'Wait- wait wait wait wait wait,' Sett called to the retreating bear-shifter and knight, and less so to everyone else intent on walking off, 'I'm nearly done with the ritual circle!' Indeed, he'd been quite busy indeed as the conversation had continued, and what seemed to be a surprisingly elaborate circle of runes had been scratched into the dirt outside, reading and waiting for him to speak the words to call forth the favour of the gods. More accurately, the favour of Fineki, but they didn't need to know that.

Ultimately, whether or not Ursaren and Nicademus came back, Settionne would stand in the center of the circle in question, stick of fancy ritual activity raised high, and call forth as he moved in a twisting, yet measured fashion: 'Almighty gods! I beseech thee, lend me your ears! I seek out your favour, for this party of many, whose near future may well be fraught with peril; I pray that you shall offer us your blessings, that we shall be gifted your favour, and that we shall be kept safe from future harms! PLEASE, O GODS, LEND US YOUR POWER!' As he screamed this final word out, he knelt down and slammed the stick point-first into the ground dramatically, as if to truly activate the circle's power.

Really, though, everything other than the circle and the fact he needed to say something was pomp designed to mislead, at least to his knowledge. From what he'd been taught, the circle itself was merely a connection to Fineki, in theory conveying the general message of "please help me and the other people I have in mind with a blessing of luck" no matter how he said it; so far as Sett knew, he could literally burble out gibberish, and the circle's effects would still activate. That was, if Fineki felt like helping. The god of luck was fickle, of course, as was to be expected, and Sett fully accepted that maybe he wasn't going to offer anything at all, but... what could he say? He'd been having a streak of good luck recently.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx@Mortarion

Aeryn listened as much as she could to the back and forth of ideas and opinions. This was the thing about people when they congregated in such circles - no matter the race, age, or sex. Everyone had an opinion. Mostly, other opinions were wrong. Suddenly, the little Dorcha halfling had a turn of temper and felt herself getting annoyed - visually, she was annoyed too. She couldn't listen anymore, and off she walked.

She didn't even have a weapon - but yet she had found something rather attractive in those crossbows that the guards had been using when they entered. She wasn't a stranger to a bow and arrow - sure, in her last years the sword had been her weapon of choice but it was hardly practical for her to get up so close. Her sword was long gone now too. It was time to 'obtain' a new weapon the best way that she knew how. She was able to justify it in that Nicademus owed her one for being so terribly aggressive.

Stealing in daylight was new though. There was no darkness to shroud her - but this was such a small town that she could see from her first glance at the armoury that it was relatively unguarded. Just a man sat outside eating a bowl of broth. He looked half asleep. She smirked, and while the rest of the gang squabbled and discussed, Aeryn began scaling the inn to reach the roof. It was easy for her, she clasped at the stones which jutted out more and effortlessly made it to the top in a matter of minutes. Once atop the roof, she found there to be a long plank of wood, conveniently placed there. As if it were left for her. It did for a split second make her wonder if it was in fact a set up and she took sharp glances around her. Nothing.

This village would be doomed if the Dorcha did attack.

She grabbed the plank and slid it across the roof towards the upstairs window of the armoury. The plank was just the right size indeed. She moved so softly, like a cat across and ducked into the window - pulling the plank in with her. She sneakily made her way downstairs - her eyes taking in the sight of all of the weapons that were taken from the party yesterday - including the steel shortsword that she had handed over. Then, she looked at one of number of crossbows. Beautiful. She was having it.

She took one, and a holster too. She slid it over her shoulders, allowing her cape to cover it. It was hardly stealthy - she now looked more like a hunchback, but she smirked in a smug way. Knowing that she had gotten one over on Nicademus in a way. She pressed an ear to the door, and could hear the guard making his way back to the inn - his footsteps growing progressively quieter. She left via the door, but not before snatching up something else.....



In the time it had taken her to pilfer the weapon, the group were still talking among themselves, and Settionne was behaving strangely, drawing a circle around himself or something. She cocked her head to the side and watched with a smile. It seemed by the time sh caught up, they were going their separate ways. She wasn't entirely sure what the consensus wound up being, but she approached Settionne with a devilish grin, pulling from her cloak his confiscated bag of tricks, presenting it to him with much a smug glee.

An-Hasst turned his head as he heard the familiar voice of Argon nearby. He was in no way surprised that the pround lizardman was accepting the plan they were going to put into action. The hissing in his tone shared some exaggerated similary with a cloud of volcanic gas forced to escape its sizzling pressure vessel via a very narrow crack, but something in the back of his mind told the Skayleigh that this kind of comparison might even be a bit understated when it came to Argon's will to hunt. He wouldn't be surprised to find the lizardman greedly consuming a dead Dorcha, to be honest. And some people claimed that his own kind would be barbaric...

