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Oh Sunana was so excited! Having just woven a beautiful love story made her glow, literally as her soul had reached its burning point. And it was time to see the Lochs too, she was burning with excitement over what she might see! With radiant eyes and shimmering cheeks she tackled Pipin to the ground just after he asked Alphinaud about his sister. Alphinaud might have answered but he was too busy laughing as Sunana sat between her beloved’s legs and grab him by the shirt as she squealed, “By the Lover there is something I have to tell you about!”
Her brilliant eyes were distracting enough that she could roll over to the side and grab his hand as she started to pull him off to the side, and halfway there he stopped her as he said humorously, “You know we are supposed to be-”
Leaving, she knew. But she was impatient and didn’t want her glow to leave just yet so she pouted and yanked him again as she whined, “I know I know, but I have to tell you!”
Again she yanked him, and he sighed relentingly before giving a helpless shrug to Alphinaud. He was in full blown laughter as Sunana dragged him off to the side and pushed him onto a low wall. She was still incredibly excited and glowing as she hopped about in happiness and nearly shouted, “I just facilitated a wonderful young love! Though admittedly their flowery words were so shamelessly sweet I did cringe a little bit.”
He was clearly curious, so she fell right next to him and leaned in close, as one always does when gossiping, and hid her words behind her hand as she said, “I will not say who exactly as he felt if anyone else found out he would never live it down, but he is an Immortal Flames soldier that found love on the battlefield. A ‘ravishing Resistance fighter’ in his words, and he asked me to deliver his confession letter. So I brought it to her and she was just as smitten as he was as she explained her viewpoint of what happened. Not after explaining to me that from the moment she laid eyes on him she knew it was fate though. I know not if I could truly stomach sharing the verbatim as it was positively gushing with romance but I will certainly do my best.”
Pipin always said she was a wonderful storyteller, and so she did her best to play the part. She leaned her head on his shoulder before sweeping her hands over the sky, as if she were parting a curtain. Then she took on a sweet yet dramatic fairy tale-like voice as she said, “Picture this; a beautiful conjurer stands alone against the Garleans, her unit being entirely wiped out. As their swords glinted under the high noon sun her training was failing her. She had never struck a blow against the enemy, there was always some ploy she could use or terrain she could use to outmaneuver them. But she stood upon a knife’s edge and dared not see what was behind her. She wanted to live, but as a sword was about to crash down on her she braced herself for the end. But what filled the air was not her cries of agony, but the sweet song of steel against steel. She opened her eyes to an amazing sight, which she first thought to be a bean sprout jumping to and fro furiously, but lo and behold, ‘twas her savior! She began to cast healing magicks on him and she could not take her eyes off him, he was poetry in motion. Before long the imperials all lay defeated, the only sound to be heard was their labored breathing. Then he ran off to join the fray elsewhere, but for one magical moment their eyes met. When she looked into his glorious emerald eyes, she knew he was the one.”
Gods it was so romantic, it should be on a stage. She had done her best to create the scene in the stage of their minds despite her growing laughter, though of course the true scene was on the battlefield. Though she could barely stomach saying such shamelessly romantic words (at least that many), she knew full well she was a hypocrite. She and Pipin had many magical moments on the battlefield, moments of romantic quips, locking eyes, and simultaneous attacks that always made her heart race. Love breeds great chemistry, and theirs was the stuff of song. These thoughts were hidden in her mind as she and Pipin both laughed, and amid his laughter he stated, “Well that is certainly the stuff of song.”
Oh but she wasn’t done, that was only one side of the story. So she threw her arms around him and looked up at him with her brilliant eyes as she said, “Oh but her ‘angel’ had his own version of the story, which I heard when she sent me to deliver a flower to him. Honestly I was a little quick to leave when she told me to tell him she would ‘bask in his love like this blossom in the sunlight’.”
She broke away a little to make a slightly disgusted noise, then she was surprised when Pipin brought her gaze back to him as he said charmingly, “You never seem disgusted when I use flowery poetry on you.”
