Chapter 20: Search for the Curse Bringer
The group rested without incident and they next day they entered Marlind. While like Ladylake it was a beautiful town, though surrounded by trees and every building almost made up entirely of wood rather than in the middle of a lake, but there was thick malevolence in the air causing the atmosphere to be very dismal. Sergei gave a very irritated sigh.
"What?" Said Rose.
"This is where I grew up … It's sad to see my home like this." Said Sergei. A dog came up to them and whimpered. Mikleo yelped and backed up.
"Meebo it's a dog." Said Edna. She paused and looked at him. "Aaw don't tell me you're scared of a little dog."
"I've had a really bad experience with dogs." Mikleo said through his teeth.
"Relax Mikleo. It won't harm us." Said Dezel going up to it.
"Dezel I don't think it-" Mikleo started. The dog growled at them and unveiled its true form, that of a fierce hellion.
"It's a hellhound look out!" Edna warned. Rose drew her knives but Dezel got between her and the hellion.
"Wait!" he shouted. Rose stood still with a knife inches away from his chest. The hellhound ran up to try to bite Dezel but Mikleo casted a seraphic arte pushing it back.
"Don't hurt it!" He cried.
"Great, first we have a shepherd that won't knock people on the head and now we have a seraph that will stop us from purifying any animal looking hellions." Sighed Edna.
"Well to be fair he's always been like this." Said Rose.
"Hey! If you end up straight up fighting it you could end up really hurting it or even accidentally killing it!" Said Dezel.
"And do you have an alternative to fighting it?" Mikleo asked. The hellhound ran at them again but Dezel whipped one of his pendulums and tied it around one of its ankles, he pulled it causing the hellion to fall. He then quickly went up to the hellion and restrained it. The hellhound squirmed around and tried to bite Dezel's face off.
"Rose do you need hellions to be unconscious to purify them?" Dezel asked. Rose opened her mouth for a brief moment then started counting to herself the hellions she's purified.
"Well with the exception of Mary Jane who is in progress … yeah." Rose admitted.
"Then knock the hellion out with your knife handles!" Said Dezel. Rose stared at him absolutely dumbfounded.
"You're asking me to knock an animal in the head basically hurting it something that, need I remind you, you have been openly against since we were kids." Said Rose.
"Will you just do it I don't want to fight it!" Dezel shouted.
"Fine! Jeez!" Rose shouted back "but on the condition you don't give me any shit when I go hunting."
"Fine, just knock it out!" Dezel shouted. Rose then whacked the hellion on the head with the handle of her knife knocking it out cold. Dezel dropped the hellion and the malevolence seeped into the earth purifying the hellion, turning it back into a dog. She put her knife away.
"Hey Edna, do you think the hellhound was the result of people being upset over the lack of help with the plague?" Rose asked.
"Probably or they're the plague itself." Edna shrugged. "Just a guess."
"Think purifying the hellhounds might do something about the malevolence?" Rose asked.
"Likely." Edna shrugged.
"Kay. Let's go the sanctuary, and take care of any hellhounds we run into." Said Rose. The seraphim went back into her body and she and Sergei walked to the sanctuary with Sergei leading the way. They found a couple of hell hounds along the way and quickly knocked them out, purifying them. They eventually got to the sanctuary where one of the soldiers went up to Sergei.
"Captain! Thank goodness you can make it, when we heard that the bridge collapsed we thought that you and the rest of the quarantine squad couldn't make it." They said, they then looked over Sergei. "Where is the rest of the squad?"
"They're still working on the bridge, I was only able to get here with the Shepherd's help." Said Sergei nodding over to Rose.
"So this girl is the Shepherd?" The soldier asked.
"Believe him or don't but he is telling the truth, I did manage to help him across the river while anyone else needed for the quarantine is on the other side of Griflet Bridge." Said Rose.
"Rose can you make sure that this medicine gets distributed?" Sergei asked giving the pouch back to Rose.
"Sure." Rose shrugged. She started walking away just as Sergei was giving orders. She went inside the sanctuary and walked up to a priest. "Excuse me." She said. He turned his attention from the person he was treating. "I'm here on behalf of Captain Sergei Strelka of the Hyland army. Could you tell me who I should give this medicine to so it gets distributed?" The priest leaned to her side to see someone behind her.
"Oi! Father Kailen you got someone that needs to talk to you!" He shouted.
"I'm coming I'm coming!" She heard someone huff then running up to where they were. She turned to a very frazzled middle aged man with greying frizzy brown hair and green eyes. "Yes?"
"I got this medicine from Captain Strelka and it needs to be distributed to as many as you can." Said Rose. Father Kailen opened the pouch to examine the contents inside and shook it around a bit then counted the number of sick within the sanctuary. He then closed the pouch.
