Celaena was attempting to control her fright and not shake, but with the dark, her fear won over. Holding a shaky hand up, she created a ball of light, bit enough to send enough light, but small enough so it wouldnt sap her energy. "I have wind magic to keep things at bay. I have healing magic and I know some medicines." Not that it had done her much good the day before. She shuddered slightly. "My name is Celaena. Nice to meet you, Tauer." The realization that they were looking for an assassin hit and and she groaned. "An assassin? We need to fight?" she hated fighting with a passion and her brow furrowed as she thought. "I have a small dagger. I dislike using it, and havent really had a need to." This was certainty a town that needed another healer, she could tell.
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Shen was awfully quiet and Ely had heard Dani's shout about finding someone else.
"Iona, Ma'am? I should go find out who Dani found. Will you be alright for the moment?"
She was starting to wonder if Shen was suffering from backlash the longer he remained silent. It occurred to a few practitioners of Healing magic. Ely had seen it happen once. Backlash came from being so attuned to one's patient that their malady could follow the connection back to the healer. In a worst case scenario the healer themselves could contract what they had attempted to heal. There were safeguards against it, of course. But, that did not stop it from happening.
"Go, Ely."
Iona's voice; barely coherent, was issued. She waved a hand in the general direction of Dani's hallway and nodded. Ely quickly found a small pillow from the ones scattered across the various chairs and sofas in the room. She handed it to older woman.
"Here, Ma'am. Let me put this under your head. Please, don't try to move until I return."
Tauer was rather blinded by the abrupt new flare of light, not that it lasted for very long. The demon prince had spots dance in front of his eyes and he had to blink several times before he could continue walking. But, at least the area was a lot brighter than it had been before. Of course, if there was someone lurking in the dark waiting to harm them? Well, they made a hell of a good target for an arrow strike.
Dani, on her side of the building was now bending over a young woman with fiery red hair. She was unconscious but alive, and with a huge lump on the side of her head. Beyond that mark she did not seem to be otherwise harmed. As Dani was checking to see if unknown girl was okay there was a faint rustle up ahead she could not quite pinpoint. It sounded like it was coming from inside the room before her.
Tauer and Celaena had made it to the end of the hallway. No one had tried to attack them and as for any sounds they heard nothing but their footsteps echoed back to them. There was, however, a set of stairs that headed down to a lower level and at the top of the stairs, a rather obvious bloody hand print upon the wall.
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Celaenas eyes opened wide at the sight of the hand print, and her light brown eyes shifted to look down at the stairs. "I suppose we must go down there?" she wasnt liking this. All she wanted to do was learn to heal, and now a day after she had a run in with that beggar, she needs to help look for an assassin. This town seemed to be trying to tell her something, either leave or we need help. She hoped it was the second, and a thought crossed her mind that she was scared so was thinking crazy things. "You first?" she pointed down the stairs, not wanting to go first.
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
After blinking multiple times to regain his vision, Tauer was grateful that no one had tried to attack them while he was momentarily blinded. As he and Celaena made it to the end of the hallway, the demon prince saw that they were going to have to go down to a lower level of the House. His mind was telling his body to run when he noticed the bloody hand print.
"Looks like you might get your wish, Celaena. Someone could be injured down there and in need of healing. What better way to learn than through first hand experience, right?"
The demonkin gave a nervous smile before talking himself into descending the steps. At least with the girl's light, his dark magic would be more useful if he had to call upon it.
She breathed a sigh of relief that the girl seemed ok. She would have taken more time to check out the injuries, but the sounds ahead caught her attention.
She took just enough time to move to a nearby lantern to try and remove it from its hook and place it by the girl to mark her place and make her easier to find in case someone had heard her call before taking her torch in one hand and her sword in the other and approaching the room ahead. She stopped just before entering and positioned herself so that the wall by the door would block her from any attacks. She could not put the torch down without worry that it would set a fire, so she could not hide herself. So she called out to the noises in the room.
"Hello? Who is in there? Come out where we can see you."
It was a simple ruse, but one she hoped would work.
"I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart."
Shen's hands were bunched in tight fists and resting on his thighs in an attempt to keep himself from falling over. Healing such a wound was not enough to push a healer to the edge. Plucking a person's heart from the very moment of it's last beat, that was very taxing indeed. He was now paying the price but luckily, he had not been required to move as yet.
