Verim falls down grasping Wendaug by the waist as he does so, sickened and tired. He almost buries his face in her crotch by doing so and moans as if he had a bad stomachache or intense headache. " Ugggggh, The world is spinning, What is she talking about? Is she alright.. Oohhh stop spinning world... " Trying to hold in a vice-grip not actually aware of what he was doing. Some of his wording muffled as he speaks.
"Mum!" Luci cried out once she saw the prisoner and immediately hugged her tightly. "Thank the gods."
It was then that she noticed the various injuries her mother, Novennia Moretti, had suffered at the hands of the cultists and hoped that Mia's healing would keep the brands from scarring. As painful as it was to see her in such a state, words couldn't express how relieved she was to find her alive.
"Mum?" Laris raises an eyebrow.
Relieved to see the woman in better condition than just a bit ago, Mia's face turned a bit blank of expression.
......
"I...i'm going to check up on Verim and Wenaug."
That she does.
Tallina wanders over while reaching into her pack for her pot of leftovers. A bit of magic to make it seem fresh and it's at least ready to eat. The half-elf smiles a warm smile.
"I thought I recognized you, although the clothes really do set you apart. Luci's mom, would you like something to eat? It's some delicious vegetable ravioli, I'm afraid there's not much but there's enough to fill up on."
She hands the pot to Luci and fills her waterskin with a create water spell before leaving to check on Tobongo.
"Now you just keep getting into all sorts of trouble, I'm glad the spirits are so kind to you. Wish I could say the same about myself, but my magic has me all fixed up."
Mia seems Verim is trying his best not to fall to the ground via Wendaug. Once he has stabilized himself a bit he looks up from Wendaug's lower body, about eye level with Mia now that he was on his knees. He could tell something was wrong but with a pained face couldnt fully guess. If she checked his wounds Mia could see that his face had a few shards of glass embedded in tiny cuts and during the fight a blade had pierced deep inside. Overall however, the wounds were not as bad as your used to seeing with him. Verim however, even in his weakened state grew worried.. still holding to Wendaug he asked
" Wee Lass, what's the problem? I hear the lady is fine but you didnt seem your normal playful self? Urrggh *cough* That stings... Is there something amiss? " Verim placing a weary yet comforting hand upon Mia's head rubbing it, half as a gesture half as a way of not falling down.
"She's found her mom.......so let me have a look at those injuries you got. Unless Wendaug wants to take care of it.", she says with a faint smile.
Maxwell is ready to retort with a furrowed brow and a prominent vein appearing on his forehead when Luciana yells for her mom, which Maxwell understands all too soon. Looking at Tallina, he just mumbles something under his breath. "Those people are dead." is all he can say before he turns on his heel and stands away from the party for a little bit, finding one of the merchant stores to lean against as he just stares into the distance.
Verim looks to Mia and sighs, stabilizing himself and using his pure will not to pass out from the pain. He then begins wrapping his arms around her in a hug " Mia, you don't have act like an adult here. It's fine, I promise you we will find your mother as well. Let me try to help your wounds first, the physical is easy to mend, but emotional wounds linger " Embracing her as best he could in his state.
" I'll try not to be another reason to worry you too " he whispers, only to Mia as his arms are locked around her, as if to slightly drop the tension. " Right now I'm in so much pain I want to cry...err.. could you help with that.. I don't want to look like a kid in front of everyone. C'mon Mia, only you can save this uncle's visage "
Rustling Tobongo's leaves, Tallina pours a bit of water on the treant. She rolls her eyes at Verim's words, if only because she knew a bit about the "child."
"I'll be back in just a moment.
Walking over to Mia and Verim she taps Mia slightly on the shoulder.
"Can you excuse us for a moment Verim. Don't bleed to death while I have a word with her."
Verim looks up from Mia's shoulder with a slightly surprised yet hesitant face and smiles.. awkwardly. " H-Hey you make it sound like I'm heavily wounded or Somthin' Jungle Beauty, have some faith in your Ol' Verim.. I'm not ALWAYS bleeding..just frequently hehe. Mia can go with you if'n she wants. Must be important enough for you to stop such a heartwarming moment "
Mia, you don't have act like an adult here
Well that's because practically am, almost anyway.
