The Vain and Very Dead Murderer [Scara Brae]

[oren]

Closed to Veatrix

On a regular day, on a normal time of the year, the city streets of Sacra Brae was bustling with young entrepreneurs, athletes, citizens, adventurers, and heroes. The excitement of being in the port city made it seem like it was so relaxed. Of course it did feel relaxed since anyone that stopped by always did to rest, and have a wonderfully cooked meal from one of the inns before continuing on their journeys. One person in particular was not enjoying any aspect of the islanders life. In fact she was envying everyone that had been able to take a break.

Black hair, and pale green eyes scanned the streets in search of something, at her side a cleric she had gained as a companion and exorcist for her profession until she was able to have spirits cross over herself.

"Miss Chen," began the exorcist. "Do you see anything?"

What kind of question was that? Of course she saw things. She saw people, hot, sweaty, sticky, happy people. If the day came she couldn't see anything, she knew she would be devastated to have lost her eyesight. Obviously that wasn't what he was referring to. Yin was a born clairvoyant; she could see things other people couldn't no matter how hard they tried. Ever since she was a child she could see supernatural entities of all kinds. That was the problem as far as she was concerned. Her ability caused her all sorts of trouble from the day she was born, and now she was here listening to the most stupid question she's ever heard.

No one could blame her for her livid thoughts. Yin was frustrated, and tense, she hadn't been able to have a good nights sleep in days, and she hadn't eaten a decent meal. Living off fruits and pieces of cheese had it's limits, but this was pushing it.

"Miss?"

Yin shook her head, when she was frustrated the last thing she wanted her to do was talk. Every word that would have come out of her mouth would have been harsh, and aimed to specifically make the person break down and cry, or get angry with her. In other words, she had a mean streak that no one should ever have to be put though.

Other than her obvious anger, Yin focused on her current job, looking for the ghost deemed as the Killer Redhead. A woman who had died due to her vanity, and swore that she would never rest until every beautiful woman on Althanas was dead. This particular ghost was one that Yin wished would have moved on, instead she'd met this ghost and was now forced to follow her and, yes get rid of her before she killed anymore innocent women.

Her thoughts were cut short at the sudden shriek coming from the fountain in the city square before them. A woman had been trampled to death by a horse that was suddenly agitated. Of course the Killer Redhead was right there, making the obvious statement that she had done it all.

[Veatrix]

Walking through Scara Brae had its high points and its low points.

The low points:
The smells - Some people just don't understand the concept of cleanliness. Sailors, butchers and all kinds of burly men walked by Veatrix and their smell had that special crossover factor, the kind that travels towards the tastebuds. Even some of the women didn't seem to own bars of soap, as they walked past her smelling strongly of ale, sweat and more disturbingly, their husbands (or wives, whatever floats their boat). The smell of fish or raw meat wasn't as bad as the smell of fish or raw meat stuck to human flesh.

The creepers - Veatrix somehow realized that not only was she the most "booteeful thang in the whole damn Althanies," she was also "speeshul," "loverly" and "majorly do-able." Half these things she barely understood, but if they came from a much older man's mouth, she just knew that the best course of action was to simply walk away.

The high points:
The multiculture - Somehow, Veatrix never felt out of place in Scara Brae, mostly because so many different people lived there that it was literally impossible to stand out. One second, she was buying soup from a man with fishes growing out of his arm, and the other, she was staring at a gorgeous young man who had the most alarming number of teeth packed in his mouth.

The food - Self-explanatory. To be fair, food could either go really well or really badly. Veatrix laid eyes upon some tasty-looking buns, and really, they tasted better than they smelled, looked and felt. Heaven in a bun, if I do say so myself.

Simply, Scara Brae is like a tourist's paradise, with something different every time she steps into the overcrowded city. Sadly, that "something different" also included some very dangerous ghosts fooling around in the city. Of course, Veatrix wasn't clairvoyant, and she was not even remotely psychic, so when the red-headed ghost approached her, Veatrix did not feel a thing. Rather, all she felt was a firm pair of hands grabbing her behind, but that wasn't the ghost at all.

"Hey!" Veatrix whipped her head around to see a lumpy old man walking away very quickly, with his cane leading the charge.

Looking over the crowd, she ignored that nasty old man's attempt at sexual harassment and continued walking. Until she felt a presence attack her.

It was like someone knocked her down. Falling to her knees, she grasped at her throat, then her stomach, then her head, where a searing pain stabbed her mind. It was like nails being hammered into her brain, only this time, she could feel someone trying to break into her mental wall. Giving in to the pain, she let the presence in, if only to stop the pain. And then she knew no more.

But she did.

Standing up from her kneeling position, the possessed Veatrix walked up to a calm-looking carriage horse, chewing on some grass its owner had provided. Reaching out a slender hand, she stroked the beautiful horse, admiring its wonderful brown hide and glorious black and white mane. While her hand adored the horse, a malicious smile crossed Veatrix's face.

Opening her palm directly at the horse's eye, she whispered. "Illumina."

A bright light exploded from Veatrix's hand, lighting the surroundings with luminous magical energy. The horse, severely startled by the appearance of the white light, panicked. Letting out a beastly neigh, it broke away from its ropes and chains, going on a rampage. Veatrix simply stepped out of the way and let her plan unfold.

The horse trampled over a couple rocks near the town square fountain, while on-lookers avoided the dangerous animal. Some stared at the scene, while others tried to help by calming the horse down. Unfortunately, none of their efforts worked, as the horse kicked over a blonde-haired woman. Repeatedly, it kicked and stomped on her, as it let the animal inside take over. Soon enough, the woman passed out near the fountain, mangled and bleeding from the horse's attack.

Veatrix, eyes rolling into the back of her head, fainted.

[oren]

Yin couldn't believe that they had failed another person. The cleric had to restrain her from rushing into the situation.

"What are you doing she is going to get away!" yelled Yin as the panicking people continued to try and get away from him and go after the ghost.

The poor man struggled to keep her in place while he tried to point out the girl that collapsed in the middle of the street not too far away from the horse and dead woman.

Yin began to collect herself as the cleric dragged her over to the girl. After all they couldn't leave her on the hard cobblestone street with people trying to get the local law enforcement to try and find out what was going on.

This was more trouble that it was worth as Yin and the cleric picked up the little person and carried her off to the inn they were staying in. Even though they'd gotten strange looks from some of the patrons, they continued through to Yin's room. Yin unlocked the door, and carried this new little woman onto her bed.

