Kirka

Kingdom of Rastora, in the Rath region, amidst the smoldering ruins of Kirka, 1st of November 4846, 11:04. Noon following the Worst Day.

Ambiance:

Kirka was never one of those major commercial towns, nor a touristic vista drawing people the world over. Even as far as adventurers were concerned, it was but a resupply point on their way to greater things. One of a few, relatively safe and peaceful hamlets on their way to braving the Rift.

Far enough from the Abyss not to go mad or get constantly attacked, close enough to keep it interesting.

The small village had roughly 120 inhabitants, of which only half remained this morning.

Most of them were people whose jobs related them to the Rift, one way or the other. Craftsmen using exotic materials, tourist guides, families of members of the Abyssal Guard, equipment vendors, doctors and quite a few others. Surprisingly enough, ever since the rediscovery of the value of the rift’s gifts, the surrounding areas had drawn a lot of people of all paths of life, to the point where the original settlers were now minorities in their own towns!

This place was still pretty far from the front lines so the guard here was light. It would still get attacked from time to time, but mostly by the nearby magical creatures gone mad, rather than by the monstrosities spawned by the Rift.

Still, living here also had a lot of perks. None of which will be mentioned now. That would be disrespectful, in the face of these smoking ruins.

The people here were no pushovers, but that did not stop a lot of them from perishing during last night. Who could have expected it after all, such a crazy thing to happen…

Yesterday, everything had pretty much went as the gods intended, up until sunset. But come the hour of twilight, then the nightmare began.

Ambiance, put it on LOOP:

The town was suddenly filled… :

Small, white, fluffy, god damn bunnies.

They came stealthily and out of the blue. By the time the locals noticed them, they were already everywhere. Bunnies in the streets, bunnies in the sheets, bunnies on the roofs, bunnies in the stew, bunnies in your wife’s hair, bunnies in your underwear.

Smuggling their cuteness into every nook and cranny of the small village.

At that stage, most of the inhabitants were mostly intrigued. That was a first, even for their town. That said the creatures were docile and only mildly magical, so most did not feel too alarmed at their sudden appearance. Some even welcomed them as a blessing. I mean, the fluffyneeeeessssss!

Everything was fine for a small while afterwards, most people either started ignoring the critters or were absolutely enamoured with them and started playing with them all over the place, like children loose on a morning where their town was covered in fresh snow. With legs. And fur.

A mere half an hour later however, an increase in accidents started being noticed across the town.

People started tripping on bunnies, some were hit by falling roof tiles displaced by the lively visitors. Some got their lunches stolen, others caught glimpses of bunnies pushing entire meals off tables. One of the bunnies reportedly stole someone’s gun and somehow shot a bystander, before running terrified into a sewer, gun in mouth. Some creatures sat on the face of the elderly and suffocated them in their sleep. It was not long before everything devolved into utter chaos.

The till then thrilled natives, were quick to give way to anger as the creatures rapidly increased the scale of their mischief. They started by shitting on people’s horses, then suddenly a building was on fire. A couple of utterly pissed (on by the bunnies) gentlemen, started chasing the creatures along the streets with shotguns. The damage in their wake was extensive, as the little buggers proved small and nimble targets. They lost at least four men named Jimmy during that pursuit.

A bit later, a resounding crack was heard across the village. The local orphanage’s roof, had just collapsed under the combined weight of hundreds of bunnies. None of the children survived. They were all inside, playing with bunnies.

In the face of increasingly violent tendencies against these poor, harmless creatures, an impromptu Bunny Protection Committee was formed among some of the villagers. The declaration of civil war upon them, by any person that remained sane in the perimeter was immediate.

Gunshots started echoing across town, canon fire even, thought it was not clear if it was directed at humans or bunnies anymore. People started dying left and right, but the casualties of the bunnies remained surprisingly low. Or maybe they died by the dozens. It was hard to tell, what with the whole place still being covered in the bloody things!

Alas, the situation would only get worse.

When the last shreds of light vanished beyond the horizon and the sky darkened for the night. The bunnies. They changed.

They started like this.:

Then they were like this. :

And suddenly the situation seemed a lot more awful for everyone involved!

Soon the beasts grew in size and changed into monstrous and horrible forms, towering over men, biting their heads off and clawing them to death. The bunnies counter-attack had just begun.

The villagers quickly stopped arguing among themselves in the face of this disastrous situation. The members of the Bunny Protection Committee saw the light dropped their weapons against their brethren and sought refuge in a local church. They were all executed by the priest in a fit of rage, because “fucking lunatics who started worshiping bunnies and killed Jimmy”!

Soon the streets were filled with these. :

Adventurers who had stopped in passing at the town, as well as the local guard and a couple Abyss Guards here on holidays did their best to handle the situation and saved many lives, but they were outnumbered in every front.

The brave Noah, the main heroine of the forum, best adventurer around and most beautiful among the skillful merchants, was not doubt somewhere in their lot, fighting off the rabbidt threat.

The fight kept going throughout the whole night.

In the chaos, she saw some of these.:

And at some point, although it might have been delusions caused by fatigue, she might have also caught a glimpse of:

???:

Before everything was ended when the following appeared:

Yeah:

He invoked a powerful spell that summoned a moon the size of a small house, which he dropped on top off the village leader’s abode.

Then the dawn came, and every single one of the fuckers retreated to god knows where, leaving only their dead and a ruined village behind them. As well as some extremely distressed and confused villagers.

Noah had been brought here after a little bluebird told her of opportunities to be had near the Rift. She had guarded a small merchant caravan on its way here, no doubt hopping to stumble upon opportunity. Instead, she had met with this madness.

Oh and the merchant guy she was escorting got his face boiled when two bear sized werehares thought it would be funny to off a human by pouring the stew water intended for them on the poor unfortunate.

Ambiance:

You know what's awesome?

A hot bath after a long day's worth of work. Noah was soaking in a bathtub of hot water, bathing salts and soap, slowly treating her sore muscles, scratches and bruises with some comfy goodness.

She'd been soaking in there for about an hour now.

Noah: "Damn, I could die here."

But she had to come out at some point, didn't she? Finally the paladin rose from her bath and enveloped herself in a clean towel she had found in another house. Just like the bathing salts. Just like the soap. Just like all the products she had to use to clean up her blood-caked armor and clothes. She probably had to go around pillaging ten or so houses to finally find all the supplies she'd needed to finally clean up. And then she had to find a bathroom somewhere that was still functional, and not painted red with rabbit or kin blood.

But she decided to leave these thoughts for after she left the bathroom. Right now, she was still on that cloud of comfy goodness. Noah brushed her teeth, carefully worked her hair, applied a little bit of makeup. Image and charisma are important to businesswoman and paladins alike, and Noah was simultaneously both.
Truly, it was her duty to take care of herself once in a while!

Noah used a magic cantrip to dry the clothes she’d just washed before her bath. She had also needed to sew back some things together, but that didn’t take long either. She’d also polished her armor prior to taking her bath. What’s the point of taking care of yourself if you’re going to wear filthy armor?

Noah dressed up and grabbed her Glaive from the wall. After yesterday night’s battle, it seriously needed resharpening. Dozens, she’d slayed!

Noah looked at herself in the mirror. She looked pretty good, considering she’d been slaying monsters just hours before! Besides, she certainly looked better than the rest of Kirka!

Rested, cleaned up, she put a hand on the door of the bathroom. And sighed. It’s show time, isn’t it. She opened the door, crossed the threshold and went straight outside.

Noah: “Thanks for everything Jimmy!”

The last of the Jimmys of Kirka had gracefully lended his place to Noah, seeing as how the local tavern was torched by murder fluffs. Half the town, in fact, looked like it had seen a Samargolite legion through. Jimmy’s house looked barely better, but he had a clean bed and functional shower, which was already pretty good, considering.

Pretty good, but not enough. When Noah closed the main door of the house, Jimmy’s residence caved onto itself and crashed into its basement, killing its resident.

Kirkan citizen: “DAMN IT! JIMMY! NOOOOOO!!!”

And there goes the last Jimmy in Kirka. Rip.

Ambiance:

Noah muttered a quick prayer for the guy, and dropped a gold coin into the ruins of the destroyed house. She’d have done more, but the village was in the same shape, and a lot of work needed to be done.

In addition, A number of explosions could be heard accross the village. Somewhere, in that cloudy sky, a terrifying battle was going on, Noah could tell. The detonations they could hear, from miles away, reminded Noah of her time in Anauroch. Battlefields were truly a terrifying thing.

Before catching some rest, Noah had warned whoever was in charge that as long as they could hear these explosions, nobody was safe. But honestly, there wasn’t much else to be done. Noah certainly couldn’t do anything about the monstrous fight that was going on above their heads, not in her current state. And the villagers were too busy trying to recover from the attack they had suffered during the night. All the dead had not been buried, all the town’s necessary functions had not been restored, all the wounded had not been healed...yet. There was a lot of work, and this close to the Rift there was also a lot of danger, too. Surely, there was some way Noah could give a hand, and lend her blade somewhere.

Ambiance:

Another day, another adventure.

Yet, it would take some incredible balls to start this day with a smile. A lot had happened and nothing was over yet. On the other hand, everything could soon be over.

