Ch.17 – Pooling Together
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Harlowe opened the door to the room she’d functionally booked until the ghouls that haunted Imerre were dealt with. The room was free due to the situation, something she was thankful for because she was very much broke. She ushered Clair and Alex through and followed after. Harlowe closed the door and leaned against it while the other two stood about the room. 

"I'm thinking your town's ghoul problem has been a lot longer in the making than we thought." Harlowe pulled a hunting bow that had been split in two from her cloak.

Clair's eyes went wide with recognition. "That's the bow that Marcus found." 

Harlowe nodded. "You didn't take too long of a look at it when you were there, that or you didn't know what to look for." 

Clair looked away. "I'll admit a thorough investigation wasn't the first thing on my mind." She blushed and raised her hands, realizing what that could be taken as. "Not like that!"

"I know it wasn't like that, don't wor-"

"I've got a job to do downstairs if you two aren't going to get to it,” said Alex as she crossed her arms. 

Harlowe nodded. “What I’m saying is, take a look here, where the bow was snapped.” She held the splintered wood towards them.

Clair and Alex moved closer, the lightstone overhead providing ample illumination. They had to squint to see what Harlowe had meant. 

Alex saw it first. “It’s… moving.”

Clair examined it more closely and caught between the splintered wood was a small bit of black material, it squirmed. “What in all the hells?” She looked to Harlowe for an answer. 

The half-ghoul stared back with lambent red eyes. “I should have realized something was wrong when you got me ‘dinner’. That, ladies, is a piece of still living flesh from who or what attacked the nobleman this once belonged to.” She walked over and placed the broken bow on the bed then grabbed her shovel from near the nightstand. “There’s something we need to check.”

Alex protested. “What about my father’s illness? I thought you had some sort of insight.”

Harlowe turned to lock eyes with the red haired woman. “I do, but it’ll be easier to show you.” She opened the door fully. “Let’s go.”

Clair entered the hallway. “Where exactly are we going, Harlowe?” 

“Yeah, where?” Added Alex. “I’m really only trusting you based on Clair’s faith in you here.”

“Understandable, we are going back to where my tent was set up.” Harlowe explained while rolling her claw at the wrist. 

The trio, led by Harlowe, went downstairs and out the door of the Folly. Some patrons turned to watch the odd group go, but none asked about them out loud. Harlowe walked with grim determination. She had a sinking feeling since she saw the bow back at Marcus’ forge. It reminded her of something she had seen before, years ago.  

Harlowe paused and sniffed the air. “Here.” 

“What is here, please don’t keep us in the dark,” said Alex. 

“What I need to show you,” Harlowe drove the spade of her shovel through the snow and into the frozen earth, “it’s buried here.” 

Clair raised a brow. “The ghoul we killed?” 

“No, that one is hanging in the branches over there.” Harlowe stopped and pointed at the silhouette of the ghoul’s broken body tangled in the trees. “Though, if I’m right. I won’t be having any more of it for meals.”

Alex put a hand to her stomach. “W-what? You eat those things?”

“Part of her condition,” explained Clair. 

Harlowe continued to dig, paying the other two no mind. Clumps of frozen dirt began to pile up as she dug until she felt something different against the tip of her shovel. She withdrew it then jammed it into the ground at her side. She knelt down and started digging with her claw. As she did a shoulder was revealed. 

She looked up at the other two. “Here he is.”

“The man I couldn’t save?” Asked Clair, her eyes dull.

Alex put a hand to her open mouth. “Heward…”

Harlowe continued to exhume the corpse until it was more fully revealed. In the fading light of day the trio stared at the body. It wasn’t a normal human form anymore. The arms and legs were stretched out and ended in claws. Harlowe grabbed the corpse’s head with her own claw and lifted the frozen thing from the ground, human teeth poured out of the mouth. Its eyes had hollowed out and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth that had pushed the old ones out. Alex was aghast, Clair’s countenance was grim.

“I was right.” Harlowe snarled. “Fucking damn it, I was right...“ She let go of Heward’s mutated body and it fell back into the shallow grave she’d dug him out of. 

Alex couldn’t make herself speak. All her bluster and irritation fell away. 

