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Epic of Beginnings - Dawns Cradle

Lissa

Folding her arms, the Raam-in-disguise nodded in agreement as Nylah elaborated on her own explanation. Lissa wondered what the mothraki had wanted to her ask her in private, but with these newcomers, she guessed that it could wait for later. She was about to respond further when she spotted the village’s resident demon sneak in among the trio to… reverse pickpocket a sweet roll into the young girl’s hands.

She briefly tensed up, the same as the clearly noble girl’s escort did. Lissa herself was still unsure about the demoness, but she was equally concerned how the travelers would react to something obviously unusual as… Vammy. Lissa held up her hands in placation. “Everybody, let’s not be too hasty,” she began, but made sure to shoot a very dirty look in the lewd demon girl’s direction. “As far as I know, she hasn’t done anything of harm yet, and with the disaster that has befallen this village and general region, it can use any body or helping hand it can get. It’s why I’m staying here myself, so I’ll have to kindly ask you to refrain from any potential arson!”

Thankfully, the trio’s talk only remained on the level of bickering and was moderated by the half-elf girl, of all things. How important to them was that girl if a couple uncertain words in Nylah’s favor was able to calm her escort? Curious and curiouser, Lissa wanted to know who these people were exactly.

Well, a basic introduction would do for now, even if it was tainted with the threat of violence. “Lissa, traveling knight and part-time merchant. Nylah and the villagers would never do such a thing, but if you act against the village, I’ll be obliged to intervene.”

She sniffed as the girl and her charge began to bicker again. Thankfully, the dwarf was more approachable, and Lissa lit up as she mentioned her rescue mission. “Looking to join? There’s a merchant caravan some ways away from the village that are bogged down in the snow and are being sieged by some local groups. I’ve been told they’re the Krysa and the Yaga, but what’s important is that they’re in a bad way, and the village itself also needs their help. I intend to mount an expedition to either relieve them or at least get a better idea of what’s going on. Your help would be… really appreciated, and I’m sure both the village and Mie and her caravan would duly reward you for the assistance."

Epic of Beginnings - Dawns Cradle

Lissa

“Well, that’s fair,” Lissa frowned, but accepted to Haruno’s answer. Really, it would have benefited everybody if she had asked, though. The next best thing was accepting her broken mask as a means of identification. Despite the oni’s help, there really wasn’t much to go on, but interrogating Calra’s injured patient any further was not going to do anybody favors, either.

She was about to turn and leave herself to contemplate what to do next when Nylah stopped her to have a word in private. “Sure. Something important? Let’s step outside, then--”

Even that she wasn’t able to do, though, when a trio of newcomers entered the cathedral. “More travelers?” she muttered, taking note of the demeanor and gear they wore. They certainly were an eclectic bunch. A young elf noble and her escort, perhaps? A strange escort, if so.

Nonetheless, she couldn’t help but to make a light joke as they approached. “Ah, reinforcements for the rescue expedition, I presume?” Of course, it was obvious they were not, but on the off-chance they were willing to help, that would be nice, wouldn’t it? Still, she raised an eyebrow at the rapid-fire questions the two adults of the group began to ask.

“Perhaps not then. You’re in the town of Dawn, and I do believe we’re above ground, rather than underground,” she responded. “As for who’s in charge…” she thumbed in the direction of the village elder had previously been. Right, he’d been dragged out earlier. “Ah, it seems he’s left. Well, you’re going to want to speak to Enli, he’s the village elder.”

Prophetiae Adventum: Envoys of the Pantheon

Kyra Pfalz-Karstadt,

most definitely not Lutatia Eichenwald von Brudel

---

The knight was already entering the house when Lutatia was asking her question. As she hadn’t spotted an obvious threat from above, and Aurelian had not indicated anything other than that the hamlet was not occupied, she dismounted to get a better look. With years of partnership with her Pegasus, she could trust her to not wander off and get into trouble without needing to tie up her mount.

She noticed the movement only a moment after Aurelian, and she immediately tensed, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword as the shape suddenly ran out towards them.

It was a villager, a child.

