Fable - Ask Necromancy By Any Other Name

[Osuin]

Lingering pain from pounded against his recent fracture. He’d no idea how he incurred it, the tumble onto the ground had been an anxious blur. It was only when he tried to place his weight on it that his foot agonized him with pain in protest. Still, the injury could be far more severe. The shock of the plummet left him absent of concern for his own well being. At the sight of Vos, fret for him became forefront in mind.

Fret he had expressed, and he awaited his response.

"I-I-I'm ok...Is the griffin ok?"

“Yes its ok-” Osuin began, “The griffin’s alright, Vos. It carried me into battle, and now stands watch over us.” He continued, with a gesture and a look to the griffin beside them. Feathers puffed and head held high, it continued to scan the horizon for threats, while Osuin crawled towards his sword to retrieve it. Once he had it sheathed, he returned to Vos and waited at his side. Too injured to effectively fight, Osuin was thankful that the griffin stood ready to defend them both when he himself no longer could.

Yet there was nothing to defend against, or so Osuin interpreted from its relaxed stance. It sniffed at them both as Osuin settled in beside Vos before approaching the two. A majestic sight, and Osuin would be lost in awe, were he not lost in further worry. Vos and the griffin had been accounted for, but the fate of Selene remained a disquieting unknown.

Rain began to fall, with Osuin sitting quietly. The drops bounced off his misshapen armour until the wing of the griffin shielded him from the elements, and at this Osuin finally made motion. He turned to the griffin, hearing its gentle purr. It was some comfort, yet far from enough to provide true relief. Only Selene could provide that.

Above, others worried for the two of them, and Perorin popped out to peer at them from the cliff.

"Aye, you alive down there?" He asked.

“Yeah, we're both intact.” Osuin reported out, bellowing his response out towards Perorin far above.

"I've called for help, just sit tight for a bit."

“Selene! Is she ok!?” Osuin blurted out the words, with an anxious look to Peroin.

Selene Vos Fleetwood Theolonious Montbank

 

[Selene]

A shadow fell over the elf's face at the mention of Selene. He looked over his shoulder at something out of sight, an anxious tilt of the head, before leveling his stormy gaze back at Osuin and Vos. "She yet lives, but I don't know how to help her. It's strange... the demon's blow left no wounds to heal. None that I can see, anyway."

Whatever Perorin was thinking about Selene was washed away as he truly saw the condition that the young squire was in. The sight of Vos on the ground, unmoving and bloodied, seemed to occupy his attention more than whatever had become of the Captain.

"Eolydiir's roots, you lot have a strange definition of 'alright'!" A scowl came across Perorin's face, and he turned into his usual grouchy self as he looked to the knight below him. "What are you doing, letting a kid push himself that hard?"

---

In the skies above, dark wings pushed against battering night winds. A greater raven soared with grim purpose, black outline blotting out the misty starlight above it. The bird's yellow eye trained on a larger, whiter shape below it, and with a deep call it dove down to the winged knight's level.

Selene's familiar, distinctly flashy in its acrobatics, leaned into a tight turn and flew in front of Montbank's vision. It did this two more times, demanding attention, before settling into a surer path ahead of the owl knight. The great bird would guide Montbank through the night, weaving between the rocky outcroppings, until it reached the place where Selene and the others were.

Vos Fleetwood Osuin Theolonious Montbank

 

[Theolonious Montbank]

Will comply, Montbank thought, as if his mind could be read by the familiar as he adjusted his flight pattern to match the creature. His wings were outmatched by the great beast, and Montbank marveled at the span of such a creature. No thought of jealousy fluttered in his mind, just mutual respect for one who was born of the skies instead of finding themselves in the domain.

He considered how to communicate further to his compliance but it was enough to simply follow the direction of the familiar. He felt the tingling sensation of how his magic had granted him so much distance in such a short period of time. But all magic had a cost, and it had been a careful consideration to favour some speed in his flight over operational ability in healing abilities.

