"Sams a big boy.  He'll be fine."  Tyrael said as she moved quickly to the wagon to pull out a warm blanket.  She ran back to Hailies side.  "Let's get you by the fire and warmed up.  The bear cub'll be happy to see you."

After making sure that Hailie was by the fire, and a pot of tea was put to warm up, Tyrael had a chance to introduce the group to Nulgaz.  "Guys, this is Nulgaz.  She got caught out in the snowstorm and found her way here.  Nuls, these are my companions, Dream, Hailie...wait, we're short one."

Gordo steps in with the rest of them, seeming almost unbothered by the cold. A little offended as both Dream and Ty seemed to overlook him, he goes directly to Nulgaz and says "and I'm Gordo, nice to meet you.". Was it because he is a Tortle? Was it because he wasn't part of the "original party"? It seems unlike them, especially after his help in their search for Halie and her rescue.

”It is nice to meet you Gordo. As said I am Nulgaz Fallenash, wizardess exceptional, non-specific. Please, sit, relax, tell us what happened. Feel free to unburden yourself of your Gordonalia.” After greeting the last of the group she moved herself to the side. She felt there was much for the others to discuss. She hoped her own prodding would get enough for her to understand as well. Idly she spun the ring.

She sat by the fire, miserable and shaking, trying her best to get her teeth to stop chattering and get some warmth in her. Her mood was sour but she was very appreciative to those that tended to her and those that aided her in getting back to her friends. "S-she w-was...my s-s-sister...told me...s-she killed my p-parents...I...did-didn't believe her..." She clenched her jaw, not wanting to openly cry in front of everyone. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself, she looked around. "W-where is m-my cubling?"

First, Dreamljocht turns to Tyrael. "I haven't introduced you to Gordo, our new companion. We met on the road and he was instrumental in bringing back Halie alive and relatively well. He has been a good companion on the road these hours that turned to days." He stays silent for a moment and continues: "And I have to thank you for your trust that eventually we would return to you. It must have been a long lonely wait, lonely till Nuls came to your door. I tried to sent you a divine message: did it reach you?"

He keeps silent for quite some time more. Then he turns to Halie: "You know those remnants we found were from your parents, do you? I studied them for some time, and I'm quite sure they didn't die from the arrows in their wounds, but from a extreme chilling cold. How and when I can't say."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:46, Sun 07 Jan.

"Nice to meet you, Gordo.  Always a pleasure meting someone new...who doesn't want to kill us"  Tyrael offered her hand in greeting.  Turning to Dreamljocht she continued.  "I missed you too, Dream.  We got your message, but what we really needed was your divine presence.  There were undead."

Tyrael sat beside Hailie and put her arms around her.  It would take a few more minutes for the tea to boil and in that time the Half-Elf was going to use her body heat to try and warm up Hailie.  "The cubs in the wagon.  We've been getting along famously since you've been gone.  Do you have any spare clothes?  You need something warmer, and dryer."

Halie nodded as she stared into the fire. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they ran away from her like I did…freezing to death was a better alternative than staying there with my sis…her.” Inwardly, she vowed vengeance even if it was against her own. Her sister had severed that familial bond when she had taken the life of those that gave her hers. When Tyrael’s arms came around her, Halie tensed for a brief moment before giving in to the extra warmth, her body relaxing. The shaking was slowing as she held her hands out to the fire, clenching and unclenching her fists to bring the feeling back. “I don’t have anything unless it was all left here. All of my gear and everything wasn’t with me when I woke....c-could...you bring me the cubling?”

"You can borrow some of my clothes if you need, Hailie.  I don't have much but it's dry and warm."  Tyrael said.  How had they run into Hailies sister out here?  Maybe Hailie lived around here?  "Oh....the cub.  Right.  It's probably warmed than I am...and softer.  Give me a minute."

Tyrael rose and went to the wagon, where the bear cub had been sleeping.  She roused the sleeping animal, bringing it over to Hailie.  "Hey little guy.  Got a surprise for you.  Look who it is.  remember her?"  After leaving the bear cub with the Ranger, Tyrael brought Hailie a cup of tea before walking over to Dream.