Lutatia let the tension flow out of her as she relaxed, though a worried feeling remained as she removed her hand from her sword. “It’s alright now, we’re here.” Her face softening, she affected a reassuring smile as she knelt down to console the girl and give her a pat on the head. “What’s your name? I’m Kyra, and this is Aurelian. We’re here on behalf of Marshal Dunham to see what’s going on,” she explained. It seemed the half-elf girl had been reassured by either her Corissian clothing or Lede, but either way, letting her know that they were officially from Coris would go a long way to reassuring the girl.

“We’ll do our best to help you find your mommy and daddy, but we’ll need to ask some questions to help us find them,” she nodded, speaking carefully as she fumbled through one of the pouches on her belt before finding what she was looking for. It was a good thing that she had brought those cream biscuits. She offered the little girl some of the sweets before she continued. “Do you know why the village is deserted, or where they or the other villagers went? If you’re not sure, just a direction would be helpful.”

She shared a glance with Aurelian. Either way, this was quickly growing far more worrisome than a simple missing patrol. Between the burning fields, and empty village, she had a bad feeling about what they might find beyond the threshold of the village. Whatever it was, she dearly hoped this young girl wasn’t already an orphan.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

Despite their number, the hordes of undead gave the vampire trio little resistance as they cut their path towards the cathedral. The shrieking beast continued to linger in the periphery of their senses, however, so Giselle wasn’t able to affect as leisurely a pace as she wanted to examine the state of the city. Indeed, the thing that gave them the most resistance in their drive away from the creature was in fact the city’s architecture.

“Well, this is troublesome.”

The great iron doors to the Cathedral ward were sealed shut, barricading away the hordes of the mindless undead… but also higher beings, namely herself and her two companions. The white-haired vampire frowned at the ornate structure. It seemed centuries or even eons of neglect had not tarnished the grandeur of this structure and its ornate metalwork. That was good if they were to eventually rebuild, but here in the now, it was no small inconvenience.

Once upon a time, such a barrier would have been little obstacle to any of them, but now was another thing. Giselle was confident that their combined might could siege down the gate eventually, but at what cost? At the expense of what meagre power, they had remaining, to destroy a valuable fixture that had withstood the test of time, and would otherwise continue to, if unmolested?

No, that was a last resort.

“I am loathe to squander what little power we have trying to blast our way through a relic,” she decided, giving a nod of allowance towards the cleric. Giselle doubted Akyasha would approve of damaging fixtures in the Cathedral, religious nut that she was. “As it is, it’s too tall to jump or scale at our current ability. I’m going to look for an alternative way in.”

Not wasting further time to dawdle with a soft deadline on their entry, she began to make her way down a side street. There must be some sort of side entrance, guard exit, or secret passageway somewhere along the wall. They always existed.

Epic of Beginnings - Dawns Cradle

Lissa

“Just a helping hand passing by,” replied Lissa, returning her smile with her own. “You were out for most of it, but Nylah and I got you back to the village.” There was also the whole fighting off the giant chameleon thing, but she really didn’t need to know about a superfluous detail like that. She slipped into a nearby pew, giving her some space to rest and to allow Calra to fuss over her patient while she gave more details on her ill-fated trip.

“Forgive me, but given I’m not from around here, I’m not too familiar with the Kyrsa and Yaga, though I’ve heard of them in passing.” She frowned as the girl descended into a coughing fit, but it did sound like they were in a dire situation. She couldn’t help but to grimace further when she elaborated that she set out to the village with an entire party.

“Did she say why they were being unreasonable? I’m of a mind to at least scout the situation myself. I can’t in good conscious sit still to let them be sieged out until starvation, and the village needs the caravan, too.”

Prophetiae Adventum: Envoys of the Pantheon

Kyra Pfalz-Karstadt,

most definitely not Lutatia Eichenwald von Brudel

---

The last of the tea had run out, and Lutatia had nothing to show for it, but she had been prepared for an extended search. She had packed enough for two full meals for herself, plus a little extra if her companions needed an extra pick-me-up. She had long finished her inflight meal of some toasted sandwiches, and was tucking into some delightful cream-filled biscuits when something on the ground below that she was idly observing caught her eye. Or, rather the lack of something. She popped one last baked treat into her mouth before she nudged Lede to descend to a lower altitude for a closer look.

The anomaly in question was a village, but it seemed quite abandoned, and abandoned recently. There were some easily explainable reasons that could have a village deserted so, but considering the circumstances of the missing patrol and the rumors of meddling by Nuniel, it was a point of interest.

