At Deon's second urging, Elora and Lune quickly worked together so the party could retreat further into the safety of the woods.  After all, what the cleric said was absolutely true - they were wounded and would be an easy target if the lizardmen once again showed up in similar numbers.  Lune quickly began to scavenge the corpses, her dagger flashing as she cut loose the threaded coin necklaces worn around the necks of the dead lizardmen.  The coins were hastily stuffed in a sack she had brought with her.<strong>"You round up the horses; I'll see if there's anything worth taking.  Once you're done, bring a horse over to where Misty is and we'll lift her together and lash her down in the saddle."</strong>Pausing briefly, the half-elf made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat as she stumbled upon a small bag containing a variety of delicate tools.  Eyeing them speculatively for a moment, a shrug was finally given by the half-elf before she closed the bag and threw it into her larger sack.  There would be plenty of time later on to examine them in further detail to determine their value.<br/><br/>Elora gave a small frown at the half-elf's commands; after all, Lune wasn't the leader of the party - she was.  However, what the half-elf said made perfect sense so the elven paladin couldn't protest.  In fact, Elora would have come to the same conclusions eventually; she simply wasn't as quick-witted as the half-elf scout was.  Still, rules needed to be observed; otherwise why have rules at all?  She'd be sure to make that clear to Lune at camp tonight and reemphasize her authority.  And so, with a lingering look at the half-elf's back and pensively chewing her lower lip, Elora finally decided to follow the scout's advice, rounding up all of their mounts.  Each horse was were still trembling from the excitement of the battle, their eyes wide and rolling about as they looked ready to bolt at the slightest sign of further danger.  Thankfully, none of them had run off during the course of the fight.<strong>"Shhhh...it's okay, it's okay.  We're all okay..."</strong>the elven paladin murmured, rubbing the mane of the each of the horses as she comforted them and their wild breathing slowed.  She always had been particularly talented with animals, relying on her gentle nature and her elven affinity of creatures and the forest to guide her as much as her training.<br/><br/>Pausing in her search, Lune wrinkled her nose distastefully as encountered the chewed upon leg.<strong>"Looks fresh,"</strong>she remarked to no one, examining the severed limb before raising her voice for the rest of the party.<strong>"Oy!  I've got a leg here!  Probably a gnome.  I'm guessing this is all that's left of him now.  He's probably sitting comfortably in their bellies."</strong>A gesture was given to all the strewn lizardman corpses before Lune spat on the ground to indicate her disgust at his fate.<strong>"Poor bastard."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"We don't know that.  He might still be alive somewhere,"</strong>Elora said, pausing in her gentle stroking of the horses.  Her tone was sharp, almost on the border of rebuking, obviously chastising the half-elf for her cavalier attitude.<br/><br/><strong>"Without a leg?  I highly doubt the lizardmen were all that concerned about his health.  The shock alone most likely killed him; if not, then the blood loss would have."</strong>Lune's retort was cool and logical, but her incredulous expression, complete with raised eyebrow, let everyone know exactly what she was thinking concerning the intelligence of the elven paladin.<br/><br/>The two then glared icy daggers at one another before a sharp clap from Deon brought them back to the present.<strong>"You,"</strong>the cleric said, pointing at Lune.<strong>"Keep searching the bodies."</strong>That finger was then redirected to the various dead lizardmen as the half-elf's lips thinned in displeasure, but she obeyed.  Then, he turned his attention to Elora, his eyes boring into her until the paladin dropped her gaze to the mossy ground, obviously embarrassed at being caught arguing.<strong>"You should finish gathering the horses."</strong>His tone was a little gentler and a little softer with Elora.  Pausing for emphasis, he then uttered his next line.<strong>"I don't want another peep out of either one of you until we are away and clear.  The next one to speak out of turn will be disciplined in front of all the others as an example."</strong>His tone was steel, his patience obviously thin at their infighting as he headed back towards Apple.<br/><br/>Quickly, Elora hurried to obey.  Her face burned in embarrassment as she quietly berated herself at making Deon unhappy.  Stupid, stupid, stupid - she was so stupid!  She needed to lead by example, showing all the other girls how to behave.  She shouldn't sink to their level of pettiness; she was better than that!  Quietly, the paladin made a vow to do her best to please the cleric for the rest of the day - no matter what he asked of her.  