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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Oct 17, 2022 10:00:44 GMT -5
Kamille was gentle and careful, applying to Bellighul's wounds healing ointments with a refreshing and dulling effect. Before the night was over, his pain would be gone, their heads would be filled with alcohol and Kamille would reward him with a kiss to the cheek for tolerating her buffoonery and odd desires.
Overall, a pleasant wrap up for their troubles, with a generous discount on the tavern's bill for their help with the ooze. And as the next morning rolled around, they found themselves still trailing down the same path. Kamille promptly asked if she could keep him company as they traversed the Hills of Braddock. She claimed to be going to the Misty Coast to visit an old alchemist that supposedly lived by the sea in a simple hut, an old friend of hers and her father.
The road had been gentle, and the journey nearly uneventful so far, accounting for only a damned hungover on Kamille's end, at least. The Witch usually considered herself certainly NOT a lightweight, and despite not taking as much ale as she knew she could, her head still felt like it was about to explode. She sipped, from time to time, from a waterskin with a bitter herbal concoction that she said would help, offering it to Bellighul too. Everytime she took it, her face contorted in a disgusted expression.
If she hadn’t been with such hangover she would have admired the scene that surrounded them. Smooth hills, a peaceful road and verdant, tall grass with dandelions and wild roses. And then, Mischief's caws ringed through her head like wardrums. The raven spent most of its day surveying the area around them and, of course, looking for shinnies, reporting for anything interesting he found along the way. This time, as he returned, his caws sounded frantic and troubled.
"CAWWWW! HELP! PEOPLE NEED HELP!"
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Post by Bellighul//Amilcar on Oct 17, 2022 12:08:29 GMT -5
Bellighul's head still throbed horribly, he ingested entirely too much and his Scarecrow had the burden of carrying his equipment and rations once again. Although, he slept soundly his burns now healed, he was sluggish and burdened. Several pints of ale turned into brandy downed after Kamille went to her room for the night. He had learned much in the swill and mirth of the townsfolk. Xenophon, the man he was looking for had begun down the trail that night. For what purpose, he did not reveal to the Pyromancer. Yet, as birds sung and the wind cool and light, they walked together in a long stroll.
The taste of this hangover cure was bitter as death and made him wince every time he sipped along with her. "Kamille...it would be a lucrative thing if you managed to turn this concoction into something more enjoyable." Yet it worked well, slowly he felt himself recovering. Though, on a rest he drank enough tea to wash out the taste to fill a camel.
The sound of Mischief rung loudly on such a break and he could see in Kamille's eyes a sense of urgency. She was far more heroic than the Lord of Ghouls could ever be, to aid those in need without a thought. He knew her well enough that another adventure awaited them. He lifted himself from a log turned makeshift chair, his new robes pristine and washed during the night by Jacapo. He looked at his clothing a final time and spoke.
"I suppose I will get these dirty before we make it to the Misty Shore, aye?"
Thus, following the raven beneath tree branches they set off on foot. Hurried but cautious as to what this rescue may bring.
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Between the rolling verdant hills, they heard the call of aid, as they crossed the forest boundry and found themselves on the top of a hill looking down on a massive acidic trail wider than most roads in Charon. The grass beneath turned black. Several people found themselves within, beyond the ankles. He knew this pain well.
"Exalted...tell me what you would have me do?"
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Oct 17, 2022 21:26:06 GMT -5
"Medicine does not need to be enjoyable. Considering there are times where the only difference between a poison and a cure is the dosage, it is fairly common for medicine to taste as disgusting as fel."
Just as the Lord of Ghouls expected, once Mischief warned of people in need of help, Kamille didn't seem to think twice. This would sound like one in a million situations that had happened before, since the raven knew what to look for and how to guide them to it.
And so... They followed.
The scene was disastrous: a group of five scholars, all trapped in a trail of acidic ooze, some already bearing blisters and burnings from that unholy goo. One of the younger ones, a young man barely out of his childhood and into his manhood caught her attention as he clutched to a big book of notes he had with him, unable to let go of his knowledge and leave it behind to get lost.
Bellighul could see she was trying to think fast. Maybe she could make a path for them to walk with her earth magic, or maybe....
She turned to Bellighul, hopeful.
