Concerning the Drow

#41

Kali had depositied the last of her berries on the ground. When she was kindly questioned by Luke she gave a small grin saying, "I'm fine, just a little tired thanks". She did not add that she had not slept in a couple of days for looking after a good friend in the small ghetto like room they shared, whilst she was agonisingly consumed inside out till she had died.

The woman had been like a sister after her mother had died and her death although expected had come as a shock. She had not broken down and cired as one mght do in such a situation but stood up and began cleaning the orom, finally cleaning her friends skin and wapping her in the cleanest and finest sheet they owned. Shehad left her lying, like some kind of mummy in their room. Shortly after this she had ventured out, and hence met the two she now travelled with.

She looked ahead and then stopped a little suddenly. "Do you smell smoke?" she asked them her eyes scouring the trees which seemd to go on forever though she knew it could not. There was the slight smell of ash in the air, a campfire perhaps?

Concerning the Drow

#42

Ahadi drew his blade, a wicked two-handed talwar with a hammered brass handle. The blade was wide, and heavy, the sort used for shearing through armored opponents. It was still marked with the blood of the drow he almost killed in Omelas.

"If we are come into a trap, our ambushers will pay a heavy price for their folly." he said, the blade ready before him, as he advanced towards the source of the smell of smoke.

Concerning the Drow

#43

Kali stilled as Ahadi withdrew his balde. For a second she had thought to back away. The blade was long and menacing, and was still tainted slighlty with spilt blood. He was a man who obviously knew how to use it and she wouldn't like to be on the receiving end. She walked solemly behind him, scouring the ground for anything she could use as a weapon. She only had a small knife wrapped in some of the material she used for her skirt at her waist. It was good in close quarters, but was useless for anything else.
She hoped that Ahadi was right, personally she would have tried to avoid meeting the owner of the campfire, but it seemed he wanted only to meet with danger.

"Ahadi, they will recognise you for Underdark". She did not know why his safety concerned her, but it did. She had helped him escape had she not? Technically betraying her own people (If she could call them that) and to see him die now would have been, so it seemed a great loss and pity. She stopped his advancing steps softly touching his arm, "I can walk ahead...if they see me they will most probably not make a big fuss, providing they are simply travellers, and I can let you know whether it would be best to stay clear and I can meet with you at a later time" She looked at Luke including him in the conversation.

Concerning the Drow

#44

"We'll just walk around to the side, if they try to fight us, well that is their folly." Luke did a quick hop and did the splits in air, it made him feel a little more limber. "No offense Kali but you are not inconspicuous either none of us are, let us just stick together, they'll think twice before trying to tangle with three insteand of one.

Luke was stretching and geting his blood flowing, it was a simple power boosting technique. Luke's blue eyes had a firey ferocity in them, but not the animal rage that had consumed him in the city. "If they question us too much we can always say we captured him to slow them down for a second, if that doesn't work I'm confident we an fight our way out. I don't feel confortable going around though these trees all look so much alike it would be hard to gt back to the right direction."

Concerning the Drow

#45

Kali shrugged, "I only offered for if it is a camp of city guard that have somehow survived the plague, or pehraps even guards from another city, they will be used to women dressed such as I am". She used a hand to gesture down her sparsely made raiment. "But your idea is better...". She looked around finally spotting a suitable stick she thought would do to defend herself if it came to it. She picked it up, dusting off the end of it so she could hold it more comfortably without it slipping.

Concerning the Drow

#46

"It's a good plan but were in the woods, their not going to expect to see a Lady in the woods, alone. As a group maybe they'll think were just travellers. And if their from anthoer city they won't know about the Drow yet, I hope."

Concerning the Drow

#47

Kali nodded agreeably. "Hopefully you are right". She held her chosen weapon more tightly as she tried to comfort herself that all would be well. Her knuckles had become white with her grip on the bludgeoning weapon and she tried t relax as she noted it but to no avail. They were steadily decreasing the distance between themselves and whatever lay ahead and the scent ofsmoke was rapidly becoming stronger. She was sure she cold almost feel the heat of the glowing coals, although that was impossible.

Concerning the Drow

#48

"You mean that neither of you can bespell them?" Ahadi asked, his grip on the talwar loose, the flexible grip of a seasoned soldier. He chafed at the feeling of fear and indecision that wove its way through the trio. They were hesitant and he became hesitant, and in the underdark, the hesitant were food.

He stormed ahead, hewing down several sapling with the curved blade, and shouted a challenge at the source of the smoke, ready for battle, or flight, whichever would be the most prudent. Action.

Concerning the Drow

#49

Luke wasn't sure what Ahdi meant by bespell, maybe he was talking about Magery. He followed Ahadi though, and liked that he direct, Luke followed his presence creating an imposing shadow behind Ahadi. Luke had never had to fight very often, when disputes broke out near his presence was enough to keep things from turning violent.

Concerning the Drow

#50

Kali walked last, behind Luke and he behind Ahadi. She hadn;'t known exsactly what bespell meant but came to the same understanding as Luke. "Well, she thought, if wishes and spells were pots and pans there'd be no need for tinkers. The simple rhyme gave her comfort and she let the stick out of her vice like grip so it was held in one hand horizontally at her side. Before they knew it, they were stanidng before the smoky clearing. The signs of a recent fire were evident in the glowing coals. Foot rpints had turfed up the soil and flat patches were they had lain were still visible and unmarred by the passing of the natural inhabitants of the forest.

