Since the red fever incident some time ago, the beasts of Astorea, specifically those of the greenskin variety, have since become restless, causing them to wreck havoc on the numerous villages that dot the forests of Western Brisshal. Amongst the worst of these attacks have been on the village of Lorenta. Beset on all side by a massive horde of goblins that lurk within the tree lines just beyond the village, they have conducted multiple raids on the village under the guise of night, in the hopes of capturing prospects and finding valuable loot. The worst came a short time later when a strangely powerful toxin suddenly found itself within the heart of Lorenta itself, causing the vast majority of the populace to either outright die or be bed ridden, rending it's victims completely incapacitated. If that wasn't bad enough however, due to the increasing threat within the entire region itself, as well as the ongoing clean up that was still occurring after the red fever incident, the Lions have been stretched thin, leaving Lorenta to fend itself. As for Astorea's foremost defender, after he himself heard of the threat through the whispers of the court, Seto Kurama decided to investigate personally, determined to prevent another tragedy from happening again.
Lorenta's Status
The vast majority of Lorenta's populace have been infected with a strangely powerful toxin, causing them all to be bed ridden, with the only trace of the disease being the purpureus(bright purple) colored veins of it's victims. The remaining clergy members in the village have been overwhelmed and without help from the outside world, It is a certainly the infected will die!
After poisoning the populace of Lorenta with a strangely powerful toxin they somehow acquired or created, a massive horde of goblins plan to assault the town of Lorenta. With the vast majority of the guard either dead or dying from the mysterious disease, It is a certainly the goblins will be victorious unless help comes!
State: Normal
It was long thru-hike but after a few days on the road, he could finally see the village of Lorenta in the distance. Relieved somewhat by it's continued existence, having feared the worst, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand as he continued to stare down the many buildings that made up the village. He had thought to bring Ingrid with him but after seeing the many reports that were coming in, he was left with no choice but to send her out on a mission of her own. Despite how he felt on the matter, he wasn't going to leave a village vulnerable to attack just to make his job easier. Than there was Riza, the Pantone demon's famed maid. When she heard of his plans to investigate, she, as usual, wanted to accompany her. When he told her no, Riza protested of course, wanting to be by his side but he have nothing of it. Just like with Emmeline, his original maid, he was already overly protective of her as It was. Had he brought her, and by some luck, had managed to get herself captured by these goblins, he wasn't sure how he react but he knew It wouldn't be pretty. Regardless, had he decided to be selfish and bring them for his own personal mission, their aid would have definitely came in handy, especially since the hero wannabe's that made up the Lions were stretched thin but atlas, he was on his own. That reminded him of the old days when he was much younger and far less experienced. Chuckling at his old memories with those he met along the way, he decided to push on and finish the last thru-hike of his journey.
After several more minutes on the crudely made dirt road, he finally found himself at the foot of the village yet there was no one in sight, let alone anyone to greet him. This only caused his suspicion to grow. What happened? Did the survivors already flee? Or did the goblins already finish the job? He wasn't sure but that last thought caused him to grit his teeth. There was only one way to find out. Pressing on with his investigation, he began walking down the main drag of the village, keeping his guard up as he began scanning the area for any signs of battle or debris. Unfortunately however, much to his distain, after he searched for a few minutes, the only thing he could find was the eerie silence that only the undead usually played. He was not likening this one bit. His eye began racing in all directions as If he was anticipating an attack and yet, he was met with none. Having taken a defensive stance to some small extent, he continued to stand still, as If he was going to be attacked yet again, he was met with more eerie silence or rather only initially. After what felt like a few minutes, he suddenly heard a door open, causing him to slam his eyes in the direction where the sound originated from. Where as he was expecting a goblin or some sort of undead for some reason, he was instead surprised to find a moderately dressed woman, whom was just as surprised as him. Once she saw him however, he could see the glint in her eyes, as If she was surprised to see him, as If implying she knew who he was. This left him even more surprised but nonetheless, he lowered his guard as she approached him with haste in her step.
