In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
Shattered Grimoires is the work of the mind(s) of Ardere & Shattered Grimoire's staff. All characters and content are copyright their creators, and may not be replicated without their creators' permission. Black Clover is owned by Yuki Tabata and published by Viz Shonen Jump. All images belong to their original owners. The theme you are currently viewing was made by Eliza of ElizaCodes exclusively for Shattered Grimoires.
Many years ago, it was said that the man owning this mansion was a nobleman who had moved into the countryside, having become tired of his hectic life in the royal capital. There, he was known for throwing parties for his friends, often at the expense of the people living around it as the drunk nobles pulled quite a few pranks. Some more mean spirited than others. On one day, it was said that a roaming merchant stopped by the house, requesting entry to maybe peddle some of his goods to some of the attending nobles or maybe having a bite to eat or a drink. Holding out a bowl and spoon, the noble refused the old man entry, claiming that him having gone hungry and thirsty was his own fault. In response, the old merchant placed the bowl and spoon on the floor as he left, where they remain to this day. Soon after, the family began to notice changes to their appearance, subtle at first, but becoming more and more notable as time progressed, leading up to them turning into wights. Skin and bone dressed in rags, unable to leave their home while constantly hungry and thirsty no matter how much they ate or drank. With every full moon during autumn, the family is able to temporarily leave the home, having to return before dawn.
[break]
[attr="class","shadowsSub"]Details
Maximum Number of Players: 3
[break]Minimum Word Count: 2500
[break]Location: The Forsaken Realm
[break]Special Requirements: Having been monsters for over two hundred years, these wights are borderline feral, meaning they do not play well with humans. In fact, they are prone to outright attacking them when they are startled, at which point they might well take a chunk out of their flesh. See to the wellbeing of these wights and the people around them as they venture out, or simply put them down, thus ending the curse and their decade-long suffering.
[attr="class","shadowsSub"]NPC Information
What NPCs are in this mission? Please fill out the template for any notable NPCs. While those you have to socially interact with during the mission are not required, any enemy that is presented in the mission must be listed here.
[break]Combat Style: These former humans-turned wights retain little of their former appearance, dressed in rags while being little more than skin and bones. That said, they are surprisingly fast and can easily rip chunks of flesh out of someone's body with their sharp claws and rotten teeth, which they will then proceed to eat. Having long since lost the capacity for magic, these beings have no mana to track.
Wandering through the wilderness, Griswold and his two temporary compatriots had managed to put a fair amount of distance between themselves and Aries Garse. After what had happened there, the black swordsman had almost leaped at the opportunity to get some work done in a place that was further from society. The whole encounter with the imps that were being used to steal from people and even go as far as poisoning others to keep them from entering into a blackjack tournament had proven to him once again that Humans were the worst kind of monster on this planet. While they might not seem like much when put next to a werewolf, a troll or a chort, what they lacked in fur, fangs and claws, they made up for in cunning and ruthlessness. Because at the end of the day, if one went over the amount of people that had died due to a monster or animal attack or due to being attacked by a fellow human, the latter number was far higher.
It was also for that reason that his vote had gone out towards helping the imps find a new home after the summoner had been dealt with. But of all the things the man had brought up, there was one thing that could not be denied, and that was this was the time of year when one could expect the most monster attacks. This was due to the fact that the boundaries between worlds was getting thinner, meaning the more powerful beings such as demons or some spirits could cross over rather easily, whereas the lesser beings such as the imps needed a bit of outside assistance, which the summoner had gladly offered. And from the look of things, Griswold had come to the conclusion that what they were about to get themselves into now might have something to do with the time of year as well.
For as it had been explained to him, there was an old, run-down mansion sitting in the woods not far from a bunch of farms they had passed on the way that had at some point been a partying hub for nobles. But for some reason, it appeared as though the inhabitants had been either killed and had their home stolen, or had been cursed into becoming the creatures that lived there now. As someone who had been responsible for the deaths of vampires, werewolves, ghouls, wraiths and a host of other cursed beings, Griswold was quite well aware of the kind of creature they were dealing with here. Funnily enough, the townsfolk had already done a bit of investigating on their own, finding that there were some undead looking creatures moving around within the building, being particularly active at night. The good thing however was that they were seemingly incapable of leaving the building, as if held back by some kind of barrier spell.
So it was thanks to these curious few that the elven mage had been able to piece together that they were dealing with Wights, a peculiar type of undead creature that was stuck in a state between being alive and dead. Unable to perish due to old age, they still needed food and water to sustain themselves or their organs would fail and cause them to still die, thus making them into a rather peculiar kind of creature. Had there been an option to do so, Griswold would have much enjoyed to look into them a bit more, to see what it was that made them tick and how much of their humanity remained. But the sad part about all of this was the fact that no one really knew how to revert the curse that had turned them from humans into this almost feral kind of zombie. And as had been the case with the werewolves and vampire he had encountered, who had also been the victims of a curse, it was perhaps the most humane option to just put them to rest and end their cursed existence.
But for the time being, he did not want to jump to any conclusions as there was still a chance that the three of them together might figure out a way to cleanse them of their curse. He just knew that if it came down to it, he would be the one to do the deed so as to not place the burden of the act on the other two. For as things presently stood, Griswold had grown fairly accustomed to the notion of killing those deserving of it, as well as those that were beyond saving. So as they approached the outer gates, which had been overgrown with plants and had already begun crumbling in some areas, the rusted gate stood open for the most part, which would make it easy for them to venture in. But before they would enter, he would come to a full stop at the gate, taking the opportunity to address the two.
“For what it’s worth, what we’re about to encounter is not going to be pretty, both in terms of appearance as well as the entire situation surrounding it. Don’t expect them to look or behave like people, expect a walking mass of skin and bones that behaves more like an animal than a person, meaning they might be violent. So unless you wish to go in guns blazes, do not make any sudden moves, or they might bite your throat out in an instant.”
Nix meekly nodded along to the sentiment, being a junior as she were was all about learning. Becoming more fit for service and being able to provide a greater service to the kingdom, or some jazz like that which she had been told prior disembarking for the mission. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to get stronger, her tiny frame was just unreasonably unable to express how mad she got some times. And that hurt; when limited by one’s capabilities, it was always a story of I am bigger and stronger than you, like the antagonist in this situation isn’teven angry. What is the point of fighting something that didn’t necessarily hate you but attacked you simply because it couldn’t sympathise with how fortunate you were? Hunger was not something she always felt, being able to afford the luxury of snack food wasn’t always poignantly an acknowledgeable moment of lapsed judgement. But when that shortcoming of conduced cognitive thought processing just becomes apparent, she couldn’t help but feel like she was incredibly lucky to have the things she did have. Appreciating fully the sentiment and being thankful for Griswold’a elaboration, she steeled her nerves and demonstrated her iron will with the hokiest of pokies through the front door. Having run all the way up to the door prior to doing so, she huffed and puffed a wisp of red flame and busted it down. Her momentum swung her weight into the breaching process and the door; being feeble in comparison, swung open as a door might if you kicked it open and were a short, and very angry witch. Abruptly then returning to where she had left, Nix looked up at Griswold and introduced herself after having been quite forgetful to have not done so before hand, “Greetings Sir or Mr.” She lent in conspiratorially with a raised hand to the side of her face and spoke in a whisper, “My name is Nix, what is your name?” Nix smiled warmly, snazzily as she may. Doing very, very well to be a good listener as she looked at her toes which were wiggling back at her.
