World Tree MUSH

    Another polite request, this time also extended to Yahiko. Raylene assures that this time, it is not a critical time-sensitive emergency, but still something that could use offworld support from her companions. Directions, plane tickets, and the like are arranged if need be.

    Redvale is the name of the town, and though some might expect 'town' to be a small and quaint place, this is modern day and it's actually relatively large and spread out. Not a lot of tall buildings or the like, but pretty big. Passing by the town it's easy to get a hint of what's wrong: the place has a sickly sweet smell permeating the air, which is disturbingly similar to someone trying to cover up the scent of rotting meat. How the town lives with that is a good question.

    Where Raylene meets people is at a large house on the outskirts, away from prying eyes(and most of the smell) from the town. The young-looking witch is waiting at a table with another person, a woman in her mid-forties by the look of it, sharing tea. Plenty is available for people who come by, and she'll introduce herself as Miss Priere.

    Once everyone is gathered and said their hellos, though, it's Raylene who speaks first. "Thank you for coming. Unfortunately my normal means of calling up an investigation is unavailable, so I needed to pester you. As you may have guessed from the scent, something is rotting underneath the town here. Natives that are not sensitive to magic have been slowly adjusted to it, though even they are starting to notice something is off."

    Miss Priere takes over. "I am the local Witch, and contacted Raylene through our monthly meetings. At first, I thought it was some kind of vampiric activity because the corpses from the graveyard kept going missing, but we've lost three vampire hunters, and the fourth said this didn't match the pattern before moving on, suggesting I get a more general paranormal investigation. I'd investigate myself, but this area requires some extensive ward upkeep that has almost all of my magical power tied up. Whatever managed to grow underneath my wards is very concerning."

    It's not exactly like Magilou wants to help. She's just irate about there having evidently been witch meetings to which she wasn't invited. And so she'll show up in the role of an outside consulting witch, though she has an unfortunately keen sense of smell and so her usual noise-making will be somewhat spoiled by the very dramatic way she's holding her nose.

    "Eee aar ere ees uuun-airaaallle!" She'll complain, even though the smell isn't actually that bad within the cabin. She'll let go of her nose, though, to sit and sip at the tea, brooding through the introductions.

    "..Not vampires, aah? Do you think it might be zombies? Werewolves? Were-zombies?" Magilou's voice will rise in pitch with every moment, before she'll droop in her seat. "...Though it sounds more like something that lives underground, I admit. Or un-lives, maybe."

  It doesn't take very long for the Hylian princess to follow the directions given to her, nor to make what preparations she needs. Travelling clothes, her sturdy black mourning cloak, bow and arrows, royal rapier. Her gait is slow and stiff, though, in the manner of one bone-deep exhausted.

  Zelda slows to a halt near the table of witches, the hood hiding part of her face. Her eyes are red-rimmed, slightly bloodshot, but focused and lucid. Her mouth is twisted into a thin line. She doesn't so much as sit down in a chair as fall into it, slumping down heavily and resting her elbows on her knees, breathing hard for a moment.

  The ambient corruption in this place makes her teeth itch, and it stirs uncomfortable memories in her blood that she can't recall.

  Stupid divinity. There are times she wishes she were normal; normal, and free, and as absent of cares as Link seems to be. In some ways she envies the Chosen Hero.

  Her mouth thins during the introductions, but she doesn't offer a name of her own, considering the two witches. Raylene earns a polite nod of 'hello again,' but Miss Priere is eyed warily. She listens in silence to the situation.

  "Do you believe it is a plant... or mayhap some manner of curse?" Her voice is soft; thin and reedy and tired. She sounds haggard. Help had been needed, though, and her sense of responsibility would not allow her to sit idly by. The friends who came with her had helped her get here in one piece, at her request. Now that she's here, she can... sit in the chair and catch her breath. "Or a fungus, perhaps..."

  Also she is pretty much not a traveller. That voice, that diction and dialect, screams 'aristocracy.'

    Yahiko isn't fond of magic. It's new to him, and he didn't even believe in it at first, but seeing what people like Zelda do he has to admit that it's really real. In his world, 'magic' was often tricks, and though he might believe it existed, he didn't think it was something quite so common. So he's actually surprised and relieved when Zelda is the one who suggests a more mundane cause.

    He does pick up on something, though.

    "The locals don't even notice the smell?" He gestures at Magilou, who is being more blatant about what he is thinking. "Yeah... there's something weird here, all right. I guess I can look in if you're paying." Not that he's very mercenary, but he does need money to survive. "Hopefully I can be useful without needing to jump in front of something this time."

    Yahiko glances at Raylene. "Whatever happened to that other animal? The unicorn, wasn't it?"