He gave her a kiss on the nose as her shimmering cheeks gained a rosier color, and she cast her gaze to the side in embarrassment as she said quietly, “Oh shut up, I am aware I am a hypocrite. After all, we have had such magical moments on the battlefield before.”
“Hm?” There was a teasing tone to it, and she brought her gaze back to him slightly just to see that though he had closed his eyes to give her that kiss he had opened one to give her a teasing wink, and she suddenly realized what she had just admitted. Suddenly she was bursting with embarrassment and covered her burning cheeks as she said a quick “Oops!” Before leaning so far back she almost fell to the floor.
She didn’t, because Pipin caught her before she could get too far away from him. He never let her run away when she was embarrassed, instead he pulled her back up and as close to him as possible so he could kiss her cheek. It was slightly more embarrassing to be completely wrapped in his arms and held so tightly against his chest as he said, “You need not feel embarrassed over saying the truth. We certainly have slightly disgusted people with our own moments of romance on the battlefield, you are simply getting a taste of your own medicine.”
She couldn’t just let him embarrass her any more so she huffed and looked away from him in indignation as she said heatedly, “As I said before, I am aware I am a hypocrite. Will you at least hear the other lover’s view of their magical moment?”
He laughed but did nod, and she indignantly unraveled herself from his arms so she could calm her blush and get back into her storyteller persona. She brought it back simply by clearing her throat, then she turned around and leaned back on his shoulder again. Her hands swept over the sky once again as she said, “Picture this now: a young sword fighter meets an angel on the battlefield. His unit had been crushed by a magitek menace, and it was all he could do to escape. He knew not where he was going, he only knew that death was at his back. Before he knew it he careened into a soldier and instinctively readied his blade, relatively easily defeating him. Yet that soldier was not alone, more soldiers than could be counted stood before him, and the mechanical monster was still giving chase. In that moment he grew tired of it all. Of running, of living. So he rushed headlong into the throng of soldiers. He swung his sword wildly, caring not for the blows he sustained. There should have been pain, but there was only a soothing breeze blowing at his back. He felt reinvigorated, and kept fighting down to the last man. Only then did he look back.”
She was faltering, because she was becoming slightly disgusted again. What she would say next would definitely be in a song, and as she didn’t want to sound like a mushy minstrel she took a breath before saying, “I am quoting him directly here. He said “What I saw behind me I can only describe as perfection. The gods must have grown jealous of her beauty and cast her down from the heavens.” Ugh.”
It was so sappy she just had to cringe, but Pipin simply smiled and kissed her cheek as he said, “I bet if I said that about you it would make you blush.”
Dammit he was too charming. She never failed to fall for his charisma, and he was constantly pulling her close or holding her hands when he charmed her. At least this time he simply held her hands, and she looked off to the side with flushed cheeks as she stated, “Oh stop, I have not even finished the story.”
To her further embarrassment he laughed before caressing her cheek as he said charmingly, “Very well, my goddess. Proceed.” Which made her groan slightly out of embarrassment, before she found her stubbornness and tried to tell the rest. Then she remembered he was not done with his flowery words at that point. So she groaned again as she said embarrassedly, “I forgot he was not done calling her his ‘angel’ at that point as he told me his sweet angel was not free of danger. The magitek drone was still following him, so he ran before it was close enough to fire on them. He kept running until he found a support unit, and then he was safe. And in love.”
Her ending statement held absolutely nothing but calm wonder, perfectly fitting for it. For someone to simply realize that they were in love, it was a magical feeling. She looked up to the sky as she said it, and she felt Pipin move a little closer and put his chin on her shoulder as he looked up too. She chose not to be too embarrassed by the intimate hold he had wrapped her into and instead focused on ending her story by saying with a mystic tone, “He said it was unfair to say that he saved her, she was the one that saved him. He intends to get her something when they next receive wages. A ring, perhaps…or so he said.”
