With a spout of flame being spit his direction Sam dodges as best he can and momentarily brings his arms up to try to cover his face - He didn't get this pretty by not protecting his good looks, after all. (DC Dex Sace 18 so takes just 16 fire damage)
Not in the prime position to defend himself after being a bit baked, the Half-Orc finds the lion head clomping down on his leg and trying to shake him around like a chew toy. (Or does he?? Silvery Barbs pending...) If nothing else, he manages to use the shaking to avoid the creatures paw attacks, thank goodness for small blessings...
"Bad kitty!" Sam hollars and slams his maul down towards the lion head trying to worry his leg off his body...
Maul Attack: 28 to hit for 29damage... (Initially forgot to roll damage as enlarged size... it's early and I haven't had my caffeine yet. So extra damage at end of my rolls...)
The maul actually strikes behind the lion head and solidly upon the creatures neck. There is a loud, sharp and very distinct Snap! as the maul shatters the spine connecting the lion head to the rest of the body... A shiver seems to follow the strike down the spine and up to the other necks and heads. The Dragon and the Goat head both turn to Sam with surprisingly sad expressions upon their faces as if to as "But why?" and Sam cannot help but see shadows of Ógra and Boris in the beast. But then each head pulls back as if to release yet another attack... But instead suddenly collapses.
Sam doesn't pause. "Tie that beast down!" he shouts at some of the deckhands. "Don't lose the corpse yet." Even as he is barking orders he is running to other side of Spier Umar, grabbing up his longbow as he gets as close to Vin as possible without taking his feet off their airship...
Longbow Attack vs Manticore Vin is fighting: (Nat 20 or 3) plus 6 for 26 to hit for 29damage plus 3extra from Giant's Might (Rolled with adv due to Silvery Barbs but Nat 20 was first roll so even if range or something gives disadvantage so it's a straight roll it should still be a crit? Crit damage rolled before I remembered I was enlarged so had to roll extra damage....)
((If Silvery Barbs works and Lion head doesn't successfully bite Sam then he gets 13 HP back but everything else should remain the same...))
Brown Bear
With no remaining targets that he can reach, the recently summoned Brown Bear certainly isn't voluntarily trying their flying chops, Brownie runs, dashes and reaction moves (from Gewyn's spell?) toward Sam to be by his side and see what's next...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Muir and spirit Garth moves towards the center of the flying bird transport ship holding on to the ropes. Muir looks in the direction the demon is barking and looks to see if something mores coming. He also sticks his trunk up to see if there’s a familiar smell coming at them. Perception sight: 19
Sam's maul strikes the chimera down and he wastes no time getting over to the pauldron of Spier Umar with Gale's eyes following him pressed to a 'who the **** do you think you are' expression, after Sam's orders.
The super sized longbow also strikes true and downs it's target. The mid air manticore let's go of it's prey and the group watches vin separate from the lifeless beast, rolling in and out of consciousness himself, as an obscene amount of blood gushes out of the boy.
Griff screams something out in Auran and flies as far as he can but the rope attached to his leg goes tight just before he can reach Vin.
Neferox tries to bark out but something is wrong. Then something unfamiliar happens. Vin uses his last moments to push aside Neferox's consciousness and control over her own body, as she stands on the pauldron next to Sam she looks up to her fallen master, her companion, and then Vin's voice, clear as day tings out from within her throat, screaming "BRY'ZE!" and calling the broom back to Neferox's position.
The boys body slumps off the broom but is caught by his pack, snagged on the flying tool, his lifeless body dangles but slowly makes it's way back to the group, back to the feathered ground upon which you all stand.
Neferox goes wobbly as her senses return to her, she barks out and cries and whines. Griff guides the body down and lays vin in front of the gathered group.
Muir watches, in horror, Vin fall from the sky lifeless. Muir quickly casts speak with animals and talks to Nef but can't help but hear the bird they're flying on as well. Muir shouts as he runs over to Vin "Someone put out the fire on the bird....he's in pain and hot." Muir bends down near Vin and checks his sleeve not finding what he'slooking for, he checks the other. "Ah there it is" as he pulls out a diamond and places it in Vin's head. Muir keeps one hand on Vin's chest and the other he begins waving over Vin's lifeless body. He begins chanting in Druidic which to the ears of everyone else sounds like animal noises. Muir finishing the spell but the look on his face is one of surprise. "The body, the soul and....." Muir quickly turns to Nef and speaks to him through animal sounds. Muir turns to the others and quickly says "Vin is torn into three....body, soul and something else....Nef needs to tell me so I can mend the three....." Nef talks to Muir, which causes Muir to realize what needs to be done "All of you need to help me, including you Nef. First Nef, then the rest of you....Speak out loud a fond memory of Vin and why his soul needs to return to his body....His body is alive but without the soul nothing will come of it...Quickly now, no time to waste."
