she'd spoken more steadily this time.

 

"It would be unwise to simply leave them lying around for anyone to find, and to wonder why there are mages on the loose. We need to do something with them."

[Mahumia]

Bartha cried out when another crossbow bolt impacted close to her: barely had she released the archer, when the bolt hit its target. Trembling she looked around, and noticed that the remaining bandits decided to call it a day (or night). 'My weapons... where did they put them?' She decided to run for the mill and start looking there.

[mysteriouspast]

Rael bandages Etienne for full health

 

As quickly as it began, the fight was over. She'd only been in (Two? Two and a half?) battles and was feeling heady and a bit nauseous as the remaining foes skittered away from them. There was an impulse to pursue, to find out who they were and what they were doing on that lonely hilltop, but her thoughts quickly moved elsewhere.

 

Her head instantly swiveled to Etienne, who crouched on the ground, tending to the wound in his neck. Without a moment's hesitation, she was at his side. "Etienne, are you all right?" she asked in a tense voice as she peered at the bandages he arranged on his neck. Certainly, the man was an expert healer, but anyone would have trouble with a wound they had to find based on touch alone.

 

Her fingers darted into his pack and pulled out a poultice. "Let me," she said softly, as she moved the bandages aside and placed the healing herbs against the deep puncture. He seemed to relax as her hands tended to him, and if he felt she were fussing, he didn't object. Satisfied with her work, she smiled at him and said, "Look at that--your first battle wound."

 

Spoiler

3d6 → [4,1,4] = (9)

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4657307/

4 + 2 = 6

[obsessedwjpn]

Mercuriel saw Laurelin rushing toward him as the rest of the bandits ran away in fear. The battle was finally over but not without consequences. Rael tended to a human mage who seemed hurt, Beldin had suffered severe injuries, Sarel had seen his fair share of battle and he, himself had sustained some heavy damage. 

 

Blood continued to ooze out of his wounds and he grit his teeth to fight the pain wracking his body. Luckily neither Dog nor Laurelin seemed hurt. Mercuriel could breathe a sigh of relief for that. Laurelin's shock and worry over his injuries did not go unnoticed. He smiled at her weakly as he sat down and allowed her to tend to his injuries. He appreciated her thoughtfulness and care. She wasn't just beautiful and powerful but also kind - all great characteristics that reminded him why he'd been attracted to her in the first place. 

 

Unfortunately, the blood loss prevented him from having too in-depth of a conversation at the moment, but he searched deep within himself for the energy to at least thank her. "Thank you, Laurelin...." He flinched when she applied one of the bandages. "Too bad my flesh is now further marred by battle..." He chuckled lightly before a cough wracked his body.

 

Mercuriel had seen battle before. This was not the first or the last time he would raise his sword to fight. However, it had been a little while since his last skirmish and he wasn't a youth anymore for sure. Luckily, the scars from battle only added to his appeal in most ladies' eyes. 

 

Dog moved to sit beside his master as Laurelin patched Mercuriel up. The mabari nuzzled Mercuriel's hand and received a stroke on the head. He wagged his stub of a tail in reply.

[berelinde]

{Lorien, I know that rolling dice is a hassle for you, and you still have lots of rolls left from your initial 20 die rolls. I'll just take your next one, which allows you to heal Merc for 8 points. From your list, 3d6 → [5,3,2] = (10) + 3(Cunning) = 13 Success. Dragon Die(5) + Cunning(3) = 8

 

We're now in narrative mode, and we can all post at will.

 

Please, I beg you, do not leave the hillside until Fabian shows up. I've still got a few details left to hammer out with John, but it should go up soon.}

[berelinde]

{joint post with Mahumia}

 

Beldin ignored his fatigue and pushed his way toward the windmill, immeasurably grateful that Bartha was still alive. He'd pushed his body too far and he'd have to pay the price later, but he would worry about that when it was over. If she had come to harm as a result of his incaution, his recklessness, he would never be able to forgive himself.

 

His eyes were slow to adjust to the darkness, even accustomed as they were to the dim moonlight outside. At last, he saw her, rummaging among some sacks, as if looking for something.

 

"Bartha!" he cried and threw himself across the room to crouch in front of her. "Thank the Maker you're alive!"

 

And then eloquence failed him. Even as he raced up the hillside, his head swam with all the things he wanted to say to her, but now that she was in front of him, all he could do was ask, "Are you alright?"

