Move 157: Cabin Fever
The Blue Garl Cavern--Morning, 3 Eleint 1374 DRThe time passed as uneventfully with Jana on watch as it had with Blacky and Daelen. Echo finished rifling through the pile of stuff while the others continued to rest and recover. An estimated couple of hours passed before Renn regained consciousness. Daelen had not returned.
Rennirolas' eyes fluttered and then opened, his hand rising up to press against his brow. He sat up, coughed as he wounds still pained him from all sides, and let out a cry of anguish at the inert forms of Cethryan and Etienne.
He stumbled to his feet, the cry turned into a wail of grief and anger, a funeral dirge that was a mixture of chant and prayer for both of the fallen. Kneeling before Cethyran's body as he finished his song, Renn chanted, "into Arvanaith may you pass quickly, may the moonbeams of the Daughter of the Night Skies guide you home, may the realm of Arvanaith succor and bring you peace."
He turned a sorrowful glance to the others in the shack. "I know not the means of burial that Etienne would wish. He did follow a human god, and his blood does not allow him entry to Arvanaith," he said apologetically. "But for Cethryan, I need to erect a pyre, so that she might be free of her shell to fully dwell within the splendor that is Arvanaith."
Renn found a somewhat clean spot on the floor and recovered his healers bag. "Though I have not the magic, I can still bind and cleanse everyone's wounds. I am sorry I can do no more than this now," he shrugged.
Aloysius was still balled up on the cot, snoozing away.
Arachne contemplated.
Jana amused herself by playing with the bastard sword and chain mail. She eyed the newly-found sword speculatively and twirled both it and hers around, contemplating. She held the suits of chain up to see if they'd fit her. She seemed to feel substantially better after Arachne's creepy mind stuff.
After some more time passed, Daelen returned to the cabin.
After Blacky awoke he asked if anyone would mind if he exchanged his Splint mail for the new set they had found as it carried a greater enchantment. Other than that he had no interest in the other magical items, although he was curious about what the ceramic cottage was. "We'd better give those scrolls to Renn seeing how he's the only one who can use them to help us. Where's Daelen?" Blacky asked.
At about this point, Daelen stormed into the cabin and dropped the pack of rations onto the ground.
"The prisoner's gone." he said bluntly. "So is Snow. I found blood where they were but I couldn't track them beyond the mouth of the cave..."
When he saw Blacky in the new armor he looked vaguely betrayed. "Thanks for waiting for me to divy up the spoils..." he remarked, picking up the suit of chainmail that Echo had pointed out as being more heavily enchanted and a pair of boots.
"I only put this on because I thought we were going to have to go looking for you. You have been gone for quite some time and Ranchy is still out there somewhere. If you want it take it, you were more of a help in the last battle than I." Blacky removed what little of the armor he had put on and laid it back down. "You're not going to get far if you don't get some rest and heal though, armor or no." Blacky looks around for some water or something to put water in and proceeds to clean himself and his old armor.
Arachne watched the pair of boots unhappily. "Probably wouldn't've fit me, anyway," she hoped.
"I don't know what you all intend to do, but it's obvious my help isn't wanted," he said calmly, glancing at Jana for a moment, "I'm taking this as my share and I'm going after them."
The statement didn't sound especially convincing given that Daelen looked close to dropping dead from exaustion, his eyes bloodshot, his words slurred and his stance unstable, like the only thing keeping him on his feet was a determination that seemed to be failing by the minute.
"What's obvious to you isn't at all clear to me," Arachne said, staggering to her feet and coming over to the warrior. "I'm very grateful to you for keeping me from getting smashed and clawed dead by the zombies. And if it requires saying that for you to know it, then I apologize for not getting around to saying it earlier. I've been preoccupied. Now, if you are intent on going after your dog immediately, I appreciate your urgency. I don't believe the rest of us are quite up to going with you. I know I'm not and I'm sorry about that. But if you are set on leaving immediately, let me try to patch you up as much as I can before you go. Please hold still?"
"Save your strength." Daelen said, calming down noticably, "I'm not as wounded as I am tired. Help Aloysius or Renn instead, the best thing for me is a few hours of sleep..."
"Then you're not hurrying off anywhere right away," Arachne said. "All right." Uncertain that anyone else needed _immediate_ additional healing, the gnome returned to her Quiet Corner and resumed meditating.
Aloysius continued to snooze through Daelen's return and all the subsequent conversation concerning Snow's disappearance and the division of treasure.
"Ranchefus might have freed the prisoner and took your dog," Echo said. "I don't think you should go after him on your own."
She rolled her eyes at both Blacky and Daelen, "Can we hold on a moment before we get grab happy on the items here? Before anyone takes anything, we are going to discuss how to do this like rational adults. This is my opinion. The armor and weapons should go to the people who can use them. The ones of you who like chain mail can dice or draw straws or something to see who gets the most enchanted set. The other things should go to people who can use them too, but that will have to wait until we find out what they do and how to use them. The boots might have a command word to turn them on, so they won't be very useful unless you know it. And nobody's taking anything until everyone is awake and can have a say in it. For all I know, Aloysius might want a crack at the chain mail too."
