| Fight the Real Enemy! | |
| Healing from the Horny? |
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"Seems that my lantern could come in handy here" Ullar says, placing the lamp in the middle of the cave. But as he does so, he sees how crowded it is, and starts to curse a little. "I'll sleep in that tunnel, it's too crowded here and Silus really needs some medical attention and sleep!" Glad to see that Marika, Rhune and Sam are present the ex- gladiator backs away, resting his back against the hard earthen walls of the tunnel. Ullar is tired, tired of running, tired of climbing and in a bad mood that he didn't have the chance to lay his hands on that red-robed Bishop. Those close by can here him whisper to himself: "I want my sword back. It's my only connection with the Arena and I want it back. Got to get it back.... Need it.... Want it.... Sleep it... *snore*...... *snore*......". The warrior has his eyes closed and falls asleep, at least for a short amount of time. Then his aching back awakes him although he tries to doze (dose?) a little further. The adrenalin that is the only thing that Silus has been running on ever since the events in the forum finally wear off as he realizes that there is no current danger. As it does, he starts to feel the pain flood through his body from his terribly wounded foot, and immediately falls to the floor as he passes out. The reunion, particularly as the new arrivals have consistent light, is a happy one, though the cramped conditions are now much worse. The seriously injured (most of the group) are forced to sit against the walls and the others sit or kneel on the ground in the center. The conditions are too cramped and uncomfortable, however, to get enough rest to regain spells, unless some of the warriors (particularly Kenishiro) lie outside in the hard tunnel. Kenishiro tried to put Asif against the wall as well as he could in such conditions. Which wasn't very well at all. Then, when he had done all he could, he leant back against the wall, his bald head hitting it with a soft 'thunk'. Life had taken on a terminal note, lately. He looked around in the light of Sam's torch, letting his eyes pass all the companions. He had not done much during the whole incident. But how could he tell who was right and wrong? His thoughts went down an oft-travelled path, thinking about right and wrong. And who was to tell _what_ these foreign barbarians did and thought. And why. He was pretty sure these things didn't happen in Nihon. But he had not exactly seen an awful lot of his home country, neh? Asif groans as Kenishiro puts him by the wall, but forces a weak smile to his lips. With his burnt right hand, although shaky with the effort he makes the gesture of friendship and/or greeting touching his head, mouth and heart . Kenishiro smiled at the gesture, understanding the meaning. He nod his head but said nothing, understanding the futility of words. Shaking his head, he softly crawled towards the basket of food. His body was too large for such a confined space, however, so he bumped into a few of the others. Muttering apologies he finally took a root out of the basket and started gnawing at it. Rhune looks at the basket after he does and taking a grub, a fungus and a root goes over to sit beside Asif. She looks at Asif and hands him the root and the fungus to sam. She looks at the root and after shuddering pops it into her mouth and swallows. Not being able to resist, "slimy yet satsifying" she utters attempting to smile but it comes across more as a grimace than anything else. Asif takes the offered root with his unburnt left hand, the right craddled in his lap. He puts the root into his mouth and begins to chew. His face suddenly lights up and he looks to the remains of his clothes, his healthy hand searching desperatly for somthing. Suddenly in his hand appears a small leather pouch, which he struggles to open. Tumbling from it comes a hand full of dried dates which he offers to Rhune with a trembling hand. "Atens blessing, eat of his bounty" Rhune smiles and takes a couple of the dates from Asif. "Thank you" she says. Looking down at the dried fruit she wonders what they are. She has never seen anything like them before. Putting one in her mouth she takes a bite and her eyes go wide in surprise. It is meaty and chewy and just a little sweet. The flavor is new to her but she decides likes dried fruits. Looking back at Asif, "They are good. Thank you." she says as she takes another bite of the fruit Asif despite his discomfort, searches his mind for the right words in this alien latin. "Glad, enjoy you. More in place where I sleep. Caravasei near boats. We go when walk we can? Must go I there, Much things close to heart stored there!" "Yes. I hope that we can go there." She points to her sword and the pouches on her belt. "This all that I have. Left other stuff at home in France." she sighs and gets a wistfull look on her face. She reaches