Redmane took note of the reactions of the strange old woman and the Lord's nephew. He half expected Aric to raise some kind of objection, but the young nobleman was too craven to even stand up from the pews. When Redmane looked him in the eye, Aric Morholt looked away.
All well and good. He'd settle up with that one later on.
Redmane returned his attention to Helmold, and a question came into his mind that the Magister might be able to answer.
"Do you understand what's happened to this place?" he asked.
Helmold cringed a bit at the question. "In part. But I don't know the whole of it. I've been here with these few survivors, holed up in the chapel."
"Tell me what you know."
"If you've been given Tasks, it means we're in a Blight," said Helmold.
"A blight?"
"When the System detects anomalous magical activity in the land, of such a scale and nature that it imperils the local civilization, it classifies the area as Blighted and divides it into zones. Häerz Castle would be such a zone. Beyond the castle lie Midva Forest and the town of Barograd, which will be distinct zones as well. Zones can simply be called Zones, but sometimes they're classified as Dungeons or Lairs, if they’re either enclosed spaces like this castle, or they are home to especially strong Monsters for their area."
"What causes a place to be Blighted?"
"Many things can. In our case it appears to be some kind of a plague of beasthood. But an outbreak of wild magic, of undeath, of magical plague, the opening of a large Dungeon or the awakening of an especially powerful Monster, any of these things and more could cause a Blight."
Redmane rubbed his chin. "So what does the System do after it makes this declaration?"
"Imbued are dispatched to the Blighted area to eliminate the disorder. Any gains in experience, power and territory are theirs to keep, so there's usually quite a rush to clear as much of the Blight as possible, as quickly as possible."
Redmane's eyebrow shot up. "Did you say territory?"
Helmold nodded. "Zones become the possessions of the Imbued who cleared them, or their factions."
Redmane was Imbued.
He'd been given a Task. Slay Lord Morholt.
If what Helmold said was true, when he did so he'd become the Lord of Häerz Castle.
Lord Redmane sounded good. Redmane, Lord of Häerz Castle, Midva Forest and Barograd, sounded even better.
"One more question," he said. "You're a Magister, yes?"
Helmold nodded.
"Do you have any magic I could eat?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
Redmane explained how Omnivore worked. Which led to a second bout of raised eyebrows from Helmold.
"I've never heard of such a Skill..."
"I'll demonstrate it for you. Use a magic Skill."
Helmold scratched his head. Pondering which Skill to use, perhaps. He seemed to come to a decision, then he held out his hand, palm up, and Redmane could feel a tiny dot of Gnosis gathering in the air above it.
Cassian's Lantern
The dot swelled, gathering Gnosis from Helmold's spirit, becoming an incandescent ball of light blue energy. A lamp to light the way in dark places, or perhaps more.
To Redmane it felt solid. Tangible. It wasn't really, but it felt that way.
He leaned in and bit into the Skill, and a chunk came off of it as if he'd tore off a chunk of an apple. He chewed it and swallowed, even though those actions weren't strictly necessary. Simply habit.
Gnosis: 35
Not much. He'd have to eat the rest of it.
Gnosis: 70
"Could you make another one of those?" he asked.
Helmold looked like he wanted to say no for a moment. Watching Redmane eat his Skill had paled his face a bit. But he shook it off and nodded.
"Aye. You have a Task to complete, I'll stay with this lot and look after them. You need the Gnosis more than me."
So he fed Redmane a few more uses of Cassian's Lantern.
Gnosis: 120
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Gnosis: 170
Gnosis: 220
Now he was feeling good.
The power of Gnosis felt different than Corpus. It was cool. It inspired calm, focused thought. A clear mind.
Redmane thanked Helmold for his assistance and turned to leave the chapel at once, but Letha reached out and touched his arm.
"Just a moment!"
He stopped.
"Sorry... I ... Well I hate to ask anything more of you after returning Kale to me, but if you could..."
Redmane side-eyed her over his shoulder. "Go on."
She smiled sheepishly. "It's my cousin, Sven. He's only recently moved to the castle, I helped him find work here as a stable hand. But he has trouble with the drink. He had a rowdy night with his lads and they threw him in the gaol."
Letha gave him a pleading smile. "Before you go elsewhere, could I beg you to check and see if he's alright? Bring him back here to the chapel, if you can?"
Redmane stared at her for several long moments. She tried not to squirm under his steady gaze.
"I have a price," he said.
She blinked. "Oh?"
"I'll go find your cousin. But you have to bake a tray of pastries for everyone."
Letha let out a laugh. The stress melted off her and she smiled, nodded. "Yes my lord!"
He smiled back and walked out of the chapel.
"Get all them monsters!" little Kale yelled after him. "Have em for supper and ma will see to dessert!"
----------------------------------------
The castle gaol lay in the undercroft, on the opposite wing from the kitchen and larder. Redmane hadn't ever been there, but it wasn't difficult to find. On his way down he ran into a few more packs of Morholt soldiers, two of which were led by a single knight.
