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"Stand down!" Angel grabs Papa's shoulder, pulling him from the battle. "It is hopeless to pursue. Elias can track them, I think." She grits her teeth, holding him fast.

"We return to our employer, he is our priority now." She shakes the Cleric is she has to.

"Maughus and Liri, rejoin the others, we need somewhere to camp, people are injured. We pursue once we have recovered." With that she rejoins the group, dragging Papa with her if she needs to.

If anyone argues she simply announces:
"We lost a friend here today, following them will only lead to more death."

"Is it true? You can track them?" Liri ask Elias, then turns Casta around and rejoins the group. "Do we make camp here or do we move elsewhere?" She gathers her belongings, checking if anything has been damaged during the fight.

When she pases Daos's body, she crouches down next to him in silent prayer, her hand on the pendant round her neck. When she rises, she whispers: "I'm sorry to have lost you before we even had the chance to get to know each other."

Then she looks up to see what needs to be done next.

"I can," Elias says. "Though I'm not sure we should. I think those things, whatever they were, are out of our league. Besides. Maybe it is no longer necessary. Lets speak with Master Fraso about our next move."

"Battle is one thing, Angel. I've killed men in battle. It's what we do. But this was murder. I saw his eyes when he did it. He did not even consider his actions. He and his need to be chastised." Despite his fiery words, the priest looks pale and weak. It is not until she gets close that Angel spots the blood on his breast. There is quite a lot there.

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Daos stares up at Liri, his eyes still open, his face frozen in a look of surprise. There's hardly a mark on him, except for his cut throat.

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Hiric wavers a bit, bleeding from a head wound which Salia is quick to tend to, now that the fighting is over. Strangely she seems the least affected by recent events.

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As Elias turns to speak with Fraso, in time to see the old man turn and fall to his knees and heave up his dinner. A pitiful sight, really, seeing an old man on his hands and knees like a dog. Like that little dog that Triloa ti Lette started feeding in the winter laager. Cute animal, it was. Used to do tricks for scraps of food. Triloa probably shouldn't have kept it, but he was always doing that sort of thing...

With a shudder, Elias brings himself back to the moment. What does a dog have to do with this. Focus!

Fraso finishes heaving and struggles back to his feet, shaking like a leaf. "Taken. They're real. They were here. And...and they killed that boy. We have to get out of here, before they return for...for us."

Elias manages to pay attention to Fraso until he finishes speaking, but it is a near thing, when there are so many fascinating things around. The bodies. The wagon wreckage. Ice scattered everywhere, melting into the grass. The shadows thrown by the white tree...

"I feel it, that was evil, cruel.. " Angel shudders slightly, her thin body shaking as she does so. "It will not bring him back."

Her eyes go to his breast, the man was often aloof and untouchable, it was strange seeing him so open. "You are injured, let me look." She asks, somehow managing to be cold and clinical, turning to Liri she gives the Elf an attempt at a smile. "Help me please?" She motions to Papa..

"Master Fraso knew Daos best, we will see what he wishes to do..." She adds to both Liri and Papa, "He will be avenged." She says resisting the urge to give Liri a hug. No she had to remain in control.. To keep this group together.

"Elias, keep an eye on Master Fraso. Bastian, ensure Salia and Hiric are safe, Papa will need some medical attention to." Looking around she watches the treeline, where was Kutz? He bolted, understandable really...

"Maughus, we need somewhere to camp, now!" She tries to order the Ranger, dragging him back to the battlefield.

(ooc: hope this doesn't mess with the rest of the post... I'll edit if needed)

"Mark me, Angel. This does not go unanswered," Papa says, quietly, but with resolve. Then he sits down, suddenly. "I think I may be injured."

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Upon hearing his name, Maughus lifts his head from his horse's neck. He wasn't gone, just resting, and showing affection to the horse that saved his life.

"There's a village right near here. Two miles, maybe two and a half. Got a wall and a temple. No garrison, but there are retired legionnaires living there, so it's safe and well defended. We could be there in an hour, easy." His voice is calm and cool, but the earlier madness is still there, dancing at the corners of his eyes.

"Agreed Papa, this will NOT go unanswered." Angel helps him to the ground, and turns to Maughus. "I am curious why you didn't take us there in the first place..." She frowns. "This could have been avoided."

"He said you wanted to keep this trip quiet. Unnoticed. No witnesses. Real dark-ops stuff. If you were going to travel village to village and stay at inns, you wouldn't need a guy like me, now, would you?" Maughus replies.
"Best we gather up what we can salvage and move on, in case they come back, no?"

"And it cost Daos his life..." Angel mutters. Sheaving her blade she calls for Praesul before checking everyone is ok. "Lets move, quickly."

(ooc: giving you all a chance to post, sorry to thread hog!)

Elias wanders back into the open, hands limp at his sides. His eyes slide over the the wreckage and bodies.

"Master Fraso. Do you still need that body? Or has seeing those... things... confirmed your suspicions? Do you think that the corpse was one of their own?"

As Angel does her best to get the group in order again, Liri's hazel eyes follow her, and she complies to her orders. She moves slowly, though, looking thoughtful.

"These beings are extremely dangerous" she says at some point. "If they take hold here, they will upset the balance of the races. Their cruelty will be attributed to all the elves living here. Daos welcomed them, and they just cut him down!" She shakes her head in disbelief.

"What do you propose we do about them?" Elias asks, gazing up at the moon. His voice seems far away.

"Elias?" Liri puts her hand on his shoulder. "Are you with us? Your voice sounds strange.
As to what to do about these strangers... well, if no one has a better idea, I would suggest we track them, follow them and find out who and where they are, and how many. Not that it will be easy."

"I know what they are. But I doubt anyone will believe me when I tell the story." Fraso says.

"Frankly, Master Fraso, after what I've witnessed, I'm likely to believe A LOT of things." Liri tells the necromancer. "So please, tell us what you know."