Still Noah was in an alarmingly good mood.

There she stood, outside the ruined house she had just left, offering as prayer and a coin to the last of the town’s Jimmies.

As she moved away from that location, she came across more and more people rushing towards the ruins.

“JIMMY NOOOOOOOO!”

“THE LAST JIMMY IS DEAD! HE IS DEAD!”

“THE JIMMIES ARE DEAD!
THE JIMMIES ARE GONE!
THERE WAS ONE LEFT,
BUT NOW THERE’S NONE!”

This ultimate death seemed to cause a lot of commotion in the village. Go figure, maybe Jimmies were figures of importance here, unlike in the rest of the civilized world. Still Noah moved along unphased. She crossed desolate streets with broken pavements, establishments still covered in embers. Corpses both human and animal alike.

Though the scenery was not quite like those born of war, it was not far off, and the constant echoing blasts from high above did nothing to improve the image. In the middle of all the desolation, Noah was by far the shiniest thing around. To be expected, considering she was now quite possibly the cleanest she had ever been!

In passing, her immaculate state earned her quite a few glares from a fair bunch of locals. While others, covered in blood, guts and wounds used their last of their strength to pull people trapped in debris, while others used their last once of magic to heal their brethren, this lovely gal had called it a day early and fucked off to take a bath in someone else’s house, merrily pillaging half the town on her way. Goes to show there are many typed of paladins.

It was almost noon, yet the place was somehow covered in a sickish grey light, despite the fact that little by little the sky started clearing up. What was yesterday all about, really?

Most of all, what was up in the sky? Whatever was going on, it was to far to see or make sense of, yet the scale was such that the mind could only wander towards cataclysm. Could it be that there rabbit god perhaps? Fighting it off against the rest of Haerii’s divinities?

And this village? What had wrought such catastrophe upon it? Attacks on towns near the Rift were a common occurrence but this was a bit much. What had the people of Kirka done to warrant such violence?

Stranger yet, what was to be made of this aftermath?

The beasts did not gain any territory, the humans were still there, though in a lousy shape. Was there even a point in making sense of this?

There ought to be. As she progressed from one street to the next, Noah, much like everyone else around her, was quick to notice a radical change in the town’s landscape. It was nothing as radical as the place being a pile of smouldering ruins with barely a few buildings standing. In fact, it was something so mundane, that ordinarily it could have passed of as a detail, as some joke of poor taste.

On every burned out, scratched to pieces, filthy piece of wall that remained standing in the hamlet, a message had been painted in black, ominous letters.

The Message On The Walls:

It was on this wall before her, and on the wall she was leaning against. On the wall across the street, on the wall of Jimmy’s collapsed abode, on the walls around the corner of the street. On walls of which remained so little, they could hardly be called walls at all.

Had someone lost faith in life following yesterday’s tragic events, it would be understandable, but it would have to be an incredibly efficient madman indeed, to cover the whole village in his folly so quickly.

The messages were not here earlier, before Noah retires for her bath. Which was a good thing, as it meant the rabbits had not painted over the town to mock the humans. On the other hand, the paint, while not entirely fresh, was still wet. Despite that, none had seen anything. Not the culprit, not the method. A peculiar occurrence indeed.

The deeper she headed into the village, the more people she ran across staring bewildered at the walls, wondering who and how and when. In a small street not too far from the chief’s residence, Noah run into a pair of such people who particularly caught her eye.

The feeling was mutual, as they were prompt to approach her.

Ambiance:

Both men, they wore heavy armour atop deep blue tunics. With these colours, in this place, they could only be one thing. The Abyss Guard.

Noah might or might have not seen them last night, they had put up quite a fight against the fluffy invaders. If any part of the village was still standing, it was mostly thanks to them. As the place did not have any guards of any kind of its own, the fighting force on the human side had been comprised of these two, of any people brave enough to put together a militia and finally of any passer-by adventurers who had been caught up in this madness like our dear discount paladin.

Regardless of if she had seen them or not, they apparently definitely had not caught wind of her presence as they started from square one. They approached her with a wave and a smile. It would do little to reassure a normal person, considering they, unlike Noah, were still very much covered in sweat, blood and rabbit guts. Though visibly quite tired, they still stood tall, the spiting image of the knights they were.

“Greetings traveler!”

“A moment of your time, if you please.”

They were by no means forceful, but they also clearly wouldn’t take no for an answer. After all, there’s only so much bullshit a knight can put up with.

“As you can see, this place is in a sorry state. The danger may be gone, but there is still much to be done before anyone is safe. Rescue efforts are still going on all over the place. I also would not be surprised if any of those monsters got stuck under some rubble.”

“We have been asked by HQ to assist with the search for missing persons, in order to keep the casualties as low as possible.”

“We are notably looking for kids. A lot of them have gone missing since yesterday. Sadly, they would make prime targets for the creatures, but kids are also adept at running and hiding, so we still have hope that some of them may be still alive somewhere. Have you perhaps seen any of them? If you do, please, please let us know!”

“For example, we are currently looking for a small girl between 10 and 14 years old. She has elvish features, long blond hair and red eyes. She is fair skinned and has a nasty temper apparently. Should you find her, please come to us directly so that we can take care of her properly!”

“But say, there’s a lot of other things to do as well and we’ll never see the end of it if it’s just us two. You look like an experienced adventurer, would you mind lending us a hand?”

“Fair warning though, we can offer very little in the way of rewards ourselves! But if you stick with us long enough, we can definitely sort something back at a guardhouse.”

A loud blast above startled the group which instinctively lift their heads to see the source of the commotion.

“Assuming we leave the town in time to make it to one that is.”

They looked back at Noah, expectantly.

“What do you say?”

[HRP/]Bro, if you change tones between your posts so easily, it's fucking hard to figure out what tone to use in posts of my own!)[/HRP]

Did she care at all what happened in Kirka? Who knew? But Miesdil's paladin strolled through town with a poker face in the face of so much misery as impressive as the kill count she'd had, the day before. With her glaive above her shoulder, she made her way through the desolated streets of Kirka.

The detonations could still be heard, she thought, looking upwards. The sky had finally started clearing up. In some situations a clear sky was good. But in her experience after a day like this? Rain was better. Rain quenched the dry throats of those who had to deal with the aftermath. It cleaned wounds and cleared the minds of those under it.
More importantly, it cleared blood stains off walls and pavements and diminished the dreadful smell of death that permeated the whole village.

No such luck here. And Noah did not have the time to address a prayer to Shauntea or Istas that would most likely be unheard.
That’s when she noticed. Turning at a corner, she was faced by the ruined wall of what used to be a flower shop she'd visited the day before.

"Dark days are coming."

What kind of sick joke is this. Angry, Noah looked around in search for the clever author of these words. But that person was nowhere to be found. Worse yet, Noah noticed the extent of his work on every piece of Kirka that was still standing.

"Naudhiz!"

A quick spell of magic detection revealed nothing around Noah, as if the letters had been painted by a battalion of jester rats. Cursing between her teeth, Noah approached one of the inscriptions. Fresh, black paint. Revolting and peculiar indeed. After a quick look, Noah resigned herself and abandoned her inconclusive investigation, continuing her descent into what was left of Kirka, towards the mayor's office. On her was there though, she encountered two of the defenders she had fought with, earlier today. The two men of the abyss guard had earned her respect in the fighting, and gave a quick salute when she saw them. As it turned out though, they were interested in talking.

“Greetings traveler!”

“A moment of your time, if you please.”

Really then? They had fought together for the whole night and this is how they greeted her?

Noah: *…Whatever.* "Greetings, sirs. Good to see you in one piece."

The guards did not really wait for Noah to respond before giving their explanation. They had no time for pleasantries, and that wasn't a bad thing. Many things needed to be done today.

"That's alright. But, as my contract stipulates, I must state that I am bound to Miesdil's service, and that, as clients, you will be indebted to either me or the temple of Miesdil. It's nothing bad, of course, I'm sure you know the Goddess of merchants likes a fair deal. But please remember to pay for the debt when…all of this…" The Vault Guard looked around, with a tired gaze "…is over.
I'll gladly help. If I find any of the kids I'll make sure they're taken to a shelter. Can the village square be considered as such now? Is there any danger still lurking within the walls of Kirka?

Anyway, yes, apart from you two I'm probably one of the last remaining fighters in Kirka. If there's some monster-clearing or protecting to be done, I'll gladly lend my blade."

Perhaps they seemed a bit cold in the light of current events, but the guards genuinely did not seem to feel any camaraderie towards Noah. They were clearly grateful for her presence however.

One can only think they had fought alongside other adventurers yesterday and that in the midst of the fighting, they had had little time to make acquaintances. To be fair, the lower level monsters were not much of a threat but the villagers still had to be protected by anything of a warehare’s level and above.

Noah: *…Whatever.* "Greetings, sirs. Good to see you in one piece."

The liveliest of the two nodded in agreement, though a bit as if he were surprised himself to have made it “in one piece”.

Their faces truly lit up when she accepted to offer a hand. Her being a part of the cult of the goddess of commerce made her presence there all the more reassuring.

