Farewell, Kasim

After a lengthy walk to the Cursed Lands, Leona spotted the abandoned cabin mentioned in the letter from Kasim. This adventure had started in a clothing store in Hargeon Town. A young man in a tailored black pinstripe suit had appeared and delivered it to her just after she had finished buying some long pants for her wardrobe. He did not give his name, claiming that the message being delivered was more important than his name. After a quick bow, the young man left her holding the letter.

Ever since then Leona reminisced about Kasim and how they had met. He was a good-looking fellow with tan skin and a taste for dark clothing that was well-made. He also wielded a strange two-handed sword with considerable skill.

They had met entirely by chance in Desierto. One day while on a trip to gather water, she had come across him lying on his back in the sand and bleeding from facial wounds. He was dying of thirst after some bandits stole his camel, beat him badly and left him for dead. Leona provided him with water from her canteen and made a crude shelter from her desert cloak and some nearby sticks. After spending several hours recovering, a grateful Kasim vowed to one day return the favor and save her life like she had saved his.

That happened a year later when Leona and her brother were ambushed by bandits as they were returning with buckets of ore for the village blacksmith. The pair fended the attackers off the best they could, but they were outnumbered ten-to-one. Just when things looked bleak, Kasim and a dozen of his friends came to the rescue, killing any bandits who did not flee. With Kasim's timely help the former got revenge for being robbed and left for dead and the Jarnefeldts survived the ambush.

She had always wondered how Kasim had fared since she was exiled. Now she knew. The knowledge that her was trapped in that cabin spurred her on despite the cold and the feeling that she was being watched. The cold she could handle... she was wearing long khaki cargo pants and boots with an olive green t-shirt. What she could not quite handle was the feeling that she was being watched.

Still, Kasim needed assistance. That was reason enough to press on despite any misgivings. Leona hoped that she was not too late.

[Word Count: 403]

Kasim's Appearance:

Leona Jarnefeldt rolls one Monster Die.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Leona stopped walking when she spotted two milky white blobs hovering in the distance. They were not her friend. There was only one of him and there were two blobs. They began to draw closer. Were they... ghosts?

When they drew within spotting distance, all doubt was removed. They were indeed ghosts. They were shorter than Leona, had no legs, and looked angry. An ordinary knife would be useless against them. They did not merit using the Blade of the Goddess, so she would try her magic first.

Leona formed a ball of wind in her hand, then threw it whenever one of them was solid. The Wind Ball hit and the ghost gave a shrill scream. Its friend surged towards Leona with surprising speed, hitting her in the chest and making her shiver.

The other ghost raised its arms and prepared to attack, but the blonde was quicker. She prepared and cast an Air Disc, hitting it again and causing it to disperse with a piercing scream. Leona's ears were ringing as she was struck from behind. Again she felt an unearthly chill as the ghost passed through her.

Leona prepared and threw a Wind Ball, hitting the specter just as it materialized in front of her. It shrieked and momentarily recoiled before diving towards her. This time Leona dropped to the ground and it flew right over her. Leona rolled until she got back to her feet, then prepared and threw an Air Disc from a kneeling position. The disc struck the ghost and destroyed it.

Leona ignored the scream and looked herself over. No limbs were broken. Aside from feeling chilled and a little unsettled, she was not hurt by the ghosts. It was time to move on.

[Word Count: 292] [Total Word Count: 695]

Leona Jarnefeldt rolls one Monster Die.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Shaking off the ghost attack, Leona pressed on. The cabin was bathed in pale light, but the moonlight was not of much comfort to her. The cabin looked even creepier now. Leona spotted what she thought were bodies lying on the ground around the structure, but she did not have time to investigate. Her musing was interrupted by the sound of heavy running and gutteral roaring.

Leona turned around and shrieked. It was an adult bear! It charged at her and took a swipe, but Leona jumped backwards. It stood on its hind legs and roared, giving her a good look at what she was facing.

