Gwendolen Etienne's Story

Gwendolen went to bed that evening late, after a day of nursing her sick father and the majority of her servants, she had finally decided to rest a little. Gwen couldn't help but find the entire situation slightly strange, all the sick had ventured into town a day prior, had come back with what looked like teeth marks or scratched etched into their skin and all had quickly developed a alarmingly high fever. Changing out of her dress and into a cotton nightgown, Gwendolen tiresomely crawled into bed, where sleep quickly claimed her. However her slumber didn't last for long as she awoke with the sounds of a large ruckus coming from down stairs, getting out of her bed Gwen slipped on her embroidered robe and slippers before opening the her heavy bedroom door, walking out into the dimly lit hallway, the noise seemed louder and it was followed by a high pitched cry.

Gwen's eye widened in fear, this was not just her servants being to loud, this was something else, were they being attacked? As she inched slowly towards the staircase she swallowed the large lump forming in her throat and walked down the wooden stairs, trying to keep light footsteps so the steps wouldn't creak and alert the intruders of her presence. As she reached the bottom she looked down both coridoors, the noise was coming from the parlor room, her eyes darted around to see what she could possible use as a weapon, settling upon a heavy silver candlestick, with her hands firmly grasping her weapon she quietly tiptoed towards the room at the end of the hall only to be distracted by another scream behind her, turning sharply she saw her maid Ana running towards her holding her neck with a blood soaked rag. Gwenolden's stomach churned slightly at the sight "My lady help me please" she begged with tear soaked eyes.

"Hush!" she scolded with a harsh whisper remembering the intruders at the end of the hall but it was too late, a guttural growl alerted her of their parents, she turned and saw two deathly pale men with bloodied mouths and black eyes at the end of the hall, she backed up slowly dropping the candlestick "run" she muttered her voice barely louder than a whisper, she grabbed Ana by the wrist and ran up the stairs dragging her with their pursuers hot on their heels, Ana's screams piercing her ears as they ran, she didn't blame the girl, she would probably be doing the same thing if she wasn't so focused on finding a hiding place.

Settling for her fathers room she dragged the maid inside, pushing a heavy chest in front of the door to try and keep those demons out. Gwendolen stood back and watched as they pounded against the door, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath,What was happening? She thought to herself until a loud thump caught her attention, turning her head she saw Ana slumped on the floor her back against the wall, rushing over she removed the soaked rag to have blood squirt out of the wound onto her chest, resisting the urge to gag she mustered up some courage and placed her hand firmly onto the woman's neck in a attempt to stop the bleeding "Ana, who did this? Was it one of those things?" Gwen asked with a soft voice, Ana weakly nodded, the loss of blood quickly began to affect her.

"I-i went to check on Ralph, the stable boy's fever when he attacked me, he b-bit me." Her voice was weak, too weak, Gwen let out a small sigh applying her other hand as the Ana's blood seeped through her in between her fingers "What about the others? Are they the same?" she asked, no answer came, looking at the girls face she knew instantly she had passed away, feeling sadness gather in her heart she removed her blood soaked hands wiping them on her robe "be at peace Ana" she said to the lifeless body. Standing up she fell back against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment trying figure out what she was to do next, a creak made her eyes shoot open, standing in front of her was her father, the same deathly pale skin and the same darkened eyes as the men downstairs, she barely had time to let out a scream as he lunged at her, diving to the floor her father collided with the fall, falling to the floor with a thump. "Papa" she cried as she stumbled to her feet, walking over to the body cautiously, she looked down to see his chest rising slightly and a sense of relief washed over her "Papa?" she called lightly.

Lord Stanley's eyes shot open to reveal the blackness once more, letting out scream Gwen made a dash for the door but feeling a hand grasp around her ankle brought her swiftly to the ground face first. Stunned for a moment, her hand flew to her nose and drew back to see the scarlet fluid trickle out from her nostrils, she kicked violently as her father tried to bite her "Papa please" she begged but it was no use, this was no longer her father. It wasn't long until he was above her trying his best to bite at her skin, she fought with all her might but he had seemed to developed a new strength. A flash of silver caught her eye, it was her fathers sword! Using one arms to continue to push Stanley away she stretched the other one and grasped the hilt of the sword she managed to plunge the blade into his side. He fell to the ground quickly, standing to her feet, Gwen had no time to mourn, she removed the sword to looked away to find a way of escape. The window proved to be her best option, smashing the glass with the blade she through that out first and watched as it landed in the bush, the drop was at least fifteen feet but this was her only chance of survival, carefully lowering herself down she let go and fell in a heap on the grass "damn" she hissed as a moment of pain rushed through her.