Leaving the cleric to deal with taking care of the little day she sat down at the desk and pulled out her note book and began adding more to her research on the serial killer ghost.

As she wrote the cleric was just tucking the girl in and sitting down on a another chair and watched the girl.

The room was dimly lit with two different lanterns, one by the bed side, and the other at the desk. The bed wasn't fit for a king, but it was comfortable enough to get some sleep. Yin sighed writing away her research was getting no where, other than all she knew now was that this ghost could possess people. How was she going to go about doing her job with this little problem?

A thought came to her and she turned to her cleric friend.

"May I ask a favour from you?" she began looking at him.

He looked back at her regaining his thoughts and looked at Yin. "Yes."

"Can you please teach me how to exorcise ghosts and daemons," she said. She was determined not be a burden on people.

He looked at her studying her. Yin was absolutely serious in what she wanted from him, and how could he resist a pretty lady.

While the girl was resting the cleric began his instruction on the two simple abilities in exorcism. Yin took notes carefully listening on how to practice each movement.

It would be hours before she could even produce even a little bit of this ability.

[Veatrix]

((All bunnying approved beyond this point.))

And the ghosts should be trapped in the crystals...

I had crystals for breakfast, Mom...

Oh, is she coming to?

I'm not hungry, I'll eat the grasshoppers later...

Wake up, young lady.
…………………………………………†¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦

Her eyelids flitting rapidly as she opened her eyes, Veatrix's head throbbed with pain. It was like her mind was being kneaded like pastry dough. Instinctively, her hand shot up to her temple so quickly, she didn't have time to estimate the distance between her hand and her head. And with that, she accidentally slapped herself. Which proved to be quite effective.

"Ow..."

"Are you alright, young lady?" asked a soothing man's voice.

"Ummm... yeah...," Veatrix mumbled, rubbing her face gently to ease the pain.

"Delightful, she's alive," another voice said, this one a female and much harsher. "Can we get back to my lesson now?"

"One second, Miss Chen." said the man. "What is your name, young lady?"

Rising up from her position lying down on the comfortable bed, she sat up, leaning on the bed frame as she looked around. Two dimly lit latterns decorated the very spartan room. Bed on one side, a desk with pages of notes and quills scattered all over it, and a bedside table. A very simple room, probably in one of the shabbier inns of Scara Brae.

The first person she saw was a light-skinned girl, looking very manly with her boy cut hair. The girl was leaning over piles of paper on the desk, scribbling away. She looked very unremarkable, skinny, simple, with a very haughty aura about her. Rubbing her eyes, she stretched her back, gaining back some of her youthful vitality.

"Where am I?" Veatrix asked as the pain in her head gradually melted away.

"In an inn, Miss Yin Chen's room. You fainted in the town square today, do you remember?"

Recalling what happened a couple of hours ago, flashbacks of beautiful women, horses and the feeling of being mentally attacked came to her. Again, her hand shot up to her queasy head. "Yes... what happened?"

"That stupid ghost possessed your weakling body," said the woman she assumed was Miss Yin Chen. "And made you kill some girl."

Her eyes widening at the accusation, Veatrix whispered. "I-I... I killed someone?"

The man with the soothing voice threw Yin an angry look. "You did not kill anyone, my dear... it was the horse."

"T-the horse?"

"Yes, an animal mauling courtesy of your light power spell," Yin said, tone dripping with poison. "Congratulations."

Rising to his feet, the man shouted, "She did not kill that girl!"

"Fine. As you say." Yin turned away, diving back into her notes like nothing happened. Scratching of pens and shuffling of papers were all the sounds she made as the man introduced himself.

"My name is Peter, a local cleric. Miss Chen here hired me to get rid of this ghost." A small smile crossed his boyish face. Brown shoulder length hair framed his youthful face, tempered by the heat of the sun and the acnes he probably used to get in his younger years. The cleric couldn't have been a little older than Veatrix. Wearing a simple cotton robe, suitable for cleric wear, he leaned forward, expecting an answer from Veatrix.

"I'm Veatrix Bane... ummm. Yeah. Did I really kill a girl?"

"No, of course not," Peter began, his smile fading. "Well... not directly."

[oren]

Yin sighed she was only telling the truth, but that was the least of their worries for the moment. The numbness and burning sensation in her right arm was starting to take its toll. Along with the minor cuts she’s tried to ignore, but couldn’t stand the sight of her blood still dripping out of them.

Searching through her messenger bag she took out her medical kit which carried the medicinal paste for the cuts. Opening up the jar she put a light layer of the plaster over each cut and sighed watching as the blood started to clot on contact with the medicine.

Finally she had the time to just relax a little bit and continue writing. She really had no intention of talking to anyone until she’d finally calmed down cleared out her head with a few additions to her research then a free writing spree in her journal.

Peter looked at Veatrix and asked, “Don’t remember anything do you?”

“No,” replied the girl blushing.

Knowing she did not understand what had just happened to her he began to explain the entire series of events. “As my friend has told you, bluntly…” he had this slight displeasure in his tone from hearing Yin’s harsh tongue. “You were possessed by a ghost that we have been trying to exorcise for some time.”

He went on to tell her about the ghost, and what they had learned following her here. The girl seemed to understand, but fear was written all over her face. It was understandable he would have been too if he were in her position.

“It seems she is very attracted to you Miss. Bane,” he concluded. “You are very pleasing to the eye and it’s not a surprise that she has this desire to use you as a host body.”

He watched her as she pulled her knees under her chin and looked a head of her. “What if she possesses me again?”

The cleric reassured her that they would do everything in their power to get rid of the ghost before that happened. He looked at Yin expecting her to join in on the promise. Yin waved her hand in agreement before starting to write again. Even though she didn’t seem interested, there was nothing more that Yin wanted to do than to get rid of the Killer Redhead once and for all.

Looking back at Veratrix he lightly rubbed her back. “I assure you,” he said softly, “You will be safe.”

Yin finally pipes up after thinking things through in her head. She's tired of hearing 'Mr.Kind's' words of encouragement.

"Why don't we just use her as our lure for the ghost?" she suggested. "Afterall if she's so attracted to her why not make her ghost bait. Then exorcise the ghost before little lady here is possessed."

