( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

[sorser]

WHO: Stephen, Thancred, & Yennefer
WHAT: Three individuals go on a quest to help perpetuate better magical monitoring of the Singularity!
WHERE: ALL OVER THORNE
WHEN: End of March into mid-April.
WARNINGS: Some eventual monster-related violence and injury! But nothing else for now; will add as needed.



(( quest info here ))

Comments

[sorser]

[There’s no escaping Yennefer’s fussing once he’s in her crosshairs. In the days since his initial injury, he’s taken this as truth, and though he still has the tendency to try to wave her off—]

I’m fine. Nothing’s reopened.

[—Stephen’s equally accepted that doing so is a futile effort, because she might as well already have plunged her fingers beneath his clothing, seeking out the state of his wrappings. (Even the Cloak of Levitation seems keen on helping her, holding up the front of his shirt so she can better see. Traitor, he thinks.) He sighs, though, quickly letting go of any resistance, dropping his arms to his side with a heaving sigh.

Yennefer will find that some of the bandages have come undone from the sudden strain against them during their little monster fight, but Stephen’s initial assessment is correct: there are no deep, crimson stains to suggest a reopening of the wound.

The little sandpiper hops from his shoulder to hers. He watches it idly, having forgotten about the little creature in the heat of the moment.]

Smells great. [That’s sarcasm. The carcass of that sea monster… thing is already wafting in his direction, catching in his nostrils.] We could probably take some of the meat back. Might be a delicacy to some.

[As though he has room to judge, given some of the wiggly, slimy things tucked away in one of the Sanctum’s fridges back home. Anyway, he raises the thaumametor, still clutched in one hand.]

Since we’ve dealt with our wanted guest, I can set this up again if someone else goes and rounds up the horses.

[The latter task sounds far too exhausting to him.]

[funbreaker]

I have no doubt.

[ Thancred would rather he never have to see Yennefer angry. He knows her well enough now to understand that if such a time does come, it will not be good. Which is why his statement still stands. Whether her temper burns hot or cold, he would not want to be on the receiving end of it. Thankfully, in this case all of her frustration had been focused on the creature that ambushed them, and it is not lost on Thancred that she'd rushed to his aid with no hesitation.

Yennefer moves to inspect Stephen's wounds and check him over. While she handles that (and if anything has been reopened, that will be a problem they'll need to address sooner rather than later), Thancred focuses his attention on the carcass. Whether or not Stephen is serious in his suggestion that they take some of the meat back, Thancred shrugs in a sort of quiet agreement. ] I could butcher it, but I think we're too far out from Borrel. The meat will have spoiled by the time that we return. [ If it had not been a creature from the sea, he might have had more hope that they could earn something for it, but that isn't to say that there isn't something of use here.

He steps through the sand around to the back of the felled beast once more, where the sparkling spheres that look very much pearls have sunken partially into the sand. ] Well, they appear to be pearls of some sort. These certainly seem worth taking back with us. [ A small wave crashes in and water laps up against his boots and the remains of the monster. Thancred flings his coat up to hang over his shoulder for a moment so that he can crouch down and scoop the pearls out of the sand before they're taken away by the tide.

Stephen wants to take his try at setting up the device, which is fine. Thancred will stay close at hand unless something else happens. He glances up and nods to Yennefer. ] Would you mind fetching the horses? My hands are a bit full at the moment. [ As another wave comes in, he bends down to submerge his hands in the water, holding them clasped together so that the sand can be washed away while the pearls remain. Then he looks to Stephen, giving a small jerk of his head to indicate that he can come forward to calibrate the device; Thancred will have his back, willing to sacrifice the pearls if he has to protect against another attack. ]

[vixening]

[ yennefer all but completely ignores stephen's i'm fine as she finishes her search. thankfully, stephen has realized it's a bit futile to try and fight her on these matters, so she doesn't meet much actual resistence as she tugs at the bandages they had just set this morning, looks for any signs of new blood, or bruising. and yes, the cloak does help her, but she also has this innate ability to win over just about everyone - so it's nice to know that extends to ancient objects as well.

she goes about reattaching where some of the bandages have gotten lose, entirely undisturbed by just how close she presses to stephen in the process, and equally undisturbed by the smell that is starting to settle in. at stephen's comment, she snorts once. ]