“Oh you are one of Miesdil’s then! That makes it easy then! Your assistance is most welcome! There is indeed quite a lot to be done. Rest assured, we will be offering appropriate tribute to your temple!”

Noah: “I'll gladly help. If I find any of the kids I'll make sure they're taken to a shelter. Can the village square be considered as such now? Is there any danger still lurking within the walls of Kirka?”

“We don’t know.”

The answer came sharp.

Abrupt, but truthful.

“Well… the town square is probably one of the safest places at the moment. At least a lot of people have gathered there.”

“Though, please, PLEASE let us know immediately if you find any kids. It would be best that you do not approach them yourself. There will be no end to what we (and you) will have to hear if a brat runs away from you when you approach to help him.”

Noah: “Anyway, yes, apart from you two I'm probably one of the last remaining fighters in Kirka. If there's some monster-clearing or protecting to be done, I'll gladly lend my blade."

“Ah, not quite. There are also a few others around. The tasks we need your help with are not fighting related.”

“Don’t get us wrong, if you run into any monsters do be our guest and finish them off. The sooner we are certain there are no left overs in the shadows and the ruins, the better it’ll be for everyone’s sanity.”

“Speaking of which, we need someone to check the four crystal pillars around the town. You know, the ones that prevent this place from going to shit. You’ll find them if you stick to the cardinal directions.”

“We will be searching for kids in the meantime, but it won’t do us any good to find them if the town ends up disappearing.”

“And since we’re on the subject of kids and missing people… A few moments ago, we ran into an Out of Place Blind Girl near the mayor’s residence. She reassured us she’s fine and wanted to stick around there for a bit, but I am a bit worried. She seemed to be attracting a lot of attention from the locals, the bad kind. I am not sure she fully understands what transpired here yesterday. Her… attitude… might earn her the ire of the villagers. Would you check up on her if you have a moment? The last thing we need is angry mobs lynching tourists.”

“There is also another one though. Yesterday, before everything went to hell, we met a Tactless Researcher while chilling in town. In theory she was not supposed to stay for much longer around here, but it is unclear if she made it out before shit hit the fan. She did not seem to be friendly with any of the locals and she was here alone. That means no one would be looking for her if something happened. Keep an eye out if possible.”

“That’s pretty much all for now. Feel free to help everyone however you can, I bet there must still be people trapped and wounded here and there. May your day be profitable.”

The village’s mayor’s abode is a small ways to the North, the town square a good 300 meters South. At the moment, Noah is more or less near the centre of the town and free to pursue any objective of her choice.

Noah’s Possessions:

A description of an Unruly Elven Child:

A description of a Tactless Researcher:

An occurrence:

Sunrays are making their way into Kirka, the locals begin to pick themselves up.

The guards relaxed when Noah announced she was in service of Miesdil. Trust was one of the nice perks of her service, as people knew Miesdil disliked trickery and was all about honest deals. With Miesdil, you have to pay, but you get what you pay for. Simple, and reliable. If only the whole world worked with these principles in mind, thought the Anaurite.

Simple, and reliable, like the talk she was having with the guards, where they almost casually admitted that no one was in control, and nobody was safe.
Noah could see how too much honesty with the faint of heart might be a problem.

Noah: "Right… If I find that kid of yours, I'll try to get someone else to pick her up… If anyone is available. If not, I might have to drag her to the square by the cheeks. We don't have the luxury to happily bring everyone to safety. Not that I want to hurt the poor soul any more than she probably already is, mind you…"

…

“Speaking of which, we need someone to check the four crystal pillars around the town. You know, the ones that prevent this place from going to shit. You’ll find them if you stick to the cardinal directions.”

Noah: "Right. I'll add it to my bucket list. Care to explain how these work? Is anyone else working on it? Should I know something about the pillars?"

“And since we’re on the subject of kids and missing people… A few moments ago, we ran into an Out of Place Blind Girl near the mayor’s residence. She reassured us she’s fine and wanted to stick around there for a bit, but I am a bit worried. She seemed to be attracting a lot of attention from the locals, the bad kind. I am not sure she fully understands what transpired here yesterday. Her… attitude… might earn her the ire of the villagers. Would you check up on her if you have a moment? The last thing we need is angry mobs lynching tourists.”

Noah: "A blind girl? What?"

Noah had not seen anyone like that in town since she arrived, and Kirka was a small town. How had she survived the night? Did she arrive in the morning? Is the countryside even safe at the moment?
Noah put it on top of her task list. The girl's affliction reminded her of her own past paralysis. Or maybe it was fate that urged her to meet this girl?

“There is also another one though. Yesterday, before everything went to hell, we met a Tactless Researcher while chilling in town. In theory she was not supposed to stay for much longer around here, but it is unclear if she made it out before shit hit the fan. She did not seem to be friendly with any of the locals and she was here alone. That means no one would be looking for her if something happened. Keep an eye out if possible.”

Noah: "Right. More people in need of rescue. I'll keep an eye out."

Eventually, the guards went on their way. Everyone had better things to do and conversation had to be limited to the exchange of the crucial of information.
Noah made her way to the mayor's residence. She intended to head there anyway, before she'd met the Guards. After that, she'll be well on her way to the first defense pillar of Kirka, too.

Great adventures start with cookies.

The guards were clearly very much tired by the ongoing events and the endless onslaught of enemies they had had to fight all night.

While they were still ready to be the exemplary and implacable abyssal guards in front of the civilians, they spared no such pretence for Noah. If there was someone who could be useful, it would benefit everyone for that person to be brought up to speed.

In between two things they ended up explaining how this place rarely saw any trouble despite its location and how there had never been a need to station any actual military presence here. The town’s rudimentary magical defences had proved enough to keep the beasts away and no villains bothered to mess with such a remote and unremarkable town.

Plus there were some outposts of the guard not too far to the North from there. Yet none of them had showed up yesterday. Aside from these too of course, but they were actually here visiting their hometown on their day off.

Had these two good lads not been here visiting their families, there probably wouldn’t have been left much of Kirka at all.

From their brief time together, Noah could estimate their abilities as those of B ranked adventurers, which was more or less the standard for most of the veterans of the abyssal guard.

But back to the meat of the subject, the guards thanked Noah with grateful smiles when she accepted to look for any struggling children. Though they did freeze a bit at her planned methodology. Still, they did not judge it wise to dwell on it.

Noah: "Right. I'll add it to my bucket list. Care to explain how these work? Is anyone else working on it? Should I know something about the pillars?"

“Ah, apologies! We forget not everyone is familiar with the way things work around the Rift.”

“The short version is, well, you know how one of the big issues with the Rift is that it both sucks and spews huge amounts of magic simultaneously right? This can have devastating effects on surrounding environments and living beings. Over the years we have seen all sorts of shit, monsters can mutate to ridiculous levels, towns can straight up vanish overnight, occasionally time freezes for entire zones. The most common occurrence however is people going mad in one way or the other. To avoid this kind of thing, any congregation with more than a few people around, usually sets up a barrier using some special crystals that we are able to mine from the Rift. In a way, it stabilizes the zone within the barrier and prevents the mana from going haywire. They also keep most lower level beasts away.

Kirka may not be the biggest village around or not even that close to the Rift, but it still warrants the presence of one such barrier. Here we have 4 pillars for the barrier, they are pretty much shaped like blue obelisks so you should have no trouble recognizing them.

As for what needs to be done… Well we just need to know if they are still there and in what state. If even one of them is broken or missing this could spell trouble for everyone around here. Normally we could try repairs of some kind but with the town in ruins, I fear we will have nor the tools nor the specialists to do so. Unless one of the townsfolk is also going around checking them, (which I doubt given the situation) we do not have anyone else on the job. Just do a quick round of them and let us know how they are holding up.

By the way, travellers outside of settlements rarely get affected unless they are in big groups so don’t worry too much about it. It seems the phenomenon really likes to target places with lots of people. It can still happen of course, and you are definitely screwed if you get close to the Rift without adequate protection, but this far out it’s very rare for people to be affected outside of towns.”

After having satisfied any of Noah’s remaining questions, the three of them split up. The guards themselves went their separate ways in an effort to assist as many people as possible. The small village didn’t have much above 120 permanent residents and only about half of them had made it through the night, which in all honesty was still pretty much a miracle considering what had occurred. Still there was much to be done on the day following The Rabitting.

On her way to the mayor’s house, Noah crossed a small group of lightly wounded people making their way towards the main square. As she passed them, she overheard their conversation.

“Quickly now, I hear everyone’s gathering.”

“What the hell was this?”

“Fucking critters… I am so done with living here! I’m sorry guys but seriously!”

“No shit! We will all have to move anyway! There’s practically nothing left but smoking rubble. My shop is gone, my old lady is dead, MY LIFE IS IN FUCKING RUINS!”

His fellows offered little rebuttal, to caught up wallowing in their own troubles. Many had lost their entire lives that night, one way or the other.

A second group she came across, also going in the same direction, had a somewhat lighter tone.

“Did you hear? The Jimmies are dead!”

“Which ones?”

“Apparently all of them!”

“Nooooooooo? What are you saying?”

“That’s impossible!”

“That’s bollocks mate!”

“My nephew is a Jimmy you know!”

“Well that means your nephew is dead!”

