Legend of Renalta: Reborn (IC)

[Orion]

Pain. The night had yielded no respite from it, and so he found himself in a more agitated state than when he had laid himself down to sleep. Luckily for him, his sleepless night had done a bit to progress the healing process, and as such he found it at least manageable to rise and prepare to venture. as he made his way over to the shore of the oasis to wash up, and retrieve his equipment he checked around to see if anyone had come out of last night worse off than he had. It didn't take long before he spotted Amora being worked over, which certainly did not present a pleasant omen for the remainder of the voyage. Others had either not yet risen, or were unaccounted for, but with the growing number of relations in this crew he chose not to consider them dead.

He splashed water in his face to shake off the daze of slumber, and took a small drink before filling his canteen. He brushed sand off his torn and tattered trousers, and pulled his shirt back on. As he did he played with the hole made by the arrow that put him in his weakened state, and mused over how large a difference just an inch or two could make..... Which may not be a horrible line to use at a tavern sometime. he joked to himself. Even the simple joke was enough of a reminder to pull him to thoughts of what was to become of him after all of this. Would he survive? Would he be able to walk away from whatever might come next? "Dean the Conquering Warrior" had a nice ring to it, yet he doubted is commitment to the part.

He had already left his family for quite some time, and he had at least some responsibility to them Furrowing his brow in slight aggravation he continued dressing himself. Examining the gash in his armor he tried to determine whether it was worth keeping or to just leave it. Deciding with a sigh that he would most assuredly not find an Armorsmith or shop in the remote desert, he was left with few options, so he put that on as well. He finished by dawning his sword to his side. Lifting the blade with his left had caused a bit of pain, so he considered it fortunate he fought with his right, but it left him unable to make use of his shield.

Around that time a flame shot high into the sky. No doubt a beckoning by the fair Princess. Dean rolled his eyes at the apparent theatrics. It seemed as though he wasn't the only one unable to heed Xixis' warnings of things travelling further than intended in the desert. That flame served well to give their position away to whom-and-whatever roamed these parts, but hopefully not to anymore worms. Seeing it as further incentive to rejoin the group Dean set out to do just that. Kicking up small clouds of sand as he went. The steps weren't a struggle so much as they were a hassle. Feeling less like going farther with every step he forced himself over the dunes hoping for his mood to improve. Why would they choose to move in this heat was beyond him, but since when had he been in the business of leading anyone?

[Sarzu]

Amora rose to his feet. He groans in pain as he does so, then looks around the sand dune. "Where is that damnable necromancer..." he mutters, limping toward the oasis. He saw figures there. Perhaps the necromancers were among them.

Harrad was at the oasis, wetting his hands and splashing water in his face, enjoying the coolness of the water on his skin as he rubbed the water in, seeing his apprentice stare at him he let one of his eyebrows rise questioningly. "Something the matter young Naream? You look rather disturbed." Naream pointed and Harrad looked down at the hands he had been using to splash water in his face, one was his own arm and hand, the other was the rather stiff one of the surgeon Amora. "Oh, that?" He laughed and extended the arm, "Need a hand Naream?" Harrad Let out another laugh at the obvious distaste of his apprentice, he was still young compared to him, he'd grow and get used to it... assuming Harrad didn't have to kill him for something or another.

Scratching his chin with the arm he turned and looked at the owner approaching. "Ah! Good master surgeon is it? Are you quite rested for the procedure?"

Amora sighs in annoyance, nodding his head slowly. He still looked pale from blood loss and physically he felt like he was made out of piano strings. Tense and frustrated and ready to snap at any moment. "Just give me usage of my arm back." He states plainly. "And maybe, just maybe, when I inevitable have fix you, I'll do it right."

Harrad chuckled and pulled a arm casually on Amora's shoulders, one of his own this time, and turned the human around. "Naream, follow boy." He called over his shoulder as they headed to where Harrad had already put up his tent, well were he had Naream and Shade already put up his tent. "I can most certainly give you use of your arm back, still are you sure you want this arm? I have some very fine speciments with claws, talons, even ones where there are various knives and other instruments attached instead of fingers. The thumb on that one is actually a flute, the fellow I took it from could play the most beautiful tunes... his screams were a bit nicer, I actually have his spirit sealed somewhere, wonder if his screams are still wonderful. Are you interested in screams good man?" He asked Amora, genuine curiousity of what he would answer with.

