Pulling the blade out, Hereward surveys the area for any other approaching monsters. He looks to see if Holland can get up, provided the Gore collapsed on the man. If it’s evident that Holland needs help getting up, and no monsters can come soon enough to be a threat, Hereward sheaths the sword. Keeping the sunstone up to further ward off their enemies, he uses his free right arm to help pull Holland out from the monster.
Iosif bites the fall hard. Even though he only dropped a few feet, the cage altering his weight and Iosif’s natural horrible ability to take a fall left him with a likely bruised hip and a scuffed hand. He gingerly felt the outside of his glove to see if he was bleeding.
Even on the ground Iosif backpedals away from Callen. The mysterious peddler had appeared to threaten Iosif before, having shouted at him, approached him armed, and attempting to grapple him, and the events of his ‘rescue’ hadn’t gone to reinforce any confidence. So iosif crawled backwards, his cage scraping the ground beneath him, desperately trying to stay out of sword’s reach.
Before Callen’s approach Iosif almost seemed to tear up from the stress and the impact, but now being afraid was primary on the schedule.
Callen lays down all his weapons and takes a knee in front of Iosif, keeping several feet from him.
“Forgive me, I have been alone for so long that my skills of communication among those I work with have become reduced to nearly nothing; I pray your forgiveness.” He says, still trying to catch his breath.
Iosif took Eldon’s hand with internal songs of gratitude. A familiar face was the sweetest medicine in a panic like this.
“K-keep him away from me.” Iosif hoarsely blurted out as he struggled to his feet, immediately stepping back from Callen. “Keep him away.” The sounds of the Gores’ screeches were still ringing through the air, but for only a brief moment they seemed to dim in the grip of the master veteran.
“Hey! can I get some help over here? It’s the least you could do!” Kanei shouted as he continued tugging on the rope. the melodramatic tug-of-war game was perhaps the saddest thing you had ever seen, it might even be tragic enough to be made into a stage play that would be titled: Drunk vs. Gore
The Verdant Paladin hobbles over to the group. That fall did a number on him, and his leg was definitely broken. He holds his remaining axe up in preparation of any potential attacks while he makes his way to representative Vaughn. “Are they gone?” He asks everyone.
Callen, without any visible emotion approaches the creature and wrenches the hook out of it before retrieving the bolt, wiping it with a cloth, and returns the ammunition to the quiver it came from.
“Well, I did find a very large, very bloated creature that looked similar to the Gores. I attacked it. One of my axes is still up there, unfortunately. Also, a medic will not be necessary, I’ll be fine in a little while, but thank you.” He sits down on a crate and closes his eyes, holding his axe loosely in his hand.
He looks at you skeptically, and then down at your clearly broken leg, but says nothing.
He turns to face the group. “Well … that went well. Let’s get this place lit up and secured. Keep an eye out for anything that may be of use. Make sure your stones are recharged.”
Gottlieb calls you over. One of Chevalier Vaughn’s aides stands next to him, looking vaguely unsettled.
“Grub, we need to take care of the dead. No real way to bury them, but we’ll do our best.” It seems your squad didn’t lose any men. Indeed, it seems that in general, casualties were low. Four dead bodies.
As you enter the aftermath, blonde hair and smile meets your eyes, a sardonic “See? Gores.” unsaid but understood.
The last bit of that sentence caught Iosif’s attention. Down here, there was only one readily available source for recharging the Sunstones, and he would have to act whether he liked it or not.
So with a grumpy air Iosif removed the catskin from its perch in his armor and dutifully extended it to Eldon, only realizing after the fact that Eldon was in too great a position to accept such a menial task as charging the plate.
The drunk hesitated, the creature’s lifeless eyes seemed to bore a hole directly into his soul pleading for mercy. “Blast!” Kanei jammed his sword into its scabbard and retrieved his grappling hook.