Neferox licks at the wounds and howls, speaking her fondest memories into vin's lifeless mind in hopes that it can still reach his soul.
As Muir keeps talking to her, the hound's patience wears out and she becomes aggressive once more, barking and baring her teeth at Muir offended by something he has said, whilst periodically turning to vin to nuzzle at him and whimper, her features becoming softer.
Nef moves towards vin's head and makes room for the others to speak their offerings to he boy too.
Gewyn runs over, sliding to his knees beside Vin. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on now Vin. It's not time yet. We still need to put Lady Glasvain in her place. Remember lying our way into the orphanage together? That's the first time I've actually enjoyed an infiltration like that. You've shown me a different version of what I could have become. A better version. There is still good work that we can do for the kids there. They need you, because you are one of the only people who sees them. One of the only ones who cares. So you have to come back."
Gewyn puts his pipes to his lips and starts playing a soothing song to serve as a backdrop for the others to speak their pieces.
There is a shift in the magic of the spell Muir is using to revivify Vin, as Gewyn says his piece something more slots into place and the spell strengthens a little.
Sam had at first left the deadified corpse of Vincenzo in the capable hands of Muir knowing that he himself was useless in such a situation and he'd rather be done something useful than thinking about what he had just seen. As such, Sam first checked that the Chimera corpse indeed was being kept, at least for now, as well as that the fire from the dragon head was being seen to... But after those few moments Sam can't help but return and... and...
Damnit, he thinks to himself. Why the kid?
"I'm... I'm not really one for the speaking and such," Sam says through a frown when encouraged to speak to the limp, lifeless body by Muir. "I don't hardly know what to say when they're not dead..."
The Brown Bear trots up to Sam and first licks his hand several times until Sam gives it some attention - a few pats atop their head and a ruffle of the fur on the back of their neck. After a moment or two of that, though, the bear nudges Sam forward with their head, pushing the Half-Orc towards his injured friend with insistance.
Sam is reluctant but he knows he must... Sam takes small steps up to Vin's side and then takes a knee at the kid's side. Taking the small, cold hand in his own Sam looks to Vin's face but then quickly turns away. He must do this but he doesn't have to face the kid's death... Not yet.
"Hey kid," Sam starts without thinking. "How you doing?" It is a very long moment before Sam realizes what he said and snorts at himself. "Well forget that, I guess. Stupid of me. What else is new, am I right? Thing is... Muir says we need to talk you back to your body or something. Convince you, I guess? Remind you of the good times or something?" Sam isn't quite sure how this works and looks towards Muir to see if he offers any more guidance, then to Gewyn since he had already had a go of it. "I don't quite understand but..."
"Look kid... You got things left to do. You know this. You're not done til you are done and you are not done... There's us, of course. You're friends. Your teammates... Your family... And that should be enough but then again I get that maybe it's not. Sometimes a body just needs rest. I get it... But it's not just us. We could get on, I suppose... We have each other and all. We'd be heartbroken. Devastated. But..."
"But what about Neferox?" Sam asks, giving a quick look to the hound. "They'd be welcome with us, of course and we'd try our best... And I HOPE Neferox would try their best as well," Sam adds with a meaningful look to the hound. "But I think we both know... Without you? Well... Maybe I don't know... I really have no clue how they would manage without you. What they would do without you."
Sam continues in a halting manner. Words come in burst but then with long pauses between them as he either searches for words or gathers himself. "But here's the thing, kid... We've had some talks, eh? Since we met? Well yeah, obviously since we met but... But yeah. Our talks have been... Look, I ain't never had a son. I wasn't one myself for very long either. I don't really know how that all goes, you know? But I think... I think maybe our talks were something like that, perhaps? I tried to tell you things... Things I thought maybe a young kid like you could be needing to know. How to treat others. How to be there for others. What to expect and demand from others. I tried to impart on you some of my thoughts on how one walks tall... Stands up... Be's a man... How to set boundaries, how to set goals, how to surround yourself with those you trusted... Maybe I'm not so good at the teaching, I know. I mean who am I to be imparting wisdom? But you were a kid who it seemed to me was teetering a bit... Like maybe you could go any of a bunch of directions. Depending on who you followed and listened to and such. But you were a good kid. In my eyes anyway. And I think... I think you could be a good man. I think you could be a man who really makes a difference... But kid there's a hitch to it. To be a man you have to do certain things... Whether you want to or not. Part of being a man is accepting that what you want is far less important than what you need to do..."
Sam squeezes Vin's hand and sighs before setting it to rest next to the kid. "And what you need to do now, Vin, is to come back to your body and live. It's a must. No choice. It's your job. Your responsibility. If you want to be a man... A man worthy of being called a man... You first need to grow up into one. And to do that you need to grow up. So come on already... Get you're ass back here and do what you need to do. People are counting on you. I am counting on you. Neferox is counting on you. You owe it to me, them... and mostly, Vin... You owe it to yourself."