    "It stinks..." Rydia of Mist is not afraid to speak her mind. She calls it as she sees it- or in this case smells it. The town smells. The sick scent of death is not foriegn to the green-haired girl, either, and as a result she's looking a little green in the face by the time she arrives in Zelda's tow. The mist-trailing Summoner isn't looking so hot herself, still somewhat pale, but in better shape than the princess. She's a resilient girl, she bounces back fast.
    Magilou is here. There's a fairly dirty look shot her way, but Rydia opts to give the lion's share of her attention to Miss Priere, she does purse her lips at the Hylian princess' musings.
    "It can't be a malboro, their breath is much worse than this, it stuns, staggers, swells your throat closed, blinds, poisons, and turns you into a frog if it breathes right on you. One wandered into the valley once. Mom's dragon chased it away but not before it moved upwind of the town." She pauses. "I thought I was going to die, and it was *miles away*."
    She huffs at the memory before shaking her head. "I bound the unicorn." She answers Yahiko. "It should come when I call it. I think."

    Well, it's a break from the bone-deep cold of Snowpeak. In that light, Yumi supposes she can't complain. Especially if there's tea.

    So Zelda is very much not alone when she arrives. And the orange-haired girl at her side is probably doing her very best to make sure the princess is not falling over at any given moment. She's not quite holding the princess up entirely, but she's definitely staying by Zelda's side until the Hylian is safely seated. And then she takes a seat herself, taking a cup of tea with a grateful look towards Raylene. "I don't know what I can offer in general, but if there's some way I can help, I'll be glad to." She hasn't forgotten Natsuto.

    Raylene gestures to Miss Priere when the unicorn is mentioned, as the older witch looks surprised. "It is fine. Even had Rydia not bonded with it, I could have broken the pact when it was captured. Killing one is not worth the bad karma, horn or no."

    Miss Priere wrinkles her nose. "Unfortunately they don't seem to notice, at least not directly. That is indeed one of the ways I know this is magical in nature..." She trails off and nods to Zelda though. "But it could be some kind of fungus causing the smell. There is something magical about it, but a magical plant is a possibility. The way the bodies are disappearing points to at least SOME kind of trouble by a directed intelligence though. Perhaps they are merely using a natural, if magical, phenomenon to cover their trail, or maybe the two are directly linked. That is what I'd like you all to find out. The graveyard problems, the obvious danger and smell from the steam tunnels and sewers, and..." She hesitates, so Raylene fills in the rest.

    "There has been trouble with ghosts of late. More than usual. Ghosts thought laid to rest are stirring again, and anything that dies is leaving an echo for at least a few days. I can show you the most recent location if that's where you'd like to start, but there are any number of, well, leads."

    Magilou will shoot Rydia a smile in return, seeming utterly unconcerned about the small summoner's, well, hatred of her. "I suppose ghosts might be at least a little interesting. A ghost story or two might make it worth all the trouble, and putting up with the smell..."

    The witchiest witch of the witches in the witch cabin, at least in her own mind, will make her way back to her feet. "Well. I think it's as good a place as any. Do the ghosts around here have much to say, or are they more menacing than that?" She'll ask, folding arms behind her head. "It'd be easier if they might answer questions; otherwise, there's not that much point to hearing them complain about being dead."

    "I'm not very experienced in magic stuff," Yahiko admits. "I'm a swordsman, first. I can ask questions and investigate, but when it comes to problems, I can mostly stall it or hit it. I'm just here in case everyone else needs any protection. No offense, but it seems like most of the people here don't have much experience with a blade or just taking a hit."

    He looks around though, just in case he's wrong, and then finishes, "If it's all the same to you guys, ghosts are the last thing that I'd want to mess with, but you're the experts here."

  Yumi's presence is appreciated. Zelda probably wouldn't be upright without Yumi's help.

  "I would be surprised if the residents did not notice." Zelda's soft comment is in agreement with Yahiko's observation. It seems odd that nobody would notice. The stench had almost staggered her; reminiscent of the rot, ruin, and smoke left behind in Hyrule Castle before she fled. Much like Rydia, she looks a little ill. "It's overwhelming."

  She does offer Yahiko a respectful nod, both acknowledgement and greeting. Her opinion of the swordsman is reasonably high; he treats her with respect, and he's quite skilled.

  Her attention turns back to Miss Priere, eyeing the woman for a moment. Her expression is unreadable, but as the woman speaks, she reaches up to sweep the hood back from her face. Zelda looks about as haggard as she sounds. There are deep shadows under her eyes; her eyes are a little sunken, like one who hasn't slept for days, though she was napping before she'd left.

