IC The Pirate Dream: Sliced Heart

[aReallyGreatAxe]

After a good hour of soaking, Piscine decides it's probably time to return to the boat. He pulls himself back up, walking across the deck soaking wet and returning to his cabin. Once he's redressed, he spends a while folding - and refolding - his nets, making sure they're ready for combat. That done... he's bored again. So he goes back up to the deck and hangs around Tybalt for a while, watching the gamblers play their games.

Tybalt pulls his hand of cards closer once he realizes there's an observer. Someone helping a friend cheat or-nope, just the weather kid. Good time for a friendly invitation. "Don't just stand there- either buy in or shove off." He indicates an empty space nearby. "See if you've earned Lady Luck's favor today." Or perhaps a fresh face would just be simple to beat.

[hannahbbug3]

Piscine quirks his brow. He's played all the standard games before, and he recognizes this one. "What's the buy-in?" he asks.

[CWater]

Piscine ignores the whistles and jokes that his lack of modesty incite from the rowdy pirates. People never change.

Piscine quirks his brow. He's played all the standard games before, and he recognizes this one. "What's the buy-in?" he asks.

"Ten gold", replies Waltya, who's sitting opposite Tybalt. "For now", she adds and grins.

Spoiler: Gambling

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Like any game of luck, it'll come down to opposing d20 rolls. But you can also roll Sense Motive and Bluff to possibly increase your roll.

Cheating is also possible... just don't get caught! (Sleight of Hand, Perception, etc.)

Those that wish to play, please make two straight d20 rolls, and any influence rolls you wish.

Nearby the cheerful and very drunk pirates continue to sing and dance, every cup they down moving the artistic quality of the display down a notch. The girl Sorry is balancing on the railing humming along and gazing at the sky, where the first stars are lighting up.

Some of the crew are starting arm-wrestling matches, while some opt for the less civilized but more exciting free-form brawls.

Captain Ironskin is watching the happening from the quarterdeck, leaning to the helm and calmly smoking a pipe.

_____________

While Piscine left after a while to find other entertainment, Eralia stays in the water for a while longer. The cool touch of the sea reminded her of her deep water home. Floating under the surface, movement in the corner of her eye catches her attention.

Spoiler: Eralia

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Make a Perception check please.

[hannahbbug3]

Piscine thinks about it for a moment, before nodding. He'd gotten a pretty hefty paycheck today, he could gamble a little. "All right," he said, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the small purse he kept there. Most of his gold was below, locked in his personal chest, but he had 25 pieces on him. "I'm in."

Spoiler: Rolls

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First, a Sense Motive check to give Piscine a little edge (hopefully). Also going to go ahead and roll a Profession: Sailor roll, to judge his familiarity with this game? I don't know, it's a bit of a reach, but doesn't hurt to try, right? Then the two luck rolls.

Sense Motive - (1d20+8)[17]
Sailor Profession - (1d20+11)[16]
Luck One - (1d20)[4]
Luck Two - (1d20)[6]

[Bansheexero]

Eralia spends another few minutes in the water after Piscine leaves, just to let herself relax a bit more, then she heads out, looking to find the crew and join in their celebration.

[rs2excelsior]

Vigo gratefully accepts his share of the treasure and launches into the revelry with the others. He limits his drinking to s decent buzz, though--he still didn't feel comfortable enough around the pirates to get full-out drunk. After a little while of good-natured revelry, swapping stories with some of the crew, Vigo wanders over to the table where the cards are being dealt. He sees Piscene join, and tosses ten gold pieces of his own on the table as well. "Deal me in, too. Let's see who fortune smiles on tonight, eh?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Bluff: (1d20+8)[27]
Sense Motive: (1d20+4)[23]

Heart of the cards:
(1d20)[15]
(1d20)[8]

[aReallyGreatAxe]

Excellent- the more in, the larger the prize. Tybalt drops ten gold on the table, careless as if they were copper. (Fortune favors the confident, right?)

Spoiler: Luck!

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Let's see if Virnil smiles upon Tybalt tonight!

