Dearly Departed, (Roy's Solo Job)

It was a fine day to walk the streets Roy thought to himself, glancing about his surroundings casually; he never really felt home sick during his travels, of course there was no where to feel home sick for. But now that he had finally joined a guild, and found a place that he not only enjoyed, but people that he enjoyed being with. It had been quite sometime since he stayed away from this place for to long. But he knew that no matter how comfortable a home might be, he couldn't go too long without a good old fashioned adventure. He yearned for the freezing rain, the biting cold, he missed the thrill of a good fight, the elation of a perfectly executed plan. Oh how manly it is! To adventure, and struggle, and earn every day you live, by blood and sweat.

As if by some lucky chancee, Roy noticed a man dressed in a pinstripe suit approach him, he flagged him down and handed him a letter. He conjured his smoke hands to open it lest it should be trapped, discovering that it wasn't he read it. It said this.

"Dear old friend I don't know if you remember me but I need your help. A strange cursed has swept across my home land destroyed most of the population. I managed to escape, and am now in hiding, but while I was escaping from those creatures one of them bit me. Within the envelope I have placed my current location I am currently at an old cabin in the cursed lands, please come as soon as you can as I am beginning to feel rather feverous. Yours Truly, Balder"

The letter seemed legit, it was even stamped with Balder's seal. That means someone either stole it, or that it was really him. Either way this was just the distraction that Roy was looking for. Well...I guess I'd better help the old man, or at least find out what happened to him. Roy thought to himself, he nodded to the man in the suit and paid him a few jewel for his trouble. Roy always traveled with his gear, since he liked to travel light. So there was no reason to go back to the guild. Roy glanced around once more at the town he had come to enjoy so much in such a short time, then departed.

Spoiler:

Monster roll

The member 'Roy the Chanter' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Roy had finally made it to the area cabin where Balder frequented, he dearly hoped that his friend was alright. Balder had been one of the contributing factors in his conversion to Zentopia, he was a demonologist of sorts, and studied dark magic and evil forces. Though he was not a warrior he was a respected scholar that many young warriors of righteousness came to for advice when confronted with a curse they just couldn't break, or a strange evil creature that they knew nothing about it. Whatever it was he always knew the answer, and always went out of his way to help.

Roy felt an unholy presence in this land, indeed the curse was deeply set in. Every plant the trees and the grass writhed in unnatural agony. It drove Roy to deep anger seeing the land in this condition. He grimaced and cursed the infernal magic the plagued this land, why people meddled in the dark arts he didn't know. There was nothing to gain by selling your soul to the devil. It just brought ruin and darkness to the world, as if they wasn't enough of that yet.

His fist clenched as he continued to look around, he sincerely hoped that Balder was alright. The more he saw of this land the less he believed he would be however. Roy wondered why he hadn't called on another more accomplished mage, surely there he knew of someone more qualified than he to remove this darkness.

Roy was broken out of these thoughts however, by a rather disturbing feeling. The air got chilled and he soon saw his breath, how odd he thought. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Roy looked around the area once more, there was no one here yet the feeling of anxiousness didn't subside. Perhaps he thought, it was the curse that was doing this to him? Certainly it wouldn't be out of the normal for curses to inflict fear in this caught up in them. But yet, why did he feel those eyes? Roy cast a haze spell on himself, blending in with the background and moving entirely unseen.

He made his steps lighter now, moving without a sound. Whatever was happening he wanted to be the one to get see first, and be seen later.

Little did he know that no precaution he took would make a difference to the opponent he would soon face.

From behind Roy, as it phased through a tree A ghost struck him, and knocked him forward on to his knees.

Roy grunted in pain as an icy feeling exploded throughout his abdomen, his breath froze in his lungs and his skin tingled with numbness which slowly eased into a burning sensation, like needles piercing his skin. He feel to one knee and stopped himself with his hand. Knowing that he couldn't just sit there like a fool, he rolled forward and sprung to his feet so that he could face his opponent.

