Fight the Real Enemy!
	What To Do?

The situation as it stands, the gnomes are in stable condition mostly. Asif is very badly injured but still conscious and able to fight. Sam and Silus both have vanished. Kenishiro is still dangerously close to death. Rhune is very badly injured as well and unconscious. Jacobus, Krige, Matteo, and Ullar are in bad shape. Urak and Marika, largely thanks to Urak's spell, are at one hundred percent health. "Sam? Silus?" Marika's voice echoes in the empty tunnel. She hopes the halfling has taken Silus to safety... After a brief but fruitless search, she scrambles back through the hole to the battle scene. The moment she lays eyes once more on the carnage, a wave of sickness washes over her, and she sags against the wall to keep from falling. Once again, she had been powerless to prevent the loss of innocent lives. "Good idea, girl. This is the perfect time to stop and mourn your failings. Why don't we list them all in chronological order?" Marika's eyes snap open, a slight smile on her face. The gruff voice in her head was that of Sister Giancoli, her old instructor from the temple. With a silent appeal to Minerva for strength and clear thought, Marika goes to examine the injured gnomes. She finds that only two of them have been injured, both bashed by Ullar's shield, and her healing ministrations do well to treat them, though they will surely be addle-brained for some time. Jacobus looks around at the fallen gnomes greatly saddened by their deaths "It was not their fault, they were the product of some foul magics, no doubt cast by the Gnome Priest." He looks to the battered group, "I implore you to leave the others sleeping, they wouldn't hurt a fly normally and I'm sure once the spell effects wear off they will be themselves again." "They won't sleep long," Marika warns. "Perhaps we should bind them and take them to their 'cousins' the grey folk. The shaman might be able to free their minds, or at least to keep them safe. The bishop isn't kind to servants who've failed him," she adds darkly, recalling the casual murder of the trapped African guard. Jacobus begins to limp over to were he pulled Silus, "where did he go ??" he asks the warriors behind him. Jacobus, dagger in hand, peers into the tunnel entrance hoping to find Silus. There is no sign of Silus other than the small pool of blood that he left. No tracks or marks indicating what happened to him or where he went. If he can't find him Jacobus will begin to bandage up his thigh wound with a strip of cloth taken from one of the dead gnomes. His crude bandage is sufficient to stop the bleeding, but as the gnome's clothes are quite filthy, it is almost a certainty that the wound will get infected if left in such straits. Matteo hears Jacobus' plea as he himself is trying to figure out what to do about the sleeping Gnomes. "How long will the effects of your spell last, Marika? If it is long enough to ensure we can find Silus and Sam AND get out of here, then the Gnomes can be left alone. If not.... Then the Gods shall forgive.", Matteo said sadly. "It lasts about five minutes, usually," Marika answers. "And your Gods may forgive, but my Goddess always maintains that five minutes is plenty of time to bind and gag someone. Does anyone have rope?" Ullar grunts in pain, his face a little paler than it was before. "We have to tie them. And we have to do it good, since I don't want to be attacked again!" The now wounded warrior dives into the large sack he is carrying, coming up with 50 ft of hemp rope. "This would do the trick" he mumbles to himself. Ullar starts moving the unconscious bodies to one place, and starts tying them up. First the feet of the Gnomes, then the hands and eventually rounding them all with the remaining part of the rope Ullar is pretty pissed off. He searches the bodies of the dead gnomes, wondering if they are carrying anything which he can use next to his buckler. Realizing what his little shield has done for him, he starts to smile, a little that is. "From this day on, my buckler will be known as Bashing-B, a gnome invention" he says, with a little smile on his face. Than, realizing it is NOT the time to fool around, he listens to the plans of the other people surrounding him. "I'm sorry, but I'm not that much use in climbing and running around here" he says with a sigh. "I suggest I stay here, with the really injured ones, guarding any stuff we have left here and defending the injured, while the others go find Asif, Rhune, Sam and most of all, Silus." Seeing the gladiator begin searching and tying the bodies, Matteo limps over to help. "Gods above, it seems I am destined never to walk without a limp again!!!", he grunted to himself. "Ullar... I'm not a studied