Variziel shoves the cart along with Eleeda and Griswald, leaning heavily into it, his muscles straining to help move the weight. He feels the heat of the fire, and sweat breaks out on his forehead, but he pushes nonetheless. Upon the cart sticking under the bar, he backs off, exhaling and looking up at the roof. Suddenly, a realization comes to him: "Micha!"
Even as he says it, the boy leaps from the barn window. The elf quickly moves to help catch him and reduce the impact of the fall, but the boy seems surprisingly limber. Variziel merely claps him on the back after he sticks the landing. "Nice jump," he says with a nod and small smile.
His mirth isn't total, though. He glances back over his shoulder at Eleeda, a small frown momentarily creasing his features. The girl seemed too happy about that magic, a voice in his mind says, and perhaps it's going to her head.
Micha easily clears the cart and lands with a thud next to the others. He's unharmed. The barn is burning more by the second, soon enough it will be consumed with flame.
Griswald shakes his head and stares at the flames, watching the monster inside continue to batter itself against the walls and the cart to reach them. He runs his hands over his bald head and huffs, slowly coming down and processing the gravity of the last few moments.
"Hope Haldorf gets back soon..."
Micha will be heading up to make sure Klaudia is ok.
Klaudia's House
Micha heads inside to find Klaudia's condition unchanged. The barn continues to ignite, the flames growing ever larger. Glimpses of Bischa can be seen standing in the center of the barn, avoiding the flames. Waiting patiently for her fate in unending silence. Griswald looks to the road, hoping to see Haldorf and Anna appear. His wish goes unfulfilled for a minute or two, until finally he can hear the clopping of galloping hooves on the road to the south. Out of the woods appears Anna's mare Snowflake, the priestess mounted on her. Haldorf clings awkwardly to Anna, bouncing hard in the saddle. Anna pulls the mare to a rearing stop and swiftly dismounts. She grabs the reins and leads the horse towards Father Griswald before Haldorf has time to react. "Griswald, what in the name of the Seven is going on here?! Why is the barn on fire, where's Klaudia?!"
Haldorf stares at the barn in consternation, sliding down into the saddle proper before awkwardly dismounting. He seems happy to have his feet back on solid ground. "What's going on?" he asks, his hand straying unconsciously to his pistol.
Keep Korostin
Derryn stands watch over the preparations for the Harvest Feast in the courtyard of the Keep. Variziel was called away by the priestess on some important matter a while ago, and he was called as a replacement. As he watches a pair of townswomen wrestle an overly large pumpkin from the back of a pull cart onto one of the trestle tables he hears a bark from behind him, "Derryn!"
Turning around he sees Guard Captain Simoneit standing behind him. "Hop to and look to the north east, tell me what you see." he says, his tone making it a command. He's a tall middle aged human man. His short dark hair and mustache are impeccably groomed. He wears the dress uniform of the guards today, a fancy blue doublet and breeches. At his hip he wears a revolver on one side and a rapier on the other. His blue-grey eyes are locked on the north easterly horizon.
Derryn had been lazily watching over the preparations, he was in high spirits thanks to the festival.
The tone in Captain Simoneit's voice makes Derryn's good mood vanish and his eyes snap into focus as he looks to the North East.
"Captain, smoke rises from the north east, just outside of town! Orders?!"
Keep Korostin
"Yes, I believe it does. Astute observation Derryn." he says sarcastically. Then his tone suddenly changes to one that's all business. "That smith's boy Haldorf came in a few minutes ago and dragged priestess Anna off saying something about Klaudia being sick. Now there's smoke coming from the direction of her house. Get your ass over there double time and make sure everything's okay. Take the signal horn," he says holding out a large twisted ram's horn, bound with iron. "If the situation is under control sound one blast. If you need backup sound three." He shoves the horn into Derryn's hands. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he asks, one eyebrow raised.
As the horn was thrust into his hands and he was urged on by the Captain Derryn responded with a stout "Sir!" turned and ran for the stables to fetch a horse.
Of all the days!
He didn't know Klaudia all that well and though he didn't mean any ill will toward her, he was annoyed at whatever had caused the fire to break out. He glanced at the fire as he ran and something about the whole situation seemed wrong. The smoke cloud was large but it was also recent. A sick woman shouldn't result in a fire.
He hoped that whatever it was it was just an accident and not a raid, either way he pushed himself to get to that stable.
Variziel exhales and slaps his hands together, watching the barn go up in flames and smoke. He's a little worried about Klaudia and the boy, so he follows inside, where he once again removes his sword, bow, and quiver, placing them next to the stand where he's hung his cloak.