up and brushes back her silvery hair, the cut on her eyebrow is noticable with its dark scab. Finishing the fruit, "Thank you. They are good." she says to the man. "Much better feel I now. Many here able to work blessing of own gods. That good. I most fortunate. Gods watch upon us, we still live to do there work. Town we go now? Father blessed by fortune. I far from home, but some of his blessing is mine. I dress no more like begger, clothes I change and look once again like Faris?" Rhune chuckles a slightly. "Yes. change clothes look like Faris again. I make money and get new armor look like Rhune again." she says lightly as she looks down at her leather armor with its many rents and holes in it. she looks back at Asif and for a moment you could swear that her deep, deep purple eyes glow in the dim light, then she blinks and the moment is gone,"Though you still look like Faris now." she pops the last of the dates into her mouth and eats it. An empassioned Asif replies"So time we go soon? Like not leaving possessions unintended. Land of merchants, not all honest. Must go, tell those who dwell here, that leave we must. Go town, before soldiers of Inman of Catolics close area to us." Asif with great effort climbs to his feet, bracing himself against the wall. With his teeth clenched with pain, and a bead of sweat rolling from his forehead he looks to the left and right and takes in his sourounding. In a voice young but used to command he speaks to all. "NOW, GO We .... find way out. Dark place, see not sun of ATEN. Children of Aten die in such place. Inman of Catolics face wrath of blades forged by father. Vengeance of ATENs fire, shall bring scoundrel to knees. Then he shall die!" As if to empahsis point, Asif draws one of his blades with his undamaged/unburnt left hand and gives it a couple of swishes in the air. The path of the blade marked by an red arch in the dim torchlight. He then sheaths his blade looking at all around him, his hands on his hip. Suddenly his knees buckle and he falls to his knees, his act of bravado costly with his diminished state of health. Rhune gently takes the sword and puts it back into the sheath. "Not now. must rest first. Get well. Then we go back to deal with them." she says to the young warrior. She pats him on the shoulder and then tries to adjust him so that he is comfortable. She wishes that they were out of this cramped tunnel and room but for now they must remain here. The party decides in what manner they wish to rest, guard rotations, what have you, and then get some sleep, feeling that tomorrow will not be much of an improvement on today, but it couldn't be much worse, could it????? Quickly realizing the futility of risking the benevolence of the party's unexpected saviors, Matteo resigns himself to the wait, taking the opportunity presented to check on his new friend Urak. Seeing that the Orc was unharmed other than the bruising to his face, Matteo leaned back for a few moments of much needed rest. Glancing back the way they had come from time to time, Urak-gor could still not believe the peculiar turn of events that had led to this moment. It seemed that he had just arrived in the Italian penninsula yesterday, and the events of the past few hours seemed vaugely surreal. With a somewhat suspicious look at their benefactors, Urak cannot help but recall the words of their unexpected savior. 'Not good, you stay." The small creature evidently knew of the certain fate that awaited those who were left above ground. The party was injured, some of the members greviously so, and had they remained outside, would have surely perished. Equally clearly, the Catolik's were unlikely to look fondly on these underground dwellers. Regardless of whether they helped the refugees or not, these creatures would surely be in conflict someday with the Bishop's red-clad guards. Pondering this silently for a few moments, Urak is puzzled by the intransigence of these people. Logically, the enemy of your enemy should be your ally. If the Catoliks were clearly evil, and, recalling the mind control utilized by the Bishop, Urak had no doubt of the villany of the Catoliks, then he expected the enemies of the Catoliks to be good. It was a painful realization that this was, in fact, not the case. Wondering whether the People could truly trust any of these strange outlanders, Urak begin to feel profoundly depressed. Left to its own devices, Matteo's subconscious wasted no time before beginning to review the momentous change in situation. As he thought back to the groups flight from the meeting, one fact kept jabbing at Matteo. The unknown functionary barking out orders to the Africans who began closing in on the group. The Africans had all pulled weapons and HAD chased the group, but it almost seemed as if they didn't want to catch up. Matteo could still see the African who had cornered Urak. Urak was caught completely off guard by the Africans swing and, even with