Shifted

Leliana slowly came back from her meditative state, coming back to full realization of her surroundings. She rose carefully, and looked out the window. There was a bit of a chill in the predawn air, and she slid the window closed, looking out at the horizon. The sun was not yet peaking over it, but the sky was streaked with the gorgeous pinks and creams of the predawn light. She moved to the closet, and pulled out her clothes, pulling them on. She also added a thin cloak for an extra layer, and looked at herself in the burnished small looking glass on the outside of the closet. She looked every bit a member of this little sanctuary, from her loose blond hair to her attire. On her feet she wore a simple pair of doeskin moccasins. Her legs were covered by a simple woven grey pair of plants, made from various tough plant fibres. Her shirt was a dappled pale green, also woven from plant fibers. Finally, to top it off, the travelling cloak. Simple, brown in color, its only unique feature was the dyed effigy of the Tree of Life and Death on the back of it, done in green and black tones. It was beautiful, yet simple, and although it was only thin cloth, it was perfect for chilly autumn mornings.

She calmly did a few stretches, loosening herself up, and then looped her belt onto her pants. On it she was carrying a small journal with a quill, a small bottle of black ink, and her herb pouch. She also put on a simple cord necklace, which now had her mother's holy symbol as the pendant. She took herself in one last time, and nodded, quite pleased. Without another thought, she turned on heel, and moved off. Quietly and respectfully, she moved down the hall and out of the living quarters. She moved swiftly towards the chapel, and carefully opened the door into the structure. She looked inside, and saw Joakim coming down the rope ladder. He looked Leliana, and smiled as he stepped off the ladder. "Good morning my dear, come in, and close that door behind you. It's a brisk morning this morning isn't it?"

She nodded, taking in the priest. He was dressed the same as the day before, and in truth, other than his hair and beard greying slightly, he looked much like he did thirty years ago. The man kept himself in excellent shape, exercising constantly, eating well, and insuring he always got proper rest. She nodded to him, as she stepped into the building. "Indeed it is," she replied, as she closed the door. She moved towards him, going where he motioned. They ended up sitting side by side on the floor in front of the trunk of the oak tree, and the little altar to Talia that sat in front of it.

After a few moments, the door creaked, and Liora came in, two trays in hand. Leliana looked at her and she smiled. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day lassie, and ye'll not be learning much on an empty belly."

Leliana thought about it and had to grin. "True enough Liora true enough."

The halfling nodded to Joakim as she set the two trays down, one in front of each of them, and moved off to leave "Thank-you kindly Liora." Joakim said, turning to look at the halfling cook. Liora nodded, acknowledging Joakim, and then left, closing the door behind her.

Leliana turned to look at the tray. It was a fair sized bowl of steaming oatmeal, and she could smell the light hint of cinnamon. She also had on the tray a slice of bread, with butter on it, and some berry juice. All in all, quite a fine breakfast. Joakim had much the same, except his cherrywood cup was filled with an orange juice. Leliana remembered pulling that, for Liora had made special mention of Joakim's love for a cup of orange juice in the morning.

Joakim motioned to the food. "Well, dig in lass, let's eat." It was then that Leliana realized she was actually indeed quite hungry. She first took a large bite of the bread. It was still soft and even slightly warm from the night before. She chewed it a few times, and then swallowed. Leliana quickly started in on the oatmeal. She put the first spoonful in her mouth, and as she did so, felt a little piece of something more solid. She bit it and tasted the sweet, slightly bitter taste of apple. Leliana looked closer at the oatmeal, and realized it also had small diced up chunks of apple in it.

She dug in with gusto, enjoying the finely prepared meal. The juice was a smooth concoction of raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry, and was quite delicious as well. She ate in silence, waiting for Joakim to initiate the conversation. He finished about half of his oatmeal, before he started to talk. "So Leliana, tell me this. You say you wish to be a cleric, a wielder of divine magic. You wish to be a healer, and a servant of Talia. You know what that means, but do you understand what divine magic actually is, or how it actually works?"

Leliana thought about that question for a few moments, taking another bite out of the bread whilst she did so. Chewing slowly, she thought hard about that question. She truly wasn't completely sure, because she'd never truly thought about it before. She'd always just took for granted that part of being a cleric was the magic. But what it was, or how it worked she didn't know. Nano had once explained to her how his powers worked, but she instinctively knew that the two weren't the same. She didn't know why, she just knew that the magic clerics could do was not the same as the channelling, shaping and wielding of raw arcane energy within themselves and the world around them that wizards and sorcerers used. She swallowed the bread, and replied, "No, I really don't. I'm pretty sure it doesn't work quite the same as a wizard or sorcerer though."