Post by Magnus C. Aurelius✾ on Oct 4, 2021 13:19:28 GMT -5
[attr="class","temphead"]As long as I continue[break] I'm sure I'll find [break]An amazing wonder.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Power
016
Durability
010
Stamina
010
Sensory
000
Control
020
Health
senior
Mana skin
senior
Mana pool
0035
Mana regen
IC:005/OOC:010
Speed
5 m/s
Strength
1/2 Junior
[attr="class","temppost"] Magnus found himself brushing of the dirt and debris from his travel, his mind was still contemplating the results of the whole imp debacle. To think that someone would summon beings like imps just to try and get their way. Going so far just for such meager gain. He didn't understand it, he didn't agree with it, and he damn sure didn't like it. The fact, that someone could harm so many people, take for so many people that otherwise worked hard in some capacity to achieve their goals always frustrated Magnus. Thieves were something he could never truly come to agree with, never truly someone he could understand. However, because of his past, Magnus knew that he was biased in regard, and the simple fact of the matter is that when it came down to it, he didn't care. He learned long ago that humans, for all their good and beauty could be often and easily tainted by cruelty and evil. For more often than not, humans made the conscious choice to ruin others, to do harm, and he knew that if it truly came down to it, he was capable of such things himself. It was due to this that Magnus held himself to a higher standard, a higher sense of obligation and righteousness. There were many in his family who looked up to him, and if he wanted to paint more of his beauty into the world, more of what he wanted to see then upholding his moral standards was what he wanted to do, it was because of this that he also voted in favor of Griswold's ideas. Finding the man much more agreeable and trustworthy than when he first stumbled across the powerful mage.
With a simple walkout at night, Magnus never expected to stumble upon such things, however, he was grateful that he did. It had brought him to the presence of a new acquaintance. It had given him a new purpose, and it allowed him to continue being of service to those that truly needed and desired help. Especially this time of year when danger was more commonplace and at times seemed to be lurking around the corner, or rather beyond the veil. Although he was well-traveled and often safe, Magnus had many run-ins with creatures along the way, he knew there was no end to them, but he at times did hear rumors and information about them. Although he wasn't nearly as exposed and experienced in fighting them as Griswold was, he knew remedial knowledge about most creatures. After all, as an Aurelius family member learning about such creatures and their habits were common teachings. Many creatures often had something special about them that could be used in some sort of elixir or needed some special way of cleaning and disposing of.
He knew they were headed to an old. the run-down mansion and the thought of it made him shiver. Not because of the creatures that may lay within, but simply because the building was left in such a state. As a lesser noble who came from a family that specialized in housekeeping and estate management, a mansion like this was something that needed to be cleaned and cleansed. It was a crime to him to let such architecture fall into distraught and ruin. Although it was a cruel thought, and highly insensitive, Magnus thought that if the noble family that lived in the mansion had hired him had worked there the mansion wouldn't have become anywhere near as cursed and tattered as it now was. However, one could not say for certain that could be true, and rather than boast about it, he kept the thought to himself. After all, people had lost their lives in that mansion. It would be ill befitting of him to talk down about the mansion with that being the case. Although, this didn't stop Magnus's OCD from wanting to rear its ugly head. He was more likely to go on a cleaning spree after if they were able to clear out the issues within the mansion.
As they approached the out gates, which he noticed was in dire need of repair, Magnus turned his full attention to Griswold as he came to a full stop. He stood silently next to their latest compatriot Nix who had, and as he listened he made sure to take everything Griswold was saying to heart. Not pretty was an understatement. Wights and a destroyed mansion in dire need of some repair, knowing the man's skill, Magnus nodded in reply before speaking "I will make sure to heed your warning, thank you." Knowing that these... creatures, were feral and could at any moment attack and seriously harm them made Magnus a little nervous, however, he didn't let it show. He knew going into this, choosing to keep journeying with Griswold would mean that he'd have even scarier and life-threatening run-ins. These were things magic knights dealt with all time and as such getting the experience to do himself now was not only reassuring but invaluable to just how much it would help with his personal progression and growth of strength.
Knowing what could happen to them, Magnus made sure to mentally prepare himself even further. He took a calming breath, unhinged the clip of his satchel holding his grimoire, and grabbed his magical paintbrush set out of the first small pocket of his grimoire satchel. "Never hurts to be prepared, although I do hope we can resolve things as peacefully as possible and give these people a proper burial." He believes that most people at the very least deserved that. However, his thoughts were a little dismayed by Nix's behavior. "My name is Magnus Cassius Aurelius," he stated to Nix. He had never met the girl truly or really prior. Though it was interesting to see the use of her fire magic, her personality seemed to be rather enthusiastic so he hoped she would be able to control herself when danger presented itself.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Words
1,004
Total words
1,004
[attr="class","tempnotes"]NOTES[break]
Summary: Magnus feels his OCD kicking in about the run-down mansion, he heeds Griswold's advice, and prepares himself for battle just in case, he finds Nix enthusiastic but hopes she can handle herself in dangerous situations.
Rank & Element: Junior | Paint Class & Type: Imbued | Magic Trinket Magic Specializations: Golem Creation Appearance & Lore: Click For Image A Magical Ornate Paint Brush Set that comes with five 4-inch Paint Brushes in total all with different widths and styled bristles. The paintbrushes are ornate in design, with swirls of small patterns and silver in color. They have purple bristles that fade into white at their tips. Nothing is too special about these paintbrushes on their own except they are sturdy and have no need for a palette as they are capable of producing any color of paint on their own with a small infusion of mana. These paintbrushes were a gift to Magnus from his mother when he was younger and as such he cherishes them dearly but also uses them for his magic. However, as they are a magical set, they all share the same durability, thus if his weapon was to break even if it was just one paint brush due to an attack capable of destroying a junior rank weapon all of them would break. Outside of the fact that they can release paint, these weapons are nothing more than blunt objects. As such they cannot be used to stab or pierce without the usage of a spell or its ability. Abilities:
Type & Uses: Flow | 3 Active, 2 Overheat Rank & Specialization: Junior | Golem Creation Size: 1 meter Mana Cost: 8 Per Flow | 4 Upkeep Type of Golem: Scout Description: Click for Image of Golem Magnus channels his paint magic into the movement of the paintbrushes amplifying the paint into a large amount from the tip of the brushes. He uses shades of white, gray, pinks, greens, and yellows to create the shape of a humanoid body, specifically a woman with long hair. The paint flows to life, taking greater depth and shape from the image, revealing a portrait of a young woman with dark gray to green hair, pink mystical eyes, a gray dress, and glowing pink and yellow flowers blossoming from her. The golem has a sheen to its skin like wet paint. The golem is a Scout type and as such is built for speed, flight, and sensory.