Grabbing the heavy sword Gwen ran as fast as she could into the forest, she ran until she could run now more and using a tree for support she stopped to catch her breath, it was a cold night, and the thinness of her nightgown and robe made small bumps appear on her skin from the chill, her breath was viable also, her chest heaved heavily as she looked around, she spotted the outline of something in the near distance, her grasp tightened on the hilt of her sword as she walked the object. The moonlight lit up a carriage and two slumped horses along with two men and a young girl, feeling relief wash over her she walked towards them "Sirs!" she called out "Please you must help me" she begged.

Damion was asleep when he had heard the shouting, and the neighing. It was a long day before that, he sighed as he got up and put on his robe. Him being the holy man of the town, one of Damions jobs was to ensure that all bodies were taken care of and prayed before they burned them. It had been a long day before the night had approached. He remembered what had transpired like it had just happened. The smell, the sights, and the sounds.

"Sir, another man requires your attention." Damions' helper said to him. Damion was kneeling over a sick man giving him his last rites and easing his pain. The smell was terrible. It was like somebody had curdled milk and smashed a rotten egg in the same room. He crossed himself and brought out his dagger. 'Forgive me Father for this act of murder, for this act of murder is in mercy and not in anger. Forgive me for that of what I am about to do to another one of your children. Allow me to pass through your gates and be with You and Your Son who has died for your sins. I beg the to Forgive me,' Damion prayed before he sunk his blade into the mans heart effectively killing him without much pain. The room was now filled the with the copper smell of blood. He wiped the blade on the sheet next to the man and got up The family of the man walked up to Damion and offered him coin. He just shook his head and refused, "This is a free service. I'm committing no sin here and as such I will not take money for it. It pains me to watch others suffer."

"Now where is this man? I must tend to him." Damion said putting the blade back into its resting place. His helper looked away from the Priest, and told him to follow him. Damion nodded and walked after the boy. It was a shame to have somebody so young to experience something so tragic. When Damion had reached the new patient, the smell was exactly the same. As was the seen. The man was in the late stages of the Plague. He was about to go, and the man didn't want to become one of them. Damion just nodded his head and began the reading of the last rites of the infected.

Damion stepped out of the church with a lantern and his dagger at the ready. It wasn't a short sword he had trained with, but it worked. He started walking out slowly and delibeartly trying not to draw attention to himself. He really didn't want to be out right now, and there was no real reason except for his curious nature. For the next couple of minutes he walked slowly and soon saw a campfire a couple of hundred yards away. The fire was acting like a beacon in the darkness like his lantern. As he neared the fire he saw clear foot prints of what would be a couple of men and a horse. He followed the footprints to 2 men, a woman, and a young girl. He ran up holding his lantern. It was clear who he was due to the fact that he had his robes on and the cross around his neck.

Johanne gulped and lowered her weapon. Her breaths came uneasily and she advanced towards the small group. Her knees buckled and quivered as she walked, dragging her bow on the ground. In the presence of a lady, she stood and curtsied sloppily, "Forgive my disheveled appearance, Madame. But...I need help." Johanne glanced towards the knight, "S-Sir William," She mumbled, "Please. Please protect my Master!" She begged, making her way toward the man. "I beg of you." She groveled, resting her head on the dirt, pleading.

William removed his helm and smiled at the young girl. He turned his head toward the approaching holy man and wondered why a priest would wander alone in the woods knowing his life was at stake. He wondered why the girl would hold such obedience to someone to proclaim them her master. His heart was heavy with pity as he looked on at the bloody scene surrounding the carriage.

“Who is your Master, young one? Where is he?”

William, walking over to the carriage with caution noticed the horses were now deathly quiet. They looked at him with silence as he steadily approached them. He was waiting for something, anything, to happen. He placed the helm back on his head and unsheathed his sword once more as he heard ruffling noises coming from within the compartment of the carriage.

"There is no need to ask for my forgiveness" Gwendolen smiled warmly down at the girl, seeing her grovel for a man who was essentially her captive broke her heart, did this poor girl have no other family whom she would rather beg? Was she that alone? Gwen's hand tightened on the hilt of her fathers sword as Sir William approached the carriage, she moved towards the girl placing a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her towards her, she did not want her in harms way, the rumbling coming from inside the carriage unnerved her and her grip on the girls shoulder tightened slightly, like a mother protecting her child "be prepared to run" she whispered to the girl.

