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Story Hour
Bitterness Overcome: (Now A Completed Story!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 2920513" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>Ischarus turned his head slightly to see the presence he felt coming. It was Charis coming from behind to help him. She held one of Semeion’s daggers in her hand as though she knew how to use it.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus sternly chastised Charis in their shared tongue. <span style="color: LightBlue">“I thought I told you to stay behind and protect Semeion from attacks from the other direction!”</span></p><p></p><p>The reptilian’s faces demonstrated that they could obviously hear and understand not only the words but also the anger in Ischarus’ voice. One of the creatures decided to make an advance upon the pair of opponents. Ischarus was prepared for the strike and he managed to use his greater reach to land an attack of his own. The flat side of his sword slashed forward and struck one of the creatures on the side of the head. The blow knocked the advancing reptilian opponent to the ground. As he fell, he slid awkwardly into the cavern wall and dropped his spear. The creature did not move after being struck.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus was still full of anger as he spoke to the rest of the kobolds in his draconic language. Now he knew that they had the ability to communicate with him. <span style="color: LightBlue">“I am in no mood for a trivial fight, dragon-spawn. If you desire a fight, I plan on giving you one to remember. Leave now, and I promise that your fallen comrades will be hurt no further.”</span></p><p></p><p>Two of the remaining three creatures appeared at first to be swayed by Ischarus’ words. In spite of this, the one nearest to the fighter snarled his teeth and slashed out towards Ischarus with his spear. Ischarus easily batted the strike away.</p><p></p><p>Another creature used his weapon to take a swipe at Charis. This blow landed solidly and opened a subtle wound on her left arm. She immediately wished she had more protective armor on as well as some kind of a shield to defend herself with. Since she had neither, the dagger point would have to do for now. The pain of the wound flowed through her body but she could manage to continue on. She flashed the dagger back towards the reptilian creature with another strike of her own. Unfortunately for Charis, the small creature easily ducked underneath the strike.</p><p></p><p>The fourth creature slipped in between the other two as they engaged Ischarus and Charis respectively. It used Charis’ motion to help disguise his own lunge against Ischarus. The attack nearly succeeded but for a late second twist out of the way on Ischarus’ behalf. As Ischarus began to think about parrying the attacks one more time and then lunging forward in a counter attack, a bright blue burst of energy leapt past his left thigh and hooked around the creature that had just attacked. The energy burst was identical to those thrown earlier by the reptilian spell caster with the exception that in this case there was only one energy ball thrown. The energy bolt hooked around the creature that most recently attacked Ischarus and then immediately blindsided the one that had attacked Charis earlier.</p><p></p><p>A voice, filled with a hint of anger, sounded out from behind Ischarus. <span style="color: Plum">“I have awakened and no longer need protection, Ischarus. Do not be angry with Charis.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus stopped moving his sword in an erratic defense posture and turned slightly to peek a glance at Charis out of the corner of his eye. As he did, he saw the rescued Drakontos Provenience trying her hardest to anticipate a defense against the reptilian aggressor opposing her. He also caught a slight glimpse of personal vindication as a slight smile crossed her lips following Semeion’s speech from behind them. She offered no haughty retort to Ischarus’ earlier chastisement and he decided now was not the time to press the issue. He focused on his two opponents.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus half-heartedly swung at one of the creatures opposing him. His swing was merely an attempt to keep them honestly interested in himself rather than Charis. It also served well as a defensive blow to avoid the possibility of the creatures from flanking his position. Each of the reptilian creatures sliced back at him with their spears, but Ischarus directed the shaft of one away with the flat of his blade and allowed the other spear to connect quite solidly with the front of his shield.</p><p></p><p>Charis and the reptilian creature opposing her exchanged blows once more, but the defenses of both were up to the task. Charis recognized the same attack sequence and this time easily dodged a blow designed for the same arm. The creature used its superior maneuverability to avoid the simple swipe offered in return. However, the creature could not avoid being struck by another one of Semeion’s energy bolts. As the magical energy slammed into the creature it scorched a significant portion of its draconic scales and flung its body backwards into the cavern wall. The creature stumbled back and attempted to regain consciousness. However, the effort was useless as the creature tripped over the body of the one that Ischarus had previously knocked senseless. Once this creature solidly hit the ground it was no longer able to maintain the strength to keep conscious.