Type
Power
Durability
Sensory
Range
Speed
Health
Scout
5
15
20
50 m
12m/s
Intermediate
MADE BY NOVA
[newclass=".temphead"]color:#b0cbd9;font-family:times new roman;font-size:24px;line-height:25px;letter-spacing:4px;text-shadow:#dae3ed 1px 1px 0px;[/newclass]
When the girl came in and busted down the already rusted and battered front gate leading onto the property, Griswold imagined that the wights had more than likely heard all about it by now. Which coincidentally meant that they were now also aware of their presence due to this less than peaceful approach. Looking down on the girl for a bit as he was not exactly sure how to respond to her, he scratched himself behind the ear as he looked over at Magnus, who seemed to share a similar thought right now. The ever-present danger when bringing in junior knights was that there was no telling whether they were the lazy, the scared, the boastful or the overeager kind that had something to prove. Unfortunately in this case, this meant that the girl had more or less gone on and ruined the surprise of their visit, which was not directly terrible, but it wasn’t overly smart either.
“Well… that happened. The name’s Griswold, and from now on, I’m going to need you to tone it down a bit, we don’t want to scare them into hostility.”
Looking through the front gate which was now just an opening in the wall, the black knight could see that two of the wights had gathered by the front door, their unnaturally slender shapes peering out as if awaiting the arrival of their new “guests”. From what Griswold could made out based on their appearance, he could imagine quite well how people might see them and want to kill them, mistaking them for common undead. He also understood why Magnus said what he did, because it made sense to put these things out of their misery and give them a proper burial after. The fact that Griswold had even given a minotaur he had killed an unmarked gave spoke of his character when it came to believing in last rites, even though he did not believe in the afterlife. That said, he hoped that he could rely on his current team to be of use and help him figure out a potential fix for this curse. Because in his optics, saving them from their fate trumped having to kill them.
“Before we get to that point, lets look around some to see if there might be something else we can do. These things were made through means of a curse, so there is a chance that curse can be broken. Look around for anything that might seem out of the ordinary, but be careful when going into the house.”
If these wights were the victims of a curse, there was a good chance that there was still something either around or inside of the building that had initiated it. Whether it was a curse cast by another or perhaps a ritual gone wrong inside of the house still remained to be seen, though it was worth investigating further. That said though, he really had no idea as to what he was looking for, which made the situation fairly biased towards eventually having to put all of these wights to death. But while they still had daylight to work with, it seemed like the best idea by far to use it to do whatever recon they could in hopes of figuring out just about the slightest hint towards setting them free. That was, before they’d be forced to set them free the violent way, freeing them from the curse by ending their lives. But that kind of thing was considered a last resort. So maybe the man could use his artistic nature to conjure up an idea, just as the overbearing kid might be able to use that energy to figure something out.
Only time could tell at this point as Griswold approached the house in which the wights were locked up, sealed in by a barrier of some sort.
Nix nodded along to the sentiment of holding back how snazzy she was, it made sense, the people inside may not feel the same way about it. Her hubris only exited her motives when she regained her composure, it was tough work but some one had to do it. Now that she was settled, Nix looked back at the gate that had given her little resistance and mentally ascribed to apologising to it later. It was a far cry notion that things would go smoothly, Nix saw them loitering behind the closed windows. Waiting for what was to come next, patience probably didn’t factor into their reasonings but was prevalent none the less. ” That was pretty rude of me, we can’t really fault them on being polite.” Stifling a gosh and a giggle, she listened to Griswold and Magnus who were grimly assessing the situation. Aware that not all things could be dealt with by brute force, Nix opted to lining up her capabilities and courteously offered the query, ”What are we doing here again; I mean, I read the note about hungry beings causing trouble, but are we here to feed them?” Not lacking a sense of propriety, she couldn’t really take her calloused words back after having spoken them, but she hoped the void of sentiment attached to her words would provoke one of the others into elaborating what they would like to do about the situation, one way or the other. Hostility wasn’t exactly in her words, but a vague sense of preparation had steeled her words towards impatience. She looked at the other two meekly, wondering how prepared she would need to be, as she was already spitting out cinders. Prior preparation and planning prevented a poor performance, or so her father was fond of saying; with some proclivities. Her hands were placidly at her side awaiting further instruction. Her naivety was awkward and only stemmed her enthusiasm passively, the off cuts of her youth were probably tearing at the edges of those more mature than her. Doing her best to be aware of this, she rocked to and fro on her heels, fully intending to lead the charge into the haunted house, if need be. It’s not like the two men were scaredy cats, they were tall and brave, or so her instincts told her. Not much to worry about in this situation, even if she was cornered, she wasn’t a mouse of a person who could be pushed around easily. Nix impassively began to hop on the spot, still waiting for either of the two of them to precede her, as she had dictated this to be polite she was currently unaware of lack of humour int he situation. They were here to help people, Nix liked that; helping people that is, she couldn’t help herself. She interjected another sentiment that was easy to process and even easier to speak, “Word.” Not wanting to be rude but never the less appearing so, she wanted to be in a position where she commanded their attention. However she was at a loss for exactly why she wanted this, being only so pragmatic as the word was logical to utter. Having no real forethought into her actions or word, how they reflected on her wasn’t one of her priorities, but she was as humble as she could make herself.
Post by Magnus C. Aurelius✾ on Oct 9, 2021 13:58:53 GMT -5
[attr="class","temphead"]As long as I continue[break] I'm sure I'll find [break]An amazing wonder.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Power
016
Durability
010
Stamina
010
Sensory
000
Control
020
Health
senior
Mana skin
senior
Mana pool
0035
Mana regen
IC:005/OOC:010
Speed
5 m/s
Strength
1/2 Junior
[attr="class","temppost"] Magnus could see that Griswold was just as perplexed as he was when the young girl showed such energetic and brash actions. Although if it was someone underneath him they would've been several disciplined he didn't know this young girl and scolding her or trying to correct her behavior could've very well been seen as something that she considered as a challenge which in turn could've made the situation even worse than what it was. Luckily Griswold simply took it with a grain of salt and gave a blunt yet subtle response in turn to which the young girl in turn seemed to take to heart with good instruction. Though she still seemed to be rather "hyperactive" as things stood. However, Magnus had to simply trust that she'd be able to handle herself, if she couldn't well, there was a reason that he had learned defensive magic.
He looked forward his eye glancing over to the window, locking onto the eerie forms of the wights. Their bodies having withered into nothing more than a husk of their former human selves. Magnus couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for the former people whomever they were. His body was something that he kept in pristine condition, as best as he could. He took great pride in his body, having done so for years now, seeing it, viewing it as a medium for his art. Seeing a body like that made him want to shutter, it made him want to wretch but he held it together and didn't let it show. It was truly saddening to him, and he genuinely wanted to help these people. It was because of this that Magnus was willing to listen to Griswold. The man was fearsome, but also kindhearted, at least at his core. It was the kind of man that Magnus wanted to be, the thought of which made him laugh considering their stark constant in their age. Although he was sure that within Griswold, he had found a sense of wonderment.
