Deposit

[Robin]

[OOC: Written on request from Shadow. I'm not hogging the location choices, honestly.

This thread takes place at approximately midday at the same time as Callimpsest returns to Wolfenden and the travellers arrive on the path. It follows on from The Chamber Above.]

*The KMBS has seen better days. In its semi-ruined state, it looks much less impressive and imposing than it used to be, although the Tin Child still stands proudly in its place. Although Harold the Potter has recently been on the premises, checking for any fires which may have sprung up - as has been happening in nearby Wolfenden - the school, or what's left of it, stands silent and still, and also somewhat sad.

On their backs in what had once been a classroom, but now resembles a courtyard, its roof and ceiling completely erased by that which levelled half the school, lie two figures. Having been in the Dungeon for a while, the midday sun - although it has less of an effect here than it should have done, possibly because of the maudlin atmosphere or residual magic in the air - should be a welcome return to the land of light for our hard-travelling heroes.

Robin is unconscious, breathing heavily in his comatose state, bleeding from the side, and with a heavily bruised body. His sword is lying next to him; his crossbow, still strapped to his back. His quiver is empty. His hand still clutches Shadow's belt. As a cool breeze wafts through the school's crumbling ruins, a tuft of his hair blows out of place. He grunts and snorts.

In his dreams, Sophie is congratulating him, but he doesn't know what for. He isn't even aware what he's done.

He has escaped the Dungeon.*

[Shadow]

*Shadow, however, is still awake...but only just. Light is shining in her eyes, but not the red glow that had almost blinded her recently; it's sunlight.*

Oh thank goodness. We're out of that creepy place.

But...where am I?

*Shadow sits up and automatically regrets she hadn't. Nausea suddenly strikes her like a hammer striking a nail. She groans and tries to steady herself on the floor. But when she puts her hands on the floor, the pain in her right one gets to her. She looks at it and it's still bleeding.*

Still?!

*She pulls her sleeve back and is horrified to see that her arm is more-or-less completely white! She hadn't realised up until now that she had lost so much blood.*

Oh god...

*She tries to stand up, but is very slow in doing so. She stumbles across the room and steadies herself on a wall. But she isn't well. The memories of her claustrophobia kicking in in Marblehead and their sudden teleportation don't help either.*

Nrrgh...

*She can't hold it. Shadow takes a deep breath, lurches forward and throws up. It's not a very pretty sight and it makes her even more dizzy. Just as she considers throwing up even more, she suddenly remembers.*

Wait...where's Robin?!

*She looks towards the middle of the room and quickly notices him.*

My god...

*She could see the wound she dealt him was bleeding quite a bit and the whole of his body was terribly battered.*

No! He's not dead, is he?!

*He isn't. He makes a noise and Shadow breathes a sigh of relief. But she's worried. She takes a step towards him, but instead falls on her knees. Tears start to well up in her eyes as she looks at him.*

...please be alright.

[Shadow]

*A few eerie minutes pass. Robin still hasn't woken up and Shadow is crying, partly in agony and partly in guilt upon seeing how much Robin's wound is bleeding.*

I'm such an idiot. What the hell can I do?

Voice: Did you really forget already?

*The Voice sounds tired and somewhat exhausted.*

Forget...what?

Voice: Well what did you say you wanted Robin to use earlier?

*Then she remembers.*

Of course! His herbs!

*But the question was; did he still have them? If he had lost them in the massive ordeal they just had, then there's nothing else Shadow can do, and he was most likely just going to get worse.*

(Through gritted teeth) Robin...if you've lost them...

*Shadow slowly stands up again and makes her way towards him. When she gets to him, she notices he's clutching her belt in his hand.*

Heh...thanks.

*She carefully prises it out of his grip and puts it to one side. The last thing she wants to do is to put it on as that would probably force up whatever else is left in her.*

Now where did he put it? ...it was in a pouch, wasn't it?

*She moves around Robin and quickly finds the pouch on his belt. She automatically makes a grab for it and sure enough, the pinch of herb is still in there.*

And this is enough to heal a wound like that?! Well if he says so...

*She tips it into her hand and is about to rub it in Robin's wound, but the Voice suddenly stops her.*

Voice: Wait! Are you sure you want to do this? You've lost loads of blood yourself!