“How do you know this anyway?”

“I heard someone earlier saying all of the town’s Jimmies are dead.”

“Well… My nephew is a piece of shit but I still hope that not true cause I’d miss Jimmy.”

“Yeah Jimmy was a cool dude man.”

Yet another group, passed her by in silent contemplation of the surrounding devastation.

Noah herself could easily extrapolate the situation at the rest of the town. The setting did not change much. The buildings were either entirely ruined or very close to being, the remaining people were picking themselves up and trying to find their loved ones, relatives or acquaintances. No one here seemed to make sense of any of it.

Some were still alarmed and jumpy at the slightest sign of movement or faintest noise around them, others, completely defeated sat sobbing on the pavilions of what not doubt used to be their abodes.

A few of them took the event way better than the rest, old soldiers, retired adventurers and the like. They knew since the start that this day would come. Even in the safe countries, things like this can occasionally happen. People who settled this close to heron’s gapping maw and thought there would be no price for it were nothing less than fools.

Catching a glimpse of Noah’s gaze as she took in her surroundings, an old man scoffed her way:

“There is no place Vekel cannot reach.”

He smiled warily.

It was the kind of end signifying smile. I lived my life. I roamed the world, I finally picked up a craft and settled here. Made a family, a home. I knew it would end some day and here we are. Sad and alone. I have nothing left and I don’t have the strength to begin anew. If only they had killed me too, that would have been so much easier.

Was what he seemed to think.

He probably wasn’t the only one thinking this kind of thing either.

Still the bipolarity of the villagers became ever more pronounced the closer Noah was to the mayor’s house. It was not much longer until she reached it.

And what a sight it was!

Music:

The building likely never was anything akin to a palace, the village was out in the sticks and did not produce any significant goods or anything, so most of the people only lived at best, mid-class lives. The mayor had been no different, his role was mostly that of the local problem solver’s rather than of a man with any actual authority. His house was a small occupying a small lot at the northern edge of a round opening between the town’s buildings. It was a one storey building of humble design.

Is what Noah got told by a local onlooker, as they both gazed at the pancaked remains of the building, squashed beneath a whale sized lump of moon.

White and surprisingly spherical despite the impact, the small moon rested in balance atop the building’s remains which kept it from rolling off into any of the other town houses, which would no doubt collapse in turn from the impact.

“Yeah he was totally inside hiding when it happened.”

“I saw it! It was towards the end, it was insane! That huge rabbit monster the size of a castle showed up and dropped this fucking moon on the guy’s house! Then it just fucked off with the rest of them into thin air!”

Were the explanations she was able to gather.

Quite a few people (15 or so) had gathered before the ruins of the house. Some were perplexed at the no doubt peculiar and unlikely series of events that must have taken place for them to be in this situation, others wondered if this was actual moonrock. Cause if it were, that shit’s expensive!

None of them made any moves to check if there were any bits of squashed mayor beneath the rock mind you.

Instead, most of them were angrily staring at a person at the centre of the space in front of the house. At the centre of the small circular plaza had been gathered some werehare corpses in an effort to tidy up the surroundings. On top of the two-meter high mass of corpses, sat the Out of Place Blind Girl described by the guards.

She was sitting there casually munching on the contents of an open bag of Heaven’s Cookies.

Were that all she was doing, things would have probably been fine, however she also wore a very particular hat, which in the light of recent events sat rather poorly with the local’s sensibilities.

The hat in question:

The girl herself seemed blissfully unaware that half the onlookers wanted her dead or choked and that some of them had literally just left to find pitchforks.

When Noah approached her, she extended the open bag of cookies towards her in a very down to earth manner.

“Want some?”

Noah made her way to the Mayor's house, walking with haste. In these situations, lingering invited contemplation, and contemplation in such a moment was unadviseable at best, except maybe for one of Vekel's Doomguides. On the way, she crossed by several groups of people who were discussing the losses incurred by what was now officially The Rabbitting.

Noah frowned. Giving names to things gives them power. It was a bad move to acknowledge the singularity of a catastrophe, and the first step in inviting calamity again. That's faith studies 101, people!
Another group she came across was talking about Jimmy being dead. Just what the fuck is wrong with these people?
Possibly the Rift. Probably the Rift.
Whatever. The Jimmy she knew was indeed a cool dude. Rest in peace, Jimmies! Except that guy's nephew, cause he's a piece of shit.

Some of the villagers took in the events with grim acceptance, and Noah certainly knew why.
They had seen death already, they knew all about it. When you've seen a decaying battlefield or seen some companions die, the world loses some of its color. And you can't be hurt in the same way twice.
Noah knew. She was the same. When she looked at herself in the mirror, when no one was around, she had the same look on her face as these people.

"There is no place Vekel cannot reach."

Noah: "I pray you meet your loved ones on your next turn of the cycle."

Despite not being a priest of Vekel, her prayer was sincere. She was wishing the man to be reincarnated with her loved ones. After all, what else could be more important?

She continued on her way. More work to do, more suffering to alleviate, more money to be earned, and more things to be forgotten!

Noah: "Time to work, girl, no time to hang yourself yet!"

Eventually, she arrived at the Mayor's house.

“Yeah he was totally inside hiding when it happened.”

“I saw it! It was towards the end, it was insane! That huge rabbit monster the size of a castle showed up and dropped this fucking moon on the guy’s house! Then it just fucked off with the rest of them into thin air!”

Welp! There goes a potential employer!

That was not very helpful to the village's situation, now was it. With the only local figure of authority squashed by the First of all Rabbits, nobody would realistically come up with the idea to start fixing things, save for the Abyssal Guards.

That meant more low-pay jobs for Noah. Miesdil! Please don't see this as a lack of entrepreneurship, but as an investment in creating a positive reputation to facilitate business at a later date!

Anyway, before anything, Noah addressed the people who were fucking around and not being helpful.

Noah: "If I were you, I'd step away from the moon, you guys! That things doesn't look too stable." she said, pointing at the house's remains. "That moon's gonna slip eventually, splatting more people on the floor like butter on toast. If one of your houses is nearby, i'd start moving things before the moon comes…knocking." She then pointed at the pile of dead corpses. "You wanna burn that ASAP, people. Within hours, insects will start laying eggs in these. It's ugly, unhealthy, and dangerous. If you don't want to lose another person out of two, you gotta start burning now!"

The Vault Guard then noticed the girl sitting on top the pile, as if this was normal or okay. Dumbfounded, Noah stared at the girl.

"Want some?"

These were Heaven's Cookies. She'd have taken some, but the horrid smell that was filling the streets had somewhat postponed her hunger.

Noah: "Can I get one later? Thanks though!"

[Noah has failed her logic test!]

Bunny ears! She had frinking bunny ears! What the actual fuck!

Completely flabbergasted ,Noah couldn't come up with much more than:

Noah: "Do you mind not sitting on top of the corpse pile? We gotta burn that shit. (and it's gonna stain your dress!)"

A villager gave an angry look to the Paladin of Miesdil. Noah lifted her shoulders, giving her a "What? I dunno how to handle this?!" expression.

Down the street, Noah could hear a conversation.

"Dude, got some spare pitchforks?"

"Yeah, sure man. Got any torches?"

"I got some, I got some!"

"Anybody got rope though? And tar?"

"Nah girl, I'm all out of tar at the moment! Should've saved some for later!"

The villagers seemed to be looking for fuel for a pyre. Fedorah's (or Sam's) blessing be, they hadn't found any yet. Noah, as expediently and discreetly as possible, whispered to the Sightless Girl:

Noah: "Huh…You sure you wanna keep those bunny ears on? It's not exactly a good time for this kind of play!"

Had the Abyssal Guards seen this when they passed by!? AND HAD THEY DONE NOTHING?! Noah turned her gaze upwards, wondering which god had put her in this situation. But then, they were probably busy with the explosions in the sky.

A Letter to Haerii.

1st of November 4846, 12:16

Ambiance:

The sad state of the village seemed to stir poor memories in the Paladin who solemnly made her way through the remains of the settlement.

Yet she still found it in her to offer a prayer for some of the inhabitants. Words that were appreciated, as most would nod thanks to her.

But that only went for those of the villagers sobbing more or less quietly in the side lines. More and more people had started moving around with renewed purpose.

Some were scavenging the remains of houses to prepare for journeys to other towns, some were looking for a profit to be made by turning the gifted moon into materials, others were looking for a way to burn a disturbingly out of place blind girl, but most were making way towards the village’s center, currently far from Noah’s sight.

When Noah finally approached the girl, she was quick to understand that something was definitely off about her. The list of things was impressive rather…

Noah: "Can I get one later? Thanks though!"

The girl stood frozen for a couple of seconds. Her face did not move an inch. An impeccable poker face of marble. Then she smiled, while pulling the bag away from the vault guard.

“I never heard of a person refusing one of these before. Sure, you can have some if they’re any left. I’ll stop stuffing my face now I guess. There’s not many left in there.”

She carefully bent and rolled the top of the packaging to shut it as airtight as possible before hiding the goodies in her bag.

Noah on the other hand, did not seem to share the girl’s calm.

Noah: "Do you mind not sitting on top of the corpse pile? We gotta burn that shit. (and it's gonna stain your dress!)"

