The Village Deceased [Plot]

Garret frowned. It was the second job board for mercenary work he had visited, and he was still unable to find Yua. Looking around for a woman going by the name of Tsubaki, he had only heard of rumors of her completing jobs long before she had gone to Kios. She seemed to use a similar means of moving around as he did, when she wanted to remain stealthy. Garret briefly recalled traveling outside of Remano while both himself and his horse was invisible. Shaking his head, he considered his options. The letter sent by Azix seemed urgent; with the death of Ariella, and Azix's sudden decision to leave, he wondered what could possibly be going through the man's mind. What killed her..?

The thought came back to him again. She was not somebody who could be defeated easily, he felt. Garret had seen her in action when they were fighting the prior Emperor of Kou. Garret shook his head. The two weren't exactly close, but they were still allies. Perhaps that coastal village has clues...

In the end, Garret decided against waiting further for Yua. He would leave a message explaining where he was going, and when he planned to return to Remano, before getting his gear together and heading out. His choices, this time around, would be a gear somewhat different than what he was used to when moving about as Vardreth. He had no idea what to expect, and he did not want either of his personae, both connected to Yua, to obtain undue focus. Most of his equipment was hidden beneath his cloak, and his blade's handles were covered in a cloth to hide its origin.

Garret made his venture forward, camping at the side of the road during his travels. As he did so, Garret idly passed by the time by thinking on the kind of home he would want for Yua and himself. A smile tugged at his lips, though it was covered by a cloth mask. Days passed by, and the blue magician sometimes found himself sharing camp with other travelers. Each time he set down with others for camp, they attempted to speak with him to check on the state of the road from where he was coming from, or otherwise have a companionable conversation. Garret's choice of equipment, however, coupled with his short replies often times but a buffer zone between him and other travelers. It was a similar experience while passing others on the road. A hood being up wasn't completely uncommon, however one's guard rose significantly under such circumstances.

This situation was of little concern to the blue magician. The groups whom he passed by would ignore him, not sticking their nose into his business. On the other hand, it would arouse some suspicions, and perhaps it would eventually be reported. Garret's goal, then, would be to get to the fishing village and gather the intelligence before being caught by any authorities.

The blue magician had a habit of training at every possible opportunity, and now was not any different than before. Asides from waking up early to do a basic course of exercises, Garret listened to the Rukh while considering the steps for a utility spell. He was looking, more specifically, for something that could assist him in any number of endeavors. From building, to fighting, to simple day-to-day activities. The basis of the spell would be to have an additional pair of hands.

But making a physical copy of such hands was a difficult matter. To make them realistic, Garret used everything he knew about the human body and how it functioned. Nowhere nearly as skilled as an actual physician, the progress was slow and he managed to see the village in the distance before he had managed to finish mastering the spell itself. Now, it is time to see what Azix wanted to show me...

OOC:

B-Tier training: 655/1000

The smell flowing on the breeze struck him first. A nauseating stench that he had not been around for a long time now. ... This is... Stepping down from his horse and leading it, Garret began walking slowly while keeping an eye out for anything untoward. He could run faster than the horse without any trouble, and if it was absolutely necessary he could use the creature as a shield to any sudden attacks. Truthfully, however, Garret did not believe that whatever caused the scent to still be around. It was foul, the sort that could only happen after a few weeks of being around.

As Garret turned around a bend and made his way to the entry of the village the source of the stench was immediately visible. A pile of corpses littered the center of the town, forming a veritable garden of rot throughout the street. Garret's nose twitched and he subconsciously held down the immediate gag reflex that a normal person would have felt and succumbed to. Looking up, Garret saw a banner across the entryway of the small fishing village. "Festival Of Love," it said. The blue magician clucked at the sour taste in his mouth, breathing through his nose once more before sneezing.

Though he paused at the gate, it was only momentary. Continuing down the path it was apparent that there was not much of a fight that was put up. Some doors were still open, and Garret entered several of the homes to check for survivors or anyone still alive. Finding nothing more than strange stains in the floor and more or less of the same stench from before, the blue magician continued walking further into the center of the village. There was no sign of the immediate cause of their deaths. As he approached the village center a sinking feeling gnawed at his gut. A suspicion that he wasn't even willing to consider began to creep and skirt the man's thoughts. When he approached, the bodies weren't much of anything. It was then that he realized that the smell didn't truly intensify as he had gotten closer to them; it was out and about the entire village.

These people... Their deaths were recent, but there is not a single piece of flesh remaining on any of their bodies... The stack of bones, covered in tattered remains of clothing, were far more decayed than the length of time they could have been dead. The image of the home flashed back in his mind as he recalled the strange stain on the floor. His breakfast threatened to rise to his throat, which he fought back furiously. That was their flesh and organs! Swallowing the bile, Garret looked closer to the dead bodies. He began thinking; what could possibly cause this destruction?

