A Call in the Night. ATTN: Shango, Rodrick

It had been late at night when a sending came from Erchon’s mother. Word had arrived to her of an unknown blight plaguing a remote farming community a few days north of town. They’d requested the aid of the Witch of Kallos, yet an illness on flocks to the east had already called her and his sisters away.

Erchon’s heartbeat with excitement. Her attitude toward her son studying her lore books had been tepid at best yet now she sent him north to address the blight. He’d begun preparing herbs, and solvents for treating mold. When another sending arrived “There have also been animal attacks on some of the farmers; take caution” she added. He shivered as the words entered his mind.

It was this that had prompted Erchon to invite Shango, and Rodrick along. It had been just before daybreak when he’d asked them to accompany him. Now as it was he headed to the north end of town to meet his companions.

At this time, Shango has been writing in his foraging book. He has been writing down some things he has found here in Kallos that aren't at all common back in Gnollview.

*Scratch Scratch* the sound Shango's charcoal pencil makes as he writes. He occasionally looks at the herbs he found, describing their appearance in his notebook. soon enough, Shango hears the loud tapping of the door knocker on his front door. It is Erchon. Shango puts down his charcoal pencil.

Shango: "Huh. I wonder who that could be."

Shango got up from his chair, walking to his front door. before he opened the door, he peeked from the window on the left, lifting the curtain to see Erchon waiting to tell Shango about the blighted farm.

Shango: "Ouh, it's Erchon!"

He says happily, making a toothy smile. Shango opens the door to greet Erchon.

Shango: "Greetings Erchon! I hope you have had a good night so far. Are you needing anything?"

Erchon talks about the blighted farm and the illness that flocks in the east. He invites Shango to go on the adventure with him.

Shango: "I'll gladly join you on this! Wait here, I have to get my stuff ready."

In preparation for this adventure, he packs up the necessities. Flask of water, Herbs and various healing items, map and notebook, and a spyglass. Shango puts his belt on and holsters his spyglass. He walks next to a weapon rack next to his dresser. He grabs his gladius, wand of sparking, and a sturdy round wooden shield. Holstering his gladius and wand of sparking on his belt. He is now ready!

Shango: "Hhrm.. all ready." He murmurs before he goes back to his bedroom.

Shango: "Oliver, I will be going on an adventure per request from my friend, Erchon." Shango says, leaning forward to Oliver to give them a nuzzle on the nose and a kiss.

Oliver:  "I pray you and your buddies a safe feat. What will you be doing?"

Shango: "A farming community far away is under attack. They have requested the aid of the Witches of Kallos."

Oliver puts down her paint brush and stands up to give Shango a hug. Oliver is an artist. They love creating abstract and photorealistic artworks.

Oliver:  "I wish you all the best. May the Powers of the Earth guide and enhance your combat."

Shango makes a toothy smile.

Shango: "Thanks."

Shango and Oliver bite each other at the neck and cheeks softly. It is a way the gnolls of Gnollview show affection and love for each other.

Shango: "See you, Oliver. love you."

Oliver: "Love you too, Shango."

Shango makes his way out of his home, meeting Erchon at his front door.

Shango: "Im all ready!"

Shango closes his front door. They both walk to Roku's house.

Rodrick was tuning his guitar when Erchon came home with fresh news, apparently there was blight in a nearby village but his mother, who was known to be "The Witch of Kallos", was busy with the rest of his sisters in another place. So Erchon requested Rodrick to help him with this job, as there were also animal attacks and he could defend them.

Rodrick: "Sure, let me pack my stuff and we'll be on our way out" He said with excitement as he went to his room to grab his backpack.

He checked if he had everything: canteen, magic items, his damaged Focus (in case they found someone able to repair it)... Wait, what was missing?
Rodrick looked at the bedside and he saw what he was missing, his necklace. He looked at it with some nostalgia and opened it, revealing a photo of him and his family.

Rodrick: "I promise, I'll get to you shortly..." He said to himself before putting the necklace on him. When he was ready, Rodrigo went to the entrance to tell Erchon. "Alright, we're ready to go, whenever you want."