"Three miles ?" he addressed Beren. "So that's half a mile away from the village. Sounds acceptable". An-Hasst gave a nod, then went off to retrieve his stuff. As he was doing so he unavoidably encountered Nicademus in all of his impressively clanking armor. Probably the knight didn't know it, but the statement about 'needing some fresh air' came very close to triggering a spontaneous burst of laughter on the Skayleigh's side. If Nicademus was in true need of fresh air shortly after having strapped on all this metal, what would he be in need off once having fought with his helmet on for a while ? Or, to put the theory the other way round that didn't compromise on the assumption that the knight was a thoughtful man who knew what he did: This had to be a petty excuse for getting outside, so an extra motivation for himself to head out, too.

An-Hasst didn't venture exactly far with that in mind, though... He was stopped by Settionne screaming something to the gods. "And a new set of ears, too!..." the Skayleigh added seconds after the ritual appeared to have reached completion. When had been the last time he had heard the small man to ascend to such a high volume ? He couldn't remember, but at least the outcry had triggered him to stop on his way outside and stay very close to the ritual circle. Maybe there was some truth to all this fuzz and he was still in range for some blessing, too ?

Now he ultimately headed out though, patting Nicademus onto his armor shoulders from behind as he reached the man. "Everything alright ?"

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Stormflyx@Mortarion

Beren nodded and commented on various contributions, reminding Alice of a lord giving court. It was odd to her that it was the foreign monk who seemed to be in control of the situation, and not the knight who was imploring them to assist in a scouting party. In fact, the venerable knight seemed to appear more and more shaken as moments went by. She couldn't imagine what Nicademus' guard would think if they saw him like this. Would they support him still, or scorn him for bowing to these outsiders?

Nor was he the only one who seemed to be affected by the discussions. Aeryn herself seemed to become wroth as words were shared. Alice could understand the elf's viewpoint; The Dark Elves were master ambushers, and if they caught the scouting party unawares there would be little to no chance of escape. Perhaps it should be priority to maximise the chances of an escape?' she thought before quickly justifying herself to Ragnarok, To die later, not to some Dorcha's favour now.

She spoke up, "In event of combat our priority should be to return to the village. I suggest we find ourselves some horses?" she looked around to various peasants and village-folk to see if any of them would be forthcoming before continuing. "I also suggest that we stay aware of the best route back at all times. Calanon, you may be our best chance for this."

She was aware of the bond that somehow lay between Aeryn and Calanon. She had noticed the look shared between them and how the ranger was torn between duty and want. Alice had no idea how such a bond had been formed between two mortal enemies but she was not insensitive to the fact she was interposing herself into it. Aeryn seemed to have personal stake, Alice would try and win him over with reason. "Calanon, you've proved yourself to be a fine ranger, you would be invaluable in our scouting expeditions. I plead you come along." It seemed mad that they would head out to a scouting mission without their chief scout

---

Alice was impressed at the intricacy of Settionne's ritual site. She was beginning to become convinced that he actually was a powerful cleric. She took a moment herself to reach into her bag and clutch her own holy symbol, asking a small boon of Ragnarok to aid in the ritual and to ensure her and her own got the mighty fates they deserve. She was in no way capable of commanding her god's power or attention like Settionne or Geradin, nor was Ragnarok known to be the most charitable of gods, but asking never hurt

As she restored her attention to the discussions at hand she noticed Aeryn slinking off. Notably before 'handlers' could be assigned. Alice thought against mentioning it to anyone; Alice hardly wished to make that woman an enemy, especially now.

"Ser knight, will you return our weapons to us for this sortie?" she asked more out of convenience for the rest of the party than for herself

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@Fetzen@BCTheEntity@Stormflyx@Mortarion

"Argon," Beren called to the Lizardman, and the bestial warrior slithered over and stood tall. Beren was not short, but Argon towered over him just the same. "Yessss, friend?" he asked. The Saurdraxes tongue slipped out for a moment to taste the air. Beren pointed around them. "We need to protect the village at all costs, right?"

"Yessss."

"Then don't stray too far from the village. If you catch a scent, keep the others informed but stay close. Lead them well and I'll see you soon." Beren told him. Meanwhile, as Settione began to draw his prayer circle, Calanon breathed in through his nose and approached Aeryn, giving a bow. "I...I apologize. But I have a duty to the group." he said, giving her a reassuring smile. "We'll return shortly. I know you know of what you speak, but this is how I contribute."