</p><p></p><p>The final two creatures didn’t quite realize that they were the only ones left out of their original party. Ischarus swung once more, this time knocking the one that was not between himself and Charis down with a single blow. Ischarus’ sword crashed down upon the reptilian adversary’s thigh bone and struck with such force that the leg broke under the pressure. The creature dropped his spear instantly and crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. With a look of anger, Ischarus turned to the final opponent and breathed heavily. No words were needed to express his fury. His right foot made sure to step on the shaft of the spear from the creature that he had previously dealt with in order to avoid it being used as a weapon again.</p><p></p><p>The final creature was already in too deep to turn back now. There was little it could do except fight and hope for the best. Only too late did it recognize that what used to be the upper hand in numbers had now turned into fighting alone. The final creature swiped half-heartedly at Ischarus, but the shaft of its spear clanked hard off of the edge of Ischarus’ shield. </p><p></p><p>Charis stepped around to the back of the creature as it swung at Ischarus. She made it pay for its desire to come forward against the party. The blade of the dagger bit hard into the creature’s scaly shoulder and it howled in pain as it dropped its spear and fell to the ground. Ischarus paused once he realized that Charis had landed the telling blow and held his sword toward the darkness of the deeper tunnel in preparation of more coming. He secretly hoped that this had been the final gathering.</p><p></p><p>Semeion doubled over in pain, fighting the urge to pass out. Charis rushed to his side and quite calmly offered up words of help to the one she had worked so hard at saving. <span style="color: Orange">“Semeion, Semeion, are you all right? Can I help you?”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion held up a hand as Charis approached. <span style="color: Plum">“I will manage. The pain from my recently healed skin is only barely manageable. But you must find Rhema and heal her.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus guided Charis to the location of Rhema’s body with a simple outstretched finger extended from underneath his shield. His sword was still gripped firmly in his other hand and he continued to point it in the direction from which the reptilian creatures had come. Charis quickly slinked over to where Rhema lay unconscious and found her wounds. Her first task was to bind her wounds and this was easily enough accomplished. Rhema’s wounds were not deep enough to need magical healing. Charis simply treated her and immediately her condition began to improve.</p><p></p><p>As she worked, Ischarus walked a few steps further down into the tunnel in the direction from which the creatures had come. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Heal her just enough so that she is capable of riding, Charis. Then heal the beast whose hand I severed. He will need to be stabilized before we can leave here. The rest of them will also need to be made stable. They need not be fully healed, however. Although they came against us, we will bandage their wounds and allow them to live. If they are the servants of the dragon then our quarrel is not with them immediately. It is not their fault they got in the way.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis objected quickly. <span style="color: Orange">“But they would have killed us gladly!”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion knelt beside her, the pain flowing over his face. <span style="color: Plum">“It is they way we do things, Charis. We do not aim to kill – only to defeat and move beyond if our opponents are unwilling to concede. We’ll leave them stable here in the tunnel. When they awaken they’ll know that they were cared for rather than outright killed. Of course, they’ll also be weaponless until they return to their clan.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis protested again. <span style="color: Orange">“But…”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled and lay down on his back on the ground beside her. The pain was excruciating now, and only his strong mental training allowed him to think through the pain of his recently healed skin. As Charis began to object, Semeion merely smiled. <span style="color: Plum">“It is who we are, Charis. If we kill and leave them dead, we are no better than they are. When I joined this group only a few days ago I had difficulty understanding as well. But seeing your rescue convinced me of the good that we can do. But the good that we can do is tainted by any evil done by our own hands. When we kill, we cause people to hate us and justly so. It cannot be the way of the righteous. If we heal our enemies, we can certainly teach them that they were defeated. Yet we can also show them compassion by not only sparing their lives but ensuring that they do not die as well.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis looked down at Rhema and prayed a simple prayer, reviving her from her unconsciousness. Charis looked to Semeion and said, <span style="color: Orange">“Explain this to her. I apparently have healing to perform.”