Seeing one of the orcs fall down right before her, Sorogar rushes over and immediately puts pressure on the wound with one hand while the other goes for a herbal-smelling bandage of some kind from her pouch.
"Someone tie him up after this and take care of the other orc. I'm going to see if that human is still alive for interrogation," she says, somewhat coldly.
After ensuring at least this one orc won't immediately die, she starts walking back to the human near the rakshasha to double check if he's already dead or if he could also be stabilized.
Sorogar moves up and attempts to cut down the Orc approaching her and the casters!
Unfortunately, she's surprised by the sudden direction change of the orc and misses.
Sorogar is surprised by the direction change of the orc and misses her swing at the running orc.
Brek summons a beatle and sends it at the orc running towards him.
The orc continues to run trying to get around Ohime as he runs.
With him running past her, Ohime continues her song, but strangely she is no longer singing. It seems to linger in the air as if its power maintains itself.
As the orc rushes around her, avoiding her melee strike, she takes the dagger already in her hand and attempts to throw it into his back.
Krokkin sprints away from the fallen prey to the last remaining one standing.
No prey will escape today, he roars as he attacks.
Seeing his blade fall short perhaps once more, Ohime will enhance Krokkin by the powers of the arcane, allowing his strike to perhaps find its mark.
Mosely stows his sword and attempts to stop the bleeding on his foe, so that he can be questioned later.
Sorogar charges the fleeing orc and attempts to strike again!
The orc collapses under the swinging falchion of sorogar. He is quiet dead with his kidneys being sliced open.
Sighing, Sorogar sheathes her Falcion and sees Mosely stabilizing the other orc. She then jogs back to the fallen Rakshasha and the human that attempted to help him to quickly check if either of them could also be kept alive for questioning, or if they were both dead as well.
Seeing both the main enemies dead, Sorogar starts searching them for any items of note. Was there anything on them that identified them or revealed more of the plans of whoever these people were working for?
"Guess most of them are dead. Well-fought, all. Let's quickly search the bodies and take the survivor with us for questioning. We should check up on the commander. I healed him as well as I could on the spot, but he probably needs long-term care."
Sorogar quickly stabilizes the survivor(s) and binds their wounds with a basic bandage. "This one is still alive, too. Good hob all. Let's quickly search the dead and take the survivors with us for questioning. We should check up on the commander. I healed him as well as I could on the spot, but he probably needs long-term care."
With three of the 4 opponents being dead and one in captivity, a search is made of the belongings of the others.
- wand of fireball (3 charges)
- 3 leather armor (m)
- 3 short swords (m)
- combined 45 gold
- a dagger ornately carved bone handle (s)
- Wand (7charges)
- 5 (s)daggers
- Lamellar armor made from bone (s)
- 2 (m) shortbows
- heavy crossbow (m)
A small pouch containing a carved emerald skull is found among the items on the rakshasha. It is accompanied by a scroll written in
Ohime's robe is now gone for good.
It was blown to bits by the fireball that blasted into her. With what's left dropped on the bridge, it has now blown away down into the canyon. She is there without her protective barrier, but that worry doesn't seem to be on her face currently. Instead, she is thrilled.
Clapping, the Vishkanya cheers at Krokkin, Mosley, and Sorogar.
"You all did amazing. I am utterly impressed."
Regarding the commander, in a sweet voice, she will answer Sorogar, "I'm sure with your healing, he will recover in no time."
With them wrapping things up, recovering their items, and delivering the remaining prisoner to the camp, there will be time to hopefully go over the gear they have found. She will study the remaining wands and items with detect magic to see if they held much value.
As the last of the enemy fall, Krokkin surveys the destruction sheathing his sword and shield. He howls one more time in triumph at the victory , then sprints back into the camp to the commanders tent.
While he is glad to see that there are two new guards posted outside the tent he charges for the entrance at full speed. He vaguely recognizes them as the boiling waves of rage force everything out of his mind except the last image he saw of the commander before the battle began.