Settione had just finished his circle and intoned the God of luck and trickery, and all who chose stood within the circle. Geradin chose not to, muttering his God already gave him protection. clutching his hammer tightly in his strong fist. Beren was an Eru'Dai, and could not in good conscience give too much homage to any deity other than the EverGod above, but he did not leave the circle. Calanon stood within as well.

"We'll see you when you get back." Beren said to Calanon, drawing the Wood Elf's gaze. He gave a smile of camraderie back to Beren, the two clearly having been friends for many years, even before they had been called to adventure in RiverDale all those weeks ago. Geradin nudged Beren, and motioned for him to get going with him and get to work. They needed to finish the palisade and the ditch while the others scouted.

There were no horses save three privately owned ones in the town, but Calanon assured them he and Brogach would be sufficient, and Argon offered to let Alice ride atop his back if it came to it, or if she wanted to now. He was far too friendly for a hulking reptilian warrior. Alice, Calanon, Argon, Ann-Hasst, and Nicademus had the time to gather their arms and a small bit of rations before they headed out, following Argon as Calanon and Brogach disappeared into the brush to be their eyes for the small excursion. The ground was at it had been when they had found the village. A sea of vines, brush, trees and roots that jutted out of the ground, with islands of bushes. Soon they lost sight of the village, Argon creeping along the ground on all fours, though his back still reached waist height on a man.

At the village, Beren and Geradin had stripped off their shirts and armor, and had begun to dig. It was an odd pairing, both heavily muscled and scarred, clearly fit for manual labor. However while Beren's torso was slim and sculpted at the waist and broadening at the chest and shoulders, Geradin was barrel chested and far hairier. They began to dig at the fore of the town. A man, looking to be one of the more well off people in the village (not that it was saying much) approached Settione, whom he saw had little to do after he had called for the prayer circle.

"'Scuse me sir." the man said, tapping Settione on the shoulder. "You the priest, yeah? You got a moment to held the elder man, bear looking fellow? You see it's my wife, she's in labor. Though a prayer or two might help her..."

Ursaren had already washed and bandaged a guardsmen who had been attacked by a beast, but he now found himself warming water and setting it to boil to get ready for the baby that was apparently forthcoming. Aeryn had found herself where she had been, caught between various things to do.
@Fetzen@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@The Fated Fallen@Stormflyx@Mortarion

In truth, Sett had intended to stall as long as possible for being called out on not contributing his fair share to the village's well-being. More accurately, he'd have pretended to be going around blessing the place, maybe even handed out some actual blessings from time to time just so that the people had something going for them, but overall wind up simply spending as much time as he could walking around doing naught.

Two things somewhat threw a wrench into this plan. First of all, Aeryn returned from wherever she'd vanished to - and she had his bag with her. Crafty, crafty, how had she gotten that? Oh hell, hang on, had she looked inside? Fineki be blessed if she hadn't. More importantly, she wasn't exactly as subtle as Sett liked to be, and he knew now that she was rather the thief. Perhaps she'd make a good convert of Fineki himself, in time. With little more than a raised eyebrow and a thankful smile to indicate his intrigue, Sett took the bag, glancing inside just long enough to confirm everything visible was present and correct before closing it up tight again.

What came over as more shocking was being talked at from behind - legitimately so, since he hadn't expected to be tapped on the shoulder, leading him to gasp and jolt a little ways before spinning round to address the man who'd done so. That wasn't exactly a good demeanour for him to portray, though it could just as easily help him build up the image of being helpless, just needed to relax and laugh at the event before paying attention. The man seemed well-off, so maybe he could get something of worth off of him in the process- he was being asked to help Ursaren? The man's wife was in labour? He was about to say he wasn't that sort of priest, only to realise it was just prayer and blessing he was being asked for. Wasn't going around offering blessings basically what he was intending to do anyway? And childbirth could take a long, long time...

'Well, good sir, since I have my tools in hand,' he noted jovially, glancing down at his bag again, 'I'll see what I can do. If you feel inclined to assist Ursaren,' he continued, now addressing both the man who'd asked him and the Half-Elf who'd just handed him his bag, 'then by all means feel free.' And with that, he made his way to where the man in question directed him, ready to offer his blessings to and prayers for a woman in need. He had, hopefully, offered the party a fair bit of good luck, after all, and that included himself.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx@Mortarion

Oh boy, it's a busy day in this town for a healer.

Ursaren had been informed of the approaching childbirth that morning, and had been on and off preparing an alchemical painkiller for this specific purpose. While he had never actually given birth to a child himself, he knew for certain that it was a searing sensation for those who had to go through it when he delivered one long ago. So, he had to prep for it. He just wished he could stop and dedicate a decent amount of time to the craft. He was busy tending to the heavily wounded of the village before he had to run off and give birth to a child.

