Chapter Forty-Seven — Mud and Bone
Chapter Forty-Seven — Mud and Bone I could feel my nose wrinkling up and had to stretch my neck back as I sank into the mud until it tickled my chin. It wasn’t too deep, and my hands easily found the bottom, so there was no danger of staying stuck. There was even a lethargic current flowing past that made it... not easy, but possible to move around.“Lower,” Amaryllis hissed right next to me. “Do you want to be found?”I sank just a bit deeper in the mud until it was just short of my lips. Orange, who was tucked into the nape of my neck, walked around so that she was standing right next to my head in the shadow cast by my helmet. Standing on the air to avoid the mud was cheating!The sound of loose-fitting boots clunking past had me freezing on the spot.Amaryllis and I had picked the nearest spot to hide in. There were plenty of bushes and more mud than anyone could want. A great hiding spot, but not a place that I would want to fight in. Getting out would be tricky, which meant that I couldn’t afford to be spotted.The feet thumped closer and soon the noise of footfalls was competing with the thudding of my heart to be the loudest noise around.I saw a pair of boots move past, then another behind that one. They stopped.My heart started beating faster.The boots turned my way and I shut my eyes, almost expecting to feel an attack coming.The renewed thumping of feet had me letting out a held breath. I slowly turned my head and looked in the direction the patrol had moved in. From farther away I could see more than just boots.The group was made up of four grenoil skeletons, each in simplistic armour and carrying an ill-maintained spear and buckler. Glowing undead eyes scanned the marshes and occasionally stopped to stare at a marsh bird or a swaying tree.“Let’s move,” Amaryllis said.Amaryllis looked kind of silly, her white feathers plastered to her head by an entire layer of caked-on mud and her pale features tinted brown by brackish water. I couldn’t imagine it would be fun for her to clean her feathers later, some of them even stayed in the mud as we crawled out of it.“Did you see another patrol?” I asked.“No. It could just be the one,” she said. She didn’t sound so certain of that.The fort was close. So close that I could actually make out the lights lit from within despite the full morning sun. There were people manning the walls, some of them walking around, others standing stock still.I had the impression they weren’t living people.“Did you see their level?” I asked. I had forgotten to use Insight while in the mud.“Between six and eight,” she said. “Not too strong for a normal monster, but powerful for an undead.”“Are undead common around here?” I asked. “I’ve seen some before, but it was in an abandoned town.”Amaryllis eyed me for a moment before looking towards the fort. “No. No it isn’t normal. Let’s get closer to the fort. We might be able to see where they’re coming from. Most of the time undead spawn where there are plenty of bodies and certain types of... unfavourable mana.”“Could it be an undead dungeon or something?” I asked.“Let’s hope not,” she said before skulking forwards. She kept low to the ground, her task made easier by the lack of backpack or any gear. I still hadn’t gotten a straight answer out of her about that.We kept as close to the few patches of dead trees as we could. Amaryllis even touched a few of them with a talon and frowned at them. We saw another patrol, just three grenoil skeletons this time, and they were heading away from us. We waited for them to get out of the area before moving on.Soon we were before Fort Frogger, hiding near the lip of a hill with just the tops of our heads sticking out to take in the entrance of the fortress. The large wooden doors were open, one of them broken and ripped free of its huge metal hinges. The inner courtyard was filled with the undead, mostly grenoil skeletons, but a few that looked like strange horses with human upper bodies. Centaurs?Two larger skeletons, both in plate armour and holding up Broccoli-sized swords were waiting at the gate.A Skeleton Knight, level ?.“I can’t even see their level,” I said.Amaryllis sighed. “Ten. They’ve hit their evolution level, the undead can’t really go beyond that, not without some very unusual circumstances.”“Evolution?” I asked.She turned to me. “You really don’t know anything, do you?” she asked.I shrugged before lowering myself down. The little hill we were on was surrounded by a good number of trees, so I wasn’t too afraid of getting spotted by a passing patrol. Still, I had yet to remove the layer of mud that covered me. It was good camouflage.“I’m going to go say hi,” I said.“What?” Amaryllis asked.