The Priestess and the Necromancer

E

EquinoxSol

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Savannah ties her hair up, to keep it out of her eyes, as she adds a couple of drops of a substance to the one she was making now. It was used to heal people, but one tiny imperfection in the mix would be devastating. Soon, however, she found out that she was missing a key ingredient in it. Sighing, she stands up, knowing that this particular ingredient, the petals of a flower that only blooms at night, and begins to search for it.

It was still too light outside for them to be blooming, but she didn't want to be stumbling around in the dark looking for the things. Finding a small patch of them, in a thicket of brambles, she rests where the thorns aren't congregating too badly, and waits for night to fall.

It isn't long before the flower blooms, revealing the soft, delicate petals. Kneeling down next to a couple of them, she steeples her hands, closes her eyes, and says a soft prayer to her god before taking as many as she needed. Standing back up, she begins going back the way she came, to her small tent by the main road to Strongmoor, the nearest town.
 
(Sorry bad quality)

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Ulrich (Ulrick) paced his house, well he like to think of it as a house, but it was much more of a shack. It was a small, wooden building, offering little to no warmth against the often harsh weather, which entered through the misplacement and cracks frequent throughout the wooden planks which served as walls. His pace quickened as dusk approached. He had to admit it, he was nervous, but only slightly. What he did was frowned upon, and illegal in the town of Strongmoor, north of his shack. But that didn't stop him, nothing would. The priests there had burned his mother whilst he watched at the age of 7, accusing her of being a witch. Her screams tortured him every night, memories of her blackening flesh fresh in his mind. He had vowed revenge on them, on the whole town for they had done. A few of them ventured into this forest, seeking enlightenment, what they found, was the edge of his blade, and no salvation in the afterlife. He re-animated their dead bodies, their souls imbued with his, as their bodies served as his eyes and ears in the forest, where he could not be.

Tonight was not just any night, it was the first full moon of the month. Tonight was the only night he had to conjure and bind any of the 12 kings of hell. The one he wanted, Paimon. He admitted it to himself as he made his out of his shack, into the cold rain outside, he had never done anything of this magnitude before, summoning a demon. He didn't know if it was possible, but he would try. I will bind the creature, I will call his power my own. Thoughts racing through his head as the final rays of sunlight disappeared through the tree's. Bringing forth not only the dark, but an almost deadly silence. The only sound was that of Ulrich's feet, hitting against the autumn leaves with each step, as he made his way to the outskirts of Strongmoor.

Ulrich scratched his neck as he looked around. He was sheltered enough by the forest that the watchmen of the town would not see or hear the ritual, but he still wished to make sure he was alone. He pulled the three rabbits he had in a small cage out of his pack, and placed them on the ground. Pulling a rusty dagger from it's sheath, pricking the top of his index finger, and proceeded to write a manner of symbols across the ground. Then he started a low chant, pulling each Rabbit from the cage by the ears, and one by one, slitting their throats, letting the blood trickle down to the ground around the symbols. Finally, he clutched the dagger in his own hand, slicing his palm as the final offering. The writing on the ground began to swirl, Ulrich's vision became blurry. A mass of wild flames burst from the ground, throwing him from his feet backwards. He clutched his head as high pitched screams filled it, the pain forcing his eyes closed. A low groan of a voice filling the space around him, a whisper. Foolish, Ulrich groaned as his arms were flung back, bones cracking. I see what you were planning, ​The voice inside his head whispered, the fumes from the raging fire choking him, his skin ripped and body bleeding around his arms. He tried forcing his eyes open, to no avail, his body had become too weak.You will die here Necromancer, in pain, wishing your dear mother was here with you. Was the last thing he heard, flesh melting from his chest, before he was flung back by a great force. Body flailing helplessly as both of his legs smacked against the ground, the rest of his body smacked against the firm branch of a great tree. He fell. Limbs hitting against the branches, blood spurting from his mouth.

