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"Going somewhere?"

She blinks, not quite getting the question.

"Tonight, I stay here and fight. Tomorrow and tomorrow and Tomorrow I stay with Daxia and go where she goes. All the rest of my tomorrows? I don't know."

Darian

She set to the first beast, and though it had been dead since the night before, she still whispered sing song words over it as she began the cutting. Her movement were the practiced skills of a Hunter, everything being done in just such a way. Darian kept up her chant as she worked...until she saw beginning to help with her knives.

Her amber eyes flashed as she rose quickly to her feet. Her words were more clipped than usual and had an dangerous tone to them.

"Celi. No. Cut."

A breath.

"Hunter work. No Covener."

Another breath.

"If want help, move parts stairs AFTER Darian cut."

She waited until the girl stopped before returning to the beasts and her chanting over them.

Once they we all fully taken care of she returned to the chapel and heard Mikal's words of strategy. She thought of them a moment then pointed to the chains and shackles closest to the openings to be defended.

"Make rope platform. Hunter stand on. Have high ground."

Celi obediently discontinued any unsanctified fat-gleaning, and instead took on the thankless task of delivering tallow to those who prepared the kill zone. With that done, she could assist in the weaving and hanging of Darian's high-hide shooting platform. She left a basket on the end of an appropriately long rope, so scavenged arrows or other needs could be hauled up as needed.

Daxia
with the Mikal, Darian, Romana, Tashka and Linette in the Temple On The Border

Daxia heard Mikal out, nodding at several of his points... looking skeptical about at least one. "Perhaps Celi can help Bekkah, but you know the Squire's feelings on the matter of her protection. He'll do his part to kill the Beasts, you can be sure of that... but ultimately, his mission is to keep my sister safe."

She shrugged. "I still don't understand the why of it, save for the directive from Sir Kevin. There is more to the Pattern than that; there are tendrils that seem to weave back to Verchovai Poppy, which -- at the moment -- make no sense at all."

Shaking her head to clear the problem of her sister and the Squire from her mind, she looked up at the chains and shackles to which Darian referred. After a moment, she nodded slowly.

"If Hunter can do, yah. Hunter see all directions, good. Hunter say how many Beasts, good. Hunter kill Beast, slow down Beast, good. Hunter maybe keep Beast from breaking blockade, good." She gave Darian a slight smile. "All good, very smart. Ta, Darian."

Looking back at her second, she said, "I don't see much of a downside, Mikal. It leaves only Cesare and Kadri in the second rank, but both are adept at throwing knives, and Darian's bow is not as well-suited for close combat as your crossbow. If she's up there shooting the Beasts, there will be less of a chance one will get through the blockade, leaving you to be less concerned in that regard." Daxia looked at the blockade, head tilted.

"Yah, keep Celi back near Bekkah. After her display earlier, the farther she and her knives are from me, the safer I'll feel." She sighed. "I don't know if she didn't see me standing there, or didn't seem to think it mattered, but when that knife swung towards me, it was only Verchovai Reena's near-constant drills that allowed me to move out of the way quickly enough to avoid getting slashed, and Dayala's own blessing that I jumped back to one of the few clean spots on the floor."

The Dayalan looked around the room slowly, deep in thought, before her eyes roved across the outer wall of the chapel where Linette and Tashka stood, where Romana had returned to her corner in her desire to remain unobstrusive.

"Romana, please help Bekkah, too? Romana's way of helping this morning might... ah... not work very well in more crowded room, but helping Bekkah and Celi move injured would be good. If there is another way Romana thinks she might help, she will tell Dazidazidazi, yes?" She spared a brief smile for her friend before moving to stand in front of the two Priestesses, inclining her head respectfully to each.

Gone were her light-hearted, pensive, and overly-inquisitive moods. The woman standing before them now was the student of the Dayalan's finest teachers; her bearing was that of a warrior, of an Allaine.

"I do not expect this night to be an easy one for us, but we will do everything we can to ensure you live through Her rising tomorrow. Lady, Verchovai... are there any ways in which you can be of assistance?" Her face briefly showed the pain their circumstances caused her as she regarded their bindings. "Given everything you have suffered, I would not presume to expect your assistance; yet, given everything you have suffered, I will presume to believe you would do everything in your power to live through the night now that there is a real possibility of that happening."

