Jess was surprised at how eager Nheiling was, but showed them the day Willaim and her students defended her from that horde of Vampires. "there's more to this curse. I was supposed to die by the fangs of a vampire by my 25th birthday... Only because William and my students intervened did I survive..."

She paused a moment. "And that's not all... I found out my Father was also cursed in this way... And they died protecting me, my parents did..." She shook her head. "The curse would still pass on through three more generations... I don't want my children to suffer the same grief I did... And so I want this curse removed."

Abandoning his blood-filled and angst ridden haze the blood on Mortimer began to fade with his dream. Right now understanding Jess's past and problems trumped his desire to learn Nhielings dark secrets.

"If it's a generational curse then it must have had some origin? Do you have any idea as to its source? Anancestor refusing to pay a gypsy maybe?"

He knew that it was cliche but still, he felt that it was best to eliminate the cliches first before proceeding further. "And are you quite certain that your size and your families premature deaths by vampires are part of the same curse?"

"Yup, both part of the same curse... Only other one that knows this is William, but... There's no way to deny it. So what do you want to see first relating to this... The day I confessed to William, or the day we found solid evidence..." Jess wanted to keep options open... And if they asked about her other confession to William, she would not lie. She loved him, and she knew it was undeniable. "Speaking of which, the fire mage told me he knows someone who might be able to remove the curse... I'm hoping he arranges things soon."

"Show us the day you found significant evidence for the curse." Not to be rude to Jess, but Mortimer didn't think that her confession to William would do much good. What they were seeking out here was the root of her curse, not neccessarily her or Williams interpretation of it. It was definately a callous view and that was why Mortimer didn't say anything.

Jess smiled... Soon the place changed to a library. And a glowing William and Jess were researching... As they made looks of alarm, Jess smiled, going to the shelves where they'd found the books containing the evidence. She picked off the shelf one of several glowing books. "Guess that's my mind's way of highlighting the books containing the evidence, the glowing... Weird, yet I kinda like it."

"That might have somethign to do with why I rarely forget anything.... Anyway." She opened the book and as they traveled down a short hall into a fairly empty room, she tossed the book... It expanded until it took up most of the far wall, and she flipped to a certain page, indicating the important text. "See? See?! A recorded encounter of my father. And this is a reputable author, he says on the first page of the book all of this actually happened." She sighed. "And there's more. Among those glowing books... The small black leather one with the red print. That's my Mother's Journal. A friend of hers published it."

"So then your mother wrote about the curse... was it an affliction based on geneological inheritance or on simply having the families last name? That is, were those who weren't descended from the initial cursee also afflicted with it so long as they were a part of the family?"

"Yup... Genetics. Feh... Such a nasty thing to do, but turns out my Father did have a... How should I say it... Talent for trouble?" She shook her head, the book shrinking. Then she went to retrieve her Mother's Journal... "At least she recorded the incident in her writing... Oh, what page was it?" She muttered as she came back into the small room.

"So then the curse is genetically based and doesn't affect people who married into the family... And you say that this entry details when the curse on your father came to fruition and led to his death by vampires?" Mortimer leaned in closer to the script then stepped back. "It may just be because it's your mind but I can't read a thing in it." Indeed,to Mortimer the text in Jess's dream looked like a jumble of incomprehension. Whenever he tried to peer more closely at them he ended up losing focus. Regardless of the reason, Mortimer was unable to decipher the page.

Really?! said Nhieling, astonished. Let me take a look.
Looking book after book, Nhieling suddenly stopped.
It's true... I can't read nany of them. I don't understand, in general, only trained mind can get to do something like this. Even myself haven't get to to something like this, even through I've protected my mind.

[Bump, I asked Jess and she's finished]

As it seemed that Jess didn't wanted to say more, Nhieling reopened the portal to his own mind.
Then, if you mind having a look at myself.

Having no true alternative now Mortimer followed Nhieling into his own mind... what an experience that would be.

