The following morning, after a pleasant sleep in one of the Inn's rent rooms, they were out and about to visit the local shoppes. The Blacksmith was a gentle soul, letting them try his wares as they did in a comical fashion. Suited in iron that was weighty enough not to permit them much movement, they tried to draw upward weaponry that was drug through the earthen floor. A good, hearty laugh was had by all. "Ye dainty lasses in shiny metal cans!" It took a while to remove each piece of armor they donned, and their travels took them to the general stores and dress shoppes. They spent the day haggling over items they didn't mean to purchase anyway, glancing to one another in the square and speaking the words in a sing song voice. "I know a great little bistro!" And spilled over in laughter. Something happened in Ashlotte then, and soon the people around them too, fell to the ground in a fit of laughing.
Innocence that was tainted with evil flowed from her in waves, carrying the others out in a tumultuous tide of blackness. Soon the sound of their laughter changed, it became twisted and derisive. The power of their hilarity was so strong that the people were becoming harmed, biting their tongues and knocking out teeth from their clamping maws. It seemed as if they sought to reject the dark force that was now inhabiting them, but they were weak to its will. The women clawed at themselves through the bout of laughter that would not release its hold, and the men began to choke upon spittle and blood. Ashlotte surveyed the bizarre occurance in terror, Kiruku in a strange fascination. This terror broke the spell, as her reverse empathic ability no longer had the adequate fuel of its host. They looked upon the mass of bloodied faces, lips swollen and mangled, pieces of tongue and teeth dribbled down thier peasantry attire.
As the people tried to speak, it came out in a ruined, distorted sense. Kiruku, unaffected herself by the outburst of sinister energy, turned to Ashlotte. "Let us away from here, as I may have to return for these unfortunate souls at a later time." The look of terror was affixed upon Ashlotte's face for quite a while after, piquing curiousity at the least in those that saw her. "It is amlost spring." Kiruku tried to engage her in conversation, after ordering them both some peppermint tea. "The fields will be full of blooms, and we will be able to go swimming and lounge in the warm breeze. The frigid grip of winter won't take the people to sickness, not until next year." The words hit Ashlotte's ears, but she was unmoved by them. However, the peppermint that perfumed the air made her thirst for the drink, and she sipped at the steaming beverage quietly. "Co'mon, dear, the land far and wide is plagued by strange instances. The very soil is cursed, and all that grows on it, I imagine. The trees that were cut down to build houses, the food one puts on the table. It all vibrates with horrible energies, blemished memories. It infects everything with its evil."
The droll of the tavern talk was then interrupted by the forceful intrusion of several people, a man speaking of damnation and his following. The door was broken into, as if the people used their own bodies as battering rams. "We have been afflicted by the evils of a witch! Behold these people laying in the streets! What else could have gotten such a stranglehold on these hapless souls? None other than the evil spewings of a witch!" His dark eyes seemed alivened with the firey flames of the Hell he spoke of, casting a damnatory gaze upon the people that temporarily resided there as long as their tankards were full. "A blackhearted witch! We must not suffer this witch to live!" A woman replied that she awaoke to an empty kettle, she prepared a cup of tea and no water poured from the spout. "A witch stole your water, as to thwart you from enjoying your morning brew!" A rather hungover gentleman in a coat that reeked of mead popped open a slate colored eye. "Well the 'tender mixed up my drink order." His words were laden of a drunken slur. "He must be a witch!" The air of the tavern was further staled by another voice. "I overheard Brigidine consorting with familiars in the dark of the night!" The woman whose moniker was spoken rose and threw her tankard at the offending female. "I was feeding my livestock, you sot!" "You know, I heard that the seamstress of Rose's dress shoppe stitches curses in her clothing." The gasp came from a man who carried himself in a feminine way. "The threads are soiled with her blood!" The man that had provoked undue paranoia in the group, book held high, started his sermon. Kiruku looked to Ashlotte, urging her to finish her drink so that they could leave. "It's turning ugly." She claimed softly, as the Reverend provoked the crowd to the point of hysteria. "...Birds at my windowsill, they are harbingers of death, they are!" "What of the bug that bit me as I was tilling my garden? I've felt sickly since. My roses are riddled with the disease of a witch's breath!"