Magnus nodded toward Nix, in response to her comment about politeness. "I do hope that we can maintain civility." His tone was stern, but also empathetic. He didn't want to fight these people, so the only way around that was to figure out the cause of what made them this way. In a way, Magnus thought that was the best possible alternative to killing them, simply because it provided them all with more information and insight into the problem at hand. Finding the cause could help them circumvent other situations like this from happening in the future. Being a man skilled in estate management being able to keep the occupants within from falling victim to things like this sounded like a pretty good sales pitch. In addition to being able to save these people from their suffering. If there was anything left of them inside of the husk they became. Magnus found it hard, starring at the wights in the window, wondering if he'd prefer any of the beings have any of their former selves still there, trapped and tormented. It seemed almost cruel to hope that they still had some form of humanity or their former identity locked within considering the amount of suffering they'd have to be going through. Truly this was cruel.
"I don't think feeding them will work, unfortunately. I think it's best to say we're here to find out what made them this way and fix it. Isn't that right Sir Griswold?" Magnus said to the dark-clad man. As expected Griswold seemed to know something about the creatures they would be tackling this time. He seemed to have a knack and experience in battling creatures. Their time with the imp debacle had told Magnus that. Magnus nodded to Griswold taking heed of his words, this curse was cruel, and if Magnus could find what was out of the ordinary he'd be sure to do so. With his eye for both housekeeping and artistic expression, he was sure he could find what was out of the ordinary. As Griswold had said this was a curse Magnus took it to mean that it had to be attached to something. As opposed to hexes, curses were usually placed on an object of sorts. So Magnus had made sure to keep an eye out for any objects out of the ordinary as Griswold stated.
Magnus figured whatever it was that caused the curse would be in or around the house, so as they approached the house Magnus made sure to keep his wits about them. Thankfully the wights seemed to be sealed, otherwise, he was sure they would come after them by now. He figured that the barrier was either something the townsfolk had concocted or had the magic knights place until further investigations could be done, or possibly by whatever placed the curse. Magnus's simply replied "understood", in tandem with Nix's "word" response of which he thought was amusing but fit the energetic girl's easy-going personality.
As they approached Magnus glanced around at the brilliant autumn trees that seemed to surround the eerie house in desperate need of some tender, love, and care. The house's wood looked old and worn down, neglected for what seemed to age, the old wooden floorboards were splintered, rotting in some places, some areas seemed to give way to the weight and cruelty of time. Much like the bodies of those wights trapped within the house. The chilly autumn air only helped to send waves of unease through Magnus, but he trudged forward nonetheless. His paintbrushes gripped between his fingers. That was when he saw it, as he glanced around the porch of the rundown house, ever making their way closer with each passing step. A hint of porcelain and gold underneath a pile of autumn leaves. Blending seemingly with the reds and orange hues, the small glint of the gold shining gently from the light hitting it. Magnus couldn't help but think this simple pile of leaves, was worth painting. Like a hidden treasure, gracefully touched by nature itself. When he thought of the overall image of the house it seemed like a great painting, like something that held a deeper meaning. Although he was hesitant to get closer to it, he pointed it out. Though it could simply be nothing, maybe even a trick of the light, his eyes couldn't help but be drawn to him. His imagination wearing in multiple different fashions, how he would paint the house, the leaves scattered across the rundown porch, in different patterns of red, yellow, and orange. What he would change, if he would change anything. Where he would draw one's eye too, and yet he couldn't help but always come back to that one pile of leaves that seemed to have an edge of brilliance to it, and the edge of serenity yet hubris to it. As if it was yelling out "look at me".
Magnus would speak out then, "Maybe it's just me, or perhaps this old man's sight has finally started to wane, but I do believe there may be something in the pile of leaves there on the porch. Five balusters over from the start of the railing, right by the bottom rail of the railing. That pile, I do think there's something their glinting, that seems to be a bit unordinary to me. Unless someone recently dropped some loose change." Given the state of the building, and the wights Magnus didn't think that was the case. After all, that would mean either someone was here recently, or pocket change or some other metal even after all this time hadn't succumbed to the wear and tear of time. Even so, he thought it was something out of the ordinary and could be a new clue or lead. Given Griswold's sensory prowess that he had seen in action so far, if it was truly something strange or out of the usual Griswold could probably discern it.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Words
1,333
Total words
2,307
[attr="class","tempnotes"]NOTES[break]
Summary: Magnus communicates with Griswold and Nix still, he approaches the house with them and as Griswold asked keeps a lookout for anything out of the ordinary, knowing it's a curse Magnus factors that in as well. As he begins to view the house from the perspective of an artist, as well as a housekeeper and estate manager, he takes notice of the wear and tear of the building eventually finding his eye landing on something that seems out of place being a glinting light a bit brighter in color from the other shades of yellow and orange from underneath a pile of autumn leaves on the porch, wherefrom their sight they would see it by the right railing five balusters in.
Rank & Element: Junior | Paint Class & Type: Imbued | Magic Trinket Magic Specializations: Golem Creation Appearance & Lore: Click For Image A Magical Ornate Paint Brush Set that comes with five 4-inch Paint Brushes in total all with different widths and styled bristles. The paintbrushes are ornate in design, with swirls of small patterns and silver in color. They have purple bristles that fade into white at their tips. Nothing is too special about these paintbrushes on their own except they are sturdy and have no need for a palette as they are capable of producing any color of paint on their own with a small infusion of mana. These paintbrushes were a gift to Magnus from his mother when he was younger and as such he cherishes them dearly but also uses them for his magic. However, as they are a magical set, they all share the same durability, thus if his weapon was to break even if it was just one paint brush due to an attack capable of destroying a junior rank weapon all of them would break. Outside of the fact that they can release paint, these weapons are nothing more than blunt objects. As such they cannot be used to stab or pierce without the usage of a spell or its ability. Abilities:
Type & Uses: Flow | 3 Active, 2 Overheat Rank & Specialization: Junior | Golem Creation Size: 1 meter Mana Cost: 8 Per Flow | 4 Upkeep Type of Golem: Scout Description: Click for Image of Golem Magnus channels his paint magic into the movement of the paintbrushes amplifying the paint into a large amount from the tip of the brushes. He uses shades of white, gray, pinks, greens, and yellows to create the shape of a humanoid body, specifically a woman with long hair. The paint flows to life, taking greater depth and shape from the image, revealing a portrait of a young woman with dark gray to green hair, pink mystical eyes, a gray dress, and glowing pink and yellow flowers blossoming from her. The golem has a sheen to its skin like wet paint. The golem is a Scout type and as such is built for speed, flight, and sensory.