It was menial work, mostly. He came across a few broken limbs and gouges, but nothing too extraordinary. There was a man who had somehow won a fight with a bear, and that man came out rather worse for wear. A broken arm, no doubt likely infected, and his legs were torn to absolute shreds. It took a good minute of constant healing to fix the arm, and a potion of healing should repair the damage to the legs. Ursaren administered the potion to the man before having to run off and go tend to another.

Around a few hours of being on his feet passed before Ursaren was grabbed by a man. The man was the soon-to-be-father, and his wife was finally going into labor. It was time for Ursaren to perform something that he had only performed once before, long ago. He did an admirable job at it when he had done it, but it has been a good amount of time. He just hoped that he wasn't going to have to perform a medical birth. The risks of that were way too high.

He approached the house where it would all be going down, as the to-be-father went inside to inform his wife that the healer was here. Ursaren finished the painkilling potion off before he went inside, the soothing smell of the blue herbs from the village market wafting out of the bottle. It was prime and perfected. Ursaren was ready.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside the house and readied himself for what was to come.

Despite Argon's generous offer to let Alice ride on his back for the scouting trip, she decided to walk. She couldn't help a small smile creep up to her lips however, the mental image of her charging into battle on the back of the lizardman was certainly amusing. What certainly unnerved her about their reptilian friend was how he stooped over and walked along, like some bloodhound on a hunt. She would have thought his eyes better from his higher vantage point since they had no trail to follow but what would she know? She had never been in Argon's shoes.

Despite only having met maybe a few weeks ago, or even a day ago, Alice felt safe in her present company. The terrain was easy enough and she fancied the weather pleasant, at least for a few hours. Light enough to spot a dark elf creeping through the brush though? She hoped she wouldn't have to find out, or that she wouldn't spot them too late. Figuring that the party would be spotted long before being heard, she couldn't help but strike up some Dwarven marching song, not too loud and always ready to stop should someone ask her to.

Speak of your travels, sing of your deeds,
The life of a Dwarf is long!
So pump those legs, grab you some mead!
March and sing for throng!

In many years past, I swore to a king,
The life of a Dwarf is long!
Now many years past, I do his bidding,
March and sing for throng!

I marched with him in winter, I never did waver,
The life of a Dwarf is long!
Now we made it through winter, Gaundet's favour,
March and sing for throng!

In spring we battled, against rog and goblin
The life of a Dwarf is long!
In summer we settled, our foes since fallen!
March and sing for throng!

In autumn we mined, riches untold!
The life of a Dwarf is long!
Come Drakesfeast we toasted, to our glorious hold!
March and sing for throng!

She couldn't necessarily say Dwarves were the best song-writers or improvisers, nor could they carry the finest tune, but with all shortcomings Dwarves made up for it with their heart. Seemed like all could use a little heart around this part of the world, especially in light of current circumstances

The knight was surprised by the sudden appearance of his one-time sparring partner and roommate, with the feeling only growing stronger when the giant of a man asked him if everything was alright. "Yes....it's just nerves. Pathetic, isn't it?" Nicademus said, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle. "I've faced them more than once and yet sometimes I feel like I'm still a novice wet behind the ears." The knight continued on, letting out a soft sigh before he shook his head. "Maybe I'm just worried for the villagers here....I've seen enough of the handiwork of Dorcha raiders to not wish such a fate upon my worse enemy." He said, pausing for a second. "Truth is, I don't know why I feel like this. Maybe, deep down, I'm just still a scared kid who's home was just destroyed." He said quietly, more to himself than to Ann-Hasst, before he stood up once more. "I'm sorry to burden you with my musings, it wasn't my intention to go on such a long tirade." The Andred man said, standing up and offering An-Hasst an apologetic smile. "Come, I think I heard the priest in your group....Settione I think is his name?....Well, I think he is calling out for us." He said, motioning for An-Hasst to follow him as Nicademus made his way towards the circle that Settione had inscribed on the ground.

The knight stood in silence as Settione made his invocation to his god, absorbed in his own thoughts before Alice's voice broke through his musings about the upcoming expedition with her question. "Of course." He replied simply, turning to look at the woman. "It's not my intention to put you and your companions through undue risk, furthermore in the eventuality that we saw signs that the Dorcha were amassing for a raid, well, it'd be prudent for us to put an end to their plans before they came into fruition." The knight continued. "I will go and retrieve them at once." Nicademus finished, turning his back towards Alice as he began making his way to the small armoury maintained by the guards.

