As the land rises away from the Ono family lands, the temperature lowers and the ground hardens into the staunch stone of these medium-sized mountains. The paths here aren't exactly treacherous, but are certainly time-consuming, and as ever the threat of rogues is present at all times.
Lian-shi
It's a battered, wearied little band that drags itself back to the meeting point Vega had set. One has a bandaged face that seems to end too quickly, another is missing a leg and half an arm and is in generally bad shape despite truly expert first aid. The other three are just dull and subdued.
A certain religiously dressed Triton sits cross-legged upon a stone, face shining blue against a little cooking fire. Vega rises at their arrival, head tilting at their appearance.
"What happened to you?" she asks them, concern touching the edges of her voice. "Come here, let me look at you. There is food for you all by the fire, so..." she blinks, "... the ones who aren't wounded, please, eat." Her cool blue eyes examine the wounded slowly, and thoroughly. "What monster did this to you...?"
"The drow doesn't take kindly to threats to the twin-girl," Yan recounts dully, helping Ren gently to the ground. His friend in serious condition, he really is.
"Here," Vega turns, snagging the blanket upon which she had been sitting and rolling it up to serve as a pillow, "put this under his head. Ren... are you in pain? I can give you some medicine if you need it..." she looks up at Yan. "Did you find out anything else? Please, while I work on him, tell me what you know."
Ren just grunts, nods a little. Rey'deyono's painkillers are wearing off.
"We didn't find out a lot," Yan sighs. He kind of half-heartedly glares at his fallen comrade, anger having long faded under concern. "
Someone jumped the gun and decided it would be worth our while to take the Family girl for ransom. The drow didn't take kindly to that...I'm not sure what kind of magic it was, but it was brutal. Purplish, smelled like metal, quite localized, just...stuff that touched it, wasn't stuff anymore." He sighs again as he sits down and leans against the wall. "They're heading towards the dragon-rider in Culhai."
Vega empties a vial of crushed herbs into a simple clay cup, and fills it with hot water from the fire. "I'm sorry about the taste, Ren. This is all I have... it will deaden your pain, but you will probably see things that aren't there for a while. It is derived from cannabis." She gives him the glass, setting a hand to his forehead, her smooth fingers stroking his skin. "It was antimatter, then. Did you catch their names?"
"Meir'cillus Yerosyn and...well, Deyono'rey, though he consistently called her Rey'deyono."
Vega chews her lip, considering all of that. "Does anyone else need medicine...?" she asks aloud, gazing at the others. "I'm afraid that I'll have to follow them to Culhai, and I won't be able to treat anyone later." She leans down and kisses Ren's forehead, muttering a quiet prayer for him in Dumeni of all languages.
The man without a jaw shakes his head a little.
"The priestess patched them up pretty neatly," Yan observes. "May be why the drow decided to stop attacking, too, though I'm not sure on that. I think now we just wait and hope."
Vega nods, and takes her feet. "He needs to be taken somewhere that he can rest, but I don't think you should move him yet. I will leave the food and water with you." From within her hooded robe she produces a sack about the size of a cantaloupe, stuffed full of coins, and hands it to Yan. "This is your payment. I trust you to divide it equally, okay? I have to go now."
Yan nods, just waves a little. The others are just kind of sprawled here and there, exhausted.
Vega mounts her horse and rides down the mountain trail, her disgust at their conditions tempered only by her religious patience, heading in general for the path to Culhai.
Stumble!