Kali looked around suspiciously. She knew enough to know if they were gone it was not long ago. She held the stick in two hands now before her in a defensive stance. Then she remembered as a child playing games like hide-and-seek. She had once been told that the aazing thing about humans id that they do not often look above or below their level either mentally or physically. She had learnt this true meaning in the mental sense a few years before, but the physical sense had proved true that day in the small courtyard. She looked up into the boughs of the trees, her strangely hued eyes passing over the green foliage that moved only when the wind felt the desire to aid it. Then she heard a small scuffle like noise followed by ther sound of something tight being stretched yet further. Beads fo sweat had begun to form on her brow and sh elicked dry lips like a cornered animal. She knew that noise sure enough, a bow no doubt with an arrow already notched was most undoubtedly being aimed at their hearts.

Concerning the Drow

#51

Hissing like a viper, the arrow sang through the air, striking its target but not with the accuracy, or the power of a true arrow. Ahadi grunted, and lost his stance and the arrow burroed into his flesh. He felt the stab of pain as the head pierced him, he could feel the pull of the shaft every time he breathed, it had passed between two of his ribs.

An icy pain tingled down his arm, numbing his hand, his grip on the talwar, a heavy weapon, faltered. Cover, he needed cover. He let the blade fall fromt he ready position, its pointed tip dug a furrow in the ground as he retreated behind one of the larger trees.

"Kaaz nala dact!" he cursed. The wound was seriousl but didnt seem to have hit anything vital, there was none of the high pressure blood, nor the whispering gurgle of a pierced lung. It still was painful, and it hampered his sword, the talwar demanded two hands to be used with anything even resembling proficiency.

Concerning the Drow

#52

Luke didn't wait for another invitation and dove for cover behind a tree to the left, the arrow had come in at relative horizonital angle. Luke paused only a second then drove through thick brush to where the arrow had come from.

He came into the brush onto a brigand, rather than an archer. Luke unsure of who the fellow was reacted quickly when the vagabound drew a dagger and attacked him. His right hand snapped out and snatched the brigand's wrist and twisted till it broke. With his left he curled his hand into a fist and mashed the man's face. Blood spewed from the brigans nose, he slumped to the ground unconsious.

Concerning the Drow

#53

Kali had ducked instinctively and only looked up in time to see Ahadi struck by the arrow. She winced and gulped watching as he fought hs way to find shelter. Luke too had found shelter before finally laying a blow on the archer that knocked him senseless to the ground. "You have to help Ahadi" she said to Luke watching Ahadi's pained expression. "I can tie this one up but I'm more likely to kill Ahadi in removing that arrow than help him". She looked between the fallen archer and Ahadi.

Then with amazing deftness she took of the fallen man's belt and used it to bind his hands. She used his leather thonging form his boots to bind his feet and then began rifling through his pockets. To some it may have seemed like scavanging but in truth although the prospect of finding any valubles was a positive one she was more concerned with finding the origin of the man and who they were up against. She found a small pouch of gold which rapidly dissapeared into the folds of Kali's clothes for later use and she also found a small parchment sealed with wax and bearing an insignia she was unfamiliar with.

Concerning the Drow

#54

Ahadi gingerly touched the arrow, and felt the barbs of the arrowhead. He drew his hand back with a his through his teeth. Damnable luck! He sheathed the talwar clumsily, and drew his own belt knife and set to making a notch in the shaft of the arrow, perhaps a hand's span from his chest. After a moment of whittling, the shaft revealed its less than ideal choice in wood. The shaft snapped, and he was left holding the fletched end, and most of the weight in his hand. THe pain of the arrow being dragged down by the rear was lessened.

He had heard tales of the warriors who cut arrows from their flesh with knives, but they never told how much being shot hurt, or what happened afterwards. Their were only the heros and the dead, no prisoners.

Concerning the Drow

#55

"God damn barbed arrows. He stripped some leaves off a nearby bush, they were like ferns and carried many spores on the underside that stank. He mashed thme in his hands at best he could. "Suck on this it a strong narcotic herb, but don't swallow! This is going to hurt alot." Luke peeled off one of his leggings wrapping his calf, and toweled it up for a bandage. He grabbed Ahadi's knife from his hand.

"Do your best to control yourself." Luke waited a monet for the narcotic to take effect, then he he cut Ahadi's chest making small incisions around the point of entry. Then he looked inside, Ahadi's vitals didn't seem to be hurt but the arrow was between the ribs. "Ahadi your going to feel alot of pain, so control yourself these next few moments." The arrow was in so, that Luke worried pulling it free might scratch something. The only choice was to break the top rip and slowly remove the arrow.

Luke face contorted and he snapped Ahadi's fourth rib, it broke cleanly in two, Luke worked quickly and got the arrow out gently then set Ahadis, rib. Using one hand he snaked some herbs from his pocket then chewed them up and spat the paste into Ahadi's wound. It was a mild pain killer and helped to mend skin and bone.

He used his legging to wrap up Ahadis chest tightly so the rib would heal right. "Powers above it's a good thing your a strong man."

Concerning the Drow

#56

The narcotic fern tasted worse than anything he Ahadi had ever placed in his mouth. It reminded him of the midden heaps left behind when the sligs were corraled for the slaughter. He could feel the rising swell of nausea as the rib was broken and the arrow removed.

The monk worked quickly, and he didnt feel the palsied weakness of bloodloss, but it seemed that a cavebear had him in a giant chestlock, with the pressure bandage wrapping around his shoulder and chest. Until the wound was healed, and he could swing the talwar with both hands, he was effectively unnarmed.

"I thank you, Luke." Ahadi said, beads of perspiration on his head.

Concerning the Drow

#57

"Welcome, just don't get shot like that again anytime soon." Luke leans back on his heels watch Ahadi carefuly. Some who was just taken a severe beating looked to be doing alright. He flipped his knife back, "your going to need this more than I will."