Erchon hoisted his pack and tightened its straps around his shoulders. The cold the morning twilight made his fur stood on end. Though the sky began to lighten it would be hours still before the sun rose above the mountains that surrounded his home.

Eluthanai lamp in hand he uttered the blessing the traveling tiefling had taught him. “O Flame, will keeper, guard and guide our path this day.” The fire of his lamp flared and gave a crimson light which reelected in his soul.

Light in one hand, and shade stone in the other, Erchon finally felt ready to head out as the others met him.

“The blighted farms are on the foothills through the north woods.” Erchon said as they started their journey. It would take most of the day to reach the place his mother had directed him but a blight might well spread well beyond in the weeks it had been since it was first spotted on the farms.

Shango listens to Erchon, talking about the farms on the foothills to the north.

Shango: “I think I have passed by there once. I felt some evil presence near the farm when I travelled here from Gnollview for the first time. I couldn’t exactly tell what it was, I did not know magic that well at that time.”

He says before asking a question.

Shango: “Do we have an idea on who or what could be causing this blight?”

After asking the question, he continues looking around as we walk. Knowing a blight is going around makes Shango more cautious. His ears twitch slightly, flicking away gnats.

Shango: “I suspect it was caused by a human.”

Shango assumes it is the humans. He isnt exactly fond of humans. many encounters Shango has had with them didn't end so good.

Rodrick listens to Shango's suspicions, but he sees the things in another perspective. Something seemed off, that's for sure, but he didn't think it was the humans.

Rodrick: "I doubt the humans would do it, I don't see a reason to poison their own farms. Maybe it was caused by a dead animal that was sick and poisoned the crops or the water the crops were fed, as in the letter they said there were numerous animal attacks, so I guess something is going on with that." That seemed like the most logical explanation to him, but in the end, it was just a guess. "But, yet again, if there was an evil presence as you said, then someone is behind all of this mess and he's going to pay for that."

He was a bit excited to imagine someone he could defeat there. He wanted to practice his duty as a hero while he was there and all he did during the past month was catching a few thieves that stole some coins.

Rodrick : "What do you think about it Erchon? Any guesses?"

“The farms are run by furs,” Erchon said. “Kallos is big enough that most of the farms in the surrounding countryside are Kalloi. Doesn’t stop humans from encroaching though. That being said, Ma didn’t indicate any human attack in her sendings.”

“I don’t know what to make of the message I did receive though, a blight is generally caused by mold…” He sighed thinking, “but to have that paired with animal attacks is odd. They don’t seem that they should be related, but even in remote lands wild animals aren’t likely to attack people, livestock sure, but not people. I don’t know what to make of it.”

The sun they hiked on. The scent of summer warmed pine filled the air. The witch’s son raised his nose as the wind changed.

“Hmm…” Erchon said as he tasted the aromas of the forest, “Nothing smells off,” he said as the scent of game and mountain streams filled his head. “Though we’re still a long way off, and perhaps the wind is wrong to smell that far.”

OOC:

As we hike on, let me know what you do to investigate the situation. I’ll respond with information that you discover from your exploration.

We get deeper into the vast forest. Shango thinks about what to do to investigate this blight. Shango looks around this forest, glancing at every vine, bush, and tree.

Shango: “so this blight is some sort of mold? Maybe I can go forage and find anything around here that might be susceptible to it. I think my notebook might have info on what mold we’re dealing with.”

Shango gets his notebook, flipping through pages to find the part about various mold species. His notebook describes the various common molds that grow on food and anything else along with an illustration of what the mold looks like.

Shango shows his notebook to Erchon, asking him if any of these molds look similar to the one caused by blight.

Shango: “So, does any of these molds look similar to the one the blight has caused?”

Shango taps the pages about mold. The notebook has lots of info on many species of mold. Mold species name and info on the left of the page, and illustrations on the right of the page. There are at least 5 more pages about mold.

While Erchon and Shango were looking up information about mold in their notebook, Rodrick thought it would be a good moment to practice his Eagle Vision. That way he could be able to scout the area once they get there.