There was of course, the flight home to consider and reckon with. Especially if he should have someone to carry.

Montbank cruised through the skies, feeling some comradery with the familiar in their shared effort of the skies, but finding so solace in it. This was a potentially grim business.

Could be any situation by the time we get there. Dead, dying, injured. I've prepared for all as best I can. Perhaps the familiar has disengaged to guide me to the landing zone. Perhaps not.

No point fretting. Just act Theo. Just act.

And so Theolonious did.

After some time, the two descended, Montbank's thoughts on how to immediately help, how to be the most effective in the application of assistance. He had received some training on how to deal with the various emergencies that required his assistance, how to prioritise his resources and willpower, and sometimes, how to circumvent the panicked urgings of the injured in favour of saving the dying. But Montbank did not expect to hear such things from the disciplined minds out in the field today.

Is the landing zone still contested?

His powerful eyes looked for enemies and found none to spy as he made his approach.

His mind focused and with a deep breath he descended alongside the familiar silently.

He gave a great beating of his wings to slow his descent as he tried to conserve his energy. Had the ground been a combat zone he would have had to go through his order of operations and make some tactical decisions, but thankfully, the scene was a still one.

Montbank landed, his talons clasping the ground and feeling little comfort in it. Already he felt the fatigue settle in his frame, and let his wings relax as best as they could before he would have to take flight again. His eyes looked from each party, and to the griffin, and upon seeing it, provided a deep bow of his own wings as to prevent any kind of incident. Respect was important with such creatures.

After which, he turned quickly to each person again to assess. He spoke a word of magic, and his eyes became tinted luminous green, allowing him to see if there was something worse than what he saw through virtue of the detection magic. It was a costly thing, but allowed him to move quickly and act precisely.

No-one is dying. Get as many people useful as possible. Information.

He walked over to the squire Vos and looked at the state of the fellow closer.

Shock, perhaps. Exhaustion.

The winged knight reached into his tightly bound jacket upon his chest and produced a small cylindrical bottle that had been shaped specifically for carrying flush against his person, uncorked it, and handed it to the squire. He spoke softly and calmly, helping guide the squire from their state into the next one that would serve their cause better. Montbank had learned some good bedside manner from the healers of the Order, and in this moment, without a fight to commit, soothed as best he could.

“Drink this. It'll reinvigorate you. Brandy. Contains some herbs and some healing potency. It'll soothe the shock. Kill some of the exhaustion, let you move. Don't worry. Help's here.”

One exhaustion potion down. Two left, one which has to be used for myself just in case.

Montbank moved over to Osuin and looked over the injury. A myriad of information filtered over his vision, and he felt the weight in his shoulders grow ever so slightly heavier for using such a skill.

“Knight Pursuant,” Montbank said calmly and pursuant while reaching into three different jacket pockets, “Drink this. It'll mend your fracture, and give more movement to that bruised arm should we need to fight again. It'll prevent long term damage. It'll be painful. But no worse than the injury itself,” he said honestly as he taloned hands took a spherical potion, added two more components to set the liquid to agitation and bubbling, before handing it to the Osuin.

And now to the captain.

He breathed deep.

Well that's odd. I can't tell what's going on here.

“I can try to rouse through smelling salts, but. Something tells me that might not work. I'm a paramedic. This is might be beyond me. I can carry the Captain, but, her familiar might be better suited towards that. Let me attempt to rouse.”

He reached into his jacket again and was clutching some smelling salts, which were promptly wafted appropriately to cause a sudden jolt of awakening. He tried to discern information from the magic about his eyes, but found that it quickly dissipated from the strain of trying to figure out what was wrong with the captain.

Alas, but a cantrip.

“What happened people?” Montbank asked flatly, looking for orders. He was but a knight, there were far more authoritative figures than himself here to be directed by in matters of strategy, but not resources. Still, his voice carried with an independence that some might find disrespectful, but in this moment, he was the one who could dole out healing.