 

Bartha looked at him for a few moments. Startled at first, when he cried out her name and ran over to her, but then she smiled and started to blink rapidly. She was aware that a mere yard away lay a dead man, his neck twisted in a strange position. And it was her fault: she had kicked him down the ladder... She stepped closer to Beldin and opened her arms to hug him. Then she recalled his response when she had touched his shoulders, and noticed that he was severely injured, so stood there awkwardly instead. "Maker, Beldin... Are you alright? I think I thanked every god and ancestor when I heard your voice out there... I'm so sorry... I... was afraid you'd be..." she started to smile and sob at the same time. He was there, he was really there. "I'm alright now. You're here."

 

"Oh, Bartha!" he said. It was almost a groan, his throat was so tight with emotion, but he threw his arms around her before remembering why he should not. He dropped the embrace immediately. "Sorry. Got a bit carried away. I'm just that glad to see that you're in one piece."

 

The habitual awkwardness returned with a vengeance. "I... I don't even know where to start. It was all just so... wonderful. I thought I was dead, and I'd made peace with that, but then... what everyone said... and Lord Tarl throwing out the verdict... and I had to tell him the truth. It was like being reborn. I'm sorry. I know I'm not making sense. And I know I shouldn't be this close."

 

He sat backward to give her more room. She seemed to have accepted a degree of doubt that he might not be a marauder, but he had pushed his luck far enough for one night. And then he remembered the flattery, the gut-churning praise for merits he'd never earned, and decided that the distance was just as well.

 

"I'll never be able to thank you properly for what you did," he said. "Maybe you were scared or confused, but you going to Tarl was the best thing that could have happened. He knew I was trying to end it. He asked a lot of questions, and everybody else asked some more, and he decided I hadn't had a fair trial, and declared that I needed a new one. He made Tempest answerable for my honesty, so I had to tell him the whole story. And here I sit, and I've got you to thank for it. So, thank you."

 

It wasn't the most graceful ending he could have verbalized, but he hoped that she'd understand.

 

She stared at him with big eyes. She was surprised, to say the least. Surprised by his embrace, his words of gratitude... she didn't understand much about what he said about the trial, but she did get the 'no fair trial' part.

 

"You thank me? I was terrified when he called for a trial... I thought he would know, that he would confirm that... you're innocent. But he didn't." She placed a hand on his upper arm. "I can't describe my relief upon seeing you here, happy and well." Her warm smile disappeared, and turned serious. "However, I put your life in danger with my stupidity. You deemed yourself guilty of a crime you've never committed, and I feared that you'd ask for the noose... I did, unwillingly, betray you by going to Tarl. Thank the Maker it all turned out well, but nonetheless... I made a promise in that wine cellar... that I do not want to hurt you. That promise still stands. And if you, or anyone of the party feels I should face the consequences, I won't fight you. I'll understand and accept." She gave his arm a friendly squeeze, before releasing and rubbing the back of her neck. "And I fear I have been behaving like a lecher back there... I'm sorry."

 

He sighed. He never imagined for a moment that this conversation would be easy, but it was necessary.

 

"Bartha... please," he said softly. "No one will blame you. If they lack the empathy to place themselves in your position, I myself will enlighten them. You had no way to know that I was telling the truth, and I did warn you that both guilty and innocent alike would say the same thing. Your caution was entirely justified, as was Lord Tarl's decision to protect the people in his charge. The lives and safety of a hundred villagers demanded no less."

 

The next part was harder. She was so earnest, so open with her affection... and it was all because of his Maker-forsaken face. His father's face, that would lie and flatter, and do any number of unspeakable things, if it let him wet his wick. He drew breath and let it out slowly, frantically scrambling to find a way to phrase it that would not place blame where it was undeserved.

 

"You did nothing wrong," he said. "You did not behave inappropriately. Most people like it when you say nice things about them. It's just that..."

 

It's just that, what? It's just that I look like my dad, who was the most loathsome lecher in Ferelden? It's just that I did nothing to deserve either your compliments or your good opinion? It's just that I can't be responsible for your happiness? It's just that I'm a coward...

 

"It's just that I'm not good with words," he said. "I know you're pretty. That's how the Maker made you... or your ancestors... and I can't help but notice, but I can't let myself be ruled by that. I told you about Lady Sophie, and Keila, and... well, it doesn't matter. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just me, and this... thing. It was always there, ever since I was small, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it."

 

He held out his hand.

 

"Look," he said, "can we just start over? My name is Beldin Adley, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 

Starting over was impossible. Nothing could pour the sand back into the glass. But maybe they could try again, and try to forget what went before.