He fought them conservatively. Which is to say evasively. He'd built up a good stock of Corpus, he'd rather keep it growing than sacrifice it needlessly before facing the Lord Morholt himself, and whatever he might have in store.
So when they tried to swarm him over, he leapt away. When they tried to corner him he jumped over their heads. Answering with a swift claw here, a snap of his jaws there. One attack at a time, when it was safe to do so.
It took longer than normal, but the wait was worth it.
Level Up
Level 12 --> Level 13
Quality points awaiting allocation: 1
Corpus: 1357
He put the point into Might.
Might 12 --> 13
And then, flush with health and spirit, Redmane descended into the gaol with a cautious eye.
It was a cold, lightless place. His bestial eyes could compensate for the dimness, but even then it was difficult to see clearly. The torches were all out. The stone floor was wet under his bare feet. Somewhere there was a drip-drip sound, the faint scratching of rats scampering for their hole.
Redmane slowed down, crouched. Looking this way and that, moving as silently as he could manage. Little Redcap was a naturally sneaky sort, but stealth was a bit more difficult in a body as large as this one.
Not that he'd trade back.
There didn't seem to be anybody down here. Redmane heard no voices, nor did he notice any signs of movement in the cells. There were six of them, three in a row on either side of the hall, all with iron bars and locked gates.
It had previously occurred to him that he'd forgotten to ask Letha what her cousin looked like. Now that he was down here, however, it seemed like the question wouldn't have mattered anyway. He was the only soul in this place, as far as he could tell.
At the end of the hall there was a curving staircase, which took Redmane to the next level of the gaol. Halfway down this staircase he started to hear signs of life.
And it didn't sound friendly.
He heard growling. Mumbling. Heavy breathing. The scrape of claws on stone. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was pacing back and forth, talking to itself.
Redmane crouched low and stalked forward, quietly, slowly.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he peered around the corner to see the source of the noise.
It was a man, or something that used to be a man. He wore the tattered remains of his cloak and breeches, his transformation having torn the rest to ribbons. His body was huge and freakishly muscled, the legs short and stubby, the arms long and simian, the flesh pale and tufted with dark fur at the elbows, knees and down the spine. His hands ended in vicious claws, like those of a great bear.
"C-cant eat anymore, no... It's not right... It's m-monstrous..."
He walked on all fours, back and forth across the ruin of the huge cell that lie in this room. At some point he'd broken open the bars, creating a huge impromptu entryway framed by bent iron, but he hadn't made his escape.
There was a pile of dead bodies in the corner of the cell with him. Not a haphazard one, they were carefully stacked on top of each other. A few Morholt soldiers lay with the group as well, and a knight. Those ones sat at the top of the pile.
As Redmane took the images in, the System sent a message into his mind.
Optional Task:
Slay Lugoj the Lurker
Tasks Completed: 2/4
Lugoj the Lurker
Monster Type: Corrupted
Level 17
Redmane hadn't moved, but the thing suddenly stopped and looked right at him.
A single twisted horn poked up through Lugoj the Lurker's head of lank black hair. His eyes burned red, and his once human face looked like it had been stretched out into a demented parody of a horse with jagged, pointed teeth.
"You've come to eat! H-haven't you!" there was a guttural rumble behind Lugoj the Lurker's voice. "That's why they all come! Drawn in with r-ravenous hunger! But I won't let you have them!"
Lugoj struck the floor with his paws. He roared, and charged.
Redmane didn't think he'd get a chance to explain his purpose here. But it didn't matter. The beast's challenge stirred his battle-lust, kindled it in his belly like fire.
He roared back, and met Lugoj's charge with one of his own.
The force of their midair collision shook the walls.
Lugoj had the advantage in mass, however. Redmane bounced off of him while the pale beast continued forward, catching him in one of those huge paws and pitching him at the iron bars of the big cell.
The bars dented from the impact, and Redmane rolled off of them onto the ground face first, the room spinning. But there was no time to recover. Lugoj was bounding straight for him.
He rolled backward and sprang away at the last second, before Lugoj himself collided with the bars and made an even bigger wreck of them. The pale beast roared his frustration, a shrill, unhinged sound, and then he pulled one of the bent bars free to swing it around as a makeshift cudgel.
The thing was ten feet of forged iron and he whipped it around as if it were a willow switch.
"I'll protect them from you!" Lugoj screamed, as he struck at Redmane with the bar again and again. "Y-you MONSTER!"
Redmane flattened himself against the ground to duck a low swipe of that bar, growled, and lunged straight forward. He caught Lugoj's ankle in his jaws and tore off a chunk on his way by, prompting another wild shriek and a swing at the space Redmane occupied a moment ago.
Lugoj turned around to square up with the retreating Redmane, only to stumble and almost fall, righting himself by grasping the wall with his free paw. Those red eyes burned balefully and he snarled.
Redmane thought he was going to say something. But instead the beast let out another shrieking roar.
He answered with one of his own, and charged again.