[Veatrix]

"You want to use me as what?!" Veatrix's eyes widened at the ridiculous suggestion. "I'm gonna be ghost bait?!"

After a long and winding pause, where eyes met with either fear, pity and simple arrogance, Peter the cleric spoke.

"...I don't like saying it, but that sounds like a very sensible idea," he shockingly agreed. "Good work, Miss Chen."

"Wait... what?! I'm not agreeing to this, it's crazy! I'm gonna get possessed again-"

"Calm down... Vea-whatever your name is," Yin said, trying to help her relax from an impending nervous breakdown. "We're not going to let the ghost possess you again. We need you because the ghost is obviously attracted to you. I think it's because you're weak-willed-"

Peter cut her off, giving her a very fatherly glare. "What she is trying to say is... you are an easy candidate to be possessed-"

"I can be possessed easily?!" Veatrix's emotions were running wild, mostly fear kicked around in her brain. She wasn't too keen on being a vessel for a very dangerous ghost.

Yin shot him a good-job-for-making-things-so-much-better look. "We just need you to stand somewhere, look pretty and wait. The ghost will come, you will run, and we will exorcise the ghost before it kills anyone else."

Absorbing all the information like a sponge, Veatrix pondered on the idea, despite it being very risky, most especially to the host of the ghost. She did feel bad for being a part of the death of a young girl, and she did want to do some good in the world. And she did want adventure...

"Will I be hurt at all?"

Peter piped up, smiling widely at the prospect of her agreeing. "No, not at all, Miss Bane. In fact, the headache that you had before was the worst of it."

"Oh... I can handle headaches like that," she said hesitantly.

"So are you going to do it?"

"Ummm...,"

"Please," Peter begged, looking at her with puppy dog eyes. "It's for the greater good."

"...Alrigh-"

"THANK YOU!" Peter shouted, jumping from his chair to celebrate. He began singing to himself, unabashedly flaunting his good mood. "I finally got a joo-oob... gonna get that baa-aadge... gonna prove to hii-iim... that I can be a good cleric too-oo..."

[oren]

Yin walked over having enough of the dancing and smacked her good hand onto the back of his neck watching him go still and sit down again. “You’re going to have to get the job done first before you start doing your victory dance.”

The cleric glared at her for ruining his moment to shine, but knew she was right. Yin pulled her chair over to sit with them, looking at Peter as he began to formulate a plan.

“Alright,” he said, “I say we use Veatrix to get the ghost out of the city. Then when we’re near Valeena Lake, we get Veatrix to stop, and give us a sign that the ghost is coming her way. You and I will pop out and exorcise the ghost.”

The look of skepticism was shared between the two females in the room. As if the two were sharing the same thoughts they both blurted out, “And what do we do if the ghost catches up and does the possession thing?”

They looked at each other then back at the cleric waiting for a reply. Of course there was a general concern about Veatrix being possessed. Exorcising a ghost from inside a person was definitely much harder than getting them off the earth. Also there was a possibility of the possessed person could die.

“Well we exorcise it out of Veatrix...” he replied leaving the death part out.

Yin raised an eyebrow and chose not to say anything either. If anything the girl possibly knew what she was getting into the moment she met them and learned what they do for a living. The reality was Veatrix wasn’t sure about this entire plan. She didn’t want to be possessed by a ghost again, especially one that could go around and kill people using her body. Her reputation would be shot, and her life would be ruined forever! The thought worried her even more.

“Yeah…” she said nervously. “Exorcise it….”

“You scared?” asked Yin.

“Yeah!” Veatrix said panicking. “I don’t want to be possessed again! I want a life of my own not with a ghost pretending to be me!” She took a breath and began again. “And what if this exorcism goes wrong, we could die!”

Yin sighed and combed her messy bangs back and out of her face for the moment. If it were longer and tied back she’d look much more feminine. “Settle down,” she said.

“We’re not going to let you get posessed,” finished Peter. “Trust us.”

[Veatrix]

And so the plan was decided.

Veatrix was to be used as ghost bait since the Killer Redhead seemed to have taken a liking to Veatrix’s body as a host. They would lead the ghost to Valeena Lake, more for security and safety purposes, as they didn’t want the ghost to take a liking to anybody else but Veatrix. Yin and Peter would be waiting on the sidelines, in hopes that the ghost will fall for the trap. And then BAM! Exorcized ghost to be served for dinner.

Or something to that effect.

All of them had their reasons for the exorcism of that pesky ghost. Veatrix wanted to do good in the world, because that seemed to be the only real goal she was holding on to since she left, or rather was kicked out of her old town. Peter needed the money and the prestige in ghost slaying to progress in his clerical studies, particularly because he was considered one of the weaker students in his class. Thayne knew why Yin wanted the ghost gone, but she seemed hardier than either of them.

So the three of them walked briskly towards the Lake, not far from the bustling city. Veatrix power-walked alone, avoiding any real confrontations with people so as to get to the Lake as quick as she could. Yin and Peter followed in the shadows, eyes on the lookout for anything spectral coming their way. The city was still alive with merchants, shopkeepers and novice adventurers, all looking for a taste of the exciting life, unawares that a young girl of eighteen was living that life as she passed them by. It was late afternoon, dusk would be falling soon, but the liveliness of Scara Brae city persisted. The smell of baked goods fluttered wonderfully through the air, and the gleaming of pretty jewels tempted her, but Veatrix did not dare stop. No Killer Redhead would possess her that day.

But first, they had to draw the ghost out of hiding. Another part of their plan was to go back to the scene of the death, where Veatrix’s body had been possessed in the first place. Spotting the beautiful ivory stone fountain from before, she clasped her hands nervously. Hurriedly, she crossed the town square, yet again populated by horse carriages taking a break from a long day of horse carriage-ing. Looking quite normal, Veatrix sat on the stone fountain, making herself look like she was admiring the water that cascaded from the top.

Admittedly, Veatrix looked glorious, wearing the dark olive green dress Sir Chris Forrester had given her as a parting gift from the docking town of her homeland. He was one of the few that weren’t spell-bent on having her killed for her Butterfly Elf heritage. Her long silver eyelashes made her look mysterious and out of the ordinary, while her simple frame was complimented by how well the dress fit her. Her golden blonde hair reached down to her breasts, curling down beautifully. She looked like a vision of loveliness, and that was what caught the ghost’s eye.