Bluff: (1d20+2)[20]

Luck:
(1d20)[19]
(1d20)[8]

[CWater]

Eralia climbs back on the deck, soaking, but that never bothered her. The revelry is still going strong, and she spots Piscine, Tybalt and Vigo playing cards with the Gunmaster.

Piscine is not in Virnil's favour tonight, the cards he was dealt were hopeless. Waltya frowns and shakes her head. Neither Tybalt or Vigo had a killer hand either, but they manage to act confident enough to gain the upper hand over the others. However, when its time to lay down the cards it's revealed that they're of equal value.

"Ha ha! Don't see that everyday!", laughs the Gunmaster, "Well what's it gonna be? Split the pot or shall we do a new round?", a smirk rises to her lips, "Or you could duel for it? That'd be fun, come on!"

[rs2excelsior]

Vigo leans back, surprised at the result. Steep odds for that to happen, indeed. "I'll split the pot." He smiles at Tybalt. "Unless you'd rather duel for the whole thing, of course. It'd certainly make things interesting, wouldn't it?" He doesn't have to fake the confidence--a proper duel, one on one, with established rules--this was his comfort zone. He wouldn't press the issue, but he had no hesitation if Tybalt was ready to challenge him.

[aReallyGreatAxe]

"I'd rather split the pot than your skull," Tybalt replies, with an entirely false bravado. Vigo had managed to survive that reckless swing onto an enemy ship, surely he would win a fair fight. "What do you say we go again? Double or nothing. Unless of course you're worried about losing..." he pulls out another few gold and holds them up to glitter in the light.

Spoiler: OoC

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Should Vigo refuse, Tybalt will split the pot without incident.

Should Vigo agree, rolls included here for expediency.
Bluff: (1d20+2)[18]
Luck1: (1d20)[19]
Luck2:(1d20)[1]

[rs2excelsior]

Vigo ponders for a moment. Tybalt is hard to read--Vigo can't quite get a read on whether he's actually as confident in the duel as he seems, and he hadn't really had a chance to see him fight very much. But Vigo was feeling nearly as good at his skill with the cards as his blade, and so shrugs and slides closer to the table. "Sounds good to me. Double or nothing." Vigo tosses his own raise onto the table.

Spoiler: OOC

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Bluff: (1d20+8)[24]
Sense Motive: (1d20+4)[24]

Luck:
(1d20)[14]
(1d20)[14]

[CWater]

Waltya sighs, disappointed that no swordfight took place. She grumbles something about Frin's men being useless and takes a good swig of rum. Cards are dealt for another round, and Tybalt is feeling confident at the start, but eventually he ends up drawing a totally hopeless combination and Vigo wins the whole pot.

Spoiler: Results

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Piscine loses 10 gold.
Tybalt loses 20 gold.
Vigo wins 40 gold (not including his own bet).

The drinking and general revelry continues late into the night, pirates have no bedtime after all. Still, no fun lasts forever, and one by one they drift to sleep or fall into drunken unconsiousness. About a half of the crew manage to find their way to their bed, or at least to 'a' bed, cot or hammock. The rest are spread out all around the ship, though mostly on the deck.

The morning arrives bright and energetic, though the ship is slow to wake. Around noon Abrayus does the rounds to kick the last sleepyheads awake and announce that Captain wants everyone on the deck. Grumbling, many still recovering from their drunken stupor, the pirates start to gather.

[hannahbbug3]

'Damn my rotten luck' is all Piscine is really thinking about when he heads to sleep that night. Not having partaken in much of the drinking, he's up well before many of his crewmates - and again takes a refreshing dip in the ocean to freshen himself up for the day. Once out of the water again - and redressed, of course - he spends his time wandering the ship, getting himself attuned to the vessel. It's not something he needs to do every day - but all the same, he likes to stay familiar.

Spoiler: Stuff

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With natural recovery overnight and another day's worth of Hydrated Vitality, Piscine is back up to full health. Also investing an attunement point to get 30 ft. blindsense around the ship, as always.

