Markas releases Timerious.
"Who is the 'they' that told you to do things? The only one from now on who will tell you what to do and where to go is Markas. Your life belongs to him; you are no longer a free man." Erik asks a question that Markas appeared to have missed as well as informs Timerious of the change in the status of his life. The plate armored fighter stands beside Markas with his hand resting on the handle of his sword, judging the reaction of Timerious to the news of his servitude. Louis shifts a bit where he stands but appears ready to defend his friend Markas should Timerious attack. Timerious remains quiet as he sits up realizing that he would be killed straight away should he attempt anything. He sees a pair of large figures near one side of the small fire among the other travelers. 'The evil ogre and damned bear rest among them now!' Timerious thought to himself, the hatred for both of the blasphemous beasts welled up inside of him.
The bag Timerious had been carrying, banded mail, and the shield he had been using rested on the ground near a break in the seated group around the fire. Timerious could not see the handle of the Black Knight's sword from where he sat silently on the damp cold ground.
"In Overton there is a very small parish of Halav's followers. A blusterous fellow by the name of Saksi Osvifsson oversees a simple church and tends to the needs of community. I do not care for that fellow personally; then again I do not care for the mad man. It is your choice of what to do you with your charge Markas but transferring your problem to another might be worth considering." Adrianna speaks up while seated in the circle of those seated around the small fire. Sitting alongside her daughter Gertie nods her head silently in agreement at the option that had been presented. Others continue with their small meals and quiet conversations as the darkness of the impending night fall approaches.
Before settling in for a night's rest Adrianna has a look at the stone hanging from a simple woven hemp necklace around Louis's neck. She mutters an odd three syllable word quietly, and a aqua flash surrounded her eyes and rose from the white stone with a few tiny blue fluorescent veins running through it. The light quickly faded and Adrianna appeared to be suddenly extremely exhausted after casting the spell. She whispered something into Louis's ear before curling up to go to sleep.
Markas ponders Adrianna's suggestion. It might be best for all parties to drop off Timerious with this Saksi fellow but then again Gertie seems to incline that Timerious is destined for important things. Markas also ponders giving Timerious a weapon and for the meantime he is inclined to keep the man weapon less. At least until a new foe presents itself.
Before resting for the evening Markas checked on his charge. Making sure that Timerious was still doing well. "Timerious I hold the Black Knight's sword I would like to give it to you but won't for now. You will need to heal and rest before you can put it to any use and even though you never drew the sword on me and I trust that you wouldn't, others don't hold my belief. What if given the choice would be your path next? Would you like to leave our company and see this Saksi of Halav?" He paused to hear the man's answer. When their conversation is done Markas will inquire again of Louis to keep an eye out for Timonious while the cleric rested as he was in dire need of rest and planned on praying for spells first thing in the morning.
"I have known great pain and suffering with no love since I left Shar. I would like to stop and pray with this man. I need to know more of what blessed Halav has gifted me. Sometimes it feels more like a curse but I just can't believe that is the case. If you want to leave me at that point I can find my way back to Melinir alone."
"We shall start by getting you to this man. What happens after that Halav and Petra shall surely guide our hands."
Timerious shuffles past the group with his eyes staring at the ground the whole time. Unsure of how to feel and what to think of the change to his life he avoided eye contact that might stir up his emotions. Timerious takes up a resting spot at the base of a tree that he feels is a comfortable distance between himself and the damned fools that continued to bed down with the beasts they chose to travel with. Timerious' fortune improves the smallest of amounts when it seems that Markas is open to the possibility of visiting the priest that was mentioned by one of the other morons. The fighter stewed in his own thoughts and anger while his wounds ached and throbbed until sleep took him. At some point in the darkness of night he was roused from his sleep by a call to arms from nearby. "To arms! Something large moves out in the darkness." Timerious quickly grabbed up his shield and scrambled to his feet. He pressed his back against the tree while frantically looking about to find the danger. Something grabbed up all of warm shirts and shabby jackets that he wore about his chest. A violent powerful jerk forward was followed up by Timerious being viciously slammed backward into the tree trunk.