</span></p><p></p><p>As she stood, she found herself face to face with Ischarus. He had apparently returned from his brief walk down the tunnel. He said nothing to Charis as their eyes met. Ischarus’ lips flashed a crooked and unbalanced smile and he patted her shoulder with his leather gloved hand. He turned so that she could easily pass by him and Charis set about bandaging the wounds of the wounded and ultimately expending what was left of her divine healing power to ensure that the life of the reptilian spell caster was not lost. </p><p></p><p>As she rose from her final task, she noted that Ischarus had been standing watch over her actions the whole time. He had not been watching her, but he had been watching out for her safety. As she rose to her feet, Semeion and Rhema helped each other to their own feet. They were a badly beaten group and low on resources. But now was not the time to stay still any longer. They were capable of moving on and the need was greater than ever. It would be a long way home.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color Free Speech Section]</p><p>Ischarus turned his head slightly to see the presence he felt coming. It was Charis coming from behind to help him. She held one of Semeion’s daggers in her hand as though she knew how to use it.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus sternly chastised Charis in their shared tongue. “I thought I told you to stay behind and protect Semeion from attacks from the other direction!”</p><p></p><p>The reptilian’s faces demonstrated that they could obviously hear and understand not only the words but also the anger in Ischarus’ voice. One of the creatures decided to make an advance upon the pair of opponents. Ischarus was prepared for the strike and he managed to use his greater reach to land an attack of his own. The flat side of his sword slashed forward and struck one of the creatures on the side of the head. The blow knocked the advancing reptilian opponent to the ground. As he fell, he slid awkwardly into the cavern wall and dropped his spear. The creature did not move after being struck.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus was still full of anger as he spoke to the rest of the kobolds in his draconic language. Now he knew that they had the ability to communicate with him. “I am in no mood for a trivial fight, dragon-spawn. If you desire a fight, I plan on giving you one to remember. Leave now, and I promise that your fallen comrades will be hurt no further.”</p><p></p><p>Two of the remaining three creatures appeared at first to be swayed by Ischarus’ words. In spite of this, the one nearest to the fighter snarled his teeth and slashed out towards Ischarus with his spear. Ischarus easily batted the strike away.</p><p></p><p>Another creature used his weapon to take a swipe at Charis. This blow landed solidly and opened a subtle wound on her left arm. She immediately wished she had more protective armor on as well as some kind of a shield to defend herself with. Since she had neither, the dagger point would have to do for now. The pain of the wound flowed through her body but she could manage to continue on. She flashed the dagger back towards the reptilian creature with another strike of her own. Unfortunately for Charis, the small creature easily ducked underneath the strike.</p><p></p><p>The fourth creature slipped in between the other two as they engaged Ischarus and Charis respectively. It used Charis’ motion to help disguise his own lunge against Ischarus. The attack nearly succeeded but for a late second twist out of the way on Ischarus’ behalf. As Ischarus began to think about parrying the attacks one more time and then lunging forward in a counter attack, a bright blue burst of energy leapt past his left thigh and hooked around the creature that had just attacked. The energy burst was identical to those thrown earlier by the reptilian spell caster with the exception that in this case there was only one energy ball thrown. The energy bolt hooked around the creature that most recently attacked Ischarus and then immediately blindsided the one that had attacked Charis earlier.</p><p></p><p>A voice, filled with a hint of anger, sounded out from behind Ischarus. “I have awakened and no longer need protection, Ischarus. Do not be angry with Charis.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus stopped moving his sword in an erratic defense posture and turned slightly to peek a glance at Charis out of the corner of his eye. As he did, he saw the rescued Drakontos Provenience trying her hardest to anticipate a defense against the reptilian aggressor opposing her. He also caught a slight glimpse of personal vindication as a slight smile crossed her lips following Semeion’s speech from behind them. She offered no haughty retort to Ischarus’ earlier chastisement and he decided now was not the time to press the issue. He focused on his two opponents.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus half-heartedly swung at one of the creatures opposing him. His swing was merely an attempt to keep them honestly interested in himself rather than Charis. It also served well as a defensive blow to avoid the possibility of the creatures from flanking his position. Each of the reptilian creatures sliced back at him with their spears, but Ischarus directed the shaft of one away with the flat of his blade and allowed the other spear to connect quite solidly with the front of his shield.</p><p></p><p>Charis and the reptilian creature opposing her exchanged blows once more, but the defenses of both were up to the task. Charis recognized the same attack sequence and this time easily dodged a blow designed for the same arm. The creature used its superior maneuverability to avoid the simple swipe offered in return. However, the creature could not avoid being struck by another one of Semeion’s energy bolts. As the magical energy slammed into the creature it scorched a significant portion of its draconic scales and flung its body backwards into the cavern wall. The creature stumbled back and attempted to regain consciousness. However, the effort was useless as the creature tripped over the body of the one that Ischarus had previously knocked senseless. Once this creature solidly hit the ground it was no longer able to maintain the strength to keep conscious.