Move 212:  Breaking Camp?

Side Cavern--4th Watch, Day 4

While Arachne and Olaf tried to deal with Blacky's wounded arm, Ciekor and Pruc began getting into their armor and gathering all of their things. They talked to each other in a language no one else understood, both of them looking displeased about something.

Once the bodies had been dealt with and those seriously injured seen to, Jana approached Arachne.  "I'm lousy at bandaging.  Would you mind?" she asked, indicating her leg.
 
Olaf went over to Arachne and Blacky and called on Tyr to heal the man's arm.  The prayer did not seem any more effective than what Arachne was doing. Blacky's arm still looked like it would be mostly useless for a while.

Once Pruc had donned his armor, he came over as well. "Need go," he told the group. "Not safe." He looked at Blacky's injury with little reaction to the ugliness of it, but he did add, "Carmeneren heal. Strong healing."

"Good." Olaf said, "He will need more powerful healing then we have available."

Olaf then went to Jana, Echo, and Daelen and repeated the prayer he had used on Blacky's arm. "We shall need everyone at full strength."

"I appreciate it," Jana said, before Olaf could cast his spell on her, "but please make sure Echo and the others are healed before you use a spell on me.  It's just a scratch," she explained, "and it'll heal itself in a night or two anyways."  Jana allowed the spell to be cast on her only if she were by then the worst off.
 
Blacky sat motionless while his arm was tended to. He seemed to finally get over the shock and notice that it hurt as he took in a deep hissing breath. "Can someone help me with my armor so we can get moving? I think I'll need a sling or something too." Blacky said through gritted teeth and tried to get his belongings together with his good arm.

Azrun quickly went and retrieved Blacky's armor and brought it to him to put on, "I'll do what I can to help you put this on."

Jana nodded at the gnomes' suggestion they move on.  She pulled off her leather more and shrugged into her padding and chain mail armor, shrugging to settle it into place.
 
"Daelen, " Jana asked, "why don't you join me up front?  Until Carmeneren can look at Blacky's arm."  She turned to Blacky.  "You'd best stay close to Arachne, so she can keep doing that mind-magic stuff on you.  And even with only one good arm, you can keep her safe.  That be okay?"

Aloysius looked around at the cavern, surveying the dead creatures as well as the injuries of his comrades. "Sweet Mystra," he sighed, a hint of defeat in his voice. "Barely have we breeched this 'Underdark' and already have we absorbed dire casualties. Let us hope that these beasts," he said, referring to the white fuzzies, "don't abound down here like robins."

He popped another chunk of root in his mouth and began to gather up his equipment. "Henceforth shall I take more care as to where I place my ward of warning," he added unenthusiastically.

Echo began to pack too. She asked Aloysius quietly, "Do you have any spells left?"

Aloysius frowned. "A few, although doubts have I that any of them shall prove useful any time soon. In the future, Stargazer intends to be more frugal with his incantations. Suspect do I that opportunities to restore spell energies may be rather infrequent."

As he pulled his pack onto his shoulder, he added, "Doubts have I as to how utilitarian my presence here shall be. 'Tis likely that any success we meet shall derive from the keen blades of those more martially inclined than I."

"I only asked because," Echo started then stopped.   "Never mind," she said, putting her cloak on and immediately pulling the cowl over her head.

Azrun tried to help Blacky into his armor, which was pretty difficult with his wounded arm. They eventually got him ready to go, although he was still in a lot of pain.

Olaf prayed for healing for Daelen and Echo, leaving them both at full health again.

Pruc seemed to have no intention of doing anything at all with the monsters' bodies. When Jana asked about it, he replied, "Leave."

Daelen retrieved his bloody whip, wiped it off as best he could and took Jana up on her offer with a nod, lighting his sword and walking point behind the gnomes.

"Until we can set up a more defensible base camp and Blacky gets his fighting arm back, we probably shouldn't try to make a stand if we meet any more of those things. Aloysius, can your web block one of these tunnels
against something that size long enough for us to get a good lead?"

"Was this attack pretty typical of 'camping out' down here?" He asked with a sober glance to the diminutive gray warriors.

Pruc gave Daelen a blank look for a moment; it was pretty clear that he did not understand what he was talking about. Pruc said something to Ciekor in the unfamiliar tongue the two deep gnomes conversed in.  Ciekor nodded and they walked out of the cavern to wait for everyone else away from all the light.

"The spell I have," said Aloysius with a nod.  "Doubts have I that such could delay those brutes for long," he added doubtfully.

"I don't think running's an option anyway," Jana interjected.  "We'd just end up lost, possibly separated and probably caught in a trap.  Our best bet is to fight smarter, not retreat."

"I'm suggesting when only half the people you're traveling with are wearing decent armor and you've already got wounded, sometimes it's smarter not to fight at all when you can avoid it. I'm NOT suggesting we scatter like
chickens at the slightest threat." Daelen answered drily.

Arachne blushed.

"I'm suggesting we all not act like total idiots," Jana retorted, "which is obviously too much to ask for."  She broke off her glare and looked over at Blacky, then back at Daelen.  "You'll stand watch with Blacky tonight, and I'll take your watch."  Completely ignoring any reaction from Daelen, Jana then asked Echo in a far more pleasant tone, "Hey, Echo, you mind standing watch with Arachne 'til we get Blacky fixed up?  I'm gonna take Daelen's watch and he's gonna stand watch with Blacky."

"Okay," Echo said, sounding slightly puzzled from behind her cowl.  "Maybe we need to change the watches where no one's on alone anyway even if we're all well.  It doesn't seem like a good idea down here to have any single watches."
 
Jana nodded.  "That's a good--" she stopped as Aloysius began speaking.

"Stop it!" barked Aloysius. "Just . . . stop it."  Despite being unwounded, he seemed to be trembling.

"Problems 'enow will we have, and soon. We have not the luxury of being at each other's throats." He pulled the folds of his robe tightly around him.

"We are sorely out of our element. You don't have to be fond of one another, but at least conceal thy distaste."

"Calm down," Echo said quietly to Aloysius.  She patted him gently on the shoulder.

Aloysius turned slightly and gave Echo a wide-eyed look. His shoulders slumped and he lowered his head.  "I'm sorry, I just . . ."  He looked around the room, once again surveying the carnage. "Can we go now?" he asked meekly.

"Come, children." Olaf said in a quiet voice, "There is no need to be rude to each other. We must move as swiftly as possible for now, trusting to our guides. If we encounter more opponents we will decide then if fight or flight is the wisest choice. Bickering will accomplish nothing."

Jana said something quietly to Olaf.

"No wonder my head hurts all the time," Renn grinned as he wiped his bloody sword on one of the furred creatures. "When we do reach our next camp I can cast a few healing spells to get the wounded back into fighting shape," the elf offered.  He said a few softly spoken words to Aloysius before he collected his gear and dropped into his place in line as the gnomes led the group out of the tunnel.

After gathering the remainder of his things, Aloysius shuffled off after the gnomes.

Jana checked once more to ensure all of her things were secure and followed the gnomes.
 
"There is something else that I can try on your arm," she murmured to Blacky.  "But I'll need to rest a lot first, I think.  Do you remember, will we camp again before we get to ... um, what's her name?"

"Depends on the gnomes, I guess.  You can try if you want to, but don't wear yourself out." Blacky said as he walked, each step obviously painful.

Echo followed along with everyone else.  "Do you want me to go scout ahead some," she asked hesitantly, "or should we all go?"

"This is their place," Jana said, motioning toward the gnomes.  "Let's let them do the scouting for now, since they know it best."  She turned toward the gnomes.  "That okay by you?"

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