Elthana looks at Gewyn and she tries very hard not to yell, "A victim?! Him? Look at me!!" Drool is starting to fall out of her mouth and as she turns towards Gewyn she about topples on her backwards facing knee.
She stares down at the giant with malice in her eyes, knowing all too well what the ones back at the village are feeling and wonders how this curse can be broken. She turns to Sam, "What was it he was saying?"
Vin was about to blast the creature again with some powerful blasts of magic but upon seeing it collapse he instead moves the bonfire spell away but still providing light for Muir. Vin looks around and sees the condition that Elthana is in. He then looks back to the giant and sees how it seems to have done something to her. However, as he looks back at the giant he sees Neferox rushing in towards the giant's head. Her intent is easy and clear to read. Kill the threat. Vin's eyes go wide as he thinks of something and shouts "Wait! Nef!"
This seems too late to stop her but Vin's warning shout might allow others a chance to intervene if they want but otherwise she will bite the neck of the giant taking advantage of it being unconscious. The killing intent clear in the hound's eyes. She sees a threat and unconscious just means she can eliminate it. Her predatory instincts driving her to remove this creature as a threat that can hurt Vin.
Muir hears Vin shout at Nef to wait. Muir hears Gewyn mention something about the giant and a loud snore. Muir figures Nef is going to kill the giant. Muir, although would not strike, what he assumes, the sleeping giant himself, has no second thoughts allowing Nef kill it. He wonders if it will help Elthana's condition if the source is killed. He moves closer to get a better view of Elthana, and listens for Nef killing the giant. He casts Healing Word on Elthana to ease her pain a bit.
"Ah! Good Lord!"Gewyn bursts out, noticing Elthana for the first time since the fight started. He composes himself quickly though, saying, "I mean you're looking just as beautiful as always. You've just a got a bit of something..." He rubs his lip in the same place where drool is leaking from Elthana's mouth.
He is distracted though, by Nef rushing by towards the giant. Gewyn considers stopping her, but for what? To a violent and probably insane giant, diseased with some sort of awful corruption? Another thought comes to mind. Gewyn raises his pipes once more and begins to play a sweet yet meloncholy melody as Nef closes in. A last little bit of beauty for the giant to take with him as he passes from this world.
Neferox rushes forward, hesitating for a split second at Vin's protest, but the shout is for nothing... Filled with Gewyns inspiration and seemingly his blessing Neferox splits the Giant's neck with her first attack, her second only serves to sever its head from its body as she shoves her head fully in through the blood and viscera, the Giant's bulbous eyes open wide only a second before the light completely leaves them. The body settles, no longer held by unconscious muscles, but now relaxing into death as air escapes the lungs through what used to be this huge creatures neck.
Combat, for now, is over.
In the dimly illuminated room the group sees the lengths that the giant went to, to scratch it's crazed writings on the walls, on the ceilings, on the crates dotted around. This was likely the living space for the giant, a throughway from one area of the cave to another.
Muir takes a look toward Elthana, holding his breath, hoping that she might begin reverting back, now that the giant is dead, but no changes come, her deformities stay, her breathing laboured.
Elthana looks to Muir and whispers "Thank you" as the loxodon gifts her with some healing. As Gewyn starts with his reaction to her, she glowers at him, but then holds her breath as Nef finishes off the beast. She looks down at herself just to be sure and her shoulders visibly slump as she sees nothing has changed. She wipes the drool from her face, attempts to strengthen her resolve and heads deeper into the Giant's cave, limping as she goes.
She looks briefly over the crates to see if anything there is out of the ordinary, anything to take note of. But then she moves on to the circle thing on the map and checks it out (almost looks like a pool or cauldron?)