"You can summon an Undead Hulk, right? How much damage do you think it can take? Maybe he could pull them out of there, one by one... He is big and strong. And maybe my rooks can help. We just need to do something fast."
It was as if she felt their pain just by looking at them.
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Post by Bellighul//Amilcar on Oct 18, 2022 13:24:40 GMT -5
"At your command, Exalted." Bellighul said nothing on the matter of the endurance of his summon, as time was of the essence. Bellighul raced down the hill in a full sprint just as final syllable left his lips. The verdant hill, studded with patches od dandelions and wildflowers, was also somewhat treacherous. A loose stone was caughter under his black boot, knocking him off balance. Yet, dexterous and quite nimble especially for a bookish sorcerer, he caught a gloved hand on a larger rock and twisted his momenteum over it; resulting in a controlled partial flip.
Landing cat like and towards the bottom of the hill, he reached the edge of the acidic trail. A bright blue sky above them, the sunshine reflecting off the remnants of the acidic ooze. Bellighul winced. He took a step back as the acrid smell assaulted his senses. His eyes watered, the creature must have been massive he thought.
Yet, there was little time for consideration.
His hands clasped together, interlocked as a purple energy glew brightly between them. A formation in the grass before him became a large circle, rotating in sigils and runes of langauges lost to memory. Except for those who delved deep into the Dark domain. His red eyes maintained an eagle like focus on the scholars, they called to him for aid as he called forth his monstrosity. Knowing full well his domain was often met with scrutiny, no less hatred by most.
"Rise, rise my titan of bone and burial..." His hands slowly seperating, strained by some unknown force. "...By my dark power."
Suddenly, the formation was moved towards the center of the ooze trail and skeletal giant hand ripping through the ground in a cascade of violet light. The roar of undeath deafening the chirping of birds and the soft rustle of autumn leaves.
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Oct 19, 2022 7:19:19 GMT -5
For a moment, she looked surprised that the Lord of Ghouls, with all his might and pride, would accept to be bossed around by her without complaining. Kamille found she liked it, with a gentle blush she hoped no one saw. She followed Bellighul closer to the trail, slower but more carefully.
Once he started to summon the undead monstrosity, as she knew it would happen, the scholars eyes widened with fear. She interjected.
"Don’t fear! We're here to help! He'll pull you out of the acid, try not to move around much."
She stepped closer to the younger man with the book, taking care as to not step into the acidic trail herself.
"Let me help you, I'll keep it safe while we take care of you. I promise."
The young man, whether bewitched by Kamille or merely trusting in general, seemed to agree to it, but not without hesitation. After a moment, he extended the book in his arms, and Kamille used Telekinesis to safely take the book to keep it safe while the Undead Hulk fished the researchers out of the goo trail. Kamille urged the Undead Hulk to help him first, knowing full well she didn’t have any sway of power over the creature.
Once the young man was out of it, she would quickly help him to step away from the trail, quickly assessing his wounds.
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Post by Bellighul//Amilcar on Oct 20, 2022 14:22:47 GMT -5
The Undead behemoth rose from inside the acidic trail, pale green gelatinous masses on its mighty shoulders. The substance would burn, hiss into the air, but the summon felt no pain. Kamille called out to the Hulk, it's feet treading through the corrosive material easily. Its large skeletal head lowered as it crouched down and pulled the man out from his certain doom. Its mammoth hand surrounded his torso and gently lifted him. The hulk dropped its mighty axe down and lifted another at the same time. Moving carefully but hurried, it rested the scholars onto the verdant grass outside the trail.
Bellighul, however, would not wait for his summon to finish by itself. He rushed towards a dead oak along the forest line on the opposite side, crossing the trail with a well timed Blink spell. Teleporting, an air of smoky vapor left behind, he dragged a medium sized branch towards the scholars close to him.
Summoning his Spirit Shroud, his hands twisted as he raised them high and arcaned a magnified Death Wall across the trail itself. It shot across twenty feet, forged from bones and cruel shadows, and cut into the acidic residue. Immediately after summoning the wall, he called it back into the earth, a pile of skeletons now.
Using the branch to drag two more scholars out, careful not to pull them face first into the slime he called out to them.
"Cross the fallen wall and the Exalted will tend to your wounds."
