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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 4766328" data-attributes="member: 5203">Strange AfflictionsKaliel and his friends sat atop their horses on a small hill, overlooking the city of Chrysanthemum and the walking dead who surrounded it.    They had ridden hard for two weeks, leaving Lynnisbrook within hours after Kaliel’s soldier had ridden up to them.  From here, they could see that the city had been sealed shut for some time, probably since shortly after the scout had left to find the Auric Lion.  The horde of dead, numbering perhaps a thousand all told, had gathered all around the city’s walls, staying back out of the range of bows.  The majority of them were clustered in two groups, one at each gate.    “They attack at night,” the scout had told them on the way.  “We drive them off, but our losses have been growing, and we have been unable to resupply the town.  I was barely able to slip past them to come and find you, sir.  Sergeant Brusk has organized a militia to help defend the walls, but the people are growing hungry, and desperate.”    “Where did they come from?” Ghost asked.    “From the northwest,” the scout replied.  “More than that we cannot say.”    Kaliel turned to his companions.  “We will need to find a way to enter the city,” he announced.    “Give me time to study the lay of the land,” Ghost said.  “I can find a path.  We will have to leave the horses behind.”    “Kaliel,” Ayama said, “did you not say that there is a spirit who controls the lands outside your city?”    “Yes, Blizzard That Topples the Oak.”    “Where might I find him?  The presence of the walking dead in his lands is no more tolerable to him than it is to you, I am certain.  Perhaps he will aid you.”    “Perhaps,” Kaliel said.  “I would try that stand of pine to the southwest.  He has been seen there most frequently, I am told.”    Ayama dismounted and set off on foot.  After several minutes of careful searching and addressing the unseen spirits surrounding her, she was finally approached by a minor wind-spirit, who beckoned her forward.  She walked into a silent clearing on a small rise, the only sound from the wind.    Then, a figure appeared.  Tall and imposing, the spirit looked like one of the members of the Icewalker tribes, though wearing clothing that appeared far more urban that would be expected from either an Icewalker or an elemental spirit.  Clearly, the spirit had altered his appearance since his arrival at Kaliel’s gate.  Ayama bowed.    “You are Blizzard That Topples the Oak?”    “I am.  What do you want?”    “My name is Ayama.  I have come in regard to the many undead that now surround the city of Chrysanthemum.  I suspect that their presence here is displeasing to you.”    “This goes without saying,” Blizzard rumbled.  “Though nothing has happened as of yet.”    “The lord of the city intends to deal with the problem soon,” Ayama said.  “I have come to see if you are willing to offer assistance to his cause.”    Blizzrd grumbled.  “Who is asking?”    Ayama bowed again.  “The request is mine, though I can carry your words to Kaliel.  He is ultimately the one who will approve.”    “Then he is ultimately the one who must ask.  I will await him here.”    Ayama returned to her companions and relayed the spirits words.  Kaliel grunted in response.    “We will see how the first day’s fighting goes,” he said.    “Kaliel…” Ayama began.    “I know what you will say, Ayama,” Kaliel replied.  “But I must think of the future beyond this event.  Blizzard That Topples the Oak wants me to humble myself.  If it is needed to save my people, I will do so.  But it will not do for Blizzard to believe that he has an advantage over me.”    Ayama’s look was slightly disapproving, but she nodded.  “Just remember that if you end up needing his aid later, he will make you eat that much more crow.”    “I understand.”    Ghost returned shortly thereafter, and guided the four Solars and the scout across the fields and toward the southern wall.  As they approached the city, an unexpected shift in the undead horde brought them within sight of the group, but before they could be reached, the men on the walls extended long poles, allowing them to climb to safety.    The scene inside the city was bleak.  The entire town carried the reek of unwashed bodies and wastes that could not be disposed.  The faces of many showed the signs of mild starvation.  Both Ayama and Zanka looked almost sick; the former from worry, the latter from the stink.    “Kaliel,” Ayama asked, “where would I find your quartermaster?”    Kaliel pointed at a building near the center of town, and Ayama departed.  Soon, a large man came running up to Kaliel and saluted; a whispered comment from Zanka identified him as Sergeant Brusk.  He and Kaliel exchanged a few words, and then made their way to the main command post in the center of town.  Ghost and Zanka followed.  They entered a large office, which was dominated by a sturdy looking desk that had obviously not been used in months, though it had been kept clean.  A smaller desk, belonging to Brusk, was off to one side and piled with parchment.    “Roughly four weeks ago,” Brusk began, “our scouts noted a horde of walking dead coming from the northwest, and moving with some purpose toward Chrysanthemum.  We secured what supplies we had and fortified the city while trying to gain intelligence on the enemy.   