Like a Good Comrade

It's Kesenday, Eatonis 20 1022.

Featuring: Acedia, Asmli, and Strike

Another day of recovery in the wake of injury finds Asmli receiving a visit from Strike, who was there when he was hurt, just in time for Acedia to come check on him as part of her rounds at the Soldier's Defense. The trio touch on the incident and it's effect both on him, and other members of their team before moving on to how to move forward. Strike tries to offer wisdom she's only recently truly started to accept in her own course, while Acedia offers to help bankroll Asmli's replacement limb. With his refusal to accept a handout, Strike suggests perhaps teaching Adventurers some of the discrete communication languages so they can better handle potential ambushes. As Acedia carries on to see to other patients, Strike offers to trade room and board for reclaiming some of the languages she 'lost'. When he asks how, she begins to explain...

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* A06: The Soldier's Defense *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

         This hospital is composed of rock from the surrounding Redridge, which lends it a comfortable feeling of solidity. Inside, frescos line the walls. They depict warm, cheerful scenes intended to encourage healing among the sick and ailing. A small fountain towards the back of the foyer is fed by the nearby river, and a number of benches surround it, providing a place for conversation.

         The entrance to the hospital is guarded often by Sunblades, its interiors tended to by the Hearthguards. Older Hearthguards tend to patients and oversee its operation, while for the younger it is an opportunity to practice their skills and hone their trade. The servants garb themselves in Althea's colors, with a stole representing the City of Alexandria on the outside, to recognize their service to both.

         The building itself is quite large, though built in a way to make it appear to be a collection of smallar buildings rather than one large one. The Soldier's Defense is known for its ability to feel "like home." While it is still a hospital, it arguably accomplishes this feeling of peace and serenity better than many counterparts, with the benefits passed on to its patients. Across one of the walls are a series of paintings depicting the hospital's many benefactors over the years. The first in line is the painted face of an unknown soldier, who the hospital was first dedicated to.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- Contents --=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Asmli           Blonde khazad with a dwarven urgrosh.                 14m  1h
Strike          A dusky grey half elf girl in grey and black clothes. 0s   41s

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= Exits -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Out <O> -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

A spring rain doesn't make for the best weather to be walking outside, but nearly anything is better than the bed Asmli's been in for weeks on end, and so it is that he stumps slowly down the hallway, his heavy wooden crutches clumping audibly in a sound that echoes down the hall, his path taking him near to the fountain he'd been sitting at yesterday. A Hearthguard supervises this process, pacing slowly with him as he does so.

After being vetted several times, assuring that, amongst other things, Strike does -not- have the magic plague, is allowed in to check in on a wounded teammate. Time hasn't been her friend of late, and so, with some direction from a tiny Althean acolyte, the half-mul eventually finds her way to those same fountains. Her adventuring outfit has more scuffs and frayed edges, new grass stains than it did before, and she travels without her ubiquitous staff. On sight of the wounded Khazad, she offers a thoughtful, "Greetings."

A click-clack sound slowly catches up with the one-legged Khazad, a wee Gobbo dressed in a white orderly's uniform, with the symbol of the Soldier's Defense on her left shoulder. "Hello!", she says cheerfully to Asmli. She reaches up to run a hand through her damp, red hair.

"Rest here a little, it seems you have visitors," the young woman accompanying Asmli tells him. With a scowl, he does so, gingerly settling himself on a bench near the fountains. "Aye, Strike. Good to see you. Looks as though the Guild has kept you busy." The khazad probably hasn't been busy much at all. His right leg is missing from a handspan below the hip, the end of his trousers folded and pinned around the stump, and the other leg that tucks into a pair of new boots is much looser than the mul is likely to remember. New pink skin covers hands and arms, the shininess beginning to fade. The blonde, short hair looks to have been freshly shaved, but rather rumpled, and the braided beard that hung to his waist is utterly gone save for a few inches of it. It's not long enough yet to braid again, and so it hangs loose. He peers down at the little gobber orderly with some interest as well. "Hi there."

"How are you doing, sir?", Acedia wonders. "Is it painful, still, or are you managing?" She holds up a hand and wiggles her fingers. "I can ease your pain, a little, if you'd like?" She nods to Strike and grins brightly. "Hello to you too!"

"It is agreeable to see you're still alive. Yes, though the work in Merkabah is troubling. In at least one case it is literally seeking adventurer's out." Strike says thoughtfully, but bows her head then to the little orderly with a, "Hello." before stepping closer to Asmli with an unhurried stride. There is an overt appraisal of the ravages done to the Khazad's frame, then, "How-" Her question breaks off as the orderly takes that interrogative as her own and she nods, eyes intently curious as they regard him, very interested in the answer.

