Playing hide and seek

[Anadwen]

All of a sudden, it was gone. It appeared that the healer stopped, because the horrible sensation has disappeared, and left Aldanith staring blankly at the ceiling. He didn't scream anymore - there was no reason to. All stopped, without any echoes or even marks left that would prove that it really happened.

He slowly turned his head at Salia. "Can you give me a glass of water?" he requested in a silent voice, sounding somewhat rugged from all that screaming.

[Alegretto]

Salia nodded. She left Grace to her soothing song and went to her kitchen. She grabbed a glass and got some water from a bucket in the room. She walked back to the table and set the glass on the surface in Aldanith's reach.

She started inspecting the Drow's wounds, seeing the progress of the treatment. There was a definite healing, the wound's were probably about a third of the way to being closed over and the broken bones were setting nicely, but she was going to need to go in again "Aldanith," she said, "do you want to try again, or leave it as it is?"

[Anadwen]

Drawing short, ragged breaths in, Aldanith emptied the glass of water like nothing. It was comfortably cold, and cooled him from the inside. Although at Salia's inspecting he twitched a little, and threw a cold look at her when she touched his shoulder, he didn't protest.

However, it took him a while to answer her question - a while spent carefully considering his options. "Concentrate on the bone. Take it in intervals no longer than five minutes and give me some time between those... When that's done, I'll think about the rest." he eventually replied. There was concern in his cold, hard voice, even though hard to sense.

[Alegretto]

Salia listened to Aldanith's words. She considered telling him not to tell a healer how to do her job, but his recommendation was sound and frankly she didn't feel it worth getting into an argument with the Drow.

"Alright, let's get started again." She told Aldanith. "Grace," she spoke to the half-orc without looking, "keep up that song."

The healer put her hands gently on Aldanith's shoulder and sent small pulses of magic to accelerate the elf's already formidable healing process. She had better control over a small target like just the shoulder as opposed to trying to heal all his wounds simultaneously, so she was better able to modulate her magic use.

She used the procedure outlined, letting him have breaks every few minutes, and in that way they slowly progressed. Through the whole experience, Salia was learning new things about her art. She'd never had to control her healing magic so finely, and the experience was valuable.

She kept up the healing, and eventually she had the bone back in one piece. At least, she thought she did. She couldn't be sure, and the only one who would be able to tell for sure was Aladnith.

She cut off her magic. "Alright, I think it's done. Try moving it around a little and tell me what you think."

[Anadwen]

Through all that time, even despite that song, Aldanith was cringing with pain, though now that she was only healing the bone, it was bearable. He remained as quiet as he could, although a few sighs escaped through his clenched teeth, but this time, he didn't scream.

When she finished, he slowly raised himself to his elbows. The bone didn't hurt anymore, and it appeared to move just as smoothly before. He immediately touched it with his left hand, studying the joint, and moved his arm around a little. It seemed to be fine.

"Feels alright... If you do it like this, I can stand it." he concluded after a while. "I think I can last a little longer."

[Alegretto]

Salia watched Aldanith carefully as he moved his arm. She saw no problems, and was excited enough to smile when he reported no problems. She loved doing a job right.

He told her that he could keep going, and her grin faded a bit as she considered what to do next. His arm wound was probably the biggest priority. But then again, she wasn't the one who would be fighting soon.

"Alright Aldanith, I'd recommend that we do your arm next while we know you have the strength," and me, she added silently in her head, this slow healing was very draining, "but I don't know what the best would be for you. Is there anything you're going to need more urgently healed for your upcoming encounter?"

((OCC: Pretty soon I'm gonna have to make a profile for Salia XD))

[Anadwen]

"The deepest wounds. I heal fast by myself, so you can leave the shallow scratches. But I'll need my wrist right... Something isn't entirely," he grabbed his hand, and bent his wrist, "correct. I don't have sense in it."

It was worrying him. The metal part of his hand was alright, but the rest was somehow stiff, as if his wrist was tied very tight. "If I move it too much, it hurts. One of the nerves might be cut." He ran his fingers around the edge of his wrist to the back of his hand, staring somewhere into the distance.

[Alegretto]

His worry that his nerve had been cut made Salia concerned as well. Normally nerves weren't that bad, they just took a bit of fine control and extra magic to guarantee the flow of energy through them.

