Main Session

Eris bore Vaeri's uncannily quiet scrutiny with an air of equally quiet resilience, and stubbornly at that. Whatever her reasoning for the vagueties offered, the wood elf didn't seem to be relentinf with any sort of clarification.

Small miracle, then, that another pair joined at the scholars' tent to claim the group's attention. The party's leads, it'd seem, and with their introduction Eris stood and bent into a shallow bow. "Eris, a pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity." Introductions seen to, she settled back into that observant silence, inquisitive glances flitting from one speaker to the next. Not to meet their eye, but to study each of their appearances in further detail-

Details that would, alas, be put to the wayside by Leona's far too cavalier of an ask. Eris straightened, shoulders gathering a tensed, coiled energy as she turned to sight the same undead, while hands busied themselves in quickly donning shield and sword. "Not mine to claim," She replied, a wry 'unfortunately' left unspoken, if not unseen in the set of her jaw.

Vaeri freezes for a moment before exclaiming, “Oh shit.”

It bursts out of her in a high, startled squawk as she whips around, head snapping between the people gathered.

“Okay- um, right, okay- my friend of higher power, a little help please!!”

She clasps her hands together, fingers lacing so tight her knuckles go pale. Her eyes squeeze shut with the concentration of someone trying to remember a spell they absolutely did not study properly. A faint shimmer flickers around her palms- then sputters out.

Vaeri hisses another curse under her breath.

Then she mutters, quicker and quieter:

“Look, right now isn’t a funny trick- Could you just nudge the luck our way? Just a scooch?”

This time the glow returns brighter, gathering between her fingers. It builds, trembling, then bursts outward in three streaks of shimmering shadow.

One streak arcs to Eris, one to Ardira, and one to Nezryn.

The motes stick to each of them for a heartbeat, before then sink into their shadows, tinting the darkness beneath their feet with faint, distorted faces… smiling. Wide, cheerful, mildly unsettling faces.

Vaeri gasps, stumbling back a step with relief.

“Okay! There! You’re, uh- you’re blessed! Go team!”

Vaeri then turns tail and runs behind Ophelia, cowering behind her.

Several undead, and from less than preferred angles. Eris stepped back as she drew a short javelin free. She flung it at the closest of the shambling dead, aim subtly corrected with the cleric's blessing to land true. "Appreciate it!" She called back, shield and sword held once more at the ready as the zombies clattered closer.

Anxiety flooded Ardie’s chest as her eyes darted between each approaching abomination; heartbeat rapidly increasing to a rhythm that felt out of control.

Fighting undead? But I-I’ve never— This was supposed to be an investigation, not—

Her flurry of thoughts, interrupted by an arrow flying past her and striking Ophelia, sent her into a dash that felt as if her feet were moving of their own volition.

Fear was of no significance.

Ardira didn’t see the allied shadow attach to her body, but as it absorbed, her pulse steadied; calming her shaking hands and steeling her resolve as she takes Seravorn from her side without hesitation and stabs the reimagined corpse where its rotten lungs reside.

The blade exited as fast as it entered — Ardira now gracefully turning on her heel, eyes searching for frantically for Ophelia.

“Ophie! Get behind something!”

Nezryn watches as the undead warriors loose arrows at the others - her mind churns trying to figure out what to do. "I think I'd prefer angry squirrels!" she declares as she snaps her fingers, making a motion as if trying to ignite a flame. When one catches, she holds the fiery mote at the tip of her finger, letting it burn and fester, fed by the air around her. Then, she blows - urging the flame into a sharp bolt that collides with one of the undead warriors closest to her.

"I trust you with this one! Looks real nice n' toasted now-" she says as she skirts around the campfire, unbothered if her hems get a little singed. When she stops, it is a good few paces away from two foes, putting herself between them and the wizards.

Hastily, and it shows in the inadequate impact, she unleashes a torrent of flames originating from her mouth.

Ophelia did a double take, sharing a glance with Wisper as she fumbled for the spellbook in her bag, flipping through the pages with squinted eyes. “I can’t see,” She paused, realizing her glasses still hung on her familiar.

“Give me those.” She placed them on just as Vaeri scrambled behind her, and Ophelia began reading out an incantation with a free hand, tracing a symbol in the air that began to emanate and glow a soft blue—right when an arrow shot toward her, grazing her arm enough to tear through her cloaklet and send a singe of pain through her, effectively ending her spell before it was even cast.

