Korihor nods, stretches, and lies down on the floor. She is asleep in less than a minute.
Ahto makes no effort to avert his eyes. His gaze follows the older woman's hands as they smooth ointment over the curves and swells of Kierana's form.
He starts to make a comment, then thinks better of it. Instead he continues to watch the process; a crooked grin crossing his face.
Zeph doesn't even flinch at seeing Kierana's naked flesh, the woman had never been shy and it was the wounds he was worried about. Instead he stands by to help his mother with dressing the wounds if need be. I didn't realize how badly she was wounded. Making her wait this long for treatment was cruel... "I'm so sorry Kierana" He whispers.
Kierana sits backwards in one of the kitchen chairs, head down on the chair back and eyes closed while the Starsets tend to her wounds. The relief of the ointment and bandages is nearly instantaneous; Kierana is so absorbed in the bliss of reduced pain and the fervor of her silent prayers that she barely hears Zeph's whisper.
Mmm? she replies softly. Oh, don't worry, I'll be fine. It will pass with time, and the care is excellent. She lets out another sigh of contentment. I saw the guns they carried. I knew what the consequences of lending aid could be. But what was my other choice, to abandon the girl to capture? Who knows what plans those men had for her? You know me better than that, darling; it was no choice at all. I'll bear the pain gladly.
She reaches up to her arm, where Zeph works to dress a wound, and sets her hand over his in a gesture of reassurance. They will pay for it. You know that of me, too.
She rises carefully to turn in her seat, the bandaging complete. I just wish I possessed the gift of healing as some of my sisters do. But it's an area I've neglected. Lady take my arrogance, I believed myself invincible... She gently sweeps a hand over one of the bandages on her arm, softly intoning the chants she had heard her fellow priestesses recite many times. And suddenly, beneath her lazily drifting fingers, the burns begin to close up and the inflamed redness visible around the bandage begins to calm.
Wait - I - I've never - For once, Kierana's face shows genuine shock and confusion. I've never been able to heal before...Ahto? Ahto, come here... She sits up, reaches out and touches his wounded shoulder gently, replicating the same chants.
I don't understand...how can this be?
"Looks like this Last Disciple has gotten more attention than we realized. Seems your Mistress wants you involved in this; she's given you a necessary tool."
Ahto rotates his arm and flexes his fingers. "At this rate, I may be nearly healed up by morning."
I should be back to top form as well. Kierana rises and pulls the offered dress over her head, then turns to Ms. Starset. Thanks to your help, ma'am. Your generosity and aid have been too kind. She gives Ms. Starset a friendly kiss on each cheek, then turns toward Korihor, lying in her place on the floor.
Should we wake her to move her someplace more comfortable, or simply let her be? Or will we be joining her? She turns back to face mother and son. I do not wish to impose on you two too much; you've done so much for us already. Whatever the least troublesome arrangements are, I'm perfectly fine with.
Her gaze travels to the front door. Ahto, are you sure you think it wise for Pyrrha to stay outside? It seems a poor choice should our friends prove adept at gathering information...but if it's what she wishes, far be it from me to stop her, I suppose. Acharn will stay outside as well - she prefers more open spaces, and she'll serve to give us some warning if things go amiss.
"No sense trying to make Pyrrha do something she doesn't want to. You're welcome to try, but don't be surprised if you get a rock thrown at your head for the effort."
He looks down at Korihor, passed out on the floor.
"My arm's in good enough shape to lift her now. If you want me to move her, just point out where you want her."
I'll help as well. Kierana looks to Zeph and Ms. Starset for guidance on sleeping arrangements.
"Oh, no need for you all to sleep on the floor. It's a big place, this farmhouse, we've got beds enough for you all." She claps a hand on Zeph's shoulder, moving back towards her own room. "Why don't you show them the way to the guest house, out back? I think I'm going to take a bit of a nap, myself." As she passes her son, she whispers to him again, "Remember what I told you. I know how you are son, just like your father and I. Don't repeat our mistakes. I don't want to lose you like I nearly lost him."
