Gods and Men

Despite his efforts, the man remained unconscious and unresponsive.

Jocasta sheathed her sword and went over to take the man's pulse. Though his skin was clammy, she could still feel a heartbeat and see his chest rise and fall.

"Looks like he's in shock. Any chance of a healing here, glow-girl? We'd do well to find out more about the man who sent him."

Ashera nodded hesitantly then started towards the man. Realizing something, she paused for a moment before saying,
"Maybe...we should tie him up?"

Jocasta raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly.

"You think the burly forest-man and I can't hold down an unconscious man?"

"but he'll wake up..." Ashera said, scared that when he woke up he'd break free of the two of them.

Myrddin was staring at his bloodied arm. "OW!" He exclaimed, "What is wrong with that guy?!"

Ashera walked over and placed her hand over the cut then closed her eyes. The palm of her hand began to glow softly, then brighter and brighter. After a few seconds it faded back to her usual glow, and she pulled her hand away. There wasn't even a mark left on his skin. She took a step back, eyes still closed, and stumbled slightly, reaching out for something to hold onto for balance.

Myrddin sat in silence for a few moments. "Uh..." he began, "Thanks."

Ashera smiled shyly in response and moved closer to the injured man. She stopped a few feet away, reluctant to get closer to him.

Jocasta rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, girl. We've got you covered."

Jocasta knelt down beside the man, putting a knee on his chest. She also took the opportunity to go through his pockets to see if he had anything that would indicate where he came from or who sent him and examine his equipment.

Ashera smiled and knelt beside the man. She placed her hands on the man's chest and closed her eyes. Her hands glowed brightly for a few minutes, and spread to the injured areas of the man's body. When the glow faded, his injuries were gone. Ashera stood, and froze for a moment as her vision went white. Her hand went to to cover her eyes, then her legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground.

Just before she fell, the man's eyes opened and he struggled against Jocasta.

Myrddin, who had by this point gone over to look at the man and watch Ashera do her healing thing again, jumped a bit when she fell to the ground, having the presence of mind to reach out to try and grab her only after she was halfway down.

Jocasta grabbed the man's head and slammed it into the ground, not lightly but not hard enough to require more healing. She repeated the process to punctuate every sentence.

"Listen to me. In a moment, I'm going to let you sit up. You're going to tell us where you're from and where you met the man that sent you. You're not going to struggle. You're not going to fight. You know why? You've got the chance now to have us listen nicely. If I ask again..." Jocasta pulled out her dagger for emphasis, "I won't be very nice."

She turned to Myrddin.

"If you could drag her away a bit, that'd be great. Don't want to risk anything, right?"

She grinned at the man. It wasn't a nice grin at all.

Myrddin stared at Jocasta for a moment before complying. "Ugh," he shivered, "That smile's gonna do a number on my sleep cycle."

Ashera protested weakly to being dragged away but didn't have the energy to do anything about it. She took a couple of deep breaths then asked,
"Could you grab the...canteen...over..."
She gestured over at her cloak, where the canteen was sitting, half hidden underneath.

"Canteen. Yes. Right" Myrddin said, moving to get the canteen for Ashera.

Ashera took the canteen from Myrddin when it was handed to her, and took two tiny sips. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again she seemed a little more focused and alert. Steadying herself on a log, she pulled herself to her feet. When she tried to take a step, however, her legs gave way again. She sighed and said, to herself but loud enough for people nearby to hear,
"He was farther gone than I'd thought..."



The man looked at Jocasta for a moment, sizing her up, then nodded his assent. He looked at his arm, surprised that there was no pain, then began to speak,
"Why am I not hurt? I don't feel weak at all, but a few minutes ago I was-"
He stopped talking when he looked over and saw Ashera on the ground. He looked a little sheepish and stared at the ground.

"Yes. So you've learned two things about us: we can hurt you, and we can heal you. Why don't you let us learn a few things about you, hmm? I can tell you've had some weapons training, so no need to mention that. Start from the sick brother."

"My brother was badly burned in a fire, and now he won't even wake up." The man began, "we lost everything in the fire, so I can't afford to hire a healer. My village is dedicated to Shara, so when I went to a nearby village that was dedicated to Zath, they turned me away. Recently some of the people in my village had stolen something from them, and they were angry with the village. Then a man came to me in the night and said that if I went down tis road I would find a group with a healer, and that if I took the healer she would be able to heal my brother. He said the healer would be grateful because she had been kidnapped by the group. When she had healed my brother he said he would return her to her family. I was desperate to help my brother, so I believed him..."

"The hooded ones are seldom to be trusted. You need a face to read truth."

The man bowed his head in shame.
"I'm sorry..." he said.

"And why exactly did you try to kill me?" Myrddin piped up from behind. "I appreciate that desperation is a powerful motivator, and that kidnappers are generally not people the world is better off containing, but why attack the small, unarmed guy first?"

"Unarmed travellers generally means powers, and since your powers were not evident, I didn't know if you were a threat or not. Generally powers are more dangerous than any weapon."

"They can be" Myrddin acquiesced, "but not always; not now. Sometimes unarmed just means pacifist. That you didn't know that indicates that you weren't observing us for very long. Then again, that you thought we were kidnappers says as much anyways. As it stands, I'm not dead of a sliced artery, but that's no thanks to you, that's thanks to the astonishingly potent healing abilities of my new comrade. Next time you're going to attack a group on your own, think up an actual strategy, or at the very least do a little more observing before jumping in." Myrddin stopped as he thought for a moment, "And as for your situation, just what did your village steal that the victims would let a presumably innocent man die? For that matter, why steal something that important?"

"I don't know what they stole," the man said, "I wasn't involved in it. I didn't have time to observe more because my brother is about to die. I'm desperate..."