She didn’t think twice before following Ardira’s orders, pulling the drow beside her to find further cover behind a tent. “I can’t comprehend why undead would even be—“

Ophelia’s thoughts were cut short as she peeked past the tent to keep a watchful eye on the fight.

Vaeri allows Ophelia to drag her behind the tent- only to immediately slip out the other side.

Her boots skid in the dirt as she pops up into view. Her hand darts to her hip, pulling out the dagger residing there.

A shaky inhale.

Then, Vaeri flicks her wrist. The dagger spirals through the air and buries itself clean through the skull of the skeleton staggering toward Ardira. The creature then falls to the ground, inanimate.

Vaeri stares for a heartbeat, stunned at her own accuracy.

Then the panic rushes back.

She skitters backward, nearly tripping over her own feet as she ducks behind the tent, next to Ophelia again, pressing her back against the tent canvas.

The group advances around the camp, limp footsteps leading them to encircle the group. The skeletons are battered from the partys attacks, embers sparking off their exposed bones from the fire magic while the brute force melee strikes leaves them staggering backward.

Nezryn is momentarily caught off guard, a green spectral hand reaching out from one of the Undead Warriors, pulling her out of her position towards it.

Far be it for the sorcerer to be the only one in melee. "Fall back, behind the tent!" Eris called behind her to Ardira, rapier gripped tight in hand as she closed distance with one of the undead. The foul thing reeked of decay and rot, the wood elf's breath stalled as she pushed closer still with a sharp thrust forward.

Steel flashed before sinking deep into the cadaver's chest. It came free with a sickening gasp, and far less shining than it'd been mere moments before.

Nezryn winces as she's pulled closer, she asked for attention, and she's gotten it.

The girl reaches for a dagger, but doesn't seem to have been fully prepared to use it. She fumbles her grip, making it so the blade didn't maintain its proper angle and instead tinked right off of the warrior's armor. Nezryn, looking all sorts of frustrated, seems to be considering headbutting the damn thing with her horns, instead.

A hulking, lumbering figure collides with the ground beneath it. The creature looks other worldly, an amalgamation of undead creatures bound together as one. It strides through the trees, its huge club like arms tearing through the tree trunks without even noticing it had collided with them.

Eris’ words were heard, but Ardira’s actions told a different story as she swiftly followed in her footsteps — jousting the tip of her blade into the gaping cavity of the lifeless creature’s chest merely a second after Eris had struck it, causing it to sink into the grasp of death once more.

The sound of guttural groans and slow snapping of branches among the tree-line turns the elf’s head in an instant — momentarily pulling her out of focus at the ghastly sight.

For a moment, the words wouldn’t leave her lips. What could she even say?

“More incoming! Attack from afar!” She cries out, pointing at the monstrosity with her rapier.

Vaeri peeks around Ophelia, spotting the skeletal warrior dragging Nezryn further away from the group. She presses her palms together again, and begins murmuring under her breath another quick prayer.

She jolts her hand out right over Ophelia's shoulder, and points directly at the undead holding Nezryn, murmuring to herself, “that one- take that one!”

The shadows around her stir. Then, right beside Nezryn’s ear, a soft, delighted, horribly out-of-place giggle echoes from nowhere. Followed by a single hollow knock, like knuckles tapping on wood.

The skeleton jolts, and clutches its own head. Hairline fractures crack across the bone, and then the creature falls apart, collapsing at Nezryn’s feet.

Vaeri fist bumps the air, and then immediately ducks right back behind Ophelia again.

"Everyone is doing great and everything!...But what is that!?" She calls out, pointing towards the distance after Ardira brings it to attention

Several of the zombies fell to their efforts, enough for Eris to chance taking a steadying breath as the one just before her was yet again assaulted- by a blade, rather thanthe spell she expected. The wood elf whirled about to see Ardira. not behind what cover the canvas provided, nor even where she'd left the wizard, but just behind!

"Wha-" Whatever else Eris was going to say was yanked away, along with the paladin herself. A hook sank into leather and flesh alike, and with a savage pull dragged her away to stand before one of the undead still animated. A pained snarl was suppressed by a determinedly set jaw. If this one wanted to fight toe-to-toe, then so be it. She fell upon the zombie, all too aware of something big lumbering through the trees, closer and closer. (edited)Tuesday, 25 November 2025 23:52

"Shush, let them do their jobs, we'll stay out of their way for now- if things get ugly we can bother them."