"You.....cry? Ok, i get it."
"Feeling a bit better?"
Verim nods gently and smiles
" The hangover intensifies feeling sometimes.... But I think I'm almost.. er.. better? " The wounds seem to heal though his body twitches at her touch.
" No go see what Talli wants from ya' I'll be fine on my own.. plus Wendaug can keep me company... She's worse off than I am.. "
"If so i can heal her too."
Verim chuckles though it becomes pained at the end, " I speak of the aftereffects of drinking too much Lass, That'll take a bit more than a hug I assure ya' She wasn't even close enough to get swatted at anyway. "
"Now that you mention it, you do smell of alcohol. Wait a minute.."
She reaches into her pack and takes out a sort of mint-flavored candy and quickly shoves it into his mouth.
*Big smile*, "There, that'll probably work."
She leans in, "Maybe Wendaug will be more inclined to, what was that word, smooch?"
She then walks back to Tallina & the others.
Wendaug scowls at Verim's antics, pushing his face out of her lap If one night of drinking turns you into a whining wreck, I'll be drinking alone from now on. When you pull yourself together, I'll be scouting ahead.
Shouldering her bow, Wendaug fades into the surrounding buildings, heading in a generally northward direction.
Collapsing into tears at the sight of her daughter, Luciana's mother clings to her daughter, body wracking with sobs. They are all dead. Lord Hulron, Terendeleve, everyone. I thought I had lost you too.
Verim seems alarmed greatly by this and scrambles after Wendaug " Hey Hey now, I'm no whiner! Your the one who hugged me when you slept! Get back I'm not letting you off that easy, scouting alone is suicide.. wait up. " He'll have to rely on survival skills as Wendaug well outpaces him.
Verim easily loses sight of Wendaug.. and sighs deeply, he messed up. Or she was playing really hard to get. He looked at the ground and started trying to track her the ol' fashioned way... he could play cat and mouse.
Luci held her mother close to help her calm down. "I guess Dad and Vincenzo picked the right time for that trip to Nerosyan, huh?" she joked, hoping to help calm her down by reminding her about the rest of their family being out of the city.
"Are you hurt at all? Mia used a little healing magic on you before, but we have more if you need it."
"Verim! Don't go wandering off!" is all Maxwell can say before Verim starts trying to tail her. He walks up when he realizes he's about to go after her, gripping him by the shoulder. "Let it be for now."
Looking into the distance after the woman, he smirks. "I'm not going to let you chase after her given the current situation. You walk off, and you'll die. Wendaug is at least able to hide, so she'll be fine." he points out as he holds the man.
Verim grits his teeth hard as Maxwell restrains him from following Wendaug. His protective nature had almost gotten the better of him, but his worry did not cease. He spoke in voice that lack some of his normal playfulness but seemed more objective. " I know that Maxwell, I really do. Right now she is.. about the same as me, so if she gets found out she wont be ale to run properly. So chances are she'd have to Yell and knowing her she would rather not. She disappeared so fast I'm not even sure how far Wendaug intended to go. Truthfully, once I get to know someone it almost impossible for me NOT to act like this.. it was a problem in the Brigade as well... I got better. I can't help but worry, especially considering the sort of, pact we have now; I can tell you could care less about her. I do . She really stuck around and didnt attack because she had no other place and seemed to be hinging on that promise I made in battle.. now that we've done so.. perhaps she wont find a reason to come back. "
Verim sighs once more and returns to his normal voicing. " Fine.. I'll wait a half a hour.. but no more. Then I'm finding her if she doesnt return. Heh, maybe Wendaug might have a reason to return, I at least hope it might just be so that SHE is the only one that kills me, seems to like to hurt me is all. We'll have to make sure Luci's Mom i somewhat stable by then and ready to move.. though.. it might be better for her to stay at Horgus' "
"Frankly speaking, nowhere in this forsaken city is safe. Not anymore. So many things have confused me since we've gotten back!" he says as he turns around. "Really, has no one stopped to consider these events?" he asks with a raised voice. Turning again he lowers it again to say, "And Verim, if she doesn't come back in that time we'll all chase after her. Going off on your own is suicide and I really wish you'd learn that. Good intentions aren't worth their weight in salt if they... get you killed." he says with a pause.
