The Unbeating Heart - Chapter 3

Slim simply looks at Nkosi. "You are from the Arid Wastes arent you?"

The warrior moves out the door and begins his search for the lost member of their party checking over the bodies for any survivors as well.

Slightly surprised, Nkosi says, "Yes, although the term 'wastes' is not my favorite. I am from Har'Akir. I wasn't sure if others of my land have been seen in these parts.
"I again offer my condolences on your loss. I do admit that I am not sure how she died, though. She certainly did not suffer the same fate as those outside. Can you tell us if she had been behaving...unusually of late? Has she traveled anywhere recently?"

"Only recently did i return home, and this was how i found it. I had been gone long, far too long. Now there is nothing for me here. Will you look for who did this? If so let me help. I am not without skills of my own."

"Indeed? Well then," Nkosi says, choosing his words carefully, "it appears from my examination that a creature had attached itself to her back and neck, feeding off her, perhaps even controlling her." The words come out coldly but not maliciously, as though Nkosi were reciting something from a textbook and not speaking to the dead woman's loved one.

Slim nods, "What did it though?"

At Nkosi's description of the wounds, Syn wrinkles her nose and impulsively feels the back of her neck.
"Did your wife have any special abilities or skills? Maybe something that she was good at that someone else in the village couldn't do?"

"She was the village minsterel, and the village baker."

"Did she always wear her hair up or down? Maybe what ever killed her was hidden in her hair for a while."

"She liked to wear her hair down, it's is the style women here prefer."

Glancing at Nkosi and then at Slim, Syn asks "Slim did you want me to dress her? You and Nkosi could continue talking outside and I could prepare her for her funeral."

He nods. "Please. I... I can't do it myself. I can't say goodbye..." his voice trembles a little as he speaks, almost as though he is about to cry again.

Well Slim talks about his wife, Syn is still feeling the back of her neck. When Slim mentions his wife's occupation, Syn sets her pack down and pulls out a brush. She brushes her hair and then starts putting it up in a bun, leaving her neck bare. Her face and neck look a little pale.
Syn puts a hand on Slim's arm in a comforting gesture. "Did your wife grow up around here or did she come from a different area?"
Syn tries to get Nkosi's attention. She wants to tell him something but not in front of Slim. She tries to get him to linger for a bit.

"She grew up here, inheriting the bakery from her parents."

As Nkosi listens to Slim's answers, he catches Syn's look out of the corner of his eye.
"Sir, perhaps you could look to see if she left any messages or notes behind that might give us a clue as to what did this or who caused the slaughter outside. I shall assist Syn with dressing her, and I do know a prayer from Osiris to aid the spirits on their journey to the underworld."
Nkosi walks toward the body with Syn so he can hear what she has to say.

Slim nods numbly and goes through what remains of her things.

When Slim is out of earshot and sight, Syn almost whispers to Nkosi "Could you check my neck to see if I have any marks like Slim's wife? There were/are some things that it appears we have/had in common. I don't want to be the victim of some brain-sucky, hitch-hiker creature." A look of fear and dread crossed Syn's face. "I think until we find whatever did this that I will keep my hair up so that way if something does start feasting on my neck it will be visible."
Syn fidgeted with the dress while she waited for Nkosi to check her neck.

Nkosi says in a whisper, "Certainly. Until we know exactly what we're dealing with, it is wise to be cautious."
He looks carefully at Syn's neck.

There is a slight redness around her neck behind her hair, but it doesnt appear the same as what had befallen slim's lady...

Nkosi whispers to Syn, "Your neck looks fine, except for some redness. A slight burn or irritation? It does not look like anything for you to be concerned about."
Turning his attention to the body of Slim's lady, he adds, "I shall mumble a few words while you attend to her. Then we must get some answers."
Nkosi truly doesn't know of any appropriate prayers to Osiris, but if it brings Slim some comfort to think he does, so much the better to gain his confidence. Slim's aid will likely be needed.

Syn rubs her neck and thanks Nkosi for checking it. A look of relieve and a flush of color replace the tension and paleness of her wait.
Syn looks at Nkosi and gets a weird look on her face. She half laughs, the kind of laugh that is used as a tension breaker, "I wondering if me feeling my neck had anything to do with the redness? Anyway, enough about my neck. Let me know what you would like me to do to help prepare Slim's wife for her funeral."

Nkosi nods to Syn. "Yes, please see if you can find white linens anywhere in here. Perhaps some sweetly scented oils, or perfume, too. We shall gently smooth the oils over her face and arms, then wrap the body in the linens. I certainly do not know how Falkovnians take care of their dead, but that is how we would do it in my land. Excuse me, please."
Nkosi mumbles some words over the body in a language that Syn likely does not understand, although the words "Osiris" and "Anubis" stand out.

There is a faint tingling and a rush of sensation as Nkosi sais the words. It feels as though something is watching him. Words fall from his lips like wine from a glass and he knows in his heart that it is a true prayer for the dead. The tingle passes as he touches the body of the woman, and notices a peace and beauty about her in death that she had not possessed earlier. Serenity and peace...
The feeling fades as quickly as it came and he wonders if it ever was at all. Shaking off the memory of the sensation, he gets up and walks over to Slim.

