Calamity in Camlorn (Claimed)

Well, this was certainly a fine way to start a hunt. Camlorn was supposed to be some sort of ideally peaceful little outpost that never saw anything in the way of trouble or strife. It was supposedly a place where own could escape the pressures and hassles of city life without leaving behind the comforts thereof. Sure, it had these little nuisances in the form of spirit attacks that occurred at irregular intervals, but it was still a charming little town. But just because these aforementioned attacks were irregular didn’t mean that they were any less devastating.

The last thing Daniel had been expecting when he’d roamed into the Camlorn was a grouping of collapsed buildings wrapped in growths of vines. He came here only expecting to pop into the local tavern looking for information, perhaps have a small drink, then leave. Then, he’d see dozens of people rushing out the door when shouts of “Spirits!” and “Bring help!” broke the peace. Now, he was standing in the middle of the crowd as they milled about discussing what was to be done. A few had the bright idea to proposed that someone go fetch some axes to ease the rescue of anyone that might be trapped inside.

Daniel watched briefly as a few of the men broke away from the mass to do as the brighter of their number suggested before fighting his way to the forefront. He stood examining the destruction with a keen eye honed by years of service as a hunter. A sniff of the air told him little more than he already knew, even with the blessings of Kalidas upon him; a good sign.

Daniel took one of the many axes that were brought and joined in the clearing of the vines. It would’ve been easier for him to merely destroy them completely with a few explosive rounds from Black Hammer, but that would’ve been less than efficient from a multitude of reasons. For one thing, there was the possibility of causing the building to collapse further, harming anyone still trapped within. The objective here was to save them and not to kill them. Secondly, he highly doubted that the denizens of Camlorn would be at all amused to have eruptions of fire and concussive force in the middle of their homes. The third and final reason was the most obvious and most practical one, even if it was a bit on the selfish side: he was about to embark on a mission and he didn’t want to waste the ammo.

A thick vine gave away after a few dozen sloppy strikes on his part (his skill lay less in the use of bladed weapons) and allowed him to pull the thing away, revealing a partially destroyed door. Daniel stuck his axe into the flesh of another vine and vigorously kicked the door. It held strong against the first blow as well as the second that followed; a third finally sent the door crashing to the floor inside. Daniel followed the door through the breach.

He found himself in a living room of decent size with an open area leading into the kitchen and another door leading further in. The space was in shambles; furniture was tossed in haphazardly, cracks snaked their way through the plaster walls, glass and broken dishes lay shattered upon the floor. And it positively stank of blood. Daniel traced the stench through the door, which met with a fate similar to the previous one. It led into a long hallway that spanned the length and breadth of the house. Much like the living room, the space was in complete disarray. One end of the hallway led to yet another door that Daniel assumed was the front door and the other side ended in a staircase ascending to the rest of the house. The smell was wafting down those stairs, so Daniel took a step towards them; the sound of crunching grass stopped him.

Daniel looked down at his feet and realized that he’d stepped on a small photograph that had fallen to the floor. His boot shifted so that he might get a better look at it, at the people living here. There was a man and a woman standing in the frame together with their hands wrapped around those of a grinning little girl. He took note of the information as he continued on.

Three possible casualties; one adult male; one adult female; one female child.

Up the stairs and around the corner, he found the first victim: the father. A vine as thick as his thigh had come down from the ceiling and crushed his chest. He was very much dead. Daniel stepped over the gruesome sight and continued on. Ignoring the coppery tang of blood allowed him to trace his way through the home to another room. Fortunately for the doorframe, the room was open and didn’t impede his way. Dozens of dolls lined the pink walls and littered the carpets. A bed enclosed by sheets absolutely smothered in flowers of every description dominated one side of the room. The other was facing an invasion of knarred roots that shot out from a collection of vines. The body of a woman hung limply from one such root.

Daniel snarled viciously and was about to turn and leave when the barest hint of breathing made itself known. He rushed back into the room towards a pile of discarded teddy bears and other stuffed animals and started tossing them to the side. Eventually, he uncovered the face of the same little girl he’d seen in the photo. She seemed to have run afoul with one of the many roots growing from the vines but was blessed in the sense that it was only her shoulder that had been pierced. Even so, she was pale from the loss of blood, her breathing was shallow, and she was shivering tremulously.