He was unconscious before he hit the floor.​
 
Far away, Savannah could hear sounds, terrible sounds, the sounds of a great torrent of fire. Quickly turning to the sound, she paused only a moment before rushing in that direction, not caring who it was or what had happened, only knowing that something must be wrong. It wasn't long before she left her bag, its added weight something she couldn't handle at the moment. She ran until it felt like her chest was about to burst, and then she ran some more, following the sound of fire until she came upon a small clearing.

It was Hell. That was the only way she could have described it if she had been asked. Blood and fire seemed to encapsulate everything, there were symbols drawn into the ground in what looked like blood, the carcasses of three rabbits, and a body lying near a large tree. Whispering a quick prayer under her breath, in the ancient holy language only a few knew anymore, Savannah let her gaze fall upon the center of the area, upon a demon.

Biting back a scream, she quickly reaches into one of the many pockets of her clothes and takes out a holy pendant, ignoring the fear eating away at her inside. Her mother, who had been a priestess before her, had told her that when banishing demons, she couldn't let them know that she was afraid, or else she would surely die. Crossing her arms in front of her in order to protect her face and body, she begins shouting, "Hic in terra viventium non receperint vos, daemon! Statim decederet! Revertere ad infernum cum potestate aut ego interficiam te solum verum aeternum Sancto Saitash!" The words were from an ancient prayer she'd been taught long ago, and though she couldn't remember the rest of it, she hoped that it would be enough to banish the demon.
 
Paimon writhed in horror as the new come female character uttered an ancient prayer, one which sent him back to the flames from which he had came, he let out a blood-curdling roar, flames spewing from his mouth, and unseen fire burning in his eyes, as he fell down into the flames he had been conjured from, disappearing from sight. The flames which had surrounded him during the summoning died down extremely quickly, leaving nothing but a black char where they had burnt the ground.

Ulrich's eyes opened slowly at first. Like waking from a dream. The forest leaves making his head itch, his mind head fuzzy, he tried sitting up but cried out in agony as he realized he couldn't. He struggled to lift his head up, looking down at his crumpled body, covered in blood and tattered clothing, scorch-marks too, he let out another cry of pain. He could only move his left leg without causing his whole body to treble, he was certain he would die here, alone. He cursed as he tried to remember what had happened to him, to no avail. He managed to flip himself over, painfully pushing himself forward a few paces before the pain was too much for him to bear. "Help, help anyone!?" He shouted, weakly. Having exhausted all of his energy his head fell to the floor again, sleeping.
 
After finishing the prayer, and seeing its products, she fell to her knees, her arms the only things keeping her from falling to the ground. Catching her breath and attempting to stay conscious, even as she heard a cry of severe pain. Savannah knew she shouldn't have attempted such a powerful prayer, not knowing how powerful the demon was or even if she could sustain it, but it seemed to have worked, and for that, she was thankful. Hearing a voice shout for help, she forced herself to her feet, even though she knew that she should rest. Her gaze finding the source of the shout, she sees that its the man she had found next to the tree.

He had moved, she found out, judging by his new position. However, he was unconscious now. Knowing in her current state that she couldn't drag him back to her tent, she decided, though she hated the idea, to help him as best as she could now. Kneeling by his side, she removed what little clothes still remained on him, keeping her gaze upon his injuries.

Looking through her pockets, she found little that would help him, besides a vial of crushed leaves that would prevent infection. Biting her bottom lip, she tried to see if she could wake him, in order to have some sort of help in getting him to her tent. "Please, sir, wake up!" She lifted up his eyelids, checking for an injury of the head.

It was then that an idea came to her. Tearing off strips of the loose pants of her clothing, she tries to stop the bleeding of the worst of the wounds, not bothering with the bones she could feel beneath her touch moving in ways they shouldn't. There would be time for that after he stopped bleeding. Muttering a quick prayer that he wasn't hurt on the inside, she again tried to rouse him, hoping her work wasn't for nothing.
 
