"Aye, he's been like this for a while. Can't get up, his body's twistin' in his sleep - he'll be dead before a fortnight, way this looks like. Now I'm not one to ask for favors, much less from you people but... Gave a chance to the little lady over there, and she got the right idea eventually. Our remedies just can't fix him, y'see. Please... please help him."
The teenage highander could only groan in pain. A cursory look showed discoloration of the face, heavy breathing, right shoulder dislocated, likely from the unconscious contortions the man had just described.
The cloaked figure merely held her hand out, a simple gesture to soothe the child psychologically. Feeling the sudden appearance of something warm, his left hand reached for the source - Both tiny hands cupped gently, conveying compassion.
"Do not worry. I will save you." she gently said, smile on her face - A face that the harshest winds of the desert could not blemish.
With that declared, she stood. The people watching her stared, wondering where she was going. She dared not answer - Little Ala Mhigo was not the kind of place you stood idly by. It was a place of action, and the less who knew what she set out to accomplish, the better.
There had been corruption in the air surrounding the boy, and she needed to cleanse it before cleansing the boy. While she could have merely healed him and left, this would not solve the problem. It would merely delay the inevitable, and chances are if he got that, others would follow. Especially once he recovered.
Sensing the taint grow as she approached, she began preparations. Sword at her side - this time, faith would be her shield. "Protect!" she chanted. "Stoneskin!" Another one.
Her predictions were twofold - Indeed, the land surrounding this area had a dose of corruption - Corpses unceremoniously thrown in an underground river had floated along the current, which soon went overground. This was the second prediction - The populace would want to come here. Hence, the taint needed cleansing.
The hooded figure calmly began reciting a prayer, or an incantation, or simple words. The corruption took form, and lashed at her. A simple blast of miasma came from the blackened cloud. It was expertly dodged - Blade at the ready, she went through the same maneuvers she had practiced so long ago in anticipation of the Bloodsands. The corruption attempted more and more to attack the little hero, and she endured, until it was tamed.
Sheathing her sword, she reached inside her robe, pulling out a cane. A few waves of the purified wooden instrument later, the corruption was gone. Yet, her job was not yet over. Each body, whether mere bones bleached by the sun, or disease-ridden waterlogged corpses that had finally surfaced, she pulled them out, one by one. Counting seven, she fabricated a makeshift tool to dig graves for the deceased. Only three feet below the sands - she cursed her body's limitations, but it would have to do. Each corpse given a simple epitaph. "May you return to Aether, where the Mothercrystal welcomes you."
She picked up her sword, and walked back to Little Ala Mhigo. A shadow that had merely drifted into town before, to avoid complications, she did the same, using a different entrance. She walked towards the diseased boy, with the same characteristic smile she had given him before. Cane in hand, she finally cast the spell that could cure him, and then, and only then, was her work over.
The man that pleaded for her, seeing the boy start to recover, was shocked that not only the hooded figure did something, but actually succeeded. As though she never saw him, she picked up her equipment, and started walking out of town. He tried to stop her, invite her for dinner, give her Gil for her services. The hooded figure never stopped walking until she was outside the city limits, once she realized the man had followed her.
"Why won't you stop!? I just want to thank you for all you've done!" he pleaded, it wasn't in an Ala Mhigan's philosophy to just give up.
"I do not need thanks. Save them for the boy - He has found a source of water a few malms southwest from here, outside of the U tribe's territory." her smile was genuine. "If you wish to thank me, honor the graves that are near the water source. They did not deserve such cruel a death. Implore Thal to watch over them in his realm, for Nald traded them too soon." she stated in a calm voice.
"I'll, uh, I'll do that. But what should I call you if I need to call you?" the man simply asked.
"Do not call me anything - The less people know of me, the more I will be able to help."
Then, with a gust of wind, the hooded figure left.
"Now, if only all Lalafell were as saintly as that one..." he mused, before returning to his post.
The teenage highander could only groan in pain. A cursory look showed discoloration of the face, heavy breathing, right shoulder dislocated, likely from the unconscious contortions the man had just described.
The cloaked figure merely held her hand out, a simple gesture to soothe the child psychologically. Feeling the sudden appearance of something warm, his left hand reached for the source - Both tiny hands cupped gently, conveying compassion.
"Do not worry. I will save you." she gently said, smile on her face - A face that the harshest winds of the desert could not blemish.
With that declared, she stood. The people watching her stared, wondering where she was going. She dared not answer - Little Ala Mhigo was not the kind of place you stood idly by. It was a place of action, and the less who knew what she set out to accomplish, the better.
There had been corruption in the air surrounding the boy, and she needed to cleanse it before cleansing the boy. While she could have merely healed him and left, this would not solve the problem. It would merely delay the inevitable, and chances are if he got that, others would follow. Especially once he recovered.
Sensing the taint grow as she approached, she began preparations. Sword at her side - this time, faith would be her shield. "Protect!" she chanted. "Stoneskin!" Another one.
Her predictions were twofold - Indeed, the land surrounding this area had a dose of corruption - Corpses unceremoniously thrown in an underground river had floated along the current, which soon went overground. This was the second prediction - The populace would want to come here. Hence, the taint needed cleansing.
The hooded figure calmly began reciting a prayer, or an incantation, or simple words. The corruption took form, and lashed at her. A simple blast of miasma came from the blackened cloud. It was expertly dodged - Blade at the ready, she went through the same maneuvers she had practiced so long ago in anticipation of the Bloodsands. The corruption attempted more and more to attack the little hero, and she endured, until it was tamed.
Sheathing her sword, she reached inside her robe, pulling out a cane. A few waves of the purified wooden instrument later, the corruption was gone. Yet, her job was not yet over. Each body, whether mere bones bleached by the sun, or disease-ridden waterlogged corpses that had finally surfaced, she pulled them out, one by one. Counting seven, she fabricated a makeshift tool to dig graves for the deceased. Only three feet below the sands - she cursed her body's limitations, but it would have to do. Each corpse given a simple epitaph. "May you return to Aether, where the Mothercrystal welcomes you."
She picked up her sword, and walked back to Little Ala Mhigo. A shadow that had merely drifted into town before, to avoid complications, she did the same, using a different entrance. She walked towards the diseased boy, with the same characteristic smile she had given him before. Cane in hand, she finally cast the spell that could cure him, and then, and only then, was her work over.
The man that pleaded for her, seeing the boy start to recover, was shocked that not only the hooded figure did something, but actually succeeded. As though she never saw him, she picked up her equipment, and started walking out of town. He tried to stop her, invite her for dinner, give her Gil for her services. The hooded figure never stopped walking until she was outside the city limits, once she realized the man had followed her.
"Why won't you stop!? I just want to thank you for all you've done!" he pleaded, it wasn't in an Ala Mhigan's philosophy to just give up.
"I do not need thanks. Save them for the boy - He has found a source of water a few malms southwest from here, outside of the U tribe's territory." her smile was genuine. "If you wish to thank me, honor the graves that are near the water source. They did not deserve such cruel a death. Implore Thal to watch over them in his realm, for Nald traded them too soon." she stated in a calm voice.
"I'll, uh, I'll do that. But what should I call you if I need to call you?" the man simply asked.
"Do not call me anything - The less people know of me, the more I will be able to help."
Then, with a gust of wind, the hooded figure left.
"Now, if only all Lalafell were as saintly as that one..." he mused, before returning to his post.