"Yeah, I'm too damned stubborn and doltish to die, they told me," Asmli answers with a grin. "Ain't so bad, most days, an' ain't nothing right now. Touching it don't bother me no more, though I can still feel it sometimes, it's weird." The grin fades, and he sets his lips, looking down at the left leg, but as he does so, a steel symbol of a lightning bolt and a maul over a mountain on a steel chain falls out of his shirt. "Ain't no need to be doing that stuff, thanks. It ain't that bad."

"I was not." Strike replies with a shrug as she finishes closing the distance, "I ran into Lysos after the mission. Has she managed to see you? I hadn't the chance to ask her when last we met."

The Gobbo looks sad for a moment, and she approaches closer, reaching up to gently pat his shoulder and squeeze very lightly. "The iron will that the Khazad are famous for is very evident in you. Being too stubborn to die is something to take a bit of personal pride in." She lets out a long breath and smiles again. "I am willing to use the spells, though. Don't be in pain when it is not necessary to do so." Acedia looks to Strike and blinks. "Were you with him when he kicked something so hard his leg fell off?"

"Cryosanthia thinks I should go into arse-kicking, it will keep me busy. Nothing's done that yet, ask Clan Stonesmasher." Asmli's grin fades, to be replaced with the scowl more customary on a khazad. "Aw, she was there, fell into a lava river. Don't you worry about me, little one. Next time I get to kick something, I will kick it extra hard, just for you."

"Lysos and I got him to safety." Strike replies with almost the ghost of something in the corners of her mouth with a little nod to the goblin. With Asmli's contemplation of putting foot to ass, she remarks, "I may be able to teach you how to maximize the impact."

"Will you?", Acedia says, "That is awful nice of you." She grins toothily, and nods to Strike, chuckling at her suggestion of maximizing foot to butt impact. "Are you going to get a new leg? Like, an artifice one, perhaps?"

"Thanks for that," Asmli nods to Strike. "I'll tell Lysos, too. She's blaming herself." Asmli's light khazadi tome clearly says he thinks she's being ridiculous. "Thinks she's bad luck or something. Maybe you ought to show that foot to arse technique to her. No luck in it, just me being reckless again," he goes on ruefully, but brightens at the mention of a new leg. "Yes, there's an arvek artificer working on one for me. Stirling, I think."

"I know." Strike says thoughtfully to Amsli before looking back to Acedia, "...is it?" she seems genuinely uncertain, "We are comrades." A shrug, and she looks to the Khazad once more, "She is more bold in battle, and has capably handled herself in our mission in Merkabah. Her wit is quick." She cants her head a little, then straightens and regards him more seriously, "There will be changes, even with the replacement. The sensation will be lessnened, best to expect that up front, Amsli, and there may well be training required to synch yourself to the capacities of the new limb."

The Gobbo nods to Asmli. "Stirling is a good one, I have heard. This is good news! If you need help relearning how to walk, I am willing to help out. You can lean on me, yes?" She looks to Strike and nods. "Comrades? Ah, friends! Good good."

Acedia looks back to Asmli. "My name is Acedia. You can find me at the Fernwood, I've a room there. I usually play the violin there, too. I help out here as often as I can." She gestures to the hospital at large.

"I don't doubt it." Asmli leans back, throwing a burly arm across the back of the bench. "I ain't gonna be taking on Guild work tomorrow, and that's a fact. I'll most likely have to learn how to fight with it. I've got time...and I appreciate all the help." His smile this time is a little softer, and fades. "Ain't rightly sure how I'm gonna pay for all this, neither," he admits.

Strike hmm's and nods, "I may be able to assist with that. Has this Stirling given you a number?" she inquires, then looks to Acedia, "Is that the large instrument with the bow, or the little one you stick under your chin?"

The Gobbo's eyes widen as she looks to Strike, and grins. "It is generally held under the chin, yes. You can play it one way as a violin, a more dignified way, or you can play it more roughly as a fiddle. The big one is uh... I think you might mean uhm... a cello?" She cants her head slightly and looks to Asmli. "Well, there are probably jobs you could do that require more brains than brawn, you could still do some work... just not fighting at the moment." Acedia goes quiet for a moment, and lets out a long sigh. "I can give you thirty-five hundred gold."