When Markas asked of Louis to watch Timerious through the night the fighter politely declined his request. Louis was almost as exhausted as Markas felt; the cleric couldn't fault Louis and his need to rest. When he asked the same favor of Brion and Erik he was also rejected. Erik helpfully pointed out that Markas had chosen to take ownership of the mad man rather then put him down. Markas looked to the far off side of the camp and the base of the tree where Timerious sat removed from everyone. The disturbed man gnawed at his lower lip while staring off into the deepening darkness of night at seemingly nothing. Markas offered up his prayers to Petra and then drifted off to sleep wondering if he would ever awaken again.
Several hours after most of the travelers had been asleep Brion is nearing the end of his watch over the group. With the fire burning very low in the small ring of stones Brion calls out awakening the camp. "To arms! Something large moves out in the darkness." Coming to from mid sleep all reach for nearby weapons and rise to defend them-selves. In the dim light provided by the tiny fire those just awakening took note of the direction that Brion faced with his sword and shield at the ready. From out of the darkness a grey canine blur runs and leaps into the air. Louis is knocked down by the beast, pinned beneath it! Snarling, growling, and biting the unarmored fighter is savaged by the wolf.
In mere seconds after the wolf darts into the camp a large form follows immediately behind, an iron tipped spear glances off of Erik's readied shield sending the attack wide. The spear thrust was just a ruse though and a heavy metal banded fist connected viciously to the side of Erik's head. Erik remains on his knees, unable to move for the moment.
The nine or ten foot tall figure looming over Erik barks out, in the low fire light what it was could not be easily determined. Adrianna and Gertie each begin spell casting rituals upon seeing the being looming over Erik. Their feet are knocked out from behind them as a large robe covered foe suddenly appears as if from nowhere crouching alongside them. It swings a large quarterstaff from behind their legs moving forward and through them, their slight limbs offered no visible resistance to the weapon.
Murlsan appears confused and takes a few steps backward away from the campfire and toward the darkness, maul in hand. Garent growls and goes after the wolf, slashing it with one of his claws. Louis is trampled and clawed under the fight above him between the beasts.
The robed figure on the ground waves his hand and mutters something, the air about several of the party shimmers and ...
<Adrianna>
<Markas>
<Erik>
<Murlsan>
Markas recalls nothing after the visual distortion that surrounded Erik, Brion, Darcy, Latovius and himself. He awakens at some point later and is face down in the dirt. Yelling by differing voices in both common and some other language reached his foggy mind but the words fail to register with him as he instinctively pushes himself upward and shakes his head to clear the dirt from his eyes and hopefully the fog clouding his mind.
When his eyes focus Markas sees that nearby Latovious kneels beside Louis attempting to bandage the downed fighter. Gertie kneels beside Adrianna holding her daughter's leg; pain was etched on the face of the young sorceress. Brion steadies Erik who appears to be as groggy as Markas feels currently. The right side of Erik's face and eye were bleeding and terribly swollen.
Across the fire, which burns brighter now that two larger pieces of wood have been tossed onto it, stands Darcy alongside Murlsan. She points her short sword with anger on her scarred face at a trio of figures that were larger then humans who had their backs to Markas. A wolf growled and paced with a limp anxiously between Markas and the ogres, its attention for the moment was focused on Garent who similarly paced behind Murlsan.
Markas surveyed the surrounding people his mind foggy from fatigue and the attack. Were the foes still among us? Is that the wolf that had attacked? The carnage of the attack left many of the party in poor shape. Where is Timerious? Who are those large beings in front of me? Those thoughts and many more flooded the dazed cleric.
While the party looked worse for wear it appeared as though there was no immediate danger. "What happened?" was all the cleric could manage hoping that someone could fill him in. He followed with, "Does everyone live?" This was a time Petra's healing touch would be most welcome but Markas hadn't time to pray for his gifts.
[dice = Louis save vs deathray :] 1d20
[occ] that's one [/ooc]
Markas asks his pair of questions drawing the attention of the wolf who quickly turns and takes a snarling bite at him. The lupine maw narrowly misses Markas's left forearm as he pulls away instinctively from the animal. One of the three larger figures by the fire half turns its head away from Darcy to bark a command at the wolf, after speaking the head turns back around to the fighter. The wolf growls while bearing it's teeth and staring Markas in the eyes, the beast does not move from where it now stood only a foot away from Markas's side.