I will pass He roars at the two as he nears the tent claws extending from his fingers as he nears in a threatening way. The two guards know Krokkin from the pit and move the flaps aside as he barrels thru knocking over a healers assistant who stepped into the opening just as Krokkin arrived.
His rage making him scan everything and everyone while scenting to see if he can smell the same odor he had familiarized himself with previously not even noticing that he ran into anyone.
Can you hear me? he roars a moment later, then seeing that he now has everyones' attention he directs his gaze to the commander as he drops to one knee. The raging waves left him so suddenly that there was way more force in the drop than intended and he stays that way while he reports rather than getting back up. Outwardly he tries to have the act show as respect rather than exhaustion.
There were 4 assailants, the one that was here to assassinate you, and three to help him escape. Only one of the support creatures survived. The others were cut down. The thing that attacked you also applied something to the bridge that was meant to destroy it. We need the engineers to check the bridge. The others will be back soon to report on what they were able to get out of the one we left alive.
By the end of his report he is starting to recover from the exhaustion. He stands and moves to the side of the tent.
I will stay here with you for now until the team reports if you will have me.
With a spectral raven hovering over the man, Brek's method differs wildly from Ohime as Brek literally seems to strike a conversation with all magical items that shows up on his magical sight.
Handling each of them, He asks them simple questions like what do they do and how many times. In a short while he too is able to confirm each magical item properties.
Seeing Krokkin storm of in the direction of the commander's tent seemingly in the same frenzy as he was in during the fight, Sorogar curses in Orcish, cuts short her search and rushes after him.
"By the Skyfather's celestial blue balls!"
At the tent, she barrels past the guards, crashes into the backup medic and immediately rises to her feet from the following roll. "Krokkin!! DONT'T kill the-!"
Seeing the catfolk unexpectedly kneel before the commander and finding him still intact, she cuts off her warning. Winded, she looks around the room and attempts to get het breathing under control. "Ah, *pant* my mistake. Good. I was *pant* worried for a moment that... *pant*."
She shakes her head and avoids Krokkin's gaze, blushing. "Are you all right, sir? What happened before we got here?" she asks the commander instead.
With Sorogar and Krokkin having left, she watches Brek with wonder as he does what she cannot.
"Your magic is very beautiful." she admiringly states. Her voice being like someone who dreamily saw their crush walk by, but for her, it seems unique magic thrills her excitement. A moment later, she snaps out of it and understands the general worth of these items.
"We better hurry back. Who knows what Krokkin is doing? He seemed very aggravated."
She will make sure they don't leave anything behind. Bolts are collected that may not have been broken, the magic items gathered, and the slave returned to the camp. What his fate will be, only the commander knows.
At the gate, she gets some resistance due to not having her robe, but her delightful voice eases them and they remember it from when she had fed everyone in camp. Now allowed in, with the others, she'll bring the slave into the tent with the others to see what's going on. Her familiar will once again land at her neckline and hide under her silvery hair.
The captive is turned over to the commander whom quickly has him taken away by guards.
Thank you once again. I owe my life to you.My counselor did not survive the attack however. I have heard of these dandasuka rakshasha before. They study a prey and then after they are comfortable the eliminate the prey and become the prey using magical means. I am sure that is what it intended.
I was sitting at my table making plans when someone entered my tent. I thought it was one of my guards. Next thing I knew my counselor was choking on his own blood and I had been stabbed several times. I attempted to stand and fell onto the bed. I was able to crawl across to where my sword was and grab it. Then the creature was on me. You came in at that point.
The commander explains. Did the prisoner say anything to you? What did you find among their gear?
Brek blinks at Ohime's words.
[b]"I thank you for your compliments though I just relate to them differently. The Phoenix in me sings to them and they reply with their own song. One just has to listen. Each has their own melody and even though each magical item may seem the same, they have individual personalities. "{/b] Brek explains as best as he can. Picking up the pace as she watches Ohime hurry back, his presence seems to be all illuminatingly bright until they head back to camp.
