3.12 - The Hag's Curse

Anneleigh and Gwyddon listened as Brother Jebiah described how to find the Hag’s Cottage.  As it happened, it was not far from Tearfall Run.  The research camp had been set up in the shadow of both the cottage and Shadefallen Keep, the old Mathosian castle of this area that has now been overrun with endless cultist.

“Where did you get to be so handy with that bow and arrows?” Anneleigh asked Gwyddon as they climbed the endless stairs to the Hag’s Cottage. 

Gwyddon smiled.  “We may be cut off from the greater forest by the threat of the horror, but we still have to eat.  The fox and rabbit that wonder into the pines make easy targets.  I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“Have you ever considered leaving Gloamwood Pines?  Silverwood a peaceful place now and there is always work to be done in Quicksilver College.”

Gwyddon did not even consider the question.  He answered without hesitation, as if he expected the question.   “Gloamwood is my ancestral home.  Once we’ve finished our task the pines will be as peaceful as they once were.  I will stay here and tend to my family’s business as usual.”

“I understand that but... “Anneleigh’s words caught in her throat as the emerged from under the overhang of foliage and entered the courtyard of the cottage.

“It is strange,” Gwyddon said, “but I thought we’d encounter more of a welcome that this.”

Anneleigh nodded and immediately took her dagger from her belt.  Gwyddon raised his bow as well and the pair climbed the front steps and entered the cottage.

The room looked as if it had not been lived in for quite some time.  Althought light had poured from the windows outside, the dust on the candelabras and windowsills led Anneleigh to wonder if the Hag preferred the gloom to any light, natural or otherwise.   

"Perhaps," Anneleigh considered, "The light outside was an illusion to make this cottage appear more welcoming."  

Dust from their footfalls swirled around them as they entered, increasing the haze in the air, making it even harder to see past their outstretched hands.  Cautiously, the pair moved further into the room and heard the door slam shut behind them.  With the light from the open door extinguished they were now in complete darkness.  Anneleigh caught Gwyddon’s hand and together they walked forward.  As they walked a flickering light became visible and they began to hear slow, wheezing breaths.

“Welcome, my dears.  Please, come closer so I can get a better look at you.  My eyes are not as good as they used to be.” crooned a voice from the darkness. 

First Anneleigh, then Gwyddon stepped into the firelight to confront the hag. 

“You look lost, child.” She said to Anneleigh.  “Perhaps I can interest you in a cup of hot gloamseed tea?  That is, if you’re brave enough to drink with an old woman.”

Anneleigh said nothing but continued to glare at the hag.  To her surprise the Hag smiled.

“Allow me to commend you for all your efforts here in the wood, but now it’s time for you to end.”

Gwyddon stepped forward, shielding Anneleigh from the Hag. 

“Oh don’t fret, dear.”   The hag said.  “I have something special planned for you, something that will make those pathetic worms in Gloamwood Pines thankful that the curses they bear are not yours.”

“Those curses are over!” Gwyddon spat.  It seemed her calming voice, though working to subdue Anneleigh, was having a harder time controlling Gwyddon.

“Your tongues will blacken, your eyes will rot, and your skin shall wither.  Your stench will repulse, and your belly shall remain empty.  Death will not come for you, but instead, you shall remain in torment, writhing like a maggot for all to pity and detest.”

Gwyddon took a step forward again.  “I don’t believe you have any power that the Vigil could not clear.”

“My word is final, my power complete, and forever more you shall be known as the cursed.”  She said, completing her spell.

“Take your best shot, Hag!” Gwyddon called.

A blue swirling light engulfed them and they found themselves outside the cottage, on the road near Tearfall run.  Unsure of how long they had been lying on the side of the road, unconscious and unaware, Anneleigh slowly began to open her eyes.    Her arms and legs itched horribly and her eyesight would not return to its normal clear focus.  When she lifted her hands to rub them she found not hands, but paws.  Quickly she looked over to Gwyddon and her fears were immediately justified.

It took Gwyddon a little longer to come around, but when he did, he retreated from her, scrambling backwards.   It was not until he pointed his outstretched hand, ready to call for aid, that he realized he too was cursed, and that the quiet and still werewolf he had just retreated from was in fact his friend.

“What should we do?”  Gwyddon asked her, all confidence and bravery gone from his voice.  “I could cleanse us, but all of my components are in the Pines.  We’d never get past the guards looking like this.”

“Let’s try to contact Laria.  Her Alter is not far from here.  We can easily sneak around from the back.”  Anneleigh suggested.  “Maybe she knows of another way.”

“Fear not.” Laria said when they had summoned her.  “With the curse upon you, the Hag has turned her attention elsewhere.  Together with the Endless court, she plans to awaken darkness in Shadefallen Keep that not only threatens our wood, but all of nature.  There is but one chance to put an end to her.  Fail and Telara will fall.”

“We need to return to the researchers, but they will never allow us into their camp looking as we do.”

Laria shook her head.  “The curse she has put upon you is beyond my magic.”  Laria said interrupting Anneleigh’s protest.  “Until that time, see the blessing in my sister’s impulsive act.  You can now travel among the endless court in secret, walking in plain sight rather than hiding in the shadows.   Slaying the Hag will remove this curse that you carry, but until that moment embrace this disguise she has so inadvisably placed on you.”

Anneleigh looked at Gwyddon to see him smiling.  “Don’t you see, Anneleigh?  She has tried to harm us, to prevent us from taking arms against here, but the Vigil smiles on us and even her curse has been transformed into a blessing.”

Despite their assurances Anneleigh could not feel comfortable in the skin of something so dark.  “What must we do?” She sighed.

“The power of the death god Regulos wears many aspects, from the corruption of the treants to the undead in the Mathosian Mill.  Now, the Maleovent Shade Well coalesces near the Shadefallen Towers.  You must destroy it before darkness overtakes all of Gloamwood.  With the wells defeated I think the Hag should be cut off from the death plane enough to challenge her once more.”