She smiled with a feeling of serenity, and as she sighed she felt Pipin kiss her cheek. It brought a little heat to her cheeks, it simply added more intimacy. He didn’t seem to notice too much, he was simply happy as he said, “Well that was certainly a wonderful love story you heard. You always do hear wonderful stories in your adventurers, and I always enjoy hearing them.”
She felt so happy. She was still embarrassed by the intimate hold but truly she was happy. She loved to hear such stories as well, and she loved to share them. Honestly it was really important to her, and she told him why as she leaned her head back on his shoulder. “That is part of why I do things like this, why I help people. So I can be wrapped in heartwarming stories of people who are willing to share simply because they know adventurers help people, no matter what it is. When people need a messenger, a protector, a friend tied to no organization who can keep their mouth shut, they turn to adventurers. It is awfully freeing to hold such a position, one that means I can help people individually who would not turn to anyone else.”
Despite being the Warrior of Light she was still largely incognito, very rarely recognized. She was simply an adventurer to them, and it truly was such a flexible position. One great for discretion, though she was not entirely discreet apparently as Pipin noted when he said, “Well, you certainly do not try to keep your mouth shut around me.”
She knew he meant because she liked to spill her own secrets to him, she never hid anything from him. Though in telling him stories like this she often spilled other people’s secrets too. She wasn’t entirely indiscreet though so she pouted as she said, “Well at least I did not tell you who the story was about!”
“Well there is likely only one Lalafell Immortal Flames soldier with green eyes in Castrum Oriens.” Ah, right, perception was one of his talents. Of course he had picked up on those details. She felt slightly guilty though mostly embarrassed as she ducked her head and muttered, “Suppose I was too detailed. But for the sake of the gods please do not speak to him about it. And at least I did not give you any information on the identity of his love.”
“I likely would not have time. We are supposed to be doing something important after all.” He tilted his head back to Alphinaud, and she suddenly realized she took a little longer than she thought she would to share her story. Her lack of awareness embarrassed her so she blushed and looked down, though she couldn’t keep her gaze down when Pipin grabbed her hand and dragged her to her feet. She looked up with a slightly startled look, and he gave her a charming smile and pulled her into him as he said, “Come, let us join him again.”
She flushed quite a bit but allowed him to guide them back to their friend and begin preparations for their crossing into the Lochs.
-
Surprisingly their distraction had not distracted Pipin from what he needed to share with them, so he was pretty much all business as he began talking (despite the obvious detail that he was still holding her hand).
“I am proud to say that Castrum Abania is now wholly under our control. At present, we are taking stock of the enemy’s supplies and redistributing them amongst our men.” Well that made her happy, they could use more supplies. So she smiled, though her gaze turned a little more serious when he added, “Also, while sifting through the officer’ documents, we learned that a unit of Skulls under Fordola’s command passed through the castrum en route to the capital…with a single prisoner in custody.”
“Krile! It has to be her!” Alphinaud was right, and Pipin looked over at her as he smiled and said, “Seems you were right about where she would be.”
She blushed, wiggling a toe in the stone under her as she said, “Well my card was right, I still have no idea how it did that.”
Pipin chuckled, and she pouted at him as he stated, “Well in all likelihood it was indeed her. You will be glad to hear that the tunnel leading to the Lochs has been secured by our soldiers and is now safe for travel.”
She couldn’t help brightening at that, her adventurous heart was eager to explore. It made Pipin smile, though she chose to pointedly ignore it. He gave a humorous huff that she also chose to ignore, then said, “And one final piece of good news: reinforcements from all four Alliance nations have arrived and joined the main host, which has established a new base of operations within the Lochs.”
That was indeed good news, and she was about ready to cross over but Pipin hadn’t let go of her hand yet. He had more to say, and she felt she didn’t really need to hear it but he forced her to stay all the same as he said, “Commander Hext should be arriving soon, yes? When she does, we will call a meeting to discuss the final stage of Rhalgr’s Beacon.”
