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Completed Chapter V: Out of Sight

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Maggie flinches back, startled by both the identity and the harshness of the woman before her. "Arianis? You - I did not - " She stops and tries to gather her thoughts into an answer. Hard though Arianis' question was, Maggie surely owed her answers. "Justice, perhaps. You have done horrific things to so many people. Even now your first thought is for yourself, not them." The priestess tries to keep her voice soothing, explanatory rather than accusing. "As for mercy - your own choices led to your fate, you know. You clung to your ways to the end - " She interrupts herself, shaking her head. "No. No, there you have me, indeed. Your actions may have led to your fate, but so did mine, and so did many people's, and I did nothing to save you, thinking only of my friends and of the innocents around us. Grace, it is said, is getting what we do not deserve and have not earned, and I denied you that. I am sorry, Arianis. I know that may not mean much to you now but it is true, all the same. You say there is nothing I can do for you, but that - that is not true, I hope." Maggie kneels down to be face-to-face with Arianis and holds out her hands. "Will you not turn back from your darkness, even now? Will you accept my blessing - the blessing of a priestess of the Maker - and my prayers, that you may find peace?"
 

Dina Ailsa Tenárus

Lost Child of Asgard

​



"I could still drop dead any second now." Dina tried to joke about it. She wasn't really sure what to do with all this new information. The girl pushed herself off the table and paced around the room in long strides occasionally glancing towards Ghosty. "Are you one of the Varden, Ghosty? Do you know something of the way Daean tried to cleanse Tellurn? I mean... you say I could reach farther... How do you know all this? Just what are you?" Dina gestured wildly while she spoke, her thoughts seemed all over the place.
 
Maggie

While Maggie spoke the woman stared at her in silence, but as soon as she was done speaking there was a change. Arianis' ghostly pale face contorted and her hands started twitching as if grasping for something that was not there. "You..." she says half whispered at first, but from there her words built up louder and angrier, "Self-righteous, pathetic fool! I will succeed where this useless slave failed, and end you!"


Having exclaimed that, the woman suddenly leaped up hands-first at the priestess.


Dina

"That is a good guess," Ghosty smiled cunningly, "But even as long lived as they are, the Varden are still mere mortals. Even the Ascended. I, on the other hand, am not. And by the way, it's Gaean - not Daean. But to answer your question; no, I do not know. Yet I feel that if there is a way to find a remedy for the corruption, the key lies with Gaean. I'm afraid you'll have to find and ask her yourself."
 

Dina Ailsa Tenárus

Lost Child of Asgard

​



Dina gave a deep and prolonged sigh. "I'm guessing you are going now and I'll never find out what you are because this was the message you were sent by something something to deliver to the singer when one appears." She gestured around casually with her hand, making no real pattern. Why can't she just be a lonely healer in the woods. That would have been enough for her. All this artifact finding, war mongering, nature saving bussines is so big and complicated. Not to mention that if they are victorious in the end she is the one expected to rule a whole kingdom. Dina felt like nothing could ever surprise her ever again.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer

​



Vittorio is not impressed.


"Come now - do you think I haven't faced the specter of my own mortality before?"


Frowning like a teacher who has been let down by a prized student, Valtieri gives the body a thwack with his staff.
 



Maggie's eyes widen in surprise at the sudden attack, but with Arianis's fate at the front of her mind, she chooses a different tactic here. "No," she replies simply. Ducking under the other woman's hands, the priestess reaches out to draw her into an embrace. "Maker's peace upon you," she says, calling forth her faith in the form of the Soothing Touch miracle (more than one, if need be and she has the time).
 
Dina

Ghosty frowns at the girl's words. "I've always preferred to think of myself as who rather than what, thank you very much, but my identity is completely irrelevant for the matter at hand anyway. I was around long before Tellurn's corruption, and am acting on solely my own motivations. I was not sent to deliver anything from anyone. I have felt motivated to solve this problem ever since I learned of it." He eases up a bit then, speaking slower. "I cannot directly interfere to solve it myself, and any child of Nature is too weak to stand against the taint. Which means it must be someone else. The problem is, no one else is attuned enough to even understand Nature, let alone interact with it in any way. Except those called 'singers' by Nature's children. Talkers. Like you. Additionally, you are infected with the corruption and have proven your resilience - you are even able to use its power yourself. You are the best chance I've found so far to fix this."