I have to conserve energy here, and trying to heal what can't be healed might prevent me from flying back at all.

Vos Fleetwood Osuin Selene

 

[Osuin]

Selene was alive, not well but alive. That knowledge did away with Osuin’s greatest worry, yet she was still not safe. Whatever the demon had done left neither a wound, nor had Perorin any answer to remedy her. Selene’s fate remained an unnerving unknown that Osuin could not cease fretting over. Aid had been sent for, but if the matter had stumped Perorin, it was doubtful the responder knew.

Perhaps the griffin might. It was a wild hope, but it seemed all they had; none of them had any idea. He gave the griffin a glance as he wondered and hoped. At least their injuries had not been in vain, for the griffin, magnificent and well, still stood watch over them.

Perorin’s tone and expression changed afterwards in an instant. His concerns turned to poor Vos, injured and prone on the ground.

"What are you doing, letting a kid push himself that hard?"

“I couldn’t stop him.” Came Osuin’s strained protest, yet true as they were Perorin’s statement bore greater truth and weight. The squire had been in his care, and was now bleeding and broken at the bottom of the cliff with him. He’d found himself helpless to protect him, and were it not for the griffin there would've been truly little he could have done.

“I couldn’t.” He repeated once more, with a tone of defeat instead of protest.

In some time, aid would arrive, and Osuin would spot two figures making their steady descent from the skies. Montbank made his approach, with Selene's familiar in tow. After a bow to the griffin, the healer's work began. Osuin lay with his sword at his side, watching him prepare his healing magics. Their wounds were merely physical at least, and hope was high that he might see Vos well again shortly.

Vos was offered brandy, with healing ingredients mixed into the drink. Montbank would approach Osiun next.

“Knight Pursuant, drink this. It'll mend your fracture, and give more movement to that bruised arm should we need to fight again. It'll prevent long term damage. It'll be painful. But no worse than the injury itself,”

“Pain’s not been a stranger today. To be able to stand and fight is enough.” Osuin replied. It was spoken truth, he had not gone through the effort to retrieve his sword for nothing. A warrior truly was nothing without a weapon.

An outstretched arm gratefully grasped the drink, bringing it to his lips to quaff it promptly. Montbank did not lie, as his arm seized in pain after the first few gulps. Osuin ceased his drinking for but a moment to keep his hand steady before he rushed to quaff the rest, downing the potion with hastened gulps while his body tensed from the pain. The vessel was offered back to Montbank as soon as it was emptied – and were he slow to grab it, Osuin would roll it on the ground as he continued to wince from the pain with steady breaths. The agony ebbed and flowed until it steadily diminished to a numbing soreness, and only then did Osuin dare test the effects by rising to his feet, sword held in hand. A few more motions convinced him of his healing, his eyes locked on Vos all the while in hopes of seeing similar signs of health from him.

He gave an attempt at healing Selene after. Osuin could not be too hopeful, and by the sounds of it, neither was he. But something had to be attempted, to see Selene well had become his greatest priority.

“What happened people?” Montbank inquired next, from atop the cliff.

“It tried to corrupt the griffin!” Osuin bellowed out from below, still short of breath from the pain of the imbibed potion.

Selene Vos Fleetwood Theolonious Montbank

 

[Wroc Flintson]

Vos was still struggling to move at all, but by the time Montebank had arrived, he could at least move his arms. The liquid that he quickly drank was painful going down, like even the movement of his throat was adding to his exhaustion. When he finally finished the drink, he soon noticed that more of his body could move and some of the smaller wounds healed up.

The first thing he needed to address now that he had the energy was that he turned to Perorin. "I made my own decisions...Osuin had nothing to do with it."

His own mistakes had led him to give in to his animal side and abandon reason. He would have handled the fight more carefully if he had not gone too far, but his lack of energy had made him turn to extreme options.