"Screams just tell me that I'm doing my job correctly." He states as his answer. "And that they are still alive." He adds quickly as he pokes his head inside the tent. Some of the things here he recognized, other things he did not. This necromancer seemed to be a collector of sorts, though, he didn't see a pile of limbs anywhere. The comment must have been made in jest. "I will simply take the arm which I know will do what I require of it..." He states as he turns and faces the necromancers. "...And that would be my arm."

Harrad made a click-clacking noise that almost sounded as if he was disappointed, "Such a shame really, but the patient is always the king, or was that customer? I have forgotten, please sit down." Harrad said with a flourish and with some mumbled words as a series of bones suddenly moved and started to form a operating table of sorts while Naream pulled a piece of cloth over it.

Harrad was already preparing something else, humming quietly to himself as he went to work, "I... well borrowed some herbs from that lvoely elf woman, don't tell her please, or those assassins... or should I say demons, she associates with, I suspect they might take offense. Hmm, stir three times coutner-clockwise was it?" He murmured as he added some water and started stirring, with Amora's arm. "Yes, yes, that's it." He turned around and handed Amora a cup. "Here, drink please and lie down, should help you relax and make my job all the easier." Harrad's eyes had been filled with mirth the entire time he had talked before but now he was dead serious.

Amora takes the cup up to his lips, then sniffs it. He wrinkles his nose and lowers the cup for a moment, glaring in an icy manner at Harrad. "I am a doctor, not a fool. These drugs will knock me out cold." He eyes the contents of the glass momentarily. "Do please keep me alive. I have... Things to attend to." He places the glass down on the makeshift operating table, then takes his bag and unslings it from his shoulder, placing it upon the ground beside the table. "alas." He remarks with a sigh, sitting upon the table and grabbing the drink once again.

"Off to see her again, I go." He states with a hint of long term sorrow in his voice before drinking the contents of the cup, laying down upon the table and fading off into slumber.

Harrad cleaned the dirt, well sand, from under his finger nails, and then moved to do the same with Amora's severed arm before he prodded Amora and then for good measure slapped his cheek with his own arm, breaking off the little finger, cursing Harrad went looking for it and picked it up, muttering, 'I can fix that' as he did, but at least he was sure the good surgeon was definitely out cold. He turned to his apprentice who looked expectingly at him, Harrad snorted, recognising the look in his apprentice's eyes. "Not a chance Naream, go outside, make sure nobody enters this tent while I work." Naream looked as if he might protest but a glare of his master send him scurrying out the tent to guard, along with Shade.

Nodding to himself again Harrad reached at his neck and produced a necklace with a rather odd heirloom, twisting a dial in the center of it in a certain pattern and then let go and closed his eyes while he palced a hand on the chest of Amora. There was a sudden flash before his closed eyes and when he opened them, he, the table and the unconscious Amora were still there, but everything else had changed.
There were dark walls made otu of black brickes on which were glowing runes which hurt to look at and green ghostlights provided the only ilumination, bathing the room with a macaber sheen of light, near him stood a table of sorts with all sorts of instruments. He snapped his fingers and a section of a nearby wall slid away, revealing a new room from which came a stink of decay. Wrinkling his nose Harrad whistled and two figures emerged, they were quite gruesome, rotting flesh and exposed bone as the ghoulish servants answered the bidding of their master. "Clean the wound, sterilise it, and nothing more! No snacking!" He said with a note of warning and the creature moaned and quivered in fear.

While the ghoulish servants went to work on Amora, harrad placed the arm, including the severed finger, on a nearby table. He looked wistfully at a rack which held some other arms, hands and other body parts.
But shook his head and started to mutter a incation as he swept his hand over Amora's arm, flesh starting to rot and peel off as he did so. Till nothing but bones remained and he nodded, "Good, now the real work begins..." He said with a smile as he reached for a inkwell.

Amora stirs to life, opening his eyes a little as he does so and spotting the strange chamber he was in. It was dark, and dim, and his clouded mind was having a hard time keeping things straight. Why was he here?... Ah, yes. "Your potion... Is made of... Diluted crap..." Amora chuckles bitterly, coughing in an almost sickly fashion.

A rotting ghoul face appears in Amora's vision, letting out a low moan, reaching with a cadaverous hand for the lying doctor before it was slapped away in a irritated fashion. "No, no snacking I said! You have done your job, go and have lunch in the storage." Harrad said and waved them away and turned to his 'patient'. "Hmm... so I see... next time I double or triple the dosage." Harrad looks distracted, humming to himself still. "Actually good thing you are awake, or at least somewhat awake... do you feel... this." He said and then pushed a brand on the wound where the arm was severed, burning a ritual mark on the wound.

