Uthal stops for a long moment, taking in the weight of the words being said. "Why wouldn't he tell me.., it's not important I guess. Normally I would agree with you, the hammer is needed more than prayer, but I have received a vision from the gods. A world of blood before me if I continued to only use the hammer rather than other methods. It is not in my nature but I've always been taught to never ignore the council from the gods."

"Very well. Only you can choose the path you take, but I will be here along your way, as Cedric has been there for me." Felix turned back and began slowly returning to the area in which they left Ura and Anearis. Likely having said what he intended to, in private, but still leaving time, should Uthal need to speak of anything further.

"I see him in you, you know. I think even more than I see in myself, having been a student of Cedric as well. He was right to have sent you."

Current open one eye groggily when she get Ura's message. She groans as she rolls over and stands up. Rubbing her eyes, she sighs as an invisible Tide lands on her shoulder. Seeing Anearis and given Ura's instructions, Current begins to make her way following Anearis. As she approaches Felix, she notices the garb that is similar to that worn by the three cat-people (?) and shakes her head a bit. Current remembers Ura and the others telling her that there were assassins among that particular group and given her history with assassins, she wasn't eager to meet someone who might slit her throat.

As soon as she joins Ura, she glances around and notices the robed figures walking with the Right Hand and other similarly dressed people. She instantly widens her eyes and is awake. She gauges the distance between herself and them before the tip of a blue tentacle squirms its way out of her palm and she begins to swing her arm down in a motion to send the tentacle curling toward one of the robed figures with a softball pitch. As she is doing this, the genasi turns to Ura and Anearis with a look of exclamation, and says, "Are you not seeing those people!? They are the same ones as the robed individual we found with the Zelda woman."

(OOC: The blast has not yet been released because she is waiting for some recognition from one of the others before just attacking as she is still waking up.)

Uthal just hangs his head. "I try but I'll never be him. I'm just a brute, he was kind. I should be by his side, comforting him, not out here fighting. It just proves that I'll never get it right."

Uthal looks over to her. "Get it through your head, they are on our side. You attacked an innocent person and will be again. Just because they're in the same room doesn't mean they're on the same side." He says with a sudden harshness to his voice that's rarely there. 

Current shakes her head as Uthal returns. She withdraws the tentacle but corrects the goliath with equal acidity, "I didn't attack just because they were in the same room. I assumed that they were on the same side because they were in the same room. I gave him a good enough chance to explain himself. A simple hand gesture to signal what he was doing would have been sufficient. Even in shackles, is it too much to ask for a quick hand motion? Unless the elf is deaf or a fool, he has no excuses. I don't care what lies he is spewing to your friends, if the elf was on our side, he could have motioned such to me easily." The way she spits the word 'friends' makes it very clear that she doesn't see these armored figures as friends and still views them with a good bit of suspicion. Eventually, she even throws her hands up and retorts childishly, "For gods sake, he could have even acknowledged me beyond just opening one eye. Besides, you didn't say anything to stop me. I gave any of you," she points around to all the party members present, "a chance to say something. But none of you said a word! If you were so smart to know that he was innocent, then why didn't you say anything?"

Anearis steps in between Current and Uthal. "Both of you need to calm down. We are on the same side."

He sighs. "I understand and share your mistrust for them. I am not sure what is going on here, but I do not intend to blindly believe what they want to tell us. However, I think we should hear them out. After all, they outnumber us and have yet to make a move."

Uthal grunts in annoyance. "I didn't think it required my input to realize that the man literally chained to the wall was probably there against his will. Plus at the time I was a little busy, you know fighting the personification of evil that was trying to kill us all."

"Look, Current," Ura says in reply, raising her hands and stepping between the genasi and the Right Handers and their company.  "I've attacked someone before because I assumed they were out to get me and they gave no indication otherwise.  It's my biggest regret in life to date.  Why don't we just hear them --- or, er, see them --- out first?  It may come at some cost to us, but it's better than being just like the Berossus degenerates.  Hurting innocent people, that is."

"What's done is done." Felix interrupts the group squabbling, hoping to bring it to an end. "Offering reason and intent for questionable past actions, do little more than attempt to alleviate guilt and pass blame. Take the moment, and look for opportunity to learn from it. At least then, you can give it some worth."

Felix turned back to Uthal, responding to something the goliath had said earlier, before attention was turned towards the group argument about attacking the mage. "Doubting yourself, is doubting Cedric. He sent you here, for a reason. Because he put faith not just in the gods, but in you as well. If the hammer is not the correct path forward, then your place is finding the right one."