“So, the ghouls here are contagious.” Clair looked between Harlowe and the corpse. “How is that different from regular ghouls?”

Harlowe inhaled. “I’ve only seen the curse latch onto an already dead victim once before. My own doesn’t transfer to the dead, they need to survive and get my blood in their body somehow.” She paced in the snow. “It was in an old mining town, seemingly abandoned. I was passing through and I find the whole damn population of the town in various stages of the transformation. They were all dead and seemed to have been executed in their homes or in the town square.” Harlowe holds up a finger before anyone can speak. “A common tactic of some of the more despotically inclined lords of Lhoric when dealing with plagues.”

“I’m familiar with the practice.” Clair looked down. “This doesn’t exactly explain the still living bit of tissue on the bow.” She turned to Alex. “Are you okay?”

The red haired woman shook her head no. 

Harlowe bent back down and grabbed an arm, then put one of her feet on the shoulder so she could snap the limb off. It broke with a loud crack, but she had to tug it all the way off because there were still unfrozen tendons inside. She pointed the stump of the limb at Clair. “It’s not fully dead, I don’t think it would be able to stand up if it wanted to though.” Small portions of tissue inside the limb seemed to probe the air for something, as if they were searching serpent tongues. “Alex, where is your father buried?”

Alex just kept shaking her head. “Harlowe, I think we got the answer we need. There’s no use in traumatizing her any further.” Clair placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. Let’s just head back inside.”

The bartender nodded as Clair began to lead her back to the Faerie’s Folly. She looked over her shoulder to Harlowe and mouthed, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Harlowe nodded once then began burying the man’s corpse. 

Alex and Clair walked slowly together. “Alex, I’m so sorry. I promise that we’re going to put an end to this.” They reached the door and entered the warmth of the tavern. “Okay, we’re back inside. Is there anything I can do for you?” 

The bartender shook her head and walked back behind the bar after briefly hugging Clair. Alex pulled out a bottle of spirit and poured herself a shot. She downed it then another and another. Her throat burning from the alcohol, she hissed a ragged exhale. “My dad’s been cremated.” Her eyes looked sunken, despite having had youthful verve merely a short while ago. “Ma always said it was best I didn’t see his body, said it was good we broke tradition.”

Clair reached out and grabbed her wrist. “It’s going to be okay.” She pulled a spell together and pushed it through her hand, into Alex. 

The bartender relaxed, her demeanor softening. "Thank you. I, I don't know what came over me." As she spoke she froze. The spell began to fray. "No. I know exactly what." Her face hardened. 

“I’m so-” began Clair.

Alex held her hand up. “I know you were trying to help, just go back out to your friend”

Clair started to protest and stopped. She nodded at Alex and left. What did I just try to do? It was so instinctive. She was hurting so I just moved to get rid of the hurt. Clair exited the Folly. Alex looked at me like I’d done something horrible, maybe I had, but what if I could have made that calmness stick? She paused in the snow. No, I can’t force that on others… no matter how tempting it is.

Harlowe looked over to Clair. “Hey, you coming back or what? You’ll freeze if you just stand there.” She walked over to her, carrying the severed arm. “So, what’s the deal on her dad’s corpse?”

Clair frew her lips into a line and swallowed. “Cremated, we could ask her mother. I don’t think we should, Alex implied that they broke with tradition in order to burn his body.”

“Sounds like his corpse changed too,” said Harlowe in a flat tone. 

Clair looked at the arm and back to Harlowe. “Any reason you’re carrying around that thing still?” 

Harlowe shrugged while holding it. “I thought maybe your mage friend could give us a hand with identifying exactly what is different about this curse compared to mine.”

“Makes sense.” Clair sighed, what she had tried to do to Alex moments ago still gnawed at her insides. “Let’s go, I need to keep my mind occupied.” 

“You okay?” asked Harlowe, placing her free hand on Clair’s shoulder.

Clair stiffened. “No, not really.” She exhaled. “I tried to force calm onto Alex.”

Harlowe raised a brow. “Mental magic?” 