</p><p></p><p>The final two creatures didn’t quite realize that they were the only ones left out of their original party. Ischarus swung once more, this time knocking the one that was not between himself and Charis down with a single blow. Ischarus’ sword crashed down upon the reptilian adversary’s thigh bone and struck with such force that the leg broke under the pressure. The creature dropped his spear instantly and crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. With a look of anger, Ischarus turned to the final opponent and breathed heavily. No words were needed to express his fury. His right foot made sure to step on the shaft of the spear from the creature that he had previously dealt with in order to avoid it being used as a weapon again.</p><p></p><p>The final creature was already in too deep to turn back now. There was little it could do except fight and hope for the best. Only too late did it recognize that what used to be the upper hand in numbers had now turned into fighting alone. The final creature swiped half-heartedly at Ischarus, but the shaft of its spear clanked hard off of the edge of Ischarus’ shield. </p><p></p><p>Charis stepped around to the back of the creature as it swung at Ischarus. She made it pay for its desire to come forward against the party. The blade of the dagger bit hard into the creature’s scaly shoulder and it howled in pain as it dropped its spear and fell to the ground. Ischarus paused once he realized that Charis had landed the telling blow and held his sword toward the darkness of the deeper tunnel in preparation of more coming. He secretly hoped that this had been the final gathering.</p><p></p><p>Semeion doubled over in pain, fighting the urge to pass out. Charis rushed to his side and quite calmly offered up words of help to the one she had worked so hard at saving. “Semeion, Semeion, are you all right? Can I help you?”</p><p></p><p>Semeion held up a hand as Charis approached. “I will manage. The pain from my recently healed skin is only barely manageable. But you must find Rhema and heal her.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus guided Charis to the location of Rhema’s body with a simple outstretched finger extended from underneath his shield. His sword was still gripped firmly in his other hand and he continued to point it in the direction from which the reptilian creatures had come. Charis quickly slinked over to where Rhema lay unconscious and found her wounds. Her first task was to bind her wounds and this was easily enough accomplished. Rhema’s wounds were not deep enough to need magical healing. Charis simply treated her and immediately her condition began to improve.</p><p></p><p>As she worked, Ischarus walked a few steps further down into the tunnel in the direction from which the creatures had come. “Heal her just enough so that she is capable of riding, Charis. Then heal the beast whose hand I severed. He will need to be stabilized before we can leave here. The rest of them will also need to be made stable. They need not be fully healed, however. Although they came against us, we will bandage their wounds and allow them to live. If they are the servants of the dragon then our quarrel is not with them immediately. It is not their fault they got in the way.”</p><p></p><p>Charis objected quickly. “But they would have killed us gladly!”</p><p></p><p>Semeion knelt beside her, the pain flowing over his face. “It is they way we do things, Charis. We do not aim to kill – only to defeat and move beyond if our opponents are unwilling to concede. We’ll leave them stable here in the tunnel. When they awaken they’ll know that they were cared for rather than outright killed. Of course, they’ll also be weaponless until they return to their clan.”</p><p></p><p>Charis protested again. “But…”</p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled and lay down on his back on the ground beside her. The pain was excruciating now, and only his strong mental training allowed him to think through the pain of his recently healed skin. As Charis began to object, Semeion merely smiled. “It is who we are, Charis. If we kill and leave them dead, we are no better than they are. When I joined this group only a few days ago I had difficulty understanding as well. But seeing your rescue convinced me of the good that we can do. But the good that we can do is tainted by any evil done by our own hands. When we kill, we cause people to hate us and justly so. It cannot be the way of the righteous. If we heal our enemies, we can certainly teach them that they were defeated. Yet we can also show them compassion by not only sparing their lives but ensuring that they do not die as well.”</p><p></p><p>Charis looked down at Rhema and prayed a simple prayer, reviving her from her unconsciousness. Charis looked to Semeion and said, “Explain this to her. I apparently have healing to perform.”