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The Cleansing of Irci's Remnants

The Cleansing of Irci's Remnants
Notable Locations: Irci
Involved Groups: Rhogar Demirev, Ezra Astrophel
Preceding Incident: The Massacre at Irci
Start Date: 4-2517-X-XX
End Date: 4-2517-X-XX
Outcome:The Cleansing of the Cursed Village
Parent Arc:The Order Veracious Arc


After travelling the continent in search of Outer Entities to vanquish from the world, Ezra and Rhogar found themselves at the Village of Irci, the site of a great tragedy, stories of which were seeded through the smear campaign conducted by The Order Veracious during the Tala Rane election. The 2 individuals prepare themselves after a search for what could be hiding within the village remains.

The Cleansing

An excerpt from a short story about the travels of Rhogar and Ezra while during the year long priestly duties Valmet was required to do as payment for the help that their god sent in response to the the Party's call for aid.

Silence surrounded them, piercing their ears as the vibrant day noises suddenly ceased. The trek had been long, journeying from the Templar Capital of Tala Rane, through Ghospeak and past Ettinmere, to the place of regret. The village in which atrocities were carried out, the scars for which Thoradin and Bob had carried for many years. The Village of Irci.

As the hill began to plateau Ezra and Rhogar were met with a sight of a ghost town, buildings seemingly intact but lifeless and barren. Even from this distance they could see the crags and ragged midways weaving between the houses, bumpy with what could only be assumed to be the remnants of the people who lived here. The weight of their task seemingly sinks into them, the removal of that which is considered “Unearthly” from the site of this massacre, and so with heavy hearts they began their descent, the cold air of mid-winter stinging their nostrils.

“The tales were true. There’s nothing left.” Said Ezra as the deafening silence grew around them.
“It was left by those who came before you and me Ezra. It was a bloodbath, no fighting back, no resistance, just a massacre. Not even the children were spared.” Replied Rhogar, peering through some of the broken windows to the seemingly untouched interiors of the small houses.

They descended through the village vigilant for any threat which may jump out at them from the alleyways, though glances through the broken glass and open doorways provided no indication of any activity. The crags and ragged midways, revealing themselves to be femurs, spines and skulls from the long dead villagers, cracked under the weight of Rhogar’s armour and echoed around them. At first glance it could be assumed that there was nothing else here other than themselves, but they could not shake the feeling of something peering deep into them.

“You feel that too don’t you Rhogar?”
“I do but can’t seem to find anything indicating there’s anything else here. The grass remains untouched yet dry.”
The houses haven’t seen much activity either, peering through the windows it seems the dust has barely seen a gust of wind. I suggest we split and search some of the remaining properties more and meet back in the village centre.”

Suggested Ezra as they scanned the surrounding streets for a glimpse of activity. Rhogar nodded with approval and they began their search, scouring the area for signs of activity. The meeting in the village centre brought more of the same conclusions, the area was devoid of all life and physical activity. Sitting and discussing their next moves Ezra catches a glimpse of something out of the corner of their eye.

“Hold on Rhogar, I think I’ve found something. It looks like something is on the side of the well here. It’s not something I’ve seen before though.”
“This isn’t good.” Replied Rhogar. “It looks like blood, so something is definitely here.”
“We’ve got patches of dead and blackened grass here too!” yelled Ezra investigating the only small area that wasn’t dirt covered pathway. “I’ve read about this and heard stories from travellers. The blackened grass is indicative of a Wight lair. This entire village must be one large Lair.”
“They must have hidden in the well to escape from the Sun. Though that does beg the question who is leading them. Wights tend to have a leader of some sort or an Alpha among them. I don’t think that’s the case this time though. I can’t help but think we are missing something.”

The sun begins to set lazily over the silent hill as the two duty bound individuals continue to discuss the possibilities that have been presented to them. They peel off from the village centre in favour of watching the Well for the night to observe the patterns of the enemies they now hunt. The sun descends behind the final hillside and the village drops into darkness, their breath turning to vapour with every exhale. No action is seen from well for the next couple of hours as the temperature continues to drop.

A single hand slowly reaches up from the well. They watch the creature pull itself out and stand, hunched but clearly alive. The shadow beneath well seems to coalesce as a phantasmal figure from the darkness and more hands slowly grasp the top of the well rim. A second phantasmal figure seems to pull itself from freezing air along the path. As the Wights continue to crawl from the well the figure of darkness and figure of vapour look towards the concealed locations of Rhogar and Ezra, their jaws hanging slack and the white hair flowing unnaturally in the steady mid-winter air.

“You ready?” asks Rhogar drawing his sword and preparing his shield.
“Let’s get this over with.”

Replies Ezra as they walk out from the shadows that concealed them. The White figure lets out an ear-splitting scream that reverberates through the very beings of Rhogar and Ezra. The Wight Horde charges in, following the pointed and emaciated finger of the shadow being as it’s raised to them. The two recover from the banshee wail and steady themselves as steel flashes and undead screeches echo into surrounding darkness.