Ahto kneels and places his arms under Korihor's arms and the back of her knees.
Even with the half-healed injury, the sleeping woman proves to be a manageable load to bear.
He waits for Zephyrion to lead the way out to the guest house.
I'm sorry mother, I will do what I think is right. Even if it is dangerous, but I wish I did not have to cause you worry. "This way then everyone!" With that Zeph leads the others to the guest house.
Kierana follows Zeph and Ahto, Korihor's slumbering form in Ahto's arms. As they leave the house, the giant wasp on the stoop lumbers to its feet and begins following, hovering behind the others with a low buzz. When they arrive at the guest house, Acharn settles herself outside the door, and Kierana gives her a last pat of affection before entering the house. When Zeph points out her room, she nods and embraces Zeph in thanks. I'll follow Ahto to Korihor's room, help him get her settled in.
As morning rises again on the Starsets' farm, there is a light banging on the door, and a large man in worker's clothes comes into the guest rooms. "The missus wanted me to let you know she's made you all some breakfast, she's waiting for you all in the house." With that, he leaves the group to themselves, allowing them to prepare themselves for the day. While still sore, both Ahto and Kierana have managed to rest up well enough that their wounds have closed completely. Twist himself sits upright almost immediately, stretching as he tests his wounds.
"We ought to get moving, you know. First blood, and all that. Don't need to give them a chance to find us while we have our tails between our legs."
Hearing the knocking, Kierana stretches under her rough but comfortable blankets, pleased to discover as she does so that the burns and cuts from yesterday seem to have healed for the most part. She stands and dresses in the borrowed gown, then exits into the main part of the house to see Twist stretching and hear his comment.
I agree we need to move quickly. But it also seems reasonable to ensure we are at our strongest, and Zephyrion's mother has generously offered to feed us before we go. I would not wish to be rude to someone who has been so kind, and sitting for a meal would give an opportunity to decide our approach. Though if the others disagree, I will certainly defer to their judgement.
"Getting started without a good meal seems foolish. My mother is a wonderful cook and it would be a terrible waste to squander her offer." Zeph is already leading the way to the house as he finishes his words, expecting the others to follow. No one wants to start a dangerous investigation on an empty stomach.
Ahto rolls out of bed, stands, and stretches until his back and shoulders crack. He looks down at the freshly healed wound on his arm. He gives the scar an appraising look.
"Another badge of courage," he says more to himself than anyone else. "If I live to be an old man, my skin'll look like a street map of Absalom."
He washes his face and armpits in the basin, then dresses; making certain his armor is properly fastened and that all of his weapons are in their proper places.
"Do I smell bacon and corn cake?!" he says, inhaling deeply. "The Gods bless and keep you, good woman."
He hurries out of the guest house and towards the main house kitchen.
Korihor opens her eyes as Ahto leaves. She stares at the ceiling for several minutes, not moving a muscle. Finally, she stands slowly, and stuffs her fist in her mouth to stifle a yawn. Her stomach growls conversationally, as the smells waft over her, and she heads out to the main house.
As the group heads back into the main house, Zeph's mother is putting out plates around a large dining table, filled with succulent smelling breakfast food. "Did you all sleep well?" she asks, heading back into the kitchen, untying her apron and draping it over a chair. After the rest of the party head inside, Twist follows shortly after, his own wounds no longer dressed with gauze.
"Shall we?" he asks, seating himself. "It's going to be a busy day, I'm sure. I had some eyes and ears out last night, we might want to follow up with them."
Kierana enters the kitchen and gives Ms. Starset a warm embrace. I slept wonderfully, and such generosity is a wonderful way to wake as well. Thank you. She sits at the table and begins to sip at a cup of coffee, taking dainty portions of each of the offerings on the table and nibbling in between sips.
Indeed. I welcome any information they may have - I'd prefer to go into this knowing as much as we can. She shoots the ghost of a dirty look at Twist; her irritation at his circumspection and secrecy hasn't gone entirely, but she quickly masters herself. May we stop at the Salon first? I'd prefer not to ruin Ms. Starset's dress if at all possible, and I suspect we may be facing some dress-threatening hazards, if last night is any indication.
