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[mysteriouspast]

((Ha! Yes... Sorry to make so much work for you...))

[TreeHuggerHannah]

Tempest had only made it a couple of steps when things started happening quickly again. She saw Laurelin bent over Mercuriel, tending to his wounds and seemingly doing a very capable job, and Philomena going to assist her, all of which was reassuring. Her heart sank, though, as she heard Beldin's cry and turned to see Tessa felled by arrows.

 

Immediately Tempest stayed her course and turned back to Tessa. She dropped to her knees and healed Tessa again, allowing all of the energy from her fear and the anger she was feeling toward herself translate into a powerful burst of magic as she removed the arrow.

 

Spoiler

Tempest rolls 3d6+3=16 for Heal. With her stunt points she uses Mighty Spell to add to her dice pool and Skillful Casting to reduce her mana cost to 2. She heals Tessa for a total of 4d6=14.

 

"I'm sorry I failed you," she said quietly. 

 

All she'd had to do in this fight was keep the warriors on their feet, and she'd failed miserably at it. She hoped her companions could forgive her for that. Tempest couldn't help but blame herself that one by one she'd let them fall, in spite of her best intentions.

[Aertioc]

Now that combat was over, I was eager to begin reaping the rewards, but I was less eager to walk away and leave Ser Ox in possession of the dagger that had served me so well in the last encounter. He was still fretting over Tessa - and not without reason - but the blood still seeping from his many wounds suggested that his own health was rather precarious.

 

"Now that our glorious warrior maiden is on the mend, perhaps you will consent to some first aid?" I suggested. "I will perform the service for you if you would be kind enough to return my dagger."

 

Beldin looked up at him and blinked.

 

"Aye," he said, handing over the weapon hilt first. "I should probably get on that. If you'd help, I'd be grateful."

 

I retrieved a roll of bandages from my belt pouch and laid them out on the grass.

 

"You'll want to get some of that armor off," I said. "And whatever uncouth garments are in the way."

 

Beldin snorted.

 

"Uncouth garments?" he said. "This is a rescue mission, not a ball."

 

He looked around at the party and sighed. He hated disrobing in public, but he was in no mood to delay all this, either. Besides, apart from Fabian, Rhys, and Philomena, everyone there had seen it before. He stripped to the waist.

 

"You've had an interesting life, I see," I said, eyeing the carpet of scars that covered his back. When the sunlight caught the white outline of the brand, I froze, appalled, and began to gather my bandages up again.

 

"Forgive me," I said, "but I must withdraw my offer."

 

"The conviction was overturned," Beldin said with a sigh. "Tarl Dale ordered a full acquittal."

 

I stared at him in deep suspicion, but there seemed to be no trace of dishonesty in him.

 

"Very well," I said with some reluctance, and set to work. "And the leg?"

 

Beldin's blush was made more pronounced, perhaps by the redness of the sunset, but he loosened his breeches and let them drop over the top of his boots.

 

"Make it quick," he said.

 

"I fully intend to, believe that!" I said, scowling. The man's legs were like tree trunks, and the left looked as if someone had been at it with a tree saw. It would take more doctoring than I could offer, but I attempted it.

 

Spoiler

Fabian heals Beldin for 6 points.

3d6+2 → [4,1,6,2] = (13)

http://invisiblecast...r/view/4714475/

 

The bandaging did help, Beldin had to admit. He'd be hale enough to help with setting up the camp and hauling off the bodies, anyway.

 

"Thank you, Fabian," he said, dressing hastily. "I appreciate that."

 

"You may thank me by mending your ways," I said, smirking. "No more headlong charges, yes?"

 

"I will if they will," Beldin laughed.

 

I shook my head, but there was no point in arguing. There is no changing some people.

[BFace]

With a gasp, Tessa rose up on her hands and got her feet under her in a crouch.  What happened? Where was she?  She blinked several times, tense and ready to spring.  Oh, right. They were in the forest. There’d been bandits.  Looking around herself, she stopped at a pair of muscular and very hairy legs. 

 

With a look of profound confusion, Tessa followed those legs up an equally bare chest into a face she recognized.

 

“…Beldin?”