"...Perhaps a blade, instead," Felix added as an obvious attempt at humor to cut the otherwise present tension.

"You know, you lot remind me of a group we sent to the Capital to be deported." A voice that most of the party had heard before, accompanied a face that most had seen. One of the first Chosen Men that the party had met, while in Midgar, had approached the party. A human with short black hair, that had been introduced as Ser Harper, and had saved Austin from the shadow Assassin, when the group was attacked in the Maiden's Bossom.

He quickly turned to address Felix, as if his first statement was meant more so as a means to announce himself, than inquiring about the status of the group whom he possibly recognized. "Priest, we're mounting. We've recovered the mage, but we're ill-equipped to uncover anything further beneath the surface." Looking around the group, only as a means to reference them, "We'll regroup in the morning in Lindenfeld. Room has been made in the wagons, to fit the rest." As he spoke the campfire light of the dockside campfire went out, having been dosed with water and smothered.

Current grumbles telepathically to Tide as the group steps in but doesn't respond aloud. She was beginning to think that this group was too trusting. Her time on land, which wasn't extensive, had shown that landlubbers, for the most part, couldn't be trusted. Heck, out of the first six landlubbers she met, two were assassins, two were poachers, and one was a fool that poisoned himself. Regardless, if the fight in the cave was any reference point, she wouldn't be able to fight this 'Zelda' alone. She might as well get used to these people, as it didn't look like she had much of another choice if she wanted to stop the defiler.

She waits silently as the two strangers converse about regrouping. At least they agreed on something, Current thought to herself. A little bit of rest was well in order.

Austin, who followed directions to join the others sighs as the fire is douced. "I was hoping for a nice warm place to stay put for a bit longer." She explains. She shrugs though, having warmed up enough by this point, and having eaten a bit as well. "I am ready to head out when everyone else is."

Uthal simply grunts in reply to the knight's statement of recognition. "Glad to see that you're finally taking the Berosus threat seriously." The rest of the group sees that the rough demeanor that Uthal displays normally has dropped back into place like a mask after he stops talking to Felix. 

Ura simply blinks innocently, having been wearing a different face during that incident.

"Thank you, Ser Harper. I will be ready." Felix nodded and the knight turned to walk in the general direction of the road. It wasn't evident if he was ignoring Uthal, however, he made no response or show any indication of hearing it.

Turning toward Uthal, and then the rest of the group. "I assume you have no steeds of your own. The wagons will be heading back to Lindenfeld. Sleep if you can, and tomorrow we'll meet again."

Austin shrugs and trudges off to find a wagon to ride in.

"Hey, I'll never say no to a ride back to warmth and a real bed," Ura says, directing the others towards the wagons she'd found parked in the camp.  "Besides... I want to hear more about what happened down there.  We need to know what's become of Zelda and her tentacle.  And all the evil shards they collected."

The rest of the campfires were smothered out, as everyone made their way towards the road. Felix had peeled off towards the horses, leaving the party to climb aboard wagons, along with Maas, Juppo and the other plain clothed individuals who seemed to be the wagon drivers. The party had to split themselves between two wagons, but this at least allowed each member to find adequate space for sleep.

Night had fallen since the group had exited the cave, and hours later, after a welcome sleep, the sun crept over the horizon, glistening off the frost covered ground, as the convoy of horses and wagons neared the town of Lindenfeld.

((Everyone has achieved a long rest. And our now level 5))

(Rolling HP 3)

Uthal sleeps sitting up against the side of the wagon so that he doesn't take too much room from the others.

Uthal awakens with more weight on him, than initially when he fell asleep the night before. While at first feel and glance it could appear that sometime in the night, a good hearted soul had been kind enough to tuck him in with a thick heavy blanket; after regaining his senses, Uthal nearly instantly recognized the fury halfling asleep, sprawled out across him.

Maas was already awake, eating a bit of dried beef, while he read a rolled up paper back book.

While unable to sit down in the carriage in a meditative stance, Anearis still enters a trance as the group is being escorted back to Lindenfeld. 

In his dreams, or rather his nightmare, he still hears Zelda laughing, mocking him. He watched as she and her family spread their dark tendrils all across the world, plunging it in shadows.

Waking up before most of the others, he stares out on the side of the road, cursing himself for letting her go last time. He swore internally to himself that the next time they would see her, he would be ready.