The Half-elf put a hand on Dreams shoulder.  "You're going to have to fill me in on what happened out there later.  In any case, take a load off your feet.  I'll take the watch and make sure that nothing followed you back here.  I've been staring into the woods for so long that I think I'm developing a bond with the land and an immunity to sleep."

The cub wakes up and sees Haile. It charges at her and leps into her arms crying a few times! Besides this, the church remains quiet save the group talking to one another. Sam doesn't make a entrance-course its possible he's a thief. Or is injured. Maybe dead. Hard to tell. Haile has just his bow and arrows, dressed in a makeshift cleric cloak for warmth. Silence comes. It seems peaceful-for now.

Mwahahha. No really. Peaceful.

Dreamljocht stands and walks to the cart. He rummages through all the packs and bits and pieces to see if there are any spare cloths for Halie. For weapons Halie has to use the small ones they gathered from the dead it seems.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:38, Wed 24 Jan.

Tyrael would keep a watch while the rest of the group rested.  She made sure that the main door fortifications were back in place, and took up a position to the side of one of the upper floor windows.

"....okay stay awake, Tyri."  she muttered, rubbing her arms for warmth.  "It's not like you haven't been awake for hours...and...more hours already.  What's a few more?  Just to make sure that everyone downstairs is safe.  "

Tyrael leaned forward to glance out the window for the...well she had lost count of how many times she'd looked out at the woods.  "...and I'm back talking to myself..."

Nulgaz walked up slowly, avoiding causing a startle. She cleared her throat. Softly she said to Tyrael, ”Sometimes that is the best person to talk to.” She spoke quietly enough not to bother the others dealing with important issues beyond her knowledge. She continued, ”And didn’t I ask you to get some rest earlier?”

She found a place to sit. ”I hope you don’t mind that I help you keep guard. I feel useless over there, at least here I can do something if an emergency arises,” she stated. She fiddled with her ring and hummed lowly a song from her childhood.

Tyrael chuckled and rubbed the bridge of her nose.  "Yay...you did say that I should catch some rest, but...honestly...I was more interested in you than in sleeping at the time.  Part of it was to make sure that you weren't planning on knifing me in my sleep.  Don't get defensive, I'm sure that you had the same concern as I did.  That was at first, but you were...are...an interesting person to talk to.  And there was a magic talking bird.  Those don't come along everyday.  How could I sleep?  I do appreciate the offer though."

Tyrael pointed down to the floor below.  "Now...well they're tired, cold, and who knows what else. I'm just tired.  So I should be able to keep watch for another few hours.  It wouldn't be the first time that I've had a long night of worrying about bad guys in the shadows."

"And I wouldn't worry about feeling useless.  I'm sure that you'll have the opportunity to prove yourself.  It's the life of an adventurer, am I right?  A little spilled blood and we'll all be the best of friends.  What is that turn that you are humming?"

Nulgaz chuckled loudly then hushed herself before speaking. ”I am a mage. I am much too smart to knife you when I have a giant falchion .” She pondered for a few moments before continuing, ”That bird… really didn’t like me.” She gave a grin and cast her eyes up to the rafters just to make sure.

"See what I mean?  Interesting."  Tyrael said with an amused grin.  "Normally I would get a scowl and some proficiency providing display of knife skills as a form of silent threat on my life.  But you?  A mage who would rather off me with a falchion?  You don't come across those too often.  Not that I often have people threatening my sleep.  I'm a really nice girl once you get to know me."

"And who can figure out magical birds?"

Halie hugged the cub, burying her face in its fur and trying her best to not cry though it seemed to be a losing battle. That loneliness crept upon her as the thought of her family basically having been slaughtered and Sam missing…she still had those here with Dream being here the longest. She was unaware of time passing, lost in her thoughts, her emotions and finding comfort in the cubling. At some point, she had shifted and laid down, cuddling up to the baby bear and passing out from exhaustion.