[Lorien19]

Laurelin grabbed her staff and stood up,the battle was over and Mercuriel wasn't in risk any more.She nodded silently at Philomena,thanking her for her invaluable assistance.She slowly turned away to see that Tessa was also severely injured and was thankfully receiving magical healing from Tempest

.She sighed and looked back at Mercuriel.Pretty much everyone was in a bad condition,this had been one though battle.

[mysteriouspast]

Not far from where Mercuriel was now resting comfortably, Philomena saw Tessa and Beldin, both of whom had fallen during battle, sitting near each other in a jumble of limbs. Tempest had used some of her magic on Tessa but perhaps more was needed.

She approached the small group and said, "Are you all quite hearty? I can provide aid as Tempest has." If she was startled or put off by Beldin's state of undress, she made no indication.

[berelinde]

Beldin glanced at her as he refastened his belt.

 

"I'm hale enough," he said. "I'm grateful for the offer, but I'm fit enough to clear away the rubbish and set camp. I can't in good conscience ask you to tax your strength on something a good night's sleep will mend."

[BFace]

Tessa  stood smoothly, if stiffly.

 

She inclined her head toward Philomena. "I'll do, but thank you for the offer. I'm fit enough and there's much to be done before we sleep."

[mysteriouspast]

Philomena's eyes roved between the two warriors, looking over their wounds, her expression doubtful. "I still have some... strength to spare," she replied. "And, you should know, it's best that you use it before I sleep, as I will need it all tomorrow, I am certain."

 

She took a step back and folded her arms over her chest. "But if you do not feel the need, I will not press." She nodded curtly to the group, and turned and walked away.

 

They do not trust you, she thought to herself. And if they do not trust you, you cannot trust them, either.

[berelinde]

Beldin started to turn back, but stopped, Tessa's injuries still fresh in his mind.

 

"Stay a moment," he said before she'd gone too far. "I don't wish to weary you, but if you've got some salve or poultice, it might make the work still to come that much easier. If you consent, that is."

[mysteriouspast]

At Beldin's request for aid, Philomena stopped and turned back. "I do, of course. It is my vocation, and the reason you have included me, if I'm not mistaken."

 

Returning to the small group she knelt down by the two warriors and placed her hands on Beldin's leg, placing pressure in various places to test its tenderness. "I see Fabian has already tried his hand at repairing you," she observed. "His bandaging isn't as tight as I would like, but for an unskilled hand, it is serviceable."

 

She considered the bloody mess that would have to serve as his leg and scowled. "You expect to walk on that?" she asked him softly, but incredulously.

[berelinde]

{I sent a PM. It might be better to take this to PM, as I don't want to hold up the game for others. Also, I believe Miriam wants to get a post in before this gets much further. }

[Mahumia]

Bartha gave a surprised look when Beldin started to tear up his tunic. "What are you..?" Realizing that he didn't listen anyway, she just stopped talking. At least Tempest offered actual help... She was about to get back on her feet and let Tessa recover quietly when Fabian ordered Beldin to undress. Raising a brow, she decided to delay her decision a bit. With the rush of the battle gone, the pain in her leg increased, after all.

It wasn't the first time she saw a man without a shirt, but the view wouldn't bore her. Especially when the man in question was well trained.

Her jaw nearly dropped when the next part was to be removed too. Fair enough, it was for 'medical purposes', but still... 'Poor Tessa, just gained her consciousness, and now she might faint again from swooning.' She couldn't help but grin. Watching Fabian apply the bandage wasn't bad either. 'Next time I'll insist that such has to be done shirtless too...' When Beldin hastily tried to regain his dignity, she decided that it was time for her to go as well. Her leg felt a bit better now...

{{Bartha is having her 'Coca Cola light break' moment and is taking a breather in the meanwhile I can't roll for it at the moment, but can do that later edit: no need for rolling (duh!), but didn't have access to my stats either Anyway: Bartha healed by... whot, 10? Meh, for RP purposes, I'll assume it didn't work that well}}

[TreeHuggerHannah]

With Fabian tending to Beldin and Philomena having joined the group to try to persuade Beldin and Tessa to accept further magical aid, Tempest saw that her services were no longer needed.

 

Well, that's good! she thought.

