Not Picking a Side

[Aaron Winsett]

The mage turned back and saw the the charging horsewoman. Apparently, she meant to come in and finish things with the healer herself. Or maybe she was coming after Aaron. It didn't matter the main target; Aaron had just been zeroed in on.

"Right. Watch that arm, and try to stay clear of brigands."

Aaron faced the bandit leader, before meeting her with a charge of his own. A charging mage was not something you usually found on the battlefield, but the green-haired scholarly sort wanted to get that healer kid out of the way of danger, and running to meet the opponent was a good way to do that. Plus, his opponent would be either unnerved or overconfident. Both could be an advantage, especially with how deadly a mage's flames could be.

He rushed forward, his cloak streaming out behind him. He could see her sword's lowering, aiming to skewer him. The distance closed, and just before she would have stabbed him, Aaron used his fire tome to cause a small "blazebang" in her face, while ducking and rolling under the attack. As the horse passed by, the magic user conjured fire on his hand and scraped it along the tack, cutting the horse's girth, and causing the saddle to slide off and carry the rider with it.

Aaron turned and stood up, chuckling a bit as he saw the woman rising, holding her soot covered face as if it had been struck by a hammer. Meanwhile, the horse hadn't stopped. The last time he'd used his "blazebang", he'd been considerably weaker. It had been when he'd first started out, in fact.

"Heheheh.... A small explosion tuned for high volume and a bright flash. There you have it. The recipe for Aaron Winsett's bandit incapacitator, otherwise known as the blazebang."

Aaron's own ears were still ringing a bit from the "bang" part of his spell. He couldn't imagine what it felt like for someone who'd gotten it full in the face.

She doesn't appear to be visually impaired though.... Hmm... maybe she closed her eyes.

Aaron was surprised when the woman picked up her sword, and let loose with a torrent of insulting names and phrases. Some of them quite imaginative to the mage.

"She should have been a bard, eh?" He tossed over his shoulder to the others. She payed him no heed though. He didn't really expect her to be able to hear him right now.

"You really should start running." Aaron said, gesturing and pointing off in some direction. Hopefully, it was away from where they were going. She merely squinted at him angrily, and continued approaching slowly. Honestly, she seemed a bit unsure what she was going to do.

This put Aaron in a bit of a difficult position. Subconsciously, he held with the old beliefs of never harming a lady. Being forced to kill her would leave a bad taste in his mouth, yet he was unsure if he was really willing to let her just go. If he let her, she'd likely cause more trouble someday.

Decisions, decisions.... This is why countries have appointed officials to make these choices.

[Xavier]

Xavier watched as events unfolded around him, ending when the bandit's leader got banged in the face. And then, he saw the mage's hesitation. He might probably be struggling with the context of hurting a woman. That was probably the wrong thought to have for this bandit leader was anything but a normal lady. She would play dirty to get what she needed.

Xavier opened his mouth with the intention of warning the mage, but to his horror, he saw that he was too late as the bandit leader cut the remainder of the straps on the horse and threw her spear at the mage at his hesitation, smiling as she started charging at the mage behind the thrown spear.

"Look out!", Xavier screamed, hopefully in time for the mage to react from the spear, then, Xavier winced as the wound in his left arm rubbed against Ralph's back.

[Sabin]

Sabin hung on till Grayson stopped the horse at a distance, not too far away from the action. He so as the boss attacked the boy from earlier and Aaron came to the resuce, blasting some of the bandits closing in. He then heard Grayson's plan and nodded. It was time to finish off their boss once and for all.

Sabin charged forward with all his strength- he was going for the kill. He hoped one swing at the woman would do the trick, if not, he'd probably have the support of the others anyways.

He stopped when he saw Aaron come face to face with the woman. Aaron had the upper hand as she was kneeling, her skin probably burning from those balls of fre Aaron was conjuring. As he advanced closer, he could see Aaron hesitating. Sabin frowned and spat at the ground. He was going to show her mercy just because she was a lady? Stupud people, people never new that mercy was based on character and not discrimination of gender. Sabin knew from years of experience that the highwaywoman would probably not give up.

He watched as she instantly threw her spear at Aaron and charged forward behind the spear. Instincts told Sabin that Aaron would not make it out without bad bruises. The guy needed help. Without any thinking or hesitation, Sabin ran as fast as he could and cut through the spear horizontally into two, saving Aaron just in time. But he was not able to stp the charging highwaywoman, and collided with her, sending her skidding in the opposite direction while he himself fell on Aaron. He felt some kind of pain under his left shoulder... he checked to see a wound... he had been stabbed below his armpit!