Matteo trying to help, should have been killed... But, at the last moment the African had struck with the flat of the blade??? That hardly seemed an accident! Matteo could also remember the African's words as the crossbow hit him. Rather than any curse at Urak he had mouthed one word.... "Go". "The Africans were helping us?", Matteo said, not realizing till Urak turned towards him that he had spoken aloud. "They were only pretending to attack us... Think about it. I don't know who that functionary was, but he waasn't under whatever spell the Bishop cast. They were trying to help." Then, realizing that he could be misconstruing the memories with too little to go on, "At least, I think so." Marika frowns thoughtfully. "The functionary? He was the one who ratted out Silus. I assume he was charmed; if not, then he has much to explain. But I agree with you that the Africans intentionally sacrificed themselves so that we could escape. My guess is that they too were under the Bishop's spell...it bound them to obey the functionary's orders, but left them a bit of freedom on how to obey. And they used that freedom bravely and cleverly. The one who I led into the vines knew perfectly well what I was up to, and had he chosen to go around the vines, he would have either caught me or chased me right back into the face of the crossbowmen. Instead, he ran straight toward me...obeying his orders to pursue, but in a way that benefited us, not the Bishop." "The same with the one who died at the gate," she continues. "He knowingly took the bolt intended for Matteo...not by abandoning the pursuit, but by putting on an extra burst of speed toward us. Literally speaking, he was being more obedient than ever...but hardly in the way the Bishop would have desired." She pauses, deep in thought. "You and I are living on time that those men borrowed for us," she tells Matteo. "Anything that we accomplish against the Bishop in the future is due to their sacrifice. I wish we knew their names...their families should be told how selflessly they died." "We honor their memory by serving their cause," Urak agreed, "In preventing this... abomination from affecting anyone else, we can give solace to their spirits, and help sing them along the paths of the dead. I will honor them in my prayers, and beg Voice-of-the-Stars to help them in the Houses of the Dead." Ullar, who hears the words of Matteo in the tunnel, peers his head into the cave and smiles. "That was not the only time they were helping is. It was due to Jumo, another African guard, that we managed to escape the Bishop his torturing chamber. I hope I can repay my debt to him one day, for Silus, Krige and me thank our lives to him!" "Yes, you are right. One African helped us to escape - he shows us a secret passage." - said Krige. "Oh!"-cried Krige when he saw burned Asif -"I think he needs water. And I have some." Then he gets waterskin out of his backpack and reaches it to Asif. Distracted from his thoughts, Urak nods in agreement. "The Africans were mighty warriors. They were more than capable of catching us as we fled across the courtyard, and their tulwars would have made short work of us. Although they could not shake off the mind-hand of the Bishop, they fought for the sanctity of their spirits with the strength of ones who know the true path." Lying against the cavern wall in the darkness, Marika tries to sleep. Now that the adrenaline rush of the chase has passed, she is shaking uncontrollably from the aftereffects of fear and tension. Since the remnants of the Temple of Minerva went underground, she'd had several close brushes with disaster, but nothing remotely like today's events. The stench of charred flesh seems to hang about her hair and clothes. The pain from her shattered kneecap is intense and unrelenting, but she almost welcomes it as a distraction from her memories of the eyes of the Africans who died to win their release. At last, exhaustion overcomes pain and fear, and Marika falls into a fitful sleep, haunted by dreams of her old temple in Sardinia, where the mindless shells of old friends and colleagues stalk her through familiar corridors and libraries. As they settle down to wait, "I will take first watch." Rhune says and then with much care somehow manages to switch positions with someone near the tunnel entrance and sits against the wall. She draws two of her daggers. She is tired and her butt hurts from the bolt she took there. But she will keep an eye out and wake the next person. "Should save the lantern. We may need it later."she whispers. if they blow it out she adjusts to infravision and turns towards the entrance. Ullar thanks Rhune for taking first watch. "Wake me in 2 or 3 hours and I'll take over, I don't think I can really sleep in this tunnel". She nods to him and smiles, "I will do that. I watch". She is glad that they are free and that nothing seems to have changed about them. She mentally agrees that they owe