"Oh, and legend has it that Bastarache was once connected to Hadal until the wizard overlords of Hadal severed that by calling down some kind of great cataclysm." Yelenn adds. "Not sure if any of that's true though."
As the Lothan student and Eskan aristocrat converse about what all Bastarache may or may not be and what may or may not await them over their filling meals while another errant soul, the mercenary, retreats into her thoughts a few rooms over.
After a bit the aristocratic woman excuses herself and heads back to her room. With that Yelenn has the room all to herself.
Content to think on what awaited them, or to think of nothing at all, the duldrum day passed for the women till the noble sun began to fall beneath the waves. From the other side of the doors many hurried footsteps could be heard followed the sound of the doors quickly opening and closing, the guards ushering those who had wandered up above back into the rooms. Shortly thereafter the loud sound of the food trolley was heard as the larger guards went about replacing the bowls with new ones, filled with warmed soup as well.
Partaking of the meal or not the day finally ended as the sun disappeared, and, due to gravity of the situation or maybe something to do with the bed and waves itself sleep came easy, all too easy to those aboard the Dwindling Light.
The third day aboard the Dwindling Light starts with a knock at your door, as your awoken with the guards, which you notice there are more than the two yesterday, bringing you food again. Although the large man or woman moves as calmly and politely as they did yesterday the other guards look about constantly before snapping their attention to the food provider when they think they are taking too long. The food is delivered to all the rooms noticeably quicker than the day before and the guards hustle back above deck.
Once the creaking of the trolley and the heavy footsteps cease you can barely make out the boom of thunder, those who pay attention notice the ship starting to rock more than it had previously.
Within a few hours there is no mistaking the unpredictable booms as lighting dances in the sky and a heavy downfall begins to pelt the ship. This does not let up during the day, to the point that the dinner meal is seemingly skipped due to all hands being required above deck, as no guards, the the ones with food or otherwise, venture below deck during this time. And yet, even in the storm, you manage to find solace in your sleep again.
You both awake again, this time at the sound of someone angrily pulling at a door, it's refusal to open without turning the doorknob sending dull thuds through the hall. Once they stop there is a long pause before you hear what you think is a heavy footstep, and what you think would be another but it sounds more akin to something being dragged. Nothing was provided to cover sea sickness, though.
As the shuffling continues you hear what you think are an occasional thwack against the wails.
Tonya experiences a few moments of vertigo as she awakens, breathing heavily. All of it is gone. It was just a dream. And yet, Tonya doesn't feel wholly relieved by the prospect. Part of her is... disappointed.
Her eyes wander downward. Well, perhaps not all of it has disappeared. Her gut, merely soft when she last closed her eyes, now protruded outwards a few inches, the extra flesh jiggling slightly as she breathed.
Tonya sighed, dismissing the dream's enchantment back to her subconscious. She could not safe from her demons even in her dreams. She would have to be careful next time she fell asleep.
======
Now aware of the threat within her sleep, Tonya resists the dreams' pull even as it plants unwelcome seeds within her mind. Although the changes aren't quite as dramatic as when Tonya first dreamed of the woman, they still come, to Tonya's displeasure (she forces herself to believe). Each time she awakens (which comes more often than Tonya would like to admit), Tonya meditates on her pendant, her only solace in this hell.
That name seems to become more and more apt as the storm rages on, and Tonya once more falls prey to her dreams before being pulled out of them by the mysterious intruder. She furrows her brow, listening closely. Definitely not one of the guards. Perhaps some of the Accursed could not wait until they reached Bastarche to unleash their mayhem.
Tonya dons her armor for the first time in days, relishing the feeling of metal sliding over tattooed skin even as she realizes the subtle changes the curse has worked upon it to accomadate her new form. Sliding her blade into it's sheath, Tonya cautiously opens the door and steps into the creaking wooden hallway.
As Tonya dons her armor the shuffling pauses for longer than normal before getting louder, Tonya realizes that is because it is heading in her direction. Once she has gotten more than half of it equipped does her door start to move. It doesn't open, and after a breath the door rests. Then it is pulled again, again not opening.
Whatever is on the other side apparently lacking in strength to rip the door of it's hinges, and also in the minimum amount of manual dexterity required to turn a simple doorknob.
Whatever it is, it smells horrible.
Tonya remains calm even as the rank creature is at her door, knowing that if it could have come in, it surely would have done so by now. She smoothly rises to her feet and grabs her blade, moving to the side of the door before pulling it open.
