[IC] All Roads Lead to Death (Ebonfort)

[Twhirtley]

Starting Date and Time: 4th day of Ceruleo, 300 DM, Midday

Starting Location: Somewhere along the road between Ruby Banks and Azure Strand

CS URLs: Trix & Ember

It was the second day of traveling for the blonde herbalist and her pups. She tried to visit another of the villages at least once per season, and this time, she was en route to Azure Strand. She'd probably reach it by tomorrow, going a slower pace so as to not wear out Remus and Remilia. It was cold out, her cloak tight around her shoulders. There was no snow yet down this way, though she'd heard Silent Rise, Stone Crest, and the capital had all gotten a nice blanket. She didn't overly care for the cold, but she did like snow, it made everything so crisp and clean. The pups weren't phased, they were made for the mountains after all. They'd guarded her bunk quite dutifully in the Fat Barrel Inn. It was run by a retired Knight, as all the inns along the Warden's Road were. They'd set them up specifically for travelers, spacing them out so each was roughly a day's walk from the previous inn, or the nearest village.

She found herself wishing there was another group or caravan traveling this way. She knew that this deep into the empire, she was pretty safe from bandits and Screamers, but it was still dangerous, in her mind at least, to travel alone. But not many people made their way to Azure Strand, it was the poorest of the villages, provided the least use to the Knights. They were just lucky that they were close to the capital to receive the benefits and protection. Trix was hoping she could find some suppliers of herbs found around the coast, or even beneath the waters.

The road led up a small cresting hill, when Trix noticed some birds flying in circles ahead. She couldn't quite tell what type they were, but she assumed something had died up that way. Probably just an injured horse that was put down. As she reached the top of the hill, she was able to see the carnage before her, her stomach already rolling. Her pups began growling defensively, backing up closer to her, on full alert.

At the bottom of the hill, stretched over many yards, were horses, knights, and others dead or dying. The air was heavy with the scent of blood, that metallic taste worming its way into her mouth. Her stomach was rolling, and she felt the panic setting in. It was just like the Knight's Tournament last season. Her chest was tight now, her breathing fast. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing, in through her nose, out through mouth, over and over again. When she felt somewhat calmed down, she opened her eyes again, surveying the area once more. She was a healer, she needed to see if there were any survivors, anyone she could possibly save.

Moving quickly, she arrived at the first person, a man in Ebonsteel armor, an unranked knight from the look of it. His eyes were closed, a massive gash in his neck, his face pale from the lack of blood. She touched his cheek, her pups fanning out around her, standing guard, watching all sides. The cheek was still warm, still had give. He was definitely dead, but she was fairly certain it hadn't been long. Looking up from his corpse, she realized this was going to take a while. Hopefully some other knights would be along, either when this squadron didn't arrive at their destination, or the next patrol happened to arrive. Then Remilia began barking at something. Trix looked at the pup, seeing her facing the direction of Azure Strand, another small hill blocking the vision of the road further on.

[Carantathraiel]

'Why aren't you walking?'
Ember shrugged her shoulders, her right one aching sharply in the motion.
'Walk. Leave the village.'
“I just got here.”
'Its time to leave.'
“Why?”
'It's not safe.'
Ember shrugged again and sat down on the edge of the road. It was quiet. Almost eerily so. Ember exhaled nervously and shifted her yellow eyes along the road leading out of Azure Strand. She was alone. Sitting along in the dirt and eaves on the edge of the route, Ember was the only person she could see for a lone while. Yet there were no sounds. No animals. No birds.

“Its not safe out here, either.” She stated, her voice hushed as her pointed ears strained.
Glowy exhaled impatiently. 'Rest a bit. Then keep going.'
Gritting her teeth, Ember looked down to road again, then back the way she'd come. Azure Strand wasn't far. She'd only walked a half an hour before arriving to this spot. Beneath the bendy tree she usually sat beneath on her way in or out of the village.

Glowy had been pestering her to leave the village the moment she stepped into it only five days ago. Usually Ember didn't mind. She knew too well that Glowy hated being around people. It was easier to cope with her friend in the wilds where they were isolated. Here, beneath the bendy tree, Ember could no longer hear the dull voices of the town. It was her last leg of peace before she would nervously wander the road north west to Ruby Banks.

'Now?'

Well, as peaceful as it could ever get. “No.”