  "A combination of methods." Zelda's brow furrows a little. "That would make sense from a certain standpoint."

  Her eyes slide back to Rydia and Yumi. "Any ideas...?" She's willing to look into whatever are she'd best be used. She looks over to Yahiko, tilting her head. "That is also a valuable skill, Master Myojin. Do not be so quick to dismiss your own efforts, yes?"

  To Miss Priere, the Hylian looks, fixing those summer-blue eyes on the woman. She looks to be in her mid-twenties, but those are the eyes of someone far, far older. Some find it unsettling. This woman seems to be made of sterner stuff. She inclines her head respectfully. "I am trained in the containment and removal of curses and corruption, and perhaps in some small amount of divination, although I do not expect that my skills would function outside the realm of my own homeland. Are there any other leads you know of that may pertain to such abilities, that I might better assist your investigation...?"

    "I am not an expert on ghosts, I just deal with monsters- and I don't even know what a vampire is, but if three people who hunt them went missing I'm going to guess the hunters are usually not joking around with life on the line." Rydia says first and foremost. She also looks like she couldn't take a hit to save her life but she doesn't bring that up. She'll just stick behind Yahiko in the event it becomes necessary. "What other leads are there, anyway?" She asks curiously. "If bodies are going missing from the graveyard we could always wait there for whoever- or whatever is taking them."

    "I've been shot," Yumi offers in reply to Yahiko. She totally knows how to take a hit!

    More seriously, they do have a bit of a conundrum. "Well, I... I don't know anything about magic, but..." She takes a sip of her tea, her expression thoughtful. "I at least want to float the possibility that they're not noticing the smell because of something acting on /them/, rather than the smell itself being magical. It's something to keep in mind, just so we don't get locked into one line of thinking." If she can't offer any specifically magical expertise, she can at least offer a view from a different angle. "I think Rydia's got a good idea, too, though it might take a while before they show up. Unless they're watching," she adds after a second's thought. "In which case they might not come out. Hmm."

    Raylene points out, "I would not have called upon you all if I didn't think you could handle this. Vampire hunters are, well, specialized for vampires. Some work other tasks, and all are competent in combat, but they work alone. I am confident that Mister Myojin here can handle any purely physical threat, and the rest of you have either magical support-" She looks to Zelda, Rydia, and Magilou. "Or simply a natural talent for this sort of thing," she nods to Yumi. "Though I would be very careful, Miss Tachibana, you are getting valuable experience."

    Miss Priere nods, "The graveyard after sundown is a good idea, I would recommend that as well. Investigating a ghost is fine. Or you can just go straight to the tunnels."

    Raylene ponders, "It could be a spell on them, but... to get past my own sight, it would need to be something... not a large scale spell, but it's possible that there is something more subtle. A way to erase without casting the spell on them. Perhaps via potion or hypnosis."

    Magilou will stretch out. "Well. I'm not going to go off on my own for this, so I'll see what you all want to do... but it seems like the tunnels are the most likely place to find the bottom of things. Even if it probably means we all die horribly from going in unprepared." She's being sunny today, it seems.

    "...Not that I really care which we do, so I'll leave it up to the rest of you." She'll suggest, her hands back by her side now and a smile fixed back in place. It seems even more fake that before. "I don't mind waiting in a graveyard, but we'll need to make sure we know if something is getting the bodies from below. If the rot's coming from the earth, there's nothing to say that the bodies are getting taken from above, right?"

  When looked at, the princess only shakes her head. In any other situation she might be a valuable asset with her divine sorcery. As she is now, though, she is magically and physically exhausted; even her presence feels more faint than usual.

  Magilou offers her sunny commentary. Zelda's eyes slide sidelong, very slowly, and fix Magilou with a flat look.

  Moving on.

  "Investigating the graveyard sounds as though it will be where my talents lie best." Zelda sighs, folding her hands in her lap and wilting a little. "I have some experience in dealing with spirits, of a kind. I am not certain how much assistance I may be in the sewers."

  Also, because... sewers. No thanks.

    "What's the matter, Zelda, afraid to get a little dirty?" Rydia asides mildly to the princess when Zelda volunteers for graveyard searching first. "--I'd get a better set of boots before going down there, myself- and I don't want to go alone but if someone wants to head down there I'll follow. In any case I'm for watching the graveyard."
    A pause.
    "If we see the ghosts you're talking about they won't haunt us, right?"