</p><p></p><p>As she stood, she found herself face to face with Ischarus. He had apparently returned from his brief walk down the tunnel. He said nothing to Charis as their eyes met. Ischarus’ lips flashed a crooked and unbalanced smile and he patted her shoulder with his leather gloved hand. He turned so that she could easily pass by him and Charis set about bandaging the wounds of the wounded and ultimately expending what was left of her divine healing power to ensure that the life of the reptilian spell caster was not lost. </p><p></p><p>As she rose from her final task, she noted that Ischarus had been standing watch over her actions the whole time. He had not been watching her, but he had been watching out for her safety. As she rose to her feet, Semeion and Rhema helped each other to their own feet. They were a badly beaten group and low on resources. But now was not the time to stay still any longer. They were capable of moving on and the need was greater than ever. It would be a long way home.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 2920513, member: 35788"] Ischarus turned his head slightly to see the presence he felt coming. It was Charis coming from behind to help him. She held one of Semeion’s daggers in her hand as though she knew how to use it. Ischarus sternly chastised Charis in their shared tongue. [Color=LightBlue]“I thought I told you to stay behind and protect Semeion from attacks from the other direction!”[/Color] The reptilian’s faces demonstrated that they could obviously hear and understand not only the words but also the anger in Ischarus’ voice. One of the creatures decided to make an advance upon the pair of opponents. Ischarus was prepared for the strike and he managed to use his greater reach to land an attack of his own. The flat side of his sword slashed forward and struck one of the creatures on the side of the head. The blow knocked the advancing reptilian opponent to the ground. As he fell, he slid awkwardly into the cavern wall and dropped his spear. The creature did not move after being struck. Ischarus was still full of anger as he spoke to the rest of the kobolds in his draconic language. Now he knew that they had the ability to communicate with him. [Color=LightBlue]“I am in no mood for a trivial fight, dragon-spawn. If you desire a fight, I plan on giving you one to remember. Leave now, and I promise that your fallen comrades will be hurt no further.”[/Color] Two of the remaining three creatures appeared at first to be swayed by Ischarus’ words. In spite of this, the one nearest to the fighter snarled his teeth and slashed out towards Ischarus with his spear. Ischarus easily batted the strike away. Another creature used his weapon to take a swipe at Charis. This blow landed solidly and opened a subtle wound on her left arm. She immediately wished she had more protective armor on as well as some kind of a shield to defend herself with. Since she had neither, the dagger point would have to do for now. The pain of the wound flowed through her body but she could manage to continue on. She flashed the dagger back towards the reptilian creature with another strike of her own. Unfortunately for Charis, the small creature easily ducked underneath the strike. The fourth creature slipped in between the other two as they engaged Ischarus and Charis respectively. It used Charis’ motion to help disguise his own lunge against Ischarus. The attack nearly succeeded but for a late second twist out of the way on Ischarus’ behalf. As Ischarus began to think about parrying the attacks one more time and then lunging forward in a counter attack, a bright blue burst of energy leapt past his left thigh and hooked around the creature that had just attacked. The energy burst was identical to those thrown earlier by the reptilian spell caster with the exception that in this case there was only one energy ball thrown. The energy bolt hooked around the creature that most recently attacked Ischarus and then immediately blindsided the one that had attacked Charis earlier. A voice, filled with a hint of anger, sounded out from behind Ischarus. [Color=Plum]“I have awakened and no longer need protection, Ischarus. Do not be angry with Charis.”[/Color] Ischarus stopped moving his sword in an erratic defense posture and turned slightly to peek a glance at Charis out of the corner of his eye. As he did, he saw the rescued Drakontos Provenience trying her hardest to anticipate a defense against the reptilian aggressor opposing her. He also caught a slight glimpse of personal vindication as a slight smile crossed her lips following Semeion’s speech from behind them. She offered no haughty retort to Ischarus’ earlier chastisement and he decided now was not the time to press the issue. He focused on his two opponents. Ischarus half-heartedly swung at one of the creatures opposing him. His swing was merely an attempt to keep them honestly interested in himself rather than Charis. It also served well as a defensive blow to avoid the possibility of the creatures from flanking his position. Each of the reptilian creatures sliced back at him with their spears, but Ischarus directed the shaft of one away with the flat of his blade and allowed the other spear to connect quite solidly with the front of his shield. Charis and the reptilian creature opposing her exchanged blows once more, but the defenses of both were up to the task. Charis recognized the same attack sequence and this time easily dodged a blow designed for the same arm. The creature used its superior maneuverability to avoid the simple swipe offered in return. However, the creature could not avoid being struck by another one of Semeion’s energy bolts. As the magical energy slammed into the creature it scorched a significant portion of its draconic scales and flung its body backwards into the cavern wall. The creature stumbled back and attempted to regain consciousness. However, the