The knight returned shortly afterwards with the corresponding weapons of each member of the group that would be setting off to check if there were any signs of any potential raid in the nearby future, handing the weapons back to their owners before he turned his attention to do one final check to ensure that he had everything he would need on the upcoming trek on the off chance that they ran into trouble. Satisfied that he had gathered what he needed, and with the other members of the group also ready, the knight set off away from the village and towards their objective. It was strange at first, travelling with other companions, used as he was to wandering alone throughout the Southlands, but it didn't take too long for Nicademus to grow accustomed to the presence of the other members of the group and the knight even found himself softly humming along to Alice's song as they made their way further and further away from the small village. After a while, Nicademus approached Calanon and tapped him on the shoulder lightly. "You know those we travel with better than me, how do you propose we go about searching the area?" The knight asked the elven ranger, falling silent as he waited for an answer from the Wood Elf.

The group found themselves passing a veritable wall of brush and into a forest pathway proper. Alice,, Argon, Ann-Hasst, and Nicademus strode in their manner. Calanon had answered Nicademus' question with a smile. "I'll scout out ahead. Stay together and move cautiously. I'll come back and give reports." And he did exactly that. The group moved with a will, alert and crisp. Luckily Alice's song did not seem to penetrate the treeline, though it was an unlucky implication. The forest grew so thick that it was hard to see past the next few trees, or see the sun in its entirety.

Calanon atop Brogach came by to report the fore terrain for the next half mile thrice during the day. He spoke of a few strange beasts that roamed through the brush, but none that seemed dangerous and all as skittish as a stray dog. However, he nor they saw any sign of Dark Elves or the like, nor did Alice feel the aura of any dread Dorcha magics in the vicinity. Argon as well only stopped to smell at animals that had gone by. Nothing human or human-like had been in the area for a week, if not longer. And they were more likely villagers from the town Nicademus had been at that had gone patrolling or hunting.

As they continued to walk, it would seem that up ahead, Calanon and Brogach were coming back sooner than usual. The knickering of Brogach was audible, as was the stamping of hooves. The heavily leafed branches opened up to reveal something the group did not expect however. A huge creature, hoofed like Brogach but twice his size. A bull-like creature with three horns, the center one upon its snout. The tail was reptilian in nature, and spiked like a flail. It reared upon its hind legs, and then stampeded into the center of the group.

---

Meanwhile, Beren and Geradin had noticed the man rushing past Aeryn and making it to Settione and harshly whispering to priest. The two stood up to their full heights (Geradin doing his best) to listen, and they caught enough of the request to give each other looks. Geradin groaned for a moment, then sighed and crawled out of the ditch. "Think ye can handle the rest of the work, lad?" Geradin asked. Beren laughed and waved him off. "Easy, I'll get it done. You go on."

Settionne was led down two dirt streets, past a few curious onlookers. Men fixing houses and women carrying baskets of food and supplies, etc. By the time he made it to the cottage near the center of the village, he found Ursaren inside and the woman already propped up on the mattress, ready to deliver. Of course she still had a ways to go by the looks of it. Ursaren had been with her and her husband for awhile at this point, and behind Settione Geradin walked into the hut as well.

"Who are you?" The husband asked.

"A priest ye dolt."

"So...so is he?" The Husband said, pointing to Settione. The wife suddenly cried. "The more the MERRIER!" as Ursaren told her to push. That was all the group needed to get to work. Within the hour, as Ursaren delivered the baby and Geradin intoned his Gods to ease the woman's pain and bless the child, it was Settionne's turn to perform a blessing upon the newborn.

"After this, let's get drinks." Geradin said.

Outside, Beren had began to work again. Beads of sweat dripped down his sculpted back as he moved pounds and pounds of earth to give the town a better barrier beside the palisade. As he worked, he glanced at Aeryn who looked at his muscled form between her fingers. But then she poised herself, and asked how she could help. He stopped for a moment and wiped his brow. He noticed her crossbow, but decided to be coy for a second. He crossed his muscled arms across his chest as he thought.

"Wait, I got it." he replied with a grin. He tucked a hand of his behind his back and produced a hunting knife, its hilt made of horn. He tossed it to Aeryn casually, and nodded over to a pile of thinned logs. "Could you wittle the ends of those down to make points? We need to add some more spikes to the palisade."

She'd be able to work next to Beren and speak with him if she wished.
@Mortarion@The Fated Fallen@Stormflyx@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@Fetzen

It wasn't clear why exactly Geradin had followed Sett to the hut, to either Settionne himself or the husband of the woman in labour. The village itself, he'd realised on the pass through, was in the midst of being repaired and supplied; no wonder they'd asked for assistance, then, though it seemed like the meagre assistance that had been offered so far amounted to a scouting expedition and some physical labour - shirtless, mind, and wouldn't that be bad for their skin under such a hot sun? Not that he was one to tell others how to live their lives, of course...