Before Elthana gets up and after being healed, Muir pokes and prods a bit at the boils "I apologize for not asking but this is going to hurt for a brief moment but I want to figure out how to cure you....I have to test you and the giant...again apologies....perhaps bite down on this" Muir hands Elthana piece of wood from his things that he uses for his spells. Muir finishes up with Elthana (if she didn't stab him) and continues to do the same to the dead giant
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Vin watches as Nef kills the giant. The boy understands it was an enemy but maybe it didn't have to be? Seeing it take it's last breath the young man looks towards Elthana to see if the death of the source of her affliction makes the curse go away. A few seconds go by as he watches Gweyn get caught off guard by her malshappened form. She doesn't change back. Vin hopes there is another way to cure her. "Lets see if there's something here to help undo what it did to Elthana." Vin will then begin looking around the giant's living space for anything that might be a clue or some kind of item that could heal her.
Nef meanwhile looks to Vin nods a couple times then joins in looking around. The black hound sniffing and smelling around the area for identifiable scents. Nerferox seems to be smelling all around the giant's living quarters and around it's possessions.
Neferox starts poking around a cauldron to the south of the Giant's "room", meanwhile Vin carefully looks over some of the crates that are filled with pungent fruits.
Sam hears Vin call out but makes no move to stop Neferox in response - Sam himself is choking up on his maul ready to move up and take another swing himself. Still and all, a hound really should obey it's master. Sam cannot help but wonder which is the hound in their case...
"It named Rynwell several times," Sam says in answer to Elthana's query. "I'm assuming that is the hag. Said he'd be beautiful once she opens up the Hell Gate since everything else would be made much uglier than him... At the end there was a bit about how 'it will corrupt your plane too' like it did his own, I suppose. I assume that's this Hell Gate thing he was on about. Afraid nothing about undoing... What has been done."
Sam turned to Elthana while answering her and looked her in the eye as he did. It wasn't the easiest thing to do but he believes he didn't let that show. It is a shame though, he thinks. Shoulda been a lunk like me to take that instead of someone worth looking at... "No worries though, right? Always more ways to fix things than just smashing them. It may not be right away but we'll get you back to sorts. I promise. In the meantime, practice with your bow... No excuses for missing the mark, eh?"
Sam then spends less time looking around the giant's things than he does examining the walls and the ceiling and translating what is written there. He suspects it's all just more of the same, the git seemed to have a one track mind, but he would be thorough just in case... Yet all that draws his eye is the crates.
"Who was bringing him fruits from Hokum?" Sam wonders aloud...
Elthana in too much of a stupor from everything doesn't even notice Muir at first and he is able to prod one of the boils a bit and get a little sample from it. She then smacks his hand away, hard. "You do such a thing without inquiring first? Check the Giant, check the kids back at the gathering, but stop pestering me. I have work to do." some of her words are slurred as she sputters them out and this angers her more. And she storms off to where she was heading,
Blocked by a moment from Sam, she listens to him as he looks into her eyes. She can tell it is hard for him and wonders how bad she does look for him to struggle looking her in the eyes. Instead of fueling her anger, this softens her a bit but as he mentions her bow, she brings up her hands, "How am I to use a bow with these fingers?" They are all at odd lengths and longer than they should be.
Heading to the cauldron she calls back, "Well, this is about half full of blood. Not surprising. Hey Gewyn, any idea how to get to the hag or do we just press on?"
"Your original fingers couldn't use a bow til you taught them," Trying to sound strict and sure though he was filled with doubt. "You've done it before, should be easier the second time. No?"
"There are more of the fruits here?" Gewyn asks, walking over to see what Sam is looking at. "My first thoughts go to Favian, but... Wait, it looked like he got nabbed from his house by the giant. It may have nabbed the fruits too. And if that's the case, Favian may be nearby."
To Elthana, he responds, "I hate to say it, but I think if we forge ahead, just me and Vin being present will likely be enough to bait her out. What treachery or sorcery she may have in store for us... I don't know." He puts a hand on the least deformed part of Elthana's shoulder so as not to hurt her and says, "But we will find her, and we will end this."
Elthana stares at Sam as he fumbles about her learning to use the bow with her unnatural form, "No."
