A Dovah's Healing

The air grew colder and thinner as Odahviing flew toward the Throat of the World. Drelasa shivered, wishing she'd thought to bring a cloak; Ravenlight and Drizzt seemed not to notice. They reached the mountaintop, circled once, then landed, kicking up clouds of snow. Ravenlight sprang down. "Paarthurnax! We need your help, quickly!"

Drelasa watched, her eyes wide and the cold forgotten, as an enormous and obviously very ancient dragon seemed to materialize from the very stone of the mountain itself. "By the gods..." she whispered.

"What is it, Dovahkiin?" He gazed down at her kindly.

Ravenlight smiled up at the one dragon she truly considered a friend. "Two friends of mine were attacked by a demon, with malice on its claws. One is an...unexpected ally; the other is my zeymah Drizzt's bormah." She stepped forward. "The wounds are severe. We need your help to heal them."

"So Molag Bal reveals his hand." He turned and looked as Drizzt dismounted Odahviing, Kaelan's unconscious body in his arms, and Zak was helped down by Drelasa. "Geh. I will aid them. Have them lie down; I will let them sleep, without pain."

Drelasa held Zak close as she helped him to Paarthurnax, partially to keep him steady, partially because it was bloody cold and partially to keep herself steady as they got closer. He didn't seem to notice any of it.

Ravenlight unrolled the bundle she'd brought: blankets, furs, and a tent. She spread the blankets and furs over the snow, beckoning them closer. "Lay him down," she instructed. "He's going to send them to sleep. Drizzt, once you've set him down, help me get the tent up over by the dragon wall, it'll block the wind, and we'll be able to move them in there without any of us being in danger of freezing." She looked over at Drelasa, then picked up a white wolf fur and draped it over her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, I should have remembered to tell you to bring a cloak."

Drelasa settled Zak down before gratefully accepting the fur, giving Ravenlight a small smile. "We were understandably in a bit of a rush."

Drizzt placed Kaelen beside him, glancing worriedly at Zak before picking up the tent and moving over to the half-ruined wall to start setting it up. Fortunately, it was not too far away.

Paarthurnax loomed over the two injured warriors, before arching his neck and shouting. "LAAG PRAAL VAHRAAN!" The mist that gushed from his mouth at the words had an almost comforting green hue. It surrounded them, and they both went limp, breathing easily. Drelasa could feel the power in the shout reverberate in her chest. It was by far some of the most powerful magic she had ever felt.

Ravenlight smiled in relief. "Thank you, Paarthurnax. Thank you so much." She stood by him for a moment, her hand on his muzzle; then she went over to the sleeping warriors. "All right, Drelasa. They're in a healing sleep; we can tend their wounds safely now. Once Drizzt has the tent set up, we'll all move into there."

Drelasa nodded, words failing her momentarily after that.

They had to struggle to turn Zak onto his stomach so they could reach his back; but they made it, and without making Drizzt leave off setting up the tent. Then Ravenlight knelt between them, holding one hand over each as she reached for her magicka. "Drelasa, the Altmer; his wound is worse than Zak's. Could you take a look at it?"

"Absolutely." Drelasa shifted over, putting one hand on the Altmer's forehead as she pulled away the blanket covering the wound.

Catti-Brie's magic had done some good, despite how painful it had been for the unfortunate Altmer: while it still ran the width of his torso, it no longer gushed blood, and had started to seal from the bottom, so there was no longer only a thin membrane holding his gut in place. Still, it was deep and ugly, and oozing a little.

Drelasa placed her hand just over the wound and focused her magic into it, imagining the skin and muscle beneath knitting itself together. Veins reconnected, allowing blood to flow normally and swiftly. She moved her hand slowly up, being very careful not to overdo it. Too much, even to a body asleep, could shock it. He had already lost too much blood and suffered too much shock. Her hand slid from his forehead to his neck, feeling for the beat of his heart in the big vein. It was weak and fast, like a scared rabbit. She eased back in her healing, giving him another layer of protection over his guts. He needed to rest a bit before she sealed the rest of him up.

Ravenlight channeled her magic into the wound on Zaknafein's back. She paused every now and then to allow her magicka to replenish. It was a bad wound, deep and painful, and as she let her power tell her where the damage was that needed to be repaired, she shivered as she realized that the demon's claw had touched bone in more than one spot.

A few moments later, Drizzt came over to them. "I've got the tent up," he said. "Let's get them out of this cold."