 

'Did he just call me pretty? No one with a sober mind said that.... no, let's not go there.' She gladly grabbed the hand that was offered to her. "The pleasure is all mine, Beldin Adley. My name is Bartha Rumold." There, she had said it. Softly she added. "People will judge a book on its cover... hence why I will hardly use my last name. A name is a guide: merchant, noble, peasant... and they will act upon it. You're right...I should take the time to open the book and get acquainted to it, if given the opportunity." She sent him a warm smile and laid her other hand on top of his, before letting go.

 

He covered her hand with his free one.

 

"And I'd like to do the same, if you'll allow it," he said.

[mysteriouspast]

With Etienne mended but dazed, and Mercuriel enjoying Laurelin's ministrations, Rael's focus shifted down to the bandit who lay dead at their feet. She managed to avert her gaze from his severed head and look over at the bolt that protruded from his abdomen. Kneeling down next to the corpse, she began to wonder who this man was, what his aims were---and those of his fellows. Clearly, the chest was their goal. But common thieves would flee at the sight of an armed party discovering them. Then there was how they treated Bartha. No, there was a story here and the man with no head wasn't talking. Perhaps his belongs would.

 

Grimacing with distaste, Rael rifled through the pockets of the dead man, hoping to find some clues to his identity and purpose. And if a few coins fell into her hand, well, that couldn't be helped.

[Lorien19]

Laurelin gently pressed a clean cloth on Mercuriel's thigh injury,in order to stop the bleeding before bandaging it up tightly,but not without sterilizing it first.However,as soon as she inspected his shoulder injury she let out a sigh,what was he thinking pulling out the arrows so violently?She gave him an angry look an pouted her lips in disapproval,as she gently folded his arm,placing it on his opposite hip while wrapping the bandage diagonally across his chest and his back.

"What on earth were you thinking Mercuriel?Charging like that...And pulling those blighted arrows from your wounds!"As soon as her eyes met his,her features softened...That smile again.

 

Despite the exhaustion on his face or the fact that he was covered in enemy blood,he was still remarkably handsome. Laurelin could not understand why the thought of him falling in battle,would upset her that much,nor why he left her speechless every time he would smile at her."I mean...I am glad you'r alive!"and that she definitely was,truth be told Laurelin was glad that everyone in her party was alive.

 

Her efforts to stop bleeding might have been successful,but it didn't change the fact that Mercuriel had lost a lot of blood.His body temperature was also beginning to fall,she could tell by the coldness of his hands and the way he was shivering.Not that the "Fereldan breeze"was warm and pleasant in the first place.She hastily removed her shawl and wrapped it around him in order to prevent further loss of body heat,her cheek brushing lightly against the side of his "good" shoulder as she leaned forward to adjust it properly.

 

"I'd suggest you don't move that shoulder for a couple of days."She finally said in a strict tone,and placed a poultice on his head injury,a rather nasty slash.

She noticed that dog was sitting besides him nuzzling his hand"You will take care of him,won't you boy?"She patted playfully his head with her free hand and smiled.

 

(Laurelin heals Mercuriel for 8 points,although thankfully I'm trying to figure this out so it's not that much of a hassle any more,I still thank you for saving me some time Ruth.)

[berelinde]

 

"It would be unwise to simply leave them lying around for anyone to find, and to wonder why there are mages on the loose. We need to do something with them."

"We might leave them for the villagers, beautiful one," I said, emerging from the shadows. "They will have thawed by dawn, or the morning frost will make the others look the same. The more superstitious may wonder what force in Thedas could cleave a grown man in two, but Vintiver has too abundant a crop of disemboweled dead for it to cause much comment."

 

I stepped further into the moonlight, extending my hands so that the others might see that they were empty, even if weapons hung from my belt and a bowstring lay taut across my leather-clad chest.

 

"I am Fabian Bredani," I said, "and I place myself at your service. Alas! Your enemies fled before I was able to prove my worth, but I am only slightly less eager to assist with more trivial concerns."

 

~J

[BFace]

Now that the fight was over, and everyone was being patched up, Tessa needed to do something. She picked her way toward the dead, stopping in front of the man she’d killed. Holding her sword in front of her, tip touching the ground, hilt in her hands, she bowed her head and spoke softly.

 

 “Draw your last breath, my friend. Cross the Veil and the Fade and all the stars in the sky. Rest at the Maker's right hand and be forgiven.” 

