RP:Mindcraft, Part I

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

Background: Gualon’s faithful poor have prayed for deliverance in the form of new houses to replace their decaying tenements. But an old curse lies dormant in the area, necessitating intervention from the Devout’s Guild. And while they’re there, why not lift up an ax and chop wood for the cause? ‣‣The swamp alone is filled unseen dangers, but for those same dangers to be compelled to attack those that dwell in the area daily because of a curse? It’s worse than walking through the Nameless Desert in the middle of summer! Help those that cannot help themselves by finding the source of the curse, soothe the savage beasts that storm their houses, tend to the injured and help rebuild the damaged homes so that the poor can have a roof over their heads again!

Synopsis, Part I: Zahrani and Ayras separately venture into the swamps of Gualon to investigate the recent curse in the area, and after a run-in with a pack of wolves, decide to work together to uncover the mystery of what ails the swamp. They eventually arrive at a small hamlet, who's homes seem to have aged ten times faster than they should have.

The Swamp

Zahrani jumps from tree branch to tree branch, the feline traveling lightly for this particular work that she has been called to do. The regular silence of the swamp is frequently broken by the angry and scared howls of its beasts. Something is very wrong in the swamps of Gualon, and the paladin of Cyris had volunteered to investigate the reports of a curse that had taken hold. The houses of the humans, ogres, and orcs that call this place home were undergoing an unnatural decay, and to make matters worse, the creatures of the swamp were becoming aggressive and attacking them. The panther's objective is to find the source of this supposed curse and stop it from making things worse.

Ayras strode through the swamp on foot, the ground seeking to swallow up her heavy, armored boots. The rumors of some sort of malignance had drawn her to this place so far removed from where she currently called home, curiosity and perhaps something more compelling the vampire to venture out beyond the land of night. The sounds of the swamp, the calls of hunting beasts, caused the death knight to cradle her great sword in her arms, ready for an ambush from the gods alone knew what. The black veins beneath her skin crawled, clearly unnerved by the unnatural feeling in the air. "Be calm, Everys," she said aloud, though she clearly traveled alone. "We're simply here to investigate." Admittedly, Ayras' 'investigations' usually wound up as worse, but who knew. Maybe she'd wind up telling the truth, this time.

Zahrani stops at one of the trees, her keen panther ears picking up the sound of a voice below. The paladin's cyan eyes seem to glow in the night, contrasting sharply with black fur. The woman is garbed in a combination of leather and steel armor, making it lighter and quieter than full plate, but not quite as protective. She takes stock of the vampire holding the great sword, taking care not to make any sudden noises; this place is terrifying enough as it is. Rani then detects movement in the brush behind Ayras. The tell-tale scent of a wolf reaches her nose; yet it was traveling alone, confused and bewildered by whatever has been plaguing the swamp. It begins to creep up from behind the bush, intending to pounce on the death knight from behind. The cat swiftly and quietly moves to a branch just above the beast as it remains a few yards from its target. Without a word, the cat pounces, and the wolf yelps several times upon being pinned to the ground. "Shhhhh, shhhh...." Zahrani says, her divine aura brushing against the wolf and attempting to stave off the curse. The creature appears slightly calmer, emitting only a soft whining at this random stranger.

Ayras could smell the wolf, but then, she could smell so many things in this swamp. It was definitely not prime hunting territory. Too many assaults on her senses, too many smells that hid much-needed blood. The wolf was just white noise in the background, to her ears. The sound of the wolf's yelp, so close behind, had the elf spinning as fast as the muck would allow, her great sword held before her at the ready in her mechanical left hand as though it were nothing but a longsword. In stark contrast to Zahrani, the aura that pulsed from Ayras was one of evil, of darkness incarnate, of sin embraced. Those dark veins roiled more, even stretching up from beneath her skin as though reaching out. "Who's there?" the former Knight of Frostmaw all but snarled, silver eyes narrowed. The wolf that yelped hadn't attacked her, so she had to wonder whether it even was a who that was out there.

Zahrani's fur stands on end for a moment upon sensing the dark aura coming from Ayras. From behind the brush, the cat keeps one paw rested on the wolf to help him calm down at the sudden voice. Another soft whine escapes the poor beast, before it turns to look expectantly at the feline. She stands up to her full height, her head and eyes just visible to the vampire, and the paladin raises an unarmed hand, "Just someone trying to figure out what's going on here. This whole place feels wrong. Something is affecting the wildlife and destroying homes." The cat waits patiently for Ayras to make the next move, while the wolf gets up and stands behind her, peaking out towards the vampire cautiously.

