Kaede can feel Tera trembling in her embrace as she begins explaining why she'd asked her question.
"That's just it," she says, her voice quavering despite her efforts to keep it steady, "when she appeared and started fighting, I prayed for help. I asked for justice, and Abadar answered. I felt this– this cold, relentless purpose in me. I didn't feel any emotion, just the determination to see justice done and the law upheld."
She closes her eyes and shudders as she clings to Kaede like a sailor clinging to flotsam in a storm.
"I didn't feel anything after I asked for that boon, Kaede. I'm terrified of what I could do if my only conscience is unfeeling law," she whispers into the Shelynite's shoulder.
Kaede pats Tera as she keeps her in her embrace. "This was the first time you called this power, yes?" she asks gently. "It's likely that it overwhelmed you when you called it. That's something you can learn to control. Remember that while the Lord of Walls and Ditches* focuses on law, He does value good works. After all, he does have his own..., " she pauses for a moment as she mentally searches for a word, " ... his own paladins. Besides, If this worries you, I'm sure that Brother Faustwick knows a way to help."
"Her name's Lyrie," Orik answers, "was Lyrie, I guess. I didn't know her much. She was some kinda wizard, and a bit of a sage, maybe. Mean as hell. She was helpin' Nualia identify the stuff they found. Nualia was lookin' for somethin'... I dunno what though."
Scattered around Lyrie's body are all the things Orik rummaged through trying to fix the spell she cast on him: an empty vial, half a dozen scrolls, and two or three hundred gold pieces. She's also wearing some nice clothes and jewelry, and carrying a sturdy book.
With the fort essentially empty, the heroes return to the surface. Needing, or at least wanting, a fire to cook with and warm their bones, they head into the courtyard outside the chamber where Marcus had been held. Orik brings up what little food he had in his chamber but even with that addition the extra mouths, and extended timeframe, have left their resources disappointingly low*. "Sorry, she sent a couple worg riders for more horse meat a few days ago but they ain't come back yet..."** the mercenary informs those still present. After sitting silently for a moment, he adds, "I, uhh, think I made good on th'agreement, yeah? If ya don't mind I'll spend th'night here with you all and head out in th'morning..."
"Did one of them wear a pumpkin," Tera asks, curiosity bringing her out of her bleak mood for a moment, "and isn't the bridge out?"
Tera holds Kaede tighter, nodding in acknoledgement. She's too tired to cry now. Her tears had all been shed down in the catacombs.
"I just hope this is over. I'm not sure if I can take another day like this one or when I slugged Ameiko's dad," she mumbles after a moment and her grip loosens.
"Sorry, I've been falling apart at the seams lately."
As they discuss plans, Marcus shifts lifelink to heal Tera once.
Just before sleeping, Marcus will expend his last spell slot and try to recover a little better.
"Best to start tomorrow as healthy as possible'
"Don't worry about it, Tera. We've been dealing with some of the greatest stress that we've ever dealt with for the past week. Breaking down a little can be forgiven," Kaede says, as she squeezes Tera one last time, before her. "Besides, the problem can been solved. All that's left is making sure that there's no vestiges of trouble here. If we need to make a trip back to Sandpoint for supplies to do that, then we can do that."
"That you did, Orik,"the Shelynite agrees with the mercenary. "Do you have a way to pull the bridge back up, since it was cut?"
”If there were a plan for that,” Orik replies with a look of frustration, ”no one ever shared it with me...”
Tera wraps the two of them in a hug before either of them can slip away as she composes herself a little more.
"Thank you," she half-whispers to them, "you'll never know how much you two helped me stay sane through this. I don't deserve friends like you two."
"Great," Tera grumbles, "your old boss was an ass, Orik. You know that, right?"
The young mage rubs her temples and tries not to let her frustration get the better of her.
"Too bad we killed all the goblins," she says in whimsical after a moment, "The 'Pumpkin Queen' could have scared them into fixing the darn thing well enough that I could have made sure that we could cross it."
Kaede smiles as the love goes around, returning the hugs with embraces of her own. "That settled, let's get back to our other problems."
"Well, first, let's see how bad the mess with the bridge is," Kaede suggests. "Maybe we can salvage it for an easy crossing." And with that, she heads out to the front door, in hopes that there's something of use.
"Yeah, like what are we going to do about food," Tera says as she rubs her stomach, "Thanks. I owe you both."
With that, Tera turns to head back to the others.
"Entertainment," Tera suggests with a grin when Sal mentions there should be a word for watchign goblins attempt to fix things.
"I hope we can salvage it, otherwise it's going to be a rough swim with Nualia in tow."