Standing before him was an ethereal being, about four feet in length, it had no legs or face to speak of, but it wasn't hard to identify. Roy's felt sad as he saw his opponent, a restless spirit that hadn't yet found rest in the peace of God. He was not mad that the creature struck him, surely it was a byproduct of this damned curse.

He would do the only thing that he could do for this poor soul now.

Summoning a host of his own ethereal arms he stood tall and stared the creature down as it approached him.

"I will set you free soon. Don't worry, you won't have to suffer anymore."

Spoiler:

The hands he summoned seemed to cause the spirit no distress, as it hovered towards him as if nothing had happened at all. Roy supposed there was little to fear, once one was already dead. He he sent five of his hands at the ghost immediately, it dodged two of them but three landed a blow, three more stayed in front of Roy, and the other two went to either side of the ghost, in order to flank him. The spirit merely let out a low wail as it was assulted by Roy's magic, but nonetheless it kept coming, seeking only to feed in Roy's life.

Roy noticed that his haze did nothing to stop the spirit from seeing him, he guessed that made sense. It's not like it actually had eyes...it must see the physical world through a spiritual lens, and nothing would hide Roy's thriving life energy in this dismal place of death. It didn't matter though, he could do much more than just hide.

The Ghost struck again at Roy, he quickly dashed backwards as his hands struck out at the spirit each of them landing a blow. The two hands at it's sides lashed out as well from behind striking the creature another blow. Roy's five remaining hands zoomed past the spirit forming a guard in front of Roy. This spirit did not seem awfully deft, but he wasn't going to take chance with one of the living dead.

All of the sudden however it grew much faster and rushed at Roy, his hands lashed out at it but it sailed over them and struck at Roy like a missile coming from above. Roy dived forward as the being came crashing down where he stood only moments before, the spirit seeing Roy prone on the ground lashed forward again with a terrible moan, as if there was a hunger so intense in this being it might never be satisfied, but yet it could do nothing but attempt to quench this unending thirst for eternity.

Terrifying as this might seem Roy did not loose his cool, instead as he anticipated this next move from his opponent, he sent his five spectral hands which had previously been behind the ghost rocketing forward to strike it as it rushed at Roy.

The combined power of his magical hands finally managed to tear this poor spirits ghostly form to shreds, with one final shreak, his opponent's unholy bonds finally released their hold on this poor creature, releasing it from the torment of an undead existence. As the shreak subsided Roy heard almost like the whisper of the winds, a gentle sigh of relief. As if a weary traveler had finally found the rest it had always been looking for.

Roy let out a sigh of relief himself as he felt his side. Warmth was slowly returning to it, and breathing was becoming less of a pain as well, in fact despite the dark lifeless feeling of the area, he felt just a bit warmer, and the land looked perhaps shade less grim. But he waited to rejoice, there was still much work to be done. Roy continued getting ever closer to his friends cabin, muttering a few prayers under his breath for the soul of his opponent.

Spoiler:

Monster Roll

The member 'Roy the Chanter' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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#1 'Monster Dice' :


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#2 'Monster Dice' :

Roy had ,managed to avoid a few shambling mounds of flesh with his haze spell, if there weren't too many ghouls in one area he usually placed the blade of his knife deftly in the brain stem of these monsters from behind. He could use his haze as a distraction when he needed to.

Those creatures who still used the eyes of this world weren't the problem however. It was the opponents who saw more than even he did that worried him. Every once in a while he looked around swiftly, having thought that just for a moment those same eyes as before had laid their gaze on him. But nothing seemed to be there when Roy looked, no matter what direction he looked in, and no matter how long he looked for.

It didn't matter he told himself, whatever happened he would take care of it. He just needed to find Balder, find Balder and make sure he was ok. If he got to him in time he could use some of his items to heal him, that should counteract the decaying effect that some of the undead's attacks could cause.

