You plan and recover.

After pulling your bedraggled self out of the roiling pool at the base of the waterfall you slowly limped back to the Lair, finding a bleary-eyed Dana stirring from her hiding place. She squeaks in alarm as you stagger into the hollow, "What the hell happened to you?!" That was a bit ****. It wasn't that bad was it...Oh. Maybe it was. You examine the drops of sap leaking from your battered body onto the floor. Yeah....I had a rough afternoon... While Dana uses some of her basic training to try and patch up your injuries you describe your encounter with the high-level witch and how you dealt with the spider problem.

When you finish Dana sits back with an impressed look, "Wow. That's pretty cool..." I know. You refrain from giving yourself a high-five so you don't reopen your injuries. "...but won't she be pissed when she realized you lied to her?" Well....yes. She'll be furious. You had given it some thought on the way over and you think you had a fairly solid plan, though it hinged on careful timing. I sent her to the edge of spider territory, assuming that their numbers have recovered and that there are more of them spread out across the Deepwood it should take her some time to find their Lair. The spiders might be aggressive little bastards...but they aren't stupid. They'll try to wear her down in small ambushes, she is a spell-caster after all. No matter how high level she is, her mana reserves are limited and she'll need a moment of peace to recharge them. I'm hoping they don't give it to her. If I can stay out of sight, maybe I can finish her off after they whittle her down a bit.

Dana's mouth is quirked to the side, like she's not sure how to feel about you planning an ****. Come on Dana, this is what we do! You can't keep feeling guilty over it. Seriously. "But...I don't know. It just feels wrong to be attacking other heroes...wait a minute, I'm not attacking them. You are!" She looks at you indignantly, "And when did I become your accomplice?! I'm your captive! Why are you scheming with me?!" You think that over for a minute...Because you're letting me. And it's no fun to scheme alone. Dana...you could have escaped when I was away this morning. Even just walked off a cliff and teleported back to town. But you didn't. I think you'd rather be here, with me, than with your group...and Dolph.

Her look of confusion gives way to an eye roll, "I've been with Dolphs group since the beginning, trying to out level him so I can leave and start my own party." She looks up as you stroke her shoulder with a vine, "But here, with you...It's been..." She clears her throat and looks away, blushing slightly. "Well. Now that I have no powers it's not like I can go back anyway." And with that we've come full circle. You give a heavy sigh and turn to spread your leaves for the sun. These conversations never seem to go anywhere, you just both end up sad and confused.