Centaur Valley

Equestra · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject: Recouperation

Mod Note: this is the continuation of the story "The Ghost is Real" from The Woods forum. Please continue the story here building off of my last post in that thread.
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Those who try their best are never at their worst.

Crixon · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:47 pm Post subject:

(im not sure if you want the healer to have magic or not,if not then ill change it a bit Razz

)

Crixon was getting worse by the minute,he only half remembers walking to the house,whos?,who knows,he also remembered someone lifting him into a bed,and just laying there feeling weak thinking what a fool he was to take the risk of getting gutted like that,he knows the other cuts and scrapes from ealier were nothing and easily shrugged off but the gash is probly where the poison is coming from,it must be poison to bring him down that quickly.As he started to close his eyes his thoughts drifted,to family that he left when he went to war,to his comrads who died,to the men he commanded in battle who fell under his command,so many died so bloody that battle,thousands dead under one volly of arrows,thousands more under the horrors of dragon fire,the carnage of the melee,much like a meat grinder,so many dead .......

Crixon woke up after the healer cut into his wound with a knife.

"Sorry young man but this has to be cleaned away,its all infected and will kill you unless its removed,i can do healing magic on it but im not strong enough to avoid scaring you but it will get the job done."

"Dont mind me,"Crixon said groggly,"deal with the two worlds girl we brought."

"Lay back and sit still you are far worse off then she,she doesnt have this much poison in her blood,now if you dont sit still ill sew you up instead of using magic to healing you now would you like that?" the elderly healer replied,

Crixon layed back onto the bed not even realizing that he tried to rise,thinking of this girl,this two worlder,who is she? where did she come from? and does she even call herself she? and why did the poison that surely must have bin in her not weaken and kill her as fast as himself?

Dam im tired,he winced as the healer cut a little more away and let the wound bleed to clear the poison,after a minute of that he felt the healers hands lay on his flank and side and a cool wave pass over him and he felt his strength drain away as his flesh knitted itself together,the last thing he remembered before dropping into unconcousness is the healer grunting in satisfaction as he finished what he needed to do.
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Kheitenn · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:39 pm Post subject:

The healer returned from Crixon and looked at the bloody mess that was Kheitenn. He's not sure himself why she doesn't appear so affected by the poison either, just he knew that although she's likely to be the harder patient, Crixon had less time, and thus was the more urgent matter to attend to.

The healer called out to a couple of the hands Equestra had helping at the ranch, "I need some water, we're going to need to get her clean so I can see what her actual injuries are," he continued muttering under his breath, "and how much of that blood is hers."

He moved around her and noticed she was laying on her right side, "hey," he called out, "didn't someone say she has an injury on her right flank too?"

Crixon · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:30 pm Post subject:

His dreams were trouble dreams,flashes of dreams,dreams of war,of death,destruction,but not all dreams were such,some were pleasent,of his family before the war,of the girl who caught his eye when he was a young colt,but those were rare and fleeting ....

"Cavalry CHARGE!" lances lowered the unit of human and centaur cavalry charged,the thunder of centaur and horses hooves drownd out most other things,he could see the faces of his enemy now,only a few more seconds before clashing into their deadly pikes,horrible orc faces,twisted in rage,scaly lizardfolk in their gleaming metal armor,who would have thought they can forge armor so well?,the faces of humans and traitors behind them,the faces of goblins who are almost beneath notice,almost,the units of cavalry crashed into the pikes,Crixon took a pick slash on his left side,not very deep,not enough to stop him from lancing the orc holding that pike,the lance got stuck into its chest and Crixon let that lance go already forgotten drawing on his longsword and laying about with fiery abandon hacking down goblin,orc,human,traitor,lizardfolk,whoever got in his way,he was ordered to break their line,him and his fellow legionares,and they always completed their objectives,they were the Silver Dragon Legion,the best in the light,the best ever to be fielded,they would suceed,they had to.

Crixon was in the lead he led his push deeper and deeper into the ranks,the enemy fell before them,4 ranks , 5 ranks,6 7 8 deep men fell,but the legions momentum was failing,it was taking longer and longer to break through,slower and slower,they were falling,the men behind can only move so quickly,the infantrymen who were to back them up,they pushed farther and faster then anyone thought they could or would and now they were trapped,behind 8 ranks of enemy men with 10 more infront,only choice,push forward,and that is just what they did,they did as ordered,break the enemy,

"TO ME TO ME RALLY ON THE STANDARD!" Crixon shouted over the clash of battle,the command relayed along the lines of men fighting,well trained,they fell inward to the standard giving more momentum,the infantry of the legion just a few steps behind,laying waste with swords,axes,hammers,the legion pushed forward,9 ranks 10 11 12 fell before them going faster each time,he could see fear in the eyes of his enemys now,fear that they were unstoppable,fear because the enemy knew they were,nothing has ever stopped the legion on the move,nothing.