He just needed to find him, and find him quickly. Roy's heart started beating faster as he looked without success for his friends hut, he had visited several times before but the area was so different now, nothing looked the same and it seems chaos and madness had taken over the whole place even before it became a literal ghost town.

He started a light jog throwing caution to the wind he made some noise. But it didn't matter, he'd take down whatever got in his way. Nothing would stop him from getting to Balder, not now not when he was so close. Roy luckily encountered no more ghouls as he traveled the abysmal lands where this curse had taken root and blossomed.

But finally in the distance where thick fog had formed he saw the silhouette of Balder's cabin. Elated Roy threw caution to the wind and sprinted towards the home. His heart raced faster and faster as he ran, he felt a nervous drop of sweat fall down from his forehead. Hold on just a little longer Balder, I'm going to be there soon old friend. Just hang on for a little longer

All of the sudden however another shivering presence appeared before him leaping through from behind a standing stone. Roy barely had time to lift his hand before the creature landed a blow on him. He defended his head by bringing his arms up with closed fists, putting them together and holding them upward. The creatures dreadful touch sent shocking pain throughout his arms, and stopped him in his tracks. His body arched backwards behind the force of the blow, but he did manage to stop the ghosts strike from reaching his head.

He jumped back a step as the ghost launched himself at him, he dodged left then right,  backing up and hopping to the side. This ghost was on a rampage and Roy could hardly do more than dodge at first. He figured blocking would do nothing for him, any touch on this being seemed dangerous. But soon enough he was able to calm his mind and focus on the situation.

The ghost lashed out with it's right hand, and he dashed to the left, so that it would have to turn to face him, buying him time to use his smoke chain spell, this chain lashed out towards the ghost encircling it and forcing it backwards 20 meters. His spectral hands spell could only move so fast, and in Roy's desperate attempts to get to Balder he had left in a little ways behind. It would get there, but slowly. He needed to buy time.

As the ghost was launched backwards Roy smiled, as he prepared to cast another spell. This smile turned into a shocked expression of pain however as another explosion of needle like pain shot through the right side of his ribcage from behind. A grey hand slowly retracting itself from Roy's chest.

Damn it! He cursed internally, he had dropped his guard while he fought the first spirit, not even considering that their could be another one in the area. He leaped forward and away from the ghost at his back rolling and pivoting, so that he took a low stance on his feet facing the ghost, his chain would hold the spirit a little longer and then slow him down. Roy wasn't sure what spell he could cast to slow this spirit down, he cursed himself for leaving his contingent of hands so far behind. He was never this reckless, but then again he was rarely racing against the clock to save his friends life.

His eyes widened as he remembered Balder. Damnit he cursed again, he didn;t have time for this! Roy let out a wild holler as he decided to unleash a bit more of his magical power, at first he wanted to conserve his magic should he need it to get balder out of here but none of that would matter if he couldn't even get to him in time.

The Ghost closest to him hardly moved at all before it was beset by Roy's Coffin nail spell, it stopped in it's track as smoke enclosed it from all sides, crushing down on it with magical force. As the smoke dissipated immediately after the attack Roy caught a glimpse of the ghost body hovering in place, prone due to Roy's attack. But slowly it's body started to fade again, it's form getting less and less visible as it seemed to dissolve in to the air, hardly a moan escaped from the incorporeal being as it finally left this world for good.

He had no time to take pleasure in his victory however, as the ghost he had cast away was once again making it's way back to him, finally overcoming Roy's smokey chain. It still struggled against it however and Roy was grateful for this, as it bought him enough time to come up with another plan.

Roy merely stood there and waited for it, backing up slowly to drag out the time it took to get to him. The ghost howled and wailed, and Roy noticed how cold it got again as he saw his breath. It came out in short quick bursts, so Roy took a deep breath, and calmed himself. His heartbeat slowed down and his breathing was regulated again. The pain in his body was starting to subside but it was still so sore, and he noticed that it hurt a lot worse, and went away much slower with every hit he took.