*She looks at her hand again. It doesn't look like it's going to stop bleeding anytime soon. With slight annoyance, she realises that the Voice is right.*

...maybe if I split it...

*Her sword is still in her scabbard, but she notices Robin's sword on the floor. She quickly decides to grab that one instead. With precision, she uses it to split the herb and equal it out in two. It's not as easy as she thought, as Robin's sword is quite big, but she manages to do it.*

There!

*She grabs one pinch and rubs it into her hand. It stings a little, but Shadow ignores it.*

Right then. Now to you.

*She grabs the other pinch and carefully rubs it in Robin's wound.*

I have got to stop looking at my reflection and having hissy fits. I thought being kicked out of an inn for it was bad, but to hurt my friend because of it is just terrible.

*When she's finished, she takes a humbug out of her pouch (still attached to her wrist) and begins to suck it, knowing that it'll help her recover a bit.*

Hmm...I wonder he's fevered.

*Shadow puts her good hand on Robin's forehead.*

...nope, he's okay.

[Robin]

*Robin twitches a little as the healing herb touches his wound, as the sting is quite remarkable. Unconscious as he may be, the woodsman still reacts to the pain, being a hopeful sign.

The herb has no strictly magical properties, but the reason Robin chose to carry some of it wasn't circumstance. He knows perfectly well what it does, and despite the initial sharp sting, the pain is quickly alleviated, in addition to the body's natural healing process being accelerated. It is remarkable.

As the pain in his would subsides, Robin's body lets out a breathy sigh, as if of relief. He isn't awake yet, but at least he's safe... for now.*

[Shadow]

*Shadow quickly finishes the humbug. She isn't dizzy anymore and is more in focus with her surroundings, but her gut still feels terrible.*

All I had was a camomile tea this morning. Why the hell did I throw up?!

*She reaches out and picks her belt up, but still doesn't put it on.*

Hmm...I might as well take this breastplate off as well.

*Shadow fiddles with the straps of her breastplate and removes it. Her shoulders are now exposed and a cool breeze makes her shudder a bit.*

Oops, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

*She begins to move her shoulders around. The breastplate may have been a little big, but her shoulders are cramped.*

Aah...much better.

[Robin]

*Robin's fluttering eyelids gradually begin to settle, and he slips from unconscious to merely asleep. In his sleeping state, his body rolls over onto its back.*

Mmmmmhrrrrr.....

*His eyelids gradually begin to open. The glare of the sunlight makes him wince, but a cool breeze - or indeed a breeze of any kind - is calming.*

...So... so... so... soph...

*He pauses and stammers for a bit.*

Where... what... was I dream... dream... dreaming?

*His eyes gradually open fully.*

Oh...

[Shadow]

*Shadow had only just finished uncramping her shoulders when Robin began to stir. She budges a bit nearer to him to see if he is okay.*

Robin: ...So... so... so... soph...

Huh? What's he saying?

*She leans a bit closer, but Shadow is unable to understand what Robin is saying. But gradually his speech gets clearer as he regains conciousness. Shadow smiles at him and gently places her hand on his shoulder. Her voice turns to one of sympathy and assurance.*

It's okay. Take it easy Robin, everything's fine now. But you're hurt, so please don't move too much.

*She waits for Robin to wake up a bit more before speaking again.*

You got us out of that creepy place, remember? We're safe now.

[Robin]

*A few minutes later, Robin is sitting up, a little unsteadily, leaning his back against what's left of one of the walls. He is twitchy - as a man of action, he's not used to being so still for such a while - but common sense (and Shadow) have dictated that he shouldn't be moving much while recovers. He can do naught but agree.*

There... that ought to do it.

*He has finished lacing the holes in his tunic together with a loose bit of cloth that he had tied to his belt in case of this very situation. His ever-trusty boots have been re-tied too, firmly gripping his feet, giving him the sense of comfort that he finds they bring.*

What do you think?

*He pulls his top up at the side to inspect the wound on his side. Herbs... and time... have done their job. It is healed, although some drops of blood are still leaking through; the wound may have been accurate, but it wasn't too deep. He will recover.*

I think I remember now...

