Wincing, Nimue clambers to her feet as the world comes into focus once again. As soon as she's upright, she vanishes in a fine silver mist, appearing about twenty or so feet away from the grappled creature. Calling on the divine powers inside her, she throws two bolts of blue fire at both of the bat creatures, her eyes and the amulet flashing a bright white as the spell is released. The one currently held by the large Tiefling crumbles to ash in her grip, and the other shrieks as radiant fire burns blisters on its skin. 

Enraged by Caio slipping through its claws, the remaining monster throws itself at the shadow elf, but it fangs seem to glide straight through him, even as it takes him in its wings once more.

"Foul beast." Caio spits back at the creature's screeching yowls. As the thing wraps him up the ranger lifts one of his legs and gives a forceful kick to the creature's chest, knocking it back as its wings flap open. Caio continues forward, taking advantage of the opening to plunge his sword just beneath the bat's sternum. The foe lets out a horrid noise and a gurgle of blackened blood, but still it moves. Not satisfied to leave the creature un-living for another moment, Caio drives his sword deeper and deeper into the wound. Even as the beast's claws scratch and scrabble at his arms, the hunter does not stop until the blade is up to its hilt and the unholy light fades from the bat's eyes. As stillness falls in the forest, Caio wrenches his blade free and begins to clean it as he looks around at his companions and their charges. "Is anyone injured?"

Nimue eases herself back to lean against a nearby tree, wincing as her broken ribs grate against each other. She feels drained. The creature had taken something with it when it bit her. "Fine, for the most part." She stares at the dead bat creature that Caio had killed, keeping any further thoughts to herself.

With all of the beasts felled, Shiva shimmers as she returns to her normal size and features. Pride swells in her chest as she realizes that she controlled her new form, but this is sidelined by the limp in Nimue's gait, obviously in pain. Rushing over, she offers an arm to help hold the woman up till her injuries could be cared for. "Yeah, I'm fine. How's the holy cargo?"

Nimue grasps Shiva's arm, using it to steady herself. With a deep breath, she places her free hand on her own chest, and a warm, radiant light spreads across her body. The pain in her chest lessens, and she finds she can stand steadily. However, she is unable to shake the feeling of having her own life force drained from her.

A dull gurgling sound rattles in the shadows of the forest. On the ground near the carriage, Prior Beinidict lies slowly drowning in his own blood where the monster has ravaged his throat.

"Help! Please!" Brother Ludomir cries, rushing to his comrade's side.

Alaris' head snaps around towards Ludomir's shout. As their radiant wings begin to face, the paladin sweeps one last powerful swoosh and pushes themselves towards the fallen Benedict. Astrid and the aasimar arrive at almost the same time, and Alaris utters urgent words in Celestial, channeling the Lady's divine energy into the bleeding priest.

     Astrid waddles over to the severely injured prior as fast as her short legs will carry her. "Oh my! I hope he has no objection to Brightmantle's help." She kneels besides the man, placing a hand over Benedict's throat and the other grasping her holy symbol. The cleric calls out two times with the harsher dwarvish tongue for aid and her hand glows a blueish light with each word as her healing magics flows into the wounded man.

     Looking up from the man, Astrid notices Nimue still struggling even after tending to her own wounds. "Need a bit healing, dear?"

Nimue shakes her head, a wan smile on her face. "I'll be fine. I'm just a little tired. That creature, took something with it when it bit me. A little rest, and I'm sure I'll be fine." Though she's grateful for the concern. 

Shiva nods, resting Nimue on her full weight and letting her stand on her own. Looking over to see that the preyed upon prior has been saved and the others seem to be alright, she frets over how they will secure a safe camp for the night with such horrible entities skulking in the dark. 

Then she feels a primal pull from within her, and she knows what she has to do. Walking towards the tree line, she draws upon a shade of the demon. The black claws extend, and an instinct to stake this place as her own overtakes her. These were her  dear ones, this was her  soil beneath their feet. Any who impeded upon her territory would be sundered and consumed. A gravely snarl vibrates in her chest as she looks out into the forest, her voided eyes piercing into the evening to perceive the area around them. Then she rears back and releases a thunderous roar that shakes the forest to life as all nearby creatures flee to safety. She claws and tears at the dirt beneath her, making her presence unmistakable, still growling as she stalking up and down the tree line, roaring and tearing at earth and vegetation.

After two or three minutes of this, the compulsion subsides, and the claws recede. Quickly removing the dirt from beneath her nails and dusting herself off, she returns to the group. "It should be safe to camp nearby now."

"You're getting the hang of this pretty quickly, sweetheart." 

Beinidict gasps abruptly as the gash in his throat closes and he draws air once more. Alaris and Astrid's combined efforts drain the last of the blood from his lungs and the prior coughs and splutters, before finally regaining some semblance of composure. Even in the dim twilight, he looks extremely pale.

"What... what was that thing?" Beinidict stammers, but his question is interrupted by a piercing scream from Talitha, one of the few remaining pilgrims. Between the sudden attack and Shiva's display of demonic aggression, the family has been left cowering amongst the trees and Ludomir and Branok watch the tiefling with mistrust.