effort was useless as the creature tripped over the body of the one that Ischarus had previously knocked senseless. Once this creature solidly hit the ground it was no longer able to maintain the strength to keep conscious. The final two creatures didn’t quite realize that they were the only ones left out of their original party. Ischarus swung once more, this time knocking the one that was not between himself and Charis down with a single blow. Ischarus’ sword crashed down upon the reptilian adversary’s thigh bone and struck with such force that the leg broke under the pressure. The creature dropped his spear instantly and crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. With a look of anger, Ischarus turned to the final opponent and breathed heavily. No words were needed to express his fury. His right foot made sure to step on the shaft of the spear from the creature that he had previously dealt with in order to avoid it being used as a weapon again. The final creature was already in too deep to turn back now. There was little it could do except fight and hope for the best. Only too late did it recognize that what used to be the upper hand in numbers had now turned into fighting alone. The final creature swiped half-heartedly at Ischarus, but the shaft of its spear clanked hard off of the edge of Ischarus’ shield. Charis stepped around to the back of the creature as it swung at Ischarus. She made it pay for its desire to come forward against the party. The blade of the dagger bit hard into the creature’s scaly shoulder and it howled in pain as it dropped its spear and fell to the ground. Ischarus paused once he realized that Charis had landed the telling blow and held his sword toward the darkness of the deeper tunnel in preparation of more coming. He secretly hoped that this had been the final gathering. Semeion doubled over in pain, fighting the urge to pass out. Charis rushed to his side and quite calmly offered up words of help to the one she had worked so hard at saving. [Color=Orange]“Semeion, Semeion, are you all right? Can I help you?”[/Color] Semeion held up a hand as Charis approached. [Color=Plum]“I will manage. The pain from my recently healed skin is only barely manageable. But you must find Rhema and heal her.”[/Color] Ischarus guided Charis to the location of Rhema’s body with a simple outstretched finger extended from underneath his shield. His sword was still gripped firmly in his other hand and he continued to point it in the direction from which the reptilian creatures had come. Charis quickly slinked over to where Rhema lay unconscious and found her wounds. Her first task was to bind her wounds and this was easily enough accomplished. Rhema’s wounds were not deep enough to need magical healing. Charis simply treated her and immediately her condition began to improve. As she worked, Ischarus walked a few steps further down into the tunnel in the direction from which the creatures had come. [Color=LightBlue]“Heal her just enough so that she is capable of riding, Charis. Then heal the beast whose hand I severed. He will need to be stabilized before we can leave here. The rest of them will also need to be made stable. They need not be fully healed, however. Although they came against us, we will bandage their wounds and allow them to live. If they are the servants of the dragon then our quarrel is not with them immediately. It is not their fault they got in the way.”[/Color] Charis objected quickly. [Color=Orange]“But they would have killed us gladly!”[/Color] Semeion knelt beside her, the pain flowing over his face. [Color=Plum]“It is they way we do things, Charis. We do not aim to kill – only to defeat and move beyond if our opponents are unwilling to concede. We’ll leave them stable here in the tunnel. When they awaken they’ll know that they were cared for rather than outright killed. Of course, they’ll also be weaponless until they return to their clan.”[/Color] Charis protested again. [Color=Orange]“But…”[/Color] Semeion smiled and lay down on his back on the ground beside her. The pain was excruciating now, and only his strong mental training allowed him to think through the pain of his recently healed skin. As Charis began to object, Semeion merely smiled. [Color=Plum]“It is who we are, Charis. If we kill and leave them dead, we are no better than they are. When I joined this group only a few days ago I had difficulty understanding as well. But seeing your rescue convinced me of the good that we can do. But the good that we can do is tainted by any evil done by our own hands. When we kill, we cause people to hate us and justly so. It cannot be the way of the righteous. If we heal our enemies, we can certainly teach them that they were defeated. Yet we can also show them compassion by not only sparing their lives but ensuring that they do not die as well.”[/Color] Charis looked down at Rhema and prayed a simple prayer, reviving her from her unconsciousness. Charis looked to Semeion and said, [Color=Orange]“Explain this to her. I apparently have healing to perform.”