For those that seem to be giving Ohime trouble for her lack of usual covering feeling that Brek somehow smiles at them and through that smiles brings up the oppressive rumors' that Brek despite being a genial man has skills no such man should have. Ohime's voice though is the light that pierces through that gloom and reminds them of who she is.............likely saving Brek the trouble to have a talk with them later on.
Coming over to the commander's tent, he and his companion might just be in time to hear the discussion inside.
Ohime hums happily at Brek's explanation. "It is encouraging to know that there are realms of magic, music, and song--that even after all my experiences as a bard in my youth--that I still have not even the slightest idea of."
She seems to relish the thought of the phoenix. Such thoughts are quickly squashed as they enter the camp and the tent of the commander.
"He said that he was threatened to be killed if he didn't provide cover for the rakshasa leader on his retreat. Frankly, I don't see how
the leader could have gotten in here without some form of invisibility. This is what we found on them all."
Having taken some of it herself, she will deposit it within the sight of the commander and explain what the magic items will do if he needs to know.
The commander looks over the items very quickly "you're welcome to keep whatever you wish. We have enough in our camp for supplies.
He pauses and then turns to you as if making a decision Would you all be willing o take on the role of an advanced scouting party? I need someone who can travel faster than this caravan and hopefully make contact with some of the denizens of the area that are intelligent.
From the attacks against us, I'd guess that there are going to be others that are disgruntled and know of the manipulations of these creatures. We could use some allies if we need to fight the ogres in the mountains.
Are you sure you want us to be out of camp. Twice now attacks have happened that we have had to crush. We have crushed them each time.
Krokkin speaks showing no malice or disparagement of the protection in his mannerisms and tone. However not realizing that his statement can be taken in a negative light.
"I... admit I am also hesitant, commander Hendricks. These enemies came from behind us and were about to destroy the bridge. We'll need to leave at least some men behind to construct some defensible position and man it. The caravan will be spread thin. Are you sure you can miss us?" Sorogar asks, trying to word it slightly more politically correct, but essentially agreeing with Krokkin on this.
"Not many survived our onslaught by retreating into the forests previously. These, perhaps, were our last enemies from across the bridge. More of our foes may lie in front of us now than behind. If that's so, we can continue what we've been doing and scout ahead. In either case, securing the bridge may be wise."
"Hm... I don't know. Where did these orcs come from? There might be hostile settlements behind us, too. I would at the very least not leave the bridge unguarded."
She takes in the commander, studying his demeanor. "However, it is also true that we're probably the best scouts available. Sending us ahead would make better use of us."
I understand it is a risk. The other options would be to make a defensible base here instead of just a defensible position or send a few back to bring in new recruits and people to help out. Hendricks says.
I think that for now the enemy wouldn't attack for a little atleast knowing that we are on alert for just such an attempt. They have tried once intentionally and were discovered once before they were ready. They have lost in both instances forces, that if what our captives have said are few in number, they can't afford to keep losing numbers. I think they will wait for more cannon fodder forces to be close before they make another attempt.
I wish my friend and advisor were here and alive. I could use his perspective on things right now. What do you think, would it be better to go forward and send an emissary group to scout and make allies or build here and send a few back for reinforcements? He finishes off by looking at the group seeking answer.
Brek looks at the discussion being held and holds up a hand to draw attention.
"Building a defensive base here pretty much means you want an outpost here. If this is going to be a trading route, having a place for travelling caravans to rest and restock would be good." he begins.
Do you not have anyone powerful enough to raise the dead? If so Getting reinforcements in that area would be good. You would do well to get them seeing as the other side is already aware of our presence and having tried twice to subvert us which ended in failure. They'll try again. In my opinion given their views on us, they might not be amendable to negotiations. "
"As for scouts, even though our lack of presence here meant that you'll be less defended from such threats. I do believe that our last uprooting of infiltrators should leave the camp safe for now. Getting allies ahead would also be beneficial to us after all having a fight on too many fronts is not a wise course of action." he leaves it off as that.