Type
Power
Durability
Sensory
Range
Speed
Health
Scout
5
15
20
50 m
12m/s
Intermediate
MADE BY NOVA
[newclass=".temphead"]color:#b0cbd9;font-family:times new roman;font-size:24px;line-height:25px;letter-spacing:4px;text-shadow:#dae3ed 1px 1px 0px;[/newclass]
Without really providing anyone with the answers to their questions, it was not as if Griswold was deliberately trying to be mean to anyone or anything along those lines. On the contrary, he was trying to be a team player here, though the fact that he honestly had no idea as to what it was that he was really doing here bothered him a bit. He could not outright tell them that feeding them wasn’t going to do anything, he just knew that feeding them a piece of bread or some of the food he always kept on his person when traveling was not in any way special enough to be lifting any curses. In fact, Griswold knew so damn little about curses in general that it made him consider and reconsider a lot of things as he just wandered around the building in search of anything and everything that might be of some use to them.
Once he got to the far side of the building, it was clear that at least one of the wights was following him around, leading him to believe the others were likely keeping track of the girl and the man on the other side. The way he saw it, this was a rather animalistic manner of protecting their territory by spreading their numbers to cover a variety of bases. Interestingly enough, as he looked at the wight, he noticed something along the windows, something carved into the wood. Approaching the building as the wights could not actually come outside, the wight looked at him with a rather expressionless face, though it was clear that it was likely somewhat frightened. This in turn fed into the tale a lot of people told others when dealing with bugs or spiders, claiming they “were likely more afraid of you than you were of it”, which strangely made a lot of sense.
Standing on the other side of the windows that had long since lost their glass, the wight just looked at him, taking a step back as Griswold took a step forward. Leaning in to read what was carved into the wood, it seemed like it was something from back when the wights were still somewhat their human selves as the word “Sorry” was carved in hundreds of times. Following the window and moving to the door, it was as if every wooden surface he encountered had been carved into, as if every surface had been covered in sorrys’. It was quite sad, as it gave rise to the impression that this was aimed at someone they had wronged, or perhaps the person who had cursed them, hoping they might see it and undo what they had done. Unfortunately, many people who brought about a curse this powerful did not have the means to undo it by themselves. And since asking others for helping in undoing it meant owning up to what they had done, it rarely ever happened.
Deciding to take somewhat of a leap as the others were doing their own round around the building to look for stuff, Griswold stepped across the threshold, partially imagining he would be held back by whatever barrier contained these creatures to their home. When he just entered the building normally, it shocked the wight that was staring him down, causing it to trip over backwards and run deeper into the building. Wandering into what he considered to be the living room, it was clear that the years had not been kind to this place. Apparently being moved around by the wights as he could actually pick up their presence due to his ki capabilities, it seemed that they did not want to run into him at all. Moving up the stairs, it was almost sad to wander through a place that had undoubtedly belonged to nobles, but had fallen into a state of disrepair. He could only imagine how many people one might be able to fit into a house like this, so it being inhabited by “monsters” was just a waste.
Wandering through what he assumed used to be their bedrooms, he tried his best to find a place that might shed any light on what had happened to them, as this process of turning them into the things they were now seemed like it would have been a gradual one. One did not just permanently turn into something else entirely over night. Finding a diary in one of the children’s rooms, the pages had been yellowed to the point where only a select few words could still be made out, and not enough to form an even slightly coherent story. One thing he did notice was that the further he got into the diary, the more the writing became clear as it had been pressed through the paper as if having a lot of difficulty with the act itself. It stated something about being sorry about someone who had been turned away from a party, followed by the next pages just repeating the words “Sorry” over and over again.
Hitting another dead end on this front, it was time to meet back up with the rest of the party in hopes of them having found out something that might have been useful. Heading back outside with an inkling of an idea in terms of what had happened here, the older man brought up that he noticed something in the leaves by the entrance, Griswold thought it weird he hadn’t checked up on it himself, but chose not to bring it up. Rummaging through the leaves, he did not find any money or other kinds of coins like they had at first assumed. Instead, he found what appeared to be a bowl and a spoon. Interestingly enough, it seemed as if there were some small amount of mana inside of it, just like how the thing was far too clean for something that had been standing out in the weather and elements for such a long time.
“Strangely enough, there seems to be something about this bowl and spoon, though I have no idea where that puts us. Though I’ve done a check of the interior the house, and they seemed to have been sorry about something. But again, that’s more or less where my investigation ends on that front, so I’m open to ideas and out of the box thinking.”
Nix dramatically stoked the embers of her smouldering joy, it wouldn’t be so bad with these two guys after all. She began to think about the age gap between the two of them and how different they looked, one of them was masculine beauty, so was the other one. Nix couldn’t really choose between the two of them to follow so she just pulled funny faces at the wites from outside the window. Nibbling on a biscuit was a primary objective at this stage of the mission, snacks were an essential to every magic knight’s inventory. They were delicious and had chocolates chips embedded in them and while she only had baked them this morning, they were still fresh. Also having packed a sandwich which had all the fresh stuff on it Nix liked lettuce, cucumber, tomato and cheese. It was a very refreshing sandwich, she made two, and munched on one while waving a candle around to get the two men’s attention. Arbitrarily stating that she had carrots by drawing one from her satchel, it gave a healthy snapping sound as she brandished it with the utmost importance. “We could always see how they react to being fed?” Nix was certain that eating your vegetables was very important, she didn’t really eat them but she knew they were good for you. Thinking to herself that she should totally take the credit for such a brilliant idea; and the entire missions success for that matter, she assembled a variety of lunch-able things. A teapot was also an essential, to any good noble any how. She couldn’t believe that they had forgotten their’s, amateurs, she thought to herself.
Really brilliant things were not exactly always happening but they were good when they did. Contrite and proper in manner, Nix whisked out her handkerchief and daintily put it on some of the things she had prepared. ”Prepare yourselves guys, we’re having lunch! After a short pause, the announcement really being the only thing that brought their attention to her next small remark, which she hoped made them excited, “ I brought donuts.”. Clapping her hands together, smiling and being hopefully polite she took out her lunchbox, it was hard being so well prepared for this situation, What would they do without her? Hungry people or cursed wites; whatever the solution, Nix’s lunchbox probably had the solution, as she was exceptionally prepared for every circumstance. A piece of fruit; an apple, a banana, and wafer crackers. A jar of jam. The usual kind of stuff a good magic knight should carry around with them, at all times no questions. She would have felt foolish if the case had been she’d forgotten it. Wrinkling her nose she frowned garishly, imitating the wites.
Post by Magnus C. Aurelius✾ on Oct 22, 2021 12:53:10 GMT -5
[attr="class","temphead"]As long as I continue[break] I'm sure I'll find [break]An amazing wonder.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Power
018
Durability
010
Stamina
010
Sensory
000
Control
020
Health
senior
Mana skin
senior
Mana pool
0035
Mana regen
IC:005/OOC:010
Speed
5 m/s
Strength
1/2 Junior
[attr="class","temppost"] Magnus watched as Nix, vibrant behavior and appetite seemed to grow perpetually. Suppressing a small chuckle, Magnus made his way forward, stalwart as can be. Watching as Griswold decided to do a bit more investigating. He broke off from the group for only a mere moment while he went to do some more looking around the house. It was clear to Magnus by now that he had no reason to be wary of whether or not Griswold would be in danger. After all, he had seen just how fast the man was and a bit of what he was capable of, the man had experienced, and keen senses. He was sure that if Griswold was to come across any issues he'd be able to handle himself without question. Which for Magnus just meant that he at the very least had to be able to take care of himself for the time being. Which also meant not poking the hornet's nest of wights inside the house. He stood with Nix moving forward.
