As Victor pulls through on his own, and Carmen stabilizes Helga, Wendel trudges forward with trepidation, to see what the bundle is. Up close, it's easy to tell that it is, in fact, a young elven woman, bound up in salvaged sailcloth, and unconscious, but breathing... barely. Her skin is pale, even for a high elf, and clammy. A living elf's skin shouldn't be this cold, Wendel knows. There is some discoloration of the lips.

Congratulations! You each get 100xp. On the fishman bodies you find 4 spears, 88sp, and 11gp.

With Helga and Victor both stable for now, Carmen's immediate worries are over. She removes her winter blankets from her packs, and looks for other warm layers to add to the pair of Victor and Helga. She was sure that there were warm blankets in the packs of Helga and Victor. "Come back and we will form a safe place for Victor and Helga." she called out to Wendel. "They aren't out of the woods yet, but they are safe for now."

She wonders how long it would take for her to run to the town and back, but at her estimation it could be quite some time. Not quick enough to leave Wendel all on his own should the fishmen have allies that returned to see where they were.

"Come on you two, get yourselves back on the mend." she says, cradling Helga's head in the nook of her elbow. "What have you found over there?" she calls out to Wendel.

"It's a woman!" Wendel yells back. Well he tries to yell but it comes out hoarse and ragged after all that incanting while running. He clears his throat and starts again. "A woman. Elven, and cold, very cold. But she's alive. Breathing. Barely." The last few words are come out nearly breathless.

With an effort the small half-elf man drops his bag, detaches his bedroll and rope and hastily throws together a sort of makeshift loose stretcher with the woman secured to it. Even more effort goes into throwing his shoulder into the loop and slowly, laboriously slowly, dragging her back toward Carmen and their fallen companions wordlessly. Carmen had said they were safe but something in Wendel still cries out in fear for them and this woman. In this cold, this biting cold, things could change so quickly.

Traversing the few hundred feet back to the others was enough to take everything out of Wendel. He collapses to his knees by Helga and Victor. With hands on his knees he breathes out the thoughts he'd had while he trudged this way. "Victor. Has. Tent. Need it? I have. Blanket. Keep them. Close. Keep. Them... Warm."

After a few more moments of catching his breath he gives the rest of his thoughts a little more clearly. "We've the torch stubs. Enough of them to make a small fire at least." That said he starts doing exactly what he proposed. Every movement he seems to shed some of the fatigue. His back straightens a little and a steadfastness rises. He builds a suitably sized fire out of the torch remnants and then with a short but gravelly word and a snap of his fingers it lights up. Staring into it he finally says the thought that had really taken root, able to process it aloud now, "I really thought we might be, well that we might have ended up just bodies in the snow. Nobody to know until the next patrol came by... Are you hurt at all?"

Carmen had been too busy getting out the warm blankets to start with, but once she had managed to get the two of Helga and Victor wrapped and warm, she attended to the problem of creating shelter. It seemed clear that they would need to hole up for quite some time, and perhaps even wait for the arrival of another patrol to help them.

She took out her own tent and started setting it up. Thankfully it was just a single person tent, which didn't need too much in the way of setting up. The poles themselves did take quite a bit of effort to successfully embed into the frozen ground, but her spear did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to penetrating the soil. Sweat dripped from her brow, and ran down the small of her back. It was an unpleasant and uncomortable experience, but far preferable to the pain that Helga and Victor must be feeling.

"I have some of my own shelter set up, give me a few minutes to take a drink and I'll put up Victor's tent." she said, and then did just that.

--------------------------

Sitting, tired and a combination of sweaty hot and frozen cold, Carmen admired her handiwork as the two tents were erected before her. She had folded over a winter blanket and was sat on it, but Helga occupied one tent as the elven female occupied another. Victor would endure out in the cold, as he had several winter blankets wrapped and piled upon him and the small fire that Wendel had crafted was providing much needed heat. She ate heartily from her tack and trail rations as Wendel stood guard.

"For now, we wait. Hopefully it won't take long for Victor and Helga to rise, but I wouldn't want to risk them over exerting themselves. I'm fortunately uninjured, those fishmen just didn't want to take their chances with me it seems."

OOC: Everyone, take the benefits of a long rest.

After an hour, Victor stirs. Around the same time, he sees a group of four, coming down the road. "Howdy!"a voice calls out. The speaker is an elven man, in studded leather armor. A ranger, by the look of him. He continues as he and his party approach, "Who's camping on the P'rimeter road?"

Behind him are a heavily armored dwarven man, an extremely tall and strong looking armored human woman, and a lithe, graceful unarmored human woman.

Rousing to the cold, stiff and in pain, Victor grimaces and sits up to take in his surroundings.

Based on the tents and the blankets he assumes that Carmen and Wendel must have dispatched the remaining fishmen. Seeing Helga up and with axe in hand he nods to her with a smile, apparently glad.

He starts when he notices the people on the road. "Ho there!" he calls out with a hoarse voice, "We are a night patrol come from Smith's Gambit, recovering after a rough fight with some hostile fishmen. Are you another patrol?"

OOC: Victor isn't yet aware of the unconscious elven woman, once he is he will think about using Lay on Hands either to remove a poison if he thinks she is affected by one or to heal some hitpoints.

Dunno why my internet sent multiple requests for that dice roll.
14:32, Today: Victor Iusticia rolled 7 using 1d10+1.  Hit Die.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:45, Mon 08 Mar 2021.