To date we have been unable to identify any sort of command structure, though it is clear they are being guided by an intelligence – note the fact that they only attack at night, and remain out of range in the day.  It is uncertain if our city was the primary target for this horde, or was merely a target of opportunity.”    “We will need to break this siege quickly,” Kaliel said.  “I have need of you to the south.”    “I think everyone would appreciate that, sir,” Brusk said.    “Morale has been a concern, sergeant?” Zanka asked.    “Yes, ma’am.”    “I will see what I can do for them,” Zanka said.    “What is our current field strength?” Kaliel asked.    “We can field three-quarters of the Knights,” Brusk reported.  “The rest are down with injuries or illness.”    “What illness?”    Ayama walked into the room at that moment.  “The illness caused by living for a month without fresh food or water,” she replied.  “And the fact that some of your people are starting to eat the rats does not help matters.  Your quartermaster has been trying to warn people, but he’s certain that some have grown hungry enough to do this.”    “All the more reason to end this,” Kaliel said.  “Ayama, I will take you to meet with our healers.  Zanka, spend some time among the people and give them hope.  Ghost…”    Ghost held up his hands, smiling.  “I have no talents which will aid in these matters, Kaliel, this I know.  If nothing else, I will man the walls tonight and lend what aid I can.”    The attack came as soon as the sun set.  The dead swarmed the walls from all sides, clambering atop each other in an attempt to enter the city.  Men and women lashed out at them with swords, axes, and long hooked poles.  A few unfortunates were pulled, screaming, from the walls, while others simply dropped from exhaustion as the night wore on.    The attacks ceased as the sky began to lighten, and the dead withdrew.  The city’s defenders also vanished from the walls, retreating to safety.  The dead shuffled about for a few minutes, and then began to shamble away, moving off toward the trees.    The horde stopped suddenly as a loud noise echoed across the cold plain.  The main gates of Chrysanthemum opened for the first time in weeks.  The sun blazed over the horizon as the sound of thunder filled the air – but it was not the sun whose light blazed across the fields, but that of Kaliel, whose anima unfurled like a pair of golden wings as he led his Knights in a charge toward the walking dead.    The hooves of the horses thundered as the wedge or armored warriors approached.  A swarm of throwing axes preceded the Knights as they closed in, joined by a pair of amber-colored boomerangs.  Thus there was already a considerable gap in the horde when the Knights crashed into it.  Rotting flesh and bone flew apart as blades flashed and hooves trampled, and the wedge crashed through the mass of walking corpses and out the other side.  The Knights quickly wheeled around for another charge, but the dead, recovering from the shock, quickly closed ranks and pursued.  But the dead, though far more numerous, were disorganized, and could not penetrate the close ranks of Kaliel’s forces.  The dead could also not withstand the attacks of Ayama, whose very touch sent them to their final rest.      Surrounded by zombies, Kaliel’s Knights dug in and simply began hacking at dead limbs, surrounded by the blazing light of multiple Solar animas rising into the sky.  Zanka, who was riding near the center and shouting encouragement to the soldiers, was nonetheless looking sickened by the smell of dead, cold flesh and putrefying organs being spilled upon the cold ground.  Soon the ground was slick with gore, though almost all of it was from the unliving invaders.  Within a few minutes, it was the Knights who had the advantage of numbers.  With the mass of the enemy dispatched, Kaliel was finally able to see the entity that commanded them; a ghost, its ravenous, hateful eyes fixed on the Dawn commander that had destroyed his army.    Wheeling around on her horse, trying to avoid getting too close to the front lines, Zanka looked back at Chrysanthemum and saw something quite unusual.  The gates had been opened again, and there was a steady stream of people moving along the outer wall, heading for the river.  They looked as thought they had hurriedly gathered everything they could carry with them.  The stream of people was guarded by member of the town’s militia, who kept a wary eye out for any of the walking dead who had strayed from the battle.    “What is happening over there?” Zanka shouted, pointing.  Ghost, following her gesture, sawed on his reins to get his horse turned around, and went galloping through an opening in the lines.  He rode up to the gates.    “Corporal!  What is going on here?”    “The sergeant’s ordered an evacuation of the city, sir,” the soldier said.  “I don’t know why, but he said we had to get everyone to a safer location.”    “Safer than a walled city?” Ghost jumped off his horse and ran into the city, finding Sergeant Brusk at the center of town, shouting commands from a tower.     “What is happening here, Brusk?” Ghost asked.    “We need to get out of the city,” the sergeant growled.  “It is no longer safe.”    Ghost looked around.  “I see no breach.”    “The town was not invaded.  Do you know how some of our people were eating rats?”    “I heard of that, yes,” Ghost answered.    “A few of those grew ill and died last night.  