[aReallyGreatAxe]

"Virnil hates me," Tybalt complains as Vigo takes home the prize. But, after all, it had been a close game. "Next time I'll clear you out of every copper," he promises the Quartermaster's aide, and takes his much lighter coinpurse away from the table before he can spend the rest of it trying his luck.

As for the morning- best be quick about seeing what the Captain wants. He couldn't imagine Her being pleased with the slugabeds.

Spoiler: OoC

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If Frin's offer to trade gold for goods still stands, Tybalt would want to buy some thieves' tools. A pirate ship may be one of the only places where it's okay to just walk in and ask for those.

[Thunder999]

Asvard rises around an hour before noon, having had a lie in to recover from an evening well spent.
He stretches his legs walking around the decks of the ship and is quick to come when the announcement comes. Hopefully the captain's got a nice raid in mind.

[rs2excelsior]

"Well played, ladies and gents, well played. Better luck next time!"Vigo gathers up his winnings and--in the spirit of smoothing over any hard feelings--brings over a round of drinks for everyone. As the night wears on he goes a little heavier on the drink than he'd intended, and wakes groggy and hungover, though fortunately before Abrayus has to start kicking people awake. Composing himself as best he can, he makes his way up to the deck and attempts to look presentable (or at least less hungover than some of his fellows).

[Bansheexero]

Eralia stretches as she awakens, far more refreshed than before. The swim did wonders for her, as remaining on the surface for so long was an uncomfortable experience to say the least. She rises to see what needs to be done on the ship.

[CWater]

Captain Ironskin walks up to the railing of the quarterdeck where she has a good view of the pirate crew gathered on the main deck. Abrayus has found a place on the stairs to her right and Frin is mirroring him on the left stairs, idly playing with a knife as always.

The Captain grins and addresses the more or less awake crew. "Good morning, triumphant pirates! Or should I say Good afternoon? Heh, no matter! We made a good raid yesterday, got some good loot to fill our hold! The elemental trap was a surprise, but nothing the Gall Seeker couldn't handle!" A few pirates respond with cheers.

"The question now is, what do we do next? Our Quartermaster gave you some tasters of the gold we can make, but I'm sure most of you don't want your full pay in carpets? So I fear we must play respectable merchants for a short while." The crew members laugh.

"Question is, where do we go? I'm no tyrant who drags you fine lot around the seas on a whim. No! We're pirates, we're free spirits! So I ask, where would you like to go? What would you like to see? Prendance is closest, just around the corner, we could be in Auroria tonight if the winds are good. Or we could sail south, aim for Khuiren or Liyit. Maybe sweep up another cargo ship on the way and then go have fun in Hetekan city or watch the pit fights in Kellreit? Or we could travel to Saffra and shake up those grumpy old islanders. What say you?!"

[hannahbbug3]

This is the part Piscine doesn't much care about being a pirate - the necessity of visiting port. If he had it his way, they'd stay on the sea forever, but that wasn't how one got rich. And aside from that, what was the point of the wealth they were carrying around if they never spent it? He considers their options, drumming a few of his fingers against his chin. He'd weigh in, but he knew well enough he shouldn't be the first to speak up. Not as one of the newest crew members. The first vote should go to the more senior of the crew... though Piscine hoped everyone would be in favor of staying off shore a while longer. Finding another cargo ship to sweep up sounded thrilling.

[Thunder999]

Asvard speaks up, "I'm for Kellreit, the only better fun than the pit fights would be raiding another ship on the way there."

[Bansheexero]

Eralia perks up, "I second that notion. I did not get much satisfaction from the last two battles and could use a little violence to pick me up."

[rs2excelsior]

Vigo has a brief moment of alarm when Prendance is mentioned--Fryn had already said he'd want Vigo along when they next went ashore to sell off their holds, and the whole reason he was in this mess in the first place was that he was trying to get awa from there. Going back would be far too risky, at least so soon. At the same time, he didn't know much about Kellerit, and a place with prominent fight pits didn't sound like somewhere where his noble demeanour and charming smile would get him very far. Still, it was a better option than heading back home. "Kellerit or one of the other free cities sounds good," he says. "There's still some room in the holds, no reason to be in too much hurry to get back to shore..." hopefully that would rule out Prendance to the others.

