Fantasy The Myths of Mirthland

[InsanEleven]

Morning mist was a common occurrence in this part of the wide world. Yet, in Mirthland it often lasted into the evening. The wisps of gloomy fog crawled along the narrow streets bordered by tall buildings. Safe space had run out long ago, and between the few walls that promised protection the people had gathered from far and wide. Which led to these crowded, four story tall buildings that would attempt to hold them all. The orange glow of fires cowered behind the windows, afraid of winter's cold that would fall soon.
But the people inside had far more to fear than cold. These walls they huddled behind had failed them: a plague crept through stone in ways monsters could not hope to. Unseen. Unyielding. Sickness could not be killed. And it could not be stopped by cowardice. The few figures that moved through the mist were the dead and the damned. Doctors covered from head to toe in thick cloth, their faces covered by white featureless masks to hide their identities; lest they be killed by their own superstitious family when they would come home. A few had to get somewhere so desperately even death did not deter them, and the homeless had no choice in the matter.

As Skye passed through the streets, he pulled his dark blue cloak tighter around him. A scarf of fine knitted, grey wool covered his nose and mouth. Each time one of the carts laden with bodies rattled past, the scent of rot hit him. It wasn't the disease he was afraid of though; it was the dark magic he took in with every breath. For now, it had not yet whittled him down to the point where he was susceptible.
But these people had no inner light such as he had. The hope and kindness he had devoted himself to shimmered but barely inside them. Of course there were other ways; arcane, science, body... many paths led to salvation from this darkness, but few people walked them proper. The people of this city had faith in their walls, but neglected themselves.

It would be wrong to blame them. Who could have predicted this dark disease would have come? And who would have thought it originated from within these very walls that kept the world out...
With a heavy sigh he pulled his cloak even tighter and walked a bit faster. An audience with the Lord of these lands, he needed to find more like him: people able to resist this influence. Through any and all means, as long as they worked,-

A firm hand grabbed his free arm. As he looked over he saw the same white, featureless mask he had seen before. The figure that bore it was shorter than him, but their green eyes were fierce. They questioned his presence before her voice did.
"Go home, before the illness catches you. No business is worth such a fate." As she held him there, the scent of cloves and lavender reached him. A superstition against the disease, but even superstition had its uses if it strengthened the believer.
"Then what business is it that brings you here?" As he spoke, her eyes lit up slightly. Even when he spoke Mirthen, his accent was obvious to any that listened with a native ear.
"Someone has to take the bodies out to stop this. I do not want to find you amongst them stranger." There was a slight hostility to the last word, and he was unsure if it was because he had questioned her, or if it was because he was foreign.
"We share a common goal then, but this disease is not spread from corpses. It spreads through the spirit." He smiled, even though it would be covered by his scarf. He let go of his cloak, to give her hand an encouraging squeeze. His mail-covered glove laid heavy, and as his cloak fell open the steel of his armour shimmered with a stray bit of firelight. "Stay strong, courage will save you from the night." As he pulled her away he lingered for a second longer, a soft white glow rising from his grasp. Letting go he gave her a nod and walked on, praying that sharing his light would save her. Or at least, that he hadn't condemned himself to darkness with it.

 

[neon.eclipse90]

Merek arrived in Mirthland at the height of the Witching Hour, silver slivers of the moon fighting their way through dense fog and cloud. He stepped meticulously through boggy alleys and mushy walkways, careful to not disturb the sleeping public. Most of whom were not so lucky. The echo of sick phlegmy coughing and the threat of death hung stagnant and thick in the air. Merek had to fight the urge to hold his breath despite the mask that covered his face up to his eyes.

Turning a corner, he found an inn and pub. It was an ungodly hour to be arriving, but he wanted some time on his own in the village before officially answering the letter's request. He pushed lightly on the door of the inn to prevent any violent creaking noises to avoid waking the living dead. A dim candle waxed weakly on the counter of the bar, illuminating the tired face of an older gentleman snoozing on a stool. The dull thump of the door closing behind Merek startled the man.

"Who goes there?!" he wheezed, coughing now to clear his dry throat. "A friend. I mean no harm. Do you have any port to spare?"
Rubbing his tired eyes, sleep still clinging tightly to his lids, the barkeep blinked twice. "At this hour?" he wondered. "Ya realize how odd this is, do ya? 'Specially with the plague and all."
Merek nodded as he reached for his glass, sipping it casually as if to savor the very essence of it. "I do, and I am grateful to you. Tell me, do you know anything about how it all started?"
The barkeep grunted and gasped, lighting a clove cigarette and offering a drag to Merek. Perevil declined with a kind wave of his hand. "Couldn't tell ya. One'uh those things that seemed to happen all at once, ya know? "vrythin' seems fine one day, then the town's dyin' 'round ya. I'unno."