Sam stands up, continuing to look down at Vin's body. "So buck up and get off your ass already. We got shit to do..." Sam then turns around and heads over to help with the putting out of the fire or with the Chimera corpse or with basically anything that gets him away fro, Vin's body. He told the kid what he had to do and if Sam isn't here watching then the kid will have no choice but to do it.... Right?
Elthana watches in stunned silence as Vin is brought back to them and Muir does what he can for the boy. She almost wishes the fight wasn't over, that she could still be fighting because seeing Vin laying there like that? All she wanted to do was hit something.
She stands stock still as she listens to others do as Muir requested, Gewyn starting his melancholy tune.. tears start welling in her eyes. She ignores them and lets the wind whip them away as she continues to stare.
Finally she can tell it is her turn, how can words make a difference? When have they ever made a difference? Actions made change, saved people, saved teammates...not words. She swallows hard then walks over to the fallen soldier and drops to one knee. "Vin? My stealth twin? You can't leave yet, we need you. I don't know anyone like you. One who took the time to get to know the lost children at Hokum and tried to draw them out. One who talked to the citizens of that city and made sure that everything was left better than it was before it fell to Rynwell. Your goodness... Vin, our team needs it and you can't leave."
She finally wipes the tears that have fallen down her cheek, stands up looking at Muir expectantly.
Muir concentrates on the spell and listens to his companions speak heartfelt words of encouragement to Vin. He looks at Nef and nods and begins to speak for himself "Young Vin, I used to think to myself when I first met you, how young and naive. Always looking for the good despite the bad clearly all around you."Muir controls himself to not shoot a glance at Nef "You lived a difficult life, not knowing ones parents, being raised by a horrible woman in a children's home, but yet you still kept your cheery outlook. How young and naive indeed....for me to think you were young and naive. Perhaps it was me who is overly pessimistic, untrusting, selfish, for putting my own need for information, solving this great mystery and knowledge before the needs of you all. Vin you have taught this old....older, I am not as old as Gore, forgive me Gore, elephant that there is good in this world" He looks to his companions and smiles at each of them. "You embody the best of us, look how you delivered that speech in front of the whole city before the calamity....How you jumped to protect me from...." Muir stops hismelf "No Vin, it is not your time. You are loved here. Each one of us standing here have become a family.....yes I may be the eccentric uncle....but family nonetheless. Each one of us a roll in this family, you being the glue that binds us. So no it is not time for you to die. It is time for you to live and finish what we have started. Now come back your body!"And with that a little stream of color begins to dimly beam from each of the members.....Blue from Sam, gray from Elthana, purple from Gewyn, and green from Muir....their rays of colored lights fill Vin's body with a little bit of each of them. Vines appear out of no where and wrap Vin warmly capturing each of the lights.....and then
The vines Muir summons wrap around Vin’s body, capturing the essence of the good will from each of the others as they softly glow in their different colours. The magic infuses Vin’s bloodied and battered body and they see his wounds begin to knit back together and his colour return, but still he lies motionless.
Nef nudges him expectantly and then whimpers as the seconds pass and he remains unresponsive. The hound’s eyes fix on Muir and a low growl escapes her throat. And then suddenly Vin’s body jerks, as if all his muscles flex at once and then immediately relax, causing Nef to jump back in surprise. And then Vin’s back arches and his mouth opens, taking in one large, noisy gasp of air. Again his body relaxes and a couple more seconds pass, his lungs full of air but seemingly not releasing it. Nef creeps forward and nudges Vin again, once more letting out a sad whimper before growling at Muir once more as if blaming him for messing it all up.
And then the air explodes from Vin’s lungs in the form of a fit of coughing, blood frothing out of his mouth as his eyes suddenly open wide, the pupils fully dilated and what whites can be seen are completely bloodshot. Nef barks excitedly next to him, and as the coughing fit subsides, he turns his head to regard the hound. His eyelids now narrowed to protect his enlarged pupils from the light.
“Quiet, Neferox”, he manages to say in a delirious croaky whisper. “Someone will hear you and tell Professor Wooswin”.
Nef’s head cocks to the side confused, possibly trying to communicate with the young half elf over their bond, but Vin’s only response is to squeeze his eyes shut and bring his hands to his temples as he lets out a hoarse cry of pain.
His body goes limp again, but his chest is now rising and falling rhythmically. Nef scurries back and shakes her head, almost as if her fur were wet, as Vin’s senses briefly enter her mind to escape the pain his own body is feeling. Vin surveys the scene before him through Nef’s eyes, seeing the blood from his injuries caking his clothes, and knowing his friends are close by, and have brought him back from the brink of the afterlife.
