WIP
Look at me responding finally on a not a Wednesday and nearly a month later for the first time ever. Thank you @beautiful-delirium for the tag. I will drop a short involving my Lost Mines Campaign in which I am a player playing my absolute favorite babygirl and all time OC- Ramona, a Half-Elf Knowledge Cleric of Lathander.
The Half-Elf, Ramona, approaches him again. He watches as she comes next to him, body language gentle and open. “How are you feeling today?” She asks quietly as they walk, Gundren’s body being carried by the massive Bugbear behind them who was chatting with the human woman excitedly. The group’s goblin companion was nestled on the Bugbear’s shoulder, and Sildar watched as he glanced over at them with curious eyes.
Sildar turns his attention back onto the cleric. “Fine. I am alive. Can’t complain.” He grunts out.
“Well, that’s good to hear.” She smiles. They walk in silence for a bit. He sees her keen eyes scanning the landscape around them. He casts a glance down at the books at her hips, and he remembers her mentioning being a teacher.
Ramona’s voice breaks his train of thought. “How are you handling Gundren’s passing? I know that we have what we need to resurrect him, but it’s normal to still feel grief.” She reassures him. He once again wonders how someone was gentle as she became a sellsword. She seemed too kind hearted for this line of work being the one who suggested they pool their resources together to resurrect Gundren and more or less, save his ass by proxy. She is giving him a look of concern, brown eyes staring at him.
“I mean what would be the point in grieving? We have to focus on getting him there in one piece.” He shrugs it off.
Her eyes widen a bit as she shifts slightly closer. “Feelings don’t stop just because we know how to fix something.” She says. He feels a bit like an ass being so brisk with her. “Were you two close?” She adds.
He nods. “We were close enough he came to me first to guard him. We were friends.” He tacks on the last bit.
“I am sorry. Well, I am glad we are able to help you both out.” She smiles.
“Oh, uh, thanks?” He feels like an idiot, but she doesn’t seem to judge him. They continue on walking in silence only broken by the group’s friendly banter until late into the night.
As camp is set up and watch turns are being picked, he sits down near the Half-Elf again. Mostly because she was very quietly cooking something that smelled delicious over the fire. She leans back satisfied with her creation and pulls out one of the books from her bag. He wonders how many she keeps on her. This one seems to be a journal of some sort as she quickly writes down a few sentences before she announces to the rest of the group that dinner is ready.
She portions out several dishes of cooked meat with some roasted vegetables she retrieves from the fire. She adds extra to the Bugbear’s plate, and she turns to him and asks, “Do you want a bit more meat or vegetables?”
“Meat.” He nods, still feeling sore from when the Ogre slammed him nearly into the next life.
Ramona stares at him a moment after handing him the food. “Are you sure you don’t need me to heal you any further? I have more than enough magic to be able to do so.”
He raises an eyebrow at her comment. “No, I am fine. Just a little sore.”
She nods. “I was just concerned because I noticed you were walking stiffly. If you want, I can get rid of the soreness? Are you okay with touch?” She says as she quickly makes herself a plate and then places it beside her.
He knows it would be stupid to turn her down. “Sure.” He catches the Bugbear staring at them with a curious look in xyr eyes.
She scots over closer to him. The Bugbear speaks up. “What is Ramona doing?” Xe asks as xe eats with more skill than you would expect.
She glances over at the Bugbear, a smile crossing her face. “Well, Xohik, I am going to help get rid of Sildar’s soreness. Is anyone else feeling a little sore? I can get rid of it for you all with magic or a massage if you are okay with me touching you.” She offers her services to the rest of the group.
The human woman, Dolores, shakes her head as she cleans her weapon with expert skill in between bites of food. She smoothly flips the guns back into their holsters as she settles back to focus on eating. She eats with a measured, practiced grace that makes him wonder if she was of nobility.
The goblin tilts his head. “Snitskrit took no damage. Snitskrit dominated his opponents!”
Ramona laughs. “Yes, you did! We are so proud of you! You did such a good job!” The goblin puffs up with pride as he then digs into his plate with ferocity.
Sildar still doesn’t understand how this group could so easily adopt a goblin, but perhaps he should be more concerned with the way they were able to domesticate it so quickly to the point it fought alongside them. The cleric places a hand on his arm, and the ever familiar feel of her divine magic flowed through him. He lets out a groan. It was a warm, soothing feeling that alleviated his soreness in an instant. It lingered for a bit causing him to slump over slightly as he sighed, feeling more relaxed then since before he took this damn job.
“Thanks.” He nods at her as he begins to eat. She smiles and nods back at him. She picks up her own plate and begins to eat.
He listens as the group banters back and forth. “Well, Xohik, if you want, I could read to you and anyone else who wants to listen. I have a few books just for fun with me at the moment.” Ramona offers as the Bugbear nods as she serves xem a bit more food.
“Yes, I like that very much!” Xe grins, showing off sharp fangs contrasted by the flowers once again growing in xyr hair.
The goblin stops licking his plate. “Snitskrit hasn’t read many books. Goblins don’t have much use for them.” He remarks before shoving his face back onto his plate.