Ignoring the aura of irritability, Ember leaned back and pressed herself against the tree, adjusting herself so her bow wasn't jabbing into her back. It was a nice day. Ember could appreciate that, enough. It would hopefully keep up and she'd be able to sleep outside without freezing tonight. Or roasting. There've been a few nights lately where Ember only sweat all night, flinging aside her cloak and lifting her tunic to air out her skin.

“I bet the snow is nice.”
'Don't be daft.'

Ember sighed, hearing the nothing in the air before she groaned and rose to her feet again. “Yes, yes, we're going.” The half-breed muttered before Glowy could predictably ask. After adjusting her bow and her quiver on her back, and shrugging her shoulders again to let her backpack sit comfortably, Ember was off. Again, her shoulder ached, though Ember couldn't figure out why. Perhaps she'd slept on it wrong.

'You're growing weak.' Glowy chided.
Ember sighed. ”You're probably right.” Glowy swelled with cocky pride. ”I should join back with the squires. Learn to contribute to society some more.” Glowy's pride melted into disdain. Ember smiled and quickened her step.

[Twhirtley]

Nothing came over the hill, but Remilia kept up her barking. Trix wasn't sure whether to trust her pup's instincts, or to assume she was just spooked by something innocuous. Erring on the side of caution, Trix looked around for a weapon, anything, even though she'd never so much as held a sword. There was a large... well to her, it looked like a stick. But it was a hard wood, polished, dark, and balanced. She picked up the bo staff. It was awkward in her hand, heavy, but she could use it as a walking stick too she supposed. She rested it on her shoulder, and began moving toward the next fallen person, keeping an eye on the road ahead.

The woman before her was an unranked knight, and was bleeding from a shallow stab in the gap in her arm just above her waist. Trix knelt down, setting the staff beside the woman's head. She touched her hand to the woman's neck, and her eyes widened in surprise. There was a very slight thump there. She was still alive! Trix immediately set her pack down and began digging through it, pulling out her salves, her stitching kit, and bandages. Clearly there wasn't a fire available, so boiling wine to clean the wound wasn't available, she'd have to hope the honey and elderberry in her salve would be enough to stave off infection.

Remus came over sniffing at the woman's face, Remilia still staring and barking in the distance. Trix ripped away the bloody cloth around the wound, finding it a few finger widths long, and about one wide. She pulled out her waterskin of brine, pouring it on the wound, seeing if the woman stirred from the pain. There was a momentary flinch and a slight groan, but she never woke. Trix saw the blood dilute and clear, but it didn't take long to fill once more. That flow would make her salve useless until staunched. She had nothing to cauterize it with though, and she'd never done an internal cauterization though, only heard about it. But she needed the bleeding to stop, to keep it from coming out, to...

She suddenly had an idea, shrinking a bit as she looked around, making sure yet again, that she truly was alone. She then took a deep breath, and stuck her fingers into the wound, one from each hand on either side of the tiny chasm. She focused on the feel of the flesh, as well as the blood, making sure to separate them in her mind. Once she was confident that she'd done so, she began pushing her magic out through her finger tips, and spreading it against the interior flesh, focusing it to only stop blood. Wiggling her fingers in small circles, she continued to spread her magic, trying to keep the layer thin, but whole. Once she felt it was done, she did her unnecessary nod, completing the magic, and the shield activated. As she poured the brine in now, she watched as it diluted and cleaned it out. She smiled as it ran clear and the blood no longer filled it.

She washed her hands off with some brine, then set about to filling the wound with her salve, and quickly began stitching the wound up, making sure to go deep enough to actually close it. Once it was done, she spread a bit of salve over it and wrapped a bandage around the woman's stomach. Now that the hard part was done, she reached into her pack and pulled out a sealed jar, and uncorked it beneath the woman's nose. The smelling salts quickly kicked in and the woman woke with a start. "Easy... easy... You've been injured, I've fixed you up."

The woman tried to sit up, finding herself staring into the stoic eyes of Remus. "Where's ever..." then she saw the littering of bodies everywhere. She stifled back a sob, as Trix continued, "I need to move along, I haven't been able to see if there's any other survivors. You need to take it easy, but you should be able to walk. Do you remember what happened?"

The woman was just silent, so Trix grabbed her staff, and stood, when she heard Remilia's barking reach a louder fervor. Except this time it wasn't at nothing. There was a man in grey robes limping along the road, holding one arm to his side as he hobbled. He shouted in her direction, "Can you help me? I'm injured. I was attacked."