Moving up to the door to open it there is some resistance as whatever is on the other side but Tonya wins that struggle as the door is yanked open, and the Fighter's nostrils are assaulted before her eyes follow suit.
Standing before the woman is a pale and emaciated humanoid with very distinguished piscine features, a fin running from its elongated head down along its tail. Though frail and with rends the soaked flesh still appears bloated on it's body. It's questionable if its milky white eyes even see Tonya but this is answered as gurgle leaks out of its heavily fanged mouth, soon turning into a hiss as it's maw opens and it reaches it clawed hands for the mercenary.
It looks like this, just on the other end of the weight spectrum.
Tonya wastes no time in assaulting the creature, her blade a steel arc as she swings it with all her might at its torso.
Tonya's blade deftly cleaves into the creature's chest, making a good number of organs and bones spill out and pool around its feet. It stands there, seemingly unfazed at the slab of metal violating it's corpse, before lashing out with its claws.
The large amount of metal currently inbetween the two continues to do a good job separating them, as if flails its claws just out of reach of the Warrior.
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Awakening to a carnal hunger, Yelenn finds herself disappointed and ruefully amused that it was a dream. Yet much of her recent life blended reality and dream.
Sighing, she notes the noises around her, donning her armor and gathering up her sword from where it lay beside her.
Tonya hides her surprise that her foe is still standing, and she finds an opening in the futile scrabbling of the creature to strike at it again.
Yelenn clearly hears the distinct sounds of heavy metal chopping into something solid, not unlike visiting the the butcher's shop.
With another heavy blow Tonya vertically chops off half the creatures body from the waist up, splattering to the ground the rest of the creature falls a second later. It's grey unblinking eyes remain the same.
There is nothing else in the hallway save for 11 more doors and stairs going up and down, two of the doors are open, while three seem slightly ajar.
Tonya steps out into the hall for the first time since she came aboard the ship, warily scanning its length before cautiously advancing towards the two open doors.
The first one is, unsurprisingly, empty.
The second door, on a bit down though, contains another of the creatures. At least from the waist up. It is laying on floor by the bed. The original inhabitant of the room is nowhere to be seen.
Tonya steps into the room with the inert abomination, sword outstretched. As she approaches it, she swings her massive blade towards its head for good measure, even thought it appears truly dead.
Once hit the creature lets out a deflated hiss as it turns to swipe at what struck it.
Its claws find purchase in the Warrior's armor and leg flesh.
Tonya barely flinches as the creature's strike pierces her heavy armor and rakes her skin as she winds up for another assault.
While her first attack took a chunk out of the creature her second blow splattered it all over the room in revenge for its claw.
Taking a deep breath, Tonya investigates the room for clues of where its inhabitant may have fled.
Other than the gore she created there is no other signs of violence or remains in the room. Though from what she recollects this was the room assigned to the child.
Tonya grimaces from beneath her helmet, a low growl involuntarily escaping from her throat. Setting her shoulders, Tonya leaves the child's room and begins moving towards the other three doors that have been tampered with, carefully opening each one.
Opening the door Tonya sees, well, she's not quite sure what she sees, but whatever it is it was most likely human at one time. Red smears covers the bed and wall and chunks of flesh and bone litter the room, most sitting at the base of the bed.
Tonya winces at the sight and slams the door shut, breathing hard. That was...
...too familiar.
She awoke on the onyx floor, the bloated corpse of "the Glorious One" laying beside her. Groaning, Tonya pulled herself back up to her feet. Her vision clearing, Tonya saw the full extent of the mayhem.
Ilkan, Valcha, dismembered in a thousand horrible ways, their still-steaming guts spilled out onto the floor. Tayo was missing. Maybe she- but what could've- no, none of this, none of this made sense, it didn't- they won-
Tonya stumbled forward, slipping over pooled blood and viscera. In her gruesome reflection, she saw...
saw...
Saw a monster.
Tonya grounds herself in the present and slows down her breathing. She has to stay focused. She had to... She has to breathe. Gritting her teeth, Tonya moves to the ajar door across the hallway.
Although ajar there appears to be something blocking the door from being opened further.
Tonya slams her shoulder into the door, nearly taking it off its hinges.
The door slams open, dragging its obstruction with it. Stepping into the room Tonya doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, though when she looks around the door she sees the crumpled form of an elderly man. Tears fresh against his face and shirt he is desperately clutching something shiny to his chest. From the way he is positioned he seems to have used his body as a desperate brace for the door to kee the monsters out, but the strain of the act on top of that from being sent to Bastarache in the first place must have been too much for his heart.