Amora screams in pain, reaching over with his good arm grabbing the handle of the brand, throwing it away. A few droplets of blood escape from the wound that almost made him convulse in pain, his eyes watering. "YOU ARE INSANE!" Amora yells, laying back down with the occasional twitch of pain. "Get this over with or the next ghoul that I see in front of me will be losing his head!"

"Tut, tut, how rude of you." Harrad said, sounding almost dissapointed, "This is all necessary to make sure you will have a functional arm... or do you want a appendage that just flips around when you move?" He shook his head and retrieved the brand, grunting when he noticed it was bend. "Have to fix that..." He reached for a inkwell and dabbed his finger in it, pulling it out covered in blood and not ink and started to dab more sigils and ritualistic marks on and around the wound. "Just applying the required marks to make sure the rest of your flesh does not die off when I attach the arm, some people like to become a undead abomination but somehow I doubt you are one of them." He muttered and then nodded in satisfaction at the marks. "Right... this might hurt... so back to sleep..." He pinched Amora's nose, making him gasp to open his mouth and poured down another herbal mix and forcing him to swallow and waited till once again the surgeon was once again asleep. "Now for the real work..."

It was some time later and Harrad looked up as Amora stirred, "Ah welcome back among the living... no pun intended." They were back in Harrad's tent near the oasis and Harrad himself was busy with a tome of some kind. "This is a first for me you know." Harrad started and smirked, "Operation successful and patient survived, usually my patients... are not there to be healed at my touch." He nodded at the re-attached limb... the skeletal arm which was scribbled in black runes and sigils to keep the bones attached to each other. "Try moving it if you would, perhaps by grabbing this gift." He showed what he was holding, a tome. "One of my spare summoning tomes, the pages are blank and I gathered you need a new one."

Amora lays there momentarily, looking at his skeletal arm with a vacant look in his eyes. Then, it occurred to him. His wife would probably be rather upset with him at this turn of events. He lowers his eyes from his arm, closing them and taking a deep breath. This would take some getting used to. He exhales slowly, then sits up. He looks at Harrad, then at the summoning tome, which he gingerly grabs with his skeletal arm. "...Admittedly, not what I expected." He remarked, both about his arm and about Harrad's behaviour. "I do not know what to make of you, friend or foe or mere curiousity."

Harrad shrugged and smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth. "Friends can be foes in disguise and foes can one day become friend. Perhaps it is best to just call me eccentric." He said while watching Amora.
He slips off the bone table, flipping through the pages of the summoning tome quickly to be sure that it was as empty as Harrad said it was. "Is there anything else you require? Any other strange acts of charity you wish to give?" He asks as he hefts his bag up from the floor. It had collected a little dust. They must have been here for at least a half dozen hours.

"Charity you say? If you look at it like that, well who am I to dispute it. There are many things that could be said of me or my kind herr doctor... charity is not one of them I am just in a good mood I suppose." Harrad laughed and washed his hands in a bowl of water, rising his hand and watching the droplets. "We all have our secrets and we all have our intentions that are either good, bad or both. I just want to make sure that I get what I am promised... restoring your arm and giving you a spare summoning tome might help me with that, it might not. Time will tell."

"Hmph. We will see." Amora mutters as he leaves his tent. He glances around at the sky, noticing Kouri's fire signal he yells back into the tent. "Kouri is getting everyone to move out! Pack up and go!" He states once, and only once. Summoning tome under his arm he leaves and starts out towards the source of the flame in the sky himself. He had no desire to remain near Harrad.

Harrad walked out of the tent and looked at the signal, muttering. "How lovely, a big sign in the sky broadcasting to any desert nomads, bandits and barbarians that we are here." He turned to Naream and Shade who had been waiting outside. "Pack up the tent and everything else, I will already make my way to the origin of the signal." With that Harrad ignored any reply his apprentice might make and went off to his riding lizard, he had a apprentice and undead servant to do the menial labor for him after all.

[Genais]

Mikan dashes over the sandy dunes, tripping over herself a couple times as she does so. As she climbs another dune, she spots Taigyn and Robin. She bites her lip, and decides to deal with them first. It shouldn't take long to point them in the right direction. She runs towards Robin and Taigyn, sliding down the sand dune, then kicking off just as she was about to hit Taigyn, instead flipping overtop of him and landing on the other side, on one knee with arms outstretched she says boldy. "TADA!"

Seeing the green haired girl, part of Taigyn's prior mood sinks. Still, he half-heartedly applauds the display. "Quite the show, Mikan. Pardon me if I fail to offer a coin for the performance. I seem to be rather short on funds," he comments, looking around for the assassin's. There must be a point to her being here if it drew her away from them.

