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[color=537DAE][b]Mentions:[@The Otter][/b][/color]
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That night he dreamed of nothing. His eyes closed and all went silent and dark. It was heaven. Etro had granted him a night of much needed respite.

It had been increasingly harder for Arton to hide his developing condition from the crew and those of Team Kirin not already aware. No longer did he venture outside of his assigned quarters and he when he did he ensured he was covered head to toe. He would give the crew a vague mention of feeling under the weather, stating a self-imposed quarantine as his reason for isolation. 

Black veins like creeping tendrils had covered the majority of his left arm and had started to move towards the center of his chest, spreading from the bite on his shoulder. Every time a blight-beast entered a certain radius, not matter how small, he would feel that blackened scar burn. He offered a quiet prayer up to Etro for letting him savor this rest undisturbed. Arton stared at the rough floorboards of his room, wondering if Neve had let anyone else know of his sorry state. It would not take much investigation to figure it out.

He fell onto two knees alongside the bed, his right palm braced on the mattress as he bow his head. [color=537DAE][i]"Danube, guide me on my path. Vania, grant me the wisdom to seek guidance from my allies. Himstus, push me to fight until my last breath. Illias, bring me to a new beginning. Dhinas, lend me the courage to see this through. Imir, give me the endurance to push through. Ithar, bring your mercy upon me should I falter. Etro, cleanse me of this Blight."[/i][/color] Arton had spoken similar prayers since the temple in the desert hoping at least one of the gods would grant him a blessing, just enough to halt the blight within. The fact he had been able to sleep at all last nigh was surely a sign their eyes were turning to him.

After prayers came the arduous process of donning the layers of armor he as so fond of. His reluctance to go without it surely benefitted him in this situation. Arton was nearly finished tightening the straps on his bracers when the dulled, intelligible sounds of shouting came from above. Another monster? Blight-beast? The scar had yet to react so it was not the latter. Hard thuds on the dense wood above in quick succession told him that either was unlikely. Quickly he grabbed his armaments and rushed out of his room. Muffled clangs of metal rattled in his ears as he picked up the pace. It sounded like they had been boarded by something.

The swordsman fell to his knees, immediately hurling as a mystical melody crawled into his mind. His sword fell to the ground, bringing his hands over his ears. It felt as though his head was going to split open. A cold sweat began to drip down his forehead when, not fast enough, the feeling dulled greatly. Arton retrieved his weapon through ragged breathing and steeled his nerves as he arrived at the stairs leading outside.

It was chaos.

Everyone was already thrown into a pitched battle on the deck, with most of Kirin already engaged. As he suspected, Ciradyl was playing an equally enchanting melody that seemed to be offsetting whatever had pierced his eardrums earlier.  Flying soldiers? He grimaced knowing there would be little role of him to playing in any offensive operations. His eyes searched immediately for Neve's distinctive profile, finding her immediately along with Esben.

[color=537DAE]"Esben, I'll watch over Neve and Ciradyl! You got a better chance at taking these guys out![/color] His voice projected over the sounds of battle, a slight raspy tone to it. Arton had gotten a lot faster thank to his training with Izayoi but right now there was no way for him to take out any targets in the air. He only prayed that all this commotion did not attract the attention of a Blight-Beast larger than what they had been dealing with.