Suddenly Lyse ran up, and Sunana gave her an excited wave while Pipin was still holding her hostage. Lyse apologized for keeping them waiting, and it occurred to her that her outfit was still unknown to her company. Alphinaud seemed to recognize it though and said, “An Ala Mhigan folk dress? How very fitting. And well-fitting, I might add.”
“Careful Alphinaud, you might charm her.” She couldn’t help teasing him, even if it was a simple compliment. It certainly flustered him, and made the rest of them laugh. When they finished their giggles Lyse smiled and said, “I wanted to do something for Yda. And myself.”
Then she looked over at Sunana and nodded, and she nodded back with a determined smile. It was about time to cross, so they turned towards the gate as Alphinaud said, “This is it. The last push. We’re coming, Krile…”
With that they went beyond the gate, and then something happened.
Sunana heard a noise. A crumbling, and she froze. She couldn’t move to see what was crumbling, she was already having flashbacks. But Pipin saw what was crumbling and gasped as he tried to get to her. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out of the fall zone, but he ended up sharing her fate.
The castrum wall collapsed, and they were cast down into a ravine. Sunana blacked out, unaware of their fall.
-
When she came to, she found herself to be in incredible pain. At first the pain was so absolute she couldn’t localize it at all, she just hurt. In this stage she figured out where she was at least, there was dust around her and the gods know how much cement was crushing down on her. She groaned as she tried to squint through the pain, and she heard another groan rather close to her. Not directly next to her, but she could at least tell who it was because he managed to struggle out a grunt of pain before calling out, “Sunana?”
“Pip?” It was clear they were both struggling as they could barely even muster the breath to call out to each other, but Pipin managed to get through a few pained gasps before asking, “How are you holding up?”
She couldn’t say a damn thing without it being broken by shallow, pained gasps but she had at least managed to localize the pain by now and called out, “I think-I broke-my ankle-and ribs-so I can hardly-breathe.”
Her broken ribs had certainly compromised her breathing, it felt like her lung had collapsed. He at least didn’t seem to have trouble breathing now as he had enough to ask, “Can you come closer? I have more room over here.”
She wasn’t sure if she could, but she could damn try. She groaned in pain the entire time she was dragging herself as she felt stabbing pains anytime something even touched her broken parts, but she eventually made it to him. Pipin was holding the wall up with his right knee, and his arm joined in the effort to make sure the wall didn’t touch her broken ribs when she arrived between his arms. When she reached him he pressed a loving kiss in her hair as he said, “Tuck your ankle under my knee, I will protect it.”
Of course he would, everything he did was to protect her. She might have laughed if she had the breath to, but she didn’t so she simply slid her ankle under his raised knee. She wanted to help him, but her struggled breathing was sapping all her strength. She was in too much pain for feats of strength, but she could help a bit. She was a healer, after all.
She didn’t have room to take out her astrodome but she held onto the arm he had put under her head and used latent power to heal them. Her strength was still monopolized by her struggle to breathe, so she had not the strength to heal their broken limbs.
And it was indeed “their” broken limbs. As a healer she could easily tell that Pipin had broken his other knee and let it lay beneath the knee propping up the wall, completely useless. If she could get her astrodome she could probably heal them, but as she was now that wasn’t possible. She could do something though, and though she could not fix their problems, she could at least alleviate the pain a bit.
Unfortunately her healing often made him relax, and though he still did his best he couldn’t keep his arm above them for long. He eventually had to lower it, and as he did with a slight pained groan it softly touched her broken ribs. He immediately removed it when she let out a cry of pain from the strong hurt it caused, and she put a hand over it so she could heal it a little easier.
Pipin had noticed something when he touched it, and she noticed it too. Her crushed side was bleeding quite a bit, enough to bleed through her clothing and onto their hands. She had enough strength to stop the bleeding, but she was still too weak to completely heal her crushed ribs and lung so she was still breathing in pained gasps.