Joakim smiled and chuckled. "Well that's better than nothing I suppose," he said, as he ate another spoonful of his oatmeal. "You've got that right. The two are very different in every aspect, from start to finish. We rely on a source outside ourselves for our power, although in many ways this does give us a versatility that some mages cannot get, because they are limited to the amount of arcane energy they can mentally handle at one time. We have no such problem, because although we are asking , praying for the magic, even dictating, either verbally, or at least mentally, what we want to accomplish. We never actually handle the raw powerful energy of the magic. Clerics' deities, so in our case, Talia, handles that part for us. It takes some skill to get to the point where the request can be delivered without vocalizing it, but eventually we can get there." Joakim winked at Leliana, "Your mother was a perfect example. She could do a spell-prayer with just by thinking it, and she would get results. That level of mental communication, of mental wordplay, takes years, or even decades of practise. Were I you, I'd relax a bit on that part of following your mother, and first take care of insuring you can even get results by speaking out loud first, fair enough?"

Leliana finished the last of her oatmeal, and drained her cup of the cool berry juice. She wiped her face with her wrist, and looked at Joakim, who finished his last bite of bread. He stared at her and she nodded. "I'm ready to learn, I want to learn. So where do we start?"

Joakim chuckled, and smiled. "We start from the basics. Come, follow me." Leliana rose, and Joakim led her out the door of the small chapel, and around the back of the building. As they came around the corner, Leliana saw that there were straw targets, four of them, stuffed burlap bags. They had odd small little holes burned through them. Joakim smiled as she looked at the targets. The burns were odd in that they weren't even or symmetrical , although they were round. It almost looked like something had impacted it and burned through it at high speeds. They weren't very big, but it was definitely odd.

She looked at Joakim inquisitively, "So what's this about?" she asked, confused.

Joakim looked at her. "That is the result of one of the most basic fundamentals of our divine magic. Every deity has areas of influence, domains within which their power is final and absolute. It is these domains of influence that Talia allows us access to, allowing us to touch, handle and wield that divine power." Joakim looked Leliana directly in the eye. "We can do anything with this power we deem fit to ask for, so long as we can come up with how the energy and power that Talia can provide us can accomplish the task. That is the secret. Talia is the Lady of the Leaves, but that title isn't quite accurate. The domains of Talia's magic are Nature, Courage and Health. Now all deities, regardless of which ones, grant access to the basic energies of positive and negative energy. Think of these as the energy of life and the energy of death. These two are the shared domains of every deity, because that is the balance of the world. We live and we die, no matter which deity you worship. Do you understand so far?"

Leliana nodded. "Okay, so through Talia I can call on the natural energies, and the energies of courage, and bravery?" she asked.

Joakim nodded, and grinned. "Good girl. We can call on any of the domains Talia has power over. All you need to know is how to ask. That is the 'spell' so to speak. Simply ask for Talia to channel her energy through you, and form the purpose of the energy in your mind. Cause and effect. Not to confuse this to unlimited possibilities, there are still limits, of course. But that is more to do with logical limits. For instance, you cannot call on the magical energies that inspire raw courage and bravery to actively just kill an opponent. That won't do anything. It's all about knowing how to use the chains of cause and effect to achieve your goal." Joakim gestured to the targets. "Nature is the main domain to most clerics of Talia, so that's where we'll work today."

Leliana looked at him, obviously slightly confused. Joakim winked. "One of the simple parts of picking your favorite domains, is finding the energy you can already naturally feel the presence of. The one's you can feel the energy, the magical power, but just can't touch it. These domains, once you start hearing the song of your deity fully, allow you to meld and use certain....abilities with that energy. Nothing to incredibly strong, but it is powerful enough of a tool to remember. I personally feel the deepest connection to Nature and Health myself, and Talia obliges my feelings. She's blessed me and I get the feeling she may bless you the same way, if you can find the power within yourself. A simple start is what I'm about to show you, but once you can get it mastered, everything becomes really easy. Once you understand and accept this fact, everything falls into place. It's all about hearing and becoming one with the beautiful song, the call and energy of Talia, of the Natural world. Once you accomplish that, then you will truly be a cleric of Talia. For now, however, we'll just focus on the technical and medicinal practices, along with some basic magic."