I guess washing up was a good thing, she mused, spotting some of the men waving at her lewdly.

The ghost was beautiful when she was alive, so beautiful that her vanity grew day by day. And now, the only ones she will possess are the beautiful ones. Anybody that wasn’t as “aesthetically pleasing” wasn’t worthy for her possession, or so her saying goes.

A couple of the resting horse carriage men stared at her longingly, surprised at the presence of such a beautiful vision sitting all alone on the fountain. But Veatrix’s demeanour hinted at the fact that she wanted to be alone. She exhaled, bending her shoulders slightly. She wanted to be alone for her plan, her purpose. Even if the plan was getting kind of boring.

This is dull, Veatrix thought. When is that ghost going to come?

[oren]

Peter explained to Yin that she had to be the one to deal with the ghost, plus it gave her an opportunity to test out the two techniques he taught her. Yin looked at him looking side to side, a two hour instruction wasn’t much of a lesson or time to practice.

“Alright I taught you Heaven’s Bridge, and Reapers Arm,” he began whispering. “Which one do you use on willing entities?”

“That first one… Heaven’s Bridge,” she stated the obvious.

He began to explain the properties of the more innocent sounding magic so she’d understand that it was supposed to lead the willing spirits to their paradise, and the unfortunate consequences is using it.

“Now remember, once you use it your arm will go completely numb, and you will be very tired and useless so don’t make the mistake and use this one!” he told her off quietly. “We are dealing with an evil spirit. Very bad, killer ghost that will possess that lovely young woman who I seem to be developing feelings for.”

Peter coughed a bit to clear away the blush realizing what he just said and continued. “Which one do you use?”

Yin gave him the answer he wanted and smirked a little seeing as the cleric has a little crush on the girl they were supposed to protect. He ignored the smirk and gave her the entire explanation that she only use the Reapers Arm incase she has no choice like this one. Other than that just find a cleric and save the month and a half of healing for another time.

The cleric nodded to her as he moved along the streets knowing he will have to stay close incase he has to do a quick exorcism incase Veatrix was possessed. The rest would be up to Yin to deal with once the ghost was expelled from her body.

Like the clairvoyant she was Yin felt the chill that came from most of the ghostly spirits that she encountered. Looking out from the alley way she tried to see if she could find the killer Redhead, but found nothing. It was a little bit odd to not see anything but she could sense it so clearly.

Peter looked at Yin’s confusion from where he was, and realized that she couldn’t see where the ghost was. Veatrix was in more danger than she was supposed to be. He moved to get closer only to find Yin is trying to get him to move Veatrix away from the fountain and he did he grabbed her and pulled her away. Watching as cold pale hands from the fountain snatch at the air.

Some of them men who were busy admiring Veatrix snapped out of thier trance and wanted to tell him off for handling a woman so roughly, but found that he and the two ladies had broken into a run towards Valeena lake as the plan was supposed to go. Cringing from the shriek of an angry ghost they tried to settle thier spooked horses.

Yin and Peter separated from Veatrix so that she was alone while running and they sped off to set up the last part of their plan at the lake.

Peter made sure Yin was ready to put her new found magic to the test and reminded her of which one to use right when Veatrix reaches the place they called the safe zone. It was especially important that she use it if he has to expell the spirit from Veatrix's body.

Veatrix on the other hand was nimble and quick trying to get away as fast as she could from the ghost that wanted to take over her body.

[Veatrix]

The trio dashed through Scara Brae city, rabbits running away from the fearsome fox. Startling a group of gossiping old ladies, disrupting a game of hopscotch and making the a few Scara Brae authorities turn their heads, they burst through the city, trying to get to Valeena Lake as quick as they could.

“SORRY!�

“Just get to the Lake!� Yin cried, jumping over a fruit stand that Veatrix knock over clumsily.

An angry cry resonated from the fountain, where the Killer Redhead had emerged, scaring the horses into a small rampage. The carriage drivers frantically tried to calm the horses down, to prevent any other accidental animal maulings. Horses kicked and neighed, pulling on their carriages, but fortunately none of them escaped. Despite the prevention of horses trampling all over the city, people were still in danger.

The ghost floated past the chaos, people parting like the Red Sea to make way for the terrible entity. It gained speed, determined to possess Veatrix as a permanent host body. That way, she could do what she wanted without ever worrying about being non-corporeal. Problems arose when you couldn’t touch things, especially if those things you wanted to touch were to be used to kill other things.

What a shame…, the Ghost thought, laughing evilly. Poor little girl won’t know what hit her!

Peter looked back and saw the ghost catching speed. Mind racing and body on running on automatic, he motioned for the two girls to follow him. The both nodded in reply, turning a corner as the cleric guided the way.

“We’ll take the shortcut! This way!�

Taking a few turns, and running past many a creepy man in dark and dank alleyways, the three of them arrived at the exit of the city, keeping up with the running. Without stopping, they ran through the green fields, just a few miles away from their destination.

Veatrix closed in on Valeena Lake quite quickly, with Yin and Peter following close behind in the trees bordering Brokenthorn Forest. It wasn’t because she was natural runner, on the contrary, running was one of her least developed talents. It was because the moment she sat by the town square’s fountain, Peter hurriedly grabbed her arm and dragged her away from imminent danger – two ghostly hands rising up from the fountain’s waters tried to snatch her.

Through the green grass of the Scara Brae outskirts she ran, short of breath and feeling a little queasy. Even though she couldn’t see the ghost following right behind her, the fact that she could see Yin and Peter running just as fast fuelled her desire to get very far away.

When the she reached the Lake, Veatrix whipped her head around to see if the ghost had followed her. Scanning the area, all she saw were vibrant green trees, the grass blowing in the wind and of course, the blue waters of Valeena Lake. Had there not been any paranormal problems running through Veatrix’s mind, she would have loved to take a nice, long swim.

In the brush, she saw Yin and Peter watching her, whispering to each other. Their eyes searched the area as well, looking for anything possibly dangerous, anything that would disrupt their plan. Everything looked picturesque, and there was nobody in sight, perfect for the plan.

This time, Veatrix thought, nobody will get hurt.

Standing there, in the middle of the scenery, Veatrix waited for the ghost to show itself. Cold sweat ran down her back and her hands shook nervously, but she stood her ground. The ghost will be exorcised, sent to where it truly belonged.

