Fable - Ask An Empty Tomb

[Hruugen]

"I'd like to thank you all for agreeing to come with me."

Hruugen spoke with all the reverence for the other Guardians that the 36th Temple had given him. Bent low and eyes closed. The motion of perfect trust in them.
He had sent word to Solomon for help when he had seen the site for himself.

A Temple, deep in the northern regions of the Imperial Deserts, that was completely desecrated. The once mighty statue of Amu the four faced god of life, fortune, wisdom and time was broken. Its top half felled onto the once pristine carved marble of the courtyard. All treasure and wealth had been removed. Most of the Holy People who lived there were dead already. Their bodies he had gathered into rows and covered with what cloth he could find. Stones lay over their eyes and in their mouths, marked with the sign of Amu, as was their way.

"I have done what I can for those outside but I fear that within we may find something more terrible than even this mindless destruction."

Straightening up Hruugen knelt down and began unwrapping his exotic weapons, a pair of double edged blades he took up in both hands. The edges were curved on one side and serrated on the other with handles made from human femurs and carved in holy prayers for the dead.

"The former Temple elders are buried inside, mummified. Their tombs have been disturbed so there is a good chance they have risen in anger to avenge Sacred Amu. If they have, we should put them to rest before they escape into the desert. There is no telling where they may end up out there or whom they may harm."

Standing up again he faced his fellow Guardians.
"Are you prepared?"

Villam Regis

 

[Villam Regis]

Villam knew little of the latest Guardian of Light. Hruugen was a recent appointment, chosen due to the previous Guardian's sudden and unexpected retirement. This assignment was not only his first time meeting the man, but the first time he'd been exposed to his... unique culture. A culture that laid in the sands, far from their home of Valenntenia.

"That his began happening so soon after your appointment is cause for concern." Villam replied to his gratitude, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes raked warily over the temple exterior, vandalized and brutalized by whatever tempest of violence had been beset upon it. It was enough to cause even him to grimace. "If this is an act of retaliation or protest to your ascension to Guardian, it cannot be allowed to stand. You've my aide in this matter."

Hruugen was religious, he'd been told, but not the traditional religion practiced by Descendants. No, the Guardian of Light's faith revolved around death. Villam would have guessed there were a fair few corpses in this temple long before it was attacked, and Hruugen's word of warnings regarding the reanimated elders within only confirmed that.

"These... risen elders. Necromancy? What are we dealing with? I didn't take my zombified religious elders class."

Villam preferred more discreet methods over direct combat, but maybe their partner didn't feel the same.

 

[Noi]

Noi was in the deserts, like Guardian Demia centuries before her, who went to the desert people to help with a drought. Guardian Demia was right: the sun burned her skin, making it itchy and flaky. Noi didn't have the time to make the salve that would protect her red (redder than that monkey boy Roki's mask and even redder than her hair!) face, and there was no aloe or potatoes in this desert. Oh well, that was okay. Noi liked to peel the skin from her face and admire how thick and yellow-white it was. Why wasn't her peeled skin red? Shouldn't it at least be pink?

The white goat that Noi rode snorted as if it could understand the Guardian of Silence. Noi looked down at her hand firmly on its sturdy shoulder. Oh, it probably could understand.

Meanwhile, while Solomon's Son (poor Solomon, not many children!) and the New Guardian spoke, all of it was unheard. They didn't use their hands to communicate, only their mouth. She took her burnt hand from her goat, went closer to Villam's side, and tried to find an open place of skin to ask him what was going on. He was well covered.

Her blank face went to the New Guardian. Their eyebrows reminded her of baby caterpillars. She liked his eyebrows. Her eyebrows were sparse, like grass found between rocky crags and crevices. The New Guardian had skin exposed, so she went to him, not making a single sound and quickly sucking all sound around her. Her fingers found his, head upturned, eyes squinting in joy.

[Could you share with Noi your thoughts as you speak?] She asked through their telepathic connection. Look at her, asking for permission! Guardians Lyta and Kaira would be proud!