"You must speak with Gaean herself and learn what you can." Then he adds, as if having just remembered it, "Of course, you could also try speaking with the angels. To my knowledge, the Hellguard is still unaware of the issue." Ghosty sighs. "I have given you an abundance of information, Dina. If you are wise you will have listened."


Valtieri

Flipping over the body reveals a familiar sight - Valtieri's own face, pale and dead. Then something stirs and the necromancer sees himself rapidly decaying until seconds accomplish what would take months and the lying figure's flesh rots away to dust along with the clothes until only a skeleton remains. It looks and acts very ordinary now.


Except for the part where it slowly but surely rises up and attempts to place its bony hands around the living Valtieri's throat.


Maggie

The priestess barely dodges the woman's attack, but it is to no avail. Her soothing miracle fails - which alone tells her that there is something wrong about this person. The miracle didn't fail because its target was too enraged. Instead, it returns a sort of emptiness, as if telling the priestess that it failed because there is nothing to soothe.


But that's all the time Maggie gets for that line of thought because in the very next moment the other woman gets her hands around her neck and begins slowing but firmly depraving her of air. It starts with a painful sensation in the grasped area, but Maggie knows what is likely to follow if she does not break free. Arianis' dead black eyes stare at her from a white face devoid of emotion, despite the hateful voice coming from her lips.


"Peace upon you, bitch! A great, everlasting peace from all the worries of the world you leave behind!"
 

Dina Ailsa Tenárus

Lost Child of Asgard

​



"How come you did not talk to the Hellguard yourself? I do not believe you just appeared near the temple when I arrived." Dina wondered out loud. Like he spoke to her, surely he could with any other.
 



The total lack of her spell's effectiveness leaves Maggie rather stunned for a moment - disastrously, as it turns out, for that moment of inaction gives the other woman more than enough chance to seize Maggie by the throat. Choking, she reflexively scrabbles at Arianis' hands, then tries a different tactic. She drops to the ground and falls to lie on her back, bringing her feet up to Arianis' chest to push her away with all her strength. She doesn't waste her remaining air on speech, but knowing that there is "no one home" allows her to go all-out in her own defense. Possibly there is another necromancer or someone with similar magic that allows them to use Arianis' body in this fashion? Or...well, Maggie doesn't have time to really think, under current circumstances!
 
Dina

"I..." Ghosty frowns at the question and adamantly states: "I cannot speak with the Hellguard. Don't ask me why. And I didn't just appear. I was... contemplating. Zvern Azna was the newest location of the Taint's surge to the surface that I knew of." He steps away from her then and does a slight bow. "I shall be going now. Until we meet again, Dina."


And just like that, he disappears. Once again, as if the whole conversation took part only in the girl's mind.


Maggie

Maggie's struggle is suddenly interrupted by a second shape coming up from behind and above her. An unknown person lowers down and grabs her by the shoulders, shaking her with force. Through the haze she is not really able to tell much, but then she makes out a familiar voice.


"Maggie! Snap out of it, come on, snap out of it! It's me!"


As her focus shifts to this new presence, she begins recognizing its features. The dark skin, white hair, grey eyes...


"Maggie it's me, Meric!"


She finally recognizes the shadow elf in the same moment that he says the name, but there is also a second sudden realization. The priestess is lying down on the ground, embraced by the catching white mist, but there is no sign of Arianis.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer
​



Valtieri backs away, trying to raise his staff and push the apparition, to strike it and break it.


"No one has such mastery of the Art," he snarls - but there's a tremor in his voice. "You're an illusion!"


He swings the staff, but trips over something as the strike throws him off-balance. He falls with a surprised cry, holding the staff out in an effort to protect himself.


