Zoria

NPC - Ursula Leveton's page

17 posts. Alias of Tareth.


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After a few minutes Ursula follows Stellan and the others out of the tent, letting Kressle sleep.

She slips over to Stellan and places a small, rolled up piece of paper in his hand. Blood stains mark the outside of the parchment, but otherwise it seems intact. "Kressle wanted you to have this." She says. "She says it was her most recent orders from this Akiros. She doesn't know much more than whats written there, but she thinks the location of the site is an old shrine located in the foothills west of her camp."

Stellan:
The note is written in an elegant hand, but several portions of the text are illegible because of blood stains caused by the bandit woman's earlier wounds. It reads "Captain Kressle, Your management of the north is lacking. In order to insure the proper implementation of my instructions I'm sending.....in the west. Seek out this shrine.....latest interlopers do not restore Erastil's.....necessary, join with Tartuk and his tribe to drive....Once secured, bring the relic to me. Do not fail in this or my mistress and I will be most displeased. Akiros


Listening to the conversation around the table, Ursula has little to offer. She's already heard most of the arguments before on the way south and trusts that Thad, Warren and the others will maintain the course already laid out.

She frowns at the tips of her fingers, noticing they are still stained from the shingle root poultice she had worked up earlier this morning. The purple and brown stain made a stark contrast to her usually light skin. It was good for dealing with the minor blisters, cuts, and bruises she was dealing with lately, but the stains were always an irritation.

At Thad's request, she gives him a quick nod saying, "She was still asleep before I came over for a bite to eat. However, I should wake her just to get some broth into her body. Judging from her clothing and your tale, she lost a lot of blood and will need to start replacing it."

Grabbing a mug, she pours some hot water into it and then joins Thad, Stellan, and the others in her makeshift cutter's tent.

The tent is sparse, but warm and comfortable considering the location. A small brazier burns in the center to provide warmth and a little additional light. A sturdy workbench and Ursula's familiar chest filled with her herbs and antidotes sits along the north wall while tow empty pallets line the west.

Kressle lies on another simple straw pallet along the east wall. Her face is pale, sunken and her breath is shallow and ragged. A blanket covers her body from the neck down.

Ursula hands the mug of hot water to Duella and instructs the halfling to prepare a mixture of herbs and a few pieces of dried meat.

Hearing Stellan's question, she turns to him and asks, "Are you a healer?" She points to her collection, "I've most of the makings of a good kit already. If you can give me a day, I can get a basic kit put together for you."

Turning back to Kressle she frowns, "As for her, I've done what I can for now, but I've no magical powers. If you've other means of easing her wounds, I'd do so before we wake her and the potion of numbberry wares off."


Ursula spends the next half-hour giving Tityanna a thorough examine. Using hand signals and gestures she tries her best to communicate as she does her work. Along with the usual poking and prodding, she has Tityanna hold several different crystals or stones for a few seconds. One of the stones, actually a bit of elk horn tingles a bit in Tityanna's hand and Ursula gives a slight nod as she closely scrutinizes the talisman after the sorceress hands it back. However, after all is said and done she shakes her head in frustration. Pulling out a scrap of parchment she writes out a few sentences and hands the paper over to the sorceress, a look of concern, puzzlement, and just a little wonder in her face.

Tityanna:
The parchment reads: I can find nothing wrong. With the exception of your hearing you are in fine health. Even your arrow wound has healed nicely. You've no malignant or negative magical influence touching your aura or affecting your physical being. You do show a strong a divine presence possibly linked to Erastil. But I am not a priest and so I don't know how to confirm.

The answer may already sit inside you own heart.

While Tityanna reads the note, Ursula slips over to the others and gives a brief report.

"She's in fine health." The herbalist begins, giving Donal an especially pointed look before continuing. "There doesn't appear to be any harm that I can find. I am able to detect some divine influence. Certainly not evil, likely Erastil, but not being a priest or a fully trained healer, I can't give you much more than that."

She looks at Warren packing extra writing materials and gives a nod of approval. "Finding ways to communicate easily will be important. Especially since you'll be riding into dangerous situations."

Donal starts to speak up, certainly thinking Tityanna shouldn't be going with the others under these circumstances. Ursula quickly raises her hand stopping the Ulfen with a shake of her head. "If the gods have taken her hearing Donal, it isn't without reason. Tityanna has a role to play, and we must trust their choice. She needs her confidence now more than ever and the best way is for her to be with her companions no matter the danger they face. I've seen similar situations in the field hospitals and those left behind inevitably end of spiraling into oblivion."

Turning back to the others she says, "As I said she's fit. Give her a few minutes and then you can all be on the road."


Ursula's eyes grow wide as Thad heals the bandit, removing all but a few bruises from the man's encounter with the dark forces unleashed during the execution. Her look of surprise quickly turns thoughtful but before she can say anything the paladin slips away rejoining the others as they decide how to proceed.

