Markus' head thumped against the wall his back leaned on, letting himself slump now that Valerie spoke. He swallowed, his throat dry. "Yeah," he breathed, his entire body muddled with exhaustion. "For the moment, I think." He felt the warmth of blood on his hands, and he realized now that it was his own blood mixed with Valerie's. He had a large cut he did not remember receiving on his left forearm that seeped blood down his arm and onto his palm. He would have put his hand onto the cut, but it was pressed as firmly as he dared onto the spot Valerie's wound was, just in case.

Markus had been too preoccupied with making sure his adventure companion was alive, but as he slumped there, he suddenly felt naked. As if he was missing something. He blinked, and it hit him. "My sword..." he breathed, realizing it was on the other side of the stone. It wasn't that he didn't have it, but he could no longer feel its presence. The bond between Swordmage and blade was mystical in nature, it was what allowed him to use his enchantments on it and where he stored part of his own power. That stone portal had severed the bond between him and the blade he had empathized with. That was powerful magic.

He reached up with his free hand and lifted his matted, unkempt hair out of his eyes and sighed. "We'll need to find another way out," he said aloud. "I can't open that from the inside out." He coughed, his throat so very dry. He downed some of his water flask and coughed once more. "Here," he told her, giving her a bit of water as well. He knew she probably needed to quench her throat too, and even if she didn't, that blood loss...

He put the flask down, and leaned over to the side to grip the straps of his pack, before yanking it over to them. He fished in it for a moment, before producing bits of jerky he had. "You need to get some food down," he told her. "You need all the energy you can get after that wound." He grabbed a few bits himself. He produced some extra cloth from his pack, and used both hands to rip it as he chewed, and then wrapped it around his forearm the best he could. He grunted from the pain, but it would halt his own bleeding. Or the main source of it.

---

@Luminosity

The realization that Markus was without his sword still hit Valerie like a stone. So her partner had no weapon other than the blunt instrument that was his shield and any magic he could still produce, and Valerie herself would be weakened by the wound she'd sustained for some time. She hoped they were lucky enough to avoid any more confrontations with orcs for the time being. But at least one of them still had their weapon.

"We'll find a way back for it," she promised, though she wasn't sure how reasonable that was. They certainly weren't going back the way they came, and where they were now was unclear. Maybe there was no way back, or maybe it would be cut off by too many orcs to handle. It was impossible to say, but it was easy to see that Markus had a deeper connection to his weapon than Valerie had with hers.

She gratefully accepted the water, and the bit of food. Even chewing was tiring, but Markus was right. She desperately needed the energy, and rest alone wouldn't provide that. "I'm sorry for ignoring you back there," she said, wincing as she swallowed. She took another drink. "It didn't look like you were going to make it without help. And I know I wouldn't, either. I think if we're going to survive this, it'll be together or not at all."

Despite his weariness, wounds, and their predicament, Markus couldn't help but smile. He admitted he wasn't in his best condition, but it wasn't him that had taken the full-on hit. Yet she was trying to reassure him about his sword. It was true he felt a sense of loss with it gone, but he doubted they could get it back. If they were to get out of here...if there even was a way out of here, they would probably need to fight through those same Orcs again.

"Don't be," he said, referring to her apologizing. "I would have done the same thing." He sighed as he said it. It was partly why he'd been mad at the time, because he almost blamed himself for not seeing her attack coming. He knew he wouldn't have left her to fight off an Orc unarmed as he crawled away. He supposed he proved that earlier, as well.

"It didn't look like you were going to make it without help. And I know I wouldn't, either. I think if we're going to survive this, it'll be together or not at all." she continued. It caused him to give chuckle, which hurt more than he cared to admit. Perhaps it was the fact that they had just survived overwhelming odds, but he felt a bit of optimism. "I think we've been in this together since we've met," he thought aloud. "But you're right."

He was frightened, he had to admit. Any sane person would be. But there was a daring curiosity there as well, something that at least gave him somewhat of a lifted spirit. He suspected she might be feeling something similar, on both counts. Markus reached down and grabbed her hand gently to hold it. It was all he could do, weary and resting against the wall with his legs still too tired to move effectively, even if her head wasn't resting on one.

"We'll get through this, Valerie." Markus promised her, finally looking away from the darkness and down at his companion, giving her hand a squeeze. There was a surety in his eyes, if they could be seen by the firelight. "We just..." he felt his breath harder to come by. He truly was getting tired. "We just need to rest now."

He placed his other hand on her abdomen gently, over the jacket that was tied about it. "This will scar," he told her. He should know. He had a sword run through him near the same spot before. Not to mention the various cuts across his body. He'd been lucky so many times before. What were the chances he'd survived this as well? "And tomorrow, probably the next few weeks even, you'll ache like hell. At least without a means to heal it. But as long as you don't move too much, it'll heal just fine."
@Luminosity

"Won't be the last one, I'm sure," she said, referring to the scarring. She'd chosen a very dangerous line of work, one where a lack of scars went hand in hand with a lack of experience. Valerie was well in the process of acquiring both, she just hoped it didn't kill her in the meantime. Her fortitude was not above average for a warrior or a mercenary. She'd have to do what she could to improve that.

But for the moment, they had an ordeal to survive. Valerie wasn't sure how she could really avoid moving, given that they were in a very hostile place. With any luck they could avoid more orcs. Of course, their luck had failed to hold already.

"Do we need to move somewhere, or do you think it's safe enough to rest here?" She really didn't like the idea of getting to her feet and stumbling around in the relative dark, but she thought she was capable enough for it, at least. But she much preferred the idea of staying. Despite how bad their situation was, she actually felt quite nice about the present. Lingering pain in her side was being drowned out by the wave of weariness coming over her, and Markus was more than comfortable enough to rest on.

"We're safe here," he told her. He felt certain of it somehow. There was nothing physical that could get through that door unless they knew Elvish magic, and if someone did, they would (hopefully) more than likely be a friend than a foe. Even if they weren't, he knew they wouldn't be able to outrun whatever came though. No, no they were safe for now.

He could feel his eyes growing quite heavy. Coupled with the water and food, he felt close to losing himself in sleep. If he was being honest with himself, he also felt a bit of comfort that Valerie was so near as well. It helped, with his sword and a portion of his power now severed and gone.

They drifted off, their bodies giving way to sleep as the hours rolled by. Their torch continued to roar just a few feet from them, providing a bit of warmth for the two mercenaries as they slept. Markus unfortunately had a nightmare or two he could not later recall, probably thanks to his blood loss and near-death experiences from the day previous. Still, other than those unwelcome visions that lasted for short bursts, he slept peacefully and restfully for the most part. They both did in fact, at least for two who had been run to their limits, and cut up besides.

---

If they had been outside, it would be just dawn now. For they had gone to sleep quite early in the evening within the Tomb. But when Markus opened his eyes slowly, all he saw was the very small, flickering flame of the torch. He let out a grunt, his wounds and muscles still a tad sore. Though he tried to not move too much when he felt the familiar weight of Valerie on his leg. He'd let her rest however long she needed.

He blinked, moving his hand off her wounded stomach to run through his hair and face. He knew there was more to be found further in. The small draft he felt in the air was testament to that. But what? He couldn't think well at the moment, sleep still clinging to his senses.
@Luminosity