Her hand. The hand of the beautiful women. She wanted to touch. To feel. To grasp and feel her warmth. She was not worthy of holding the woman, but once she grabbed her, Johanne didn't want to leave. She shook and tensed up. "Thank you, Madame." The noise from the carriage sparked a light in her. The hope her Master may be alive. She didn't want to be alone.

Now, she wasn't.

Rune noticed the girls flash of anger towards the holy man before she said “thank you all” but said nothing. He felt nothing but pity for the poor girl she looked like she had been beaten on a daily basis and half starved but there was more pressing matters than to console her.

He scanned the strange group taking mental notes of equipment and how useful they would be in a fight. The women holding the girl had nothing but a sword but didn’t look very comfortable with it. The child had a bow and quiver full of arrows but her hands were shackled so would be useless in a fight until they were removed and now he had a good look at her she was older than what he first thought she was no child but a young women. The priest only had a dagger which would be useless in a fight with these monsters. Sir William was the only other member of the group who looked like he knew how to swing a sword.

Rune jumped down from his horse offering it to the two women saying “you need him more than I”. He then hurriedly went over to the now deserted wagon to search for weapons and supplies, he found a few small sacks of food but nothing that would be useful to them rite now. He went back to the horse to tie the small bundle of food to the saddle.

There was another loud howl but this time it came from direction of the woods, Sir William was right more were coming. More howls sounded out as Rune helped the women onto the horse and they were getting closer. Rune thought there must be at least four or five of them and coming fast. He shouted to Sir William “We can hold them until the women and the holy man are safe”.

Damion was lost in thought about how this terrible curse started, sure he was a man of God. Though he didn't believe that a bunch of demons did this. Nor did he believe that a bunch of spell casters did this. "I'm sorry knight, I do not know any clues that would be the cause of this terrible illness. I could give you the Church reason, that a few mages summoned up demons to wreak havoc across this land. I do not believe any word of that reasoning. It just doesn't make sense. In my personal opinion, I do believe that God sent this plague to sort out the sinners and the righteous. Though that's just my opinion on the matter." Damion said before the other howls came out of the woods.

He prayed silently and looked around for a sword. He needed to feel the rush of battle again. Its been a long time since he had fought with something. He noticed that Gwen had a sword on her. Damion ran over to her and handed the lantern to her, "Give me your sword, I'll help fend these things off. I might not look it but I know around the way of a sword." Damion grabbed the sword and wielded it the way he was taught all those years ago. The balance of it felt right in his hands, the lightness of the blade and the weight of the hilt in his hands. He smiled at the thought of the challenge. The other man had shouted to the knight about fending them off till him and the women had reached the church safely, Damion shook his head at the man and said, "I was a squire once, I know how to defend against enemies. I'm not as helpless as you think."

Mounted and now riding, Johanne latched onto the beautiful maiden. She felt as if she was obligated to, seeing as how she helped her in her time of need. Oh, how she was so needy. So dependent on others. Could she not stand on her own to feet? Or, were her feet just not meant for standing? Was she supposed to depend on the kindness of others forever? Certainly not; that would most definitely get her killed! Johanne cringed and began to tear at her own thoughts. Most of the time, she was just so damn helpless. She wanted to help herself, she wanted to be independent. Like the strangers she met. So resourceful and skilled, not needing each other; able to bond together when needed. But how to do that was beyond Johanne's knowledge. She knew not everyone she was going to meet had good intentions, but hell if she could tell. Everyone seemed so honest to her. So trustworthy. But she was not handicapped! Though, it seemed like she was, she knew that at one point, she wasn't incapable. She knew she wasn't as vulnerable as most seen her. It got tiresome, always seeming desperate for another person, always needing someone to be there. Like her Master...

"Master... She whispered, gripping the clothes of Gwendolyn. The man she knew she needed, how was she going to live without him? No guidance, no idea of what they were even doing in this town; how the hell was she supposed to move on from this godforsaken town? Master would know...

The buck of the horse making her rub against her thigh, there, a raw branding design now bleeding out. She started to grind her teeth, pushing the pain to the back of her, now, overflowing mind.

How could she help those men? Up close and personal with those monster things could not be good. Perhaps she was biased due to her use of ranged weapons. But, she knew they could protect themselves, even others. Why would they want to help others? These strangers the men didn't even know. That could be contemplated, but for now...

"Madame? Pardon my asking, but your name?"