Their deaths were not greatly noted, on account of those who fell defending the walls.  This morning, just after the attack began, they rose again.”    “Seven Spirits Below!” Ghost exclaimed.    “They have been dealt with, but we lost a few citizens to them.  There are many more who are ill, and I do not know who else will fall ill, or if this contamination will spread.  So I have ordered everyone who is healthy to head for the river to make camp.  The infirm and those known to have eaten rats are to remain in the city where they can be contained.”    “I will take this news to Kaliel,” Ghost said, he bolted for the gate where he had left his horse.    The Dawn Caste warrior was still in the midst of battle – though it was all but won, the dead were not wont to seek terms or surrender.  The ghostly commander had tried to advance on Kaliel, but had been intercepted by Ayama, who attacked with fists blazing with Essence.  Within seconds, it had dissolved into the air, destroyed.    Ghost came riding up.  “Kaliel!  There is trouble within the city!”  He explained to everyone what had been discovered that morning.    Kaliel wheeled around.  “Knights!” he shouted, “the city must be evacuated!  Go and help our people to the river!”  He then rode for the gate, his three companions right behind him.  Kaliel and Zanka went for the command center, while Ayama and Ghost rode for the part of town where the dead had been kept during the siege.    They all met later than day, near dusk.  They sat in Kaliel’s command tent, in the center of a sprawling encampment.  Ayama’s face was solemn.    “I have examined the bodies that have reanimated,” she said.  “And they bear signs of an unusual contagion.  It is a dual affliction.  The first component is a fairly typical plague, much as is spread by normal rats.  But the second element, which rides upon the first like a mount, is more unusual.  It is supernatural in origin, that much I can say, and it some superficial ways bears resemblance to what I have read about the Great Contagion, though with nowhere near that potency.  It is this second affliction that causes the dead to rise.”    “Can it be treated?” Kaliel asked.    Ayamna shook her head.  “I am not certain.  First we will have to examine your people, to see how many are afflicted.  I already have your healers and surgeons working on identifying those with the disease, and moving them out of the camp.  So far, I estimate that perhaps a tenth of your people are afflicted.  The symptoms of the plague can be treated, and life extended… but I can only cure one at a time with my gifts, and that is far too slow.  I have had experience in such matters.”  Ayama’s face suddenly had a haunted, pained look, one she quickly covered over.  “And I must reserves some of my strength to deal with those who die; their bodies will need to be consumed by the power of the Unconquered Sun to prevent them from rising.  A cure must be found… but no medicine that I know will accomplish this.”    “A tenth of my people would be nearly two thousand,” Kaliel said.  “I will put the Knights at your disposal to help with moving people into the city for quarantine.  Most of them did not eat rats and so should remain healthy for now.”    Ayama turned to Zanka.  “I need you to talk to the people, tell them what is happening and keep them calm and cooperative.”  Zanka nodded at this request.    “I will go and speak to Blizzard That Topples the Oak,” Kaliel said.  “My people will need to hunt and forage heavily to replenish our supplies.  And I am hoping he can help to remove the rats from the city; otherwise we will not be able to return home.”    “I will ride northwest with a few of your scouts,” Ghost said.  “The dead came from that direction – it may help to know where they originated.”    There was little sleep to be had that night.  While Ayama worked with the healers and Zanka spoke to the people to reassure them, Ghost was preparing to set out in the morning.  Kaliel, meanwhile, walked out into the forest, to a clearing on a small rise.  A figure awaited him there.    “I see you have dealt with the dead,” Blizzard That Topples the Oak said.  “But why are your people encamped in my forest?”    “A plague has arisen in the city,” Kaliel said.  “One with magical properties.  It causes those who die from it to rise as the dead.  The plague was spread by rats within the city.  I have come to ask for your assistance in dealing with this plague.  I would not wish it to spread beyond the city walls.”    Blizzard was silent for a moment.  “I will speak to the scavenger spirits in my lands, and ask them to direct their charges to hunt within your city, rather than pick over the corpses on the battlefield.  I can also have spirits guide your healers to medicinal herbs.”  The spirit was silent for a moment.  “And I have recently become aware of an old cache from the First Age located not far from here.  I will send a guide to you in the morning.”    “Your aid is most appreciated, spirit,” Kaliel said.  “I will inform my people.”    It was not until Kaliel was halfway back to the camp that he realized that Blizzard That Topples the Oak had made no threats, no demands, and offered no bargains for his services.  He wondered at this for a moment, until he recalled that the spirit would have witnessed the morning’s battle, and seen him fighting alongside three Solar companions.    Kaliel smiled.  The spirit was no fool.</blockquote>

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