The sclera of his eyes turned black and his pupils turned white when he activated it, and it seemed like it didn't hurt him to use it. He looked around for things to look at to practice, but when he looked at the ground he noticed some footprints of multiple people on the path. The prints seemed to go in the same direction they were going, and so they seemed to come from a similar start.

"This is a bit strange, I thought we were the ones asked to do this job, who else came this way?" He asked himself.

Then, he noticed a pattern of footprints that was much more different from the other ones on the path. Those footprints were from boots, and only humans were able to use boots, so he decided to focus on that track.

OOC: The Eagle Vision is from Assassin's Creed, and it is one of his many powers.

The further they went the more the forest appeared to be dying. Erchon knew a good bit of herb-lore, but nothing compared to Shango nor in as much detail as the carefully drawn illustrations in the other gnoll’s book.

Still he couldn’t identify the blight and Shango hadn’t either. Nothing about what ailed the land seemed rational.

He looked at the smooth dark stone he held in hand and its swearing veins of iron. “Only from darkness, the light, and from light a shadow.” he called, and with a rattling chirp the Little Shade rose from the stone.
“Hey little buddy,” he said as he gave the shade their favorite cherry bread. They manifested tiny hands to hold the offering and cooed as they ate it.  Halfway through eating though the shade shivered and dropped their snack.

Erchon could feel the Little Shade’s distress as they looked over the dying forest. “I’d thought to learn if there was a magical cause for the blight… but this… this is not magic.” He stood, his mouth agape.

“Something’s made the land very sick.”

As he spoke Rodrick seemed to come out of a trance, and Erchon shivered as he described the human footprints.

A sound came just at the edge of Erchon’s perception, just a moment and then it was gone. “What was that?” Erchon asked.  


OOC: again go ahead and let me know your next actions and I'll give you some information.

Also I know I've shown Shango but this is Erchon's shade stone.

Shango: “Hmm… so i haven’t discovered this mold yet it seems. I should study this infection that surrounds us. however due to the severity of it I am sure it will be difficult to do so without catching an illness.”

Shango closes his notebook and puts it back in his backpack. After doing so he notices the environment around us look dead and discolored. The way the mold infects the life around us makes the place feel gloomy and dull.

Erchon: "Only from darkness, the light, and from light a shadow."

Shango sees the little shade appear from the stone when Erchon said the phrase. When Shango sees the little shade, it makes him smile for a short moment.

Shango listens to the talks about this place. With Rodrick’s description of there being humans present, this sends a shiver down Shango’s spine.

Shango: “Oh no..”

With the sudden sound that resonated at the edge of Erchon’s perception, it makes Shango nervous. He moves towards where the sound echoed from, placing his right paw on his gladius, waiting to fight anything hostile that might come out.

Cautiously, Shango moves closer. His ears twitches then focuses in on the sound. The smell of bleeding game animal reaches his nose, hearing something hitting the dry soil.

Shango draws out his gladius with stealth. A quiet ring of it can be heard.

A small deer path can be seen through the undergrowth that leads off to the direction of the sound. Shango’s ears twitches again, he hears something wet, slimy, and mushy.

Shango: “The hell is that..?”

Shango seemed pretty nervous when Rodrick mentioned the human footprints. Did Shango have a bad past with humans?

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the undergrowth, which made everyone nervous. Rodrick made a sword and approached there with caution.

Rodrick: "Behind me." He said to them, trying to defend them from any attack.

Through the undergrowth, they found a deer path. Rodrick used his Eagle Vision again and some hoofprints covered in blood reveal to him. They decided to follow that path until they found what caused the odd sound.

Shango: "The hell is that..?"

A boar was bleeding out beneath a free and one of its shoulders was missing. The whole place smelled like rotten flesh and it was almost unbearable.

But then, another sound came from the branches of the tree and Rodrick looked up to see what it was. He used his Eagle Vision again, but he couldn't clearly see the shape of what it was. One thing he noticed is that the color appearing in the Eagle Vision was nothing compared to the ones he has seen before.

