stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

[GwydapLlew]

"Hold, Ashlyn!" Khensu rises quickly and strides forward, his greataxe loose and nonthreatening in one hand.

"We have been in this domain for less than a day - we knew my brother to be afflicted with something, but none of us have seen this before. What ails him? After Solase rose, it is clear that he is cursed. What will free him?"

He attempts to maneuver between Ashlyn and Jarrith.

 

[DEFCON 1]

"You travel with one infected, and have not healed him or ensured his final rest?! Keep your weapons at bay. Any sudden movements and I will defend myself. I will rid you of this curse, cleanse it from your body, but if you resist, I will notice."

Jarrith raises his hands and takes a step back so as to put a bit more distance between him and the pointy-end of the weapon aimed in his direction. "Easy, sister! Easy!" He looks over at Sir Khensu and silently communicates that it's okay... obviously this woman has been here much longer than they have and her nerves are probably frayed.

"Believe you me... if you could rid me of the bile that suffuses me... I won't object in the slightest. Unfortunately, while I am a servant of the Flame, I am not nearly devout enough to be granted the power to rid myself of this disease. And the only one who might have been of enough divine might to do so is right now burning on that pyre." As Ashlyn moves to him, Jarrith gives her one of his smirks. "And you don't need to worry about me succumbing to this thing. A member of the Order of Illumination won't submit to the darkness that easily. And besides, even if I did..." he points at his Lumin Brother "he would have taken my head off already. We have a deal. I receive all the pain, and he lays me to rest."

 

[stonegod]

"We have been in this domain for less than a day - we knew my brother to be afflicted with something, but none of us have seen this before. What ails him? After Selase rose, it is clear that he is cursed. What will free him?"

There is a tense moment as the two holy warrior's look each other in the eyes. There is tiredness but also anger in Ashlyn's---someone who has experienced only battle unending for far too long.

"Easy, sister! Easy!" He looks over at Sir Khensu and silently communicates that it's okay... obviously this woman has been here much longer than they have and her nerves are probably frayed.

Ashlyn looks over at Jarrith, then to the stolid paladin between her and the Stalker. "The walking dead carry a curse---those they strike are doomed to rise as them. I have myself seen son rise to join the mother that fell him. That is how it has spread so virulently. Does not your Flame give you the ability to remove such foulness? I see the dents in your mail, so it obviously wards you from the sickness." She gestures at Jarrith with her non-sword hand. "It is as he says. By the grace of the Sovereign Olladra I may remove the sickness and make him hale. Is that enough?"

Her eyes bore into Khensu. Even bloodied and weak, her presence is strong.

 

[GwydapLlew]

"...Does not your Flame give you the ability to remove such foulness? I see the dents in your mail, so it obviously wards you from the sickness." She gestures at Jarrith with her non-sword hand. "It is as he says. By the grace of the Sovereign Olladra I may remove the sickness and make him hale. Is that enough?"

Her eyes bore into Khensu. Even bloodied and weak, her presence is strong.

Khensu meets her gaze unflinchingly. He nods once, slowly, his broad features impassively gauging the warrior-cleric. "The secrets of my order differ from yours. All paladins of the Flame are warded from such foulness themselves, but it is a rarer power to cleanse it in others."

He offers her a thin-lipped smile, careful not to show teeth. "If you are able to cleanse my brother of this taint, he is willing, as am I."

 

[drothgery]

"I don't suppose you know any means of preventing those of us who lack an immunity to such things from becoming infected?" The elf asks. "I spent most of my life fighting Karrns and their undead creatures, and I never saw anything like this." And that the first signs of aging were visible in Daellin's elven face was a none too subtle hint of how long that had been.

 

[stonegod]

Ashlyn makes her way slowly around Khensu, eyes on him and on Jarrith. Planting her sword in a loose piece of earth, she places her hand on Jarrith's fevered brow. The Stalker soon feels a tingling sensation, and something reminiscent of the warmth of an old oven, then then it fades. But with it fades the sickness and Jarrith soon feels like his normal self.

Ashlyn regains her sword and puts it away. "It is done. I will leave you to your dead." With that, she starts inspecting the barrier reconstruction work.

[Jarrith is no longer sickened]

 

[DEFCON 1]

Jarrith shakes his head and takes a deep breath. And indeed, his lungs are clear and his mind is sharp once more. He grins at his Lumin Brother, then goes over to help with the barricades as much as he can.

"My thanks, Miss Ashlyn."

"I don't suppose you know any means of preventing those of us who lack an immunity to such things from becoming infected?"

Jarrith nods in agreement at the elf's query, as he would also like to know if anything else can be done to prevent this in the future.

 

[GwydapLlew]

"I don't suppose you know any means of preventing those of us who lack an immunity to such things from becoming infected?" The elf asks. "I spent most of my life fighting Karrns and their undead creatures, and I never saw anything like this." And that the first signs of aging were visible in Daellin's elven face was a none too subtle hint of how long that had been.

"It seems to be akin to a mummy's foul touch - only this supernatural disease animates upon death." Sir Khensu replies.

He nods towards the unlit pyre. "Selase had several items that could benefit us if we remain here. I wish to claim her identification and personal effects so that whomever she held dear can be comforted in their loss."

 

[stonegod]

"I don't suppose you know any means of preventing those of us who lack an immunity to such things from becoming infected?"

In the process of securing and lighting torches to the barriers, the warrior turns a moment to the elf. "I know of no balm. I have felt its unnatural ichor assail me, but my faith has always turned it back. All that I have seen who have fallen to the undead have risen as them."

 

[stonegod]

OOC: Just as a reminder: The party has seen one person that was dead but did not turn into a zombie.