Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3598235" data-attributes="member: 143">Thank you both for the kind words. While I do not know at this time what writing projects I will undertake in the future (though I have a few ideas), the support I've gotten here has helped motivate me to continue to work to improve my writing. I've been writing fantasy since 1992 and I can really see the difference when I look at some of my older stuff.All three of my stories at ENWorld (Travels through the Wild West, The Shackled City, and The Doomed Bastards) have gotten incredible praise and comment from the community. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read and post in those threads.I'm at the point where I don't need to earn money for my writing (though I wouldn't mind getting paid to do it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ), I'm just glad that I have found an audience that enjoys reading what I've created. I greatly enjoy doing it and don't see that changing any time soon. LB* * * * * Chapter 192CONSULTATIONSNeither Tribitz nor any other threats appeared to disturb their rest, and once the spellcasters had woke from their deep sleep, the companions gathered for a meal prepared from the contents of Shay’s bag of holding.  The foodstuffs that she had left were designed to be compact and long lasting, and included trail biscuits, hard cheese, ground meal that made a bland porridge when heated with water, and coffee.  It could hardly be called a feast, but after their grueling experiences of almost constant battle since entering Grezneck, the food was quickly and eagerly consumed.  With the meal finished, the spellcasters turned to the preparations needed to recover their spells, while Shay and Filcher, who had shared the most recent watch, collapsed into an exhausted sleep.  None of them were quite willing to fully trust the goblin, but the diminutive creature had at least proven to be competent, nearly equaling the scout in his ability to avoid detection and sense danger.  Once she had fixed her daily allotment of spells in her mind, Allera woke Talen, and purged him of his blindness.  Restoring his arm took longer, but he watched with amazement as the regenerate spell slowly worked its course, leaving him at last with an undamaged limb that he flexed tentatively.  “I’d say to take it easy for a few days, but...” Allera began. Talen nodded.  “I understand.  Thank you.”  The knight stood and crossed the room, still testing the regrown arm.  Varo had left with Dar and Kalend to scout out the priest quarters again.  The cleric returned a short while later, holding a short rod of carved onyx in his hand.  He looked around and came over to Allera. “Where is Serah?” he asked.“She needed a few minutes alone,” the healer explained.  “She is in one of the other side-rooms.”Varo frowned.  “It is not a good idea for any of us to be apart from the group.  Particularly with a foe that makes liberal use of incorporeal undead.”“I asked Snaggletooth to keep an eye on her,” Allera said.  “And she’s only thirty feet away; if anything happens, we’ll hear it.”“You presume much upon the incompetence of our enemy.”The healer sighed.  “Is there something you want, Licinius?”The cleric extended the rod.  “You may find this useful.”“Where did you get that?”“It was in a chest within the high priest’s quarters.  Dar was smart, for once, not to trouble with the goblin’s possessions; there was a potent glyph of warding upon the container.”The healer drew back.  “I want nothing to do with his foul accoutrements.”“A remarkably narrow view.  Do not fear, healer; the device itself bears no alignment.  It is merely a locus of magical energy, no different than your wand.  I would keep it myself, but in your hands it may be more effective for the group.”Allera looked intently at him, then she—warily—extended her hand.  As she grasped the device, her eyes widened slightly.  “How many charges does it have?”Varo shrugged.  “I cannot tell for certain.  At least a dozen, if I had to guess.”Allera nodded, and accepted it.  “A rod of restoration... If I’d been pressed to name one item that we truly needed, this might have been it.  I... I apologize for my earlier presumption, Varo.”The cleric’s mouth twisted into an echo of a smile; it did not look good on him.  “You have had reason to doubt my motives, healer.  In any case, it will fall upon you and Serah to bear more of the responsibility for providing healing; my wands are depleted and my store of potions and scrolls has been exhausted.”“Your spells are powerful.”“True.  And some of my reservoir will be committed to cure wounds spells.  But remember that I cannot spontaneously cast them, as Serah can.” Allera tucked the rod under her arm and reached into her pouch.  “I have one wand of cure moderate wounds left, about half-full,” she said.  She looked wistful as she drew out the device, painstaking carved from wood so dark as to be almost black.  “This was crafted by Ikarus, a good friend of mine.”“The healer who came with us from Highbluff,” Varo said.  Allera nodded.  “He... he has a talent for crafting.  He always makes his devices just a bit stronger than they have to be, even at the additional personal cost.  It’s just the way he is.”“A noble gesture, if ultimately inefficient,” Varo replied. Allera smiled sadly.  “That just about describes him.”  She wiped her hands on her cloak, and stood.  “Was there something else?”Varo stepped closer.  “As the primary custodian of our group’s health and well-being, you need to be conscious of the emotional impact of our experiences.”“What do you mean?”“Just consider this.  The natural healing process exists to give our bodies not only the time needed to recover from physical injuries, but also the accompanying emotional trauma as well.  Through magical healing, we subvert this, and ‘cheat’, as it were, removing injuries with a wave of the hand.  It was as if they were never there... but the body remembers the pain, and even the most potent healing spell cannot fully restore all that was lost.”Allera colored, slightly; she looked uncomfortable to be in such close proximity to the priest of Dagos, but she did not withdraw.  “I know all of this, Licinius.  It is part of our task to treat the whole being; I do not know how much you know of the Healer’s Code, but...”“I know it well,” the cleric interrupted.  “I meant no impugnment of your skills.  But since returning to Rappan Athuk, we have suffered considerable abuse.  We have all been driven to the brink of death multiple times, only to be brought back to full health by divine magic.  In some cases, members of our party have experienced this cycle several times within a single battle.  We have been poisoned, enspelled, and energy drained.  We have fought desperate battle after desperate battle; between the three of us, we have burned through half a dozen healing wands, not even considering our personal reservoirs of divine power.  And there will be more battles to come.  The trauma of having one’s body thus treated... it can be enough to damage the mind, perhaps even to push it to the brink of insanity.”Varo’s voice had dropped low, but it had taken on a particular intensity as he had spoken.  Allera had not shifted from his gaze, but she’d grown increasingly pale with each statement.  “What do you want me to do?” Varo shrugged, and broke the connection, turning to the side.  “Just be aware, healer.”  His gaze traveled up, and Allera followed it, until it settled on Talen, who was double-checking the contents of his pack. “Hey, what’s going on here?”Allera jumped and turned to see Dar standing there.  The fighter looked at her, and then Varo, whose expression had faded to its usual neutral inscrutability.  “Nothing.  We’re just talking.  About our spell selection.  Varo found a rod of restoration.”Dar nodded, but he looked doubtful.  “Better get your things together,” he said.  “It’s time we got moving.”  Serah entered the room, and Dar walked over to her, sharing the same message.  Varo turned back to Allera briefly, sharing one last significant glance, and then he walked over to collect his own things from the far side of the room.</blockquote>

Verification