He tried to concentrate more to make the shape more clear, and when he did, he saw what looked like the shape of a deer's head, but the head looked emaciated.

Rodrick : "G-guys... I think we need to get the heck out of here... There's something wrong going here..."

Erchon fell in behind Rodrick as they explored the narrow path, his nose rankled as it was assaulted by the odor of the scene they approached.

His heart stopped at the sight of the boar. It was bloody and missing a large portion of its body, yet it wasn’t torn by predation. It was almost as if the flesh had corroded away.

When Rodrick’s gaze suddenly wiped up to the tree, Erchon also directed his eyes to the branches above. At first he couldn’t make out anything, only the plop and hiss as some goo fell by the tunk.

"G-guys... I think we need to get the heck out of here... There's something wrong going here..." Rodrick called.

Erchon watched in horror as the shape not properly put together skittered hooves and antlers down the tree.

“Screecekeeeecekeee,” It burbled a roar. It contorted its mass as it moved more gastric than the use of limbs. Then the shape contorted again and formed the parody of a beast and drew itself to its full height.

Erchon turned to run, and drew his bow when he arrived at the main path. He drew his bow and fired. The arrow missed the eye but buried itself just between the antlers. Yet the thing was unphased and it continued to ungulate toward them.  

OOC: Ok so we can either run or fight. If we fight I have an HP score for this monster. I'll estimate how much damage I think you've done to it and track if it died.

Shango watches in fear. A creature known for being graceful and swift is no more. it is nothing but a putrid and demonic atrocity to this Earth.

Shango falls back in fear. he thinks up of a way to take down this hellish zombified deer. He strategizes quickly. soon enough he thinks cutting off the creature's limbs should ease the slaying of this monster.

Shango: "I plan on cutting off its limbs, that would make it easier to put an end to this creature. It looks like there is something on its back. Perhaps we should aim at that."

Shango grasps his Gladius before lunging at the deer abomination, aiming for one of its leg limbs. Shango Grunts as he swipes his gladius at one of the creature's legs.

Shango: "Hmm!"

The creature bleeds a rotten dark red bloody goop. It suddenly screeches before he inflicts another deep cut at its legs. “Skeeeckeeeee!!” It roars.

Shango: "Homf!”

The cuts in the deer’s left leg is deep down to the bone. The deer trembles slightly but it still stands. Shango falls back to Rodrick and Erchon, letting them have a turn at attacking the deer creature.

Shango’s blade cuts into the animal, and it screams. A deep cleft down to what should have been bone, yet the pulsing organs can be seen within.

The deer snarls and gargles as hooves and head emerge from the gaping wound. Its shape contorts and blisters.

As the deer-looking creature dropped against them for an ambush, Rodrick looked at it with fear in his eyes. He saw many things but he never saw something as horrible as this.

Rodrick: "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!!!" He screamed horrified at that monster as he fell back in fear when he saw it.

He got up quickly and took his Master Sword from the ground, pointing at the creature and thinking what the best option would be. He tapped the side of his head as a reflex move, trying to activate his Focus to scan the creature, when he remembered it was broken.

Shango: "I plan on cutting off its limbs, that would make it easier to put an end to this creature. It looks like there is something on its back. Perhaps we should aim at that."

He then went to strike that beast in one of his legs, making a deep cut in one of its legs, but not cutting it off by a little.

Rodrick decides to finish off that cut to remove the leg entirely. He rush at the beast with insane speed and swang the Master Sword at the leg, cutting it off.

Rodrick was at one of the sides of the beast, and he noticed Erchon at the distance with his bow. Rodrick made a sign with his head to warn him and then he turned at the beast.

Rodrick: "Hey you, dire creature!! I'm right here!! Come at me!!" He said trying to distract the beast so Erchon could have a clear shot.

The deer screams as the leg falls to the ground and writhes. Swelling, it pustulates and eyes open across the fallen limb. Dozens of hoved tentacles sprout from the wound in the fallen leg, and what once was a foot broadens into snapping jaws.

“Cchaahis” the leg hissed, as it ambled toward rodrick biting and clawing his arm.