Nezryn is speechless at the atrocity lumbering towards her. She takes a couple stumbling steps back, trying to be at least a little mindful of the campfire.

At the reminder, she reaches behind her and passes her hand through the top of the dancing flame to steal another small mote to hurl. Though it collides with the shambling creature, it does so with a small, fizzley pffth.

The undead warriors start to fall one by one as the party co-ordinate their efforts, letting them take control of the camping grounds. While the skeleton's numbers dwindle, the much larger creature gets closer by the second.

The creature lurches, its body taking ranged hits, momentarily flinching only to continue its advance without signs of stopping. Compared to the undead warriors, the Shambling Undead is far bulkier.

Try as hard as Eris may, the undead's blade, too, found its mark on the paladin. The chipped blade skirted down the shield's front and slashed into the meat of her thigh, the sudden, needle hot pain eliciting a sucked in breath through clenched teeth.

Eris gave as good as she got, though, and another whip of narrow blade saw it hilted fully in the thing's chest. A final, rattling breath clattered free, rotten and unneeded, but she didn't slow as it fell to the crisp underbrush. The paladin turned heel, ignoring the pain that came with weight put to wound, and darted past Ardira and Nezryn to head off the lone remainder of the horde.

Vaeri whips around the instant she hears the sickening thunk of steel biting into Eris, and her eyes go wide. Without thinking, she thrusts her hand out again, bracing it over Ophelia’s other shoulder, using the poor wizard as a make-shift stabiliser.

“Okay- get that one, please!”

And like before, though right beside Eris’s head this time, a giggle emanates from nothing. Then a moment later, another hollow tap resonates outwards, cracks forming in the skeleton's skull as Eris takes it down.

The shambling undead finally reaches one of the party members, swinging wildly for Eris. The paladin easily makes her way around the blow with practiced grace, only for the creature to rear backwards, raising both giant hands into the air behind it, preparing to attack.

Following Eris’s movement, just before the shambling undead managed to reach her, Vaeri scurries out from behind Ophelia, only to immediately latch onto the next nearest available cover.

Which happens to be Elric.

She slips behind him, peeking out from behind his shoulder with wide, frantic eyes. Then, she once again thrusts one hand forward, around his arm, finger trembling as she points at the towering undead monstrosity lumbering towards them.

“Okay… okay- new trick,” she whispers. “Not the creepy knock. Something else. Please.”

Right beside the mound, another laugh rings out, uncomfortably close to Eris yet again.

And then, a thick, shimmering, purple substance starts seeping out from where one could imagine the creature’s ears should be.

Is that glitter?!

Vaeri’s face scrunches, shoulders rising toward her ears as she recoils.

“Ewwww- okay, I meant something that wasn’t worse than last time-” she whispers sharply, then, quieter, to the empty air, “but thank you??”

It was increasingly obvious that the scholar wasn’t built for combat. Every so often, fire would shoot from her hands, etching practiced runes into the air—landing and missing the intended targets—leaving Ophelia to huff in frustration while Wisper hid cowardly behind her.

She watched Vaeri shout commands to seemingly nobody as laughter, giggles, and shadows erupted from thin air, and the undead crippled under her orders. “I thought you couldn’t cast—” Yet again, her sentence was cut short by the massive creature hulking toward the group.

She froze momentarily, a mixture of shock, intrigue, and fear reflected on her face. But once Ophelia shook it off to do an ounce of damage, she realized her magic simply wasn’t enough.

Soon enough, the creature fell by Ardira’s hand, and the battle—as fast as it began—was over.

She reemerged from behind the tent to reconcile with her friend, giving her a once-over for injuries. When nothing seemed immediate, she spoke. “Um, good job, Ardie.” Ophelia’s gaze fell across the rest of their group. “And… everyone.” Her gaze lingered on Vaeri longer than necessary.

And she, while not built for combat, wasn’t built for reading a room either when she asked:

“I thought you couldn’t do magic?”

Just as the arrow would have struck her, Ardira shifted a single step back — the tip of her rapier carving an elven sigil through the air in a blur of motion. Golden energy flared from the gemstone set in her blade, blooming outward in an instant. The arrow burst into a scatter of radiant motes, dissolving before it could ever touch her.

“Shield
Spoiler
,” she breathed in elvish, already turning on her heel as another arrow whistled toward her.

“Again
Spoiler
.” She utters, moving with Seravorn as though the blade were a second limb, its gilded aura swirling and folding around her as she danced through each precise gesture.

