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Logarth was glad when Trekvid stopped in a small basin for the group to camp for the night. When he got to the camp, Dante and Hikaru were together, talking. He glanced at his surroundings. Well, now the only thing we have to worry about is if it rains and floods in here, he thought, laughing nervously.

He looked around for a spot to rest his bag, as he was getting tired of carrying it. He found a nice spot, set it down, and looked around at the group. He noticed that Dante was shivering a little bit, and realized that she probably wouldn't have a cover for the night. He took his cloak off and walked over to Hikaru and Dante. "You can use my cloak for warmth tonight, as it's going to be a little chilly. And don't worry, I'm used to the cold. And you need it more than I do," Logarth said, handing the cloak over to her.

"Not around here," Dante spread her wet cloak on the ground, hoping it would dry by morning, "I don't have a set home. I came across your group after that first bear was taken down."

She tried to avoid the subject of bears, but at this point, at least today, the subject was unavoidable. Especially since their dinner was going to be bear meat, of all things. Logarth soon came by (the last thing she wanted at this point was attention), offering his own cloak for her to use. "Thanks...." she wasn't about to say no to the offer, slowing taking it from his hands and wrapping it around herself.

"Oh...." Hikaru said, not knowing what to say.
She watched Dante take the cloak from Logarth.
"Sorry I couldn't get fire to you in the first bear battle..." she said quietly to Logarth. She stretched out on the grass. "I think I'll buy oil or tar or something....."she yawned."... at the next town. It might help."
Thinking of bears, she was reminded that their dinner was bear. She tryed not to think of that.

Orost walked over to Dante with a smile, "That was some fight there miss!" He said happily. He was tired, but he was happy that he had seen that beast and lived. He walked over to a place where no one else was and started making a fire. He dug a small fire-pit and threw kindeling in. He took out his flint and struck up a small flame. He yelled over to Trekvid and Felvil to bring meat, becasuse he hadden't anything to hack of a chuck for himself with. He set out his supplys and bed roll while he waited.

Terra watched, awestruck, as the girl with the jewel defeated the bear. By herself. Granted, she seemed to have the help of the strange jewel, and she fell into the river afterwards, but...

She headed over to help get her out of the river, but arrived too late to do so. Sighing at her lack of help, she turned, wondering what to do until they headed toward the new campsite. When she felt that they were pretty much settled there for the night, she wandered over to where the rest of the group was standing.

"Wow. Hectic day today, huh? At least now we'll be able to get some rest," she said, smiling nervously at the group. "And some food... I am starving. The lack of a menu is disturbing, but, I suppose we'll have to deal with what we have, hm?"

Trekvid found a smaller hollow in the ground and spoke a few words over it. A flame appeared and held constant. He pulled the meat out of his sack and sat it near the fire.

"Cook up, anyone that wants to. You all need to relax for a while. Get to know each other. You've been through a lot today, and I want you all to be able to reflect on what's gone on." Trekvid said. He stepped over to Dante and plopped himself on the ground.

Orost sighed and walked over to Trekvid. He took a hunk of meat (3/10 pieces of that meat) and went back to his campsite. He put it in his frying pan and set it on a suspended metal grill that he had apperently had. Further investigation revealed that it was from his blacksmithing hammer's non-smithing end. The hammer seemed to have a very small number of gadgets on it, like this stove-top thing.

So far, nearly everyone in the group came up to Dante and expressed their surprise and gratefulness. She just sat there and nodded. Oh how she just wanted to avoid it all.

She slowly lowered herself down to her side, curling up in a ball, still wet and cold, but at least the cloak from Logarth kept her mostly warm. Her back to most of the group as she laid on the ground, Trekvid conviently took a seat next to her, chewing on dinner.

"I don't know how it does that," she said quietly, knowing exactly why he was hanging around her, "Since I got the silly thing strange things would happen. More often it's something small, rarely am I knocked out by it. I don't know what it is and why I'm the one with the reaction to it. That's all."

Xantcha watched most of the group head over to the young woman with the jewel. 'Not much of a surprise there.', she thought. The emerald-coloured blast had been a sight that surely none of them had seen before, and even she had only once in her life seen anything even remotely like it, and it did not bring up pleasant memories...
For the moment though, asking questions about it was not her prime concern. She had business left unfinished with the still-hurt teenager, and gently walked over to her.
'Hello, girl. How are your wounds? Do they ache still? I see you are eating, and that is good, for a nourished body is quicker to regain itself. But still, food alone can not heal you, and the Ritual of Restoration we took up before must be completed, or your pains will come back to you in a manner you are not likely to find particularly pleasant. So if you will, come with me to the campfire, where we will prepare the final stages of the ritual.'

Trekvid walked over to Orost's fry-pan and picked two of the pieces off. "We have to conserve the meat and make it last as long as possible." He muttered in explanation. He brought the meat over to Dante. He handed a piece to her. He plopped back down and chewed the other piece.

Felvil stood on the lip of the basin, alternately watching the group and the surrounding land. Nothing stirred in the dusk.

Hikaru stared at the grass, remembering the times when she and her mother had traveled around and camped in basin not unlike this one. Hikaru wondered for a moment where her mother was, but quickly wiped it from her mind. She would be fine, she assured herself.

