[Log] "We want ANSWERS, corpse." pt 1.

[corpseknight]

Campion shows up in the same full armour Lark saw him in the FIRST time they clashed. He tugs on a gauntlet and eyes the death knight.

"Has he woken up or come back to life or whatever the hell yet, Ley," he mutters.

Aleyna shifts her gun, keeping a firm hold on it. She seems to have found some better daggers in the weapon cabinet too! She looks to Campion for a moment, eyebrows knitting in concern.

[Aleyna] says: You sure you should be wearing all that...?

Campion gives Ley a LOOK. Don't question him. It makes him feel safer.

Aleyna shrugs a bit, shifting her weight. "I haven't heard a peep out of him."

Plagueheart has given no sign of consciousness over the time it's taken the two to get themselves better armed and armored--but with a death knight, that doesn't mean much of anything, does it? At the sound of voices, one of his long ears twitches.

Campion huffs, wandering closer to the bound and unconscious(?) knight.

Campion makes a grab for one of those elfy ears and intends to YANK once he gets ahold of it.

Aleyna hovers near Campion, ready for another attack.

Plagueheart snaps from out of it to alert with all the abruptness only dead things can manage, eyes open and lips pulled back from his teeth in a nasty smile. "...you're not doing this because you like me, are you," he snarls.

Campion sneers down at the elf, giving his ear another vicious yank and twist before letting it go.

[Campion] says: We want ANSWERS, corpse.

Aleyna nods shortly in agreement. Yep.

Plagueheart growls as he's manhandled; the worst of it is probably that it doesn't sound exactly like he's not...enjoying...it. "Answers for what?" he spits. "Won't give me answers. Have none for you."

Campion steps back, still sneering, glancing over to Ley. Does SHE want to lay out the demands, then? She was more aware for what happened last night one way or another.

Aleyna cocks her gun with a definite and loud noise. She tilts her head to look down her nose at Larkspur, red glasses shining strangely with the glow of her eyes. "Why did you come looking for Merosiel here?" She asks firmly.

Plagueheart lays his ears back at the sound of the gun cocking, turning his face in Ley's direction. Can't see her, of course, but now his attention is on the space where she's standing. "Where else? Not in Stormwind. Campion nearly killed him last time."

Aleyna glances quickly over to Campion, giving him a questioning look. You what?

[Campion] says: I did no such thing. I have never laid a HAND on Merosiel since his punishment has been put underway. What kind of monster do you take me for!?

Campion angrily spits on Plagueheart, insulted and looking TO insult. Ebon filth.

Plagueheart laughs at this, a high, rasping, broken sound. "Never laid a hand. No. No hand! Never laid a hand on me either." The spittle spatters against his armor; he seems unaware of its presence. "Don't need hands. Light."

[Plagueheart] says: I know *death*, Scarlet. You burned us both. Never a hand. Ha!

[Campion] says: I'll use it again if I have to RIGHT NOW, monster!

Campion raises a gauntleted hand, already wreathed in holy Light, casting stark shadows on his face and the walls.

Aleyna eyes Campion, but has no intention on stopping him. She speaks up again, addressing Larkspur without actually looking at him. "What's your name, corpse?"

Plagueheart bares his teeth at Campion, leaning away from the paladin as far as his bindings allow. Don't bring that over here. "Ask your Scarlet. He knows."

[Campion] says: SHUT UP! YOU WILL NOT ADDRESS ME AS SUCH, DO YOU HEAR ME!?!

Campion brings that glowing hand forward swiftly, aiming to latch it onto Larkspur's face and thusly burn him with it.

Aleyna frowns and chides with an air of nonchalance, "Miles, please. You can't get answers if he has no lips left."

Plagueheart twists away from Campion's hand, digging a shoulder into the chair he's bound to in his struggle to get away--not enough. The death knight gives an animal shriek of pain and outrage at being burned, snapping with his teeth at the paladin's hand despite the armor on them. Given he can bite hard enough to leave scratches in tempered steel, maybe it's not *completely* in vain.

Campion sneers when the teeth clamp down, and he jostles his hand HARD, half in hopes that he'll dislodge or break some of those awful fangs. "These ones deserve no mercy, Ley. They're soulless ANIMALS. They show none whatsoever to ANYONE..."

Aleyna rolls a shoulder in a shrug, "If you say so, Miles. However, my point remains. Let's try asking a few more questions before you go beating him up again."

Plagueheart hangs on to Campion's hand like a dog with a rat even as he gets thoroughly shaken for his troubles. The brittle ceramic *crack* of a tooth breaking makes him let go at last--and he spits at the human in front of him, black ichor, broken tooth, and all.

[Plagueheart] says: Takes one to know one.

[Campion] says: Don't even START with me, you putrid thing.

Aleyna sighs through her nose. "What's your name, elf?"

Campion looks down at the death knight with seething, unmitigated HATRED. Looks like it's up to Ley to keep posing the questions. Campy's turn to play Bad Mobster.

Plagueheart's grin is a jagged slash of white in his battered face. "I don't start this, you do. I like you. Principled man." He doesn't respond to Aleyna immediately, dropping his chin to his chest and taking the air he needs to speak through his nose.

[Plagueheart] says: ...Larkspur. Means levity. Hilarity. Something *funny*. Like a Scarlet named Campion, Miles.'soldier, love only me.'

[Aleyna] says: Allright, 'Larkspur'. What's your relation to Merosiel?

[Campion] says: He claims to be a FRIEND. But nothing like THIS beast knows such a selfless, altruistic notion. They only TAKE and CORRUPT and KILL.