She tries not to flinch when Gewyn touches her but she can't help herself. She knows this form isn't her fault, but she can't help feel ashamed. "Right, then let's move on." She's about to keep walking, but then turns back to the rest realizing the state she is and after seeing Sam and Nef get hit. "Should we take a short rest first?"
The fruit. Vin remembers the store of the fruit. It supposedly floats. It's also the tying force that made all the children enter into a dream like state. Vin has never seen these fruits before. Purple and orange in color and about the size of a peach. This seems like what Vin thought caused the status of the children. The beginning of what happened here. It seems to Vin that the fruits are being gathered but for what end? Were the town's folk being forced to eat them? He never thought to ask but it seemed more like they were not being fed at all. As sam asks about the fruit Vin says "I think these are the fruits we heard that the kids ate. Somehow they put them in a weird sleep walking state. However, they didn't at first. This is just a theory but maybe these fruits put you in a dream like state and that's when the hag gets you."
Vin notices how Elthana is just trying her best to ignore the situation but with her struggling with the bow and nocking an arrow he goes over to her and pulls out his crossbow that he was given as part of the standard adventuring gear when he first set out. He holds it out to Elthana and says, "Typically I just use my magic anyway, with this you only have to load then focus on aiming. Should be easier until that effect on you wears off."
Gweyn begins to add to the conversation and Vin nods as he adds "Likely, I believe the fruits were grown in the cave though. Might be forcing him to grow more? I'm unsure. I'm going to take some with me though. Might be handy." Vin pockets half a dozen of the fruits. Then he listens as the fact the two of them are likely the major targets here. Nef growls not liking this at all as she licks the blood off of her. Vin casts a simple spell that seems to clean her up as he goes over to pat her. She wags her tail and then looks grim at the situation. Vin nods and says "She says she's against any plan using me as bait. However, she also says she can follow the smell of the fruits if we think that might be where the portal is. She also thinks it might be a bad idea to wait much longer. We should at least get eyes on the portal to know if we even have time to spare."
Elthana brings up the question of a short rest and indeed she took some kind of nasty blow from that giant. Vin seems to be weighing the option of a short rest as Nef woofs to Vin and Vin looks to her in surprise then says "Elthana, would you like one of my healing potions to help us push on? I have a couple."
“It’s late, but we should press on,” Sam states, looking at the others. “I could use a rest too. Damn but that giant hit hard. Still… we got troubles enough without this hag coming in our dreams again, I suppose. I suppose too that if there’s help four Elthana here it’ll be got by squeezing it outta the drone.”
Somewhere during this time Sam shifts back to his normal size, not even aware of it. All the talk of fruit though does make him aware he has some in his pocketses… he idly dips his hand into the pouch they are in and then gobbles the handful of them. He’d been told they wouldn’t last long but they still tasted ok. (Adding 5 more hp back to Sam.)
“These fruits don’t seem to float,” Sam says, nudging the crates with his foot. “Maybe they do something to them to make them do that?” He asks, confused by the whole issue. “Hopefully we get some answers from the hag.. We ready then?” Sam asks even as he unconsciously reaches into his rust covered pouch… but finds it empty. ((Resets at dawn but Sam doesn’t know that yet, just that it’s seemed to reset while he slept…))
"I understand the urgency here, but I need you all to realize we've been up and at this for nearly 20 hours. If we don't stop for a short rest soon exhaustion will overtake us. Also, because it has been so long since a long rest, there is the possibility one or more of us could fall asleep during it. Here is what I propose. In my current state I am not much use as it is, so I will keep watch if the rest of you want to take a quick short rest to avoid exhaustion. That way in case any of you start to nod off, I can give you a smack." Elthana says that last part with a very crooked smile.
"If you'd rather push on and not rest, I'm not going to stop you. There is the slight possibility I might miss you falling asleep. but I wanted to offer this as an option."