Daxia regarded each of them for a handful of long heartbeats. Linette, she looked upon with the respect due someone of her rank, but also as someone dear to another who held the redhead's respect. Tashka, she observed as she might Khorall Linnell, Verchovai Reena or High Priestess Karina.

"Verchovai, you have more experience than I or my Second," she said to Tashka, the usual glint of humor in her green eyes when referring to Mikal absent now. "If there are flaws in our strategy or tactics, I would ask that you point to them, so I might learn from them... and that we might better ensure your survival."

Bekkah

"We're going to make sure the horses are within Lady Kay's protection, then we'll be back as soon as we can."

Mikal

He shrugs, saying to Darian. "I have some concerns about the stability of a platform supported by ropes, but if you think you can do it, the ability to fire over the heads of the front would be a good thing."

CELI

Celi kept Stormrunner up to speed, in case he had ideas.

Obstacles distributed, ambushes laid. They are hiding me with the women, no doubt thinking that, should they get to me, all will already be lost. I had requested a boar-spear, but requests were only being taken for the others. If you have a spare one, drop it down the well ... Preferably through a lizard. Think well and often of me; you are never far from my mind.

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Afternoon
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623

In the West Temple

"Ja, we will live through this night. That or die trying. I would not be concerned for us ... for us the worse that could happen is just the same as every other night"

Tashka chuffed out a grim, battlefield chuckle.

"You will have our Liege's power behind you ... though ... though I would recommend not calling Her aid tonight. Nor the aid of any of the sundry who may look down upon us. true, the power is there, the strength, the will. But what is spent today must be replaced and the lizards can do may things, but they do not cast magic.

"I would not exhaust your callings tonight.

"For if we do survive, you will need that strength tomorrow night."

The elder Dayalan nodded, curt and sharp, to accent her words.

"I ... I ... I am n-n-not a k-k-k-itten. The others, th-th-th-they were t-t-t-taught-t-t c-c-caw and fang-g-g-g. Th-th-th-th-tey said-d-d I'd be d-d-d-dead before I c-c-c-could-d-d-d speak th-th-th- magic-c-c-cs.

"So I t-t-t-told to st-t-tay home ... th-th-th-ey taught m-m-m-to d-d-do the fixings. I will-ll-ll do my b-b-b-best.

"St-t-tay where I c-c-c-can see you.

"Please."

Tashka just shook her head, looking back to her companion, offering a smile and a nod.

"What she means to say is that she is a healer.

"Your lady there, she heals, ja? But she seems fine, soft, someone to be protected ..."

There was a nod to Dean, at that.

"But she is no simple village witch woman, no farm midwife.

'"How did you think I stood so long against the horsed of Marin?

"Linette is a healer ... ja.

"A battle healer."

Darian

"Like branch in wind," she tells Mikal. "Mikal help? Extra hands. Pull tight."

"Darian, Mikal look. Pick best..."

Then she stopped mid-speech and pulled something from her belt. It was Kadri's knife.

"Find this in beast. Who own?"

Daxia
with Darian, Mikal, Romana, Tashka and Linette in the Temple On The Border

"Tcha! I have never heard of such a thing!" she said, looking with wonder at the captive Covener. "To have lost so much knowledge, so many skills!" Daxia shook her head, then looked at her own Priestess. "I would expect such would be the case for the Dayalans, as well. There are but a handful plus three spells the Priestesses teach us, and I have already learned half of those."

She paused, a thoughtful and calculating look on her features as she looked out the window at the pile of rubble blocking most of the opening.

"Your advice is well-taken, Verchovai, and I will pass such advice on to those who are not here. This night we will use our strength, our skill, our cunning." Turning away from the window, her look was as grim as Tashka's chuckle had been. "While lack of success would mean simply a night like every other for you and Lady Linette, I am loathe to join you.

"Not because I fear joining our Sisters...