Yet again, the girl sat still for a bit, almost as if she had not quite heard the request. She then corked her head slightly to the side. The fact her eyes were covered and her lips immobile made it extremely difficult to get a read on her. Was she surprised? Was she disgusted? Indifferent? Impossible to tell.

Finally, she turned her head downwards as if to take a good look at what she was actually sitting on.

“Hmm? This was a corpse pile? I thought it was rubble.”

She calmly stood up and slowly made her way down the pile, gracefully, as if the broken jaws and legs she walked on were the steps of some grand stairway.

Back on ground level, she unenthusiastically patted her dress in (a mostly) vain attempt to clean it of any dust, blood and rabbit pieces.

“Apologies.”

Her voice had a warm and playful tone which somewhat contrasted with her neutral composure. There was not a hint of distress, sadness or alertness in her tone. The whole picture made her seem a bit insincere. Which did nothing to calm those of the villagers close enough to hear their conversation.

Luckily, none of them found it in them (just yet) to come have a word. Apparently the crowd had somehow dropped the responsibility of dealing with this alien on Noah.

Noah: "Huh…You sure you wanna keep those bunny ears on? It's not exactly a good time for this kind of play!"

“What do you mean? This is part of the latest fashion in Winsun! Plus it’s actually half decent equipment (and super cute to boot). They actually offer a slight frost resistance you know! Why would I ever remove them?”

Rather than cold heartedness or cold bloodedness, maybe she was just unbelievably, stunningly, impossibly, oblivious to their current situation.

Nevertheless, she obviously thought about it for the next few seconds as she shortly added:

“Ah, is it not appropriate? Too rude? Lacking in sensitivity maybe?”

Her question was genuine, as if she were a child having difficulties understanding the nuances of social etiquette.

There was no time for Noah to reply however, as the pair got interrupted by a most unusual of occurrences.

An unfamiliar voice resonated throughout the world, as if the gods themselves were shouting at the denizens of Haerii. But it was not the polytonic voice of a god that was heard, but rather the voice of a young woman, crystal clear and filled with confidence and determination.

Ambiance, put it on loop!:

“Attention people of Haerii! My name is Celeste Aldebaran. I am the CEO of the Eden group. Please do not be alarmed, I am using an artefact in order to deliver this important message to you. As many of you must know, yesterday a lot of horrible, terrible things happened in our world. To name but a couple of them, Haerii’s greatest enemy has returned and that led us to the loss of an irreplaceable man. Even as I speak, you only need to raise your eyes to the skies to witness our greatest heroes in their fight against Deus La Machina.

In this effort, people from all over the world have put aside their differences and united against this terrible enemy. We gathered the most legendary warriors, the wisest sorcerers. Heron’s Council of Sages is leading the assault. The reason for this is that we do not have a choice. I want this to be perfectly clear: should they fail, there will be no one left capable of stopping this monster. There will be no tomorrow for Haerii.

This is why I want to humbly request your help. If there is anyone out there who can offer any kind of assistance in their fight, no matter how small, the moment is now. Use every bit of your strength, every ounce of your magic, to secure this world’s future. For those of you who act, I give you my word that you will be rewarded in a manner befitting of the gratitude of the world’s foremost financial power.

If however, you are just like me and your hand cannot hope to reach them, then it is my earnest wish that you believe in them. Have faith in them, that they may win, that they save us all!

You have all seen the message on the walls! It may be true! Dark Days may be coming! HOWEVER! We will not let them be the end of us! Through yesterday, through today, and as long as it takes, we will grit our teeth and fight our way into tomorrow! Dark Days may be coming? To this I only have this to say! BETTER DAYS ARE DEFINETLY COMING!

Let this message fill your hearts with hope! Let it resonate till the ends of the world so that the enemies of Haerii know that its people will never give up! So that they know who they picked a fight with!

I also have the following message for Eden’s people across the globe. Those of you who are able to move, you are all summoned to the local headquarters of your respective branches. You are to help those who suffer from the ongoing events regardless of circumstance or cost!

People of Haerii:

FIGHT ON!”

The voice faded away. As did everything else.

Next to Noah, Aida was standing there, still as a statue. She was so immobile, looking at her you could have sworn time had stopped. She had raised her covered eyes to the skies. The same was true for all of the others in front of the mayor’s house, all of Kirka and beyond.

In that moment, the entire world had frozen over, eyes fixed to the sky.

In this still and silent world, the only remaining sounds were the ever-terrifying blasts far above.

At least the Blind Girl was being helpful. She probably didn't have a full grasp of the situation, but she was not being too much of a pain! A few of the villagers were glaring at her though. No doubt she'd have felt uneasy if she didn't have a big-ass glaive by her side.
The girl was being clumsy and polite, also absolutely clueless about the situation. She seemed real sweet though. Noah didn't have time for that, so she made it expedient.

Noah: "Hey! Look, there's a lot to do, so I'm going to make it quick. Sorry if I'm a little expedient! My name is Noah, nice to meet you! This village was attacked yesterday by a horde of werehares. Half the village is dead, destroyed, both, or worse." Noah resumed the events of the previous night because clearly, the Blind Girl had no idea what she was doing and what had happened. "I don't mean to sound indiscreet, but when did you arrive here? What are you doing here? Are you accompanied, by any chance?" Noah paused for a second. "Yeah, that's why it's a bit bizarre to see someone with rabbit ears on. Some people were killed by rabbits yesterday too. I think the villagers see your rabbit ears as provocation. They're cute though, I agree! Even better if they are magic!"

Noah wasn't sure if this was a good time to have a girly conversation. She wanted to get this over with, but…

“Attention people of Haerii! My name is Celeste Aldebaran. I am the CEO of the Eden group. Please do not be alarmed, I am using an artefact in order to deliver this important message to you. As many of you must know, yesterday a lot of horrible, terrible things happened in our world. To name but a couple of them, Haerii’s greatest enemy has returned and that led us to the loss of an irreplaceable man. Even as I speak, you only need to raise your eyes to the skies to witness our greatest heroes in their fight against Deus La Machina.

In this effort, people from all over the world have put aside their differences and united against this terrible enemy. We gathered the most legendary warriors, the wisest sorcerers. Heron’s Council of Sages is leading the assault. The reason for this is that we do not have a choice. I want this to be perfectly clear: should they fail, there will be no one left capable of stopping this monster. There will be no tomorrow for Haerii.

This is why I want to humbly request your help. If there is anyone out there who can offer any kind of assistance in their fight, no matter how small, the moment is now. Use every bit of your strength, every ounce of your magic, to secure this world’s future. For those of you who act, I give you my word that you will be rewarded in a manner befitting of the gratitude of the world’s foremost financial power.

If however, you are just like me and your hand cannot hope to reach them, then it is my earnest wish that you believe in them. Have faith in them, that they may win, that they save us all!

You have all seen the message on the walls! It may be true! Dark Days may be coming! HOWEVER! We will not let them be the end of us! Through yesterday, through today, and as long as it takes, we will grit our teeth and fight our way into tomorrow! Dark Days may be coming? To this I only have this to say! BETTER DAYS ARE DEFINETLY COMING!

Let this message fill your hearts with hope! Let it resonate till the ends of the world so that the enemies of Haerii know that its people will never give up! So that they know who they picked a fight with!

I also have the following message for Eden’s people across the globe. Those of you who are able to move, you are all summoned to the local headquarters of your respective branches. You are to help those who suffer from the ongoing events regardless of circumstance or cost!

People of Haerii:

FIGHT ON!”

Noah: "Oh gods."

It made sense. It made too much sense. The explosions, the fact nobody's iCristals seemed to work, the fact nobody had showed up since the attack... Like the others around her, Noah raised her eyes towards the sky. Desperate, Noah invoked her goddess's power.

Noah: *Miesdil. Name any price, any item, any interest rate, any condition. Let me be Fedorah Oldath again. My people need me. Your faithful need me… There is a demand for my assistance. The world as we know it needs assistance!*

Nothing.

Unbeknownst to her, at that precise moment, every wielder of divine power has summoned their god's power at the same time. Miesdil's power was stretched too thin. The supply of Faith was insufficient. The Market could not process the Demand. Her goddess could not answer Noah.

Noah did the only thing she could do. The only thing she knew how to do that would have a tangible effect right here, right now. From her backpack she pulled out a merchant trade bar made of solid gold. From her belt she pulled her purse, made heavy by the weight of hundreds of silver and gold dormns.
Good paladins of Miesdil get very rich, very quick. But as her goddess's teachings taught:

"Gold only has weight where and when it is needed."

And that gold was needed elsewhere. Somewhere else, the Cult of Miesdil would need the funds, the resources urgently to assist in defeating Deus La Machina. If she could not provide assistance herself, her gold, the fruit of her labor, would.

Noah: "I call upon the services of the Great Market!"

Noah closed her eyes for a split second. When she opened them again, she was no longer in Kirka but in the Great Market, Miesdil's home domain. Around her, hundreds of followers of Miesdil had had the same idea. Around her was the Great Market, an endless Bazaar of wealthy architecture, where precious cloths, metals and jewels, and any other tradable item or oddity, the lifeblood of the goddess of trade and diplomacy, changed hands eternally amongst the greatest merchants and negotiators that have ever lived. In front of her was a gnome. A heavy monocle of gold, jeweled earrings, elegantly combed hair and princely clothes. Noah's dealer in the Great Market.