Trix began walking faster toward the man, hushing Remilia when she reached her. But the pup was still quite on edge, not trusting this man. And for good reason, for his 'injured' arm had his wrist bent behind his back, holding a sinister dirk in hand as he continued toward her on his uneven gait. The raven haired knight that Trix had fixed up, sat forward with a grunt, still looking at all her fallen brethren as the scarlet maned man continued toward Trix. In a seemingly sincere voice, he continued, though not shouting as they grew closer, "I can't believe they're all dead... all gone, completely wiped out." Then his eyes saw the other woman, his face breaking into the subtlest of grins, "Except one I see. That's great..."

[Carantathraiel]

Ember's eyes grew wide as she stepped around the brutalized body on the ground. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, and the scent of blood met her nostrils like an old lover, tickling the half-drow's skin until she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The woman looked as though she'd been hacked to pieces by something sharp. Fangs? A blade? Ember didn't want to pause and get a closer look. She moved her foot to an area of road free of blood, then swung her other foot over a large piece of arm. Or leg. Ember couldn't tell.

'It's not safe here.'
"You think?"

There was no sign of anyone else. Just the single body on the ground, ripped to pieces. Ember wondered what the girl had done to deserve such an angry death. Or, maybe, the fool had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That thought had Ember's eyes scanning the woods around them. The body behind her, the vagrant stopped to listen, glad her mixed blood gave her good hearing. Only there was nothing in the trees. Somewhere ahead, she could hear a dog bark, its shrill calls echoing along the road. "I hate dogs." Ember complained aloud. "I bet she does, t-"

Ember turned to look at the mutilated woman on the road, only to find nothing there. No blood. No body. No pieces of flesh and organs. Nothing but the smell of blood that lingered and teased her nose. "What did you do?"
'I got rid of it.' Glowy said indifferently.
"Why?"
'Do you want me to bring it back?' Ember quickly shook her head, turning her back on where the body had been. 'Then don't question it.'

Her pace quicker now, Ember wandered toward the sound of the dog, questioning herself with each step. The dog could have been the one to tear the woman to pieces. Ember could be next, if she kept going. She sensed Glowy bristling to say something. "Glowy if you tell me its not safe here I swear I will leave you in the Banks."
Glowy withered. 'I'd like to see you try,' she pouted.

Still, Ember's feet carried her forward, the butterflies in her stomach twisting beneath her pounding heart as if waiting to devour it. The barking grew louder, until Ember stopped and crouched. There was a small hill, and she knew the dog would be on the other side. 'What are you doing?'
"It's near." Ember whispered.
'You look like an idiot, sitting here.'
"I smell it." Ember inhaled deeply. "Blood. A lot of it."
Glowy reacted with curiosity, so Ember inched forward, moving her feet slowly over the dirt as she crept toward the top of the hill.

On the other side, some hundred yards away, were many more bodies. Blood made the road red, the air metallic. The dog was barking and growling angrily, standing with its haunches raised at it flared at an approaching man. There was a second dog near some girl with sunny hair, who was kneeling beside a black-haired woman on the ground.
"Your doing?" Ember whispered as quietly as she could.
'I'm flattered, but no.'
Believing Glowu, Ember grasped her bow and held it before her, sliding an arrow from her quiver and aiming her weapon at the barking dog. Two dogs was unfair. Dogs were quick and vicious. Plus, Ember hated dogs. She pulled the string, ready to fire.
'Wait!'
Ember lowered her arm again, widening her eyes. The sunny haired woman stepped forward and hushed the dog. To Ember's surprise, it obeyed, but it continued to stare tensely at the man. He held his knife behind him, pleading for help over his recent attack. Ember watched, her eyes flickering from the sunny haired woman and her demon dog to the helpless man.

'Kill the woman.' Glowy insisted. 'She is the master of those monsters.'
Ember frowned, her eyes still moving between the figures. Beside the ebon-haired woman was a pack of supplies Ember knew to be used for healing. She recognized them from her training. So was Sunny healing the injured one? she wouldn't be healing one and attacking another.
'Shoot her!'

Exhaling, Ember rose to her feet and pulled her bow taut, pressing her fingers to her face as she aimed not for Sunny, but for the man, his knife plain in Ember's view as he walked away from her. Ignoring Glowy's irritated growl, Ember held her breath and fired, the twang of her bowsting loud in her ears. Her arrow rang across the road and met the man's shoulder with a thunk. He stumbled forward under the force of her arrow, and Ember stepped back as he straightened again.
'You couldn't even kill him?'
"Not now, okay?" Ember hissed, reaching into her quiver for another arrow.

