A man was running while drenched under the heavy rain, his head turned right and left looking for a doctor or an herbalist, there is no one outside, his eyes were scanning all the buildings, until his eyes spotted the hospital sign, without wasting more time he enters that hospital, all the people inside were looking at him with their eyes wide open and mouth agape, then that man shout out loud calling for a doctor.
“WHERE IS THE DOCTOR?!” none of the people responded to him, as they went back minding their own business, even the nurses, as they went back sorting the files and meds again from behind the counter. That man walked to the receptionist table with his drenched clothes, his leather flips flops were so dirty that it leaves a mess on the pristine hospital floor, when that man reached the receptionist table he slams his hands, it made the receptionist table cracked and the receptionists were terrified. That man’s eyes look a little bit red probably because of those rains that slip through, it’s like he is been through hell, he opened his mouth and said, “WHERE. IS. THE DOCTOR!!”
The receptionist hurriedly picked up the wired telephone on the small cabinet near her and soon two guards rushing to that man, the guards lunge at that man, they tried to apprehend him, as that man were left in shocked and disbelief, “H-Hey!! What’s the meaning of this?!, I just want to meet the doctor, my friend…on that rundown wooden cottage…he…he needs to get checked…please…I beg to you all.” that man’s voice starts shaking, but the two guards didn’t show any sympathy to his story, all the people in this building they didn’t show any sympathy at all, in contrast, their face shown disgust and disdain when that man mentioned the rundown wooden cottage. That man widens his eyes when he noticed people reactions to his plea for help, the two guards decided to drag him and throw him out to the streets, as his eyes still look shocked, and heavy rain pouring to his head, that man is Gerard, as he inwardly said, these residents seem to be evil.
Gerard gets up and he starts looking for an herbalist, since doctor were out of options, he is running again, run, run, run in pain under the heavy rain, he even slips on the pavement road since it’s slippery as his head crash into the hard stone which makes a hard thump sound then it starts bleeding, Gerard rolled on the ground and rub his wound on his side head, as he cursed inwardly to himself, fucking hurts!! Why is this town suddenly turned into a dead town, the shops, the restaurants, the house…? they all closed their window and door when I want to enter it. Gerard sit on the grass beside the pavement road, drenched, tired and hurt. He thought to himself, why did I do this… because the Jester told me to?…how laughable…I failed to save both my wife and my daughter, yet here I am trying to save a stranger kid…what the fuck am I doing?! I give up…screw that kid, the Scotsman and the Jester. as Gerard closed his eyes then lay down on the grass and the beautiful flowers feeling the blood on his side head trickles down along with the heavy rain.
It’s human nature to feel down when they were faced with a mountain scale of problem, but again, those who dare to hike that mountain and reached the top were said to be either insane or prodigy, and Gerard possessed none of those two qualities. Fortunately, in life, living beings are able to adapt, they are unique…since they were part of the script…
Gerard opened his eyes again and he see a person looking down at him with cold face under the black umbrella, it was a lady…a beautiful lady with her fiery red hair and bronde bob with thin layers throughout hairstyle, her figure were so eccentric, she is wearing a full black attire like a person who just attended a funeral, her pointy ears and on her right side face there is triquetra symbol also from her neck till her right arm were covered with a tribal tattoo, she looks at Gerard pathetic figure and a wide grin appeared on her pretty face, “You… you… you’re an outsider aren’t you?” that lady playfully spin her umbrella waiting for Gerard’s answer which Gerard responds by nodding his head, then that lady throws a green tiny flask to Gerard’s chest.
“I observed you, and your companion from afar since you arrived, and I know you’re looking for a doctor or herbalist because of that kid right?, I can help you…I’m an herbalist or some sort, you can’t refuse it since these town residents all hated that cursed kid, they all think that kid is the bad luck sign, but~ you need to help me with something, and I’ll gladly help you to cure the kid, what do you say?” that lady moved her face closer to Gerard, it made Gerard’s heart skip a beat then that lady chuckles, why am i always met with insane person? Gerard’s lampooned, Gerard sit on the grass and the beautiful flowers, looking at the green tiny flask on his hand, Gerard asked the lady,
“What is this? This better not a poison, or the Jester will hunt you and kill you, he is a devil that convinced me to join his troupe.” The lady pointy ears flinched and her eyes widened up, then she rubs her chin,
“Oh? Now this is interesting, you made a threat while I’m here making an offer.” The lady suddenly stomped on Gerard’s chest with her black shoes, as she grabs Gerard drenched shirts and glare at Gerard, “Listen here human, I don’t fear the Jester or whoever you’re following or even worshipping, the Jester or whoever he is, I don’t fear it, just say your goddamn answer, yes or no?”
