A Call in the Night. ATTN: Shango, Rodrick

TW: Self-doubting


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 was right, Rodrick could easily get killed if he was left alone. Erchon was injured and Rodrick almost couldn't stand straight, so everyone had to stand together.

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

Rodrick: "Sure, just... give me a minute... I need to catch my breath." He said exhausted, almost as if he wanted to throw up again.

1 minute later

Rodrick: "Alright, I'm ready to go whenever you guys are ready. Let's go." And after a while, they got back to the main path.

As they were walking, Rodrick was looking at the ground. But he wasn't using the Eagle Vision, he was thinking about the previous fight.

"I can't believe this happened... I wish my Focus wasn't broken, that way I would have known the weak spot in seconds and Erchon wouldn't be hurt..."
"Do I really depend that much on my gadgets? Would I even be a hero if it wasn't even for my powers...?"
"All my life I've been told that I'm special, that I was meant to be someone important, but is it really that worthy for people to get injured...??"
"I need to get stronger, if my powers are the only thing that protects people then I have to endure more of the magic of this world, and fast."

Rodrick then felt a tap on his shoulder that made him snap out of it for a second and startle a bit.

OOC: To avoid confusion, the part where Rodrick is thinking to himself is bold and without the name of the character at the beginning, as he's telling that to himself.

They walked further and crested a hill. A valley between the foothills stretched before them.

He stumbled only catching himself on Shango’s shoulder as he trembled at the sight before them. “I’m sorry,” He said as he tried to loosen his grip. The forest was clearly sick before, but ahead what should have been an evergreen pine forest, as was brown and dead.

“My home…” his voice broke as he instinctively reached for the Little Shade which quivered hiding within the shade stone, refusing to emerge. “The Powers of the Earth are weak and afraid… this isn’t a blight, the land itself is sick.”

“I wish I could make a sending to my Ma,” he said, “She couldn’t have know what she was sending us to. Still though, even if I could reach her, she’s days away. I don’t know how long what life is left can hold out here.”

He drank grain water from his canteen to steady himself. “I know no lore of such things, still we’re the help the land has now.” he said before continuing into the valley.

Erchon: "I'm sorry" He says, trembling at the sight.

Shango: "Its okay Erchon..." Shango stops speaking at the sight of the forest. His mouth agape at the sight of how sick the forest really is. His brow furrows.

Shango: "oh.. This is a lot worse than i thought."

Shango's grip loosens. He thinks about what to do about this whole thing.

Shango: "So this is a mold. There has to be a way of curing it. I'll investigate some more and collect samples of the flora and mold and see what ingredients are needed to kill the mold."

Shango looks to Rodrick. Checking up on him.

Shango: "And Rodrick, how are you feeling? I heard you threw up."

Shango grabs some blueberries from the side pocket of his backpack and hands them to Rodrick.

Shango: "Fruit can settle the stomach down. Here.." He hands them to Rodrick.

Shango: "I'll go looking for a cure against this mold now."

Shango moves ahead, he walks to the edge of our path, occasionally picking up fallen limbs and leaves as we move forward.

When Rodrick turned around to see who tapped him in the shoulder he found Shango, who was looking at him a bit worried.

Shango: "Hey Rodrick, how are you feeling? I heard you threw up."

All of a sudden, Rodrick started smiling and forgot for a second of what he was thinking before.

Rodrick: He chuckled. "Hehe, yeah... The smell was unbearable before. I just feel a little dizzy, nothing to wo-" Before he could finish, Shango handed some blueberries he had in his pocket.

Shango: "Here, fruit can settle the stomach down."

Rodrick: "O-Oh, thank you so much!!" He said surprised with a smile on his face. He ate the blueberries all at once to see if it could help.

Shango: "I'll go looking for a cure against this mold now." And then he left to inspect the place.

He smiled in the direction of Shango as he moved forward, and then he took a moment to see what was happening, he got so distracted with his own thoughts that he forgot to see his surroundings.

"Dear Hylia... What the hell happened here? Everything looks dead, this is worse than that plague of gloom from a lot of years ago in Hyrule...

Rodrick looked at Shango picking up leaves and limbs to study them and some other thoughts came through Rodrick's mind.

"I can't just stand still and do nothing, lamenting myself won't do anything. If I want to help, then I have to start training right away, that's the only way I can be of service right now."
Then, he activated his Eagle Vision again, he had enough strength to handle it and he looked around trying to see if he could see something in the plants around the group.

Erchon followed behind Shango, he was hopeful that the other gnoll was correct that the blite truly was a mold. A mold could be mitigated, and the remaining forest saved, yet the scope of the spread was more immense than he could imagine containing.


He didn’t have Shango’s level of botanical knowledge, and yet he was troubled not recognizing the signs of any mold he did know.


The farm houses could now be seen in the distance, not far from the center of the blight.

“Let none perish from lack or inability.” He muttered the Eluthanai mantra. And though the Way of the Flame was not his people’s way still the small fire he carried with him was a comfort as its light reflected in him.

“Any luck figuring out this blight?” he asked Shango after they continued for a bit.

Shango: "uhh.. not yet."

The leaves he finds are crispy. they have been dead for a while now. The color of the dead plants Shango picks up are uncanny and very unusual. The venation on the leaves are also weird. The branches Shango picks up are somewhat moist and have some odd slime pots on them.