Campion looks like a leashed attack dog straining at his bonds at this point. "Fuck this piece of Ebon TRASH. Coming into my HOME, attacking me with mad accusations, attacking one of the KAMIL like this. I should reduce him to ASH right here and now."

Plagueheart ... snorts, rolling his eyes at this as he's interrupted before he can even speak. Tilting his head in Aleyna's direction he says, "Here am I tied to a chair for my FRIEND and he doesn't tell me what you do with him."

Aleyna ignores Campion's rant. "A friend of Merosiel's? I'm assuming you must be in with the other Sin'dorei." She cuts short and looks to Campion again, "Miles, please. I'm trying to talk."

[Aleyna] says: We haven't done jack shit with your whore.

Aleyna snorts.

Plagueheart gives a bark of laughter. "Not *my* whore. Not anyone's whore, not now."

[Plagueheart] says: You are whoring him? A bad pimp, that lets their whores get broody.

[Aleyna] says: Hardly, I wouldn't be able to sell him.

Campion just continues glaring daggers at the bound knight.

Plagueheart spits again, in Aleyna's direction. As much as he's trying to keep his tone amused, he's obviously bristling with anger--and his ears are still pinned back.

[Plagueheart] says: *Good*.

[Plagueheart] says: Meros isn't anyone's whore.

Aleyna twitches her ears with the spit, wiping it off of her cheek. She promptly shoots him in the shoulder at practically point-blank.

[Plagueheart] says: Fuck y--GAH!

Campion startles at the gunshot. That was RIGHT next to his ear. But his attention is back on Lark, wanting to assess the damage done. He hopes it's painful.

Aleyna lets the empty shell clatter to the floor before she reloads it. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Plagueheart breaks off, knocked back in his chair. Ow ow ow ow ow. That's an interesting new variation on an old pain. His eyes narrow to glowing slits as Aleyna speaks, and he hisses in her direction.

[Aleyna] says: WE don't have Merosiel. You invaded ou-- his home. Rightfully, we should just kill you and be done with it.

Plagueheart ... slumps down in the chair, abruptly. "You don't."

[Plagueheart] says: You know nothing?

[Plagueheart] says: Not anything?

[Plagueheart] says: Fuck.

[Campion] says: Even if we did, why would we tell YOU? We owe you NOTHING, filth.

[Aleyna] says: Nothing. I haven't seen Merosiel since I shot him in the chest.

Aleyna clearly has a thing about guns.

Plagueheart drops his chin to his breastplate, ears drooping, as Campion addresses him. He doesn't reply.

[Campion] says: You're a moth-eaten, rot-brained, shambling MONSTROSITY, you know that. A MOCKERY. It would be a MERCY to end you right here and now. Do you hear me, corpse?

Campion leans down so he can try and look Lark in the eyes, livid. "Do you hear me? NO ONE WOULD MOURN YOU, ABOMINATION!"

Aleyna sighs heavily as Campion goes on a tyrade. Gloved hands smooth over the barrel of her gun idly, watching the two behind tinted glasses.

Plagueheart raises his head at the sense of someone *that close* to his face, though he can't meet Campion's stare directly, not even at this short distance. "A mercy," he echoes. Is that agreement? "Am not done yet. Promised."

[Campion] says: Promised to WHO. Your fallen crusader of a leader? Your heartless brotherhood? Yourself? The LICH KING?

Campion scoffs.

[Plagueheart] says: My commander.

Campion scoffs again, straightening up once more. "He's no better than you."

Plagueheart goes very, very, still at this, tilting his head back to stare up at Campion.

[Plagueheart] says: Say what you want of me. Don't speak of him.

[Campion] says: You're all merciless, ugly dogs of war. I hate you all equally.

Plagueheart snorts. "You've never chosen to be a soldier instead of a man? Lucky you."

[Campion] says: Don't call yourselves SOLDIERS. Soldiers know HONOUR. They know MERCY. They have RESPECT for even the opposition. You are no better than the ghouls you desecrate.

Plagueheart flicks his ears back. "We all had lives before."

[Campion] says: Shove it. Save me your sob stories. NOTHING forgives what I've seen. Do you hear me? NOTHING! There is NO redemption waiting for the likes of YOU!

Campion looks over sharply at Ley, snarling. "I should just force alchemical acid down this one's throat and be done with it."

Aleyna raises her eyebrows a bit and gives him a skeptical look, "Really, Miles."

[Aleyna] says: I have no plans for how to get rid of him, though. I suppose it's as good a plan as any, although if I recall, you have to pull them apart and burn them.

Campion fumes and glares at her. "He's got nothing of worth for US. He ATTACKED us, Aleyna. The Kamil doesn't stand for this."

Plagueheart laughs humorlessly. "Don't want your pity. Don't want your FORGIVENESS, YOUR redemption. The Light does not abandon its champions." He raises his shoulders in a shrug. "Or it does."

[Plagueheart] says: I only ask who you are.

[Plagueheart] says: And what has happened to my friend, who you are not even competent to guard, for all your sound and your fury.

[Aleyna] says: Merosiel was destined for death anyhow. If he's disappeared, he's disappeared.

Campion only NOW seems to catch what this is all about. He was too wound up in fury and anger over who and what Lark IS. He whips his head back to look at the elf once more. "What makes you think he's DEAD?"

Plagueheart stares past Campion in Aleyna's direction, lips twitching, the urge to snarl ill-contained. "Bitch," he names her, again. Then his attention flicks back to Campion: "Dead. Hurt. Kidnapped. There was blood and terror in Stormwind. His moth is dead."