Only half listening to the conversation around the table, she doesn't recognize Tityanna's distress until she nearly collapses into Donal's arms. Seeing the big Ulfen's reaction to whatever the young sorceress whispered to him, she rushes over and steps between Donal and Porter.

"Don't be a thickheaded fool Donal Egilson!" She says sternly. "You know full well Master Porter would never cause harm to Tityanna or any of the rest of us."

"Now let me at least have a look at her before you make a bigger mess of all this."

She then holds out her hand to Tityanna hoping to guide her over to the makeshift infirmary set up at the back of her cart.


Ursula, looking a bit more rested but still weary, steps over to Thad, and quietly tells the paladin that the bandit leader died during the night. "It's not too surprising." She says. "It was a terrible wound and he lost a lot of blood." Placing her hand lightly across his, she adds, "It was a valiant and honorable thing you did. I'm sorry, I wasn't able to save him."


As the discussion winds down, a tired and weary looking Ursula approaches Thad. With a glance to the former bandit leader stretched out in her cart, she says, "I'm not sure that man will live."

She shivers slightly, "That was a terrible wound, and created by dark magic indeed. I've done what I can, but it's really beyond my skill."

Seeing Thad's arm, she grimaces and shakes her head. With a stern look she admonishes the elf more out of concern than anything else. "You should have seen me about this sooner. I've something that may help, although it won't be as effective as a priests healing."

Searching through her kit, she pulls out a small jar of orange cream. Popping it open, she gently rubs the rose scented ointment into Thad's hand and lower arm. Almost immediately the blackened skin gets just a little lighter in color. Watching the effect carefully she nods in satisfaction, "This should take care of it in a day or two." She hands the jar to Thad, "Apply another dose tomorrow morning and again in the evening if the color hasn't returned to normal by then."

Turning to the rest of the group she asks, "Anyone else have any injuries from today I should treat? Don't hold back, even the smallest wound can easily be invaded by infection or rot if not taken care of properly."


Ursula arrives at Warren's side followed closely by Duella carrying a small case filled with a variety of instruments, bandages, and homemade ointments, unguents, and herbs.

Seeing the wound for the first time she draws her breath in sharply while performing a quick sign to Sarenrae. "A truly nasty piece of evil."

Taking over for Warren, she quickly applys additional bandages and tells Duella to get an oil burner lit. Handing a bottle of alcohol to Ursula the halfling then pulls out a miniature oil lamp which she quickly lights using flint and steel. Directly over the flame she places a pair of small flat blades. Looking at Ursula the old halfling says, "Never thought I'd be a cutters assistant, but after the last couple of days, it seems we've turned into quite a team."

Caught up in her work Ursula doesn't hear Duella's remark, instead she gives Warren a tired and grim look, saying, "These wounds are deep and may be beyond my skills. I'll do what I can for him, but I can't guarantee that he'll live." She then grabs one of the heating knives, tests it quickly, and then places the flat of the blade on the first wound, causing the flesh to sear slightly. After a second or two she returns the blade to the flame and repeats the process with the second knife.

Occasionally, the man groans or struggles slightly due to the pain, but fortunately he remains unconscious as Ursula continues to slow painful process of sealing the wounds.


After removing the arrow, Ursula proceeds to clean the wound. Either from the numbing agent, alcohol, simple shock, or combination of all three, Tityanna feels little additional pain, however, it's clear she won't be going anywhere on her own for a while.

It take a few minutes,but Ursula easily gets the wound cleaned, stitched and bandaged. While securing Tityanna's arm in a makeshift sling to keep the shoulder wound from tearing open again, she instructs the young mage, and Donal, to see that she rests for the remainder of the day.

As screams erupt from the area where the prisoners are being kept she frowns and says with an exasperated sigh, "Now what was that?!"

As everyone turns in the direction of the scream, she, Duella, and Donal all gasp at the site of Thad seemingly reaching into one of the bandit's chest and pulling out a skeletal hand while black energy coils wickedly around his arm.


Receiving Tityanna's message, Ursula, whose still bandaging a few minor cuts and scrapes among the Meyerson's younger children, looks around for Donal. Seeing the big man already making his way toward Tityanna, she nods her head with satisfaction and finishes her work on the children before seeing to any of the other wounds.


After checking on her elf and human patients, Ursula walks over to the horses and gives Socks a quick examination under the watchful eye of Yori Meyerson. Offering a smile to the boy she shows him the vastly improved wound which is no longer red, but a nice shade of pink and healing nicely. She then let's Kams know that the horse should be fine in another day or two.

"You seem to have taken young Yori under your wing and have a better knowledge of animals than I." Handing Kams a small jar of ointment, she grins and looks over at the boy fondly and says, "Make sure our young beastmaster puts a fresh, thin coat of this over the wound every morning for the next two days. That should see the wound totally healed and keep any infection from taking hold."