Upon discovery of the bowl and spoon, Magnus was a little taken back. It was in perfect condition, judging from the decaying of the house, and the weather, he couldn't imagine how it could stay so spotless, but as he had the thought Griswold spoke up. A bowl and spoon, the fact that people were sorry, the clues were rather widespread in his mind, until Nix's voice played in his ear, speaking of the sheer amount of food tucked within her lunchbox, and the mention of donuts.
The thought was amusing but it also rang a bell in the back of his mind, connecting dots in abstract ways that he didn't entirely understand, but slowly but surely began to paint a clear picture of. The wights' insatiable hunger, the fact that this was most likely a curse, an odd bowl, and spoon. He began to think that perhaps the bowl and spoon were the curses medium. He focused on the thoughts of the people's sorrow before they became wights, their starving hunger and ferocious appetite, and from then on. With said thought he began to speak it out loud, trusting Griswold to have come to a similar conclusion by context alone. "How about we put some of that food in this bowl? Or perhaps maybe we should just destroy it?" Magnus said, his freehand now pressed against the bottom of his chin, indicating that he was in thought. With Griswold's senses perhaps he could see some things, Magnus could not, and with his expertise, maybe he would know the best route of destroying curses. However, from personal experience, brute force when it came to curses required power equal to the curse. Something he knew he was lacking in at the moment, but he wasn't sure if Griswold was, and thought this was the case, he also knew that sometimes curses could be removed if certain conditions were met.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Words
0466
Total words
2,796
[attr="class","tempnotes"]NOTES[break]
Summary: Magnus essentially states that he thinks the curse on the wights has something to do with the bowl and spoon and isn't sure that if they should put food on it, or destroy it but figures Griswold probably has more experience or knowledge with this kind of curse or curses in general.
Rank & Element: Junior | Paint Class & Type: Imbued | Magic Trinket Magic Specializations: Golem Creation Appearance & Lore: Click For Image A Magical Ornate Paint Brush Set that comes with five 4-inch Paint Brushes in total all with different widths and styled bristles. The paintbrushes are ornate in design, with swirls of small patterns and silver in color. They have purple bristles that fade into white at their tips. Nothing is too special about these paintbrushes on their own except they are sturdy and have no need for a palette as they are capable of producing any color of paint on their own with a small infusion of mana. These paintbrushes were a gift to Magnus from his mother when he was younger and as such he cherishes them dearly but also uses them for his magic. However, as they are a magical set, they all share the same durability, thus if his weapon was to break even if it was just one paint brush due to an attack capable of destroying a junior rank weapon all of them would break. Outside of the fact that they can release paint, these weapons are nothing more than blunt objects. As such they cannot be used to stab or pierce without the usage of a spell or its ability. Abilities:
Type & Uses: Flow | 3 Active, 2 Overheat Rank & Specialization: Junior | Golem Creation Size: 1 meter Mana Cost: 8 Per Flow | 4 Upkeep Type of Golem: Scout Description: Click for Image of Golem Magnus channels his paint magic into the movement of the paintbrushes amplifying the paint into a large amount from the tip of the brushes. He uses shades of white, gray, pinks, greens, and yellows to create the shape of a humanoid body, specifically a woman with long hair. The paint flows to life, taking greater depth and shape from the image, revealing a portrait of a young woman with dark gray to green hair, pink mystical eyes, a gray dress, and glowing pink and yellow flowers blossoming from her. The golem has a sheen to its skin like wet paint. The golem is a Scout type and as such is built for speed, flight, and sensory.
Type
Power
Durability
Sensory
Range
Speed
Health
Scout
5
15
20
50 m
12m/s
Intermediate
MADE BY NOVA
[newclass=".temphead"]color:#b0cbd9;font-family:times new roman;font-size:24px;line-height:25px;letter-spacing:4px;text-shadow:#dae3ed 1px 1px 0px;[/newclass]
Up until now, he had not exactly considered that the bowl might have been part of the curse, which was for obvious reasons. So far, the only curses he had actually managed to get rid of were usually done in the most harmful way possible. For instance, the vampire he had encountered claimed that he had been this way ever since he had been cursed by some kind of demon or devil, though his mind seemed incredibly hazy due to the fact that he had been locked away beneath the earth and had more or less been in a desiccated comatose state due to his inability to feed on anything. So while it might have been something else entirely that had caused him to become what he had become, Griswold knew of no other ways to get rid of the violent and dangerous vampire that had already turned various people within Kiten into fellow vampires over the years.
While he had really only wanted to recreate the family he had lost in ages past, it was still no excuse for the terrible things he had done out of entirely selfish reasons. During his battle with the vampire, Griswold had eventually used his magic to vaporize the being and put him out of his misery, as well as putting him out of Kiten’s misery and making sure he would not be preying on any women and children ever again. In the case of the werewolves and the affected wolves and wargs, it had only been after he had fought killed numerous wolves and three werewolves that he made his way into the cave and found the bloodstone that had caused their transformation and caused the violent tendencies in the other lupines. Uncertain as to whether it was actually called that, the fact that it was a stone that was bleeding a strange red liquid inspired him to name it as such.
After breaking the stone and reducing the remains to dust, the wolves and wargs that survived the battle were returned to normal while this particular source of the werewolf curse was taken out. Had he known about the artifact before, he might have been able to save the people he had now been forced to put to death as werewolves, even though he could not have been sure if their physical transformation could have been reversed to begin with. Still, it was something he felt some regret over, even after a fair amount of time had passed since. It was one of those things where he could feel like he still held some reservations towards humanity when it came to actually caring about them. Because judging by the way they destroyed everything around them for monetary gain and even tossed their own kind down the hole if it meant personal betterment, many of them did not even like their own kind.
But right now, what mattered to him was doing the right thing. Even as an elf that generally remained as far away from cities as he could and preferred the forsaken realm to every other location within the land of Clover, he wanted to show people that there were still those willing to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, rather than just wanting to claim a bounty or other forms of payment. Had money been all that mattered, they might as well have smashed the skulls of all of these wights and leave it at that, though such acts simply did not resonate with him at all. If there were any other options to go with, they had to at the very least try it. So with that, he nodded in approval as he took the bowl over to the house and walked across the threshold. Setting foot inside of the building, the wights did not attack, instead choosing to remain at a distance as they did not trust this home invader.
“Come on over here with the food. Break it into various chunks and place it into the bowl.”
Moving back outside after placing the bowl on the floor, Griswold would remain close to the door, just in case any of the wights might try to attack the one placing the food in the bowl. Because they seemed to be starving, the sight of actual food might send them into a frenzy, which was something that should be avoided at all costs. So hopefully, if all of this even worked, he’d be able to keep anyone from actually getting hurt in the process. And if it ended up not working, they could still shatter the bowl and see if that worked before having to resort to the most drastic of measures, which he did not wish to think about just yet.
