Chapter 7
Once we crossed the border into the eastern part of the continent, we got to an area that had orange grass and had the leaves orange as well. But there were also some very odd monsters in this area, including Leafy Larrikins, Clockwerk Cuckoos, and Sluggers. We eventually found the town and, just by looking around the town, we knew that something was wrong. All the citizens were coughing like crazy and we saw that the citizens that weren't coughing were wearing cloth around their face. "Okay, something is very wrong here... I wonder what it could be?" I asked aloud as we came upon a certain house that looked like the mayor's dwelling.
"Maybe the mayor can tell us what's going on?" Stella asked as we proceeded into the house and up the stairs to see the mayor in question.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you the mayor of Coffinwell?" Carl asked him.
"Yes, I am... though you have come at a grave time, travelers," he said. "You see, after the earthquake hit our land, something started to happen to our town. Our citizens started getting an incurable disease that only afflicts members of Coffinwell. Doctor Phlegming is trying to figure out what is causing it, but that no-good doctor isn't going to be up to the task on his own!" the mayor said.
"Where can we find him?" I asked.
"He's usually in the confines of his lab at the bottom of town. But he only opens the door for my daughter and his wife, Cattarhina. She lives on the western side of town, so go there to speak with her," the mayor said.
"O-Of course," Ina said with shyness as we left his dwelling and went to the house in question, seeing an adorable young woman with green hair done in a hairband, white stockings, pink shoes, and wearing a ruffled pink and white dress.
"Excuse me? Are you Cattarhina? We wish to speak with Doctor Phlegming about this disease," Harley asked her, Cattarhina smiling and approaching us.
"You must be adventurers, right? Okay, I'll lead you there. My dear Phlegmy is trying to figure out how to stop this contagion, bless his heart... hack! Ack!... Oh, sorry..." Cattarhina coughed, making me a little worried.
"Are you okay, Cattarhina? You just coughed like the villagers are," I asked her with seriousness.
Cattarhina sighed and shook her head. "I believe I may also be coming down with this dreaded contagion... but please don't tell anyone that? If they found out, they'd get even more unwell from the depression," Cattarhina said. Though I wanted to alert the people, I had to respect her reasoning.
"Okay, we promise. Can you please lead us to Phlegming?" I asked. Cattarhina nodded and led us out the door and down some stairs to a door that led into an alleyway. She then knocked on the door in a very peculiar order. "Bonk, bonk, bababa, bonk," she knocked on the door, Phlegming immediately opening to door to show what he looked like. Phlegming looked to be a middle-aged man with short, red curly hair, wore glasses on his face, and he had on a doctor's uniform with stethoscope included around his neck.
"Oh! Cattarhina! I see you've brought some adventurers," the doctor said.
"Yes, and they wish to help you fight this contagion," she said as we all entered his lab and we saw there were quite a few books as well as his desk containing some detailed drawings of a strange anomaly. It looked to be a monster that was shaped like a giant amalgamation of gas with three eyes on his face.
"This is the contagion that has been awoken in the Quarantomb, which is a ruin that is to the west of here," Phlegming said with a frown. "It was apparently sealed there a long time ago, but the recent earthquake must have broken the seal. I think I can fix the seal and seal him away again, but I need help from some adventurers that are more adept at combat than I am. And that is where you come in," Phlegming said to us.
"Sounds like this is going to be filled with tension. I like tension. Shall we head off?" I smiled at him.
"Of course, we shall depart immediately. I'll head to the Quarantomb ahead of you to scope the area out," Phlegming said as he walked out of the lab and I turned around, Cattarhina gasping at my back.
"Y-You're..." she gawked at me.
"Yes, I am. Don't spread word of it, please? People have a hard time believing in Celestrians when they're in despair," I said to her with a smile.
"O-Okay... hey, before you go... I wanted to ask something," Cattarhina said to me, getting my attention. "If I happen to die... I want to be able to speak to Phlegming through you... can you please do that for me?" she asked with a smile before wheezing again.