She takes the crossbow from Vin and nods to him, "Thank you for your help and yes, I would also like the healing potion as either way I'm not taking a short rest."
“To continue on the truth telling we did earlier,” Sam says with some reluctant suspicion in his voice, “I’m not sure sleeping is the wisest move right now. Hag seems to have gotten into heads that way before…also though, without knowing what exactly is going on who do we trust?”
Sam shifts from one foot to the other, obviously uneasy. “Yesterday I trusted you all. Would have bet my life on any of you. Today? I still want to but… can I? Dreams have been attacked, minds entered? Gewyn, you saw the hag in the mirror but was it just that? Vin, Neferox was attacked in dreams but can the rest of us be sure she has no hold? And you both seem to admit the hag wants you… for something. Without knowing the why can the rest of us be comfortable?”
“Elthana… it hurts me to say this but can I be certain whatever foul magics changed your body didn’t also change your mind?”
“Muir… I have no reason to doubt you since I did not yesterday… But in the craziness of today that is almost enough to make me doubt you..,”
“Instead of sleeping with doubts, I for one would rather push through and end this as soon as possible. I want my friends back… It could be we don’t find her soon and sleep we must. But for now I say we try to finish this.”
"I think that the hag wants us to not trust each other. Otherwise, why would she put in so much effort to sow mistrust? Look what we've done so far by working together. I think she knows if we are united she doesn't stand a chance. I trust you all. That where I differ from Sam." The black hound woofs as if asserting themselves, Vin looks to her and says "and Nef as she says she's with Sam and doesn't trust any of you and she'll be watching." Vin gives a small grin. He nods to his friends and then adds "I think we should continue to push forward. We are tired, battered and bruised but if we don't hurry it could get worse and I am afraid what will happen if I fall asleep. I'm energized at the moment from adrenaline so I'm afraid exhaustion will take me if I slow down. We are so close, lets not give her anymore time to play tricks on us."
Elthana looks at Gewyn and she tries very hard not to yell, "A victim?! Him? Look at me!!" Drool is starting to fall out of her mouth and as she turns towards Gewyn she about topples on her backwards facing knee.
She stares down at the giant with malice in her eyes, knowing all too well what the ones back at the village are feeling and wonders how this curse can be broken. She turns to Sam, "What was it he was saying?"
Vin was about to blast the creature again with some powerful blasts of magic but upon seeing it collapse he instead moves the bonfire spell away but still providing light for Muir. Vin looks around and sees the condition that Elthana is in. He then looks back to the giant and sees how it seems to have done something to her. However, as he looks back at the giant he sees Neferox rushing in towards the giant's head. Her intent is easy and clear to read. Kill the threat. Vin's eyes go wide as he thinks of something and shouts "Wait! Nef!"
This seems too late to stop her but Vin's warning shout might allow others a chance to intervene if they want but otherwise she will bite the neck of the giant taking advantage of it being unconscious. The killing intent clear in the hound's eyes. She sees a threat and unconscious just means she can eliminate it. Her predatory instincts driving her to remove this creature as a threat that can hurt Vin.
Muir hears Vin shout at Nef to wait. Muir hears Gewyn mention something about the giant and a loud snore. Muir figures Nef is going to kill the giant. Muir, although would not strike, what he assumes, the sleeping giant himself, has no second thoughts allowing Nef kill it. He wonders if it will help Elthana's condition if the source is killed. He moves closer to get a better view of Elthana, and listens for Nef killing the giant. He casts Healing Word on Elthana to ease her pain a bit.
"Ah! Good Lord!" Gewyn bursts out, noticing Elthana for the first time since the fight started. He composes himself quickly though, saying, "I mean you're looking just as beautiful as always. You've just a got a bit of something..." He rubs his lip in the same place where drool is leaking from Elthana's mouth.
He is distracted though, by Nef rushing by towards the giant. Gewyn considers stopping her, but for what? To a violent and probably insane giant, diseased with some sort of awful corruption? Another thought comes to mind. Gewyn raises his pipes once more and begins to play a sweet yet meloncholy melody as Nef closes in. A last little bit of beauty for the giant to take with him as he passes from this world.