After a moment thinking on that, he smirks stereo-typically and says. "But really! Horgus's Manor. The disappearance of that massive demon! The fact this city is standing with even a remote similarity to what it was before baffles me." He wipes a bit of sweat from his brow and looks back over to Luciana. "I apologize for my dour tone, and my seriousness. I'm not like the rest of you, and I can't enjoy myself in these times, and honestly the idea of letting my defense down and "Enjoying the moment" seems foolish. The flirting, the food, all of it, ALL OF IT! Comes second to my duty." he says catching his breath for a moment, turning to Verim.
"The rest of you can enjoy yourself. By my manner, however, I cannot. I have my reasons, but I won't be taking it easy until this city's defenses are back." he says as the red energy surges within his hand as he clenches his fist.
"And to make matters worse, we're left with a Dilemma... And no one even seems to notice." He says as he looks back towards the Manor.
On the other side of the small stage she whispers to Mia in elven.
Noticing the anger in Maxwell's voice from aways away she sighs.
"Looks like Max is starting to get antsy. We should go and speak with him. Maybe we should go calm him down."
---Back with the group---
With Maxwell having his little rant she pipes in.
"Are you done? Because we have to get moving, yes last night was a bit excessive but you go big or you go home. The fact that anything in this city is still standing is remarkeable but the dilemma I have is that the fifth crusade has started in Kenabres and we are smack dab in the middle of it. We were there when the dragon was slain, we were chosen to live while so many others died, we fought our way from the underground to the surface on nothing more than what we had on our person, a few tricks, some luck, and each other. You may be here in Kenabres because it's your job, but I was chosen by my faith, and I am here of my own free will."
"I'm a lot more than just a guard, Tallina. I've had my reasons to stay for quite some time..." He says with a long pause as he looks at the woman. "Before we leave, we have to wonder. Do we take Luciana's mother with us, or do we leave her in the questionable safety of Horgus's Manor?"
Mia quickly but casually responds to Tallina's whispered question.
"I'll get to telling, but i'm not sure if this is the moment. I'm slightly surprised he hasn't figured it out, after all i haven't tried for a proper disguise for two days."
Also back at the discussion:
"If she wants to be there or not would be up to her, although when things go bad i can imagine him leaving the poor woman. He was opting to leave the blind elf wasn't he?"
"With that in mind I doubt Luciana would allow her to stay unattended. Sad to say she'd be safer with us... though to be honest, we could leave her with the paladins that one of our tag-alongs are looking for. I've got a feeling those people are in dire straights, but, no one in those ranks were ever pushovers. That said, I'm still not entirely sure... Regardless, we need to inform the bastard what happened out here and get ourselves moving. Pugnacious as he is, He'll atleast want to know that his protection's finally gone." he points out as he walks towards the manor.
Verim calms down somewhat and listens to what Maxwell says before allowing him to leave. " It seems he didn't learn something my father taught me a long time ago. During times of great peril and tragedy, a man does not show the face full of remorse, a Leader instead shows one of hope and strength, for Morale can make the difference in any situation. I mean.. really, imagine if you saw me break down every time I was heartbroken, in pain or stricken with dread at the situation. I just wouldn't be the Verim you'd all come to.. Tolerate! HArr harr-Aghh the hangover's back. "
Verim points over to Luci's mum, " Has a point there, Horgus might let her go fend for herself again, if she comes with us, I'll make extra sure she makes it to safety. Asmodeus' sweat, I still owe the people I carry with me now a proper place to rest. " Verim motions to the keepsakes of those who perished in the initial fall.
