[The instructions are precise and numerous, but Gale has always been an attentive student, and in this critical moment, he does not allow a single word to escape him. He feels almost numb as he draws the knife from Godfrey's boot, tossing the leather sheath aside with abandon before he carefully takes hold of the padding beneath the paladin's armor and pulls it taut so that it can be cut free. They can only benefit from his having a better view of the injury, and to be able to work without the padding hindering his progress.
He exhales, steeling himself, and even he is surprised by how steady his hands are. They had proven to be so under very different circumstances— cooking, alchemy, various experiments— but never anything like this.
If he slipped even the slightest bit, it could cost Godfrey dearly. His heart is in his stomach as just for a moment, he thinks of the little girl waiting for Godfrey back home.
No— he must focus on the here and now.]
Cut the shafts with a steady hand.
[He repeats the instruction, carefully taking hold of the arrow on the left and holding it still, taking great pains not to jostle it.]
Hold still, my friend.
[He draws in a sharp breath, clenches his jaw, and begins to cut, the flat of the blade against the paladin's skin, the blood beneath it black in the dark of the Shadow-Cursed Lands.]
dusts this off, dusts Gale off, dusts myself off
He exhales, steeling himself, and even he is surprised by how steady his hands are. They had proven to be so under very different circumstances— cooking, alchemy, various experiments— but never anything like this.
If he slipped even the slightest bit, it could cost Godfrey dearly. His heart is in his stomach as just for a moment, he thinks of the little girl waiting for Godfrey back home.
No— he must focus on the here and now.]
Cut the shafts with a steady hand.
[He repeats the instruction, carefully taking hold of the arrow on the left and holding it still, taking great pains not to jostle it.]
Hold still, my friend.
[He draws in a sharp breath, clenches his jaw, and begins to cut, the flat of the blade against the paladin's skin, the blood beneath it black in the dark of the Shadow-Cursed Lands.]