Spoiler: OOC

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Vigo is extremely paranoid about going back to Prendance--as I said in my post, he's here because he was trying to get away. That said, the degree to which he actually needs to be worried is completely up to the DM. The noble he insulted has already made one attempt on his life--he might consider the message sent and stopped looking, content with scaring Vigo out of town, or he might be out for blood and continuing to search all across the sea for him. Or anything in between. Vigo has no idea just how dangerous going back would be, and I think it best if I don't either

[CWater]

The notion of heading to Kellreit gathers support from the other pirates. Half have never seen the Bloody Pit in murderous action and the ones who have are generally in favour of returning, though Bromden notices that Tirana looks sulky when the place is mentioned. However, she doesn't speak against the plan.

"Looks like we have a winner!", the Captain announces and smacks the rail in front of her. "First Mate, set the course south! And you, new brat", she points at Piscine, "Go tell Old Suur we need her to plan the route! The rest of ya, make yourselves useful!"

Spoiler: Old Suur

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Suur Azdeer is the Gall Seeker's navigator. She is an old halfling woman, with wrinkled brown skin and grey hair she keeps on a bun on top of her head. She's been a pirate for decades and a sailor all her life and is a very competent navigator, but last month she had a bad stroke, after which the Captain decided that it was high time to get an assistant for her, which is why Piscine was hired.

The navigator is one of the few that have the privilege of having their own quarters on the ship, and Suur's room, which she rarely leaves these days, is full of all sorts of trinkets and oddities she's gathered on her years of travel.

"You heard the Captain!", shouts Abrayus, "Up in the rigging like monkey's on fire! Rise the anchor! And Frin, get this damn deck cleared!"

"Hoh, is the tonedeaf bard trying to put me in charge of housekeeping now?", the Quartermaster retorts, which naturally results in a mostly friendly exchange of quips between the two enforcers.

The crew follows the orders, though without any particular rush, as most are still groggy from last night's revelry.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ok, please describe where your character hangs out on the ship during most of the first leg of the journey (rigging, deck, crew's quarters, etc.) and if they are 'being useful' or doing something else. If you'd like to chat with an NPC or another PC, you're more than welcome!

[hannahbbug3]

"Aye!" Piscine calls willingly enough, offering the captain a quick and proper salute. He quickly hopped to, heading towards Suur's cabin. He was honestly quite fond of the old woman, and not just because he was sucking up to her so one day he'd have her job. She actually was quite interesting. And the notion of going to Kellreit seems to have him in a good mood, as well.

He knocks and waits for the halfling's call to enter before stepping inside. "We need to chart a course for Kellreit," he says without any delay. He wanders over towards the maps and other instruments they'll need to get a proper heading for their route. "What do you need me to do?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Piscine likes navigating. He will spend as much time as needed in making sure their course is sound. I'll go ahead and give you one of these, too

Profession Navigator - (1d20+9)[20]

[Bansheexero]

Eralia seems reinvigorated, her predatory thirst whetted. While she performs her duty as bosun's aid, she spends her off hours practicing her swordsmanship in preparation for Kellreit. She seems somewhat terrifying in her zeal to the rest of the crew who avoid her as she trains with her sword, but she manages to handle her more aggressive impulses for the time being.

Spoiler: OoC

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If needed, here are a few Profession (Sailor) checks to handle her duties (though I figure taking 10 or 20 if I am able)

(1d20+6)[21]
(1d20+6)[23]
(1d20+6)[11]
(1d20+6)[9]
(1d20+6)[20]

[Thunder999]

Asvard stands a little ahead of the main mast, calling up a favourable wind.

[aReallyGreatAxe]

Tybalt doesn’t have to be asked to lend a hand clearing he deck, and generally spends his time working hard and trying to make Frin regret promoting the newcomer over someone as obviously loyal and hardworking as him.