The ghost has just about reached him, and Roy just stood still, he glared the ghost down as it continued getting closer to him, he didn;t move, he didn't flinch, he just breathed, and remained calm. Finally the ghost was close enough to touch him, it reached out it's hand and let out a piercing hiss, elated as it finally got close enough to it's prey to launch another attack.

Roy's felt different this time as the hand neared him, he heard thoughts that were not his own. His body grew numb all over and his strength started to fade, it took all he had for his knees not to buckle, but still he didn't move. His vision blurred and he was starting to see stars. But just before the ghost reached him, from behind his misty hands finally caught up to him and launched themselves at his opponent from behind. Each hand struck the ghost and as they did they shot out in all directions ripping the ghosts airy form into all directions. The shreds of this spiritual form going the same way the others did, slowly dissipating into the air as if there was never anything there in the first place.

Roy would have preferred to have taken a few moments to catch his breath, and think. But he couldn't afford this luxury, his friends life was on the line and he had already wasted so much time fighting these ghosts. He took off running again, being just as reckless as before, but this time he reached the house without a problem.  

He burst through the door loudly and called out for his friend.

"Balder! Balder where are you I got your letter and came here as soon as I could! Balder? Show yourself please I brought some healing Lacrima I think they ca-"

Roy's sentenced was cut short as he heard the squeak of footsteps from another room. His face lit up in smile as the door opened and a he saw a leg appear.

"Balder!" He cried out to him about to step forward and pull out one of his healing lacrimas. However his smile slowly faded and his gaze darkened as he noticed the decayed flesh, and lifeless eyes of a ghoul. But not just any ghoul. This ghoul carried the decayed ruined face of his old friend Balder.

He stood tall now and clenched his fists. He suppressed his emotions that tried to enter his heart. The sadness, the regret, the feeling of failure and uselessness. He would have time to feel these things later. He would have time to mourn later. But right now, he had to do the only thing that he could do for his friend. He would end this ghouls mockery of his friends life.

He took a deep breath before he spoke again. Then shouted out.

"Balder, if you can still hear me....Please know that I will put your body to rest. I will not allows this unholy magic to mock your memory any longer!"

Spoiler:

It was time to finish this. The ghoulish form of Balder launched itself at Roy knocking over tables, books, and chairs, and whatever else was in the way. Balder must have only died days ago at the most, as this ghoul was still fresh, and so much faster and more agile than the others. Still it didn't Roy wasn't going to let this abomination mock his friends body any longer. Out of respect for Balder, and for the sake of finding anything useful in the cabin, Roy took this fight outside. He dashed backwards and out of the door, using his lingering haze spell to help him blend in to the house.

The ghoul rampaged as it left the house, not seeing Roy and swinging wildly every where. Roy figured that there was nothing holding him back anymore, so he decided to go all out. Summoning his clone, also under the enchantment of haze, he sent his clone out to fight the hellish beast. The haze lifted on his clone as he put some distance between himself and balder, then Roy cast a fog spell. He had no intention of drawing this fight out.

The beast only knew where he thought Roy was, and so he dashed madly in the direction that he last saw him. Swinging like a mad man in all directions. Roy's clone cast his own spectral hands spell at this point, and waited for Balder to come within range of them.

Roy breathed deeply again as he concentrated on his magic. He cast another spell while the ghoul charged his smokey double. He filled the area where his clone was fighting with methane gas, and slowly increased the amount that was in the air.

Roy's clone had his spectral hands strike out in different directions, one from behind another from in front, then the left, etc. Confusing the ghoul, he was hit by three of these hands, and after strike he destroyed the hands. Despite being trapped in fog his fury was so intense that he managed to land powerful enough blows to destroy every hand that came near him. But he had wasted too much time as he did this. By the time he was done swinging at the hands and looking around for Roy's clone, Roy had finished charging his spell. He felt his smoke chain spell starting to dwindle so he let a little more of his magic power seep into it. He wasn't sure how much he would need to destroy this creature but he wasn't taking chances.