Joakim turned his back, and faced the target. "Eventually, you'll come to truly hear her voice, the song of her energies. It is truly beautiful, I must tell you. She'll ask something of you, some sort of spiritual and physical commitment. That is why this sanctuary you see is here today. Talia asked me to aid travellers on Talios Way, to make that part of my life. So i did, I made this my mission, my place of worship, and a place of sanctuary. She was quite pleased with the outcome, a place of rest and shelter for weary travellers. A place of safety as well."

Leliana looked at the targets, still unsure where Joakim was going, but she kept silent, waiting for Joakim to finish out of politeness. He glanced back at her. "So my dear, think long and hard for me now, try and feel and hear the voices of the magic, the song of Talia. Tell me which cords strike true? What do you feel, what do you hear?"

Leliana looked at Joakim, not quite understanding the instruction, but she closed her eyes and listened to Joakim as he instructed her. "Drown out everything, except the sounds of what you can hear inside yourself. Your mind's own music, the flow of energy through you."

Leliana took a deep breath, and concentrated. Slowly, one by one, she forced out thoughts and noises, ignoring the sound of the slight breeze. The chirping of the birds, the call of the elk in the distance. She slowly drained it out, and as she did so, a slight strain of something emerged. Something beautiful, music, but of the purest form. It sang to her, as she tried to focus on it, the music called out to her. She felt the rawness of it, the pure energy. It felt like...she couldn't describe it, but she felt safer, braver with it there. And it felt right, almost natural even. The song invoked images in her mind of bravery, acts of great courage and sacrifice, but also of the most enticing and beautiful parts of nature, from the massive and beautiful forests of oak and maple, to the amazing crystal waves of the northern oceans, and everything in between. It was amazing, and felt so right. She focused on it, and let the song engulf her, was over her.

Joakim's voice came whispering through into her mind. "What do you see, what do you feel?" he asked her.

Leliana grinned, her eyes opening slowly, "I feel...brave, like I've nothing to fear. I can see the most beautiful sights, Joakim. There are wonderous forests of beauty, the crystal waves of the oceans. It is amazing, I feel inept trying to describe it to you."

Joakim chuckled as he replied. "That's to be expected, that's how I feel when I try to explain the feeling as well. Hold onto that feeling if you can. Courage and Nature are two of Talia's domains. She inspires bravery in those around her, and in her followers. She also allows us to call upon natural elements to aid us, in healing those around us, fighting and defending ourselves and the natural order, and of course, healing and protecting one's self. Now, a simple trick, a simple magic of Nature is something I'm going to show you now. It's a simple little trick, and one we can do rather often." He raised his hand towards the target. "Now this little trick is the basic power of the Domain of Nature. Pure natural energy, in the form of a bolt. It's not the strongest, but we can do this multiple times, dependent upon how far we can draw upon the energy itself, how much we can hold in reserve. Now pay attention. The way you ask for this is simple. You simply need to ask for a bolt of natural energy. The bolt's color will be different dependent upon the cleric, but it does the same thing. A small piercing projectile of the purest energy, almost like a very powerful acid."

Leliana nodded, and watched intently. Joakim raised his hand towards one of the targets. Leliana had to blink and replay in her head what she just witnessed. As Joakim spoke, a ball of dark evergreen energy appeared, starting off little more than a dot. But it quickly manifested itself to about the size of a gold coin, and then took on the shape of a small dart. With a small motion of the wrist, Joakim sent the small projectile flying at one of the burlap and hay targets. It tore through it, and as it came out the back of the target, dissipated into thin air. She looked at Joakim. "You mean I should be able to do that?" Leliana asked.

Joakim chuckled. "Not yet my dear, I've not doubt you can't yet. But in due time. That is today's task. By the end of today, you should at least be able to form the raw sphere, if not launch a bolt. Within the week, perhaps, you will be able to shoot the bolt. Soon enough it won't even seem like effort to you any longer. Once that happens, then we can begin true lessons of spellcasting, of knowing how to ask for and accomplish your ends with the limited domains and areas of influence Talia can lend us. That is the balance of power. Every deity has their strength, their high points of influence. Within these areas, they can do anything they wish, and shape that energy. But outside those energies, those areas of influence, they have no raw control, no 'God-like' power over reality. This is how balance is maintained amongst the divinities."