Gerard writhe in pain when the lady pressed her black shoes on his chest, is it because of his head that is bleeding or the heavy rain, whatever it is Gerard felt a thrill in his heart, as he moved his face closer to the lady’s face and laugh at her,
“Hahahaha…is this the best you can do? Fuck you!! I don’t trust an elf especially the one who looks suspicious like you, why don’t you go back to your tribe and bring your whole elf mutes to eradicate all human here?, oh right your Mother of Earth is a pussy!!, she is the goddess of nature, goddess of what? A fucking nature?, does she spread some weed to you all elf so you could get high and then experience the heaven? Hahaha.”
The lady was shocked as she releases her grip of Gerard, as she took one step back and thought to herself, found it…this one is insane…he will definitely a big help in my plan…if this man is the lowest member of the troupe that he mentioned I wonder what kind of person the Jester is…my plan will definitely success…the plan to kill all these sick people here that proclaimed to be an innocent elf, a half-elf! I decided. The lady shock her head and she honestly said,
“Alright, you win tough man, that’s a medicine that I concocted to treat a shocked person using many herbs in the Darkforest and I need to check the condition of the kid, so he didn’t develop some kind of trauma.” The lady waits patiently at Gerard’s response, Gerard looks at the tiny flask at his hand and the lady smiling face, since he didn’t know anything about health and for some reason, his heart wants to try one more time to save a person, as a way for his redemption, Gerard nod his head to the lady,
“I still don’t trust you…but I will try for the kid, he gives me food and I must pay his kindness.”
The lady smiled and she said, “I don’t mind…it’s natural that I’m an elf and you’re a human, just don’t forget, you and your troupe will owe me a favor.” Gerard clicked his tongue and rub his hair,
"Fine fine…I will be discussing it with the Jester, later... you better save the k-.” suddenly Gerard’s vision starts spinning, he wobbles back and front, and he finally passed out on the lady right arm supporting his body to not hit the ground. The lady smiled when she sees how Gerard passed out, and she softly whispered,
“Then it’s settled…I will cure the kid, and you all will helped me kill all these people.” The lady chuckled as she walked to the rundown wooden cottage while carrying Gerard with her right arm, under the heavy rain with her full black attire, an elf that is so obsessed with necromancy… she is Brassavola Nodosa.
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-*Creak,
The door of the rundown wooden cottage opened up, one lady carrying a man on her right arm entered the living room, she was greeted with silence, her pointy ears flinched, feeling a weird sensation coming from that painting above the couch, the painting of young king Edward IV, the eyes of it were looking at her. Her lips curled up slightly, as she raised her left arm and said, “I’m not an intruder, I am an herbalist that you’re looking for.”
“Is that so? What did you do to him? that triquetra symbol on your face…you’re a shaman from elven tribe huh?” that painting above the coach talked as the young king Edward’s lips move, but it didn’t surprise the lady, as she nod her head slowly. She still smiling while looking at the talking painting. Then she put the man on her right arm to the couch and she bow her head to the talking picture,
“To think that I would meet a peculiar case of transcendent in human society, and you even know about this symbol, it seems you are from the previous era, the middle age era perhaps, to think that you were alive till now, the gilded era, I, Brassavola Nodosa, am impressed, you didn’t experience the pain of death, an immortal.” The lady lifted her head and once again look at the painting above the couch as a wide grin were clearly visible on her face.
“Jester…kid, it seems we have a funny guest here.”
The painting talked again, the word ‘Jester’ perks her curiosity as it made the lady’s pointy ears flinched, she looks at the wooden door in front of her creaks open, suddenly, her vision blacked out and her minds were soon filled with loud murmurs as she immediately held her head and drop to her knee, her face wince in pain,
“Ughh…w-what…what is happening to me?….” Then she heard all that murmurs went silent as a footstep step in, it became the only sound she could hear, it’s like that sudden footstep silences all that murmurs in her mind. She can’t see anything from this sudden blindness, only pitch-black darkness. Then she saw blazing flames on an ancient brazier, the flames illuminating the dark, behind that ancient brazier four giant tentacles were wiggling wildly around it, all of these things made the lady’s breathing erratic, only one explanation of these things that she currently witnessing…she is looking at a demigod, then she saw a staggering tall dark gate with many faces, some face showed an extreme painful expression as if it went through some horrible torture, the lady’s heart beat faster to the point she could clearly hear it, her mind went blank, she couldn’t think anymore, then she saw something inside that gate, a giant pair of opened eyes, looking down at her, the agitation was too much, that is not a demigod, that is not a god, that’s is far beyond, that is something that shouldn’t exist in this world, the lady mental starts to break, before it could truly break she was pulled back to reality from a voice that reverberated through universe.
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Curiosity killed the cat…
“AAAHHH!!!”