The two women across from one another shared their gossip, as the Reverend's voice bellowed within the walls of the fragile tavern. "The Gods will smite the hand of evil that has swept across this territory! We must fear the awesome power of the Gods, hold fast to our faith!" "I think he is a witch, he is!" The Bartender yelled across the way. "Evil can distort the words of the Gods!" Ashlotte gazed at the fanatics, rolling her eyes. "Is this to be a witch hunt of sorts? Or are they just lacking oxygen to their brains?" "I will get the pyres ready!" Screamed another, who chose a more dramatic approach to his exit. He brushed the remains of the window pane from his coat, shards shining in the sunlight littered the floor and a table. The fresh faced youth was on his way, minus the hat he had left behind, his collar length black hair tousled by the breeze. "Black hair! The mark of the Devil!"
Soon after their stent at the tavern, the townspeople were subdued by the combustion of pyres that they were all became bound to, as a result of the crazed thoughts of fanatical peers, or an even more difficult task in wrapping themselves about the towering pillars of wood. However more crudely the ropes snaked about their bodies, it would suffice as what would be to come. They opted for a free hand, in which they could light the pyre next to them, and they had perished for naught. As the flames climbed their forms, big and small, they were far too gone to realize that they had martyred themselves in vain.
The billowing smoke from the town carried the stench of burnt flesh, the black cloud of death errily resembled the grotesque image of Ravenwitch's face. Ashlotte couldn't tear her gaze from the loathsome visage that patterned the sky. "Do you think she has her revenge?" Kiruku gazed blankly over her shoulder in the direction of Ashlotte. "Revenge never dies, unlike those people. More souls as fodder for the unending blackness. I wasn't called to usher them to the heavens, so they are shackled to this plane, much like the Sisters you've beheld." She shook her head, a mixture of disgust and sorrow would have touched her heart if she were allowed any feelings."On to the next town, I suppose." Uttered Ashlotte, starting unknowingly toward the great city. "So, what's it like being a death..dirge.." "Dirgesinger is the appropriate term." Kiruku finished for her. "It is like touching one with the breath of life, only backwards. They fear, which is most understandable. My power emerges from my entire being, not just a small part. My song can travel a distance, if one blocks their ears, it'll resound within to destroy from the inside. I could imagine that it's a terrible way to go. The chill of death lingers in my flesh, and I can rend one out of body with a touch. "What about that flute? Does it have... deathly properties as well?" Ashlotte swallowed hard, nodding toward the gnarled instrument Kiruku always kept at her side. "I never see you play a tune on it." The Bard looked to her side as if a foreign growth sat there, feeling very apprehensive about answering that particular inquiry. "I ..found it. It wasn't a flute at first, I had to alter it into the likeness of one." After several moments of awkward quietude between them, she resigned with a sigh. "It is a relic piece of the nafarious organ, an infernal instrument which plagued the air with its ungodly spellcraft."
Ashlotte's brow quirked. "Oh? She could not incant on her own?" Kiruku's head bobbed in a nod. "She could, but her wife could not ever muster up such power as to compare herself to the vile one. Overtaken by greed, she was. She sought the power of all the world, the greed a delectable nugget, a treat for the vile one. She fed off of the sin that had inhabited the witch, as she allowed herself to become a comfortable host. That's why the wicked instument was erected. Every key, an utterance of whatever incantation she may need." "She married a woman?"Ashlotte had not heard of such a sacrilege. "It was just a sinful union, and Destiny was never seduced by passions or succumbed to her desires. It was more like a business arrangement. I've never tested the flute though. I'm afraid of what may happen. It is said that there are pieces like this scattered throughout the world." Kiruku gently caressed the small, bone like flute as if any firm touch may cause it to disintergrate to ash. "It is said that the organ was destroyed in the fallout of the cataclysm, but I know not if that's really what happened." Kiruku eyed her friend, showing a stiff smile. "It is best not to chance it because of curiousity."Ashlotte nodded. "So, what of your life prior to being a wanderer?" The question was directed at the female who was tousling her honey brown hued locks. "I don't remember a thing. I awoke one day and -poof- I was here. A target of more than my share of robberies, I might add."