Korihor enters, standing in the doorframe. "Oh dear. Do you really think so?"
It's really quite likely, Kierana responds with a smirk. Tomato sauce waiting to spill, table corners staged to catch a button and rip it off - who knows what dastardly plans they have? She laughs and waves Korihor over. Come, have some breakfast. Careful not to tip your cup of coffee, though; you don't want to do their fiendish work for them.
"I'm all for clothes getting torn off, as long as what's underneath isn't damaged," Ahto says with an air of bawdiness.
He quickly wolfs down his breakfast, and then jumps to his feet. "I guess I should go lookin' for Pyrrha. After a night out in the woods, she's probably tired, starving, and in need of a bath. I doubt the rest of you want to wishing her a good morning in her present state."
He makes his way to the door, and heads out.
Korihor sits, her eyes crinkling in a wince. She adjusts her seat a little, and cracks her neck.
Outside leaning on against the gate to the property Pyrrha is sitting on a post whetting the blade of her sword between bites of what looks to be the remains of a cooked chicken thigh. She looks up at the sound of Ahto exiting the farmhouse, it is hard to tell what she is thinking because the hard look on her face doesn't change, she just looks unhappy as usual.
"So what's our plan? Follow the half fiend's trail or do this the smart way?" Pyrrha calls out.
Ahto cracks a crooked smile at his friend's casual manner.
"We haven't rightly decided on anything other than Kierana's desire to get fresh clothes. Other than that, we've been enjoying Mother Starset's hospitality and cooking. I was just coming to see if you needed help picking the bugs and twigs out of your hair."
"I'm flattered, even with Kierana's desires you thought of me and my bugs." Pyrrha smirks and takes a final bite of her chicken and tosses the bone.
"You going to stick with them as they drag you through this mess?"
Korihor sits for a few minutes, and then stands and stretches, taking a deep breath and following Ahto outside.
"Thank you for breakfast mother! Your scrambled eggs are to die for." Zeph sends his mother a boyishly winning smile, everyone can see that he is a bit of a mother's boy.
His features harden as he turns to Twist "When and where will we hear from these 'eyes and ears'?"
Ahto runs his fingers through Pyrrha's hair, and mimes pulling a tick from it, and crushing the imaginary bug between his thick fingers.
"Anything for you, my sweet sun orchid," he says with an exaggerated romantic tone, followed by his ever-present crooked smile.
Pyrrha flinches, and makes a gagging impression, "Ugh, don't make me sick; with your words or your filth."
"Seriously though, are we going to wait for them or head this thing off on our own. I'd like to look forward to reliable work and pay without having to worry about some devious scheme coming for me in my sleep, especially when they have access to that many explosives."
"Speaking of which, who has enough explosives to blow the face off a building at a moments notice like that? I mean, how much does that take anyway? We may just have a lead already..."
Tidily finishing the last few bites of her breakfast, Kierana dabs at her mouth with her napkin and rises. As our friend has reminded us, we've much to do today, Zephyrion. We should join the others outside and go. She gathers the plates from the table into a neat stack and sets the tower on a countertop next to a wash basin. Thank you again, Ms. Starset. Twist, Zeph, I'll see you outside.
As she walks outside, she sees Ahto and Pyrrha in conversation; she gives them their privacy (and gives Pyrrha's sour expression more time to loosen up). Instead, she moves a discreet distance from the pair and begins a series of stretching exercises, her expression focused and meditative. The stretches are gentle at first, but quickly escalate in intensity; it's clear she's done this routine many times, to develop such flexibility. Acharn flies to her with a low hum, landing and settling into the neatly trimmed grass.
As Korihor tears through the woods on her own, after a while she stops, panting and out of breath. Looking around, the woods are sparse, the Starset farmhouse still barely visible off in the distance. As she finally begins to recover, she takes note of a few voices, carrying through the tree cover.
