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"Attend him too, please," he said to Isokla. "He'll have some answers to give."
Isokla scowled slightly, but nodded, not in the least pleased with having to attend to a fanatic. When Ydalon mentioned his " I'm sorry if it reminds you of your apprentice." She shook her head, “It is a fact of life that those around us fall; the only question is when and how.” She sighed, “As a healer, I ought to be used to it by now.” Isokla nodded slowly, her bright blue eyes concerned, “I did not see the child, my lord. If he has run off… perhaps he shall return and blame us for his…” her lips twitched and she barely refrained from suggesting a somewhat lewd implication, “close companion’s fall.”
Without another word, she calmly and carefully picked her way across to the fanatic. Pausing, she instructed, “One of you bind and gag him while the other searches the corpses. You heard Lord Ydalon. Split the supplies.” She inclined her head towards the fallen bandits as her eyes clouded over briefly, “It is the victor’s right, after all.”
The bandit was not happy though.“Keep that filthy witch away from me! The whores of this world shall be enslaved and consumed in the burning fires of the Master’s wrath!”
At Isokla’s sharp intake of breath, the bandit preened, sneering “Filth like you shall be taken first! You shall be passed around like cattle and dogs for the faithfuls’ pleasure! We shall disfigure your pretty features an-“ he screamed as Isokla planted a foot between his legs.
“I think not.” she sniffed haughtily, offended by his words, “Scum like you shall be purged first and your master shall consume you in his fires. No one would accept refuse like you. You will be despised wherever you tread. Now be quiet.” she told the whimpering bandit, lifting her foot again to kick him if he refused. “I may be a healer, but cutting you off as a gelding would be a service to our common blood pool. You can survive without it.” Her tone was icily calm and her blue eyes were chilly. She spoke of what would send shivers down almost all mens’ backs without even blinking. “So I suggest you cease your prattle and conduct yourself in a more civil manner – elsewise, you shall be spending the rest of your shortened lifespan as only half a man, and when your friends find you – they shall know the cost of crossing us. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
At this threat, coupled with the look in her eyes, the bandit nodded, swallowed and hushed, allowing Isokla to tend to his wounds without fuss. Clearly the threat chilled him more than his fanatical faith. Eager to be a martyr – but half a man? That stung.
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Should the others search the corpses; they will find the following: the weapons in hand that the bandits possessed and fifteen copper pieces, five silver, four waterskins, a cryptic sealed note which made reference to some 'bridge forest gate' over the 'sapphire lake' and a 'stone fortress'. It would seem that might be their next base of operations, though it was unclear. Perhaps the bandit might elaborate under intense interrogation.
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