Before she fully registered the distance covered, Ardie found herself at Eris’ side — confronting the undead abomination head-on. She slowed her movements deliberately, studying its staggering and unnatural gait, searching for an opening through the chaos.

Just as Eris delivered a brutal blow, the opening revealed itself. Ardira flowed into it, driving her rapier up through one of the creature’s many throats and into the skull above. The impact produced a muted, sickening pop — and then silence.

Her head lifted at the sound of Ophie’s voice, and she managed a quick, distracted smile — warm, but clearly not entirely present. Then, without warning, the stench hit her like a brick to the face.

“I—ugh, I think I’m gonna be sick,” she groaned, pressing a hand over her mouth as her eyes watered.

And skillfully dodge Eris did! Boots dug into the hard packed earth in spite the muscles' protest as she skipped aside to let the lumbering blow crash into the space she'd just vacated. Another eerie cackle echoed too close for comfort, but with the imposing presence looming before her, its rot enough to bring stinging tears to bear, there was no time to properly investigate the who and where and why's of the unnerving sound. Yet.

The paladin retaliated with a needling blow along the shambling thing's leg, wounding and taunting in equal measure to keep the undead's attention firmly upon her. Attention that was rendered null quite soon after, by a presence that was becoming fast familiar beside. The wood elf hastily shuffled back as Ardira's blow landed true and sent the massive bulk to land in an unceremonious heap, though it was only after a fevered scan of the battlefield, to see that all of the dead were brought low, that none of the party's own shared a similar fate, that she allowed herself to untense and shudder out a breath held too long.

"It might be an improvement," An attempt at levity, gasped out as Eris instinctually put further distance between she and the rotting corpse, closer to where she'd last seen their impromptu backline. "Injured- how many?"

Vaeri hesitates only a moment as the battlefield stills, just long enough to make sure nothing else is shambling toward them, before jogging toward Eris.

Up close, Eris’s wound is… well, very real. Vaeri winces at the sight, then brightens with a strange confidence.

She lifts both hands and gasps theatrically.

“Oh! Eris, wait, hold still, you’ve got something on your shirt-“

She points at Eris’s chest just below her chin with urgent, almost scandalised insistence. And when paladin glances down Vaeri gently flicks her finger up to boop her on the nose.

And if Eris flinches, or blinks, the next time she looks down again the torn flesh of her stab wound is gone, completely healed over.

“There!” Vaeri says brightly, as if she just pulled off a simple sleight-of-hand.

She pivots towards Ophelia, swinging her arms behind her back, rocking on her heels.

“Oh- right, magic,” she says, her eyes flicking away sheepishly. “I mean… technically, I lied.”

“I can do this,” She rubs her hands together, then creates four little floating motes of light. “But everyone in my family could do that, so it doesn’t really count.”

She smiles innocently.

Nezryn tucks her dagger away and begins to inspect what actually happened. She slides the shoulder of her dress down her arm to see her shoulder, almost turning herself in a pointless circle to see just a little more. All that it does is glint the sun off of another patch of golden scales. She felt pain, but wasn't sure what happened, or where, "Just a scratch, I think- it did a weird spectral hand thing and it kind of hurt. What was that?"

"Well- consider me suitably impressed!" She says as she walks over to the group, stopping in her tracks only to give a confident nod as if to say "that's, that" You all notice she's carrying various objects, "While you were tending to your well earned rest, I managed to find what was worth finding, part of my rogueish charm." As soon as the words leave her mouth, one of the items rolls away from the top of the pile, a ring hits the floor, continuing its path under her watchful look of stupor before it spins to a stop.

"It's-...probably fine." She says, her eyeline slowly pans back upward, "Does anyone know how to examine items like these? They seem pretty well made."

Not far behind Leona, Elric bites back a sigh and decides to focus on Nezryn's train of thought, "Likely some form of magic, I wouldn't know too much about it myself, maybe one of your group knows more. I've heard of people fighting undead, not around these parts but from mercs passing through, they're not exactly an uncommon enemy. I think I remember hearing something about magic leaving no mark yet feeling as though a place had been sapped of strength." Elric considers, trying to recall whatever he could.

"You all did well, Emberwynd is lucky to have you around. I feel a lot more confident in the fact that something may be going on." He looks the group over, "You seem like the people we need looking into it."