Just before he passes out, he manages to whisper weakly through Nef’s mouth, “Thank….you...”.
Muir breathes a sigh of relief and plops down tired from the spell. He took all he could to muster that spell, unsure if it was the world, Vin himself, or a combination of the two. He smiles at Vin as Vin thanks them all. Muir takes out medical cloths and begins to wipe Vin’s cuts and mending his wounds.
Sam slowly returns to the Vin area once he's sure the kid is alive again. He had wandered off to the Chimera kill site to ensure that the body was being lashed down and that the fire was out. "Won't be needing it for long," Sam explains to Gale or whoever else may be questioning him. "Should probably grab a few bits and pieces or the thing to send back home. Our resident magic guy back there is always needing potion ingredients and the like..." If Sam has time before he notices Vin has awoken he will start the process, pulling off some dragon scales, pulling out teeth from the various heads... He's unsure what Hog may need but whether these would be ingredients or not they are still cool trophy bits.
When he gets sight of Vin alive his eyes go wide and a shit-eating grin forms on his face. He'd been refusing to really admit to himself how much he had been hoping and praying for the kid to be alright but now that it has happened it seeped out in obvious ways.
"So he's ok then?" Sam tries to act nonchalantly as he idles back over to where the kid is laying, the brown bear staying companionably by the orc's side. Sam looks from Muir to Vin to Neferox and then back to Muir. "Good as new and all then, aye?"
“I’m not entirely sure….what was needed has never happened before in my practice or anything that I’ve read….Vin….is a complicated young man. His story is his to tell” Muir looks at Nef and kindly barks a few things
Elthana falls to her knees as Vin starts breathing again. Not saying anything, but just staring at Vin, not trusting herself to talk. As he says thank you to the group, she looks up to Muir, tears in her eyes, and whispers, "Thank you." to the loxodon. Bowning her head for a few more moments, she finally looks up at Sam, "Could you carry him to his hammock so he can rest?"
"none of you were supposed to leave the cabin, that was the deal... Though I do appreciate the help, and so I'll give you ten minutes with the beast for whatever you require and then it's getting dumped, we're already over weight as it is.." Gale states quite abruptly at Sam as the half orc takes his materials.
The black dragonborn observes the revivification of vin and hurries on over as the spell concludes, his eye still bleeding from the chimera attack he grabs Muir's attention quickly and gets closer, almost conspiratorially says, "necromancy magic is something that'll get you killed out there..." There is a guarded but angry tine to his voice and an acrid acidic smell in his breath. He is about to say more, but Gale calls out over the wind taking everyone's attention. "Those who need patching up get back to your bunks and see to your wounds, everyone who is uninjured, take shift. All guests return to your cabin. Now."
Once Sam has completed his loot collection and taken vin back to his hammock, it is made clear to you all that Gale is to be taken seriously and those who dawdle are escorted back to the cabin where you all congregate once more. "We are being over half way there now" Griff offers trying not to adress the issue of vin's death that hangs over everyone as a tense and reflective moment.
Neferox seems to stick to Vin's side closer than usual and can be seen scowling at Muir every so often apparently still sore over something discussed whilst Muir was speaking animal to her. She licks at vin's forehead and nuzzles at him until he wakes, still feverish, but very much alive.
Muir responds to Nefs growls and politely dog talks back to him. He ignores Nef and checks on Vins fever. Muir rubs a few poultices in Vins wounds and bird feeds Vin some concoction for his fever.
Vin wakes in his own body with a low groan, the pain from his wounds having subsided but not disappeared. It is the ache in his head though that is the main cause of the groan. Feeling a long, wet tongue across his forehead he reaches up a hand and pats the side of Nef's head as he is comforted by the presence of his faithful hound.
He then feels something else, or someone else, rubbing his wounds. He flinches but finds the sensation is soothing rather than painful. He tries to open his eyes, just a little, squinting to avoid too much light. As his vision comes into focus, he sees a loxodon bent over him as he gently swings in the hammock. He recognises them from the hazy memory he has of the others standing over his inert body, performing some kind of ritual that revived him.
"You brought me back", he says softly to the loxodon. "That was...kind. I cannot thank you.....enough", he says before coughing. The cough makes him wince as the pressure in his head briefly spikes. "Tell me, what is your....name?", he asks when the pain subsides.
Nef's head jerks up as she seemingly frowns in surprise.
Muir tries to hide his surprise "Hello there, I am Muir. You took quite a few nasty bumps and died briefly. I brought you back to life with the help of my com....friends....Tell me what's the last thing you remember if you don't mind"Muir turns to the others and gives them a look if any of them are paying attention.