"Murlsan's brothers found us is what happened Markas. They claim there was a misunderstanding." Darcy speaks up a bit to answer Markas's question. Murlsan walks over to his kin and lays a mighty forearm on the one who was wearing robes, a large fire lit smile was visible on his face. The robed one spoke, the common tongue sounded much more refined coming from it then from Murlsan. A shield is tossed carelessly to the ground near the small fire pit by the speaker whose back was still to Markas. "Is that what was agreed to Markas?" Darcy asked of the cleric while putting away her short sword, two nasty gashes to her left side dripped blood Markas noted as he timidly stepped around the wolf and took three or four steps towards the backs of what he guessed were the ogre brothers.
The cobwebs quickly were cleared and now a new crisis arose. The Ogre brothers were not dealing as fairly as or honestly as they seemed to have been when our deal was struck. Perhaps this was there way of bargaining from a position of strength as they have their brother back but the last piece of bargaining the party had was to talk with the village elders. Should I use their tactic of negotiations or would it lead to the parties demise? Which side of a battle would Murlsan choose? Such stakes in the mix. Time to gamble thought Markas.
Addressing Darcy as if the Ogres were not there, "No Darcy that was not the deal. Neither was the amount of people bartered with." He paused to pick up his shield and brushed it off. "Our hosts do us a grave disservice after helping them do what they were not powerful enough to do themselves." Markas then scanned the group to see who among them was injured and the severity of those wounds. Addressing the Ogres, "is this the way you would protect the humans of this area? We freed Murlsan from his captors and he has fought alongside our group no matter the number like a true friend." He paused again to look at the wolf that nearly bit him, "Heel your pet before I treat him like you have treated us."
After retrieving his shield Markas had a careful look around the immediate area that was lit by the two brightly burning logs in the small fire circle. The light the small fire supplied was not enough for him to see very far and the scene for the most part hadn't changed from when he had pushed himself up off of the ground. Three of the ogres quietly talked amongst themselves either ignoring or not hearing anything that Markas had just said to Darcy about the agreement. Murlsan, the magi Grulin, and the one brother who hadn't initially rushed into camp to clock Erik spoke quietly amongst themselves in a tongue Markas did not understand. Markas noted a look of slight concern briefly on the normally confident face of Darcy. The fighter has put away her short sword and was now standing a few steps farther back from where she had been standing when Markas had gotten up from the dirt.
"Well then cleric of Petra, do whatever it is that Louis believed that only you could accomplish. I shouldn't have to remind you that there are our lives as well as those living in the southern plains at risk here." Darcy spoke in a hushed tone while keeping a wary eye on the actions of the ogres she could see in the firelight. Markas looked over to where Louis still rested on the ground, Latovius continued to press makeshift clothing bandages to the man's chest and neck.
Without the benefit of Petra's healing touch, I am no better a physician then Latovious. As Darcy reminded there still remains a job to be done thought Markas.
Markas approached the Ogre brothers wary of their pet. "Ogre friends we have accomplished the first part of our task. We bring back your brother Murlsan. It is time for you to honor your two year agreement to protect the people of this area."
The ogre-magi leaned against his quarterstaff and looked downward into the eyes of Markas. The light from the small fire reflected red in Grulin's eyes and cast foreboding shadows across his face, giving him a devilish appearance. Grulin reached into the large sack at his waist and produced a folded piece of parchment. He tossed it at Markas as if he was begrudgingly over paying for something at a market stall.
Markas attempted to catch the parchment and then scanned the group to see who was missing in order to figure out who Grulin referred to as the old peculiar one.
Markas catches the piece of parchment and continues his pondering.
What is going on that you may not be able to provide your service of protection? And what is on the piece of parchment that is worth a year of service? May I read it? One last thing if I can be so bold do you possess any healing magics to restore health and vitality to our fallen comrades to hasten our travels to Hawk's Hill to speak to the elder's on your behalf for trading purposes?
Grulin responded to Markas's first question while the ogre tried to determine how to answer the others. It took the magi but a few moments before it made up its mind. Grulin nodded to Markas and it appeared to the cleric that the ogres were preparing to leave. Murlsan hung the massive maul over a shoulder and returned near the fire to grab a sack of potatoes, Garent was at his side.
While one year was not two, the Ogres were still doing Petra's bidding throughout the land and that is good thought Markas.
With the Ogres about to leave Markas approached Murlsan and thanked him for his help, wished him well in the coming battles with the Orcs, and told him to take good care of Garent. He then went to Garent and gave him a big hug.