Suddenly all of them appeared into what seemed to be Nhieling mind. I'm sorry, I used an old theme, and I haven't change the decor recently.
His mind was like a gigantic mess. There were nothing around except from endless staircase, without any up of down, and door everywhere.
I use this configuration in my mind index to trap intruder, and to store memory.
Behind each door are a part of myself. Part that I store preciously, other that I keep locked, some part that would kill any intruder if he were to pass the door...
My mind is my bastion and my little world.
The air here were strange... Like madness were omnipresent. Wave of insanity gave them chill. More than this, it seemed like that this place was filled with a throbbing pain, like the one of an injury that wouldn't have healed.

Nhieling turned back to Mortimer. It seemed that you felt guilty about killing your grandfather, or that at least it was torturing you.
What I'll show you next is what hate, suffering and loneliness can really make of someone. I'll show you the monster that is human in his worst state.

Mortimer followed behind Nhieling. "Are you sure that such a being can actually be called human then?" From what Mortimer could tell Nhieling had in his past, suffered pain and trauma beyond what any normal person could endure. Quite simply Mortimer couldn't fathom how Nhieling was even alive right now. Living with this mental anguish, inside of your own head... It was suicidal... perhaps homicidal moreso but to keep it bottled up like this would have made most people slit their wrists by now. So then the real question Mortimer had, was what was keeping Nhieling from swallowing sleeping pills and jumping off bridges all the time?

Now, I'll show you what real despair is : Zieref, can I access to your memory?

A voice, coming out of nowhere answered : What the use of asking, you can do it even without my consentment. But do as you like anyways, access allowed.



Then Nhieling opened a door. Behind was what seemed to be a vision of the past. Here is the begining of an history, the history of the monster that is human, a monster that consume itself.

The first image was a family. A poor couple with their children. Even if the image was fuzzy, they seemed happy.
Then the image swap, next was a memory. The kid, probably Zieref, was about 8years old. His family were having dinner, when suddeny the door broke open. Four solider got in. The bigger one, probably their chief, started speaking : We're here to collect the tax, now it's your last chance, it's pay of die.
As the father said they couldn't afford to pay it, the solider went wild into the house. ZIeref father started to stop them and got eviscerate by a guard.
ZIeref stood up and jump on him, but with the back of the end the send him flying on the wall. The images stop here, and started back when Zieref wake up, everything around him was nothing but a pure carnage. His mother was nude next to him, bathing into her own blood.

Nhieling voice said : Here is the first step : Sadness.

Then the scene swap to another. Zieref was about 9-10 years old, and was sitting on the street, begging for food. People around him just ignore him. His existence seem to be nothing for them. Suddenly, one of them stopped, and throw him a coin. Another beggar, seeing it, just waited for him to go to jump on Zieref and steal it.

The image are sparse, they're what remain of a past he wanted to forget, but couldn't. But here is the second step, Zieref have learn true anger.

Then another image again. This time it was one of a Zieref at the age of 14, a young girl, probably a beggar of a thief, about his age, were with him. It was clear that Zieref was in love with her. They were doing everything together, going from stealing to sleeping, when the night were cold. They were probably the best thief of the city, no wall, nothing could stop them. Starting by stealing food, they end up stealing valuable item. They even had their own home, an inhabited house they had arranged. They weren't really rich, but they were surviving. Her name was Elisa. One day, as Zieref was alone, the guard suddenly shew up and caught him. Zieref try to flee but one of them send him to the ground with a powerfull punch. When they get out of the house, Elisa was in front of the door. Zieref yelled : Flee !
Why? She answered. Then she went in front of the guard and said : Like I told you, he was here, can I get my money now?
Surprised to the point of not being able to speak, Zieref, without resisting, got jailed in the hour.

Here are another traits of humanity that Zieref have learned : Selfishness, Betrayal, and suffering.