"You there get me some clean rags!" He barked at a priest. "And what are those dead bodies still doing there? I thought I told you people to clear those out! Keeping them here could make the plague worse! And get someone to bury them!"
"We should probably take care of our job." Said Edna.
"By the way father Kailen, do you know of a former nun named Mary Jane?" Rose asked.
"The witch of the wall? Yeah." Father Kailen responded.
"I heard of a falling out between her and another nun that worked here but got kicked out over some presumed sexual misconduct." Said Rose. "Do you know anything about that?"
"Hm … Let's see …" Father Kailen muttered. "Oh! I think I may have an idea on who and what you're talking about."
"Really?" Said Rose.
"Yes … It was about a month after I started serving the sanctuary give or take a few weeks … Yeah ... The woman you might be talking about would have been Ingess as she got into a fight with Father Westby, the head priest of the time, over her upholding some sort of affair a Mr. Vandermyer that apparently the former sister Mary Jane had witnessed." Said Father Kailen.
"Would you know where she would be?" Rose asked.
"Hm … I would check the Vandermyer estate … I think it would be somewhere to the south east … it's close to the wall. You'll know it when you see it." Said Father Kailen.
"Thank you Father Kailen." Said Rose with a bow.
"The least I could do for the medicine Shepherd." Said Father Kailen.
"How …" Rose began.
"You're wearing a very similar cloak as the moron from thirty years ago. Figured he passed the job on." He said going back to his work. Rose left the sanctuary and went to the south eastern edge of the city close to the wall there was a fairly large gothic looking house that looked out of place with the wooden houses and in front of the house was a guard being attacked by a hell hound.
"Ugh aaah!" He screamed as the hell hound mauled him.
"Dezel!" Rose called out.
"All right I got it!" Snapped Dezel getting out of her body and running towards the hellhound tackling it then restraining it. Rose ran over and knocked the hellhound over its head. The guard passed out bleeding from his wounds.
"Want me to heal him too?" Dezel asked.
"Well I was going to ask Mikleo but if you really want to sure." Said Rose. Dezel went up to the guard and healed up some of his wounds when a woman came out.
"What on earth is going on here?" She asked.
"Uh hi, I was here to ask the head of the house a few questions when your guard got attacked by a rabid dog. Don't worry though he's fine and the dog's been taken care of." Said Rose. The woman looked over to the unconscious guard, then to the dog then back to Rose.
"What do you want to ask?" She asked.
"I would like to talk to the head this house hold." Said Rose.
"That would be me." Said the woman. "Berwyn Vandermyer."
"All right … are you familiar with the name Ingress?" Rose asked. Berwyn snorted to herself.
"Been a long time since I heard that name. What about it?"
"What information do you have on this woman?"
"Let's see … I was a young child back then … when my father took in a mistress by that same name from the church. I heard she was a holy woman that he had taken a liking to. My mother did not know about this affair until it got out that she got kicked out of the sanctuary when she came running here asking my father for assistance to help her to live. Mother being actually a very jealous woman lashed out at the both of them and days later managed to remove father from the estate leaving him with no money." Said Berwyn.
"Do you know what happened to them after you father got kicked out of the house?" Rose asked.
"Um … well … a few years later I don't know what happened to my father but …" Berwyn continued she hesitated.
"Looks like she … she might …" Dezel started seeming distracted between healing the guard and checking Berwyn to see if she's lying.
"Dezel, let me take over." Said Edna.
"What's this Edna offering to heal someone? Am I dreaming?" Said Mikleo.
"Well you're being awfully rude! I was just offering my services to Dezel."
"Go ahead." Said Dezel stopping the arte. Edna came out of her body and started healing the unconscious guard. Rose looked over to Dezel for information. "Yeah there's probably pretty fucked up about this I mean judging by her voice and what I can sense from her body language. And she is being honest about it."
"But what?" Rose asked Berwyn.
"I managed to find out that Ingress had died and her corpse was just rotting there in a back alley with a knife sticking out of her gut. And for some reason there is this awful aura about it." Said Berwyn. "Call me crazy but it feels like there's a demonic presence around that body like there is this entity that lingers around the body. I mean every time I pass that alley way she is still there and that aura has not gone away."
"Hellion." Said Edna.
"Yep." Said Dezel.
"Also explains where she got the blood for her curse." Said Edna.
"Thank you." Said Rose. "Oh and one more thing, where is this back alley?" Berwyn looked at her confused.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Just a … concerned but superstitious civilian that wants to help out this town." Said Rose.