(Bardic Inspiration 1d8 for Nef's attack)
Neferox rushes forward, hesitating for a split second at Vin's protest, but the shout is for nothing... Filled with Gewyns inspiration and seemingly his blessing Neferox splits the Giant's neck with her first attack, her second only serves to sever its head from its body as she shoves her head fully in through the blood and viscera, the Giant's bulbous eyes open wide only a second before the light completely leaves them. The body settles, no longer held by unconscious muscles, but now relaxing into death as air escapes the lungs through what used to be this huge creatures neck.
Combat, for now, is over.
In the dimly illuminated room the group sees the lengths that the giant went to, to scratch it's crazed writings on the walls, on the ceilings, on the crates dotted around. This was likely the living space for the giant, a throughway from one area of the cave to another.
Muir takes a look toward Elthana, holding his breath, hoping that she might begin reverting back, now that the giant is dead, but no changes come, her deformities stay, her breathing laboured.
Elthana looks to Muir and whispers "Thank you" as the loxodon gifts her with some healing. As Gewyn starts with his reaction to her, she glowers at him, but then holds her breath as Nef finishes off the beast. She looks down at herself just to be sure and her shoulders visibly slump as she sees nothing has changed. She wipes the drool from her face, attempts to strengthen her resolve and heads deeper into the Giant's cave, limping as she goes.
She looks briefly over the crates to see if anything there is out of the ordinary, anything to take note of. But then she moves on to the circle thing on the map and checks it out (almost looks like a pool or cauldron?)
Before Elthana gets up and after being healed, Muir pokes and prods a bit at the boils "I apologize for not asking but this is going to hurt for a brief moment but I want to figure out how to cure you....I have to test you and the giant...again apologies....perhaps bite down on this" Muir hands Elthana piece of wood from his things that he uses for his spells. Muir finishes up with Elthana (if she didn't stab him) and continues to do the same to the dead giant
Vin watches as Nef kills the giant. The boy understands it was an enemy but maybe it didn't have to be? Seeing it take it's last breath the young man looks towards Elthana to see if the death of the source of her affliction makes the curse go away. A few seconds go by as he watches Gweyn get caught off guard by her malshappened form. She doesn't change back. Vin hopes there is another way to cure her. "Lets see if there's something here to help undo what it did to Elthana." Vin will then begin looking around the giant's living space for anything that might be a clue or some kind of item that could heal her.
Nef meanwhile looks to Vin nods a couple times then joins in looking around. The black hound sniffing and smelling around the area for identifiable scents. Nerferox seems to be smelling all around the giant's living quarters and around it's possessions.
Vin: Investigation - 22
Nef: Perception - 26
Neferox starts poking around a cauldron to the south of the Giant's "room", meanwhile Vin carefully looks over some of the crates that are filled with pungent fruits.
Sam hears Vin call out but makes no move to stop Neferox in response - Sam himself is choking up on his maul ready to move up and take another swing himself. Still and all, a hound really should obey it's master. Sam cannot help but wonder which is the hound in their case...
"It named Rynwell several times," Sam says in answer to Elthana's query. "I'm assuming that is the hag. Said he'd be beautiful once she opens up the Hell Gate since everything else would be made much uglier than him... At the end there was a bit about how 'it will corrupt your plane too' like it did his own, I suppose. I assume that's this Hell Gate thing he was on about. Afraid nothing about undoing... What has been done."
Sam turned to Elthana while answering her and looked her in the eye as he did. It wasn't the easiest thing to do but he believes he didn't let that show. It is a shame though, he thinks. Shoulda been a lunk like me to take that instead of someone worth looking at... "No worries though, right? Always more ways to fix things than just smashing them. It may not be right away but we'll get you back to sorts. I promise. In the meantime, practice with your bow... No excuses for missing the mark, eh?"