[Twhirtley]

Trix watched wide as the man lurched forward, thrown off balance by something. His free arm flew wildly, revealing the large knife he'd had hidden. He turned, immediately on the attack, Trix only now seeing the arrow in the back of his shoulder. Having stopped suddenly, she realized she'd left her impromptu staff with the injured woman. Not that it mattered, she'd never used a weapon before in her life. Not knowing what to do, or who the latest mystery attacker was, she turned back, running to the babbling woman, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process. Quickly she bent and grabbed the staff, running awkwardly back to the crest of the hill that the man had already disappeared over.

The man on the other hand only had a smile on his face as he quickly began closing the gap on the archer that had assaulted him. She could see him yank up the sleeve on the injured arm, and tap what seemed to be a tattoo of a white five petaled flower, with three petals looking withered. There was a glowing about him, as he continued to move, arms pumping, knife held fast. When the glowing stopped, the arrow was gone, as was the wound it had inflicted. It didn't take long to catch up to the archer, as he did a wide sweeping slash at her abdomen, revealing the flower tattoo once more, this time with a fourth withered petal. His slash was followed by a straight kick aimed at the woman's left knee, strong enough to cripple should it hit.

Once Trix saw what was happening, she saw the other woman, bow in hand, under attack. She had to help, for the woman had helped her. She continued to run forward, her breath already coming faster, as she was not the most exercised, staff held awkwardly before her. When she was close enough, but out of reach, she stopped and shouted, "HEY!" trying her best to at least distract the assailant. She kept her staff coiled back, ready to swing it as hard as she could, clearly holding it like an amateur.

[Carantathraiel]

Ember held her bow tightly, her fingers to her cheek as the man turned and raced toward her. She waited for the opportunity to shoot, hoping this arrow would put him down. She breathed slow, waiting. Her bright eyes caught the way he lifted his sleeve to reveal the flower on his arm, and before Ember could spare a thought as to why he was wasting the effort to touch it, he began to glow. The orb of light devoured him temporarily, spitting out a completely unharmed man with murder in his eyes.

'Demon!' Glowy hissed. Ember felt suddenly so overwhelmed with the idea that she released her arrow prematurely, missing the man who neared her. It flew wide, flying into the trees on the far side of the road. He approached quickly, and Ember remained still until she caught the glint of the blade as he swung it toward her. Instinct took over and Ember sprang backward and out of reach. She turned, drawing a third arrow as she did, before she planted her feet and got ready to aim.

Her eyes widened as the man's visage shifted, darkening and mutating into its truer form. His face elongated, his jaws unhinging to reveal long, needle-like fangs as he screeched at her. A sound that made Ember's blood turn to ice. His taloned hands doubled, a second pair of black and scaly arms protruding from his armpits. So terrified was the half-drow that she didn't see the kick that came at her, only tearing her eyes away from the demon when utter agony erupted from her knee.

Ember screamed and dropped, mustering her strength and training to roll backward and away. She was in such pain, however, that she only rolled three times before her body stopped obeying her mental command to flee, and she lay face down on the road.

'Get up.'
"I can't." Ember whined, dirt sticking to her face.
'Get up!'
"Make the demon go away."

Her body hurt all over, pain flooding her from her knee out, her left leg no long her leg but the painful appendage Ember wished would disappear with the demon. Dazed from her agony, she opened her eyes and peered at the demon as it approached. It looked like a regular man again, except for the disturbing grin on his face as he drew near, lifting his knife to strike. Ember waited for it, feeling like death wouldn't be so bad. Not compared to how enormously her leg ached.
Or would he kill her? What if he only meant to corrupt her with his demon blade and pull her into his demon realm? How rude of him to be hiding his true form again. At the very least he could do her the dignity of destroying her with his real face on, terrifying as it may be.

"Hey!" Came a shout.

The demon stopped and turned toward the sound, and Ember picked up her head to peer unevenly at Sunny as she held her staff boldly.
'Get up!' Glowy ordered again, and Ember closed her eyes tight. 'Listen here you sorry excuse for a fighter! Get up!'