Meanwhile, the Hulk had gathered the last of them and dropped them to safety. It too, once the task was finished, vanished into the wind in ash, smoke and strange necromancy.
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Oct 22, 2022 12:33:53 GMT -5
While Bellighul got busy with the bulk of the mission, Kamille took the rescued researchers away from the ooze trail. She would first assess their wounds and take a preliminary decision on priority. The young man she first saw out of the trail seemed to have some burns in the legs just like Bellighul had, but other than that looked well enough to walk on his own. Kamille returned his book and instructed him to walk over a couple of yards away, where she and the Necromancer had just passed a small stream. The Witch instructed every other researcher to do the same, so they could first wash out a bit of the ooze to make it easier for them to patch up and heal.
Despite the initial hesitation, the researchers did as Bellighul commanded, walking over the Death Wall in various estates of disgust, pain and fear. As she had done before, Kamille instructed them all to walk towards the spring, where they would meet again. The last researcher to be pulled from the muck was one of the oldest and weakest, and once out of it he tumbled to the ground with a painful grunt. Kamille ran to him and took his arm, pulling it over her shoulder to help him to the stream. His legs seemed to be in a very bad estate, but she seemed determined to help, the same glint in her eyes Bellighul had witnessed when she was tendind to his wounds.
Once they arrived, they could see most of the researchers were already washing away most of the acidic ooze, puttind a damper to its effects, even if the burns remained and still hurt. Their reaction was a fairly understandable mix: while they looked up to Kamille with appreciation, Bellighul's presence was feared, not without reason. Even so, and even if they avoided looking him in the eyes, not one of them dared to raise their voices to him.
Kamille took the old man to the stream to wash out the ooze. First, she would need to wash out as much as possible before even starting to think about offering him a healing potion, or else the acidic effect of the ooze wold continue to eat away at his skin.
While she was occupied with that task, the young man from before approached.
"Is he gonna be okay?"
While he was genuinely concerned with the old man, he couldn't help but let a slight infatuation show in his eyes. Another one of the researchers approached Bellighul, a bit nervous but determined.
"Huh.... Hm.... Sir... My Lord.... On behalf of everyone, I wished to thank you for helping us... We would probably be dead by now if not for your efforts."
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Post by Bellighul//Amilcar on Oct 22, 2022 13:55:37 GMT -5
The researcher's voice sounded in Bellighul's ears, yet he watched with great interest as Kamille nurtured the others; especially the old man. The sun had made her raven black hair glisten, the stream reflecting a beautiful face beyond even the standard of elves. Though, his black robe rustled in the wind and felt little for the folk he just rescued, he was compelled to further aid them.
"Ah...yes. You are quite welcome. Yet, thank the Exalted of the Flames for tending to you, I was compelled by her request." He spoke sternly. Making his way across the grass only to kneel beside the Pyromancer for a short moment. He pulled his boots off, tossing them carelessly into a thick patch of reeds. His bare feet, well manicured especially, made their way across the smooth rocks and into the shallowness of the stream's edge. He was upstream, allowing the acidic ooze to carry down further away and dissipate. A small fish swam against his ankle and he winced. He was not one for nature. Yet his robes began to become saturated as he aided one man, taking him under the arms and allowing him to float without traveling. Bellighul now waist deep in the current.
The man's legs were red and blistered, Bellighul knew this pain well. His legs were barely healed as he watched acrid green substances trail off from the researcher. He looked over to Kamille, still tending to the eldest of them all.
"Exalted, tell me how to bandage the others as you take care of that one. He needs your skills far more."
The scholar once in his arms now walked towards the shore, the others were waiting for further treatment and understood the importance of her primary care.
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Oct 22, 2022 14:38:44 GMT -5
Once the older man was cleaned up, she rummaged through her purse, taking out two small flasks, identical. One, she gave to Bellighul.
"Before bandaging, try to divide this one among the ones that have with the worse injuries, but make sure they washed away all of the ooze first. Then we can start bandaging."
She doubted she had enough bandages and ointments for everyone, so she had to prioritize and tend to those who were badly hurt first. The old man she tended for, being the one who sustained the worst injuries, had to take all of her Massive Healing Potion, while Bellighul would probably get to divide the one she gave him with two or three other researchers. Once the old man took the potion, all that remained was some blisters and redness, that she tended to with her ointments.