With the melting of a being's body into a puddle of goo, the first thing Garret thought of was heat magic. He quickly ruled that out; the magic was large scale, because there was no signs of retaliation. If it was a fire spell on that scale, then more than just their flesh would have been burned. Likewise, there was no chance it was some other sort of magic that had an acidic effect. No. In that case, the bones would likely have melted as well. Garret let his breath escape his lips as he was forced to face the likely truth. Plague Magic. That is the most likely cause... But why?!

His grasp upon the Exuro Staff tightened as the blue magician grit his teeth. A flame of anger spawned within his gut and he felt it slowly boiling his blood. These people did not seem to be the type to cause trouble; they were simply a fishing village. Closing his eyes, Garret attempted to capture Azix's thought process. What could he have been thinking... To have deemed such actions necessary... No. He sent me a letter, as well. Does he... Expect me to clean up his mess? To revive these people? That such a thing would make his actions 'okay'?!

Garret closed his eyes before opening them once more. And these corpses... They're all within a single pile. Were I to resurrect them as they are now, they would no doubt be crushed under the weight of their neighbors. Their panic... It would result in even more deaths. He... He must not have been in his right mind, even after the deed. Still, Garret could not find it within him to forgive Azix for the actions that were done here. As he worked on bringing the skeletal bodies on a less piled up scale, Garret contemplated what his next action would need to be. I must search for him and get my answers. If he has somehow changed... If he has decided that the lives of others are no more than something to decide upon at a whim... Then I will be forced to correct him.

Though he did not actively think it, Garret knew that if he had to he would need to go as far as killing the man he had decided to follow. The work went much quicker as the blue magician summoned an extra pair of hands. Stacking the bodies so that each and every one of them would be within a 10 meter cube, Garret was still dissatisfied with the outcome. There are still people laying on top of each other... But there is nothing more I can do. Garret gathered his focus upon the Rukh. His staff was still hidden within his voluminous robes, but his 'helping hands' were visible from the elbow onward.

Drawing upon an incredible amount of magoi, Garret spoke out the spell of the Tomb of Remembrance. The spell washed over the dead bodies, reforming their organs, muscles and flesh. He had no time to notice, however the Rukh of a number of the villagers returned to the newly composed bodies. By the time the spell was completed, and life was brought back to the village, Garret was sweating heavily. The leather mask covering his face kept his grimace from being seen.

Surveying the half-naked crowd that was slowly awakening, Garret could only imagine the level of panic that would soon take place in their hearts. The stench was still a very difficult issue to handle, after all...


OOC:
B-Tier spell training:  1500+/1000
Magoi/Stamina: 270/350

Abilities Trained:

Abilities Used:

Disorientation. Confusion. The light was incredibly bright, as if it was his first time seeing it in his life. The man clenched the eyes shut, putting a hand out above his eyelids as a deterrent to the scorching brightness that was the sun. Where... Am I? A pounding headache unlike any he had felt in his recollection.

"...!?" Nausea. Immediately the man felt weak and fell towards the ground. His hands struck the floor, making contact with the dirt paved road in a rough manner. He had no time to think on the slight ache of pain that shot through one of his hands as a stone found its way between the ground and his hand; no, he was too busy vomiting. Like an observer who had nothing to do with the situation, he dully registered the sound of others perform the same action and wondered why.

Opening his eyes, he saw that there was hardly anything he had thrown up. Just liquids. Spitting, the man got most of the taste out of his mouth and took a deep breath. Immediately afterwards, he began to dry heave in an attempt to vomit once again. That stench! That's why... That's why we're vomiting..! What is that god-awful stench?!

Opening his eyes again, the man worked on adjusting to the bright lights while trying to get a grasp of the situation. It wasn't long until his jaws dropped, and he let out a scream of terror...

---

Garret watched as the results of the spell that had wove around the villagers came through. Many of them were having a difficult time adjusting to being brought back to life; something he hadn't stuck around much for during his resurrection of Hana Cho to see. Shortly after, they began to hurl. The stench must be getting to them... I had time to prepare, and my constitution for such things is not terrible... But they don't even know the situation they're in. A twinge of pity ran across the man's features behind the leather mask covering his face.

Soon the screaming began as they looked around and noticed the state that everyone was in. Worse yet, there were bodies whose physical form had been returned, but their deaths had not been reversed. The frown plastered on Garret's mouth attested to his dissatisfaction that the spell had the potential to not work...

---

The screaming was soon followed by crying. "Luciana! Wake up! Please!" The man shook a woman's body, which lay limply within his arms as hot tears fell down his cheeks. He knew she was dead. He knew that, for the rest of his life, she would no longer be in it. That his love for the woman he held so dear would forever be lost to the grasp of fate. He knew, but he ignored it.