 

After all, the whole purpose of healing was to make the need for it obsolete, and Tempest was starting to tire. She didn't have a tremendous amount of energy left to give away.

 

Rather than sit around doing nothing when she was completely uninjured, though, Tempest decided to try out the warding spell she'd found in Tarl's library. It hadn't occurred to her in the flurry of activity that was their arrival and then combat drill, but if the spell actually worked, it could spare them further nasty surprises.

 

Tempest moved away from the group with a nod and smile, and then began inscribing glyphs at five points around the perimeter of their camp, referring to her diagrams to ensure she was doing it right.

 

Spoiler

I rolled 3d6+3=13, but I wasn't sure if I needed to roll just once or for each glyph. I can edit if I did need to, or if you wouldn't mind you could roll the others since I will be away from home for a couple of hours.

[berelinde]

{Once for the spell is fine. It isn't much of a ward unless all of the pins are in place.}

[BFace]

On her feet, Tessa stepped just away from the group gathered around her.  She saw Tempest head off and tilted her head until she saw what Tempest was doing.  Turning,she began to survey the scene.  They would need to clean this up as much as possible before full dark, and maybe get fires lit in the fire pits to stave off any predators.  

 

As Tessa counted the fallen, she frowned. It was going to take awhile to get everything sorted.  She stared down at the disemboweled mage, and swallowed, silently thanking the Maker that her mages had spent the fight better protected than this one.

 

Sighing, she squatted down to see if there was anything that might be useful on this one's person.  Might as well start there, she thought to herself.

 

{Tessa searches the Fox.  Since this is Tess's first time looting anything, I have no idea if there's any dice involved. If there is, let me know. }

[berelinde]

{She finds an ornate brass key, a smaller bronze key with a tattered green ribbon looped around the end, 15sp, a small, leather-bound book in a language Tessa can't read, and a silver dagger with a blunted edge.}

[Mahumia]

Bartha's smile disappeared when she surveyed the area. It had been a massacre, and she had participated in it. There were still trails of blood on her daggers: she would have to properly clean them once there was enough light again. She took in a deep breath and made her way over to her first 'victim' (L2). 'No, not a victim... they attacked us, and they would have killed us if we didn't kill them first.' She did her best to assure herself. 'Father was right... it can happen that someone does not survive. Perhaps we were just lucky, back in the days, that those bandits preferred to flee instead of just commit suicide in the blades of someone else? A few days earlier, I had never killed someone. Injured, yes, but they would live to learn from their mistake. Maybe those bandits were more desperate?'

 

During the fight she hadn't felt remorse, just anger and the need to fight for their own lives. The fact that she had a lump in her throat now was actually comforting... she was not a monster. It would never be easy to take someone's life... and that was a good thing.

 

She knelt down beside the lifeless body. She wanted to see the face, to give the person a bit of an identity. "Sorry, I don't know your name... You've made wrong decisions, but I hope that you will find rest now..." The discussions she had with Tessa and Tempest earlier came to her mind, and she smiled softly before adding: "Whether that is at the Maker's side or not is up to you, though." 

 

After that she decides to search the body for anything of use or value.

[berelinde]

{Bartha finds  26cp, the longsword, and a small brass box containing a fine white powder.}

[berelinde]

Beldin and Philomena resolve a disagreement.

A joint post by mysteriouspast and berelinde

 

 

Spoiler

"You expect to walk on that?" Philomena asked.

 

"I hoped to," he said. "I wouldn't want to march all night on it, but I've had worse."

 

Loyalty to Tempest flared in his brain, but so did the need to put personal feelings aside and do what was best for the group.

 

"You should have seen what it looked like before," he said. "Tempest did fine work on it, but there's a lot of damage. What are your recommendations?"

 

"My recommendation is that you set aside your bravado and accept help when it is offered," she replied tartly, digging her thumbnail into one of his tendons. 

 

His leg jumped in reflex to the pressure, but his face never changed.

 

"It isn't bravado to conserve resources, it's good sense," he replied. "It's going to be a long night. You wouldn't burn through all your firewood on the first cold day of winter, would you? Why should you be more wasteful of less mundane fuel?"

 

"You presume to conserve my... fuel on my behalf?" she asked, dark eyes flashing.  "As though I don't have the sense enough to know when I am spent? What makes you think you are a better judge of it than I?"

