"I'm just wondering what man fumbled the play so bad that you're out here running without a boyfriend?" He said, looking up at her. Sonya loomed over the wounded midwife.
Inside the first house, a makeshift infirmary housed the wounded. It was cleared out except for the cot on which Anthony lay. Finley, he had been told, was in the master bedroom.
"Aw, you're sweet, but you are a bit too old for me. You need to be resting, Anthony," Sonya said.
"I thought you said that age wasn't a barrier the last two times?" He replied, holding her hand from the cot. "Just because my back was broken, doesn't mean that we can't do the thing we did at Arva that one time."
"You need to rest, alright?" Sonya replied. "You've done enough for the rest of us and we need you at full strength when we determine our next route."
"How is Finley?" Anthony said.
"Much the same. Everything tells us that he is alive, but no one's medicine skill is giving any helpful hints on what to do. It's like he is in a coma."
Anthony really wanted to sit up, but the orders were to stay put for at least a day. Then they would use a full torso cast until he was recovered. It wasn't going to be something that he was excited for, but he had given enough sets of post delivery instructions to at least listen to his medical provider and spymaster.
"You want Bob to come talk to me don't you? Or is it Bob that wants to talk to me?"
"He wants to make sure you're okay. I don't know if he even wants to be in charge. He feels terrible about what happened to Finley and you. He has been beating himself up. Thankfully Stella is with him. She'll set him straight."
Anthony winced.
"Has she been hitting the stein hard?" Anthony said. "Finley and I were worried about her before."
"She's an adult. She can do what she wants," Sonya said. "That said, I think she understands."
Anthony was worried about Stella. He was worried about the whole group, but in particular Stella seemed to have been hit pretty hard. Sonya had felt like the classic Canadian stoic who wouldn't say a bad thing about her neighbor.
"Alright. How are you doing?" He said. "Has anyone asked you that yet?"
"I mean, I'm not the one with the broken back," she said.
"It's just a bone wound. Probably. If we didn't have magic, I would have already died."
"I would have died a long time ago. I might have already died," she said. "This is a really crappy afterlife if so."
Anthony gripped her hand, as she leaned in. Her touch had him focused on how good it felt that he didn't have to think about the group's safety and security, at least for the moment. The worry that they would be attacked or overrun had been a constant problem. Now that one of the death knights had been dealt with, they could rest for at least a short time.
"You know I just met you a few days ago and it's been a while since I went on a date, but uh, do you think that we might try?" He said.
"I think we can go on a date," she said, squeezing his hand. "That would be quite nice."
"It will give me something to look forward to."
Kissing his forehead, she let him know that she would also be looking forward to it.
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Bob, current commander of Mork's last caravan, was excited at the prospect of a lighter watch schedule. Borgan and Song had volunteered to take the night shift for some time.
"Are you both certain that you're okay with that?" He said.
"Your feline creature saved us from having to carve up our relatives. That, in itself, feels blessed," Borgan said. "The night will soon be upon us and we need to repay our debts to you. Both of us have a night vision skill and Song thinks that we need time to mourn. I understand if this is strange to you."
The orc had applied black paint in between some of the cracks in his tattoo. His brother's entire face was covered in black ink.
"If you want to take your time, we understand. I think we are going to spend some time here while we figure out where to go next. I think that I speak for all of us when I say that I appreciate your help out there. You might not think that you did much, but I felt it," Bob said, extending his arm.
Borgan accepted the hand and turned the handshake into a bro hug. Bob, unused to being the little one in the hug equation, gracefully accepted it.
Borgan left him to return to his brother. The night after their victory, nearly the entire caravan stayed up the whole night. It hadn't turned into a party, as there had still been orcs that they had to kill on their way back to Arva. It had become a watch session where people were allowed to drink from time to time. Anthony, as keeper of the watch schedule, hadn't designated who would take it, so everyone volunteered.
Bob had made half of them sleep at around midnight to make sure that someone would be there to guard them during the day. The horses were only so good at early warnings.
Bob turned to watch the herd as it peacefully grazed around the house that had become an infirmary. The horses had kept their own vigil. After they had arrived, Brandon had let them all free to roam inside their staging grounds. The horses had accepted water when it was presented, but had really clung to the house where Anthony and Finley were.
He wanted to talk to them but knew that he could only go so far. They could accept simple commands when he used animal handling. All but two were trained war beasts with the exception of the tinker trained mares. Sonya had let him know that Anthony was getting his strength back, which was enough for him. If Finley was able to break out of his coma, then they would be in a better place.
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Bob saw that Stella was setting up dinner. His stomach grumbled loudly, asking why it hadn't been satiated. He made his way over to the pot. It was time to tend to his needs. He couldn't wait to hand back the reins to Anthony. The fire pit was equidistant from the two houses, roughly in the center of their walls. It really wasn't far but he didn't want to be asked another question.
Too many questions about what the group of them would do next has risen up. With Anthony, they had a leader with a vision. With Finley, they had the best and only local guide.
Without either? It was going to be tough.