"If this works, we can’t risk one of them eating all of it and the rest staying cursed, as we’ll just have made things worse for everyone involved. After placing a bit of food, get back outside, and keep your guard up."
841 (3472)
Last Edit: Oct 28, 2021 17:24:56 GMT -5 by Griswold
The crumbs of a doughnut were spilled onto her dress, Nix brushed it off but it had made a distinct stain, which she regarded with mixed emotions of turmoil and perturbance. She briskly forgot about it as the two men were deliberating; as they had brought no doughnuts, it seemed strange that they should want Nix to share her food. Giggling to herself, the witch regarded them with equal parts contrition and mercy, breaking the food into smaller parts for their request. Nix delicately placed a half-eaten sandwich in the bowl, taking extra care to make it look presentable. Sprinkling an occasional pretzel with the finesse someone had when they weren't happy to part with something. If regular people were more prepared for situations where lunch was necessary they may not have to ask witches to part with their snacks. Mentally ascribing each piece of food with a curse of her own, it wasn’t as if she was actually hexing them but she certainly meant to. Some grapes that had avoided the hunger of the small witch were also placed in the bowl. Much to her chagrin, Nix had run out of carrots, which were crunchy, and deliciously good for your eyesight. Nibbling on a chocolate chip biscuit, she had forgotten about why exactly they were here, her thoughts wandering as she placed a few biscuits alongside the small cornucopia. If all this hard work had been any harder she may have required a larger breakfast, but as it was, her breakfast was sufficient and the task was as hard as it had been. She had emptied her pockets and found a small length of twine, a balled lump of wax and a few buttons. Gesturing to the two men that she had exhausted her supply of snacks. Nix secretly hoped that this would suffice, she had no predilection to sharing her hard candies and lollies with the cursed people. Conspiratorially she looked at Magnus and Griswold and relented, almost immediately reaching into her other pocket and retrieving a few sweets that would dispel even the toughest curse.
Imagining the faces of the cursed wights eating all of her food gave her a strange feeling. The feeling wasn’t philanthropic of Nix to indulge in, so she feigned gladness and looked around, looking for anything to ease the parting of her snacks. The day was dragging on and these two hadn’t even so much as proffered an apple or a thank you. They weren’t rude decided Nix; just focused on the task at hand, their attention was divided between helping the cursed people in this building and how to do so efficiently. Burning down the house may have resolved the issue, however, arson was distinctly frowned upon, and Nix didn’t like frowns. She had counted the number of times that arson hadn’t solved her problems, which; if counted twice, would have been two times it didn’t help a situation. Although it would have been pretty; the aroma of burning wood, the thought pleased Nix immensely. But she was unable to continue being a splendid magic knight if she set properties ablaze, black stars were not welcomed in the Silver Eagles and she had been warned about this quite specifically. With no real intention of doing so; great symphonies and choral musical scores bid her otherwise, she ignored the desire to comment on how crispy the wights would be after smothering them in flames. Nix smiled meekly and allowed the two men to go about their business with her snacks, maniacally harbouring sincere dreams about arson, and loving every minute of it. Daydreams had made her dizzy, so she tilted her tiara and angrily started pacing. Not grumpy at either of them; or anything in particular, just upset about losing her food. If only there had been another way. The music in her head crescendoed as the conductor burst into flames. Her imagination had assessed that while arson was bad, there was a way Nix was able to burn things that wouldn’t result in a a black star or two. While they may have been able to salvage lunch from foraging, Nix was neither displeased or upset anymore. In the space of about three paces, a jaunt and a short walk, she had calmed herself.
Post by Magnus C. Aurelius✾ on Nov 2, 2021 22:54:47 GMT -5
[attr="class","temphead"]As long as I continue[break] I'm sure I'll find [break]An amazing wonder.
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Power
018
Durability
010
Stamina
010
Sensory
000
Control
020
Health
senior
Mana skin
senior
Mana pool
0035
Mana regen
IC:005/OOC:010
Speed
5 m/s
Strength
1/2 Junior
[attr="class","temppost"]
Magnus watched as Nix began to pull morsel after morsel from her pockets, and lunch box. He began to wonder if that was all the young girl had on her before she dug into her pockets once more and pulled out an assortment of different candy. The sight of such a scene was amusing to Magnus despite the seriousness of the situation at hand. However, he made sure to keep a stalwart demeanor, keeping the expression of amusement off his face. Regardless of him having to hide the feelings of entertainment he got from the young girl's behavior, Magnus felt that the least he could do in such a situation is hide his joy, especially considering that her act of selflessness and giving food to the wraiths was an act of kindness, and something that was meant to help them, to break their curse and perhaps put them at rest if worst came to worse. This was no time for laughter, and it wasn't a time for him to take joy in. He mentally chastised himself for such, and made sure to follow instructions given by Griswold, he dug in his suit jacket pocket, taking out a handful of mints, though he kept a couple inside his pocket for later. He unwrapped the mints quickly and set them in the bowl alongside all of Nix's contributions, he wasn't sure if it would do much. Or if they would even like the taste of mint, but he figured they wouldn't be too picky considering they hadn't eaten in what looked to be well over decades.
Magnus did as Griswold said as he put the food in the bowl, he moved back alongside Nix, making sure to stand in front of her in order to guard her in case things went sideways. He grabbed the paintbrush from his grimoire satchel and stood watch, ever vigilant, waiting, wondering, and hoping that this plan would succeed and that the people would be freed from their suffering. "I truly hope this works..."
[attr="class","tempstats"]
Words
0337
Total words
3,133
[attr="class","tempnotes"]NOTES[break]
Summary: Magnus puts some mints in the bowl, stands back, and makes sure to stand in front of Nix to protect her, he readies his magic paintbrush wand just in case.
Rank & Element: Junior | Paint Class & Type: Imbued | Magic Trinket Magic Specializations: Golem Creation Appearance & Lore: Click For Image A Magical Ornate Paint Brush Set that comes with five 4-inch Paint Brushes in total all with different widths and styled bristles. The paintbrushes are ornate in design, with swirls of small patterns and silver in color. They have purple bristles that fade into white at their tips. Nothing is too special about these paintbrushes on their own except they are sturdy and have no need for a palette as they are capable of producing any color of paint on their own with a small infusion of mana. These paintbrushes were a gift to Magnus from his mother when he was younger and as such he cherishes them dearly but also uses them for his magic. However, as they are a magical set, they all share the same durability, thus if his weapon was to break even if it was just one paint brush due to an attack capable of destroying a junior rank weapon all of them would break. Outside of the fact that they can release paint, these weapons are nothing more than blunt objects. As such they cannot be used to stab or pierce without the usage of a spell or its ability. Abilities:
Type & Uses: Flow | 3 Active, 2 Overheat Rank & Specialization: Junior | Golem Creation Size: 1 meter Mana Cost: 8 Per Flow | 4 Upkeep Type of Golem: Scout Description: Click for Image of Golem Magnus channels his paint magic into the movement of the paintbrushes amplifying the paint into a large amount from the tip of the brushes. He uses shades of white, gray, pinks, greens, and yellows to create the shape of a humanoid body, specifically a woman with long hair. The paint flows to life, taking greater depth and shape from the image, revealing a portrait of a young woman with dark gray to green hair, pink mystical eyes, a gray dress, and glowing pink and yellow flowers blossoming from her. The golem has a sheen to its skin like wet paint. The golem is a Scout type and as such is built for speed, flight, and sensory.