[oren]

The clairvoyant and the cleric continued their speedy trek through the city avoiding people the best they could. As they ran into the trees following the path both stumbled along, clumsily making their way trying to avoid tripping on tree roots.

Sticking to the shadows of the trees the pair looked on as Veatrix positioned herself in the right place. Yin turned looking at Peter nodding to him when he gives her the signal to get ready to do the exorcism.

Minds started racing, and they could see their target approaching fast. Yin prepared herself to try using the Reapers Arm at its full strength for the first time. Peter was surprised Veatrix was more ready for this encounter than Yin was, but he also knew that Yin would not mess anything up even if she wasn’t prepared she would leap in to save the day.

Yin made the move to finally vanquish the evil spirit that plagued the city, concentrating the best she could on trying to develop the fiery scythe. She can feel her starting to tear but she doesn’t manage to produce anything when the ghost raced right through her sending chills through out her body. It was also the fact that she'd never actually seen the attack being used by Peter when he was supposed to teach her. The clairvoyant cursed frustrated with her inability to do anything that could help her out at all.

'This is my profession and I can't even learn a stupid spell!' she thought to herself. 'What am I going to do?! The cleric is useless with these things!'

Standing there in shock Yin tried to shake off the horrifying cold feeling that the Killer Redhead left behind. The cleric moved to try and stop her as well, but only ended up colliding with the clairvoyant.

Limbs tangling and the loss of balance both hit the ground hard. Yin glared at him, if she were to say anything she knew she would hurt the clerics feelings and that was the last thing she wanted to do to a rather sensitive person like him. The dark haired girl hated the conscience that existed inside of her. That wasn't the problem at the moment.

Both regained their thoughts looking up at the ghost as she possessed Veatrix.

“She’s mine!” she declared as she entered the young woman’s body.

Dust and leaves picked themselves up and around Veatrix’s feet, swirling in a small tornado, and then dissipating. There was a change that they could see from the girl. Yin and Peter cursed realizing that they failed in keeping their promise to her.

“What do we do Peter?” said Yin through clenched teeth. Her temper flared, they’d chased this ghost all the way here, and she had the perfect chance to exorcise her for good, and it failed since she didn't actually know how to perform the spell properly. It wasn’t fair and now a girl was paying for it.

Peter on the other hand was trying to remain calm as he began planning the exorcism to expel the spirit from Veatrix’s body. He knew that Yin was feeling frustrated and did his best not to get her even more angry. Looking at her he gave her the reassuring look and said, “One more chance just give me time to exorcise the ghost out of her okay. You just be ready. Your arm hasn’t been damaged yet so you can do this one.”

Yin nodded and got ready she figures he’ll need her to help hold Veatrix’s body down while he does the expelling spell. Then it occurred to her to protest but it was too late as the plan was put into action.

“I quite like this body,” said the Redhead using Veatrix’s voice looking at herself in the lake. “Cute, beautiful, and oh so powerful and fresh with magics that I can use.”

[Veatrix]

The moment the Killer Redhead swooped into Veatrix’s frail body was the moment Veatrix Bane knew no more.

“She’s mine!� the ghost screamed defiantly, Veatrix a mouthpiece for the words she wanted to convey.

Veatrix tried to expel the Killer Redhead from her mind, pushing at the horrific experience of being possessed with all her mental strength. But the ghost was too strong and too determined to wreak havoc, as she continued to mentally rape Veatrix, demoralizing and mocking the innocent entity living in the frail, scarred body. Angrily, the ghost pushed Veatrix’s soul into a small corner, scolding it much like an angry mother would a scared daughter.

Testing out the young body, cracking bones and feeling out the strong muscles, the ghost smiled, a malicious grin spreading across Veatrix’s face. She felt the power emitting from the frail-looking host, she had definitely underestimated the young girl’s power. Exploring her energies freely, the ghost tapped into the spells Veatrix had stored in her mind, only to be unlocked at the most dire circumstances. Unfortunately for Yin and Peter, Veatrix wasn’t in control, the Killer Redhead was. And the ghost definitely wanted to live up (quite literally) to her wonderful reputation.

The ghost invaded Veatrix’s being, not caring to see any of her horrible memories or wonderful experiences. She saw Veatrix’s secrets, fears and her dreams, her hopes and wishes, all pushed into one corner of her mind for the ghost’s viewing convenience. But she had no time, or not real desire, to sift through who Veatrix was; all she wanted was a body to do some damage in. Drawing on the magical energies stored deep within Veatrix’s mind, her body crackled with raw power.

“Now how would you like some of this!� The ghost in Veatrix’s body raised a clawed hand, ready to strike. Bringing it down dramatically, she screamed maniacally. “ILLUMINA!�

A flash of searing light exploded from her hand and beamed at Yin and Peter, who were hiding in the tree, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, Peter’s clerical training and instincts kicked in, putting him into a state of overdrive.

The robed cleric rushed forward, producing a purple barrier from his hands, glowing royally. Streams of purple magic splashed from the barrier like liquid energy, dissipating as soon as it hit the grassy surface. The ghost spell pushed forward, crackling like pure lightning, ready to strike and burn, while it was held off by the watery violets of Peter’s shield. His face contorted in pain and concentration as the barrier fought the powerful blast of magical energy, burning both his inner power supply and eyes from the sheer strength of the light. A resolute shout escaped from Peter’s lips, a gesture of force of will.

“It’s useless!�

Snapping her hand forward forcefully, the ghost amplified the magic in Veatrix’s body with her own magical prowess, left over in her spirit after she passed away. The searing light spell crashed towards Peter, making the purple barrier explode, overwhelmed by the absolute might of the ghost’s power. Peter shielded his eyes from the bright light, but as thrown to the side by the force of the explosion. Crumpled in an awkward-looking posture, Peter lay still on the green grass near Valeena Lake. Purple wisps of energy escaped from his body, desperate to be free from the weak vessel, as his life drained away dangerously.

Satisfied, the ghost smiled menacingly, Veatrix’s usual simple demeanour miles away from the treacherous expression plastered on her face. Turning to Yin, who was still standing in the green brush of the Forest, she called out.

“Now it’s your turn!�

[oren]

Her heart skipped several beats watching as Peter’s shield shattered and the light sent him back. All that went through her mind was that she couldn’t save him from that attack, and he was going to die because she asked him to help her. The helplessness left Yin standing there as an open target.

