Ghoul Attack

Metaphysical / Paranormal event

With the veil shattered, undead active on Azeroth continues to rise. Mulgore, though less affected than other regions, sees a spike in necromatic activity late one night. Risen corpses can be seen shambling aimless across the plains, though not in such numbers that the shamans of the area cannot bring the situation under control.   Travelers are quickly ushered off the travel paths to the nearest safe areas, Stonewind Village seeing many visitors take refuge within their borders. Though there are a few scares and close calls, the dawn comes without apparent incident.

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Since the shattering of the veil, the occurrence of undead disruptions had risen greatly. While the worst was certainly concentrated to the north, elsewhere many regions found themselves seeing growing rate of incident. Mulgore was no exception, although the large presence of those with shamanistic and holy abilities had quickly tamed what might have been a threat to an occasional nuisance. The sun and spiritwalkers had wasted no time crafting and placing warding totems in all populated areas. Hunters took with them talismans adorned with gravemoss essence, or else had a seer bless their bow to give off An'she's radiance. Over time, the threat they posed became just another warning to give to travelers, much as the harpies, gnolls, and raiders that occasionally caused a stir. Most of the time, that is.   The Braves of Stonewind village hurried about, having been given early word of another rise in necrotic energies across the land. It had not been the first time, nor did there appear to be any rhyme or reason for it (not on this side of the veil, anyway). Few were worried, given the frequency of such events, though most chose to stay within the village boundaries until the "storm" had passed. The peacekeepers ushered the last few panicked travelers from the roads to the safety of the inn, some having been pulled from the path to seek harbour for the night. Fire lit the village like a beacon as the last light faded, the sentry totems shining as bright, the patrols doubled as a precaution. Though no undead (well, no uninvited undead) had set foot in the village, the wards having held true, no one was willing to bet a night's sleep against it. During the bustle of the day, a few had noticed the lumbering herbalist making his way out of the village once again. He had left before the early warning had been made known. Though he had returned each time before, ahead of the setting sun, as the light faded there was no sign of him.  

  Eyonita Coalhoof's endless propensity for over-preparing had put her in a less than ideal position as sunset drew on clouds pulled down over the valley like a blanket. Tying off a tripwire to catch any shamblers that might wander into her home, she stood up with grumble and stepped back a bit, buckling on her totem and setting her goggles in place, taking up her hammer last. With resigned sigh she set for what would not be long walk, but neither a safe one. She'd be at the edges of the village shortly after dark, a beam of pale blue light piercing through the fog from the totem's eyes making her position clear for a short distance. Once there, the beam turned outward from the village. Any of the defenders would likely know the taunka was out fishing to draw trouble to one of the less vulnerable areas.   Meanwhile, Kaeva Bloodhoof looked through her parchment again, scanning the list of Tribemates to make sure everyone was accounted for. Only one name wasn't check off-- Ferawk'amo. She sprinted over to his tent and rapped on the door post before sticking her head in. Empty. Cursing under her breath, she opened her connection to the tribal feather.   "Ferawk? Where are you? Has anyone see Ferawk tonight?" She vaguely remembered seeing him earlier, but couldn't remember if she was mixing up her mornings. Things had been moving quickly since the call came out to be on high alert. At least the rest of the village was all accounted for and either in their own tents, in the Great Tent, or else gearing up to help fight off any ghouls that wandered too close.   A familiar gruff voice comes over the feather. "What, Flowers? Went for walk, think. 'While 'go. He not back yet?"   "Apparently not. Anyone?" Kaeva waited for someone to hopefully speak up, including Ferawk himself. Had he not taken his feather? Or unable to answer?   If Ferawk'amo can hear her, he does not answer.   "I'll look for him," she says, putting down the parchment and charcoal and jogging off towards the direction the bull often traveled in.   "Taken tali with ya," Snik Snik pipes back up over the feather. "If Flowers not in village, gonna runnin' into rotters sooner or somethin'."   "That's what im afraid of. I'll keep you informed," Kaeva responded airily as she ran. She reached the top of the rise and paused a moment to look out across Mulgore. A heavy fog had engulfed the plains. Whether natural or not, the visibilty would be bleak. Seeing nothing in the fog, Kaeava kept going and jogged straight into the fog, keeping her ears especially keened on any movement around her.   With the talk of someone missing overheard, Nita would start working her way towards the road at the first opening, her movements in the clouded field slow and deliberate. She keeps sweeping ahead of herself with the bright light to try to avoid stumbling into any obstacle, inanimate or otherwise. Once on the road her pace would increase somewhat, scanning to the sides as she went.   The path was quiet, any noise dampened by the fog that clung to the air. Holding a torch, one could still see much of what was around them, but anything in the distance would be mostly obscured. Half a mile north, Kaeva would be first to spot the outline of a shambling outline just off the path, the brush parting as it walks without pause.   Kaeva paused and watched the outline for a minute, then slowly started to walk to the left, hoping to give it a wide enough berth that the talisman would keep it from approaching. Not that she couldn't take out a single ghoul, but the ruckus would attack the whole swarm. She kept her eye on it though, between checking her flank.   Further along the trail, Kaeva would spot a corpse shambling along with the same sort of indifference as the first. Then another further off, each headed in the same direction: north. Finally, at a small intersection of the trail, some of the undead had halted their march. Two were hunkered over something large on the ground, a misshapen pile in the fog, the unmistakable sounds of feeding on flesh noticeable in the din.   Hoping to An'she it was a kodo and not her tribemate, Kaeva roared and charged, her sword and shield raised to slice down the monsters as quickly as she could, focusing on the ones nearest their meal. Neither pay her much mind, even as her blade comes down on the nearest one. The rotten corpse splits clean in half, the torn paw it was munching on falling to the ground with a thud.   The other ghoul finally take an interest. Less rotted than its fallen counterpart, clearly once a gnoll of some descript, it rises from its meal, swinging its massive jaws around haphazardly to try and take a chomp at the warrior.   Kaeva raises her shield in time for teeth to meet metal, swinging her blade around in tandem. As the gnoll loses a leg, clattering down next to the body from which is was previously eating, she can't help but look down.   The body was large, horned, covered in fur, and-... sporting a scorpion's tail and what was left of tattered wings. This is not Ferawk, but what appeared to be left of a wyvern. The gnoll corpse crawled its way over the wyvern's destroyed saddle, still reaching out for Kaeva despite its loss of limb.   With a huff, Kaeva smashes the gnoll's head with her hoof, taking a sigh seeing the wyvren is not a tauren. She crouches to examine the saddle, only to hear heavy footsteps fast approaching behind her. The Warbrave flips around, sword and shield at the ready again.   Clank, thud, clank, thud, clank, thud, each hoofstep followed with a rattle of chains and plate. A bright glow would blossom in the fog, gradually coming into focus as bright shafts of light beaming from the eyes of the totem on Eyonita's back. The taunka herself has her hammer gripped in both hands, ready to swing until the familiar shape of a Shu'halo shield greets her, slowing to a stop a few paces short. A couple of seconds pass before she recognizes the face behind it.   "...Kaeva?! The fuck are you doing out here alone!?" Eyonita rumbles at the Warbrave.   "Should be asking you the same thing." Kaeva lowers her guard, looking down at the wyvren again.   Eyonita's ears go up, then sag as she snorts at the response. "Same as you, for the moment."   "It's not Ferawk, thank the Earthmother. Though it could be his ride..." She looks up and around the body, looking for tauren tracks, blood, or other clues.   Eyonita keeps her weapon at the ready herself and looks around, putting the extra lighting to use and lightly kicking around things - Wyvern paws, corpses, etcetera to see if anything meaningful turns up.   Neither see much of note, although some fresh tracks north indicate that someone left in a hurry. The tracks themselves have been disturbed by the undead walking in the same direction.   "Here," Kaeva says simply, keeping her head down and following the tracks.   Nita's head tugs over, then back. She snorts at the corpse and hesitates for a moment, giving a short curse. She draws back and turns her hammer on the wyvern's skull, intent to ensure it doesn't get back up behind them before turning to follow Kaeva, hustling to try and close up a few paces behind her and keep the light in a useful focus.   As the two made there way up the path, the unseasonable chill in the air would suddenly worsen. They would again see the occasional corpse wandering by, but for now they seemed to be intent on some other purpose.   At the point where one could see their own breath in front of them, the pair would see something up ahead. Three figures stood on the trail: one hunched, one large, and one giving off a vibe enough to make every hair stand on your body.   Eyonita's fur bristles at the sight of the three figures looming in the fog, the dim red glow in her goggles brightening for a moment.   "There's our trouble-maker!" The taunka declares, setting her focus on the figure most unsettling. The group was a familiar composition, after all. The clink of shutters and the growl of machinery cranking is followed in an instant by the roar of flame, the heavy hammer belching from each side on startup. She picks up her pace to charge in and close the gap, hoofsteps accelerating with the cadence of a locomotive picking up speed. Extending her right arm to one side for clearance she cranks it into motion, whirling the mace about and causing a steady roar of flame to lick from its sides and trail through the air with her aim to try to take out the suspected necromancer behind the night's perils. A cacophonous charge to be sure.   The unsettling figure would quickly glare back at the charging Taunka through the mist, before disappearing in a cloud of blue black mist of its own as the hammer swung near its space. There was a loud whistle of whirling steel, then a loud clank as the figure materialized once more beside the locomotive. With a fast twirl, a scythe now firmly hooked the hammer's head, the momentum is enough to toss the wielder off their feet like a trebuchet. Steel on steel ground loudly as the scythe hooked off the hammer, its wielder quickly twirling around into a battle ready stance, pointing the pike end of the scythe at the taunka.   "Who goes there?!" the figure shouts, before gasping as the immediate fog clears. "Nita?!"   Those burning eyes piercing the fog only steel her focus in the moment, but when they vanish it's too late to react. ClankThudClankThudClaaaAA-SCHRRRAAAK-Crash-clatter-whirr-irr-irrr-irrrrrr. Eyonita's sprint is turned abruptly and that alone is enough to send the taunka tumbling, armor and equipment and limbs gouging the dirt. She comes to rest on her side, stunned momentarily. "Wha--"   Kaeva stopped just short of attacking as she recognized the voice, panting, she scowled. "Khaladia?! what are you doing here?!"     Earlier, as dusk settles and the village prepares for a long night.   Khaladia Everbloom finished suiting up in her light gear with a sigh, tightening the last wrist strap on her gauntlet and giving her crafting supplies one final look. With a dejected gaze, she lowered back the lid on her storage chest, locking it with key before finally turning around and walking outside the lodge. She made her way a few steps outside the village, then making sure no one was watching, she extended her hand to her side, a cloud of black and blue mist quickly coalescing into her scythe. She gave a few more steps outside the village, now a frigid aura surrounding her, crackling ice forming as the thick fog condensed onto her and the surrounding floor.   With a sharp whistle her mare now accompanied her, trotting out from within the mist. Khaladia pats her side before riding on her back, letting the death charger walk forward a few paces on its own. The mounted knight scanned the horizon briefly before sharply turning her head north, her horse following suit, galloping in that direction, scythe well extended down her side.   The night would fall into a grim sort of sport, though Khaladia would hardly view it as such. This was no legion of the dead, after all, her perhaps finding only a couple of lone ghouls and a shambling wildcat corpse in her initial patrol. Each would fall in an instant, the rider rather uniquely adept in dealing with these sorts of affairs. With a few otherwise mindless corpses heading north, however, it would become obvious that there was in fact something to investigate.   