Not, of course, that the woman giving birth was too concerned, given her situation. Speaking of which, it turned out there was plenty of labour for everyone present too, not just the mother and caretaker, not least of which was gathering water for the mother in an effort to soothe her - though at least the work helped take away from how uncomfortable the whole process was for Sett. More than once, his gaze shifted to the spectacle without meaning to before glancing away, an unusually grim sight despite how, under more relaxed circumstances, most men would be thrilled. "Relaxed circumstances", of course, was the key there, and the situation was anything but.

Thankfully, it was over before the hour was up. A child was born, and honestly, that was not what Sett had thought newborn children looked like. It was extremely small, and wrinkled, and it screamed like a banshee when Ursaren slapped its foot, come on, why would he do that? And oh gods, he had to hold it, he didn't know how to hold a child, at least it was swaddled now but did he look like a father? But he sure as hell had to pretend he knew how to hold it, so he basically just mimicked what Geradin was doing with his arm as a crook... theeeere. Alright, it was in his arm, squirming a little but not so much that it was at risk of falling away from him. Now, to bless this child... damn, weren't there ways of blessing a child in Fineki's holy book? Why would he not remember the most unused part of- well, okay, just... he ought to say something priestly.

'Child, under the watchful eye of the gods,' he began, pacing in a circle that subtly turned him away from all onlookers, 'I do bless you, that your life may be long, rich, and full.' Even as he spoke, one finger from his free hand traced in miniature the symbol of Fineki's cult upon the child's forehead, hopefully hidden from the others in the room. A blessing of luck, one could say - after all, enough luck would surely bring all three of those other blessings upon the child, right?

And like that, it was done. He handed the infant back to its mother's arms, and sighed internally as the pressure of doing any more for this situation left him. Oh, he hadn't realised how tense he was... rolling his shoulders lightly, he nodded at Geradin's statement and quietly uttered 'Yes, drinks would be appreciated. I'm quite thirsty.' Which, in fairness, was entirely truthful; he hadn't had a drink since breakfast, and oh heavens did time fly when one was delivering a baby.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx@Mortarion

An-Hasst took a massive leap to the left flank of the group. At this point the more elven part of his blood probably became very obvious as he, in full spite of his colossal size, was very fast to be in the air and following a more or less unplanned trajectory right into the nearby bushes. Luckily for him armor of pretty much any kind had a massive tendency to prove helpful in the midst of thorns -- not like those would have been any protection against this kind of predator. The beast looked as if it would eat Argon alive happily, if necessary.

His melee weaponry would hardly be of any use here and in fact the Skayleigh doubted that anyone's truly would, unless one was extremely daredevil and halfway immune to massive tails flailing around. Aside from this he had dropped his halberd before the leap anyway in favor of maneuverability. As An-Hasst reached for his crossbow, he silently asked himself how the villagers and themselves had been able to miss that creature all the time. Suspicion that the Dorcha had something to do with it were not far away, didn't solve the problem however: They had been in their underground network, too. So the only theory involving the Dorcha that sounded halfway reasonable was also the most uncomforting one: That thing had been brought here very recently and on purpose.

The first bolt was launched with a hissing noise accompanying it. Believing that the beast might be able to backtrack the impact, the Skayleigh changed position immediately afterwards, but didn't leave the thickest he had maneuvered himself into. Maybe that wooden mess might actually be useful in terms of reducing one's visibility and hopefully his sideways attack would help confusing the enemy.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Stormflyx@Mortarion

It was time. "It's crowning! Miss, you're doing great, just a few more strong pushes and we should be finished!" This was the moment. This baby was definitely coming within the next ten minutes at most, one if the miss could give a good push. The old man looked towards Geradin and Settionne and commanded them. "Priests! Get the towels!" They'd already helped with the blessings, but Ursaren knew they could be of more use than that. He wished he didn't have to yell at them to get them to do it.

The pushes occurred, two strong pushes being enough to finally bring the crying newborn out into the world. Ursaren gazed down at it and had a glorious smile on his face, supporting it's neck with his hands while he brought it up from the sheet that was covering the mother's abdomen. A quick inspection later, and Ursaren looked to the new parents. "She's a healthy baby girl."

The old man wrapped the child's body in towels to keep it warm as he gave her to the father, a smile on his face all the while. He was... phew, that was a feeling he wasn't used to in a good long time. He looked towards the priests and spoke to them. "Go on, go get your drinks. I'll be finishing things up here and I'll be along shortly."

