Feora sobs then throws her arms around him. "Your insides were about to be your outsides! Cut up and slashed and stabbed..., you were going to be dead! Why do you have to do that? Am I just not enough? Do I need to do more?" Feora keeps sobbing and hugging Olivius, more for support than anything else. Her arms are warm, and then a very soft, comforting warmth could be felt spreading from her hands into Olivius, something divine. While it doesn't seem to mend or patch him up further, it seems to draw away the pain.
No, no. You're great. But I didn't know you were coming. I'm a warrior. It was instinct to use what was on me. What if you had tripped, or the others missed? I had to be sure I would survive.
As for the blood? Well, I'm Chelaxian. And noble at that. I could send you into fits with the kind of things I grew up around. A little Imp's blood holds no danger for my soul.
He maintains a comforting tone throughout, trying to being her out of a breakdown that was happening at a very inconvienient time. But when were these thugs ever convienient?
He hopes his comrades have some success with the lizard.
The kobold looks to each of you. "Sesserak knows when she is beaten. You have me dead. Fight more...Sesserak die. More kobolds. Warrens many steps away, but this good way to sneak in. Sesserak disgrace, she leave tribe, leave home, leave all, just let her leave."
Horatio glances to the others for guidance, never dropping the tip of his blade. On the one hand, the crerature is unarmed, and begging for surrender. On the other hand, it was trying to kill them.
Oliius shudders at the mention of more Kobolds. How long before they notice that you have not returned?
"Sesserak not returning. Tribe tell her not to come back without wizard. Wizard died. Sesserak a failure. Sesserak hoped if she could take you, might be enough. Now Sesserak just want to live. So she leave. Lair is deep down tunnel, others not come this way."
Olivius pulls a rope from his pack and binds the little kobold tightly without regard for comfort, including her muzzle. He lashes the small creature to the top of his pack and hefts her onto his back.
Make a problem and I stab you. He threatens as he shifts the new weight around until his pack sits right.
So, lets to turn this in and get some chow. I'm craving some beef stew right now.
The kobold quivers with fear, being disarmed and now bound, she feels she has a better chance of survival with the humans than her own kind, however, so she accepts it...for now.
Feora blinks at the little kobold. "What wizard? Who was it you were trying to find?"
Feora can ask that question while Olivius is binding the Kobold.
"She's obviously lying," Horatio mutters with a scowl, but sits down heavily on the rubble as Olivius ties the kobold. He rubs the wound in his thigh with one hand, only now realising how hungry he is - he wishes Olivius hadn't mentioned food.
Feora makes a sort of squeak as she realises that Horatio is hurt as well, and rushes over to his side, pulling out some spare bandages and such to quickly treat his aches and pains. She would then make sure that he is ok. "Probably should be getting both of you some food and then bed rest. I'll need to look over your wounds and make certain that you are both ok. Maybe the local store has something that I can put together to help you both rest easier tonight. And something for the pain. It's been a little while so I hope my bedside manner is acceptable..."
Trig looks ready to command Fligg to tear out the kobold's throat when Olivius binds her. "If she gets free and causes trouble, it's on you, Olives," Trig says. "How are we going to get out of here? We dropped down two holes and took the rope with us. It might be easier to just go back, close the secret door and rest in the imp's torture chamber. Then we can exit this place through the other end of the kobold warren after killing them all tomorrow." Trig says with a creepy grin.
"We've got enough kobold meat here for the night, definitely."
Sesserak's eyes grow wide at the Fey's words and nods to the rock slide.
Trig looks at the rock slide half warily, half curiously.
The rocks look like they can be shifted from this side but it didn't look like they were so easily moved from the other...the entry room.
Horatio doesn't joke or quip as Feora tends his wounds - the acid-burn on his arm was starting to sting far too much, and the centipede bite on his leg was throbbing painfully. He opens his mouth to say something when she mentions 'bedside manner', but clearly thinks better of it after his eyes flick to Olivius.
"I don't know whether you're used to sleeping on stone, Trig, but I for one prefer a warm bed and warm company," he sighs. "I'd just like to get back to town, with or without this one-" He nods his head to Sesserak "-and get a good feed and a good night's sleep." He stands again, leaning briefly on Feora to regain his balance.
"I repeat, how? They way we came down won't be easy to go back out without someone up top holding a rope. We'd also have to get past that acid again."
Olivius examines the rock pile for a moment. I'd bet money we could leverage the topmost stones out of place and create a crawl space through the rubble. From what I remember of the area we have explored so far, I'm guessing that's the same cave in we saw before. If that's true than we are a few boulders away from the hole we used to get down here.
Eager to find out if he's right, Olivius hops to his feet. Pain throbs everywhere, but be puts that to the back of his mind. He scoops up a shovel on the way to the heap and tries to pry the upper stones loose.
Olivius looks at the looking pile of rock and rolls his shoulders. Two places in his abdomen were on the verge of healing fully. Did he want to open up those wounds with heavy labor?
On second thought, Trigg's idea sounds better. I'm still not fully healed, and moving these rocks bears a good chance of hurting me permanently. Besides, we should be fine as long as we take precautions. The town above can wait. Or send down a second team, but I think only that Sherriff guy would have the balls to come down here.