The spirit of the cleric was sitting up trying to get out of the body. Shaking her head, Yin wanted to make his spirit stay in his body.

‘No,’ she thought to herself. ‘Peter stay…-’

Her thoughts were interrupted by the over zealous spirit in Veatrix’s body. Turning to look at her she could see she was ready to deal with her as well. Yin couldn’t think of anything else to do but to move away from her. Breaking into a run she disappeared into the forestry; her cowardice started to make her angry. Trying to maneouver over the roots of the trees made her even more frustrated.

Yin stopped hiding behind a tree attempting to collect her thoughts. Alright, Peter as much as she wanted to save him is now as she knows doomed to die. Veatrix has been possessed, and there was nothing she could do about that either. Or was that really her only option, and then her brain was thinking, working like a library like her first master trained her.

What was there she could do to take that spirit out without harming Veatrix’s?

Reality set in, Yin's excitement made her forget about the fact she still did not know anything about how to use the Reapers Arm. She was an imitation person, and that was something she didn't get a chance to see at all. Peter hadn't shown her at all because of the painful consequences of the spell. Now she wasn't going to learn it at all!

It was unfair in her mind, the one person who could deal with the exorcism was gone. At least she was sure he was dead.She saw his spirit trying to leave his body, and possibly succeeded since she last saw it.

[Veatrix]

She could practically smell the fear off of Yin as she dashed through the greenery of Brokenthorn Forest, trying to get away from the maniacal ghost possessing Veatrix’s body. She smiled, teeth bared and fingers brushing against the rough bark of the trees, feeling the raw power pulsating within the tiny frame. And to think, she fully underestimated the girl the firs time she saw her. Little did she know that Veatrix had more power than she realized, and all hell would break loose if she tapped into that power.

The ghost was hungry for some blood – the intruding cleric was just the beginning, the foolish hunter that had been tagging her for days would be sweet satisfaction. The thought of fresh blood flowing down her newly-acquired fingertips was enough to set her lust on fire. Snarling, she dove into the brush of the Forest, hunting Yin like a cat would its poor mouse prey.

For awhile, the search excited her; the immense feeling of being a predator satisfied her inner animal. Manoeuvring through the gnarly trees and twisted branches was a chore, but a chore worth doing, since the thrill of it all gave the ghost the boost she needed. That was until minutes began going by, without her seeing any trace of Yin around. Whipping around, Veatrix’s golden blonde hair tangling in some green leaves, the ghost saw nothing but trees, trees and more trees.

Frustrated, she called out, “Come out, girl! You’ll pay for making me so anxious to kill you!”

Her words, salivating with bloodlust, echoed through the Forest, bouncing off the trees like a pack of rabbits. Yin, breathing heavily behind a tree, tried to stay as still as she could. Unfortunately for her, the tree she was leaning on began crawling, pulsating with life.

Red multi-legged bodies the size of Yin’s hand burst out of the tree, bothered by the sudden appearance of a warm presence resting upon their holy grounds. Antennae protruded from each of the little insects, while six legs dangled from the trisected figures. Dangerous pincers snapped viciously as they crawled their way up Yin’s arm, making her shriek uncontrollably. Quickly they came, and had she not pulled away from the tree exploding with life, her arms would have been overcome with copious amounts of carnivorous fire red ants. A couple of the little buggers dug into her skin, piercing flesh with their sharp fangs and hungrily digging out fresh human meat. The ant bites stung, while Yin tried to sweep them off her body.

Pushing herself away from the tree that turned out to be a fire ant colony, she walked out into plain view of the ghost. Seeing Veatrix’s possessed body just a few feet away, Yin’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t think you’d actually come out… what a wise choice, girl!” The ghost rushed forward, pushing aside the twisting branches. “Come here!”

[oren]

The bugs were a surprise to Yin, as she shrieked and danced a bit to try and shake them off her arms, before finding the only way to get them off was to scratch them off. Even worse some had gotten deep enough to make her bleed.

‘Damn it! These stupid insects!’ she fume while she scrapng and clawing at her arm to get the ant like insects off of her.

A chill ran through her, and her stomach dropped when she heard Veatrix’s voice. The combination of the sweet, innocent voice of the girl along with the raspy screech of the dead woman scared her, and Yin stood frozen in place, like a paralyzed fawn.

‘Why won’t I move?!’ she mentally screamed as Veatrix made her way over to her.

Forcing her legs to move, Yin stumbled backward, tripping over a root. She tried to scramble away, only to find herself suddenly being pinned uncomfortably to the ground by Veatrix. Though she still looked so little and fragile, her strength was amplfied by the power of the spirit possessing her. The dark haired girl pulled her head back, trying to dig it into the ground to get it away as Veatrix leaned in towards her ear.

“Don’t worry... this won’t hurt one bit,” she whispered before bursting out in laughter and pulling away. “I am going to enjoy wiping your annoying little face off the planet!”

The Killer Redhead placed a hand against Yin’s face, grinning madly as the spiritualist tried to scratch at her and tear her hand away. The possessed girl grinned victoriously, as she preparing to use Illumina once again.

“Goodbye Yin,” she heard before the ghost opened her mouth to announce the spell. while Yin tried desperately to fight back, her screams muffled by the girl’s hand. “Illumin—!“

Veatrix paused suddenly, and the spell was interrupted, and the heat from the centre of her palm dissipated. Yin stopped struggling, looking up relived to see Peter hanging onto a tree behind Veatrix before holding out his arm. Holding out his arm, the man concentrated all his thoughts and energies onto his hand.

Time stopped as what looked like a reaper appeared beside him, before wrapping itself around his arm slicing at it. Peter, despite his exhaustion, continued to ignore the pain as the skin on his arm began to burn and peel away. Flames enveloped his forearm as a reaper's scythe appeared in front of his hand. Curling his fingers around the staff, he moved forward, slicing r through Veatrix with the scythe. Instead of cutting her, it hooked onto the Killer Redhead. With a harsh yank, he pulled back, ripping the ghost out of Veatrix.

Yin watched the ghost fight against him, trying to cling to her host, and cringed as Veatrix when screamed from the pain of having the evil ghost torn out of her body.

On the other side, Peter could have cared less about Veatrix being in pain. He was in a vengeful mood, and yanked hard finally getting her out and away from Veatrix. He watched her screech as she burned, being sent to a hellish prison or prison in hell reserved just for her. He let the reaper's scythe go and the fire on his arm died out. He looked over at Yin as she sat up, knocking heads with the exhausted Veatrix. The dark-haired girl caught her with one arm, rubbing her head while looking up at Peter.