Merek finished his drink, left ample payment on the counter in front of the man and thanked him for his hospitality. "I only hope you and yours are spared," he said as he exited the establishment. Assuming the old man was too tired to entertain any more antics, he sauntered away and onward toward his original destination.

 

[GamerCarrot]

Walking through the muddied and dark walkways of Mirthland Aelina pulled her hat down slightly before sliding her hands back into her coat, the stench of death throughout the area only made Aelina more determined to hurry up and get out of here. She knew she was already immune to the cause of this epidemic but that didn't mean she liked being around the dead anymore than the next person, as she walked she heard the sound of a cart approached her she took a quick step to the side to make way for the cart she took a quick glance at what was on the cart itself.

The Rotted bodies piled on top, the stench unbearable to those who weren't used to it unfortunately Aelina was not one of those people who were used to the smell of rotting flesh. Pulling her hand to cover her nose and mouth she gave a polite nod to the masked man pushing the cart before she continued on her path away from the cart full of corpses. She removed her hand from her face she decides to check the two guns attached to her waist as well as the ammo supply that she had, she never left her home without them knowing that with this disease going around she was bound to bump into those who weren't exactly on the friendly side.

Returning her guns to her side she continued to walk down the dirtied path, she stumbled upon a homeless man on the path in front of her it wasn't uncommon to see the homeless in these types of areas. Aelina took no mind to it as the guy looked like he was sound asleep as are many of the other residents of the city, she took light steps as she walked past the sleeping man hoping not to disturb him as she walked past. The smell that protruded from the man was unbearable she knew that being homeless wasn't exactly hygienic but god the smell was nauseating, she almost wanted to vomit from how bad the smell was but chose to hold it in and quicken up her steps to get as far away from this smell as possible. As she began to walk away she felt something grasp at her leg, fear was immediately written on her face. All she could think about was hopefully her clothes had gotten caught on something rather than being grabbed by the man she walked past. Trying to pull her leg away she felt what ever grabbed her pull back, with what ever was held her leg in place she fell forward into the muck. Lifting herself up she looked back she saw what she thought was the homeless man holding her leg that is until she looked at the mans hand, his fingers were completely blackened his flesh rotting and disgusting to look at. The husk began to move over her legs its fingers clawed at her clothes an attempt to move over her, having enough of this husk Aelina pushed it off of her before standing back up and dusted some of the dirt that was on her. The husk let out a shriek obviously ticked off at Aelina, she looked at the husk with smirk on her face Aelina pulled out one of the guns attached to her waist and aimed it at the husks head.

As the husk saw this it immediately leaped up at Aelina tried to attack her, not giving it the chance she pulled the trigger and hit it directly in the head. As soon as the shot hit the husk it fell to the ground finally giving the husk its final resting place.

 

[loyalwolf]

​

Sebastian let out a tired breath as he finally made in the city. It's been a long journey into the city and a larger life on the run. If a mother could see where I ended up hiding, she would either be extremely angry or just beat the sense into me, but it cannot be helped. The city itself made the perfect hiding spot for Seb to least catch his breath until he has to start moving again. The unforgiving terrain out the city, the heavy walled off surroundings, the untrusting and harsh people of the city and the plague make the prefect deterrent to anyone working for his father. Sebastian wasn’t naïve, he knew that his father had associates that would find their way here eventually and not even bat an eye to the situation going on here.

Either currently Sebastián needs to try and not draw too much attention to himself and use the peoples “Us-And-Them” attitude to his advantage. He also uses the plague to his advantage to keep himself covered and hidden. Having a rather rough looking brown cloak over his body and a hood pulled up. On top of that he had a scarf wrapped around his neck and mouth to keep his face hidden. The only thing visible is his vibrant green eyes and part of his pale skin. Luckily, this made it so Sebastián didn’t have to act or bolt up a facade just yet. Sebastian kept himself to the alleyways and avoided as many people as possible.

He comes upon a street with what appeared to be an inn and a pub. He sees a man walk out and watches as he walks down the street. He opened the door and walked in and quickly put on his persona. “Good passing’s sir, I am a humble traveler that came to this city to see if there was any work, but I didn’t realize that the city was in such bad shape.” "Who goes there?!" he wheezed, seeming rather out of it. Sebastián backs up a little, not fully liking the company of older men. “I got one room, if you got money to pay.” Sebastian takes out some coin and leave it on the bar away from the man. “This is a good portion of what I have but I really don’t want to sleep on the street.” With that lie the man goes and get a room key for him. “You are the second stranger to come into the bar today. There was another strange man that just came here.” Sebastián made a sour look while the man was away when he heard of another strange man.