knot maker, but I've a quick hand. Lets search these little ones for any useful or dangerous items first, then you can teach me how to tie the knots." Matteo grabbed the form nearest him and lightly rolled over to search, then moved on to the next one. "I also have rope." answers Krige, and gets a tier of fine silk rope from his backpack. Then he cuts 5ft of the rope with his knife, and begins to bind the lying gnomes. The three men make quick work of tying the gnomes, who do not rouse themselves during the process. Other than the picks and their filthy clothes, they possess only small hammers, useless in combat. However, Ullar does find one has a small purse of tiny gold coins of unknown mint. When brought to the group's attention, only Urak recognizes the tiny print on them as being Syrillic, the human written language of his homeland. Unfortunately, he does not read the language so cannot understand the words. There are twelve of the coins, each minted with a fat man's face on them, whom none of you has the slightest idea who he is. "I hope Sam managed to get Silus to safety," says Marika. "He seems a resourceful little fellow under all the jokes. But I'm getting worried about Asif and Rhune; we should have heard from them by now." She pauses to look around. No one is in critical need of healing right now. Ullar and Matteo have taken charge of immobilizing the sleeping gnomes, and seem to be doing an efficient job of it. "If we move back into the tunnel mouth, we'll have a fine defensible position," she muses. "And someone can run to contact the grey folk, see if Sam and Silus are with them. We might take another look at that round indentation in the tunnel, too, see if it has anything to do with their disappearence." Marika glances at Urak, the only other party member who isn't limping badly. "Urak, you and I aren't needed here right now. Why don't we run look for Rhune and Asif?" Urak grunts thoughtfully. The other two party members were probably in sore need of assistance, but leaving the others behind was something he hated to do. "Will everyone be safe without us? Matteo? I fear to split our strength any more than we must, for we shall surely be outnumbered wherever we travel." "If only we could move everyone with us, the dissapearence of Silus and Sam gives me great concern. If we separate, the risk of being slowly whittled down is large." "And yet, Rhune and Asif are our companions in arms, to abandon them would be ill done. I am certainly willing to go their rescue as long as those we leave behind will be safe until we return." "I do not know what the right path is," he confesses dejectedly, looking around at the others for guidence. Matteo turns to Urak and speaks, "Urak, my brother. I take it that it was your spirits that were responsible for releasing the hold spell? Very timely. I am, again it seems, in your debt. You honor your Speaker." Urak shuffles his feet, and looks abashed. "I could not break the foul mind-stealer's enscollment. I am not yet strong enough to ask that much of the spirits. All I could do was beseech Malka-za-go to provide some measure of warding. In time, perhaps, I could do more, but for now, only the most basic of secrets are visible to my sight. I have far to walk along the path." "Aye," says Marika gratefully. She has a different guess at the effects of the young shaman's spell, but either way... "Once again, Urak, I owe you my life." "I only wish that my efforts could protect more," he replies sorrowfully, glancing around at the fallen. Turning to the tumbled form of Kenshiro, Matteo speaks "What can we do with the big fellow? His gods seem to take offense to my attempts to heal him". Jacobus looks at Matteo frowning "You really believe in the Gods don't you?" Jacobus shakes his head and grins "Personally I've never met one." Marika pauses in her examination of Jacobus' wound. "You're fortunate that the pick missed your artery, or you'd have met them sooner than you would have liked," she tells him dryly. Jacobus grins, his teeth easily visible through all the dirt on his face, "I make my own luck mil'lady, I try my best to ensure that fate's dice are weighted in my favour, whenever they come into play." Marika removes the filthy bandage Jacobus placed on his leg and replaces it with a clean one, moving with the skill of an experienced healer. Once she has done her work, he is in considerably better shape. Jacobus looks down at Marika "Thank you for looking at that." he indicates his thigh wound. His faces almost takes on a serious expression "I didn't mean to upset anyone, it's hard not to be cynical when you spend most of your time dealing with so called Priests." Matteo looks to Jacobus in a shocked surprise, a touch