[PP-F11] Mewls & Mistletoe

[Telrenya 0]

With each second of stillness that passed by after the cave's crumbling, Telrenya's heartbeat slowed back to a normal pace, and she placed a hand over her chest while she took in a deep breath of musty air to calm herself further. The relief that washed over her just the same when Jomei responded that both of them were fine was welcome, and allowed her to pull her attention away from the obvious blockade that now stood between them. His kind warning brought an automatic smile to her lips, feeling the warmth behind his words. Though he couldn't see the gesture, she gave a nod of her head. "Right, I will. You, too."

Time passed, and Telrenya was forced to focus on the predicament she had been left in. Standing alone among the same catacombs they'd been wandering aimlessly in for some time before running into Vaughn to guide them, she frowned and began to wrack her brain for a plan of action. She could stay where she was, hoping that Vaughn knew the terrain well enough that he could lead Jomei back around to this same cave; that would be the safest option, but just the thought of it left her feeling nervous and antsy, the unknown factors in that scenario being the only thing to occupy her mind for however long she might have to wait. She could go back the way they came, but it was even harder to reason with herself that it wasn't an awful idea. If she got herself more lost and wasn't able to find an exit on her own, or get lucky enough to run into the other two by chance, Jomei and Vaughn wouldn't even have a way to track her down.

She placed her hands on her hips, letting out a huff of air. She couldn't hear anything on the other side of the fallen rubble, and so she only assumed that by now the other two had moved on down the other passageway. She began to pace, if for no other reason than to keep her limbs busy while her mind continued to work. "Hm?" Thus far, only the softly-glowing crystals had been left to illuminate the space around her, but the blonde's eyes curiously fell on a patch of light that fell on the edge of the cavern's floor. She blinked, gaze shifting as she followed the thin rays that cast down from the ceiling, leading her to spot a section of cracked earth where a bright light peeked through. She frowned for a moment, thinking what she could possibly do with this development, bringing a hand to her chin as she began to concoct a new plan in what remained of the small cave.

[Jomei 0]

The NPC continued forward, the stoned over half of his body scraping against the wall with each step, which he used to stable himself while walking. Jomei walked not too far behind, keeping a careful eye on Vaughn. The man's thoughts dwelled on what they knew about the curse, both from Telrenya's assumptions and what Vaughn told them. From what they believed, it was the sun's very light that progressed the curse.. hence why the man retreated to these catacombs. "So.. you mentioned you've been around for hundreds of years. Is it the curse that keeps you alive?" Vaughn stopped for a moment, and let out a heavy sigh before continuing on. "Yeah.. and its.. not as great as.. you would think." he said, forcing out a chuckle. "Most of my.. inside has evolved with.. this damn curse..Hardening like a rock... but never decaying.. or aging." The man groaned, clenching his side, "Hurts like hell.."  Jomei's brows knit in concern as he took a few large steps forward to catch up to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there.. we are going to fix this." Vaughn's still human skin was cold and dry, the feeling almost similar to stone. It was much worse than Jomei had felt before when he was helping him to his feet. Just how much faster was this curse progressing?

As the two continued on, some of the paths that led from their current trail seemed less carved out than most of the catacombs. The caverns they passed looked tighter, unfinished and rocky, whereas the catacombs were smooth cut and wide open. "Is that one of the ways back to the surface?" Jomei asked "Mm" Vaughn simply replied with a single nod. "Its... a tight fit... but it.. goes to a dried.. up river.. once we.." The NPC suddenly grabbed his head, the piercing pain of the curse's progression affecting him again. The man attempted to push himself from the wall, but collapsed into it again, his stone arm crashing into the side of the cavern. Bits and pieces of the ceiling crumpled down, letting small rays of the sun's light peak through hitting Vaughn. The once Saint reacted with a scream as he fell to his knees, and Jomei could see the curse slowly progressing, taking over more of his body. "Vaughn!" Jomei shouted, grabbing the man and pulling him back into the darkness. 