Could be worse. [ and then, when all is said and done, she turns to watch as thancred crouches down to scoop up the pearls. she doesn't bother hiding her curiosity, trying to get a better look, and ends up blinking back to the conversation when thancred asks her about the horses, and stephen is moving to the device, and ah. yeah. they do still need to finish up here, don't they? ]

If there's any bit of that we could take with us, might as well, but I agree with Thancred. Last thing we want is to carry rancid meat with us back to Borrel. [ she doesn't really care either way, considering they will probably also smell rancid here when given enough time. she supposes she could, if she really wanted to, try and take some sort of bath in the waves of the water itself, but that won't clean their clothes.

it's a few minutes later that she does return to the two men, all three horses in hand. ]

Any more monsters we should worry about? [ it's only partially a joke, as she comes to a stop about ten feet from the carcass, which is definitely smelling worse by the second. ]

[sorser]

[No big loss on their part — the monster’s corpse is already starting to smell by the time Stephen comes close enough to start setting up the device (only once he’s free from Yennefer’s assessment, of course), which has only become more pungent by the time Yennefer returns minutes later. The thaumametor’s already spinning diligently by then, and he wrinkles his nose as the sea breeze wafts the smell in his direction.

Yeah, not appealing at all. He’s happy to leave its meat on the shoreline.]

Oh, I’m sure if there are, we’ll know about it sooner rather than later. [That seems to be their luck; are they a monster magnet? Better not linger and find out.

Stephen double-checks the readings on the watch, which appear to be steady. He stands, but not without scooping up a wayward pearl that had landed close to him, still shining with slime, and tosses it idly at Thancred. The man’s got a collection going, after all.]

Thaumametor’s all set to go, so let’s not wait around and see. Do you think one of those pearls is worth a round of drinks or two back at Borrel? A nice, warm bed?

[funbreaker]

[ While Yennefer rounds up the horses and Stephen takes another go at setting up the thaumametor, Thancred works on cleaning off the pearls, drying them, and then tucking them away somewhere safe in his pack. When Stephen tosses a stray pearl his way, he manages to catch it without fumbling and adds it to the pile after drawing it through the water.

He dips his soiled coat into the water as well and then wrings it out, hoping that he can still salvage the garment. He nods to Stephen, also hopeful that they might be able to have a nice night back in town despite their terrible luck.

As he passes Stephen, Thancred gives him a quick clap on the shoulder with his free hand — the one not gripping his damp coat. ]

We can only hope, my friend.

[ With that, he fastens his pack to his horse and drapes the coat over the mount's rump, making certain it's also secured in place. With any luck, it will have dried out by the time that they make it back to Borrel. After heaving himself up onto horseback, Thancred turns to his two companions, relieved that they're none worse for the wear after that unexpected attack. ]

Let us make haste, then. We should aim to return before nightfall if we can.

[ Or they risk attracting something else. ]

[vixening]

[ she snorts, once, at stephen’s sarcasm - the slowing adrenaline leaving her exhausted but satisfied. as stephen checks the readings on the watch and the device finishes getting settled, yennefer glances over to watch - only slightly curious, but not enough to ask. ]

You’d think our arrangements would have at least covered drink. [ she means ambrose, and all of the preset arrangements he’s made for them so far. she will admit, traveling from city to city via portal has been an enjoyable way to see thorne - and ambrose should have covered their room and drinks, too. then again - it’s pretty obvious by now that yennefer will blame just about anything on ambrose if she can, considering once they make it back to the castle she won’t be able to be as vocal about said opinions.

she hands off the reins to each of their horses, climbing up on her own’s back before she takes a single, deep breath, her face contorting at just how much she is starting to smell. ]

Agreed. [ to thancred’s comment about returning before nightfall. ] I need a bath and a bottle of wine, or you both will have to suffer for it. [ she turns her horse back in the direction they came and - with a final look to make sure both thancred and stephen are ready - starts off first at a trot until they make it out of the wet sand, which is when she pushes her horse just a bit faster.

they do manage to make good time, though she imagines it has a lot to do with the flat farmland they’re traversing across. their horses arrive up to the gates just after nightfall, and with a little bartering and discussion, they do find a decently sized inn, and acquire rooms and baths for all of them. yennefer has reached the point of smelling rancid herself, so thankfully the innkeeper is quick to show her to the baths and their rooms, and yennefer leaves the rest of the accommodations to stephen and thancred, making some comment about finding them both down in the tavern once she is done, and then she is gone. ]