(YB, IC) Kerall's redemption

[Zappo]

The last flag is given to the Enlightened Master, and Kerall is getting ready to go away without saying a word. A chill wind is blowing in the valley, as usual for the season. As the villain picks up his cloak, all the birds suddenly stop singing. Despite the beating, Kerall's senses are as sharp as those of any master - both the fighters stop and look around carefully. The howl of the wind is the only sound that can be heard now.

A few meters upwind from the warriors, the path becomes blurry. As if something red and vaporous was forming. "Oh, no...", Kerall says quietly as a stench of sulphur and death is blown to the area where the combat took place.
The mist seems undisturbed by the wind. It swirls and quicky grows thicker, assuming a vaguely humanoid form. Within moments, a mighty fiend has appeared, solid enough to strike fear into the bravest of men, but yet somewhat inconsistant, its features and outline blurry. "Why have you come?", Kerall asks, "There is still time".

Not so much as you'd like to believe, slave. The thought is in the minds of all who are present, like an intruder defiling a sacred place. After the last word, Kerall cringes for a moment.

One fight, Kerall. Lose once again, and she will die.

"I will find a solution, demon!" Kerall shouts louder than the wind, as if challenging Fate itself. "I will, and once Maelle is safe, I swear I will track you into the depth of Hell itself to seek revenge!"

Revenge, servant? What for? You have obtained what you have asked for, nothing more, nothing less. Yours is the fault, yours is the responsibility.

The villain pulls out his trusted kama and with a growl of anger throws it at the fiend. The blade slashes through it as if it were so much air, and embeds itself deeply into a tree from the force of the blow. The figure becomes more and more vaporous, and begins to vanish.

One fight. It's your only choice.

Kerall throws himself at the fiend, but before he can touch it, it has completely vanished. The fighter falls face down on the ground. He pulls himself on his knees, grasping the dirt. He is facing away from Nikodemus, but the light warrior can hear Kerall weep.

"You have heard the fiend, Nikodemus. I don't have a choice. I've given my honor. I've given my soul. One more fight, and if I lose, it will all have been for nothing. And even if I win, what can I hope for? More and more blood and death... oh, my daughter, forgive me..."

OOC: no more fights for Kerall, until the reset. This thread will decide which path he chooses at that point. Anyone who wants to do some IC roleplaying is invited.

 

[Sabaron]

Sabaron, having watched the fight between his Oathbound friend and Kerall, watches the scene with the demon unfold. He runs toward the demon, sword drawn, only to see it vanish before his eyes. He sheathes his sword and holds out his hand toward Kerall.

"Let me help you up. I never realized what you were fighting for; most 'villains' fight because they don't realize the value of honor. You are ensnared with a demon... I don't know how it happened, but I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to help you extricate yourself from the situation and rescue your daughter... even if it means plumbing the depths of Hell themselves. I don't care if you're a Dirty Bastard; no one deserves this."

ooc to Phoenix: Perhaps that's why we're Oathbound.

 

[Phoenix8008]

OOPS! Double post. Deleted.

 

[Phoenix8008]

"I'm sorry, Kerall. I did not understand the circumstances under which you fought. This demon holds your daughter hostage to bind you to it's will? What pact is this that you have made with the demon? What is it you need to fulfill your end of the bargain?

"My earlier words were spoken in haste and in ignorance and I apoligize for them. Please tell me if there is any way that I might be able to help you in this desperate hour. I have many resources and friends that I could call on for help as well, so do not discount the possibility of near miraculous help. No matter how far fetched the idea seems, if it may be possible then tell me. If it means going to hell to battle this demon myself, then I will look for a way to make it so. Speak now, and I pray thee, hold back nothing. For the smallest detail could be the most important clue in this puzzle."

OOC: Nice twist, Zappo! Real cool idea too. Niko's response may be a bit overblown, but I figure I'll go large and in charge or not at all since the end is near.

OOC2: Looks like you and I think alike, Sabaron!

