The Aftermath

The group looks about. They thought things were bad upon leaving the Bishop's ambush, but that looks like a day at the beach now. Petr, Darya, and Taras emerge from the western quarters. Petr has several small wounds upon his body, but seems okay physically. However, he seems quite embarrased, and those in the gallery see that he bends to retrieve his sword, apparently the source of the clattering noise. Taras' left arm hangs limply at his side and he bears some nasty injuries. Darya also has been injured as well.

Xania managed to stay unharmed in the kitchen, and she, Marika, and Matteo only bear the wounds they already had. Ullar has only a small wound, but has apparently lost the ability to move, which implies something far deeper than it appears. He lies on the floor of the kitchen in deep confusion, though no pain at all. Jacobus lies unconscious on the tower's upper floor. Rhune is in a rather racy outfit, but other than that only bears the previous injuries she received from the bats. Krige is badly injured, and will be unable to walk for some time. Urak is unconscious and appears to have taken some internal injuries from his fall. Asif has managed to survive largely unscathed, having killed a good half dozen goblins at least.

Rhune looks down at her rent clothes and leather and sighs. She has nothing else to change into at the moment. Adjusting some of the tatters she attempts to cover the salient features of her exposed flesh and then gives up when this proves futile. She looks up at Asif and shrugging her shoulders just smiles at him.

The few remaing outside must have fled, and there is no noise whatsoever from the western woods as the sun rises truly in the east. Daylight reveals dead goblin bodies scattered about in the north yard, to the east of the settlement, and some that the party did not see before in the south yard by the horse stalls. There are also two human bodies out there as well.

Rhune turns to Marika and Xania, "Let's help those who are injured to more comfortable places for a little while and then we need to decide what it is we are going to do." She then helps settle all those that are hurt.

Then Rhune suddenly remembers Sam, and leads those physically able to the top of the tower to look upon him. He does not appear to be bleeding, but his position is precarious to say the least, and he has not regained consciousness. It will be quite difficult to retrieve him without knocking him off the hall, though, and surely finishing him.

Rhune looks around at those that are with her, "If someone were to tie a rope to me or Xania, we might be able to go down and tie him off and then lower him to the ground. Would that work?" she asks the others.

Marika, who has been bending over Jacobus' unconscious form, looks up at Rhune's words. "Good thought," she says. "But I'm afraid we might worsen Sam's injuries, lowering him on a rope. Do you think you could go down to him, then hold him while we lower both of you to the ground?"

"Yes I can do that, I think." She replies to the young prietess. "But do we have enough people to hold both of us? I am not all that strong, really," she inquires.

When Rhune agrees, Marika looks about at the skeleton crew now atop the tower. Asif is the only one with the strength to be of much help in Rhune's plan, and he propably won't be enough. "You'll need lots of strong people up here to work the rope. I'll get..." She hesitates, realizing that almost all the warriors are badly hurt. "...I'll send whoever I can find and meet you down in the yard," she finishes, and vanishes down the stairs.

Down in the gallery, Marika finds the situation worse than she had realized. She talks briefly to Matteo and Petr, explaining that Rhune needs their help atop the tower. A slight smile crosses her face as she realizes that Petr will probably spend most of his energy stammering with embarrassment at Rhune's current mode of dress...but with luck, he'll keep sufficient composure to help with the rope.

Petr offers up his help, "I think between your dark-skinned friend and myself, we can manage it." He then climbs up to help as the rest of the group hanging about heads downstairs to try and help those other injured, too many.

Marika is glad to see that Irina is already helping Kuzma down the stairs toward Urak. The priestess takes Kuzma's other arm, and they quickly reach the ground floor, where Marika leaves the pair to look after Urak while she races for the kitchen. She arrives to find Xania kneeling alongside Ullar, looking quite worried.

Xania hovers anxiously over Ullar. "Will he be all right?" she asks worriedly. The gentle warrior had saved her more than once already. She looks for Marika. "You can fix him, right?" she asks.

In a voice, sounding rather desperate, the warrior talks about his injury. "How it this possible! I don't feel my legs anymore! I can't move! Can't somebody help me? What is this? I've never felt so, so.. so childish before! Next you need to give me a diaper, for I can't go to the toilet!"

It's obvious that the warrior is in despair. His eyes are focused on his legs, quickly moving from one leg to the other, while he touches them with his hands. After some soothing words from Marika and Xania, the warrior tries to position himself against a wall, really depressed. He shoves over, using his hands to bring his large body in position. A deep sigh is all you can hear now. The ones that give Ullar a bit more interest could even see a twinkle in his eyes, not from joy, but from a single tear.

The feeling of not being in control of his body has a devastating result on Ullars state of mind. He falls silent, staring at his legs, rubbing them from time to time to see if the feeling has returned, but getting sadder and sadder each time he gets disappointed.

Xania is alarmed. She has never been the type to offer comfort to the sick or injured. "Marika says you will be fine. So you will be fine. Stop whining," she says, a slightly desperate tone in her voice.

