>>6125088You leap backwards away from the gallows with Frostbind ready to defend. If these corpses start acting like a bunch of zombies and attacking you, then fuck that, you're going to run! Luckily, the dead don't suddenly escape from their noose and start attacking.
You advance cautiously and go up the stairs of the gallows once more, Frostbind leading the way. The closer you get to the corpses, the louder and more varied the voices become. Some are screaming and babbling nonsense, but others manage to speak words.
<span class="mu-i">"Another dead?"
"A breathing human."
"FUCK FUCK FUCK!"
"i hate you i hate you"
".... Sanchome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.</span>
Your Trait <span class="mu-r">Unto Death</span> allows you to hear the dead? Or is it because this is a dream?
"I am King Lot of Lothian, Orkney and Camelot. Who are you?"
Maybe you can talk to them, it's worth a try.
<span class="mu-i">"WHO IS IT!"
"They'll be dead soon enough."
"AAHAAAAHAHAHHHAHHAH"
"hope they die horribly horribly horribly"
"... I lived there with my mother and father.</span>
The corpses can sense your presence but can't hear your words. How unfortunate; questioning the dead would have yielded a lot of information. For example, are they all Lost Children who perished in Avalon or just regular humans?
You begin to cut the ropes of each corpse, making sure to keep the rotting flesh from splattering all over, using your ice powers to ward it off. The state of decay for some of the bodies is extreme; they hit the platform of the gallows with a sopping wet smack and ooze over the wood. It is hard work to endure the putrefying stench, and there's so many of them.
<span class="mu-i">"I died on the island of Mon Badonicus!"
"merlin merlin merlin merlin merlin"
"Ah, thank you."
"I was once King Urien and ruled the island of Gorre. My Castle should still hold my Relics and corpse. Find my dead body and take it home. I live at..."</span>
You pause and listen carefully. Others babble nonsense, but this King Urien is lucid. You look around and try to see who Urien might be. There's no way to know who is who amongst the corpses, though. It is hard enough to cut down the bodies, but the additional strain of looking at the waxy, bloated faces of the dead is too much to bear.
King Urien only repeats his information over and over again like a mantra. You memorize his home address in Tokyo and wish you could talk with this fellow King who perished in Avalon. You silently promise to do what you can for the Lost Child King Urien, but you dare not promise aloud because it might end up a Binding Vow.
<span class="mu-r">Optional Quest: Find King Urien's corpse and bring it back to the World!</span>
The gallows no longer have anyone hanging from them. You've succeeded in your self-imposed task, and start considering how to bury the corpses when the dream begins to fade.
A servant is opening the shutters to let in the dawn's light.
"Good morning, Your Majesty. I come bearing good news. The Guides are back from the Quarry! Hip hip hooray!"
