Welcome To Fandomonia

The encounter had been more difficult than any of them had anticipated. Luckily, the group had defeated the men following them, but it had left Zolf injured, which wasn't good for the main healer of the group. He had tried to heal himself, but something the enemies used was affecting his ability to use magic. The group had found themselves in the middle of the forest. Cassandra had spent enough time with an apothecary to know that there would be herbs and flowers in the forest she could use to help Zolf. At least to the point that he may be able to heal himself with his magic.

Cassandra had decided she would need to head deeper into the forest to find what she was needing. The group agreed that Cassandra was not to go alone, concerned that there could still be enemies around. After a quick discussion, Sasha was the one to go with her as Bertie was not exactly the quiet type. They didn’t need to bring any attention to themselves. She had helped the others make sure Zolf was comfortable before leaving Hamid and Bertie to care for him.

The walk through the forest was quiet. Sasha was never a big talker and Cassandra was looking for what they needed. Cassandra had found a couple of the items they had needed before Sasha was the first one to break the silence. Which made Cassandra jump at the sound of her voice.

“Will he….will he be alright?”

Cassandra looked over to Sasha before turning her attention back to the ground. She stopped to pick up another herb, biting her lip to make sure to hide any discomfort she was in.

“I am going to do my best to make sure he is.”

Sasha nodded but it was a motion that Cassandra had missed. Her attention was on the gathering of the last herb that she was going to need. Cassandra smiled as she stood to her full height, suppressing a groan.

“I've got everything. Let’s go back.”

Sasha followed Cassandra’s lead back to their makeshift campsite. Sasha’s head seemed like it was on a swivel as she took stock of their surroundings. Sasha’s eyes fell on Cassandra’s profile. Even Sasha could see the worry lacing Cassandra's features as she looked over the items in her hands.

“You care for him, huh?”

Cassandra looked over to Sasha, surprised that she had picked up on that emotion. Cassandra thought she had done so well at hiding her emotions when it came to the dwarf. Besides, Sasha had not been the best at reading a room emotion wise to which only added to Cassandra’s surprise.

“I….”

Cassandra was unable to finish as they broke the treeline and met with a frantic Hamid.

“Zolf is getting worse!”

The trio ran back to where Zolf was. Bertie was leaning against a tree, completely oblivious to things around him. Bertie only seemed to care as he saw the others approach.

“Ah! Ladies. You have returned and I am bored. We should move on.”

Cassandra ignored the man as she knelt by Zolf’s side and checked on him. Hamid stood close to her, explaining the changes he had seen. She nodded and removed her backpack from her back with a wince but pushed past her own discomfort. Sasha had started an unnecessary argument with Bertie about common decency. Hamid had moved to attempt to stop them to allow Cassandra to concentrate. Cassandra was rummaging through her bag, ignoring those around her. She removed a pestle and mortar that she was thankful she had brought with her. She added the herbs and plants she had collected and began to ground the items into a paste. She looked up to the rest of the group, realization dawning on her.

“I’m going to need water. Bertie. Sasha. Why don’t you take a waterskin and find a nearby stream?”

Sasha and Bertie both look to Cassandra, stopping what they were saying but neither of them made any attempt to move or even acknowledge what she had said. Cassandra looked in her backpack and pulled out her empty waterskin and held it out to them in earnest.

“Please?!”

Sasha took the waterskin with a nod, glancing at Bertie before starting to walk off.

“Come on. Maybe you can find something to hit.”

Bertie followed behind Sasha, starting in on another of his ramblings. Cassandra sighed as she settled on her haunches and picked up the tools she had started to use. She took a deep breath to fight back the black that was starting to creep in on the edges of her vision. She looked up to find that Hamid’s gaze remained on Zolf’s face.

“Hamid.”

Cassandra waited until the halfling looked at her before she continued.

“Once they come back with the water, mix this poultice with some of the water, enough to fill this mortar. Then add three drops of nectar from this stem. Make him drink it.”

Cassandra could see the panic in Hamid’s eyes grow as she spoke, which was only confirmed when he started to speak.

“Wh-what?! Why…why me?”

Cassandra set down the mortar to make sure she didn’t drop it as more of her vision started to give away to the black. She moved the cloak she wore to the side, revealing a blood stain that was growing from where one of the attackers had stabbed her. With a fluke, the attacker had hit her in an opening in her armor. She let out a long, slow breath.

“Because I may not be awake…”

As she spoke, Cassandra could feel her body sway. Before she could say anything else, her vision became black and she fell over on the ground. She could hear Hamid yelling her name as she finally passed out.

Cassandra woke up with a gasp. A hand moved away from her side as the other hand was on her shoulder making sure she stayed down. The first thing she noticed was that night had fallen around them. There was a soft glow from a fading fire nearby, lighting up the features of the person hovering over her. She let out a soft sigh as her eyes met familiar green ones.

“It worked.”

There was a scoff. Zolf’s hand moved from Cassandra’s shoulder to the side of head, cupping her cheek. She glanced around them. She noticed two figures, Bertie and Hamid from what she could make of the shapes, had fallen asleep. Sasha must have been on watch, which made her wonder how long Zolf had been awake.

“Why didn't you tell anyone you were hurt?”

Cassandra chuckled, trying her hardest not to lean into the unexpected soft touch.

“Because I knew if you were healed, then you could heal me.”

Zolf shook his head, removing his hand from her face. Cassandra fought the urge to show her disappointment in the loss of contact.

“That was reckless.”

Cassandra smirked as she sat up with Zolf’s help. She could tell that the wound had been healed and raised a brow as she met his gaze once more.

“Worked though.”

Zolf rolled his eyes as he stood and walked towards the fire, bringing back some food and a waterskin. He handed her both items before settling back in the spot the group had made for him.

“Eat up then rest. We are going to continue at first light.”