Ember exhaled noisily, blowing dust from the road up in a cloud as she pushed herself up, her arms shaking. She regretted the action at once, her vision blurring from the pain the movement introduced. Blinking heavily, Ember picked up the arrow she'd dropped when she'd fallen and lifting her bow to aim it unsteadily at the demon. "The demon heals itself." She hissed through her teeth, staring the man down angrily. "How do I kill it?"
'How should I know?' Glowy responded to her question. 'Try removing his head.'

[Twhirtley]

Trix saw the woman in the dirt after taking the kick to the knee, momentarily distracted by the sounds of pain from her. This gave the man long enough to turn toward her, more annoyed at her intervention than concern of her being a threat. She mustered all the strength she could, and swung her stick as hard as she could, trying to hit the man in the head. He caught it easily with a single hand, smiling at her like a wolf would a fallen baby deer. He yanked the stick inward, and in Trix's inexperience she was still maintaining a death grip on it.

This pulled her off balance sending her stumbling toward him. He followed this by then punching his fist forward, stick in hand, catching the blonde in the forehead. Her head snapped back from the blow and she found herself landing hard on her back, her world exploding in blinding white pain, moaning. One look at her and the man knew she was done. He threw the stick down atop her and turned back toward the archer.

He stopped, seeing the woman had recovered and had an arrow pointed at him. He still smiled though, confident in his ability to defeat two weak women. Trix managed to open her eyes, clutching at the makeshift staff when two grew blurs rushed past. Remilia leapt up, sinking her small teeth into the man's buttock whereas Remus took his post between Trix and the man, snarling loudly. The man howled loudly, and swung the hilt of his knife backward catching Remilia hard on the shoulder, and with a pained squeal, the small pup was knocked away into the dirt, rolling. She got back up with a limp on the damaged leg, when Trix acted. She struck her staff outward, not as blow, but merely to trip the man up, by shoving it between his ankles. He tripped, stumbling toward the archer now, surprise on his face, arms now flailing.

[Carantathraiel]

Ember glared at the demon, mostly to keep her eyes focused. She hated the creature. His smile came in slow motion, and as she watched as the quick little hound lept at him, her teeth piercing the flesh of his backside through his clothes. He let out a shriek and spun, claiming revenge on the hound that bit him with a swift stab of his blade.

'Kill the dog.' Glowy snarled in her ear. 'I hate dogs.'

Ember wrinkled her nose at the thought. The dog had just spared her life a few more seconds, gaining a brutal injury in the process. Now wasn't exactly the time to murder the thing. The second dog growled, protectively standing between the demon and Sunny, who jerked her stick out to trip the enemy.

Watching him fall happened in slow motion, too. Ember tensed her arms as he came forward, his arms flailing before him to catch himself. Ember took a breath, watching him get lower, letting her arrow loose between heart heavy heartbeats.
It flew only a short distance, sinking into the demon's skull with a solid and clear noise. It protruded out of the rear of his head, pieces of his brain flinging away, landing in the soil carelessly.

The rest of his body landed a moment later, time speeding back up again. Ember reached over her shoulder to draw another arrow, only to find her rolling had turned and messed her quiver up and she could reach none. Shaking, Ember let her arm drop heavily, her amber eyes landing on Sunny.
'Kill the dogs!' Glowy shrieked, making Ember wince. 'Kill them! I hate dogs! I hate dogs!'
"I hate dogs," Ember repeated numbly, black spots forming in her vision. She slumped backward into the dirt, her body bent oddly in her sudden loss of control. Her eyes stared without focus as the sky for a second as the trees jumped back and forth before the word went black.

[Twhirtley]

From her place in the dirt, her face hurting from the stick that had smacked her hard when the man tripped, Trix had been unable to see what had happened. All she felt was pain all over, then the thud of a body hitting the ground nearby. Through screwed tight eyes, she saw the arrow in his face and knew he was dead. Her head and back hurt something fierce from the punch and being thrown to the ground. She laid there painfully, on her stomach, as Remus nudged at her with his nose, before looking over at Remilia who was struggling to stand, now limping her way over to her mother.

Trix got an arm beneath her and pushed herself to a halfway upright position, beckoning at Remilia to come to her. The pup limped over and Trix set about to feeling at the dog's shoulder glancing over at the woman. She could see that she was unconscious, but her chest was rising and falling ever so slightly, so she was still alive. The pup squirmed painfully under Trix's touch but nothing felt broken or out of place. It seemed to just be a vicious bruise.

