• Mature • Centermost Caliginous Heart

[Sybil Malach]

Saun 05th, 719

Sybil offered a slow nod towards Wald.

The promise of safety was something that gave purchase many sensations. As they loosened the ties around their torso, Sybil could feel their ribcage expand, their lungs fill with fresh air. The basic things were now becoming something utterly surreal. The ease of breath, the lack of pain around their stomach and chest, it was all becoming something that was a reward for finishing the task at hand, rather than something that was directly just handed out just by living. Sybil's eyes could only close as they took in the sensation of their newly freed body. Allowing the leather deathtrap of a garment to fall onto the snowy ground, they shift their shoulders and back around, trying to pop the bones that had been stifled up until now. Their back was the most audible among them.

Finally, Sybil took a seat where they stood. Back shuddering, as the cold began to get the better of their senses, they simply bring the cloak in closer to their body. The creature, hardly could even be called a ghost, let alone a person, was gone. In truth, the exorcist didn't even know when it'd come back. There were no hard and fast measurements of such things. It wasn't something that could be counted, like someone taking measurements when it came to clothing, or predicting when cattle would give birth. This was something highly circumstantial... Something that truly, Sybil barely even understood as it is. All their knowledge came from books that had all but been handed down secondhand, and the very creature that was so desperately trying to make sure that they failed, and their mind became something akin to putty for it to mold into its own form.

Resting against the snow, Sybil simply leaned back, allowing their body to just lay on the ground. Honestly, it was the most they could do, at this point. The adrenaline had left their body weak, and their mind not exactly in the most focused of states. They'd been trapped in that circle for quite some time. A short rest wouldn't hurt anything, Sybil was sure. All they could think about, was the fact that something like this would even happen. They weren't even sure if it was a person behind this. For all they knew, it could be another ghost trying to manipulate something more powerful, but feral. Eyes sliding towards the hand, mummified and drained of all secretions, Sybil knew that the only reason it was even able to find them, was through the fact that they had brought this with them.

But in the end, such things required risks to achieve understanding.

"Mm?" Was all they could muster, when Wald made the request of the student. The hand? Looking down to the remnants of the cadaver in their offhand, they couldn't quite understand why he wanted it. But, regardless, it's held out in his direction, "It's an Anchor. So long as it's here, the soul is able to exist within... I'm not quite sure how large the radius is, but whoever holds it is absolutely in danger of that... Thing, manifesting near it, and attacking."

Eyes lingering upon it, for just a moment more, before it's handed off, Sybil considers something. If they had the body in its entirety, would surrounding it in salt truly be enough to keep a soul trapped in an area? Would it even matter? Their mind raced with a question that didn't really have an answer. Their hands brought some snow up to their face, rubbing it into the blood that had dried against it, trying to wash off, just a little bit.

It was the dead of night. Perhaps one of the darker places to be, when it came down to the reality of where Viden was located in Idalos, but in the very least, the distant town offered some light. Not a soul seemed to bother to wander outside though, despite all of the noise. Stone and wood homes stood up from the ground, the buildings of this area seemingly reinforced with no small amount of haste behind the action. Their eyes simply lingered on the town, for just a moment longer. If these townsfolk were left to their own devices, would they ever find out how to protect against such a threat, before it's too late.

[Wald Lowca]

Wald watched as Sybil shivered in the cold, he almost had forgotten the troubles of the cold. Soon he began to take off his shirt, throwing it towards the student, It was as warm as a summers day. "Another layer will help with the wind, put it on please." Wald's face did not change, it was like a blank canvas that a painter refused to touch. Wind blew over, and the man stood there, without a reaction to the temperatures of the north. Soon the student handed Wald the hand that had attracted the beast, Wald placed it close to his nose, a long few sniffs were heard as he lowered it again. It did have an odder, but would it be enough for Wald's idea. Ylfa was on her way, so the should begin moving to not waist much time.

Wald looked to the student, tired, exhausted, they looked to need rest, Wald moved down to where the student lay, lifting the small Sybil from the snow. The body heat that Wald radiated would of felt like a sack full of hot water. As he began to try and shuffle the student onto his back, his muscles strained to do so, but he continued so that he could walk to the cabin. Wald began the walk to the direction on which Sybil pointed. "You will have to guide me, and I may drop you if an animal comes. Please be ready." Wald's voice seemed colder then it normally was.