Asmli's jaws openly drop at the figure named, and he's left, mouth working in shock. "I ... no, Stirling said he isn't charging for the prosthetic itself." He shakes his head firmly, clearly stubborning up. "You're both kind, but you're right. There must be something I can do while I work myself back into shape. I'll not take handouts for nothing, that wouldn't be right. I've got something coming from the Guild, that's just going to have to last until I'm fit to fight."

Strike nods to that and, "They have an interesting sound." she concedes, then looks back to Asmli on his declaration, "Teach tactics or perhaps weapon's maintainance. Many adventuerers I have seen fail to take proper care of their equipment. I notice few can speak covertly, that could be useful, if that is a skill you have that you could share."

"It's not a handout.", she says softly. "It's a long term, reverse loan." Acedia snorts and shakes her head. "Take the money. Take your time getting it back to me. Or give it to other people who need help." She grins toothily. "I paid to have a friend resurrected. I can certainly help a new friend with living expenses for a time."

Acedia looks to Strike then. "You like the sounds they make? I could play for you, sometime, yes? Or you could come to the Fernwood and listen to my show."

Surprised, Asmli lifts both hands and makes a series of signals, brow furrowed. "The silent language used in the mines sometimes?" There's a definite khazadi slant to the signals he uses, for those familiar with the code. He scratches his head, clearly he hadn't thought of that, but he speaks again, this time in trade. `Cryosanthia is supposed to be getting my pay from the Guild. What does the Fernwood cost for a room? I know Ox-Strength is cheap, but don't fancy all those stairs.` <handspeech>

Strike cants her head and nods, her fingers moving in a smooth, practiced manner as she replies, "Yes. There are many situations where this knowledge could be useful. I tried to advice my team discretely that something was wrong but only the client understood me." Even as her hands are at play, her eyes swivel to Acedia and she answers, 'That would be nice, thank you. I will have to remember the old songs, assuming you take requests.' There's even a bit of a smile at the prospect. <handspeech> Strike's gestures change slightly, and she punctuates some gestures with specific rythms of toe-tapping against the floor, "Are you any good with this one?" <merctalk>

Acedia eyes the hand gesturing going on, and looks slightly... jealous. She looks to Asmli for a moment. "It's not all that pricy, considering that it is quiet comfortable. And it has stairs also, but not quite so many as the Ox. Uh. I get essentially free room and board since I play for them frequently. I uh.. could let you stay there. I go out all the time. And I'm small. So, I don't take up a whole bunch of room."

The Gobbo looks to Strike then, and smiles, all teeth. "I don't mind taking requests, as long as know that I might not know it... or perhaps the song has a different name for me, you know? But I will do my best to accommodate."

Asmli appears to understand at least some of the gestures, because he winces and nods. "Embarrassing," he gestures back, a few short gestures. When she changes it up, though, he shakes his head, staring at her in puzzlement. `Still ain't like it, but I know you mean it. I ought to take a job, and see if the Guild pay is enough. Maybe the Guild'll let me teach the hand language.` <handspeech>

Strike smiles in turn and nods, "Understandable, I will try to have alternative titles ready." she says softly, then looks to Asmli, "Quite so, as the whole point was ruined and the younglings ended up alerting the ambushers were we on to them."

"I do know a whole bunch of Elven ones... or uh, well, Gobbo version of them." The Gobbo chuckles and nods. "I look forward to it."

"I hope you can find something you can do. I know how it is to feel... not useful. But you will find something, and you will get stronger."

Asmli scowls again at Strike's description, frowning in a way that suddenly makes him look very khazad despite the usually cheerful and energetic demeanor. "That could have gotten you all killed. When I can make it so far as the Guild, I'll ask ... assuming the Clan does not take me back." His frown deepens. "We'll see. The whole Guild ought to know those signals."

"Yeah. Hopefully I can get back to fighting."

Strike nods to Acedia and gives a little smile, "Most of the songs I know are of Khazadi origin." She looks back toward Asmli and nods, "Yes. I agree. I also understand the feeling, and the frustrations of change. I can... listen. Perhaps advise."

"Well, I hope that you will get back to some kind of normal as quickly as you can.", the Gobbo says to Asmli. "And I'll help you in any way I can. I got really sick... I had the plague that was going around. People helped me, and so to repay them, I am helping others. I wanna help you." She blinks and grins. "I know just the person to introduce you to. They are missing an arm and a leg, they were born that way, and they have some very nice mechanical replacements. I think they can help you, they can share their experience. It might help you recover better, you know?"

Acedia nods to Strike and she grins. "I dunno... some Khazad instruments sound like they were invented because they stepped on a cat's tail and liked the noise..."