of anger evident in his voice. "If the idea offends you so, I'll be sure not to ask the gods help in healing you when you need it!" Matteo shakes his head and gives a shallow grin. "Nay, friend. The gods will not allow such duplicity in one of their chosen. Believer or no, when the time comes that you need it, you will feel their touch. It is THEN for you to decide whether you shall believe or no." Jacobus recalls Matteo's words "Hold on a moment, what do you mean chosen one ? I think you may of made a mistake, I'm a cheat, scoundrel and swindler, I've been called a few things in my time but never a chosen one." Matteo then looked again to the large foreigner. "This one. This Kenshiro, has apparently had the decision made for him. I've never felt such a resistance to healing. I wonder if it be some curse he bears. Perhaps his gods have forsaken him, but will allow no others in their place. I have heard of such happening, but never seen it!" Jacobus looks at Kenshiro "I would say, not that I'm a professional or anything, that it has more to do with the extent of the wounds he received from the pick axes than his God being offended with your attempts to heal him." Ignoring Jacobus, Matteo looks to Urak and Marika, "Can either of you understand his reactions to healing?" Do your spirits tell you anything, brother Urak?" Urak shakes his head uneasily. "The stone spirits are often silent. It takes a stronger voice and keener ears than mine to pry answers from their jealous sleep. Only Kenshiro's spirit can decide whether to accept aid or to flee into the quietness of death. We can only pray he will choose the struggle." Matteo turned his attention to Krige, laying his hands on Krige's wounds and allowing the healing power to course through him into the hearty Elf. "Watch and learn, unbeliever, the majesty of true faith!", Matteo whispered to Jacobus as Krige's wounds began to close up and heal, a faint glow surrounding the wounds as they knitted themselves closed. Matteo's healing power is indeed remarkable, as Krige's serious wound disappears completely, leaving no trace or even a hint of pain. Krige is now completely healthy. "Thank you Matteo, I'm in your debt" said Krige to Matteo. Jacobus grinned at Matteo "I didn't mean you to take too much offense." He smiled offered his explaination "In my experience I have found that people with such over-zealous religous fervor are easily parted with their money by people of less than reputable character." Jacobus shrugs "I am what I am!!" Leaning heavily on his staff, Urak surveys the outcome of the battle with dismay. This was the second time the Catolik's religous power, combined with blind fanaticism, had taken its toll on the small band of renegades. Horrified by the disappearances of Silus and Sam, Urak makes a warding sign against evil and turns to regard Matteo. "You are injured again," he says, frowning with concern as Matteo spends his energies on the fallen Krige. Growling something about the stubborness of humans, he gently but firmly sits Matteo down and produces his healing bag. Pulling forth a variety of peculiar looking, and even more peculiar smelling, herbs and roots, Urak sets them in one hand, and chants briefly, his other hand tapping aout a quick staccato on his drum. "Here, these should help some," he says urging the herbs on the injured Squire, "I suppose I could have worked directly on the wound, but this will help restore your energy and build up your stamina." Urak's primitive magic proves equally powerful to Matteo's more civilized sort, as Matteo's wounds, both old and new, vanish without a trace, erasing even his limp. He now joins Krige, Urak, and Marika being fully healthy. Seeing that Ullar remains weaponless, Urak withdraws a hand axe from a loop on his pack, the blade wickedly curved and gleaming in the cavern's light. "This is small exchange for your lost blade," he says offering the weapon to the giant warrior, "but you are welcome to it if it can help you in any way." The Gladiator looks at Urak with a surprised look. "Well thank you.. my friend! This sure will come in handy! I'm used to wield some heavier axes, but I think I can manage to protect myself and others with it" "If there is anything you want in return, let me know" he adds, while admiring the hand-axe. Jacobus looks at the two warriors, "I don't suppose any of you have a spare longsword or dagger lying around the place do you ?" Ullar smiles and shakes his head. "I don't have anything left, after our brief encounter in the dark-rooms of the Bishop." Then, mumbling to himself: "He will pay for that, he surely will."

	Main Group	Matteo and Ullar

	Back
	Back to Main
	Benjamin Lomax

This page was last updated on 20 January 2001