Ayras stood there for a handful of heartbeats - well, Zahrani's heartbeats, since the vampire didn't have one - before she tentatively lowered her sword. Her silver eyes swam in pools of black sclera, dancing over the feline's form, absorbing the sight of her armor and the wolf that stood behind her as though it were her cub instead of a wild beast. Slowly, painfully slowly, the black tendrils sank back into her skin. Ayras' eyes shifted away from the paladin to gaze farther into the swamp, farther into the corruption. "It does feel strange, here. It feels like orcish nature has festered and turned into something tangible." That cold gaze snapped back to Zahrani, a ruby brow lofted on her forehead. "You say it has been destroying homes? All homes? Then it likely isn't one of the native races seeking to drive out others." Her brow furrowed, then, and she lifted a hand to rub at her chin. "What is the cause, then, I wonder. Who could cause such decay? Who would want to in this place?"

Zahrani steps out onto the same path that Ayras was on. The wolf joins her, its ears turning every which way as it scans the underbrush for prey or hostile creatures. He sniffs the air and walks down the path a few paces, but not wandering too far away from the cat. Rani's ears also turn at each noise in the woods, before responding to the vampire, "Specifically, it's causing the houses to decay rapidly. Some sort of selective entropy, though for this one..." she gestures to the wolf, "...it only seems to affect their mental state, not their bodies. It's too soon to assign a motive, but it's almost as if something wants to drive away any humans, orcs, or ogres who live here." The paladin feels eyes on her from all directions, the fur on the back of her neck standing on end before she adds, "We should head to the nearest settlement for answers." Perhaps there was something disturbed in the swamp that was uncovered by an unsuspecting resident.

Ayras kept an eye on her surroundings, as opposed to ears like the cat and the wolf. Her ears, after all, couldn't swivel like the other two. There were things growling out there. They were still a fair distance away, but Ayras couldn't help but agree that they should move on from where they stood. With a nod and a tilt of her head toward the path heading towards town, the death knight stepped out of the way to let the paladin lead. She didn't want that wolf at her back, not when the curse was more likely to set the thing off on the her than Zahrani. "Lead the way, Kitty Cat."

Zahrani carefully treads the path through the swamp, her tail swishing behind her as she leads Ayras to the nearest signs of light and people. It's getting dark out. The wolf stops in front of them, sniffing the air ahead before turning its head up to howl. Within seconds he's joined by the howls of other wolves, coming from all directions. Zahrani could see them loping towards the two of them. Some shambled and stumbled, while others sprinted with teeth bared and eyes glowing. Things were starting to look bad. The cat places one of her paws on the wolf next to her, and upon withdrawing, an amber-colored symbol of divinity lingers on his shoulders. Rani turns to Ayras and simply says, "Come on." before climbing the nearest tree with ease. The wolf looks up, before looking out at his cursed brethren. His ears tilt back, every instinct in his body is telling him to flee, but the paladin's reassurance lingers. She rescued him; now it's time for him to rescue them.

Ayras stopped a few steps behind the feline and the wolf as the wolf howled. Darkness. Night. This was the elf's element, the time when she became an apex predator. She recoiled when the paladin left its mark on the wolf, the holy magics at odds with the vampire's innate nature, let alone her allegiance to a dark god. Zahrani was soon up a tree, calling for her to follow suit. The elf gave the wolf a look; it was a brave thing, the beast was doing, standing its ground to defend the woman that lifted the curse from it. With a hmph, Ayras closed her eyes. The shadows swirled around her, wrapped around her body like a lover. A body of shadow covered her in entirety, and it looked as though it were a sinewy creature of solidified darkness, but that couldn't be right, could it? Whatever it was, the darkness creeped into the ground, and with its disappearance the elf was gone, as well. Who knew where - or if - she would turn back up. Had the death knight turned coward?

Zahrani looks down at the scene as it unfolds. The pack of cursed wolves come screeching to a halt, surrounding the one that the paladin had protected. Some had their teeth bared, their eyes crazed, ready to leap into a frenzy. The amber mark on the wolf's back begins to oscillate in proximity to so many afflicted beasts. The yellow symbol shrinks into a pinpoint, before rapidly exploding outward into a ring that passes through the gathered pack. The area is briefly lit up, before the blessing dissipates. The pack's behavior is changed; more lucid, less scared and hostile. The ones closest to the first male sniff and lick their brethren in greeting. With a short bark, the wolf leads his pack northward. They run with great urgency, seeking to escape from the swamp and into Sage Forest with their sanity intact. The immediate area is quieter now as the paladin descends from the tree. Should Ayras rejoin, she'll say matter-of-factly, "One less pack of beasts to worry about." before continuing her trek to the settlement down the road.