While the two traveled into the forest, the darkness of the trees kept even the lights of night away. There was no need for a torch, it would only begin to hurt Wald's eyes. He was use to the darkness by now, able to make out the shapes of trees and bushes. As he carried Sybil upon his back, allowing them a moments rest, while still continuing their ordeal. Wald had no clue when the ghost would return, or even if it would. Though the forest was empty, no sounds came out of the trees or bushes, except those of the wind moving through.

Time moved four almost half a break, before the bushes rustled with something moving. Wald did not react to the movement, as a familiar sight appeared, Ylfa in her white fur could be seen better in the darkness then the shadowy trees. "Are you alright to walk from here Sybil? I need to give Ylfa something." Wald spoke looking over his shoulder to the young student.

[Sybil Malach]

Saun 05th, 719

Perhaps, this was a testament to just how much of Wald had become normal to Sybil. They simply accepted the tunic with very little protest. The only reason in which the student's mind was even able to operate in this strange fashion was mostly down to an undying adrenaline that pumped through their system. As they pulled the shirt over their body, and grasped at the bodice that lay upon the snowy ground, there was something that was becoming abundantly clear. This wasn't over. Of course, it was something that they had become used to. The idea that while the immediate danger was over, but everything else was at risk of falling apart at a moment's notice. Their body understood as much, and so long as they were in danger, it was like the outer layer of their tiny body was numb. As though there was something to be said about the mettle of man.

By the time Wald had began to speak up again, Sybil was already tying the laces of the bodice once more. Although red streaks were lining their body already from the immense pressure, it wasn't enough. Tying the strings in such a fashion that it could be undone from the front, they simply breathe inwards, curving their small ribcage to a point in which it was hard to breathe out further. It wasn't long, however, before the straps began to tighten and the leather was once again assaulting the body itself. While their eyes wrenched closed, their mind began to expand. Their form of meditation was not coming to grips with the natural world. It was heavily rooted within the material realm, a means of control, rather than a means of liberation. Moreso an act of liberation from their primal instincts than something akin to spirituality. Their eyes glance to the side, towards Wald.

By the time that they were mostly done, however, he had already lifted them off of their feet, in a sort of carry. This was immensely awkward, given how they had just finished tying their bodice. Sadly, in the hands of a novice, it did nothing for the figure. It got the job done. But with the way it had been tied, however, it was almost impossible to bend the spine easily, making carrying Sybil look more like holding a board more than an actual person with some level of flexibility. But that's just the way that the cards fell.

"... I'm not the best at directions, but I at least know where it is." Sybil nods, as they try to catch their breath, squaring it out as they exhale. This was something that was completely awkward for the first few minutes. But as Sybil began to find a center, their mind was slowly eased into something that was more akin to traditional calmness. Eyes half lidded, they focused instead on manually controlling their breath, gesturing out with a hand, they simply motioned, "Start by heading that way."

As the two began their trek, it was easy to take in the beauty of the frozen tundra. Once one's eyes adjusted, the stark whites weren't enough to hurt compared to what it was like during the day. The deep purplish black of the night blended with the whites and blue hues of the surrounding world. It was utterly silent. There was not a single creature to be heard. The eerie silence hanged firm upon the world. A tight grasp that nearly had a stranglehold on the senses. The only thing that made noise were the two's breathing, their footsteps, and the deafening ring of silence.

The journey felt like an eternity.

Finally, Wald spoke. Sybil's eyes wandered from the iceland that surrounded the two. Their more natural, human eyes unable to see things in the distinct clarity that he could, but they could start to hear things. The rustling of leaves and branches. The exorcist's mind finally honing onto the possibility of the first step in this finally reaching its natural conclusion. "I can walk. But if you feel anything strange, you need to tell me. Chances are, you'll see it before I." They say, sliding off of Wald's shoulder, and onto the ground covered in snow, "... Here's hoping that my guess is right..."