the little grey fellows people much. Rhune sits there for awhile just watching the tunnel. Her daggers in her hands. Every so often she looks around at the assemble party. A worse for wear bunch she has never seen, but except for the one man at the forum, they are all alive and that this good. She silently thanks Erevan for that. Her stomach growls a few times and she begins to chew on a lock of her hair. Doesn't help any but it gives her something to do. She really would like some water. She wonders if any is left in the skin or if anyone else has any. As she sits there she begins to wonder how the three managed to escape and if the gray skinned fellow's people had anything to do with that. They had been so happy to see them that they had forgotten to ask. Ullar moves out into the tunnel and goes to sleep on the hard earth, apparently used to rough conditions, as he is asleep quickly. The others manage to rest as they can, but it is a fitful, uncomfortable sleep in any case. After what she thinks is 3 hours a very weary Rhune puts her daggers away and crawls over to Ullar. Pushing him gently she whispers, "Ullar. It is time. Wake up." she then sits back to let him wake. "It is time for your watch" she whispers when he does. She would really like to ask Ullar how they managed to escape and find this place but she is too tired to do so. She smiles at him as they switch places. Leaning against the wall she takes one of her daggers and hands it to him. It is not his sword but it is a weapon. "you will need light to see by. Might want to light the lantern for a while." she tells him. She stays awake watching him for a just a short while but then her weariness catches up and she falls asleep. Ullar lights his lantern to see and begins to watch. As Rhune cannot find room to squeeze even her small frame into the mass of bodies on the floor of the cavern, she must make do with sleeping in the tunnel as well. She appears quite discomfitted with that, and has plenty of trouble sleeping. Once Ullar has been on dutyfor some undetermined amount of time, which he is able to estimate rather better due to measuring how much oil is left in his lantern. He awakens Krige, who is the only other volunteer. Not needing the lantern, Krige shuts it off and returns it to Ullar, sitting in the dark. Ullar returns to his place in the tunnel, now along with Rhune's delicate form. As yet another unknown limb careens into Matteo, startling him from his rest, he groans and struggles to his hands and knees. "This is ridiculous.", he mutters to himself. "Urak. I am going to crawl into the cave here and die...", he said with a wink to show he was joking. " Revive me if anything happens." Matteo then crawled into the tunnel and does his best to make himself comfortable without waking the sleeping giant Ullar. Unfortunately Matteo's tired limbs give out at a precarious moment and he falls, heavily, onto Ullar's outstretched legs. Surprisingly enough, the big giant hardly stirs. Finally, Matteo shifts himself into an uneasy position, half crouch-half laying, and drifts off into needed rest. Time passes interminably, as very few of you get good rest, due to the cramped conditions. One by one, the group starts to rouse themselves, some taking a particularly long time to do so, and both Sam and Asif remain unconscious. Besides them, the last to arise is Silus, who manages to drag himself up to a seated position. It seems his foot hurts more now than it did yesterday. Marika, meanwhile, with perhaps a worse injury, seems to be bearing up well, but is obviously also in great pain. There is little conversation, what with Sam asleep, and time passes slowly once again. For all you know, a couple of days have passed above, and some ponder returning to sleep as the rest last night was a poor one at best. However, before any plans of such can be made, your grey skinned friend returns. "You rest? Sleep good?" He nods his head. Following behind him is another greyskin, who does not speak. He walks over toward Marika first and lays his hands upon her knee, resting his other hand uncomfortably on her thigh, and she would swear while he is intoning, his hand creeps slowly upward. However, due to the marvelous feeling he produces in her knee, she does not object. She would swear that the bone has mended itself, and testing it, she sees that it is true. She is now able to walk, though still wounded slightly. Marika tolerates the Shaman's uncouth attentions, her annoyance outweighed by astonishment at finding such a skilled healer in so unlikely a place. "Give your gods my thanks," she tells him, flexing her knee experimentally, and finding its range of motion almost fully restored. When the two grey-skinned beings depart, she leans against the wall once more, grateful to be able to bend her leg into a more comfortable position, and soon dozes off. Her sleep is still fitful, but not as badly disturbed as before. The apparent shaman