[Fall Arc] The Curse of Lillafüred

[Kai]

September 2004

Nestled in the mountains just outside of Miskolc Hungary, lay a sleepy little town known as Lillafüred. Unbeknownst to most, was the dual nature of the town. Behind a powerful protective barrier, lay a second, hidden town. A magical town. For generations the two towns lived alongside one another, and the magical and nonmagical peoples coexisted, the small populations helping one another during any time of need. Early in the month of September, however, in the year 2004, a heavy fog hung over the town for a time, and the residents of the magical side found that they could no longer pass the barrier.

Noroga Sandor, the town's healer, had taken charge as Albert, the elder, had passed on just a few months prior. None had yet been officially put up to take his place, but as small and quiet as the town was the elder's passing hadn't caused much issue aside from a period of mourning. Szemere had been a strong contender to take Albert's place, as had Zoltán ("It's even my name! I was born for this!" he had been heard saying) but the two of them had disappeared on some journey to prove which one was more worthy by slaying a Sárkány or something like that.

As such, Sandor had called together a town meeting, and a few residents had begun to gather, but the Healer waited until at least half the town had arrived, his hand resting on his trembling daughter's shoulder, as the brown haired girl held tightly to what looked like a small black chicken.

"Try to remain calm, please, for all our sakes," Sandor asked the gathering crowd. "We won't be able to overcome this unless we stick together!"

[Kokuten]

"Remain calm? That's easy for you to say, Noroga, you don't have a son trapped on the other side!," howled Csonka Aniko, a broad machinist who shook a set of glowing pliers with no small amount of fury. She had no patience for diplomacy or politics, which is why she lived in Lillafüred. She had come to the town from Debrecen almost seven years ago to find a traquil place to raise her four sons, Levente, Mario, Miklos and Botond. The three youngest stood under her, "And your livelihood doesn't rely on the mundane!"

Her specialty was enchantments and metal-craft, and she ran a shop that sat right next to the barrier. Most of her work was practical in nature, but the magic she weaved into her parts imbued magical properties to machines. Farmers, mechanics and engineers would come to her for replacement parts, happily paying her steep prices for her excellent quality and materials.

"I don't want to hear any whining or talk unless it's a solution," growled Aniko. Her third oldest, Mario, shook as he cradled Botond, the youngest. The second eldest son, Miklos, put a comforting hand on Mario's head. "If we're just here to make complaints, I'm going to grab everything reactive reagent I have in my store-room and make a hole."

[Zotsune]

"If we can't figure out how to dispel this fog I'm not going to have any meals to cook, or grain to ferment, or tourists to bring in income. I have some stock but it was meant for tourists spending a week not the entire magical population for any extended period of time.", Laszlo Toksony piped up as he cleaned his unmarked meat cleaver against his blood stained apron out of habit.

His specialty was being able to enhance foods during their creation process to bring out new flavor profiles within the food itself, this included but was not limited to being able to turn vodka's flavor and burn into beer's flavor and smoothness but keeping the vodka's abv. His tavern was closer to the center of the town and is considered one of the oldest buildings in the town.

After Aniko spoke her second piece Toksony immediately responded with "Aniko, if you are going to grab your reagents I'll grab my booze and set it ablaze, maybe fire will help clear a fog." He pointed his fist and extended his thumb to his chest and smiled widely but the smile was hollow as if it was just a façade.

[Kai]

Sandor sighed, as everyone who was currently present was doing exactly the opposite of what he had just asked. "We've all got worries, but trying to blow a hole in the barrier will likely just injure people, and I'd rather not have to prepare last rights for anyone today. The barrier has only been locked for a few hours, and already Krizoff is looking through the archives to see if perhaps there is a way to dispel it temporarily so we may leave. He thinks that the barrier is reacting because we took too long to choose a new elder after Albert's passing,"

the young girl at Sandor's side tugged on the man's robes, and appealed to him "Papa, can we do anything else now? Lidé is getting scared." She motioned with the chicken clutched in her other arm, but the avian creature seemed to be perfectly calm despite the girl's insistence.

"Now now, Emile, Lidé should go back in his safe space with Griff, that way nothing happens to them, okay? Papa will figure something out and then you can bring both of them out to play later once everyone is safe, alright, Kicsim?'

Emile huffed, but nodded to her father, and held the small chicken up in her palm, where it let out a small cluck before vanishing with a slight pop. "Papa, I put Lidé away now, but he told me that he wants grubs as a treat when we are done."

[Kokuten]

Aniko was about to enlist Toksony's help and turn about with her boys, but then the healer started speaking again.

"Then let's just pick you, Sandor, and call the matter closed, I didn't like Szemere or Zoltán anyway," loudly and brashly announced Aniko, putting a hand to her head at how much time this was taking. Then, she became aware of the eyes from the other villagers, staring at her. "What?"

"Szemere is a pillar of the community."

"Szemere isn't here, some god damn good pillar he is right now! Ugh! Megőrülök! Zoltán's no better, when they should be here guiding the town, they're gone off for glory like a bunch of boys! If I had to choose between the two, I'd pick Botond, and call him the more qualified candidate."

Botond perked up at his name, strangely unaware of the tension despite the clarity in his eyes. He was a strange child, always staring at shadows and off into the forests, but the sound of his name in his mother's voice put a smile on his face.

"Sandor's standing right here. Sure, he's a bit tutyimutyi," went on the machinist, throwing up another hand, her personality loud and vibrant. She had been a bit of a theater minor back in school, and it showed sometimes, but only when she was frustrated with people, or drinking, "but at least he's present. He's been taking care for you all since he began here! He helped deliver my Botond. He snapped your arm back together. He healed your sick child. He made sure the two of you didn't kill each other the last time you got in a spat. Don't look away from me, Varga Krisztina, I have to live next door to you and your husband's noise!"

With that fervor, Aniko balled up the energy she suffused into the small crowd in her hands and put it in Sandor's lap, "What do you say?"

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

"By my reckoning, the only ones both capable of keeping everyone organized and worthy of the role are Albert and Sandor. Since Albert... Kilehelte a lelkét, it looks to me like there's only one choice."

The voice turned a lot of heads, because it was a voice heard quite infrequently. It was a deep voice emanating from a short, wiry man. Megmér Nagy was a man of few words, but well respected. He was the definition of a handyman, and while much of his success was owed to skill, just as much was owed to his unique talent. As his name suggested, Megmér- Measure- could gauge the alignment of a fence, the grade of a hill, or the character of a person with a short visual study. Lillafüred's homes had never been sturdier, its fences straighter, nor its roads neater since Megmér had picked up his first hammer. But with the understanding of his gift came pressure to weigh the worth of everything-- and everyone. So he had become a quiet boy that grew into a stoic man.

But for all the town? Megmér would speak if he thought he could help them make the best choice for everyone. He met each pair of eyes as he stood cross-armed and confident in his evaluation.

[Zotsune]

After Megmér Nagy spoke it looked like a lightbulb went off in Tokonosy's head, he exclaimed loudly as he rose his meat cleaver into the air pointing it at Nagy

"Wait a second, Nagy of course! Why didn't I think of this sooner! You would be perfect as our new 'elder'. Not that you are old enough but you always think things through very carefully before acting on them and you have a special way of knowing who is going to be getting rowdy to the point where whenever you are actually at my tavern and you give me a look and then look at a patron I know that patron is up to no good and usually another hour or two you are right! Our buildings, fences and roads have never been so up kept which means you have forethought for making sure our town never withers and whenever you speak everyone listens."

He looked around to see if other lightbulbs were going off in the other townsfolk after he was done speaking.