15 ranks fell before them,5 remained before they broke through,they were the elites of the enemy,the best soldiers they had,to break them was costly,getting this far,1/5th the legion fell wounded or dead,the break they made in the lines is expanding,the infantry pushing out and forward as more push in,breaking these 5 ranks,many legionares died,almost half the legion fell to their axes,maces,swords and bows, the castle gate, their objective,loomed ahead,open, the enemy never suspected they could make it that far that quickly,the remaining legionares charged in to secure the gate,centaurs guard the ground,the humans take the gate and keep it open,that was the plan,what they never suspected was the trolls ... the bloody trolls,5 of them were walking down the road to the gate as the humans were running up the stairs and the centaurs spreading out, 5 of the things, Crixon regretted leaving the lance behind,they are perfect weapons to fight trolls,well nothing to do but charge ....

"Humans take that gate and keep it open on pain of death! Centaurs we take these trolls before they can regroup! CHARGE!"

"SIR YES SIR!" they shouted as they climbed the stairs,and charged.

The centaurs charged,danced around the legs of the trolls,every hit scored a bloody line on their legs,the only way to take 1 down was to make it so weak in the legs so hurt that it cannot stand,they danced and died,they danced and dropped 1,2 ,3 trolls,with 2 trolls still standing and most of the centaurs dead or dieing,most do not survive the hit from 1,they danced some more,the dance of death.

The only remaining trolls hammer came swinging towards him,Crixon drop to his side laying flat as it passed over,then quickly got his legs under him and jumped out of the way of its return overhead swing,the hammer broke the paving stones and left a half foot deep hole where he was a second ago,he jumped forward and dug his longsword deep into an already deep cut on the trolls leg,a few of his remaining men did the same,the troll slipped and fell forward on itself and they jumped on its back stabbing it in the back and head,killing it quickly.The humans faired alot better,the secured the gate house with only half losses where there was only 5 centaurs remaining inside,the infantry was working to block the gate from the enemy soldiers getting in,and currently there was noone on the ground to fight so they have a few minutes to themselves,

A soldier came up to Crixon,he was bloodied cut in more places to count and tired but he still had spring in his step,still moved with centaur grace,

"Well we seem to be without enemys for the time being sir,"
"Well Milus,looks like your right,but we hold here and rest a bit,tend to the wounded .... thoughs still alive,keep watch for enemy reenforcements,they have to be coming soon."

It took awhile but the legion infantry who were right behind the cavalry in the charge fought there way to the gate and reenforced the possition,setup crossbowmen and archers in crossfires and set pikes,in half a year of siege this was the only gate they ever captured,the only section of wall they held long enough to reenforce, in that time the enemy sent fortays out,they were repulsed but with heavy losses on both sides,of the remaining 5 centaurs alive,only Crixon still stands,Milus took a spear in the chest and had to be dragged from the front as he was spouting curses that he was ok.

Just then he heard screams,the horrible screams of those dieing in agony,it was coming from the field,looking out the gate,he saw dragons,many more dragons then should be possible,at least 50 dragons were out there,most were reds,but some black,they were using their breath weapons on the men in the field,the melee was so entangled by thuis time that the lines have disintegrated and they were burning just as many of their men as ours,thousands of men,tens of thousands died under their breath before the dragons could be brought down,by archers , and good dragons,golds and silvers came,even the patron silver dragon that the legion was named after,but the field was devistated,the allied forces were able to break through the lines because of this though so some good came of it.The battle still raged on,counter attacks and attacks lasted well into the night,the legion was pushed into exhaustion and beyond,everyone suffered horrible causalties,most of the legion dead,of the other units that took differnt points,only 67 centaurs lived and 152 humans,out of well over 2000 at the start,but the city was taken,the last bastion of evil destroyed,the price the enemy paid hopefully high enough that they wont make war for ages pass,but so many dead,so many ... a horrible way to die ... dragon breath ... so many battles,so many dreams,
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Crixon · Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 4:30 pm Post subject:

The dreams continued well into the night,dreams of battles long fought,of celibrations,family friends,even a suprise inspection from Darlantan,the patron dragon of the legion,that one stood out in the forfront,as he dreamt he murmured and squirmed on the bed,even kicked a little sometimes in tune with a battle he was reliving
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Equestra · Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:58 pm Post subject:

On the morning of the second day, the fevers of both of the wounded broke.

