Chaos, absolute chaos, Erika honestly wasn't sure that Losthope had ever lived up to its name more than right now. The sentries were gone, the gates wide open, the neat little cordoned off areas and piles of food were destroyed and tainted with blood and guts, arrows still studded the walls of caravans and the fresh clean water from the magical well was being drawn out by the bucket full to damp down dozens of fires.
“WHAT HAPPENED!” Laudon demanded, despite yelling he didn’t bother looking back at Ari who might know the answer but instead just sped away into the camp grabbing a bucket of water as he did so. Erika noticed that most of the scouting party had done the same, minus the water, splintering apart as they headed back to the expedition’s encampment within Losthope, presumably to salvage what possessions that they could.
Erika wasn't worried, she put a curse on her wagon before she left it… well not actually a curse but an incredibly venomous scorpion thrall that she’d left on her roof with orders to kill anyone who wasn’t her, honestly a curse might be kinder.
Kara and her party stuck close to Erika, she had no doubt it was because she was their boss’s lover but she still found it endearing that Reidar and Gunhilda were at her side rather than rushing to their wagons. Not that that was why they had been called back anyway, Laudon had thrown himself into relief efforts but Erika was sure Ari had said attacked… ah Erika spotted the woman and gestured her over.
“Yes, lady vitki?” Ari asked, she seemed happy they had come but still unsettled, eyes darting around wildly
“What happened, you said we were attacked right, so by who?”
“I don’t know ma’am, Sigurn woke me up to fetch you, I just heard fighting and the fires burning.” Ari looked almost guilty Erika thought but guessed she was worried about her companions and friends amongst the expedition.
“Well let’s go and find Sigurn.”
Erika stormed off into the chaos, or at least tried to, for once in her life the blue and red of her vitki mantle didn’t open a hole in the crowd, instead she was entirely ignored and forced to fall back on physical force which being a head shorter than the majority wasn't her strong suite. Pushing into the mass twice Erika was bounced back out by the motion of the crowd both times, squaring her shoulders Erika was about to do something unwise when a comforting hand interrupted her.
“Let me lead, just stay close by ok my love?” And without a backwards glance, which was probably for the best as Erika had melted and gone red, Kara shoved her way forwards. The mass of shadowy figures that was a panicked crowd moving about in half-darkness formed a near solid wall but, inexorably, Kara pulled it apart and broke it down. Stomping forward with her shield raised she diverted the tide of people into small pools, separated from the mob these people quickly came back to their senses, no longer vaguely intoxicated in that strange way that following the crowd can cause. A few started following Kara and her party, Erika included of course, but most split off and began to help, no longer simply panicking but dousing fires and gathering possessions.
The scent of fire and smoke was overwhelming, but Erika was sure she could smell a tinge of worrying spiciness which implied that at least one of the food wagons had gone up in flames, that was far from ideal, Erika could make food with magic sure but not for many people and it tasted…
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Erika shuddered and tried to repress the memory that was crawling to the surface, luckily a distraction immediately presented itself as Kara came to a clattering halt, her chainmail jangling against itself as she swayed in place.
“SIGURN!”
Erika saw Kara start waving wildly for a moment before gesturing over her shoulder towards Erika, a moment later she stepped aside and revealed Sigurn who looked harried and angry.
“What happened and where am I needed?” Erika asked quickly and concisely, she didn’t need to know the broad strokes but she wanted to be told if she should be looking for wargs or degenerate giants.
Sigurn being a veterans veteran snapped into action without a pause, she held up a delaying finger towards Erika then turned to the rest of the group.
“You you and you get on buckets you, and you, Kern right? Well go and check on the food, and do a proper check, I want to know what the bottom of every biscuit looks like! You and you head to the perimeter… and you come with me Lady Helsdottir.”
Erika felt her eyes widen, she may not be the most socially competent but even she noticed that Sigurn had never called her the incredibly formal title for a vitki before this moment, in fact that title was rarely used at all except by suck ups or at the Jarls court.
Having no idea what that meant in this situation though Erika decided to just shrug off the confusion and get to work, trailing along behind Sigurn as she stormed her way through the shadowed throng.
“We’ve lost two of our own with three more who would follow them without your aid, the rest of the camp lost 5, except for the Vracians and the Jarl children. It was the in our food, in our damn food!”
“Poison? Parasite? Disease? Lurking warg assassin?” Despite sounding a little like it Erika wasn't even vaguely joking, wargs had fluid joints and could fit inside damn near anything, a food crate wouldn’t even be that hard since they were made roomy so they could carry extra supplies.
“I’m not sure, I think its poison but… but some of the people who died didn’t eat any of the tainted supplies, so it might be a fast-acting disease like Jarlfever or Runerot.”
Erika nearly stopped at that then cursed and sped up, Jarlfever wasn't bad but Runerot could kill a city if it wasn't quarantined in time, in a dense and makeshift settlement like Losthope? They be doomed, no way to keep people locked down or prevent spread via water and food, Erika found herself genuinely hoping it was just a lethal poison, those she could deal with. “What are the symptoms?”
“Purple veins standing out on the arms and legs, hair falling out, eyes bloodshot… ah just look here…”
Sigurn stopped at the door of one of the better constructed shanty houses and kicked the door open, inside were three piles of fur each with a writhing sweating figure tangled in them, two harried looking young delvers ran back and forth with buckets and mops as Ammeris, the non Vracian alchemist Erika remembered, tried to pour noxious concoctions down throats and other less savoury orifices.
“It’s the vitki!”
“...finally… urgh… please…”
“Erika! I need… hold still… this one here has something in his lungs and that one’s skin is rotting, I think it’s a poison.”
Without a word Erika threw [Strengthen Lifeforce] at all three of the sufferers, it helped against esoteric attacks like Hel’s divine art, galdr’s and poison. Not disease though that was better dealt with by [droogs endurance], a moment later and a scrying galdr identified the dangers. Reaching down Erika’s hands moved through the flesh before her like water, it sounded disturbing but it was weirdly mundane, a slight glow around her half-submerged wrists the only evidence of the galdr in use.
Oh… oh no.