Out of time. Out of options. Out of pants - and none too pleased about it - Orange Fur gives one final push at the tightly sealed cardia above him before sinking back into the chest-deep digestive sludge with a resounding<span style="font-style: italic">glunk.</span>The catboy gasps for breath, sucking in burning lungfuls of the stale, caustic stomach air in a vain attempt to revivify himself for another assault on the locked gateway to freedom. He can't keep up this exertion much longer; one more push, maybe two, and there won't be enough oxygen left to sustain him. After that, it's only a question of how long he can stay conscious while Dagnyr's stomach takes him apart - the answer to which is a good deal longer than he'd like to think about. If only he'd had another month or two to perfect that acid proofing formula...<br/><br/>Well, too late to worry about that project now. If he makes it out of this mess alive, it'll be his next magnum opus. If not... well, the presents in his belt pouch are bound to make his last moments memorable for someone.<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Orange Fur's digestion resistance negates 4 points of damage.<br/><br/>Orange Fur's HP: 53%*</div></div></div><br/><br/>Dagnyr's healing touch bathes Vignar in a cascade of luminescent motes, cleaning and mending the numerous scratches left by his mystery attacker as they flow across his body. Compared to full extent of his injuries, it's not much; more like a washcloth and a flimsy bandage than a real treatment. Nevertheless, it seems to do the captain a world of good: even before Dagnyr pops out to talk with his companions, the dragonborn has already begun to stir. By the time he returns to check on his patient, Vignar is on one knee and muttering something too quiet to hear over the distant rumble of carriage wheels - the first sound to reach inside since the battle's end.<br/><br/>"... and damn their magic tricks," Vignar concludes as his voice rises at last to an audible level. With a low grown that looks like it ought to be much louder, the dragonborn braces himself on the edge of one of the seats and slowly pulls himself upright. He acknowledges Dagnyr with a nod, but says nothing at first, instead making a halfhearted attempt to wring a few crimson droplets out his bloodsoaked shirt before finally giving up and meeting the gnoll's eyes.<br/><br/>"Constable Thuror," he rumbles. "I'm glad one of us is looking well. Give me a report on everything I've missed, beginning with the status of our charges. I'd ask for the good news first, but I know better than to demand a lie from a paladin."<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Vignar regains consciousness.<br/><br/>Vignar's HP: 8%**</div></div></div><br/><br/>Alyssa's rescuee is a sorry sight to behold: a slimy, hairless ragdoll of red skin and muscle that looks more like a slab of butcher's meat than a man. His tattered clothing is barely indentifiable as a Watch uniform, and bears no obvious mark of rank; more likely than not, the driver was a young recruit like Alyssa. Regardless of his former identity, the young man is clearly beyond help, and has been for quite some time. A gurgle and groan from the next carriage suggests that the second driver is well on their way to a similar fate - or already there - if no one intervenes soon.<br/><br/>From the driver's seat, Padma offers little beyond the occasional mumble to himself as he keeps his eyes as far off of Alyssa's work as possible. He gives an expectant glance in the second carriage's direction as Angel settles herself next to Kaelen, waiting for the two to sort out their driver before he urges his own horses forward.