The deer itself heaved. What should have been blood was a putrid bile. Its color, unlike any Erchon had ever seen. From the cut on its shoulder a mass of teeth open into a sinuous maw, and the beast stumbled toward the red-haired gnoll.

Erchon raised his lamp and the light of the Flame shone brilliant crimson, its power reflecting in his soul as he called on it. “Oh Flame!” he cried, “guard my path!”

From the humble wick strange flare of fire, radiant and blinding. The odor of burning fur was thick, yet the dear emerged singed, lurching ever onward. An uncontrolled anxious laughter emanated from Erchon as he ran, the deer catching him in its remaining limbs drawing him toward the undulating maw.

Shango watched as Rodrick attacked the deer creature. The deer's leg fell along with the deer creature itself. The graphic and very infected appearance of the deer creature grosses Shango out.

Rodrick:"Hey you, dire creature!! I'm right here!! Come at me!!" He said trying to distract the beast so Erchon could have a clear shot.

At this moment, the leg bloomed with creepy eyes, tentacle hooves, and a large and sharp jaw. This puts a shock of fear into Shango.

Shango: "RODRICK LOOK OUT!"

Shango quickly brandished his wand of sparking and held it in his left paw. Sprinting to Rodrick's side and with the quick swipe toward the mutated severed deer leg, a super heated ball of fire came whirling out of the wand's tip, hitting and scorching a small area of the creature's severed leg.

*sizzle hisss!* It stuns it or a very short time.

Quickly after, the deer creature itself has mutated even more, sporting a large maw on it's shoulder. Erchon became the creature's center of attention. It stumbles toward Erchon with aggression.

Erchon: “Oh Flame!”   “guard my path!”

The bright flash temporairly blinded Shango, giving his vison some blind spots. Although hard to see, Shango could see Erchon get grabbed by the creature.

Shango: "ERCHON.. NO!!"

Shango turns to the creature. With great strength, Shango sprints behind the creature. His red gem earring glows before he leaps high, clambering onto the back left shoulder of it. He holds onto the creatures antlers tightly, drawing his sword back out to stab the creature in the back.

Shango: "YYAAah!!"

Shango stabs the creature in the back, directly in the middle of the strange lump.

"khshing!" It went in deeply. With the jolt of the creature and it's loud screetching, Shango falls off of it.

The Deer screams as Shango’s blade pierces the nodule on its back, dropping Erchon. The wound oozes, and nodules spread across the deer's body. It wobbles as the jiggling masses alter its form.

Erchon: “Oh Flame, guard my path!”

The cast Erchon made blinded both Shango and Rodrick temporarily. But even with their visions blurred, they could clearly see Erchon getting grabbed by the beast.

Shango: "ERCHON.. NO!!" He made a big jump and got on top of the deer, grabbing its antlers. Then, he drew his sword and stabbed it in the lump.

"Wait, that lump! That must be its weak spot! I have to move quickly if I want to kill it." He thought to himself.

Shango fell off of the creature, so Rodrick drew his Master Sword, fully glowing as if the blade told him to strike the beast down, and rushed to it.
He stabbed it in the back, this time holding a tight grip to it as the creature wobbled again in pain.

???: "SKEEECKEEEEE!!!" It screamed in agony when the blade came into his back.

The skitter-deer screamed as it fell with Rodrick’s blade in the growth on its back. As it fell its flesh lost cohesion and its fur fell away as a slimy mass.

Erchon bereaved a sigh of relief as it lay dead.

“Aaaahk” Erchon cried out as relief was followed by pain as tentacles from the severed leg beast dug into his side.

There was no obvious lump on this creature to target like his friends had done with the larger dear. Instead Erchon extended his claws and tore into the creature; the remaining monstrous form permuting with each swipe.

Bile and viscera littered the ground at Erchon’s feet as his panic subsided.

“What even is this!?” he fell to his knees as he sobbed. He sought the Little Shade for comfort, yet the chthonic spirit only brought him intune with land, and he quaked in fear.

“It's all dying,” he cried “Something’s killing the land.”

The creature comes down, it lies dead. Shango cheers.