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"He is taking this hard, huh?" Sophie said.
Bob was working his way to them slowly. Apparently he wanted to make sure that all of the horses were still aligned. Stella and Sophie saw him talking with Sonya.
"At least we will get the update from Sonya," Stella said. "Anthony might be doing better, but Finley-"
Both women shuddered. Seeing the person they had trusted so much in such pain; his arm had been cut off above the elbow. Sophie didn't have any idea what he was going through but she really felt for the elf.
"Do you think that he is going to be alright? Nobody really has any idea. I mean we used to see cases in the hospital where people got injured or they hurt themselves but, like, it was a mental hospital. If they had real problems, they would go to the real hospital."
Stella stirred the pot a few times. Sophie had been handing her vegetables every now and then once they were done being cut up. She had really perfected her chopping. It was a shame that they didn't have any onions. The little stock they did have had been quickly eaten as they gave the potatoes flavor.
"Sophie, do you know what I would do for a fucking bottle of ketchup right now?"
"I don't know, what?"
"Terrible, terrible things," Stella said, waving her spoon in the air. "But I can't have any ketchup. And I sure as heck can't fix Anthony myself or you know I will be out there fixing him. And the same of course goes for Finley."
"You know Stella, if we had some sugar and some tomatoes, then I could probably make some ketchup. It would only have to be refrigerated," Sophie said. "I am willing to bet that your boyfriend over there knows exactly how to make ketchup. So if you don't ask him, what I'm saying is that I will."
Bob finally arrived, as if summoned.
"Well here is the man in question. Bob. Do you think that you could make some ketchup if we had tomatoes?"
"Do we have tomatoes? Because if so then heck yes," he said, pulling his hood down. He warmed his hands on the fire. A few seconds later, Stella grabbed him around the waist from behind.
Sophie decided that that was about the time for her to go check on some of her other interests.
"I'm going to take a break," she said, stepping back. "Heading to the clubhouse."
"Stop trying to make 'clubhouse' happen," Stella said. "It's not happening."
No matter what her side kick said, Sophie was going to call the house that wasn't the infirmary the clubhouse. It was too bad that Stella would be the last one to call it that.
She flicked up the set of cards that had caught her eye. Without Finley to distribute the loot equitably, she took it upon herself to organize their haul. She held six cards that had the power to change the course of someone's life.
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Uncommon Skill Card: Eldritch Spellcasting Level 1
This card grants mana.
This card grants access to eldritch spells.
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Uncommon Skill Card: Ritual Casting Level 2
This card grants mana.
This card gives knowledge about how to cast prepared and ritual spells.
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Common Skill Card: Enchantment Level 1
This card allows the user to imbue objects with mana. Effects depend on the related spell.
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Common Skill Card: Survival Level 5
The wielder is more hearty and knows how to make the best of a bad situation.
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Common Skill Card: Medicine Level 1
The wielder knows how to do basic first aid and some secondary aid.
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Common Skill Card: Patron Pact Level 1
The wielder may arrange one pact bond through ritual magic. Benefits of the bond will be defined by the pact.
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With the five she had, she was certain to make a warlock card. Sonya had been exceedingly strong with her warlock class and Sophie wanted to make one for herself.
She hadn't envisioned turning herself into a Rogue, much less adding wilderness druid and Warlock to the mix, but the group needed more firepower. Anthony had wanted a monk card, because he foolishly wanted to be on the front lines. Sophie wanted to be safe in the back with the ammunition.
She grabbed the parts that she needed and the frame. If what Finley had said was correct then she was about to add to her already large arsenal.
Sophie smiled and began to assemble her next card.
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Stella and Bob finished cooking all of the dinner.
"Hey Bob, do you think you can do the cleanup?" Stella said. "I think I'm going to go have a bit of a nap before my night shift. You're joining me on that one, right?"
"Oh I forgot to tell you. Borgan and Song asked if they could take the night shift. Since we helped him out so much and they wanted some time to themselves. Also, they have dark vision which is something that none of us have without using magic. I figured that one of us would check on them every few hours to make sure they're all right but other than that, you are free for the night."
Stella paused, staying in place. All the energy she put into getting up disappeared into the ether.
"I am free? Huh. You're still cleaning up, though?"
"Yes, I am. Now I was thinking that we could go on a little moonlit stroll tonight and celebrate," he said. "Is that something you would be interested in?"
"That sounds lovely. Let me go to the powder room and freshen up," Stella said, accepting Bob's hand to get up. "Oh Bob, did I tell you what Sophie named her spear?"
Bob looked up from the cleaning bin.
"No, you didn't? What did she name her spear?"
"She named it Bob."
"Probably because Bob is a great name," Bob said, smiling back at her.
Stella went back to the clubhouse. She was not going to give Sophie the pleasure of letting her know that was what she also called it. She would hold out for as long as possible. Sophie had already vacated their team room, so Stella was alone.
It was a perfect time to look into her deck.
Stella brought out her newest prize, looking at the obsidian glint.
"Aww, yeah that's the good stuff," she said. "This world is going to be mine."