Her concerns about Klaudia seemingly forgotten for the moment, Eleeda stays and watches the fire, the same, strange small smile remaining on the corner of her mouth.
Griswald looks a little haggard and grimly points through the broken door into the flames.
"Can you see her through there? Klaudia's cow? Can you see the affliction?"
Staring straight into the barn and catching a glimpse of the horrid and unnatural state the gentle creature Micha had been was now it, Eleeda new found confidence began to waver slightly as she answered, still not looking at him "Y...yes. I see her. I do not know what that is that affliction is."
"You see how she just stands there? Any mortal creature would be out of its mind with fear. Everything living is afraid of fire. It isnt really what this does to the body that is the frightening part. It's what it does to the mind. Hope Her Grace gets here soon..."
Anna looks along with Eleeda. Her eyes grow wide at the sight of the cow. Haldorf continues to appear rather dumbfounded. Anna grabs Griswald by the arm and quick hustles him over to the other side of the house out of ear range of the others. Leaning in close she nearly hisses, "How did this happen? From the beginning. Now." Back near the pen, Haldorf turns to Eleeda and asks, "What happened after I left?"
Seeming to hardly react at all to the arrival of Haldorf and the Priestess, she continues to stare into the flames as she answers the young man, her voice now monotonous and dull "Mischa and I went to check on Bischa and she attacked us, she was dead, but not dead. We managed to get the barn door closed just in time. Then I set the barn on fire with my magic."
Then I set the barn on fire with my magic."[/b]
"Ye did what? How in the... how did I miss that? I figured someone just brought a log from the stove or something."
Haldorf looks at her in horror. "Uhm...yeah, you know what guys? I just remembered I have something really important to do at the smithy." He turns on one heel and sprints off into town, his eyes so wide with terror that you can see as much of the whites as there is color. As he's running, he passes Derryn galloping up the road on one of the guards' horses. Most of you probably recognize the half-elven guardsman, though you don't know much about him.
Shaking his head from the shock of what he'd overhead Eleeda say, he turned back to Anna.
"Pretty much what she just said, Your Grace. We arrived to find Klaudia sick in bed looking just awful. She told us she was bit by a rat in the barn. We checked the barn and found the cow. It was half-rotten and obviously not in any living state, but it definitely battered down the barn door to try to get at us. Somewhere in all that Eleeda magic'd up a fire. The cow's still in there, just standing and burning."
Glancing back at Eleeda he continued, talking mostly to himself.
"It makes sense now, I guess. I kind of saw the flames, but I didn't think much about where they came from. I was a little busy at the time and my mind doesn't usually go straight to 'magic' when unexpected things happen."
Shaking his head, he looked back up at the priestess.
"Klaudia's in her room. This is beyond me, Anna, and now that damned fool kid's run off to tell the whole town. We're about to have a panic. Half of 'em are gonna want to burn Klaudia's house down around her and the other half are gonna want to toss Eleeda in with her."
Derryn pulls the horses reins to slow down the mount and trots over toward Griswald and Anna. He looks to the burning barn and then to the group.
"What happened here Father Griswald, is the fire contained and was that Haldorf I saw running for, what I took to be, his life?"
Griswald looks over at the guardsman and holds up his hands in front of him.
"Now just hold on a minute, son. Too many people askin' stuff all at once. The fire's purposeful. Let it burn. Talk to Varisiel about how you can help."
Looking back to the high priestess, he waited on her response.
At Griswalds calm demeanor some of the tension leaves Derryn's shoulders. Well, at least they aren't panicking.
Derryn looks around the yard and after not spotting Variziel, heads into Klaudia's house calling out.
Variziel! Are you in here? It's Derryn.
The elf sees Haldorf go running off from the window, then watches as Derryn rides in, but he's busy with Klaudia and Micha. When he hears the half-elf guard call his name, however, Variziel throws on his gear and heads down to meet him.
"Derryn," he says, nodding as he walks up to the boy. "Yes, I'm here. What is it?" Variziel puts a hand on his shoulder and steers him out of the house. "Whatever it is, let's talk outside. Klaudia's resting upstairs... and the stench of illness is strong in there."
At Variziel's words, Derryn's face becomes a grim mask and he turns to go with the Elf. Illness...
"We saw the smoke rising from the festival grounds, I was dispatched to find out if everything was in hand or not. From the look of things, I'd say it seems to be under control so long as that fire doesn't spread... What happened to send Haldorf running?"