“That’s how you use the reapers arm,” he said plopping onto the ground in front of her. He cradled his arm, tired, in pain, and relieved to be rid of the ghost.

Yin looked at him. “You are… I don’t even know anymore.” She shook her head before looking down at Veatrix, rolling the girl out of her arms before folding her cloak into a pillow and placing it gently under her head. “What do we do with her?"

“Take care of her until she wakes up?” Peter replied, sighing.

The clairvoyant shifted over to the cleric, taking out her medical kit dealing with his cuts and burns as they waited for Veatrix to get up.

[Veatrix]

Veatrix?

Is Shenjalee back yet… because if she is…

Veatrix… come on. Wake up.

We’ll send her back where she came from…

Wake up!

……………………………………………………………

Veatrix pushed herself off of the damp Forest ground, rubbing her head, which was throbbing painfully. She felt around for something to cling on to, as everything was disoriented – her legs felt like her arms, her arms felt like her mouth, her mouth felt like her hair, and her hair was a mess. Everything was jarred, like being thrown violently into a food processor and coming out all dizzy. In fact, that was basically what happened to her. The presence of the Killer Redhead in her body for so long left her feeling… processed.

“Huh?” she managed to say, the sound of her voice both familiar and awkward. Like she hadn’t heard herself speak in a very long time.

“Finally, you came to!” A girl lightly slapped her face, making her cheek sting. Opening her eyes, framed with silver eyelashes too long for what they were worth, and saw the pale ochre skin and blue-black hair of Yin. “I thought you were dead!”

“What happened…?”

“Peter came,” Yin motioned to an unconscious Peter, his monk robes torn and tattered and his arm dangerously injured. “Exorcised the ghost, sent it to some hell. We thought we died… the ghost possessed you for so long.”

“…possessed?”

“And then you attacked us with your magic, she was screaming everywhere. I thought Peter was going to die.”

Veatrix sighed heavily, letting out air that seemed to have been trapped in her chest for years. “How is Peter?”

“He’s fine… hurt really badly, but he’ll live. He’s a monk, he knows how to heal himself.”

“Good… good. Let me just stand up-“

Veatrix stood up, legs clumsy and wobbling, looking around, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. The last thing she remembered was being struck down swiftly by a presence, an unwelcome spirit. Her control of her body lifted from her hands and all she knew was the black corner of her mind where the ghost had pushed her to. The black was so void that the sight of sunlight bleeding through the trees made her eyes water. Not only that, Veatrix felt… different.

Aside from her own consciousness floating around in her head, there was something else floating around with it. Something foreign, but not entirely alive. It didn’t seem to pose any threat, but Veatrix felt… eviller, if there was such a feeling. There was a niggling feeling in the back of her head, uncomfortable at first, but close enough to her own consciousness that she simply ignored it.

Yin was talking and talking, trying to explain everything, but all Veatrix knew was that she was alive. Different, but alive. To be honest, she wasn't at all sure if she was going to come through that endeavour alive. The way the ghost isolated her from her own body threw her off completely, her mental state a tangle of webs. Thinking… she thought of Llewelyn and Lacey, both of whom were probably waiting for her to come home. There was something about that day that made her want to cuddle up in a bed, soup on the sidetable, and sleep.

“I’d better get back… it’s getting late. See you around?”

Without another word, the niggling feeling in the back of her head made her take off, leaving Yin and the recovering Peter in the Forest. She wasn’t sure why she left so suddenly, even though she could barely walk properly, but it seemed like the right thing to do. She brushed away stray branches and stepped over overgrown tree roots, making her way back to her home in Scara Brae.

((SPOILS: A small bit of the Killer Redhead's angry, power-hungry personality embedded into her own consciousness. Maybe a bit of gold, and anything else the judge finds appropriate to give.))

[oren]

Leaping to her feet Yin tried to get a hold of Veatrix before she left. It really was out of concern for the girl. Her fingers barely caught hold of her before the fabric of the dress she wore slipped away.

“Wait—Oh… never mind…”

Yin looked at the cleric as he finished up healing the most severe parts of his wound. Figuring he would be fine she looked in the direction of the port town. She wanted to wait until he was finished before they would go back, but instead she chose to get poor Peter up and get him back to the city.

On their way back the pair talked and joked for the entire half-an-hour it took to get back to the inn.

They stopped outside her room, Peter patted the top of her head. Yin felt degraded to a pet of some sort when he did that. Just to be nice she smiled, after all the man sacrificed an arm for her, and that’s more than what any other person would do.

“Hey,” he said “At least you tried. Now that you’ve seen it you can try to use the reapers arm some time!”

“I won’t make any promises,” said the clairvoyant taking his hand off her head. “But thanks.”

Peter handed her a book before leaving her in the hall towards his room. Yin watched him shut his door before slipping into her own room smiling to herself. Yin tossed her cloak aside and opened up her messenger bag pulling out her notebook for all her latest supernatural encounters. The dark haired girl finished off the last bit of her notes on the Killer Redhead.

Snapping her book shut, Yin put everything away neatly and carefully. Picking up the book Peter gave her she learned it was a thin book on how to care for burns. She eventually drifted off to sleep reading, finishing off a very painful day peacefully.

-fin-

((SPOILS: Yin gains Reapers Arm ability with all the consequences (cuts, skin tearing, and burning) and pain that comes with it., and a book on Burn Care. As a low level ability it will have a time limit, if that is required, for however long the judge feels it should be. Along with whatever else can be given if any.))

[Witchblade]

Storyline

Continuity: - 5.5 I’m not entirely sure as a reader where the characters were at a point of development or true storyline throughout this quest. It just seemed that they were both there, for no particular reason at all. Though you don’t always need to come up with some grand explanation for a character’s presence in a certain region or city, it does help if the reader has some understanding of where they choose to go. Plus, even backtracking on some recent events makes them come to life more as characters themselves. As far as the storyline for this quest goes, I enjoyed it. It was simple and interesting and kept me reading for the most part, though some of the more climactic points during the whole thing seemed to have been glossed over. I’ll get into that a little more in Pacing. I think the NPC of the Redhead Killer could have been given more of an explanation or better personality, maybe even reasoning for running around slaughtering women though.