Gnome: "Good to see you Noah. Let's make it quick girl. Lots of work to be done by everyone!"

Without skipping a beat, Noah incanted.

Noah: "I propose the following contract: Loan to the Great Market.

Amount: Sixty-three thousand five hundred fourty-two Dormns. Half of my mana reserves.

Interest rate: Null.

Repayment date: Null.

Period: Null.

Effective date: Now.

Option of renegociation: Yes.

Is an agreement established?"

Gnome: "An agreement is established! Vault Guard Noah's assets become the Market's assets and liabilities! Thank you, girl, off with you, may fortune smile upon you!"

Noah tossed the gold bar and her purse in front of the gnome, but they disintegrated into particles of light in midair.

Noah blinked, and by the type her eyes opened she was back in Kirka, with all her possessions except half her mana and all of her gold. As satisfied as she was scared, she lowered her eyes back to the crowd around her. The entirety of Kirka was silent.

Noah: "I suggest we all get moving. As Ma'am Aldebaran just said, a lot of horrible things happened in the world, so not just in Kirka. Shit is very clearly going down all over the place, and things have gone south real fast.

All we can do is brace for impact. Stock up on supplies! Repair what can be repaired! Secure what can be secured! Heal what can be healed! Now's not the time to rest idle! We have to make sure we are ready for whatever is coming! Get to the center of town and organize for what is to come!"

Noah turned towards the Blind Girl. She could not leave her with the villagers who were trying to burn her as much as the pile of corpses she was standing on.

Noah: "Are you okay? What's your name? Look, you should probably come with me, I'm helping to sort things out in town. How does that sound?"

And her name iiiiiisssssssss…

Noah demonstrated a surprising attachment to the blind alien. No doubt she was loath to see another life lost for no reason. That or she reminded her a bit too much of her past self, what with having a handicap and all.

Not that theirs would have much in common but still, she knew what it was to “not be complete”.

But there was much to be done at the moment, so the extra would have to be brought up to speed in a hasty manner.

“This village was attacked yesterday by a horde of werehares.”

“Eh.”

“Half the village is dead, destroyed, both, or worse."

“Did they get raped by the rabbits?”

Seriously, what can be worse that dead AND destroyed?

“I don't mean to sound indiscreet, but when did you arrive here?”

“Reached this place early in the morning. I think I might have run into a couple of these on their way out, not sure though, they were fast!”

“What are you doing here? Are you accompanied, by any chance?"

“Actually, that’s the thing! I was supposed to meet here with a friend! Though I guess that’s kinda gone out the window now.”

“They're cute though, I agree! Even better if they are magic!”

Cuteness is magic. Cuteness is justice.

But that was beside the point. They ended up being interrupted by Aldebaran’s heartfelt speech.

Which was basically one hell of a way to tell people to brace their buttocks.

And maybe, maaayyybe if they could be bothered ever in the slightest, maybe to raise a finger to save the world. If it was not too much to ask.

And the call was answered! At least by Noah. For what good that would do…

How do sixty-three thousand five hundred fourty-two Dormns measure up against a god I wonder?

Time would tell. Still, it was leagues better than doing nothing. Which was what most people were bound to do, whether they liked it or not.

When Noah came back from her little “shopping trip” she caught the blind one staring straight at her from behind her bandages. Probably the only one of them to have taken her eyes off of the sky so quickly.

Well, not that there would be much for a blind person to see there right?
Ah and her bunny ears were gone. When did she take that off?
No matter, Noah needed to rally the populace.

Noah: "I suggest we all get moving. As Ma'am Aldebaran just said, a lot of horrible things happened in the world, so not just in Kirka. Shit is very clearly going down all over the place, and things have gone south real fast.

All we can do is brace for impact. Stock up on supplies! Repair what can be repaired! Secure what can be secured! Heal what can be healed! Now's not the time to rest idle! We have to make sure we are ready for whatever is coming! Get to the center of town and organize for what is to come!"

Her own speech showed mitigated results.

It was not so much that the people had something against her in particular, or against what she was saying, but the whole situation was overloaded with myriads of emotions.

On the other hand, they did not know her. For better or for worse, she was nameless here. Sadly no one could really vouch that she fought for them yesterday either, on account of how most people were too busy running for their lives.

But most of all, they were very concerned. Afraid.

Murmurs and whispers could be heard all around her, and in the end only some of the locals paid heed to her words.

“Deus? Really? Fuck!”

“I thought it was dead!”

“Yeah! Didn’t the Council kill it?"

“No, that was a common mistake back then too. They just sealed it somewhere in the Rift.”

“Half of them kicked the bucket while at it too…”

“Shit.”

“Maybe we should skip town. Run for our lives.”

“Where to? Didn’t you hear? The world’s over bro!”

“Woohooooo I finally get to die! This is the best day ever!”

That last entry raised a few eyebrows, including those of the blind girl, hidden though they were.

“Oups…”

Though most ended up dismissing the man as a mad lad, she quietly slipped through the ranks and swiftly knocked him out using the hilt of the blade she had hanging on her side. Barely anyone noticed and none cared.

“I’m so fucking glad I get to see La Machina again!”

“Oh come on!”

That one was also shortly encouraged to journey to the dream world.

Either way, it was not long before the people gathered there decided to move on to different parts of town.

Some went scavenging into the town’s remains, others went for the center where most of the populace was now gathering for some reason. A lot of them decided to pack and skip town the fastest possible. Finally, a fair amount also just fell on their butts in utter despair then and there, resigned to whatever fate awaited them.

Who could blame them really?

Though with that said, om the contrary, the number of people who did not let their mood go to shit was rather surprising. After all, these were the very absolute news anyone could get. The end of the world tends to put a wrench in your plans for the day, no matter what those were.

Was it because of Noah’s words? Or was it perhaps that living so close to danger had desensitized the townsfolk? Tough to say.

On the good news though, no one seemed to care about the blind girl anymore! Pyre avoided successfully. It was now as if she had never been here at all.

Which was easy to imagine given that she was no longer here.

Noah’s new gold total is 0 Dormns!

Cheers for fair-play and for a very good post! You’ll have bonus points pending for this!

Well then…

That was it. Certainly not thanks to Noah, the Sightless Girl found herself not on a Pyre as expected. Thanks to the worldwide announcement that the End Times had come, given by one of the most influencial billionnaires of the planet, that curious, snow-haired oddball with inappropriate ears was spared a death through fire.

Noah: *Lady Fedorah, I know you bestow a smile to the daring, but really? You would go to such lengths for this dumbass?*

Oh well. Time to roll with things, I suppose. Noah wasn't going to question a Goddess's plan, wacky as it may be! At least she would have a story to tell when they were all swallowed by the Maw of the Abyss!

Noah: "So… that happened! Name's Noah! Who're you?" After waiting for her introduction, Noah continued. And she was not going to be ignored a second time!.. Please? "Pleased to meet you! I'd love to stay and chat, but there are things that need to be done, and with half the town taken over by their suicidal tendencies, I'm not sure anyone else will show up to do my work, which is crucial for the preservation of the other half of the village (the half not taken over by their suicidal tendencies).Want to tag along? I'd appreciate the company!"

Did you expect Noah to fall down to her knees? Maybe she should've. But after that little speech of hers, and seeing how others were determined to go down fighting, Noah simply couldn't let up!

As they started to be on their way, Noah remembered what she'd witnessed just earlier. The Sightless Girl had knocked out two of the lunatics cold for no apparent reason.
Not that anyone gave a fuck mind you. She could've done it for shits and giggles and that explanation and a high five would've satisfied Noah.

With the ambient sense of dread suffocating all of Haerii, the little chit-chat with the Sightless Girl was welcome. Despite all that, the Sentinel of Miesdil was certainly not letting down her vigil, surveilling her surroundings with the same care as always. Although this time, she was not looking for anything out of place, as the whole world seemed to have slipped on a moon-sized banana peel. No, this time the paladin was paying more attention to anything that seemed normal in this god-forsaken mess.

Shifts and changes.

Some imperceptible, others... less so.

In the end, the Blind Girl stuck around for the entirety of Noah's speech.

Perhaps compelled by the veteran's strong sense of duty and leadership.

She might have even clapped, where she not concerned that this would draw unneeded attention to her while she was putting to sleep a couple of overexcited oblivion huggers.

But that is just about all she did to them. She did not seem to bear them any particular ill will. She could have kept them from collapsing like potato sacks though.

Ambiance:

When Noah came to greet her anew, she welcomed her with a polite smile and a slight bow.

Noah: "So… that happened! Name's Noah! Who're you?"

"Looks like no one's getting bored today! I'm Aida. Glad to be of service!"

Was she excited? Was she being ironic and actually bored to the foundation of her being? Unclear, her voice remained too neutral for any definite assumption to be made. This prolonged state of affairs was starting to give her an uncanny air.

If that is how she had acted with the locals as well, maybe it was not that strange that they had decided to burn her in the end.