 

She could only hope that the Maker would forgive her as well.  While she did not, could not, regret killing the man, she could, and should, feel some remorse for her brutality. With a sigh, she carefully sheathed her weapon on her back before turning back toward the group when Tempest spoke.

[TreeHuggerHannah]

Tempest wasn't quite sure what to say to Bartha. She was relieved the dwarf woman was in more or less one piece, but it was not Tempest whom Bartha had wronged. When she saw Beldin speaking earnestly to Bartha, though, Tempest realized there was nothing she needed to say, except when their conversation had finished, a brief, "Glad you're alright!" in passing with a smile to Bartha.

 

They were companions again, somehow, and thus that was really all Tempest needed to tell her. Anything else was none of her business.

 

Tempest froze like a startled rabbit when Fabian spoke. It was more than just the sound of an unexpected voice; being called "beautiful" frightened her. Not, of course, as Beldin had said it earlier - not as a friend commenting on her inner attributes, which she had found a moving compliment - but an unknown man speaking of her physical qualities was terrifying for Tempest.

 

He didn't mean it, she insisted to herself, trying to calm her panicked brain. He would have said that to any woman. He didn't notice me. He won't give it another thought. And if he does, I can protect myself, and my new friends will protect me too.

 

Trying to hide her discomfiture, and not entirely succeeding, Tempest looked around for something practical to do, and her eyes settled on the still-injured Mercuriel.  Laurelin had done a skilled job of bandaging him, but they would all need to be at their best tomorrow, and that meant magical healing would not go amiss too.

 

"Perhaps you are right, messere," Tempest said to Fabian, averting her eyes as she moved over toward Mercuriel. "At the very least, though, we should tell the warden what transpired on his town's lands tonight, so he will not be taken by surprise."

 

What was this newcomer doing here? How had he known of their group, and why was he really joining them? If he hadn't referred to her as beautiful, would she have been so suspicious?

 

Spoiler

Tempest fails to cast Heal 3d6+3=8 (TN 10.) Since we're not in combat rounds, she tries again.

 

Tempest's hands shook as she touched Mercuriel's shoulder, and she felt her energy fizzle. She was too distracted; her anxiety was affecting her casting. She drew in a deep breath, slowly let it out through her nose, and tried once again to summon magic for a healing spell.

 

Spoiler

She succeeds on the second try. 3d6+3=14 She uses 2 mana points and heals him for 9 HP. 2d6=9

[obsessedwjpn]

Dog was overexcited at Laurelin's attention. He wagged his stubby tail harder and eventually stood back up, removing himself from Mercuriel's side, to wander over closer to Laurelin. He nuzzled her in the side lovingly then barked softly.

 

"Looks like he's taken to you," Mercuriel shook his head at the attention-seeking mutt. He held onto the shawl Laurelin had wrapped around him. Her smell was all over the piece of clothing. It was rather pleasant. He lowered his head to the fabric and inhaled deeply. Simply exquisite. He closed his eyes for a moment and reveled in her earthy scent washing over him.

 

Her ministrations had taken care of anything potentially life-threatening and with the shawl wrapped around him he could begin to feel warmth returning to his fingers. However, he could see from her pout, which was impossibly adorable, that she wasn't happy with how he'd acted in battle. She chastised him for charging in as he'd done and for removing the arrows. She had a point and he knew that her response was only because she worried for his sake, but he had his own bone to pick with her about caution.

 

"I realize that my early actions in battle weren't the most well-thought out and risky," he cleared his throat, "but at least I don't flaunt my magic so blatantly in front of others!" His words had come out sharper and more edged than he'd meant for them to. He pushed on, regardless. "You need to be more careful, Laurelin. What might the Warden's people think of you now? You know what these Chantry-lovers do to magic-users outside their precious Circles. Look how they responded to the Warden's own love?" His eyes narrowed, piercing through the night with their serious yet worried look. "What were you thinking?"

 

He reached out his one good arm and grasped her hand tightly. The tension surrounding him must have affected Dog because the mabari sniffed indignantly at the change in atmosphere and walked a few paces away from them.

 

"Don't you ever think---," His own ears sensed how loud his voice had become and he sighed. He stopped talking and instead resorted to running his thumb gently over her hand.

 

It was during this awkward moment of conversation that Tempest appeared to assist in healing him. Mercuriel was grateful to the human mage and nodded at her. "Thank you for your time." He flashed her a weak grin, attempting to cover up the tension.