[Xavier]

Xavier sighed as he saw the rude man from earlier jump in to help the mage but winced again when he saw him fall on the mage. As Xavier watched on, he could tell that something was wrong, and he hurried Ralph over, biting his teeth to endure the pain that his wound was causing him when the horse moved.

Xavier had to stifle a laugh when he saw what had happened. The man had been stabbed in the... armpit! After the first glance though, Xavier could see that the wound was slightly deep and he hurriedly fished in his bag for his staff to heal the guy.

They had only just met but these guys had saved him after all, even though that rough guy was the reason why he had gotten attacked by the bandit in the first place.

Xavier concentrated, gritting his teeth and calling out one of the last few shreds of his energy left in order to heal the man. He saw the man's wound slowly healing and closing up. When it was all closed up though, Xavier's mind blanked out for a moment due to the exhaustion and blood loss combined.

His teeth that were still held together were biting his tongue and froth started to form out of his mouth as he started blanking out again, only to regain consciousness soon after and start blanking out again. These sequences of events repeated on while more froth was formed.

[Grayson]

Grayson readied a shot as Sabin bolted towards the fray. He held firm on the arrow, keeping it drawn, waiting for a best chance to fire. The archer's heart raced. Such an amazing battle was unfolding in front of him! Aaron performed magnificently against the apparent leader of the mounted highwaymen and Sabin surprisingly broke her weapon. Grayson pondered for a moment what the spear was made of for it to be so easily sliced in twine. One would think that a person who intimidates travelers for a living would have sturdier weapons, but it really wasn't the time to think of such things.

Then Grayson noticed the healer as he mended Sabin's wound. He seemed to be passing out. Grayson's mind raced over what to do. Aaron and Sabin would be more than enough for the woman to handle, but protecting a limp body would prove to be cumbersome. Thankfully, the healer was still on his horse. Grayson knew what to do. He fired a shot at the woman who was now toppled over and then another, not so much worrying about where they landed, and hopped back on Mr. Cobblepot, with his help, of course. He kicked his steed and flicked the bridle and Mr. Cobblepot responded by galloping forward. As he reached the group, he slowed and stopped next to the healer. Grayson wasn't entirely sure why this man was being protected, but he figured there was a good reason.

"I'm going to get him to a safe range. I'll give some support from the back after I get some distance." Grayson explained to Aaron and Sabin. His gaze moved to the woman who was slowly getting up. He noticed two arrows stuck in the ground next to her. The novice archer sighed at this sight, but figured he didn't have time to lament over his lack of skill with a bow. He placed a hand on the healer's shoulder and shook the young man, attempting to bring him to long enough to get him on Mr. Cobblepot.

"Hey! Pardon me, but I need to get you out of here!"

[Xavier]

Xavier was still moving between consciousness and unconsciousness and could barely even notice the purple haired guy nudging him waking him up. Even as he was trying to move, his mind went black the next moment, stopping all his movements. What he hoped was that the man did not want him to do anything particularly important as he was not in the state to do so.

OoC: Maybe you could try just directing his horse there? I don't really think Xavier can move right about now, and his left hand has a serious wound.

[Aaron Winsett]

The mage had been weighing whether or not this highwaywoman could be truly convinced to repent of her thieving ways. He wanted to grant mercy, but he doubted she would turn from crime. Then he saw her launching a lance at him.

Definitely not repentant. He thought as he got ready to try and twist aside from the spear's path.

He lost track of what happened over the next few moments. The only thing he was aware of was being violently knocked to the side, until he came to rest near Sabin. That had been... a jarring experience.

"Thanks for the save, Sabin." Aaron said, climbing to his feet as that blue-haired healer came up. As he did his work on Sabin, he suddenly seemed to go into some sort of "sicky thing". Maybe he'd already been sick with something (that didn't bode well), or maybe he'd used too much of his energy in healing. The green-haired mage was no healer, so he couldn't say. Grayson came up and got the troubadour out of immediate harm, at least.

The bandit leader was still getting up though, and apparently, still intent on threatening them. If he'd been in her position, Aaron would have turned and fled long ago. No sense in sticking around to die when you're fighting for loot.... Maybe there was some reason that she couldn't run away.

Either way, she's crossed my line.

"You shouldn't have gotten back up." The mage's voice was soft as he looked on, disturbed by her persistence. What caused people to go down these routes?

Putting further thought behind him, Aaron used his elfire tome to form a firebolt, and released it at his target. The flames raged as they flew through the air, hissing and popping for a few brief moments as they contacted flesh which simply couldn't withstand the heat. Fire bloomed in a terrible flower of death as the steam hissed from what had been a living body moments before. There wasn't even a scream. Only the sickening smell wafting from a charred wreck left behind.