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SAM
With a spout of flame being spit his direction Sam dodges as best he can and momentarily brings his arms up to try to cover his face - He didn't get this pretty by not protecting his good looks, after all. (DC Dex Sace 18 so takes just 16 fire damage)
Not in the prime position to defend himself after being a bit baked, the Half-Orc finds the lion head clomping down on his leg and trying to shake him around like a chew toy. (Or does he?? Silvery Barbs pending...) If nothing else, he manages to use the shaking to avoid the creatures paw attacks, thank goodness for small blessings...
"Bad kitty!" Sam hollars and slams his maul down towards the lion head trying to worry his leg off his body...
Maul Attack: 28 to hit for 29 damage...
(Initially forgot to roll damage as enlarged size... it's early and I haven't had my caffeine yet. So extra damage at end of my rolls...)
The maul actually strikes behind the lion head and solidly upon the creatures neck. There is a loud, sharp and very distinct Snap! as the maul shatters the spine connecting the lion head to the rest of the body... A shiver seems to follow the strike down the spine and up to the other necks and heads. The Dragon and the Goat head both turn to Sam with surprisingly sad expressions upon their faces as if to as "But why?" and Sam cannot help but see shadows of Ógra and Boris in the beast. But then each head pulls back as if to release yet another attack... But instead suddenly collapses.
Sam doesn't pause. "Tie that beast down!" he shouts at some of the deckhands. "Don't lose the corpse yet." Even as he is barking orders he is running to other side of Spier Umar, grabbing up his longbow as he gets as close to Vin as possible without taking his feet off their airship...
Longbow Attack vs Manticore Vin is fighting: (Nat 20 or 3) plus 6 for 26 to hit for 29 damage plus 3 extra from Giant's Might
(Rolled with adv due to Silvery Barbs but Nat 20 was first roll so even if range or something gives disadvantage so it's a straight roll it should still be a crit? Crit damage rolled before I remembered I was enlarged so had to roll extra damage....)
((If Silvery Barbs works and Lion head doesn't successfully bite Sam then he gets 13 HP back but everything else should remain the same...))
Brown Bear
With no remaining targets that he can reach, the recently summoned Brown Bear certainly isn't voluntarily trying their flying chops, Brownie runs, dashes and reaction moves (from Gewyn's spell?) toward Sam to be by his side and see what's next...
Muir and spirit Garth moves towards the center of the flying bird transport ship holding on to the ropes. Muir looks in the direction the demon is barking and looks to see if something mores coming. He also sticks his trunk up to see if there’s a familiar smell coming at them.
Perception sight: 19
perception smell: 16
Sam's maul strikes the chimera down and he wastes no time getting over to the pauldron of Spier Umar with Gale's eyes following him pressed to a 'who the **** do you think you are' expression, after Sam's orders.
The super sized longbow also strikes true and downs it's target. The mid air manticore let's go of it's prey and the group watches vin separate from the lifeless beast, rolling in and out of consciousness himself, as an obscene amount of blood gushes out of the boy.
Griff screams something out in Auran and flies as far as he can but the rope attached to his leg goes tight just before he can reach Vin.
Neferox tries to bark out but something is wrong. Then something unfamiliar happens. Vin uses his last moments to push aside Neferox's consciousness and control over her own body, as she stands on the pauldron next to Sam she looks up to her fallen master, her companion, and then Vin's voice, clear as day tings out from within her throat, screaming "BRY'ZE!" and calling the broom back to Neferox's position.
The boys body slumps off the broom but is caught by his pack, snagged on the flying tool, his lifeless body dangles but slowly makes it's way back to the group, back to the feathered ground upon which you all stand.
Neferox goes wobbly as her senses return to her, she barks out and cries and whines. Griff guides the body down and lays vin in front of the gathered group.
Vin is dead.
Muir watches, in horror, Vin fall from the sky lifeless. Muir quickly casts speak with animals and talks to Nef but can't help but hear the bird they're flying on as well. Muir shouts as he runs over to Vin "Someone put out the fire on the bird....he's in pain and hot." Muir bends down near Vin and checks his sleeve not finding what he'slooking for, he checks the other. "Ah there it is" as he pulls out a diamond and places it in Vin's head. Muir keeps one hand on Vin's chest and the other he begins waving over Vin's lifeless body. He begins chanting in Druidic which to the ears of everyone else sounds like animal noises. Muir finishing the spell but the look on his face is one of surprise. "The body, the soul and....." Muir quickly turns to Nef and speaks to him through animal sounds. Muir turns to the others and quickly says "Vin is torn into three....body, soul and something else....Nef needs to tell me so I can mend the three....." Nef talks to Muir, which causes Muir to realize what needs to be done "All of you need to help me, including you Nef. First Nef, then the rest of you....Speak out loud a fond memory of Vin and why his soul needs to return to his body....His body is alive but without the soul nothing will come of it...Quickly now, no time to waste."