*His memory has pieced things together from what there is to remember, although not quite everything has been recovered from the mists of lost time. Still, he gets the main points. And he's certain there was magic involved, too.*

Uhhh.

*He shakes his head. He's alive, he's breathing, he's in one piece. Everything seems fine... so far. He feels... better... for being outside.*

Okay, now what do we do?

[Shadow]

Ugh...I don't really want to try doing anything yet. Whatever transported us here turned my gut inside out and look what happened.

*Not looking back, she signals to where she threw up.*

Well I guess we could figure out where we are.

*She strolls towards the middle of the room and looks up to the skies.*

Or we could just sit here and rejoice in the fact that we're free from...wherever we were before.

*She turns back to Robin.*

Do you still have that humbug I gave you? You should eat it now.

[Robin]

*Robin pulls the humbug from his belt and pops it into his mouth. He sucks gently, the flavour of mint refreshing his mouth. He can't remember when he last ate.

Reassured, he runs a finger along the flat of his sword's blade. It's a little scuffed, but still seems sturdy enough. Trusty sword.*

Where do you think we are, anyway? It's clearly daytime, but I'm not sure if the...

Creeeeak....

*Robin's head whips around as a strange, spooky noise reverberates from a long way away...*

[Shadow]

*Shadow also quickly turns when she hears the noise.*

Oh god...some birthday this is turning out to be.

[Robin]

*The creak turns into a crash and a rumble, which sounds distant... but, after a few seconds, it turns out that it sounds distant due to its being closer than they'd expect.

It is a very small section of wall that's crumbling, but it's in the same room as the two adventurers. Robin looks up, at what's left of a stone wall. A small chip falls off, as if pressed from within with a minuscule drill, landing with a plink! on the floor.*

Wha'...?

*Robin's hand twitches towards his sword, but he is well aware that without standing, he's not too much of a fighter. He's mentally psyching himself up for the horror that reveals itself...*

Cra-aaaaack... whoomf!

*With a flurry, a small, winged creature explodes from a hitherto-unseen hole in the wall. It is covered in dust. Unsteadily, it totters about on the floor, and then flaps its wings once or twice. It takes off and hovers in the air, clearing the dust from its body with a few large swoops.*

What? A... a bat?

*He twitches. But then he looks.

Not a bat. A bird. It doesn't look too healthy, but it's alive. And clearly well enough to fly. And it's watching... not just looking at, but watching... both Robin and Shadow. It fixes its beady eye on both adventurer in turn, and then turns circles around over their heads, tweeting excitedly.

It looks like it's been here for a while.*

[Shadow]

Okay seriously, a bat? It's a bird you numskull!

*She looks up to it.*

It's...quite a pretty bird too.

*She holds out her hand to it, hoping it will perch there. It ignores it.*

Hmm...maybe I could try...

*Shadow quickly clears her throat and, out of the blue, starts to sing in a very angelic voice.*

Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul's
The little old bird woman comes.
In her own special way to the people she calls,
"Come, buy my bags full of crumbs.
Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do.
Their young ones are hungry,
Their nests are so bare;
All it takes is tuppence from you."

[OOC: You'll have to forgive me; there was no way I would miss sticking a Disney reference in here ;D! Shadow is, of course, singing 'Feed the Birds' from the film 'Mary Poppins'. Feel free to correct me if St. Pauls Cathedral or tuppences don't date back to this time.]

[Robin]

*Robin blinks. He doesn't know much about girls, but he wouldn't have bet any amount of money that Shadow had a nice voice.*

It must be all the humbugs.

*The bird, whose name is Alcuin, reacts to the song. Although he doesn't seem to react in an overly attracted way to Shadow's ballad, something in his voice seems to be soporific to him. The bird hovers in the air, in an almost trance-like state, the flapping of his wings becoming slower and slower, so that he slowly descends to the ground.*

Alcuin: Tweet...

*He settles on the ground with a slight flump.*

[Shadow]

Oh my!

*Shadow wasn't expecting it to fall to the floor like that. She kneels down to see if it's alright.*

Err...

*She gives it a little poke with her finger.*

Umm...I'm not an expert on birds. Is this thing dead or asleep?