Fantasy Uncertainty and Unease (Paused)

[Cartoonicat]

"Terry!" Louisa instinctively reached for her bow, typically strapped to her back, and paled when it was not there. She hadn't grabbed it from her equipment. "Shi-Huh!?" Her head whipped towards an oncoming war cry. Upon realizing who it was, relief bubbled in the form of a laugh. "The mind reading really is handy," she commented, attention slipping from the undead for a moment. Once it shambled too close for comfort, she got serious. Louisa remembered how Nyv had cowered behind the horses before. "I have this; go help Rob," she said.

Continuing her dance with the undead, Louisa aimed to lop off a few more fingers if she could. That spear needed to go - and fast. Who knew how many more would show up?

 

[ArcticFox]

Nyv dismounted, though not very enthusiastically and went to help get Terry out. Louisa was left to face her clumsy attacker again. With another swipe at its hand, two more bony fingers were lopped off and the spear fell to the ground.

"We got her." Rob called to Louisa.

When she looked their way she saw a very pained looking Terry being propped into the saddle. Rob climbed behind her, supporting her as she hissed through gritted teeth with each movement.

"Come on, we'll have to just outrun them." Nyv said, taking his horse and leaving Sullivan to Louisa.

--

There was no great way to fight the undead. The best strategy was usually to run. After all you could not kill them, unless you destroyed whatever was making them restless. It could be a necromancer, or a vengeful spirit, but they did not really have time to contemplate it that night.

After riding for a couple of hours the sky got lighter and they could see down the road. They were roughly halfway to Pella's Wish and were not getting there any faster, despite taking the road.

"Hey, we need to stop." Rob announced. "She needs help."

One look at Terry made it obvious that her leg was hurting and needed checking. But could they risk to stop with the undead behind them?

• Stop and look at Terry's leg.
• Stop and let Nyv/Rob examine her leg.
• Continue on.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Had the stakes not been so high, Louisa would have stuck her tongue out at the monster - she felt victorious having squared off against it alone. Then again, it was not sentient; the action would be an insult falling on deaf ears. Pointless. Still, it did not stop her from huffing at the creature before mounting Sullivan and riding off with the others.

---

Whatever confidence she'd mustered had quickly died as the truth became clear: She messed up. The road path had taken as long as it would have otherwise and, on top of that, Terry was injured and her horse dead. Louisa swallowed what pride she had in effort not to dwell on her mistake. Now was the time for action, not regret. Yet, even so... she had little idea how to set a potentially broken bone. Frowning, she looked to the other two. "Do either of you know how to examine a wound like that?" She'd had her fair share of blade injuries - those she knew how to wrap and fix - but this? Louisa feared she'd make things worse for Terry if she tried. They did need to stop, though. That much was clear.

 

[ArcticFox]

"It's just a sprained ankle." Terry said through gritted teeth. "I know what to do, but I can't do it on my own." She said, looking at Louisa. "Get a thick branch and some bandages and I'll tell you what to do."

"I have bandages in the pack." Rob added helpfully, already dismounted, reaching up for Terry. She looked like a child as he picked her up and helped her stand next to the horse.

"Here, this will do." Nyv broke off a branch from a tree by the road and tossed it to Louisa. "I have no medical knowledge. Best if you do it."

• Bind Terry's leg.
• Let Rob do it.
• Ask Nyv to do it.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Thank the gods - at least it is not broken... At the request, Louisa tried not to grimace. She needed to focus, not worry about what could go wrong. "Alright," she caught the branch Nyv tossed her. Schooled her expression into one of neutrality - of concentration. Kneeling down to look at Terry's leg, Louisa glanced up at her briefly to signal the instructions. Followed them best she could, willing her hands to stay steady and her bandaging skills efficient. After setting her ankle, Louisa leaned back to look at her work. "Does that feel alright?" Another question bubbled in her mind. "Also, what happened back there?"