When he had retracted his hand he chose to try his linkpearl to see if they could get out of here, but it was broken and couldn’t send a signal. So he asked her, “Is your linkpearl working?” To which she replied, “No, it was-crushed.”
That was where they were at, broken and trapped in a ravine with no way to call for help. She felt so helpless, she knew her healing couldn’t sustain them for as long as they would need for their allies to scour the ravine. Gods she couldn’t even breathe, she had to force her voice through pained gasps as she asked depressedly, “How-are we going-to get out-of here?! It would take-them forever-to find-us!”
She was so overwhelmed with pain and helplessness that she started to cry, even though she knew it would just hurt her more. Her fire apparently knew that so it came out to lick her tears away, and she realized something.
Her fire, it could move freely. It could get out of here. So she suddenly gasped then groaned at the pain it caused before she held her fire in her hand and said, “Pyra!”
It bobbed in her hand, and she nuzzled it a little before gasping, “Go-get help!”
She watched it soar away, and with that little bit of hope she sighed before closing her eyes. She felt Pipin slide his arm around her neck, carefully avoiding her chest and shoulders as he pulled her just a tiny bit closer. Just a bit to make it a close embrace as they waited. She still struggled to breathe a bit but she had enough to mumble, “Of all people-to be trapped with, I am glad-it was you.”
He gave a humorous snort as he didn’t quite have room to laugh before kissing her forehead and replying, “Rather romantic sentiments given our situation. But I am glad to be with you as well.”
-
“How are you holding up?” It had been a while, which was to be expected when they were in such a difficult place to reach and likely had to gather a rescue group. She knew he asked because her healing was weakening, she was starting to run low on latent power. But she wouldn’t let herself give up, and she struggled out, “I can-maintain it-as long as-I need to.”
“Of course you can, you are the best healer of our time.” Damn straight she was, she worked hard for that. It was one of the things she let herself be praised for, though she still blushed a bit at it. Then she noticed a change in Pipin. He seemed suddenly alert, and she couldn’t sense what he did so she clung to him as she asked, “Who?”
“That sounded like Father.” Finally, a rescue. And someone with the strength to lift a wall besides. So she gave a breathless laugh as she muttered, “It better be your father.”
He huffed before he continued listening, and after a second he breathed a sigh of relief as he said, “It is.”
Now Raubahn was close enough for her to hear him too, and when his footsteps were close to their heads he asked in a very worried voice, “You two alright?”
“Well-” Sunana wasn’t sure what Pipin was about to say, but she had a few choice words to say herself. Her pained gasps made speaking difficult, but her voice held a great amount of aggression as she shouted, “No! My lung-is crushed, my ankle-and ribs-are broken, and his knee-is broken so please-get us out-from under-this stupid thing!”
Raubahn had the gall to laugh and say, “I am glad to see you still have fire in you,” before he lifted the wall just enough for them to crawl out. Pipin managed to drag himself out despite the broken knee, but Sunana could not. Her crushed chest required too much healing for her to be able to remove her hands, so she could not drag herself. So Alphinaud had to help her, and as a healer he knew the body well enough not to disturb her crushed ribs. Once she was out Raubahn set the rubble down, and the slight quake it sent in the ground below her hurt so she let out a groan of pain. It was clear the others were worried, but hopefully she wouldn’t have to worry them for long.
Now she had enough room to pull her astrodome out. With it out she was able to cast her magic a lot more easily, and she used that freedom to cast Essential Dignity and Aspected Benefic on Pipin. The Essential Dignity realigned the bones in his knee, the Aspected Benefic knitted what was torn and within a few minutes he was completely healed.
As for her, Alphinaud had attempted to heal her before she waved him away with the hand holding her astrodome as she said stubbornly, “I will heal myself thank you very much.”
He was an excellent healer, she knew that. But she still preferred to heal herself, because she knew her body and how it worked better than anyone else could, and she knew a secret she didn’t want to share yet. Essential Dignity and Aspected Benefic were enough to heal her ankle and ribs, realigning them and crafting the shattered bones into strong and healthy ones. But organs were more work to heal, she could not do that as quickly. She could at least go a little longer without gasping now, and she could now get up and walk.