Which is exactly what happens. Ullar falls silent, his blue eyes looking at Xania with a gaze of total despair. Another single tear rolls down his cheek, which is been quickly rubbed away by the warriors left hand.

OOC: Now you understand why Xania is a mage and not a priest...though I suppose she could be a surgeon....

Xania looks at him even more helplessly, not liking the sensation. Almost awkwardly, she takes his hand and holds it in her own. "You'll be ok. I promise."

Marika bites her lower lip as she examines Ullar's wound, careful not to put any torque or pressure on the damaged spine. "Don't try to move your head," she tells the warrior softly. "With Kuzma's help, I think we can get you back on your feet again...but any movement could make things worse." She brushes Ullar's hair away from his eyes and smiles at him, trying to show more confidence than she feels, before rising and taking Xania aside.

"I'm frightened for him," she admits. "As far as I can tell, the nerves in his spine are bruised, not severed, so with the right help, he might recover. But if this were the temple, an acolyte like me wouldn't even touch a spinal injury; we'd send for the Master Healers right away. I hope Kuzma turns out to be even wiser at her craft than we've already seen."

The old woman comes forward, clicking her tonge, "Awfully large man to be felled by so slight a wound. Up, man! There is work to be done here!" She then bends down to Ullar and looks at the wound. Her expression of displeasure changes to one of dismay. She mutters, "Lucky lad. Inches and you'd be a dead man. Inches....." She then stands and speaks with Marika, "As you suspected, the injury is not fatal. I am not a "Master Healer" as you spoke of, but I have treated nerve injuries among my people before. Most died still, though." She shakes her head very slightly, "I think this one will recover, given time and rest. I may be able to call upon my Lady's blessing to bring him to health, but I am afraid I must rest to bring such a thing about, and several of the others in your group are also in need. If I am able to meditate and regain my strength, today I could perhaps use my magic to bring one of those seriously injured back to full utility, though their wounds would not be healed in the process. This one's injury is fairly light, however, if can repair the bruised nerves." She shrugs.

Relief floods Marika's face. She had not been at all sure whether Ullar would walk again, but Kuzma seems to be thinking about when, not if, she can restore him to health. "Thank the gods that you're here, Kuzma," she says gratefully. "If you're not a master healer, then I'd love to meet the one you'd give that title to." An instant after the words are out of her mouth, Marika winces, wishing she could call them back. It was quite likely that they HAD seen Kuzma's teacher... And she was running out of excuses to put off the hard task of telling the Clan about Misha.

Kuzma cackles a bit, "I was taught in the frigid north, young lady, in a magnificent town called Oslo. Idun's largest temple in all the land, I was told, and I have heard nothing to contradict that in all my years. Her followers are few these days, but they are still worthy. Not my people, those Nordics, but good folks all the same." She seems on the verge of going into an old folks tale before she shakes her head, obviously remembering something sad, "My mistress could bring the dead back to life, though she never did so. The men of her tribe forbid it, but she spoke of it to me. If only she had been there when......" The old woman turns and begins gathering her things. Marika could swear she sees a hint of moisture in her eye.

After checking each of the injured, treating them with some foul-smelling salve which burns open wounds, and bandaging them, the group is in marginally better condition. Jacobus has regained consciousness and smiles grimly at his brief engagement with the lone goblin atop the tower. He is still very weak, however. Krige is still unable to walk, though he is quite conscious. Urak remains unconscious, though his exterior injuries are not severe. Kuzma informs you that he will require some major magical assistance in order to repair the internal damage. Though each is injured, the rest of the group (besides Sam and Ullar) is able to move about.

In the distance, Rhune's clear voice calls out and is answered by Matteo's. Marika can't make out the words, but guesses that they've begun the attempt to rescue Sam from the roof. A constant buzz in her ears reminds her that she's running only on adrenalin, and that her judgment cannot be at its best right now...but with so many hurt, she can't even think about slowing down.

"Xania, I've got to go see how Sam is. He took a bad fall from the tower. Can you stay and look after Ullar? Keep him comfortable, and don't let anyone try to move him until Kuzma gets back here."

Xania nods, "Of course. He helped me and I owe him one." She sits down next to Ullar and looks around fiercely, despite her own wounds.

Marika exits through the shattered north door, and circles the building to the east side, where Rhune is attempting to bring Sam down to safety...

She sees that Rhune has been lowered to the top of the roof with minimal exertion by Asif and Petr, as she weighs very little. Sam's hand hangs over the apex of the roof and seems to be the only thing keeping him, along with his very little weight, from sliding off the roof to a twenty plus foot drop, something that would surely be fatal after the damage he has already taken from the fall. However, his position makes it difficult for Rhune to reach him. Only by slightly swaying the rope is she able to get close, and if she misses him, chances are very good that she will dislodge him and send him to his death.