Hruugen Villam Regis

 

[Hruugen]

Hruugen smiled a little. Villam's confident joviality and Noi's curiosity would help greatly here.
He was happy that Solomon sent such experienced help. The idea of facing the recently risen alone was unnerving, even to one so accustomed to death.

"Not Necromancy as you may understand it."
He thought the words towards Noi as he spoke them to Villam. The peculiarities of her stone were new to him.
"These priests were embalmed in ritual to guard against defilement or failing that, avenge Sacred Amu."
The process was involved and required replacement of organs with ones made of clay and the ritual burning of the originals.
"There is no Necromancer to stop for them to be put to rest the Temple itself must be cleansed. That means, ironically enough, putting them back in their tombs and ridding the area of other bodies."
He looked again at the neat row of covered bodies.
"This wasn't any retaliation to me being made a Guardian. It was greed. Those that came here took and killed without respect for life or anything sacred at all."
Hruugen did not like being angry. It robbed him of his focus so he took a breath and turned back to his companions.

Villam was strong and full of purpose and Noi, he knew little of her but trusted the fact she was a Guardian and silence was a constant companion in death.
For a second he thought she was staring at his forehead but regardless he felt them both fitting for the task.

Villam Regis
Noi

 

[Ingrid Bohnes]

Ingrid had been quietly crouched beside one of the dead, her eyes roving over the row before her. Her head tilted up to her fellow Guardians, and she silently wished Rhenn had come along. Though the two didn't particularly get along, they knew each other enough that she could count on him. Plus there was her stone to contend with.

As if on cue, the whispers from the green stone sought to invade her with thoughts of treachery. Ingrid stood with a soft sigh, dusting her hands on her pants as she listened to Hruugen.

Little Noi was trying to get their attention, though she sought to help the girl, itnwas not a good idea for her to have skin contact. Not until she and Rhenn figured out how to get her stone to bend to her will.

"I don't understand what anyone would gain from doing this. There couldn't have been too many valuables, though I guess I wouldn't know. It just seems that a religious site wouldn't have that much to offer for this amount of chaos."

Villam Regis Hruugen Noi

 

[Villam Regis]

Villam sighed, sounding almost disappointed by Hruugen's appraisal of the heinous act that had been committed here. "Graverobbing." He muttered in disgust. "How pedestrian." It certainly wasn't the kind of thing Guardians would usually be deployed for, but he stood by his earlier words of support for Hruugen. He was the newest of their ranks, and it was vital that he understood that the Guardians supported one another.

Turning towards Noi, Regis signs a quick apology for forgetting to broadcast his words so that she could hear, before moving closer to the temple and retrieving his Runestone from the pouch in his vest. The glowing blue engraving on the Rune pulsed with his touch, and a faint light was cast onto the already sunbaked temple walls as Villam held the stone out towards the structure.

"Alas, Hruugen is correct." He hummed back to his team. "There was no passion or need in the raid of this temple. It was a mindless act, one of impulse and thoughtlessness." That meant there was less likely a motive, and more likely a deranged danger to society running about these sands with valuables stolen from the dead.

Still, Ingrid made a fair point, one that didn't fit with Villam's narrative. He paid the Disease Guardian's words a thought."Though... I suppose it is possible they knew what such a crime would bring, that it would cause the rising of the undead. It certainly is one way of keeping any pursuers busy."

It didn't matter, they wouldn't get their answers standing out here, and the problem within the walls would not resolve itself.

"We should make our entry. Hruugen, you know this place, so you should take lead. Ingrid, fall in behind him, Noi, you're with me."

Villam had a tendency to fall into a commanding role, even if he technically fell on the same ground as the others. Still, nobody had taken issue with it as of yet...

Hruugen Ingrid Bohnes Noi

 

[Noi]

Through Guardian Hruugen, Noi could understand everything. What he heard and said were all brought back to her attention, albeit with some delay. Many of the guardians before her could use telepathy with everyone; skin contact wasn't needed. She looked at each Guardian as they spoke, considering their thoughts and finding that she agreed with each person... until the next person spoke. She had little idea why it was done, but that was beside the point. They were going to put the dead back to rest.

