Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 2: Glimpses of Elyisima

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan flushed a little at Rayton's comment " I...just want to keep the Crimson Weapons together, nothing more."

"I could help you with training I suppose. I can't help you much at archery, but I have studied lucid dreams in some detail. There are mental exercises that could help focus your energies that we could practice."

[Inactive Account]

Kelas managed to avoid the fight; there wasn't much of one, certainly not bad enough to get her to flee. Still she led the packhorse over to where the mage and the girl were-- Rayton had gone over to the shaman, and Kelas was most certainly not following him.

It looked like there wouldn't be too much trouble now, but Kelas wasn't about to let the packhorse wander off again. She pulled up next to her mount, throwing her extra saddle blanket over the mare's back. The mage and the girl were watching the proceedings. Kelas turned to the girl, not really sure what she should do, but aware that she should probably do something. "Your name's Sabla, right?" she asked.

Edited April 12, 2010 by _____

[Kanami]

Sabla looked Kelas up and down, then turned away as if she hadn't ever heard Kelas speak. Clearly uninterested in the Nomad, she watched as the townfolk fled the encampment, she felt she should leave too, after all, the Shaman had said "all" and she was technically apart of the townsfolk that had fled. Sabla watched as a few returned to collect the unconscious, the shamaness seemed to be glaring at them but she'd probably spare them as long as they left immediately after collecting the ones which were out cold. She latched herself onto Helios and peered up at him, "Do I have to leave too?"

[theonefate]

Rayton saw the flushed look on Morgan's face and inwardly grinned. Ah...all of a sudden there's more than meets the eye with her. Not what I expected, and yet...

He began stroking his chin for a moment. "Alright, I accept your proposal. Just let me know you're ready for me. But I'm going to sleep. I suggest you do so too." He then put a hand on her shoulder. "If there's anything you want, don't hesitate to ask. Good night..."

He then turned and walked away, supressing a grin when heading back at the thought of Morgan showing signs of embarassment once again. While odd to see from her to stay the least, it reminded him that she after all was human, and not as emotionless as he thought she was.

[Ansem]

Helios looked down at Sabla and hoped she would stop doing that. "We still haven't found a legal guardian for you" He said. "Guess your stuck with us for now" Helios said. Damian was out cold and most of us are injured. Then he realized something. He went up to the Shaman. "What are we fighting for" he asked. "We are just out here in the middle of the wilderness doing nothing". "Everywhere we go death follows us". "Our leader is down and wherever we go people attack us". "We cant stay together" Helios said looking down at the ground. "This was bound to happen one way or another". "What should we do now"?

[Ether]

"What's going on here?!" Aiya asked,face flushed from sprinting the way back to the camp.

Helios had seemed to disappear,and had not noted her at all before spontaneously leaving the area.Sensing something was up,she had ran back to the camp,but the toxin seemed to affect her more than she had thought it had.While she wasn't bad off,she was struggling to breathe normally after her run,and had appeared only to see the villagers fleeing.

No one responded at first,everyone seemed as tired as she was,and she wandered around camp,until she saw the unconscious body of Damian.

"D-Damian...?" Her eyes blanched in fear at his lack of movement,she rushed to his side,thankful to see he was still breathing.

"Damian..."She began to cry lightly into his shoulder,the shock beginning to subside.

"What the hell happened to him?!He wasn't exposed to the poison any more than I was!" Aiya shouted to those who were still around,clearly still confused and scared.

[Ansem]

Helios groaned. He didn't want to tell her what happened because that would make her resent the Shaman. Even though he would have loved to tell her he couldn't risk it. "He was tired" Helios lied. "He fell asleep". He chuckled a little at his lie seeing how ridiculous it was. "Fool" he added.

[-Cynthia-]

OOC: How does Helios even know what happened with Damian, he was out in the woods with Aiya.

Morgan gave Helios an irritated look. "We are reuniting the Crimson Weapons, have you been paying absolutely no attention at all? Death followed us because we were around those villagers, a concentrated attack on us would be far more precise. Splitting up may be the most stupid notion I have heard all day, are you intentionally trying to kill us all?"