Alice was spirited to see her companions join in with her jaunty song, though she made sure to keep her volume in check when Calanon went off to explore, realising that it was much more likely they would caught unawares without their chief scout. In his absence she made sure to be extra alert, casting her own auguries and inspecting the local flows of energy. All clean and free of tampering, as far as she could tell, though if the sorceress they encountered the other day bore a grudge Alice would have very little way of foretelling her presence. Though Alice knew of very few ways to mask her own casting she didn't doubt a Dorcha would know many techniques no human had even conceived of.

Still, her Vrettonian pride would not allow her to think the likelihood of detection impossible, so she kept at it. She was just gazing out across a clearing when she because aware the party was under attack, more because of the shouts of alarm and the tensing of the local aura than the creature itself.

Calanon returned atop his Stag, which he was lucky to have as Alice could think of no other creature that would be able to outrun the abomination in pursuit. Alice could not recognise it, she had never read it's description in any studies she'd done, but she could imagine well enough her poor wizard frame getting quickly stuck on one of the three spikes or crumpling inwards on that tail and so she quickly skipped behind the nearest fighter, Nicademus. In her alarm she even let out a Vrettonian curse as she scrambled for her weapons.

She didn't exactly have a plan to deal with this, except for something she'd read in a book. When confronted by a wild beast parties are always supposed to stand together in formation, to scare it off, but that plan already seemed in shambles as everyone was already scrambled. She salvaged what she could and stood close to the knight, saying to him "Shout for everyone to stand together, Ser Knight," she started summoning her energies, "And any advice would be well appreciated."

She didn't know if her plan would be followed, and was prepared to jump away or with Nicademus at the slightest hint of the situation changing.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@Fetzen@Stormflyx@Mortarion

The first thought that crossed the knights mind at Calanon's sudden return was that the elf had found something dangerous, which proved to be correct when not a moment after the return of the elven ranger a creature followed in pursuit. Instincts took over after the moment had passed and Nicademus pulled his sword from it's sheath, holding the blade in a defensive posture as he observed the monster that had followed after Calanon. He wasn't an expert in fighting against the kind of creature that the monster was, but years of roaming through the Southlands had taught him and it didn't took to long for the knight to recognise the creature for what it was: a Mantiraus.

And with the realisation of the creature's name came a second, far more sinister, thought. The creature shouldn't have been there. He knew all too well the dangers that roamed throughout the Southlands, but he had scouted near the village recently and there had been no sighting of a beast like the Mantiraus that was now facing the scouting party. "Something must have lured the creature here." He thought grimly, dreading of the consequences that could come if his suspicion proved to be true. Any further thoughts were postponed when he heard Alice, who was telling him to shout for everyone to stand together. "I'm afraid it might be a little late for that." He answered, shaking his head slightly. "The Mantiraus has already scattered us, and I doubt it'll let us regroup so easily. But I'll try nonetheless."

"Everyone, to me!" The knight shouted hoping that, by some luck, the beast would allow the group to regroup. Tense seconds passed but in the end the scattered fighters couldn't regroup, either because the Mantiraus didn't allow them to do so or perhaps because they had a better plan for fighting the beast. "Before you asked me for any advice, yes?" The knight finally said when it looked like regrouping was an impossibility. "You are a mage, no? If so, then I believe that you'll be the key to defeat this monster." Nicademus said, turning his head so he could look at Alice. "My advice is the following, stay behind me and try to hurt the beast with what spells you have. I'll ensure that the beast doesn't gets to you."

"Along with that, it'd best to be prepared to run at a second's notice." The knight added after a moment of consideration. "It could be that the beast will be drawn by our conversation and by my shout. Should that come to pass, make sure to run away from me. I'll stay in this spot and direct the Mantiraus to attack me if possible, between the two of us I am the one who has the best chance to withstand an attack from the beast on account of my armour." Nicademus said grimly, bracing himself in his place in case the beast came. "While I distract it, be sure to take the opening to attack as well. With any luck, we could end this battle in a single stroke should the gods favor us."

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@Fetzen@Stormflyx@The Fated Fallen

The Mantiraus roared long and loud, bearing fangs that a bull shouldn't naturally have in its maw. It's cry was abruptly halted as a crossbow bolt from An-Hasst stuck into its mane, though it didn't seem to be any sort of a fatal wound. The mane was tough and full of thick hair, and more as likely the bolt merely dug into its skin near the shoulder. An arrow followed suit however, the bodkin point that had been shot from Calanon's recurve finding its mark into the flesh of the beast's opposite shoulder, staggering it slightly. Calanon was a fine shot with a bow. He had even done it as Brogach had reared like a wild stallion.