Nezryn's eyes sparkle at the sight, immediately distracted from her wounds. "Oh that poor ring," she says as she approaches the group. She passes right by Elric, nearly forgetting to respond, "Oh! Thank you-" she says, just gently patting his shoulder, and continues forward towards Leona.

Carefully, she picks up the ring. "I can identify it! It's- hm..." A small, nearly imperceptible pout, "Silver-" she lets out a small sigh, trying to look for a spot to set it on Leona's pile again, but fears knocking another trinket off, "I am clueless as to the magic."

"It is indeed! Or at least, it was before I dropped it anyway." She laughs, looking down at it in Nezryn's grip, "Don't worry, you're not alone, I think these feel valuable but that's about as much as I can tell. If any of you are into jewellery or squirrelling away magic items. maybe that'd help." She jokes before feeling a sense of unease at the word squirrel, "What, are squirrels bad? I always thought they were kind of cute."

"I was... Ehm... Pelted with walnuts on the way here," Nezryn quietly admits to Leona, "Red squirrels are mean, so I've been told. I don't mind stealing items though," she blinks. "That sounds bad- I don't typically take things that are important, I swear."

Which... Is partially accurate, surely.

He gives a soft nod, his lips sealed into a formal yet friendly smile, "Maybe something to keep note of." He jokes, fighting down a laugh, "I have to admit, watching the battle seemed like you all were fell well co-ordinated together. I guess you'd all benefit from a bit of a break, if you'd like we can sit around the camp a little longer to rest, then make our way into Emberwynd."

“Wisper,” Ophelia ordered, looking over to Ardie expectantly, and the mote of blue expanded—small particles falling mid-air with a more pleasant smell, reminiscent of cherries and a faint scent of burning coal—before the wisp contracted back into itself.

While she was typically the more logical rather than emotional of the pair, Ophelia paid more attention to Ardira than one might think.

Vaeri’s explanation had only stunned her into silence, and she blinked, wondering if she’d somehow misheard the drow as the wounds sealed up on Eris.

Before she could ask anything else pertaining to her not-magic, their guides spoke up, promising answers that lay in scattered items. Ophelia approached wordlessly, reaching for her spellbook again.

The way the scholar went about magic was… intricate. Runes didn’t need to be traced (insert word for over and over), and the materials she reached for in her bag didn’t need to be the highest quality either.

“You can place them down,” she asked Leona, sitting on the ground in a crisscrossed manner.

Perfectionism was ingrained in Ophelia Fontaine, by none other than herself.

An owl feather and a pearl—one shiny enough to be hypnotizing—were placed beside her book as the scholar read out carefully translated pages from her tome.

A light blue shone, the letters themselves glowing; if one stared close enough, it almost seemed like they were flying off the page.

She’d been focused enough that she hadn’t paid attention to the tear in her cloak—or the wound that dripped bits of blood onto the dirt below.

“I’ll just need a few minutes,” she said, adjusting the glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose.

He nods his head side to side, wobbling it in place as if silently protesting to being bossed around while Ophelia isn't watching. When she looks over to him, his blue flame burns a little brighter, a soft white hue illuminating it while forming a happy grin. As soon as her attention turns back to the items, the mouth turns into a raised lower lip pout, though he was plenty willing to help out with the ritual however he is needed.

Ardie breaths a sigh of relief, letting the comforting smells flood her senses and rid her of the horrid sensation given by the close proximity of the rotten flesh from the slain undead.

“Thank you ever so much, Wispy.” she says quietly, sliding Seravorn back into place at her side. “Let me know when you can conjure up the real thing, though. I’m craving some cherries quite awfully, now.” the elf pouts, sauntering off towards Ophelia.

Wordlessly, she lowers herself to the ground and sits beside her friend with crossed legs — instantly eyeing the open wound that continued to pour.

“Vaeri, some help please, if you would?” Ardira calls out calmly without shifting her gaze, taking Ophie’s arm with a firm grasp just below the gash as she examines it with worry.

Perhaps Ardira's request was too much fun to pass up on, the words being heard by Vaeri and by extension, the one that blesses her. The same warm laugh that could be heard during the battle appeared over Vaeri's left shoulder, then her right as if peaking over her to get a better look.

Vaeri's attention is drawn to Ardira. In one of Ardira's free hands, in a puff of shimmering purple a bunch of cherries appear. Though, before she could look to enjoy them, a red squirrel leaps towards her, climbing her arm to snatch the goods.

The group see it heading towards some nearby trees with the goods!