Equestra had been outside tending to a mare who had cut herself on an unknown object (it was amazing how they managed to hurt themselves with nothing dangerous in sight), when the Healer's assistant came rushing up.

"They're eyes are open and they are talking!" he said breathlessly.

"You should know better than to run around horses." Equestra admonished. "She could have spooked and hurt herself worse." Then it sunk in what he had told her.

"Both?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Yes. I was sent to come get you."

"I'll be there in just a minute. I have to finish here first. I won't be long."
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OOC: In answer to another's question I didn't have any special plans for the Heler being a magic user, but it wouldn't hurt. I just don't want everythign solved by magic. Herbal lore is my preferred mode to treat injuries, but a bit of magic tossed in would be fun.
_________________
Those who try their best are never at their worst.

Kheitenn · Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:56 pm Post subject:

The healer muttered a little to himself, "if you want something done, do it yourself,". He then knelt by Kheitenn, and ran his hand over her hindquarters towards the straw. "Damn" he muttered to himself, not ever needing to feel under her, he could feel her feverish and infected flesh well before he reached the ground.

The hands returned with the water. "Ok" the healer said, "we need to get her on her feet somehow." He looked around and up, "I think if we suspended two slings over that beam, we might be able to get her supported, as I'm not sure her legs will carry her weight."

With a lot of effort and struggling, and a bit of inginuity, they finally got Kheitenn slung up, two slings under her equine torso, just behind her forelegs and just before her hindlegs, and another supporting her upper body from the breasts up.

It took them a long time to finally clean her off, one of the hands carefully took her weapons to one side, and removed the belt from around her waist. The other worked her halter top off, he blushed quite a lot as he did so, uncomfortable with the contact with her breasts. They also removed two necklaces from around her neck, one had a silver deer hanging off it, the other a gold owl.

Once clean the healer stood back and looked at her, and winced a little. "Damn that's a lot of injuries" he said to no-one in particular, "and she seems a little underfed." He then gently ran his hands over her body, noting the broken bones in her left arm, the light scratches that had been revealed under her blood soaked human belly, the deep gouges in her left flank, the seeming old injury in her right hindquarters, and the severly swollen front right knee. Perhaps most worrying of her injuries to him though, was the apparent lack of nutrition, her ribs could be clearly seen in both her rib cages.

"Ok" he said, "first thing I need to do is work out why she's not affected by the posion as much as Crixon was." He pressed his hands gently against her flank, on her equine chest, and closed his eyes, and engaged his talent. He stood there quietly for a few minutes, before he blanched and stood back quickly, he lifted his hands off her quickly like she burned. "Apollo help me", he breathed out, he finally understood why the poison from the bear wasn't affecting her so much. He looked at her, "Your either very lucky, or not, I'm not sure" he said.

He looked at her and pondered what to do for a while, she had two poisons in her to deal with. One prevented him from using his magic on her, if he had tried, it would have likely have drained him, maybe even hav killed him. The flip side of this though it seemed to slow the poison from the bear, that seemed to have a magical component to it.

He made a few decisions, "ok you," he pointed to one of the hands,"I need a horse fast, I need to go back and get some herbs from my house. You," he points to the other hand, "I need hot water, some rags, and a fire and some form of metal I can use for cautery by the time I get back." He then turned, and by this time the other hand had returned with a horse, he thanked him, before he jumped on and he turned it and galloped back to the village in haste.

It took him nearly an hour to return, and he came back well bundled with jars of various sizes. He slipped off the horse and looked at the hands in appreciation. The hands had set up a small brazier on which a fairly large cauldron was sat gently simmering, by the side of it, they had piled a large amount of clean, and by the looks of it freshly boiled, rags on a wooden pallet. The healer smiled in appreciation, before a look of worry crossed his face, "very well done, now lets see what we can do about her".

He grabbed his packs, and laid out the jars, seeming in some order known to him, before he grasped a dagger out of his pack and he placed it's blade in the fire. He then picked up a jar, and walked to her head, "ok first things first, I don't want you waking on me while we do this, it's going to be hard enough as it is," he said, before he gently tipped her head and fed her what was in the jar. He then stroked her throat gently, encouraging her to swallow the essence of poppy down, which sent her into deep unconciousness.