 

[ArcticFox]

Terry's leg was bound quickly thanks to Louisa's handy fingers and Terry's helpful instructions. If it was just a sprain like Terry said, then it would be healed enough for her to ride on her own by the time they reached Pella's Wish. If it turned out to be more serious, though, it would slow down their return home. She would also need a new horse eventually.

"That's good." Terry said with a nod as she leaned on Louisa to help her up. "I got careless." She continued, not making eye contact, eyes narrowed. "I thought I could take them on by myself, or at least drive them away. I was wrong and now a burden."

"You are not a burden." Rob interrupted. "I could have happened to anyone. Your intentions were good."

"Tell that to my dead horse." She said bitterly. Then sighed. "Well, it's a bit too late to dwell on it now, we should--"

"Oh, gods!" Nyv's exclamation interrupted their conversation. "This can't be real!" The elf was paler than ever, sitting atop his horse and pointing down the road. "Look!"

When the rest of them followed the indicated direction, their breaths caught in their throats. The undead they encountered were not the only ones. The road ahead was flooded with the shambling corpses. There were so many of them that the whole area looked gray. It was almost as if the whole population of a smaller town was walking toward them.

• Ride straight through them.
• Try circling them around.
• Suggest something else.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Agreeably, it was a shame about the horse, but Louisa thanked the gods Terry had made it out still breathing. Louisa feared what would have come of her had they decided to run with high hopes of regrouping with Terry later. "We are just glad you are alright," she stood. Not too much damage had been done considering the circumstances and, now, that was all they could ask for.

Unfortunately, things went downhill. Again. Louisa resisted the urge to yank at her hair. "Oh come on!" Instead, she dragged two hands down her face and stared across the expanse. It looked like a sea of undead - literally. "How did this even-" She cut herself off and pressed a closed fist to her mouth, exhaling frustration. A few undead here and there were fine, but an entire town? What the hell happened here? "Let us try circling around," she eventually decided. "I do not want to risk riding through them unless we absolutely have to."

 

[ArcticFox]

Rob was the first to react, picking Terry up and moving to place her on Louisa's horse, to the front part of the saddle. "You two are lighter. You'll be faster this way."

"Hey, don't move me around without asking first!" Terry protested, but she did not really seem against the idea.

"I apologise, but there's no time." He hopped onto his mount and looked to Nyv, possibly communicating privately. The elf nodded after a moment, though he was still very shaken. But he urged his horse to move.

Rob lead the group of restless horses and more restless companions. They skirted to the side in a canter, careful, as the closest undead instantly turned to march in their direction. They seemed to react to the sound most of all, but there was not much chance to be completely silent and also efficiently fast.

As they tried to evade them from the left side, they realised how many of them were there. It was en entire town's population no doubt. Some of the corpses were old and rotted away, leaving only skeletons behind, while some looked... recent. Also only a fourth of them carried weapons or was armoured, most of them were in tattered clothing. And most of them were elves.

"This is an exodus. They are coming from Pella's Wish. There's no other town in this direction that held so many people." Nyv's voice in Louisa's mind was strained. "Louisa, what if my friend is among them?" He seemed to be on the verge of tears.

• Reassure Nyv.
• Urge to horse faster.
• Ask about Nyv's friend.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Perhaps in another situation she'd have found Terry's protest funny, but the undead seemed endless and their rescue mission dire. This is what she got for trying to play hero: Tragedy and lost opportunity. Granted, the undead were likely here before they arrived, but she should have known better. Nihaya had been the better option. There was no stopping the horde of corpses from devouring Pella's Wish - they'd arrived far, far too late - but she still wished she hadn't seen the devastation. All those people. Gone. Not to mention if they didn't find Nyv's contact, it'd all have been a waste.

Louisa felt even worse when Nyv's voice came through telepathically. Whoever they'd set to find had meant a lot to him. Much as she wanted to comfort him, she didn't want to lie. Unless his friend was a survival genius or had exemplary luck... well, she wouldn't think of that. Mostly for Nyv's sake, since she had yet to learn how to differentiate thoughts she wanted him to hear and those she didn't.