The deathknight would quickly outpace any of the shambling undead to whatever location they were headed for, though as she arrived the place didn't seem particularly of remark. She would find herself near the main trail to Thunderbluff, though still quite a ways from the capitol itself. Something had clearly happened here, with scuff marks and shattered glass nearby. A couple of corpses loitered around, directionless, while a few more seemed to pick up the trail and keep heading north.   The knight takes a moment to look around, making sure there arent any victims in the vicinity. She quickly scans the surrounding from atop her horse, who impatiently kicks at the ground when she is driven to stop. She sees little, aside from the shattered glass and a set of footprints headed north, the fog shrouding any distant indications or clues.   Eyes narrowing at the petulent weather, Khaladia clenches a fist. A ghostly blue light emanates from between her fingers only to unleash a wave of frigid wind as she let go, the light of one of her runeblade's runes extinguishing at the use of a spell outside her focus.   "Anybody there?" she asks tentatively one last time, making sure she wasnt leaving someone behind.   For a moment, there's only silence. Then, Khaladia would sense something coming slowly towards her, something giving off undead energies, but also with a strange lifelike energy that's difficult to place. With a scrape and a groan, a horned ghoul comes shambling into view. It doesn't appear hostile, for the moment. Though it does appear to be looking for something.   Khaladia grips her scythe with murderous intent, twirling it once to face the ghoul with its pike before stopping, confused by the clashing energies present. Her horse takes a few steps back away from the ghoul, not quite comfortable just letting feral ghouls wander by closely. The two of them simply observe.   The ghoul lingers over the shattered glass Khaladia had seen earlier, staring at the ground around it with an almost wistful look, if corpses could still do that. The behaviour was bizarre. Not sentient, but there was clearly something going on behind the glazed eye still in its skull.   The death knight clicked her tongue mildly distraught by the suddenly eventful night. She took a moment to look around, making sure she wasn’t being watched then directed her attention back to the ghoul. The blue glare of her eyes intensified as a cloud of blue-black mist extended from her scythe and swarmed the lone ghoul. "I command you to speak! From where do you hail and what do you seek!?" She ordered the ghoul curtly.   The ghoul stiffens, reacting to the command in some form or another. It slowly turns its head towards Khaladia, opening its mouth to speak in short rasps. "...hail?"   Khaladia blinks a few times, clearly having gone a bit too hard on the knightly demeanor so heavily influenced by humans and other races. "Where do you come from?"   "Here," the ghoul answered slowly. "I was... hunting? Something. I was new. Excited. Something. Went wrong." The ghoul shifted a bit, showing what looked to be very rotted claw wounds from sternum to hoof. Most of the ghoul's clothing had long worn away, but the belt and quiver that still barely clung to the corpse were reminiscent of those used by the some of the hunters in the region. "I....died. Now. Here."   As the ghoul struggled to speak, Khaladia took the time to look it over, wondering where she was getting that strange life magic sensation from. "Did someone bring you back? What were you looking for there just now?" Her impatience was apparent, the weight of the night pressing her to get on with it.   In answer, the ghoul points at the ground. The spot is surrounded by broken glass, the ground itself stained a brownish-red. Otherwise, there appear to be nothing there, although the grass seems much taller. "Something," the ghoul said flatly. "Make life. Want more. Made... better."   As the ghoul answered, Khaladia would miss the light coming from south from the trail, fast approaching, at first, her focus on the glass on the ground. The glass scattered around the spot was from a vial, not unlike the ones used in Stonewind. Though faded, she might still catch the smell of what was there on the ground with it: a mixture of sweet and bitter herb-like smells with.... is that blood? Were Khaladia to run a hand over the spot, she would sense the same sort of life energy coming from the spot on the ground as the ghoul before her. Something spilled on the ground here. Something potent...     Through the fog, it would be nearly impossible to tell friend from foe at a distance. It would be in this confusion that Eyonita and Kaeva would catch up with the patroling rider.   