 

He pointed toward the bodies littering the clearing.

 

"Do you see those corpses?" he said. "They may draw wolves, as they did less than a day from here, on the very fringes of Vintiver. We can drag them downwind and that will help, but we're going to have to post a watch, and those people should be the ones who are most familiar with these woods and normal nighttime sounds here. People like you. I won't tell you how you should spend your energy, but if you do, how much of it will you get back if you don't get a full night's sleep?"

 

"Since you've shown so much interest on the subject, I will happily inform you that I don't need sleep at all to regain my manna. Quiet meditation and rest will suffice, and at this point, only a few hours should be adequate. That should give me plenty of time to post watch, wouldn't you say?"

 

She glanced around the rest of the group and turned her face back to Beldin. "Do you check on everyone's stores? Count your archers' arrows?" She turned her eyes back to his leg and turned it slightly, trying to focus back on her task, but failing in light of her rising temper. "Or is it just the mages? Or is it just me?"

 

"Archers can't put the rest of us back together if we fall," he said. "We're expendable. If I drop, Tessa can and has stepped over my body to protect Tempest, but we would have all been dead if Tempest had been wasteful with her gifts. A mage died last night because his pride in his own abilities led him to throw caution and restraint to the winds, and he almost got the rest of us killed along with him. That's why I urge you to conserve yourself. Tempest was there, as was Laurelin. They know what got Sarel killed."

 

"A lack of caution got this other mage killed, did it?" she retorted in a rising voice. "And what do you know of caution? You who revealed my deepest, most closely-held secret to near strangers as casually as if you told them on which side I like to part my hair." She dropped his leg, no longer attempting to pay it any attention and balled her hands into fists at her side to stave off the trembling. "Perla inundació! Where was your precious caution then?"

 

Beldin's face was a mask of calm as he spoke, "My caution was where I pray to the Maker that it will always be: where it belongs. We need to prepare for eventualities. I told you I was planning a drill, and I consulted you about your preferences. I thought I made my intentions clear. We cannot learn to work together if we're hiding our talents from each other. Aye, there's a question of trust. We need to trust each other, which we cannot do if we're hiding who and what we are. The middle of combat is no time to find out that the person behind you is a mage."

 

He paused a moment.

 

"But tell me, Philomena," he began. "In what way do you believe that my revelation was reckless? Are you going to attack me over it? If so, do so at once and declare your commitment to our mission. Or do you believe that the people who are trying to call you ally would betray you if they knew? A group which already contains two mages? No, that was honesty on my part, not recklessness. But perhaps you disagree."

 

Philomena listened to Beldin's words with a growing understanding that this man was a soldier and saw things as a soldier did--strategy, a gathering and dispersal of resources. His interest was in the greater good, not in her feelings or preferences. A lump formed in her throat as the futility of her words bled the rage out of her.

 

"Nai tenies dret," she said in a broken voice. "You had no right--it was not yours to tell." She managed to meet his eyes and continued, "I wasn’t…I wasn’t prepared for you to say it. Not like that.” She made a frustrated sound and added, “Vostè nai entén...You can’t know--you can’t know what it’s like to be ruled by a secret, something about yourself you didn’t want and cannot change or control. Something that keeps you isolated and alone, for fear that its revelation to the wrong person could get you locked away or killed outright.”

 

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, sitting back on her heels. "And why in the name of the flood would I attack you? Does that--does that happen often to you, or something?" she asked with a concerned expression.

 

"You might be surprised at what I understand," he said. "But I said that there can be no trust while hiding who and what one is, so I will explain. Briefly. I was convicted of rape, as you reminded me this morning. I was branded, as is the custom. Anyone who sees that brand may slay me where I stand  without any fear of punishment. I am also denied all rites and fellowship by the Chantry. I was acquitted, but that will not erase the mark or afford me legal rights where Tarl Dale's word is not recognized. It is a secret I must live with, just as you must live with yours. If my secret is safe with these people, yours will be, too."

 

He looked to where Tessa was already dragging corpses toward the treeline.

 

"Forgive me, Philomena," he said. "We really shouldn't leave the bodies here any longer than necessary, and I can't let Tessa do it all by herself. You don't happen to know any spells for masking the scent of blood, do you?"