"You have my word," I smiled at her as our group then proceeded out towards the Quarantomb and we came across even more monsters. There were Chariot Chappies, Morphean Mushrooms, Flythons (snakes with giant wings and fangs), and even Crabids, which were giant crabs that were drooling at the mouth. And when we arrived at the Quarantomb, we saw that Phlegming was already there and that he was standing in front of a large hole that had emerged.
"Ah, you're here. I've checked the area around here and it looks like we'll need to connect some light beams to a door in order to reach the room holding the contagion," Phlegming said.
"Okay, so where are these lights?" I asked.
"There should be a switch on the northeastern and northwestern corners of the tomb that will activate lights. Then all you need to do is turn the mirrors in the Quarantomb to direct the lights towards the door. Once you do that, we can combat the contagion and seal it away," Phlegming said.
"Sounds like a plan, l-let's go," Ina said as we proceeded into the tomb and we immediately came upon some enemies that looked pretty mean-spirited (get it? pun?... eh...). These enemies included Mean Spirits, Magus, Mummy Boys, and Earthenwarriors, which were clay warriors brought to life through magic. The Earthenwarriors were especially dangerous because their clay bodies gave them incredible physical defense, meaning we had to attack them with our spells instead. We eventually got the switches activated and redirected the lights to hit the door, them disappearing after the door opened, all of us and Phlegming going inside of it and seeing a room filled with urns and a single urn looking to have a crack in it.
"I have a feeling this urn is the one that held the contagion. I think I can seal it again with some special sealant, so just watch my back while I work," Phlegming said as something then happened. A strange laughing bellowed through the room and something horrifying appeared from atop the pot.
"Ssssoooo! You wish to defeat me?! No one can defeat the Contagion! And I'll keep on Ragin' and Ragin' AND RAGIN'! Heeheeheehaaww!" the monster exclaimed, his voice sounding like a distorted gargling sound.
"Hey! Big scary thing!... Uh... your face is dumb!" Ina said, trying to be fearless, but me seeing she was very scared.
"Issss that the bessht you got?! I'ma gonna rage all over you!" he exclaimed as he then tried to attack her with a Crack spell, Ina dodging it and answering back with a crack of her whip, it actually damaging the monster. I then smiled and cast a Frizzle spell, hitting him with the blast and causing him to groan and moan.
"Seriously? You're not strong against us at all! Here, take a hammer to the face," Harley smirked as she smashed the hammer directly into his middle eye, causing the contagion to groan in agony as I noticed Phlegming had finally finished the repairs.
"YES! Great sealing urn! I implore you! Seal this contagion once more!" Phlegming commanded, the contagion getting sucked into the urn slowly but surely.
"NO! Not the ding durned pot again! NNNOOOOOOoooooo!" he exclaimed as he was finally sealed in the pot and the lid closed and locked itself automatically.
"Whew, it's done. Now everyone in Coffinwell will be cured of their ailments. Let's go back," Phlegming smiled... but I knew that there would be the possibility that it would fade when he got home.
Once we got back to Coffinwell, we made our way to Cattarhina's house and saw that it was dusk, meaning that it would be nighttime soon. And when we opened the door to see if Cattarhina was in, we saw her laying on her bed. She looked so peaceful... but when I touched her body, it was cold as ice. And she wasn't breathing. "Oh... Oh my god..." Ina gasped in horror. It was then that Phlegming came into the house and looked at us with confusion.
"Excuse me, do you know where Cattarhina is?" he asked us as I looked at him with tears in my eyes and moved aside, showing Cattarhina's body on the bed.
Phlegming then approached her and gasped when he felt her forehead. "Oh no... OH GODDESS NO! Cattarhina! Why didn't you tell me you were sick? Oh Cattarhina..." Phlegming exclaimed as he broke down into tears, me noticing that the sun had went down completely and the moon had risen. And that exact moment it happened? I saw her spirit, right there in the room, right behind Phlegming.