"I'd say Horgus is no good for keeping Luciana's mom safe. She could have possibly been with the crusaders, but seeing as how delusional they had gotten, that leaves our group the safest of three options. Strange as that might be."
"Well then Luci's mom, I apologize I never caught your name. The choice is up to you, do you stay with us or rest in the mansion? It would probably be safer to travel with us for a bit until we can find some proper guards. If you decide to travel with us it would be best to stay by the treant over here. He makes an exellent guard."
"On the other hand - the mansion's owner is an arrogant, self-centred merchant who could stand to be taken down a few pegs. Not that I'm condoning excessive verbal beatdowns and linguistic judo, of course, just saying."
Luci was partly trying to lighten the mood while also trying to judge her mother's mental state. If she was still mostly okay, then she would be tempted by the opportunity to lock verbal horns with Horgus - a challenge she had grown quite adept at in her home of Cheliax - but if she wasn't feeling up to it, then she'd probably be better off with their group. Although if she comes with us, I may need to take better care to not get shanked in-front of her - either she'd end up more worried or I'll never hear the end of it.
Coming out to survey the results of the fight, Horgus pokes at the bodies of the fallen cultists in disgust before addressing Luciana. Might as well bring her inside. My saferoom is at least as secure as anywhere else in this damned city.
Mia turns her head with no hidden sign up surprise, which she doesn't speak out loud.
Is there a compassionate side to this selfish man?
Wonders haven't left the world.
" Well I'll be a Daemons Uncle.. Horgus are you trying to help someone else? Must be the drink! How can you be so sure its secure? And even then, you might be right... I mean.. Luci, your Mum doesnt look so.. good. You arent going to be able to fight like that either. " Verim jeers as he begins to loot the Cultists, gathering a breastplate for himself to replace his own armor and looking over the Scythe with a little wonder.
Horgus takes Luciana's mother and gently leads her towards the mansion, grumbling as he goes. Just make sure you come back for her. And damned well don't tell anyone. Word gets out and I'll be swamped with charity cases.
Verim beams at Horgus' action raising a brow. " Ahh don't worry, I have enough experience being a Heel. We'll just say we forced you into it if anyone asks. Now Sir Gwerm, this lady has gone through ... alot. You are going to have to take up the mantle so many men have feared, and be her support. You will have to treat her well. Take that into consideration when you speak, act or interact with her in anyway 'kay? " knocking his fist upon his chest.
" Remember whose mother she is... I hear fallen paladins don't show mercy. " Smirking at the end.
' I would have never guess him a noble man, maybe he has to hide it. A merchant can't exactly be generous all the time if they want to profit
Maxwell grins as he sees the man walk past him and surprise him. At the same time he understood it somewhat. Some people just got rigid once they felt vulnerable or worried. It was just that simple. Not bothering with any more discussion, he sighed, looking towards the last place.
"Right. Looks like it's time to go and take our final companion to her place. We'd best be off." is all he says as he awaits the responses. However, a moment goes on for a second before he looks to the Luciana's mom. Walking up to her and casting a shadow over her with the sun, cloud, or dust behind him he made a simple promise with a stern, yet somewhat warm scowl on his face. It was a usual scowl, if anything. "None of these folk have any amount of faith in my mood, but they'll all attest to the fact that I don't like to lie, or give false hope. With that, good woman, you can be sure. We'll make it a point to bring your daughter back to you, but there are bigger things we have to tend to. We have a job to do. I am sorry. Horgus will see to you until our return. I don't know when we'll be back. The best you can do is pray, and for that, I apologize."
With that, he turns on his heel and walks off with his flail clenched in his fist.
Verim walks up and clangs the spikes of his cestus up against the pauldron of Maxwell's newly refurbished Banded mail. " Hey, I saw what you did there. Listen Maxy, we might follow different gods and have different ideals, even different ways to cope. I'm sure, from what I've seen of you, we both have terrible experience with the Demons. We both have a spark of compassion too, you just showed yours. Now, remember, you are still under my protection. Either way, lets go find Wendaug, I think she went north. "
"Right..." He says as he keeps his eyes straight. "She knew we where we were going. If he make our way there, I'm sure she'll show herself, unless she's found something to keep an eye on." he points out as he walks along.
