<strong>Eshalu - in the wilds of Dra Sirdu, a little worse for wear</strong><br/><br/>Her heartbeat began to steady after a few ragged, desperate breaths. Reliyian's voice was initially distant - Eshalu was keenly aware of sound and movement, but the exact words at first did not make sense. Her mind was still that of the huntress, only slowly reverting to a less primal and instinctive state. Then the sudden sensation of cold, wet bandages being pressed on the open wound on her arm - a clean, long cut from her shoulder almost down to the elbow. Close enough to the artery to make Eshalu realise that she had been ever so slightly fortunate. Her lower thigh and hamstring were aflame, the adrenaline fading and leaving only a lancing pain.<br/><br/>She inhaled sharply when Reliyian pressed the icy compress on her lower leg. Through the form-fitting leather of her breeches, the cold pressure was a jolting, but welcome relief. When elven sorceress brought the cloth to her face, Eshalu realised just how much vile fluid coated her. She smiled at Reliyian's observation.<br/><br/>"I know," the scent of spider was everywhere - a musty, fungal smell - like something left shut up in the dark too long, "my gratitude, Far-Seer. I think I've landed badly on my leg - the muscle's probably bruised or torn. I...I must rest. I wouldn't be of much use like this." It was a painful but necessary admission for a ranger to make. "We should, if we can, find water and shelter nearby. This garden has grown because there is a clean freshet, or the false-streams that humans dig in the earth to give water to their orchards."<br/><br/>First she unbuckled her leather jerkin and pulled the flexible, but robust armour down and away. "I'll need to repair this," she said, contemplating the damage - the spider's fang had sliced straight through the hard, grey leather. Though the air was balmy, it felt cold on her skin. It dried the droplets of sweat and Eshalu stretched a little, the taut and defined muscles of her belly and shoulders straining visibly. The pounding exertion of battle had sent blood coursing furiously through her veins and she felt both feverish and exhausted. She turned, now bare-breasted, her suntanned skin slick with sweat, and tensed the biceps of her injured arm. A fresh welling of blood. Staining skin and leather alike, a dark crimson.<br/><br/>"Do you have a fresh bandage?" Eshalu inquired, examining her wound with her fingertips - no obvious contamination, "I have<em>weshjjs</em>-bark tincture to clean it, but I don't have any fabric which hasn't been tainted by that creature's life-essence."