The ginger fumbled through his pockets, trying to pull one of the fruits from his pocket. "Don't worry I got y-" A cold, stone arm shot towards Jomei, its fingers gripping the player's throat, cutting off his breathing. The turning NPC rose to his feet, picking Jomei up with him. His eye, that once had a simple grey film, was now completely whited out, glaring at him with an eerie light. "V..aughn... Its.. me.." Jomei managed to get out, but his words fell on deaf ears. It was then he noticed his health bar, slowly depleting from the lack of air he was getting. [censored], this isn't good.. he thought to himself, clenching his eyes shut. Desperately, Jomei planted his back foot into the ground and turned his body, slightly releasing the tension around his neck. Using the hand that tried to pry Vaughn's cold fingers from his throat, he knocked the man's stony arm away from him, leaving him to gasp wildly for breath. The half-cursed Vaughn's momentum carried him forward towards the ginger, who quickly brought up the knee of his planted foot, driving it into the NPC's abdomen. With Vaughn distracted, Jomei rushed past him in the direction they were heading. Hopefully he is still moving slow, and I can create some distance.. The NPC who had just been kneed in the stomach coughed before standing up straight and turning towards the ginger's last known location. With a slightly quicker hobble, Vaughn rushed after his new target. 

[Telrenya 0]

Several minutes later, Telrenya stood on the balls of her feet, balancing precariously on a stack of rubble she had fashioned to serve as a platform of sorts. Having pulled the sturdiest and most level sections of rock and stone that she could manage to find and dislodge from the cave-in, the blonde had boosted her height just enough by standing atop the makeshift steps in order to reach the ceiling of the catacombs by the tips of her fingers. Focusing on the small cracks that allowed the tiny streams of light to slip through, she struggled to find a hold in order to push away the loose dirt. Just as she was thinking of dropping back down to find another slab of rock to add to her pile, Telrenya pushed up on her feet one more time, curling her fingers around an edging of packed earth. She leaned forward, and the force proved just enough to break off a solid chuck of dirt. Just as the woman's avatar lurched forward while her balance was thrown, it was as if she'd dislodged a support beam of sorts. More light streamed in, and the area above her began to crumble and fall away. Bits of dirt began to fall and coat both Telrenya and the cavern floor, turning into larger pieces of earth and rubble until an awkwardly-shaped hole had been left in the ceiling above. The blonde, trying and failing to regain her balance atop her perch, had tumbled forward as she fell back to the cavern floor, letting out a grunt of discomfort when her shoulder made contact with the hard surface.

When she pulled her eyes open, she immediately noticed the soft blue glow coming off of her arm. Filling her with a bit of relief, she smiled softly. "Thanks, Willow." She said in a small voice, assuming that the wisp had managed to protect her from whatever small ticks of damage she might have taken from either her fall, or the debris coming down around her. Pushing herself up, Telrenya's chocolate eyes traveled back up to the empty space she'd created, squinting past the contrast of the dark cave and the bright light spilling through past it. Her eyes were just working to adjust and make out some shapes in the distance when she let out a short gasp of surprise, stepping backwards with a start. A pair of tawny wings beat the air with Adere's descent, jostling some more loose dirt and grass to fall into the catacombs below. The owl familiar landed at the edge of the opening, talons curling into the ground to make for a more stable perch as she looked to Telrenya with expectant onyx eyes. The woman's expression shifted to display the new relief that she felt as she exclaimed the owl's name. "Adere! Oh god, am I glad to see you." She admitted with a smile, cocking her head to the side with hopeful curiosity. "Think you can help me? Is there anything up there that can help me get out of here?"

[Jomei 0]

Now, with enough space created between himself and Vaughn, Jomei took a moment to catch his breath. One hand pressed into the cold, stone wall while his other rubbed at the tingling skin of his neck. He felt as though though his neck was actually being crushed by rocks, not by a human hand. Jomei feared the worst for their cursed companion.. had the curse progressed too much to the point of no return? He refrained from thinking about what he would have to do if Vaughn was now out for blood, with no humanity left in him. The gigner's head shook side to side, No.. there had to still be a bit of Vaughn left in there.. Jomei just needed to bring it out. 

The sudden sound of stone scraping against stone sent a chill down the man's spine. With the now lack of torch in his hands, Jomei could hardly see the cursed man approaching from behind. Frantically, Jomei began to feel around the walls for some sort of escape. Searching revealed a small alcove that, lead nowhere, but could serve as a small spot to hide while Vaughn slipped by. With a deep breath in through his nostrils, Jomei slipped into the space and listened for the NPC to pass. All Jomei could see was darkness, and the pitch black silhouette of Vaugh as he slowly passed by where the ginger hid. His piercing white eyes shone through the dark, the only thing the ginger could truly see. 

Jomei soon realized that this would simply turn into a game of cat and mouse, trying to find Telrenya, and then an exit, before Vaughn would catch them. He needed to bring the cursed man back from this state, or else it would only get worse. Slowly reaching into his pocket, Jomei took out the rest of the tiny fruits that proved to halt a bit of the progression before. Once Vaughn had moved a few paces past Jomei's position, the ginger sprung into action, rushing at Vaughn's back and wrapping an arm around his shoulder's to pin his arms in place. He then took the fist full of fruits and shoved them into the NPC's mouth, forcing him to eat them. "Work with me here Vaughn" Jomei said through a grunt, as the half monster writhed and squirmed to free himself from Jomei's grasp. The stone arm broke free of Jomei, and swung behind him, cracking Jomei in the head and knocking him to the floor, dropping his HP another few points. 