[Wald Lowca]

Once Sybil was released from Wald's shoulders, Ylfa came walking up to the pair, she sat down for a moment. "Master?" Her voice was curious on why she was called, since on most times out Wald would not call for assistance.

Wald got on his knee, pulling the decrepit had out presenting it to Ylfa. "I need you to track where the rest of this is. Then come back to me, stay at a distance." Wald placed a hand on her ear and softly scratched her fur, as he let her sniff the hand in his hand. "Do not get seen, as you are tracking around souls. If things get dangerous come right back." After Ylfa gathered the scent of the hand, she began sniffing around in the air and on the ground. Soon she began to run off, as she caught the scent of the body in the distance.

Wald stood up slowly, as he did he stretched out his arms and shoulders. "Good, that should help us get the rest of the body." Wald started to make his walk again. "Now, lets go see that cottage of yours Sybil." It seemed like he was getting ready for a fight, though it would be easy to think there would be one. Though at the same time, the tone of his voice never changed from a monotone. It was eerie as if he was an automaton in a man's skin right then, he was focused on a hunt now, a prey unknown, he would normally be exited by this. Though it seemed like his emotion was taken from him.

The two slowly walked through the wintered land, Wald keeping an eye out for anything, helping guide the student walk. A stray root could twist their ankle if not careful in this climate. Soon the two came across a broken building, Wald did not seem scared of it though. The single abandon building did not put fear into Wald, as it was not something of humanity anymore, nature was slowly taking it back using her tools.

[Sybil Malach]

Saun 05th, 719

The cottage was a brutal disaster, putting it mildly.

It was a hollowed husk of stone and splintered wood. Even in the dark of night, one could see the utterly ruined shape of the half crescent facade still barely holding on by the keystone. Half of the archway remained, parts of the slanted roof managed to hold on. But this was less than a tenth of the building that managed to maintain its shape. Everything else lies in a heap, a poor reflection of what it used to be. The smell of rotten wood and fabric distantly permeated in the air. It was like walking towards something that defied time itself, standing stalwart against the ravages, yet slowly being eaten into oblivion by the elements. Snow covered every part of the hollowed shell, all but staining the ice covered supports. It was likely that this place, some long forgotten grounds, would never be able to return to its former glory: A solitary retreat in the face of absolute isolation.

But Wald's eyes could see things beyond such sentimentality. Unburdened by emotion, and riding off of the singular promise of a hunt and prey.

There were footsteps that sank deeply against the snow. At first, it was questionable that if it could be something other than human. But the distinct shape: It belonged to something that was absolutely human, yet it wore no shoes. As his eyes focused, there were more and more of these tracks. They were fresh: something was here in the snow with the three. But something else was more pressing... The sheer amount of these footsteps. They littered the ground so obviously, that if it were any other hour than the dark of night, it would look as though someone had a party out in the wilderness, and decided to forgo the option of wearing shoes. Yet... Sniffing at the air. Something was wrong. There was a scent of a human, yes, but... There were things, here. Prey, yes, but things that smelled... Like carrion. The things that one does not hunt, yet in the gallery of the mind's eye, Wald could see figures moving in the dark.

Something moved, in the dark.

Some sort of twitching figure. It was nude. Yet... No. What was it?

It shambled along, its fingers twitching with the vague sense of life that it desperately tried to imitate. It looked directly at Wald. It was a woman, yet... She was cleaved asunder, haphazardly stitched back to a single piece. Her eyes were a milky white, skin almost as pale and reflective as the snow itself. Its lips part, chapped and sliced, as it tries to produce a noise akin to breathing. He could... See the inner mechanisms of her throat working, straining. The decaying, dying flesh attempting to give a mimicry of life, as it shambled along, seizing against the cold. Despite looking in his direction, however, it began to slowly move towards its own footfalls. It looked so human, yet so dead... And the way it walked, it was as though it was patrolling.

Something... Something else, moved, in the twisted forest.

Unable to see the intruders, another woman wandered the woods, her reddened eyes searching against the ground. Her lips were smeared with blood, her entire cheek had been blown out, yet it seems that it had been stitched. This one wore clothes, but all it served was to highlight just how ragged they were, all but worn to tatters with no upkeep. The corpse woman's shambling gait making very conspicuous noises, as its broken ankle dragged across the forest floor.