Eyonita grunts breathlessly, winded by the impact with the ground. Her arm emits a strained grinding noise and a few sparks as she starts to pick herself up, the confused expression rapidly turning to anger as she recognizes the figure stood over her, drawing her hammer into position to guard herself as she hurries to her hooves, panting. "YOU?!"   Khaladia plants her scythe beside her, rushing her way over to help her friend off the ground. "Moons damn it... are you hurt?" she says in half a panic as the veneer of her knightly aura begins to peel off, with it, the frigid chill as well slowly receded. her head turns to Kaeva briefly. "I was out on a night ride as I usually do, when I found something most unsettling... then I followed that all the way here."   "The wyvren?" Kaeva wondered, looking back at the dead body behind them. She looked forward again where Khal had been. "What are those?" She asked, looking at the shadowy figures ahead in the fog, still keeping her shield and sword at the ready.   Eyonita's only expression is anger for the moment. When Khal touches her there's a sizzle of conflicting energies, and she swings an arm to shove the knight away with a growl. "Don't you touch me right now!" Refusing the aid, she gets to her hooves with a bit of effort, clearly seething all the way through. The ground beneath her withers somewhat but she makes her way back to the path immediately, gripping at her shoulder with her good hand. "I'll live. Unfortunately."   Khaladia stumbles backwards and falls on her ass after being shoved, being somewhat distracted with the other conversation. she looks up as if to speak, then sees the taunka turn away with her parting remark, and instead hangs her head dejectedly.   She rubs at her shoulder with a grunt, breathing heavily for a couple of moments and turning attention to the other two figures. "Don't be ridiculous, Kaeva. That one wouldn't bat an eye at an animal carcass." she says, choking up on her hammer as she approaches them. Her posture relaxes somewhat when she recognizes the larger shape. "Ona I know..." She begins, looking back to Khaladia before finishing the sentence. "... but this other one, you have to answer for." She gestures towards the ghoul, scowling.   As the altercation continued, the frigid chill of before had begun to return. The startled death charger gave Eyonita a vivid glare as she approached, then moving past her and in front of Khaladia. The horse lowered her head to be level with the grounded Tauren.   There was a loud slow exhale from Khaladia as she tried calming down, focusing her attention on her horse. The death charger huffed loudly, then, Khaladia replied with a muttered "I know..." She then simply sat, petting her horse.   Nita's focus hadn't been on the horse directly until it being a bit spooked became apparent. She kept her footing as Ona passed, looking back to the ghoul briefly only for the loud breaths to pull her attention back on Khaladia. It takes a moment to get through her skull, but recognizing the exchange she'd previously seen from another angle finally douses her anger. She walks back with her weapon lowered, reaching across her shoulder to shut off the bright beams from her totem as she goes. She stops a couple of paces short of the two and waits quietly, still even as rime froze on her fur. After some awkward silence her own wicker joins theirs. "In the fog I mistook you for someone else... There will be time for sour words later, though. Right now, we are trying to find Ferawk'amo."   Khaladia's ears flicked at the last sentence. "Ferawk is missing? Is that why you're out here this late?" she inquired, still tending to Ona.   "Correct." Eyonita answers curtly, glancing at Kaeva and back. "Will you help?"   "Thats... no good, I was pursuing an unusual spike in necromantic energy... then I found this... and him..." Khaladia said, pointing at a peculiar shattered vial on the floor and then the seized ghoul.   The ghoul just stands there, not seeming to be aware or interested in the new company. It wasn't a familiar body to anyone present, clearly having been deceased for a long while. As Khaladia had already taken note of, the area itself wouldn't have more than some scuff marks and some broken glass on the ground. If something had happened here, they had moved on rather quickly.   Kaeva snorted at Khal, or perhaps mostly at her steed, and focused on the tracks again, trying to pick up the hoof-trail. She'd try to avoid the rotting ghoul though if she could. She kept a listening ear open to the other cows' conversation though, as well as any other ghouls that might be sulking their way.   