Aldanith's case, however, complicated things a bit. It would, of course, take significantly more magic than usual, and she couldn't do it quickly either, which meant maintaining an even finer control of her magic over a longer period than she'd used to heal the bone.

Carefully she self-examined her own magical reserves, judging or not whether she could perform such a procedure. She wanted to try. She really did. To push herself to the limits of her ability...

But long experience told her that she needed to stop now. She looked at Aldanith and shook her head. "I don't have the power left in me to fix a nerve right now without losing control. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but..." she left it hanging.

"If you come back tomorrow, I'll be better rested and replenished. I can try again then." she offered. "Until then, maybe it's better for all of us to take a break."

[Anadwen]

Aldanith's lips narrowed into a thin line, but he nodded. He wouldn't risk getting his hand completely destroyed because of his own impatience... It wasn't worth it. He'd rather wait.

"I understand... I will have to return tomorrow, then." he muttered. "If you have any wraps left I could use..." Sliding off the table, he looked around, still carefully holding his hand. "I wouldn't want to get something into the wound, or tear the stitches, even if it's only for a night."

It was a pity she was out of her powers, but that was a matter well known to him. Playing with one's strength was... Dangerous at least.

[Alegretto]

At his question about wraps, Salia nodded and turned to Grace. "Alright Grace that's enough, you can stop now."

The soothing song slowly faded from the room. She looked at Salia, "We done?" she asked.

The healer nodded, "For now, we're going to start again tomorrow. Go get some bandages so we can keep Aldanith's arm wound clear and supported until then."

The half-orc nodded and went to a nearby cabinet. She pulled some linen wraps out of it and returned to Salia, who took them and carefully began bandaging her patient's wounds.

When she finished, she stepped back and addressed the pair. "Alright, you two are good to go."

Grace turned to look at Aldanith. "What now then? Do you have other preparations to make?"

[Anadwen]

"Repair my armour. I need it as strong as possible if I don't want to get a claw into my liver." he hissed through his clenched teeth, fastening the wraps on his wrist, which he didn't find tight enough. Right after, he grabbed his shirt, and quickly pulled it over his head.

"Is the smith skilled enough to strengthen it?" he asked while grabbing his borrowed cape, and pinning it by his neck.

[Alegretto]

Grace shrugged. "Probably. There's a couple of blacksmiths in La'marri, I'm sure one of them is skilled enough to do what you need. I can take you to one of the better ones, and not the poor guy who's smithy you wrecked, okay?"

She smiled, showing that she didn't really mean it, "Let's go," she told him. She turned to Salia. "And thanks, I owe you, again."

So saying, Grace left the healer's house and took off for Crain's smithy. He was nearby, and he was skilled, he probably fit the bill that Aldanith needed filled.

[Anadwen]

Noiselessly like a shadow, Aldanith followed her, walking just a few feet behind. But even though he looked indifferent, maybe even bored, his mind was working full-on all along.

Deneryn would most likely come from the east... But that wouldn't be her style. She'd go around, and enter the town from the west, that would be more like her. He'd need to surprise her, to use that moment and smite her down before she could defend herself.

But for that, a bigger weapon would work far better than his scimitars. He needed something heavy.

As he stood in the doorway of the smithy, he took his hood off. "I'll need armour repairs and a new weapon... Can this guy do that?" he inquired silently to Grace, while his eyes studied the room. Looked like a good enough blacksmith.

[Alegretto]

Grace shrugged? "I honestly don't know Aldanith. I've heard that Crain is as good a blacksmith as Salia is a healer, but more than that..." she shrugged again. "I guess we'll find out won't we."

Grace took a deep breath, and called out in her most booming voice: "CRAIN, YOU'VE GOT A CUSTOMER."

She looked apologetically at Aldanith. "Sorry for the yelling, Crain's kinda deaf from years spent at the forge."

As the blacksmith walked into the entranceway from a back room, it became clear just how many years spent at the forge. Crain was clearly a dwarf, and an ancient one at that. He had a closely trimmed beard and wispy, balding hair all of the same snow white color, and his face was lined with innumerable wrinkles. His muscles still looked strong, however, and his eyes peered shrewdly out from under a heavy brow.