"Why not do both?" Sorogar asks. "We could do the scouting and attempt to make contact with other settlements while the caravan builds an outpost here and sends for reinforcements. It would protect the bridge and build a trade outpost. Then, when you're done, you could move ahead."
She will listen to Brek's and Sorogar's reasoning and will nod.
"I agree with Sorogar, although I think you should move the camp right up near to the bridge. Have the outpost be a fixture for those who wish to cross the chasm. We will scout out as you suggest while you send out for reinforcements."
She runs a hand through her visibly grey hair now that she is not covered by the robe. "You should take what time you can to grieve for your friend. I'm sorry for your loss..."
Her voice seems to share in the pain and sympathy that his did. Some may be caught up in duty or what to do next, but Ohime is attentive to the fact that someone close to the commander just perished; perhaps a lifelong friend? In any case, a person you trust is hard to come by, and she makes effort to have him feel like he shouldn't ignore it.
As the talk has become more political Krokkin begins to lose interest. In bides his time by watching all who move thru the tent and scenting them as he can to detect any new trace of this new exciting prey he has bested twice.
There is not much reason to fear this Rakshasa people, with this pack we can defeat whatever comes at us.
Lost in the scenting, thoughts, and scanning he doesn't realize that he is beginning to smile. This begins to unnerve some of the attendants in the tent as his smile shows teeth and the matted blood and carnage on his fur. As the attendants continue to move they begin to to give him plenty of room as the pass even though he is standing still.
So we split groups then. I will stay and establish outposts on either side of the bridge. YOu may choose to go forward or return and recruit and bring the new recruitments to us. Hendricks says looking at you expectantly. The choice is yours I am already in you debt.
Sorogar nods her head respectfully, then turns to her companions. "Looks like this may be a long journey we're going on with just the six of us, and we have no idea when we'll back. However, it will also be easier to move undetected. We should make preparations accordingly. Is there anything anyone wants to take care of before we set out?"
"Guess I should go pack...."
"I am all set to travel still."
She will look to Krokkin strangely, unsure about his behavior smelling people. If he moves to smell her, she will put her hand out gently to his maw or chest; whichever is in reach, dependent on how personal he gets with his sniffing. She attempts to stop him from getting close enough to invade her bubble in an action to stop him, as if to communicate that he is being rude.
Regardless, she will continue to the commander, "I think some rest after today might be needed, a sharpening of my dagger and then I'll be fully ready."
Mosely remains standing over the wounded archer until someone shows up to take him prisoner for later questioning—after all, the halfling would have a hard time dragging him back to camp by himself!
Once he is finally relieved, after cleaning his sword and checking his armor for dings he rejoins the discussion in progress.
"Into the wild again? Not a problem."
"Don't forget to bring extra food, everyone. No telling how long we'll be..."
He gestures vaguely to the west.
"Out there."
As he stands there focusing on the different scents of people he is somewhat unaware of the conversation. He realizes that ohime is hold her hand out to him as he also realizes that she is in the room. He smiles at her:
thanks for offering but I know your scent well enough. The room is clear. I would also like to rest for the evening and set out in the morning.
Either way I am heading back to our camp area. I am ready for any adventure.
With that he heads out of the tent back to camp to get a bite to eat and ready himself for the journey and settles down for the evening. Not admitting to anyone how exhausted he is.
Sorogar watches everyone leave, then realizes Mosely was missing. She motions for two guards to follow her and relieve the halfling - the only one with the sense to stay with the near-dead prisoner.
"Thanks, Sir Mosely. Reliable as always," she says, bowing her head in a sign of respect. She checks the archer over to make sure he was stable, then turns to the soldiers. "You two, take this orc with you, find the lieutenant and assist him in the interrogation. We need to prepare to set out tomorrow. I expect a full report on what he knows by then."