'Tell me about your friend,' she broadcasted the mental question. Louisa couldn't be honest and didn't want to brush off his concerns, so she'd distract him with hopefully happier thoughts. 'How did you two meet?'

 

[ArcticFox]

"Friend? Did I say friend? I meant, an acquaintance." Nyv spoke and Louisa could see him smile sadly. "I met him on a job I did for Raven, a couple of years back. He must be the kindest person I know, and I have Rob around me all the time. Though, when we met, he was a completely different man. Was in a rough patch, I guess. Like all of us were at some point, right? If we don't find him I... I'll never forgive myself." He stopped talking abruptly and spurred on his horse ahead to catch up with Rob.

Some two hours of riding later, the group was finally able to get back on the road. The horses were grateful for the flatter terrain and they picked up their pace. Terry tried turning around to look over Louisa's shoulder. She seemed to be on edge. But then again, the undead never were a pleasant sight.

"If we force on our mounts we'll reach Pella's wish in two days. Providing we don't rest." Terry said to Louisa. "I think that the elf would love that. My leg would not, but I'll manage. The big guy is not gonna want us to rush into the town blindly, though."

• Suggest to hurry it up.
• Suggest to take it easy and rest.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Friend or not, Louisa didn't need mind-reading powers to know whoever Nyv referred to was important to him. Which... put her in a predicament. Terry was hurt but Nyv seemed desperate to reach his contact. If only they'd gone through the forest like originally planned! What idiot decided to put her in charge? Raven? When had she ever been good at making decisions? She barely resisted a groan, because she was good at keeping herself safe but not anyone else, yet had been entrusted an entire team of people.

"I am not a fan of going into town blindly, either, nor am I interested in resting while the undead are on our heels..." she frowned. Both options seemed equally horrible, now. Depending on how bad the sprain was, even if they did rest, Terry could be out of commission for the remainder of the entire mission. "If your leg can manage, we should make haste. Though... if the pain becomes unbearable, we will stop." Assuming we can, unless we run into another mob of corpses...

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'll be fine." Terry said with a sigh. "Let's hurry it up. The elf is all tied in a knot and it's hurting my head when he tried talking to me now. I want that over with."

As Terry said, Rob was against hurrying ahead with no plan, but one long look at Nyv and agreement from Terry changed his mind as well. They spurred on their horses and picked up their pace and hurried on.

--

They reached Pella's Wish at the dawn of the third day, as Terry prognosized, with only two short sleeping breaks and with all of their meals eaten in the saddle. It was not a pleasant journey for anyone and it showed. Nyv was slumped in his saddle, yet he stayed at the front of the group. Terry's face had gone pale and it was obvious that every sudden jolt made the ride very painful. Rob did not look much worse for wear, or at least he did not show it yet. Louisa could feel the tiredness in her limbs and her bottom was quite sore of all the riding, however she was on the run for a while now, this was not that unusual for her and did not have major consequences.

They encountered a couple of stragglers along the way, but most of the undead seemed to be on the road. Going who knows where. They would need to be dealt with soon, before they reached Torhen or spread across country to wreak chaos through the small villages.

Pella's Wish was somewhere between a village and a town. Now devoid of life, with just a couple of dozens of corpses and skeletons prowling the streets. It did not look like there was anyone alive out in the open, but there also were not any dead bodies on the side of the road. At least not of the immobile kind.

"We need to reach the center, that's where my contact's home is." Nyv said as they stopped to watch down a street that led through town. That street and the village center were the most crowded however.

"We can't all go in blindly. In fact, Terry cannot go anywhere." Rob said, looking at the woman with worry. "Two should stay here and be on lookout, while two sneak in without the horses and look for survivors."

"I'm going in." Nyv said, but to be truthful he looked so tired that he barely kept himself in the saddle.

• Stay on lookout with Terry.
• Go in with Nyv.
• Go in with Rob.
• Go in alone.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Looking down at the town, Louisa tried to map out a route to the contact's home. While confident in her ability to stay out of sight, she didn't quite trust anyone else in the party to be as up to snuff. "No," she told Nyv, "you are exhausted. You will slow me down - no offense." Yet, she did not want to leave Nyv there alone with Terry, considering his magic was useless against the undead and she couldn't fight, either. Rob would have to protect them. "I will go in alone."