[Plagueheart] says: I am hearing--I *heard* him, heard his fear.

[Plagueheart] says: And now you say you intended to kill him after all, once he was no longer with child and you would no longer be child-killers.

Campion stares hard at the death knight, now leaning in again, staring him in his dull and dead eyes, as if that'd help scrutenize the truth.

[Campion] says: ...You're saying that Merosiel is dead. How are we to know it wasn't one of YOUR brood? Because it CERTAINLY wasn't one of ours. If it WAS, Light have mercy on them for going against orders.

Aleyna tilts her head a bit. Child-killers? What? Wat? She looks completely lost. "What is he on about...?"

Plagueheart makes a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "How am I to know anything?! I don't know where he is. He is in YOUR CARE. We gave him to you to protect."

Campion straightens up slowly, armour clinking.

[Campion] says: ...This is certainly news to US. And he WAS under the best of care, I can assure you of that. If he is dead, well.

Campion scowls. "There'll be things to investigate, clearly. And hell to pay, since, as you said, he was OURS."

Aleyna scrunches her nose. Her expression has shifted from one of pure confusion to a mixture of irritability. "Miles."

[Aleyna] says: Can I talk to you?

Plagueheart lets his head drop again. "Ours. Ours, too."

Campion turns to face Ley, then glances back to Lark. He's not going anywhere. So. He grunts and jerks his head towards the door. Out on the deck to talk, then.

Aleyna moves out the door, stepping over the fractured remains of the abused piece of furniture.

Campion crosses his arms after fumbling for a cigarette from a pouch on his belt. He lights it with unsteady fingers.

Aleyna takes this moment to set her gun down briefly, patting down her vest for a cigarette. Once it's properly lit and smoking, she raises her eyebrows to him. "What's this about child-killing?"

Plagueheart closes his eyes, slumping in on himself. May as well take the chance to nap while he can.

[Campion] says: Merosiel's actually a woman. And was a pregnant one at that. Hence, it complicated any sort of...final punishments. We have our vows to abide by, and we are not THAT monstrous.

[Aleyna] says: Oh. Why did no one tell me?

Campion shrugs, his armour rattling. "Part because some thought it was a secret. Part because it was just absurd."

[Aleyna] says: Apparently so.

[Campion] says: But...now this fucker is saying he's DEAD. I suppose one of us should consult Auroran, as he was his keeper. Something must've happened last night.

Aleyna snorts, twitching her ears irritably. She exhales a heavy plume of smoke and moves to rest her gun against her shoulder. "So, what? Were plans to let it have the beast and then it?"

Campion rubs his forehead slowly with his free hand, frowning a bit sadly down at the planks underfoot. "I honestly don't even know anymore. I'm not sure if it matters if he's presumed dead."

[Campion] says: And I'm CERTAIN none of ours did it. If they did, I'm quite serious that there'd be hell to pay. Even if just because they've disobeyed direct orders. We don't kill our own UNLESS ordered.

[Aleyna] says: Well, we can only hope that it's gone and offed itself. It'll save the Kamil plenty of trouble.

Aleyna snorts.

[Campion] says: Be that as it may, it sounds like we've got a mess on our hands. One I may or may not inspect. Or order an underling to do so. Halfiron might be our best bet there.

Campion blows a stream of smoke to one side, considering.

[Aleyna] says: Who? The Dwarf?

Campion nods, though he gives Ley a bit of a look. Come on, girl. "Yes. You know, the quiet one in purple."

[Aleyna] says: Well, yeah. But uh.. Well, I guess that would work.

Aleyna shrugs a bit. She clearly doesn't keep up much.

[Campion] says: I'll contact her, tell her to get to the bottom of this. Or find what she can. Hell, we still had that one from awhile ago that was attempting to pick us off. It could be him again.

Aleyna makes a noise of consideration. "Maybe. If nothing else, we can pin it on him."

Campion frowns. "Suppose it depends where it all happened. Only certain areas have the guards in our pocket. If it was at the clinic..."

[Campion] says: Light, one of us needs to talk to Auroran.

Aleyna waves a hand vaguely, "You're connected with him, aren't you?"

Campion frowns, getting a sort of distant look in his eyes. Connecting...? Maybe...? Insert dial-up modem sounds here.

Auroran is a telephone.

Aleyna waits patiently, smoking silently.

Campion stares with a blank-faced frown through Ley. Mental conversation is a-go, it would seem. He puffs absently on his cigarette.

Campion frowns a bit more, offhandedly removing the cigarette from between his lips. His eyes turn a bit more upward, like he's trying to concentrate.

Aleyna stubs out her cigarette on the wood of the porch. She moves to shift her gun, rocking between her feet boredly.

Campion blinks slowly, and present awareness seems to return to his expression. "...He's on his way."

[Aleyna] says: Good.

[Aleyna] says: You need to be healed anyhow.

[Campion] says: ...Do I.

[Aleyna] says: Yeah.

[Aleyna] says: You were bleeding.

Campion looks down at the ground again, and he mumbles. "I don't-...I don't really remember a lot of what happened." But he DOES roll his bitten shoulder a little, wincing. Okay, yeah, maybe that SHOULD be looked at. Zombie bites are always bad news.

Aleyna rocks on her heels and jerks her head over to the door. "We should go back before he gets any ideas."

Campion nods and heads back in.

Campion scowls darkly the second he's back inside and looking at the knight.

Plagueheart is asleep, to all appearances.

[Campion] says: What do YOU think we should do with it.

[Aleyna] says: Destroy it.

Campion grunts, nodding and rolling his cigarette between his lips. He's in agreement there.