Vaughn, however, stumbled and fell to a knee, the white light that took over his eyes draining. Soon, heavy breathing could be heard from the dark silhouette before it began to move "What.. what happened?" he said, rising to his feet. Jomei, his vision still a bit hazy from being hit in the face rose to his feet as well, "It.. doesn't matter.. lets just keep moving." 

[Telrenya 0]

Adere blinked, understanding her words but unsure of how to act on them. "Hmm..." Telrenya mused, tapping her chin while she tried to formulate a plan. "Could there be any rope, or..." She mumbled, thinking aloud with what little she knew about the environment above. Adere cooed, almost in response, and her body crouched while she spread her wings to take flight again. The movement caught Telrenya's attention and she perked up, hurriedly stepping back onto her makeshift stone steps to bring herself a little bit closer to the gap. "Oh, wait, where are you--" But the owl was already out of sight. She frowned. Without an idea of what Adere was running off for, she was back to square one. But in a moment of curiosity, idling wondering if she flew off for her player's sake, chocolate eyes flickered up to the corner of her vision to inspect the health bar that rested beneath hers.

The level of color that remained left room for empty space to indicate missing health points, and that small void caused Telrenya's eyes to widen slightly. She stared at it, the air still as she watched with bated breath for any signs of movement. A few more seconds passed, and she exhaled with relief when whatever it was that had hurt Jomei had stopped, and the bar naturally began to replenish itself with a slow crawl of healthy green. "Be careful, love." She said softly, brows turned up with concern before she turned her attention back to the task at hand.

Several minutes later, Telrenya had dismantled and rebuilt her her stone step-ladder, gathering the sturdiest pieces of earth she could find and pull apart from the earlier rockslide to give her a bigger boost towards the floor's surface. After a while, she had managed to get enough of a hold onto a solid edge of the hole in the ground she'd earlier made, and after a lot of nervous caution and plenty of effort and persistence, the blonde had finally pulled herself up and out of the caverns below. She rolled to the side after pulling her last knee over the edge, and panted softly while she sprawled out over a grassy field to catch her breath from the tiring task. "It's a shame, I'm not actually getting real workouts like this." She said to herself between breaths. Picking her head up to quickly check for any aggressive monster or nearby Forsaken, Telrenya's gaze snapped to the side when she heard a loud hoot calling in the distance. "Huh?" She propped herself up on her elbows and squinted towards a large, moss-covered stone structure a short distance away. "Adere, was that you?" She asked herself, dusting herself off and picking back up to her feet.

[Jomei 0]

It only took a few moments for the green of Jomei's health to fill in the dark spaces that represented depleted points, restoring him back to his maximum HP. The man kept moving forward through the dark, moving quickly as to avoid Vaughn taking another turn for the worse. After the close encounter he had with the cursed man just moments earlier, he feared if the NPC suffered from the forsaken illness any farther, that there would be no turning back this time. Turning his chin slightly, the ginger looked over his shoulder at the ex-saint, who limped along behind him at his own pace. "You alright?" Jomei asked out of concern, "Yeah.." Vaughn replied, his voice sounded less weak than before, "I'm fine." 

"Good, just let me know if you feel like you're going to turn again so I can get a head start." he said with a small chuckle, trying to make light of the situation. As Jomei turned to face forward again, the feeling of dozens of tiny threads tickled at the skin of his face that tore from their place on the wall. The Irishman froze in place as the strands of web settled, sticking to his skin. A slow, trembling hand rose towards his nose, his fingers gripping one of the hair-like threads. The next feeling that Jomei had sent a chill down his spine, as his already pale skin lost any of the color it had. Eight small legs, one after another, angrily scrambled across Jomei's face at the destruction of its home. "Oh yeah, watch where you walk. A lot of spiders made their home down here." 

A LOT? Jomei thought to himself. 

The ginger began to flail his arms, swatting at his face to remove both the webs that clung to him and the spider trying to enact its tiny revenge on the giant man. In his blind squabble, Jomei stumbled forward, moving through even more unseen webs. "A-AH!" Jomei shouted, before stumbling over a piece of collapsed ceiling, continuing to brush his face and hair on his fall down to the cavern floor. Vaughn let out a weak small chuckle, "Relax kid, they won't hurt you." Jomei pushed himself back up to a standing position, still trembling and shaking his head, "I don't care just.. help me find the way out!"