His eyes pried open as did his lips and he looked at both Iona and Ely. He was not in a hurry to get up at this time. It was an odd thing, him wearing such 'sinister' clothing and bedraggled in black, kneeling beside both Iona and Ely. He didn't seem to fit in at all but this wasn't the first time he'd noticed. It also was not the first time he'd not cared. His voice was dry, raspy.
"I will stay here for the moment. I need to regain my senses. I wouldn't suggest your friends venture to far, the assassin will likely outclass the lot of them."
Whilst such words might be considered harsh to some, any who knew Shen would realize that he was actually being considerate. He didn't bother to watch out for others, if he issued a warning it was most certainly warranted. He looked to Iona then and shook his head a little.
"Iona, I will apologize now. Perhaps we can talk at length later. You need to get some rest, rather than be troubled by such petty things."
Ely handed Shen the flask of water she'd taken from her pack. She made sure Iona was comfortable and on hearing Shen was staying with her the contradictory feelings of whether she should stay or go faded. She scrambled up from the floor and headed down the hallway where she had heard Dani yell.
Tauer and Celaena were committed to the stairs with Tauer in the lead. Unfortunately there were no more bloody handprints to give him any hints as to where the attacker; if it was their handprint, might have gone. They reached the bottom of the stairs without misshap and as he predicted there were hundreds of shadows thrown out in front of them by both light sources.
The lower level was much like the hallway above them. Several small rooms with doors; all of which appeared to be closed. There was a smell down here, too. Something that might have reminded Celaena of other healing houses. Tauer's fear was definitely slipping away from him. There was a sound, though, one that was coming from behind them. A solid snapping or clicking on the stairs.
Ely had reached the prone woman on the floor and gasped. Her features were easy to see illuminated by the lantern.
"Lydia!"
She went over her as quickly as possible, checking her for possible knife slashes, even though she did not appear to be bleeding. Then her brain kicked in and the Cathian went back over the girl again. This time she looked for the small darts that might have been coated with a knock out or sleeping poison. The lump on her head could have occurred when she fell to the floor after being attacked by one.
Ely gave a sigh of relief when she found nothing of the sort. Instead it seemed as if Lydia was regaining consciousness. She had groaned a couple of times during the last search Ely conducted and was trying to sit up.
"Stop, Lydia. It's okay. You're okay. See. Look its just me, Ely."
The woman looked panicked and Ely hurried to try to calm her.
"Miss Iona is going to be fine. Shen found her and has healed her. Please, don't worry. He is with her now. What happened?"
Ely wasn't sure that Lydia would be very coherent, but at least it would give her something to think about.
At this point, it was Dani's turn. With a glance backward she could easily see Ely enter the hallway. If not, the shout of the assistant's name would have told her where the Cathian girl had ended up. It was certainly safer to keep her eyes forward on the room.
The light swept inward and a terrified voice spilled out.
"NO! Don't hurt me! I didn't see anything!"
There was a scuffle, a shriek of what sounded like a chair against the stone floor and a man about the same age as the girl in the hallway spilled out of the door babbling frantically.
"Who are you?! Where did you come from! Please, you have to get the Sentinels!"
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Celaena had kept close to Tauer as they had made their way down the stairs, thoughts of stabbings and healing whirling around in her head. She felt relieved there had been no one to jump out at them wheb they reached the bottom. "Well, theres no one down here." she stated the obvious, just before she heard the noise on the stairs and her eyes went wide. "Oh no. Dont be a fight. Dont have us need to fight." she repeted this a few times, wanting to let her light go out, but not willing to face the dark. She hoped her wind magic would keep the owner of the steps at bay.
Dani gave a mental sigh of relief when she heard Ely speak with the injured woman. Not only did the girl in the hall seem ok, but apparently the one in the entry had been healed. Perhaps Galena had heard her prayers after all and had chosen to watch over those in her House.
The man that exited the room before her she did not know. That was not surprising, given her little time in town and this being her first trip to the House of Galena. So she was wary that it may be the assassin playing at being a Healer.
With that in mind she backed away from the man, her sword held ready in her hand, but not brought up threateningly.
"My name is Dani. I am here with Shen and Ely and some others and we will help you. Come this way to safety and you can tell us what you saw."
She hoped the man recognized the names and would take comfort in them as she continued to back away carefully, not wanting to let the man out of her sight in case he was the assassin, as she made her way back to Ely and the fallen girl. Hopfully Ely would recognize this man and she could continue on.
"I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart."
