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<blockquote data-quote="drnuncheon" data-source="post: 647312" data-attributes="member: 96">Session Seventeen, Part Four: ConvalescenceHer opening eyes were greeted by a thin line of red on the eastern horizon.&nbsp; The Zombi Master looked down upon her from behind his skull tattoo, and gestured to the rising sun. &quot;It is good that you have returned,&quot; he said, gsturing to the sun that crept imperceptibly upwards.&nbsp; &quot;I fought for hours to bring you back.&nbsp; Had the sun risen you would have been trapped in the spirit worlds.&quot;Dru shook her head, her mouth cottony.&nbsp; &quot;Di'Fier?&quot; she managed to get out.&nbsp; When the Zombi Master didn't answer, she swung herself off of the wooden platform, stumbling as her legs nearly refused to support her weight.&nbsp; &quot;What. About. Di'Fier?&quot;The islander faced her calmly.&nbsp; &quot;His battle took a heavy toll.&nbsp; The spirit's venom is still inside of him, although the spirit is gone.&nbsp; He is no longer in the grey world - he is inside his own mind now.&nbsp; He is past my ability to help him, or yours.&nbsp; Only he may decide whether he will return.&quot;Dru stepped across and leaned heavily on the other platform, inspecting the catatonic mage.&nbsp; &quot;You'd better,&quot; she said softly. Looking up, she met the Zombi Master's deep set eyes.&nbsp; &quot;Tell me about the Swamp Hag.&quot;<img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Steel rang on steel - a sound unfamiliar to the villagers of Burowao.&nbsp; Slowly the Tiger Clan filtered from their huts, looking to the field that lay fallow for a season by order of the gods.&nbsp; The strange visitors were fighting, went the rumor.&nbsp; What's more, it was the women who were doing it!&nbsp; What strange, barbaric ways these pale-skinned folk had...Only dimly aware of their audience - and then only as the vague registering of a possible threat - Dru parried Shesara's slash easily. &quot;Almost - but you've left yourself open again.&quot;&nbsp; She tapped the flat of her blade against the other elf's ribs.&nbsp; &quot;Don't overextend.&quot;Shesara pulled her cutlass back into line.&nbsp; &quot;I think I'd much rather sing about swordfighting than actually do it.&quot;&nbsp; She began the attack again, her blade sliding off of Dru's rapier again and again as the elven warrior parried.&nbsp; &quot;What did the Zombi Master tell you about the Swamp Hag?&quot;&quot;She used to be one of the villagers, he said.&nbsp; She traded her humanity for power.&quot;&nbsp; Dru let the next blow slide down her blade to the quillions, then twisted her sword to trap it. &quot;I guess it's almost a position,&quot; she said, as she yanked the blade from Shesara's hand, then laid her own against the bard's throat. &quot;He said there has always been a Swamp Hag, and there always will be.&quot;Shesara sagged.&nbsp; &quot;I don't think I'm ever going to get the hang of this.&quot;&nbsp; Wearily, she picked up the cutlass once again.&nbsp; &quot;I should probably just stay in the back and sing.&quot;&quot;Nonsense.&nbsp; You're not doing that badly.&nbsp; Remember that you've got decades of experience on any roundear you're going to meet on this island.&quot;&nbsp; Dru chuckled as she sheathed her blade.&nbsp; &quot;It's a good thing you weren't trained the way I was, though.&nbsp; You'd have a lot more scars.&quot;The blonde elf's gaze fell to the ragged sleeves of Dru's shirt, and the network of white lines on the skin beneath.&nbsp; &quot;Who trained you?&quot;&quot;Papa did.&nbsp; He was afraid the first time I was wounded, I'd be so in shock from the pain that I wouldn't be able to defend myself.&quot;&nbsp; Dru turned to look at the seated figure who had been present for the duel.&nbsp; &quot;What about you, Di'Fier?&quot;The mage looked dully up at her, as if it were an effort to even consider answering.&quot;How were you trained?&quot; Dru pressed.His reply was toneless.&nbsp; &quot;My father used padded swords.&quot; Then his gaze leveled as he sank back within himself.Dru loked at Shesara. &quot;The Zombi Master says that some people never recover any more than this, but the more we can make him interact with the world outside of his head, the better his chances are.&quot;&nbsp; She sighed, looking at her partner.&nbsp; &quot;I know how he's feeling.&nbsp; My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton when I got up, and I only got bitten by the little ones.&nbsp; Come on, Di'Fier.&quot;Obediently, the mage's body climbed to its feet and shambled after them.<img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Dru set the spellbook down.&nbsp; Had Di'Fier's eyes followed it as it moved?&nbsp; Was there a flicker of recognition?&nbsp; She knew he would read it if she told him to - his intellect was intact, but his will...he would be reading it because he was told to.&quot;I'm going out to practice with Shesara,&quot; Dru told him.&nbsp; &quot;But I'll leave this here.&quot;&nbsp; She lay his sword against the book.&nbsp; &quot;This too.&quot;&nbsp; Might as well stack the odds, right? &quot;If you want to, you can read the book.&quot;He looked at her as if to ask for guidance.&nbsp; She ignored it.&nbsp; &quot;I'll see you in a few hours.&quot;&nbsp; Then she was gone, and he was alone in the empty hut.Slowly, his gaze shifted from the doorway to the book.&nbsp; Why hadn't she told him to read it?&nbsp; It was so much easier when people told you what to do - when it was time to eat, to bathe, to sleep, to read...If you want to...What did she mean, want?&nbsp; He tried to think of wanting...A handful of coin, carefully hoarded, given over to a rough man who smelled of the sea.&nbsp; A bag, packed with clothing and the necessities of travel.&nbsp; A dream.Then: rain, come too early, and an empty dock.&nbsp; The laughter of the longshoreman as he said the ship had sailed three days ago.