|
Post by tarkara on Feb 1, 2013 0:27:47 GMT
"How is running water boiling in one place!?" was all Kendall could shout as the Coat Wearing man tried to help him up, now he was that time where adrenaline would surely help him heave the inquisitive stranger to safety...
|
|
|
Post by Bal on Feb 1, 2013 11:20:52 GMT
Alard grunted, reaching down with his other hand and grasping Kendall's wrist with both hands now, if the man could hoist himself out of the water and wrap his arm around something more solid it may help all three of them get out of this alive. He was still aware of their rapid approach towards the dam, of course... and hoped to at least have everyone on something solid by that point.
"Here's a thought," he said, the strain obvious in his voice as he fought against the weight of people and the flow of the current, "save the questions until we aren't in immediate danger of sudden and excruciatingly painful death!"
|
|
|
Post by electricblue109 on Feb 1, 2013 11:22:44 GMT
Ok, all Both Alard and Lee-Ben roll Might one last time.
|
|
|
Post by Bal on Feb 1, 2013 11:24:21 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Triggladius on Feb 1, 2013 11:36:51 GMT
|
|
|
Post by electricblue109 on Feb 1, 2013 12:12:14 GMT
With a great gasp Yen Lee-Ben’s head broke the surface of the river, filling his lungs with as much fresh air as he could. Scrabbling towards the branches jutting out the side of the tree trunk he was hauled upward by the combined efforts of Alard and Kendall, the latter of which had managed to gain a much better purchase upon the trunk with his legs, thus allowing himself to hold himself tight upon the boughs.
As Lee-Ben raised his arms to clamber upon the trunk, he noticed that the grip of the hand had tightened still, and that it felt as though a dead weight was attached to it. As his own torso broke the surface he was shocked to see that the hand was attached to a body of a woman, and that she was still very much alive. Water was pouring from her mouth as lungs surged into life, revealing a great roar issuing from the base of her abdomen. Mud coated much of her, although a series of great wounds could be seen all over her body. With one hand she held onto the wrist of Lee-Ben with a grip that would crack eggs, and her other hand grabbed the tree trunk and began to haul herself and the bedraggled inquisitive out of the water. It was only once she was completely out that she stopped, falling to her knees in an apparent state of exhaustion. The water on her body was steaming and evaporating, the mud coating her already drying rapidly. Most apparent was the sword sticking out of her solar plexus, the hilt a few inches from what appeared to be the remnants of lamellar armour, the point a full foot and a half out her back. The wound itself was not bleeding, but it appeared that the water of the river had at least washed it clean.
|
|
|
Post by electricblue109 on Feb 1, 2013 12:12:32 GMT
Pain, confusion, cold, that was all she could feel. She was dimly aware of the presence of three others, and as sensation came back into her arms she realised that she was still holding the arm of one of them in a death grip. Her thought process was one of wild confusion, she had no idea where she was, who these others were, or what was happening. She could put words to what she saw, that the tree they were upon was an evergreen conifer, the river was most definitely swollen, with all the debris floating down, most likely from some sort of sudden disaster. The man whose arm she held was well built, he could handle himself in a fight, the cloaked figure in front had that faint aura of moshu, and the posture of the panting youth to the right screamed civilian in every way possible, possibly with a touch of academic.
The yawning pain all over her body gave way to a sudden spike in her stomach, and she now realised that there was a sword sticking out of it. Words and terms cam unbidden to her mind, dermal and sub-dermal haemorrhaging wasn’t present, healing had obviously occurred around the wound. She was still able to feel her legs, cramped and cold as they were, so her spine was still intact. Internal damage was unknown at this point, but since she was breathing with no trouble, the best thing to do was probably to remove it.
|
|
|
Post by Triggladius on Feb 1, 2013 13:03:58 GMT
Heaving himself into an upright position, legs straddling the trunk, Lee-Ben's chest heaved as he attempted to catch his breath. Breathing deeply, he looked towards Kendall and Alard, nodding his sincerest thanks, talking seeming to require too much effort.
Taking a moment to compose himself, Lee-Ben reached for the hand of the young woman. Her skin felt hot, more akin to what he'd expect if she'd been lying in the sun, not almost drowned in a river. For the moment however, curiosity could wait. Getting onto dry land was the immediate concern. Seeing that the woman, despite her injuries, was clearly alive Lee-Ben gently tried to pull her wrist away, hoping to free his arm.
|
|
|
Post by Carveus on Feb 1, 2013 14:45:18 GMT
Her grip tightened further as he tried to pull away before releasing him sharply, looking up at him with an eerily blank expression. She swayed a little, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath before reaching to the sword, one hand wrapping around the hilt, the other on the exposed blade. It was almost an obscenely slow pace at which she pulled it out, centimetre after centimetre of honed steel leaving her flesh, but no blood flowed from the wound and the almost zen like level of concentration she seemed to have for this act was uncanny.
