“Remarl Got Drunk” was a piece started by Remarl that turned into a long story based in the lore of Guild Wars co-written by members of Marked Souls. The following members contributed to the story: Remarl, Raven, Kousei, and Lyne.

Chapter 01: Remarl Got Drunk
Chapter 02: A Meeting of Friends
Chapter 03: Astra’s Experience
Chapter 04: Confessor Dorian
Chapter 05: The Escape and the Battle
Chapter 06: Nature’s Force
Chapter 07: Camp

Chapter 06 of Remarl Got Drunk

by Lyne

Gaile retreated to the middle and took out the prism from her corset, and both Sylvia’s and Amani’s eyes widened. Sylvia said “This looks like the morphing prism, this comes at propitious time, we could use it.”

Sylvia approached Gaile and started talking to her quickly, Gaile nodding, talked to Amani. Sylvia started making healing traps and set them all around Remarl, Astra, Wil and Allorathine and then asked Allorathine to stop bombarding her minions and create shambling horrors. Kousei at this point is continually bleeding and losing strength with each blow he made, yet bodies were still falling at his feet, and shambling horrors were milling about everywhere. Astra started feeling like he was being overwhelmed, so he turned to look at what Amani was doing, to his horror, he saw her sitting down cross legged across from Gaile, AND Sylvia. They were moving their lips soundlessly at first, but then their prayers were suddenly audible but not in a language he knew. He felt that something was about to happen, so he turned to Remarl and yelled “Grab Kousei when things change.” Remarl looked at him questioningly and suddenly there was a mist that started to get heavier and started to have a shape that choked each enemy and killed them with the power of cold. Remarl grabbed Kousei and tried to get him out of his frenzy. Allorathine turned around to see where the source of the mist was, and saw that the prism was shaking with power, as was Gaile. Sylvia got up and addressed them. “Gaile and Amani are going to hold the enemy for a little time, but they cannot do this for long. There is no time to explain why, nor how. We have to act quickly.” She pointed at Kousei who collapsed in a puddle of his own blood, we have to take care of him first, but I need a bowl of spring water, so Wil make me a trap where I was sitting and someone else move Kousei close.” Allorathine was rummaging into her backpack and produced a bowl as Remarl, and Astra moved Kousei who regained consciousness. Remarl said to Allorathine “Yer can be ser domestic”. “I also need a knife” said Sylvia, and Wil handed her his knife. Sylvia took the bowl, filled it with water from the spring and cut muscle from Kousei’s arm as he howled with pain, with everyone looking at her in shock except for Gaile and Amani who seemed to be in their own world of pain. She looked at them, and said “It needs to be done, otherwise you will not be protected, flesh and blood is powerful.” She put the muscle in the bowl and approached Wil with the knife and said “From you, blood” and handed his knife back. Wil punctured and slashed his left hand, and blood trickled from the wound into the bowl. Sylvia approached Gaile and kneeling next to her she took a tear from her eyes and then Amani breathed on the water of the bowl. At that time, the mist started to dissipate as Gaile became visibly weaker. Syalvia turned to Wil, Remarl and Astra and said “you will have to help them up and hold them so they would not fall.” Remarl asked “Up WHERE?” She answered him “Up on me”, went to him and plucked a hair from his head, and put it in the bowl. At that point, Amani began to chant, and instead of mist, a melody with a bright light emanated from the top of the prism, and they seemed to be enclosed in a protection dome. The enemies were outside the dome and hitting it with all they could. Sylvia started to work quickly and from Astra, she asked for sweat, mopped his brow with her slender hand, and washed it in the bowl. In his mind, he thought he would give her something else. From Allorathine, she paused for a moment thinking what she could have, and Allorathine without being asked spat in the bowl, and Sylvia smiled. Sylvia knelt for a moment and put the bowl near the prism, and recited an incantation, while she saw that amani was growing weaker, and the dome was getting more translucent. She then stood near Kousei, and asked them all to come closer, while Wil renewed his healing trap at her feet. She looked at Astra and Allorathine and said “Come closer and hang on to my shoulders, remember to hang tight and then climb on my shoulders when you can” They both looked puzzled but complied. She gave the bowl to Wil and said, water me from the top, and don’t forget to wrap the prism and save it. When Gaile and Amani are through, they will be exhausted.” Wil took the bowl from her, and recognized the ancient magic involved he kissed her on the lips and with ceremony, emptied the bowl over her head.