Murlsan says not a word to Markas but clasps the man's shoulder with his much larger hand and smiles at him as he leaves. The massive ogre still bears many wounds that will take much time to heal but he is freed now. Garent responds in kind to Markas's affection but follows alongside Murlsan when he chooses to leave. The wolf pet of the ogres stays far from the bear as the group leaves, Markas wonders to himself if the bear will treat the wolf like it did Timerious.
Adrianna's broken leg is close to being mended through the power of her mother's ring. The exhausted sorceress appeared to be in quite a bit of pain as her mother straightened her leg to ensure the limb mended properly. Darcy bore several nasty gashes and Erik had suffered some strong blows to his head causing bleeding and swelling. Louis lay unresponsive on the ground, the bleeding from the wolf bites had mostly stopped at this point. Markas finds Timerious near the foot of the tree that he had chosen to rest against outside of camp. The body rested on the ground in an unnatural position and Markas quickly knelt next to the man to determine his state. He lifted Timerious's head up from behind and sensed a sticky substance on his fingers that Markas guessed to be blood. Timerious's breathing was very irregular and shallow but he yet breathed, he remained unresponsive when Markas spoke to him though. Markas picked the man up and carried him back to near the fire to set him down gently, the cleric was unsure what he could do for him or the others.
A bit later Markas knelt next to and offered her the parchment but Gertie refused to look at it. Instead the old woman excused herself from him and took her ring to Erik as it appeared that Adrianna's leg had been mended. The sorceress rested on the ground near Markas, she had closed her eyes and covered her tear and dirt streaked face with her hands. With as drained as she appeared to be he figured she was likely on the verge of falling back to sleep and he envied her.
Sources of water had been found here and there on their travels so far and with the heavy rains the day before water had been plentiful. Markas could only guess at the purity of the water they had found and would find. The food taken from the bandits had remained sufficient to feed them so far but the recently departed party members had put a sizeable dent in their stocks. They had perhaps two days more of food on hand if they did not implement rationing or successfully scavenge food on their travels.
With the party in such bad shape it was time to be the instrument of healing despite his own need for rest thought Markas.
Summoning the last reserves of energy he had Markas began praying to Petra for 3 cure light wounds spells. Time enough for sleep in the grave.
Markas as exhausted as he was and with the adrenaline of battle leaving him along with the ogres fell back asleep. The others must have kept watch through the night for the cleric's rest went undisturbed. He was still very tired upon waking but managed to complete his morning prayers and received the spells he'd requested from Petra.
In the light of the morning Markas had a closer look at the two men of the group who remained down. Louis's clothes and flesh were bloodied torn beneath the makeshift bandages Latovius had pressed against them. The back of Timerious' head and the ground beneath were caked with blood, the fighter's head must have hit something with a lot of force.
The remainder of the group appeared to be back in good shape, no signs beyond blood stained clothing could be seen. "The ogres did us a favor Markas, they clocked Timerious so hard he didn't get a chance to interfere and get us all killed." Erik commented after returning to the campsite from relieving himself near the spot Timerious had chosen to rest at the night before. It would seem that Erik maintained a dislike and distrust of Timerious.
A short while later as Darcy was finishing gathering her things and packing her horse for the day she spoke up. "This is where we part ways. The ogres should be of great aid if they hold true to their words. When you return to Melinir there should be your share of rewards at the city hall for the bandits. Perhaps I will come across your trails again, take care until that time."
"Be well friend Darcy. May Petra bless you in all your travels."
Despite his disdain for Timerious, Erik was probably right. Had Timerious encountered the Ogres there might not be much of the party left, thought Markas.
Now was the time to share Petra's healing touch starting with Louis.
With Louis awakened Markas will move on to Timerious.
Louis comes to with Markas kneeling alongside of him. It is morning now and his chest and head hurt. Looking down he can still see claw marks and wounds inflicted upon his body from the wolf.
Markas moves over to Timerious who was laying nearby and imparts some of Petra's healing powers on the unconscious man. After a few moments he too awakens. Timerious' head pounds and his body aches but he is awake and alive.
A brief look around by both men reveals that Murlsan, Garent, and Darcy have left them and that camp is mostly broken at this time.
"I told you they were beasts."
Timerious groans and struggles to his feet.