[Telrenya 0]

A few paces out, Telrenya could spot the tawny owl bringing herself up to perch atop a high section of stone. She moved a bit faster to circle around the outside of the worn structure, eyes widening slightly when they'd finally fallen on the form she could make out. A statue that stood fifteen, maybe twenty feet taller than her, covered in patches of moss and some of its features smoothed over from years and years of weathering. Telrenya stared for a while, making out not only a person, but a face very similar to the one in the mural they had found before delving underground. Carvings that resembled leaves and vine wrapped over the woman's shoulder, and though her eyes were closed she got the strange impression that the tall figure was a watcher of sorts. "Is this a shrine?" She whispered aloud. The blonde almost jumped in place when Adere let out another soft hoot, grabbing her attention to where she was perched off to one side. The owl's head cocked to the side, and she turned to face the statue first, then back to Telrenya a second later.

Her lips pursed in slight confusion. "What are you getting at?" She asked, taking careful steps closer to the base of the statue. "Oh," She breathed out, spotted a simple plaque standing at the woman's feet.

'One of pure intent shall be blessed by Her light
Those who have been judged, might still be saved
If one seeks redemption, he must find Her'

It was straight-forward, but it wasn't. Telrenya's brows narrowed in puzzled skepticism, and she cast another glance up to Adere. "So, is this what we're looking for?" Her expression changed while her head was busy running over a couple of different scenarios. She tried to prevent too much blind optimism from seeping in, but a bit of hope still bubbled inside of her. "You don't think... Can we actually lift the curse? Okay, uhm," Her feet moved again and she began to pace from one end of the small shrine to the other. "So does that mean we need to bring Vaughn here? Or is this just some kind of clue? Either way, he said something about sunlight, do we have to do this at night? Or..." She was muttering to herself, trying to piece together some kind of a plan. With so many variables, however, she was hardly getting anywhere by the time another, much closer coo from Adere snapped her out of her thoughts. She stopped and looked over to see the familiar perched atop the inscribed plaque this time, frowning slightly and stepping up to the base of the very simple altar.

After a minute of uncertainty and a bit of an awkward start, she took a knee in front of the Goddess. She laced her fingers together in front of her chest, pressing her nose and mouth lightly against them as her hands held in front of her face. "Uhm... Goddess..." She felt silly, but with only Adere's onyx eyes on her she forced herself to continue. "I don't know why this curse was brought upon the people here. But, there's someone we want to save. If there's a way to stop it, if we can help him get his humanity back, please, would you help us?" Her head picked up and she met the lightly-carved lids of the Goddess' calm expression. A moment passed in silence, then another. Telrenya's shoulders dropped, but just before she'd picked herself back up, a small sound reached her ears. At the statue's feet, a single vine sprouted from the cracks in the stone. It grew rapidly, thickening and curling over the ground until a sprig of leaves poked out. As if she was watching its bloom in fast-motion, a small bundle of fruit appeared on the vine, practically sparkling once the movement had slowed and its growth had come to a stop. She paused, recognized the berries that Vaughn had consumed in the caves below. These bunch, however, looked so much more enticing. More perfect.

With eyes wide, Telrenya rose to her feet, staring in awe until she finally brought herself to cautiously pluck them free. She dropped the fruit into a plain pouch, cinching the top and quickly securing it to her belt. "Thank you!" She smiled up to the Goddess, her face full of hope and gratitude before she would turn away. "Now we just need to find Nick and Vaughn again." She pulled open her menus, glancing at Jomei's full health bar again and navigating the floating screen to compose a quick message.

Quote

'I got out of the tunnels just fine ^-^ I think I might have found a clue or something about the curse. I'm going to try to find you guys, have you made it back to the surface?'

Just after sending off the message, she spotted the virtual sun breaking through the clouds. It was well past midday now, and she began to wonder how much more dangerous the floor might be after sunset. Then again, if they needed to persuade Vaughn to leave the catacombs to help him, the dark of night would be their most important tool. She glanced over her shoulder, hearing the beating of Adere's wings, and perked up. "Oh! Think you guys can help?" She smiled, the top of Willow's head beginning to poke out from the center of her chest.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei let out a small groan as he pulled, what he hoped was, the last of the strands of web from his ginger hair. However, his skin still crawled and tingled, as if he was still covered by hundreds of tiny little spiders exploring the insides of his green clothing. With arms loosely crossed, somewhat hugging himself, the man continued forward without words in search of some way out of the catacombs. The soft chime of bells that seemed to echo off the walls, accompanied by the small yellow letter icon in the corner of his heads up display, stopped him in his place. Pulling away from his own arm that he clung to, Jomei extended a finger and tapped the small notification to open up the message. His eyes scanned the message from Telrenya, who had safely made her way back to the surface. A huge wave of relief passed through Jomei, erasing the lingering thought of spiders from his mind. "Thank God she's safe.." Jomei said aloud through a sigh and a smile on his face. "Looks like she also found a clue to helping you out.. all the more reason to get out of here and find her."