Yur...your grace! We..we weren't expecting you! What can our village do for you???
Presenting herself with a courteous bow, he found himself initially confused. Raising a eyebrow, he was curious why she was bowing before him, than It hit him, causing him to put two and two together. The vast majority of the NPC's of this world, specifically those in Astorea still saw him as the Duke of southern Astorea. This annoyed him but there was nothing he could do. Trying to correct them would do nothing. Though he was still against the idea, he supposed he to play the role, If only to get the job here finished. Sighing at presumably, the mayor, as what other peasant would approach a noble? he cleared his voice before speaking.
Raise your head, there's no need for that. While I am on official business, there's no need for formalities here. That said, I would like you to give me a report of the current situation. From what I read & heard, the current situation dire but I'd like to hear it first hand If you don't mind.
Raising her head, Seto was met with a nervous but depressing smile. Although he meant no harm, It clear to him she thought otherwise. Well he did have a notorious reputation in the past. It wasn't like he be able to repair it in a day or two.
Of...of course! Well as you see my Lordship, It all started a few weeks ago when our hunters were killed. We initially thought It was just a pack of wolves so I sent out a few of our guardsmen to investigate but they too didn't come back...than before we knew it, our caravans began getting attacked on the roads, forcing me to use members of the guard to protect the caravans. That of course left our village vulnerable but we rely on trading to survive so I had no choice. Eventually however, the attacks intensified and they too didn't come back, leaving us with less than thirty men to protect the village. As I'm sure your well aware, trying to protect a village this large with less then thirty men is difficult, If not downright impossible.....Not that It really mattered in the end.
Curious as to what she meant, he kept his brow raised as he proceeded to ask what she meant.
I don't understand. What do you mean? What happened?
Crossing his arms, the woman gulped before responding, clearly still under the impression he would hurt her If she said something he wasn't pleased by.
Well....as you know my Lordship, as the days turned to weeks with no end in sight, the enemy eventually revealed itself to be none other than a massive horde of goblins. I didn't initially believe it since goblins aren't usually intelligent creatures but somehow, as they began raiding the villages, there were pulling off maneuvers & tactic's you only see in the Falderen army. Suffice to say, many of the village's men didn't survive. After all, our village guards are only members of a militia, there not professionally trained soldiers. With so many of us already dead, It wasn't particularly hard for the goblins to sneak in during the night and began stealing anything of value or worse.......kidnap some of the village women.
Sighing at her own comment, he could see a tear form at the corner of her eye. It seemed she was bothered by the kidnaping, not that he blamed her for acting that way. If anything, It made his blood boil just thinking about it. He definitely would kill them all If given the chance.
If that wasn't bad enough, about a week ago, some sort of disease struck the village, immediately killing the elderly and some of the young, particularly the few infants we had in the village. We tried aliments of course but the disease just proved too much....We tried containing it and burning those we could but....the disease ended up spreading through the village like wildfire. Within a few days, most of the villagers were infected, leaving them in a comatose like state with bright purple, pulsing veins. Since aliments didn't work, we pleaded with the church to send help. They did eventually answer but as you can expect, they too failed. No matter what the they, the clergy found the disease to be resistant to even holy magic. At best, all they could do was relieve them of the pain. In a last ditch effort, I sent a message to the King, pleading him for his help but I never got a response. I suppose that means were on our own...
Hearing that, he gritted his teeth. How could he surprised? He was no kingmaker or the creator of a kingdom any longer but he never agreed with Astor being on the throne. If anything, there were other players far more suited to the rule than. He didn't know If he include himself in that list but he didn't care at the moment. All that mattered was saving these people from their fates.
Not on my watch.
Nodding his head, the woman looked up, initially confused before showing a glint of hope in her eyes.
Does that mean?
He nodded his head again, as if to confirm her suspicions. Despite the difficult task set before him, he would not abandon these people.
I will aid you the best I can. I will not abandon those who need me, nor will I allow this place to suffer the same fate as my own village. I will die before that happens...
@Solaria