The rummaging of the cart had brought some plain clothes to light. But they were dry and most surely warmer than anything Halie was wearing when Huxtar handed her his finds. "Change into this and lay close to the fire for your sleep. It's the best way to warm up and be a healthier person in the morning. Tyrael and Nulgaz will keep watch while Gordo and I will sleep our exhaustion away as well."
Dreamljocht watches when Halie falls in a deep sleep, hugging the cub, another source of healthy warmth.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:15, Mon 29 Jan.

The night passes by uneventfully. Soon, the sun is out and its not snowing. It seems relatively peaceful. Yet Sam has not returned. Strange. Everyone slowly gets up. Some spare clothes are given to Haile. And the cub seems asleep in her arms. After what just happened, its a nice reprieve. So many people were lost or unknown. Besides this most of the group is together.

Gordo wakes up peacefully. Even though the cold disturbed him less than the others, it's nice to sleep somewhere warm, without having to worry about guard duty. He makes a mental note to return the favor to Ty the next night, as he also looks exhausted.

He gets up, takes a long look out the window, and then starts some stretching and focus exercise he'd been neglecting for too long.

When Halie gets up, he asks her: "Feeling warmer? Last few days were tough, eh?". It's unclear if he only talks about the cold or also about the whole fiasco with her family and with Sam missing.

Nulgaz cleared her throat and spoke, ”It sounds like there is a lot to sort out. What  do we do next?” She stifled a yawn and blinked hard a few times. While waiting for a response she made sure her gear was all properly stowed away and secured.

"Basically we have two choices. The first is waiting here for one or more days to see if Sam survived. It wil give us some time to regain our strength, especially Hailie could use more rest. Our second choice, and sooner or later it will come to that at last, is to ready our gear, make the cart ready, hitch the horses and continue our journey, on the road searching for Sam." lays the cleric the main choices on the table. "I have a preference for the second option, but I would hate to leave Sam behind without searching at least."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:12, Wed 07 Feb.

Nulgaz gave a sad shrug. She turned towards the speaker and said, ”It is best if i abstain considering I don’t even know what a Sam looks like.” She finish adjusting her pack and readied herself in case they were going. It was much quicker to take it off then it would have been to don it. ”He is a companion I assume?” she queried.

Tyrael groaned, turning over and pulling her blanket over her face.  It had been a long night...er nights...and she was exhausted.  Having only managed to be relieved on guard duty recently, she was trying to catch up on her sleep.

"....wait here..." she added, if her sleepy opinion would count for anything.  "...let Sam catch up....Hailie get warm...and Tyri sleep...."

Halie had looked up to Dream when he offered her the new clothing and numbly accepted them as she stood up, on autopilot. Instead of going off into another room for modesty’s sake, she simply changed where she was. Nudity wasn’t something she was ashamed of nor was modesty drummed into her. It came down to that matter of life or death. Once the dry clothing was settled in place, she curled back up to the cub to fall asleep, desperately wanting to forget the torment that she had been through…


She was the last to wake, her head throbbing and her lips dry though she tried to lick them to moisten them. It took several moments for Gordo’s words to register and she looked up at him from her seated position, those large hazel colored eyes full of sadness. “I could probably do with another layer…this won’t do out there in that kind of weather.” This came from a place of experience. As Dream laid out their choices, Halie chewed on her bottom lip, pulling bits of the dry skin with her teeth, an anxious habit of hers. “I…think we need to continue on…there’s no point in staying.” The words sounded harsh even to her own ears and she could due with some more rest…but her perceived pragmatism would always win out.


“Sam knows our destination and if he were smart, he wouldn’t come back here. I doubt he would want us to stay put while he is...gone.” It was bitter having to admit to this…to even have to say it but there it was. The cycles of the seasons continued their steady dance despite intense heartache…the grief of her loss and the desire to just sleep the days away. “I appreciate the concern for my well being, but I’ll be fine…I am not, nor have I ever been a delicate little flower who wilts at any sign of adversity. My vote is to press on…”

"It seems quite clear, we're leaving. I suggest we'll leave a message for Sam in the unlikely case he'll wind up here eventually." Dreamljocht starts scribbling a message, not naming their destination to prevent anyone else accidentally reading the message from getting to much information about their plans.
"Let's start packing all things to leave this sinister place."