Once the mounts were all collected, she turned her full attention back to the cleric, giving a doleful look at the minor wounds that he bore.  The most notable one was a light scratch on his chin from a near miss of a lizardman dart.  For a moment, Elora fretted whether or not it would scar his otherwise perfect face - but upon closer inspection, she decided that if it did, the battle scar would only serve to make Deon look<em>more</em>handsome.  The wound gave him an air, an aura, of danger and the elven paladin felt a tingle in her nethers at that little thought.  That tingle soon became an uncomfortable pooling heat, especially trapped as she was in her armor.  Now feeling quite stifled, the paladin sighed because she knew there was no way out of her armor until they made camp in the evening.<br/><br/>A hint of irritation flashed through her mind, thinking about the skimpy chain carefully folded and stored in the saddlebags of Dawn - the mount she currently was riding.  Wearing the chain would have been far cooler and arguably more practical given how close they were to the swamp.  Her brief experience of choking on the murky waters, unable to surface because of the heaviness of her armor was fresh in her mind.  To help distract herself from the uncomfortable heat and begin to get back in Deon's good graces, Elora approached the cleric meekly.  Quietly she stood before him, determined to wait until he allowed her to speak.  When he tilted his head to acknowledge her request, the paladin sank to her knees, displaying her natural grace despite being dressed in full plate.<strong>"Sir, please allow me to assist you,"</strong>she said submissively, cupping her gauntlets together to provide an easy boost for him to get in his saddle.  He accepted her offer, pressing his boot into her armored hands as she steadied her arms and helped him mount, providing a brief push.  The action brought a wave of nostalgia, her thoughts drifting to the days when she was a mere squire, freshly initiated into the Order of the Golden Lion.  Those memories, many moons ago, brought a wistful smile to Elora's face, the paladin recalling the simple joy of service.  Yet those feelings paled compared to now when Deon smiled in thanks before he gently stroked her cheek in appreciation; Elora's heart racing at his gentle touch.  She felt the corners of her eyes tear up a bit; she didn't deserve his kindness, especially not after she had acted so ungratefully earlier!  The flush on her face deepened and she wanted to linger longer in his presence, but she knew that there was still much to be done.  Calling upon her years of discipline to keep herself focused to the task at hand, she grabbed the reins of Rusty, the brown stallion Misty had been riding as her replacement.  Then, she began to gently ushered him over to where the fallen female barbarian lay unconscious.<br/><br/><strong>"I wonder if I should expect the same courtesy..."</strong>Beatrice snidely remarked, making sure she was loud enough so Elora, with her heightened hearing, could overhear her words.  The elven paladin chose not to respond to the taunt or even acknowledge it, though her stride did hitch for a second, before she continued leading Rusty to where Misty lay.  Admittedly, the tiefling's point was moot because her shackled hands were still connected to the reins; she couldn't dismount until someone loosed the leather cord around the manacles.  However, Beatrice's words did not escape the cleric's attention.  Deon gave her another light, warning slap on her cheek, as the tiefling cupped her face with her manacled hands.  There was now a light flush on her cheek to where she now had been struck twice, but the look that the witch gave was not one of pain - it was of lust.  It was clear that the tiefling enjoyed getting attention from the cleric, whether positive or negative.<br/><br/><strong>"Quiet."</strong>Deon commanded, his voice low but full of authority.  Wagging a finger at the witch, he did seem amused by her cleverness.<strong>"I'll let you get away with a warning this time since I only told Elora and Lune to be quiet the first time.  However, one more loose word and you'll be the example tonight for the camp.  Are we clear?"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Yes, Master."</strong>Beatrice said demurely, but her tone made the phrase sound lascivious.  The tiefling's tail lashed back and forth, betraying her agitation and arousal.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Lune and Elora were struggling to lift Misty from the ground.<em><strong>"Stlarn, she must weight a good twenty stone!  Here, I'll grab her feet; you grab her underneath her arms.  And on my count of three, we'll try again..."</strong> </em>Lune muttered, making very sure her voice didn't carry back to Deon's ears.  Every now and again, the half-elf glanced at the cleric to make sure he wouldn't catch her in the act of speaking.  