Chewing her lip, a thought struck her. "Nyv, what does your contact look like? What is their name?" Going in blindly and with no information would be a fool's decision. It wouldn't be the first she'd made since beginning this expedition and she'd rather not continue that trend. "I need to know who I am looking for."

 

[ArcticFox]

"I..." Nyv's eyebrows narrowed as he wanted to protest, but he seemed to get the gist of the situation after a moment. "Okay. You know what to do." He nodded. "My contact is an elf, about Rob's height, tan, dark hair, a couple of scars on his face. His name is Orrian." He explained.

"Miss De Rosa will find him, my lord." Robert spoke to ease Nyv's mind. "And to make it easier for her, we have to set up a perimeter here and keep an eye out for other survivors." He dismounted and took the reins of both his horse and Louisa's with Terry in the saddle, moving aside, at the mouth of the street, to take cover behind one of the houses.

"I hope so." Nyv nodded again and gave Louisa an expectant look. No pressure there. "His house is ahead, just follow the curve of the street, the two story one. I'll be in touch if you don't go too far." He said and then moved to follow Rob.

• Stay low and follow the walls to evade the undead.
• Move silently and straight through the undead.
• Go over the rooftops to evade them completely.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Tall, dark, and with scars," Louisa echoed in summary. Tried not to let the pressure get to her. "Right," she nodded half-heartedly as Nyv moved away, mind already formulating the pros and cons of each route. Eyes landing on the rooftops, Louisa decided on that. So long as the beams were sturdy, she shouldn't have too much of a problem; she knew she was light on her feet. She'd had plenty of practice sneaking around, after all.

She headed towards the nearest building, still staying low so as not to be observed on her way there, and tried finding a way up to the top.

 

[ArcticFox]

The roofs were made out of wooden planks for the most part and were flat, which made it easier for Louisa to go over them and to her destination. It took a bit of maneuvering and a lot of jumping to get on top of the indicated residence.

The two story house had a convenient hatch on the roof that allowed her to get inside and into the attic. It was completely silent on the inside, only the floorboards creaked under her boots. A staircase led down to the second floor.

• Go down.
• Call for Orrian.

 

[Cartoonicat]

So far, so good. Louisa didn't feel like ruining that by being loud, considering the undead seemed highly sensitive to sound. Carefully, she made her way down the staircase. Kept her eyes peeled for any sort of moment, ears straining to hear what noises there might be over sounds of squeaky floorboards beneath her boots. In doing, so, however... she'd begun to psyche herself out. Louisa could feel her heart hammering against her rib cage. Could practically hear the blood pumping in her ears. It made hearing anything outside her own person more challenging.

Calm down. Calm. Down.

 

[ArcticFox]

There were signs of a struggle on the second floor. Most of the doors hung off the hinges and scratch marks were all over the walls and floorboards. As the attic, this floor was devoid of life as well. Through the open doors she could clearly see that all the bedroom were empty.

Climbing down to the ground floor offered the same sight. Empty rooms, destroyed furniture, broken windows. The house was a ruin and it was deserted.

• Thoroughly search the ground floor.
• Call out for Orrian.
• Leave and return to the group.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The longer she went without running into a walking corpse, the calmer she felt. Yet, similarly, finding no sign of Orrian summoned a creeping dread in her gut. Thinking about Nyv's potential reactions to losing his contact were a distraction, though - she needed to stay focus. So she pushed them to the back of her mind.

Making her way down to the first floor, Louisa stayed alert. She'd check every corner before calling out Orrian's name, the latter only a last resort option.

 

[ArcticFox]

Searching through every room, every nook and cranny, took a bit of time. Just as it seemed like the trip was a waste of time, Louisa stepped on a hatch in the floor, behind the stair case. As she called out Orrian's name, she instantly heard the stirring beneath the hatch.

