Move 452: Camping in the Hook Caves IIIHook Horror Caverns--Very Early, Day 43 (Marpenoth 26)
After Kanon awoke, everyone got settled back down again. People were starting to get tired by that time, so the watch rotation was started so everyone could sleep in turn. Kanon went back to sleep, and Arachne went back to meditating or sleeping, whichever she was doing. She roused again at one point, finished healing herself, then sunk back into her resting position.
During the last watch, about the time that everyone was getting up, Blacky finally came to. The tiger-man remained quiet while everyone rested, dozing off and on uncomfortably.
Jana woke up for her watch and didn't seem at all happy about it. She struggled to stay alert through her watch then when it was over went immediately back to sleep. When the others roused, she finally got up herself. She moved slowly and painfully as she pulled off her studded leather armor and wriggled into her chainmail. She sat slumped against the cavern wall still looking exhausted.
Arachne watched Kanon for a little while, hope for an immediate answer fast fading from her own face. Azrun gave her a sort of placeholder answer and she nodded acknowledgement of that. She sighed...
Arachne looked around the quiet chamber, especially checking the somnolence of Kanon. Grumbling, "Useless, utterly useless -- Gods! but I feel blasphemous today! I _must_ be evil..."
Arachne, when she got up, went around and inspected the others, but did not appear to be doing any healing. She ended the rounds sitting by Kanon, waiting for him to make himself available for conversation. She fidgeted impatiently.
Arachne broke off the fidgeting and went over and knelt by Blacky. Dressed in lightly charred rags but appearing herself to be the picture of good health, she seemed the very archetype of a perky street urchin (and rather a physical reproach to the abused state of everyone else's bodies). "Well met," she said in her usual soft voice. "I expect you're feeling awful, so I won't ask how are you. But is there anything wrong with you that we mightn't have guessed from your collection of approximately bandaged wounds?"
Blacky cautiously pushed himself up to a sitting position and shook his head. He stopped immediately and looked like he might pass out again from the sudden movement. Carefully he opened one eye, then the other, and surveyed the surroundings. "Damn. I dreamt I was back farming barley and brewing ale in the warm sunshine. Ah well, I guess I'm not dead yet." He focused on both Arachne's question and the tiger man at about the same time. "My back feels scorched and blistered. What is THAT still doing breathing?"
"He made a deal, his life for information," Echo explained gingerly. "We haven't decided what to do next," she sighed.
"Renn is missing. Something took him and we've got to find him," she kept explaining what happened while Blacky was out. "My way of thinking is first priority is some healing. Too dangerous to be hurt down here. Second, we've got to deal with the tiger. I'm not sure we agreed on how to do that yet."
"It'll take time but we need both of those things done to keep us safe to find Renn. Aloysius is going to examine the rock formation to try to get some clues from it while we do the other stuff."
"Does that sound right?" she asked the group.
Azrun nodded quietly, "That's about right." The bard looked tired but antsy at the same time.
Jana nodded at Echo's assessment. "Yep."
After Echo's question got no immediate contradiction, Arachne said, "Well, that's good enough for me." She went to Azrun and asked him for a moment of his time.
The scarred priest pulled himself up from the cavern floor and moved to kneel next to his armor. He closed his hand around the symbol dangling from his neck and began to pray.
Arachne's attentions healed Azrun of almost all of the wounds he had taken in the fight.
Azrun smiled after Arachne's healing. Most of his wounds and burns had gone away, leaving only minor cuts and scrapes. "Thank you, Arachne. Never belittle your healing power for it powerful too."
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