Shiva looks to the family hiding behind the trees with a mixture of annoyance and pity. They were common folk and this was far out of their realm of experience. "But, they took this journey, fully aware of the danger with some belief that faith would shield them from harm. That kind of blind servitude is what gets you killed, or worse, gets you to kill in its name." This thought brings her gaze to the two priors now staring her down. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you have a problem with the way that I keep you alive? By all means, please defend yourselves next time. I'm sure that receding hairlines and erectile dysfunction will terrify anything that would think to attack you."

"That was a bit more mean than I intended."  "...that last part was me, sorry."

"I trust you to protect us, Shiva," Brother Ludomir admonishes kindly, looking up from where the recovering Beinidict lies in his arms, "but the source of your power is both chaotic and evil. What happens when it overtakes you and you become the thing that attacks us?"

The question hangs in the air for a moment as Ludomir helps the injured prior to his feet.

"The Lady's light shines upon all soldiers in the eternal war against the shadow of evil, including you, but we reach for some weapons only in desperation. To turn the enemy's might against them is indeed a potent gift. I only pray that your soul can bear the burden."

Behind the priors the interior of the carriage is illuminated by a soft, golden glow from the relic.

Nimue watches Shiva's transformation quietly, her brow creased as she frowns to herself. Everything in this forest will have heard that. I fear it may have the opposite effect of what she intends....

"My darling, everyone has their methods. These people have been more reliable than you give them credit for."

So now you decide to show up? Where have you been for the past week?! All I've had from you is silence, and now suddenly I'm worthy of your attention? 

Nimue closes her eyes, sliding down the tree to sit on the ground, suddenly acutely aware just how drained she feels. How much she just wants to sleep. Her head falls forward, dark hair falling over her shoulders, hiding her face as she draws her knees to her chest. Please. Don't leave me like that again. I don't know what to do. And for a brief moment, she can feel warmth wrap around her, as if in her grandmother's embrace one last time.

Shiva's voice catches in her throat as Brother Ludomir names the fear she still harbored so deeply. Her eyes then narrow as he goes on to speak of her soul and the light of The Lady. "You need not worry about my soul, Brother Ludomir. It drips with the blood of hundreds, and its burdens are made heavy only by the fear of those that believe they know a damned thing about who and what I am." 

Her posture relaxes, looking over to the light emanating from the carriage. "I fight no wars. I kill who and what needs to be killed in order to protect those who can't protect themselves. I am closer to that shadow of evil than the light of your Lady, and that's fine with me. That shadow is my home." She turns and begins to walk away, her voice trailing off. "Et vous vous leurrez si vous croyez que la lumiere vous protegera pour toujours."

It’s impossible for Caio to stifle a chuckle at Shiva’s vicious retort. As he begins to set up camp, he keeps his ears keen on their conversation, occasionally glancing up until finally he chimes in, “The freedom to choose between light and darkness is a privilege, brother. You see our proximity to the shadows as a burden because you have that privilege. The darkness is not only our home, as Shiva says, but it constitutes our very existence.” Ghoul flaps over to him as he turns his piercing gaze into the fire he’s just gotten started. “I suppose we could simply choose not to exist at all, but then there would be no one to protect you when monsters come to rip out your throats.”

Ludomir sadly shakes his head as though Shiva hasn't really listened to or understood what he said at all.

"Good and evil are not what you are, but what you choose to do," he elaborates as he guides Beinidict into the carriage. "A tiefling is not bound to evil, neither is an aasimar to good. In your own words, you fight to 'protect those who can't protect themselves' and that is the essence of goodness. You try to do good and that is what counts. If you did not, then there would be no need to pray for you. Your soul would already be marked for the lower planes."

Shiva stops in her tracks and slowly turns to smirk at the prior. "That's a very sweet sentiment, and I appreciate it. But I harbor no delusions about the choices that I've made, I'm not a good person. Good people don't enjoy killing as much as I do." Her voice once again trails, but mention of the lower planes brings an earlier conversation with her Other into her mind. "Prior, can you tell me what you know of the lower planes, specifically The Abyss? I know nothing of it beyond the types of creatures that live there."

Quote from stormchaser6 >>

"I trust you to protect us, Shiva," Brother Ludomir admonishes kindly, looking up from where the recovering Beinidict lies in his arms, "but the the source of your power is both chaotic and evil. What happens when it overtakes you and you become the thing that attacks us?"

The question hangs in the air for a moment as Ludomir helps the injured prior to his feet.

"The Lady's light shines upon all soldiers in the eternal war against the shadow of evil, including you, but we reach for some weapons only in desperation. To turn the enemy's might against them is indeed a potent gift. I only pray that your soul can bear the burden."

Behind the priors the interior of the carriage is illuminated by a soft, golden glow from the relic.

"If it overcomes her, I shall bring her back, just as we did sweet Benedict here. Her soul is under my protection, like your lives." Alaris does not speak with boasting or the raised voice of the bully. Instead, they speak with the implacable voice of a mountain. They believe, utterly, that Shiva is secure. "Thank you, Astrid. I am so glad you are with us."