Astra, holding on, enjoying the soft feel of the shoulder and arm of a woman, “and she asked for it too” he thought, as he was fantasizing about what he could do if they were alone, he felt his feet get off the ground, and his weight had to be supported by his strong arms and shoulders (thank Lyssa for pushups). He looked down, and instead of Sylvia’s feet that were there just a few seconds ago, roots of a tree started growing, and the soft flesh that was there a moment ago became rough and abrasive, the arm that was supple became un-pliable and turned into a strong branch, the neck that he wanted to nuzzle into and the face he wanted to kiss disappeared into the crown of a very fast growing tree, he looked down again, and her legs, hips, and torso had already turned into the trunk. At this point, the dome was dissipating, and Remarl was climbing next to Allorathine, and nudging her to go up one more branch. Wil was carrying Gaile who had no power to walk but mumbled something that Allorathine heard as Wil was handing her to Remarl. Allorathine said “She is talking about the prism, don’t forget the prism”. The tree was budding with thousands of spring buds, and flowers came forth with silver petals and gold stamen and pistils. As Wil was handing Amani over to Astra, the enemies were able to break through the dissipating dome of protection and came charging at them. Wil pocketed the prism and readied his bow, Kousei struggled to get up with his katana, and the flower petals started to fall as the enemies came closer to strike Kousei and Wil, but could not. The petals were creating a layer of protection against them. The closest warriors were snarling and raging. One giant warrior was at the front just one yard away from Kousei and Wil with a deadly long sword in his hands. He was smiling as he said “you cannot escape, there are almost no petals left, and then you are mine”. A gold dart punctured his eye, and he dropped dead, all around the enemies closest to the tree just dropped dead, punctured, in the neck, nose, eyes, head and even in the mouth as they yelled in fear and retreated. Kousei, sat back down and watched, Wil had collapsed on one knee and turned his head away from the carnage. Then Allorathine said “look” as she pointed to the forest. All of them who could see watched as the forest trees swayed and hit every one in their proximity. The ground underneath rumbled and roots started racing towards were our heroes were, they caught any living thing that was on the ground except for Kousei and Wil, and started toppling them, dragging them, breaking their bones, and strangling the ones that were not dead. The deaths were without pity, and none escaped. From afar, you could hear the retreat being called and the only safe place to be was at sea. The tree they were on, started growing leaves, and swayed in the breeze, making a soft noise that became louder and overtook the screams of agony that they had heard. The only scene in front of them left was that of the hundreds of corpses that were left by the fury of the forest. The tree bared fruit, and it ripened, and it fell on the ground near Wil and Kousei. Our heroes were gaping aghast at the event they just witnessed, and waited until they felt the ground had stopped rumbling and the trees had visibly stopped moving. The corpses that were closest to them were being dragged away from them down the hill they saw them being handed from root to root, branch to branch like marionettes without strings attached to them. The earth seemed to have turned into a sponge that imbibed all the blood that was there, and all that was left was them, on the tree, on top of the hill. Amani gasped for air, Astra suddenly realized that he was holding her too tight, and slacked his hold on her. Everyone was tense. Allorathine was the first to react “well, it would be a hell of a cleanup tomorrow”. She started to climb down, and Wil getting over the shock, asked for Amani to be handed down to him, then Astra, and Remarl got Gaile down and they all stayed close to the tree that was once Sylvia.

Kousei having suffered extreme blood loss was the first to be taken care of by the men. Allorathine made herself useful by collecting their backpacks and starting to make a camp. Wil, and Remarl struggled to get the armor off Kousei so he could stop bleeding and Astra could do his work and serious healing. Wil had to go hunting before dusk set in, and came with lots of fowl as a result of the hunt. Remarl had finished setting up camp, and helped Allorathine with getting Gaile and Amani all settled in. They dined on roasted fowl, and fruit that night. That night, except for Kousei, neither of the men nor Allorathine slept. All they could do was replay the atrocity of the carnage they witnessed.