"I hope we don't meet them again. Thank you for bringing me closer to health Markas. Is there a stream or lake I can dunk my pounding head into?"
With Timerious seemingly back to his ornery self camp is soon broken for the day and travel towards Hawk's Hill continues. The charge of Markas does not have any weapons returned to him this day and all but Gertie and Markas give him a wide berth. It turns out the weapons would not have been needed anyways as nothing out of the ordinary crossed their travel route.
The group sets up camp for the night, food supplies have dwindled to almost nothing. It is a good thing that Hawk's Hill lies less then a day's travel away to the northwest. With a town so near the game of dice that night is a bit more serious as coins that could be used to purchase much needed items and provisions change hands among the players.
Timerious just gained 2nd level. I didn't know if I should do that die roll or the Quadrial?
Timerious walks to Gertie's side. "Excuse me old mother. I have not been myself recently and was knocked out as well. Pray tell what became of the token of my god that I bore? It is not a burden for me to continue to carry it."
Louis nurses his wounds and is quite, and is happy to be close to home
Markas has repeatedly approached Gertie and offered her the parchment given to him by the ogres. Every single time the seer has stopped what it was that she was doing before his approach and she has moved away from Markas without saying anything to the cleric of Petra. The night spent gambling is a thrill for Markas. He started off red hot, then lost much of his winnings quickly before beginning to earn back his gains. A series of losses to Latovius signaled to Markas that he should quit while ahead. The cleric smiled as Petra's favor had smiled upon him as he counted 15 gold in winnings for the night.
When asked where the burned timber was Gertie warmly smiled at Timerious. "My daughter carries it currently. Should you wish to exercise your strength I do not think she would object to you bearing that burden. Thank you my friend for dotting over this old woman."
Louis keeps to himself for the most part during the day's travel. Games of chance didn't have much interest for Louis and he found himself sitting alone staring at the clear night sky. Adrianna sat next to the fighter and the two chatted about their childhoods and growing up in Hawk's Hill. Louis fidgeted with the oddly blue shaded rabbits foot and the sorceress passed a hand over the item and spoke a three sylable word. Adrianna was suddenly very weary but before rolling off to bed she imparted to him what she had just learned.
Rabbit's Foot* - fluorescent blue - Cast Druid spell Detect Danger pg 41 once per day. Within 5' for an hour the user can concentrate on places, objects, or creatures within range. He needs a full round(1 minute) of concentration to examine a square foot or small object, more time for larger objects. After examination the user will know whether it is immediately dangerous, potentially dangerous, or benign(from the user's point of view). This spell will detect poisons.
Feeling good about his winnings Markas decided to try his luck in another matter. Since Gertie doesn't want the parchment or so it would seem either it wasn't intended for the old woman or she wants Markas to deal with it. With this line of thinking Markas decides to look at the parchment himself.
Timerious smiles and nods to Gertie. "I'll leave you to rest now. I notice your daughter is weary and will not bother her but will ask leave to bear Halav's token when she rises."
Timerious recognizes his weariness but also realizes he needs to pull his weight as well. I will offer to take the first watch. That should pacify the ones that don't like me.
Timerious raises his voice. "I will take the first watch if you would like. My head's a little groggy since it was bashed by your loyal allies but I should be able to make if for a few hours."
Louis tells Timerious to wake him for the 2nd watch, on watch Louis will contemplate the blue rabbits foot
After counting his earnings and placing them in his pack Markas unfolds the piece of parchment and has a look at it. The meaning behind the symbols or drawings on the sheet escapes Markas. He quickly develops a headache while staring intently at the strange markings.
Through the night Erik, Markas, Louis, and Gertie experience stomach ailments in varying severities. Little sleep and very little rest is earned by those who suffered through the night. With the dawning of the day the four are dehydrated, fatigued, and still suffering the effects of what they have come down with.
You were a couple hundred behind Timerious at one point recently. What is your current XP total? Did you go through all the recent posts for the rest of your items that were identified? Your inactive periods may have missed a few items.
First thing in the morning despite the gnawing at his belly, Markas prayed to Petra for help.
The next thing on the list for the day is to get to Hawk's Hill and talk to the elders on behalf of the Ogres.
This brought Markas back to thinking about the parchment. Just the thought of it made his stomach curl a bit. Perhaps Adrianna could make something out of this gibberish.