Auroran knocks!

Auroran knocks... the doorframe.

Auroran is polite, damnit.

Auroran peers in.

Campion glances over and then waves Auro in.

Auroran blinks at you.

Aleyna waves to Auroran with her free hand. The other has a gun over her shoulder.

[Auroran] says: ...s'a mess.

[Campion] says: Yes, well.

Auroran looks like a mess too. And he has a babydoll tucked in his blood and dirt-stained shirt.

[Campion] says: That's what happens when death knights ATTACK you.

Plagueheart is tied to a chair, and not in the fun way. In the 'hey let's torture this death knight' way.

[Auroran] says: I see.

Auroran goes over to poke the death knight.

Aleyna mumbles to herself, "We should at least take his ears for a trophy."

Campion hisses through his teeth. "Keep away from it, Auro!"

[Auroran] says: M'fine.

[Aleyna] says: He bites.

[Auroran] says: Don't care.

[Auroran] says: Hey.

Plagueheart also snaps awake as Auroran steps in, ears pricking up. He wrinkles up his nose at the poke, before sniffing at the taller elf. <"...Hey.">

Campion rolls his shoulder again. Boy, does he. And now that he's aware of the wound again, he's aware of how SORE it is. And how it itches in an awful way. But he can ignore it.

[Auroran] says: <You speak then.>

[Plagueheart] says: <We spoke before. I'm sorry I didn't write back.>

[Auroran] says: <Why you attack? Not good. Never good. Looking for Merosiel?>

Aleyna twitches her ears as she listens.

Auroran clutches the doll tightly as he says the name.

Campion frowns at the broken Thalassian. But at least he can understand it all well enough.

Plagueheart nods slowly--then finally seems to catch scent of the blood on Auroran's clothing. <"...he is...">

Auroran breathes in deep. He is silent for a few moments.

[Auroran] says: <He is dead.>

Aleyna raises her eyebrows in surprise. She tries really hard to keep from grinning crookedly, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Campion closes his eyes and looks downward at the (now askew and dirtied) rug underfoot. He says a prayer under his breath.

Plagueheart stares at--through--Auroran, blind eyes wide. Of course he'd been *thinking* this, assuming this, but having it confirmed...

[Auroran] says: <None of it our doing. Felt the death. Could not have been. Mutilated, corpse, alley. A mess. Was not you, then.>

Auroran speaks tiredly.

[Plagueheart] says: <Not us. Not...>

[Auroran] says: <Do not attack us again. We never do this. Unhappy. You understand. My family. Do not attack my family.>

Plagueheart drops his head, before throwing it back in a howl of raw anguish. No, no no no *no* not Meros--! It dissolves rapidly into little disconnected hiccups of misery, and he's nodding along with Auroran's words.

Aleyna mutters loudly, "Was that so fuckin' hard? Instead of busting into the house, you could have gone to see Auroran and said "Oh hey, Auro! Where's Meros?" And Auro would have gone "Oh, he's dead." and that could have been the END OF IT."

Aleyna huffs through her nose irritably.

Campion squeezes his eyes shut a bit more tightly at the sound of anguish. He refuses to believe something like one of THEM could know that sort of loss. They go through the motions, but they do not feel. There is no WAY they can.

[Auroran] says: I was not there. Too busy feeling a dear friend die in my head.

[Aleyna] says:  It doesn't fuckin' matter.

Auroran looks at Aleyna with a disdainful look. He looks AWFUL.

[Aleyna] says: Auro, you need to patch up Campy from what this STUPID FUCKIN' ELF did to him.

Aleyna glares.

Auroran says nothing. He looks back at Larkspur.

[Campion] says: We need to deal with the corpse first.

Campion opens his eyes and glares pointedly at Lark.

Plagueheart hunches in on himself, still hiccuping. "...n-no, no, thought he would know, th...thought...thought...s-sorry, sorry, stupid Larkspur..."

[Auroran] says: <You realize you die. Very close to death. Do not attack the family again.>

[Aleyna] says: Yeah. Stupid fuckin' Larkspur is right.

[Plagueheart] says: <Thought he'd know, thought he'd done something after last t--time, thought he'd...didn't think he'd go mad. Stupid. Stupid. Sorry--didn't mean...like this. Oh Light, *Meros*...>

[Auroran] says: <Apology not quite enough. What do you do to pay for this.>

Campion glares anew at the death knight at the mention of payment.

Auroran's voice is fairly monotone. Low and menacing for once. L-like old times.

Plagueheart eardroops, the picture of contrition. <"What can I do?">

Aleyna joins Campion in glaring.

Plagueheart is unfortunately immune to gaze attacks, being blind.

[Campion] says: You attacked a Kamil CAPO in my own fucking HOME. A fucking EBON BLADE in MY home.

Auroran seems to think on this.

Campion fumes.

[Aleyna] says: Two, really.

[Aleyna] says: It would have been worse if I didn't come home. Although, I'm sure the milk has spoiled from this as well.

[Auroran] says: Ask for money?

Auroran doesn't know. He's a bleeding heart.

Plagueheart gives one last pained hiccup. "...not here as a Blade," he finally says, miserably. "Here for Merosiel."

Aleyna snorts through her nose, "I ought to ask for his head."

Campion huffs half of a humourless laugh. Oh no, the milk on top of all of this. "Money? Really, Auroran."

[Auroran] says: I could... look in his head. Try.

[Aleyna] says: For /what/?

[Campion] says: And SHUT UP, you Ebon piece of SHIT. It doesn't matter, does it. You ARE a Blade. You ATTACKED me, basless and thoughtless, like a Light-damned idiot, undead DOG.