&nbsp; Soaked to the skin, clutching a book like that one to his chest...He remembered how the pages had wrinkled from the rain, the bitter disappointment of his plans for adventure.&nbsp; Adventure?&nbsp; This is an adventure...His hand reached towards the book.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="drnuncheon, post: 647312, member: 96"] [b]Session Seventeen, Part Four: Convalescence[/b] Her opening eyes were greeted by a thin line of red on the eastern horizon. The Zombi Master looked down upon her from behind his skull tattoo, and gestured to the rising sun. "It is good that you have returned," he said, gsturing to the sun that crept imperceptibly upwards. "I fought for hours to bring you back. Had the sun risen you would have been trapped in the spirit worlds." Dru shook her head, her mouth cottony. "Di'Fier?" she managed to get out. When the Zombi Master didn't answer, she swung herself off of the wooden platform, stumbling as her legs nearly refused to support her weight. "What. About. Di'Fier?" The islander faced her calmly. "His battle took a heavy toll. The spirit's venom is still inside of him, although the spirit is gone. He is no longer in the grey world - he is inside his own mind now. He is past my ability to help him, or yours. Only [i]he[/i] may decide whether he will return." Dru stepped across and leaned heavily on the other platform, inspecting the catatonic mage. "You'd better," she said softly. Looking up, she met the Zombi Master's deep set eyes. "Tell me about the Swamp Hag." [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] Steel rang on steel - a sound unfamiliar to the villagers of Burowao. Slowly the Tiger Clan filtered from their huts, looking to the field that lay fallow for a season by order of the gods. The strange visitors were fighting, went the rumor. What's more, it was the [i]women[/i] who were doing it! What strange, barbaric ways these pale-skinned folk had... Only dimly aware of their audience - and then only as the vague registering of a possible threat - Dru parried Shesara's slash easily. "Almost - but you've left yourself open again." She tapped the flat of her blade against the other elf's ribs. "Don't overextend." Shesara pulled her cutlass back into line. "I think I'd much rather [i]sing[/i] about swordfighting than actually do it." She began the attack again, her blade sliding off of Dru's rapier again and again as the elven warrior parried. "What did the Zombi Master tell you about the Swamp Hag?" "She used to be one of the villagers, he said. She traded her humanity for power." Dru let the next blow slide down her blade to the quillions, then twisted her sword to trap it. "I guess it's almost a position," she said, as she yanked the blade from Shesara's hand, then laid her own against the bard's throat. "He said there has always been a Swamp Hag, and there always will be." Shesara sagged. "I don't think I'm ever going to get the hang of this." Wearily, she picked up the cutlass once again. "I should probably just stay in the back and sing." "Nonsense. You're not doing [i]that[/i] badly. Remember that you've got decades of experience on any roundear you're going to meet on this island." Dru chuckled as she sheathed her blade. "It's a good thing you weren't trained the way I was, though. You'd have a lot more scars." The blonde elf's gaze fell to the ragged sleeves of Dru's shirt, and the network of white lines on the skin beneath. "Who trained you?" "Papa did. He was afraid the first time I was wounded, I'd be so in shock from the pain that I wouldn't be able to defend myself." Dru turned to look at the seated figure who had been present for the duel. "What about you, Di'Fier?" The mage looked dully up at her, as if it were an effort to even consider answering. "How were you trained?" Dru pressed. His reply was toneless. "My father used padded swords." Then his gaze leveled as he sank back within himself. Dru loked at Shesara. "The Zombi Master says that some people never recover any more than this, but the more we can make him interact with the world outside of his head, the better his chances are." She sighed, looking at her partner. "I know how he's feeling. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton when I got up, and I only got bitten by the little ones. Come on, Di'Fier." Obediently, the mage's body climbed to its feet and shambled after them. [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] Dru set the spellbook down. Had Di'Fier's eyes followed it as it moved? Was there a flicker of recognition? She knew he would read it if she told him to - his intellect was intact, but his will...he would be reading it because he was told to. "I'm going out to practice with Shesara," Dru told him. "But I'll leave this here." She lay his sword against the book. "This too." [i]Might as well stack the odds, right?[/i] "[i]If you want to[/i], you can read the book." He looked at her as if to ask for guidance. She ignored it. "I'll see you in a few hours." Then she was gone, and he was alone in the empty hut. Slowly, his gaze shifted from the doorway to the book. Why hadn't she told him to read it? It was so much easier when people told you what to do - when it was time to eat, to bathe, to sleep, to read... [i]If you want to...[/i] What did she mean, [i]want[/i]? He tried to think of [i]wanting[/i]... [i]A handful of coin, carefully hoarded, given over to a rough man who smelled of the sea. A bag, packed with clothing and the necessities of travel. A dream. Then: rain, come too early, and an empty dock. The laughter of the longshoreman as he said the ship had sailed three days ago. Soaked to the skin, clutching a book like that one to his chest...[/i] He remembered how the pages had wrinkled from the rain, the bitter disappointment of his plans for adventure. [i]Adventure? This[/i] is[i] an adventure...[/i] His hand reached towards the book. [/QUOTE]

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