"He might," Arachne agreed, going over to inspect the collection. "Chainmail has much to recommend it when you're stumbling through a forest of dead men." She lifted a sleeve of one of the chainlinked garments that Jana was gripping -- not very far before dropping it again. "Very protective," she said, "provided you can still move after draping it on yourself. Not for me," she sighed. "Too heavy. Same for the maces, the sword, the dagger, the robes, the scrolls..." She shook her head. "I'm pretty ineffective with the weapons I'm _supposed_ to know how to use." She poked at the dagger. "I guess I might be as lousy with this as with my knife -- if no-one else wants it. Aloysius will want it, though. He collects them.
"I could carry the cottage, if you all want -- and protect it with my continued efforts to stay out of the fighting. Or maybe Aloysius should. It just _looks_ like the sort of magic a wizard could use." She shrugged. "And, not that I could promise that I was putting them to any good use, I'd sort of like one of the pairs of boots. So would everyone else, I suppose." She gazed at the pile, then shook her head. "There isn't anything here that I'd fight for -- or even try to persuade the rest of you to concede to me. There's no logical argument for it."
Jana, who was currently holding both suits of chain, did not hand either over. "Not a chance, Tagalong," she told Daelen. "Everyone here has a say in who gets what, if anything. You may ask, but then," she added, holding up the more heavily-enchanted chain, "I'm also asking for this. And don't be so fast with those boots, either." She turns to the group at large. "Guys?"
Jana shook her head as Blacky offered the splint to Daelen. "I don't think that's right," she said. "Here's my proposal. I think Blacky's been fighting Ranchefus longer than Daelen and so he should get the better armor. Daelen, you can have Blacky's old armor. And since I've been involved in this longer than than any of the rest of you guys who wear armor, I should get the better chain. And Renn, who's also been in this longer than Daelen, should get the other set of chain. Or the splint; he ought to be able to choose between the two and then Daelen can have what's left. Now, if Echo or anyone else wants a set of armor, we need to re-think this. Echo would preceed Renn, to my way of thinking. As for the boots and other things that aren't going back to the families, I think those who aren't getting armor out of this should have them." Jana looked around, waiting for reactions to her plan.
From her Quiet Corner, Arachne said, "Yes."
"That's bullshit,” Daelen complained. “As far as I can see, you're the only one who uses those swords." Daelen said, pointing to the bastard sword on the pile. "You know you're getting it, why should you get the better chain too? I don't see how it should matter how long we've been fighting one man, everyone did what they could in the last battle."
"I don't want the sword," Jana said. "You'll take what if anything the group decides to give you, same as the rest of us. So get over it or get lost."
"I don't remember seeing you stripping dead bodies. And I don't need to take this from you or anyone else. If you have something to say to me, you come out and say it to my face," Daelen said.
"I just did," Jana replied. "Listen carefully this time. Anything you take will be with the approval of everyone here. If you don't like it, then leave."
"I don't really care, the only reason I wanted the better armor is because I'm usually in the midst of the battle, taking the brunt of the punishment. But I've survived thus far with this.." Blacky indicated the old armor he was cleaning "so I'll get by. To my mind it's not worth fighting over. As for the rest, If there is any extra I'll carry it. Maybe we can trade it for some silver weapondry for cleaning the glade." He thought a minute. "As long as everyone has a magic weapon, familiar or not, in case we come up against something that can't be hit by normal means. The scrolls, of course, should go to Renn, for the good of the group."
"You're always up there taking the brunt of the attacks, defending," Jana said to Blacky, "so for the good of the group, you need to be well-protected. I think" she added, looking around, "most of the rest of you will agree with me on that." She looked to the weapons. "For my part, I will happily train anyone interested in the use of the bastard sword. It's great to have a magical weapon, but even better to know how to use it."
Renn took the scrolls and perused the pair. "Two healings I can cast with these scrolls, a minor curative such as I normally cast, and a stronger spell I have not mastered yet," he said plainly, and without much enthusiasm. "Tell me whom you wish me to cast them upon, and then I shall need to enter my reverie again, I simply cannot focus without more rest," Renn finished, slumped down against the wall of the small building.
"Cast the greater of the two on yourself and the minor one on Aloysius. You two were the closest to death's grip and likely will be the longest in recovery without the help of such spells." Blacky suggested
When everyone was ready to listen again, Echo showed them the items of value that had been found and what she thought they were worth.
topaz set silver ring-value unknown
jewelry-650 gp
blue cloak/silver clasps-100 gp
gaudy gold bracelet with pendants in the form of
writhing female serpentine creatures-100 gp
sapphire set gold ring-1200 gp
tacky platinum and gold medallion-125 gp
chunk of rosy quartz set in platinum dragon's foot-200 gp
signet ring-25 gp"I think the cloak and ring belonged to Jelenneth so we should return that to her family," Echo added.
"Maybe we should also figure out a way to get Etienne and Ceth's shares to their families, or maybe donate it to their churches."She looked at the items and shook her head, "There is a lot of stuff here. Think of how many people these bastards must have kidnapped or killed to get this much."