Auroran shrugs. "If he is being truthful."

[Campion] says: It'd be like their sort to lie about this, wouldn't it.

Auroran eyes the smushed up death knight. Eeghh.

Auroran makes an attempt to grab hold of his hair. "<Say it again. I will know if you are being truthful or not.>"

Plagueheart bares his teeth, gone from grieving to rage in a flash. "You don't protect him! You say his death is convenient! Only this priest grieves! I am a corpse but my *friend* is dea--" He's cut off as Auroran grabs him.

[Plagueheart] says: <I did not kill Merosiel. Nor did anyone I know.>

Campion watches Auroran carefully for the verdict.

Auroran nods. He isn't done yet, though. He seems to do that far-away look.

[Auroran] whispers: "My friend is dead too. And you almost KILLED more of my friends. This bloodshed was needless. I may not be able to spare your life. What can you do for us?"

To [Auroran]: *There's a lot of'static' on the connection, like cross-talk on a badly tuned radio.* "I swear it on my runeblade I would have killed neither of them. What would you have? I cannot be beholden to your Kamil; my life would be forfeit either way."

Aleyna glances over to Campion briefly. She looks a little concerned. Her eyebrows raise a bit, as if asking silently if he's alright.

Auroran looks thoughtful.

[Auroran] whispers: "Some form of material payment would work. At least for me. Anything come to mind?"

Campion SEEMS all right. Pale due to his continued recovery, a bit shaky. His breathing is deep and steady, the breathing of someone concentrating on NOT concentrating on something. That bite is staring to hurt more, but he pays it no mind. Pain is negligable.

Plagueheart lifts his head, drawing air over his tongue and tasting it, before subsiding back into his slump.

Aleyna leans over to Campion, muttering quietly to him.

To [Auroran]: *Static. Wordless amusement.* "I can send money. I think it serves both of us to find who killed Merosiel." *Fleeting impression: The scent of infection, necrosis, and fever from Campion.* "I bit your friend."

Campion glances over to Ley and mutters back lowly.

[Auroran] whispers: "I will take care of it. Money will work. Anything valuable. If you help aid me in finding his killer, this is also helpful."

Aleyna frowns and furrows her eyebrows. She looks back to Auroran and asks, "Can we hurry it up?"

[Aleyna] says: Miles still needs to be tended to.

Auroran gives Aleyna a tired, going-to-snap-any-second-now look.

Campion looks at Auro and shakes his head slightly. Don't listen to her. He's fine. Keep up the work.

Aleyna frowns and shifts her gun.

To [Auroran]: *Flurry of impressions: Aleyna's scent of pleasure at hearing Meros was dead, fever/infection/necrosis again, Auroran's own scent, and the blood on his clothes that's not M*static* "What else?"

[Auroran] whispers: "What else? Are you willing to give more?"

To [Auroran]: *Impression: Scent of rage boiling off of Campion and the way the Light burns to one of the undead.* "Will they be satisfied? Ask."

To [Auroran]: "And don't let him keep standing there playing stoic. It's going to reach his lungs soon."

[Auroran] says: I can ask for gold, valuable items in return for his life. He is not lying about anything. I would ask to have his life spared, he will help me look for the killer.

[Campion] says: I'm going to put Halfiron on the case of finding the killer.

To [Auroran]: *Helpful mental image: Necrotizing fasciitis advancing through someone's lungs.*

[Auroran] says: The more, the better. Also Miles... go take off your armor and lie down. You are not well.

[Campion] says: I don't want his money. He's destroyed the LAST vestige of safety from his fucking undead DOGS and I want him DONE with. There's always another. There's ALWAYS more. They're going to-...There's going to be more...

[Auroran] says: GO lie down. Ley, take him to the back room.

Campion DOESN'T look well, though. He sways on his feet slightly, grabbing onto Ley's shoulder to keep himself steady.

[Auroran] whispers: "You must never come back to this house. If you do, I cannot save you again."

Aleyna nods shortly and glances over to Larkspur. She warns lowly, "If he mysteriously escapes while we're gone, Auro, I'm going to assume you released him."

Auroran shrugs.

Aleyna pulls on Campion's arm, meaning to lead him back.

Campion is tugged, and eventually follows. All right , to the back bedroom with him.

Aleyna twirls a finger, "Armor off, you heard the good doctor."

Auroran sighs.

Campion sags a bit under the weight of his armour, and begins to unfasten and pull it off, piece by piece.

To [Auroran]: *Silent, bitter laughter.* *Impression: A series of fever-colored bubbles, popping and releasing foul-tasting fluid.* "Will remember that." *Muted exhauston.* "Now what?"

[Auroran] whispers: "You promise. One moment."

Campion gets rid of the weapons first. They thunk carelessly to the floor.

[Campion] says: I think I'm-...Light, I better not be having a relapse, I was getting BETTER. And you should-...Don't leave Auroran alone with that one. He's going to hurt Auroran...

Auroran sets his doctor bag on the tab... there's a table right? HE SETS IT SOMEWHERE, taking out a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbles something that looks kind of like a receipt. Or a list. SEND GOLD PLZKTHX.

[Aleyna] says: I won't, Miles. I kept the door open and everything. I'll watch over you both, I promise.

Campion keeps undoing his armour, sighing. The breastplate comes undone, and the shoulders with them. And the armour and clothing underneath looks to be...sticking. There's unmentionable FLUIDS coating his shoulder and everything that touched it.

Campion stares dumbly at the mess his shoulder has become. "...I think it's infected," he mutters. You THINK?