Unfortunately, the Mantiraus was now angrier than ever, and instead of roaring, it opened its great maw and an arc of lightning shot out of its mouth. Calanon had barely the time to turn enough to block the blast with his shield before he was knocked clear off Brogach to roll into the thickets, alive but obviously out of commission for a moment or two. Brogach scampered about, letting out brays. Argon the Saurdraxus did not seem perturbed, and though the beast was larger than even his considerable bulk, he charged and gave a wild slash, tearing into the muscled flank of the Mantiraus. The beast responded with a swipe of its tail that Argon took solidly to the chest, but the Lizardman held his ground. Though a few more hits like that and he might have a few broken ribs.

Argon leaped back to avoid another hit as Nicadimus called and rallied the group to him, slithering over to he and Alice and holding his shield out before them, protecting their left side.

---

Beren blinked, his face softening and concerned for her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and stepped out of the trench. "They'll be ok, don't worry." He told her, and bent over to grab his shirt. He slipped it over his broad shoulders, covering his muscled chest. "Look...let's get a few drinks. Calanon will be ok and I know you need to wind down. They're on me, ok?" He asked her, and went to inspect her spikes. He inspected the spike, and nodded. He muttered a 'not bad' to himself.

On the otherside of town, there was tears and thank yous galore, and the mother cradled her child with love as her husband told them to tell the bartender that John Cam sent them, and they'll get free mead for their first three rounds. Within the bar, there was a slightly rougher crowd than earlier now that the day had gone on for a time now. Three of the younger men were practicing knife throwing at the southern wall, and some of the older, more bearded gentlemen were playing a game of cards called 'Guantlet.' Each were betting on their outcomes.
@Mortarion@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@Fetzen@Stormflyx@The Fated Fallen

The opening flurry blinked past, and miraculously everyone was still standing. What had surprised Alice greatly was the creature's ability to summon lightning. She didn't know if it was a magical ability, and she lacked the time and safety to detect magic to tell. Alice also lacked the ability to suppress it if it was magic, her rune-carving taking far too much time and concentration during this encounter.

"I am not sure how you could think that creature could be slain in a single stroke, Ser Knight," She said as an aside to Nicademus. Her words were spoken without doubt, and followed with plan; "Argon, Nicademus, get it's attention. I shall try and shield us from it's lightning."

And with that she started pulling energies to herself. She let off two arcane missiles for good measure, only imbuing with a small amount of focus and energy since she was saving herself for the lightning shield. Both magic missiles arced up in the air over the heads of Nicademus and Argon before sweeping back near to the ground, then sweeping wide into either side of the creature.

And with that she focused all of her efforts on protecting against electrical attack. Focusing magic that much required much incantation and channelling. She near shouted the words, mostly for effect to try and sway the beast's attention, and her hair stood on end. It was by far the least efficient way of using arcane energy, but effort was rewarded and a spell shield that specific provided an almost faultless barrier. Which is exactly why she prayed the beast's projectile abilities were limited to electricity and not just elemental. The latter would be disastrous at this point.

@Mortarion@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@Fetzen@Stormflyx@POOHEAD189

...huh. Free drinks for three rounds. That, frankly, was something Sett didn't intend to pass up on. Though he ought to at least pretend not to be that eager for them, since he was a priest and all.

'T'was no bother,' he explained as humbly as he could pretend at, nodding to both John Cam and his wife. 'I am, after all, but a servant of the gods, nothing more. If any others require our help in this fashion again, then rest assured, I would be more than happy to offer my services.' A quick, charming smile, a statement of 'I'll leave you to enjoy your newborn's company; just call for us if we're required, and we'll be back in due course,' and a jovial wave of his hand, and Sett was out of there, his bag in tow as if he'd always had it on his person. Which, to their knowledge, he had.

...he reckoned he ought to talk to the Dark Elf again soon. Aeryn nabbing his bag just for him to have it was a good deed, certainly, but if she made a habit of taking other people's things so brazenly, and especially if her thefts turned self-centred, well, she'd wind up on the wrong side of a weapon sooner or later. Subtlety, that was the key.

And speaking of subtle, he did make an effort not to make a scene as he slid into the bar. Perhaps Geradin and Ursaren would follow him there, perhaps not, but in any case, there was knife throwing, there were card games, and there was a bartender present with nobody occupying his time. And of the three options, Sett was thirsty more than anything else.

'Greetings, good sir,' he started, greeting the man lightly, 'I am Settionne, a priest of the gods. I, and two companions, Geradin and Ursaren, have been sent here by John Cam, having just helped to deliver his and his wife's child. I trust he's discussed the matter with you previously?' Of course he would have, otherwise he wouldn't have sent them there. And if he hadn't, well, he trusted either Geradin or Ursaren would make it clear what the reward ought to be, and that John Cam would cover any lingering costs after the fact if necessary.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx@Mortarion