"Bravo, bravo!" Robin applauds, smiling and looking her up and down. Mikan almost seems to recoil under his glance before realizing his age, and giggling instead. Old habits... She looks to Taigyn and rests her hands on his shoulders. "Well. Mister old man templar sir! Kouri is going THAT-A-WAY!" She points in the direction of the firery signal in the sky. "You should probably catch up!"

He looks between her and the way-marker. Chances were, that damned thing was going to draw life wanting to kill them in various ways like moths. Mages... Can never do things discreetly.... Glancing back, Taigyn gives her an uncertain look, "Will you not be joining us?"

Mikan shakes her head. "Not this time. I gotta go get the assassins, and the herbalist, and maybe the blind guy because I guess he can't see the signal." She ponders her options for a moment, then frowns a little. She leans forward, wrapping her arms around Taigyn's neck, then winking to Robin. He blushes vividly, but doesn't get the hint and continues to stare. Mikan sighs. "You have an errand." She says. "I do?" He replies. "...Yes. You. Do. Go on. Get outta here." Robin hesitates a moment longer, then snaps to his senses. "Right! Right! That uh... Errand! Or whatever!" He turns and runs off after Kouri's signal, looking back as his adolescent mind went wild with fantasies best left unsaid.

Mikan leans in closer, and then whispers in Taigyn's ear. "I know you're worried about me... But I'm a big girl. I handled rapist crusaders, and the blood sea, and the free hold slave trade... I can handle anything." She leans back a little and looks him eye to eye. "After all. Who else will keep you company if I'm gone?" She says with a big grin.

Taigyn freezes, uncertain what to do about her close proximity. After a few awkwardly silent moments, his face softens. "That boy Robin seems up for the task of keeping this old bastard Templar company..." His hand begins to lift, feeling a need to cup her cheek. Yet, just as it reaches waist level, it balls into a fist before dropping back to his side dejectedly. "Just take care of yourself, Mikan... You've never been alone in this, even before the... Crescent Moon Sisters," he mutters, correcting his phrasing before he even got to spit the word hellspawn.

"I know." Mikan whispers, pecking him in a friendly manner on the cheek. She turns and takes a few steps away before stopping and turning on her heels. "You know, if I ever had a father... I think he'd be something like you." She says with a soft smile before taking a deep breath. She closes her eyes, then feels a pull nearby. The sisters. They were that way... She just knew it. Quickly and without another moment of respite, she takes off towards the sisters.

He watches her sprint off, for a moment or two before a frown tugs at the corners of his lips. "I don't want to be a father in your eyes, though," he whispers to no one, surprising even himself with the words. Looking down at the sands, Taigyn starts off in the direction of the flaming arrow before clicking his tongue loudly. His lizard looks up lazily from its lounging place in the sun. "Come along now," he sighs, making a summoning gesture. It flicks its tongue out at him before getting up to follow at a lumbering pace.

*

Salinï was still a bit... irritated, yes that was the best way to describe her mood after the encounter with that stuck up templar and his views on her kind. She let out a hiss when Jamiahl prodded at her shoulder, "Yes I know, bruised."

Jamiahl snorted, "That's what happens if you go around barreling into a man with some armor on."

Salinï nodded, "Next time I will just stab him in the neck and- AUCH!" She yelled, glaring at her sister but backing down when Jamiahl glared at her with a warning and kept glaring till her sister looked down. "Fine, I deserved that... let's go find Teila, she'll have a salve or poultice for the bruise I hope." Not to mention she wanted to check on her to see how she was coping still, especially now that the demon presence revelation has finally sunk in.

Teila could feel the sisters approaching, she could also hear Salini muttering and complaining about a bruise or something, she fished into her pockets and as they arrived behind her she turned around holding a small vial. "Here, stop whining, rub some of this on it, and next time.. don't be so stupid" She was giggling by the time she finished the sentence, the look on Salinis face was just.. priceless.

Salinï blinked rather stupidly and snorted as both Jamiahl and Teila giggled at her expense, rolling her eyes and trying to look mad before she gave up and smiled with them. "Guess I earned that..." She looked at the vial and then smirked, "Would love to have help with rubbing that on me later on." She smirked before her look turned serious. "How are you holding up, after... well everything?" She said, asking Teila.