"Phlegming... I want you to look at me for a second," I said to him, getting his attention away from Cattarhina's body. "Grab my hand and look behind you," I said to him, Phlegming looking confused until he did that, him literally jumping when he saw Cattarhina's spirit right behind him, looking at him with tears in her ghastly eyes.
"Phlegmy?... Can you see me?" she asked, Phlegming producing more tears as he looked at her in shock.
"I... I can see you and hear you... is this a dream?" he asked.
"No, it's not a dream. It's the power of the Celestrian," Cattarhina smiled, pointing at me and I smirked.
"A-A Celestrian?... But.. where are your wings?" Phlegming asked me. I smiled and showed him my back, revealing my little featherless wings once again. "Oh my... so when I touch you, I can see the dead?" Phlegming asked.
"Not just the dead, but also me and all other divine beings," Stella smirked as she flew out of my pocket and looked at Phlegming with a smile.
"My dear, Phlegmy..." Cattarhina said, looking at Phlegming with a smile. "I want you to know that my body has already been seen by my father... he's planning my funeral tomorrow... but before then, I wanted you to go around the town and speak with the different people that had the contagion. Get to know them and what great thing you have done for the good of this town... okay, hon?" Cattarhina asked Phlegming. He nodded at her afterwards.
"I will... I can do it..." Phlegming said to Cattarhina as I held onto his hand and we proceeded through the town, Cattarhina's spirit leading us to the different houses that had people that were infected by the contagion. They included an elderly couple, a man and his wife in the inn, and even a little girl that was on the east side of town. When we had finished looking around, Phlegming took us back to his lab and he smiled at Cattarhina.
"Now do you see why I married you, Phlegming?" Cattarhina smiled at him, making him look confused. "I married you against my father's wishes because I knew you were destined for greater things... even though you were an outsider to Coffinwell, I wanted you to show that you are worthy of being loved by these people... just as I loved you... even if my father still doesn't like you, know that I and the other citizens of Coffinwell are in your gratitude as well as these adventurers," Cattarhina smiled.
"Name's Mariana, just so you know," I smiled at her. But then, Cattarhina started to float from the ground and started to shine brightly, Phlegming looking at her in sadness.
"Don't go, Cattarhina..." he said with sadness in his eyes.
"Don't worry, my dear Phlegmy... I'm not going away forever... I'll always be with you, even if you can't see me... I love you... always... from now until the end of time..." Cattarhina smiled as her body then disappeared into the air with a brighter flash than the other spirits that I had gotten to the afterlife in the past.
"Oh my... she was a pure-hearted person..." Stella gawked as she collected the benevolessence off of the ground and Phlegming smiled as he wiped his eyes with a tissue.
"The purest person I've ever met... I'll always remember her message to me... she will always be there with me... even if I can't see her..." Phlegming smiled as he looked at our group. "I must thank you greatly, Mariana and friends... without your help, I wouldn't have been able to save Coffinwell nor would I have learned of my love's final message... I am forever in your debt," Phlegming smiled as Stella then smiled and picked up his benevolessence. "What's she doing?" he asked.
"She's collecting your gratitude in the form of benevolessence, We need it in order for me to go home," I smiled at him.
"You mean... the Observatory?" he asked. I nodded at him.
"Without my wings, I can't very well fly up there. So Stella, the stewardess of the Starflight Express, is going to get us there. It just needs benevolessence in order to function," I explained.
"And Cattarhina's benevolessence? It's the biggest piece of it I've ever seen... it's so full of gratitude and pureness of heart that it's making me have butterflies just holding it in my grasp..." Stella smiled.
"Okay then... I really don't want you to be around for Cattarhina's funeral, and you probably need to get back to the Observatory ASAP... so I guess this is farewell," Phlegming smiled at me as he held out his hand and I shook it.
"I'll come back after our adventures are done... because something tells me that, even after we go to the Observatory, we may get another job in the process," I said.
"Oh yeah? What kind of job?" Carl smiled.
"The job of collecting the legendary Fyggs from Yggdrasil that also fell to the Protectorate. In the wrong hands, they are very dangerous, especially in mortal hands," I said.