    "I'm definitely not going to be fighting any ghosts with a baseball bat," Yumi replies to Raylene, with a soft chuckle. "I'm fine with sticking to the back line, so to speak." Not strictly true, but she knows if she did otherwise, it'd make her more a liability than an asset. She has no way to properly fight the kind of things they deal with. "I think I'm fine with whatever everyone else decides on. Though I do kind of want to see if one of the ghosts would... come to think of it," here she turns to Raylene again, "Do ghosts around here have... are they self-aware? Can they think and recognize the world around them?"

    "Talking to ghosts could be useful, but if we can't get anything from them, I'd go for the tunnels myself. Just take care of the problem." He shrugs. "You guys are the smart ones though. I'm not really very good at doing the subtle thing." He rubs the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

    Raylene shakes her head. "Some ghosts are... but most are just echoes. And most of the ones made lately are even worse, they are animal ghosts. A cat continually tracing its way from point of death to home, or a bird unable to find its way past a window."

    Miss Priere notes, "Of course, some can reach in and speak to the actual spirit, but unless one of you knows that trick, I cannot help you with that. Something might be gleaned from the actions of a ghost that died in mysterious circumstances. I wouldn't worry about you personally being haunted."

  "I don't like enclosed spaces," Zelda points out to Rydia; very, very softly. It reminds her too much of entrapment in her own citadel. "I'm sorry. It would be better to have someone else look into that. There are also practical reasons. I am in no condition to engage any hostile parties, yes?"

  Sure, there are the physical party members to offer protection, but the princess is reluctant to go down there unless she has to. Things always have a way of going awry in spectacular ways.

  "I am a priestess... of a sort," she offers, to Miss Priere. "I may have some ability to speak with them, but I have no way to know until I try."

  Zelda droops a little in her seat, eyes falling half-closed. She'll just zone in and out a little while she waits for the others to discuss, listening for any information that might be useful. There is a small chance she might be dozing in her chair, though, if she isn't addressed directly. At least until there's some kind of call to action, whether to begin investigating or return home.

    "That's not the type of spirit I talk to, unfortunately." Magilou says, though she doesn't sound too terribly sorry about it in truth. "And I'm already haunted by a terrible, treasonous, treacherous, lecherous, and lazy spirit, anyway. I doubt they'd want to share." 

    "Shall we start in the graveyard, then? We can work our way to the tunnels after that..." She'll suggest, shifting weight from foot to foot, seeming right ready to burst with distraction. She's generally always that way, though.

    Yumi is listening the whole time, and thinking. "...I think the graveyard might be best, yeah. Unless I've got a talent for talking with ghosts that I don't know about, I think we won't get much info out of a ghost we couldn't get elsewhere." Though in all fairness, 'a talent she doesn't know about' IS a possibility with Yumi. "And if the tunnels are an enclosed space," she adds with a glance at Zelda, "Maybe we should save that for the last option. Or we split our numbers, but that seems... unsafe, I guess? If there might be something dangerous in this town."

    "No," Yahiko says immediately, agreeing with Yumi. "We don't split our numbers. I'd want everyone to have a good fighter for protection, if vampire hunters are vanishing." He doesn't know what a vampire is, but has gotten a good idea of the general idea. "We don't have enough to spare. We'd better stick together. I'm fine with the graveyard. We'll try looking there first chance we get, it sounds like." In this case, he doesn't have a problem with skipping the tunnels since everyone seems uncomfortable with them.

    "Sounds like the graveyard's our first stop, then." Rydia chirrups a little too cheerfully about the destination. "It's a good thing Cecil's not around. He doesn't like zombies because they give him problems."
    She does not explain what that is supposed to mean.

    Raylene chuckles quietly. "All right, then we have a plan. Generally we will need to wait for a new burial, so I will call you all out again on a good night for that." She rises and curtseys. "A thank you for helping me in this matter. I will see that you have some compensation, monetary or otherwise. I believe I owe some of you a few favors now."

    Yumi raises a hand, smiling cheerfully. "Think of it as balancing the scales, in my case. You came out to my world to help, after all."

  "You are welcome." Zelda squeezes her eyes shut and manages a wan smile. "I have no reason to refuse a request from you. You have been respectful, and I feel that is its own reward. And as Tachibana Yumi says, perhaps we may call upon you for your assistance, some time in the future..."

  A little monetary compensation wouldn't hurt, though. Snowpeak is going to need a new roof. Also, new walls. Probably new furniture. Maybe some new doors. New everything, honestly. All of it. It's a mess.

  The Hylian climbs very slowly and carefully to her feet, keeping her hands on the back of the chair to steady herself. It's time to go back home to the great frozen north, and for that she's going to need a little help. "Rydia. Yumi." Her voice is soft. "I'd appreciate an escort back. Please. I... need to rest."

  Provided nothing more's needed from her, the Hylian will take her leave.