Esstrey moves stealthily along the wastes, her rades move at her sides. Their target? She doesn't actually know, they never get told muyway. As another shade falls, attempting to block their path, Esstrey has a passing thought, w if they would one day be that shade. She wouldn't bme anyone if they were. Low and behold, Esstrey is proven right as a bst of... something wipes out her eeam. They never saw it ing, no one could have. Esstrey looks to her sides to see what remains of her team, only to find ashen silhouettes of where they used to be. A vague idea of what they are, but ails to speak of. The grouh her feels so soft... too soft. She tries to to it, but the ground gives way and regees.

  At this momerey realizes that she doesn't have a silhouette, no marker of her having been here. She digs harder into the ground, her cws having grown to aodate her ambition, but it still leaves no mark. It takes longer for the ground to reform, but it still isn't enough, she needs more power! She tries to dig into it with a gun, but the bullets merely disappear into the ground, she tries to shoot her crossbow into it, but the bolt fizzles and pushes out. Lastly, she grasps her shovel, and swings at the ground.

  Esstrey wakes groggily from the makeshift bed she made, she had ordered as many supplies she could think of. One of those being a rge pile of pillows, so she would at least be a little fortable in the room of Jake Malencia. The diseases he has are crippling, and while it's uandable that the healers couldn't fix him, it being uandable doesn't make Esstrey trust the life mages. Wherey first got to work, Jake's body looked like a Petri dish. Something only a life mage could aplish. Only Sofia and Kuda are allowed entry off visitor hours. Sofia did an admirable job of keeping Jake stable, while Kuda was the perfect didate to act as supplies liaison. As long as Esstrey referred to the materials as part of her 'hoard' Kuda would obtaiems with incredible effid accuracy.

  "Have you slept well, doctor Esstrey?" Jake is also awake, and is both rather polite for the heir to a ducal throne, and calm for someone who was effectively turned into a biology student's pet project. He quickly got used to the odd parey kept, not that he had a choi that regard.

  "It was the usual, nothing special." A small bck cat is ging to Esstrey as she rises from the pile of pillows, while Esstrey is either oblivious or ung to the presence of the ferocious feline going for its rgest catch yet.

  A knoes from the door shortly after Esstrey begins preparing some surgery tools, and half a dozen people enter escorted by Kuda. The little kobold is wearing what seems to be a military medical uniform, which is just slightly too big for her size. She gives a sloppy salute to Esstrey with the sleeve being noticeably lohan her arm. Esstrey immediately goes for the people brought in by Kuda, and begins prig them all with her cw. They recoil after each small stab, but none flee or shy away from the massive mermaid.

  "Excellent work colleg them Kuda, are they all volunteers?" Esstrey rubs some of the blood collected from the people, aally pares their blood types to Jake.

  "Yes! Yes! Kuda very good at colleg valley tears! This humble servant of mighty one requests one oh of spoils from tribute." Esstrey doesn't know specifically what Kuda is on about, but she gets the general gist of it. She grabs a sweet roll from a nearby table, and tosses it toward Kuda, who quickly begins to devour it.

  "You and you, stay. The rest of you are dismissed and inform the duchess you fulfilled your purpose." The four that were dismissed leave in a variety of speeds, with the remaining two; am old soldier and a maid, realizing they are to stay. The maid begins to mutter to herself while sobbing, while the soldier moves to fort the maid.

  "Don't worry, I'm sure the duchess will take care of those we leave behind. It's a small sotion." The soldier utterly fails at soling the maid, who actually begins to cry a little louder.

  "Here, smell this." Esstrey holds a cw covered in glistening liquid in the dire of the duo, and the soldier now wears a frown on his face.

  "And what is that supposed to do?" If Esstrey cares for the suspicious attitude the soldier is givihis te, she isn't showing it. She vaguely remembers field medics telling stories of patients reag to treatment in hostile manners. Not that the treatment that the field medics gave actually had a very high ce of saving them, mind you, it was usually just making someone fortable while they are dying. Wouldn't do for morale if someone died screaming while holding their guts, after all.

  "It makes things easier for everyone involved by knog you out, now smell it." The soldier tell from Esstrey's tohat her patience is already growing thing, but he stands tall while looking directly at the giant mermaid.

  "I would like to be awake when it happens, face the end with dignity and all that." The old soldier balls his fist as if he's making the decision of a lifetime, why is everyone being so dramatic?

  "That's hardly up to you." Before the soldier resporey dashes and holds him in a headlock. She covers the soldier's face with her cw, and the struggling quiets after a few seds. She repeats the process, albeit a bit gentler on the sobbihat is the maid, but her stuffy nose drags the process on for lohaher party is okay with. Esstrey then hauls the two unscious bodies to Jake, and drops them at both sides of his bed.

  "You didn't have to be so callous, it wouldn't hurt to expin yourself, you know. Usually people are more cooperative if you expin things some more." Jake looks at the witch doctor with a mix of disappoi and worry.

  "For one, I didn't have to be her. I'm here to cure you and hardly heir cooperation. I also don't want ao know that I'm a blood mage, so I don't want them to be scious for the procedures, your mom is hardly the only or the worst schemer out there, and I like it better when people don't fear stepping in puddles of my blood. As for the reason I'm telling you all this? I'm throwing in with you because I believe it's the safest bet to secure a future for myself, giving you a bit of leverage like knowing that I'm actually a blood mage makes that deal a little more appealing to you. ??? ???? ??? ??????'? ???? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ??????." Jake doesn't hear the st bit, as Esstrey mumbles it to herself.

  "I hardly see why I should accept the services of a doctor so ung for the lives of people."

  "Because I'm damn good at what I do, and only half the stuff I ordered is uo cure you. Now have a whiff of my cw, unless you want to be awake as I'm rummaging around yuts." Esstrey throws one of said ued orders into a chest, a bag of powdered rust.

  Prickly