I shambled from the guilds broken front door and out the left side of the village. Everything was in ruin. The stone cobbled streets were overrun by weeds. Wind blew gently through the empty streets as I hobbled along. The birds sang as if nothing was amiss, as if I wasn't out of place. A man or creature out of time. I wasn't even sure myself anymore. I turned the corner to see the shambling remains of the village elder's home. The large front door swung idly on its hinges in the light breeze. I pushed through the creaky door and into the musty dark home. I saw an unburnt candle on the mantle place and snapped my fingers
"Igni" I whispered.
A small simple flame shot from my fingertips and towards the wick of the candle. its flame flickered and illuminated the dusty surroundings. cobwebs hung in the cracked corners of the room, random broken furniture scattered the floor, the smell of decay floated about the house as well. A large painting of an elderly man sat on the wall. Next to that man was the Guild master. His haunting smile painted palely. In a brass under the portrait was a description. Father and Son. Baron Lutar and GuildMaster Isaac. I scoffed; things were becoming clearer to me as I shuffled around. I found a large silver mirror in the corner of the kitchen. Its reflective surface was marred by years and years of dirt and grime. I took my cloak and struggled to wipe off the mirror. What stared back at me had me shook. My light skin was replaced by dark orange, my eyes sunken into what could be described as my skull. It was as if a Pumpkin morphed with a skeleton. My cheeks were sunken, and my eyes had a dim low orange glow to them. I opened my mouth to see rows of razor-sharp teeth and a scaled tongue. I was no longer a human.
"You have been cursed by the Dulhan, what's strange though is the fact you left the site of the curse!" A soft voice echoed in the darkness behind me.
A weird energy wavered around me, as if it was analyzing me.
"You are abnormal, you should still just be a pumpkin till someone spills blood with the intention of revenge! You should be bound to that location till the end of time. Yet here you are shambling around like a common undead, so strange!" The voice cooed as it circled me.
"What are you!" I grunted. swinging my heavy arm around.
A bright light flashed before my eyes, then before me stood a thin redheaded elf eared woman. Her pale skin shinned in the light of the candle, almost shimmered. It had a faint tint of mint green to its coloring. Her long fingers poked and pinched my arms and parts of my face. Her curiosity extended to her pushing on the softer parts of my skull, asking random questions out load.
"Yes', you are strange. this will do quite nicely! You are cursed, undead is the closest thing to consider you as. The Dulhan curse is supposed to be a super simple and clear cut. You have to remain in the place of were the vengeance you asked for takes place until another comes and asks the same of you. So how in the heavens are you free from where you were planted. It's so unusual. I think I will follow you for a while." She cooed disappearing again.
"What in the hell was that?" I muttered dusting myself off.
I looted anything that could be used on whatever was next for me. I found some decent rope, a survival kit with a patchwork tent and a thick full cloak. thankful all were in semi decent condition. I shambled from the broken home and started down the pathway towards the town barracks. While not extremely impressive, it held the station of five or six guards for the village. The door was firmly latched from the inside. Thick vines encased the entire building, blocking any normal ways of getting in.
"Igni" I said pointing to a vine.
The fire consumed the branch in a controlled burn. The vines burnt away revealing a broken window and a small two room building. I slowly climbed through the window holding a candle for light. The dim light flickered of the crumbling walls. Papers nailed to the walls, notices for dangerous monsters in the area, one catching my eye. The very notice that had brought my party here in the first place. Wanted Team of Adventurers, A rank is a must, Three or more members. S ranked Dulhan of the Wooded plains. I grabbed the notice with a soft chuckle, folded it up and tucked it into my coat. A memory that could never be forgotten. I noticed a ledger sitting on a lone desk in an empty corner of the room. I shuffled over and saw some notes.
Aug 20th Year 1092,
The village elder came here today, something about a nearby Baron being too nosey. He wants us to lure him to that field just outside of town. Take care of him. He wants this done quietly.
Aug 25th year 1092,
We cut him down! The man didn't even have a chance to fight back, thankfully. We weren't informed that he was a mage. That could have been dangerous. He went down quickly too. Not even a whimper!
Aug 29th year 1092,
Strange things have been bothering the village these last few days, almost like we are being haunted. The village elder sent someone to salt and burn the bones of that baron. They never came back though. We are starting to wonder if this wasn't that no good baron. He must have cursed us or something. people have also started going missing. First it was someone from the hunting parties. Jason, I think his name was. Young man of twenty-five. He was one of our most able-bodied adults.
Aug 30th year 1092,
Elder sent for a party of adventurers, something about a nephew that could handle our issue with the Dulhan. Several from the hunting parties are now missing. We can't keep sending them out though, so we will have to hope the village food holds out. We are keeping a curfew the next few nights. They said the adventurers will be here by tomorrow night. We just have to hold out until help arrives.
The rest of the pages were ripped from the journal. I shook my head; these idiots were the whole reason I'm stuck like this, damned fools. I sighed as I pushed the now unlocked door open. I shuffled outside and looked around. The pure chance of all of this happening in the sequence of events the way things did baffle me. All of this due to some unspoken greed of one man, it was truly all that simple.