The Necrosis Chronicles

II: Relics of the Past

II: Relics of the Past

The chill of winter was an icy dagger that tore through the layers of Shilverase’s clothing, stopped short of becoming debilitating by her own endurance. Though all was calm and the winds were as still as they could be, the cold was a sentient power alive with an unparalleled malevolence.

The firs and the spruces, crowned in varying shades of green, watched over the brunette as she trekked through the forest, a slender sheathed sword in one hand and fistful of her coat in another.

“Brrr…” she shuddered, pausing briefly in her walk. Why did Nimue have to go so far ahead of me?  Shilverase thought irritably, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. If I get jumped by some corpse, she’s going to be held responsible! I will haunt her from beyond the grave! That’s if I don’t-

The sound of rustling leaves and crunching snow cut through her train of thought, startling her. In a lightning-fast movement, she ripped her sword out of its sheath.The silver blade gleamed as she held it out in front of her.

“Who goes there?” she demanded, her shout hitched in her throat.

A fat black squirrel scampered across her, hurling itself up a rough trunk, before disappearing from site, the boughs of the tree swaying gently in response.

Shilverase tensed. Her nerves tingled as she slowly scanned the area through narrowed eyes before deciding it was just the squirrel that made the ruckus.

She let an exasperated sigh leak through clenched teeth as she sheathed her sword, shaking her head to clear it of the paranoia that raced through her brain. “Damn squirrel…”

 Her heart still racing, she continued north to her destination, as stated by Nimue’s note which she had left Shilverase prior to leaving.

Scholastica Chapel.

One of the recently discovered ruins, dating back to before the Eternal Winter had descended upon the land. It was a small religious building, used for the worship of the patron deity of Rimelheim- Caeles.  According to Nimue, when she had scouted the perimeter of the building several days before undertaking this mission, she had spotted signs that it had been disturbed by humans sometime within the last year or so. How she was able to discern such things was of no concern to Shilverase. The important thing was that there would more than likely be some corpses, which could be potentially problematic.  

Her hand inadvertently drifted to the hand of her sword. If there was an issue, she could always rely on her faithful blade to resolve it.

X-x-X-x-X

The chapel was a mass of swirling stone spires and frosted stained-glass windows, icicles sparkling from their hanging spot on the snow-crowned edges of the building.

Breathless, Shilverase gazed up at it, awed at the seamless grace of the baroque architecture, so unlike the crude and simplistic, yet functional, structures of the cities and villages. Even though she had seen quite a few other pieces like the chapel, the glory of the olden days never failed to take her breath away.

“Shilverase! There you are!” Nimue cried out, rushing towards Shilverase with a longbow and a quiver full of arrows slung over her back and Fenrin- now clad in simple leather armor- right behind her. “What took you so long?” she queried, coming to a stop in front of Shilverase, who cocked a bemused eyebrow in return.

“What took me so long?” Shilverase repeated with a note of incredulous indignation, “What took me so long?”

Nimue snorted, pursing her lips into a thin line. “Yes. Now can you please kindly stop repeating the same sentence over and over again like some idiot?”