Leliana nodded. "I think I understand." she said, smiling.

Joakim nodded, and pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment from his robe. He handed to her. "This is your list of duties. As a member of this little group, you have duties like everyone else, chores and tasks that will need to be done. You'll be on the rotation for some, like kitchen duty, but others are yours and yours alone. Your mornings, however, always start with me, and with training and schooling, to learn, to become a true cleric of Talia."

Leliana nodded, taking and opening the scroll. Today was Tiandas, and she looked at the writing on the scroll. It was organized in a nice and helpful little table. Today her chores included cleaning horse tack, and helping out Erik with cleaning the stable, the stalls, the horses, and all the rest of it. She smiled, and rolled back up the scroll, putting it in her herb pouch on her belt. Joakim winked at her. "We've a few hours yet until lunch time, then it's time to do your chores. So shall we get on with practising?"

Leliana nodded, and Joakim started in on the lessons, teaching her how to feel and draw upon the energy. Leliana enjoyed every second of it, relishing the first steps on her journey, to follow her mother. As she listened to Joakim, she looked out into the shadows of the trees, and smiled. She could almost see her mother in the beauty of the moving trees, looking at her happily. "I'm going to do it mother," she thought to herself, "I'm going to be a healer and protector of nature, just like you."

Just for a moment, as she started trying to feel and grasp the energy of nature again, listening to Joakim's instruction, she could have sworn she heard her mother's voice, "I'm already proud of you Leliana. For you have proved far more courageous than you think. You will be a wonderful healer, and no matter what, I'll always be with you."

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By the end of the week, Leliana could materialize and throw a bolt of natural energy. Hers was a lighter green, much like the color of her eyes. Joakim was impressed, with how fast she learned. By three weeks in, she was able to materialize and throw the small bolt with ease. Joakim decided then to start pushing her, filling all her waking hours with physical chores, to build her muscle, agility, and endurance, or with lessons on herbs or magic, or history, sharpening her mind and memory. Over the next couple years, she learned the intricacies of how to word her prayers and requests to properly meld the power that Talia would let her grasp into exactly what she wanted. Soon enough she could perform many small tasks, moving small objects, healing small hurts, even how to shield herself and any others around her slightly with an invisible force. She eventually, after many months, and years of practise and training, learned how to summon the aid of pure nature enemy itself, in the form of a wolf avatar. The creature was a wolf in all senses, except it was not fully real, just a pure manifestation of her will and the energy of Nature itself.

She also learned much more of the history of Talia, the story of her goddess, or the woman who would become the Lady of the Leaves. She learned much of herbalism and the practise of medicine using herbs. However, most importantly, in her mind anyway, she learned the value of perseverance. She learned how to keep trying, to adapt, to watch, learn and grow from the world around her. She was still a novice compared to Joakim, despite the two being about the same age. Of course, she had no belief she'd ever surpass his knowledge whilst the pair of them lived.

In those fifteen years, she had seen him essentially snatch a man from the jaws of death. A pair of men had rode in on the same steed. The first man had been alright, but his brother was barely alive. His horse had rolled on him, crushing his ribs and most of the bones on the right side of his body. The horse had died in the tumble, rolling over its own neck, but somehow the brother had just barely survived. By the time they rode into the sanctuary, the man had been coughing up blood, and as Joakim showed up, Leliana lost the man's pulse.

Joakim had guided her aside, and had gone to work, laying his hands on the man. After many minutes of chanting, the man had opened his eyes. He had still been in grievous condition, and Joakim had to spent almost two hours casting healing magic on the man, fixing the poor rider's shattered bones. When Leliana had asked him how he'd done it, Joakim had simply smiled a tired and fatigued grin. "I told you, if you can handle the amount of energy required, and know how to guide it, ask for it, and direct it where you need, anything is possible."

Other than that, the years passed uneventfully, for the most part, as Leliana grew up, slowly. Almost fifteen years passed, and Leliana grew up rather well. Where she had been effectively a teenage elven maid, there was now a young adult elven woman, finished physically growing. She was about sixty-seven, as was Joakim. For the last six years, part of her training had also included sparring and combat training, in full gear, with Redorak and Skylar. Redorak was more into the sparring and full contact teaching method, since they were both specialized in melee combat. However, Skylar taught her in a more relaxed method, shooting pointless arrows at her, teaching her how to properly place her shield, how to read an archer's movements and stance, to know where he was aiming. "It's all about precision to a bowman," he would preach, "They need a target, and when they lock onto one, it's easy to tell, because they suddenly move and pull back with purpose. That's when you need to know where his eyes are looking. Once you know that, you can know where the arrow will come, and can respond appropriately after he's let it fly."