 

[Zappo]

Kerall raises his head to look who's talking to him. His face is streaked with tears. He takes Sabaron's hand and stands up, and then takes a deep breath to talk with the two honorable warriors. "Maelle can't be rescued. Her enemy is inside her. About one year ago, a terrible plague swept through the land from where I come. Like it often happens with these calamities, some survived and became immune, the others died. I was lucky. My wife wasn't. I mourned her for a week, but then the lightning struck (sp?) again: my beloved daughter Maelle, the only person I now cared for in my life, contracted the same disease."

"I saw her quickly become weaker, and weaker... until one night, she woke up and screamed, invoking my name. Her time was nearing, but there was nothing I could do. I prayed to all the gods, and then to the fiends, I asked for someone, anything, if there's a power beyond us, then save my daughter, or else, what are gods for?"

"Something ansered. I felt it in my mind. 'I can save Maelle, mortal'. DO IT, I screamed, do it in the name of all that is good in the world. 'I care not for good, mortal. Will you reliniquish your honor to me?'. I accepted. 'Will you give me your soul?'. Again, I accepted. 'This is our pact, Kerall. You will fight. For every combat you win, I will keep Maelle healthy and alive for some more time'."

"I closed my eyes, ignored my conscience, and murmored my acceptance. And when I opened them, I saw Maelle sitting on her bed, rubbing her eyes. 'I had a strange dream, daddy...', she told me, and I hugged her and cried, and told her it was all over."

"I could not have been more mistaken. That was just the beginning. I defeated all the most powerful warriors in my land, but the fight absorbed all my time and I felt an evil force growing within me. In the end, there was noone left to fight, and with only a few days left, I left my home to find new challengers".
"All the wise men I talked to told me that no cure exists. I am stuck. As if it wasn't enough, the demon has now started interfering in my fights. I don't know why it does so. I cannot fight it, for it has no substance in this world. And even if I could... I would obtain my revenge, but my daughter would die without the fiend".
"I should have let Maelle die. Now I know it. I should stop fighting and live out my lonely life, until my own time comes and the fiend claims my soul. But... I don't have the strength to do that..."

 

[Phoenix8008]

"Kerall, this is important. Does the Demon have your daughter in it's grasp physically, spiritually, or both? Or is it only your soul that has been traded to the Evil one? Where is your daughter? Is she still far away in your homeland, or is she nearby?"

 

[Sabaron]

"Perhaps if we can find a cure to the disease, your daughter will have no further need for the demon. Do you know of any accomplished herbalists or healers, Niko?"

 

[Phoenix8008]

"I must admit that I do not, Sabaron. What I had in mind is a sadder and more harsh outcome, but it is one that holds honor and justice in it. I will say no more untill Kerall answers my previous questions though."

 

[Zappo]

Kerall shakes his head. "Maelle is far, far away, though the demon has no power on her besides stopping the disease. She doesn't even know about it... I would never tell her. Even if we found a cure, I would have to risk more fights to gain the time. The first time I came here, I could complete the travel only because I had accumulated so many victories. And one... only one loss, and everything will crumble... yet with every victory I feel more of my honor and soul slipping away. What honor can be found in fighting for a fiend? I am committed to the path of villainry. No trick is too low, if it can help me to win more time for Maelle".

Meanwhile, Kerall's kama, the weapon that passed through the demon's misty form, is still stuck into the tree. The blade is becoming darker and a black patch is slowly spreading in the wood.

 

[Phoenix8008]

"First I must cleanse this darkness, lest it spread further."

Niko walks to the tree and pulls out the kama. Holding it in one hand and resting his palm over the darkening patch on the tree, Nikodemus begins channeling the Redeeming Light through his body and into the kama and the tree.
OOC:Hopefully this will destroy the growing darkness in the kama and the tree. I'll leave that up to you Kerall, as you may have some plan that this depends on. Please post what happens when Niko tries this and then Niko will explain the idea he has.