Maur settles up and then uses most of his remaining spells to heal the group, Quinn first, then in order of his estimate who's worst off. But he tries to spread it so everyone is better, rather than focusing on fully healing someone.
Maur looks over the group and starts casting. He starts with the gladiator who almost died. After two stronger spells, he uses a minor spell to finish up. With Caerth he simply casts two intermediate spells to patch him up.
Maur finds that Caerth is not hurt as bad as he was before he wild shaped back and forth. Quite the useful ability. His healing goes a long way for the half-orc druid.
Quinn, however, is sporting many deep wounds. The big man was trying to get comfortable on the ground close to the clean waters of the new oasis. He gladly accepts Maur's aid without any complaints.
Once Maur has healed the gladiator-knight's wounds, Quinn is finally able to relax.
"Thank you," he says before quickly nodding off to sleep with Cruel Justice lying next to him on his bedroll.
Maur finds that the other's don't have any major wounds left. He already healed Litrix and Angus. Aureus and Phar had stayed away from the snapping jaws of the undead wolves using bow and spells. They, like the others, are just worn out. Aureus makes sure the horses are hobbled near the oasis so they can graze and drink. The animals are a lot calmer.
Each of Maur's companions finds a spot to rest. Caerth would normally try to take first watch, but even he is tired from the fight. He sleeps through the night while Phar takes the second watch. Maur is finally able to rest. Aureus takes the morning watch until all have had a chance to rest. She digs out some rations, dry bread, and dried meat and cooks a simple meal over a fire once dawn finally comes. She catches several small fish and fresh oasis greens to enhance the meal.
It is a good simple meal and the previous night's wounds and aches are quickly set aside. None of you wish to linger at the oasis for too long. Soon, you are all packed up and ready to go by foot to see if the old ruins at the top of the distant rise are safe, before bringing the horse there. It is only a few miles and you easily walk there in an hour through the rocky wastes and dense cacti forest.
The ruins are very old, and the structure has likely been abandoned for quite some time. Even an untrained eye can see that many sections of it would collapse without much effort. It is surrounded by old dying trees and dense rocky ground that is a bit uneven. The ruin might have once been a fort of some kind, although there aren't any towers or other fortifications. An old fortified manor house, maybe.
"This place looks like a stiff wind could blow it over," Aureus says quietly. Yet, the blustering wind sweeping across the old weathered hill says otherwise.
"I wonder who built this place."
The front entrance has set of stout stone doors, but Maur can tell, just by looking at it, that the stonework around it is unstable. One swing of his hammer could bring down the walls around the door and such a blow could collapse the entire front entrance.
While scouting around the area around the ruin's entryway, you find that there are many cracks and loose stones and a handful of smal gaps in the stonework.
"We should probably inspect the entire outside," Quinn says a bit more boldly than Aureus's whisper.
"There could be an easier way inside." He looks at the others.
"If we want to explore it."
"It's definitely not elven," Phar notes.
Maur is certain that it isn't dwarven either. Regardless, is is quite old. Centuries old.
"There could be something useful," Aureus suggests.
"But... it could also be full of traps."
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OOC:
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Do you explore the ruin or bypass it?
The ruin looks to only have one level, and it is spread out over 200 feet. There are sections of the old ruin that are in better condition than the rest of it, but if there is another way inside, you can't determine what it might be from casual observation. There is no sense of eeriness, but the area on top of the old hill is completely windswept and colder than the surrounding cacti forest.
While I noted that you left the horses behind, you can choose to bring them with you, or go back for them. It's barely an hour's walk between the oasis and the old ruins.
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