Kiruku pondered a moment, and finally answered "Remember, the memory scape is not a playing field for Gods, nor man. You memories are there, just muddled up and hidden away. Seek hard enough, and you shall find the answers you are looking for." This lifted Ashlotte's spirits, although she beamed as emptily as a smile chiseled upon a statue. "There are a few cities I know of. As long as we don't cross the gate of the Golden City, we shall be have all the welcome and hospitality we need."The duration of their trek was shortened by a ride upon a carriage that also traveled the road. Kiruku gushed in appreciation, handing the wagoneer four gold pieces. "Cleavage and Coin." Ashlotte mulled the title over. "What a disturbing name for a tavern." Kiruku added "I agree, they could have done better." They entered to the collective noise of drunks and minstrels, a stage act of dancing girls twirling about until they were dizzied. It seemed more cleanly of the ones they had visited, rats weren't drunk upon lapping up spilled ales, floorboards didn't creak upon one's footsteps. There was a wide range of drink, generous amount of space in the common room, that was supplied with a grand fireplace. Even their feast was one fit for Kings. "I've never tasted cheese as flavorful as this, was the yeast a gift of the heavens?"
Kiruku slurped up her ale, greedily tearing into the meat of a juicy fleshed fowl. The serving wench approached them, flaxen colored braid hanging over her left shoulder. "Could I get you anything else, loves?" She leaned over just enough to accentuate her cleavage. Luckily, a chip in the wall caught Ashlotte's gaze. "No, we'll be fine." Kiruku stated sternly, looking past her to the dancing girls."Sure I can't freshen up your drinks?" She blushed, speaking through a sugary sweet smile. "I beg your pardon, dear Ashlotte. A higher calling calls me away. She slipped out of the booth, moving toward the stairs. "Ah, you know what they say about ale..you only rent it!" The blonde giggled girlishly, twirling the end of her braid. (She was called by a divine calling, not...to void her bladder, you dolt!) Her thought seemed to bounce of of every knook and cranny of her mind, she managed a nod and smile to acknowledge the other female. Kiruku's terrifying sillhouette stood in the doorway of her destination, numbing air seeping from the cracks and crevesses of the room. It was drawn toward her. Stepping toward the sleeping soul, the woman woke with a start, opening her mouth as if to scream. The Dirgesinger's hand extended, and the frightened female looked into the eyes of the intruder, her pupilae shaped like skulls. something then wrapped about her vocal chords like a serpent, and she found that all sound was cut off.
Kiruku leaned in, the essence of her death chant coursing through the woman's veins now, as her body began to shut down. Her windpipe became brittle and she began to silently choke, inwardly hearing her gasps and cries. Her heart beat in rhythm with Kiruku's song, like a drum. "Bodies are loaned to us, and I am making but a simple transaction. A life siphoned for the birth of another." The woman's mouth remained agape, as did her eyes, even as her soul left. Her face was but an ugly purplish hue. The Elf would visit two more tonight, her presence unwelcomed to all. "There will always be death and dying, so I'll never starve or be left wanting." Her words would go unheard by her expired audience. Unbeknownst to Kiruku, Ashlotte tagged along working as the Bard's shadow it seemed. She kept a close eye on the orange maned woman's death dealings, a look of great pitying upon the Empath's face, although the emotion itself wasn't present within her.
"You shouldn't have come. Death is but a private interaction between the dying and I. The wayfarers that have to be released from the body, they do not know where to go. I have to usher them into the next existance. So that they get there without incident or taking the wrong path to end up ....somewhere else." The somberly clad Elf averted her gaze from Ashlotte, hoping that the Empath did not need an elaboration on the subject. "I see. I do apologize for the intrusion then." Kiruku nodded. "A festival is going to take place today." She pointed to the sign which had given her information for such a conclusion, as well as the people that were busied with tasks related to the ?grand occasion.? Others were shifting about in the crowd, getting lost in the sheer overflow of people, trying to move from one place to another to flaunt their self stitched masquerade masks.