Horatio shakes his head in weary defeat. "Fine, we can camp here. But once we get back to town, Olives, I think you can buy me a warm bed, a warm meal, and some warm company." He glances around, looking for a comfortable-looking bit of stone. "Did anyone think to bring bedrolls? Or food?"
"I've got enough food for one person for five days. I'll happily eat some of the kobolds we killed as well. I've also got a bedroll, but the prison cells had some kind of cots in them didn't they? You guys could probably scavenge something from there."
"Why would anyone want to stay down here? And besides, I don't think our small little person there is going to willfully stay tied up all night on top of anyone's backpack. Not to mention if she gets out she could just grab Olive's spear and stab us all to death. You have another thing coming if you think I am going to sleep down in this creature ridden pit." Feora gets a bit flustered, but since she has finished bandaging up everyone, she starts gathering her things to be able to head back the way they came.
Don't worry about the Kobold. I'll secure her. She won't be anywhere near anything dangerous. If you want, I'll even sleep between you and her.
Feora is rather single minded at the moment, and doesn't seem to hear Olivius over her own half spoken ranting about stone floors and demon blood and cold nights and strange people. She keeps mumbling on and on as she packs her things into her pack, and turns to start walking back out from the direction they came from.
Horatio! Olivius calls, Make the lady see reason, please?
"Uh oh. She's gone bonkers. Don't fall in the acid, Feora!" Trig calls after her, but makes no effort to stop her.
Horatio quickly positions himself between Feora and the passageway, gripping the girl's shoulders and stooping slightly to look her in the eyes. "Feora, listen. We have no way of getting back to the surface, so we're effectively trapped down here. Even if you made it past the acid, how would you get back up top? There's no rope, and not a whole lot to grab onto.
"To get out, we have to go forward. We've got that wall of rubble, so we're protected from that side. And there won't be anything else in here. Our captive is well tied, and we won't all be asleep at any one time - we'll set a watch. Hells, I'll take the first one myself. If Sesserak tries to escape, whoever's on watch can kill her. We gave her her chance." He gently squeezes Feora's shoulder, trying to calm her. "Look, we might be strange, but we're all in this together. I know Olives well, and he's trustworthy. Not much fun, and pretty stuffy, but he'll look after you. I will too, as best I can. And yeah, it's pretty cold down here, but we can grab some blankets from the cells." He pauses for a moment, face momentarily contorting in distaste. "Well, there's also old-fashioned body heat, but something tells me Olives is angry at me for even suggesting that." He glances back at the warrior, silently asking him to back him up.
"Feora... Please. I know this is new and scary, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared, too. But we're all in this together, and it's going to be alright."
"I've done stuff like this plenty of times before. It'll be fine. It might even be fun! We can make a little fire and tell each other scary stories," Trig says, trying to be helpful.
Horatio is right. Olivius does give him a dirty look for suggesting it.
He's right Feora. We can't all make it back. Besides, I'm at my limit. If I don't bed down soon, these wounds you just skillfully mended will only get worse.
Feora shivers and tries to push Horatio aside but doesn't seem to have the strength to do so. "Let go of me! I want out of here. Why are all you people so comfortable with sleeping in some nasty place like this?"
"Comfortable? When did I ever say I was comfortable?" Horatio laughs bitterly, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "I'm no happier about this than you are. I want to get back to town, find a room and someone to share it with, and enjoy my first night in gods-know how long that wasn't spent in the back of a wagon. No, I certainly don't want to spend the night down here. But it has to be done, since we have no way of getting back. And yes, this place is awful. But if we stay together, we'll be safe." He drops his hands from Feora's shoulders, but remains ready to grab her again if she storms off. "Is there anything I can do to make this better for you?"
Feora harrumphs at Horatio and folds her arms. "If you really wanted to do something for me, you would dig that tunnel back open so we could go sleep like proper civilized people."
Horatio sighs and shakes his head. "You've probably noticed, but I'm not a strong man. I'm a musician who happens to have some small talent with a rapier. If I were to dig that tunnel out on my own, it would take me all night. I'm out of magic, and Rosaline won't sing for me anymore. I've got a bite in my thigh, an acid burn on my fiddling arm, and an awful pain in my cheekbone. I can't get us out of here without Olives' help, and I know you know how bad a shape he's in. You patched him up wonderfully, but he needs to finish healing - if he moves too much, say to dig us out, those wounds are like to open again, and then where would we be?" He pauses to allow that to sink in, then continues. "There's also the fact that our captive seems to be telling us that that tunnel leads to the kobold warren. If we dig it open, there's nothing separating us from them."
The kobold shakes her head at Horatio's words, thinking there may be some confusion, but her mouth is bound.
The warren is actually the other way, Olivius points out, but watches will be posted. You will have nothing to fear. Besides, how can you go back to the Enclave or whatever and expect to satisfy your superiors with a report of "I ran from the dirty dark for no particularly good reason". I tried that once at the Academy. Got locked in the stocks overnight for it.
You want to become a powerful emmisary of the Dawnflower? Better get used to the dark. What time like the present to start?
Feora sighs again, a bit defeated this time. "So where are we going to sleep then? If it has to be down here."