“Yeah.” Clair cracked her neck and stared into the snow. “I keep doing things like that, Harlowe. I keep trying to fix things without asking anyone if they even want my help first.” She felt like crying, but nothing came. Maybe it’s a side effect of the spell crumbling while I was holding her? 

“Clair, I…” Harlowe inhaled sharply. “I understand that you wanted to help. Maybe when this whole shitshow is over we can try and work on this together?”

“I’d like that.” Her shoulders slumped. 

Harlowe tipped Clair’s chin up so she could look into her eyes. “Hey, it’s okay. Look, I’m not used to comforting people. Let’s do like you said and get our minds off that particular issue for now. Okay?” She forced a smile beneath her mask. 

“Alright, yeah.” Clair straightened up. “Let’s go see Rene.”

The pair walked in silence. Their only companion being the crunch of snow beneath their feet. Clair felt as though she had ruined any chance she had of Harlowe liking her, after all, if Clair had tried to manipulate someone’s emotions… what would stop her if there was an issue in their relationship. Harlowe, on the other hand, was more preoccupied with the way that after eating parts of that ghoul her hunger hadn’t been sated. Well, it had, but not for long and it came back stronger. There was a small worry over Clair’s latest actions, but it was a problem for future Harlowe. Current Harlowe needed to find out just what the hell the moving flesh inside the frozen arm she was carrying was and that answer waited with the mage, Rene. 

It was getting to the end of twilight when the pair reached Rene’s home with its heavily warded door. The script on the outside was the usual asking for visitors to knock and state their business. 

Harlowe looked to Clair. “That,” she whistled through her teeth, “is a lot of wards.” 

Clair shrugged back at her. “Mages.” She knocked on the door three times and spoke, “hey Rene, it’s Clair. We’ve got something interesting and need your help with it.” 

There was no response. The pair looked at each other. 

Harlowe leaned against the side of Rene’s home a few feet from the door. “Nothing to do but wait, unless you’d rather go back to the Folly?” 

“And bring the arm with us?” asked Clair.

Harlowe chuckled. “I can just bury it again, you know.” 

“Yes, but where would the fun be in that?” Clair smiled up at her.

“I’m not going to do it, but how much do you think the door would take out if I shot my darts at it?” Harlowe held her right fist up and the ports opened as the trio of needles emitted a violet light.

Clair put her hand on her chin. “Both of us, most of the building probably?”

“Hah, you really are bad at judging magic aren’t you?” Clair looked up at Harlowe with a pout on her face. “Judging from what I can tell it’d probably take out about a fourth of the village.” She shook her head. “I am never going to understand mages.”

Clair raised a brow. “Aren’t you basically a mage?”

Harlowe put a hand to her chest in mock offense. “Me? A mage? Never. I’m an artificer if you have to give me a title and besides what of you? You don’t even need to intone prayers to ca…” she trailed off.

“Harlowe?” 

The half ghoul grabbed Clair’s head and directed it to face the pair of approaching silhouettes. “Aren’t those your other two friends?” 

“Yeah, looks like Beatrix and Berthold,” said Clair. “Something wrong?”

“They weren’t there a second ago. It looked like they just walked out of a tree.” The etched glass claws slid out of her right hand’s fingertips.

“Well, Berthold is learning magic from the Elder and she deals with the Fae. It’s not too unusual, I think.” Clair’s eyes fixed on the light catching in the etched glass protruding from Harlowe’s fingers.  

Bea and Berthold had gotten closer now and Harlowe had lowered herself into a fighting stance. The approaching pair didn’t speak as they drew closer. Then just before Harlowe would have sprung into action, the door to Rene’s home opened.

“Hey, woah. Calm it down,” said Rene. She looked from the siblings to Harlowe and Clair. “Were you four fools going to fight each other because none of you would speak up?” She paused. “Is that a severed arm? You know what, no, not going to pry. Just all of you, get inside. I’ve got news.”

You ever just show up at a friend's place with a severed limb?

Hello, I've been trying to be somewhat professional of late (it would be a dream to be published someday) and am going to be doing little author notes to communicate with ya'll and also plug things such as:

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I want to thank everyone for reading and sticking by me while I've pretty much been silent back. I really appreciate comments as well and read every one I get.

 

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