Ghoulish decorations were placed throughout the town and pumpkins were carved with the hideous semblance of creatures that would dwell in the deepest abyssal pits of eternal darkness. People were dressed in the likenesses of witches and other creatures evil, Reverends had abandoned their churches for the day to take their sermons to the streets. "Abandon ye in your nefarious dealings, clad in the robes of iniquity of this sinister holiday! Disrobe yourselves of the sinful countenences, and come to the church to pray for your immortal soul!" Barely a soul had heeded the warnings of damnation, most just continued past without a look in his direction."Oft thou tred upon the path of damnation, but must thee continue in your guise of blissful ignorance, to turn a deaf ear upon my words of salvation?" Kiruku caught his gaze with a wandering eye. She elbowed Ashlotte lightly in the ribcage, as she was trying for her attention. "Damnation thee shall face, you and your -friend.- Pray that thee shall sprout wings upon your shod feet, that they shall carry you to the church expediantly. "
Kiruku watched in grim silence, Ashlotte observed unblinkingly, her mouth dropping open as a thought crossed her mind that insanity had gripped the minds of all the Reverends and their flocks she had been unfortunate enough to encounter. "Perhaps you should make your way ahead of me, Ashlotte. What comes of these traditions will not be pretty, and the stench of death will be likely to waft upon these streets soon." She made a 'shooing' motion with her hands, bidding the Empath to swiftly vacate the premises. Shortly after some lonley contemplations at the starless sky, when fog swallowed the ground from across the clearing, her Elven friend came to her side. "You know, I shall never understand the strange traditions of humans. A festival consisting of ultimately harmful activities from bobbing for apples and poisoning breads and pies and giving them out to the children, to those dancing about in the darkness clad in nothing but their own skin. And then the Church folk with their mucked up verion of divine justice." Ashlotte felt the cold settle upon her, causing her to shiver as there was no shelter from the bitter breeze. "What would something as simple as bobbing for apples prove to be harmful? Unless one didn't lift their heads to take in a breath out of the water or something." She finally blinked, shutting the eyes which were held open for so long that they stung against the back of the lids. "Oh, but it would indeed prove harmful in the true aspect of the 'bobbing for apples' concept. First, one would set a cauldron of water upon the fire until the temperature of the water contained reaches above the point of boiling, and unwitting partakers not savvy to such a fact until well..it is too late and the deed is done. Should I speak more of this?" A gulp slowly slid down Ashlotte's throat, having become enlightened to the real purpose to what she had previously thought to be a simple, somewhat fun looking activity. "Oh.." Kiruku nodded. "We'll get it right one of these towns. They can't all be bad, can they?"
"I would only hope, but hope seems to be fleeting as of late." "Ah, but you should never let go of hope, even if it is as small as a thread. With the loss of hope, comes the complete destruction of humanity." As night once again became conquered by the light of day, the traveling duo was met along the roadside by a stunningly beautiful blonde that was grossly underdressed for the weather. The leggy female wore a garment of which much fabric could not seem to be spared in its creation, its hem docking well above her knees. It was paired with boots of the same crimson hue, an overabundance of leather seemed to be used in their production as they stretched up and over the otherwise bare knees. Her flaxen hair was long, light waves tumbling down the length of her back. As the stranger neared, it appeared as if the dress had clung to her slim figure so snugly that it couldn't have possibly been stitched of fabric at all but that she was somehow bathed in blood. "Ah, I knew that this morning would bring travelers upon this road. It's not a road well trod anymore, but not totally abandoned either. A rare sight for it to bring one this way, but even rarer to bring two." Her voice had a throaty seductiveness that Ashlotte believed would have been a prized asset to dens of ill repute or of a sultry singer in a lounge that could afford them. "We weren't brought this way by choice, I'm afraid. There were some..rather peculiar events in the towns we've visited prior, and we had exceeded our welcome." Hellinka nodded. "Well, don't feel bad. It's just something in the water or something. Some bad blood..." The odd, sapphire eyed female chuckled at what seemed to be joke of which the punchline fully eluded her and her Elven companion in both comical aspect and meaning. The chuckle swiftly died upon her lips and she then made her introduction, announcing both name and occupation in the process. "I am Hellinka Darknau, a -Mage- of sorts. Normally I wouldn't be so quick to release the latter information to those I had just met, but you two seem to have some secrets of your own. And I don't see torches and pitchforks in your hands, so this also makes me comfortable enough to divulge my ..talents."