Aleyna stares blatantly at the shoulder. She pushes her ruby shades up to her forehead and narrows her eyes. She calls out, "uh.. AUUUROO..!"

[Auroran] says: I guess we'll continue in a bit.

[Auroran] says: Whaaat.

[Aleyna] says: Auro, uh.. C'mere. Like now.

Auroran picks up his doctor bag. Time to move.

[Aleyna] says: Like right now.

[Auroran] says: Yeah yeah.

Auroran peers at Campion searchingly.

Campion is still staring at his own shoulder. Blood's supposed to be RED. What is this mess of...brownish...blackish...sticky...gross.

Aleyna stares at the shoulder in disbelief and disgusted shock.

[Auroran] says: We're... going to need to get the rest of this off you.

[Campion] says: What? Armour? I, uhh. Okay.

Campion gets to work on getting rid of the rest of it then.

Auroran gestures to the armour. "Yeah."

Plagueheart clicks his teeth, keeping his grim amusement to himself. His bite's worse than his bark.

[Auroran] says: ...Where else were you hit? Shoulder only?

Campion strips mostly from the waist up. Oh LORD, that bite is awful. And oozing horrible things. The skin's got HORRIBLE COLOURS that no skin should be the shade of around it. Now he REALLY stares.

[Campion] says: Well, FUCK.

[Auroran] says: Aleyna, get me some towels and another blanket if you can find one.

Auroran takes out some dubious looking tools from his DOCTOR BAG.

[Plagueheart] says: <Need help?>

[Auroran] says: <No, you are dirty.>

Aleyna drops her gun in shock. It lands with a hard thud against the ground and promptly fires off the loaded shot at the wall, loudly sounding and breaking the wood there. She jumps and ducks with a yelp, as if it was pointed at her.

Campion jumps as well! OH LIGHT, WHY IS SHE SHOOTING. He spins around immediately, looking back out to the kitchen. She MUST be shooting at the death knight, he must be escaping, or right behind them...!

[Auroran] says: Aleyna. GET me some towels and shit, please. Miles, sit on the bed, this isn't going to be pretty OR fun.

Aleyna begins to speak quickly, kicking the gun under the bed, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry rags, water, right. Sorry. Sorry."

Aleyna scrambles out.

Plagueheart actually *laughs*. And then jumps at the gunshot, ears flattening back. ...See, he's still safely tied to the chair. <"I know,"> he says, once he's got himself a little more controlled. <"That's why I offered. I know my own messes.">

Auroran rifles through his bag for something... Hmm...

Campion stills seems uncertain. They're not under attack? He lowers himself to the side of the bed, the matress sinking lower than normal due to still being half-clad in armour, still watching the door to the kitchen.

Aleyna returns with.. way too many towels than needed, really, but at least she got them. She has a balenced dish of lukewarm water in her other hand, sloshing it a bit. She raises her eyebrows hopefully. This is right, right?

[Auroran] says: Okay so basically... Miles. This is going to hurt a lot. I'm going to charge a powerful cleanse throughout your body which should hopefully kill the infection... then I get to uhh. Manually take out what's in your shoulder.

Plagueheart suggests, <"Maggots.">

[Auroran] says: <Not using those.>

[Plagueheart] says: <Why?>

Aleyna barks over her shoulder, "<SHUT UP.>"

[Campion] says: Uhhhh. All right? I mean, I've had worse...? And I'm a healer too, you know. I could...do something.

Campion stares at his bitten shoulder again. It's vaguely reminiscent of bruised fruit? Bruised...horrible? Rotten? Fruit?

[Auroran] says: It's going to hurt. And be gross. Ley, ahh... set the water aside, I'll need it in a bit. Set some towels around Campion, this'll be messy.

Plagueheart is a pinnacle of maturity: He sticks his tongue out at Aleyna.

[Campion] says: Someone tell the maggot out in the kitchen to be quiet? Or kill him. Light. HE did this, Auroran. They're filthy animals. He BIT me...

Auroran finds what he's looking for! It's a vial of glowing white... liquid? Light? MAGICAL ENHANCEMENT IN A BOTTLE.

Aleyna carefully sets the water by the foot of the bed. She moves over to Campion and gives him an apologetic look as she places the towels around him.

Campion just watches the towel placement with disattached interest. He's sure this won't be so bad. Will it?

[Auroran] says: Oookay. Not gonna lie. This will hurt like a motherfucker.

[Auroran] says: Ley, if you wanna stand back a bit.

Aleyna grimaces and moves away, hovering near the door.

Campion holds up a finger. Just a second.

Auroran tilts his head.

Campion leeeeans over to the nightstand, opens up the drawer, rummages around...and eventually comes up with a well-chewed piece of leather. He puts it between his teeth and nods once. Okay. We're good.

Auroran nods. "Alright. Gonna go now." He opens up the vial and downs the stuff in one gulp. Delicious, raw mana! HE WILL NEED THIS.

Aleyna shuffles back some more.

Aleyna is more outside the door than inside it. She does peer around the corner though, watching out of morbid curiosity.

Auroran starts to pray. The spell isn't so much heard as it is felt. Auro glows like a goddamn lighthouse, and he channels that light into Campion. IT'S... KIND OF GOING TO STING. A lot. PURGE. PURGE.

Plagueheart has gone to sleep once again. Narcoleptic death knights, now in a kitchen near you.

Campion bites down both on the leather and a gutteral sound of pain. "HNNGHHH!" His fingers dig into the bedspread and he swiftly turns his head away from the shoulder that's currently feeling like it's on FIRE.

