Hello, Everyone!
Second-to-last chance to post your questions for the upcoming Q&A! You have a chance to learn more about the story and characters, directly from the sourse - our DM and all the other players!
Anyway. Have you had an evening so stressful, that you weren’t able to sleep afterwards, no matter how tired or broken your body was?
Last time, after defeating the entity known as Kloth, our heroes found his laboratory and managed to free the elven maidens that were held there. After uncovering as much mystery and helping as much as they could, Balaine Endoras made them go home, to rest and recuperate after everything they’d been through.
This is a short episode, but it was a hard one to write. My dear Mary has been through so much!
They didn't go to bed immediately. In fact, it took them quite a while to get to that, despite their exhaustion. They had to take care of their bloodied armour and belongings, and clean themselves one by one in Tesaya's bathroom.
Aurum was first. He had the least amount of blood to wash up. Meanwhile, Mary, Bruno and Tesaya sat on the logs outside, careful not to leave stains on the grass.
"I'll have to get rid of these,'' Mary sighed, smoothing out her shirt and coat. They were more blood stains than clothes now. "I don't think any part of them is salvageable."
“You scared us back there, you know?” Bruno said. “When you fell after that soul screamed."
"Why? Because I was dying?" Mary asked. "Didn't you have a spell to get me back from that?" She patted the diamond in the patch they'd received in Belfast.
"Yeah, I did," the Cleric said. "But I don't know if that would have worked out. I think you were beginning to… turn. You were chanting like the undead around us, and your eyes were glowing red."
Mary felt her stomach clench into a ball.
"I think…” Bruno continued. “If I hadn’t healed you on time, you could have been lost, for good. No resurrection or revivification. These things don’t work on the Undead.”
Mary stared at her feet. Her hands grew cold. She had been scared before, but in the back of her mind, she always knew that if Bruno was there, she didn't have to fear as much.
"It wasn't just that," Tesaya added. "Going for the staff was brave of you, but also foolish. When Dorina impaled you, Kloth was ready to take your soul. He was reaching for it, and…"
"Can we… stop?" Mary said, gripping her stomach with both her hands. "Please, I don't need to hear it. Let's just… not talk for a bit…"
They sat in silence.
Mary was last to wash herself. She almost fell asleep while she waited, but staying that long was for the best. After all, she was the bloodiest of all. She got into the bath and took a long pensive look at the crumpled and tattered pile of clothes she’d left on the floor.
She sighed.
Soaking in the water, Mary ran her hand over her scars--the old and the new. There was the one from the ghoul's axe in Raxtrad, right under her right shoulder. The slash from the drow's scimitar on her left thigh. The small, almost invisible stab of the stiletto on her chest, right where her heart was. And, of course, the bite from the undead on her neck.
It wasn't as scary as it had been back in Entivio's mirror. Bruno had healed it and made some of the flesh grow back, and the water had cleaned up the blood, dirt and saliva from the skin. It was now just a red scar, circular in shape, segmented where the teeth of the creature had bit into her flesh.
Mary closed her eyes. Unlike all the others, this scar was going to be visible at all times – a proof that she couldn’t take care of herself. Why hadn't she been more careful?! She imagined her family--the living ones--and saw their worry. She imagined the disgust on people's faces, staring at her – this time not because she was just tall, but because she was ugly, and careless, and let herself get hurt.
Why. Hadn't. She. Been. More Careful?!
My poor baby! I love her so much, and I hate to see her suffer. But it seems like that’s what you get when you choose the life of an adventurer. Scars – both physical and mental.
But she’s young and resilient. She’ll get through this!
See you next time, when our heroes will get a surprising gift just before breakfast.
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.