Drelasa opened her eyes. "Yes. This one needs the rest badly."

Drizzt hesitated, glancing over at Zak, then nodded. "He was probably in the worst shape. I'll move him in, then come back and help you with Zak."

"Careful, darling." She said gently. "I couldn't heal him all the way just yet. Was a bit too much to go further."

He nodded again, carefully lifting Kaelen up in the blanket beneath him, and carrying him into the tent.

Ravenlight glanced at Drelasa with a wry little grin. "Let's see how far we can drag Zak before Drizzt gets back over here. Might go easier with two of us."

Drelasa put a finger to her lips and her other hand glowed briefly. "There. Won't last long but I think he's light enough now we only need these few moments to get him over there."

"Helpful." Ravenlight took hold of one side of the large fur he was lying on. "All right. Let's get him inside."

Drelasa picked up the other side and lifted him up. Wasn't a strong feather spell but it certainly helped, especially in the very thin air where just walking around could start to feel labored, never mind carrying another. She helped Ravenlight settle Zak in the tent, out of the wind, just as the spell ended.

The tent, while not huge, was fairly spacious, with enough room for five people inside, and it was made of thick leather, which kept cold out and heat in. As the two women got the injured settled, Drizzt went back outside to retrieve the rest of the furs and blankets, shaking what snow had gathered off of them. Just before he came back in, there was a soft conversation outside, though the wind made it hard to hear words: but they could hear his voice, and Paarthurnax's deeper rumble. He ducked back in again; a moment later, there was a thwump outside the tent, and the sound of the wind diminished a little.

Drelasa frowned a little, not sure she wanted to know exactly what that was.

"Paarthurnax," Ravenlight said, taking the furs Drizzt held out to her and covering the two warriors. "We can't have a fire up here: the air's too thin, and there's no fuel. So he's lying down beside the tent, curling around it a little. He knows that we can't take the cold; but he can ignore it. So he's helping us as much as he can."

Drelasa nodded, again momentarily robbed of speech.

Ravenlight checked on Zak, then Kaelen. "They're probably as healed as we can get them tonight; for now, the best thing for them will just be sleep." She sighed. "And we're going to need it, too. Ah. Adrenaline's wearing off." She blinked and shook her head. "I don't think anyone's in a position to be fussy about where we end up lying down; but Zak and the Altmer need to be kept warm."

Drelasa smiled, knowing what that meant. "Take Zak. He'll be more comfortable with you. I'll take our new friend."

Ravenlight passed over two large furs. "Snow saber. Neither of you are used to the cold; you'll need all the insulation you can get."

"Thank you, darling." She gratefully accepted them. "No one ever accused a Dunmer of looking good in the snow. Especially when I complain of Blacklight being too cold in winter."

"Mm...you're going to want to cover up then." Ravenlight sank down. "It's about as cold as you can get up here, without ending up in Atmora. Took me a long time to get used to it." She yawned. "But it's kind of worth it to come up and talk to Paarthurnax, so I try to make the trip every month or two."

"I'm sure after I get some rest, the feeling of that much immense power won't be so intimidating." Drelasa said, getting the furs around Kaelen. "Or it will be but I'll be able to sort through it better."

"Hopefully, in the morning, you'll be able to talk with him a little bit." Ravenlight glanced up at Drizzt and scooted over a little, allowing him the spot next to his father. "He's still intimidating, but not...in a bad way. And it sounds like he may have some advice on the situation; said something about Molag Bal showing his hand. I'll be glad to ask him about it, I know that." She unfolded a large fur as well, flipping it out and pulling it over her. "Agh. I'll have to continue in the morning. I'm about to pass out again." She stretched out and closed her eyes, going limp almost instantly.

Drelasa got Kaelen settled next to her before pulling her own fur over her. It wasn't as warm as if they had a fire going but it certainly kept the chill away. She put her fingers against Kaelen's neck, feeling his heartbeat. It was still a little fast-understandable, in the thin air-but growing stronger every minute.

She smiled as she slid down, reassured. It would take a few more healing sessions, but he would be okay. Tough little fetcher, surviving torture, vampires and now a demon attack. She'd have to make him a luck charm before they headed to High Rock because he was using up his luck at a rapid rate.

Or, she could ask the Card'vel when they all met up. She grinned into her furs with that thought. Uliamu would happily adorn everyone with bones, which she would no doubt be collecting along the way. Drelasa strongly suspected a whole deer skeleton would be employed somehow.