 

"At least you've been given justice, cleared for what you did not do. No such thing exists for me," she said ruefully. Her eyes followed his to the disappearing bodies. Back to business, then."Yes, I think I can come up with something if you'll tell me when you're ready," she said, rising to her feet. "As for trust," she added almost as an afterthought. "That goes both ways. Maybe you can try to trust me to do what's best for our group as well."

 

"I can try, aye," he said. "You will have your own reasons for being slow to trust, as do we all. No one outside this group will learn that secret from me."

 

 

{GM note: Mages can *not* multi-task by attempting to stand watch and meditate at the same time, but Beldin doesn't know that.}

[BFace]

Tessa finished examining the dead mage, then stood stiffly.  Philomena seemed pretty angry that they’d declined healing, although that made no sense at all to Tessa.  In fact, none of the vehemence the woman threw at Beldin made any sense to her. 

 

“Or is it just me?” When the woman spit out that accusation of discrimination, Tessa frowned. She had brought herself over to him, not the other way around. What odd behavior.

 

"Archers can't put the rest of us back together if we fall," Beldin responded calmly. "We're expendable. If I drop, Tessa can and has stepped over my body…”

 

At that point, Tessa knew that whatever the woman’s issue was, Beldin had it well in hand, and there were things that still needed done.  She walked away and began divesting the corpses of arms and other paraphernalia before dragging them to the tree line away from their encampment.

 

{Tess is looting, but leaving anything bigger than coin in a pile nearish Fire B. Except for what she looted off the Fox. She still carries that on her person and will give it to Tempest for safekeeping until the group can decide what to do with everything.}

[mysteriouspast]

Bartha and Philomena chat and gather firewood.

 

Spoiler

"Are you alright?" Bartha approached Philomena. "My apologies for yelling at you back there... I did not expect that man to charge us, and then Merc fell... I was afraid that he would pay for I did not warn the rest." She rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I did not really pay attention to your condition."

 

"I... yes, I think so," Philomena replied, flexing her fingers as the cold dissipated from her joints. "I confess I'd never felt anything quite like it... so unnatural." She looked over onwards Mercuriel, now under Laurelin's care. The Dalish seemed to know enough about healing herbs to be of use, so she sighed slightly, satisfied that all would be well.

 

Turning back to the dwarf, she asked, "Are you fully well? Do you need my help?" Bartha nodded: "I can imagine that it must feel horrible to be under the effect of one such spell. Perhaps we should light up a fire for you to warm up a bit?" She followed Philomena's glance, and smiled to see that Mercuriel was well taken care of.

 

"Well, I..." She wanted to confirm that she was doing well, but one does not recover from a full blow that easily. She sighed and looked at her leg. "I think I should be alright, but perhaps you have some poultices or anything to speed up the process? I think it might be crucial to be in a good shape as quickly as possible, with hostile surroundings like this. I do not want to waste your 'resources' though, not with others around who are in worse shape than a mere flesh wound..." She bit on her bottom lip. Somehow it felt strange to be openly discussing the use of magic, but this did not feel that much better either. She shrugged. "I do not mind paying for it either."

 

"Yes, I have something that might help you, if you'll permit me to look," Philomena replied. She blinked at Bartha's euphemism for her magic abilities, not surprised to see the dwarf uneasy at the prospect. If Bartha had limited interaction with mages, as most dwarves tended to, it made sense to her that she would be put off by the notion.

 

"I will not hear of payment," she continued. "Unless you would have me pay you for killing our enemies." She gestured to Bartha's leg. "May I?"

 

Bartha chuckled. "Fair enough, although I think it would be interesting to see everyone tally their scores."

 

She nodded and moved a bit closer to give Philomena the opportunity to examine her leg.

 

Philomena grasped Bartha's leg firmly, with practiced hands as she examined the wound. "Hmm... not as clean as I would have liked. The blade that cut you must have been filthy." She reached into her kit and pulled out a poultice and bandages, setting to work wrapping the wound efficiently, but not gently. (3d6 + 3 → [2,4,5,3] = (14) link Heals Bartha for 5)

 

When she was done, the bandages were quite snug. "Let me know if the pus starts to run," she advised. "Either you or I can check it in the morning, but it should be nearly closed by then." She dusted her hands off and stood.