He drilled her reaction time heavily, again and again, constantly teaching her awareness and quick action. She took all the lessons in stride, quite pleased with them, and with life here overall. It wasn't the interesting, travelling and dangerous road of adventure her mother had followed, but it was comfortable, and a great place to learn and grow. She had every intent of following her mother's adventurous footsteps, in due time. For now, however, she was content to learn what these more skilled and experienced friends had to teach her.

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Leliana opened her eyes, smiling happily as she heard the birds singing to greet the dawn. She heard the breakfast bell of the small sanctuary being sounded and moved out into the hallway, stopping to admire the beauty of the carvings and paintings on the walls. They were symbols, trees with winding vines, animals all under the sun. A wolf was pictured chasing a deer, a bear was fishing in a river. They depicted the peace and serenity of nature itself. In the center of it all was the symbol of Talia, a large oak tree, one half alive, the other half dead, representing the balance of the seasons, the balance of nature, the balance of life and death. The artwork was truly beautiful, the dappled and perfect colors making the images seem alive. Leliana loved the images, because they truly showed the peace and serenity of Talia.

She wore the clothing of a servant of the temple, because such she was. A simple pair of doeskin moccasins adorned her feet. Her pants were simple light grey fabric, woven from plant fibers. Her shirt was a dappled pale green, also woven from plant fibers, Over her shoulders was a simple brown cloak. It was a thin travelling cloak, made of cloth. Dyed on the back was the symbol of Talia, the tree of life and death.

Leliana was an attractive young lady. She was only in her seventh decade of life. By elven standards she wasn't even an adult yet. Physically, however, she had grown as much as she would. She stood just over five feet six inches, and was probably close to a hundred and thirty pounds. She seemed slight of frame, as all of her kind, but she was strong and hardy. Long days of chopping firewood, scrubbing horse tack for the last forty or so years of her life had seen to that. It was hard work, but good and clean and pure, so she didn't mind it. She was also naturally quick in both body and mind, as elves were prone to be, and as such, she was often sent out to gather herbs and plants.

Leliana was also now quite skilled at herbalism now, often helping Joakim aid those who came here that were in need of medical aid. She enjoyed helping people, but also found comfort in the idea that Talia's balance included her being a healer, being one to help people. It offered her comfort to help those she could now, some small relief against the one part of her life that haunted her. Her skin was surprisingly dark for an elf, almost a light tan color. Her shoulder length blond hair was thick and full. Her eyes were a soft green, like the new leaves of an oak in late spring. As the first rays of the early summer sun touched her skin, she smiled and started singing to herself, an old elvish forest song. Her melodic voice entrancing those she walked past. She loved this place, her home. She paused to take it all in for a moment.

This small sanctuary, a temple of Talia, was a place of rest for weary travellers. The sanctuary was placed literally only a couple hundred meters from Talios Way, the main road that went east to Longreach, making the sanctuary a oft visited place, especially during the busy summer trade season. Even today, the trade season but a week old, they had three merchant caravans, almost eighteen people, whom had stayed the night here.

The sanctuary itself consisted of three buildings, a building of bunk rooms, ten total, a large meeting hall where meals were cooked and served, and a smaller church. The meeting hall had also had a small stable attached to the back. The church was build around a large oak tree, and the bell tower was literally a set of rope ladders to a platform that bridged two forked branches, about forty feet up the tree. The bell hung about five feet above it, off another sturdy branch. The chapel itself could seat about thirty people. The larger meeting hall was built of solid silver pine, a solid construction. It had large windows, almost five feet wide. The hall itself could seat close to a seventy guests if necessary. The food was mostly prepared outside, beside the stable. There were four large fire pits, although only two of them were ever needed on most occasions. The stable itself had eight stalls, only one of which was occupied by a horse that the sanctuary owned, a brown and black dappled mare of about four years named Fiona.

Finally the Leliana turned her eyes to the bunk building. Built of redwood, it was a small simple construction. Each room had two beds, with two small oak cabinets, and each room had a small one foot by one foot window. The building could house up to twenty occupants, and more if necessary, but some would have to sleep on the floor.