Its fur was matted and covered with blood. Its eyes were milky white and glazed over. It was missing chunks from its back, which featured two or three deep bite marks. She had no idea what could have inflicted bite marks like that. There was no time to conduct an investigation because it was charging right at her.

Leona prepared and threw a Wind Ball, striking it in the face. It seemed to shrug it off and kept going. It plowed right into Leona, sending her sprawling to the ground. She landed and tasted dirt. Spitting out a mouthful of earth, the blonde turned just in time to see the beat looming over her.

She screamed and drew her knife. It reared up on its hind legs and roared. It then dropped down and prepared to feast on her, but Leona had other plans. She held out her knife and let the bear impale itself, then rolled out of the way just in time. It collapsed and roared in pain.

It snapped its jaws at her and had labored breathing before going silent. Leona cautiously approached it. Was it truly dead this time? She nudged it with the toe of her boot. Its head flopped to one side and she screamed.

Once Leona had recovered from her heart attack, she rolled it over and recovered her knife. She wiped the congealed blood off on the bear itself. Once the blade was clean she put it away and started out for the cabin. Hopefully Kasim was still alive.

[Word Count: 363] [Total Word Count: 1,058]

Leona Jarnefeldt rolls one Monster Die.

The member 'Leona Jarnefeldt' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

After defeating the undead bear, Leona walked closer to the cabin. She spotted roughly a dozen bodies surrounding it and half as many scattered outside the entrance. Kasim must have had to fight his way in. She did not like the look of things. She wondered if whatever killed them was airborne, but that train of thought was interrupted by the sound of moaning coming from in front of her.

Leona watched as five of the dead people slowly got to their feet. She gasped and stepped back. They must have heard the noise because they turned and shambled in her direction. All five of them were in various states of decomposition and bones were protruding from their ribcages. Two of them were missing an arm... judging from the clean wound, it looked like they had been severed by a sword.

They shambled towards her with milky white eyes fixed in unblinking gazes. Leona sprung into action. She gathered wind magic into her hands, then leaped into the air and used an Air Burst spell. Three of them were hit and tumbled back to the earth, but the attack had missed the other two. She landed and her right leg began to hurt. The bear charging into her earlier had inflicted an injury after all.

Leona stood her ground and used a Wind Ball spell, throwing a ball of wind that struck the undead squarely in the face and knocked its head off. The other one kept shambling until it got within reach, then seized her left arm and attempted to bite. Leona grappled with it and danced, somehow keeping it from biting her until she could get her foot on its chest. When she did, she grabbed its arms and kicked off with all her strength. She heard something tearing as it was launched backwards.

Leona screamed when she saw what had happened. She had torn its arms off! She dropped the severed limbs and walked over to the fallen ghoul. It was thrashing about in a vain attempt to get off of its back. She charged a Wind Ball and threw it, hitting the ghoul in the head and making its skull explode like a ripe melon.

Leona felt a little sick to her stomach. The head explosion was more than she had bargained for. Still, it was dead... again. Now to investigate the cabin.

The blonde gingerly stepped over the bodies and checked the door. It was unlocked. Leona gently opened it and found Kasim standing next to a glass lantern. The light danced on a white gauze wrapping that was wound around his right arm and stained crimson.

"Kasim! Kasim, it's me, Leona!" Leona said to him. His sword was lying on the ground at his feet. He was also oddly quiet. Something was not right. He gave off a low moan.

"Kasim..." Leona repeated. He groaned and slowly lurched around to face her. Leona hoped that it did not mean what she thought it meant. Unfortunately, that hope was soon dashed. Kasim was now one of the undead.

"Kasim." Leona whispered softly. She was too late. Kasim was already dead. The blonde knew what she had to do, but it was not going to be easy. It had to be done.

"I'll make this quick." Leona pledged while conjuring the Blade of the Goddess.