When that was out of the way, she finally breathed relieved, turning to tend to the younger man that had been watching her, while making conversation to the old man. Soon she realized the old man was his grandfather.
"....We tried to traverse the trail, but it was clearly a mistake. We've been told there is an Elder Ooze here, around these woods. It must be something extraordinary to leave such a foul trail... We want to study it, but..." The man lookes hopeless. He sighs. "I'm not sure we'll be able to. If the Elder Ooze is this strong... and specially if it's aggressive, as Lloyd says it must be..."
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Post by Bellighul//Amilcar on Oct 23, 2022 13:06:49 GMT -5
"Hold still sir..." Bellighul spoke strongly, the man laying on the grass was shifting in pain. He knew well how these burns could cause such distress but was limited by the amount of potion available. The Necromancer motioned another to hold the man's shoulders down while he finished drizzling the potion lightly over the wounds. Immediate relief befell the scholar as the blisters and redness vanished quickly. This seemed to strengthen the resolve of the other two waiting to be healed. While they had severe burns, the others were moderate, not fatal but incredibly painful. He didn't feel much empathy, but Kamille tending to the grandfather now gave him inspiration.
The other two were also shortly healed and he instructed the others to wade in the stream and allow the current to wash their burns further. Yet, Bellighul reached into his satchel, pulling out a fair amount of gold coins. Giving them all a small sum to seek further treatment by druids or healers in a nearby village.
When he had finished, he rose to his feet as ashen hair blurred his vision. Listening closely to the words of the wise man. He looked to Kamille, a sense of caution but strength in his voice and spoke. "Exalted...we have to stop this creature, its terrorizing the countryside and many more could become its victims. These ones are lucky...others may not be."
He would rather not get involved, but with Kamille there was little choice. The Necromancer had a soft spot for her to be sure, her happiness placed above his own.
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Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Oct 24, 2022 16:05:32 GMT -5
Kamille looked kinda surprised it was Bellighul the one to suggest they should take care of the ooze. For a moment, she was so focused on assisting the ones that were more injured, she needed to stop to actualy realise the Necromancer was also helping to the best of his capacities, either with gold of a firm hand.
They all needed to make do with what the Gods gave them. It was what they made with their power that mattered - and what she saw was the Lord of Ghouls, a Necromancer of all things, using his dark powers to help these people.
Her musings made a small smile gently curve her lips, and she didn't even notice it. Only then she realized Bellighul was posing to her a statement that needed follow up and she had just been staring at him with a moronic smile on her face.
"..........Yes, we should be able to handle it quickly by-"
She stopped, as the old man held her hand.
"This creature... Is just doing what its nature wills it to... No different than us...."
Kamille sighed. She knew what he was going to ask - after all, these researchers wanted to study the creature, not its remains. And so, just like Lloyd himself, would be appaled at the notion that it had to be put down.
"Please..... Do not kill the creature..."
And even Kamille, who had quite an enormous amount of patience and resilience, found herself begrudgingly accepting his request of trying - trying - not to kill the creature responsible for all of that...
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Post by Bellighul//Amilcar on Oct 25, 2022 12:03:35 GMT -5
A brief and labored sigh escaped Bellighul's lips; the request for sparing the creature's life was met with disbelief. After all, they had been seriously wounded by such a thing. Yet, the Lord of Ghouls wandered closer to Kamille and placed a hand on her shoulder. A slight grin on his face and eyes narrowed slyly.
"If the Exalted wishes the being to live, it will be so. Unfortunately, her curiosity and love of nature will get the better of her...and she will grant it its life." He jested, though he knew well the scholars would not find it amusing. However, Bellighul saw no reason to not kill the creature. It was destroying the ecosystem, ravaging through almost mindlessly and had already put many in peril. If it had been a dire wolf or maddened auroch, execution would have been widely accepted. Though, because this ooze was a marvel of nature...it was granted amnesty.
The Necromancer shook his head, looking to the other scholars for a moment and spoke to Kamille again. "We should summon our steeds and ride swiftly, its path is easily followed and I gather Despair and Prospero are far quicker than this...menace." He wasted little time, bowing before the Scholars in Zeinavian tradition and began the ascent up the hill.
Another damned ooze, he pondered internally.
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