Orik shakes his head. "What is it with you people and that corpse?" he asks with some dismay, "why not just leave it here? or burn it?"
"Did you hear what she said to Sal," Tera asks, "about how the people in town treated her?"
She waits for Orik to answer before continuing.
"The people of Sandpoint adored her, loved her. She was, I guess, considered a blessing. Something happened and, from what Tsuto said, she burned the old church down and killed Father Tobyn, the old high priest and her adoptive father. Everyone in Sandpoint thought she had died in the fire," she tells him, "it's, closure, I guess. They need it and we need it."
Orik furrows his brow as he contemplates something. "So... is bringin' the corpse back t'bring closure, or t'show people what'll happen t'some o' you if they don't ease up a bit?" he asks earnestly.
Tera opens her mouth to answer Orik, but she hesitates. She curls up, bringing her knees to her chest as she struggles to find an honest answer.
"I don't know," she answers quietly, "I don't think any of us would break like Nualia did, but... I just don't know."
Kaede returns with a look of annoyance. "Well, the rope was cut, but I think that we can pull it back up to fix it, with a little luck. Does anyone have some light rope?"
"I'm sure we can salvage some from somewhere in this place," Tera says before trying to stifle a yawn.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but between swimming and almost dying and fighting Nualia, I'm beat," she says as she realizes how tired she is.
Marcus is not excited about the idea of spending another night in Thistletop, especially with Orik, but he too is exhausted and eager to close his eyes.
"Perhaps the problem of the bridge would be best handled in the morning." he offers.
In a way, if there is no chance of getting back to Sandpoint before nightfall, then surely it would be better to leave the bridge down... the gap, the climb and the caves are as good a defence as any could ask for. Kaelaah is quick to agree with Marcus, "Let's camp up.... the bridge, Nualia, the hike back... they're problems for tomorrow"
"We've done plenty for one day," Zache says softly, nodding in agreement. "We'll all do better after a good night's sleep. I'm happy to volunteer for first watch, for what it's worth."
Tera nods, and without realizing it, nods off.
"I can take third watch, if no one minds." Marcus chimes in, before Orik has a chance to speak up.
After a bit of discussion, a watch rotation is set for the night. When Orik's offer to join the third shift is met when some skepticism he chuckles and agrees to "sleep all night without pitchin' in."
As Zache and Kaelaah Tera* prepare to take the first watch, the others begin to settle in for the night.
Roused from her sleep for the first watch, Tera doesn't look like the brief nap did her any good. She yawns and takes her place next to Zache and strikes up any conversation she can just to keep herself from nodding off. Despite her best efforts, she winds up leaning against him and laying her head on his shoulder.
Too bad this isn't somewhere else and all the bad stuff hadn't happened. This would almost be romantic.
As she sits there, her mind begins to wander and with the fatigue she's feeling, her thoughts don't really pause long enough for her to stop them from becoming words.
"Ever thought about writing songs," she asks him after several moments of silence, "setting your poetry to music?"
Zache does his best with the small talk, but also finds himself struggling to keep focused, listening and watching for anything that might be a threat. When Tera leans against him, he doesn't make any attempt to move away - We've just faced near death together, haven't we? After everything, you can't help but feel closer to someone.
"I haven't, no," he answers after a long while, resting his head back against the wall, staring up and north. "I don't have a musical bone in my body - I can dance well enough, and carry a tune, but I can neither read nor write music myself." He tilts his head slightly to the side, a long earring brushing the very top of Tera's head. "I don't mind, though. There's a beauty to be had in the words themselves, and I enjoy finding and creating it."
After another pause, he asks, "Why do you ask?"
The first watch passes uneventfully and Kaelaah and Sal are roused for the second watch.
If Sister Amsel is unlikely to be enthralled by the quiet shoanti's conversation, at least his artistry with the flame will be of some diversion... sat quietly, he shapes - one after another - a small dove, a rampant horse, a goblin's grin... each flickers briefly in its magnificence before it disappears forever. Eventually, a soft flame burning in his cupped hands, Kaelaah talks in soft tones towards his 'sister', "After this? After this what will you do? What would Erastil have you do?"
"Readin' music's not that hard. I can teach you," she mutters and Zache can hear the smile in her voice.
"Just a thought," she answers when asked why she'd asked her question, "I love singin', and I'd love singin' something you wrote."
She wraps her arms around Zache's and nuzzles against his shoulder as she gets comfortable again.
"Do you like that red-headed girl? The one from the Hagfish," she asks. Her tone is soft and calm, making the question only a question, "she seemed to like you."