"Crush it! Destroy the skeleton!" He cries at the hulking guardian.
 

Dina Ailsa Tenárus

Lost Child of Asgard

​



I think you have something to do with the Taint. Directly. How would you know about the locations of the Taint surges, or live so long to tell me all this? I think you are cursed in a way. To live until Tellurn is pure again. Dina wondered, shaping the thoughts as if Ghosty did not just disappear and she was still talking to him. It was the first reason that came to her mind as she now paced the room. I wonder if I could talk to the Hellguard from any temple dedicated to their members, the angels. That is not really helpful if I know not of them... Or where the other temples are if any are left untouched. I'm guessing I can seek guidance from the Nature's children on the matter of Gaean. The girl dug her feet in and let out a tortured sound. Too much, too sudden. After a few more moments she took a deep breath, straightened her dress and headed for the temple of the Maker.
 



Maggie gasps as another, unknown, person grabs her and starts shaking her. She twists around, trying to fight off two attackers at once, then freezes at the sound of a familiar voice. "M-Meric? Oh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, did I hurt you? I thought..." She trails off, looking around in bewilderment. "What...where did...no. Never mind. Where is everyone else? Something is very wrong here." She thinks about what she just said, and adds, "Besides the mist, I mean."
 
Dina

The actual shrine was at the heart of the temple, a relatively large chamber with a high ceiling and windows that let daylight pour in. Additional lighting was provided by flaming braziers at intervals along the walls. The place of worship was adorned with symbols of the Maker; a golden sun on a brown circle with a single eye in the middle. Unlike the other religions, Creationism boasted no physical representation of its deity, and its temples lacked the luxurious idols that filled the halls of Ashura's shrines or those of the dragon cults in Daskárd.


A mosaic pathway of fine stone cut across the center of the room, all the way up to the slightly elevated pedestal of white marble that was - at least on sunny days - directly shined upon by rays of light coming from the top window. One would traditionally kneel there under the Sun to say one's prayers to the Maker.


At present, there did not seem to be anyone else in the chamber except Dina.


Maggie

"I know. It's alright, it was just an illusion." replied Meric while helping the priestess get back on her feet. "A potentially deadly illusion, but an illusion nonetheless. It could only harm you for as long as you believed it was real. See through it, or suffer an outside interruption, and it falls apart. I think this fog was meant to separate us just for that cause. And yes," he nods, "Something is very wrong here. The fog was parting, and then suddenly it grows thicker than ever? And I didn't even go very far to find you, yet I heard no sounds of struggle until I was able to physically see you. I've no idea where the others are, but following this logic they are probably very close and very in danger."


Valtieri

The necromancer's guardian hears the order but makes no significant movement. Valtieri knows it's not a problem of obedience; he can feel the magical bond between them in perfect condition, sense the drive that compels the golem to follow the instruction and yet the thing does nothing. From experience he knows that this could only happen if the minion was tasked with a task impossible to perform or given an instruction too complicated to understand - given how the bond itself works, which excludes other possible causes.


The skeleton is currently trying to get past Valtieri's makeshift defense, still most likely bent on ending his life.
 

Dina Ailsa Tenárus

Lost Child of Asgard

​



Alright... Dina approached the pedestal and got on her knees before it. She sat back on her heels and took a few deep breaths. The girl was poorly educated on the matters of faith and did not really know how to act in a shrine, what brought here was a promise of peace the place radiated. The slightly chilled air was pleasant and Dina took it in with some sense of enjoyment. She suddenly found it strange that she was all alone. With her companions all hunting down the mysteries of the fog... And there was she, just waiting around for the Taint to take her or Ilhirel's elven pet to find and kill them. With a decision made Dina got to her feet. She would do the only thing she can at the moment. Wish her companions safety and try to get in touch with nature's children again and investigate Mother. If anyone was around to see Dina would be slightly embarassed that she got to her feet only to kneel down again. Maker, please keep my companions safe and guide them in their struggles. She prayed before getting to her feet the second time and returning to the room she came from. Once there she would try for a conntact.
 



