The Last Curse
21% Delirious
Cayde watched in horror as the gnoll effortlessly cleaved through his vial, dismantling his plan in an instant. Backing away slowly, Cayde tried to search his mind for what to do next, but panic quickly clouded his judgment. In his distress, he stumbled backward and landed on the ground, now scooting away from the gnoll. But, even with its injured leg, the gnoll quickly caught up to him, and Cayde watched as it readied its cleaver once more. Finally, the beast leaped at him, and as his final moments came, he stared slack-jawed as his life flashed before his eyes.
But then, an unfamiliar voice boomed through the grove. Still expecting his incoming death, Cayde didn't move immediately, but once he saw the gnoll facing the sound, he gathered himself just enough to roll out of the way. He managed to move a few feet away, but just as he turned to see if the gnoll was still pursuing him, something sent the beast flying into a tree. He shifted his eyes and saw the gnoll's assailant: the beastkin woman Ceylan was treating.
Before he could utter a single word, Cayde watched as she approached the downed gnoll and started to hack at it savagely. With every slash, Cayde recoiled back, a concerned grimace beginning to form on his face. Though amusement was the last thing he felt seeing the gnoll get butchered, he couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of schadenfreude; after all the suffering the gnoll had caused, it was finally receiving its share. Eventually, the woman landed the final blow, separating the gnoll's head from its body. Cayde scrambled onto his feet, still trying to process what had just happened. At that moment, he heard another voice, and Cayde quickly turned to see Ceylan standing away from him.
Sighing with relief, he rushed up to Ceylan, "Ceylan! I-I'm okay! A bit confused, but okay!" He wiped a few beads of sweat off his brow; it appeared he was still trying to regain his composure, "Thank God you got her up in time! That thing was this close to killing me."
Although Cayde was more than eager to leave this place, there was still some work to be done. After being introduced to Janja, he was asked to help with cleansing the grove, and after gathering his gear, he happily agreed. Cayde helped gather the materials for the pyres while Ceylan handled the ceremonies and blessed the clearing. When all was said and done, Cayde could finally leave the forest behind. Although that trek would surely scar itself into his memory, it'd become a fine story to tell someday.
After getting some well-deserved rest at Janja's hut, it was finally time to cross the tundra. Fortunately, with Janja's help and the coat he bought way before, the journey was relatively easy, giving him plenty of time to think about yesterday. However, he was in mid-thought before Ceylan asked him a question. "Well, if I had to guess, maybe it had to do with... isolation?" He stated with a hint of uncertainty, "I mean, It got kicked out of its pack and thrown into these woods by itself. I don't know long it was there, but it must've felt like an outcast, and all that time alone only made those feelings worse." Cayde then remembered all the facets of the gnoll's ritual, from the slaughtered animals to the strange altar, and finally, the mummified baby gnoll corpse. "Y'know, it never told me why it was doing all this. Do you think this was all some sort of plan to get back at its packmates? With all that bottled-up anger, maybe it just wanted revenge?"