Shango: “Yeah! Hahaa!”

After his cheers, it is silent. The ambience is dead with nothing sounding other than the wind in the air. Silence breaks due to Erchon’s cry in pain.

Erchon: “Aaaahk!”

Shango rushes to Erchon to ensure he is safe. Quickly, he cuts the tentacle and ridded it.

Shango: “Erchon! Are you alright?”

Shango watched as Erchon cuts into the dead beast. Gagging at the sight of the pungent bile and viscera spilling out.

Erchon: “What even is this!?”

Shango: “I really have no idea what this is, however, we can defeat it!”

Erchon sobs and gets down onto his knees.

Erchon: “Its all dying… Something’s killing the land.”

Shango starts tearing up, he gets down to hug Erchon in attempt to comfort him.

Shango: “don’t feel hopeless, Erchon. *sniffle* We can do this!”

He notices a gash in Erchon’s side.

Shango: “Oh that looks bad. Here, I can treat your side wounds.”

Shango takes his backpack off and sits back by Erchon. From the backpack, He gets out a small vial of some healing potion, a medicinal herb, and a tattered cloth.

He applies the medication to Erchon’s side wound. Shango casts a spell to the wound, it helps it heal faster.

Shango: “*sniffle* the cloth will stay on the wound. The herbs numb the pain, this potion and spell helps it heal quickly.”

When the beast fell on the floor, Rodrick removed the sword out of that thing and got off of it.
There was a moment of silence and calm until something attacked Erchon out of nowhere.

Erchon: “Aaaahk!” He cried as some tentacles dug in his side.

He tore into the creature and its tentacles, and a bunch of blood and viscera burst all over the place.
Everyone was terrified, and Shango went to heal Erchon's wounds as fast as possible.

Erchon: “It's all dying… Something’s killing the land.” He cried as Shango gave him a tight hug to comfort him.

Rodrick watched the scenario, its scent, the situation they were in and what happened. It made him very sick, almost as if-

Rodrick: "Buaaaaaaaaargh!!!" He vomited a few meters away from the beast and the group. He took a moment to breathe and then he spoke. "Agh... Hylia fucking dammit..." He hyperventilated a bit, but he gained his composure back after a while. "You know...? When I was in a hero academy a few years ago, one of the mottos they used was to go beyond our own limits..." He stopped for a moment to breathe again and then pointed at the beast. "...A zombified deer deformed beast... That's my new limit."

All was quiet for a moment, as he looked at them with relief knowing that they were alive.

Rodrick: "Once you guys are ready, go ahead on the road. I'll catch up with you in a moment..."

Erchon wiped his eyes with the pads of his paw, his fur wet with tears. Then winced in pain as Shango attended his wounds. He hissed and his throat caught as he muttered, “thank–s.”

For a long while he could only wrap his arms around himself as he surveyed the devastated woods. In time though the poultice of herbs and potion took effect and the pain subsided and his flesh began to knit together.

Rodrick seemed more than a little sick as he asked them to go on ahead without him.

“I’m not sure we should separate,” he paused and cast his gaze at the corps that gushed and hissed as it continued to become more blob than beast.

“If you need some privacy we can move beyond the bend but given what we just fought we should stay within a short run’s distance.”

Shango: “Take it easy.”  He quietly murmured.

Shango pats Erchon softly on his back.

Erchon: “Thank-s” he hisses in pain.

Shango: “You’re welcome.” He says softly in response.

Shango looks over his shoulder to see Rodrick, looking in our direction.

Rodrick: “Once you guys are ready, go ahead on the road. I'll catch up with you in a moment..”

Shango: “Separating is a very bad idea. I am afraid one of us could be snatched by another abomination like the thing We just defeated.”

He pauses, looking to his left towards the creature’s corpse and back.

Shango: “Whatever it is.. Anyhow, we can do this! We killed one of them and I hope it means it is very possible to put a stop to this blight!”

Shango sniffles. He looks back towards Erchon and gets up.

Shango: “Come, we need to move before it is too late.” He says in a somewhat soft voice.

Shango reaches out a paw to Erchon.