Rounding one final bend in the path she'd been walking for days now, Viviana Adessi gave a heavy sigh of relief when she finally saw the border checkpoint up ahead, the rather impressive stone wall cutting a clean line through the forest which used to connect the countries of Patet and Flavus. It had been constructed back in a time of tensions between the two neighboring nations, which had long since ceased, though this physical testament of those times remained. And quite a convenience this turned out to be, as the wall was now serving as a way to keep the plague from spreading beyond the borders of Patet.
It was still quite unclear where this plague had found its start, but it was here, and everyone in Patet could now easily recognize the symptoms. Itchy, reddened eyes, red rashes, and hunched forms with hands clasping at the full-body soreness that it caused. And ultimately, bodies collapsed in the street, blood trickling from their mouths after the violent coughing fit that always claimed them, corpses waiting to be whisked away by the cart-full, in some of the more heavily affected areas. Appropriately, the Red Plague was the name the people had given it. And now their relatively friendly neighbor of Flavus had taken it upon themselves to quarantine the from the rest of the land, outfitting every border checkpoint with a skilled mage who would check every passerby for the plague before allowing them through. They were hard times, no doubt, but many of those essentially trapped in Patet could understand why it was being done. The rest of the land was already facing its own problems, and adding a plague on top of that would certainly not help matters.
And now, it was because of this horrific plague that Viviana was leaving the country where she had lived all her life. The greatest healers in Patet had all already given their all, but to no avail. Healing magic could do nothing for the victims of the plague, and so she had decided to take matters into her own hands, and travel out to seek the greatest healer in all of Primalux: Selima, in the far-off land of Virens. If anyone could possibly know what must be done to save her home, it would have to be her. And now that she had finally reached the border, she could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes as she remembered her tearful goodbyes to her parents. She walked the rest of the way up to the wall, where she could see a few soldiers waiting around at their posts, as well as an old bearded man sitting up against the wall next to a pack seemingly bulging with its overabundance of contents, with a wide-brimmed hat covering his face, as he appeared to be sleeping.
Viviana was wearing a lighter version of the usual robes worn by a mage-in-training, given to her by her master when she'd told him she would be traveling, along with a few of his personal magical effects, including his very own staff, which she was currently using as more of a walking stick. Her moderately long blonde hair was done up in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes as she traveled, and the pack she was carrying held all of the belongings she had brought with her on her journey. Curiously, almost every finger on both of her hands were bandaged up with white cloth.
Finally, after a minute or so of walking, she reached the checkpoint, where a soldier had already spotted her and was waiting for her arrival. As she drew up, he held up the hand not currently holding a spear to signal for her to stop, letting it drop back down to his side when she did. "My apologies, milady, but you're going to have to wait here for a bit if you wish to pass into Flavus. Our man in charge of checking for the plague is away momentarily." He informed her.
"O-oh, um... very well, I'll just... wait here, then." She said, not having been expecting this sort of delay.
"He shouldn't be too terribly long in returning. Our apologies for the inconvenience." The man said with practiced cordiality, as Viviana nodded and hesitated for a moment before stepping over to stand by the side of the path and wait, in front of the old sleeping man. Or at least, the old man who she'd though was sleeping, as he suddenly looked up to reveal wide open eyes and a toothy grin.
"Hah! A might bit more than an inconvenience I'd say, with this plague running amok, wouldn't you say?" He suddenly addressed her, causing Viviana to look at him in surprise for a moment before turning to glance at the guards, who seemed unperturbed. "Ah, but I'm sure I don't have to be the one to tell you that, if you're coming from this side of the wall." He continued, standing up with a slight hunch as he tilted his head at her. "Hmm... but you seem rather ill-equipped for it, don't you? What if someone were to come along with the plague, and you caught your death right here, so close to being free of that worry?" He said rather ominously, as Viviana continued to stare at him uncertainly. After a moment's pause, he cackled and turned to rummage around in his dangerously overfilled pack for a moment. "Ah, that simply wouldn't do, would it? Better to simply nip that problem in the bud, eh? So here, free of charge!" He said, as he turned around and held out a strange pile of cloth to her, which turned out to be several white masks of surprisingly good make, seemingly made to loop around the ears and cover one's mouth.
"Oh... I... er... thank you?" Viviana said, reaching out to take the offered masks with a curious expression. Free of charge? Was he some sort of merchant? "But, um..." She looked down in her hands and counted out the masks that he'd given her. "Why would I need..." She began to ask, before looking back up and finding that the man was no longer there. "Six...?" She completed her sentence a bit late, looking to and fro but finding no trace of the old man or his oversized pack. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she shook her head a bit and looked about for a few more moments, before letting out a small sigh and realizing he had vanished. Figuring she may as well settle down while she waited, she set her own pack down where his had been, and sat down, dropping five of the masks in her lap and pulling the last on herself. Might as well, seeing as he'd been right in saying it would be a good precaution to take, in case anyone else came along. Still... what an odd start to her journey...