The image swaped another time. This time, Zieref was in jailed, in a dying state. The despair was getting him, he sank deeper and deeper into the nothingless. The his cell door opened, the guard who entered was the same one that killed his father. Zieref was in such a state that even this couldn't make him react.
Oh, the little %*@! that I spare. It seemed that looser only gave birth to looser in the end. Your parent were as useless as you, your mother wasn't even pretty, raping her wasn't really funny. We need to free your room, we lack place, so I'll haste your dying process a little eheheh... Litle %*@! like you have no right to to get hapiness anyways.
Then the guard drew a blade.
At this moment, something broke in Zieref. Was it the memory of his parent? Was it what the guard had said, or his survival instinct, we can't say.
All the darkness that human heart is hiding suddenly flow in Zieref. The hate where burning so much into him that it was nearly painfull. With a rictus of pure hate he said, in a breath : Even if it's the last thing I'll do, I curse you, you and your descendant, one a thousand of generation. God don't exist, but if demon are, then allow me to make his soul mine for eternity !
The guard start laughing, but suddenly his laugh became cry of pain. His own flesh seemed to rot, falling to the ground. The scene was atroce, after a minute of suffering, the guard corp ended his decomposition, nothing were left but his bone.
Revigorished, Zieref stood up, first surprised by what happen, he suddenly had a grin : For the first time he had taste blood. One had died because he wanted to. With an hellish laugh he got out of the cell.

Even here, he could have stop himself, but to him, it was the only thing he had left. He was broken, totally broken, this power became the only thing that make him follow on living.

Then somes image burst one after another : The first one was the body of Elisa, mutilated to a point it can be imagined, but still alived, used by Zieref as his playing thing when he was bored. Other image appear, nothing were left but an endless slaughter.


Then they all got into Nhieling mind. As you can see, human is his worst enemy, creating his own monster from the purest feeling. I don't think you should feel guilty about what you've done to your grandfather, feeling are what make us human, suffering, hate and anger are part of them. You can either repress madness, of let it taking you away. I have my own burden to carry, but madness work like a sickness : After some time you either heal of die, but even if you leave it behind you, you will never be the same as before... Never.

The circle of violence will never broke because pain and sadness stayed, forever.

"[/b]Can... can you stop it already... his emotions are infectious![/b]" Mortimer gritted histeeth as wave after wave of sadness, fear, hate and avarice washed over him. He didn't know how Jess or Nhieling were doing but h was practically on his knees from this pressure. It felt like a physical weight of some kind was dropped on top of him. These unbearable sensations were enough to make children cry and grown men ricochet into a sate of ultimate despair and mourning. "Please.... STOP"

And with that Mortimer was back in his own mind. Seemingly ejected from Nhielings and Zierefs shared consciousness, he was now laying amidst the tombstones and fog again. Rolling over... he entered a deeper level of sleep... a place where dreams and despair could not reach.

Nhieling had a little laugh by seeing Mortimer disappear.

Weak against insanity it seem... You aren't as pure as you want to make other believe, Mortimer. Note for later keep in mind that it can be used against him.

Then he turned to Jess : Do you want to see another thing? If not you just have to want it to come back to your own mind.

[Can't add color because of a bug with mozilla...]

[I'll dot it since you tell me to]

Then Jess started to disappear to. Nhieling suddenly find himself alone into his own mind. All the door were closed.
Alone... He had been for years, but without this bothering him. But since some time, he had found some nterresting fellow, making him feel how long it have been since he last have lived a normal life. He already knew that this kind of life wasn't made for him, but still, sometimes it wasn't too bad.

Then Zieref voice come out of nowhere :

What do you intend to do? I hope you hven't forget our pact...
Nope, don't worry, even through I don't find it as interresting as into the past, you'll have your revenge, and in exchange I'll have the power do get all the thing I could dreamed on.
I have, something else for you to do.
Huh? What else?
You already know, or at least you don't want to think of it yet...

Then the presence disappear.
Nhieling think : Not alone after all. Then he grinned : After all, I still have a lot of interresting thing to put in place kekek...

Rewards

Jess - 3 SP, 3 MP and 400,000 Drachma
Nhieling - 4 SP, 3 MP and 650,000 Drachma
Alberio - 4 SP, 3 MP and 700,000 Drachma