Noah: "Pleased to meet you! I'd love to stay and chat, but there are things that need to be done, and with half the town taken over by their suicidal tendencies, I'm not sure anyone else will show up to do my work, which is crucial for the preservation of the other half of the village (the half not taken over by their suicidal tendencies).Want to tag along? I'd appreciate the company!"

At last, she grinned. Pleased.

Aida: "Sure thing! There's only so much a person can do on their own! I don't know what that job of your sis but if you pull this sort of thing often, I definitely want to stick around you!"

She had pointed vaguely towards the place where Noah had held her speech.

Aida, the Blind Nakama has joined your party!

Once Noah decided on a destination, Aida followed behind her, moving with quick steps to keep pace whenever necessary. Possibly against expectations, or once again perhaps entirely in alignment with them, she did not seem to need any assistance to move around. She did not run into any passerby's. Or walls.

Her feet did have a tendency to kick around or stumble on bits and pieces of rubble however.

Her occasional struggle to cope with the all but destroyed streets of the town was cute to witness, though more trained eyes would rather recognize that she actually had a fairly good sense of balance or reflexes, as in the end she did not risk falling once.

Was Noah at a level to notice this? Maybe! Did she care? In the midst of all of this? Probably not.

Echoing blasts from above continued to paint a bleak picture of the world's feature. People had other shit to deal with than the walking prowess of an eyeless cutie.

Funny however, where the explosions not fixed with other fighting sounds, were they more flat and paced, they could have passed for fireworks. None would have feared them and all would have basked happily into their light.

Maybe this was what triggered the lunatics? Some grand misunderstanding? That Deus' return, was not in fact an even to be feared but one to revel in. Signaling the end of their misery.

Perish the thought!

The people of Haerii were no quitters.

None other than bloody Aldebaran had just proven that to the last poor sod out there.

As they walked around, the possibly not that blind blind girl did move her head from side to side as if to inspect their surroundings. On a similar odd note, she also seemed to take great care not to look up.

It was not long before they resumed chatting. There was only so much to do while making their way through the ruins of the small city.

Aida: "So Noah, what were you doing here yourself then? If you came to sample the local specialty, well I dare say you are in luck! I get the feeling that's all they're gonna be making for a while!"

Further on.

Aida: "By the way, you smell awesome! By far the best smelling person I've smelled today! Did you use magic or something to take a bath? There's a hint of soap. A blessing really, most people smell like rabbits."

Ambiance (Loop):

With this, the Willful Sentinel and the Sightless Girl made their way to the Northern Pillar.
Among the things Noah noticed, was the fact Aida was probably not completely blind, or had some other way to compensate for her failing eyesight. Indeed, not once did she collide with a wall or person. On the other hand she had confused a pile of warehare corpses with rubble. She also seemed to have trouble navigating in the debris-strewn streets of the village (at least more than a normal person would).

In an attempt to make her life easier, Noah tried to find an easier path for Aida to walk.

Noah: "Say, if you don't mind me asking, how do you navigate so well? I was expecting to have to hold you by the hand to go through the city, to be honest!"

Aida: "So Noah, what were you doing here yourself then? If you came to sample the local specialty, well I dare say you are in luck! I get the feeling that's all they're gonna be making for a while!"

Noah chuckled.

Noah: "Damn, you really don't lose time huh? No wonder why you almost ended up on a pyre! Do you understand the concept of "too soon"?" -Noah answered, in a nice, but bitter tone. "I was here escorting a merchant through Rastora. Turns out we should've hunkered down in the closest Vault-Citadel we could find. Employer's dead and buried now. Least I could do after I failed to protect him. You better believe the rabbits payed their due for attacking him."

Aida: "By the way, you smell awesome! By far the best smelling person I've smelled today! Did you use magic or something to take a bath? There's a hint of soap. A blessing really, most people smell like rabbits."

Noah: "Yeah, thanks! I passed out after the fighting yesterday night. After a bit of sleep I went ahead and got a bath. Not sure when I'll be able to grab another one of those next..."

Abiance:

Noah: "Say, if you don't mind me asking, how do you navigate so well? I was expecting to have to hold you by the hand to go through the city, to be honest!"

Aida: “Ah, I may not look like it but I’m actually an adventurer! D rank though, but oh well! I am used to traveling on my own, do not worry. I can handle myself pretty well most of the time! Running around in a couple of ruined towns is no biggie! Though I definitely would prefer not to have to. This is such a shame.”

Then came the question regarding why Noah had come around these parts.

Noah: "Damn, you really don't lose time huh? No wonder why you almost ended up on a pyre! Do you understand the concept of "too soon"?" -Noah answered, in a nice, but bitter tone. "I was here escorting a merchant through Rastora. Turns out we should've hunkered down in the closest Vault-Citadel we could find. Employer's dead and buried now. Least I could do after I failed to protect him. You better believe the rabbits payed their due for attacking him."

Aida replied in a slightly surprised tone, or at least Noah imagined it to be. Once again, it was pretty difficult to tell the girl’s actual emotions, what with the bandages covering most of her face and her lips remaining fairly stoic throughout their conversations.

Aida: “People were just a bit mad and confused. I would have gotten out of there before things got too rough. To be honest though, I did think they were mad at this whole mess, not my hat!”

Her reply regarding Noah’s sorrowful tale was mind blowingly neutral. So much so that it could come across as cold.

Aida: “I’m sorry for your loss. I imagine he must have been a good man if you protected him all the way here. Do not think too badly of this, no one could have seen this coming."

But her voice was quick to recover a slightly cheerier tint.

Aida: “Especially not me!”

In a way, she was something else. In a lot of ways even. The more Noah laid eyes on her, the more the girl seemed out of place, outlandish in this insane situation, in this world almost. In a very weird way, it almost felt wrong for her to be there. The reason why though, impossible to pinpoint.

Aida: “So you beat the rabbits huh? I’m impressed! From what I gather these things were pretty vicious! You must be a famous adventurer I bet! Nothing like little old me! I probably should apologize but I have not ever heard of you (pretty sure I would remember if I had, I have an excellent memory)! But hey, if you feel like telling me details about your fight yesterday, maybe I’ll write a song about you! With your permission of course!”

It did not seem like she was mocking her. In fact, she seemed as close to excited as her uncanny composure would permit.

As they passed the time with idle chatter, it was not long before they reached what remained of the Town’s North edge. Which really was not much.

They had not run into any people for a while now, ten minutes or so. This did wonders to drive in how hardly this little place had been hit. There was so little left here, you could barely recognize it used to be part of the town at all. All that remained were the rubble of the houses, forming ominous corridors where streets used to be. Cinders were still burning in some of the ruins, though there was no longer a risk of fire, everything having been consumed long ago.

On the occasional quarter of a wall, the message of the day could be seen painted and dripping. Dark days are coming. All over the town apparently.

With the place in such a sorry state, it was no wonder no one was to be found around. There was nothing to pick here, most abodes had burned down and collapsed, taking in their death all but the sturdier of the possessions of their owners. Owners who were quite possibly no longer around to recover whatever was left. Or who did not bother to.

In truth, the forest a few thirty meters away from the edge of town, seemed way more alive and vibrant in comparison to the grayish ruins of Kirka. Even though it too, was seemingly lifeless. At least the trees and grass were green. And in one piece. Which probably meant the rabbits had not fucked off in this direction too. An army of monsters would have left some traces behind, especially in such a hurried retreat.

At any rate, they were not here to gaze at the devastation, or the silent beauty of nature. Pillars, they needed to ~~build~~ find them pillars! Which would prove to be unexpectedly difficult!

Even though they were no tall buildings left around, even though they were now standing in a clearing surrounded by knee-high rubble, the Northern pillar was no where to be seen.

Aida, ironically enough, started looking around to see if the she could come across any traces of it. She walked a bit along the edge of town, to check that they were not at the wrong place or that they had not missed its location somehow.

What does Noah do?

West side of Kirka, day following the Worst Day.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two ill-matched travelers finally reached the town. Or at least what was left of it.

By the time they stepped out of the forest and made their way into the few meters of clearing to the edge of town, it had become quite clear that they would mostly have to deal with rubble. There were spots where you could see 50 meters ahead due to everything having been razed, in some others, sight would be blocked by some half collapsed, half burned leftover of a building.

Overall, the devastation was substantial. Enough so for the women to be able to see that there was almost no one around, at least not in this part of town. On the plus side of things, at least there were no longer any fires, only a few embers and pieces of smoldering wood here and there.

As they were approaching the town, the witch was ever more so on her guard, probably worried about what could have caused such devastation. Once she stepped in the bounds of the city however, she could see that there was no enemy in sight, no godly destructive power at bay, other than the one in the skies. But it did not look like that was the one at fault for what had happened here.

The paved streets and whatever was left of the walls had monstrous claw marks on them. Limbs and blood puddles were scattered across town and a few munched-on corpses still laid in broad daylight beneath the sun.

On their way in, the weird duo also got the chance to catch a glimpse of several groups of people leaving the town in carts or with backpacks on their backs. Likely people who had decided it was better to start a new somewhere else. But they were quite far from their own entry point, they did not get to cross any to ask what had happened. Was it even needed though? It was pretty clear! A battle, war. Again. Always.