Type
Power
Durability
Sensory
Range
Speed
Health
Scout
5
15
20
50 m
12m/s
Intermediate
MADE BY NOVA
[newclass=".temphead"]color:#b0cbd9;font-family:times new roman;font-size:24px;line-height:25px;letter-spacing:4px;text-shadow:#dae3ed 1px 1px 0px;[/newclass]
With the two other knights handling the feeding portion, Griswold remained close enough to intervene if anything should really pop off. Luckily, it seemed like nothing of the sort really happened, though one thing did occur once the first of the Wights had eaten. Screaming violently and clawing at their own body and surroundings as if they were burning up from the inside out, Griswold was ready to shoot right into the action to see if there was anything that he could do for them. Knowing quite well that this was the kind of thing that was either curing them or punishing them for trying to eat something, he was all but ready to snap their necks and relieve them of their suffering. But if there was one thing that he had learned from his encounter with the werewolves in the forests north of Hage, it was not to go in too hard too soon.
Because when he had been trying to keep the village safe from the lupine beasts, it was only after he killed several wolves, as well as two werewolves that there was a hidden artifact deep in a cave that was responsible for all of the bad things that were happening. Had he known about it sooner, had he destroyed it before resulting to killing various targets along the way, he could have saved all of their lives and cured them of their curse. Which in turn made him think about the vampire he had been forced to kill, the one that had been going around turning women and children into vampires to recreate his fallen family from the distant past, wondering whether he and his “family” too could have been saved if he had tried harder.
Reluctantly choosing patience over action, the first of the Wights ran deeper into the building, at which point the second and third of the Wights were starting to show the exact same response to the food they had eaten out of the bowl. And by the time the last of the bunch had also begun suffering from the effects of the curse, or perhaps from the curse being lifted, they all more or less began collapsing onto the floor. By now, Griswold had become significantly worried for these people, enough to actually wander into the building and check up on them. Wandering further into the building to find the first of the Wights, he believed that if he were to find that one to be no longer alive, he would take it upon himself to kill the others and save them the suffering of slowly dying. But as it turned out, there was no Wights to be found.
Instead, he came across a young girl wearing the same rags as the Wight, which proved that she was in fact not dead yet. Shaking her a bit to see how she might respond to him, she opened her eyes and began violently clawing and biting at him. Luckily, Griswold had what was perhaps one of the densest mana skins in the land of Clover, so her nails and teeth would never be able to actually break her skin. Picking her up like a sack of potatoes, he took her back with him into the living room, where the rest of the Wights had gradually begun reverting back to their human forms. Putting the girl down next to the rest of the family, as he could now clearly tell that she had an older brother, a mother and a father, they all seemed to share a similar response to their younger daughter.
Hissing at him like wild animals, Griswold looked outside at the girl and Magnus, trying to make sure they were indeed seeing what was going on here, and how they were all choosing violence. By the time he put the girl down, the father threw a fist at him, causing a rise in Griswold’s mana as he opened his mouth to speak the words on his mind.
“Cease!”
As he spoke the word, the volume resounded across the room and outside of the building to a certain point, even Magnus and Nix. Affecting quite literally everyone who was not quite on Griswold’s level, the family of former Wights stopped in their tracks as they looked at him with open eyes in a fright. Even a mouse that was scavenging in the hallway had stopped in its tracks, just looking in Griswold’s direction as it heeded his authority. Having more or less unintentionally used a magical ability aimed to allow the strong to temporarily dominate the weak through intimidation, the black swordsman hoped that it would be easier to communicate with a weakened and disgruntled group of people. After all, it could not have been easy to live as monsters for such a long time, only to be suddenly reverted back to being ordinary human beings. Allowing them a moment to catch their breath and settle down, Griswold wandered back to the front door to speak to the other magic knights.
“My apologies for that, I imagine the effects should wear off soon, probably. That said however, I believe we should get these people out of here and deliver them to town to be checked out by the local physician. Being condemned to the life of a monster for such a long time can’t have been easy, or without detrimental consequences.”
You aren't just someone famous, you're well-known for your brutal, efficient, strict and powerful personality. Those that are near you will feel that pressure, and if they consider themselves your enemy, will feel sweat break out across their skin. All enemies suffer a -5 to all trainable stats when facing you. You may intimidate NPCs freely, and once per thread, may force information out of staff-controlled NPCs in your rank or lower.
Nix watched the wights writhe in momentary anguish, a reaction Nix had not expected, at least they weren’t hungry anymore. She spoke with a pout, “The food wasn’t that bad.” Surely their agony was because their tummies had been upset by eating too much food, that happened to Nix sometimes when the food was too yummy. The rich texture of half a dozen things could mingle unpleasantly in the stomach, Nix wasn’t a dietician so she was unable to prescribe an antidote to their suffering which she watched with no amusement whatsoever. After one of them ran off into the house Nix watched the expressions of Griswold, which ranging from consternation to an ardent thoughtfulness did amuse the young witch. She wrinkled her nose thinking about the man, her mouth drawing a fine line trying to contain her inner chuckling. The booming of his voice threw her off guard, Nix wiggled a finger in her ear to clear out the wax that was present. She felt as though it was unnecessary to raise your voice to such a volume, it in truth terrified her and tears welled up in her eyes. Resolutely she stood behind Magnus, speaking only in a peep; her conviction lacking from the effects of Griswold’s tone, “Okay.” Feeling every little bit as frightened as she imagined the wights had, Nix tugged on Magnus’ sleeve, wanting to consolidate that Griswold was a meany. She was uncertain as to how the elderly man would react to his commanding tone, he seemed frustrated although with good reason. It was strange how men sometimes acted so commandingly, it bruised her sensibilities but she brushed it off, holding a candle tight enough to smoosh the wax.
Wisps of fire began to seep out of her nostrils as Nix’s temper began to kindle, she huffed out a puff of breath which was mingled with a few embers and sparks. Pantomiming a grumpy attitude she pretended that she too was quite so domineering. Stomping her foot on the ground angrily, she jumped up to emphasise her height; which was disadvantaged to be quite short in comparison. She had chucked a wobbly before, but this wasn’t like that time, this was more of an effort to contain how upset she felt by him using his voice in such an abrupt manner. Thinking it rather callous of Griswold to have not endeavoured to be more sympathetic, kind or tender, she cajoled him with her sheer menacing expression. “That seemed unwarranted!” Her voice diminutive as she regarded his apology and reflected on how mean she probably sounded, as she added, “Just don’t let it happen again.” She stepped back behind Magnus, shielding herself from Griswold’s sight.