Speaking of the newcomer, should he find himself with Vigo, Tybalt poses him a question. “Lady Luck likes you. Or at least she did last night. What do you say in Kellerit we get a few people together, try some real gambling on the Bloody Pit? The more of us there are, the less likely the locals are to cheat us.” His beady eyes burn with absolute conviction that the ‘locals’ would be trying to swindle poor, hardworking pirates like themselves. Not to mention that Tybalt was less likely to get left out of any shorebound plans if he was the one instigating them, right?

[rs2excelsior]

Vigo makes himself useful with Frin, cataloging their haul and sorting out what to sell when they make port. He can feel the resentment from Tybalt--he could understand the feeling, but there wasn't much to do about it. He just tried to pitch in as best he could, and not lord it over him. Otherwise he stayed out of the way of the deck crew as much as possible.

Vigo nods at Tybalt's suggestion, thinking for a moment. "Yes... that sounds like a plan. Strength in numbers and all, right?" He smirks. "Maybe even give Lady Luck a reason to look our way?"

[CWater]

"Aye!" Piscine calls willingly enough, offering the captain a quick and proper salute. He quickly hopped to, heading towards Suur's cabin. He was honestly quite fond of the old woman, and not just because he was sucking up to her so one day he'd have her job. She actually was quite interesting. And the notion of going to Kellreit seems to have him in a good mood, as well.

He knocks and waits for the halfling's call to enter before stepping inside. "We need to chart a course for Kellreit," he says without any delay. He wanders over towards the maps and other instruments they'll need to get a proper heading for their route. "What do you need me to do?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Piscine likes navigating. He will spend as much time as needed in making sure their course is sound. I'll go ahead and give you one of these, too

[roll0]

Suur's small cabin resembles a magpie's nest, full of odd trinkets and books that cover almost all available space. Piscine needs to place his feet carefully as he moves across the room. The occupant herself is resting on a cot near a tiny window; her eyes are closed but they open as the undine steps into the room. "Kellreit you say?", Suur croaks and snorts, "The city of vagabonds in a land of tyrants. Hah, fine fine. Gather the maps and tools on the table and get started. These old limbs need a moment to stretch."

Piscine gathers what they need on a small table, making room the only way possible, piling items on top each other. He gets started on planning the course, avoiding shallows and the precarious Starving Rocks and skirting around the areas that Lumiara's wyvern riders are known to patrol in. He's gotten quite far in the work before the navigator has gotten herself up and hobbles over to the table. She leans past Piscine and examines his progress. "Hmm, yes yes. Looks good. Just need to watch the west wind once we reach Khuiren waters. Precarious this time of year." She limps to the other side of the table. "We can guide the currents, yes, but there's weather no mortal can change. Keep that in mind, Little Fish. Right, best to check how the path looks. Fill me a bowl of water, will you."

Once Suur has the container in front of her she reaches for her pocket and takes out a small blue quartz attached to a silver chain and starts to spin it over the water, which begins to move and splash like ocean waves. Looking over the halfling's shoulder, Piscine sees images of islands flash past as Suur scans the sea. She stops briefly to watch a pod of dolphins frolicking in the sun, before continuing on. "Hmh, like I thought, there's a storm brewing. Might be we need to make a stop somewhere to avoid the worst of it. But we can worry about that tomorrow. Today seems..." She trails off and stares at the water that has started to swirl and bubble, "What trickery-"

Piscine is pushed back by a sudden force and he hits the bookcase behind him. Books and baubles are knocked over and clatter to the floor. He's dazed for a moment, but then his vision clears and he can conclude he's unharmed and that there's no danger sight. Suur lies cursing on the floor, holding her right hand, the one that spinned the quartz. Its skin is red, almost burned. The bowl on the table is empty and there's a black mark on the ceiling above it. The air in the room feels hot and moist.

Tybalt doesn’t have to be asked to lend a hand clearing he deck, and generally spends his time working hard and trying to make Frin regret promoting the newcomer over someone as obviously loyal and hardworking as him.