Shango: "Huh. The colors of these leaves are really strange, even the veins in the leaves are strange..."

Shango: "It is quite hard to exactly point out why the leaves are colored like this, other than the fact that they are dead."

Shango furrows his brow slightly.

He feels a very subtle pain in his head. the longer he stares at his findings the more the pain stings and lingers.

He then frowns.

Shango: "Have you ever seen a leaf look like this before, Erchon?" Shango says in a questioning voice, handing a leaf to Erchon.

Shango: "I heard aged fermented and sour wine can get rid of mold, but that obviously wouldn't be very helpful in this situation currently."

{OOC: fermented and sour wine is basically vinegar. I looked it up. :3c}

Rodrick looked everywhere around him trying to find any clues, but all he could see was the same color over and over again. He didn't know if that was something caused by the blight or if he was just tired and couldn't concentrate.

He tried to think of what could have caused this:

When Erchon and Shango mentioned the mold, his first thought was a bacteria, but he quickly discarded it as bacteria cannot alter animals the way it did with that deer before.

His second guess was a virus, but viruses only make some mild symptoms that lead to severe sickness, so that option was null.

Then, he came with an idea. He remembered a series he watched about a fungus that mutated and was able to control other human beings, turning them into zombies. That must be the same case but with mold!

Rodrick: "This mold needs some further investigation, that's for sure..." He muttered out loud.
"Any luck there guys?" He wanted to see what other theories they had before jumping into conclusions.

“Less than I like,” Erchon sighed, in response to Rodrick’s question.

The forest was still, and quiet as they continued. No bird called, nor squirrel chattered. Only wind rustled the dead dry land.

In the distance chime could be heard, it was faint even to his gnoll ears. “Ah that will be the farms” Erchon said, as they walked onward.

A few hours passed before they came upon what had once been cultivated land. Erchon shivered as he felt the powers of the land retreating deeper into the bedrock below his paws.

“Hooo.” Called a voice, and Erchon raised his hands in fear as an elf approached. There were few of the human peoples which he trusted, and elves were more tricky than men.

“You’re not the ones we expected,” The elf said as he approached.

Shango slows to a stop as he suddenly hears the elf go “hoo”.

His ears flick and turn towards the voice. He sees an elf approach.

Shango makes a very quiet snort sound, trying his best to not look worried by the sight of an elf. He puts on a straight face, however his ears lower slightly.

Shango: “uhm.. my witch friend here received a request for aid from here. He invited me and my goat friend to come with him.” He points to Erchon and Rodrick.

Shango: “If you were expecting to see the other witches of Kallos, they are busy helping other places.”

Shango quietly swallows. He feels somewhat nervous about the sudden appearance of an elf. He puts his paws together, picking at his nails.

Lupeh stood to follow the Elf. The gnoll wasn’t old, but he looked and felt old.

“uhm.. my witch friend here received a request for aid from here. He invited me and my goat friend to come with him.” A gnoll Lupeh didn’t know said to Riniel as he hobbled up to the new arrivals.

“If you were expecting to see the other witches of Kallos, they are busy helping other places.” the one with the red earring continued.

“I didn’t know the Kelloi let their men study the Art Magic,” Riniel sounded skeptical.

Lupeh did recognize one of the three, the witch’s son. “I’d heard you’d flouted the hallowed ways of our people,” He said facing Erchon, “I didn’t want to believe it…” He shook his head as pain seized his gnarled arm. “Hurooo,” he choked. “It doesn’t matter,” he panted as he spoke. “Would that your Ma was here, but if you and your friends have any skill, your help is needed.”

“The Elf here’s Riniel, and you can call me Lupeh.” he said as he waved for them to follow.

???: “Hooo.”

When Rodrick heard a voice, he quickly drew his Master Sword and pointed it in the direction of the sound. Soon he realized that it was someone and he put it away, and the elf seemed like he was waiting for someone.

After some short explanation, they realized that they were the ones who asked for the aid of the witches of Kallos. Thankfully for them, our adventurers were there to help

Lupeh: “The Elf here’s Riniel, and you can call me Lupeh.” He said as he waved for them to follow.

Rodrick: "Well, my name's Rodrick, Rodrick Dreemurr." He said as they started to follow them. "He's our friend Shango and, well, I guess you already know Erchon. I don't know much about the magic you use, but I'm sure we can help in anything you guys want us to do."

Erchon jumped to see the shining sword appear in Rodrick’s hand. The Flame of his lamp had also swelled as his breath caught.

“I didn’t expect to see humans here,” Erchon said as his wits returned.

“I’m actually an Elf,” Riniel reminded him.

“Right,” Erchon muttered. Such differences meant little to him. All of what he thought of as the ‘human peoples’ were among those who had killed his father as humans began to enforce tariffs on trade goods that passed though the once common lends which were now enclosed by human fences and landlords.

“We didn’t have a choice lad,” Lupeh coughed as he spoke, “Aid was slow to come from Kallos, and the sickness spread by the hour since the stone fell on yonder.” The gnoll trembled as he directed them to a small crater not far from a barn.

“The wizards of Yermen Academy were the only others we could think to turn to.”