The Demon Plague Verses Chapter 1, Part 3
Alone in a dead village
Destruction all around.
Not knowing what to do next
They then heard a new sound.
The raiders were still present,
Their blood lust unsated.
They prowled the village searching
For more victims hated.
Billet and Vilerend were found.
The enemy gave chase.
The two men were outnumbered
So they fled from that place.
They left the village behind
And fled onto the plain.
They found a cavern nearby
A lucky piece of terrain.
They hoped to hide underground.
Maybe there’s a way through?
But fortune did not favor,
Their foes knew this place too.
The sprawling cavern was vast,
The enemies spread out.
The two men tried hiding,
Their efforts were for nought.
They had to fight when found
To secure their freedom.
When backed into a corner
They cried out, “Let them come!”
Vilerend and Billet prevailed,
Foes cried, “Do not slay us!”
They killed them, then found a room
With circular dais.
On the dais was a plinth
Supporting a green sphere.
‘Twas unnatural gemstone
Unmarked by tools, yet quite clear.
A woman entered the room
She was not with their foe.
She seemed to be quite friendly
Her goal they would soon know.
She began to speak to them,
As if they were good friends.
Her words were as a lecture
This, her Fate would portend:
“I am Fern Quickstream.
I will tell you of
a soul’s last journey.”
“Once you have perished
Your soul can roam free.
Traveling the world.”
“Journey where you will.
Distance means nothing
To an unleashed soul.”
“Go revisit the
Places you loved and
Those you never beheld.”
“When your travels end
And you are ready.
Your soul arrives here.”
“In the Living World
your soul is still bound
to your long dead corpse.”
“There is a dragon
in the caves below
That severs this bond.”
“Whereupon your soul
passes from this Realm
to the After World.”
“When I died, my soul
came to this cavern.
But I had a plan.”
“I used my magic
To bind the dragon
In magical chains.”
“My soul and body
remained connected.
The bond was still strong.”
“With my magic I
caused a token to
appear in your world.”
“While the token is
in the Living World
the Gate remains closed.”
“I have ended death.
We are now free from
this burden of fear.”
“But I realize now
I made a mistake.
My plan had a flaw.”
“With After World closed,
the souls of the dead
go back to bodies.”
“The recently dead
reawaken as
vile, evil demons.”
“I must correct this
terrible mistake.
I just need that sphere.”
“I will reopen
the After World gate
and set things to right.”
Billet and Vilerend listened
to Fern Quickstream’s long tale.
They judged her to be truthful
But in this they did fail.