He then returned to his pack, and drew another dagger, this one a lot better kept and sharper than the one he had placed in the fire. "Apollo guide me", he said, invoking the name of his god to help.

What happened next was gruesome to watch, and one of the hands had to run out, and could be heard throwing up outside. The other hand turned green but managed to stay as the healer cut away the infected and dead flesh on her hindquarters, blood ran over his hands and down her flank again. He then grasped the knife out of the brazier, and laid it against her flank, cauterising the wound closed. The barn begins to fill with the smell of burnt meat, as he repeated the cauterising on the deep gouges on the other flank.

He then looked down at the pots, and smeared their contents over the wounds, including the much lighter scratches across her belly, before he finally used the rags and bandaged her up, a large proportion of her equine torso and human stomach ending up convered.

He then damped down some bandages, and coated them in one of his ungents, before tightly wrapping them around her knee, fortunatley there was nothing broken there, just badly twisted and sprained. Over the treated bandages he wrapped another layer of untreated bandages.

Next he moved onto her arm. He picked up two splints from his collection, and using a bit of strength, worked her bones back into position, before, with help from the hand, he bound her arm to the splints with damp bandages, knowing they would tighten as thy dry and hold the splints and forearm immobile.

He sighed deeply, before picking up a last bottle, and he held it to her lips, slowly drip feeding the entire contents to her. "I hope that works," he said to the hand. "One last request, have you got any horse blankets you can wrap around her? I don't want her getting cold." He smiled as he watched the hand rush off, and packed up the remains of his jars.

He grinned again as the hand came in, throwing a few blankets over her. "I think I'll go ask Equestra if I can stay the night, I don't want to be too far from either of my patients".

{{ooc was waiting for a response on the magic question which is why this may seem a little out of order}}

{{Edit oops forgot the arm...}}

Crixon · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:47 pm Post subject:

Crixon woke to the healer checking the wounds that he wasent able to heal with his magic,and spreading ointment onto the ones that remain somewhat open.He groaned a little bit as he started to move into a better position on the bed.

"Ah your awake,good good," he said in a quiet soothing voice.

"How long have i bin out and wheres the food?"

"Straight to the point i see,well you have bin out for a day and the food will be on its way shortly,an nice breakfast of eggs bacon and some bread should start you off nicely,"

"DARL,BRING BREAKFAST" he shouted at his assistant.

After a few minutes of waiting,darl came in with a tray of food as Crixon is working on sitting up with the healers help as the healer is using that time to tell him he will be weak for awhile and not to overexert himself.

As Crixon righted himself the tray was placed infront of him and he proceeded to devour the food ignoring everything else.
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Kheitenn · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:10 pm Post subject:

Kheitenn transitioned slowly into wakefulness, to hear two people speaking near her. This triggered her into full wakefulness, although there was no outward sign she was awake.

"Aren't you getting worried?" she heard an young voice say, "she should have woken by now, I don't like how weak she's looking."

She hears a laugh, followed by a much older voice, "you have a lot to learn my apprentice, as I think the lady is awake, aren't you my dear?". She then felt a light hand touch her on her shoulder.

She shuddered a little from the contact, and the hand was removed. "Sorry m'lady" shi hears the older voice say, "How are you feeling?" With that comment the adrenaline that had rushed into her system from waking in a strange place seemed to rush out, and she gets the full force of her injuries.

She slowly stood her human torso up, and opened her eyes, looking at the two humans that were stood before her. The older male raised an eyebrow at her, and the younger one blushed furiously and looked away. It took her a few seconds to work out why, and blushing nearly as much as the boy, she covered her naked breasts with an arm, and then she reached down for the blanket she could feel over her back. She winced in pain though as she gripped the blanket, unaware of her injury, she'd reached down with her left arm.

The old man, turned to his apprentice and said, "lets turn away why the lady make's herself more presentable." It takes a few seconds for the young boy to respond, before he blushes deeper and turned away too.

Kheitenn appreciated the old man's gesture, although looking down she can see that she's clean, someone must have cleaned her off, including her more private areas. She heard the old man say something else to the boy, then heard him headed off out of the room.

Using her right arm she pulled the blanket up and arranged it over her shoulders so it draped down the front, before she looked up and studied the older man before her. "Who are you? Where am I?" she asked him, a hint of fear in her voice.