Brassavola Nodosa woke up drenched with cold sweats on her forehead and back, she is laying down on a couch now, looking at her left side, she saw the man that she carried earlier being wrapped in bandages on his face laying on the floor and on the top of that man’s body there is a young man, a young man with tan skinned, messy black hair, black pupil eyes and thin body. That young man…he is sitting with his legs crossed on the top of the man body.
“Hey you, you’re finally awake.”
That young man coldly said, then he gets up and approach Brassavola Nodosa, his right arm touched her forehead, a particle of light conjured up and made her calm. The young man eyes meet her eyes both of them stared at each other for a minute, then the young man let out a long sigh,
“*Sigh…I never thought I would meet an elf again…Owner, you should have told me earlier if this is our herbalist…OH RIGHT!! HEKSEN!! MILADY!! MY FRIEND NEED TO GET CHECK.” The young man frantically drags Brassavola Nodosa to Heksen’s bedroom, as her consciousness still half awake, w-wait…I’m still dizzy…I just woke up, though…
“Here…ah I already gave him the green tiny flask, my friend Gerard said, it’s a medicine from you, I’m grateful for your help and kindness.” The young man bowed his head to Brassavola Nodosa, as she become dumbfounded by this sudden shift of his personalities, earlier he exclude an aura of cold blooded person but now he feels like a friendly and funny, ordinary young man, Brassavola Nodosa point her finger to the young man as he raise his head and look at her in confusion, then she lets out her laugh,
“Pfftt…you’re funny, I thought you’re a demigod or something especially when I saw those weird visions when you came from that door…pfftt…hahahaha, oh, Mother of Earth…you must be the Jester huh? befitting for your personality….my name is Brassavola Nodosa, you can call me Miss Vola, nice to meet you, I’m here to fulfil my deal with your troupe, to save this kid, this cursed kid named Heksen.” The Jester, Conny rub his hair confused but he quickly forgets it since this person is an elf maybe this is how elf introduce themselves, well, he didn’t have any memory where he seen elf as a normal. Miss Vola began checking Heksen’s condition by examining his wrist and checking his pulse, after that she finally check Heksen’s breathing, then she finished checking Heksen, she said,
“Fortunately, he didn’t suffers any trauma, it’s just his body that’s so weak and when he learned a shocking information his brain become unstable and made him pass out, the medicine works well as it stabilize his inside, especially his brain, tomorrow he will wake up and be fine…please give him more food, you know, I was the one who gave you all the berries, and this kid made a deal with me, saying he needs it for a certain groups of people, do you want to know what the deal this kid made?” Miss Vola stares at Conny’s eyes, that is full of anticipation and shocked, he didn’t know that the berries he eats were from this person, this elf in front of him, Conny swallowed his saliva and thought to himself, does that mean I owe her for saving my life…and here I thought I just owe one person… how do I repay both of them…
“I love the look on your face, hehe, anyway, this kid said he will help me kill all these people in half-elf Valley in exchange for the berries you all eat, but he is just a kid right?, then, unbeknownst to me he meets you all, and from what I observed so far, you all…not normal.” Conny widened his eyes, he took a step back from this elf, to kill all these people in half-elf Valley?, isn’t that something a heretic will do?, this isn’t right, there is a turmoil inside Conny’s mind because Conny isn’t heretic and his troupe aren’t wicked. But on the other hand, she was the one who save him and his troupe from starvation…and it goes without saying that the virtuous must repay other’s kindness right? This is confusing, a dilemma…as Conny bite his lips trying to come up with reason to reject but he can’t, Miss Vola is kind person who save Heksen... finally Conny decided.
“Fine, fine we will help Heksen.” Conny shake Miss Vola hands, as her lips curled up when she saw Conny’s hand, then she said, “I’m glad we are able to sort things out…I have a reason to commit the mass murder on these people in half-elf Valley, I’m an elf and I’m also a shaman, I’m very sensitive to spirits, ghosts, wraiths whatever you human call them, I can hear and feel those poor spirits, you must have heard about the origin of this half elf valley don’t you?” Conny nod his head, he listened attentively to Miss Vola words, especially when she mentioned she is a shaman, that’s what Conny been looking for, so he must pay attention to her.
“I see, then it’ll be easy, in the past, elves were slaughtered, our sacred forest got destroyed and our purity were taken from us, humans…they all greed and they killed us, they had the goddess of life and light aren’t they? It seems many humans didn’t bother with the way the goddess Seraphina’s teaching, that mentioned to treat all races equal and spread energy of life not the flames of wicked…all the spirits in this place didn’t rest in peace, it even worst that this is once a human kingdom, those spirits of human too didn’t rest in peace, they all whispered to me to kill all these selfish individual that is able to laugh in this damned land, the Half-elf Valley must get eradicated from the world, so those spirits can rest in peace.”