Elora, of course, frowned at the fact that the scout was disobeying, but she did not say anything - determined to follow Deon's orders to perfection.  Under Lune's direction, the pair finally managed to lift the female barbarian high enough to sling her over the saddle of Rusty.  Giving a groan of relief, the scout then busily began to tie Misty down so she wouldn't fall off.  When Lune was content the barbarian was reasonably secure, tugging on the ropes and double-checking to make sure the bindings were tight, she gave a nod to the paladin.  Elora then used the reins to gently guide Rusty back towards the rest of the horses, being very careful not to jostle the unconscious female barbarian.  Once she arrived where Deon and Beatrice were, she then mounted up on Dawn.  Lune joined moments later, the sack of pillaged goods slung over her shoulder.  Reaching the party she opened her mouth to speak, but then forcibly swallowed her words when Deon frowned - obviously, Lune assumed the speaking ban had been lifted.  Her expression grew a step surlier, turning into what might be described as a full-blown pout, but she waited until Deon nodded his head at her obedience, indicating she could speak.<br/><br/>Quickly, the scout gave her report.<strong>"I'm done scavenging.  Not much of value this time outside the coin necklaces the slimy bastards wear.  I've got a set of tools, though I don't know what they're good for.  I'm guessing they were the gnome's and he probably won't want them back."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"You didn't do a very good job,"</strong>Beatrice suddenly piped up as the party turned to look at her.  Gesturing with her chained hands, she made motion to the large leather bag half-opened and spilled out on its side.<strong>"That's a bag of spell components.  Materials useful in crafting, brewing, and enchanting.  Worth probably more than what you're carrying in your grubby little hands,"</strong>the tiefling stated with a dismissive sniff at the sack Lune held slung over her shoulder.<br/><br/><strong>"Really?"</strong>The half-elf laconically replied, tying off the sack to Coco, the mount Beatrice was currently riding.<strong>"It looked like a heap of junk to me.  Something that big and heavy will just slow us down."</strong>She then pinned the tiefling with a deliberate stare, contempt in her eyes.<strong>"You're welcome to carry it yourself if you'd like.  After all, I'm sure you're quite used to carrying a little extra weight..."</strong>Her gaze dropped to the witch's chest as Lune sneered.<br/><br/><strong>"Enough!"</strong>Deon barked, moving Apple between the two girls to separate them.  Lune took a quick backstep to avoid being trampled since she was the only one still unmounted.<strong>"Lune, Beatrice is right.  I also recognize a number of the items; I'm sure they are quite valuable.  There wasn't a way for you to know unless you were a spellcaster though.  Please go and bring it back."</strong>At those words, the scout seemed to deflate a little, her shoulders slumping.  Muttering under her breath, she went back to retrieve the leather bag while Beatrice preened in her restraints, smirking as if she had won.<br/><br/><strong>"<em>You</em>, on the other hand, spoke out of turn,"</strong>Deon's finger now pointed in an rebuking fashion at the witch as her smirk lessened.<strong>"You were warned already so you'll suffer the consequences.  I'll see to your punishment once we're safe."</strong>Glancing at Elora, who flushed and flinched, looking down at the ground again as if she had been caught doing something wrong, the cleric gave a small sigh.  By Torm's Balls, these girls were wearing him out!<br/><br/><strong>"We ride,"</strong>he said once the party was all gathered again.  Deon, Elora, and Beatrice rode separately while Lune sat on Rusty, the unconscious Misty slung over the saddle like a sack of grain.  Looking at Lune, who still seemed to be brooding, he snapped his fingers for her attention.<strong>"Find us a safe, secure place to make camp."</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/>It was late afternoon by the time Lune signaled for the party to stop.  They had traveled a good distance away from the swamp, back towards the main road, and the half-elf located a nearby river for them to all drink from and refill their waterskins.  Afterwards, she found an abandoned cave with the surrounding copse to hide them from view.   She'd also caught dinner for the night, bringing down yet another rabbit with a skillful twang of her shortbow.  Her anger from what had happened earlier seemed to have dissipated, at least of the surface as she had efficiently and calmly set up camp for the whole party.  She then tended to herself and then Misty, using the healing salve plus clean bandages obtained from Elora to bind up the female barbarian's numerous wounds plus of her own scratches.<br/><br/>On her side of the camp, Elora was fastidiously scrubbing her full plate clean of the mud from her earlier fall.  