Quote

Still trying to find out way out. That's great to hear! I'm so happy you're safe. I'll try and find our way out, and maybe we can lift this curse once and for all.'

Vaughn shone a small smile in appreciation, yet it soon vanished as he began to look around the particular part of the cavern they stood in. Jomei took notice and turned to the cursed man, "Whats wrong?" The once saint turned back to the player and let out a long sigh of disappointment. "When I.. blacked out earlier.. I don't know what direction we walked in. And I don't recognize this part of the catacombs.." Jomei blinked in shock before turning his full body to his confused companion, "Are you saying we're lost?!" 

"Look I'm sorry.. I'm just a hopeless cause at this point." The ginger grit his teeth, "No.. We've made it this far. We aren't giving up yet." Jomei said as he began to look around. In the silent caverns, his ears picked up the sound of water dripping from the ceiling nearby, creating a damp spot on the floor below it. It did not take long for the man to find that spot. "If we can't find the exit, we will just have to improvise." Taking his rapier from its scabbard, the ginger dropped to a knee, facing upwards towards the ceiling with the tiny crack in it. The blade of his sword began to glow a brilliant gold color before he thrust the blade upwards into the small space. The force of his attack caused the crack to web out, causing more water to seep in. Pulling his blade out, Jomei rushed away from where he had damaged the stone roof, pushing Vaughn back with him.

The ceiling finally gave way under the pressure of the ground water accumulating above it, and piles of cracked stone and moist soil poured in from the ceiling, some of the dirt and dust blowing onto the two as they shielded their faces from the debris.  Beams of sunlight followed the rubble, giving the two a new way out. "I... guess that's one way.. to do it..but the sun is still out.. I may not be able to go out there." "Hm.. good point." Jomei replied, "Wait here then, I'll see if I can find Telrenya and see what she found." Thanks to his Acrobatics mod, it was not difficult for the ginger to climb his way out of the catacombs and onto the grassy plain on the surface. "Finally.." he said as he took in a deep breath of fresh air, his green cloak and attire covered in dirt from the hole he had created. 

[Telrenya 0]

They walked for a short while, Telrenya doing her best to avoid any of the half-turned beasts that she would have run into along her path. Though she had the firepower to take down most of the beasts on this floor, facing even one of the monsters at a time wouldn't be a quick battle, and she didn't have the time to waste while they were trying to reunite. Adere let out a short hoot, catching Telrenya's attention as the tawny owl picked up speed. Across the plains, she squinted and could make out another figure. Judging by the familiar's reaction, it was none other than Jomei. She beamed, picking up her own pace and hurrying to close the distance between them.

"Niiick!" She called, waving her arm above her head when she was a bit closer. When they reached one another, Telrenya threw her arms around the man with a wide grin on her face. "Oh, I'm so glad you got out of there okay! Is Vaughn still down there?" She pulled halfway out of the embrace to look up and address him.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei brushed the dirt from his clothes as he stood up, looking around at the grassy area he now stood in. It looked like the catacombs ran under and out of the city, judging by the tall, crumbling wall that surrounded the once great civilization. He let out a small sigh of relief, not seeing any of the Forsaken in the immediate area.. so he knew he was safe for the time being. A familiar voice sounded out, calling his name, and looking off a short distance away, he saw the familiar blonde haired girl he was looking for rushing towards him. The relieved smile on Jomei's face grew to a wide grin as he took steps forward to meet her, the woman's body colliding with Jomei gently, her arms wrapping around him. The ginger did the same, embracing the girl and kissing the top of her head, "I'm so happy you're safe." 

He held her for a moment more before she slightly released their hug and asked about Vaughn, whom he had almost forgotten about in the bliss of being reunited with his love. "Oh yeah,  he's right down the hole I came out from.. We didn't know if the sunlight would turn him the rest of the way.. so we figured it would be safer for him to stay in the darkness until we figured it out... Did you find anything that could help him?"