Auroran basically keeps this up for as long as he can. Empathy lets him know when the infection dies completely, though he doesn't quite understand it. (wat is micro organisms??)

Campion bows his head, teeth clamped down HARD on the strip of leather, fingers white-knuckled at his sides. Empathy lets Auro know this HURTS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER, just like he SAID it would!

Auroran finally manages to stop! He knows it hurts, but hey! Worst part is over. Probably.

Aleyna slouches a bit, sliding down the doorframe slightly with a grimace. She looks away at the worst of it, but eventually goes back to watching.

[Auroran] says: Oookay. Now we get to uhh. Scoop the dead shit out.

[Auroran] says: Actually, you keep biting that for a while. It hurts a lot.

Campion is reluctant to relax just yet. He keeps his head bowed, eyes squeezed shut, breathing hard and fast through his nose. "H'rry 'p," he growls around the leather in his mouth.

Auroran takes out... an apron? Yeah, he'll need this.

Auroran puts it on, getting his dubious-looking doctor tools set up.

Aleyna decides this is a time where she should not be in the room. She turns on her heel and puts her hands on her hips, looking about the absolutely wrecked room.

[Auroran] says: And afterwards I am going to give you the best painkillers known to man. You'll love it.

Auroran also pulls on a pair of gloves!

Campion looks over to Auro, eyes open again just briefly. A-Are you sure about that. He just got OFF a horrible drug overdose, dude.

[Auroran] says: Yeah, it's fine.

Aleyna hops up onto a newly bought stool. She crosses her legs at the knee and intently focuses on the sea outside the door.

Auroran moves his stuff over closer! He also looks for the bowl of water and rags. Okay, he knows where it is. Good. Also takes out a bottle, but sets that aside.

[Auroran] says: Turn a bit.. need to see that lovely bunch of dead sickness.

Plagueheart , awakened by all the muffled screaming and the scent of infection, blood, and pain, stares in the direction Campion and Auroran have disappeared in. His ears are perked forward with obvious interested. What is going on over there, he can smell it...

Campion twists slightly, leaning his head to once side, exposing his neck, the shoulder infected, all that good stuff. Have at it, Auro. He's just going to do like you said. Bite down, shut your eyes, lie back and think of Lordaeron. All that.

Auroran takes out DUBIOUS LOOKING DOCTOR TOOL (1-handed dagger?), "Okay. Yeah. You don't want to look. Or maybe breath in too much." Auro hesitates, then also ties a leftover towl around his own face. Don't wanna catch any surprise splatter?

Campion growls again around the strip in his mouth. "GE' ON WIFFIT."

Auroran shrugs. He's the doctor, he'll work at his own pace. YOUR LIFE IS IN HIS HANDS MUAHAHA- okay now really.

Auroran does some CUTTING OUT OF VERY BAD INFECTION. It is not pretty. It very messy. It probably hurts.

Auroran squeezes, carves out, etc. Use your imagination.

[Auroran] says: Huhh, looks pretty dead. Lucky for you.

[Auroran] says: Don't wanna do that spell twice!

Campion is PRETTY SURE it hurts, since he's the one feeling it. He growls and breathes hard and shakily through it, but otherwise does fairly admirably? He's used to this sort of crap by now.

Auroran hums a little. Let's just forget about everything that's wrong with his life and jsut do doctor things for a while. Yep. Just working away.

Campion eventually even chances a leery, one-eye-cracked-open look at the progress. Oh. Light. Sick. He watches for a bit before turning his head away again.

Plagueheart still thinks y'all should have used maggots.

Auroran pulls another loose towel and begins to wipe away some of that gore. He lets a low whistle through his towelmask. "Nice and raw."

Campion mutters, muffled, "Luffly."

Auroran wipes his gloves off on the towel too. He opens that bottle he set aside. It smells like it's gonna hurt. He gets a rag, dunks it in the water, then pours some 'oww that'll hurt' solution onto it. "Okay. Wipin the rest out. Brace yourself again."

Auroran ...does so.

Campion moans. "D'os it effer ENDNGGHGGHHH." That last word kind of gets garbled and drawn out with a sound pain as the solution is applied.

Auroran wipes up THAT mess with another towel. He actually needed this many! Thanks Ley.

Auroran stares in awe that that shiny raw wound. Aww, he did this.

Campion keeps right on bitching through the SIZZLING, PAINFUL disinfection. "An' you fink MONEY i' goin' t' be enuff to remedy thi'?"

[Auroran] says: Yep. All this costs money you know.

[Auroran] says: Can repair your door... replace your towels and beddings... I can buy more medicine...

[Campion] says: An' he sti' geff to WAL' AWAY IN ONE PEIF?!

[Auroran] says: He's uhh. Kind of smushed.

Campion is NOT going to unclench his jaw around that strip for a bit longer, thanks.

[Campion] says: Auro'rin.

[Auroran] says: OKAY. From here. I can heal your flesh up a LITTLE, just enought to grow back muscle tissue but your skin... what?

Campion stares at him, eyes a bit bleary from the pain, sweat standing out on his brow.

Auroran looks like a horrifying doctor.

Campion finally reaches up and gingerly plucks the leather from his teeth. "Look at what he's DONE."

[Auroran] says: I can see that.

[Campion] says: He attacked me in my HOME.

[Auroran] says: I know.

[Auroran] says: And we've worked something out.

[Campion] says: I don't want his fucking money he probably picked off fucking battlefield CORPSES!

[Auroran] says: Then I'll take it. Look. He's never coming back here.

Plagueheart earflicks.