"Yes... Yes." Maggie brushes off her robes and visibly settles herself back into her priestess-ly calm (outwardly, at least). Calm the body, and the mind will follow. "Let's see about finding the others. But I don't think you and I should separate - if that's what this fog is meant to do, then we shouldn't help it. Doing so may make us vulnerable again to the illusions." She looks around, then reaches out to take Meric's hand. The slight shaking of her own reveals that she isn't as calm as she wants to be, but her voice is steady as she says, "Let's look for them together."
 
Valtieri

Driving one end of the staff against the skeleton puts the thing at a slightly safer distance. If this is an illusion, it's a pretty convincing one. Though the Undead may be blocked for the moment, even with its limited intelligence it would seek to circumvent the obstacle before long. Predictable, but does not lessen the danger which Valtieri faces if it gets its hands on him. Fortunately hands are all it has, lacking a weapon.


Maggie, Meric

Meric nods at Maggie with a momentary reassuring smile, then stands to her right and holds her hand with his left. In his right hand he prepares his longsword and gently but decisively pulls the priestess ahead to brave the obscurity ahead. The two don't get far before they run into something. Not far at all.


Something dark and short appears out of the fog suddenly, on Maggie's side, too fast even for Meric's lightning reflexes. Then it swears in the dwarven language, and Meric swears in elven. Even if she doesn't know either, Maggie likely recognizes these words as they are one of the more popular and heard all across Asgard.


"Damn it, Laurolf!" Meric snarls, startled and upset.


"Me? Bloody elf, I nearly cleaved ye in half!"


"Yes, you! You can't just go waving that thing blindly through the fog!" He points at the greataxe that the dwarf seems to be holding very readily. "You're more likely to run into friend than foe, as proven. The others are close."


But Laurolf seems unimpressed with Meric's reasoning. The dwarf looks angry and like he'd been through a rough fight. There are claw marks on his armor and his looks are even more disheveled than usual. "Sod that! There's... things here and I ain' takin' any more chances! Wavin' this axe is all that's kept me alive until now!"


Dina

Just as Dina says her prayers and rises on the pedestal, she hears a noise coming from the hallway outside. A raised voice turns into a shout that is suddenly cut off, and then something hits the ground. Heavy footsteps approach the closed double doors of the shrine that keep the girl from seeing what is happening on the other side.


She gets a bad feeling.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer

​



The Necromancer pushes harder, and tries to get back, to scrabble to his feet and leverage the staff to strike the skull from the thing, crying "Defend me!" to his guardian.
 



A burst of slightly hysterical laughter escapes the priestess at the dwarf/elf contention - it just seems so ordinary compared to everything else that's going on! Quickly she strives to regain control of herself. "Laurolf, we're under attack, surely - but by illusions. They are very realistic! I confess I fell prey to them as well, before Meric broke me free of them, but they are not truly real." She uncertainly eyes the claw marks on the dwarf's armor, but continues confidently, "It may well be that we can be injured by them, but only because we believe we can. Belief can be a very powerful force." She looks from dwarf to elf and back. "We must find the others before they are hurt, or worse!" she implores them.
 
Maggie, Meric, Laurolf

Both elf and dwarf stare at the priestess as she laughs, as if she interrupted them during something incredibly important.


"Right..." Meric snaps out of it. He looks back at Laurolf apologetically and says in a softer tone: "Well, it's good to find you alive, companion. That's what I was actually trying to say."


"I..." the dwarf sizes them both up and lowers his weapon. "I suppose that's what I meant too, aye. It's just this bloody fog, it's gotten me all riled up. Give me a foe that I can see and I'll make short work of him! Not this hiding around..."


Meric hangs up his usual friendly expression and suggest that they move in a certain direction, though how exactly he determined where to go is anyone's guess. On the way he asks Maggie: "How are you doing with your miracles? It just occurred to me that these tactics are probably meant to wear us down more than actually kill us, so that we waste our resources and strength before the actual fight."