"I heard that," Asmli mock-growls at Acedia, although a sparkle in brown eyes says that he isn't too, too mad. "I might ask your people whether being your neighbor is safe." He is sitting on a bench near the fountain, talking to Strike and Acedia, his crutches leaning against the bench next to him. "Thanks, he tells both of them. "I ain't rightly know how any of this will work," he admits. "Stirling says that I will and other Guild folk have. I'll get there. Someday."

Strike steps closer and leans in to the Khazad, "In the end it will come down to your will." she frowns a little and draws back, "This I have... taken time to understand. The will to return must become the will to overcome and adapt." Toward Acedia, she wonders, "What makes one sound pleasant and the other simple noise?"

The Gobbo giggles at Asmli. "Admit it... it does sound like a cat yowling. A well controlled cat, yowling at the right notes.. and also..." Acedia looks to Strike. "The sword dancin' they do? It's so they can dance and cut their toenails at the same time. Efficiency!" She grins toothily and laughs. "Hey, my parents are the crazy ones. They're tryin' t'invent a faster firin' dragonspitter. Blew up the shed more'n'a dozen times. It's why I left them, ages ago. So my neighbours are safe." She shrugs then. "We'll be here to help ya work it out."

To Strike, the Gobbo huffs. "'S'different for everyone. See how his ears are smaller'n'mine? His folk have been underground so long... they feel sound more than hear it. So yowling cats are pleasin'." Acedia wiggles her large, pointed ears. "And these things? Pick up more intricate sounds... when we're not deafening ourselves with explosives. We appreciate finer instruments..." She holds up her four digit hands. "At least, the ones we can play." The Gobbo laughs.

"Got the best example on Ea for that. Got a feeling I'm gonna need it." Asmli fingers the pendant and chain he's wearing, but snorts at Acedia, dropping it to his neck instead. "Those are fine instruments in their own right, I'll have you know. And with the drums behind it..." He snorts. "The ones you can play without blowing yourselves into the next mountain range over, you mean."

Strike hmmm's softly, "That doesn't help much, but thank you." she says to Acedia, then considers something, almost starts to say something, but thinks better of it and looks back to Asmli, "I enjoy the sound made when I hit someone in the head, though it doesn't have the same resonance it used to."

"Kind of like hitting a melon, ain't it?", the Gobbo wonders of Strike, with a chuckle. She bounces from foot to foot then, and hops up to kiss Asmli's cheek. "Keep getting better. I'm serious about helpin', so come and find me at the Fernwood, okay? I have to run, though. Take care!" She offers a wave before turning to run off, her wooden sandals clacking the whole way.

Asmli lifts a hand to watch the gobber girl go, but shakes his head once she's gone. "I ain't taking a gobber's coin, _saman_. Guild owes me for more than one job. Ought to be enough to find a place to live for a while." He barks laughter at the sound of hitting someone in the head. "There's something to it, especially when their skulls are so empty," he allows. "Better than some of the bards I've heard."

Strike's grin is subdued but natural to her face and she nods, "Just so." she sobers after a moment or two then wonders, "Have you still not been paid? I am largely forced to make the same offer, but I am trying not to offend."

"Cryosanthia is asking the Guild for me." Asmli shakes his head firmly. "She offered to sort it for me. Thanks, though. If they don't come up with it, or take it...." His entire demeanor falls, but he shakes his head. "Nah. I've been in bed too damned long. That's just wild fancy."

Strike cants her head, "Then perhaps you can help me remember things that I have lost." she suggests. She taptaps her head with a forefinger and explains, "I have lost several languages that I used to know, I would like to relearn at least some of them. We can consider it a trade of services."

"I know a few. Which languages did you lose?" Asmli leans forward, interested. For all his muscle and weapon-wielding, there's a mind behind those eyes, sharper than one might guess at first glance. A meat shield the dwarf might be, but he isn't stupid. "And how'd you lose 'em?"

Strike frowns, "I used to be fluent in Khazadi, as well as the language Wizards use for their magic." and, perhaps to be less looming, or perhaps she's finally relenting to the fact that she's been standing this whole time, she settles in next to him, "One of my previous functions was interpereter, in addition to providing physical security to my master." She understands the meat shield thing very much, it seems.

Quickly, Asmli nods, clearly liking this arrangement much better. "I'll teach you Khazdul, then, if you can help me find a place to stay once I get out of here." He nods to the back halls that lead to his bed, his meaning clear. "It's a bit different between here and Khazad-Duin, but you can make yourself understood."