“Ser Aurelian,” she spoke, putting power into a communication spell to the nearby knight. “There’s a village off the spur of the main road to your left. It’s been abandoned, and I think we should check why.”

There was no response from the knight, but she hadn’t expected one, because it was one-way. He didn’t have the knowledge of the spell to reply. Frankly, that was probably going to be an issue going forward. With the party already split up, fast two-way communication could mean life or death. She would have to figure out a way to teach everybody the spell or some close equivalent, somehow.
She continued to provide overwatch as Aurelian headed over, in case something went wrong. If the village had been taken over by troops from Nuniel, for example, then it wouldn’t do if she went down with Aurelian and was ambushed together. From the closer view, though, it was obvious that something sinister had happened here. A field had obviously been torched in the recent past, which didn’t bode well for anything good.

It was only when he casted his signal flare spell did she react, first, with a wince, before finally making a lazy descent onto his position. After all, if there was enemy action here, he’d just alerted everybody else, as well.

Glancing around carefully as she landed, she made her way over to the knight. It was obvious up close that there had been a struggle, and it seemed Aurelian was investigating one of the houses.

“Well, we’ve certainly found something,” she idly commented. “Anything important?”

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

Giselle watched in grim satisfaction as the bones split and cracked against the stone surface. Even in this weakened state, this sort of thing was not a threat at all. Frankly, she thought the three of them could bully their way through to the cathedral just by shoving them aside, but even now, a certain level of panache needed to be upheld despite the lack of obvious witnesses. Clearing the skeletons out would be a public service, anyway—if the city was to ever to return to its former glory.

Either through lack of power as a result of countless years of slumber or personal preference, her companions picked… alternate weapons for the slaughter. The backslap had its own bit of flair, and despite Giselle’s mild distaste for the cleric, she had to admit using a sarcophagus lid as a melee weapon was a particularly creative and effective solution.

Unfortunately, instead of using it like a particularly unwieldy buster sword, the thrice-damned cleric decided to use it as a projectile, creating an almighty crash that just about drew in all the shambling undead in the entire neighborhood.

“It would seem your combat skills have grown rusty over the centuries, Akyasha,” she commented dryly, frowning at the skeletons flooding in from the alleyways. These seemed to have actual weapons. On the other hand, those would be weapons that her companions could use, however disgusting and rusted they looked.

“Perhaps the rusty cleaver would suffice instead of fisticuffs?” Giselle kindly offered a suggestion as said cleaver swung down towards the diminutive vampire’s head.

Her attention quickly turned elsewhere as she reflexively parried a sickle-wielding skeleton that had approached. With a twist of her lance, she smacked the skeletal frame aside and rent it into pieces with the blunt end of her spear, before ducking low and whipping around to disassemble a second skeleton with the pointed end.

“Nor I,” Giselle agreed, nodding towards Aleksiya.

She began moving in earnest towards the cathedral, and away from the shrieking beast, batting aside skeletons along the way.

Epic of Beginnings - Dawns Cradle

Lissa

The defeat of the overgrown lizard was a bit anticlimactic, all things considered, but in an ideal world, such a thing should be. Lissa was a lot more relieved that the entire fight had gone on with no casualties, and the thing provided food for the village, which was about the best outcome that anybody could ask for, even if Lissa still need to have some words with the Mothraki girl about her fight or flight responses.

At least with that over, Lissa was able to check up on the injured Oni girl, and overall, relax from a job mostly well done. As it happened, it seemed the girl would survive, but more concerningly, there had been other adventures going on about the village while she and Nylah had their own. It seemed there had been some incident on the other side of the village. Lissa had to look into it further, but it seemed there had been some deaths according the rumor mill. Mostly, though, Lissa simply helped out with odds and ends for the past few days, occasionally popping in to see how the injured were fairing.

It was only until Enli called another gathering did things become interesting again, and not really in a good way, as the injured Haruno more or less staggered into the meeting, delivering concerning news. The other happenings in the village were also troublesome, but Lissa immediately focused on what had happened to Haruno, and by extension, Mie. She had been hoping to engage with the merchant on behalf of the village, using some of her own skills and funds to help with their rebuilding, but with said merchant and her caravan stuck in the snow and potentially besieged, those plans were out the window.

Rather, Mie herself needed help, and from Haruno’s tale, her situation seemed dire.