She pushed herself up, her entire body hurting, as she reached down and picked up the injured pup. Looking down at the dead man, she saw the flower float off the surface of his skin. It floated in the air, looking just as solid and real as it did on the man's skin. It connected with something that was invisible at first but appeared to be a blue sphere of some sort. They glowed briefly before speeding off to the west like a panicked fairy.

Trix heard an awed swearing and saw it came from the woman she'd treated before. She'd just witnessed magic, more magic that was not her own. Perhaps the other woman hadn't seen magic before, it seemed likely. She turned back toward the unconscious woman setting Remilia down away from her. She grabbed her pack and reached into her supplies and found her smelling salts once more. She opened them beneath the woman's nose and forced her face into a pained smile, to try and calm her. When she awoke, Trix would speak, "Easy, are you hurt? I can fix you if you are."

The other woman managed to get to her feet. She was wondering around, looking at all the dead, "There should be scouts coming soon, we were expected to check in by now." She looked morbid, before chuckling awkwardly, "I guess this means I get a promotion..."

[Carantathraiel]

'You're not dying.'
I'm definitely dying.
'You're not dying!'
No, this is it. Death.
'You're not fucking dying!' Glowy snarled.
It's okay. I can accept this. Ember felt Glowy's sheer irritation. What about Sunny? Does she at least survive? The rancid stench of something filled her nostrils and Ember felt her body reawaken to the agony she had hoped she had escaped. Her knee and her leg felt like her bones had been shattered, and her head throbbed painfully. "Ow..." she groaned aloud, blinking her amber eyes open.
'I told you you weren't dead, you sniveling child.'
"Oh, I wish you would go away."

Ember blinked more, the world gradually falling into focus. Sunny's face loomed above, her voice echoing incoherently in Ember's head. Whatever she said, she expected an answer from Ember. At least, that's what the half-breed assumed, judging by the expectant expression.
"What?" Ember inquired dumbly, turning her head to attempt to shield her eyes. Sunny's damned bright hair was blinding.
'She might cut your throat.'
"Shut the ... " Ember cut herself off. Groaning again, she tried to sit up and gasped. "Fuck. Gods, —my leg." Ember gripped her trousers with her shaking hand. "The demon broke it. I think..."

With a delayed realization, Ember looked around, searching for the demon. "Is he dead?" She asked, her voice wavering. Her eyes flickered to the blonde before her. "Sunny? Wha-"

[Twhirtley]

Trix smiled lightly as the woman babbled mostly nonsensically. Trix wasn't completely sure, but she guessed that she was the Sunny this woman kept referring to. Unless she was a mad person, but those were all kept in the asylum in the capital. Poor things. Trix didn't know what to call this woman, but the red hair just led to the name Strawberry.

"Calm down Strawberry. I'm going to check out your leg, it will probably hurt." If this woman got too far out of control, Trix could just ask the Knight woman to help hold her down. Trix reached down to Strawberry's pantleg at the ankle to pull it up, "Thanks for showing up when you did, I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

She slowly got the leg up and over the knee, looked down at it with a slight grimace. It was already red with bruise and slightly swollen. It looked to still be in proper alignment, so there was that. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a bowl, and poured in water from her waterskin, added some powdered fairy candle, elderberries, as well as powdered leaves from the elderberry plant. She held it to the woman, close to her mouth, "Drink this, it will help ease the pain and lower the swelling. I'm going to try massaging around the knee, feeling for any breaks. If it hurts too much, tell me. Then I'm going to wrap it up, and we'll get you a crutch."

Trix started by touching the area gingerly with her fingertips. She knew that many bone breaks hurt to the firm touch, because the pain was deeper. If the pain was just surface, of skin and muscle, then it may be more severe with a lighter touch. She slowly rubbed circles, feeling the joint, the swelling, watching the woman's reactions closely.

Once she took her hands away, the knight woman called out, "Just as expected, looks like another company is on the way. I hope it's Captain Krikin, and not Captain Lestol."

Trix listened absentmindedly as she reached into her bag, pulling out bandages. Looking toward Strawberry again, "Looks like everything will be okay now."

[Carantathraiel]

Strawberry? Ember furrowed her brow. What sort of name is strawberry?
'Don't let her touch you.'
"Shut up," Ember hissed under her breath, her fingers digging into the dirt as Sunny rolled up her pants leg. "Easy!" She pleaded, her eyes going wide. At the sight of her leg, she held her breath, peering over the red skin. Is that why she called me Strawberry?
'Witch.'
Ember closed her eyes, growing more upset with Glowy. Sunny wasn't a witch, right? When she opened her eyes, the blonde was mixing herbs in a bowl, and Ember exhaled in relief, recognizing at least a few of the weeds.
'Witch!'