"You are alive?" A voice asked. "I can't believe it." The wooden hatch opened to reveal the elf looking pretty much like Nyv described him.

"Is it safe?" He asked, not moving to climb out.

• Explain the situation.
• Ask how he survived.
• Ask what happened.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Oh, thank gods, you are-" Louisa's words caught in her throat. Beautiful? Handsome? Extremely nice to look at? After staring stupidly for perhaps a moment too long, Louisa cleared her throat. "Alive. Yes. We both are, thankfully. Nyv sent me," she said, careful to keep her voice quiet.

"The town is completely overrun with undead but I have three people waiting for us on the outskirts. Are you hurt at all? We need to leave." She offered him a hand to pull him out.

 

[ArcticFox]

The elf smiled kindly as he took her hand and climbed out of the basement. "I'm fine, thank you." He said as he stood straight. He was some five centimetres taller than Louisa, with a lean body that was slightly malnourished. "I cannot tell you how glad I am to see a living being finally." He spoke as he quite unexpectedly enveloped her in a hug. "I've been down here for weeks, months even." He moved away then, his hands still on Louisa's shoulder. "I knew that Nyv would seek me out eventually."

There were two ways out of the house. Through the front doors and across the square, or back through the roof and over the rooftops. While Orrian looked to be the athletic type, he had potentally spent months in the basement, so he might not have much strength for either venture.

• Go through the roof.
• Go through the doors.
• Ask what happened.

 

[Cartoonicat]

All the decisions she made were worth it, now. The contact was alive; they could return to the keep in triumph. It had not been for naught. "And I am glad to see you-Oh!" Louisa's eyes widened as his arms wrapped around her. She had not expected such a gesture. Tensed, instinctively, though that could be from not being hugged in a very long time and much less by a stranger she did not know at all. Awkwardly, she patted his back in return, face reddening. "A-Ah, yes, Nyv," she said when he released her. She waved her hand in the air nonchalantly as she spoke, hoping to mask how she stepped away so quickly. "He is among those waiting for us. Speaking of which..."

Despite her embarrassment, she did look Orrian up and down, though simply to gauge how capable he may be. She frowned, contemplative. "I hope you are not afraid of heights," she said, making for the second floor, "because we will be leaving through the rooftops." Louisa did not want to deal with the undead when she knew little of Orrian's current physical capabilities. Instead, she'd follow behind him on the rooftops, slow and cautious, should he need her assistance.

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'm fine with heights." Orrian said as he followed Louisa up the attic and onto the roof. "Reanimated corpses, not so much." He made a disgusted grimace.

Orrian was steady enough on his feet, despite being obviously tired, he did not look injured or ill. He kept his pace the best he could, though he still lingered behind Louisa. They hopped onto the nearest roof with ease, when the elf stopped in his tracks, looking down to the streets.

"Hey, um... sorry, I forgot to ask your name." He said a bit bashfully, but soon his eyes grew serious. "Have you found any other survivors? Did anyone reach Torhen to warn about this?"

• Answer.
• Ask him what happened to the town.
• Ask him how he survived.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Once and a while Louisa would glance over her shoulder to make sure Orrian was still behind her. Much as she yearned to be back with the group as soon as possible, she did slow whenever she noticed him lingering. She made to continue along the next roof, ready to get going, but stopped when he did. Followed his line of sight towards the streets - and, by extension, the undead corpses. "Sarah," she said instinctively, before pausing. Did she have to use that name now? Surely Nyv would not suggest recruiting someone he did not deem trustworthy.

...And when did she start trusting Nyv?

"Erm..." Louisa sighed, relenting. He'd find out sooner or later, she figured. "Louisa. My name is Louisa, not Sarah. As for others... I am not sure. Those waiting for us are looking for survivors right now." Which reminds me... Nyv, can you hear me? I found Orrian. We are heading across the roofs now. She glanced at Orrian. "I was in Torhen not long ago and did not hear of this, so I doubt they have been warned. What happened here, anyway? How did you survive?"