The night was cold.   It wasn’t just the blistering wind, this stretch of the Bleak Reach simply seemed more bleak than the rest.  The land itself felt dead, devoid of ‘life’, unable to warm itself.

As Giovanni stood upon the crest of the hill, he could see the small village nestled in the valley below, huddling against the bare stone ground.   Maybe a dozen of the buildings shed weak light; the rest of the village was either asleep, or empty ... their occupants taken by the plague.

And beyond the village, he could only just make out the cottage that was his destination.
It sat removed from the village, as many such places do:  close enough to be a peripheral part of the community, yet shunned enough to enjoy its own company.

He might possibly find succour in the village, and a spare bed, if he followed the road down into the small neighbourhood ... if the folk there weren’t so xenophobic and fearful as to (attempt) driving him out.
Or, and it would surely be a rough option, he could cut a wide berth around the place and forge his own path through the night.


As part of your post, please tell us why Giovanni has come here.   Who lives in yonder cottage? And why has Giovanni made this unhospitable journey, to this desolate place?

From Hamlet to Village, to ruin and waste within the Bleak Reach, Giovanni traveled with the presence of a man consumed with purpose. As he stood upon the crest of the hill that looked down to this particularly bleary and lonesome village he recalled the moment things had changed for him. When he had found that lonely little shrine tucked away in the Garden of those ruins. When the powers of Creation had touched his soul and illuminated the Truth to him, of who he was, or more accurately what he was. The finer details were lost to him. He had no reference or lore to educate him on the matter. But, the point was he had been given or rather...awoken to the Means to an End. The Curse that followed him, hounded him. He could fight back against something so wholly ephemeral and intangible. From, that moment in the shrine, he had sought to try and learn as much as he could, asking fellow vagrants and vagabonds if they had heard of such things as to how to completely destroy Demons and Curses, of course without implicating any such connection to himself. And though the rumors were as thin and bland as watered down gruel, he had been told that there was one such person who might know far far away in a part of the Bleak Reach that was far more desolate and broken down than the others.

Giovanni had traveled to meet this mystery person. To ask him what he could possibly know. Sure, Giovanni had the power now to alleviate the worst parts of his Curse, albeit only for short reprieves, he couldn't truly be free until he Shattered it's hold on his Soul. Once that was done...then he could truly seek his Hearts Desire. Supposedly this person would have the means or information to help him. All he had to do was ask...

He would have been lying to himself if he wasn't a bit afraid. Some part of him longed to go down through that village and ask around, to try and make friends with any of the residents who still lived there...to see if they could help him with this Person if need be. To give him succor in order to rest and prepare himself. But...it was too risky. Every time he tried, the Demon within him, the Curse would manifest and bring down any manner of ill fortune and omen upon him, even with his new found strength and power.

So, with a deep breath of regret and shame, Giovanni set out to make his way down the hill, breaking away from the road itself and giving himself a wide berth as he made his way toward the Cottage and his destination, keeping the village a safe distance away from him, so as to not disturb them in the night.

It was a long, arduous route, making his own way around the village.  The land itself seemed unfriendly to Giovanni’s presence.  As though it sensed the evil that followed him into this place.

At one point, the smell of rotting carrion and the sudden intensity of flies told Giovanni that somewhere nearby bodies had been dumped.
They were far enough from the village to prevent their stench or disease returning there, and the wind here travelled away from their recent homes.

The land was rocky, and uneven; many times, as Giovanni moved through these foothills, small rock slides carried him small distances before he could steady himself.
But as dawn hinted itself upon the horizon behind him, Giovanni staggered ... sore, exhausted, hungry ... towards the lone cottage.

Curse Eaters, he’d heard them referred to.
It’d been told to Giovanni that the man who lived here was trained in such: removing unwanted magics, and ... eating curses.
But hose who had spoken of this had done so reluctantly; almost a feared of even mentioning the man, invade he heard their words and took offence.  The spoke of him as though he were ‘almost’ as evil as the curse upon this land.