Tonya feels a pang of guilt for the poor man, and kneels down to close his eyes, whispering a prayer for the safe travel of the man to the afterlife before moving on to the final door.
Stepping up directly to this door Tonya hears the sound of crunching coming from within.
Steeling herself for another fight, Tonya charges in.
Opening the door there isn't much to charge to. Right in front of the brave Warrior is another of the monsters perched over the half eaten corpse of one of the Accursed. Tonya notices something higher on the food chain must have taken an interst in the creature, as there is a large single chunk missing from its back, revealing the ribs beneath the flesh.
It's meal interrupted it stands and gives a warped hiss at the Fighter before raising its arms.
Tonya steps forward and smoothly strikes at the creature, enraged at the debauchery that she saw in the previous rooms.
Tonya's sword glances across the monster's chest, the dead flesh not hampered in the slightest by the shallow cut. Her blade out of the way it lunges at her.
Both attacks glance off, But unlike it, her body has the benefit of armor that render its attacks harmless.
Growling, Tonya doesn't do much slice at the monster as she smashes it with her sword, putting enough force into the massive blade as to make the edge almost meaningless.
This attack was more successful than the last, as in addition to cutting it collapses the creature's chest in on itself. Undeterred it tries to grab ahold of her again.
Even if it is unaware, it's wounds are proving to be far too debilitating for its body to function.
Tonya ignores the monster's attacks and strikes a massive overhand blow at the beast.
Striking a devastating blow Tonya smashes the entire front of the creature free from its body. It's organ and intestines slowly spilling out the rest of the creature shudders but in a perverse show of will its body not only remains standing but attempts to attack.
And promptly falls apart.
Tonya takes a deep breath, standing over the twice-dead pile of viscera and congealed blood that used to be a corpse. Once more Tonya approaches the mangled corpse that the monster was feeding upon and breathes a brief prayer over it, before turning around and beginning to check the closed doors.
Hearing the chopping sounds, Yelenn takes a deep breath before working to open the door.
The door opens easily enough for the Magi, stepping out into the hallway Yelenn's nose is asaulted by the stench of gore. And rotten fish. Mostly rotten fish.
She sees some blood splatter out of one the far end rooms next to the stairs that head above deck. And what remains of the corpse of... some sort of creature laying in the hallway.
Turning up her nose at the stench, Yelen steps over the corpses, following the path of carnage, her blade held ready in hand.
A massive woman, easily over six feet tall and clad head to toe in battered metal plate emerges from an open door, her massive sword covered in rotten viscera and congealed blood. She looks Yelenn up and down before sheathing it. "Monsters are onboard. There's at least three victims already. You ready to go?" she asks curtly.
Eyes widening momentarily, the dark haired warrior nods as she assesses the situation quickly. "Any sign of any other survivors?"
Tonya shakes her head. "I've cleared any doors that've been opened. The monsters, whatever they are, don't really have the dexterity to turn doorknobs or the brute strength to smash them down, so it was just an unlucky few I'd reckon. We should still clear the rest, though."
"Agreed. If they made it down this far, or don't relish the idea of what must've happened on the deck." Yelenn says moving forward.
With the monstrous invaders laid low, or at least damaged to the point that they can no longer function, the Mercenary and the Student check the remaining rooms that had held their doors shut throughout all of this. Three of them are completely empty, save the one that belonged to the sociable woman in aristocratic clothing that had chatted Yelenn up the first day at sea is completely soaked. When the door was opened water ran out into the hallway before finding its way into one of the many drains running the length aqnd emptying into the bilge. The bed, the walls, even the ceiling appears to be dripping with water, although it has the strong tint of salt to it the room also smells, almost pure, like the smell of fresh rain falling heavily and purifying the earth.
The final room contains a much sadder scene. Huddled up in a corner on the bed is a woman gripping her knees with dried blood caking her mouth and dress.
With all the rooms checked that just leaves two paths, going below deck or above. There could be supplies or even survivors below deck, but also more monsters. There is no telling what awaits above deck, other than the unrelenting storm, if the constant thunder and the amount of water pouring down the steps is any indication, though not clogged the sheer amount of water coming in is starting to form a pool at the drains.
"What kind of hell have we entered?" Yelenn mutters as she checks out the girl's corpse. Shaking her head she stands up. "So what to you think? Check below for survivors or head topside?" she asks the powerfully built warrior.
"I'm Yelenn by the way."