The Empath was mostly clueless, dumbstruck as to why Hellinka spoke of the carrying of firey implements in the day and Farmer's tools until Kiruku added under her breath.."Angry mobs..or witch hunters." "Ah." Hellinka stared at the duo for a moment, as if attempting to read their faces and body language. "May I add myself to your companionship? I've nowhere to go, and it's been a lonesome travel, as I was run out of the last town I was in. "Um.." Stated Ashlotte, and Kiruku shrugged. "Oh, perfect!" Added the Mage. "It's settled then." "I..suddenly feel very strange.." The Empath, nearest the blonde, announced. "It's like..I can't seem to to read anything from her at all. Like gazing into a placid pool, and not being able to see the danger underneath." Kiruku turned an eye in Ashlotte's direction, replying in a whisper slightly softer than that which had struck her ear. "We'll just have to see where this takes us. She could be a fugitive, or someone whose talents are just misunderstood in these times. After all we have witnessed, it shouldn't really come as a surprise that the Church itself has been corrupted by fanaticals. I can tell you from my own experiences that I have quite often had become a target under fire, sometimes quite literally." Ashlott gave a sweeping glance toward the new addition to their group, unsure of what to make of her. "I've never been in the company of a real Mage before. Are you like a court magician or something?" It was obvious that Hellinka became offended at this, having had her powers compared to the likes of a mere magician, appointed to the court to display her silly talents for the King's amusings."My powers reach beyond prestidigitation and the like, I don't pull rabbits or any other sort of objects out of hats or my sleeves. I am a Blood Mage." Kiruku's movements halted as suddenly as one would being stricken with rigor mortis, an aspect that could most often be viewed from her clients. "A Blood Mage? I thought there weren't any of your kind left!" The carrot topped Elf phrased in more awe tthan anything else.
"You know they've shut the doors to any sort of Necromancies. How did you come into having such power?" "Necromancies?" Ashlotte's inquisitory voice broke through, a flock of crows flying overhead seemed to literally turn tail in the sky and the sound of flapping momentarily drowned out the conversation below. "Prestidigitation sounds like some sort ofelixir that would sting ones palate with the after taste." "Prestidigitation is a fancy word for sleight of hand, magic tricks." "Ah." The trio was showered with the feathers of the black fowl, causing them to sneeze from the cloud of dander in the air. "Well, there is only one way one would become a Blood Mage. I paid for my power in death." Kiruku's recollection came back to her then, a vision of a crimson cloaked blonde placing a satchel of gold in a foreign hand and falling in death."I thought I recognized you." "I do apologize, but you must have me mistaken with another. I have never lain eyes upon you in my life." Spoke Hellinka, directing the comment at both, rather than a single target. "Perhaps in -life, - you may not have, but in death..." The female with the hair of finely spun gold rose a questioning brow, but Kiruku only nodded. "I am not so certain I understand." Ashlotte tossed an angry glance to the birds which had shed quite a many feather upon her, and suddenly the sky seemed to be filled with conflict. Crow upon crow, the birds became lost among razor like talons and beaks. "It was ultimately by my hand you had passed." Shouted Kiruku, trying to enounciate over the squalks of the furious fowl above. Hellinka shook her head, signalling that the Elf's words had become lost before they could reach her ear. "Let us away before they come at us next." Kiruku tugged on Ashlotte's sleeve, motioning Hellinka to start running for the patch of rotted out trees up ahead. The carrion soon became food for others of their kind, and the three couldn't look away from the cannibalistic acts they were witnessing.
"You see, there is only one way one would become a Blood Mage."Started Kiruku, rather ominously. "It is not an Arcane or innate gift. And it certainly isin't a Divine one. You must perish to be risen from death with it." "It's true." Hellinka's somewhat husky drawl was then heard. "I paid a Cleric to kill me and then ressurect me from the bonds of death. Of course the law of the Gods decree that one of their followers shall never take the life of another. So the deed was done by my own hand. I still have the scar. " She placed a palm flatly over her heart. "I was reborn of new lifeblood coursing through my veins. What an odd feeling it was. To feel a heart that had become still in my chest start pumping with life once again, ears deafened by the silence of death hearing the world around me. I didn't like it at first, but I am quite accustomed to it by now." Ashlotte stared at her stupified for several moments, before blurting a response. "Why would -anyone- wish to take their own life for this?" "Because of the -power.- I am not of this world, nor am I of the realm of death. It is a total freedom to walk the thin line between." They started on, moving South of the trees. Hellinka then turned the opposite direction, a swift pace releasing her of the company of the duo.