[We should have brought blankets.] Noi signed to everyone as her hand fell from Hruugen's skin. [Everyone likes to be tucked in before sleeping.] She went to Villam's side, her face showcasing a slight eagerness. [While we walk, I will make us all quiet. Quieter than death itself!] She was proud of this small improvement; now, everyone could be silent like her. What a joy! She took hold of Villam's hand, unashamed and unaware of how strange it might be.

Hruugen Ingrid Bohnes Villam Regis

 

[Hruugen]

Hruugen tightened his grip on his weapons as he pondered Ingrid's question. She was right, what common valuables they had were petty at best and though Noi brought an unexpected whimsy to the situation the weight of the responsibility still felt heavy so he was heart glad that he was not alone and with such understanding folk.
"The Monks who raised me sometimes spoke of an emptiness in men. They try to fill it with evil. Greed, control, great blasphemies to the gods and the dead. The Monks said that when such men die they can become Devils. Keep plaguing the world with their presence until they are stopped."
Not wanting to waste time he cleared his throat to address the group as the took positions.
"The Mummified Monks of this place are not mindless things. They are compelled by divine purpose. Some may even retain some spellcasting ability or even... memories of who they once were."
He swallowed, not wanting any of it to be true.
"Whatever we do, please remember, it is vital we do not disrespect this place further. That will draw them to us and while they are divided we have the advantage."
It was time to begin.
Hruugen led, followed by Ingrid then Villam and Noi.
The entrance was dark, the small lanterns within burned out already and the only light was through thin slits in the carved stone tall as a man and wide as a hand. The Temple was shallow built into the surface layer of rock. So while the sun lasted they could yet see.
The air was still in that way only the aftermath of violence could be. All about them tapestry and pottery lay tattered in broken heaps, the corridors could fit but two at a time. Hruugen tried to not let the sight of this destruction upset him. He was not succeeding and it showed in his body language. His shoulders tensed and his neck hunched.

Villam Regis
Noi
Ingrid Bohnes

 

[Ingrid Bohnes]

None of this was making any sense to her, it was a puzzle that seemed far from solving. This may be Hruugen's territory, but she felt he himself may not know precisely what they were getting into. Villam made good points, and his stone revealed no passion behind the attack, so what was the true purpose? The chaos that they were now to deal with had no place, perhaps they were after Hruugen himself, and it really had nothing to do with the temple at all.

As Villam piped up, giving them their marching orders, she lifted her chin as her blue eyes gave him a piercing look. Rhenn was barely able to keep her in check, and she would be damned if the spawn of Solomon thought he could boss her around. Tch. She let it go this time, her gaze sliding from the larger figure to follow Hruugen into the temple.

"We will find out what happened. I know that doesn't ease your sorrow now, but those responsible will pay." Little Noi had learned a new trick it seemed, and Ingrid couldn't help but smile at her words. She was like a child, and it almost bothered her that she had been selected to come along. No one wanted to see her get hurt.

Hruugen Villam Regis Noi

 

[Villam Regis]

Villam wasn't entirely certain what Hruugen's definition of 'disrespect' was, but it would be difficult to avoid putting these reanimated holy men back into the ground if they deigned to attack them. "The place is already disrespected, Hruugen." He murmured as they approached the entrance. "Any mess we make now is for the purpose of fixing what's been done."

With Noi's power, they moved into the Temple with nary a sound. Not even the press of their feet against the stone floor left an echo to follow as the barely illuminated chamber ahead of them displayed its grisly scene. Even in the dim light offered by the thin slits in the wall, it was clear that this had been a vicious and violent act.

Anger and rage had fueled this. But no passion?

Villam clutched at his stone as the possibilities raced through his mind. Even among killers and madmen, there were few who could feel such unbridled fury without an active passion or desire to harm. The way that this room had been torn apart, defaced without any meaning or pattern...