Shen sighed and looked about with distaste. Truth be told, he didn't care for the House of Galena and Iona knew it. He was quite verbal in his opinions, as was she. An unfortunate thing really, given they were arguing prior to the attack on her life and anyone suspicious of him might question his motives in the matter. He looked down at Iona and groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between finger and thumb.
"I suppose I should get you off the floor, at least."
He only expected her to be quite stubborn in the matter, or make a quip regarding his demand to be paid for such services. Indeed, he had no qualms about his trade, or his only working for adequate compensation. Not all healers were entirely compassionate, charitable, or foolhardy. But then, not all healers were as deft at their trade as he.
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
Tauer's attention turned to the noise coming from the stairs behind them. Had someone just locked them down here? Or worse still, had someone just locked THEMSELVES down here with them?
The demon prince gently pushed Celaena behind him with his free arm and held the torch out before him.
"Stay behind me." He whispered. "And if something jumps out at us scream very loud."
Ely [M:164:1653:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814][b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
"Oh, Miss...Miss Ely! S-something hor-horrible happened. This strange woman showed up earlier today. She had an awful gash on her forearm and requested Miss Iona's healing services..."
Lydia took a gasping breath and while her earlier words had been rushed and stumbled over the last few were steadier. They were coherent, too, something Ely gave quick thanks for.
Dani's words, on the other hand, seemed to throw the other voice, the one that had darted from the room, into a panic, or rather one worse than before.
"No. NO! Back away! You must get the Sentinels I tell you! You must get them right now! Before it is too late!"
There was more screeching sounds and some sharp bangs in the corridor. Unfortunately Dani's torch was keeping whatever or whoever was out of sight, well, out of sight.
Iona gave a sparse chuckle at Shen's words. Her voice just as dry as his had been.
"We should both find some place to sit down Shen. You do not fool me and while I would normally let you be, the energy you have used to heal needs to be replenished. Do not argue with me, either. You will cause me to insist otherwise."
Iona glanced around her. Her eyes were unfocused but that was clearing up and she could see the scatter of coins on the floor. She reached out a hand to one of them.
"Interesting. I don't believe I've seen this denomination before. You?"
Iona held up the coin for Shen to see. Her hand was shaking.
Down in the basement of the House of Galena the noises heard behind the young demonkin and his companion went rapidly backwards from its earlier position and made a god-awful shriek when doing so.
The reason they had not noticed it before was obvious, with it skittering along the top of the ceiling.
(Tauer, Celaena you have two to three posts in this battle. You may attempt to yell for help or get the attention of the rest of the house. This is the dormitory area for the doctors and healers of Galena. They will be sluggish, of course, just waking up and quite possibly frightened out of their wits. You can fight it alone, naturally.)
Catgirl Extraordinaire
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Celaena's hand was shaking slightly, and she reached out to grab hold of Tauers arm. "What was that?" she squeaked. She reached her other hand out, hoping to use her light magic to show them clearly. Hoping it could hear and understand her, she glanced around. "Please dont hurt us. We arent here to harm you." her voice sounded small, but surprisingly steady, considering how scared she was. She hoped her words would work, but just as a precaution, she released Tauers arm and reached down, hand closing around the handle of her dagger and pulled it into her hand, getting ready to use it if she had no other choice.
Shen studied Iona for a time. She was a strong woman, but not cruel. It was an attractive quality and as much as he and Iona did not see eye to eye on certain moral issues regarding their art, he respected her. He couldn't stomach pandering, subservient women. Still, she almost scolded him with just a hint of maternal nature and he smirked. He had decided they wouldn't be arguing anymore today.
After simply appreciating her for a moment, thoughts kept to himself; he stepped closer and looked at the coin. Adjusting his glasses, he shook his head.
"No, that is quite peculiar. I've dealt with many currencies and nothing encountered nothing quite like it in my travels."
Shen searched his memory though, there might be a chance he'd read of such strange currency in the past; or perhaps had seen a picture of such in one of endless books he'd read.
Tauer [M:150:160:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=540&page=1#18960][b]While the Light's away, the Shadows will play.[/b]
Tauer shuddered as he caught partial sight of the critter. It was on the ceiling and they had just walked underneath it! The demonkin's nerves were put on edge; the bug made his skin crawl, which is why he may have involuntarily jumped when Celaena laid a hand on his arm.
With his heart now thumping out of his princely chest, Tauer found himself frozen to the spot, unable to draw his eyes away from the many-legged creature for fear that it would attack if he did. It was better to know it's exact position than be left paranoid and guessing.
"Try not to make any sudden movements. If it moves, blind it with your magic."