As they grew closer to the buildings, Alienor started feeling a weird tingling across her body. What began as a weird chill, quickly evolved to an annoyance, to discomfort, then to an ominous feeling. Has it become harder to breath here? Is the air heavier? The witch does not seem to be having any trouble.

The first person they ran into was a young woman, right at the edge of town. She was standing next to a tall pillar of blue crystal, shaped somewhat like an obelisk and which had miraculously survived the devastation, despite looking pretty weathered to begin with.

Ambiance, put it on loop:

The girl herself, seemed tired to the point where it would not be odd to see her topple over at any moment. Her eyes were half closed and she was visibly struggling to keep them open. Her movements were sluggish and slow, as if she were in a daze, or as if she had smoked something really heavy and really illegal. Her clothes on the other hand, were near immaculate, which was strange considering the state of the town behind her. On her left omoplate, Alienor caught a glimpse of an emblem she did not recognize. A small, black, stylized tattoo of an infant’s head wearing a witch’s crooked hat. Symbols in this style were typically guild emblems, Alienor recalled.

While she did not appear threatening in the least, something definitely felt off about her and Alienor could tell straight away. She felt strange, weird. Her presence was noticeable, in a bad way. Perhaps it was her eyes, completely devoid of life. Unnaturally, even the irises were pitch black, which made the eyes look like holes rather than anything else. As if they were windows to something hollow and terrible.

The woman seemed to be thinking out loud and did not notice the duo until they were practically next to her on their way to town. Even her voice was lethargic and lacked any enthusiasm whatsoever.

“Ah-ah… What will I do now? HB will get mad at me again! I don’t want to be screamed at again… I wonder if there is someone around who could help.”

And as she turned her head, there they were! What sublime providence!

Her face lit up ever so slightly and her voice became faster and cheerful. If she had not kept her tired expression and her freaky eyes, she could have almost passed for a different person.

“You came from Medusa’s forest! That’s amazing! I did not think people were allowed to… Able to? Do that! How was it? I was told not to go in there so I was really curious! Awesome!”

As she spoke, she was gently resting her right hand on the obelisk next to her.

The witch did not feel like replying straight away. Instead, she nearly ignored the woman while she busied herself putting her shows back on. Then, seeing how the girl’s excitement was not particularly wavering, she resigned to reply.

“It’s not that bad on the weekends.”

She said ironically, before continuing.

“Be my guest to head in if you wish, there is not so much as a fly moving around in there right now.”

“Are all the flies dead? How strange!”

She did not seem to be joking, rather, she seemed genuinely surprised and intrigued. Perhaps her brain was slow as well.

“I would like to go have a look. But I can’t right now, I have work. I was asked to take care of this.”

She knocked on the pillar.

“But there is no chance I can do that on my own, I am really weak. Is there any chance you could break this for me? Please?”

The witch rolled her eyes.

What does Alienor do in all of this?

As they walked through the desolate ruins of northern Kirka, the Blind Envoy and the Determined Sentinel continued their chit-chat. Nothing of importance was really said, but Noah felt like she grew closer to the girl nonetheless.
Sometimes, small chit-chat is enough. Sometimes, someone to talk to is just what you need to fight off the madness.

Aida: “People were just a bit mad and confused. I would have gotten out of there before things got too rough. To be honest though, I did think they were mad at this whole mess, not my hat!”

Noah: "I think that's fair... but your hat was also a reminder of what had happened. I think this is what ticked them off. I could have been ticked off too, to be honest."

Aida: “I’m sorry for your loss. I imagine he must have been a good man if you protected him all the way here. Do not think too badly of this, no one could have seen this coming...Especially not me!”

Noah let out a puff of laughter. Oh well, she was correct in more than one way. Surprisingly observant and on point, for a sightless girl!

Noah: "Yeah, he was a good man. And clearly this is beyond our pay-grades, so i'm not blaming myself. Thank you."

Aida: “So you beat the rabbits huh? I’m impressed! From what I gather these things were pretty vicious! You must be a famous adventurer I bet! Nothing like little old me! I probably should apologize but I have not ever heard of you (pretty sure I would remember if I had, I have an excellent memory)! But hey, if you feel like telling me details about your fight yesterday, maybe I’ll write a song about you! With your permission of course!”

Noah: "Oh don't worry, I'm weak as hell. Yesterday I just managed to keep the rabbits at bay because I had a long poking stick. Others had firearms, I just made sure to line up the rabbits for them to shoot... I'm a nobody!"

With this, Noah and Aida ventured into northern Kirka.

Noah: *This place has been hit hard. Not a standing building, not a living person in sight.* - Thought the Sentinel. She kept her glaive in hand. "Let me know if you find the pillar we are looking for. Stay safe and keep your eyes peeled... Wait no sorry. No offense meant."

Were they even in the right place? There was nothing here. A blue giant magical pillar should've been obvious!

Noah and the Out of place Blind Girl had reached the edge of town where the guards had mentioned the Northern pillar should be.

Thing is, no matter how hard they looked, even after several minutes walking around along the town’s edge and lifting rubble, no trace of the bloody thing was to be seen.

Aida: “ Do you think the crystal pillars are magical? If so I have to warn you that I do not sense any such thing nearby, and I have a knack for this sort of thing. “

She mechanically looked around.

Aida: “ Hmm, I don’t suppose it’s any of the rubble here right? Otherwise you would have found it. If it was broken or toppled over you would have seen it, however that is not the case. All that I can think is that someone made off with it. I am not clear on if they are valuable or not to be honest but I do not see any other reason why the whole thing would have vanished. What do you think? “

She waited for Noah’s take on the situation.

Aida: “ With that said. I am, afraid the town is in great peril. The pillars are in place to stave off some of the Rift’s negative side-effects on the environment. With even one pillar gone, my guess is the barrier is pretty much down. If we were talking monsters, I would have gladly lent you a hand to fight them but if we are talking natural phenomena, I am afraid even I can’t slice that! "

Once again, she was only making cold, borderline heartless statements. Though in truth, it was merely an assessment of the town’s situation, it wasn’t really her fault the town was fucked.

Aida: “ Unless you have any ideas, we should head back to the main square where most people should be by now in order to let them know that the barrier is down and they need to high-tail it. Probably will not be long till the place goes to shit. "

She waited until Noah was ready to head back and then actually led the way back. She no longer walked around with her light and leisurely step, but rather with a firm and fast-paced one. Maybe she did not want to stay here any longer than she had to either.

As they made their way towards the square, they came across two other groups of five, making way towards the same direction. Apparently, some people were giving speeches there. Possibly a trend set by Noah.
As they grew nearer, they could start hearing people shouting and arguing. People were probably debating what would be the future of the town.

Upon reaching their destination, the girls were able to ascertain that was the case. Not only that but the place was seriously crowded. A solid 50 something people must have gathered here, which was more or less the estimate for the town’s survivors. How odd.

By the time they were within earshot, most of the discussions had come to an end. At present, only a single man remained at the center of attention, addressing the crowd from a top a pile of rubble. Wasn’t this where the Blind Girl used to sit?

The man did not seem to be anything special. By the vibes the girls picked up from the crowd, he was probably just another citizen like most of them.

“ My dear fellows. The situation is dire indeed. As we have been going over for a while now, the town is finished. However, it would seem that this is the case for the rest of Haerii as well. “

The crowd acquiesced.

“ We have also just been able to confirm that the Jimmies, are in fact, all deceased. “

Wailing, tears, outrage at life’s cruelty.

The man waits for silence to return before he continues.

“ Truly, dark days are upon us. “

Very dark, much sadness.

“ However! With the situation being what it is. I have to ask of you: what are we to do now?

Are we to pack our things and make way for foreign lands? Towns that are likely in no better shape than our own?

Are we to fall down to our knees and wallow in despair, until hunger or the forest’s beasts take us?

ARE WE TO PERISH, in a JIMMY-LESS town?

NO, friends! I think not!

We should fight this loathsome fate!

WE SHOULD REBUILD!

If the end of the world is truly to come, then let it find us tall and proud as we’ve always been! Not as defeated mongrels who have given up on everything!

Hear me brothers and sisters!

KIRKA LIVES!

JE SUIS JIMMY! “

“ No, I am Jimmy! “

“ I am Jimmy! “

“ Me too! “

“ You are a woman… “

“ And twice the Jimmy you have ever been! “

“ JIMMIES NEVER DIE! “

For some obscure reason, the man’s speech had managed to lit the fire in people’s hearts and eyes. More and more baptized themselves Jimmy on the spot.

Hordes of them poured out into the ruined streets with renewed strength and purpose, looking for tools and materials to rebuild the town.

Well, at least the number of people elated about the possibility of impending doom had sharply dropped.

Aida remained speechless throughout the event. Oddly enough, her ever stoic expression had now changed to portray displeasure.

An occurrence: The town! It shifts! It stirs!

A fact: “ In terms of pillar… We have no pillar. "

Yo,

The Christmas special is up!

https://worldofhaerii.forumactif.fr/t181-the-wailing-banshee#2879

It only took...

*Checks watch*

Three years and the better part of a day!

Enjoy!

Kirka …