As the soldiers leave, she looks back over the bridge to the other side of the chasm. This construction signified something truly important - the first helpful structure built here in primitive lands. The first sign oversea technology could improve life here for the tribes and villages in the wild.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asks Brujah and Movah, then returns to her tent to pack for tomorrow.
Hendricks states We will be here so just take your time preparing. You've had a lot the last few days and a rest would be the least we can do for thanks. He turns and walks away as you all exit.
That night, she will heal herself and find a stream nearby, or fetch water herself, for a collapsible bath. If none were available, she would do her normal routine of a sponge bath. Her intent that night would be to relax and feel clean before setting off into the wild. With her robe gone, a large number of the people in the tent have given eyes to the new woman; even asking the commander who she is and where she came from. To their surprise, she was the elderly woman in a robe the whole time and a vishkanya.
To a couple of people, who likely came from her hometown, they seem rather pissed she is there and their troubles all of a sudden seem to make more sense. From their perspective, she is a blight and has been the sole responsible party for the tragedy of their own lands according to the tales. Rumors can be deadly things if left unchecked.
Without knowing the hearts and minds of those in the camp, Ohime will proceed unknowingly and enjoy herself with good food, her bath, clean clothes, and then a nice brush of her hair.
After getting dressed, she will prepare some bolts specifically for hunting animals in the wild, and some for fighting with poison but, then the rest of the evening, she will sing to herself while working on alchemical goods.
If anyone notices her, she will be a bit more self-conscious of her body being uncovered from the robe at the onset, but as evening comes, she is a bit more relaxed (or distracted) from her tinkering.
Brek wanders around to see if he could obtain additional rations. He was mostly comfortable in roughing it out but he knew that his skills in foraging was abysmal to say the least.
A time to settle his thoughts, get in a shower and pack additional food and water was always good in his opinion.
When the ill rumors surrounding Ohime surface and Sorogar overhears them at one of the cooking fires, this far away from her home, she makes it clear in no uncertain terms that she has a zero tolerance policy for racism. *Especially* against friends of her who were *also* important in the plan to remove the rakshasha, making her one of the very few reasons they were even alive, let alone safe.
When it continues anyway, something in her snaps. She *drags* the inciter to Krokkin's dueling ring. Making it an all tactics allowed match, she uses the full complement of her shamanistic enhancing spells to beat the living snot out of him, then heals him just enough for him to walk away.
She repeats this process twice, hoping this would get the message to stick across the camp.
Then, somewhat exhausted from the fighting, she requests the captain to provide someone to guard her tent just in case, and goes to sleep while Brujah and Movah kept watch.
In her dreams, she sees the vague shape of a Mammoth approaching her. But then, at the last second, it turned away...
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Krokkin is awakened by the captain of the guard late in the evening. Since he went to bed early he was alert and functional in moments. The captain is familiar with Krokkin and they have a mutual respect for each other.
Your group really knows how to keep people on their guard, he says.
What is going on captain and what do you need from me? Krokkin responds.
Two things really. The first is that since you are leaving who do you think would be best to take over running the dueling ring. My troops have been more alert and are really taking to training more than I have seen since boot camp. This was a great idea. I want someone who can run it fairly but also has skill enough to be able to handle situations that might go out of hand. The captain waits while Krokkin contemplates the question.
Private Marsden would be my pick. He is skilled but humble, well respected by the men, and above all he has been fair in his dealings with all.
The captain studies him for a few moments. That could be tough, he is not in a position of authority in the guard, how will that work?
I will appoint him in the morning as I am not part of the guard at all. That way it does not come from you and not look like a promotion. He will have my full confidence, and if there are any disputes with his ruling they will continue to bring them to you. The hard part will be yours. You will have to rule fairly as usual which means that sometimes you will side with Marsden and sometimes not. What is your other question?
The captain nods his head a Krokkin's words but he hesitates at the question. After a few moments he sighs and speaks.