"And another thing, it is very clear that Damian did not just fall asleep, he helped me perform a ritual to remove the poison. Honestly, maybe you should only comment on your area of expertise. If we need to entertain at a child's birthday party, you are the first one I will ask for advice."

She looked at Sabla for a short while "I suppose one girl cannot form a riot, so I suppose she can stay with us for now, if you insist. I will put my foot down if we gather any more idiots though, at least idiots who aren't carrying Crimson Weapons."

Her expression softened slightly as she turned to Aiya " Damian will be fine, he has a very strong heart. I would not have chosen him if I thought he could not survive this. Just let him have his rest, someone should probably keep an eye on him just in case. He should wake up in the morning feeling fine. Well, conscious and able anyway."

[Ether]

"A-alright..." Aiya didn't like it at all,but for all she knew,Morgan's assistance might be necessary for his recovery,so she wasn;t going to speak up.

She looked down at his resting form,he seemed peaceful at this point,and she sat down at his side.

"Then,I will stay by him,no one will disturb him so long as I still draw breath." She said bluntly,until she became dizzy.

"Nngh...what's going on...?" She asked the Shamaness,who seemed to have a dawn of realization.

OOC:Aiya wasn't there for the cleansing...Helios,antidote thingy,now...or maybe Morgan still has enough magical energy to lift the toxin from one person.

[Ansem]

Helios grew very impatient with the Shaman. At this point he didn't care what he said anymore. "I'm not going to get us killed" Helios said calmly. "Your going to get us all killed one way or another". "Heck splitting up would be even more safe". "Today is just draining away life force as you did to Damian". "That is just the beginning to killing spree your going to start". "After a while you will start sacrificing lives". Helios would have left but he saw Aiya suffering from the poison. "So i guess you are going to kill someone now to help her huh"

Edited April 12, 2010 by Kai

[Inactive Account]

Kelas still watched from the edge of the gathering. The mage had also gone over to the shamaness, who had also been joined from another woman. The girl still stood by her after the mage had wandered away, though she was studiously ignoring Kelas. Kelas decided to continue to wait, taking out some dried fruit to snack on. The warriors were arguing amongst themselves again... she once again began to consider leaving, but realized that since she was not at full strength yet, that would not be wise.

[-Cynthia-]

" I do what is necessary. This is a concept you and everyone else will have to wrap their minds around. If people must be sacrificed for the greter good, then so be it. If today proved anything, it is that "virtuous" acts only put ourselves and the ones we try to help in danger. If we had simply left the villagers as I had suggested, we would have avoided all of these problems. Perhaps you all should spend more time listening to me and less time listening to self-righteous charlatans."

She looked over Aiya. "The poison is not too bad here, I should be able to cure it using the residual magic from earlier. I am sure the mage here would prefer to simply let you die, but I believe you should prove useful-- plus it would upset Damian a great deal."

She focused on the magic created by the ritual, guiding the energy created by Damian's lifeforce to Aiya's body.

"There, you should feel better." Morgan managed to say before having to sit down. She was so tired, so much destruction and having to cast spells left her exhausted. She could not show weakness though and managed to stand back up.

[Ether]

The magic flowed through Aiya.It felt odd,the magic of Shamans was not known to heal,and the sensation was far different than the holy magic of clerics that she was used to.Still,the dizziness and fatigue were gone,and Aiya felt her lungs clearing.

At this time,the shamaness nearly fell into a sitting position.Looking at her more closely,Aiya could discern beads of sweat on her brow,and she was breathing rather heavily.

Morgan seemed to be trying to stand up again,but Aiya grabbed her and held her down.

"Morgan,I thank you for healing the toxin,but you need to rest.Don't try to resist,okay...the last thing we need is to have you collapse..." Aiya told her,pulling put a handkerchief and wiping her brow,she laid the Shamaness down.

"You're tired,and arguing will only make it worse,so just stay here." Aiya asked of Morgan,before adding;

"Besides,if we are to travel together,is it not best if we get to know each other a little?I have a feeling you aren't fond of many of us,but...you don't seem to hate me..."