Micha will continue setting with Klaudia until something else happens. Cooling her head with wet cloths.
"Ah, yes, the boy Haldorf..." Variziel peers off down the road, as if trying to make out Haldorf's form. "I'm not sure what it was. The undead cow? Or Eleeda's sudden magic? Or a combination of both?"
The warrior quirks an eye at the younger guard. "By the way, both of those happened. Come to the barn, you can see for yourself."
With that Variziel jogs over to the barn, to stand with Eleeda, Griswald, and Anna. "Ho," he calls out, pulling to a stop. "Anna, what do you make of all this?"
Eleeda remains stock still, staing at the fire and the barn and the burning cow within
Derryn follows Variziel to the barn, his expression now one of concern.
Someone suddenly gaining the use of magic is not completely unheard of, but an undead cow!? How can Variziel be so calm about this?
Anna takes a couple moments to gather herself, and then steps into her role as an authority. "Derryn, Variziel keep an eye on the barn, make sure the cow doesn't escape and that the fire doesn't spread to the forest. Eleeda, Griswald with me, it's time I take a look at Klaudia."
She grabs the Lexicon of Contagion from Snowflake's saddle bag, and then walks into the house not really waiting for a response. Coming up the stairs she nods to Micha "Hello Micha." and then leans over the unconscious Klaudia. She performs a thorough examination and then begins praying under her breath. Laying her hands on Klaudia's chest a brief flash of rainbow colored light shines from beneath her hands. It moves across Klaudia like the light on a scanner/copier starting at her head. It doesn't get very far before the light begins flickering and then turns black before disappearing completely.
"No..." she mutters under her breath. Grabbing the book she pushes aside Klaudia's things on the dresser and opens the book, flipping quickly to a page to near the back. After scanning it for a moment she looks to Father G and says, "Griswald, I'm afraid we may have a case of Zombie Rot on our hands. It's a vile necromantic affliction, incurable by any known magic. Only the heartiest of individuals can fight it off. Those that fail, well...they become like Bischa."
"I was afraid you were going to say something like that." Griswald said grimly. "What can we do?"
Inside:
"Make her comfortable, and then hope and pray. We must not allow word of this to spread, it could cause a panic. Everyone in town is bound to have seen the smoke from the barn by now. Our story will be that Klaudia was delirious with fever and accidentally left a lantern burning in the barn. It fell and started the fire. We should move her to the temple, where she can be watched over constantly." she replies. "I will return to town and prepare a place for Klaudia, I will also send a carriage to gather her. You all will be left to watch over the blaze. After those things are taken care of everyone who was here will meet with Lord and Lady Slazak and tell them what's happened." Anna closes the lexicon and picks it up. "Griswald, I'm leaving you and Variziel in charge while I'm gone. Make sure no more of these younglings run off, and make sure they know to keep their mouths shut." Turning to the two young people in the room, Anna straightens to her full height, and looks them in the eyes. "Eleeda, Micha this is very important. Lives are at stake. You must obey the Father. Do you understand?"
Outside:
The flames continue to spread to more of the barn, forcing Derryn and Variziel to step back a few paces as the heat becomes unbearable. Part of the fence around the pen catches on fire as well, the flames begin to slowly spread down the fence. It's so hot that getting close to douse it is going to be dangerous.
"Your Grace, Haldorf already ran off. Eleeda told him about the cow, and he was here when we first talked to Klaudia. The cat might already be out of the bag."
"Well, seems like we'll be praying a lot the next couple days then. Hopefully the boy doesn't do anything foolish." she replies with a halfhearted smile.
of course my lady. um, how does the rot spread? Are we all infected now?
Shielding his face from the flames Derryn pulls up his hood to cover his head.
"This fire is spreading too fast, we should contain it! Look for some buckets!"
Finally pulled away from her rapt gaze on the fire by the Priestess' command to follow, Eleeda moves silently into the house and up the stairs. She remains quiet and solemly nods her agreement when directly addressed by Anna.
The greatest sign of interest she shows since leaving the fire is when Micha asks his question. Looking up from the floor for the first time, she turns curious, but strangely unfearful, eyes towards the Priestess while waiting for the reply.
"Certainly, Anna."
Variziel takes a step or two back as the flames get hotter, but he continues to stare into the barn, seeming to be trying to watch Bischa. Finally, as Derryn speaks, the elf turns to look at the younger warrior.
"No, lad, buckets won't work. It's too big; to throw some water on now would be too little, too late. Besides, we just don't want the forest catching. Until then, let it burn."