Sorogar took exception with what some people were saying about another member of your party. She didn't like what people were saying about Ohime and told them so. When they did not listen to her, she took them to the ring and I gotta tell you that I did not think that she was very aggressive in battle, but she dismantled all three opponents. It was one opponent at a time but I did not see any slacking in her abilities thru the later battles. She impressed several, scared even more, and a few might now have shifted their anger and frustration to her. I was surprised, but she request I post a guard for her tonight.
Krokkin is grinning by the time the captain finishes speaking. You came to me to see about watching her so that it does not look like the guard is getting involved. Very wise. No one will mess with her when her companions are watching. I will watch her tonight. If anyone does come they will find me ready.
The captain sighs again, this time in relief. Thank you Krokkin, your role of dueling master will be here waiting for you when you return. If you need anything, don't hesitate to come to me.
Krokkin nods and the captain snaps a quick salute and then turns to leave. Krokkin packs the rest of his gear, moves over to Sorogars tent and sets up quietly outside of it. Brujah flutters around Krokkin's head twice and goes back to its perch on top of the tent. Movah bares teeth at Krokkin but makes no advance. Krokkin bares his back and allows his claws slide out for a moment and then retract.
He then settles down to guard the group for the rest of the night.
Ohime would poke her head out of the tent as the crowds gathered around the sparring ring, but such things didn't interest her. She would ultimately head to bed none-the-wiser concerning her situation and what it has caused. Her little thrush would stay hidden from the big cat. Even though it is intelligent, some things still were innate with the thrush.
Before the sun rises, the sounds of birds echo through the camp again, but her thrush merely goes out and hunts for food. Once away from the tent, however, the brilliant, crisp song of her wood thush can be heard over the awkward squawks and hoots of the jungle. Like Ohime, it brings a bit of beauty to the ruggedness of the wild.
Upon hearing the sounds of the morning, Ohime will rise and stretch. That morning all she needs is to slip on her clothing for the day and put on her gear. It's all laid out and situated perfectly. When she comes out of the tent, she is shocked to see Krokkin there. In fright, she jumps but then calms shortly after seeing that it is him.
"Good morning," she offers sweetly as she tightens her pack onto her back. "Is everything alright?" she asks with a tilt of the head, as he normally wouldn't be lingering outside of the tents.
All is well, I must go take care of something quickly. I will be back shortly. I leave my things in your care until I return.
Without another word he turns and heads further into camp toward the captains tent.
She will nod and agree, "Oh...okay...I will check and see if Sorogar is up also."
Sleepily she will stretch, yawn, and watch him go. She isn't sure how heavy his pack is, but she will lift it to her shoulder with a whining grunt as she moves towards Sorogar's tent. It is then that her affectionate familiar will happily come to land on her forearm with little muddy feet.
She will greet it take a moment before bothering Sorogar to show it attention. As if in some kind of playful competition continued over many days and weeks, she will whistle to it. Her whistle is no louder than her beautiful avian's. Somehow, Ohime mimics its warble perfectly. Its own thrush-like voice now lifts into the air to match it. The two will duet for a little while, playing off each other's corresponding tune before Ohime will laugh quietly to herself. Something in their joyous competition had delighted her.
"Sorogar," she whispers as she approaches the tent. "Are you up?" She will listen first to hear if she can sense movement. If not, she will look in to see if she is awake.
That morning, Sorogar yawns and stretches, then gets dressed. She winces at the feeling of a bruise on her cheek and thinks back to last night where she'd gotten pommel struck in a moment of carelessness. Oh well. It was worth beating some sense into human Growlings and didn't hinder her much. No sense wasting good healing energy on something trivial.
After a quick wash in her tent, then dressing and putting on her armor, weapons and backpack, she steps outside.
"Anything happen last night?" she asks Movah, who was still lazily lying there on the ground.
He grinned. "Your kitty friend was here all night. Think he wanted to rut with you but just didn't have the balls."