She turned, smiling as she thought about that. This whole place, when empty but for those who lived here, only housed eight people. Joakim, the head priest, a man in his early seventies, along with his wife Lexi, and their youngest daughter Sara. There three other children had left years ago to start lives and families. Besides that, there was Leliana and her bunkmate Erik, the stable hand, who was about twenty-two. There was Liora, the halfling woman whom was a wonderful cook, and a priest of Talia. Finally there were the companions Redorak and Skylar. Both were hunters, rangers, and worshippers of Talia. Redorak was a dwarf in about his second century of life, whilst Skylar was a half elf of about ninety years of age. None knew the story of how they'd met, or why they'd decided to make their life here, but they had shown up about forty years ago, and had been here ever since.

The young elven woman moved to open the door into the meeting hall, to see everyone was there, but there was also some kind of ruckus. Leliana looked around, taking in the scene. Talking loudly were two new guests, both obviously hurt and tired. The first looked like a half orc, big with slightly grey-green skin. His arm and left side were covered in dried blood, and Leliana could see that he had a vicious gash from his shoulder to his shoulder. She could even see a little bit of white. Joakim was listening to the half orc, whilst trying his best to stem the bleeding. He had obviously already used some magic, for the half orc's companion, a halfling, had vicious fresh red scars on his back where his kidneys were, and on the back side of his neck and shoulder. Something had obviously taken a chunk out of him. The halfling pulled back on his grey and white tunic, and looked at Joakim.

Leliana moved in to stand beside her teacher, grabbing a slice of buttered bread as she moved past, along with an apple. There was some fried bacon and egg on the bread, and she bit in with gusto, as she nodded to Skylar and Redorak. Sitting with Skylar was Sara, now thirty-two. The pair had gotten married almost a decade ago, with Joakim's blessing. It had been a beautiful ceremony, out in the woods. Small, peaceful, a perfect romantic picture. The pair were a perfect couple, and Sara was now a few weeks pregnant. For the longest time, the couple weren't sure they could have kids. But that was to be expected, those of elvish heritage were just naturally less fertile in the reproductive department then the shorter lived humanoids. But now Skylar was an expecting father, and quite pleased with the fact. He'd not let this knowledge interfere with who he was, however, nor had getting married settle him down any. He was still just as enthusiastic, daring and rather brave. He and Redorak had added their fair share of close shaves and foolish mishaps to their life stories in the last decade or so.

But the half elf's face looked quite serious right now, as he sat, his left arm loosely but intimately around his wife. She kissed him on the cheek, and he kissed her back, but kept his eyes and ears tuned to what was going on with Joakim. The old cleric was now listening with a darker look on his face, as Leliana came up. She saw the true extend of the damage to the half orc's arm. It was torn open, obviously by a vicious hook or jagged blade of some kind. The wound was jagged, and although thin, you could see it had cut right to the bone.

The half orc looked at her, his eyes going to the holy symbol around her neck. "You a cleric to elf?" he asked, wheezing weakly.

Joakim nodded. "This is Leliana Stone-Singer, her mother and father were killed in horrible accident about a decade and a half ago. Your people knew her parents well, in fact Teolan called the Ironfist tribe honored friends."

The half orc smiled. "Name's Demitrius, I'm a metal worker of sorts. Or I was, and hope to be again. Bloody stinking goblin got me good, lucky runt. Robbed us too, our wagon and all. We only escaped 'cause our horse Lucky is fast, and well, lucky" he said winking at her.

Leliana looked at Demitrius' arm. "You say you were a metal worker, but you say it as if you may not be anymore. Was that arm your hammer arm?" He nodded, and Leliana got down on her knees beside Joakim and looked at him. "I may not have nearly as much prowess or ability to heal as you do, but I want to help. Every bit of healing we can give him counts. The wound is massive, I can see his bone." she whispered to him.

Joakim shook his head. "I'll be fine, and so will he. It's a vicious wound, but surprisingly it's not quite as bad as you may think. The biggest danger is the rust that the goblin's rusty hook would have left in its wake. So that's what I'm trying to do right now, trying to cleanse the wound. I've another task for you, one I think you're ready for."

Leliana looked at him oddly. "What would that be, Joakim?"