At least, if Pipin let her. Which he didn’t. No, instead he swept her off her feet the second she reached a standing position and carried her as they set off for the Lochs again. He had her injured side face out rather than in so as not to injure it more, and she appreciated it though she was still very embarrassed to have been literally swept off her feet. She hated when he carried her while he was injured or recently injured though so she pouted as she reprimanded, “Put me down, you will-overwork the knee-I just barely healed!”
She wasn’t able to glare at him any longer as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before saying, “It feels perfectly fine now, you are an incredible healer.”
Dammit she always fell for his compliments. It immediately made her blush and she sank a little in his arms as she mumbled, “Why do you have-to be so charming?”
He laughed, which only made her more pouty. So she looked off to the side as she huffed, then she immediately grunted at the pain it caused in her lungs. Dammit, she hated her moments of weakness, the feeling of being helpless. She was doing her best, but her healing still took time. Pipin didn’t seem content to let her wallow in her helplessness as he pulled her as close as he dared without hurting her as he whispered, “Your resilience is incredible. Few could handle being crushed by rubble as well as you did, even if you ended up being slightly weakened. I know you will be healed soon, you need not dwell on temporary weakness.”
His compliments always made her blush, and they assuaged her thoughts quite a bit. As usual, he always knew what to say to help her. She wanted to show her gratitude, but she couldn’t move so she had to beckon him closer to her a bit before she left a kiss on his cheek as she whispered, “Thank you.”
He had a surprised look on his face when she had cupped his cheek and guided him closer for that grateful kiss, though when her hand dropped he gave her a vivacious smile as he replied, “You’re welcome. You know I will always be there to help you when you feel discouraged or doubtful.”
With that sentiment they finally crossed into the Lochs, and by the gods…
It was beautiful. It was hard to see over the wall, but the palace, the foliage, the lake, it was all so beautiful. She was itching to explore it and tried to get Pipin to set her down but he very firmly refused and said in a demanding manner, “You will rest first, then you may sate your curiosity!”
She hated taking orders, but she wasn’t in a position to make him let her down so she simply sulked as she muttered very defiantly, “You baby me-too much.”
He gave a humorous huff at her poutiness, then carried her to sit beside the command table so she would hear about the final stage of their mission. As he set her down on a chair he asked, “Can I use your summoning bell?”
She knew what he would use it for. So she stuck her tongue out at him as she said, “I will call her-myself, thank you very much!”
He shrugged in the face of her stubbornness, then turned his attention to his father as she produced her summoning bell and tapped it as she said clearly, “Leilu!”
“My lady requires my services?” asked Leilu in a very polite manner as she teleported next to her, and Sunana nodded.
Leilu was a newer retainer of hers, she acquired her services after the Dragonsong War ended. She was courting Lululei, who had apparently spoken so highly of her lady that Leilu offered her services too. Since Lululei was a tank type Sunana chose to teach Leilu the art of the White Mage so she could support her love. Leilu had thus become her lady’s personal healer, and she had certainly taught her well. Well enough for her to notice the secret Sunana was keeping.
Pipin noticed something was going between them when Leilu stated that she understood why she had refused other people’s healing and asked what was going on as Raubahn said, “Ere we begin, I would say to you, as a proud son of Ala Mhigo, that I am grateful to each and every one of you for your part in this endeavor.”
Sunana was vaguely listening, but she was more slightly panicking. Because Leilu didn’t wait for Sunana’s permission, she viewed Pipin as one of the people she served as well. So Sunana couldn’t stop her from explaining, “Her broken ribs punctured her lung and to stop the bleeding she magically sealed blood flow to those areas. Her difficulty breathing comes from the fact that she is only using half her lung while the other half is withering from blood loss.”