[/Color] As she stood, she found herself face to face with Ischarus. He had apparently returned from his brief walk down the tunnel. He said nothing to Charis as their eyes met. Ischarus’ lips flashed a crooked and unbalanced smile and he patted her shoulder with his leather gloved hand. He turned so that she could easily pass by him and Charis set about bandaging the wounds of the wounded and ultimately expending what was left of her divine healing power to ensure that the life of the reptilian spell caster was not lost. As she rose from her final task, she noted that Ischarus had been standing watch over her actions the whole time. He had not been watching her, but he had been watching out for her safety. As she rose to her feet, Semeion and Rhema helped each other to their own feet. They were a badly beaten group and low on resources. But now was not the time to stay still any longer. They were capable of moving on and the need was greater than ever. It would be a long way home. [Sblock=Color Free Speech Section] Ischarus turned his head slightly to see the presence he felt coming. It was Charis coming from behind to help him. She held one of Semeion’s daggers in her hand as though she knew how to use it. Ischarus sternly chastised Charis in their shared tongue. “I thought I told you to stay behind and protect Semeion from attacks from the other direction!” The reptilian’s faces demonstrated that they could obviously hear and understand not only the words but also the anger in Ischarus’ voice. One of the creatures decided to make an advance upon the pair of opponents. Ischarus was prepared for the strike and he managed to use his greater reach to land an attack of his own. The flat side of his sword slashed forward and struck one of the creatures on the side of the head. The blow knocked the advancing reptilian opponent to the ground. As he fell, he slid awkwardly into the cavern wall and dropped his spear. The creature did not move after being struck. Ischarus was still full of anger as he spoke to the rest of the kobolds in his draconic language. Now he knew that they had the ability to communicate with him. “I am in no mood for a trivial fight, dragon-spawn. If you desire a fight, I plan on giving you one to remember. Leave now, and I promise that your fallen comrades will be hurt no further.” Two of the remaining three creatures appeared at first to be swayed by Ischarus’ words. In spite of this, the one nearest to the fighter snarled his teeth and slashed out towards Ischarus with his spear. Ischarus easily batted the strike away. Another creature used his weapon to take a swipe at Charis. This blow landed solidly and opened a subtle wound on her left arm. She immediately wished she had more protective armor on as well as some kind of a shield to defend herself with. Since she had neither, the dagger point would have to do for now. The pain of the wound flowed through her body but she could manage to continue on. She flashed the dagger back towards the reptilian creature with another strike of her own. Unfortunately for Charis, the small creature easily ducked underneath the strike. The fourth creature slipped in between the other two as they engaged Ischarus and Charis respectively. It used Charis’ motion to help disguise his own lunge against Ischarus. The attack nearly succeeded but for a late second twist out of the way on Ischarus’ behalf. As Ischarus began to think about parrying the attacks one more time and then lunging forward in a counter attack, a bright blue burst of energy leapt past his left thigh and hooked around the creature that had just attacked. The energy burst was identical to those thrown earlier by the reptilian spell caster with the exception that in this case there was only one energy ball thrown. The energy bolt hooked around the creature that most recently attacked Ischarus and then immediately blindsided the one that had attacked Charis earlier. A voice, filled with a hint of anger, sounded out from behind Ischarus. “I have awakened and no longer need protection, Ischarus. Do not be angry with Charis.” Ischarus stopped moving his sword in an erratic defense posture and turned slightly to peek a glance at Charis out of the corner of his eye. As he did, he saw the rescued Drakontos Provenience trying her hardest to anticipate a defense against the reptilian aggressor opposing her. He also caught a slight glimpse of personal vindication as a slight smile crossed her lips following Semeion’s speech from behind them. She offered no haughty retort to Ischarus’ earlier chastisement and he decided now was not the time to press the issue. He focused on his two opponents. Ischarus half-heartedly swung at one of the creatures opposing him. His swing was merely an attempt to keep them honestly interested in himself rather than Charis. It also served well as a defensive blow to avoid the possibility of the creatures from flanking his position. Each of the reptilian creatures sliced back at him with their spears, but Ischarus directed the shaft of one away with the flat of his blade and allowed the other spear to connect quite solidly with the front of his shield. Charis and the reptilian creature opposing her exchanged blows once more, but the defenses of both were up to the task. Charis recognized the same attack sequence and this time easily dodged a blow designed for the same arm. The creature used its superior maneuverability to avoid the simple swipe offered in return. However, the creature could not avoid being struck by another one of Semeion’s energy bolts. As the magical energy slammed into the creature it scorched a significant portion of its draconic scales and flung its body backwards into the cavern wall. The creature stumbled back and attempted to regain consciousness. However, the effort was useless as the creature tripped over the body of the one that Ischarus had previously knocked senseless. Once this creature solidly hit the ground it was no longer able to maintain the strength to keep conscious. The final two creatures didn’t quite realize that they were the only ones left out of their original party. Ischarus swung once more, this