[Ansem]

"I'm going to scout ahead" Helios said. "We need to find a town". "We can not stay here much longer". "If those people come back we will be in a dire situation" said Helios while walking into the forest. "Ian and Kelas will stay and watch over you while im gone"

Edited April 12, 2010 by Kai

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan responded to Aiya " I do not hate anyone we are traveling with, I am just appalled at their utter lack of sense, such as our mage friend here. You are...better than most I admit"

Morgan forced herself to stand up and admonished Helios. "Do you honestly think we are in any sort of shape to be mocving around right now? Some of our number is unconscious, we have been burned, poisoned, stabbed, and otherwise maimed. We are in no shape to move right now, we have to sleep to recover our strength. Whatever caused the fires and poison has not located this camp yet and it's been quite some time. Moving now is both selfish and foolish."

[Ansem]

"I never said we had to move" Helios said. He was really losing his patience around this Shaman. He would have killed her if she didn't wield the Crimson tome. "It would be suicide if we stay here". "Are you forgetting that we are on the middle of the forest with no food or water". Helios sighed. "You may be our tactician but i am not following any orders that dont make any sense". "And unless you want to die of the cold then sleep out here tonight".

[Inactive Account]

Kelas heard the mage mention scouting ahead, arguing with the shaman. As much distaste as she held for the woman, she had to agree: the mage was being a fool. What? As he passed her, she grabbed his sleeve. "What are you trying to accomplish here?" she demanded. "None of your people, bar maybe you, are capable of going anywhere right now. Those villagers aren't enough of a threat to run away from. I don't know what kind of sheltered life you've led, but nobody freezes to death in these parts except in the deadest of winter. Move now, you'll get them all killed. Stay here for the night, and you've got a chance."

The mage opened his mouth to protest and pulled his arm away, but she caught him again. "I don't care if you lot live or die, but this is idiotic. This location is reasonably hidden and defensible. Nobody is going to look for you here, and since you seem to be able-bodied enough to go gallivanting about, you should be able to hunt down some game to feed people off of for the night."

She released his arm. "You keep jumping from one thing to another, letting everyone else get hurt and then expecting them to follow you on whatever fool goose-chase you're starting next. When you get killed out there, nobody will be surprised. Go, then. I've no reason to bother with you."

OOC: Wait, has he started into the woods or not? ...confusion.

Edited April 12, 2010 by _____

[-Cynthia-]

" Did you not go hunting earlier? Besides, those of us who were prepared for travel still should have provisions with us, no? Perhaps you are ill-equipped for situations such as this, but I am used to living in the wilds. Considering most of us are travelers, only a complete moron would not bring food, water, or blankets. Maybe you can borrow from somone more competent if you are truly that worried."

[Ansem]

Helios didn't feel like going after that. He sighed. Since he was the only one not affected by the poison he had to be of some use. "I'll go hunt something" he said as he strode off into the woods

[Inactive Account]

Kelas wondered what he planned on using to hunt, but did not question him any further. She was somewhat suspicious of why he kept wandering off-- was the lack of common sense an act covering something worse? She didn't see anything she could do about it at present, anyway, so she pulled out some more dried fruit, offering some to the small girl who stayed rooted to the spot. "You want some? ...Hey, look, I don't bite, all right?"

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan felt a sense of victory as the mage strode off into the woods. She then promptly fell to the ground and fell asleep within a few minutes.

[Ether]

"So much for calm time to heal..." Aiya had chosen not to partake in the argument,and saw the nomad was still there.

"You're mare is quite a nice horse." Aiya told Kelas,hoping to spark some kind of conversation.

[Inactive Account]

Kelas looked up, a bit startled that someone wanted conversation. "Ah... thanks," she said uselessly. "Her training seems to have turned out all right, at least... um. I'm called Kelas. You are?" She held out a hand tentatively.

[Ether]

Aiya saw the nomad girl,Kelas,seemed rather timid.Still,that wasn't a bad quality,just one she needed to remember.Accepting Kelas' hand,she replied;

"I'm Aiya,pleased to meet you." Aiya then continued by saying "I have seen many horses as a soldier,but she is very loyal,her legs are strong.Of course,the nomads are well known for their horsemanship...might I ask which tribe you hail from?"

[Inactive Account]

Kelas hid a grimace. "...The Adai. You... won't have heard of them." Absently she twisted her fingers into the mare's mane, wondering how she could avoid the inevitable "why not?"