"But because I would die -- rather permanently, I would think -- knowing I have failed the Heir of Allaine in the tasks she set out for me." She met Tashka's eyes, her gaze softer and eyes bright with emotion. "I would leave her bereft and ungrounded, as well," she said softly and evenly. "And that would... ah, but that is another tale from this Age. I will only say, then, that it would not bode well for Dawnview Vale, or the rest of the mainland.

"I would ask, however," the younger Dayalan began, before Darian asked about the knife.

"Is Kadri's. Leave beside Dazi armor, give Kadri later, yah?"

Daxia turned back to Tashka with a faint smile. "Our Kadri has the heart of a Warrior, I sometimes think."

Glancing again at the window for the space of a breath, she returned to her question for Tashka.

"I choose to believe we will all survive the night, for we will all be doing everything we can to ensure this happens. Given Lady Linette's rare ability," she said, nodding to the other Priestess, "the choice of where to make our stand against those who will come tomorrow would seem to be -- as tonight -- this very Chapel.

"When I was taught the spell to call our Lady's Wrath, the teaching of the spell itself was very clear. What was not made clear, however, were the conditions under which the spell could be used." Daxia paused to gather her thoughts, tilting her head as she looked to her Priestess. "In fact, the only condition that is unequivocal is that it must not be a completely cloudy day or night."

Daxia continued, measuring out her words bit by bit, almost in the same way she traced the Paths and Patterns... slowly and carefully. "Is it necessary for the one casting the spell to see Her in the sky; or to simply observe, to know, that She is not hidden by clouds; to know that at least one of our Sisters can see the world below them? Though the day was clear when I killed the demon with Her aid, though it was near the time of day when she would have been highest in the sky, I do not recall that I actually saw Her." She shook her head. "To be honest, my thoughts were only on requesting Her aid in killing the thing of Chaos that stood before me.

"Can Her wrath be called from within a building?" Brows furrowed, the redhead searched for the right Path, for the right words. "If such a thing is possible, is it enough that I have seen that She or our Sisters are somewhere in the sky? Or must I be in sight of the sky above when calling the spell?

"And, most importantly I think, if one were to call down Her wrath into Her own Temple, would such a thing be possible? If so, what would the effects be? And what of a building that is not Her Temple?"

She shook her head, clearly frustrated. "I understand the prohibition against putting such things in writing, but should this knowledge not be preserved by more than unreliable oral tradition so that those learning the spells a handful plus two generations later have complete knowledge?"

Daxia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I apologize, Verchovai, for my audacity in questioning the Temple elders." Her eyes opened to once again gaze at Tashka's. "But I think, now, I would even dare question High Priestess Karina. And if that is one of the lessons to be learned during the Duksheviya, then it seems I am the only Vale-born Initiate to have learned it. And if it is not a lesson one is sent out to learn, then I suppose I, too, will be told I am good at annoying people."

She let out a short, mirthless laugh. "I do not even know if you are allowed to answer these questions in the presence of non-Temple members."

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Afternoon
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623

In the West Temple

"She is our goddess, little one ..."

Tashka shakes her head with a quirky smile.

"If she can look down upon the world, do you really believe a couple tons of rock is enough to hold back her wrath?

"As for the rest ..."

Once again her shoulders rose and fell, a philosophic gesture.

"Matters are much more straightforward when you no longer have a choice, ja?"

Daxia
with Darian, Mikal, Romana, Tashka and Linette in the Temple On The Border

She was silent, head tilted to one side, considering Tashka words. For a fullhand of breaths, looking towards -- yet beyond -- the elder Dayalan, Daxia followed the words... followed the Path... followed... to a logical conclusion.

"So... if I am able to invoke the spell that requires Her presence or that of Her Children..." Her eyes refocused, locking onto Tashka's. "...you will be able to do the same."

SOmewhat later, Kadri makes her way back to the well, and begins to make her way down ...

... and arrives at the temple.

Daxia
with the Gang, Tashka and Linette in the Temple On The Border

When all was done... the blockade completed, Darian's perch constructed and tested for security, extra deadwood strewn upon the northern stairs, chapel floor cleared of trip hazards, armor donned by those who wore it, some amount of rest for each of them... Daxia sat beneath the window with forearms resting on raised knees.