The arrival of Montebank was extremely reassuring to the young squire, not only was he a skilled night, but with three of them then they could surely hunt down this demon.

They had just said that Selene was alive, which meant all the more reason for them to hurry up and kill this thing.

Selene Theolonious Montbank Osuin

 

[Selene]

When Theolonious presented the smelling salts, the raven familiar squawked disapprovingly and tried to peck them out of his hand before he could get the mixture near to Selene.

Perorin, who had come away from the cliff's edge to resume his vigil over the Captain, shooed the overgrown bird away with a hand. "Be still Leyik, he's trying to help." Leyik the raven squawked one last time before hopping to a rock above the Captain's head, bright eyes never leaving the well-intentioned medic.

Perorin picked up Osuin's half-answer to the owlman's questions and carried it to completion. "We met with a sorcerer who used the griffin's power and his own flesh to summon something... foul." He motioned to the bottom of the cliff where the battered Knight and Squire still were. "They fought the demon off and Selene managed to save the griffin, but not before she was struck down. The wound is unknown to me, and the enemy who made it."

The raven chose then to lift its beak and trill out a husky call, the feathers around its throat puffing up. Scowling, Perorin leaned down and picked up a pebble to flick at the rude bird. "Why don't you fly off and get some better help, then, you overgrown vermin?"

Sighing, Perorin ran both hands through his black hair. He paced back and forth a short distance away, trying to work out his worrying thoughts. Then, he straightened, hands dropping back to his sides in sudden revelation. "That might not be a bad idea, actually."

"Syr knight, you said you could carry Selene? There is an elven outpost not far from the base of these hills, Leyik knows the way. Someone there may be able to help her." he said, turning to look back at the owl knight. "Abandon this hunt and get your people to safety."

Theolonious Montbank Osuin Vos Fleetwood

---

OOC: Thinking a time-skip is in due order, feel free to move the scene forward as you see fit!

 

[Theolonious Montbank]

Montbank involuntarily flinched at the word hunt.

Pray I never hear that word ever again.

His own yellow eyes were wide due to the darkness and absorbed much of the situation. The winged knight listened to the brief report from Osuin and found it wanting, but patiently waited for more information, information that was thankfully granted by Perorin in due time. The slight feeling of appreciation towards Perorin faded at his harsh words to the familiar.

Wonder if Perorin thinks of me the same.

He dismissed the pessimism at once. Such thoughts were not appropriate for a rescue mission, and he was already calculating distances with the location provided. Such a reaction was due to stress no doubt. Nevertheless, the statement would linger with Montbank for some time after.

Thoughts were turned to the task at hand.

One stamina potion should provide me all I need with such high stationed cargo to get there. If it's where I think it is.

Montbank stretched his wings and performed a rudimentary flight check of himself, projecting a tiny mote of power of the magic of the wind to run across his wings to check the aerodynamics. A point of order he had to learn himself after a terrible near accident after not realising his wings were not properly preened and symmetrical in grooming some time ago. He was far more diligent and attentive to the demands of flight now.

He reached Selene and looked at the familiar and said, “Might you know the way? You can lead if you like,” he said respectfully, trying to mend some of the lost face the bird might be experiencing.

He looked to the others and nodded.

“I'll leave some medical supplies for you,” Montbank said, leaving a simple assortment of potions, bandages, and a minor scroll of healing with them. “If you don't use them, can you return them to the healers when you return and mention how you got them. Thank you,” Montbank said in a matter of fact fashion. Any successful impartment of healing items was a benefit to Montbank, successfully applying himself in the line of duty was a cause that allowed him to act with some degree of insubordination, or granted freedom to simply fly.

To fly. Ah. The one thing that makes all this worth while.