"Like this?" She places the items down as Ophelia instructed, "Do you have to like...do this every time? I mean, as someone who doesn't use magic it's very pretty, just, y'know..." She leans back on heels taking a look at the process before drawing out the tone and pace of her words, "Seems like kind of a painnn..."

Vaeri had barely taken two steps toward Ardira when the familiar, playful laughter flitted past her ears. She halts mid-stride, and her jaw clenches.

“Wait,” she warns it softly, the way someone might warn a mischievous cat about to knock something off a shelf.

Too late.

The puff of purple shimmer forms over Ardira’s free hand, and a small bunch of cherries pops into existence.

Vaeri brightens for all of half a second, until the red squirrel launches itself at Ardira, stealing the fruit.

Vaeri slaps both hands over her face.

“That,” she grumbles to her unseen companion, voice muffled through her palms, “was not the help anyone meant.”

After a beat though, her fingers spread just enough for one crimson eye to peek out.

“…Unless…”

Both eyes appear now, glinting with a kind of chaotic calculation.

“A blessing in disguise, maybe?” she murmurs. “You do love those…”

Vaeri lowers her hands, expression softening into an almost eerie calm. Then she begins to tiptoe after the squirrel. She does not wander far, just enough to keep the creature in sight.

“Alright, then. Let’s see what this is supposed to teach me…”

The squirrel runs off in the direction that the Shambling Undead came from, leading Vaeri closer. As she made her way to the trees, she saw a dark, smokey black mist. This strange energy looked as though it was settling, dying down. The earth beneath it was coloured a lifeless grey, as if withered by the gloomy black cloud tinged with void like purples.

While similar in hues, this wasn't like her magic. It felt...off, sinister even, like it shouldn't exist.

With another laugh, the squirrel and cherries disappeared and for a moment Vaeri feels as though someone cups both of her cheeks in their hands, reminding her that her god was always with her before the feeling faded away with the laughter. (edited)Wednesday, 26 November 2025 18:00

The elf took her arm to examine the injury, glancing at Ardira momentarily. “I’m okay,” the wizard told the other but didn’t pull away, continuing the spell one handed. Ophelia was far too invested in the ritual and the items that magic gleamed off of to notice the cherries, squirrel, or Vaeri running off.

She lifted each item individually, and Wisper’s physique contorted to match. The ring had the Wisp turn into an exact floating, blue flame replica, so on and so forth. “You can add them, Wisper.” It almost seemed like Ophelia was ignoring Leona, answering her question a bit too late.

“Not always, Wisper is connected to the Archive—which, if the item existed previously and we have record of it…” Ophelia flipped to a blank page, picking up a health potion.

Her free hand adjusted the book for Leona and the rest of the group to see.

“Otherwise, I’d have to figure out the magical properties myself. However, I don’t mind—or label it as a pain.”

Ophelia grimaced at the gash on her arm.

"I'm afraid you've lost my interest." She says straight faced before stifling a laugh, "Sorry - couldn't resist, you seemed so intensely focused! It does seem like a neat ability, but I'd say im better at being annoying rather than being annoyed...and this looks kind of annoying." She shrugs.

"I don't think you've ever had anyone's interest, you are right about being annoying though." He says as he walks over, taking a peek at Ophelia at work, "I think I've heard about something like that, big place in some city. Where was it again?" Elric adds, placing a hand on his hip while frowning in deep thought.

"Oh yeah — I heard a few fellas talking about it in the tavern the other day. Some group weren't happy with some big archive so they'd been up in arms protesting."

His eyes flicker, then turn a full opaque blue. The empty pages that Ophelia utilizes act like a screen while Wisper's eyes function like a projector, displaying the information, printing it into her book for her to access when ever she liked.

A perfect replica of the potion bottle, down to the small chip in the glass was drawn upon the pages, it displayed how much it healed and that the average cost could run anywhere from 30 - 60 gold depending on the area of commerce.

The page detailed that some healing potions are made with a mix of naturally occurring mushrooms named Redhats, which ironically are poisonous when eaten. When cooked and broken down, the poisonous nature is cooked out, the potions are then imbued with alchemical brewing salts with magical healing properties.

Often healing potions can taste different depending on the location, this is usually because the brewer will add their own flavourings to nullify the dull taste of the mushrooms. The most common flavourings are mixed berries, any that would retain the inviting, signature red colour expected of a Healing Potion.

"Ah— hey!"