Lissa was of a mind to volunteer to go look for the merchant herself, nodding in agreement at Nylah as she asked her questions.
“I think… it would be mutually beneficial if Mie made it here. If her situation is as bad as it sounds, I would be willing to join any expeditions to help, however small it may be. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if we just ignored their plight, regardless.”

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

Sitting cross-legged atop her sarcophagus, Giselle’s left eye imperceptibly twitched as she watched a nearby lid launch itself into space, before coming back down with an almighty crash. She frowned in displeasure at the interruption, lamenting once more the company that she was forced to keep on the day of her resurrection. It didn’t quite help that she was still ambivalent about being brought back to unlife.

Although in normal circumstances she was not too against receiving hugs and skinship from her trusted friends and certain acquaintances, in this moment of time, it took almost all her willpower to not scowl at the overenthusiastic vampire cleric as she was embraced. “Akyasha. Perhaps,” she allowed, speaking curtly, before responding with more warmth to the younger looking of the two vampire lords that she had awoken with.

Hopping up from her seat on her would-be sepulcher, she smoothed and fixed the hem of her black dress, teasing a thin strip of bare skin where her thigh highs met.

“From my perspective, it has only been some weeks or months since we’ve last corresponded, no matter the real gulf in time, Aleksiya. Though, from princess to princess—"

This time, she genuinely scowled, even as she spoke through the dreadful screeching that broke the dead peace of the garden. Giselle had wanted some more time to truly get her bearings, but it seemed even her fellow undead would not give her the proper peace and solitude for such a thing.

“I believe we can save any formalities we wish to pursue for later. As much as I wish to wallow in despair of my own loss, perhaps I would also be better served doing so elsewhere,” she dryly agreed, nodding at the smaller vampire. She was at least somewhat curious to see what awaited them at the cathedral, after all.

Glancing towards the gate where hordes of mindless, feral undead creatures were beginning to gather, she probed herself, searching within her for her power reserves. With the hunger she felt, Giselle found herself wanting, very much so. Nonetheless, she reached out to the side as she materialized a blood-red lance to fall into her grip. Despite her unrivaled efficiency in blood magic, she felt the toll on her recently awakened body. Strained as is, she didn’t dare attempt to transmutate the blood weapon into something less fleeting and more metallic, lest she needed the blood before she was able to feed on something in this cursed world.

“Well, girls, let’s clear the rabble, shall we?”

Spinning her polearm in her hands, she stepped out to join her counterpart at the gate. This city had really gone to the dumps in the intervening centuries, if somebody was letting unshackled hordes of skeletons and goddess knows what else roaming about. Perhaps it needed some personal reorganizing.

Advancing with a sweep of her lance, she smashed into a small group of shambling undead, the force of the blow tearing through their bodies and sending their bones clattering against the nearby stonework.

Epic of Beginnings - Dawns Cradle

Lissa

Lissa felt a bit surprised at her own temper, feeling herself grow uncharacteristically heated over a simple fight against an equally simple monster. Then again, she had seen witness to a town devasted and laid low by twin disasters, only to be beset once again by a third, and likely not final threat, all before its inhabitants had time to get back on their feet.

The karmic injustice of the matter tugged at her heartstrings, even as she wrangled with said overgrown lizard. She was thankful that it wasn’t actually overgrown, at least for its own species.

Because of her own little charge, she was in no position to dodge the monster’s chameleon tongue once again. This would have been a larger setback had it been full-size, or if she wasn’t actually a Raam, but even she was surprised when its pink tongue shot out, found purchase, tugged… and just barely made her stumble as she braced against it.

Well, well, well. That was a mistake she would be taking full advantage of.

With a flick of her wrist, she dug into its outstretched tongue with her blade to sever it. For a moment, she waited for the beast’s momentum to carry itself over to her before she finally moved, keeping in mind the movement of the hunter clambering onto it.

“Now!”

Once it was finally upon her, she drew herself low, so that the chameleon could almost pass above her, before she thrusted upwards with her sword, to tear into the beast from its vulnerable belly.

If she timed the move correctly, then her hunter friends would be delivering the coup de grace moments later. Not leaving things to chance, however, she made sure to quickly pop back up and pirouette on her feet once the creature passed, bringing her sword up once more incase the monster proved more resilient than she had calculated.