Neferox licks at the wounds and howls, speaking her fondest memories into vin's lifeless mind in hopes that it can still reach his soul.
As Muir keeps talking to her, the hound's patience wears out and she becomes aggressive once more, barking and baring her teeth at Muir offended by something he has said, whilst periodically turning to vin to nuzzle at him and whimper, her features becoming softer.
Nef moves towards vin's head and makes room for the others to speak their offerings to he boy too.
Gewyn runs over, sliding to his knees beside Vin. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on now Vin. It's not time yet. We still need to put Lady Glasvain in her place. Remember lying our way into the orphanage together? That's the first time I've actually enjoyed an infiltration like that. You've shown me a different version of what I could have become. A better version. There is still good work that we can do for the kids there. They need you, because you are one of the only people who sees them. One of the only ones who cares. So you have to come back."
Gewyn puts his pipes to his lips and starts playing a soothing song to serve as a backdrop for the others to speak their pieces.
There is a shift in the magic of the spell Muir is using to revivify Vin, as Gewyn says his piece something more slots into place and the spell strengthens a little.
Sam had at first left the deadified corpse of Vincenzo in the capable hands of Muir knowing that he himself was useless in such a situation and he'd rather be done something useful than thinking about what he had just seen. As such, Sam first checked that the Chimera corpse indeed was being kept, at least for now, as well as that the fire from the dragon head was being seen to... But after those few moments Sam can't help but return and... and...
Damnit, he thinks to himself. Why the kid?
"I'm... I'm not really one for the speaking and such," Sam says through a frown when encouraged to speak to the limp, lifeless body by Muir. "I don't hardly know what to say when they're not dead..."
The Brown Bear trots up to Sam and first licks his hand several times until Sam gives it some attention - a few pats atop their head and a ruffle of the fur on the back of their neck. After a moment or two of that, though, the bear nudges Sam forward with their head, pushing the Half-Orc towards his injured friend with insistance.
Sam is reluctant but he knows he must... Sam takes small steps up to Vin's side and then takes a knee at the kid's side. Taking the small, cold hand in his own Sam looks to Vin's face but then quickly turns away. He must do this but he doesn't have to face the kid's death... Not yet.
"Hey kid," Sam starts without thinking. "How you doing?" It is a very long moment before Sam realizes what he said and snorts at himself. "Well forget that, I guess. Stupid of me. What else is new, am I right? Thing is... Muir says we need to talk you back to your body or something. Convince you, I guess? Remind you of the good times or something?" Sam isn't quite sure how this works and looks towards Muir to see if he offers any more guidance, then to Gewyn since he had already had a go of it. "I don't quite understand but..."
"Look kid... You got things left to do. You know this. You're not done til you are done and you are not done... There's us, of course. You're friends. Your teammates... Your family... And that should be enough but then again I get that maybe it's not. Sometimes a body just needs rest. I get it... But it's not just us. We could get on, I suppose... We have each other and all. We'd be heartbroken. Devastated. But..."
"But what about Neferox?" Sam asks, giving a quick look to the hound. "They'd be welcome with us, of course and we'd try our best... And I HOPE Neferox would try their best as well," Sam adds with a meaningful look to the hound. "But I think we both know... Without you? Well... Maybe I don't know... I really have no clue how they would manage without you. What they would do without you."
Sam continues in a halting manner. Words come in burst but then with long pauses between them as he either searches for words or gathers himself. "But here's the thing, kid... We've had some talks, eh? Since we met? Well yeah, obviously since we met but... But yeah. Our talks have been... Look, I ain't never had a son. I wasn't one myself for very long either. I don't really know how that all goes, you know? But I think... I think maybe our talks were something like that, perhaps? I tried to tell you things... Things I thought maybe a young kid like you could be needing to know. How to treat others. How to be there for others. What to expect and demand from others. I tried to impart on you some of my thoughts on how one walks tall... Stands up... Be's a man... How to set boundaries, how to set goals, how to surround yourself with those you trusted... Maybe I'm not so good at the teaching, I know. I mean who am I to be imparting wisdom? But you were a kid who it seemed to me was teetering a bit... Like maybe you could go any of a bunch of directions. Depending on who you followed and listened to and such. But you were a good kid. In my eyes anyway. And I think... I think you could be a good man. I think you could be a man who really makes a difference... But kid there's a hitch to it. To be a man you have to do certain things... Whether you want to or not. Part of being a man is accepting that what you want is far less important than what you need to do..."
Sam squeezes Vin's hand and sighs before setting it to rest next to the kid. "And what you need to do now, Vin, is to come back to your body and live. It's a must. No choice. It's your job. Your responsibility. If you want to be a man... A man worthy of being called a man... You first need to grow up into one. And to do that you need to grow up. So come on already... Get you're ass back here and do what you need to do. People are counting on you. I am counting on you. Neferox is counting on you. You owe it to me, them... and mostly, Vin... You owe it to yourself."