Not bothering to correct Glowy, Ember gripped the bowl and took a deep drink, spilling a little down her front. "Thanks," Ember muttered quickly, though she regretted thanking the woman when she lowered her fingers and started to prod. Gritting her teeth, Ember caught her breath and tensed, laying back down. She took her free arm and covered her face, trying to ignore the waves of agony with each of Sunny's touches.
At the very least, the drink seemed to be working. It hurt a bit less after a few minutes.
Even more, Glowy was being mercifully silent.

"Everything's not okay." Ember exhaled all at once as Sunny let her torture up. She took a few moments to breath, her head spinning.
'Military is coming,'
"Fuck me." The half-drow swore. "Don't let them take me away. Don't let them hurt me."

[Twhirtley]

After seeing the woman's reactions to her touch, and having felt around the injury a good bit, she was fairly certain it wasn't broken. The bone was probably bruised though, and while it would heal fine, would hurt for a long while. Listening to the woman's words, her hands working to get the bandages ready, "No one is taking you anywhere, you're a patient of mine now. And we've done nothing wrong."

She gingerly extended the woman's injured leg, tucking the start of the bandage beneath it. She then started wrapping it firmly, from below the joint, making sure to keep it level as she incrementally worked her way up the leg. Once the bandage was above the knee, she checked the tightness by just barely slipping two fingers beneath it. She then stuffed the wrap in itself. Satisfied with it, "You're going to need to take it easy. It needs to rest and a cool for a while, and once the swelling goes down, put some heat on it, a warm, wet towel."

Trix looked around for the stick she'd used earlier, and grabbing it, she brought it over to Strawberry, offering it up. "Here, let me help you up. I'm sure the Knights will want to question us."

The other woman was squinting, "I don't recognize that company..."

The company was small, much smaller than the standard size of one-hundred, twenty-five knights. It was led by a very pale man wearing a captain's sash, atop a black horse. He hopped down, the unranked knight with the pair of women saluting. The man raised an arm and lowered it, telling her to be at ease. He walked over to Strawberry and Sunny, his crimson eyes shining, before his face twisted into a pleasant smile, "It is nice to see survivors. I am Captain Theren, of the Coldsteel Company, Ruby Regiment, Citadel Batallion." He bowed his head slightly, before turning back to the other woman."Report."

A squire was already at the man's side, a young girl, ready to write down what was said. The woman began, "We were traveling to Azure Strand, our next post. Several of our forward scouts were a bit slow to check in, and as our riders went out to seek them, we were attacked by the men you see laying here in the grey leathers. We had superior numbers, but they somehow kept healing instantly. It eventually ended in a near stalemate, with me injured. The blonde woman here, fixed me up, brought me back to consciousness, when one of the attackers attempted to lure her, a ruse in order to kill her. The redhead woman seemed to be a traveler coming from Azure Strand saw the ruse and after a brief battle, the two women managed to kill the man. I witness him getting shot with an arrow, glow, only to appear to be perfectly fine. He stopped when an arrow pierced his skull, killing him. The tattoo of a flower that was on his arm then... floated off his arm... attached to something, then flew westward. We've been recovering until you showed up."

Captain Theren nodded, turning to the other women, "This must've been quite distressing for you two. Having to fight for your lives and seeing what I strongly suspect is magic. Do you believe that is what you saw? Magic?"

Trix swallowed hard, nodding. She wondered if this was the man that spawned the rumors of magic users disappearing. "We've noticed something interesting. People who have seen such incidents of magic, tend to have them happen more and more around them. Is this the first time you've seen magic?"

Trix decided to lie, but with a truth, hoping she could maintain composure. She shook her head, meekly speaking, "No, I was at the Knights' tournament." She hoped her nervousness was simply judged as having been shaken up. "And you?" He asked, now looking at Strawberry.

[Carantathraiel]

No ones taking me anywhere, Ember exhaled.
'She might be lying.' Glowy hissed. 'The men are here to take you away. Drag you to dark places.'
The half-drow clamped her eyes tight, stressing over the possible outcomes of whatever torture they'd offer her in these dark places Glowy always told her about. She nodded repeatedly as Sunny instructed her on the care of her leg, though she was barely listening. Something about letting it cool. What needed cooling? Ember just wanted her leg to stop throbbing.