It was still quite unclear where this plague had found its start, but it was here, and everyone in Patet could now easily recognize the symptoms. Itchy, reddened eyes, red rashes, and hunched forms with hands clasping at the full-body soreness that it caused. And ultimately, bodies collapsed in the street, blood trickling from their mouths after the violent coughing fit that always claimed them, corpses waiting to be whisked away by the cart-full, in some of the more heavily affected areas. Appropriately, the Red Plague was the name the people had given it. And now their relatively friendly neighbor of Flavus had taken it upon themselves to quarantine the from the rest of the land, outfitting every border checkpoint with a skilled mage who would check every passerby for the plague before allowing them through. They were hard times, no doubt, but many of those essentially trapped in Patet could understand why it was being done. The rest of the land was already facing its own problems, and adding a plague on top of that would certainly not help matters.
And now, it was because of this horrific plague that Viviana was leaving the country where she had lived all her life. The greatest healers in Patet had all already given their all, but to no avail. Healing magic could do nothing for the victims of the plague, and so she had decided to take matters into her own hands, and travel out to seek the greatest healer in all of Primalux: Selima, in the far-off land of Virens. If anyone could possibly know what must be done to save her home, it would have to be her. And now that she had finally reached the border, she could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes as she remembered her tearful goodbyes to her parents. She walked the rest of the way up to the wall, where she could see a few soldiers waiting around at their posts, as well as an old bearded man sitting up against the wall next to a pack seemingly bulging with its overabundance of contents, with a wide-brimmed hat covering his face, as he appeared to be sleeping.
Viviana was wearing a lighter version of the usual robes worn by a mage-in-training, given to her by her master when she'd told him she would be traveling, along with a few of his personal magical effects, including his very own staff, which she was currently using as more of a walking stick. Her moderately long blonde hair was done up in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes as she traveled, and the pack she was carrying held all of the belongings she had brought with her on her journey. Curiously, almost every finger on both of her hands were bandaged up with white cloth.
Finally, after a minute or so of walking, she reached the checkpoint, where a soldier had already spotted her and was waiting for her arrival. As she drew up, he held up the hand not currently holding a spear to signal for her to stop, letting it drop back down to his side when she did. "My apologies, milady, but you're going to have to wait here for a bit if you wish to pass into Flavus. Our man in charge of checking for the plague is away momentarily." He informed her.
"O-oh, um... very well, I'll just... wait here, then." She said, not having been expecting this sort of delay.
"He shouldn't be too terribly long in returning. Our apologies for the inconvenience." The man said with practiced cordiality, as Viviana nodded and hesitated for a moment before stepping over to stand by the side of the path and wait, in front of the old sleeping man. Or at least, the old man who she'd though was sleeping, as he suddenly looked up to reveal wide open eyes and a toothy grin.
"Hah! A might bit more than an inconvenience I'd say, with this plague running amok, wouldn't you say?" He suddenly addressed her, causing Viviana to look at him in surprise for a moment before turning to glance at the guards, who seemed unperturbed. "Ah, but I'm sure I don't have to be the one to tell you that, if you're coming from this side of the wall." He continued, standing up with a slight hunch as he tilted his head at her. "Hmm... but you seem rather ill-equipped for it, don't you? What if someone were to come along with the plague, and you caught your death right here, so close to being free of that worry?" He said rather ominously, as Viviana continued to stare at him uncertainly. After a moment's pause, he cackled and turned to rummage around in his dangerously overfilled pack for a moment. "Ah, that simply wouldn't do, would it? Better to simply nip that problem in the bud, eh? So here, free of charge!" He said, as he turned around and held out a strange pile of cloth to her, which turned out to be several white masks of surprisingly good make, seemingly made to loop around the ears and cover one's mouth.
"Oh... I... er... thank you?" Viviana said, reaching out to take the offered masks with a curious expression. Free of charge? Was he some sort of merchant? "But, um..." She looked down in her hands and counted out the masks that he'd given her. "Why would I need..." She began to ask, before looking back up and finding that the man was no longer there. "Six...?" She completed her sentence a bit late, looking to and fro but finding no trace of the old man or his oversized pack. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she shook her head a bit and looked about for a few more moments, before letting out a small sigh and realizing he had vanished. Figuring she may as well settle down while she waited, she set her own pack down where his had been, and sat down, dropping five of the masks in her lap and pulling the last on herself. Might as well, seeing as he'd been right in saying it would be a good precaution to take, in case anyone else came along. Still... what an odd start to her journey...