Flying with an individual was something he had trained for. Originally he had taken sacks of grain on flying exercises and found himself unwittingly tearing apart the bags during more daring maneuverers as adrenaline kicked in. Nowadays, he was a calm and assuring carrier of whoever and whatever was required of him. He had years to adjust to the be the most he could be.

He sealed up the jacket pockets which contained more healing items, and extended a safety harness into operation. With great care and respect, Montbank fastened Selene to the harness so that if he had to let go for whatever reason the entire weight would fall to the center of his chest a foot below. An uncomfortable experience for Montbank, but sometimes a defense had to be summoned during an escape. He checked the fastenings three times in a methodical fashion, and then quaffed the potion of stamina. Immediately he felt the soothing sensation like spearmint across his muscles, and then fire, as energy was granted and bestowed to him for the task ahead.

Montbank looked to his fleeting company and adjusted his jacket, “See you when I do. Montbank out.”

He looked to the raven and said with more cheer than he had provided to his fellow knights, “Come on my good fellow. We fly.”

With a silent buffeting of wings and a word of magic, Montbank was hovering with Selene within his arms, tucked tight against his chest. Montbank had always been strong to draw back a longbow, but this next procedure would require endurance. Endurance that he had earned through virtue of flying with the sacks of grain, but in this moment, was offered by the potion of stamina.

He ascended with the Captain, and turned slowly to gain the right angle for proper flight, and was away to their destination.

Selene Osuin Vos Fleetwood

 

[Osuin]

At the outpost
​

Though the trip was short, it seemed to take forever to complete. The potion had mended his injuries and granted him energy, but it did little for the soreness incurred from the fall. The long march left his muscles even more sore, and Perorin's constant griping had the same effect on Osuin's spirits. Without Selene present, he had to contend with him as the lone authority on the trek. Syr Montbank had kindly left them with supplies and potions that might further ease his aching body, but despite the pain Osuin abstained from their use. Perorin was cranky enough, and quaffing another potion was bound to earn him a rant about weakness and wastefulness.

He'd plenty to rant about, anyhow. It was motivation enough to get there quickly despite aching pain that the march only further exacerbated, but continued fret for Selene's condition pushed him to travel as fast as he could. It was a touch faster than Master Perorin cared to travel, but reaching their destination mattered much more to the Knight Pursuant. Her wounds received in the battle were severe, and their methods of treatment an unknown mystery to them.

The griffin had been saved and the necromancer had escaped, but Selene remained his highest priority. Osuin would endeavour to see her health restored again. He dearly hoped that those at the outpost had wisdom on her ailment that they had been sorely lacking.

As they arrived, a guardswoman signalled out to them to which Osuin promptly stowed his shield. With only empty hands, he'd tactfully shown her he arrived without threat. He'd simply been too cautious to have done so earlier, worried that there might be further interference by the necromancer. That, thankfully, was not the case. She read the gesture and approached to question the new arrivals.

“What business bids you here?” She asked, without any weapons drawn but a bow, held loose and non-menacingly in a single hand.

“I’m companion to a casualty, taken here not long ago.” Osuin replied, to which he received a receptive nod.

“She is being tended to over there.” The guard replied, turning to a sturdy appearing but simply constructed building. Not large by any means, but it still eclipsed the rest that dotted the outpost.

“Thank you.” Osuin replied gratefully, before departing for the building the guard had guided him towards.

Selene Theolonious Montbank Vos Fleetwood

 

[Wroc Flintson]

Vos had been completely silent on their walk to the outpost. He was exhausted and did not have the energy to speak, only to walk. Even if he could talk, he did not know what he would say about the whole situation.

He felt pretty useless about everything at this point. He had not the talent for healing or anything of the kind. When the day began, Vos had thought he had a talent for fighting, but the day's events had shown him that was just childish hubris.

Instead, he followed after Osuin, not really knowing what else to do. He could only hope that Selene was ok. Otherwise, all of his stubborn and dangerous actions were for nothing.

Osuin Selene Theolonious Montbank