Aaron started to feel sick at what he'd done. Tuning a fire tome to maximum heat was one thing. Tuning the advanced spells, like Elfire, naturally brought even more heat. That's when the mage felt the sudden drain in his energy. He wasn't even off his adrenaline yet, and he was already feeling exhausted. He could only remember feeling like this once before, after a day of forced march ending in a battle.

"I'm sorry that you all had to see that..." Aaron said, letting himself kneel on the ground to recover his breath for a moment. He was still disturbed by what he'd done, but he was putting it from his mind for the moment.

"Magic should not have to be used in this manner."


OoC: Edited some. We can't have magic users vaporizing people. Elfire simply doesn't have the power for that. In other news, eww.

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron got up. He was weary, but not yet so exhausted that he couldn't function. At some point over the past months, his reserves of energy must have increased. That, or perhaps he was simply using it more efficiently now. He'd also tried something new, today. It had almost been an instinct in him when he had swiped his hand through the air, and used the ambient energy from his surroundings. That wasn't something he'd heard about before, and if he'd tried a year ago, he certainly would have lacked the means to do so.... How had he done that exactly?

The mage carried himself closer to where Grayson had led the healer's horse to. Why had he protected this guy, anyway? He'd been convinced to leave the bandits, and join their group, and that had put him in danger.... Aaron supposed that was it, but the kid really shouldn't have thrown his lot in with the bandits before.

There was probably a story here.

The scholar's eyes roved over the injured form of the young man. "Magic exertion." Aaron had seen it before, but he'd never been the one to fix it. "He's used too much energy... and is dying. The arm isn't helping either"

There wasn't much time for debate. There was only one way to fix this. He would have to transfer some of his own remaining energy to the blue-haired healer, and hope for the best.... It would seem a waste to let him die after the fight. Might as well go the full measure.

With a grown, and a small wince from a minor bruise on his side, Aaron pulled the troubadour from out of his saddle and lay him down on the ground. He possessed the knowledge to do a magic transfer, but he'd never actually done so except in practices.

Uhh... I'm too tired to be nervous right now. The green haired magic user lay one hand on the other man's chest, and another on the man's forehead. He gathered a portion of his remaining energy, and sent it down his limbs and into the unconscious healer. That should bring him around in a bit.

Aaron sat back on his heels, and rested for a moment. He probably wouldn't be able to march any farther today, and Fable was still nowhere in sight. After a moment more, his gaze fell on a healing vulnerary which the unconscious man carried.

Wearily, the mage took it, and used a portion of the healing ointment to seal up the injury on the healers arm, before clipping it back on his belt. That would stop the worst of the damage.

[Xavier]

Xavier could barely keep his consciousness as events unfolded all around him, and so, it was with a dazed mind that he saw the mage shoot some form of heat blaze at the bandit leader. She didn't stand a chance, that much, even Xavier, in his half-conscious form, could tell, much less those who were in the same party as her. Xavier could hear some chaotic cries as the other horsemen ran off, good riddance for them. Now then, Xavier could perhaps have some rest...... He was feeling very... sleepy......

A wave of white light flashed.

Then, more waves followed.

Then, a realisation. Those weren't waves, much less waves of light. Those were the effects of the sunlight on his eyes as he jolted awake again, as his eyes and body decided to start working once again. And then, Xavier could feel it, his body regaining strength. Someone must be supplying him with some form of energy.

Xavier tried opening his eyes, but it was too bright, his eyes needing time to adjust to the sunlight. However, with this drop back to reality, Xavier could feel a red hot pain right at the edge of his consciousness. His hand! It was wounded earlier. Xavier smiled as his memories started returning slowly, signalling the waking up of his brain cells.

Hey! The red hot pain slowly faded to become just a glowing orange colour on his arm. It was weird. Was he being healed? By who? Was that mage a healer too?

Then, as Xavier's irises adjusted themselves, he saw the mage click his pot of vulnerary back on the chain that Xavier used to hang his bag and essential items.

As his vision righted itself, Xavier pushed himself up into a sitting position, panted a little at the effort, then managed one word out of his mouth that was still a little numb from his exhaustion: "Thanks!"

[Aaron Winsett]

OoC: Gonna jump us ahead to camp. Aaron's tired.

Aaron put his hands behind him on the ground an leaned back, laughing in, well, partly in relief, and partly from exhaustion.

"Haha... You... owe me... so much for that...." Despite his choice of words, the mage's smile didn't seem inspired by greed. Instead, it came from satisfaction of a job well done. Saving lives and helping people. That's what he thought magic should be for.... It just happened to make a great weapon when the need arose.