The former Hunter pulled his revolver from its holster on his waist, put the muzzle to the root, and looked away as he pulled the trigger. The splinters went flying in all directions as a portion of the root disintegrated. With the girl thus freed, Daniel stowed his weapon and scooped her into his arms so they could make their escape.

“I need someone with medical experience!” he shouted as he stepped outside.

Daniel didn’t hesitate to do as he was told and took care to lay the child in his arms down as gently as his arms would allow. She seemed so fragile that even the smallest of movements might cause her to break apart. It almost hurt to see someone so young in such dire straits. When she was properly settled, Daniel began lending his own meager skill to the young girl. While his talents lay more in the taking of life rather than saving it, training from his previous occupation did allow him to perform the most basic medical tasks, such as stopping bleeding and checking for signs of life. He put his finger tips to her neck in search of a pulse. It was faint but still there. This little girl was much stronger than she seemed.

“She’s alive but barely,” Daniel asked. “Better luck than her parents though. Both of ‘em are dead.” He took notes on the man assisting him. He seemed familiar enough with what he was doing and fairly decisive in the placement of his hands. Daniel envied his ability to heal others. If he could do such a thing, then maybe he would find the redemption he sought. But that was neither here nor now. He would just have to be satisfied with finding the girl in the first place.

“I can cover the cost of whatever you use and throw in a little something extra. Just make sure that she pulls through, here me?”

Luca Burke

Daniel nodded as the medic rendered onto him the gravity of the situation. He’d known almost at the start that the chances of saving this little girl were… slim at best. She was so pale that one might mistake her for one of the very spirits that originally perpetrated the attack. Adding to that the fact that he already had knowledge of how terribly quick exsanguination could lead to death from experience; dozens of his earliest kills met similar fates.

When he was given a gauze pad and told to be ready to apply pressure, Daniel gave a nod in the affirmative. “Alright, I’m ready.” He counted along with the man as he took hold of the root and wrenched it free. The motion finally elicited a reaction from the girl in the form a bloodcurdling, agonizing scream. The hunter instinctively interposed his hand between his charge’s jaw to keep her from biting through her own tongue. And boy, did she bite hard! Daniel actually winced a fair bit when her teeth started digging in.

“OW! She got some chomppers on her.” Daniel smile even as his closed eyes twitched with the effort of hiding the pain. Dark humor sometimes had the ability to defuse a bleak situation and, if not, distract from it. As much as it hurt, it was better than letting the girl harm herself further in her own anguished cries. Besides, his own pain was making him press that much harder on the wound to help keep his composure, so maybe it was good thing in the long scheme of things.

Luca Burke

“I gotcha.” Daniel moved his hand as the medic took hold of the little girl’s lower jaw and inserted a wadded piece of gauze into her mouth, shaking his hand to help ease away the ache he felt; his hand hurt even through the gloves that he wore, but they’d kept his skin from being ripped to shreds by the girl’s teeth. With that done, Daniel concentrated on his next task of holding the next set of gauze to his patient’s wound. He watched intently as the man went to work wrapping binding the bleeding cavity. Most of the flow was already beginning to ebb away thanks to the pressure Daniel had been applying to stop it.

The girl’s screaming was starting to fade as well, which prompted him to check her pulse once again when the bindings were tight enough. Amazingly, she was still among the living and that small fact alone made the hunter smile. This child was a hell of a lot stronger than he thought was possible for a little girl. “She’s still doin’ good. Might even pull through.” The announcement was met with a collective sigh of relief from the crowd still gathered around the trio. Those that were still working to free the other buildings of vines spared a brief glance before returning to the endeavor.

Others were being led from the disaster area now. Most were injured but none were nearly as critical as the girl. A team of medical personnel shouldered their way through the crowd and got to work treating the injured. A pair of them noticed Daniel and Luca and both sprinted over to assist.

“What’s the issue?” one asked as she slid to a stop. Daniel answered quickly with a short and precise explanation. The woman nodded once the account was given and pulled out a devise designed to determine a person’s blood type. After this, she pulled a pack of blood that she feed into the girl. “You did great; both of you.”