The older priest smiled. "I'm getting old my dear, too old to be out and about on the road. I want you to go with Skylar and Redorak, to try and deal with this problem. These two poor businessmen were attacked only four hours ride west of here. By their description, it was a small band of robbers, a woman using knives, a goblin armed with the nasty rusty jagged hook responsible for this mess, and a kobold archer, along with their pet worg. Sounds like a nasty bunch, but nothing to challenging for our skilled pair of rangers to clean up. But generally, just in case, I'd always go with them, in case one of them got hurt. But as you can see, this man needs immediate attention. So I wish to send you in my place."

Redorak smiled and looked at Leliana as she turned to look at the rangers. "C'mon lass, go get armed and armored!" he said, winking. "You're always saying ye wanna be like your mother, well this here is yer chance to start on that! Help us clean up this road, make it safe for travellers again!"

Skylar nodded and also offered his support. "You've proven beyond a doubt you are confident and capable, so I've no fear that you'll do just fine. This little menace needs to be dealt with, and I'd be pleased to have your company. It'll be a good chance for you to taste real combat, and you'll be as safe in such a scenario as you can get, with me and Redorak watching your back."

Leliana looked at the half-orc, and then Joakim. "You sure he's going to be okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.

Demitrius answered before Joakim could. "My dear, tis only a vicious flesh wound, I'll be fine, and I'll feel much better knowing those thieves have been brought to justice!" Joakim nodded his agreement.

"I can stop the bleeding, and mostly seal the wound," Joakim replied, a small smile on his lips. "Demitrius here will still need stitches, despite his claim, and a fair number of them, but he'll be fine. His halfling friend here was lucky he made it, the worg managed to get its jaws around his neck. The only reason he made it is because Demitrius here basically ripped the thing off the poor guy. Horatio, I think is his name."

The halfling nodded. "I'm amazed I'm alive, truth be told," he said, in a higher pitched voice. "I thought I was a goner for sure."

Leliana couldn't help but smile as she watched the half orc reach out his left arm, and pull in the halfling. "I had no intention of leaving you to be worg bait, Horatio."

The halfling nodded, still obviously a little uncomfortable with his brush with death. "And for that I thank you my friend, sincerely from the bottom of my heart." he said chuckling. He turned to look at Leliana, and then at Skylar and Redorak. "We were lucky, and for that I am thankful. But the next travellers to encounter that unsavoury bunch may not be so blessed. I wouldn't wish that on my biggest competitor, much less anyone else. So please, for the safety of all traders who need to use Talios Way, can you deal with them?"

Skylar and Redorak stared at Leliana. "What do ya say lass, you up for your first little adventure? It might not be some grand tale of treasure or lost ruins, but it's a start, and for a good cause no less!" Redorak stated, giving her a inquisitive stare.

Leliana chewed her bottom lip for a few moments. Redorak had a point, and in truth, it was a great opportunity, to test what she'd learned so far, to see how well she could hold up in an actual hostile situation. She nodded to herself and looked at the pair. "I'm in you two."

Redorak laughed loudly. "Good girl, that's the attitude!"

Skylar grinned, and nodded his agreement, as the pair of rangers rose. "Get your equipment together and meet us at the stable in two hours. That's when we're setting out." He finished, and bent down, giving his wife a big kiss.

"You be careful, lover" Sara said, smiling.

Skylar chuckled, and nodded. "Worry not, beautiful, for they won't even see me, just my arrows flying straight for them."

Leliana giggled, and rose, rushing out of the meeting hall. She moved quickly into the smaller living quarters building, and back into her room. Leliana looked at the box she had placed her gear in all those years ago. She'd still maintained it, taking it out once a week to clean it and spar in it for a few hours. But this would be the first time in almost fifteen years she had actually worn it with full intent to have to be using it. She opened the chest reverently, and started carefully taking out her gear, laying it on her bed. Once it was all out, she started to dress herself. First she took off all she was wearing, except for the dappled green shirt. She pulled on her grey studded leather greaves, and then pulled on the iron plated armored boots. Leliana carefully and with some difficulty put her polished steel breastplate on, adjusting the clasps to fit her form more smoothly.