"Well, well, well," he started once he saw Grace, "have you finally decided to upgrade from you cudgel my dear?"

Grace laughed. When she spoke, however, it was in a kind of half shout, "No Crain, actually not. This fellow here," she pointed to Aldanith behind her, "needs some work done. He wants armor repairs and a new weapon, but I'm sure he can tell you more of exactly what he needs."

Grace stepped aside so Crain could get a clear view of Aldanith. "Well, well, well," Crain intoned, "A Drow. Don't see too many of those around here. What can old Crain do for you today?"

[Anadwen]

"Repair my armour, and craft a weapon that could cleave steel." Aldanith replied coldly. "My gear is broken, and my current weapons are, even though excellent at what they are meant to do, insufficient for my next opponent."

He reached back for his two scimitars, and revealed their perfect, cold shapes. They were weapons meant to be silent and deadly, ones that kill, not only warn with a scratch. Death instruments.

"I need something large." he growled. "Actually... Maybe bigger than large. But steel won't be enough. Can you craft from this?" He rolled the sleeve of his shirt up, and showed him the perfect, dark metal, forming his left arm. "And the same stands for my armour. I am not your ordinary warrior. It has to be repaired to the standard where it would take a blow from a dragon's maw."

He knew that what he asked for was no little service, but it was necessary. He knew Deneryn... She wouldn't give him any escaping chances. That was the way they both fought. It's do or die.

[Alegretto]

The dwarf whistled. "That there's a tall order Mr. I might be able to do what you ask, but it ain't gonna be cheap, and it's prob'ly gonna take a while too. What kind of time frame are we lookin' at, and what kinda money do you have? Oh, and I'm gonna have to look at your weapons, your armor, and that weird arm o' yours to get a frame of reference."

The transaction wouldn't be cheap. Aldanith was asking for a lot. However the sight of the exotic metals and interesting armor had Crain's blood going. Like Salia, and like many of the masters in La'marri, Crain loved a challenge. This certainly didn't look easy. But that made it more fun. He wouldn't admit it outright since it affected his asking price, but he was eager to try his hand at this job.

[Anadwen]

"I can pay you with things that far exceed gold and money." Aldanith replied, with pride, but coldly. "The price is not a problem for me." His voice was like a sharp spike of steel when he spoke, looking down at the smith.

"I will need the weapon tomorrow. The armour two days later." he instructed him in he same tone. "But I request to stay and watch over the making of my gear through the entire process. Due to my own reasons... I don't need sleep, and I don't need food. But I will stay, or find another smith. I need to see completely everything you will do."

"And don't call any part of myself weird." he hissed in the end.

[Alegretto]

Aldanith's requirements made Crain whistle. "That's fast," he told the drow, "it'll be hard to get the quality you want working at that speed, even for me." He turned to Grace, "go find my apprentices would ya? We're gonna need all hands on deck.

He turned back to the dark elf. "I don't have no problem with you staying to watch, but keep outta the way. And draw up a diagram or something of that weapon you want, or at least give me some more specifics. I dunno if you want an axe, a saber, or whatever."

[Anadwen]

"I can pay you with things you've never even dreamed about." he replied confidently. "If I get it on time in the highest quality."

He narrowed his eyes, and leaned in, till his eyes were in the same height as Crain's. The couple of ice-cold orbs was burning like torches, but it was a cold, and cruel flame. "And if you don't... Then I will do to you things you've never even dreamed about. I don't care who you are, but failure is not an option when I'm the customer."

His metal hand appeared right under the dwarven smith's chin. "Remember that." he whispered, or hissed. The tip of his tongue flashed on his lips, and those twisted into a devilish grin for a moment - right before he sprang back up, and that all disappeared.

[Alegretto]

Crain eye's hardened. "Out," he said simply, pointing towards the door. "I don't do work for those who disrespect me. Ever."

He turned to Grace, "Take him and go. See if you can find another smith who can fill his ridiculous request, but I won't do it."

The crotchety old dwarf turned and began walking toward the back of his workshop while Grace wheeled on the drow hissed a question at him, "Why did you do that? You know how much you scare Crain? Not at all. That dwarf has seen it all Aldanith, and I'm pretty sure that if you got a greater dragon in here to roar at him he still wouldn't bat an eyelash. He's the best there is and you just pissed him off!"