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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7469703" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 184Glori was quick to check on Kosk, but the dwarf was not hurt as badly as it had looked at first glance.  Turning to the front of the column, she saw that the fighting had come to an end there as well.  A second owlbear, even larger than the first, had attacked just moments after Glori had come under attack, but the Rangers had been able to deal with it.  Loriellen and Tenaille had both taken wounds, but none appeared to be life-threatening.  They lacked a cleric in their company, but both Glori and Majerion were able to manage lesser healing spells, and soon all of the serious wounds had been treated.The question of what had happened, however, took somewhat longer to resolve.“What were those things?” Embrae asked.“Owlbears,” Shreskra and Brightbriar replied simultaneously.  Glori nodded; she was familiar with the species, though she had never seen one before.  If Quellan was here he might have made a comment about the book description never living up to the reality.  The thought awakened a pang as she realized how much she missed him.  And the others, of course.“I’m more interested in how those things managed to ambush us,” Kosk said.  “It’s not like these things were tiny.  I thought elvish scouts were supposed to have sharp eyes?”For a moment, Shreskra looked to be taken aback, even embarrassed, and Glori was surprised.  But the Ranger leader quickly recovered and turned to Brightbriar, who had escaped the brief but violent encounter unscathed.  “Is it common to encounter such things so close to the edge of the Reserve?” she asked.The old elf also looked somewhat startled.  “No,” he said.  “The larger monstrosities usually keep to the far side of the Reserve, far away from the Tender outposts.”  He stared down at the two dead creatures as if they were a puzzle he could not quite solve.“We shouldn’t linger here,” Shreskra said.  “There’s one of those outposts not far from here, isn’t there?  Tender?”Brightbriar blinked and looked up at her.  “Yes, yes, there is,” he said.  “It’s not especially close, but we should be able to reach it before nightfall.  We should be… we should be safe there,” he said.“Thanks for distracting it,” Glori said to Kosk as they prepared to move out again.  “And you too, Embrae.  Those were some nice moves.”“We need to watch each other’s backs in here,” the elf woman said.  She gave the dead creature one more look before following the others along their improvised path.  Glori also glanced at it as she cleaned her sword, then looked up to see Majerion watching her from just beyond the fallen hulk.  The other bard gave her a nod then followed after the departing monk.“Complicated, eh?” Kosk asked her as she sheathed her blade.“Yeah,” she said.  “Makes you wonder what fun the others are getting into, doesn’t it?”“No doubt they’re up to their necks as deep as we are,” the dwarf replied.</blockquote>

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