Setting: - 5.5 Oren, you really need to work on describing your setting more. You tend to either not do it at all or just tell the reader it’s there. Oh look; horses and carriages and that’s it. You don’t describe anything about them other than the fact that they exist. A reader needs setting in order to visual what is going on around the character. I’ve said this time and time again and I will continue to say this; setting is not only a canvas on which you paint, but a stage upon which you act. Veatrix, your setting is much more vivid than Oren’s, but it still needs a little bit of help. Sometimes you describe setting in a very cut and dry kind of way. ‘There was a table with a lantern by the bed. Next to that a chair.’ Those are not really the things most people notice when they look around them. People notice the odd things, like the crack in the wall that looks like a face, or the feel of the sheets running across their bare arms. Setting is the ways things feel and smell as well.

Pacing: - 4 A climax in a story needs to be, well, climactic! Oren you just tend to go right over the climactic points as if you were talking about the colour of the sky. ‘Yes, it’s blue; let’s move on to something else now.’ Our opening post is a good example of it. You had a woman getting trampled to death by a horse at the end in a simple paragraph of explanation that wasn’t even very long. I honestly read it twice just to make sure I didn’t miss something. You need to give it tension, make the reader sit on the edge of their seat as you describe this poor girl screaming and trying desperately to scramble away from the sharp hooves of the horse as it stomps and kicks at her body. I did enjoy the climactic moment with the Redhead Killer attacking Yin and Peter coming back to save the day though. That was rather well done.

The feel of the quest itself was rather fast paced, get in, get it done and get it over with. The ending was rushed at best and I’m not sure if you two just got bored of writing it and wanted it to end or what, but even with the new presence inside of Veatrix, it didn’t feel right the way she just ran off like that. Also, in times of high tension—when Veatrix described running away from the city—it’s usually best not to go over that scene again in the next post; because it will kill the tension that was just built up by having to read it all over again from a different character’s point of view.

Character

Dialogue: - 6.5 I think there are times when dialogue is the only way that I can truly get a feel for Yin’s personality. It makes her come to life as a character and is usually quite well done. Veatrix has some good dialogue as well, though the screaming and panicking and freaking out scene seemed a little more forced than it should have been to me. I’m not really taking off a lot of points for that, mainly because I could feel the panic in her, but something was lacking. Also, the dialogue of The Redhead Killer just seemed like the typical, clichéd dialogue of any bad guy to me. Try to liven it up a bit.

Action: - 6 Yin just did not come across as some kind of coward to me at all in this quest, so when she up and ran from the possessed Veatrix, I was a little more than surprised. I would have thought she’d stay there and try to fight her in some kind of way instead of doing that. She just comes across as a much more strong willed character. Veatrix seemed to be persuaded into being bait for this ghost rather easily for someone who was in near hysterics over the thought of it. It seemed out of character for someone who nearly had a mental breakdown one second and then agreed to do it the next, all because the cleric mentioned it being for the greater good. Peter and the Redhead Killer both seemed to have actions true to their characters.

Persona: - 6.5 Your style of writing makes it hard for Yin’s personality to truly come out. I can usually only catch the glimpses of it in your dialogue. I suggest putting more internal dialogue in your paragraphs, thoughts from her that help the reader see how exactly her brain works and processes things. It started getting a little better towards the end of the quest, but in the beginning, as I mentioned before, she felt like a very stoic character with little to no personality. Peter and The Redhead Killer both came out in their respective personalities. I particularly enjoyed Peter’s exuberance, though I thought him having feelings for Veatrix so soon after meeting her, was silly. Changing the wording a bit and saying that he was attracted to her instead would make more sense. I’m not really sure on Veatrix’s personality. She was there and she played a role, but she seemed more like a background character just needed for the possession and nothing else. Perhaps because of the possession she seemed to come out so little as a character and I got to see so little of her reaction afterwards since she just bolted.

Writing Style

Mechanics: - 5.5 Oren, you need to watch your grammar. In your first sentence you should have used ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ and you need that first sentence as your hook to the reader. Also, the second paragraph in your first post was a run-on sentence. You have a really bad habit of switching tenses and going from past tense into present, which completely throws the reader off. You both had grammar and spelling issues, though Oren you had this more so than Veatrix. I’m sure you’ve both heard it before, the whole rereading your posts, read them backwards, reread them before you start your next post so I’m only going to mention it to you again. ;) Also, Veatrix... carriage-ing? Should I smack you for that word now, or later?

Technique: - 5 Oren, in your first post you wrote: ‘black hair and pale green eyes scanned the streets...’. This is awkward sounding because, and I encourage you to read it again, it makes it seem like her hair is scanning the street. You need to watch out for awkwardly worded sentences, they throw the pacing off and the reader is usually forced to go over them more than once.

Veatrix, you had a few of your own awkwardly written sentences as well. I grabbed this one in particular: Her eyelids flitting rapidly as she opened her eyes, Veatrix’s head throbbed with pain.’ Now, it can be reworded a number of different ways. Keeping relatively the same words you used: Veatrix rapidly fluttered her eyes open, her head throbbing in pain. It flows a little easier to the reader. Also, Veatrix I liked the way you introduced your character with the whole High and Low points of Sara Brae. I suggest if you’re going to do something like that again, you word it so it sounds less like you’re bullet pointing your paragraphs though. ‘The low points, well there were the smells... etc. And then on top of all the smells, there were the creepers.’

Clarity: - 7 There were a few times when I had to reread sentences because of the way they were structured, not to mention the way Oren sped past certain climactic scenes confused me as the reader. Other than that though, everything was perfectly clear and precise as to what was going on.

Wild Card: - 6 I must say that I did enjoy the concept of this quest and reading it. It kept me interested and entertained, though I do believe that there are improvements the two of you can make in writing.

Total: 57.5

Rewards:

Oren receives 530 experience and 200 GP!
Veatrix receives 1,000 experience and 200 GP!

Veatrix, your spoil is awarded!

Oren, it would be appreciated if you actually detail the move itself like you would for a profile. Just remember that for next time. When asking for an ability/skill as a reward, you want to write it out like you would for your profile, not just give the bare minimum. You are awarded the Reaper’s Arm pending further approval from RoG.

[Zook Murnig]

EXP/GP ADDED!

OREN NEARS LEVEL 1!

VEATRIX NEARS LEVEL 3!