Chapter 88
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The near constant barrage of explosive canisters raining down from atop the plateau continued to reek havoc on the monsters below. It was advantageous for the Ravenspire forces above that the monsters couldn't see them and thus attacked one another in both feeding frenzy and agitation. With the lack of a counter offensive from the monsters below, at least one of their own making, we are looking at you and your cyclone Ethan, the Ravenspire commanders had been able to deploy a small scouting force down the vertical incline above where they had first noted the battle when they first arrived.

Krollin, the scout that had first bore witness to the curious situation below led the group, multiple large cords of rope were slung over each body due to the height of the plateau. Upon reaching the end of one extended cord another was securely anchored and the descent continued. Even thought he monsters were distracted by the siege bombardment and the advancement by the Cloudcrest forces from Coppershear the group of climbers still took extra precaution on not making too much noise.

They hadn't seen any movement since right after the monsters flung up onto the top of the plateau had all been killed. Those that had remained near the battle between Ethan and the massive monster had been sent airborne and the subsequent eruption from the incline the group was repelling down had crush a good amount of those further away. Once the number of dead started to increase behind them those of the swarm that remained had turned their attention in the opposite direction of the crater and skittered away.

It took about 20 minutes to repel down with how careful they were being but finally a half dozen forms silently landed in a crouched position on the left hand edge of the crater. Even though the initial attack from the large monster and winds from Ethan's rage had both expelled almost all of the corpses from his prolonged battle enough remained to cause everyone present to go pale. The fact that Ethan would have ultimately fallen in his fight against the swarm had the forces of Ravenspire and Cloudcrest not arrived when they did the fact this much damage had been done by a group small enough for them not to be able to see was terrifying.

Krollin was wound so tight in concern for what they may end up finding he nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand lightly touched his shoulder. Mentally berating himself for being so unprofessional he took a deep breath and looked back toward the owner of said hand.

"Look there..."

The woman, one of the adventurer's hired, whispered after he turned to look at her, her hand raising to point toward a mangled body floating near the far side of the crater. Returning his gaze back to the crater it took him a moment to make out the form among the boulders. One arm was draped across a partially exposed boulder keeping him from floating freely, though it was only a matter of time before the rising water levels broke him free. Krollin quickly looked around for the others, seeing how injured the one was, certainly the others would need help badly.

"Go get him and bring him back here. Do what you can. I'm going to look for the others."

No one questioned the thought there would be others and nodded in silent reply before going into action. One of the group followed after Krollin and disappeared behind a bunch of boulders and monsters bodies encircling the crater. The remaining group used a couple of ropes to lower themselves carefully into the mostly calm water below. They were all Afflicted and as such all gasped upon feeling the residual Nel' Ina infused with the water when it hit their skin. Taking a moment to look at each other in wonder they then silently swam over to the body, which caused one to retch when they looked upon the state it was in.

"Is... is he even alive?"

The woman, who had felt ill upon seeing the body but was able to maintain her composure, took hold of the boulder Ethan had his arm draped over and carefully placed her ear near his chest. While his breath was very weak his heart was still beating, even if it too was soft.

"Barely..."

She looked around before deciding the best way was to drag him out with the ropes where they had lowered themselves in.

"We have to hurry though."

They all nodded before carefully taking Ethan into their care and swimming back across the crater. The boy let out a low groan when they first moved his arm but he once again grew silent almost immediately. The groaning, however, returned when they began to pull him up out of the water and back onto dry land. His facial expressions also revealed great discomfort as his muscles contorted his once weak, but calm, features. Once they had him on the ground and back away from the edge a bit they simply stared dumbfounded at just how bad his body was torn up.

"Help me get these clothes off of him. If you can make me a hidden fire, we need to warm him up, and I'll also need boiling water."

If they used the hidden fire technique then they shouldn't draw any attention from the monsters and knowing that everyone started moving at the same time. While nearly all of the damage Ethan had suffered was there for them to see, as his clothes hadn't stood a chance in blocking any of the blows there were still cuts and bruises revealed when his tatter shirt and pants were removed. Once his clothes were off the woman knelt beside him and carefully placed her palms upon his abdomen before exhaling to calm herself. Her arms began to give off a soft glow followed by her hands before the glow passed onto Ethan's skin, highlighting a small oval around her palms.

"Be careful not to release too much or the swarm may notice."

The woman looked up and then back down at the poor boy before making a decision, one that wasn't easy to make, despite the speed at which she made it.

"There is enough death over there to keep them occupied, if I'm too conservative he won't make it."

The one who had warned her looked like they were about to protest but fell silent seeing the determination in her eyes. Nodding in silence they moved away to start the fire as originally asked. Looking back down at the boy she began to pour more of her Nel' Ina into his body, directing it to his wounds to help his body speed up the recovery process. Doing so caused him to stir slightly and his eyes cracked open ever so slightly though she wasn't sure if he could see anything. Regardless she offered him a warm smile and whispered to him as she continued.

"Hello there. My name is Rainelle and I'm healing you so try and relax."

"Though it's not like he's fighting me to stop," she thought ruefully to herself.

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