 

"What you said before about the fire, I like the sound of that," she said, glancing around for suitable firewood.

 

Bartha squinted as her leg protested heavily against the examination and treatment. "I guess I wasn't the first one he hit with that blade... at least I will be the last though."

 

She carefully shifted her weight back to the damaged leg. Although still painful, it had improved by a lot. She took a closer look at the bandages. "It looks and feels a lot better already. Thank you for that." She sent Philomena a grateful smile, and nodded at the remark on keeping an eye on the healing process.

 

"Ah yes, I guess we all could use some warmth right now, and a good meal. Perhaps not a bad idea to start pitching tents before we are about to fall over asleep either."

 

"Yes, about that," Philomena began as she helped Bartha to her feet, careful to put more weight on the uninjured leg. A thousand questions flew through her mind like a flock of birds. Shrugging with bewilderment, she asked the first one her mind seized upon. "How does this work exactly? I... haven't slept in the outdoors with strangers before. Do we sleep near each other or spread out to cover more ground?"

 

"I do not exactly have much experience with it either, to be honest. I guess that everyone will get their own tent though, and that we will keep those not too far apart. But hey, if you feel like cuddling up with someone, you can do that too."

 

"I... er...no, I don't think so," she replied, startled. "Is that sort of thing expected? I mean, we all just met and I..." Stopping her babbling for a moment, Philomena caught the mirth in Bartha's eyes. She exhaled with relief. "You're joking with me, aren't you?"

 

Bartha let out a hearthy chuckle. "No, it is not expected, but who am I to decide what you do in your tent, or someone else’s?" She winked at Philomena. "Yes, I am teasing you, but it is true at the core though."

 

"I suppose it is at that," she agreed, trying to cover up her nervousness with a small laugh. Philomena said nothing for a few moments as she walked around, gathering dry branches for kindling. As she walked, she glanced around the group, noting the interplay between the other members, trying to decipher the intricacies of their relationships. Finally, her eyes rested on Beldin, and she quickly averted them.

 

"Beldin said you've only been traveling together for a short time, yet he seems to trust you all implicitly." She glanced back at Bartha and said, "Is that true?"

 

"Well, it is true that we have only been together for a few days, although it feels like it has been much longer." She shrugs. "Whether Beldin trusts us: I hope so. I guess we'll have to trust each other in order to get through this."

 

"Yes, as we go through this ordeal, we must put our faith in each other," she agreed neutrally, walking back towards the center of the camp with an armful of branches.

[BFace]

As Tessa came back to the group after dropping off some other pieces from fallen foes, she stopped, clearing her throat.

 

"I think that I'd like build a pyre for these folks tomorrow morning." She looked at the ground, then back up and went on.

 

"I don't know what kind of lives they've lead, but I believe it's up to the Maker who sits at his side, not me."

[TreeHuggerHannah]

"I agree," Tempest replied to Tessa's suggestion about the pyre. "Only the Maker knows what paths brought them here tonight, and only He can judge those paths. Whatever their mistakes or sins, they were people, and people deserve respect. I will join you in building their pyre."

[berelinde]

Beldin mopped perspiration from his forehead as he joined the two women by the campfire. The bodies were moved and the tents were up, but he was still uneasy, in part because of his talk with Laurelin earlier.

 

"I agree," he said. "Some of them seemed to be Dalish, so we'll want to talk to Laurelin about the appropriate rites, but I don't think it's our place to decide. For all we know, they chose loyalty over sense, or their leader held hostages against their behavior. It wouldn't be the first time."

 

He looked around surreptitiously to be sure they weren't observed.

 

"Besides," he said quietly, "Laurelin was telling me that the Veil is thin here, and that demons possess corpses and make them attack the living. These bastards were hard enough to kill the first time without having them come back as possessed husks."

 

He looked around at the damp ground and sodden air.

 

"We're going to have to go for wood in the morning, and keep going for wood all day. It's going to be a lot of work, keeping a fire that big going all day, but at least we picked a good spot for it. We can do it by the eastern firepit and the smoke will blow out over the trees."