Sam then spends less time looking around the giant's things than he does examining the walls and the ceiling and translating what is written there. He suspects it's all just more of the same, the git seemed to have a one track mind, but he would be thorough just in case... Yet all that draws his eye is the crates.
"Who was bringing him fruits from Hokum?" Sam wonders aloud...
Elthana in too much of a stupor from everything doesn't even notice Muir at first and he is able to prod one of the boils a bit and get a little sample from it. She then smacks his hand away, hard. "You do such a thing without inquiring first? Check the Giant, check the kids back at the gathering, but stop pestering me. I have work to do." some of her words are slurred as she sputters them out and this angers her more. And she storms off to where she was heading,
Blocked by a moment from Sam, she listens to him as he looks into her eyes. She can tell it is hard for him and wonders how bad she does look for him to struggle looking her in the eyes. Instead of fueling her anger, this softens her a bit but as he mentions her bow, she brings up her hands, "How am I to use a bow with these fingers?" They are all at odd lengths and longer than they should be.
Heading to the cauldron she calls back, "Well, this is about half full of blood. Not surprising. Hey Gewyn, any idea how to get to the hag or do we just press on?"
"Your original fingers couldn't use a bow til you taught them," Trying to sound strict and sure though he was filled with doubt. "You've done it before, should be easier the second time. No?"
Muir opens his mouth to explain why and what "I found...." but Elthana understandably walked away in a huff. "apologies...."
"There are more of the fruits here?" Gewyn asks, walking over to see what Sam is looking at. "My first thoughts go to Favian, but... Wait, it looked like he got nabbed from his house by the giant. It may have nabbed the fruits too. And if that's the case, Favian may be nearby."
To Elthana, he responds, "I hate to say it, but I think if we forge ahead, just me and Vin being present will likely be enough to bait her out. What treachery or sorcery she may have in store for us... I don't know." He puts a hand on the least deformed part of Elthana's shoulder so as not to hurt her and says, "But we will find her, and we will end this."
Elthana stares at Sam as he fumbles about her learning to use the bow with her unnatural form, "No."
She tries not to flinch when Gewyn touches her but she can't help herself. She knows this form isn't her fault, but she can't help feel ashamed. "Right, then let's move on." She's about to keep walking, but then turns back to the rest realizing the state she is and after seeing Sam and Nef get hit. "Should we take a short rest first?"
The fruit. Vin remembers the store of the fruit. It supposedly floats. It's also the tying force that made all the children enter into a dream like state. Vin has never seen these fruits before. Purple and orange in color and about the size of a peach. This seems like what Vin thought caused the status of the children. The beginning of what happened here. It seems to Vin that the fruits are being gathered but for what end? Were the town's folk being forced to eat them? He never thought to ask but it seemed more like they were not being fed at all. As sam asks about the fruit Vin says "I think these are the fruits we heard that the kids ate. Somehow they put them in a weird sleep walking state. However, they didn't at first. This is just a theory but maybe these fruits put you in a dream like state and that's when the hag gets you."
Vin notices how Elthana is just trying her best to ignore the situation but with her struggling with the bow and nocking an arrow he goes over to her and pulls out his crossbow that he was given as part of the standard adventuring gear when he first set out. He holds it out to Elthana and says, "Typically I just use my magic anyway, with this you only have to load then focus on aiming. Should be easier until that effect on you wears off."
Gweyn begins to add to the conversation and Vin nods as he adds "Likely, I believe the fruits were grown in the cave though. Might be forcing him to grow more? I'm unsure. I'm going to take some with me though. Might be handy." Vin pockets half a dozen of the fruits. Then he listens as the fact the two of them are likely the major targets here. Nef growls not liking this at all as she licks the blood off of her. Vin casts a simple spell that seems to clean her up as he goes over to pat her. She wags her tail and then looks grim at the situation. Vin nods and says "She says she's against any plan using me as bait. However, she also says she can follow the smell of the fruits if we think that might be where the portal is. She also thinks it might be a bad idea to wait much longer. We should at least get eyes on the portal to know if we even have time to spare."