time knocking the one that was not between himself and Charis down with a single blow. Ischarus’ sword crashed down upon the reptilian adversary’s thigh bone and struck with such force that the leg broke under the pressure. The creature dropped his spear instantly and crumpled to the ground in obvious pain. With a look of anger, Ischarus turned to the final opponent and breathed heavily. No words were needed to express his fury. His right foot made sure to step on the shaft of the spear from the creature that he had previously dealt with in order to avoid it being used as a weapon again. The final creature was already in too deep to turn back now. There was little it could do except fight and hope for the best. Only too late did it recognize that what used to be the upper hand in numbers had now turned into fighting alone. The final creature swiped half-heartedly at Ischarus, but the shaft of its spear clanked hard off of the edge of Ischarus’ shield. Charis stepped around to the back of the creature as it swung at Ischarus. She made it pay for its desire to come forward against the party. The blade of the dagger bit hard into the creature’s scaly shoulder and it howled in pain as it dropped its spear and fell to the ground. Ischarus paused once he realized that Charis had landed the telling blow and held his sword toward the darkness of the deeper tunnel in preparation of more coming. He secretly hoped that this had been the final gathering. Semeion doubled over in pain, fighting the urge to pass out. Charis rushed to his side and quite calmly offered up words of help to the one she had worked so hard at saving. “Semeion, Semeion, are you all right? Can I help you?” Semeion held up a hand as Charis approached. “I will manage. The pain from my recently healed skin is only barely manageable. But you must find Rhema and heal her.” Ischarus guided Charis to the location of Rhema’s body with a simple outstretched finger extended from underneath his shield. His sword was still gripped firmly in his other hand and he continued to point it in the direction from which the reptilian creatures had come. Charis quickly slinked over to where Rhema lay unconscious and found her wounds. Her first task was to bind her wounds and this was easily enough accomplished. Rhema’s wounds were not deep enough to need magical healing. Charis simply treated her and immediately her condition began to improve. As she worked, Ischarus walked a few steps further down into the tunnel in the direction from which the creatures had come. “Heal her just enough so that she is capable of riding, Charis. Then heal the beast whose hand I severed. He will need to be stabilized before we can leave here. The rest of them will also need to be made stable. They need not be fully healed, however. Although they came against us, we will bandage their wounds and allow them to live. If they are the servants of the dragon then our quarrel is not with them immediately. It is not their fault they got in the way.” Charis objected quickly. “But they would have killed us gladly!” Semeion knelt beside her, the pain flowing over his face. “It is they way we do things, Charis. We do not aim to kill – only to defeat and move beyond if our opponents are unwilling to concede. We’ll leave them stable here in the tunnel. When they awaken they’ll know that they were cared for rather than outright killed. Of course, they’ll also be weaponless until they return to their clan.” Charis protested again. “But…” Semeion smiled and lay down on his back on the ground beside her. The pain was excruciating now, and only his strong mental training allowed him to think through the pain of his recently healed skin. As Charis began to object, Semeion merely smiled. “It is who we are, Charis. If we kill and leave them dead, we are no better than they are. When I joined this group only a few days ago I had difficulty understanding as well. But seeing your rescue convinced me of the good that we can do. But the good that we can do is tainted by any evil done by our own hands. When we kill, we cause people to hate us and justly so. It cannot be the way of the righteous. If we heal our enemies, we can certainly teach them that they were defeated. Yet we can also show them compassion by not only sparing their lives but ensuring that they do not die as well.” Charis looked down at Rhema and prayed a simple prayer, reviving her from her unconsciousness. Charis looked to Semeion and said, “Explain this to her. I apparently have healing to perform.” As she stood, she found herself face to face with Ischarus. He had apparently returned from his brief walk down the tunnel. He said nothing to Charis as their eyes met. Ischarus’ lips flashed a crooked and unbalanced smile and he patted her shoulder with his leather gloved hand. He turned so that she could easily pass by him and Charis set about bandaging the wounds of the wounded and ultimately expending what was left of her divine healing power to ensure that the life of the reptilian spell caster was not lost. As she rose from her final task, she noted that Ischarus had been standing watch over her actions the whole time. He had not been watching her, but he had been watching out for her safety. As she rose to her feet, Semeion and Rhema helped each other to their own feet. They were a badly beaten group and low on resources. But now was not the time to stay still any longer. They were capable of moving on and the need was greater than ever. It would be a long way home. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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