>>756887"It spread through sight," she confirms. "By making eye contact with someone with it, the curse would pass on. But it couldn't spread at this stage of the… infection. For lack of a better name." She looks over a rather distressed looking Gawain. "It started with headaches, strange speech, general lethargy. Eventually, light starts shining from the eyes, a pinpoint at first. It gets to the point where their eyes are like sunbeams. That's when they start spreading it, and their will is gone."
>>756888"There was," she says wistfully. "The only one that could cure it left Moonhollow long ago, and the cures she left behind are long gone. Then there's the fact that the town ended up down here in the first place."
"Down here," Violet parrots. "You mean the Echoes?"
She nods. "There was a war on the outside, long after the Glow was gone. Fighting over land, resources. We thought we'd be able to avoid it, but their petty battles found their way to us. A whole stretch of land sunken, sent here to the Echoes. It was a disaster. Moonhollow's been struggling ever since, and the sun vanishing a year ago doesn't exactly help."
>>756887>>756889"W-well, I still have my wits about me," Gawain says nervously. "How long does it take to progress to… that?"
"A few days. Though, things might be different now. Either way, the best thing to do would be to keep you isolated for now, sir."
"I-Isolated?"
"We have to treat this like any other sickness. Until we have a cure, we need to keep you away from other people. There's an abandoned hut on the edge of town. I'll have people set it up for you. Don't worry, we won't treat you like a leper. None of this is your fault. We'll make this as comfortable as we can."
>>756889"Their minds being split sounds very likely from what we've heard. Though it still doesn't answer the question of why none of us can leave."
>>756890"Impossible. There was no grave to disturb. She was killed long before the Glow began, and even then there was nothing left but her skull. We broke that into a million pieces long ago and threw it in the sea. There'd have to be some insanely powerful black magic going on to bring her back in any form."
"I mean, the sun did go out," Violet remarks. "That's pretty next level."
"If they're connected…" Dalliance pinches the bridge of her snout. "Well, I don't even want to think about it. We have our hands full with these sky snakes as it is. I can't imagine being involved with something like that."