Sorogar's eyes went wide and she did a very decent fishgape impression. Then, she sighed and shook her head. "Ok, so what REALLY happened?"
"We had an interesting philosophical discussion about how best to tear out someone's throat, conveyed mostly in glares."
She facepalms and looks to Brujah. "He's lying, right?"
The bat fluttered left and right. "Wait... he isn't?"
Up and down.
"Really? Krokkin was actually here?"
"Told you. Think I'd lie to my shaman like that? I'm hurt." Movah stretched forward and got up on all fours.
"I... need some time to process this! What should I do?" Perhaps in a bit of panic, she walks around to the back of the tent, out of sight.
"Go rut. Problem solved," Movah helpfully supplied.
"Oh, shush!"
Quickly setting off towards the designated meeting place, she catches Ohime lingering near the tent entrance. More than happy to breech a different subject, she calls out to her. "Hey, Ohime. Are you all right? People were talking ill of you last night but I did my best to set them straight."
She smiles at the other woman and the bruise moves with her cheek.
Local camp gossip found their way to Brek whether by intent or not but the man appears unconcerned about it.
His companions were more then up to the task.
His own tent remains undisturbed though there was a clear distance between his and the other tents as if there was a boundary that shouldn't be crossed. None of it was his doing.
His own preparations went well. There were other news far more interesting then him. Like guards getting mauled in a dueling ring. Wasn't his problem at all. They were mature people, they could deal with it.
The next morning finds him waiting patiently for the rest with his pack beside him on the ground.
The group assembles around the mid-morning after finally gathering all their belongings and getting final instructions. The sound of a thrush in the distance accentuates the sounds of the wild as you head off in a northwesterly direction. You travel for 2 days before running into a river. The river has swamp extending from it for some quarter of a mile on both sides. The jungled areas are clear from the banks of the river on both sides. Mangroves sparsely run into the swamps but even they are sparce in the intervening land between where you are and where the river starts.
A herd of small hippos are gathered in the distance. And the sound of marsh birds can be heard. The river looks to meander slowly. The heat is oppressive as the sun bears down from the apex of its height. A gentle breeze ruffles the swamp grass which dwarves Mosely by close to 3 feet. The little rise that your party arrives on allows the view of the river, swamp, and hippos.
Ohime seems perplexed by the topic the half-orc brings up and it is clear on her face. What initially was a bright smile after singing, slowly fades and subconsciously her arms wrap around her body.
"Oh...Here too then. You didn't have to do that."
A slight smile returns, but it is a painful one, shining through the hurt. With a hand, she will produce a tonic for the half-orc's cheek.
"Here, let me rub this in there. Your bruising will fade in twenty minutes."
The mixture will smell like coffee beans and a roasted burnt smell of a bit of vanilla. Underneath it is a slightly disguised medicinal smell. If she allows her, shortly after, the two can head to the center to await Krokkin and Mosley. Brek, it seems, is already there.
--------
Once the group heads out and ventures long and far, it is clear whatever bothered Ohime that morning had faded from her mind. As they enter into the wetland and swamps, she almost seems reminiscent of her homeland before her parents moved her to the city.
"Well...that is stunning!" she comments as they crest the rise. "I've missed adventuring into the beauties of the world."
Sorogar accepts the ointment and readily applies it. "I didn't have to, no, but I wanted to. I still don't understand anything about why you're to blame for whatever back where you came from, but frankly I don't care. You're here with us, aren't you? And you did more for the caravan than those... those..."
"B$&#@$*@s?" Movah supplies.
Sorogar nods. "Than those 'b*@*%$*@s' ever did."
------------
"It really is something beautiful. Nature is strong here, vibrant with life." Sorogar inhales the scent deeply and smiles, content. "Hmmm... where should we go from here, though? The goal was to find other settlements. Usually those are found near water. Shall we scout along the river and see what we can find?" she suggests, and looks around the party. She evades Krokkin's gaze though, seemingly embarassed.