Jana solemnly nodded her agreement.
Rennirolas smiled at Echo's words. "Indeed, an it were not suggested already, that is what I had intended to ask. Your desires are good, and your intentions noble Echo."
"I have no need of any armor, for I have the chain of my father's father," Renn replied. "The only item I might desire is one of the maces," he shrugged. "And then I might play packhorse for whatever else is needed to be carried. Should the boots and robes, those items not desired by the warriors, turn out to be of use to them and not to the unarmored, we should think of the possibility of redistributing the magic to best serve the group as a whole."
"I like your idea of giving shares of it to Ceth's and Etienne's churches," Arachne agreed. "Actually, I have to like the idea of giving all of it away," she sighed. "I mean, eventually, if I get very good at what I do, I could use a large jewel or two to help me do it better. But that's eventually -- and the idea of keeping any of _this_ treasure, knowing what must've been done to acquire it, makes me feel...filthy. The magical stuff is different; the scum we were fighting were _using_ it; we can use it to fight the scum better. The treasure..." She frowned. "Now, I'm confused -- because we could use the treasure to buy stuff to enable us to fight evil better. Or we could give it away to good churches that fight evil by the charitable works that, hopefully, they would do..."
"Nope," she concluded. "I don't know _what_ I want to do. But I don't want to do it now. Now, I've got other work to do." The gnome went to her Corner of Quiet and resumed meditating.
Daelen grumbled, "I'm willing to bet at least one of those chests is full of coins, give a part of that to Etienne's family if you want. If I remember right, Ceth said all her family was gone already. I suppose you could hand her share over to her order but frankly I don't see how giving money to a rich elven temple will help anyone."
Rennirolas blinked a number of times as he stared at Daelen, before he found the words he had been searching for. "N'Tel'Quess," Renn said evenly. "I will forgive your hasty words, as we are all tired and frustrated. But know you this, you show your shortsightedness and ignorance with your words. The loss of even one of the People is a blow to the Elven nation, for we are few and all close to one another. In giving Cethryan's share of our gains to Sehanine, we prove that our will is good, and that she did not misplace her trust in us."
A very short time after speaking, Rennirolas settled down, seated against the wall and rested his arms on his legs. "I would stand the watch if I could, but my mind and my body would not allow it. When I am rested and have prayed, then I can begin to heal as best I can," he said before Renn rested his head against the wall and slipped into the elven reverie.
Echo looked up now that most of the arguing had subsided. "No more fighting, okay? This isn't the place for it. You are the only three who need heavy armor. Pick the three suits of armor that are the best out of the four we have and dice for them. I've got some dice if you want to use them. If Daelen's staying, that is."
She glanced at the weapons, "As for magical weapons, I'll never learn the bastard sword or the mace. The only one I'd want is the dagger, but that's something that I'd have to talk about with the other people who use daggers. I know Aloysius does, and Arachne mentioned it too."
Jana tossed the armor she was holding to the ground. "You know what?" she asked rhetorically, "I don't even care about the godsdamned armor. I just resent Tagalong here grabbing stuff without considering anyone else. You can wear every godsdamned set of armor, Tagalong, so far as I care." Jana grabbed her weapons and gear. "I'm going to look for the prisoners" she said, as she walked out of the shack.
"Jana stop. If you go looking for the prisoners now, you will only become one of them or worse. That will get us no closer to ridding the world of the scourge of Ranchefus. We all need to calm down get some more rest and heal. Then go forth as a group and track them down," Blacky said. "As far as the armor goes, let Daelen have the better splint. As long as he continues to carry his weight, I have no problem with that."
"I don't give a #&%@ about any gods-damned armor," she growled, fishing in her pack for a torch. "And I'll be just #&%@ing fine." She finally pulled out a torch.
Echo looked horror stricken at the reaction her suggestion caused. "I'm sorry," she said in a sad apologetic voice. "It was a stupid idea I had." She pulled her cowl over her head and sat in a corner of the cabin with her knees hugged to her chest.
Jana looked as if she'd been punched in the gut. "Shit," she mumbled and dropped her stuff to the side. She took a few quick steps and knelt down next to Echo. "Hey," she said softly, "It's okay, I'm not mad at you. I'm just tired of Dumbass over there being, well, a dumbass." Her eyes flickered to cast a brief, deadly glare in Daelen's direction then returned to Echo. "Please," she implored in a near-whisper, "don't be upset. I'll stay in here if you want me too. I'm just--" Jana trailed off, looking confused for a moment. "It's just been a sucky day," she concluded lamely.
Echo nodded from behind her cowl. "I don't want you to get caught and hurt by Ranchefus because of something I said. He's a mean nasty son of a bitch. I shouldn't have said anything."
"No," Jana said quietly, "you didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault." She looked as if she might say something else, a pained expression on her face, but then just stood and walked over to a vacant section of wall and slumped down.
Jana pulled off her bloody armor and made a half-hearted and largely ineffective attempt to clean it. She gave up after a few minutes and huddled up with her arms around her knees and face buried in her arms. She made no sound, the slight not-quite rhythmic movement of her shoulders the only indication she was not asleep.
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