There were more. Around... Two more? Three? That was all that Wald's senses could afford him without a closer look.

Ylfa was present, near the cottage, yet just enough of a distance away to not draw the attention of the dead. It seems like it was coming from this area.

Sybil's eyes weren't as good as Wald's. They could only hear the distant, vague shuffling of creatures. To them, perhaps, it was just wildlife scurrying about. Glancing over to Wald, the exorcist could only give him a look that all but cued him into their ignorance of the situation at hand, "... Do you see anything?" They ask of him, keeping their voice down, as the two approached the cottage from a distance away.

[Wald Lowca]

The moment the cabin's residents were in view, Wald began to study as they moved around. They had not noticed Wald just yet the movements were grotesque and inhuman as they moved. He slowed his steps, letting his breath move slowly from his mouth. There would be not telling what would set the hive off. He looked over in the distance, Ylfa was there in the distance. The body was inside the cottage this much was certain. "Stay still Ylfa, can you tell me anything." Wald's thoughts were transferred to his spirit companion.

"There are two people, Master, one is crawling though, Master." She spoke as she watched over the cabin, staying still for now. As Wald was taking in this information he hear a soft voice. Sybil had said something, Wald turned quickly and covered the student's mouth, raising his finger softly over his lips. Slowly he pointed to the salt the student had on them, then he put his hand on the shirt that was lent to Sybil, pulling off the whole of one of the sleeves. Wald took three arrows from his quiver, and begun tying the sleeve into the arrows. Allowing for a long fabric to be across all three arrows, he would need that much if he only hit the rotting wood. The fire would be slower to light without a good starter. Though he did not move to get a match out just yet.

Wald began to watch the shambling guards, he would not be able to let the creatures near him. Though if the fire made the necromancer scatter, he or Ylfa would easily slay them. Wald leaned over to Sybil, cupping his mouth to their ear with his hand. "The dead are walking the area." He whispered softly to Sybil, before he moved his hand away. Wald thought hard for a moment, though the dead were already slain, his normal methods of fighting were not of use. They were going to get close, there would be no doubt about that. "Ylfa, come." She began to take a slightly longer way around to stay out of sight. She would make the front line to the shambling dead. As he took a match out, with the three arrows notched on his bow. He began to wait for a good moment to fire at the cottage to set it alight.

[Sybil Malach]

Saun 05th, 719

The dead that roamed the night were not intelligent by any stretch of the term. Bodies crooked beyond belief, limbs turned a tarry black color from the cold as their flesh seemed to burn from the cold itself. It was most notable on the legs and arms, and stripes of the color slowly streaking up their necrotic forms. The two shambling nearest to the cottage were in poor shape, dried and leathery from the lack of moisture in their flesh; likely from either the lack of flowing blood or the nature of the tundra itself, the dry air without any humidity. As the two took a moment and allowed the sounds to fill the air, the distant hoarse noise of the groaning creatures seemed to create a discordant cacophony of suffering existence. They were not stealthy in the slightest. It was as though they were too dumb to even try to remain quiet.

Sybil's eyes slowly turned towards Wald, as he struck the match. Their eyes blankly staring at the man's choice in moving forward. This was land in which either didn't know the proper answer to. Judging by Sybil's expression alone, it was clear that they didn't fully believe what Wald had said; not that he was lying, but that the targets were in fact dead. They had never seen a corpse rise, only a soul. "... We need whoever it is alive. Aim for the legs, if you can." Came the admission. Sybil's eyes slowly traced along the bow's arrow, and towards where they guessed the cottage was, trying to make out the vague shapes in the dark, "It's unlikely the soul will cease just because he's gone. We need answers."

The arrow was sent loose into the dark of night, soaring overhead, towards the cottage. Sybil didn't even mind that they were now without a portion of the newly offered sleeve.