Things are tense for a few moments, and then Rhune reaches out, grabbing him cleanly and bringing him in to her chest. He is light enough that even Rhune's minimal physical capabilities have no trouble in keeping hold of him. There is an awkward moment where her torn clothing and Sam's size gives the impression of a breast-feeding baby, but it passes quickly, and fortunately out of Ullar's sight. The men above slowly lower her to the ground where Marika is waiting. They bring Sam into the hall where Krige and Urak are while Xania remains with Ullar in the kitchen.

After helping to bring Sam inside and tending to his injuries as best she can, Marika seeks out Petr, and draws him aside. "I'm afraid we brought some more bad news for you and your clan, Petr. I didn't want to tell you last night when we all had to concentrate fully on keeping one another alive..." She sighs. Better to simply get to the point. "Your grandmother Misha has been murdered. We found her body at her home two days ago." She looks into Petr's eyes, waiting for the news to sink in. "We don't know if the killers were goblins or agents of the Church...or someone else altogether," she says after a while. "I'm sorry we had to tell you this on the same day we bury two more of your clan."

Petr shakes his head sadly. The reaction of the clan, however, is not as mournful as you might have expected, "Well, Misha lived through five generations of my clan. She will be missed greatly." Kuzma snorts, "She should have known that something like that would happen. Always trusting that great bear of hers to keep her safe. I myself saw the lummox fall into the river fishing on more than one occasion. Nature-worshippers, pfagh!" Seeing Marika's cautious eye, Petr looks to her quizzically, "Was she a friend of yours as well? You seem very concerned."

When Marika explains her misgivings, Petr chortles a bit, "Oh! You thought she really was OUR grandmother." At this Kuzma snorts even more loudly, but says nothing. Petr continues, "No, she had no kin to speak of. Because she was so old and had been here so long, we called her grandmother. Many of the folks resident in these parts did. I believe she had some fey blood, as you do." He looks down, "She was a good woman, if a little strange. Good to any that passed by. She will be missed."

Relieved to hear Misha's death was not another personal tragedy for Petr's clan, Marika adds, "We brought two of her books along to give to you. It was all we could carry from her home. I hope the goblins haven't stolen them...I had to drop my pack in the west woods to beat the wolfriders to your gate. One is a journal -- in her own hand, I assume -- and the other is a book of poetry, generations old by the look of it."

Petr smiles, "It was good of you to do. We shall keep her journal and book of poetry in fond remembrance. As for the goblins, unless the books looked valuable, I doubt they would steal them. Have never heard of a goblin that could read."

Soon, the few remaining able-bodied defenders set to work repairing damage and dealing with the aftermath of the night's carnage. "Sorry to duck out of the hard work," Marika says wearily, "but I'd be more useful with a little magic up my sleeve." Still feeling a little guilty, she goes off in search of a quiet place to rest, meditate, and study.

While the others try to comfort the injured and assess the damage, Rhune goes about checking the goblin bodies; making sure they are all dead and relieved of all weapons, armor and other items that they no longer need. She places the weapons and armor in a pile to see if any can be used by anyone in the party or the family. When she comes to the two human bodies she covers them as best she can. She does not go into the forest to check out the bodies there. She then checks out what is left of the stables to see if there is anything they can use to put the more injuired members in and leave this place.

Though this is very dangerous for Rhune to do by herself, none of those in the keep are aware of it so no one stops her. After some hours, she has gathered together a great pile of ragged slings and poorly manufactured small swords. The goblins did not appear to be wearing any armor other then rough hide, which smelled terrible. Rhune did not gather them. There appeared to be three distinct tribes of the goblins. The overwhelming majority, forty-nine that Rhune counts, wore red garb and weapons. Those in the eastern forest (nine of the deceased) were stripped of all their armor and weapons along with anything of value. Those killed in the compound and in the hall itself carried several coins of varying types and values, which Rhune gathered up. There were also eight dead goblins in the western woods of the wolfskin wearing tribe. All of them have been completely stripped.

Two more of that tribe lie dead just outside the kitchen along with one of their wolves. She addes their hand axes and spears to the pile, along with those of the five that Xania spelled to capture. Added to that, three more dead goblins of an unfamiliar tribe lie near the stable, along with two human bodies. These goblins have been stripped of weapons and armor as well, but they have green tattoos of a snake on their left cheeks, and appear a bit smaller than the Reds or the Wolfskins. The two humans also carry no weapons or armor. Lastly, the corpses of one large wolf and three large bats are added to the mix.

After doing all this Rhune returns to the main building and plops down at a table and sighs wearily. She is clearly exhausted from her blood lost, lack of sleep and her recent exertions. Looking around, "I wish to Erevan Illiserie that for once we could go more than three days without a fight," she exclaims to one in particular. She then begins looking at what she got from the goblins.

As she is finishing up her search, Petr escorts the weeping woman you all met briefly earlier out toward the stable block. She seems to have mellowed, but is clearly terribly distraught to see the manner of her father and husband's deaths. Petr organizes the clan to begin piling the goblin's bodies for burning in the clearing to the north, while he asks for assistance in digging the graves of the former blacksmith and his son-in-law. The party pitches in in whatever means they can.