Glad to see Horgus step up, Luci reached up and undid the chain for her holy symbol, handing the silver icon to her mother.
"I'll come back for you, I promise." she said. She knew her mother didn't worship Lymnieris, but she only hoped that it might help her cope with what had happened.
Verim, with deadpan acting says, " W-Wha? You think she found another guy to flirt with?! How can I ever compete!? " falling into a snicker as he breaks the act, " Well.. let's not hope it was TOO interesting, not that I woulnd't mind bludgeoning some Demons right now. "
Walking alongside the Dirge Priest, Verim speaks as if it was an afterthought, " Oh that reminds me.. I remember you seemed offput by Wendaug more than normal.. what was that for? "
Maxwell rolls his eyes as he mentions the flirting again. However he turns to look at him as they walk when he asks about his distaste for Wendaug. "At the time the woman had put an arrow in 2 of us and was doing her best to kill us... and especially you. I can just as easily ask why you're so smitten with her when she was actively trying to kill you 2 days ago." he asks with a retort.
"There's only one thing about myself that I hide, Verim. When I finally see a reason to tell you, you might come to understand why my dour expression runs so deep. In fact, let's go ahead and get that out of the way. What do you think it was that the demons did to me that makes me so... intent... on throwing my life away if it means 100 of the blasted things die?" he asks without really raising his voice, feeling as though he was far enough away to diverge the information.
Verim rubs the back of his neck and chuckles lowly at Maxwell's own inquisitive questioning. " Well I guess that would be weird, wouldn't it? Truth be told, I'm used to conflict alot in my line of work. Often with mercenaries, your just doing your job. Quite a few of The Evanescent Brigade used to be on different battlefields, but now are best of friends.. or more. It's just how it went. Personally I could tell by the way she reciprocated my taunts that it was more a dance of war rather than a vendetta or religious fervor. I guess I have a sort of empathy with those who are.. not all that bad. And as you saw, she had just as much capability to relax and act just like any other person. It's exactly the same way I would have treated you if you were an enemy, knock ya' down, make up afterward. " Verim easily spills.
" Why you want to kill so may Demons? I'll have to think about what I know about you. First Let's look at my own experiences. When I was so very small, about 12 or so years ago.. The Brigade was attacked by Demons in the night. I was much more rash than I am now and joined in the defense. The Leaders of the Demon Ambush were ones with purple skin and Horns all over. I was, for lack of a better term, completely destroyed and could only watch the carnage. There was a gash in my torso that bled heavily and I passed out. " Verim sighed and continued.
" Eventually the old Veterans had killed them and my parents survived, as well as I with the wound. Others were not so lucky. with this knowledge I would have to then say it's because people close to you, were forever taken away by the demons. You wear the same eyes me and many of the mercenaries at the Brigade had. It would drive me to kill as many Demons as possible. You also worship Groteus a god of the end time, so it must have been very important, if you are not insane. I.. I have yet to fully remember what happens when I fight demons, I scared myself a bit after you told me to stop that first time.. I had no idea it was already dead. "
"My wife and son, Verim. In fire." Is all he points out. "By no means do I intend to undermine your past, Verim, but friends... don't hold a candle to the love of your life, and your own flesh and blood." he points out with a chuckle, but stifles it as his eyes water just a little. "In exchange for his miracles, Groteus forces me to see them covered in soot every day of my life... While you might lose yourself, I see what I've lost every day, and I can't bring them back." he claims with death in his eyes.
"Speak your final piece, Verim. This conversation's over."
Verim is silent, he sighs as there is truly very little that can compare to losing both love and child. All he could do is look the man in the eyes and affirm the truth. " I understand. I have never known that pain and hope I never will. If that is the case, if you would finally have some happiness in your life. I will help you get them back. I promise. I won't let that be what throws you into infinite despair and I'm sure your family wouldn't want that either. " A look of determination contrasting Maxwell's stare.