Elthana brings up the question of a short rest and indeed she took some kind of nasty blow from that giant. Vin seems to be weighing the option of a short rest as Nef woofs to Vin and Vin looks to her in surprise then says "Elthana, would you like one of my healing potions to help us push on? I have a couple."
“It’s late, but we should press on,” Sam states, looking at the others. “I could use a rest too. Damn but that giant hit hard. Still… we got troubles enough without this hag coming in our dreams again, I suppose. I suppose too that if there’s help four Elthana here it’ll be got by squeezing it outta the drone.”
Somewhere during this time Sam shifts back to his normal size, not even aware of it. All the talk of fruit though does make him aware he has some in his pocketses… he idly dips his hand into the pouch they are in and then gobbles the handful of them. He’d been told they wouldn’t last long but they still tasted ok. (Adding 5 more hp back to Sam.)
“These fruits don’t seem to float,” Sam says, nudging the crates with his foot. “Maybe they do something to them to make them do that?” He asks, confused by the whole issue.
“Hopefully we get some answers from the hag.. We ready then?” Sam asks even as he unconsciously reaches into his rust covered pouch… but finds it empty. ((Resets at dawn but Sam doesn’t know that yet, just that it’s seemed to reset while he slept…))
"I understand the urgency here, but I need you all to realize we've been up and at this for nearly 20 hours. If we don't stop for a short rest soon exhaustion will overtake us. Also, because it has been so long since a long rest, there is the possibility one or more of us could fall asleep during it. Here is what I propose. In my current state I am not much use as it is, so I will keep watch if the rest of you want to take a quick short rest to avoid exhaustion. That way in case any of you start to nod off, I can give you a smack." Elthana says that last part with a very crooked smile.
"If you'd rather push on and not rest, I'm not going to stop you. There is the slight possibility I might miss you falling asleep. but I wanted to offer this as an option."
She takes the crossbow from Vin and nods to him, "Thank you for your help and yes, I would also like the healing potion as either way I'm not taking a short rest."
“To continue on the truth telling we did earlier,” Sam says with some reluctant suspicion in his voice, “I’m not sure sleeping is the wisest move right now. Hag seems to have gotten into heads that way before…also though, without knowing what exactly is going on who do we trust?”
Sam shifts from one foot to the other, obviously uneasy. “Yesterday I trusted you all. Would have bet my life on any of you. Today? I still want to but… can I? Dreams have been attacked, minds entered? Gewyn, you saw the hag in the mirror but was it just that? Vin, Neferox was attacked in dreams but can the rest of us be sure she has no hold? And you both seem to admit the hag wants you… for something. Without knowing the why can the rest of us be comfortable?”
“Elthana… it hurts me to say this but can I be certain whatever foul magics changed your body didn’t also change your mind?”
“Muir… I have no reason to doubt you since I did not yesterday… But in the craziness of today that is almost enough to make me doubt you..,”
“Instead of sleeping with doubts, I for one would rather push through and end this as soon as possible. I want my friends back… It could be we don’t find her soon and sleep we must. But for now I say we try to finish this.”
"I think that the hag wants us to not trust each other. Otherwise, why would she put in so much effort to sow mistrust? Look what we've done so far by working together. I think she knows if we are united she doesn't stand a chance. I trust you all. That where I differ from Sam." The black hound woofs as if asserting themselves, Vin looks to her and says "and Nef as she says she's with Sam and doesn't trust any of you and she'll be watching." Vin gives a small grin. He nods to his friends and then adds "I think we should continue to push forward. We are tired, battered and bruised but if we don't hurry it could get worse and I am afraid what will happen if I fall asleep. I'm energized at the moment from adrenaline so I'm afraid exhaustion will take me if I slow down. We are so close, lets not give her anymore time to play tricks on us."