Before she could even register the cherries she longed for only a few moments prior suddenly appearing in the palm of her free hand, Ardira instinctively jerked away from her hold on Ophelia, brushing away the remnants of the scurried scratches left on her arm from the thieving squirrel that carries them away into the trees.

The elf lets out a disappointed, yet confused huff — shaking her head as she watches Vaeri follow after the furry critter.

"Eris? Nezryn? Can either of you patch her up?" she asks around with urgency, looking down to Ophelia with apologetic eyes.

"Virelle, but the Archive is a ways away from where we're from." She explained to Elric. Their hometown, was still quite big compared to surrounding cities. While Ophelia moved from home - she still resided in Virelle.

Just hours away from what, and who'd she grown up with.
Change wasn't new to Ophie. The years that passed had only strengthened her resolve for it.

At the mention of protests is when the scholar paused, brows furrowed. "It's nothing to worry about." She spoke with verbatim of her mentor's words. "There's plenty who don't understand the work we do."

She took some of the items and handed them out to those around her. "Vitality," Ophelia told Ardira and Nezyrn, allowing the ring and earrings to fall into their respective hands.

With the spell finished, the items were distributed amongst them. Ardira's worry only had Ophelia address her with a reassurance. "It was just a scratch." Well, an arrow but thankfully one that didn't impale. "And it doesn't hurt that much. I can bandage it up."

"What I'd like to figure out, is just how the undead were fused together. A mass that seemed sentient enough to attack? It doesn't make sense to me."

Vaeri comes to a slow stop by the now dead mound, the lingering echo of that familiar laughter still brushing the back of her neck. Her shoulders loosen a little, just enough for a soft, conflicted sigh to slip out.

She lifts a hand to the empty air beside her, gently brushing her knuckles over nothing, the ghost of a grateful smile tugging at her lips.

“…Alright, I get it. Thank you, my friend.” she whispers.

The dark mist remains ahead of her, creeping and wrong, and her smile fades. She takes a step back, then another, before she finally turning toward the camp.

“Um- everyone? Could you maybe come here when you can spare moment?” she calls out, eyes still locked on the fading black haze. “There’s… something strange here. It… it doesn’t feel right.”

Eris hadn't said much during the talks of items and the identification of them. Perhaps the flicked boop to her nose was surprise enough to take her off guard, or that the adrenaline that'd pumped its way through limbs and mind was finally ebbing away, leaving the paladin in a lethargic lull. Perhaps both, truth be told.

A distracted nod was eventually offered towards the discussion, along with a, "Whatever you feel is best." She wasn't picky. But as Vaeri's call echoed across the field, some bit of life returned to the wood elf, enough to have her hasten over. "How so?" She asked, another sweep of the treeline taken before she focused her attention to the dead. The crimson gaze took on a lighter hue, a subtle glow as Eris concentrated on the figure and surrounding space.

As Eris concentrates, she feels the serenity of dawn's light wash over her like a calming breeze under the day's cloudy sky. For a moment, she forgets about the battle that had just taken place and feels a higher sense of awareness as if she'd unified with her surroundings. She didn't hear nor smell the blatant signs of evil. There was no signs of anything outwardly good, either.

What she did feel was that the strange energy Vaeri had located seemed more like undeath. Rather than being alarming, like a horde of skeletons might for example, it felt like spotting a plant that hadn't been watered, solemn and unnatural. This void energy had different effects depending on it's usage but it was entirely clear to Eris that at the very least, nature didn't like it.

"Oh yeah...definitely gunna have to tell the guard captain about this. Do you think it's related to the sudden ruining of a building? If whatever this is is doing this to the ground, wonder what it would do to a building."

"Well, not exactly like we can just scoop it up with our hands and find out. It looks more like a mist or a magic than something we could stow away...not that I'd really wanna put my hand close enough to that stuff to even try."

"I wonder if it'll fade away? Sort of like a lingering spell or something?" She looks actually rather serious as she stands with the group, hand under her chin as she stares at the shadowy substance. "At least we can report the unde-"

As the words leave her, the mound of rot that the party had just slain seemed to weaken just like the ground. It's dark black flesh paled to a weak grey before crumbling to ash, as if ageing rapidly right before your eyes until it's structure eroded away. The other skeletons in the area remained more solid, but the hulking creature was likely more infested with this strange magical energy and it was clear that now it was no longer capable of circulating the energy, it had withered under the void energy just like the ground below you.