The man glanced round, and noticed her covered, turned fully back round to face her. "I'm a healer" he said, smiling gently at her. He sensed her distress, but was not sure the source of it, "you came into the village yesterday, badly injured, before galloping back out of it. Equestra tracked you down, and chased of a bear that was attacking you, before bringing you back here and summoning me. You're at her ranch. Now back to my earlier question, how are you feeling?"

Kheitenn blinked a little, and tried to digest that information. "Weak," she answered him, "and it hurts. I don't,.... I don't remember anything after entering the village and collapsing?"

The healer nodded, "yes I heard you did that, before getting back to your feet and fleeing the village. You had already left by the time I got to the square, and Equestra had gone after you. From what I have heard you were deep into delirium by then, not aware of your own actions. You were pretty far gone by the time you got here. How bad is the pain? I don't want to overdose you with sophorics, especially as you don't seem to have eaten much lately. For that matter when was the last time you ate?"

At the healer's words, vague memories of fleeing the village, and fighting the bear again, the one she was sure she had already killed came to her. She shuddered a little, before finally noticing the slings under her body. She looked round quickly, and collapsed in sudden dizziness. "M'lady" the healer exclaimed, rushing back towards her, touching her on her flank gently.

Kheitenn lay there in a slings for a bit, her mind spinning. It slowly stopped, and she opened her eyes again and looked at the healer. "Take it slowly, please," he said to her, "you were close to death, and it's going to take you a long while to recover. The slings as you can see are to support you, you have injuries on both flanks, and it wasn't safe last night to lay you down."

Kheitenn closes her eyes again resting in the slings. "In nswer to your earlier questions the pain is fairly dull at the moment, and when I last ate..." she thought for a few minutes, "other than an odd fruit, nothing major for nearly two weeks, assuming I was out for a night?"

The healer gasped a little at that, "nearly two weeks" he exclaimed, "no wonder you're so weak. And yes only one night."

He turned as the young boy returned, a bowl of light porridge in his hands. "Equestra is heading back toward the house," he told his master, before he offered the bowl to Kheitenn, "For you m'lady," he said, still blushing.

"Go slowly with that," the healer warned her as she accepted the porridge, "Your stomach wont be used to food, and I don't want you throwing it back up." He stood there watching her struggle a minute before growling, "damn I'm a fool," he looked around but sees nothing she can rest the bowl on, as she's was unable to hold the bowl in her injured arm. He walked over to her and took the bowl from her, holding it up high so she can eat from it. It looked silly, but it did the job, and she slowly ate the porridge, and felt a little better afterwards.

Crixon · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:32 pm Post subject:

"So,making a pig of yourself i see" Equestra said as she walked in the door.

It took a few seconds for Crixon to realize it was him who was being talked to,he looked up from shoveling food in as fast as he could,he mumbled something unintelligible and went back to eating.She walked into the room a little bit more and waited for him to finish eating,he was just about finished anyway.When he was done he took the tray and placed it on the floor.

"That was good,thank you,is there anymore im still starving," he asked.
"Your welcome and no,i just came by to see how you were doing and to tell you the healer wanted you to stay in bed and i mean to see you stay there"

"But i feel fine if not a little weak but if i get some more food in me ill be fine,i could probably walk all the way home right now" Crixon tried to get up but seeing what he was going to try to do Equestra came over and pushed his shoulder lightly and he flopped right over onto the bed.

"Now if i am able to lightly push you over you are in no condition to be walking home,now you lay there and be a good stallion and ill be back later to check on you." and with that she turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind her.

"I lost my balance thats all" he mumbled as drifting off to sleep again.
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Equestra · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:18 pm Post subject: OOC

OOC: Just wanted to jump in and say ROFL! Laughing

You wrote my character perfectly and that was a very cute and funny chapter. Well done!
_________________
Those who try their best are never at their worst.

Crixon · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:39 pm Post subject:

thx

but i still dont like doing it
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Equestra · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:40 pm Post subject:

Get used to it. Razz

_________________
Those who try their best are never at their worst.

Kheitenn · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:41 pm Post subject:

But we, we want the real thing... Shocked

Crixon · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:43 pm Post subject:

ya! what Kheitenn said!
_________________
We of the unicorn clan are the best horsemen in the land,our horses are our lives,we live as one,we fight as one,we die as one.
"Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn't it, Caramon? But it's better than being empty inside." —Tasslehoff Burrfoot