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In the middle of the night, Kaelaah and Sal hear a dreadful baying, not unlike the howl of the yeth hound, echoing up the nearby stairs. It's followed by a few tense minutes of silence that leaves them wondering if there is a threat prowling below or if the whole thing had been a trick of the wind, or of overtired minds.
Whatever it was, the rest of their watch passes uneventfully and in due time they wake Marcus and Kaede for the final watch...
Kaelaah's response is short, and rather simple, "If you meant it... and that is only for you and your god to truly know... then saying it once would surely suffice?" Around and around, flames curl through Kaelaah's fingers... almost playful, individual licks of fire seem to chase each other before the shoanti collects them all in a single orb of heat and light, "Does Erastil seek any tribute? Is there something more you can do to express your gratitude and to strengthen your bond?"
His hushed voice is kind, but quietly mindful of the others asleep here, "Each day that I can, I make the time to greet the coming of the sun... and to listen for the word of Sarenrae. Most days... most days it is just her warmth that I feel - a presence - but some days there is more. Tomorrow, upon the breaking of the day, I will listen for my goddess... maybe, when you are free from this place, you should do similar?"
Upon starting third watch, Kaede will tend to whatever fire they sent for a moment, before looking over to Marcus. "So," she starts, "What are you planning to do now?"
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"Do I?" Zache muses, playing with the tassel of a woven scarf as he thinks, barely noticing Tera shifting closer. "I suppose I might, if only in the same way I like the reflection of the stars on the sea, or the scent of spring in the trees - an aesthetic attraction, but certainly not romantic. I suppose that's what you're asking?"
He shrugs, shifting his back straighter against the wall. "Life's short, and there's a lot to fit into it. It's why I flirted back with her. It's why I drank the Hagfish water. It's why I tried to make my way past Nualia, knowing full well that she could cut me down with the slightest misstep. If a risk turns out to be ill-fated, I'll have taken it knowing of the possibility. But I may not get a second chance for anything I've done, and in my final sleep, I'll go knowing I lived every moment as Desna would have wished."
He grins briefly before his face grows sorrowful again. "The whole thing is probably moot, though, after the mess Roakkad and I made of the place."
"I'm not sure. My boat is gone. With all that's happened in the last few days, I'm not sure I can survive on my own anymore. The world feels bigger and more dangerous than it used to." Marcus tells Kaede.
"I've always been curious about Sandpoint. I plan to travel there with you all and see what opportunities arise....I guess."
"Yep, you two sure did. Was all that kept me from challenging her to the same thing," Tera chuckles, "it was stupid of me. Just stupid jealousy."
She gives a tired laugh as she leans more heavily on Zache.
"What's wrong with me," she asks as the laugh dies away, her tone tinged with just a touch of fear, "I already like Aldern, so why do I keep finding myself drawn to you?"
"I'm so stupid," she mutters into Zache's shoulder in a small, sob-choked voice.
Kaelaah's flames turn from flickering playfulness to an amber flow of readiness across his fingers, "Yes... yes, I hear it..."
But nothing comes of the noises, and as they subside, the shoanti relaxes back into silence... when their watch is over, he smiles at Sister Amsel, "Tomorrow... I will help you find some seeds"
"That's not something I can answer," Zache sighs, offering Tera a silk handkerchief pulled from a vest pocket. "It's something you'll have to think about - or not, if you'd rather go with feeling over logic, but you've always seemed the analytical type." He jostles Tera's ribs slightly, going for the ticklish spot just below the diaphragm.
"As much as I can joke around, it sounds like you have some thinking to do, and you shouldn't be doing it now. It's been a hard few days for all of us." After letting her sob for a couple more minutes, he squeezes her shoulder and suggests, "How about you get some sleep? I'll be fine to watch on my own."
Kaede nods to Marcus' comments. "It's a somewhat quiet place really. Dealing with this mess was the first real 'excitement' that we had since I came here."
After a moment's pause, she continues. "But you're right. The world has become a much more dangerous place. And while I can't speak for the others, I would be comforted if you were with us."
After another pause, she adds, "I was told that I needed to come here from Sakakabe for something of importance... Was this it, or is this a prelude to something greater...."
Tera tries to squirm out of the way of Zache's elbow, but she's far too tired to avoid it. The groan she gives is soft and carried her annoyance well enough. As she began to think, everything seemed to overwhelm her and she sobbed silently into Zache's shoulder.
It isn't long before they peter out, and all she can do is nod. She starts to reply to his suggestion about getting some sleep, only for it to come out an incomprehensible slur. She's not sure how she made it to her bed roll, but as she curls up near the glowing embers of their fire, she falls into a, thankfully, dreamless, sleep.