"We may be dealing not with man or woman," He hummed from behind Ingrid, "But monster and beast. Bohnes, do you feel anything? Filth, lingering amongst the debris?" It wouldn't be the first time they'd come across corrupted creatures driven to madness by wayward magics or disease.

Briefly, he paid a thought to Noi trailing behind him. The young woman was Guardian of Silence, devoid of voice or hearing. Even so, she could feel vibrations in a way none of them could. Turning to face her, Regis quickly retrieves a small, yellow potion in a vial from a pouch hanging on his hip.

'If you feel anything moving that isn't us,' He projects. 'Throw this at the source. It will illuminate and allow us to see.'

Hruugen Noi Ingrid Bohnes

 

[Noi]

Everything was as quiet as it was inside Noi's head. With many steps, she managed to keep stride with Villam without having him to change his pace to better suit her shorter legs. She could walk very fast when she wanted to and luckily for her, Hruugen did not move with much speed as they made their way into the temple, nor did she worry much about the possibility of being in complete darkness. As long as she could feel, Noi would be able to make her way around the temple without making a single sound.

Besides, even if the waning sunlight disappeared, did they not have Hruugen? She took the pouch from Villam, inspecting it with wide eyes that all at once seemed impressed as they were curious. She liked the yellow glow vial, it reminded her of Roki's big gold eyes. She felt something stir, but when she looked over, there was nothing to be seen nor felt. Was it the wind? Could a draft reach this place?

Her free hand held onto the pouch. Noi had come here with no weapons, not even a knife. The last time she had stabbed people she had gotten multiple fractured bones in her hand. Until she learned how to properly wield a weapon, there would be no more knives for her.

[Ingrid's name is Ingrid, not Bohnes.] Noi reminded Villam. [Ingrid means beautiful! Bohnes means bones-- not beautiful, but useful!] She turned her head, frowning. Once again, a quiver against the vibrations to only disappear entirely. [I will focus now.] She had to if she wished to identify this unusual whisper that seemed to draw them all further into the temple. It felt a secret.

Noi loved secrets.

Hruugen Ingrid Bohnes Villam Regis

 

[Hruugen]

Listening, listening?, to the others was help and hindrance in equal measure.
It was nice to hear voices. Know that he wasn't alone but he was a bit bothered. It seemed he was not clear in his relations to the sect of Ahmu. The others seemed to think THIS was the 36th Temple. Granted they had never seen it but he did not remember telling them this was it. The God's were plentiful and the 36th Temple studied and revered them all.
Noi's comment about blankets got a smile from him. The visuals were humorous. Tucking a mummified monk into its tomb with a blanket and pillow.

He could clarify it later, when attention was not needed in the present.

"Then we shall have more to clean up before we are done Villam."
Hruugen stated not unkindly. It often could not be helped when dealing with such things. He was also mindful to project his thoughts as well that Noi may not be left out.

"Thank you Ingrid. Perhaps there is some clue to who did this deeper within."
The corridor split into two paths.
One going down into the catacombs and tomb and one continued on the ransacked corridor.
Down the stairs he could see despite the darkness. The first ability the stone of Light gave was illumination and that was to be expected but with Hruugen he found another odd facet of the stone. He could see in the dark.
"It looks clear. We should go downward."
The Light stone shined a bit and the area ahead lit up revealing the lower level at the end of the narrow staircase.
The air was misty and foul. Unlike the ground level no natural light penetrated the area.
A body lay at the door of the stairs that did not look like a Monk. They wore a dark set of armour and seemed to be armed with a set of short claws on their wrists. Face down the turban they had worn was half unwrapped on their head.
Their facial hair was well shorn and neat and his boots were well made.
This man was too well dressed, even in armour, to be a bandit or raider.
Hruugen stopped to examine the man.
"A knife wound. This man was not killed by the Monks or the Dead."
He looked up at the others.
"I did not know anyone else was here and he is not dressed like a pilgrim."

As he spoke a ways back down the hallway a section of wall slid open and a thin, ragged figure stumbled from the gloom within.
It was wrapped in the treated bandages of the dead and moved in stiff, short motions. In its withered but powerful hand it held a flail of two chains ended with metal spheres. The body approached the group from behind at a slow and steady pace.