"Hello, girl. How are your wounds? Do they ache still? I see you are eating, and that is good, for a nourished body is quicker to regain itself. But still, food alone can not heal you, and the Ritual of Restoration we took up before must be completed, or your pains will come back to you in a manner you are not likely to find particularly pleasant. So if you will, come with me to the campfire, where we will prepare the final stages of the ritual."

Hikaru looked up to see the priestess gently talking to her and managed a smile.
"They still hurt a little." she admitted, standing up and nearly fell over from sitting down too long. "What is the Ritual of Restoration? How does it work? What kind of unpleasant pains will come back?"

Xantcha was speaking to the young girl as they were walking over to the campfire, choosing the lesser crowded of the two. 'The Ritual of Restoration is what I use when healing a person who is near the brink of death, or is soon to be so, but has not yet lived out their full potential. We started it at the battle-scene where you killed that bear, remember? An unnecessary death, yet, from what I have seen and experienced from this group, an unavoidable one. Kish will weep over his carcass tonight, and that of his brother, whose death, and no doubt many others' living in these forests, could have easily been avoided if that young woman had managed to restrain herself. I suspect rainfall tonight.'
She looked up at the sky, and by the light of the fire, there seemed to be a small sparkle in the priestess' eyes. Was she crying?
She wiped her sleeve across her eyes and scraped her throat. 'Sorry, but that was not what you were asking about. You probably haven't even heard of Vinkara in your young life. The pains, yes, the pains you were asking about. Well, we started the ritual earlier, but had to interrupt it due to complications' She was speaking again in her cold and monotone voice from before.' The ritual needs to be completed, or what little good the interrupted ritual actually managed will be undone, with the gods striking you and me both for the heresy that an incompleted ritual is. They do not look kindly upon lip service. So, girl, if you will, sit down.'
They had arrived by the fire.

Xantcha took from her robes a battered goblet, made from what appeared to be silver. It was inscribed all over with symbols and letters that made it clear it came from a faraway place. She took out her pouch of herbs and her deerskin waterbag, and lay the three objects on the ground, sitting down in front of them in an odd sort of pose, that had her right leg beneath her, and her left leg bent under her chin.
'Vinkara, we return to you, for only in your arms and by your judgement can we be absolved, and reach our full potential in body and spirit.'
She took the crushed mint out of her pouch, and threw it in the cup.
'Vinkara, we offer our gifts to you, and hope that we be repaid in kind.'
She uncorked her waterbag, and filled the cup to the brim.
'Vinkara, we bring you one who is in need, and pray that your mercy may reach her.'
She stood up, taking the fragrant cup from the ground with both hands, and turning around to face the fire.
'Vinkara, our death is always in your hands'
She plunged the cup with both hands into the middle of the fire, and thought she heard the familiar startle from the girl behind her. They were always so surprised. Xantcha had been too, the first time. 'Magic', she had said out loud in the temple where they were healing the wounded man. But this was not magic. It was simply faith.
She turned around again, and handed the liquid, which had now turned a dark purple, but still smelled of freshly picked mint, to the girl.
'Drink', she spoke. 'Drink, that you may feel better'.

She sat down beside the fire and closed her eyes, momentarily exhausted.

Hikaru listened happily as they walked to the camp fire together. She had almost been not speaking for a while, and was happy that someone was talking to her.
Glancing at the priestess, she realized that there was, or seemed to be, a small glint in her eyes. But it was gone so quickly... Maybe the light is playing tricks with me, she thought. It made her think about the priestess and her words for the rest of the night.

After hearing the definition of the ritual, Hikaru sat down quickly when they reached the fire. The priestess was right, there had been enough deaths today. And she didn't want to be another one.

Hikaru watched the ritual carefully, not wanting to miss anything.
The priestess was throwing the eariler crushed mint into a silver goblet, then poured water into it. Hikaru's eyes followed her as she stood up.

Vinkara, our death is always in your hands

Watching the priestess plung her hands in the fire, the sight didn't go to her brain properly, and it was a couple moments later before she gasped. Or rather, her brain was trying to gasp but it ended up like a grunt.
Weren't her hands burnt? Hikaru tried to look over the priestess's shoulder.

The priestess turned around, and gave Hikaru the goblet. Hikaru peered in and was surprised to see that it was a dark purple.
Drink that you may feel better
Hikaru looked up at the seemingly exausted priestess and smiled a little.
"Does it taste bad?"She said, her eyes dancing. She looked into the goblet it again. "How does that work?" It looked like magic to her, but something told her it wasn't.
Hikaru put the goblet to her lips and drank.

Dante stared at the bit of meat Trekvid has placed in font of her. It's not that she wasn't hungry, she just had no appetite. The gesture was nice, especially after the odd way he had been watching her and talking to her since she stumbled on everyone, but nothing sparked her appetite.

Pulling the dry cloak tight around her like a blanket, Dante rolled over to her other side, facing away from everyone, and shut her eyes, hoping she'd drift off to sleep in the near future.

Orost waited a littel longer, until the meat was well done. He took it off the pan and ate it quickly. He yawned and cleaned up his equipment. He set his hammers to the side of his bed roll and drifed off to sleep.