Tela shrugged, in reality after the past few events since joining this.. group.. she wished she had never left her shop. "I'm alright, there isn't much i can do really is there, My best friend is dead, I have some perverted rampaging demon who likes to posses me kill everything.. Mesharra..." She trailed off at that.. she did not like to bring her up around these two. "Anyway, not much i can do, but I need to learn how to somehow control this.. what was his name?"

Salinï could feel the pang of sadness from Teila when she talked, Jamiahl and herself felt it too when Mesharra's name came up. "We call him Frank... just don't ask... it's complicated." She said with a shrug, "And yes he needs to be collared and leashed... sooner rather than later." She let out a growl, "I will not have him sink his claws into someone we care about." Jamiahl nodded, agreeing completely with her sister.

Teila nodded, it was all well and good to say those things.. but how the hell was she supposed to do that. "And how do you suppose i manage to.. regain control of my abilities?"

Salinï sighs, looking al ittle defeated. "I don't know..." Jamiahl slapped her bruised shoulder and Salinï gasped, glaring at her, then blinked and thanked her sister, the anger was good, better than feeling defeated. "But we will figure something out... even if it means we drag the bastard out and make him pay for what he has done to you... us..."

"Perhaps someone else around here would have some knowledge of possession.. We are a strange group afteralll.. enough about frank.. fred.. bob.. whatever his name is.. how did you get that bruise?"

Just as the question is asked, Mikan comes bounding over the sand dune. She reaches the top, then stops and pants. "Good... Gods..." She gasps, coughing a little before taking a few deep breaths. "Those dunes are... Deceptively tall!" She looks at Jamiahl and grins. "Hey, you! How are you doing?! The worm didn't hurt you did it?" Mikan says, a mix of playfulness and concern in her voice.

Jamiahl's answer is a smile and hugging Mikan. Salinï chuckles, "She is fine Mikan... look, sorry for before with your templar friend... it was a bit... hectic." She eyed Teila and rose her eyebrows, wondering if Teila wanted Mikan to know about the demon as well.

Teila could see the unspoken question and just nodded her head. thanks to the demon Teila had been able to heal Mikans wounds when they first rescued her... she atleast deserved to know that it wasn't actually teila doing that... not to mention what happened afterward... she would rather Mikan didnt blame her for that carnage.. even if it was partially her..."

"Well." Mikan starts with a big, cheesy grin. "Good! I don't want anything to happen to the two of you!" She looks to Salinï as she apologies, and hesitates before smiling shyly. "Aww... Well..." She scratches the back of her head. "Thanks..."


"So uhh.. Mikan, I haven't really spoken to you since what happened at the keep.. in fact im not entirely sure what did happen at the keep" Teila really was not so sure about how she was supposed to tell people oh hey look i'm possessed by a demon. sorry about that. "Well.. it seems there's a side effect to my magic.. when i healed you at the keep.. it was not exactly me.. The blood magic seems to open myself up to a possession.. Salini knows a little more than I do, I don't actually recall much except minor flashbacks when it happens, but she witnessed it.. and spoke to the demon.. I just wanted you to know that and i'm sorry about whatever i did at the keep that seemed to have some... dire consequences"

Salinï felt a need to add something to that, "It isn't her who does those things, this bastard demon is to blame for anything and everything." She laced her next words with quite a bit of emotion. "And we will make it pay..."

"A demon..." Mikan says, looking to the sisters, then looking back to Teila. She seems lost in thought for a moment before smiling broadly. "Look... I'm a street rat and a traitor, and these two are half-demons." She points to Salinï and Jamiahl. "We all have our issues, our problems... We'll figure em' out together." She sighs, then looks at Teila directly. "After all, all we got is each other now, right?"

Teila smiled at Mikan "Yes, I suppose we do, now will somebody tell me what happened with salini and the templar?"

Mikan looks to Salinï. "Oh?" She asks inquisitively. She wanted a story, the way she perked up in interest.

Salinï opened her mouth and then saw Jamiahl look at her with a raised eyebrow and made her close her mouth and shrugs. "A difference on the view of demons... which turned into a argument that got out of hand. Which thankfully was stopped by a energetic bundle with green hair." She reached out and tussled good naturingly Mikan's hair. "There is not really anything else to say of that matter." Salinï finished saying.

"Well thats.. kind of boring actually.. have u put that salve on your bruise yet?"

Seeing a chance to change the subject Salinï smirked, "No not yet... I actually was hoping to have some help from someone else to apply it on my skin..."

Mikan giggles and then rubs her hands together. "Oooh, can I help?!" She then looks out towards the sky, spotting the fire signal. "Oh, right, we gotta go as soon as possible..."