Re: Darkstar's Ranch (Cross Grave)
As she moved towards the place where Valdis lived, Razzie couldn't help but question her decision. After all, even though the girl seemed quirky at worst, this was merely an illusion one could get at a first glance. Seeing her monsters kill, and now experiencing this slowly growing feeling of dread as she approached, Darkstar began to have doubts about choosing Valdis as her first option. After all, Logan was in the business for a while as well, why not ask him?
The girl shook her head. She needed money, and she needed it fast, along with house repairs. Logan would not help her achieve that, she needed a rancher that was a level above the average. Whether she liked it or not, she had to go to the necromancer, as she was the only other rancher Razzie knew. Though standing at the entrance to the blighted wasteland that was Valdis's domain, the girl felt she would definitely regret that decision.
The land itself was a nightmare, all vegetation long dead, but clinging to some twisted semblance of life. Rot and ash all around her, it was a miracle this place didn't spread plagues all over the nearby lands. Probably even diseases couldn't survive this unforgiving enviroment. Undeath was everywhere, not just in it's inhabitants - in the earth, water, in the very air. Razzie could feel it down in her bones, and with each step she took, she couldn't help but shake a bit with terror. It wasn't long before she heard the whispers, whispers that made Darkstar wish she had anything aside of bare hands for protection. She soon began to differentiate them - the ones that wanted her to leave were relatively bearable. The murderous ones were worse - she found it all too easy to imagine what they would do to her if they could. But the worst of all were those who wanted her body and life for themselves. The girl desperately focused on the bloody images and hatred of the rest to tune those out, not that it helped her fraying sanity.
Taking another step closer to her destination, Razzie once more questioned the sense of visiting Valdis. Anyone who elected to live in such a place was either insane or completely inhuman - no, not even that. It had to be someone who was the antithesis of life itself. Yet even as she pondered, her legs mechanically carried her forward closer and closer to her destination. She barely even noticed the strange altar, half-consciously registering it's presence. Under different circumstances, she'd regard it with some kind of feeling, be it morbid curiosity or horrified revulsion. Here, it was merely another freaky thing in the middle of an ocean of eldricht deadlands. In some twisted sense, it actually felt right at home, as if it belonged exactly where it was. Ironically, this observation made Darkstar associate it not with terror, but with comfortable certainty, that even in this insane place things were in order, that this land obeyed the cosmic tropes. She almost considered taking a break at it, even. Almost.
Eventually, Razzie managed to spy the outline of a mansion in the permanent gloom. She let out a massive sigh at the sight - perhaps bigger than she would like to, considering how eerily silent the place was. Sure, the whispers were there, but the voices sounded as if they were talking directly to her brain - nothing seemed to physically make any noise there. The rancher stepped into the graveyard, not giving it much thought - after all, she made it this far, a couple stones wouldn't faze her. On the other hand, the sight of ghosts and wraiths watching from afar did startle her, causing the girl to tense. They were not the ones whispering, though, they merely stared... Same as the zombies and their ilk in the graveyard. She was actually grateful for the presence of the zombies - rotten flesh they may be, they were the first physical beings she found there, and made some noise as they walked about. One could easily underestimate the terror of complete silence and the comfort of noise, until one experienced both at least.
Razzie fought down the urge to sprint to the door and attempt to smash it down. Somehow, she managed to summon the hidden depths of will known only to the desperate, and walked up to the entrance (at a rather brisk pace) and knocked. She would have tried to enter, but the door was locked, sadly. Fortunately, it was opened rather quickly. Unfortunately, behind it was quite likely the most terrifying thing available in the entire place. Confronted with the sheer wrongness of the... Thing, Darkstar faltered. She readied herself to step back, mouth an excuse, turn around and quickly leave - then she realized she'd have to trek through the wasteland again. And it's inhabitants would not take kindly to someone who was merely a tresspasser.
'... Fuck.'
With a sigh of resignation and the will of someone sent to their death, she mustered the courage to stare at the horror at the door once more. Razzie cleared her throat, hoping to avoid sounding completely terrified. It wasn't much of a hope. "Uh... Sorry for the intrusion and all, but... Is Valdis here?" She asked. "I wanted to talk with her about something important."