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya gave a single nod in understanding. "Right... Oh, well, I might have." She took half a step back from their embrace and used a hand to rummage through her inventory. "There was an old shrine in the middle of the fields, with a statue of that Goddess." She explained, retreiving the small bunch of glistening berries and they sat generously in the palm of her hand. "There was an inscription. It was a little confusing, but I think it was a clue. Something about... 'if you seek redemption, find her.'" She did her best to relay everything she knew thus far, going on to describe how the fruit she held had sprung from a blooming flower.

"But I'm not sure what the next part is." She admitted with a small shrug as the two started back the way Jomei had come. "We can try taking him to that shrine... Or maybe the mural in the church?" She was at a loss as to what 'finding her' meant, and the margin of error they were left with had her worried. It felt as if they were so close to unraveling this curse, but there was one last puzzle piece that was eluding them.

[Jomei 0]

Olive eyes looked across at Telrenya as she brought up her menus with the flick of her wrist, scrolling through her inventory. In a brief flash of whitish-blue light, a handful of berries appeared in her hands. It took a moment for Jomei to recognize them as the same that Vaughn had been using as a means to keep the curse at bay, yet much brighter and color and healthier. "If you seek redemption... find her..." he repeated, placing a hand on his chin in thought, eyes still locked on the small batch of fruit, trying to piece it together. "I think the mural may have just been trying to tell the story of what happened.. the shrine seems like it might be a bit more of an important place of worship.." As the man blinked, his eyes seemed to go a bit wider, hanging on the last word; worship. Walking with Telrenya back towards Vaughn's position, he quickened his pace a bit to get.

Reaching the sinkhole in the ground that he had climbed out from, Jomei called out to the man, who was currently hidden in the shadow. "Vaughn, you there?" With a small groan, the man took a step forward, still in the shadow, but his features a bit more visible. "Y-Yes. what is it?" "You said you were once regarded as a Saint before this curse wiped out the city." Vaughn looked up to Jomei, a hint of confusion in his features, "Well, yes. That was before the Goddess cursed us." he let out a pathetic chuckle "Why do the work of a deity if they wish to see your demise." Jomei nodded in agreement, putting together Vaughn's confirmation with the state of the church the couple first ended up in, especially the large curtain covering the mural of the curse. "And because of the greed of the people, when they did not get the more they asked for, they shut her out. And in response the curse was cast." Vaughn shrugged his shoulders, taking another step forward towards the player speaking into the hole, "Where are you going with all of this?" 

"If you seek redemption, find her." Jomei said with a smile, looking over his shoulder at Telrenya. 

[Telrenya 0]

"Hmm..." Telrenya hummed, casting a sideways glance towards her partner as they made their way back to the NPC. Jomei seemed to have a plan--or at the very least, he might be on to something--but as their destination crept up on them she didn't yet inquire aloud. She listened to the conversation between the two, feeling as though they had nearly fit the last puzzle pieces together.

"Should we bring him back to the church...?" She guessed, the lack of confidence clear in her tone. Her chocolate eyes looked up towards the sky. "We could wait for nightfall, but the...cursed ones might be a lot more dangerous in the dark, so... Do you think those will do the trick?" Telrenya spoke slowly and carefully, still falling back on the hope that they were making the right decisions. Again, she dug into her inventory and retrieved the small bunch of perfect fruit that she'd plucked from the shrine. She walked closer to the edge of the sinkhole, taking care not to let herself fall right back into the catacombs below. Crouching down, Telrenya displayed the prize to Vaughn. "If you had something like this, do you think it would be enough to walk in the sunlight?" She paused a second and put on a more serious expression, bottom lip stiffening a bit. "Are you willing to try?"

[Jomei 0]

The NPC, who hid himself mostly in the shadows below the ground, peeked up at the blonde as she approached with his single grey eye. Vaughn seemed unwilling at first to risk his life, a puzzled look on his face as he looked away for a moment before expelling a small, weak chuckle. "Well.. I'll.. probably just end up.. turning into one of them anyway.. So its worth a shot.." Slowly, the man reached out with his still fleshy arm, his hand and fingers trembling as they neared the streams of sunlight that poured in through the hole in the floor. The moment the tips of his fingers touched the light, the decay began to overcome them. His fingernails began to darken to a dull grey as a burning sensation took over. The man groaned in pain, but quickly shot his hand out to grab the batch of ripe berries from Telrenya's hand. With not much feeling left in his slowly corrupting hand, Vaughn raised the small fruits to his lips and pushed them into his mouth, some of the juices spilling from the sides of his cheeks as he weakly chewed with one side of his mouth. 