Returning with his key, Sebastián acts without thinking and with great dexterity and speed takes the key from the man and return to the entrance. “Thank you, sir. I will make me leave.” With that Sebastián exits the inn and looks around. Alright, I need to examine my area and find all my exit plans. Especially since there seems to be other outsiders in this town. With that Sebastián goes off to get a mental map layout of the city.

 

[InsanEleven]

The sudden ring of a gunshot startled Skye. It carried far and wide, and as it echoed through the dark alleys it amplified and rebounded, until it came from all directions. Still his conscience could not let him stand idle at such a slight against order. Something had happened, and it was his duty to resolve it the best he could.
With hasted steps he duck through the alleys, his fingers resting on his blade, ready to draw it if he so had to. With his mind sharp and ready for combat, not even the late hour could hinder him in his search. Deeper and deeper he dwindled into the darkness, until...

Around the next corner he found the carnage that was inherently tied to a weapon such as the gun. Brutal but effective, displayed in a scatter of brains all over the stone walls. Whomever it belonged to, laid slumped against that same wall, in the most uncomfortable position that death could throw one in. The smell of rot caught him through his cloak, and now he looked closer he saw clearly a husk in the very far stages of decomposition. Perhaps this was for the best after all.

His fingers let go of the pommel of his blade, instead approaching this stray gunslinger that had found herself in this gnarly position. With that same hand now raised, he smiled under his scarf, pulling it down a little even if the smell was unbearable.
"You seem lost, this hardly is the place for one to be at night. I know of an inn not far from here, it's still free of the plague, I believe." His raised hand extended instead, as a kind gesture to take her with to wherever there were no husks and no disease.

GamerCarrot

 

[GamerCarrot]

Hearing the hurried footsteps of someone headed in her direction she immediately got worried that she had drawn attention of more husks but as the persons footsteps stopped and as soon as she heard him talk she let out a breath of relief. She holstered her gun as she turned around and faced the person who had just ran to see the destruction she had caused. She glanced over the man addressing her, a young man not much older than herself by the looks of it dressed fully in armour. Adjusting her hat she showed more of her face not wanting this person to think she was a danger to his well-being although with the scene he just stumbled upon it was difficult to see differently.

She took a step towards him and crossed her arms "You must be very brave or very foolish... perhaps both" she gestured to the smear of blood the remains of what once was a brain all over the walls "I'm going to take a guess and say you know what that is... but if you don't or had you not known" She took another step closer to him and looked up at him "You could've witness a murder, a gruesome one at that" she spoke calmly, granted she wouldn't she was for one a very kind hearted person and wouldn't hurt anyone unless they were a husk or someone trying to kill her but she was cautious she had only met this man and he's asking her to go somewhere with him she had a right to be cautious.

"And why should I for one even trust you? We have only just met and you are asking me to go somewhere with you? Little suspicious don't you think? she said in a kind of playful manner.

InsanEleven

 

[InsanEleven]

"You have no need to come with me, I understand your concerns. But truth is, the living are found here less and less these days, so I'd like to keep you amongst them. At least for tonight." With a heavy sigh he walked over to what was left of the husk, a look of both deep thought and distraught befalling his face. "If you aren't careful, you may end up just like him. For all we know, this could have been a friend, or a father, just a mere week ago. Now, this may have been mercy for him." He gave her a cautious smile, before unclasping his cloak. As the dark blue cloth fell in his hands, the polished steel shimmered in distant dim light. It was well kept, the material of higher quality than the guards in town had, but also more dented. Perhaps that was an testimony to its effectiveness, more than a bad omen.
With the fluidness of someone who had done it before, he wrapped the corpse - now truly dead - in the cloak. The disease had wracked it far enough for the body to not weigh that much, but it as still difficult to hold. The rotten skin, only amplified by days in this rainy environment, slid in his grasp. Even through cloth and his gloves it felt uncomfortable, but eventually it settled in his grasp.

"It's unwise to leave the dead in the streets, so I will take him to the corpse carts. You may follow, if you don't still find me suspicious."

 

[GamerCarrot]

"To be honest I wasn't exactly thinking about what the mans life before this was when he jumped out at me" Aelina watched as the man walked over to the corpse and covered it with his cloak and picked up the decaying body. She let out a small sigh and looked at him "No... I'll tag along in all honesty I'd prefer not to accidentally stumble upon one of those again" she gestured to the dead husk, there was no doubt she could handle at least one or two on her own but if she got in deep trouble she would prefer someone by her side to help her get out of a tight spot. She held up her hand to silently tell him not to go anywhere just yet "Although if you don't mind I think quick introductions are in order, I'd greatly prefer to know the name of the man I'm about to go to an inn with." smiling kindly at the man in front of her she began approached him "Aelina Levett, its a pleasure to meet you considering the circumstances, normally I would shake your hand but..." she stopped gestured to the limp body he had in his grasp "You can understand why I am hesitant"