As the tip of the blade left her flesh, she laid it on the ground in front of her, eyes opening again, looking up at the three men in front of her. "Who are you?"
|
|
|
Post by Bal on Feb 1, 2013 15:45:32 GMT
With the proverbial handbasket no longer in motion, and all three people, not including himself, on the log and safe for the time being, Alard allowed himself a moment's reprieve, hands on his knees as he doubled over and panted heavily. He didn't register the sword sticking out of the woman until such time as she began to pull it out of herself, which caught his attention and made him stumble back a ways, very glad of the size of this particular log. He shifted his stance, only to realise that, unsurprisingly, he had lost his own weapon in the river at some point and cursed silently.
"The people who saved your life..." he tried as an opening line, "so... perhaps I could request that you put the sword away untilw e can get to dry land, then if we're going to, we all try and kill each other like civilised people? As in, after we've gotten ourselves dry and fed?"
|
|
|
Post by Triggladius on Feb 1, 2013 15:50:41 GMT
"I concur." The strange woman had certainly piqued Lee-Ben's curiosity, but the torrent of water racing under the log which the four were sitting on still had a solid grasp upon his attention.
Moving slowly, Lee-Ben begins to make his way down the trunk of the tree, heading for the bank.
|
|
|
Post by Carveus on Feb 1, 2013 16:03:35 GMT
There was a slow blink as she observed them, before asking perfectly calmly and seriously, "Should I put it back where I got it from then?"
|
|
|
Post by Bal on Feb 1, 2013 16:09:45 GMT
Alard just blinked a little bit. What exactly was going on with this woman... pulling a sword out of her with seemingly no ill effect and... he stepped towards her, examining her carefully , opening his senses to the ebb and flow of the magic around the area... if she was something other than what she appeared he wanted to know. "I think it would be better if you just held it for now..." he said, carefully as he attempted to... distract her. Moshu (+3) Stunt [Finely Tuned Third Eye] (+2) (1d6=5, 1d6=5, 1d6=1, 1d6=1) 1, 1, -1, -1, 3, 2... 5 in total
For everyone's suspense, might it be best to PM me what I see,r ather than putting it openly? ^_^
|
|
|
Post by Triggladius on Feb 1, 2013 16:57:54 GMT
Reaching dry land, a gust of wind caused Lee-Ben to shiver. His clothes, which were not only sodden and clinging to his skin had also been perforated by the branches and rocks he'd crashed into underwater. The cold air was now cutting through him, straight to the skin.
With a sudden sense of dread, he reached into his right hand sleeve. Mercifully he found his seal, still bound to his wrist by its lanyard. The wood was sodden and the plate would require time to dry out, but all things considered, it was a miracle he hadn't lost it.
Turning back to the river, he watched his companions for a moment. "I don't suppose there would be any objections to a fire?" He asked with a small smile.
|
|
|
Post by electricblue109 on Feb 1, 2013 17:50:03 GMT
The river was apparently calming down now, and both the depth and the speed of the water had dropped considerably. the large trunk that had served as a temporary haven for the four was now beginning to settle upon the riverbed, the water itself was now dropping to about chest height.
|
|
|
Post by tarkara on Feb 1, 2013 22:17:54 GMT
"How are you not bleeding?" Kendall said to the women as he made his way with Lee-Ben towards dry ground. He sighed and continued, sitting once he reached the bank. "A fire would be wonderful.. I'm Kendall by the way everyone," and h laid on his back. "Wake me from my water logged coma if we start civilly killing each other, I want a fair chance."
|
|
|
Post by Carveus on Feb 1, 2013 22:37:58 GMT
"That is a very good question," the woman replied slowly, looking down at the wound left by the sword, running her fingers over it before standing slowly, picking her way across the bough to make it onto dry land, tilting her head to one side as she watched them critically. "Personally, I feel quite warm, but I may not have adjusted to the temperature yet."
|
|
|
Post by tarkara on Feb 2, 2013 1:31:07 GMT
"Or you're why the water around Lee-Ben was so hot." He didn't move from his position. "But I'm not about to check your temperature to find out."
|
|
|
Post by Bal on Feb 2, 2013 17:32:46 GMT
Alard was the last to make his way along the log towards a place to extract himself onto dry land.
"Intriguing..." he mutters to himself as he follows after the woman, "that would explain a lot..."
Then, to prevent any suspicion he speaks out loud to the woman, "I'm more curious as to a slightly more... confusing question. Who exactly are you and... what were you doing on the bottom of the river?" He hops onto dry land and brushes his coat off a little bit.
|
|
|
Post by Triggladius on Feb 2, 2013 17:50:52 GMT
"Well...now you've both managed to steal all the questions I planned to ask this young lady." Lee-Ben smiled. "Of course, that is assuming that someone here knows where we are?"
Another gust of wind causes Lee-Ben to begin shivering and he starts to pace up and down in an effort to keep warm.
|
|