Almost instantly, the corruption on his hand began to retract, and both of his eyes slowly began to reclaim their original blue color. Though not all of the fallen corruption had faded, a small bit of strength had returned to the man. Once again, Vaughn reached forward, hesitantly putting his hand into the light. The corruption that took him at a rapid pace last time did not seem apparent, though the twitching of his fingers proved that it still took him slowly. "We need to move quickly, I can still feel the corruption spreading." Jomei rushed up to the side of the hole to assist Vaughn in climbing out onto the surface. The ginger looked between the NPC and Telrenya, "I believe the shrine that you found is the way to go. If what I am thinking is right, you need to ask your Goddess for forgiveness at the shrine.. Then, maybe, we can reverse this curse." Jomei looked once more at the blonde, "Estelle, can you lead the way?" 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya waited with a tightness in her chest, simply hoping that they wouldn't have to watch Vaughn turn into one of the mindless Forgotten before their eyes. A bit of relief managed to wash over her when the NPC's attempt to test the sunlight was met with less resistance. She nodded with confidence after Jomei had helped the man the rest of the way to the grassy surface, and once they were ready to move she turned and began to walk back the way they had come.

Vaughn, though he was largely leaning against Jomei to support himself as he shuffled along with his half-petrified leg, was seemingly awestruck as they moved. His jaw was slack not because the muscles no longer responded to him, but because he couldn't take his eyes off of the beauty that was the land as it basked in the warm sunlight. Despite the touches of corruption and the largely transformed beasts that still roamed the open plains, the views were in stark contrast to the dim, dank tunnels he had been navigating for years now. "It's been so long..." He muttered under his breath.

Doing her best to lead them all back towards the small shrine while avoiding any of the wandering monsters that populated the lands, Telrenya smiled when the broken stone structure was finally in view again. Adere took the initiative to push off of her companion's shoulder, taking flight and perching atop one of the mossy pillars just before they'd closed the gap. "Made it." She breathed, and took hurried steps up to the foot of the statue where the Goddess stood. She looked over the simple plaque, examining it to make sure the words read the same, and she nodded. "Yes, everything's still here. The fruit grew right here after I...well, asked the Goddess for some help." She admitted with a shy chuckle.

[Jomei 0]

Vaughn's eyes fell upon the statue of his Goddess, which stood at about twice of Jomei's height atop the stone pedestal. The depiction of the woman had seen decades of wear and weathering, many of its features smoothed out and covered in a green moss. However, the integrity seemed completely intact, not a chip of stone missing. With the NPC still using Jomei's frame for support, the ginger looked at the base where a bronze plaque was bolted into the side, the words that Telrenya recited earlier etched into it. Jomei could also see the plant where Tel had pulled the fruit from, a much more vibrant green than the one they had found with Vaughn's initial location. Tiny bulbs of pink already seemed to peek out from where the berries had been harvested, as if the healthy plant had already begun the process of bearing new fruits. 

Suddenly, the man felt a weight lifted from his shoulders as Vaughn pushed off of Jomei, limping forward on his own towards the base of the statue. The ginger watched him move forward for a moment before taking a step closer towards his blonde companion, a small smile on his lips as he exchanged glances with her. The NPC's knees hit the grass as he lowered his body, the palm of his hand pressing into the bronze plaque. Slowly, his corrupted hand followed, as if he fought with all of his might to place both hands on the surface. 

"Dearest Mother, Goddess of the Sunlight... Forgive me. This land that you loved and protected took your kindness for granted, and gave into greed. We have suffered from this curse for centuries, this Hell upon our Earth.." Tears that had pooled in the corner of his eyes begin to roll over, dampening both his flesh and corrupted cheek. ".. But I have remained devout to your service, and still served your people as your Saint. I seek your forgiveness.. Please.." 

The man continued to plead to the statue, which seemed to have no positive effects. From what Jomei could see, the effects of the fruit Vaughn had eaten began to wear off, and the corruption that was taking his body began to spread at an alarming rate. Jomei's eyes widened and his mouth hung agape as it had seemed the they had failed and were wrong. Vaughn slowly rose to his feet, his limbs creaking as he struggled to raise to his full height. A hand extended upwards towards the statue's face.. and everything went silent as the once saint's body turned completely to stone.