Speaking of the newcomer, should he find himself with Vigo, Tybalt poses him a question. “Lady Luck likes you. Or at least she did last night. What do you say in Kellerit we get a few people together, try some real gambling on the Bloody Pit? The more of us there are, the less likely the locals are to cheat us.” His beady eyes burn with absolute conviction that the ‘locals’ would be trying to swindle poor, hardworking pirates like themselves. Not to mention that Tybalt was less likely to get left out of any shorebound plans if he was the one instigating them, right?

Vigo makes himself useful with Frin, cataloging their haul and sorting out what to sell when they make port. He can feel the resentment from Tybalt--he could understand the feeling, but there wasn't much to do about it. He just tried to pitch in as best he could, and not lord it over him. Otherwise he stayed out of the way of the deck crew as much as possible.

Vigo nods at Tybalt's suggestion, thinking for a moment. "Yes... that sounds like a plan. Strength in numbers and all, right?" He smirks. "Maybe even give Lady Luck a reason to look our way?"

"What do I hear, already setting plans for shore?", Frin pipes in and clasps both of their shoulders, "Glad to see you're being proactive, let me know how it goes! A tip though, bring some muscle with you. Kellreit's a rough place, and broken bones are such an inconvenience", the quartermaster grins and releases his grip. "I wish you good luck! Fortune favours the bold!" He winks and walks off, a dagger immediately reappearing once he has a hand free.

[hannahbbug3]

Suur's small cabin resembles a magpie's nest, full of odd trinkets and books that cover almost all available space. Piscine needs to place his feet carefully as he moves across the room. The occupant herself is resting on a cot near a tiny window; her eyes are closed but they open as the undine steps into the room. "Kellreit you say?", Suur croaks and snorts, "The city of vagabonds in a land of tyrants. Hah, fine fine. Gather the maps and tools on the table and get started. These old limbs need a moment to stretch."

Piscine gathers what they need on a small table, making room the only way possible, piling items on top each other. He gets started on planning the course, avoiding shallows and the precarious Starving Rocks and skirting around the areas that Lumiara's wyvern riders are known to patrol in. He's gotten quite far in the work before the navigator has gotten herself up and hobbles over to the table. She leans past Piscine and examines his progress. "Hmm, yes yes. Looks good. Just need to watch the west wind once we reach Khuiren waters. Precarious this time of year." She limps to the other side of the table. "We can guide the currents, yes, but there's weather no mortal can change. Keep that in mind, Little Fish. Right, best to check how the path looks. Fill me a bowl of water, will you."

Once Suur has the container in front of her she reaches for her pocket and takes out a small blue quartz attached to a silver chain and starts to spin it over the water, which begins to move and splash like ocean waves. Looking over the halfling's shoulder, Piscine sees images of islands flash past as Suur scans the sea. She stops briefly to watch a pod of dolphins frolicking in the sun, before continuing on. "Hmh, like I thought, there's a storm brewing. Might be we need to make a stop somewhere to avoid the worst of it. But we can worry about that tomorrow. Today seems..." She trails off and stares at the water that has started to swirl and bubble, "What trickery-"

Piscine is pushed back by a sudden force and he hits the bookcase behind him. Books and baubles are knocked over and clatter to the floor. He's dazed for a moment, but then his vision clears and he can conclude he's unharmed and that there's no danger sight. Suur lies cursing on the floor, holding her right hand, the one that spinned the quartz. Its skin is red, almost burned. The bowl on the table is empty and there's a black mark on the ceiling above it. The air in the room feels hot and moist.

"But I've told you, Suur, I can change the weather-" is what Piscine says - as he has many times. Still, the old woman has never seen his magic at work and he supposes will just go on believing what she believes until the day she dies. Though it is true that there are maelstroms beyond his power to control... but those are rare, few and far between. Even in that case, he can generally create pockets of weather to shield the ship...

The explosion rocks him from his thoughts. Quickly, he is up on his feet, eyes wide. "What was that?" he asks. "Are you all right?" he asks, helping Suur stand up and looking at her wound. "Do you, ah, want me to get the witch to take a look at that?"