"You sure they're here? All of 'em?" The voice is raspy, and it only takes a second to place it; one of the half-orcs who had attacked Korihor the day before. "We can't come back empty-handed again, you know? We gotta be sure."
"Yeah yeah, I know. What're we gonna do with the rest? I figure we oughtta kill 'em, just to be sure." A different voice, one of the armored men who had guarded their escape the day before. "'Specially that Calistrian b~!#& and her big bruiser of a client."
-----
In the Starset farmhouse, Twist quickly finishes up his own meal, standing up from the table. "We'll have to head back into Absalom proper if we want to talk to them. Zephyrion, might I suggest we head out to speak with the others? I'll get a message to one of them, set up a meeting."
"Well, I suppose we should get moving. Let's rally our little band, and soldier on."
Ahto turns and heads back toward the house, catching Kierana's eye with a smile and a nod.
"Let's round up Little Miss Worldwound and our other gods-blessed companions. Have they finished eating yet? We need to get going."
"Blessed in the heads." Pyrrha mutters to herself.
Zeph nods to Twist and thanks his mother once more as he leaves the table and steps outside. "Let's see what we can find shall we?"
Kierana returns the nod and extricates herself from her contorted pose, joining Ahto and Pyrrha. She nods as Zeph joins them. Now we just need the last member of our merry troupe. Did Korihor go back to the guest house?
"She was still in the kitchen when I came out to find Pyrrha. Isn't she still in there?" Ahto asks.
No, she left shortly after you did... Kierana scans the property quickly, then lets out a huff. She's made a run for it, the idealistic fool. She was so concerned about trouble falling upon us for her sake... She scoffs haughtily. Such gratefulness, to get herself killed or taken and leave us under pursuit for naught.
Her voice begins to rise in frustration. Did you hear that? Running changes nothing! Whoever they are, we know of them - they won't let us be!
"Well... Look at the bright side. We don't have to worry about her now." Pyrrha shrugs.
Ahto sighs and rolls his eyes in frustration. He pauses long enough to weigh Pyrrha's remark.
We could just walk away. Leave her to whatever happens. It would serve her right....I just....can't. Damn that little weasel of a girl!
"Any sign of which way she went? She can't have too much of a lead on us. We might be able to catch-up to her before she gets herself snatched AGAIN!"
He looks around for footprints, or any sign of her passing.
Pyrrha crosses her arms and shakes her head in disbelief. "Assuming she wasn't already snatched up, which let's face it is a very real possibility, I've been watching the front since the sun rose, so she either went out back or she can hide doing a full sprint without cover. Seeing as witness accounts contradict going out the back, I'd wager she couldn't want any less to do with us." Pyrrha's eyes drift to the trees on the edge of the property and linger there as she stops talking, clenching her jaw a bit to resist the urge to go on.
"She may be an idiot, but that's exactly why she'll die without us, and I refuse to let that happen." Zeph stares at the others, as if daring them to disagree, "Besides, if she didn't flee, but was taken here that means they know where my mother lives and I can't exactly let that go. Not to mention we already helped her, so we are involved in this whether we want to be or not. I would not expect them to stop at Korihor."
Pyrrha relents a nod of agreement, "He's right, Korihor be damned or not, we have to do something." Pyrrha stands up from her leaning on the post. "Let's see if we can pick up any trace of her for a bit and then head into town to start contacting leads and put an end to this. Let's show them they bit off more than they can handle with their measly explosions and strong armed kidnappings."
My sentiments exactly, Kierana responds with a grin at Pyrrha's strong words. She begins to scan her surroundings, looking for any trace of Korihor's escape route.
Ahto joins Kierana in trying to spot Korihor's tracks.
While Korihor's escape was stealthy, her tracks are rather easily discovered by Kierana and Ahto, leading out into the woodlands surrounding the Starset farm. "She ran," Twist comments idly, his tail swishing in the air behind him. "Why would she run? And where?" He strokes his chin with thought for a moment, before looking to the rest of the party.
"Well, we... I can't show up empty handed, and she's liable to be dragged off again if we don't find her."