Variziel shivers at the tone he uses himself, and draws his cloak tighter around him. The adrenaline from the encounter finally draining away, the elf's face becomes more haggard and drawn, paling even as the flames dance yellow, orange, and red across it. May the Children help and guide us, he thinks, glancing into the woods as he does so.
Inside:
Anna shakes her head at Micha's question. "Oh no, dear. No need to worry. It's believed to be spread through bodily fluids. It would require a bite, deep scratch or getting covered in a lot of infected blood or something along those lines to get infected."
At Anna's reply Eleeda jerks, her face turning ashen "Wait! A bite? You mean like Klaudia has on her leg? That she said she got from a rat? You mean...you mean what happened to Bishca is going to happen to her??"
NO! Priestess Anna is going to fix it. Klaudia isn't going to die. She isn't. We have the book and we have the Father and Priestess Anna now.
Anna sighs and looks down at the floor, a pained look on her face. After a moment she looks back up at the two and says, "I know you two care for Klaudia deeply, so I'm not going to disrespect this situation with lies. You are both old enough to know the truth." Anna takes a deep breath and then continues, "She may not live. This disease is beyond even my magic to cure, only Klaudia herself can defeat it. With father Griswald's and my help, she will have a better chance, but in the end we can only pray. Come here now, take my hands." She says, moving over and offering her hands to the two teenagers. Once they are holding her hands she closes her eyes and begins to pray aloud in her soft smokey voice, "Divine Mother and healer of the sick, we turn to you in this time of illness. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love. Mother, we place our fears in your hands. We place our sick under your care and humbly ask that you restore your servant to health again." She pauses for a moment. "Father above grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. Above all, grant us the courage to acknowledge your will and know that whatever you allow, you do for the love of us." As her voice trails off a single tear glitters in the corner of her eye.
Father Griswald nods and takes their hands with Anna, lowering his head in prayer as the high priestess speaks.
"Well, I must be off. I will send the carriage. Make sure the fire doesn't get out of hand. Last thing we need on our plates right now is a forest fire. Anna says after several somber moments. She nods to each of them and then makes her way downstairs and mounts Snowflake. With a final wave she gallops off in the direction of the center of town.
The fire has pretty much completely engulfed the barn now, the fence is slowly catching fire as well. The leaf cover on the ground around the barn is smouldering but hasn't yet caught completely.
Reluctantly looking back at Klaudia but trusting the Father to take care of her, Micha goes out and starts pulling the fence apart so it wont spread further using the fence.
The truth of Variziel's words sank in and Derryn watched the as the barn continued to burn. The flames will consume anything in it's path. The undead cow will burn and be cleansed.
It wasn't until Priestess Anna was riding away that Derryn snapped out of his reverie and back into focus. He needed to know what exactly had caused all of this.
"Variziel, this undead cow, how did it come to be like that? Do you think we have anything to worry about?"
Working together the group manages to clear the brush and fencing away from the barn in time to prevent an all out blaze from spreading to the forest. As they are finishing this up, Ned the acolyte arrives with a covered wagon. Working together the load Klaudia into the bed in the rear, careful not to jostle her.
The group takes Klaudia to the temple, and are lead to a chamber where Anna waits for them. As they are moving Klaudia into the bed, she erupts into a fit of bloody coughing. The swelling in her lymph nodes has increased, and the veins in her neck and face can be seen bulging black through her skin. She's completely delirious at this point. "Why don't you all go get changed. I've arranged an audience for us with Lord Slazack in an hour. In the meantime I'll have Sister Penitence watch over Klaudia."
Father Griswald had been working and sweating since sunrise getting ready for the festival. By now, after the attack of the zombie cow and the fire, he was feeling pretty haggard. With a nod, he retreated to the church's bath chambers and took his time cleaning himself.
Since he'd spent the day in a house with a very sick woman he opted simply to burn that robe. He had plenty. Wool was cheap.
After brushing and braiding his thick beard and changing into a set of robes a bit more fitting to meet a Lord, he came back out to await the others.
As the fire was contained and the immediate threat of a forest fire disappeared, a wagon appeared to fetch Klaudia. Derryn suddenly realized he did not want to be anywhere near her, so he stood well back. He wanted to help and hated feeling helpless to aid the woman but he knew very little about how to treat diseases or injury. She was in so much pain.
The thought of Klaudia being sick reminded him of his mothers last few days. Mother.
He started to shake, Mother I'm... and said no more on the way back to town. Sorry.
He had little desire to speak with anyone, let alone Lord Slazack. However, he knew he could not ignore the request and so spent the time trying to compose himself.