Hello, Everyone!
How are you doing?
Last time in our dear Mary Windfiddle’s story, we got to have a nice morning, with breakfast and some friendly chatting among Mary, Bruno, Aurum and their hostess Tesaya. Now, we’re following the next clue of the ongoing investigation our heroes are undertaking.
Let me bring you a refresher:
Every 6 years in the last two decades, there have been Undead attacks all around Eastern Erathos and mysterious kidnappings in Myth Adofhaer. The last time it happened, an elf by the name Maquiel Prouvier confessed to the crimes and was arrested. Now, after 6 years of imprisonment, he suddenly started yelling that it wasn’t his fault and that he hadn’t been himself back then. Mary, Bruno and Aurum questioned him and, in his frantic rambling, heard the name ‘Olivia’. They went to the Archives and found all the ‘Olivias’ that had lived in Myth Adofhaer in the last 100 years. The fate of one of them, Olivia Enry, seemed to match with many of the things they’d already discovered – she died in the year of the first abductions, was killed by Undead creatures, and her soul was never reborn.
So, the four of them went to her husband’s home to find out more.
The house of Correlon Entivio was in a part of the city Mary and her friends hadn't been yet. It was a small wooden building with curtains on all windows. The front yard was overgrown with weeds and it looked unkempt, which was unusual for a Myth Adofhaerian property.
Mary hesitated. Was it really the right thing to bother the man? After all, he'd lost his wife. Yes, it was many years ago, but still, she didn't…
Aurum knocked on the door.
"A moment, please," a voice came from the inside.
A gap appeared in one of the curtains, and a set of eyes studied them through it. Then, the door clinked and clanked until all the latches--they heard three--were unhooked. A pale elven face appeared in the doorframe.
"Yes?"
Nobody said anything for a couple of seconds and Mary decided to fill the silence with an introduction.
"Hello," she said. "I'm Mary Windfiddle, these are Bruno Airhammer and Aurum. We're the Agents of Pamagos working on the case of the kidnapped maidens. This is Tesaya, you, um… probably know her."
Entivio and Tesaya nodded to each other.
"This is about Olivia, right?" he said. "Come in."
The inside of Entivio's house was sad and dark. All the windows were covered, so was the mirror in the corridor. There was dust and the smell of something stale in the room they entered, like it belonged to a person who just… didn't care anymore.
Mary's heart tightened.
"Can you tell us about Olivia?" Bruno asked.
The elf sighed. He told them how brave and beautiful she was, how kind and caring, and so, so talented. He told them of the day she perished. They were on a mission beyond the Teeth, looking for the group of Undead they had been informed about. They were a part of a bigger battalion but their group was just four people – Entivio, Olivia, another elven woman by the name of Tris, and a male half-elf called Chaney. They entered a cave to check for undead… and they found them. There were many, too many to fight, and the party paid the price. All of Entivio's companions were killed, eaten by ghouls. He was the only one who survived, only because, as a caster, he fought from a distance. He managed to retreat in time.
"Do you remember what kind of Undead you fought?" Bruno asked. "Or anything particularly unusual about them?"
"Ghouls, zombies..."Entivio said. "Fresh corpses, all of them from the more monstrous races. There weren't any ghosts or the like. They were… they moved like they were being controlled by someone."
"Has anything like this ever happened before?" the dwarf said. "Such a massive attack by undead, I mean?"
It was Tesaya who answered this time. There were two other instances of bigger undead attacks beyond the Teeth recently, seven and nine years ago, respectively. She was there for the latter. She told them of the small necromantic cult they'd found and duly dispatched. But the years didn't match with any of the kidnappings and none of the party asked for more information.
"Did you…" Mary cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to have to ask you that, but did you… see your companions, um…"
Entivio nodded and his expression broke her heart.
"We know that your wife wasn't reincarnated." Aurum said. "But what about the other elven woman? Were there other victims who, you know, didn't return."
"No," Entivio sighed. "Tris’ soul returned. Every other soul returned. It was only Olivia that didn’t. They said the death was too traumatic and her soul was destroyed."
Mary didn't want to ask any more questions. The whole situation reminded her of the man from Pritley whose wife they weren't able to save. She was beginning to understand that some sorrows could never be rectified. Eighteen years ago, this man had lost his beloved, and he still couldn't recover from it.
Overwhelmed by his grief, she just wanted to go away.
"I'm really sorry for your loss," she said through the lump that'd formed in her throat. "This may not be of any consolation to you, but if we manage to find out anything about the missing souls, we'll, um…"
"Thank you," Entivio said.
I hate having sad encounters in D&D. Our DM is too good in describing people’s sorrow. I think he secretly loves to make us sad :(
Do you feel fictional characters’ pain when you experience a story? Which is the last story that made you really sad?
Let’s hope our heroes won’t stay sad for long. See you next time, when we decide what we’re going to do!
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.