Ursula laughs lightly at Thad's words. "I'm sure he won't be forgetting today anytime soon." See looks up and notices movement on the road ahead. After a few seconds, recognition crosses her face and she breaths a sigh of relief.

"It looks like the others are back." She says, pointing at Kams, Warren, Alaina, Stephanus, and Zavac making their way along the road.


Ursula offers a quick smile and nods to Duella when Thad asks for a little of the brandy for himself. "Not too much." She says grabbing the small jar of ointment. "This will ease the pain and I'll have something help you sleep as soon as I'm done."

Then she begins spreading a blue-green ointment from the smaller jar onto the wound. The smell is like a full cavalry charge slamming into your nose. Surely it is a combination of skunk essence, cat urine, and rotting grass that is used and created to simply distract the victim from the furious stinging sensation that follows the smell as it touches the open wound.

The foul odor doesn't seem to bother Ursula as she continues to spread ointment all over the wounded leg until the entire area plus some is covered. "The stuff smells horrible, I know. And it stings a bit at first, but it is an excellent pain reliever for flesh wounds, and also disinfects the area which is especially important given the creature that bit you."

As she works, a lock of dark hair face into her face which she brushes back with a slender hand. The action leaves a slight trace of blood across her cheek which she doesn't notice as she concentrates on the wound and her work. After a few minutes the ointment stops stinging and suddenly the leg feels significantly better. Although the smell remains it isn't as strong and the pain has nearly disappeared completely.

With a deft and gentle touch she carefully wraps the leg in bandages and then sits back to see if she's missed anything. Nodding in satisfaction, she says, "You'll need to stay off of that leg for a day or two, the ointment works quickly, but not as effectively as some of the priests of Sarenrae. We'll check the wound and replace the bandages every four hours and you should be back up in no time."

She then offers Thad a smile and gently puts her hand on his shoulder, "Thank you, for your bravery and protection. It was a valiant thing you did. Surely the creature would have killed the boy if you hadn't acted as you did."


As Thad sits down Ursula gets right to work removing armor and clothing to get to the bite. Taking the bottle of brandy from Duella, she looks Thad in the eye and says gently, "This is going to hurt, but it will keep the wound from festering." Before he can reply, she opens the bottle and pours a good quantity of strong brandy over the torn and punctured flesh.


As Thad staggers into camp and exchanges a few words with Tityanna, Ursula steps over to get a better look at the injury. After a few seconds, her usual quiet and soft nature is replaced with the much more forceful authority of a healer used to dealing with soldiers.

Looking Thad in the eye she says, "We need to get you off of that leg and get that wound cleaned up. The gods only know what kind of infection that beast could pass along, not to mention the blood you've already lost."

She begins clearing a space at the back of her cart to create a makeshift area for Thad to sit. Once it's ready she gestures to the knight, "Sit and hold still while I see to this." Her manner is calm and skilled, but her brown eyes are still filled with concern.


Hearing Tityanna mention Thad's wounds Ursula's eyes fill with concern as she whispers to Duella. After a few seconds, the young woman and the halfling disappear behind their cart only to reemerge after a few seconds. Ursula walks over carrying a small kit containing bandages, needle, thread, and several small bottles filled with a variety of liquids. Duella is not far behind. She is also carrying a couple of containers, one appears to be a bottle of good brandy, while the other is an unmarked jar.

Her eyes filled with worry, she says is a soft, strained voice, "I've served as a healer's assistant in Rostov for several years and I've some remedies to help prevent the wound from becoming mortified."


Thad:

Ursula Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
Duella Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Both Ursula and Duella appear to be sleeping as you drift over to their small shelter near the cart. Duella deep, heavy breathing never changes as you quietly stash the sack into the wagon. As you slip away you catch the glint of the campfire reflecting off of Ursula's eyes. A tear runs down her cheek and her lips form a gentle smile as she acknowledges your kind act. After a second or two she carefully wipes her face with her hand and rolls over to go back to sleep."[smaller][b]


Ursula's face lights up bringing a life and joy that seemed to be missing before.

"Bless you good sir." She says with warmth and happiness in her voice. Then in a softer, near whisper she adds, "I had begun to believe there was little true kindness left in the world. It is good to see I may have been wrong." You notice her face blush slightly as she finishes speaking. To hide her feelings she turns away and starts to try and brush dirt off of her dress and coat.

Duella is also grateful for your generosity, but is more subdued in her thanks. She offers a quick "Thank you very much sir, we'll not forget your kindness." She rolls her eyes at Ursula's blushing face, but then turns her gaze back towards you. She watches carefully as you make your way around the caravan, searching for any sign that you might bring harm to her charge.