The dead were slow to react. While the light was obvious, they seemed more confused and starstruck than willing to intercept. Their attentions turned to the building, as an arrow sank against one of the rotting wooden support beams. Slowly, the squadron of the dead began to drag their barely attached limbs towards the light that was billowing from the cottage. Though the wood was not what most of the building was made out of, that being reserved for cold, hard stone, this decaying column of wood was likely the only thing keeping the parts of the stone structure intact. The woman with the burst throat gurgled, at the burning flames. Her slow approach was something that she could not help, her legs barely even able to keep up with the urgency that her dying mind was forcing her to react with. Stumbling, the corpse tripped over her own feet, landing squarely at the entrance to the cottage.

The smell that plumed in the air next, was something that was distinct, in how utterly vile it was: The scent of burning, rotten tallow.

A broken scream shattered from the dead woman, nearly ripping her already ruined throat in two with the amount of pressure which was forced from it. Or, at least, it sounded like a scream. The column cracked in half, skewering the walking cadaver by the torso, pushing whatever air remain in her rotting lungs out, piercing her body as though it were a pincushion. Stones were falling from the ruined wall, mixing with the flames that were rising up from the ground.

The dead, all but one, now surrounded the cottage, their glassy gaze dazed by the sudden display of light.

The flames began to rise, shouting could be heard. A flurry of curses, a screed of foreign words coming from the cottage, where, at first, there seemed to be no one. It didn't take long, however, before a squarish door against the floor shoots open, and... Someone, clad in so many furs that they looked more like a creature than a person, tried forcing itself out, hands busy, with something hoisted up in a bridal carry, something that quite... Worryingly, looked like a corpse.

Letting out a breath, Sybil takes the salt that Wald gestured towards, and begins to slowly make a circle of the stuff around their personal space, "... You did get the copper knife back, right? This salt... Doesn't harm them." They murmur towards Wald, watching the snow evaporate beneath the purified salt, "If not... Then you can have what's left of my sachet. It'll... Act like a wall, not a weapon."

[Wald Lowca]

Wald fired the small volley of arrows, as one embedded itself into the rotting wood, the fuse of a sleeve burned. The flames started to lick into the cracks and splinters of the beam, starting to catch the rot into flames. While this was going on, Wald readied a new arrow Watching the undead shamble around as the flames grew. Creaking of stone and wood could be heard as the light began to illuminate the surroundings. Wald had not fired upon the undead as they were distracted by the light, and not the flesh of living beings.

Curses were being flung into the air, a mix of panic and anger it would seem. Wald did not recognize the langue, and wondered if keeping him alive would do any good. As he saw the figure run out of the building, carrying what looked to be another person though limp. As he went through the snow, he could not run very fast. Wald tracked him for a moment, watching each of his steps timing them. A loud thud could be heard from the bowstring being released. The arrow flew through the air fast, as it pushed into the back of the man's right knee, continuing on through the bone into the left calf. This caused the man to collapsed and screamed in pain, his legs both secured together by an arrow. Wald watched the man fall, and began to try to pull the arrow, though he tried to pull from the fetchings.

Soon Wald took out the copper knife, as he pulled the salt from Sybil's sachet. "Ylfa, guard me for a moment." Wald walked slowly forward, as he secured the knife to an arrow once again. Salt ready in case of an attack, with Ylfa to act as a diversion. He went to secure the person squirming in pain.

[Sybil Malach]

Saun 05th, 719

It was easier to see in the dark, with the addition of the flames that spewed forth from Wald's arrow.

The building was beginning to crumble, collapsing beneath its own weight as the facade finally began to give way. The purging flames were enough to engulf what remained of the wood interior, but it wasn't quite as much as one would quite hope. While the nearly deafening sound of collapsing stone shattered the silence, the flames could not spread any further than what they had. Two figures began to be illuminated in the light of the darkness, shambling their way to the figure's aide, as it began to flee from the scene itself. Whatever the thing had muttered in that foreign language, it was enough to wrench control of the living dead's attention, and bring them into a more active role in things. Milky, glassy eyes began to scan at the world in front of them, the male and female cadavers attempting to find their prey in the dead of night.

