17th of Frost, Year 123, A.o.S
Continued from here☠ With their peril over, the group were mere hours from their destination, deciding to stop to rest for a bit. Ohtoki and Leona were sparring with one another while Creed was tending to Laebirius and his wounds. That was an interesting spell you used back there, I don't think I've ever encountered magic like that before. he complimented as he cleaned and dressed the scrapes and cuts on Lae's neck. The half born elf smiled as he chuckled nervously. "I don't know if that was magic at all. It felt more.......natural to me than magic, like it has always been a part of me." he explained looking at his hands as the smoke began to form again in his hands. His eyes shifted in color, from glowing ghost green to bright golden amber.
It was an odd feeling, but one that made him feel comfortable as if being embraced by a loved one. He wondered what could have caused this power to activate and as he wondered Taidryn came to sit beside them. The coast is clear for the moment, Yorha and Tana have gone to scout ahead. he said using the hem of his linen shirt to wipe sweat from his brow. His eyes shifted to the smoke swirling around Lae's hands, and his demeanor changed. This isn't the first time you have used that smoke. If I remember correctly, your father found you one night, floating over your bed as that smoke was spilling from every surface of your body, and you spouting nonsense in an echoed voice. You were chanting the same phrase over and over till he touched you and it stopped. he explained.
Lae was shocked, and Cred along with him. Both men were about to pose questions to the half ork when Tana appeared before them. You all need to come to see this. she instructed, the look in her eyes as if she had seen something harrowing. The group followed the scout to where Yorha was, the demure woman examining a figure. They were orkhan, female, and seemed to have their head tilted toward the sky. As he got closer he could feel his blood run cold as he saw clearly what caused Tana to look so pale and terrified. Before them stood one of the villager, her body riddled with black lotus flowers and roots, and both eyes replaces with large black lilies, an amethyst hue to them in certain light, and a smile on her face.
It was a harrowing sight for sure, one that sent chills down his spine. "By the gods.......no one deserves this" he whispered, coming to rest a hand on the woman. Looking to Yorha she was in deep contemplation, examining the body of the woman thoroughly. Tana came to stand to Laebirius, pointing off into the distance in the direction north of their position. She isn't alone, there are several others. she noted, moving to show him and the others. She was right, as several more villagers could be seen in the same pose, smiling and staring up at the sky.
As they looked at each person, they found that each body had the same black lotus flowers sprouting from them, as well as roots out where their feet were. Laebirius was checking vitals, placing a careful ear to one of the villager's chest, but he couldn't hear a thing. "I don't think they are alive anymore." he noted, looking to the others as they seemed to come to the same conclusion as well. That's when Yorha stepped forward taking her scythe from its resting place. "They are indeed dead. They have been for some time now. The best we can do now is remove them from this bondage and give them a proper send off."
Everyone was in agreeance as there was nothing they could do for them, so they had no choice but to cut them down. Laebirius wasn't used to burning corpses as his necromantic training was wanting to use them for research and practice. But as a fledged Ecithian, he followed suit, helping cut down the corpses from their rooted bindings. Mounds were created to place each villager on, and thankfully for the group, Leona was an elementalist. He watched as they offered up a prayer for them, and Leona set them ablaze. The Hytori made sure to keep the flames in check, ensuring that they didn't spread to endanger the rest of the jungle. As they burned, one could hear hissing as vines seemed to writhe out of the mouths and ears of the victims before turning to ash before them.
"This is enlightening. Whatever has befallen the village killed them humanely, but was keeping their bodies preserved by rooting them into the jungle floor. We could very well be dealing with a spawn of the Queen of Kythera. However, it's too early to tell." she speculated as she watched the bodies burn. She would allow some time to pass before taking Laebirius by the shoulder. "Come, I'm almost certain we are close to Farbanti Village. We will most certainly encounter more of them" she spoke, ushering him forward. The two would venture some few yards away before encountering more of them. However, these ones were different.
Shambling like zombies these villagers seemed more aware, as if they were searching for something. The way they were traveling, it didn't take long for both necromancers to realize they were moving toward where the others were. When they came close to them, the shambling villagers became more aggressive lunging at them. Yorha wasted no time, moving in front of Laebirius and cutting them down with a resounding swing, bisecting them at the waist. "Show no hesitation, cut them down!" she instructed, Laebirius coming from around her right side to go after the ones that were running towards them.
With axe in hand, he began to hack away at the zombies, first at their legs then taking their heads from them. These weren't particularly fast opponents so it was a bit easier to fight through them as they shambled about. Soon he could hear the rallying cry of Ohtoki and Leona as they came running to their aid. As the most capable fighters, the four of them held the line as more of the villagers came shambling out at them at an increasing rate. Lae wasted no time, charging at the hoard alongside Leona and Ohtoki. The one to his left came in to grab him, his axe coming to hack off the arm reaching out for him. With a hand firmly gripping his axe, he used the momentum from that same swing, to severe the head of the shambling corpse.
He realized that taking the heads off severely disabled them, if not killed them again. For each one that fell, it seemed that three more took its place, though their numbers were starting to dwindle. As he carved his way through each foe before him, one almost took him by surprise. Luckily Lae was able to sidestep the corpse, taking its legs from it as he came out of the evasion maneuver with a clean slice of his axe. A loud hissing escaped from each one as they hit the floor and died, vines writhing from their open wounds before going silent.
As they pushed further, Lae could see something coming into the distance, some sort of structure. "Let's keep moving, I think I see something up ahead." he yelled, cutting down two more as and blocking another with his shield. They were so close now, and he knew he had to just hold on a little long. The sound of writhing vines and fallen bodies echoed within the jungle as the four fighters came to a clear, Lae cleaving one of the last of the botanical zombies in half as Ohtoki destroyed the other. Both warriors looked at each other, Ohtoki giving the young mage a "good job" nod.
Yorha sheathed her scythe wiping sweat from her brow as she surveyed the area as Taidryn, Creed, & Tana joined them shortly. "I give you all the village of Farbanti." she purred as everyone looked beneath them to see the village off in the distance. They could finally take a breath of fresh air. The worst part was over now, but the hard part was now at hand, as they needed to figure out what caused this. ☠
"Common Speech"
"Vastian Speech"
"Vallenor Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"