"… Let me show you." She said. Berwyn guided Rose to the alley way she says she keeps passing. However in place of the corpse that the woman sees Rose saw a snake woman leaning in the corner presumably sleeping as its eyes were closed.
"Thanks." Said Rose before stepping into the alley way drawing her knives.
"What are you doing?" Berwyn asked.
"… You might want to get going." Said Rose. She took another step. The other seraphim came out. The hellion opened its eyes and turned its head. Berwyn shrieked as she saw the long decayed corpse just move. "Run now!" Rose shouted. Berwyn sprinted away.
"Well this looks like a pretty damn angry Echidna." Said Edna.
"All the more reason to purify it." Said Rose. "Can you guys cover me?"
"We should be saying that to you." Said Dezel. "Pretty difficult to cast artes when the hellion is attacking us constantly." Rose glared at him and mumbled under her breath.
"Hephsin Yulind!" Rose then shouted armatizing with the earth seraph. She charged forward and tried to punch the hellion but she slithered out of the way going towards the two seraphim in the back. "Oh no you don't!" Rose shouted having the hovering gauntlets grab the hellion and throw her further back into the alley. The hellion got up then sprung forward head-butting Rose sending her back out of the alley interrupting Mikleo and Dezel. The Echinda started slithering out of the alley way.
"Dezel! Restrain it!" Mikleo shouted trying to block the hellion with his staff but she kept slithering around it.
"All right fine!" Dezel shouted swinging his pendulums having them wrap around the hellion and yanking her back. She jerked just as she was about to get out of the alley way. Rose jumped back into the fray and body slammed the hellion however she got back up and snapped her head towards Rose.
"Jeez these hellions are becoming tougher to knock out." Said Rose as the hellion broke out of her restrains.
"To be fair the Aboleth was just you and Meebo and you refused to knock out Mary Jane." Said Edna.
"Yeah you got a point." Said Rose. She then turned to the hellion. "Speaking of Mary Jane, you think I should try to be diplomatic like with her."
"… Sure." Said Enda.
"Sister Ingress." Rose started. "I know you're upset and you cursed a fellow nun in revenge but-" The Echidna tried to chaw her but Rose blocked it. "Hey listen to me why not make up your differences?" The hellion hissed and shrieked at her. "Come on I'm sure you two can figure something out! Maybe there was a misunderstanding that Mary Jane walked in on! Just tell me your story!"
"She's dead!" Dezel shouted back.
"Oh yeah …" Said Rose. "So knocking it out it is." Mikleo set up an ice wall right between Rose and the Echidna having the hellion slam right into it making it crack.
"Dezel! Run up and restrain it!" Mikleo ordered.
"You blocked the way!" Dezel shouted back
"Use your imagination!" Mikleo shouted. Dezel listened for a section where the air currents flowed better around the ice wall.
"Well damn…" He muttered when he realized the only way was up while the ice wall was cracking more. "Rose toss me up!"
"… Kay!" Said Rose. Getting in position and having one of the hands extended.
"Oh this should be fun." Said Edna. Dezel back out of the alley then sprinted forward and jumped onto the hovering gauntlet.
"Here we go!" Rose shouted launching Dezel high in the air. While in free fall Dezel manipulated the air so he could land behind the hellion then threw out his pendulums trapping it. The echidna struggled but Dezel stood his ground and tightened his pendulums with every movement.
"Hey knocking this wall down would be helpful you know!" Dezel shouted.
"We're working on it!" Rose and Edna snapped back. Rose punched ice wall until it finally broke. She gave the hellion an uppercut making an unsettling snapping sound from the hellion's neck. She fell back and the malevolence sank into the earth. The party heard the clanging of metal coming towards them. Sergei ran in skidding to a halt with Berwyn besides him.
"What's going on here?" He questioned.
"There was some freaky shit that was possessing this corpse. Though I think it might be gone now." Said Rose crossing her arms.
"What did …?" Berwyn started then her face changed to a look of realization. "You're the Shepherd aren't you?"
"Yeah." Said Rose.
"…That … explains a lot." She said then walked away.
"… You're welcome." Said Rose.
"This is typical behavior." Shrugged off Edna. "Let it bother you and I will kick your ass." Rose huffed then went to Sergei.
"So how's the quarantine going?" She asked.
"Smoothly." Sergei replied. "All soldiers are at their stations and some are currently disposing of any bodies."
"Cool." Said Rose. "Are you able to do some hellhound hunting?" Rose
"Perhaps." Said Sergei.
Yeah life gets in the way and prevent you from writing and editing. So enjoy this filler chapter while the next chapter is in progress however long that will take. And I promise this current arc won't be as long as Lady Lake.