[Campion] says: Reassuring. VERY FUCKING REASSURING.

Plagueheart leans forward in his chair, listening to all of this from the other room.

[Campion] says: You said he'd never hurt me either.

Aleyna eyes Larkspur and picks up a piece of the shattered door. She throws it at his face.

Auroran holds his hand over the very oww looking wound. "You better be reassured, because no one hurts my family and gets off free. Well. I might have something planned. This is my family."

Plagueheart gets hit in the face with a piece of the door. He whips around to stare in Aleyna's direction, hissing at her, then goes back to listening.

[Campion] says: I'm NOT reassured. I'm the exact fucking OPPOSITE of reassured. A fucking BLADE coming in and attacking where I sleep? Fuck that. FUCK THAT. I want his ears in a Light-damned JAR.

[Auroran] says: I guess I can give you that?

[Auroran] says: Okay, now seriously. I need to regrow your flesh. Better put that piece of chewy thing back in your mouth.

Aleyna starts to make a game out of it! She leaaans over and gathers a small pile of shattered wood. She starts to flick and toss piece by piece at Larkspur, each time aiming for his nose.

Campion puts it back between his teeth, but glares up at Auroran the whole time.

Auroran isn't going to feel sorry for him this time. He has enough problems and he's just going to be doctor today.

Plagueheart learns quick, at least. Ordinarily he's not very good with stuff thrown in his direction but if he knows what to listen for, he's better at ducking. Or snapping it out of the air, pointedly chomping it into splinters, and spitting it out.

Auroran chants another spell, still holding that hand over the wound. Muscles begin to regrow and knit together. IT PROBABLY FEELS AWFUL AS IT LOOKS.

Campion eventually has to squeeze his eyes shut, making a thin sound of pain. OW. Ow. Ow. Oh Light, that feels awful.

Aleyna starts getting creative with the tossing. She begins to aim for his ears and neck, switching up again for his face-- especially his eyes (or lack there of).

Auroran keeps going! A thin layer of skin grows up as well, but that's as far as he can take yah for now. "Now it's just cleaning, bandages and painkillers. Lucky for you."

[Campion] says: I don' wan' them.

Campion mutters around clamped teeth again.

Auroran gets another rag and dips it in the water, then goes to wipe up the rest of the mess. Eww dead... goop.

[Auroran] says: Then you can just stay miserable.

[Auroran] says: I don't really give a shit right now, Miles.

[Campion] says: Fine.

[Auroran] says: I don't give a fucking shit what's wrong with you right now. I'm just going to fix you up and do what I need to do.

Plagueheart has eyes. They just don't work very well (or at all). He flattens his ears back to make them less of a target, leaning out furth--

Campion looks up at Auroran now, at least SLIGHTLY taken aback now at his tone and treatment.

Plagueheart discovers what happens when you overbalance on a chair while in full plate armor and have your arms and legs bound.

Plagueheart CRASH.

Aleyna cackles maniacally at the situation.

Aleyna continues to toss wood chippings at him, letting them bounce against his head.

Auroran is pretty blank under the towel-mask! His tone is pretty dark, as it has been since he stepped in. His mind is basically numb and tired, shoudl Campion care enough to investigate.

Plagueheart ... sits there with his face smushed against the floor. "...I hate you."

Campion looks down at the floor again, slowly pulling the leather from between his teeth once more.

[Aleyna] says: Feelin's mutual.

Auroran is done cleaning! He moves the dirtied towels aside. He takes off the glvoes, mask and apron, setitng them aside as well. "Do you mind doing laundry, Ley?"

[Plagueheart] says: Good. Harness your hate. Make it useful.

Aleyna calls back, ignoring Larkspur, "Nah, I can do it. I've been doing it all week."

Campion hears that. "SOMEONE GET THAT FUCKING SHIT OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE!" He doesn't want to listen to DK dogma!

Auroran takes out bandages! He begins to wrap them around Campion's wound, staring more at that then the rest of the paladin. You're just meat tonight, Miles. Sorry.

Campion ALMOST shrugs away from Auroran, but settles down. Fine. Do the bandages. See if he cares.

Plagueheart swallows, ears flattening at the yelling, and starts to laugh, muffled and slightly hysterical.

Campion growls. Oh Light, wonderful, it's LAUGHING now.

Auroran works quickly and efficiently! He's done this a lot. When he's done, he packs up his things. "You rest. I'll take him out."

[Campion] says: No. You just go. Deal with whatever. LEY will take care of that one.

Auroran shakes his head.

[Auroran] says: Ley.

[Auroran] says: I want that.

Auroran gestures to the death knight.

Aleyna is already standing, brushing off her pants. "You can have him once I've removed him."

Auroran nods.

Campion sighs and slumps from where he's sitting on the bedside. Energy's draining fast.

[Auroran] says: Rest.

[Auroran] says: Alright, remove him.

Aleyna glares to Auroran, "I'll do it at my own pace." She stands over Larkspur and pulls off the bindings that keep him to the chair. She leaves on the shackles around his wrists, however.

[Aleyna] says: Get up.

Auroran shrugs. Back to thinking about someone he loves being dead, and fighting, and being depressed, and tired... Sigh.

Plagueheart is still laughing. He'll have to breathe *eventually* so he has more air to laugh with but that may be a while. ...The noise trails off as he's freed, and he tucks his legs under him, heaving himself to his feet.

Aleyna pulls him by the hands, forcably directing him towards the door and urging him foward.

Plagueheart goes with this without resistance. It's time and a half he gets out of here, by his reckoning.

Auroran follows!

Aleyna keeps leading down to the docks.