The sound was what gave it away. The loosening of an arrow from bowstrings, paired with the screaming of what now appeared to have been a man. Slamming against the snowy ground, his legs were bound by wood and iron, his desperation getting to the better of him as he struggled against his fate, curses filling the air as his feverish thoughts reached a climax. His servants, the walking dead, began to shamble in the direction from which the arrow was loosened, in the direction in which the necromancer pointed his finger, repeating the same word, over and over again. To both Wald and Sybil, it sounded like gibberish. Gibberish that was tempered with the frenzied shouting of a man that was close to a fate nearing death. His thralls would be shambling towards the origin of the arrow that hit him, yet...

One will remain by his side, as he struggles to get the arrow out from his legs.

And now Sybil was alone. Surrounded by a circle of salt, and utterly without means of defense when it came to the supernatural. Wald and Ylfa were advancing, yet the exorcist remained still, calm within the circle, their mind beginning to even out, as the adrenaline flowed freely through their veins. Jade eyes finally lingering upon the figure in the distance that had fallen. The bright flickering of the burning cottage was almost enough to distract the exorcist from the scent of rotting, burning flesh, but in the end, there simply wasn't anything that could be said or done. As far as Sybil was concerned, the second step was already finished. Eyes lingering upon the cadavers, as they lurched forth, their mind could only question how the dead could walk like so. Their eyes closed, yet their mind was uncertain, that they were necessarily the same.

Was wrenching control of a soul truly the same thing as holding control over a dead body?

Yet, as Wald moved away, there was something that was stabbing into the side of Sybil's skull. Something that was completely overtaking their process of thought. Eyes slowly sweeping along the scene before them, the exorcist tried to make sense of it all. Taking a seat, folding their legs, they let out a slow breath, eyes closing. Focusing inwards, they try and make sense of what was racing through their mind. All of these spur of the moment emotions and doubts about the situation.

Everything was... Strange. The burning smell of flesh and rotten wood. The sound of the cottage slowly crumbling in on itself, crushing a creature within to death. The buzzing in their ears began to take precedence above all else. A tune that seemed to entirely envelop their senses. The grip of cold strangled their senses as their mind tried to make sense of the sensory overload of an attempt on their life. Pulse beginning to slow, they could feel their body growing cold, trills seemed to drag on for hours...

Something was coming.

The thought ripped through the attempted harmony like a dagger to the stomach. A blistering warm sensation beginning to bloom in a vague direction: A sort of searing heat that felt like a stare in the cold of night. Ears perking at the sound of snapping twigs and dried leaves crunching. Sybil's eyes opened.

A half mangled corpse was crawling its way towards them. Ruined beyond any sort of recognition, its gaping jaw was missing the lower portion of bone. Over twelve persons' length away, its movements were too slow to be a threat, yet...

... Why did they not feel safe?

[Wald Lowca]

Ylfa was only needed for a moment, as the knife was secured in the case the phantom would appear. Wald looked over the situation, the dead were slow the danger was the unseen. This is why he took Ylfa, she would be able to buy enough time for him to get the salt down, while he was busy with the knife. Wald began to notch his arrows, firing two more at the man on the ground. One embedded into the man's pointing hand, forcing it into the ground. The other mended his other hand to his leg, this was to keep him still as he done the rest of what he needed to do. "Ylfa, fetch." The sound would ring for a moment, as Ylfa sunk into the ground.

The land was emptied for a moment, it was just the dead and the three sitting there. Wald began to fire arrows, planting them into the knees of the shambling dead. While he listed for any movements of the snow from behind him. As he did so, Ylfa sprung out of the ground. Beginning to gather the heads of the ones that fell in the snow, as a spirit she had no fear of the rot. Only if they were to strike at here. The creatures were to slow for a strike, as she moved around them decapitating the shambling messes. "Watch Sybil!"

Wald turned back to the man on the ground. "As for you." Wald began to get walked at by the shambling corpse next to the man. As Wald proceeded to use it for target practice, stopping the creature from standing. Any head shot from his bow was useless, so every time he aimed for the knee. Though something did not feel right, as the creature crawled towards him. Slowly Wald's hand reached for the salt, as something in his mind was telling him to do so. It was not his gifted instincts, but the ones he gathered in his life, when things were to easy. When he did, he touched the hand that he took from Sybil. Trying quickly to open the salt back to make a circle before the ghost could reappear.