Date: 10th of Vhalar, Arc 719
Weapons: None
Status: Covered in blood
Weapons: None
Armor: None
No Current Magical Effects
The cobblestones under Prae's feet were slick. Probably blood, he thought, but it was difficult to tell in the moonslight. "Alright." Someone sighed from beside him. "Let's load them up."
This was, Praetorum reflected as he adjusted his flat cap, an incredibly worrisome dream to have stepped into. Bodies lay broken in the streets, piled up haphazardly against the walls to clear a path wide enough for a cart to trundle through. On Prae's other side, the donkey attached to the corpse cart whines, nostrils flaring at the heavy coppery scent.
"Shhhhh." Prae murmured, gently running a hand over it's neck. "Easy, girl." He didn't actually know if this donkey was a girl, but he supposed animals weren't likely to get insulted if he got it wrong, so it didn't really matter. He patted her firmly on the shoulder, and her head lowered slightly as she pawed at the cobblestones. "Oi, no slacking." Prae looked up to find another ithecal, a wyvarnth, scowling at him. "We've got a whole street to clear out before night falls, so get working." This might be the dreamer, Prae thought. She had a slight Ivorian accent, and he wondered briefly if speaking with his empire accent will jolt her out of the dream. No point in risking it; Prae just nodded, snapping off a mocking salute, and went to join the other half dozen ithecal as they piled corpses into the cart.
A wyvarnth lay prone just in front of a half open door, as if she had fallen over and died just moments after exiting it. Kneeling down, Prae gently slid one arm under her mid section, then awkwardly managed to pick her up, feeling the strain along his lower back as he did so. Tucking the corpse under his arm, Prae stumbled back to the cart, noting as he did so that all the others were carrying corpses over their shoulders, and seemed to do so easily. Tossing the body into the cart, the dreamwalker took a moment to watch the others at work, curious to know how they picked up the bodies.
He was a little surprised to see that there did seem to be a consistent technique to it; they would lay the bodies out flat, prop up their knees, and then pull on the arm to drag the body over onto their shoulders. It seemed neat enough, and no one else seemed to be struggling, so Prae turned to try it, pulling the body of a young thiussum off of a pile onto the flat cobblestone. The bodies were warm, Prae noted with some surprise, though the blood on them was long dried. There was none of the stiffness Prae was used to seeing in older corpses; perhaps the dreamer was unfamiliar with that aspect of death? This was a very strange dream to be having in that case, but he supposed it didn't really matter. He was able to push the corpse's knee up, although he did have to brace it's feet with his own. Then, he leaned over, grabbing its arm, first with one hand, then with the other, realizing a little belatedly that for this technique to work, he would have to use his trailing hand to pull the body all the way over his shoulder.
With the knees braced, the corpse rose limply to its feet as Prae pulled, and he bent over to hook his hand around one leg to keep the corpse from slipping off his shoulders. Then, he stood with a slight grunt, finding that it was indeed much easier to carry this body, despite its size. He brought it over to the cart, and let it slide off into the pile, a few moments before the donkey made a noise, and began to walk off, dragging the wagon of corpses along behind it. The other ithecal started to follow, but Prae lingered behind, spotting a beckoning door across the street.
Prae had had enough of death and blood in his waking life; he didn't need this much of it in his dreams too.
This was, Praetorum reflected as he adjusted his flat cap, an incredibly worrisome dream to have stepped into. Bodies lay broken in the streets, piled up haphazardly against the walls to clear a path wide enough for a cart to trundle through. On Prae's other side, the donkey attached to the corpse cart whines, nostrils flaring at the heavy coppery scent.
"Shhhhh." Prae murmured, gently running a hand over it's neck. "Easy, girl." He didn't actually know if this donkey was a girl, but he supposed animals weren't likely to get insulted if he got it wrong, so it didn't really matter. He patted her firmly on the shoulder, and her head lowered slightly as she pawed at the cobblestones. "Oi, no slacking." Prae looked up to find another ithecal, a wyvarnth, scowling at him. "We've got a whole street to clear out before night falls, so get working." This might be the dreamer, Prae thought. She had a slight Ivorian accent, and he wondered briefly if speaking with his empire accent will jolt her out of the dream. No point in risking it; Prae just nodded, snapping off a mocking salute, and went to join the other half dozen ithecal as they piled corpses into the cart.
A wyvarnth lay prone just in front of a half open door, as if she had fallen over and died just moments after exiting it. Kneeling down, Prae gently slid one arm under her mid section, then awkwardly managed to pick her up, feeling the strain along his lower back as he did so. Tucking the corpse under his arm, Prae stumbled back to the cart, noting as he did so that all the others were carrying corpses over their shoulders, and seemed to do so easily. Tossing the body into the cart, the dreamwalker took a moment to watch the others at work, curious to know how they picked up the bodies.
He was a little surprised to see that there did seem to be a consistent technique to it; they would lay the bodies out flat, prop up their knees, and then pull on the arm to drag the body over onto their shoulders. It seemed neat enough, and no one else seemed to be struggling, so Prae turned to try it, pulling the body of a young thiussum off of a pile onto the flat cobblestone. The bodies were warm, Prae noted with some surprise, though the blood on them was long dried. There was none of the stiffness Prae was used to seeing in older corpses; perhaps the dreamer was unfamiliar with that aspect of death? This was a very strange dream to be having in that case, but he supposed it didn't really matter. He was able to push the corpse's knee up, although he did have to brace it's feet with his own. Then, he leaned over, grabbing its arm, first with one hand, then with the other, realizing a little belatedly that for this technique to work, he would have to use his trailing hand to pull the body all the way over his shoulder.
With the knees braced, the corpse rose limply to its feet as Prae pulled, and he bent over to hook his hand around one leg to keep the corpse from slipping off his shoulders. Then, he stood with a slight grunt, finding that it was indeed much easier to carry this body, despite its size. He brought it over to the cart, and let it slide off into the pile, a few moments before the donkey made a noise, and began to walk off, dragging the wagon of corpses along behind it. The other ithecal started to follow, but Prae lingered behind, spotting a beckoning door across the street.
Prae had had enough of death and blood in his waking life; he didn't need this much of it in his dreams too.