"We'll decide who's a patrol and who isn't!" Says the elf, though he seems to be joking. "You're supposed to ask to see our slips, aintcha?" He laughed, though no one else seemed to get the joke. "Them fishmen's brutal!"

The huge woman, who had short platinum blond hair, and wore a holy symbol, asked, "Do you need healing? Our patrol's been uneventful, I could spare a bit of Nyx's favor for you!"

Carmen had been pleasantly surprised that there had been no invasions to their privacy since setting up camp. When the patrol came by, she almost leapt for joy. Not only were they now much safer, but there was even greater safety in numbers.

"We failed to bring along healing supplies, so we've been keeping ourselves warm here. We recovered this lady, but she doesn't seem to be coming around any time soon. Victor only just awoke though..."

"So they were abducting someone in that bag?" Victor asks Carmen, "If she is still not waking, perhaps this follower of Nyx and I should see what we can do for her. Lathander has blessed me with some limited healing power."

Victor gets up from his position on the ground, the blankets falling away to reveal the emblem of Lathander displayed proudly across his chest.

"I apologise for my poor manners, I am Victor Iusticia," he says as he takes a few steps towards the newcomers and extends a hand in friendship.

"They were indeed. I have no clue why she is as she is, but it can't be anything good." replies Carmen. She stands, walking a touch closer to the fire. "Pleasure to meet you also. The name is Carmen..." she says, holding out her hand to the tall strangers.

Wendel, who after his watch shifted to Carmen's, had spent his time going between making sure Helga was alright and then returning to the Elven woman to see if there had been any improvement. At the sound of Victor and Carmen addressing what sounded like another patrol coming by he takes a moment to peak out of the tent housing the elven woman but doesn't exit or make his presence known right away. If these folks turn out to be something other than what they say they are then at least Carmen and Victor will have one surprise up their sleeve. Maybe two if Helga had recovered as quickly as Victor had.

Edit: 16 Medicine check on the cold lady during rest.
Wendel rolled 16 using 1d20+2.  Medicine.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:54, Mon 08 Mar 2021.

This message was deleted by the player at 22:53, Mon 08 Mar 2021.

The strangers introduced themselves, Alen, the wood elf ranger; Avreen, the human cleric; Hoser, the Dwarven Paladin; and Anreyela, the Human monk.

Victor greets each in turn and waits for the others to do the same before looking to Carmen, "I assume this woman is in one of the tents, would you mind telling me which on so we can look in on her? If Wendel is resting in the other I'd rather not disturb him."

They seem harmless enough. And possibly even helpful. Wendel gives up his chance at surprise in exchange for offering information. Hearing Victor ask Carmen for direction, the half elf instead makes his presence known. "I'm here, in the tent with her. I've been trying to determine what it is that keeps her from waking. My best guess would be a poison of some sort but what that poison is or how to rid her of it I don't know... Please, come have a look. If you can do anything for her I think it would be best to get it done as quickly as possible."

Wordlessly Victor moves towards the tent, raising the flap and ducking inside.

Looking down at her pale face he frowns and kneels beside her, taking her hand and laying the other on top.

"," he prays quietly.

OOC: Lay On Hands, 5 points to remove any poison present in the elf's system.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Although he suffered no injuries in the fight, Wendel doesn't look so good himself. Bags under the eyes and his hands are all sorts of bruised. However his concern seems genuinely focused solely on the elven woman.

Victor nods, "I have hope. If this doesn't work then Avreen might try their hand."

He gently places the woman's hand back then stands and steps back out of the cramped tent.

Meanwhile, Carmen interacts with the patrol that had come upon them. "So, when you're in town next, be mindful to pay my tavern a visit. It's under new management! It's called the Dragon's Den. It's not where I want it yet, but it won't be long!" she says, inviting them to her latest business venture. She had been keeping it under wraps since her arrival....

At Victor's touch, warmth suffused the elven woman's body, radiating from his hand. So much warmth, in fact, that the woman began to sweat, and then breath heavily, before she cooled to a normal temperature and opened her eyes. Her eyes widened at Victor's appearance and she scrambled away from him, before looking at the concerned faces around her. "You... you saved me?"

Victor nods calmly and gives her a smile, kneeling nearby so that he does not loom over her or take up her personal space. "We stopped those fishmen that had you and I prayed to Lathander to restore you to health, yes. We're a patrol from Smith's Gambit, is that where you are from?"

The woman seems a little shaken, and perhaps a bit confused, at first, "No... I mean, yeah, I guess. I mean, no ones from Smith's Gambit. I... I live there. My... my husband is at the watchtower over there. I packed him a nice supper, and he forgot it at home, so I went to take it to him, and on my way back... I woke up in this tent." She pointed at the watchtower to the south, where you were headed. "If you let me go with you to the watchtower, I'll walk back to town with my husband. His shift will be ending soon. I'm Nalnya, by the way."

The other adventurer's wish you the best as they continue on their way. After resting a while longer, so she could walk on her own, you escort Nalnya to the watchtower with her husband. From there, you finish the rest of your patrol with no further mishaps, but about three hours late.

OOC: Congratulations on finishing the patrol! You each get 125 xp and 1 downtime unit, and when you report in to Smith, you get the 30 promised GP, plus whatever he offers for any information you give him when you get there.

Carmen bids Nalnya and the others goodbye as they reach their respective destinations, then heads to Smith to tell him about their success.

Victor wishes the others well when it becomes time to part and follows Carmen's lead.

Wendel also heads to Smith's. Intent on fulfilling his contract.