I will do my best to push against bigotry and hate. As DMB and Indio mentioned already, there is also a lot of good in the wold, and I saw a huge outpouring of love and support towards the Muslim community in my circles.
Search Posts
Hugs and warm thoughts to you and yours, Stricia. Take care of yourself.
Perhaps one of these... soul tomes... could help identify this... thing Stricia says sadly. Would that the Archivists themselves were here to answer our questions directly. Asha perks up at that, gratefully seizing on the opportunity. "My master is a scholar, I could show these to him and... I'm sure he will find it all very interesting and could tell you more about them!" She drops her gaze, fiddling with one of her sleeves. "I have to be honest with you, I don't think I can do this anymore. All the fighting and killing and... and... I'm a healer, not a warrior. I will always help you or your friends if you need healing, but the skulking around in catacombs..." She shakes her head.
As Erodel speaks, she looks up in surprise. "You are right, she does."
Asha puts up her hands at Varia's offer and shakes her head. "I have no need of coin or weapons. The others are welcome to it if they like."
Asha looks very shaken, and is trying hard to not look at the corpse of Nox. When Stricia expresses her wish to leave, she also nods vigorously.
Asha was not sure how much longer she could keep sharing her companions' wounds. She gasps in pain as another cut opens into her flesh, and Erodel's gut closes up a little.
Another pulse of healing energy is sent Stricia's way as Asha attempts to close her owns wounds that form in response, and this time Varia is the target of her blessing.
Asha advances a few steps, following the others . Again, some of Stricia's wounds close
Stricia's wounds flicker and close partially as Asha gasps and blood stains her clothes. She grabs at her side, where a deep slash has opened, and healing energy flows from her fingers.
Hesitant to move forward, she blesses Indio.
Not recognizing the spell that was being cast, Asha prepares for a potential frontal attack, establishing life links with Sricia and Erodel.
How do these plants survive without natural light...? Asha wonders at this subterranean garden before her attention focuses on the strange woman and her canine companion. "Careful, that is a hell hound if I am not mistaken. It can breathe fire." She sends a quick prayer to the spirits to fortify her companions's hearts against the likely inevitable conflict with this woman.
Ash advanced cautiously, , bolstering Stricia.
The narrow space prevented Asha from reaching her companions on the front line, but there are still things that she can do.
Asha stares at the brute. *Nice* devil lady...?' Aloud, she says. "Stay strong. We are close to our goal, and the spirits favour us."
Now that their opponents had been dealt with, Asha invokes the spirits' blessing on the entire group.
The others were moving away from her and Asha has no desire to be left behind in these cavernous corridors. She hurries down the steps and towards the rest of the group, right behind Erodel. "Do you spot anything?"
Asha grunts as her body takes the punishment intended for Stricia. She then offers what assistance she can to Bastargrae.
Asha links her spirit with her companions', preparing to take their wounds, should they get hurt.
Asha sens a quick pulse of healing energy among the party, to get them in top shape should any confrontation occur.
Asha nods, although the others cannot see her as she is positioned at the rear of the group, but she dares not make any sound. Instead, she calls the spirits' blessing upon the others.
Not one to stand up to such force of personality, Asha acquiesces to Varia's pushiness, as well as Indio's well-reasoned arguments. "Oh. Um, very well then. I can hold on for a little longer."
"I am hesitant to push forward as well." Asha adds, nodding to Bastargrae and Tricia. "We are tired and we don't know what awaits us."
Asha reaches out to Varia, bolstering the tiefling's defenses against the memory-stealing guardian.
"Hold on!" Asha exclaims as Stricia and Bastargrae are attacked by the guardian. wishing she could take their pain upon herself.
"Now." whispers Asha, saddened that they were forced to destroy this fascinating creature. "May your strike be true." she whispers again, gently touching Stricia's shoulder.
"Oh no, please don't tell them. We're just looking around." Asha laces her words with magic, attempting to forbid the creature from communicating, at least for a short time.
I am quite swamped at work and do not have the headspace for anything else at the moment, please bot me as needed.
"Ooof. My master had a few books in Azlanti, but that script hurts my eyes when I look at it. I'm sorry that I cannot be of more help."
Asha opens her mouth as if to protest, but closes it again and shakes her head. It did not sit right with her to kill someone like this, not right at all, but the arguments that the others were making were sound. And what would they do with a prisoner? By the sound of it, turning him over to the authorities would either let him go unpunished for his crimes, or executed for his failure. And they could not bring him to the Wasp's Nest either, expose all their secrets to him... Still, when the deed is done she turns away, unable to watch. When she speaks again, her voice cracks and she cannot hide her distress. "Varia... I am Asha. We... the ones you see here, we..." She pauses to take a few deep breaths, averting her eyes from the bodies slumped on the floor and the widening pools of blood. "We are trying to help the city as well. Fighting the tyranny of Thrune as much as we are able."
Asha looks curiously at the tiefling. "You know this person? And who are you? Why did you aid us?"
Asha winces in sympathy as Stricia is struck several times, rushing forward to apply her healing arts to the woman.
"Spirits guide your arm against these foes!" exclaims Asha as she steps forward, emboldened by the fact that all their opponents save one seemed to have been vanquished, lightly touching Erodel on the arm.
Asha takes a few steps forward, laying a hand on Stricia and calling the spirits' blessing upon their new ally.
They were faring poorly against these cultists, Asha thought. Even with the unexpected addition of the mysterious tiefling, the odds weren't good. She invokes the blessing of the spirits, then takes a step back to get out of the way of the fighters.
Asha hurriedly steps back to make room for their new ally, while shouting at the cultists. "Leave him alone!"
Asha twists her head between the sudden appearance of the cultists and the voice of unknown origin that sounded from behind the zombies. She could be wrong, but that voice sounded... friendly? As Indio moves to confront the cultists, she brushes his arm, whispering "Be careful."
Asha closes her eyes as she channels the power of the spirits, directing the energies towards harming the undead currently assailing them.
"I feel... weak. Like the poison is sapping my strength. But I can go on." Asha straightens up and smoothes her clothing, determined to see this through.
"Um, yes, several times." Asha shows Indio the bite marks, now red and swollen.
Asha is only too happy to see the spiders retreat and uses her staff to hold herself upright.
Another bite on her leg, but Asha grits her teeth and continues whacking at the critters with her staff, although the effort is starting to take its toll and she is breathing heavily.
"Ow, ow, ow! Stop biting me!"
The poison was burning where she had been stung, sapping her strength. Asha jabs again at the spiders with her staff, gritting her teeth against the pain.
This time Asha does scream as the spiders swarm all over her, biting and stinging. She stumbles backwards, hitting at the crawlies with her stick.
Asha clamps a head over her mouth to stifle a scream as she lays eyes on the giant spider. She is so focused on it that it takes her several moments to notice the body, and only because Bastargrae points it out. "Oh. Poor soul, that looks like a very unpleasant way to die." She kneels by the body, brushing some of the cloth aside to examine it better. "I wonder how long ago he died... Perhaps the things that killed him have gone away." Still, she casts a wary look around the room, looking for swarms of angry insects.
Asha trails behind the others looking around her with avid curiosity.
She whispers. "When we're done with what we need to do, do you think we can come back and look at the place properly?"
Asha re-casts the light spell on her staff to shed some illumination in the room, and so she could read the labels. "Dragon teeth! Do you think they are real? They're so big!" She moves to decipher the other faded texts, trailing her fingers over the exhibits. They come away caked in dust. "This place needs a good cleaning. Have you found anything? Apparently those two skeletons were Arcadian Skunk Apes. I've never heard of them." As an unknown voice speaks from the darkness, she jumps and turns. "Oh! Do you work here? We, um, we were just looking around."
Asha examines the room and the objects in it with careful curiosity. Were the simian skeletons part of the exhibits, or had they been placed as guardians?
|