Valtieri

As if in final response to his command, the skeleton that was clawing at the necromancer is suddenly removed, but not with the expected cracking of bone in a glorious blow delivered by the golem - indeed a quick check reveals that the golem has not moved in the slightest - instead the skeleton disappeared as if it was never there in the first place. An illusion after all it seemed, albeit a very convincing one.


"Necromancer!" someone says, and through the air where once the skeleton stood Valtieri can see the weathered face of the westerner they met a couple nights back upon arriving to Dunn. It is of course the overly armed Battojutsu clutching a greatsword in two hands. "When you're done trashing about, perhaps we should look for the others, yes? Not everyone can be expected to handle this predicament as skillfully as yourself." He grins in the moody lighting, paying no heed to the undead construct towering above him.


Dina

Unfortunately, before the girl can dash for the nearest hiding spot the gates to the shrine are suddenly kicked in. The person entering did not even attempt to open them normally or check if they were locked. A cloud of splinters and dust materializes in the air and through it storms a large figure that Dina has seen before.


"Dina." he says with the most sickening, devilish grin imaginable that sends shivers through the girl as he speaks. "You'll be coming with me now."


There is no one to hear any screams or noise that she could make, and any resistance she puts up amounts to nothing. There is nothing Dina can do to save herself from being captured. Whatever will become of her now?
 



Maggie smiles as Meric and Laurolf make peace with each other, in their own way. She seems to have forgotten that she's holding Meric's hand; at any rate she makes no move to withdraw her own as the three start moving again. "Well enough, I think," she replies to Meric's question. "I've only cast twice since the battle, though I haven't yet replenished from it. That is a good point, though. First we are separated, and then weakened or tired if not outright injured. I wonder - does that mean our foe fears us? Even if we are not at full strength, united we may yet be a serious threat."
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer

​



Vittorio blinks. Stares. Frowns.


Hastily he picks himself up and brushes off his robes, looking around suspiciously, then with narrows eyes at the foreigner.


"Something is playing with illusions. Very convincing illusions. How can I be sure you're not another simulacrum?"
 
Maggie, Meric, Laurolf

The elf nods and then grins. "I would certainly like to think so. However, whoever is behind this has power... Just think of all the trouble they got the city into... Wait." he pauses to deliberately sniff the air, as if trying to catch a scent. "Do I smell... smoke?"


Slowly but steadily, smoke starts intertwining with the fog. With just enough presence to be sensed at first, it keeps rising and rising. As it does it seems to gradually replace the fog so visibility begins to dramatically improve at the cost of slightly difficult breathing. "Aye." Laurolf grunts. "And where be smoke..." The dwarf doesn't need to finish his sentence. As more and more of their surroundings is revealed it becomes apparent that the forest is on fire! And judging by the signs it seems that it started mere minutes ago, seemingly from multiple sources because the flames rise in all directions. "I see someone over there!" he exclaims, pointing with his free hand.


Two figures traveling together can be seen some hundred feet away, behind a line of burning trees. Both are tall and one is also broad. A man and a woman most likely. "Could that be Violet and A'kal?" Meric suggests. "Over here!" he yells out to them. The duo notices them and waves back in recognition, then they begin making their way towards them.


Meanwhile the fire seems to intensify with each passing second. Maggie, Meric and Laurolf are in a relatively safe position, however. Their immediate surroundings are flat and devoid of anything that could burn.


Valtieri, Battojutsu

"Well, well. Quite a predicament there." says Battojutsu in response. "This reminds me of a good anecdote, but why waste the words when you could be an illusion yourself?"


It is at that moment that the two of them begin to experience the creeping smoke, then the lifting of the fog until they too are able to witness the fire that suddenly gripped the forest. Soon they are able to see both groups of their companions, but the necromancer and swordsman find themselves in a much less favorable position. They are in a thicket of low brushes and trees that is already catching flames. If they don't move it could only be a short minute before they feel the heat uncomfortably close to their skin - though this in no way troubles the Undead golem which continues to idle in its lack of purpose.


"Damnation. Don't know about you, but last time I checked, I was not fireproof."

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