Markas' focus while praying to Petra wiavers often as he finds himself exhausted and feeling the illest that he has been in years. He is rewarded by a single cure light wounds spell for his efforts. He fights back waves of nauseua as he rises from his daily prayers. Markas is barely able to ask of Adrianna the questions that he had concerning potions, a scroll, and a war hammer after his prayers. "For me to learn the powers of the magical items you speak of would require me to cast a spell that would exhaust me. You may have seen me cast it over the last several nights and noticed the draining effect the spell has. I believe it wise to examine one item after our day's travels instead of before. As for the scroll it does seem to be a magical spell of some sort though I do not have the necessary spell at the ready to determine what it is today. Is there anything else I can do for you?" The sorceress moves away without waiting for Markas's response and she begins caring for her ailing mother while waiting for anything else the cleric might have to say.
A few moments later Timerious obliviously approaches the seer and her daughter to demand the charred timber of Halav be returned to him. The young woman flinched in fear when he commanded her and her eyes involuntarily indicated the burlap sack on the ground near the only remaining horse the group had. "Can you not see that my mother is ill? You would bother the sick over a hunk of wood? What need do you even have of it? Besides, the timber is already packed away for the day. Now, if you would just leave us rest. Mother must collect herself if we are to travel today." Adrianna scolded Timerious, no one could tell whether or not the fighter actually cared.
"Your mother is a fine old woman and I'm sure she has taught you many things lass. It's too bad she didn't teach you to have the same fine manners she does. I will carry the token tomorrow. Let me know what I can do to help the old one."
Shaking off his own weariness Markas addressed the group, "I know we are all tired and banged up, but we are close to Hawk's Hill and some much needed rest. Can all of you push on? If not we can stay camped for another day. Petra has blessed me with her healing touch if any of you need assistance." Markas waited for an answer from the group.
Camp is broken a short while later in the morning and the day's travel takes a heavy toll on the two weakest and sickest members of the group. Markas and Louis rapidly deteriorate into horrible illnesses, they manage to trudge along with many illness breaks taken. Erik and Gertie fair only slightly better but travel makes both very ill and weary. Armor and weapons are distributed to all except for Timerious who remains unarmed and a cast out from the group. It is far past nightfall and for the last half hour Gertie has clung to the horse but guided the group to where her house is or was. It is as Louis recalls it being when he stopped there a few weeks ago. The ruined stone half walls, burned roof and frame, and broken items from the interior of the building welcome them to Hawk's Hill under the fairly clear and starlit sky. "Timerious, I feel that the payment has a spot somewhere amongst the ruins. Would you find that place please?" Gertie drops a burlap sack to the ground beneath the horse as she begins yet another horrible sounding coughing fit.
"Yes Gertie. I will find it. Faith lies in the heart of Halav."
Finally a way to help the old woman. She has been kind to me. One of the few that understand the ways of the great gods.
Timerious moves forward and takes the sack in hand. As he walks into the ruins he reaches into the bag and whispers a prayer.
"Show me the way kind Halav. Show your hand where to place the token of Halav."
Timerious takes the sack and blunders around in the darkness buildings of the ruined interior for quite some time. No divine answer or inspiration comes to answer the request of the fighter; instead he finds himself cursing as he accidently crushes some of Gertie's pottery that was strewn about the floor. Outside the ruined single room home the flicker of firelight reaches his straining eyes. Enough ruined and burned wood had been scrounged to start a meager fire near the tallest remaining side wall of the building. With a bit of light Timerious tries to try and figure out where the foot and a half burned timber might serve some sort of use. The faster he figures it out the faster he can be done with this damned blundering about in the darkness. He thinks he could prop up the mantle above the hearth. One end of Gertie's ruined main table could be put into place with a stone or two and the piece. The piece of wood might shore up the jamb above the front door. The only counter in the house could be supported in place with the timber and a few stones. The old woman's bed might be fixed by the piece of wood as well. The last thing that comes to mind is he could just toss the blasted piece of wood into the hearth and set it ablaze to keep warm for a few minutes.
My vision warned me of impatience and it warned me of uncontrolled anger. I've been put here as an agent of Halav. He will guide me.
Timerious sinks to the floor with the charred piece of wood held across his thighs.
"Allow me to help the old woman."
Louis is glad to be near home, he rests his eyes