Th elf's hair was still wet, having bathed and changed into a fresh set of clean clothes, and she was intent on making her armor gleam once more.  Every so often, she would glance over at Deon shyly and when she thought he wasn't looking, she'd undo another lace of her blouse to reveal a bit more of her cleavage.  So far, over half the laces had been undone, letting the cleric have quite the eyeful if he chose to notice.<br/><br/>As for Beatrice, she was awaiting her punishment.  Once they had made camp, Deon had forced her up against the trunk of a tree with her face pressing against the bark.  Her manacled hands were pinned above her head, an iron tent spike pounded into the loops of the chain and the trunk to ensure she couldn't lower her arms.  Her tail also was pulled up, courtesy of the iron band around it, and attached to her collar with a short length of chain, raising the now stained, worn black silk dress and leaving her bottom completely exposed.  The witch was still bare-bottomed, her sodden panties having been used earlier as a makeshift gag for Misty the day before, and therefore not fit to wear.  Her round ass cheeks were slightly red from a light spanking Deon had administered, leaving Beatrice dripping with her arousal staining her thighs in a shameful way.  Afterward, the cleric ordered Elora to tend to the captive tiefling, and the paladin had done so by very carefully using the healing salve to rub at the witch's wounds.  Her touch was gentle as she made sure to slather the gel evenly, leaving the tiefling with unblemished, unscarred skin.  Once done, she bowed her head and offered a prayer to Torm, for even the wicked needed mercy, and called upon the last of her divine energy to heal her rival before Elora once again turned her full attention back to her armor.<br/><br/>That wasn't even her punishment; Deon apparently planned on disciplining Beatrice after dinner in front of everyone - much like he had done with Misty the day before.  So the witch was almost left alone to stew in her own juices, except when Lune<em>'borrowed'</em>Misty's sling and found a bushel of cockleburs.  Having harvested a small pouch of the spiny seeds, the half-elf spent a good portion of her idle time targeting the tiefling's bare ass - zinging her with painful stings when no one else was paying attention.<br/><br/><strong>"Sir?"</strong>Elora said hesitantly as the party gathered for the evening meal, dipping slightly at her waist when the cleric looked up so she could present him her décolletage  for his viewing pleasure.<strong>"I still think we need to go back to the swamp.  There are survivors and I don't feel right about abandoning them to the lizardmen."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Mystra, save me!"</strong>Lune exclaimed, even as she bit into the jerky from the trail rations.<strong>"How do you even know that?  No, wait - let me guess; <em>Torm </em>told you in a vision."</strong>Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but she did stand up and began to dust herself.  Giving a reluctant sigh, the half-elf snatched up her shortbow and began to ready herself.<strong>"Elora's right though.  I guess I wouldn't sleep too easy if the gnome or anyone else was still alive.  But here's <em>my</em> idea.  I go alone; I'm much better equipped to sneak close and get a good look at their camp.  I'll bring my spyglass with me; I should be able to determine if there are any survivors and the best way to get them out."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"What if you get caught?"</strong>Misty rumbled, still moving gingerly as she bit into her portion of the rabbit.  There were be more scars for the female barbarian, one on her right arm another one by her chin where the lizardman's teeth had broken skin.  But all her near brushes with death seemed to do little to dissuade her.<br/><br/><strong>"Fifty gold says I won't,"</strong>Lune said tartly as the barbarian and scout exchanged sizing looks at one another and then they both grinned.  This was an old game between the two.<strong>"But if I don't make it back by tomorrow morning, you come after me and bail my ass out."</strong>With Deon's approval, Lune snatched up her spyglass and was ready to be on her way.<strong>"See you all later tonight.  Oh, and here - thanks for letting use this."</strong>The '<em>borrowed</em>' sling was tossed back to the surprised Misty, who snatched it and glanced at it suspiciously, examining to see if Lune tampered with it for some reason before she returned it to her pack.<br/><br/><strong>"Well, I'm off."</strong>And with that, Lune disappeared into the underbrush, scarcely making a whisper.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC: Party Actions</div><div class="spoiler_body">Lune used 2 application of healing salve to bring her HP total to full [21/21], Misty used 5 applications of healing salve to bring her HP total to 27. [27/29]  Elora used her 'lay on hands' for Beatrice plus 1 application of healing salve to bring Beatrice's HP total to 10.  [10/11]</div></div>