The full attire had actually almost all been her mother's, except for the boots and the iron plated gauntlets that matched. She slung her shield over her shoulder, hooking the outer arm strap to a small slit in the back of the armor, on her left shoulder. The breastplate had been designed this way, with a shield in mind. Finally, she looped on her belt, and hooked her herbalism pouch to it. Inside were four or five bundles of basic herbs, small bundles, along with linen wraps for bandages, and other basic supplies to treat wounds. She then lifted her mace in her right hand. The weapon was her mother's, and had been passed down that side of the family for four generations. Mercy was its name, and it was a beautifully crafted piece. She admired the beauty of the perfect symmetry of its head, the four flanges that divided it, along with the image inside the valleys between the flanges. A detailed dark brown and green representation of the tree of life and death. Leliana slid the mace into the belt loop on her left hip, letting it slip down to the head, which rested on the top of the loop. She tested the draw a few times, and nodded, satisfied. She did the same to the shield, getting a feel for the position of the straps, and getting her arm slid into them.

After Leliana was satisfied with that, she carefully tied her hair back in a tight ponytail, and tucked it under the back of her breastplate. She lifted her helmet, a simple piece, made of iron. It was slightly rounded, not quite flat topped, and on the sides and back came down to meet the top edge or her breastplate perfectly. On the front, the face was left mostly open, except for a thin piece that extended down from the forehead, and down to the tip of her nose, between her eyes. The helmet had a thin layer of leather inside it, both as padding, and also as an extra layer of protection. She adjusted it slightly, moving and rotating her head with it on. When she was happy with it, Leliana moved to stand in front of the small mirror again. She couldn't help but still feel a little bit of sorrow, even fifteen years later. For if not for the difference in eye color, it could have very well been her mother Liandry staring back at her through the mirror. The pair had also had different hair colors, Leliana a gorgeous blond color, whilst Liandry hair had been a soft brown in color.

Leliana shook herself out of it quickly though. It had been fifteen years, and now seventy-two, Leliana was not quite an adult yet by elven standards, but having been raised partially by and around the shorter lived races of Tariek definitely had an impact upon that. She was more mature and grown up then many elves her age generally would be. She nodded, and went back into the chest, pulling out her knife and its sheath. It was a special sheath, made to slide inside a boot, on the outside of the ankle. She slipped it into her left boot, rotating her ankle around a few times, adjusting it slightly until she found it comfortable. Finally, she checked her belt, insuring her coin pouch was attached to it. She didn't have much, only a two gold coins and maybe five silver pieces. But you never knew when money could come in handy. She looked at her travelling pack for many minutes, trying to decide whether or not she should bring it.

After much contemplation, Leliana decided against the pack. It was only going to be a day excursion at most, and travelling with two skilled rangers, even if it turned into a longer endeavor, she wouldn't want for food. She did, however, go to the cooking area and fill up a leather and hide waterskin. She looped it to the back of her belt carefully, after securing the top tightly. It had been roughly an hour and a half, so after running over a mental checklist one last time, to insure she actually had everything. Once she was sure she did, she moved off, around the meeting hall, and down to the stable to meet Redorak and Skylar. She was a little nervous, she had to admit, but also very excited in a way, eager to put all her training and learning to the test in a real life situation.

Redorak saw her first, and grinned, winking at her as she joined the pair. "Well lass, ye looked armed and ready!" he said, patting her on the back. "Shall we go and teach this lot the error of their ways?"

Leliana nodded. "If we leave them, they'll be a menace to any lone travellers, or small groups like Demitrius and Garil." she replied.

Skylar nodded his approval at her thought process. "Come then, hop on our little carriage here. We've an interesting plan, we'll fill you in on the way." the half elf said, winking. It was then Leliana notices the small wagon filled with crates and barrels. It had four wheels, and a driver's platform, but it was an open topped three walled design, with a tarp over top of the goods.

Leliana climbed on, and threw the tarp over herself, crawling to the front, and sitting with her back against the wall between her and the driver, Redorak. The dwarf peaked under and winked at her, chuckling. "Ye'll approve of this one lassie, Skylar's great at this kind of thing. A real tactical thinker that one, despite his foolish demeanor." Leliana nodded her approval, as Redorak hauled the reins lightly, getting Fiona going at a nice walking pace.

As they set off, turning west onto Talios Way, Skylar seemed to melt into the trees, and Redorak threw on an old cloak, carefully adjusting it to hide his face, armor, and weapons. He hunched over the reins, and even pulled a gnarly old ashwood walking stick up from the floor of the small platform, standing it up beside himself. Leliana had to blink, because if she didn't know it was the dwarf, from this angle, or even from looking at him from the front, with the low pulled cowl hiding his face, she would have sworn he was a wizened old man, probably crippled. She grinned, nodding with approval, as Redorak began to outline the plan to her.