Villam Regis
Ingrid Bohnes
Noi

 

[Ingrid Bohnes]

Her stone had been whispering to her the entire time, enticing with honeyed words. She was used to its chittering and shut it out for now while she tried to concentrate. The stone was an opportunist, and it still talked of Rhenn, its focus was on him currently and it irritated her. Was she not good enough for the damned thing?

Her head snapped up from the dusty stone floor as Villam spoke her name and she nodded as they continued to press forward. "There is a rot here, though the undead still wander. It is hard to discern if it's them or something new."

Her lips quirked up as Noi spoke of how Villam addressed the Disease Guardian. She had once though Villam to be someone to look up to, same as Solomon. The rapid change of her body and attitude was stone affected, and all she could feel was disdain. She was finding it hard to continue to try and befriend her fellow Guardians, she was slowly turning angry and distant, though she doubted none of them had cared to notice.

They quite literally stumbled over a body that did not seem as if it belonged and Hruugen quickly echoed the thought. Ingrid stooped to study the dead man herself and caught a quick whiff of something that felt akin to rot, but it was not enough for her to catch what exactly it was. "There is something foul at play, I can't identify it, but something is not at all right."

Noises rebounded from behind before they could continue downward, she could not tell what it was but there was no doubt that they needed to be at the ready. "I swear to the gods, if you let anything happen to Noi, Villam, I will kill you myself." She turned her piercing blue eyes to the larger man as they waited for what was yet to come.

Villam Regis Noi Hruugen

 

[Villam Regis]

If Villam was the slightest bit threatened by Ingrid's stern warning, he did not display it. Truly, he'd no reason to be concerned; He'd no intention of letting any harm come to Noi or any of his comrades for that matter. If Bohnes' griping made her feel better, he'd not stop her. Villam's concern rested far heavier with trials ahead, lurking within the thick fog of darkness that seemed to permeate every nook and cranny of this place.

It was a small solace, and an encouraging sight, that Hruugen had already begun to harness the Light Stone's power. Often it took new Guardians some time to form a connection with the stone in such a way that they could put it to use. Hruugen's effortless navigation through the dark halls and the misty staircase that brought them deeper into the bowels of the desecrated place spoke to him being the correct choice for Guardian.

Woe as he was to admit it, his father knew how to pick them.

"If what Hruugen says is true, we aren't dealing with the typical undead. These are a special case, and we've no idea how they work." Villam could taste it too, bitter on his tongue, like the copper taste of blood. He'd been around the dead long enough to know how it tasted, but this was indeed a shade darker. The body lying at the bottom of the stairs certainly wasn't the source. He wasn't a raider, and he certainly wasn't a monk. Hruugen confirmed as much, and Villam dropped to a knee to search his person. "A victim of circumstance, perhaps? Wrong place at the wrong time?"

Behind them, the sound of shifting stone pierced the eerie silence hanging in the air, and Villam quickly pocketed the time he'd found, turning to look back towards the staircase they'd just descended. He could hear the shambling of the dead, slow and staggering, flesh sliding against the ground.

"Someone follows us." He mutters, drawing the serrated dagger from his hip and laying it across his arm to briefly test its edge. "We can't afford to be pinned down, not in these dark and winding halls. I will remain here and deal with our interloper."

Pausing, he looks towards the Light Guardian.

"I'm assuming you don't want the thing slain?"

Hruugen Noi Ingrid

 

[Noi]

There would be no need for killing. The young guardian turned to where she felt the tingle, seeing a restless one begin to make their way towards them. Noi would have pitied the one who walked again. It looked miserable, with a jangly shuffle that had its bones grinding against each other, cracks and pops resonating with each movement. Its heavy feet shuffled with a clumsy sway and the ankles looked about ready to break if they were jerked about a little more.

She very nearly threw the light-pouch, as Villam had instructed her to do, but held off. She looked towards Hruugen instead of Villam, pointed at the Guardian of Light and then at the again-walker. But then her pointed finger swung to the right, finding another that made their way towards them.