Pipin was rightfully shocked and shouted, “Is that not incredibly dangerous?!” Which attracted others’ attention. The Alliance leaders looked to her, and Sunana dropped her head as she muttered, “I was downplaying-the severity of my-condition for a reason.”
Raubahn asked if she was alright, and she waved her hand dismissively as she said, “I am alright-enough to-listen.” So he continued.
Pipin was glaring at her as his father explained that the enemy was staying behind their walls, and she sighed as she said, “I suppose I should apologize-for hiding it-from you…” Which made him even more indignant as he said, “Yes indeed you should! What are you going to do about your lung now?”
His voice had gotten quieter to not interrupt his father, who was explaining that they were unsure if Zenos was waiting until reinforcements arrive or was baiting them into a trap, but they knew better than to trust his word. Sunana didn’t have the breath to say he was waiting for her, it wasn’t as personally important as what she would say to Pipin. She closed her eyes before she said, “I have been slowly-weakening the seal and-reintroducing blood into portions of my lung-but I cannot remove-the seal while still focusing on controlling-blood flow, so I need Leilu-to do it.”
Leilu gave a slight bow as she said politely, “Give the word and I shall lift the seal.”
Sunana didn’t give it immediately. Her lung was not completely knitted yet, she had to set another Aspected Benefic on herself to continue knitting. As she did this Raubahn called for Pipin, as it was apparently his turn to speak. He said a little hesitantly, “I-” before Sunana interrupted. “You had best show them-you were listening-and not just fretting over me.”
He gave a very indignant look to her, then as Leilu put a hand on her shoulder he gave a nod to her before he hopped to his feet and took his place at the table. His voice was purposeful as he said, “Regardless, we can ill afford to present Garlemald with a chance to ready her legions. It would be in our best interests to press for a swift resolution.”
Sunana watched him with a smile, he was always a man with purpose. Then she turned to Leilu as they arranged a joint regenerative effort mixing Aspected Benefic and Regen until Sunana was sure the damage was healed. In the meantime she continued listening to the conversation, and she closed her eyes in a sad expression as Lyse said, “A long siege wouldn’t be good for the people in the city, either. If food becomes scarce, you know who’ll starve first.”
Raubahn was of like mind and said very quickly, “Just so. Therefore, I propose we commit our forces to an all-out assault. What say you?”
She heard all others nod, but she was more focused on herself. The damage was healed, so she gave her retainer a nod. Leilu put her hand on her chest while she kept her star globe in her lap as Leilu lifted the seal. As she did they both pushed life giving aether into her withered lung, and the mix of healing magicks and returned blood flow did the trick. She could finally breathe again, and she took in a deep breath and let it out before dismissing her retainer.
She had heard Raubahn say, “‘Twould seem we are of one mind. Then let us proceed to the how of it.” And decided she had a chance to slip away. After all, she was now completely healed, and though she was a little exhausted from the effort she was much more curious about the surrounding area. So she checked to make sure the others were involved in the meeting, then gave a secretive smile as she slipped away and out into the wilds.
While she was investigating greenery and mapping the area, Pipin realized she was missing first. He couldn’t leave though, and he certainly was not the only one to notice when Raubahn looked to Alphinaud and said, “As for you Scions, you will be held in reserve as an irregular unit until we have more intelligence on your captured comrade. Krile’s rescue will be your primary concern, but I daresay we’ll find use for you once her freedom has been secured.”
Though attention was on Alphinaud as he thanked the General and prayed they found her quickly, it was difficult to miss the fact that there was no one standing at his side at the moment. The others noticed, and as they wondered if they should find her Pipin crossed his arms as he said in a helpless manner, “No point looking for her if she has gone off exploring. I swear it is becoming even more impossible to keep her from wandering off constantly. She always comes back though, I suppose she will simply need a debriefing.”
The others laughed a bit, it was certainly a welcome spot of humor. But they were back to business as Raubahn said with purpose, “Rhalgr’s Beacon is nearing its end. Soon, my friends, Ala Mhigo will be ours once more!”