'You need to get away from here.' Glowy whispered. 'Run.'
“I can't run.” Ember insisted as Sunny returned with the stick and held it out. Ember eyed it suspiciously before she grasped it, and Sunny's hand to struggle onto her feet. Or foot. Her left leg wasn't entirely fit to bare her weight, for the moment. The wanderer gripped the stick tightly and leaned on it, her head still spinning.

Her amber eyes watched with (mostly) focus as the group of uniformed soldiers arrived. The pale one dismounted and came near, and Ember lowered her head and put her eyes on the ground. With half an ear, she listened to the second woman explain the situation, while her eyes looked around at the corpses that littered the ground.
'Seems suspicious, doesn't it?' Glowy asked. 'A unit of trained soldiers taken down by men in leathers? And you and Bright Hair take one down alone?'
Ember swallowed.
'This is a set up.' Glowy said darkly. 'They're going to take you away.'

“No.” Ember croaked, shaking her head. Tearing her eyes from the bloody carnage on the road, she turned her head to find the pale Captain Whosit staring at her expectantly. Oh, Gods, what had he asked? The half-drow stared wide-eyed for a moment, trying to reply what she'd heard. “Er, I mean, no, I've never seen magic.” She muttered shyly, lowering her eyes again.

[Twhirtley]

Captain Theren smiled knowingly at the women. His aurism powered sight and hearing had told him everything. He could see the magic glowing in his knight's arm, yet it was still injured. That meant the blonde woman was a mage of some sort, but not a healer. She'd have to be watched closely. He could hear the heartbeat of a liar coming from her. But mostly the two women reeked of fear. He scrutinized the redhead a bit closer. She didn't seem to have anything magical about her, but there was something... off in her energy. Her flows were all off, wrong, but didn't have the deliberateness of a mage.

They both piqued his interest.

But clearly they knew of the rumors of what happened to mages in the empire. Or they thought they knew. It was a policy made by the paper hugging knights above his paygrade. If mages were fearful of their government, they would be less likely to cause trouble. Which made his job more difficult, since his company was designated with locating, investigating, and recruiting people of magic. No one disappeared, well, aside from those that turned violent. Most just joined his little ragtag group.

Appearing to be satisfied with the information they'd given him, [color=f7976a]"My company will clean this up, I'll escort you both to Azure Strand. I'm sure you both could use the relaxation of an inn."[/b] [/color]He gestured to one of his knights, who brought over a large, brown and white horse. "We only have the one to spare, so you'll have to share."

Trix moved closer, timidly to the man, who now had a hand up to help her on. She took his hand and stepped warily into the stirrup and struggled, pulling herself up and onto the horse. Her pups were standing at the horse's feet, "Oh pardon me, forgot about the little ones, one moment." He emptied out some of the large saddle bag, and gingerly picked the pups up, putting one in each saddle bag. They seemed content, as Trix reached down and rubbed their heads to comfort them. Captain Theren turned to Ember, gesturing at the space in front of Trix on the horse, "I insist."

If she agreed, the captain would help her up, then tie the horse to his own's saddle, with plenty of slack. As he mounted, he began leading the eastward toward Azure Strand along the road, as his men began stripping the bodies, attempting to identify those that they could, then piling them up just out of sight of the road, to be burned.

Theren sat in silence for a good long while, letting the two women speak if they felt like it.

If Ember had refused, the man would shrug, "As you wish." He'd let her go her own way, but one of his knights would follow her, not bothering to be stealthy about it. He would not engage, would not approach, simply follow and observe for as long as humanly possible.

[Drache]

Reward Review

Trix

Skills
Land Navigation: 1
Wilderness Survival: 1
Animal Husbandry: 1
Endurance: 1
Medicine: 10
Herbalism: 4
Shielding: 2
Sewing: 1
Running: 1
Weapon (Bo Staff): 2
Philosophy: 1
Riding: 1
Subterfuge: 2

Knowledge:

Knowledge: Healing Magic
Knowledge: Magical Tattoos
Knowledge: Knowing what souls look like
Location: Fat Barrel Inn
Location: Azure Banks

Contact: Captain Therin
Contact: Strawberry the half-drow traveler

Other
Minor injuries will heal in one week. Medicine kit fully restocked by Ebon Knights.
Mountain Ridgeback Remilia: minor injury to foreleg, will heal fully in one week if limited activity.

Ember

If you return to active play please ask a GM to provide a review for your character.

@Twhirtley