When Yvlena opened the door, she was startled by the presence in the room.
There stood a man, or what used to be a man whacking a rusty sword against the wall in a rhythmic motion. Yvlena gasped, from his translucent figure she already knew he was a ghost.
As she suspected, he had been one of the Bloom Haven guards, who had probably stayed behind. She noted his uniform though see through, it had the unmistakable town crest, the Ever Bloom.
Yvlena frowned, facing the ghost unable to move on from the events of the Miasma or even the war of the gods made her feel for the characters. Did he have someone back home who was still waiting for him?
This had to have happened so long ago.
"Should I say something?" she wondered. The spirit seemed hostile, and the rusty sword possessed a rough jagged edge that would be a pain to deal with if she had to fight.
"I knew this wasn't going to be easy one way or another,"
She stepped into what used to be a large stateroom, a large desk sat by the entrance. Someone's body lay in a collapsed heap, slumped forward with a pen in their now bony hand.
They were writing something, a letter perhaps?
Yvlena approached the ghost, hoping for benevolence but preparing for a fight.
"Will?" She called, only remembering the first few letters of the name on the door.
The sound stopped as the ghost paused, then lifted his head and turned around to face Yvlena.
The man's face had long since rotted away, leaving only half a face covered by spectral flesh, his cheeks were gone, exposing his teeth and skeleton. The rest of his body was much the same.
The uniform mostly survived albeit ripped to shreds by the elements, but the flesh underneath had long since decayed.
"Olivia?" The ghost called longingly, "My dear Olivia is that you? Why have you come to this terrible place?" A skeletal hand reached out to Yvlena in hope.
Yvlena felt terrible about breaking his heart, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know who that is," She grimaced, knowing from the tiny amount of horror movies she had seen in her lifetime, that this ghost was about to go ballistic.
As if on cue, the calm, forlorn ghost was replaced by a shrieking phantom who came at her swinging with a sword.
"Do physical attacks even work on ghosts?!" Yvlena asked, swinging her blade. As she suspected the sword went right through, moving as if she struck air.
"Magical attacks only, got it!"
[Yvlena Cast Carrot Strike (10MP)]
The orange flash flew at the ghost, striking hard and fast causing the being to stop only momentarily before it lunged again. It brought its sword down faster than Yvlena could stop it.
She blocked.
The Carrot Sword and the Phantom Sword scraped against each other, both parties gave it their all in a battle of who’s strength would give out first. Yvlena’s summons attacked.
[Sprite Cast Sting (01MP)]
In a surprising turn, the fairy magic ended up being very effective against the spirit. The ghost wailed, pulling back to look for the creature that had caused him such pain. He sighted Sprite hovering in the aim and drew his bony hand back to strike.
[Sprite Cast Sting (01MP)]
The Phantom attacked, intending to deliver its fierce blow to Sprite, Yvlena dove forward, taking the hit for her fairy.
"Argh!" she screamed as the rough edge of the blade cut across her back, her rabbit fur cloak took most of the hit, but the force of the blow knocked her to the ground.
"Yvlena!" Sprite called.
Rabbit Knight attacked, but his rapier only fazed through the Ghost commander's uniform.
The phantom laughed menacingly, and with a sweep of its hand brushed the Rabbit off to the side.
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From her place on the ground, Yvlena grabbed her sword and forced herself up to cast a skill.
[Yvlena Cast Carrot Strike (10MP)]
Yvlena delivered a critical hit, knocking the ghost back with a powerful carrot strike, the creature wailed dissolving in a burst of light.
[Yvlena Acquired
EXP: 650/1046
***
Shadow Essence x2
Memento x1
***
Moon Point x200]
"A memento?" Yvlena asked, reaching into her inventory and picking up the item she discovered it to be a letter.
[The Last Testament Of William A. Brackett
***
My dearest Oliva, it is with a heavy heart that I write to you now. The miasma is spreading and there are not enough horses to go around. Even now from my desk, I watch the dark clouds swarm over us blocking out the sun.