It was late enough that She had neared the horizon, about to touch it and then vanish while Her Children watched over the night.

"The second night is about to begin," she said softly. "Darian will watch, shoot as many Beasts as she can to slow them down. Dean will take the left entry point, I will take the right; we will use our swords to kill or injure as many as possible. Mikal will be between us with his crossbow.

"Cesare and Kadri will be in the next rank with their throwing knives.

"Back here, Bekkah will wait if the need arises to heal anyone, with Celi and Romana assisting as needed.

"Lady Linette is also a Healer; if she can see you, she can heal you." The Dayalan looked up at the Covener at her side, smiling at the so-young-looking woman. "I may be the only one at risk of running afoul of that directive, and I will do my best to stay in your sight, Lady."

Looking back at the group gathered in the Chapel, she continued. "Verchovai Tashka has pointed out that these Beasts do not cast magic, while our opponents tomorrow night most assuredly will.

"So conserve the spells given to you by your Gods and Goddesses. Use your common, everyday magics if they will help you, of course."

One more time she looked around to those gathered.

"Our job, our duty, is to ensure Verchovai Tashka and Lady Linette live to see Her rising on the morrow. Does anyone have any questions, or need additional instructions?"

Darian

The Hunter shook her head. These were beasts, maybe not a kind she had faced before, but beasts none the less. She added the extra arrows to her quiver, set her hood in it's place.

"Darian go up, wait."

Mikal

As soon as the last knot is tied and the last log placed, Mikal dons his armour checks his weapons, loads his crossbow and places it on the ground, then sits down, leaning against one of the two central pillars.

He leans his head back and closes his eyes, saying to Daxia, "Make sure to wake me when they come, right? Wouldn't want to miss the fun." And just like that his chest rises and falls rhythmically as he drops into a doze.

Kadri:

She pauses.

"Not used to staying in one place where my options to ..."


A pause.

"... my options to move are limited. But I'll be where you need me to be. Bekkah will probably appreciate if I do not wrench my shoulder from its socket again, cha?"

She winks.

"Not to fret. Things have a way of working out, when you help them along."

Daxia
with the Gang, Tashka and Linette in the Temple On The Border

Daxia nodded to Darian, and then -- for the first time since mid-day -- actually smiled at Mikal's comment. "Of course, Mikal. It would be no fun without you, anyway."

Sobering again, she turned to Kadri. "Move as you need, of course -- and you as well, Cesare -- just... maybe refrain from wrestling with one tonight, please, Kadri?" she said with a wink. "If you promise not to tackle one, I'll promise not to fret."

OOC: Well; Less Meelee and more throwing hopefully. As far as spells, likely to use her Dullard at appropriate distracting moments to aid others combat, Heal as neccessary or as it may help, Listen and scan to try to give early warning when they are arriving; but her largest goal, along with Celi hopefully, is trying to prevent anything that breaks through the front line from reaching the healers.

Darian

Her pack out of the way in a corner, she has her blades, bow, quiver and leathers in place. The Hunter climbs to the platform and stretches out across it. She faces headfirst towards the northeast corner to be able to look both towards the well and western corridor leading to the stairs down. Anyone listening carefully could hear her softly sing song chanting.

Bekkah

She nodded and looked at Linette with some surprise when she found out she was a healer.

"I will stay back, but if you are badly hurt little sister and out of sight of Linette, do not expect me to just remain back here. No words will keep me from your side."

(OOC - All Mikal's spells are combat related. Will hold of using the divine ones based on Daxia's suggestion. Crossbow fire as long as possible, sword and dagger if a lizard breaks thru the rope barrier, gets past Daxia or Dean, or if Daxia or Dean are badly wounded.)

Daxia
with the Gang, Tashka and Linette in the Temple On The Border West Chapel

"I'd expect nothing less, Bekkah," Daxia said as she smiled at her sister. "I only ask that you are careful. And -- before you say it -- yes, I will be doing my best to not get hurt."

[OOC: Daxia will be using her Common Magic fighting-related spells, as well. Oh, and the starlight unless Tashka wants to take care of that.]