When she turned towards Villam, she saw his knife.

[Can I have that?] She signed, grinning despite those that crept closer and closer.

 

[Hruugen]

"Yes I agree, there is some wrongness at work here."
The Dead creature was discovered, then another.
To answer Villam he said.
"They are already dead. You cannot harm them further."
Still hunkered down he addressed Ingrid again.
"Discover what you can. Noi will be well. She too is a Guardian."
After that he stood and was about to leave Villam to his task when the quiet Noi made her additional discovery. The sight of the two made his heart weak. It was wrong, these souls should be at rest.
"Remember, they are only here to defend this place. They are not the evil here."
Yet he made no motion to stop Noi. Whatever means she was concocting he hoped it was better than destruction.

The Mummified Monks where closing in. Though their movements were slow they were steady and relentless.
One was almost in arms reach of Villam.

Ingrid Bohnes
Villam Regis
Noi

 

[Ingrid Bohnes]

The shuffles of the undead did not bother the Disease Guardian, it was a sight she had seen plenty of times. Bloated and rotting corpses, stinking in their rot and infection. The fact that these ones didn't smell was actually quite nice, despite the fact they were walking and potentially dangerous. "If I try to take them out, I'll end up turning them to jelly. I don't think that's what we're going for here."

Rhenn was still teaching her control, and she was loathe to admit that she had noticed it helping slightly. Her stone had been whispering to her the whole time, trying to get her to go back to him. It wanted both of them, the means to its own devices.

As much as she did not care for Solomon or his spawn, she knew it was better for them if they stuck together. "We will provide backup, should the need arise, and you can't take them out, I will step in. I don't mind being respectful, but when it comes to safety, I have no problem making them soup."

Noi Hruugen Villam Regis

 

[Villam Regis]

Hruugen meant well, Villam was sure. It didn't change the fact that he was so damned cryptic. As now a pair of shambling monks neared Villam, he found himself snapping back in reply to Hruugen, "They may not be evil, but if I have to hack them apart to save myself, I'll not have much choice, will I?" Regis understood The Light Guardian's desire to preserve these victims as much as possible, but there was only so much he could do.

Which is why, while Ingrid's support did surprise him a bit, he simply nodded in thanks. The two of them were far from friends, but he'd be remiss to decline the power of Disease's Guardian, especially against the shambling dead that now reached out to try and grasp him.

Lashing out with his knife, he cut clean through the attacker's wrist, dead bone and muscle putting up little fight against the sharp edge he offered them. The hand fell uselessly to the ground, but it didn't appear to deter the monk much, only recoiling a bit with a shaky stumble before lunging forward again. Villam brought his boot up, delivering it square to the chest of the dead man and sending him backward onto his withered backside.

Lord, the thing was heavier than it looked. That hurt.

"Enough talking." He snarled impatiently at Hruugen, though it was borne mostly of the ache in his leg and the approach of another mummified body, this one gripping the chain hanging from its arm and lifting the metal sphere at the end to use as a weapon. "Either get going or stay and help, but I can't converse and deal with this at the same time."

Wait... did Noi ask for his knife?

Only giving her a brief, puzzled expression, he shook his head and kept his eyes forward. He'd heard speak of the girl acting strangely during the Valenn festival, but Noi didn't seem the type to lose herself. She must have had some reason for her odd request.

[There's another one just like it, holstered on the other hip. Take it and do what you will.]

Noi
Hruugen
Ingrid

 

[Noi]

Well, maybe Noi had wanted that particular knife. Clearly, it was more favored for a reason. Nonetheless, Noi trotted around Solomon's son to grab the other dagger. She held it with both her hands, raising it high over her head. She looked at the bandaged priest, its flail dragging along the floor. Noi felt its vibrations, warbling the knife above her head to match the dissonant movement of the one who needed to rest again.