"Get up." The green-haired scholar pushed himself to his feet, seeming a little unsteady until he steadied himself. "There will be time for talk later, but we should at least get away from this mess."

Aaron raised his voice to be heard by the others. "We need to get away from here..., and make camp."


- - - - -

They hadn't gone far before Aaron realized he wouldn't be able to go on for much longer. Probably only about forty minutes of road travel. With a flourish deadened by exhaustion, Aaron removed his cloak, unbuckled his pauldron, and let it all drop to his side as he sunk down next to a rock. As he leaned back on it, he marveled at the fact that a piece of stone could be so comfortable.

As to a camp fire, he wasn't even going to try for one. The others could try an light one, if they wished.

[Xavier]

Xavier watched from the corner of his eyes as the mage stood up and suggested heading towards somewhere to camp. Xavier then tried to sit up properly, wincing as the wound on his left arm hurt slightly.

Xavier then looked at his wound, the Vulnerary had sped up the clotting process of the blood cells in the wound, but that had only just temporary closed the wound, staunching the blood flow. For the wound to be completely healed, Xavier would have to use his staff later on to heal it.

Xavier then got his horse to start walking, but at a slow pace, as he was still very tired from his overusage of his staff, and his arm hurt like hell. Then, Xavier saw that the mage seemed tired as well, and after a while had stopped to rest on a rock. Xavier wondered if the man had sacrificed some of his energy to help him.

Seeing as they were most likely going to camp there, Xavier led Ralph to a nearby tree and tied him there, falling asleep while still mounted on Ralph. He would have to remind himself to heal his arm when he got better.

[Ilyadia]

Ilyadia hummed a merry tune as he walked through Bern. He cared not as to exactly where he was, as long as he had some fun while he there. That was typically a good motto. Just walking... Humming... Being happy. It seemed to Ilyadia as if he were one of very few truly happy people he had seen since leaving home. Ilyadia gave his blond hair a short tug out of habit as a way to wake himself from his little trance-like state, and then looked around, truly perceiving the world for the first time since a few hours ago.

What he saw was almost shocking. A road. A road meant people. People meant adventure. And adventure? Adventure was what Ilyadia wanted. But first... He would have to find adventurers.

And so the Hunter began walking down that road, in search of people. And people he found. Adventurers! Ilyadia began wondering if it were truly a good idea to approach them though. In the last town he had passed through, a rather kind man had suggested thy Ilyadia stayed away from strangers. But... Did adventurers let an opportunity pass them by? No! Of course not! What adventure started because someone was too afraid to put themselves out there, to try new things or talking to people they had never met? None of them! So, finally making his mind up, Ilyadia let out a shout.

"Ho there!"

[Grayson]

Grayson sat against a nearby tree, wondering what was taking Aaron so long to light the fire. One would imagine the mage in the party would be the one to do it. Grayson certainly had no knowledge of lighting a campfire, so if Aaron wasn't going to start it then he supposed it fell upon Sabin or Wyatt to do it. The healer obviously wasn't going to assist seeing as the poor chap was passed out on his horse. The archer stood up and pat Mr. Cobblepot's neck, tying his reins to a thick branch.

Grayson let out a sigh. Ever since Aaron burned that woman alive, he wasn't keen on interacting with him. It wasn't such an intense aversion that he avoided the mage, but he definitely did not enjoy having to speak with him. Such a blatant display of ruthless destruction and lack of empathy for his victim put a blemish on Grayson's otherwise shining opinion of Aaron.

Thankfully, he was saved from having to speak with the mage a little longer as a newcomer appeared. Grayson noticed the bow slung to the man's back. Another archer? He wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Er. Hello, stranger. What brings you out here?"

[Sabin]

Sabin awoke when he heard a strange voice... and another, familiar one. He had recovered from his wound and had seen the whole battle with the highwaywoman. Aaron's power was incredible, truly, he was someone to be feared. He accoanied the grou as they eaded back to camp and the first thing he did was sleep.


He got up to see to see the camp becoming darker...why had no one bothered to start a fire? Sabin searched or some twigs and wood...they needed a fire.

It didnt take him long before he started one though. Years of experience really helped. As he turned to see Grayson and a new face go into a staring contest, Sabin decided to break the silence.

" So, where do you come from? I ask of our name as well." he asked.

[Ilyadia]

"My name? Call me Ilyadia. I'm a wandering bow-wielder from Sacae, in case you wanted to know that as well. As to why I'm here? I'm here because this is where my moving feet brought me." Ilyadia grinned as the newly-lit fire lit up the small camp. "Would you mind if I were to join you for a short while? I promise not to intrude for too long." As usual, Ilyadia's gender was ambigious, and it didn't help that the only light was from the newly built fire.