The cleric giggles, and she reaches for his plate. “Hey, if you are still hungry, we have more.” The goblin’s eyes widen, and he nods vigorously. She fills his plate halfway this time, and he eagerly sets about devouring it
“Sure, I am down for story time.” The human woman says as she returns from the nearby creek skin glowing and hair neatly arranged. She begins to set up her bedroll near the fire before lounging on it idly tinkering with one of her guns.
The cleric nods at her. She turns to Sildar. “Well, what about you? Would you mind if I read for the group?”
He shrugs. It's not something that would annoy him, so yeah, why not? “Sure.”
She gives a warm smile as a result. “Wonderful! Okay, well if everyone wants to get settled while I figure out what to read, we can do that, and I can take the first watch.”
He gets up and hands her back the plate with a nod of thanks. She smiles at him as she collects the rest and sets about heading down to the creek to wash them. He gets up and sets down his bedroll. He rearranged the armor he had previously taken off beside his bed, and he did some stretches to make sure he didn’t stiffen overnight. After several minutes, Sildar glances up and notices she was packing the plates up already and grabbing things to wash off in the river. He politely glances away as she heads over there. He makes brief eye contact with the human woman who was now sitting up and focusing on her weapons. He stares at the weapon curiously before dragging his gaze over to where the Bugbear and the goblin are chatting in their language. The Bugbear seems to be attempting to teach the goblin how to use utensils miming the motions. Sildar hears a splash in the river as he assumes the cleric is bathing, and he lies down to stare up at the sky. He blinks, and suddenly, the Bugbear is looming over him. He starts violently reaching for his sword on reflex before stopping himself. He briefly watches as the friendly look in xyr eye turns into one of challenge before it relaxes again.
“Uh, hello, can I help you?” He says as he watches as the Bugbear glances at him.
“Why are you so far away from the camp?” Xohik asks. Xe backs up a bit to give Sildar some space.
“Oh, uh.” He didn’t really have a reason. He just didn’t usually travel in groups. He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“You should move closer in case of attack. Predators go for the ones separate from the group.” Xe comments as xyr eyes flash in the dim light of the campfire.
Sildar nods and begins to grab his stuff to bring it over. He notices the Bugbear handing him items, and he nods. “Thanks.” He awkwardly brings it over and sets up his bedroll between the Bugbear and the cleric.
The Bugbear seems satisfied, and xe plops down next to the goblin who was setting up his own bedroll that they had taken from Cragmaw. The cleric comes back, skin glowing and brushing out her wet hair. She settles into her bedroll after casting him a curious glance. She puts her things away, and she pulls out a novel.
“Everyone settled in?” Ramona asks as she crosses her legs. Seeing that everyone was comfortable, she began to read.
Sildar has to admit he didn’t expect the cleric to carry around an adventure novel, but the tale was interesting, further helped by the fact she turned out to be a good orator. He watches as the Bugbear curls up like a cat, some of the flowers growing in xyr hair getting squashed. The goblin falls asleep almost immediately. He watches as the human woman finally puts up her things, and she lies down seeming content to listen till she drifts off. He found himself starting to slip off listening to the sound of her voice and the crackle of the fire.
Sildar wakes up calmly for the first time since before his capture. He felt well rested and alert which was lucky since the Bugbear had been about to wake him up for his turn for watch. He nods silently as Xohik heads back to xyr bedroll and curls back up. He prods the fire and hears the sizzle as the fire sparks back up. He grunts as he strains his eyes looking around. Naturally, the Bugbear, Goblin, and Half-Elf might have no issue with low fires, but he has zero perception in the dark. He strained his ears and became hyper aware of the sounds around him. He hears the Half-Elf stir beside him. He could swear he hears the Bugbear purring in xyr sleep. The goblin had completely disappeared underneath his covers, and Dolores was quietly slumbering on her back. Once he is satisfied with the state of the fire, he leans back and glances around with a steady gaze.
The area was clear, and other than the sounds of night creatures being about, it was silent. He glances over at where they had placed Gundren’s body. He sighs. He fucked up bad. His client and friend died because he wasn’t good enough. Shit, if it hadn’t been for this group, he would be dead in some cave being made into stew. He folds his arms across his chest as he remains in a sentinel position until the dawn begins to creep over the horizon.
He hears Ramona stir again. She sits up, looking bright eyed and alert. She smiles at him as she settles herself to face the sun, head bowed.
He watched her with interest for a bit. He always wondered how cleric’s prayed. She remains there transfixed, lips moving soundlessly. Eventually, she stops and makes a rising sun motion to close out her prayer.
She stands and walks over to him. “Sleep well?” She asks quietly, trying not to wake the others.
He nods. “Yeah, can’t complain.” He stands up and stretches to loosen his muscles up.
“Any soreness? Any pain?” She asks as she begins to pull her hair up.
He groans as he feels a muscle loosen. “Nope, none.”
She smiles. “Glad to hear it. I won’t bother you with my morning training will I?” She asks as she retrieves a change of clothes from her pack.
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