Sam stands up, continuing to look down at Vin's body. "So buck up and get off your ass already. We got shit to do..." Sam then turns around and heads over to help with the putting out of the fire or with the Chimera corpse or with basically anything that gets him away fro, Vin's body. He told the kid what he had to do and if Sam isn't here watching then the kid will have no choice but to do it.... Right?
Right?
right??
Elthana watches in stunned silence as Vin is brought back to them and Muir does what he can for the boy. She almost wishes the fight wasn't over, that she could still be fighting because seeing Vin laying there like that? All she wanted to do was hit something.
She stands stock still as she listens to others do as Muir requested, Gewyn starting his melancholy tune.. tears start welling in her eyes. She ignores them and lets the wind whip them away as she continues to stare.
Finally she can tell it is her turn, how can words make a difference? When have they ever made a difference? Actions made change, saved people, saved teammates...not words. She swallows hard then walks over to the fallen soldier and drops to one knee. "Vin? My stealth twin? You can't leave yet, we need you. I don't know anyone like you. One who took the time to get to know the lost children at Hokum and tried to draw them out. One who talked to the citizens of that city and made sure that everything was left better than it was before it fell to Rynwell. Your goodness... Vin, our team needs it and you can't leave."
She finally wipes the tears that have fallen down her cheek, stands up looking at Muir expectantly.
Again and again the spell strengthens, leaving only Muir to offer his own words to coax vin's soul to its body.
Muir concentrates on the spell and listens to his companions speak heartfelt words of encouragement to Vin. He looks at Nef and nods and begins to speak for himself "Young Vin, I used to think to myself when I first met you, how young and naive. Always looking for the good despite the bad clearly all around you." Muir controls himself to not shoot a glance at Nef "You lived a difficult life, not knowing ones parents, being raised by a horrible woman in a children's home, but yet you still kept your cheery outlook. How young and naive indeed....for me to think you were young and naive. Perhaps it was me who is overly pessimistic, untrusting, selfish, for putting my own need for information, solving this great mystery and knowledge before the needs of you all. Vin you have taught this old....older, I am not as old as Gore, forgive me Gore, elephant that there is good in this world" He looks to his companions and smiles at each of them. "You embody the best of us, look how you delivered that speech in front of the whole city before the calamity....How you jumped to protect me from...." Muir stops hismelf "No Vin, it is not your time. You are loved here. Each one of us standing here have become a family.....yes I may be the eccentric uncle....but family nonetheless. Each one of us a roll in this family, you being the glue that binds us. So no it is not time for you to die. It is time for you to live and finish what we have started. Now come back your body!" And with that a little stream of color begins to dimly beam from each of the members.....Blue from Sam, gray from Elthana, purple from Gewyn, and green from Muir....their rays of colored lights fill Vin's body with a little bit of each of them. Vines appear out of no where and wrap Vin warmly capturing each of the lights.....and then
The vines Muir summons wrap around Vin’s body, capturing the essence of the good will from each of the others as they softly glow in their different colours. The magic infuses Vin’s bloodied and battered body and they see his wounds begin to knit back together and his colour return, but still he lies motionless.
Nef nudges him expectantly and then whimpers as the seconds pass and he remains unresponsive. The hound’s eyes fix on Muir and a low growl escapes her throat. And then suddenly Vin’s body jerks, as if all his muscles flex at once and then immediately relax, causing Nef to jump back in surprise. And then Vin’s back arches and his mouth opens, taking in one large, noisy gasp of air. Again his body relaxes and a couple more seconds pass, his lungs full of air but seemingly not releasing it. Nef creeps forward and nudges Vin again, once more letting out a sad whimper before growling at Muir once more as if blaming him for messing it all up.
And then the air explodes from Vin’s lungs in the form of a fit of coughing, blood frothing out of his mouth as his eyes suddenly open wide, the pupils fully dilated and what whites can be seen are completely bloodshot. Nef barks excitedly next to him, and as the coughing fit subsides, he turns his head to regard the hound. His eyelids now narrowed to protect his enlarged pupils from the light.
“Quiet, Neferox”, he manages to say in a delirious croaky whisper. “Someone will hear you and tell Professor Wooswin”.
Nef’s head cocks to the side confused, possibly trying to communicate with the young half elf over their bond, but Vin’s only response is to squeeze his eyes shut and bring his hands to his temples as he lets out a hoarse cry of pain.
His body goes limp again, but his chest is now rising and falling rhythmically. Nef scurries back and shakes her head, almost as if her fur were wet, as Vin’s senses briefly enter her mind to escape the pain his own body is feeling. Vin surveys the scene before him through Nef’s eyes, seeing the blood from his injuries caking his clothes, and knowing his friends are close by, and have brought him back from the brink of the afterlife.