Nezryn approaches, pushing up on her tippy toes to see over some of the others. "Do we think those who sustained injuries from those things need to be... Careful? Watchful..? I can't say I'd want to wither like that..." she trails as she tries to put earrings in by touch alone.

He glances over her, "How does that wound feel? If you're unsure we can always have it looked at when we get into town which, we should probably be doing right about now, but it seemed like they were using fighting using fairly conventional means, so it's likely you've nothing to worry about."

"If we're all done staring at that black smoke stuff, how about we get ourselves to Emberwynd?"

The girl's brows furrow - she's not entirely sure what she feels. "You mentioned magic that doesn't leave a mark, but it feels as though strength has been sapped..? It certainly didn't feel great, and it still doesn't, but it isn't unbearable. I... Don't really have words for something I haven't experienced before, it seems."

She sighs, and mutters another thought aloud, "And if I can't see a wound, how do I know it's getting worse?" And now that she is finally done messing with earrings, she shrugs, "I don't mind going to Emberwynd-'

Ardira resigns herself from Ophie’s side with a teasing ”Suit yourself” and a playful eye roll, before silently slipping the silver ring onto one of her fingers and making her way over to where all the others were causing a fuss.

With crossed arms, she quietly observed as her new allies contemplated the strange phenomenon — scrunching up her nose in confusion as she sees flesh wilt and decay even further than it already had.

Whether or not the happenings here in the forest were connected to their mission at hand, it was too early to tell — and Ardie counted herself far too inexperienced to give her word on the matter.

Why am I even here, again?

“Yes, let’s. To Emberwynd.” she agrees simply, one hand returning to Seravorn and stepping away as if she had any idea as to where she was going.

Vaeri slips away from the crowd she gathered around the mound, leaving the magical investigating to better minds. She instead goes and crouches beside the skeleton she felled earlier, tugging her dagger free and tucking it back into place at her hip.

Her attention then drifts to the little collection of retrieved items. She hesitates, glancing around to make sure no one minds, then reaches for the bracelet among the trinkets before sliding it onto her wrist.

Straightening, she rejoins the group just as talk shifts back toward the trip to Emberwynd. She nods along in agreement of setting out, until her eyes meet Nezryn’s.

Vaeri moves to stand next to her, and offers a small, reassuring smile. “If you’re still uneasy tomorrow, I can also try to have a look at it for you?” She awkwardly rubs the back of her neck, “I just can’t right now… my friend has no more gifts to give to me today, so I don’t think I’d be able to do much good without them.”

This time she's the one to leap into action, jumping in place to land in a dramatic pose, legs wide open in a fighting stance to slug Elric playfully on his arm, "Hey! I said I wanted to do that bit! She complains, eyes widening as if to help in her argument before she turns to the party and throws on a dazzling smile, clapping her hands together.

"Alright then! Should we go to Emberwynd? I'll lead the way then!"

Without room for the party to do much other than be unimpressed, she turns on heel, setting off, leaving Elric to heave a sigh, begrudgingly following along after her.

Nezryn nods - the red stones in her new earrings glinting off the sun's light, "Tomorrow fine, sure! I wouldn't want to be a bother, either. If something's still weird, then we'll look into? Later us problem?"

Ophelia got her answer when Vaeri called out, following closely behind Ardira and the others as they perceived what must’ve been the cause of the mangled undead. The energy wasn’t anything she was experienced with, only having heard bits and pieces throughout the archive about the strange phenomena.

As the aberration dispersed, she still found herself entranced by the black, swirling energy.

She was only broken out of her trance once her companions started walking. “Yes, we should go.” Ophelia hesitated, taking a brisk walk back to their tents where she’d left a lone ring, slipping it on.

“Coming,” she announced in case she was being waited on. She halted momentarily when an autumn leaf on the ground caught her eye; the red-yellow gradient must’ve been why the draconic woman seemed mesmerized.

Otherwise, it was just nature.

The scholar opened her book and lifted the leaf, pressing it between the pages before following the rest of her party.

Key NPCs

Seravorn – Ardira’s named rapier.

Important Info

Void-like undeath energy is discovered lingering where the fused creature emerged:

Recap

An undead ambush erupts at the camp, forcing the party into combat. Skeletons emerge, and then an undead mound that, on investigating after, the party sees the mound is tainted with void energy, and is killing the ground under it. Suspicions mount that this phenomenon ties directly to Emberwynd’s ruined building, the group agrees to move on into Emberwynd to continue the investigation.