Eyonita looks between Khal and the ghoul briefly before walking over, placing down her hammer a couple of paces short of the shuddering figure as Kaeva moves on. After a bit of staring, she turns her head slightly towards Khaladia "...Can it talk?"   "Uhm... yes... though I don’t want to keep him around longer than I need to..." she replied with a skittish look at both of them.   "Agreed. If it's of no more help to us then I'd prefer this tragedy ended." She stands to the ghoul's side a bit solemnly, resting a hand on the knife she kept as utility. The ghoul appears to have no strong feelings either way.   "Hold on... If Ferawk came through here it'd be good to know." Khal stood up at last now directing her attention to the enchanted ghoul "Say... did you happen to..." She frowned and cleared her throat, her demeanor changing for just a moment. "Answer. Did a bull come through here this night?"   The ghoul speaks, its speech slurred and rasping at every word. "Yes. Bull. And other. Scared. Ran." The ghoul raises a finger to point north. "That way."   Kaeva snorts at the ghoul and immediately heads off northward.   "There's our answer, we should move... doesn’t sound reassuring." She says as she extends her hand towards her planted scythe.   It jitters for a moment before flying into her grip. With a twirl and an upwards crescent, she gashes the air before the ghoul, though untouched, wisps of blue and black seep from its eyes and mouth, drawn in that same pattern towards the scythe. The ghoul tenses, the last light leaves its eyes, and it clatters to the ground in a heap, lifeless once again.   Eyonita shifts once the ghoul answers, reaching for the ghoul's horn with her free hand and preparing to take action herself only to have the corpse drop in front of her, revealing a look of distraught confusion.   "We should go together, Ona can watch for trouble." Khaladia says as she follows Kaeva, giving her horse a slight nod.   The faint focal points of light in Eyonita goggles dodge to Khaladia as that look turns to disgust for a moment. Without comment she kneels down, putting the blade away and laying out the fallen hunter with a bit more dignity. It only takes a few seconds to leave him in a traditional arms-folded pose, muttering an abbreviated prayer of last rites as she does. "Nokee Wasthe awak chi te nechi, pawene." She'd collect her weapon and start walking as soon as it was done.   The path would be mostly quiet. If there were any ghouls about, they were either few in number or otherwise occupied. They would head north for a while, Thunder Bluff becoming less distance as they went, though spotting the buildings far off in this fog would prove a challenge.   "Fresh blood," Khaladia says pointing at the ground. Sure enough, splotches of brown-ish red pattern the path, uneven, disappearing into the various patches of grass sprouting haphazardly across the path.   Kaeva was looking down, studying a particular patch of grass curiously, pinching what appeared to be soot between her fingers and smelling it, before her gaze darts up. A yell just off from the path would draw their attention. The voice was unfamiliar, but clearly panicked.   "Come on!" Kaeva shouted at the others, running off to the sound of the scream. Khaladia is quick to follow, drawing her scythe.   Eyonita's ears go up, but this time she seems in no hurry to make a charge, letting the others have the lead by some distance. She reaches back to pull switch on the floodlights and give Khal and Kaeva some stronger visibility, only picking up her pace as needed to keep them within the field.   The floodlight would throw shadows up against the fog ahead, revealing figures some ways off the trail. It was still too far to hear them clearly, but they would see one slighter figure standing atop a large boulder jutting out of the ground, another, larger, horned figure on the ground below, fighting against four ragged figures that seemed intent upon clawing at their target.   Upon getting within range, the group would see the missing bull, swinging a make-shift torch as a weapon, gashes and scrapes all over his body, fending off four hideous looking ghouls. These seemed different from the previous one's faced, not unlike the one Khaladia had been found with. Though these were anything but placid. Three seemed intent upon bringing down the bull, while the fourth tried to claw its way up the boulder face to the other figure above. A dark-skinned orc was atop it, frantically lashing out at the ascending ghoul with a large hide whip.   WIP, still copying over transcript.