I've sent the last of the young ones back to the town, I can already feel my strength fading.
I feel the weight of the darkness in my chest and fear this may be the end.
There are only three of us myself, Lieutenant O'Leary, and Commander Addison, who have agreed to stay behind and make the most noble sacrifice.
As I watch the last moments of the outpost I can't help but think of you, my Olivia. I imagine the Floral District in full bloom this spring. The large apple tree by the house finally ready to bear fruit.
The Tea House would be just about packed now, wouldn't it?
Olivia I wish I could see you one last time, and I pray by some miracle of the gods that this letter finds its way into your hands.
I'm sorry I could not find my way back to you love, but it appears fate has other plans for me.
Forever yours,
William A. Brackett]
"Yvlena's eyes teared up as she read the letter. These developers and writers were too good at their jobs.
"Olivia, I hope I can find you and give this letter to you," Yvlena said.
A quest menu popped up but the elven girl was already expecting it to. Even if it didn't just out of principle.
[Quest: The Cry Of The Dead
You have stumbled upon the Bloom Haven Outpost and the remnants of the town guard, once stationed there.
Lay them to rest and see to it that their final wishes are fulfilled. But it is not so easy a task.
Each man left behind has become a phantom tainted by the miasma, even with its disappearance their souls are not so easily put to rest.
***
Rewards
????
????
***
Moon Points x3500
Moon Gems x300
***
EXP x100]
[Do You Accept?]
[Yes/No]
"I've found, William right here on his desk. That means the skull outside must either belong to Commander Addison or Lieutenant O'Leary." Yvlena said.
She scavenged the stateroom, putting what she could find in her inventory.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Sugar x2
Corn Seeds X2
Empty bottle (Small) x1]
"Huh? An empty bottle, does that mean I'll be able to get water from the lake now?" She thought.
Her mind flashed back to the Bloom Forest Lake she passed on her way to the depths, no longer the forgotten depths as now even Ricardo the merchant had passed through it.
"I wonder if he got attacked by a ghost, maybe that's how he lost his shipment," Yvlena said.
Yvlena looked back at the body still slumped over in the chair and made the decision to lay it to rest. She picked the body up in a bridal carry and began exiting the room the same way she came.
Getting Outside she lay the skeleton near the table where she had placed the skull.
"Where's the rest of you?" She asked.
"On the Outpost grounds maybe," Spirte said, Rabbit Knight's nose twitched as he rubbed it, Yvlena could tell, the summon wasn't looking forward to fighting another ghost, especially since he couldn't do much.
Yvlena's eyes scanned the Outpost grounds but found no trace of the body that would have belonged to the skeleton. There were no clues in the dirt either, all she saw was land covered in grass that would take a while to clear.
If she found his remains, maybe she could identify who this was, Just like William. Yvlena walked forward, tracing her steps to where she had picked up the skull near the entrance to the outpost.
"He was probably trying to get away from the Miasma as well!" she deduced. Yvlena remembered how she almost had to claw her way out of the thick smog, but she had the Ever Bloom to save her.
The town guard wasn't so lucky.
Kneeling into the dirt, she rubbed it with her bare hands feeling for something, he could have dropped his memento as he was running for his life.
"I will have to dig, won't I? The body is probably under a ton of dirt. The Outpost's been abandoned for like what? 50 plus years?" Yvlena sighed, already poking the dirt to figure out where she would start digging.
"Yvlena over here!" Sprite called a few feet away from her. Yvlena rushed over and with her scythe, cut the grass to an even lower level. She began digging with her hands until she snapped out of it.
"I have tools!"
Taking her hoe out of the inventory she began digging up the soil. Slowly a withered skeletal hand was unearthed.
"We found it?" Yvlena gasped in surprise, as she continued to scrape more dirt off the bones, the hand suddenly jerked to life, rattling its bones as it did. It clawed at the dirt, kicking up more and more until its body was revealed.
Yvelan and her summon, pulled back already knowing this would be the second encounter.