"N..No.." Jomei said under his breath, his arms falling limp to his sides. Adere, who was at first perched upon the arm of the statue, suddenly flared out her wings and hopped from the stone figure as if alarmed by some sort of movement. A light began to slowly descend from the outstretched palm, hitting the stoned over Vaughn like a spotlight. As the light touched his body, the stone features of his body began to crack and splinter before completely shattering. Standing there in the golden, magical light stood Vaughn, the healthy color of his skin and hair returning to normal. Slowly, the man turned to face the two players, his eyes a brilliant yellow that matched the light that shone down upon him. "Jomei.. Telrenya.. Thank you." he said, his voice no longer gravelly and pained, but soothing and peaceful. As the man's body continued to grow brighter with the light from above, his arms stretched out to the sides and his chin turned upwards. Sprouting from his back, two large, white wings unfurled.. and the spirit of Saint Vaughn vanished as the light from the goddess began to fade once again. 

"Well.... I definitely didn't see that coming.." Jomei finally said after taking a moment. 

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya watched the scene unfold with her whole body feeling tense. Her fingers laced together as her hands subconsciously clasped in front of her chest, and she looked on with a hopeful gaze while they waited until the end of Vaughn's prayer.

Suddenly, as the man's body began to shudder and seize up, Telrenya let out an audible gasp. "Vaughn--!" She called out the NPC's name, her body instinctively lurching forward half a step as if there was something she could do to intervene with the curse's effect. Fresh tears started to well up in her eyes, but before the full wave of remorse could hit her, she winced at the bright light that shone from the statue.

She stared in amazement as Vaughn took on his new form, hurriedly rubbing at the corners of her eyes to clear her vision and meeting his look of peace with a small smile of her own. He vanished, and then it was just the two of them standing before the shrine in the mid-afternoon sunlight, as if the scene before them had been nothing but a dream. "That..." She was lost for words for a moment. "We, did it then?" She half-asked, turning to Jomei with her brows turned up in a crooked, uncertain smile.

[Jomei 0]

The ginger was still in a bit of disbelief, standing there with his eyes stuck on where Vaughn once stood. Jomei had seen quite a bit upon entering this virtual world, some things he could not even explain. This experience with Vaughn, and this unsuspected outcome definitely put it in the top five. Jomei shook his head with a small chuckle, "Yeah.. looks like we did it." his green eyes finally peeling from the grass before the tall, stone figure to look at Telrenya beside him. With a soft smile on his face, Jomei took a few steps to the side to close the distance between himself and the blonde. Reaching out, Jomei's hand ran up Telrenya's back to rest on her shoulder and pulled her into a gentle side hug. Turning his face to the woman, he placed a soft kiss on her bang covered forehead before caressing the her shoulder. "You did great, Estelle. We probably would not have solved that mystery without you. Hell, I probably would not have survived without you." 

With another loving smile, Jomei created a bit of distance between himself and Tel, his hand taking hold of hers. "Let's head home.. I feel like I've been rolling around in dirt." he said with a laugh.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya's smile stretched, and she wore a more satisfied expression as a feeling of accomplishment began to set in. While perhaps more of an Easter egg than a proper quest or task that they had set out on, she felt proud that they had done something good, even if just in this game-world. She leaned into Jomei's side, grinning as he gave her a squeeze and chuckled back at his praise. "I'd say it was a pretty good team effort." She insisted, and just then Jomei's familiar made her entrance by swooping in from her previous perch on the Goddess' statue and getting comfortable on Jomei's opposite shoulder. Telrenya leaned forward to look at the owl, "And who could forget Adere doing such a good job leading me back to you, huh?" She playfully sweet-talked.

Telrenya let out a deep breath--a sigh of relief--through her nostrils, her shoulders finally relaxing. Her hand squeezed his when she felt their fingers intertwine, and she nodded with a turn of her head back towards Jomei. "Yeah, let's head home." She smiled.

[Jomei 0]

At first, Jomei worried that the two were lost. Most of their journey up to this point had been underground. However, after a few short scans of the horizon, Jomei could see the partially collapsed steeple of the cathedral poking out over a rolling, grassy hill in the distance. The two continued the slightly peaceful walk with no interference, finding themselves another path that lead past the cathedral and through the forgotten city. The idea of heading back through the abandoned town was a bit dangerous, but from what Jomei could see, it seemed somewhat safe.. maybe with only a small handful of the fallen entities to cut through to make it to safety.

With their combined skills and speed, Jomei and Telrenya were able to make their way past the monsters that lurked within the city walls, and back into the safe zone that was Ralberg. The actual feeling of knowing the two were now truly safe washed over him, and he could feel both himself, and Telrenya, relax as they each expelled a sigh of relief. From there, it was merely a short trip back to the Eleventh floor, and then their familiar walk back to their comfortable home. 

Thread Complete finally...
Jomei: 1200 col 6 SP
Telrenya: 1200 col 6 SP