Ulrich winced in pain, as his eyes slowly opened. He thought he was dead, he thought the beautiful woman kneeling above him was his mother, waiting for him. They had finally been re-united. As his eyes slowly gained focus, he realized he was in the same place he was the last time he had awoken, cursing in his mind as he came to the realization he was very much still alive. "Please, sir, wake up!" The woman had said, he stared at her face, his body was no longer hurting unless he moved it, which was an improvement, not much though, he thought to himself.

Ulrich stared into her eyes, she could be a Priest, or maybe she wasn't. She looked the type though, but she could just be a simple alchemist. Never the less, he needed help. "I, I can't move my body" He said, wincing in pain as he tried to move one of his legs. "Though, with your help, I could probably make it to Strongmoor, unless you know anywhere closer where I can seek help?" He sighed, feeling helpless was something he hated. And he had no where to turn to if this woman was not feeling compassionate.
 
Savannah gasped as the man's eyes slowly opened, and he said that he couldn't move. At least he was functioning, she thought, thankful that he wouldn't die too soon. When he said that he might be able to make it to Strongmoor with her help, she nodded, but then said, "I've got a tent, by the road, where I have more things that might heal you...I-I'm sorry I didn't bring anything else..."

In truth, she was bursting with questions, why had he been there, what had happened, who had summoned the demon, but she decided that they would be for later, that right now the item of most importance was getting him somewhere safer and less exposed.
 
Ulrich's head throbbed as he tried to remember how he gotten here, and cursed as he couldn't. He managed to lift the top half of his body up, as he realized his arms were not completely broken, though his left leg was. He wanted to tell the girl his name, he wanted to confide everything he knew to her, and stay with her forever. Or at-least until he had recovered, but he simply did not have the energy to do much, being weak and vulnerable made you feel close to anyone and everyone who offered to help, the rain picked up again, bringing with it a chilling wind.

He looked at her again "Well, I do-" a sharp pain shooting through his chest stopped him mid-sentence "I don't know how much longer I will survive here, we better get back to your tent" He finished, as he placed one of his arms around her shoulders, causing him immense pain as he did so, but he had to push forward with it. He couldn't remember how he got in this mess, but taking help from a priest, or what he assumed was a priest, put him in an even more fowl mood, as they made their way.
 
Savannah winced as the man paused mid-sentence, looking as though he was in pain. Taking most of his weight as he placed his arm around her shoulders, she took a moment to regain balance so she wouldn't accidentally drop him. That would probably give him more injuries, something she couldn't afford right now. Wishing she had brought a cloak with her earlier, she shivered against the cold, hoping that she could get him to her tent soon.

Not caring about some of his blood getting on her clothes, she asks, "Ready?" After ascertaining that he is fine with moving, she begins moving in the opposite direction she took earlier, moving slowly so she wouldn't hurt him. It took a while, but eventually they reached the small tent that had been her home for the past few weeks. It wasn't much, but it was home. It was mostly composed of her bedroll, several vials of various herbs and concoctions, and above the entrance hung many talismans and holy symbols.

Lying him down on her bed roll, she quickly gets to work finding the broken bones. When she did, she would try to set it with the least pain possible, occasionally apologizing when she couldn't.
 
Ulrich managed to make it to her small tent without passing out. It was only a small tent, not much smaller than his shack in size. She lay him on her bedroll to try and help him. He fell in and out of conciousness as she tried to help him. The few moments he was awake, he looked around and saw various religious symbols around the doorway, when he saw these a scornful look appeared across his face, though was soon replaced with one of pain as she worked on his leg, after which he fell asleep.

He woke the next morning feeling much more refreshed, though still terrible. He had dreamt of his mother again in the night, the smell of her burning flesh filling his nostrils. Being awake was no better, his body still ached all over though, and the burns hadn't fully healed, nor could he move his leg. He sat up, looking around the tent, he saw the woman working on something in the corner, he thought better than to disturb her, so he laid back down down, staring into the roof of the tent.
 