repeats the act with Silus, though not in such an unsavory manner, and he finds his foot to be mended as well, healed enough to walk and fight, or more likely run. Rhune smiles and puts up with the groping though she winces as he touches the wounded area. She sighs as she feels no apparent relief from the groping. Kenishiro looks with amazement at the healing process. His amazement turns into shock, however, as he realizes that the shaman is groping the elf. His eyes go wide and his large hands turn into fists. He realizes the situation, and their complete dependence on the small grey creatures, and he fights for self-control. As the shaman starts touching Rhune's buttocks, his fists actually start shaking. It should not be allowed! But none of the others seem to have any objections, perhaps it is not so strange in this world. Self control, Kenishiro.... After the shaman has done his business, Kenishiro softly speaks to Rhune. Tries to speak softly, anyway. "Onnachan, little man... he damaged... damaged honor?" he looked at her intently, his large young face serious. Rhune turns more toward the big man and sees his expression. She had been watching him during the healing. She, too,knew what the little man was doing but couldn't really do anything about it just in case he did have some healing left. She smiles the big man, "It is alright. My honor not damaged. Given the situation it can not be helped. Thank you for caring, though" she replies haltingly so that he will understand her. Kenishiro listens carefully, his face locked in concentration. He then looks at Rhune, a little bit amazed. He nods. "Hai, understand. Strange... strange people. Nihon, little man lose hands." Marika, making her way through the crowd to assess the results of the shaman's work on Asif, overhears the exchange between Kenishiro and Rhune. "The little man damaged his own honor, Kenishiro. No one else's," she says with a smile. It takes the big asian a while to understand what Marika said, but when comprehension dawns, he smiles. This small woman sounded very much like the Grandmaster of Flowers. While not always obvious what he meant, his words were wise. Still smiling, he nodded at Marika and sits back. This outlander is a true gentleman, she reflects. She hopes that her newfound friends are not too quick to scatter to their respective homelands once we escape this mess. So many fascinating cultures to learn of, once there is time to talk to them all... The grey-skin that originally brought you in then speaks again, "Chief say you pay us plenty for saving, fixing you. Red men no find you here. You do thing us. Chief good, say you get more rest do thing for us, pretty rocks you get. Rest now, me get you in morning." "Thank you for your assistance," Silus says, and then promptly falls back to sleep. Rhune heads further out into the tunnel, on the other side of Ullar, to allow others to rest more comfortably. She leans against the wall for a bit and then seeing that everyone is apparently okay tries to get some sleep. Ullar smiles at the attemps of Rhune. He reaches into his backpack and retrieves a blanket. "I knew this one could come in handy" he says with a huge smile, and hands the blanket to Rhune. "Here, you can sleep on or in it, it should make it more comfortable for you to sleep in this tunnel. If we move on a little, more can sleep here." "Thank you." she says taking the blanket from the man. She moves a little more for Ullar to scoot also. As he does and makes more room for the others she then scoots closer to him and places the blanket around both of them. Looking up at him, "It is your blanket and it is big enough to share." she says with a smile, her deep deep purple eyes almost glowing in dim light of the underground tunnel. She lays her head on his shoulder and after sighing deeply several times appears to have drifted off to sleep. When Rhune sits closer to Ullar and puts the blanket around both of them to share, he discovers that she is apparenly smaller than she looks. More slender than at first glance. If she were human Ullar would consider her to be the size of a child. Urak looks thoughtfully after the departing grey-skinned creature. Interesting that such a mercenary creature would assume that the party would be compelled to act in the interests of past debts and 'pretty rocks'. While Urak acknowledged that he was in fact indebted, it was to the cheery halfling to whom he felt the obligation, not these grey-skinned creatures. Sam's generosity had ensured that the party reached this sanctuary and acquired healing, not any goodwill of these oddities. "I am not familiar with all of the native people of this land. Does anyone know what are hosts are called? I have never seen or heard anything of them in my homeland," Urak asks, still puzzled by the odd behavior of these creatures. |
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This page was last updated on 20 January 2001 |