Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Four

[JMaytr]

Jonathan rushes to Norzak's side, holding a strip of his own torn shirt in his hands. The boy then tries to bandage the dwarf with this makeshift wrap.

"Hold on Norzak. Just hold on!"

[steveflam]

Norzak stops when the Rider seems to be set free and just grins, sitting right there on the spot. He lays his short sword down across his knees. The adrenaline of the battle now over, he replies to Jon in a weak voice "Yeah, I holdin on, kinna 'urts though. Hard ta see with the blood dripping down me pate, laddie." He doesn't even bother to wipe the blood away.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio coughs, then wipes a small trickle of blood from his face. He casts a quick glance at Norzak to make sure is in no mortal danger for now. Satisfied that the dwarf doesn't need immediate help, he turns his attention to the ghost.

"We are glad to be helping, but we must know how to be freeing Wolutha of her own curse. Spirit, are you knowing, what can be laying her to rest?"

[ewancummins]

Dorgio coughs, then wipes a small trickle of blood from his face. He casts a quick glance at Norzak to make sure is in no mortal danger for now. Satisfied that the dwarf doesn't need immediate help, he turns his attention to the ghost.

"We are glad to be helping, but we must know how to be freeing Wolutha of her own curse. Spirit, are you knowing, what can be laying her to rest?"

'' She will never rest, unless it be that she is slain a second time by that which stilled the breath in her mortal body.
Farewell, heroes. The Gray Realm calls my tardy soul and I must go.''

With that, the apparition fades from view.

[Adam]

"That which stilled her breath the first time?" Bennedict says, wiping the sweat from his brow and readjusting his spectacles which, miraculously, have not been broken yet. "What do you suppose that could have meant?"

He turns towards Norzak. "If you are needing more bandages Jon, tear them from my shirt." He lifts the shredded rag up ruefully. "It is already ruined."

[Adam]

Suddenly the Archivist's eyes go wide and he slaps a palm against his forehead. "Mein gott I am a fool! Hemlock! The only way to kill her permanently is to giver her another dose of Hemlock!"

[JMaytr]

"Where would we find this root?" Jonathan says as he tears a long strip from Benn's shirt and applies it to Norzak's wounds.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

'' She will never rest, unless it be that she is slain a second time by that which stilled the breath in her mortal body.
Farewell, heroes. The Gray Realm calls my tardy soul and I must go.''

Dorgio stares in silence for several moments. "I . . . have never had a spectre thank me for returning it to the grave." Then he frowns. "I've also never had a spectre speak without being so vague! What was it that was killing Wolutha?"

He then turns to help Jon patch up Norzak.*

Suddenly the Archivist's eyes go wide and he slaps a palm against his forehead. "Mein gott I am a fool! Hemlock! The only way to kill her permanently is to giver her another dose of Hemlock!"

"Yes! Hmm, but how would one be delivering hemlock to an intangible creature?"

"Where would we find this root?" Jonathan says as he tears a long strip from Benn's shirt and applies it to Norzak's wounds.

"Not a root, the leaf," Dorgio says as he applies salve to Norzak's head. "Six or eight leaves will be making the death of most people. Lower doses, they are good for treating hysterics."

As he speaks, he suddenly becomes aware of the silence from outside. "Cirdan!" After quickly finishing his work on Norzak, he rushes outside, searching for the knight.

[ewancummins]

outside the cabin, front yard

Dorgio sees Cirdan standiing near a bile of animal bones- the remains of some large creature. Whatever it was, it's now rapidly idssolving into mist. Cirdan is bloodied, but unbowed.

[ewancummins]

inside the cabin

Wat grabs Alain's shirt and exclaims-

''We've won, Alain! The Rider-in-Iron is no more!''

[Lord Skybolt]

"Well that's good to know . All though I already suspected as much from the lack of combat sounds . I hope I helped a little bit in the fight . " Alain says in reply to Wat's comment . Thinking to himself :That was a close one considering some of the sounds I heard during the fight .

[ewancummins]

"Well that's good to know . All though I already suspected as much from the lack noise of combat . I hope I helped a little bit in the fight . " Alain says in reply to Wat's comment . Thinking to himself :That was a close one considering some of the sounds I heard during the fight .

Wat says,

''Your magic seemed to help, yes.''

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan tries the vizor of his battered and deformed helmet,
but it breaks off, crushed by a strike of the monster's hooves.

"This was a good fight."

The knight then limbs back to where the others are waiting,
visibly tired.

[Adam]

"She did not want to be taken prisoner by the cultists, you see!" Bennedict is nearly panting with excitement at his revelation. "She knew what tortures would be waiting for her, so she took her own life with the Hemlock first. And in her wrath, she became a dead spirit tied to the land, and wrenched it with her partway into the land of the dead!"

He stops however at Dorgio's query. Benn seems to literally deflate momentarily. He stares down at his feet, harrumphing and adjusting his glasses. "Hmm, yes. An unforeseen difficulty, to be sure."

[ewancummins]

After lighting a pair of tallow candles to provide adequate lighting, Wat gets busy scooping burned stew out of the fireplace.
He picks out the salvageable chunks of meat and vegetables.

''We mustn't waste what's here.''

He eats a good morsel of meat, and throws a singed chunk to his dogs.