He then gets up and walks over to Slim. "My friend, earlier you said that this carnage looked like the work of Drakov's men ... but you thought something was not quite right with that. Can you explain what you meant? How would an attack by Drakov's men have been different?"

He thinks for a minute, "The bodies are all human. I have never heard of Drakov killing his own people. If he started doing that they would rise up against him."

Nkosi pauses, still disturbed by the brief surge he felt while uttering his prayer. Could that have actually been a moment of...joy that he felt? He refocuses on Slim's words, which are in line with rumors he's heard about Drakov: that he usually saves his violence for non-humans. (Nkosi also wonders if a man of his coloring would count as human in Drakov's eyes.)
He nods and says to Slim, "You also mention a man named...Gondegal, was it? Who is he? From your earlier comments, I thought you may have been on some mission with him. Can you think of any way that it could be related to this attack?"

Slim nods his head, "If Drakov thought that these people were allied with Gondegal's rebellion, I have no doubt that he would do something like this."
"Not all humans believe as Drakov, and many suffer from his soldiers and laws. Gondegal stepped from the mists to lead our people against Drakov. He has taken the heart of the nation and freed many Demi-Humans from Drakov's work camps. I was a miner, digging iron for Drakov's war machine when Gondegal freed me."

Outside the village there is a disturbance, as something moves in darting steps from shadow to shadow.

Stephen jumps as the shadow darts between the trees.
"Thurgood, is that your name, did you see that?" he points toward where the shadow was.

The warrior nods and watches closely and then says in his rumbling baritone, "Show yourself whoever you might be."
The paladin looks to Stephen and nods towards the tent, "Tell everyone else. Quickly, I will try and find out what faces us. Hurry! I don't wanna be facing these creatures alone." Thurgood turns his gaze back to the darting shapes and detects them for evil.

He senses no evil, only the turbulant chaos of emotions of fear.

Stephen looks back to Thurgood and nods,
"I'll return as soon as I can. Scream if something happens."
He quickly pulls a rod from where it is tied to his leg, apparently to hide it from view, then rushes back toward the dwelling to warn the others.
He runs into the hut to warn Nkosi, Syn and Slim of the possible danger outside.

He has arrived at the hut. The others haven't noticed him yet.

Stephen briskly walks to Nkosi inside the hut and tells him, whispering:
"There is a creature or creatures outside, I believe that it might be what caused all of these deaths, and you and Syn are needed, as the warrior and I do not quite know how many are outside nor what exactly they are."
He walks to Syn, next, and says,
"We must hurry, there might not be much time before this threat becomes dangerous to ourselves and our little friend." He looks at Slim to emphasize his point, then quickly rushes back outside to rejoin Thurgood.
The inflection of the word "time" is odd to you. Instead of flowing with the urgent tone of rest of the sentence, it has a harsh, almost repulsive pentameter.

Thurgood advances and steels himself sword drawn and shield born before him to defend against oncoming attacks. He walks about twenty yards and stops attempting to get a better idea what the creatures are.

He sees nothing but smells the scent of death lingering in the air.

He looks in all directions and holds his position and prepares for an attack. He then looks down at the ground and looks for any creatures that may be approaching low to the ground over the bodies.

Nkosi tenses as Stephen whispers his warning. After Stephen finishes speaking to Syn and Slim, Nkosi says to Slim, "You said you have certain 'skills"? They may be needed. Please come."
He motions for Slim to come outside. He can't bring himself to totally trust Slim yet, so he stays a step to the left of Slim as they leave the hut, keeping Slim in his peripheral vision.

Slim leaves with the rest of you. You see Thurgood staring expectantly into the shadows. The stench of decay is far greater than might be expected for so recent a slughter. Still, it is a warm day (For early spring) perhaps that has to do with the stench of death that fills your nostrils and makes you want to void your stomach.
Syn looks extremely pale as you approach...

Syn takes one of her handkerchiefs out and ties it behind her head, covering her nose and mouth. She pulls her sword out of the sheath and a cascade of rainbow colored light sparkles around the area.
"This smell is aweful. This has none of the glamor of battle and death that the stories tell of. But then, I guess death, any death, isn't glamorous. What did you guys see and where was it?"
Syn will keep glancing around the group to make sure that nothing is flanking them.

Thurgood points a mailed gauntlet at the woodline where he saw the darting shadows and says, "There was something shadowy darting in and out of the treeline. Something chaotic. It's not there now I have no idea where they've gone if they were there ever at all."

Nkosi gags from the odor and quickly brings one arm up to cover his nose with the folds of his robe. "By the gods, what a stench!"
Seeing the direction in which Thurgood pointed, he says (though his voice is now muffled), "We present too easy a target gathered like this. I suggest we spread out in a line and advance toward the trees where the movement came from." From within his robe, he pulls out a sharply pointed dagger with a bronze hilt. He holds it by its tip and turns his focus toward the trees, still trying to watch what Slim does as well.