Just before he passes out, he manages to whisper weakly through Nef’s mouth, “Thank….you...”.
Muir breathes a sigh of relief and plops down tired from the spell. He took all he could to muster that spell, unsure if it was the world, Vin himself, or a combination of the two. He smiles at Vin as Vin thanks them all. Muir takes out medical cloths and begins to wipe Vin’s cuts and mending his wounds.
Sam slowly returns to the Vin area once he's sure the kid is alive again. He had wandered off to the Chimera kill site to ensure that the body was being lashed down and that the fire was out. "Won't be needing it for long," Sam explains to Gale or whoever else may be questioning him. "Should probably grab a few bits and pieces or the thing to send back home. Our resident magic guy back there is always needing potion ingredients and the like..." If Sam has time before he notices Vin has awoken he will start the process, pulling off some dragon scales, pulling out teeth from the various heads... He's unsure what Hog may need but whether these would be ingredients or not they are still cool trophy bits.
When he gets sight of Vin alive his eyes go wide and a shit-eating grin forms on his face. He'd been refusing to really admit to himself how much he had been hoping and praying for the kid to be alright but now that it has happened it seeped out in obvious ways.
"So he's ok then?" Sam tries to act nonchalantly as he idles back over to where the kid is laying, the brown bear staying companionably by the orc's side. Sam looks from Muir to Vin to Neferox and then back to Muir. "Good as new and all then, aye?"
“I’m not entirely sure….what was needed has never happened before in my practice or anything that I’ve read….Vin….is a complicated young man. His story is his to tell” Muir looks at Nef and kindly barks a few things
Elthana falls to her knees as Vin starts breathing again. Not saying anything, but just staring at Vin, not trusting herself to talk. As he says thank you to the group, she looks up to Muir, tears in her eyes, and whispers, "Thank you." to the loxodon. Bowning her head for a few more moments, she finally looks up at Sam, "Could you carry him to his hammock so he can rest?"
"none of you were supposed to leave the cabin, that was the deal... Though I do appreciate the help, and so I'll give you ten minutes with the beast for whatever you require and then it's getting dumped, we're already over weight as it is.." Gale states quite abruptly at Sam as the half orc takes his materials.
The black dragonborn observes the revivification of vin and hurries on over as the spell concludes, his eye still bleeding from the chimera attack he grabs Muir's attention quickly and gets closer, almost conspiratorially says, "necromancy magic is something that'll get you killed out there..." There is a guarded but angry tine to his voice and an acrid acidic smell in his breath. He is about to say more, but Gale calls out over the wind taking everyone's attention. "Those who need patching up get back to your bunks and see to your wounds, everyone who is uninjured, take shift. All guests return to your cabin. Now."
Once Sam has completed his loot collection and taken vin back to his hammock, it is made clear to you all that Gale is to be taken seriously and those who dawdle are escorted back to the cabin where you all congregate once more. "We are being over half way there now" Griff offers trying not to adress the issue of vin's death that hangs over everyone as a tense and reflective moment.
Neferox seems to stick to Vin's side closer than usual and can be seen scowling at Muir every so often apparently still sore over something discussed whilst Muir was speaking animal to her. She licks at vin's forehead and nuzzles at him until he wakes, still feverish, but very much alive.
Muir responds to Nefs growls and politely dog talks back to him. He ignores Nef and checks on Vins fever. Muir rubs a few poultices in Vins wounds and bird feeds Vin some concoction for his fever.
Vin wakes in his own body with a low groan, the pain from his wounds having subsided but not disappeared. It is the ache in his head though that is the main cause of the groan. Feeling a long, wet tongue across his forehead he reaches up a hand and pats the side of Nef's head as he is comforted by the presence of his faithful hound.
He then feels something else, or someone else, rubbing his wounds. He flinches but finds the sensation is soothing rather than painful. He tries to open his eyes, just a little, squinting to avoid too much light. As his vision comes into focus, he sees a loxodon bent over him as he gently swings in the hammock. He recognises them from the hazy memory he has of the others standing over his inert body, performing some kind of ritual that revived him.
"You brought me back", he says softly to the loxodon. "That was...kind. I cannot thank you.....enough", he says before coughing. The cough makes him wince as the pressure in his head briefly spikes. "Tell me, what is your....name?", he asks when the pain subsides.
Nef's head jerks up as she seemingly frowns in surprise.
Muir tries to hide his surprise "Hello there, I am Muir. You took quite a few nasty bumps and died briefly. I brought you back to life with the help of my com....friends....Tell me what's the last thing you remember if you don't mind" Muir turns to the others and gives them a look if any of them are paying attention.