[Word Count: 559] [Total Word Count: 1,617]
(Blade of the Goddess: Active for 1 out of 3 Posts)

Kasim's eyes were the same milky white as those of the other undead. His mouth and chin were stained crimson, as was the front of his white shirt. His bandaged right arm flew up and a stiff finger stretched out. It was like he was accusing her of failing to save him.

"GRAAAAAAGH!" He exhaled. He then raised his left arm and charged at her. He did not shamble like the others. He ran!

Leona backpedaled furiously, clearing the cabin entrance just in time but tripping over one of the bodies. She rolled onto her stomach and crawled away on all fours ahead of the advancing Kasim. The Blade was clutched in her hand. It was her best hope of defeating him quickly. However, she had other things to worry about... some of the bodies were not quite dead!

Leona screamed as five more rose to their feet. She was heavily outnumbered and Kasim was almost upon her. She half-sprinted, half-hobbled ahead of the six undead and prepared another Air Burst spell. It knocked down four of the undead, leaving only Kasim and another undead compatriot standing. Her right leg started hurting from the landing, but she had thinned out the number of ghouls after her.

The last normal one shambled towards her, but she stabbed it in the skull. It offered no resistance as the blade pierced through. Leona planted a foot and kicked, prying the Blade free of its skull. Thankfully the head did not come off. Now for Kasim.

He grabbed her and tried to bite, but Leona wrestled free and shoved him back. He stumbled over a body and fell onto his back. Leona took a deep breath. She strode over to the being who was once her friend. It was time to end this.

"GRAAAAAGH!" He bellowed as his hands reached out for her. He began to sit up, but Leona stabbed him through the skull. Kasim went quiet and Leona eased him down to the ground.

It was over. Leona did not celebrate or make any one-liners. She just stood in silence. Kasim was dead. This time he was not coming back.

Leona looked around to make sure that no other threats were around. It was all clear. Leona dispelled the Blade of the Goddess and went back to the cabin. Maybe there was a shovel there. She did not want to leave his body lying out like a trash bag waiting to be collected.

[Word Count: 411] [Total Word Count: 2,028]
(Blade of the Goddess has been voluntarily dispelled.)

It took a few hours and a lot of work, but Leona had dug a six-foot deep grave for Kasim to be buried in. She gently lowered his body into the ground, then covered it with the dirt. It was not what he wanted. One time she recalled him wishing to be cremated, but the area was full of trees. All it would take for a forest fire was for the wind to catch a single stray ember... it was a fire hazard waiting to happen.

Burial would have to suffice. Besides, she would have a very hard time explaining to the Rune Knights why she was carrying a dead body around. Once the deed was done, she paused for a moment to listen to her surroundings and to recall the happier times with Kasim.

She was unable to save him when he needed saving again. Still, he was not suffering any more. Kasim was free. She trudged back to the cabin and put the shovel back into place. Her attention was drawn to a letter resting on the floor in a corner of the cabin.

The paper bore a prominent mark where it had been stepped on by Kasim, but the writing was still legible. Leona picked it up and began to read.

"Leona: if you are reading this message, then I am most likely dead. I am unhappy that the burden of killing what I will become has fallen to you, but you are the only one who remains to do it. All of my friends and family are already dead. My village has been burnt to the ground. I will not kill myself because I want to be reunited with my friends and family on the other side.

Since I did not marry and have children, I have no one else to pass down my most valued possession to. That possession is my sword. It has served my family well for seven generations. Please take it, Leona. Take it and know that we will always be friends." Kasim's letter read. Leona kept silent as she carefully put it into her backpack. She then turned her attention to the sword. It had seen a lot of use over the years. It had served Kasim until his untimely passing, but its legacy would not end with him.

One day Leona would have it repaired and reforged. It would travel with her and it would continue to be used. In a way Kasim would always be with her. She picked it up and hefted it onto her shoulder. She blew out the flickering lantern and shut the cabin door.

Her work here was done. It would be a long walk back to the guild hall. She had better get moving before more undead arrived.

[Word Count: 464] [Total Word Count: 2,492]