With the dagger's sway, the glass-like rune stone of silence, tied tightly across Noi's throat, vibrated and glowed with a soft hum that radiated across the room. Villam's dagger was then used to stab into the ground before Noi, and the frequency spread far and wide around the room they were, even going throughout the rest of the temple and down the stairs.

All the dust and debris formed into perfectly symmetrical nodal patterns that manifested from an invisible force field of the vibrational energy that generated it. Though the pattern would be clear if viewed from the ceiling, it was also clear that parts of it were obstructed by objects that didn't belong in the room-- or, at the very least, didn't belong where they did now.

Noi managed to continue the frequency, the dust and debris repeatedly hitting against the dead body as it tried to complete the pattern. As the again walker continued to walk towards Noi, if it stepped onto the pattern, it would ruin it, but the moment it lifted its foot, the pattern would form underneath it once more.

Hruugen Ingrid Bohnes Villam Regis

 

[Hruugen]

The Mummified bodies halted. They seemed to take in the strange occurrence which Noi had provided. Their hollow eyes gleamed with a dark-light in that dreadful moment.

Hruugen held his breath and did his best to trust in Noi's unspoken plan.

Until the dead resumed their motion and entered the wondrous patterns of dust and dirt that now vibrated with the power of the Sound Stone. The spell of what pause it gave them broken and the one in front approached with its flail held high, ready to strike at them as it reached the center of the pattern

"I do not wish to appear to panic but I hope that there is more to this."

He prepared to act but did not. Trust meant trust and Noi had asked for his. So he gave it, completely.

"May Sacred Amu forgive us!"
He whispered.

Villam Regis Ingrid Bohnes Noi

 

[Ingrid Bohnes]

Ingrid was growing impatient, despite the well-meaning of Noi, things were not happening quick enough for her taste. There was too much concern in the Disease guardian to wait on Noi to finish what she had started. Though Ingrid could feel the vibrations manifested by the smaller girl, but she did not wait for the trick in its completion. She had no trust in faith, nor really anyone else. It was a paranoia brought on by her stone, that would likely follow her to her death.

She stalked closer to her companions, going around the undead with the flail, letting Noi have just a little more time. She wanted to believe the girl could do something to these zombies, but knew she could deal with them if not. She stepped quietly past Villam, approaching one of the undead closest to him. Their slow shambling was easy to work around, and she stepped nimbly behind it, and with just the touch of a finger, bone melted. She watched with slight fascination of her own power, watched as the arm fell separate from its body. She didn't move, didn't attempt more. Her own fascination waiting just to see what would happen with Noi, with the shuffling dead. The stone was feeding her desire, wanting her to do more, wanting her to use its full extent.

Noi Villam Regis Hruugen

 

[Villam Regis]

Villam wasn't certain what irked him more; That Noi and the others were still refusing to let him handle the situation in his own way, or that she was using such powerful Rune magic when he had the situation well in hand. At least, he'd convinced himself that he had.

Communication, through no fault of her own, wasn't a particularly strong suit of Noi's, and her comrades had no way of knowing what exactly she hoped to accomplish with the knife, even as the strange frequency began to pulse and reverberate through the chamber, a bizarre pattern painting itself around them through the might of her Rune.

Hruugen was anxious, and Ingrid was already on the move, slinking around their foes and allowing her rotten disease to lash out, ever so slightly, toying with the dead as she too waited for something to come of Noi's grand display. Ancients' sake, they were both so eager to grandstand...

[If there is a point, Noi, please make it!] He projected, not wishing to offend Hruugen outright with his next statement. [We're wasting time, and I fear altar boy may have a heart attack if we don't settle this matter quickly!]

Noi
Hruugen
Ingrid

 

[Noi]

Noi looked around briefly at the other guardians, orange brows raising up in confusion. She tried to wave a hand but the tone of the melisma had a slight fissure, the pattern shifting into a sharp sphere surrounded by spiky diagonals instead of the original soft organic form it had taken a moment ago.

She opened her mouth, but words could not be voiced as there was nothing that could come out of her throat. Not even when the disturbed priest raised its flail and struck her.

Hruugen Ingrid Bohnes Villam Regis