Savannah worked well into the night, whispering prayers as he slipped in and out of consciousness, so that he would wake up again. Every time, though, he would wake up eventually. When she finished, she did her best to clean the blood off of her, before changing out of her now-bloodstained clothes, and into a fresh set. After that, she wished she could sleep then, but knew that she had to put the petals she had gathered earlier in the solution. Leaving it to age overnight, or what was left of it, she lay down, falling into a restless sleep.

She woke a while before the man did, and when she did, she immediately checked on him, trying to see if anything terrible had happened while she slept. He seemed fine, compared to yesterday, but still injured. However, he wasn't bleeding freely, so that was good. Afterwards, she went about making sure that the solution was still aging. It was nearly finished. She knew that after it finished aging, she only had a few minutes to add in hemlock leaves, which would complete the solution.

Once it was finished, she could use it on the man. She sighed, watching the vial for the color to change from blue to translucent purple. It would be expensive to make another vial-full of it. Indeed, she had had barely enough money to make this one, hoping to sell it in Strongmoor later that week for money for food. But her god's teachings said to put others before herself, something she believed in fully, so she decided that she could spare it. As the color began changing, she quickly found the supply of hemlock leaves and poured the right amount into the vial. "Finished," she breathed, turning back towards the man, who, she was surprised to find, was awake.
 
The woman didn't seem to notice he was awake at first, he lay there, thinking about the night before, wondering how she had found him, why she was out in the forest at night, perhaps she was a necromancer like him. Though he doubted that, from the symbols and odd prayers he had caught her uttering during the night. Gods. They didn't exist. Though demons, you could see the effects of demons throughout the world, they definitely did. As he lay there, although the tent was moderately warm, he couldn't help but feel a chill, as if something he couldn't see was watching him, and honestly, it scared him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as his eyes caught the woman turn, she was holding a vial with some liquid in, he assumed it was what she had been working on. He struggled to pull himself upwards again, noticing she had changed into clean clothes, and many parts of his body where naked. She walked over to him, holding the vial still. "What... What's that for" He coughed, his mouth filling with a disgusting taste.
 
She answered his question with, "It's a healing solution. If I've made it correctly, it should make your surface wounds heal much quicker. Not instantly, but it shouldn't take the weeks and months they would otherwise..." She smiles warmly, wanting to make him as comfortable as possible. After a moment, she has to ask, "What's your name? I'm afraid there wasn't any time for introductions earlier."

Savannah still had numerous questions for him, but knew that she couldn't simply bombard the man with questions. After seeing him move, she said, "You shouldn't move too much. You could hurt yourself worse..." She trails off, knowing that if he did, his broken leg might never be properly healed, and he'd have a limp.
 
(Sorry I had a lot of College work ;;)

Ulrich took the solution gratefully from her hands, which to his were surprisingly soft and delicate. He had expected her to have rough hands assuming she worked a lot due to the fact she lived in this small tent, without many belongings. Though maybe it was just her religion. He felt his eyelids drooping as he placed the vial on his lips, the liquid pouring down his throat, it had a rather sweet taste, which he enjoyed. He thanked her as he gave the empty vial back to her, feeling more invigorated already. "Thank you" He said, his body still too weak to conjure even a smile.

He took a deep breath in, before starting "My name's Ulrich, I have lived alone, deep in the forest to the southwest for as long as I can remember" He stopped to catch his breath, "I know I must be a burden on you, when I am fully recovered I will repay my debt to you in anyway I can." Although he dabbled in the dark arts, he had a sense of dignity, and would stick to it. A silence grew across the room as he waited for her reply.
 
Savannah watched silently as the man drank the solution, trying not to think about how much food and other supplies she could have bought if she still had it. Shaking away those thoughts, knowing that her patron god frowned upon such feelings of selfishness, and smiled as he thanked her. When he responded with his name, she nodded as he told her that he lived in the forest for as long as he could remember. However, when he said that he was a burden to her, that he would repay her as soon as he was recovered, she shook her head, saying, "It's fine. My god teaches selflessness above most else, and I won't stray from those teachings easily." Smiling once more, glad that she was earning his trust, she asked, "Would you like some clothes? I think I have some somewhere that might fit you."
 
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