The man's tears continued to fall as he looked around. The other villager's crying did not completely stop, but it seemed that some of them had become numbed and shocked as they tried to understand the situation.

An older man, their village elder, stood up and labored forward between the others. The man, eyes blurred from the immense sadness of his loss, looked in the direction that the elder was walking towards. A stranger stood in his sight. Who... Who is that?!

---

Spoiler:

Garret stood still, watching as the man approached him. Though physically feeble, it seemed the elder had an incredible mental fortitude. "W..ho... Who are you..? What.. has happened to us?"

Simple questions. The second question was something Garret wanted to know himself. Looking over the townsfolk, it seemed they were paying close attention to Garret. Suddenly the tension in the air became taut, filling with withheld animosity. It was apparent to the blue magician that, depending on his answer, they were ready to turn hostile. Cautious as ever, Garret responded after forcing his voice to be deeper. "I am a wandering traveler... I came upon this village today. Many of you were on the verge of death." Garret placed a lie in his explanation, but did not show any indication of it as he continued to speak. "Your sickness... I never met the like in my travels. I used an extremely rare tonic in hopes it would be effective. But it does not seem to have been completely successful..." Garret's words trailed off, suggesting that although he had tried he was unable to stop whatever it was from taking the rest of the people's lives.

The old man's shoulders slumped in resignation, and tears rolled down his cheeks. "I see... Stranger, we owe you our lives..." He was about to continue, but Garret interrupted him instead.

"What is the last thing you people remember?!" He wanted confirmation. With all of his being, he did not want his fears to be realized. His demand for information was forceful, and none was forthcoming for a minute.

Soon, however, a woman shivered as she stood up. "I... I don't recall it clearly. But... I remember we were celebrating our festival... And a dark cloud covered the village. The pain..! I.. I can't recall more." She grasped her skull, eyes shut tight as she fought off the pain from an intense migraine that came about when she tried to remember. Remember the pain of that evening.

---

What... What are they saying? The tonic didn't work... Not on my Luciana?! Grief wracked the man's body, but something clutched at his thoughts from the depth of his heart. No... No, no, no, no! This shouldn't have happened! My life! I... I m-must be cursed! Heh... Haha... Well, if that's how it is... Then I can only return the favor!

The man's thoughts were not uncommon, though he was unaware of the feelings the others were experiencing at that very moment. A woman explained the last thing she remembered, after which the man immediately approached the well...

---

Garret noticed black Rukh flowing around some of those who had survived or, more accurately, had been resurrected. I should have expected as much... But I am not here to bring these villagers to a different path. They will have to find strength on their own. Movement from behind the Elder caught Garret's eyes. A male villager was approaching with a steel pale, winding up a swing.

"BAAAASTAAARD! IT'S ALL YOUR FAAAUUUUULT!" The man's anger was palpable, and black Rukh seemed to float around him.

Immediately, Garret's Helping Hands drew a sword hidden beneath his cloak and hit the man's wrist with the flat of his blade, forcing the man to drop the metal pale. "It seems I am no longer welcome here. I shall be taking my leave." He had the magical hand hold the point of the blade at the villager's throat, using the threat of death to keep him away.

The man's next action was beyond Garret's understanding. Eyes growing wide, the rest of the villagers watched as well...

---

"BAAAASTAAARD! IT'S ALL YOUR FAUUUUULT!" He had retrieved the metal pale from the well, and fully intended to kill the man who had appeared before them. To not save my Luciana.... You bastard! A pain flashed through his wrist, and before he knew it there was a sword pointing at his throat.

Shocked at first, a slow smile appeared on his face. Ah.... I see it now... The man quickly moved forward, attempting to commit suicide...

---

Garret noticed it at the last second, and was already moving his blade even as the villager moved forward. The blue magician was not fast enough, and the sharp blade sliced clean through a jugular. The man fell towards the ground, a cruel smile upon his face. "Lu...ci..ana..."

Looking down at the corpse, and then back to those who were standing in shock, Garret made a quick decision. I must leave before they riot. Body Alleviating Technique. The speed to run behind a building before he could be caught. Cloak of Shadows. A spell to allow him to gather his wits while determining the next move. He hid in the shadows of the building, creating his own shadow to mold into the darkest part of the building.

As he expected, there were shouts of fear and anger exploding in the village. Eventually, Garret knew the people would stabilize to a normal life. Or so he hoped. Right now, though, it didn't seem that it would be appropriate to remain any longer.

Breathing heavily, Garret activated another spell. His fatigue from casting so many spells was beginning to catch up to him. Realm of Greater Invisibility. With its assistance, he was able to use his Magic Carpet to fly back to his horse, and return to Remano.


There was much to consider.


OOC:

Magoi/Stamina: 215/350
Training Cloak of Shadows Word Count: 1518/250
[exit]

Abilities Used:

Abilities Trained: