PlanetADnD.com

Tears dry, Fikod listens to Babushka's speech with building interest. Finally he lets out a grim chuckle, wiping the last of his tears away from his face with a sooty hand. "He would no let you into the afterlife, eh? Well that's to be expected, won't let a body rest nor find peace until they're done with ye." He climbs to shaky feet, facing the gnome.

"Question to me is, are ye Babushka still? Or are ye possessed in a different sort of manner? Who truly stands before us?" A hand moves to his face looking for a mustache to stroke, a motion the party's seen him make a thousand times in the sort time he's been with them. Instead there's no facial-hair to be found and it's a fist that's made, leather gloves creaking as it tightens.

Imani's mouth drops open slightly upon the sight of the tree. "Or, I guess it is safe here," she says as she listens to the birds singing. This was all a little too much for her to grasp completely, and she was still dealing with the fact that someone had died, technically two people had died, while she was leading the group. Would the group still trust her at this point?

Jerrard looks up into the gnomes eyes and smiles. "She is Babuskha still.. but dare I say somewhat more melancholy?"

"Habbuak saved us?" he repeats, his lack of response due to shock, "Then you are blessed. And yes I will rest, every movement aches, help Imani organise the watches.." he drifts off to a stunned silence.

Babushka looks offended for a moment at Fikod's question, her mouth opening for an angry retort, but then her head drops.

"You're not wrong, Fikod" she says softly, with a ting of sadness. "in some ways, it's like possession. But I had a choice in the matter, and I can still choose my words and actions myself. And I think", she holds her chin up again, "that it makes all the difference that the actions influenced by a divinity are for the good, and not for the bad." She now looks at the dwarf defiantly.

"You can't blame him for being skeptical of it all, Babushka," Imani said gently. "After all, we allowed ourselves to be led into the corrupted part of the forest. While I was uncertain about this action, I still followed Dara. He was the only one that stayed back, and trusted his instincts," she explains with a sigh. "And, I should probably add that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have allowed us to come here."

Fikod stands there, soot-blackened, miserable, eyes red and bleary from tears and the bone-deep exhaustion from his wounds. He does not move, other than a slight swaying, for a long moment, staring back at Babushka while he weighs her words. Finally he nods his approval, impressed by her conviction. "Aye. Aye, I suppose ye be right. Forgive me, friend, I did no mean to give insult. A bad day, that's all... And still no alcohol." He manages the joke weakly, pairing it with an embarrassed smile.

He turns to Imani, no anger in his eyes, just deep sorrow. "There be instincts and there be paranoia. But I know yer pain, to lose one at your command is no easier than chewing a boulder. Next time p'raps ye lot will listen to yer young and handsome Dwarfish companion." He tries to twirl his mustache in a roguish flair, but grabs only air. With a defeated groan he collapses back into a sitting position.

Dara stands up and places her hand upon the tree's bark gently. "Yes, the kirath can spread the word," she says. Locky can tell that Dara is severely wounded; she took quite a beating from Imani--indeed, one more blow would likely have killed her.

"I can help guide you to Alinost when you're ready to travel," she says. "It's the least I can do after everything I've put you all through."

=============

(OOC: Dara is actually down to 2 HP.)

"Thank you Dara, we would be happy to accept your aid." The Kender smiles as she takes the elfs hand again. "Let me heal you, please.?" Calling on Paladine she channels the healing light into Dara's battered body. (Cure light, rolled a 3 but my brand new galaxy tab wont paste it!)

"I need to pray for a little while, to help more.." with that she rests by the tree, feeling the gods around her.

"There..." jerrard starts to say, weakly lifting his head, "There are our lost mounts, and Malika.."

Imani smiles sadly towards Fikod. "Babushka and I will take the first watch. Ulster and Thuskar can be next, and then I guess I can take the third watch." She wasn't going to get a lot of sleep, but with Jerrard and Fikod hurt like they were, they needed all the rest that they could get.

"I can watch too!" Locky announces, "Don't forget me!"

Locky casts another healing spell, this time on Dara, but like the previous ones, it doesn't help much. It seems like in general, her healing spells just don't have the same punch they once had.

"I'm sorry," Dara says to Jerrard. "I've no idea where you friend or animals are. The Unnameable only told you that to trick you into following. By now, their trail has long since grown cold. They could be just about anywhere."

Ulster shifts his weight uncomfortably. "Locky should...rest. To, you know, regain her spells. The best solution is to just have single shifts for tonight. Imani, Babushka, me and Thuskar--that covers all four shifts."

==============

Locky casts Cure Light Wounds on Dara, restoring (1d8): 3 HP.

Babushka agrees with Ulster. "You're probably right. I think we are reasonably safe here, and we all should get as much sleep as we can. But, just to make sure, once the person on watch starts feeling drowsy, they should wake up the next one on watch, to have someone to talk to. Agreed?"

"I guess." Locky slumps to the ground with a shrug of her shoulders, after a few moments she approaches Jerrard and Fikod, tending to their wounds as best she can.

(Healing checks: 1d20=9, 1d20=3 both passes)

"Thank you." Jerrard says as she tries to get comfortable, "Dara, your help will be appreciated, you may find that doing something helps."

"Where are you from, in Silvanesti?" He asks the elf as he rolls his cloak into a ball, "You should rest too."