[coronatiger]

Thoughts on October 13th (continued)

Leopold and I checked the bandits’ tents to see if anyone was hiding. We only found the unconscious mage, and pulled him outside. I picked up some rope and began tying up the bandits that weren’t obviously dead. Ilzo asked what he should do with the two rabid girls; he was holding them by the neck, at arm’s length.

Leopold asked where Va’lyndra was. I pointed. “She flew that way.” Leopold saw her despite the darkness, being a gnome. I told him I could run and catch up with her if I could borrow Surkalpi; I believed I could run faster than she could fly. Leopold said no. He’d keep an eye on her for now.

I tied up Ilzo’s girls before continuing with the bandits. Ilzo ran after Va’lyndra as soon as his hands were free, but he was far from as fast as I would have been. “You can fly, Ilzo,” I reminded him, and he took off. Leopold went to speak with the captives who were chained up under a big tarp. He said he didn’t want to release them, yet, in case they were spelled like the two girls.

Some of the bandits were bleeding, but I prioritized to tie them up as quickly as possible, so I could get to Olivia before my flight potion wore off. Leopold went on a scavenging round through the camp, gathering up whatever he found interesting and putting it on a table under the big tarp. When I had tied up the last bandit, I called over to him to give first aid to the bandits while I fetched Olivia. I ran straight for the palisade and leapt into the air, somersaulting over the three-meter-high wall. I couldn’t help myself; I just had to show off while the flight potion allowed me to perform such stunts.

I sprinted across the killing field and reconnected with Olivia in a matter of seconds. I yanked off my helmet and gave her a long kiss. “Come on! Let’s have some fun while I can fly!” Olivia got my meaning, but she shut me down, whispering so the two men tied to a nearby tree wouldn’t overhear. “How do you propose we do that? In my condition, I need to lie on my back, on something solid, when we do the deed. If the chance comes again after I’ve given birth, I promise I’ll ride you through the air to your heart’s content, but for now, I have to pass.”

I untied the two men from the tree, but they were still secured. I heaved the bandit over Bluebell’s saddle, and then we walked up to the palisade. I climbed over the wall and opened the gate. It was barred by a heavy log, and it was barely within my limits to remove it singlehandedly. Once everyone was inside, I shut the gate, but didn’t put the bar back.

Leopold asked Olivia to help with the first aid and repeated that we shouldn’t release the captives before Va’lyndra had confirmed that they weren’t spelled. I hovered over Olivia, literally, while she bandaged bandits. She asked if we needed to expend any resources beyond bandages. I said no. We weren’t throwing away healing potions on these people. Our quest was to neutralize the bandits however we saw fit. I wasn’t comfortable with killing anyone, now that we had captured them. I thought we should hand them over to the authorities in Urdon. They would most likely hang, so any healing potions we spent on them would go to waste.

Va’lyndra and Ilzo returned, and Ilzo noticed that his girlfriends were still rabid. Leopold asked Va’lyndra how long she thought the spell would last, but she didn’t reply. She went straight for the mage and started thrashing him with her staff while swearing at him. Ilzo decided to go over the bandits and identify which of them he had defeated personally. Heads began to roll. Leopold just sat down at the table with some books he had found here, but Olivia complained to me about the barbaric behavior. I had never seen Va’lyndra act like this before. I didn’t know what to say or do; the mage must have done something horrible to her while I was busy elsewhere on the battlefield. Ilzo was another matter. “Hey, Ilzo! You mustn’t chop the head off of anyone who is still alive!”

Olivia huffed and walked off, towards the gate. I caught up with her and asked where she was going. She replied that Va’lyndra’s and Ilzo’s behavior turned her stomach with its barbarity. I tried to tell her that the mage was already dead – I hadn’t checked, so it could be true – but Olivia just kept walking.

We sat down outside the palisade, leaning against it. Olivia needed time to process what she had witnessed, so we just sat there in silence, holding hands. I suddenly remembered something, so I jumped up and grabbed the top of the wall and pulled myself up so I could look inside. “Ilzo! You have to find the bandits’ treasure chest!” I would look for it myself, but I was needed here, mainly for comfort, but also for protection in case something came out of the night-shrouded Bewitched Forest.

A shout from inside got me to leap up and look inside again. “Va’lyndra! Don’t take the tent pole!” It was Leopold’s voice. To release the captives, Va’lyndra had disintegrated the heavy, upright log they were chained to. That log was the central tent pole for the big tarp that Leopold’s table was under. Va’lyndra and Leopold yelled at each other angrily. Va’lyndra was furious that Leopold apparently had found the keys to the chains, but didn’t release the captives. Leopold was angry that Va’lyndra had ignored his request to check them for magic. I didn’t want to get involved, so I dropped down to Olivia again.

Eventually, Olivia decreed that we should use the bandit camp to get some safe sleep. I helped her to her feet and we walked back inside. Olivia checked out all the tents and picked out the most luxurious one for us, except for the mage’s tent that had a big bloodstain inside. While Olivia prepared for bed, I rounded up the others and told them we could clean up tomorrow. I asked Ilzo to grab the villager he had ambushed and fetch the oxen and the provisions. Leopold had to explain to Ilzo that he should untie the villager and let him walk on his own, not just toss him over his shoulder.

I went over the knots I had tied on the bandits that were still alive, and tightened them where necessary. It took me several minutes to make sure all of the bandits were secured properly, and Olivia was asleep when I entered the tent. That was a disappointment, but she murmured contentedly when I slipped under the blankets and embraced her. I kissed her cheek and whispered, “Good night, wife!”