The beast would never know what hit it.

Roy's clone launched the remainder of his hands at the ghoul, and Roy's hands having finally caught up to the battle attacked it as well, as this happened Roy's chain whipped outward and slammed against the ghouls body. Finally Roy clenched his fist and stepped forward to give himself enough room to drag his hand backwards, and then throwing it forwards he called upon his fire magic to rocket towards the ghoul. As this attack struck Balder, it ignited the methane in the area and combined with 17 spectral hands attacking at once, as well as his smoke chain. The flames, the striking hands, the whipping chain, and the explosion ensured that this ghoul was not only dead, but it also turned his friends corrupted body into little more than ash, and the occasional piece of rotted flesh which smoldered on the ground in light of his attack.

Roy sighed as the battle ended and the fog cleared. He had spent so much magical energy on this fight, he was exhausted and his heart was a whirlwind of emotions. He looked up at the legions of smoke magic he had summoned and with a wave of his hand he dismissed them.

Slowly he brought himself to enter the cabin of his friend, and after he closed the door, and lit a lamp. He started to pick the place up a little. Putting the table back in place, setting the chairs upright, shelving the books that had been knocked over.

He sat down in one of the chairs and with shaking hands he pulled out his pipe and packed it. When it was ready he lit it with a quick burst of hot spark from his hand. As the ember grew and aroma of the sweetly flavored tobacco filled the room. He felt a few tear drops fall from his eyes, and saw them hit the table, where they immediately burst and sank into the wood.

As he smoked and looked at the moist droplets which formed on the table, he noticed something he had missed, a letter, under the table. He picked it up, and moved the lamp a little closer to him. He opened the letter with his knife, it was sealed with Balder's seal, and was addressed to him.

"Dear Roy, I am so terribly sorry that I cannot tell you this in person, but it seems time is much shorter than I expected. I will not live to see you again but cry not, I am old and I have lived a full life. I have met so many wonderful people and I am so happy, so happy that I was able to help them do some real good in this world, despite being so weak myself. I count you chief among these wonderful people Roy, I have known you since you were young, and the thought of you has never failed to make me smile. Not once.

I can't do much for you anymore Roy, and for that I am truly sorry. I know you will take care of...well, what I am to become, and so I thank you for that. But I such a thing is a lot to expect from a young man, perhaps more than anyone should have to bear. I have very little money, but five thousand jewel. And nothing particularly valuable as far as enchantments go to give you. But what I do have is yours, and if you should take anything from this cabin, let it be the books. The books I have dedicated my life to writing, they are filled with every evil, monster, and curse known to man, and most importantly, how one might rid such things, from the world of men. Let this parting gift help you all your days, and may the knowledge that enlightens you help you t burn brightly, and shine like a beacon! Driving out the darkness, and bringing people to light, and warmth, and hope.

God's blessings be with you dear Roy, I am on to a better place now. Whatever ashes are left of my body, if you don't mind could you scatter them at Zentopia's church? It should be on your way out, and you need not fear for more monsters. The church seemed to keep them and the curse at bay, if I only I had realized this sooner. But, alas it is not prudent nor useful to focus on what could have been. The best we can do is, is keep our hearts set on what might be, and live our lives every day, trying to make that possibility a reality. With love, Balder. "

With a shaking hand Roy folded this letter and put it back in it's envelope, he placed this in the inner pocket of his jacket, and allowed himself but a few more tears in honor of Balder, until he forced himself to stop. Balder was right, what could have been is no longer a possibility. He wouldn't waste time mourning what can never happen differently, he must, for Balder's sake, instead concentrate all his efforts on changing this world the better.

As his pipe burned brighter and the smoke grew thicker he stood up crossed his hands and muttered under his breath.

"Whoever is responsible for this. Must die."

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