Ayras : Those sinewy arms returned, reaching up from the ground like a monster tearing itself free from the ground. It slammed its hands down on the ground and pushed itself up, its grotesque head sprouting, followed by its lean body. It hovered there, not fully rising from the ground, and out from its chest stepped the vampire woman, her body no longer marred by the blackness that made her stand out in a crowd of undead. That shadow creature, it wrapped itself around the woman again before sinking down into her, the dark veins returning. She watched the wolf pack retreat back towards Sage, a slight shake of her head following after them. "From one cursed land to another. They would have been better off dead." She said nothing more on the matter, instead turning to follow her paladin guide. "When did all this start, anyways?" she asked with her eyes fixated on points of light ahead of them. She never let go of her sword, however. The wolves were gone, but she could hear other things in the swamp. Bigger things.

Zahrani continues walking, idly saying to Ayras in response to Sage, "That particular curse is on its way out; I helped make sure of that." That was quite awhile ago. Gilwen needed someone to help cleanse an artifact tied to Sage. The panther remains alert, making no comments or judgments regarding whatever dark entity the vampire is hosting. She's not the self-righteous, cast-the-first-stone type of person. As her ears continue to turn like little satellite dishes, the paladin keeps one hand on the mace at her belt, eyes darting about before they reach a walled hamlet. "This problem in Gualon started to be noticed about 2 weeks ago. I answered the call from the Devout's Guild, but I was the only one available." Turning back to the vampire, the feline smiles and says, "In all honesty, I'm actually glad you're here. Together, we have more diverse options and approaches to dealing with this curse."

Ayras followed along after Zahrani into the settlement, her eyes drifting around the small village. Memories flooded her mind for a moment, memories of a mountain and another feline, and of a massacre. She snapped back to the present as her current companion spoke, her mind whirling through possibilities as the information available was given. Two weeks for a curse to spread. She met Zahrani's gaze after she said she was glad the vampire was present, and the lack of emotion on her face was as physical a representation of the differences between the paladin and the death knight as the fact that Zahrani was alive and Ayras was, technically, dead. "We'll see if I'm able to be any help. My god has been...less than forthcoming with spells since my return to this plane. Part of why I am here, in fact, is to see if I will be granted their boon in the face of such adversity." There was a villager staring at them, nearby, the pair certainly a strange enough sight in the swamps of Gualon, but those words from the elf had his jaw veritably on the ground, dumbstruck by the fact that someone with no spells would try to find the source of the curse.

Zahrani listens carefully to the vampire's explanation as they walk towards the center of the village. A small group of poorer humans had approached them cautiously, maybe three or four. The cat looks around them, surveying the way the buildings are organized, noting defensive structures and tactical choke points the villagers had set up against the hostile beasts. "This particular hamlet is only a decade old, but these buildings. You'd think it had been 100 years with how they're aging." To one of the villagers, the paladin politely nods, and asks, "Where can I find the sage or the elder of this village?" The woman keeps a shawl wrapped around her, eyes darting from the muscular cat-woman to the vampire before gesturing to hut nestled in a grove of trees.

Ayras stepped up to one of the very buildings that was indicated, pulling the gauntlet from her flesh-and-blood hand to run her fingertips over the outer wall. A frown formed on her face, her gaze going from building to building. "I've heard of magic that can speed the aging process of things, but this feels...extreme." The former spellblade scraped her fingernail against the wood of the hut, watched the flakes that peeled off. Sure, it wasn't helping to keep the house from falling down, but it let the elf see the next layer down. She crouched, looking at the spot she exposed, at wood that had blackened nearly as dark as the night around them. Finally she turned away from the hut, rejoining Zahrani just in time for her inquiry about the elder's residence. It wasn't the house that drew Ayras' attention at first, however; instead she focused on the woman with the shawl. She could hear the woman's heartbeat, fast and unsteady. Nervous. Perhaps she had something to do with the curse. Or maybe she was just on edge about the two strangers in the village. Especially the one with the fangs that fed on blood.

Zahrani keeps her hands on her utility belt, one hand resting on the hilt of her mace as she carefully approaches the sage's hut. She picks up the smell of burning sage, and a very pungent, acrid odor that usually only manifests if someone hasn't left their dwelling place in some time. Who, or what, would greet them when they knocked on the elder's door?