Conny rub his chin, trying to process all the information that he got. So, Miss Vola had a good cause to commit that extreme action…yeah, I didn’t see the reason why the people in this town is innocent, they all let Heksen starving and even harassing him saying he is a cursed child that brings nothing but calamity…well, in truth, it’s them…their selfishness and ignorant…yeah, they are the wicked one…Miss Vola is right. Conny convinced himself, trying to justifies that all his actions that he will commits are not wrong.
Miss Vola sits at the nearest chair and observes the Jester having dilemma with himself, as she went into deep thoughts, if I reap all these half elf valley residents souls, I can perform ‘that ritual’, to revive all the elves that were dead…but…why did I have such terrifying and mysterious visions when I first met this young man…what is the meaning of that?, I better watch him, the unknown made me feel fear. As miss Vola put on her friendly smile back when the Jester approach him, his eyes looks at Miss Vola, from her head and toe like he is scanning her, it made miss Vola uncomfortable as she playfully teases the Jester,
“Does my face looks too stunning that it made you lost at words?” seems like it didn’t work on him, as he put on a deadpan expression and he sit on the floor, it was funny sight because it looks like miss Vola seems like a teacher or something, Jester let out a long sigh again,
“*Sigh…you’re not even that pretty, I knew one fine lady that shine so brightly and has soothing melody voice, compared to her, your just an average joe of an elf.” Somehow that statement irritates miss Vola as she taps her chest and proudly declare,
“W-What?! Ridiculous! Just for your information many male elves and even human chased after me, and you said I’m average?! Would you tell me more about this fine lady if I might ask?” Jester went silent for a moment and lowering his head, they all chasing you because you look like a heretic miss Vola…*sigh, but I can’t say that to her…I guess I could let her know about Vilily.
“Well, how do I explain, ah…she was so cute like a kitten always hiding behind me, she carries guitar on her back and her voice like an angel from heaven, her lush messy brown hair and she smells like a lily, her name is Vilily.”
Jester’s face was brimming when she talked about this person named Vilily, it made miss Vola feel a little jealous, she must be his lover, lucky her. Unlike Jester, miss Vola didn’t have anyone that left quite an impression towards her since she was a kid, they all feel fake to her, only a couple of people that she really cares, it’s her family, unfortunately, her grandma was killed in this half-elf Valley, trying to protect her from the human who want to capture her at that time, miss Vola parents got captured and experience a literal living toys for human, which she didn’t want to remind again, the day when she found an underground place of Half-Elf Valley that is full of dungeons full of filthy and dead bodies of elves, she swore to herself with blood and tears, that she will tear down this town settlements forever, she delve in ancient shaman technique in elf tribe, now she is back here again waiting the perfect opportunity.
“Then where is she?” miss Vola curiously asked to Jester, but Jester’s face suddenly darkens and his eyes changed from joy to depressed, he mutters
“She…passed away, leaving me alone.”
Miss Vola inhales some air and exhales, while closing her eyes, why did I ask such stupid question, probably because I suddenly remember my past…maybe I can help him?, if I need his help he will help me too, I decided.
“Jester…have you ever heard of necromancy?” Jester’s eyes look at miss Vola with full attention, as he nods his head slowly, then miss Vola continued,
“I can perform necromancy ritual using all these people souls, if you help me, I’ll surely try to bring back your lover, Vilily, what do you say?” Jester lower his head and his whole body starts trembles as he mutters this word few times,
“I…can bring her…I can bring her…necromancy…using all these half elf people souls…they don’t deserve to live… it’s Vilily who deserve to live…but, miss Vola, what if it failed?”
Jester starts biting his nails while looking at Miss Vola, the uncertainty made Jester afraid, but not for Miss Vola, because shaman is a person who is able to cross the realm of dead, she gets up from her chair and kneel in front of Jester, her right hand stopped Jester that want to bite his nails, she said,
“There is a saying that I adhere when I become shaman, it’s…Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back, which means we need to delve into the unknown and try it, until it succeed.” Jester unknowingly nod his head and gets up, as Miss Vola too gets up and pat Jester’s shoulder, both of them went into the living room, to rest and wait until Heksen and Gerard woke up.
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Let me tell you something ridiculous in life…the souls of living beings…they…they didn’t go to the realm of dead, afterlife, heaven…it’s all the delusion they made up… thinking they still have a chance to meet with their loved one…it’s wrong…the souls…they all came back to me, you didn’t forget that I am the representation of end right?... I’m the one creating all of this, I’m the one writing all of this…so it’s logical that everything will go to me and all things stems from me…the surreal and magical power that these puny living being made assumption it’s from ‘god’ or ‘goddess’…keep using those fantasy like power, you didn’t realize the consequences yet…yes. This elf and my favorite comedian Conny, you two will be the spark of all the things…to awaken me, indeed… curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back, this time…it’s not the cat.