“Look, our mission is to scout the region, right? We’ve sort of done that. Now we just need to see inside the fort, but that can’t happen if we have to fight our way in. You’re very strong, I’m sure you could take the two skeleton knights at the door. But then there are a whole bunch more inside. So we try the nice way.”“The nice way? Is that what they call suicide where you’re from?” Amaryllis asked.I figured she was being rhetorical. And rude. Mostly rude. “Let me try? If it doesn’t work then we go back to Green Hold and tell Gabriel and that’s that.”Amaryllis glared at me, looked over the hill at the fort again, then back at me. “Are your stats back up to full?”This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.Health 120/120Stamina 79/125Mana 115/115“Most of them, yeah,” I said. “My stamina is a little low, but it’s not too bad.” I took Orange off my shoulder and handed the kitten over to Amaryllis.She took the kitty in both taloned hands with surprising care. Orange didn’t even protest at the contact.Then I shucked off my backpack and searched within. I found a potion and refilled the pocket that had held the trifecta potion I had given Amaryllis. “Okay. Can you watch over my bag? It’s not too heavy.”“I can,” she said. “If this goes south and you die, I’m keeping the cat.”I grinned at her, then scritched Orange behind the ear where she liked it best. “She likes you, so it’s okay. You can have my stuff too, I guess.”“Idiot. Do try not to die. I might be stuck with an even bigger fool next time.”I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt. She did care!I fired a cleaning spell at myself and felt all the mud and gunk rolling off me like water off a hot pan, then I poked Amaryllis and did the same for her. She shivered as my magic washed over her, and even let out a little ‘oh’ when it was past. “See you soon!”The knights spotted me before I was even halfway to them, but other than shifting so that their swords were in a sort of guard position, they didn’t really react. I stopped a dozen meters away from them and waved. “Um, hello! My name is Broccoli Bunch, I’m with the Exploration Guild. I was hoping to talk to your leader. Or your boss, I guess. Um... rarr?”The skeleton knights paused, then as one they turned and stepped to the side, leaving the path into the fort’s courtyard open.“Is that an invitation to go in?” I asked.I didn’t even get a ‘rarr’ in response.“Can I go get my friend?” I asked.The skeletons didn’t seem to mind. Or if they did, I couldn’t tell from their complete lack of motion. I waved at the hill, and soon enough a very cautious Amaryllis stepped out from over the edge and walked over to me, eyeing the skeletons the entire time. “What did they say?” she asked when she came closer.“I don’t know. I can’t speak skeleton.”“Skeleton isn’t a language,” she said.The skeletons shifted and one of them let out a low ‘rraarrg.’ I pointed at it, my point obviously made.I wanted to grab Amaryllis’ hand to pull her in—it wouldn’t do to leave the leader of the skeleton’s waiting—but didn’t know if it was okay to touch her feathery arms, and her taloned hand looked hard to hold. So instead I just pouted at her and gestured inside.She sighed, but followed after me as I moved in.There were skeletons in the courtyard, both grenoil and the strange four-legged ones. They were too slight to be actual half-horse half-humans, though maybe centaurs were just small-boned. I made a note to ask Amaryllis about them later.No one stopped us as we reached the entrance of the fort proper. It was a large, squarish building, made of big stones that looked like they had been fused together, probably by some sort of fancy earth-magic. The tower we had been seeing for a while stuck out of the middle; small slit-like windows all around probably gave anyone within a spectacular view of the area.I paused before the door and checked myself out as best I could, running fingers through my hair, dusting off my gambeson a bit and making sure that my skirt was on straight.“What are you doing?” Amaryllis asked. She was switching between looking at me, and at the listless skeletons around us.“I’m making sure that I make a good first impression. People judge you a lot based on how they meet you for the first time, even though judging people like that is wrong. But if I want to make lots of friends then I need to put my best foot forwards.”She stared at me for a moment, then raked her talons through her own hair-feathers, and plucked a few crooked feathers out of her arms.I was grinning as I knocked. Five quick taps of shave and a haircut boomed out.We waited, both of us shifting uncomfortably while my knock echoed within the building. Footsteps sounded out, low and heavy as if something big was approaching. As it came closer I could just barely make out the clatter of something like nails scratching against wood in a frenzy.The door opened with a whoosh.I stared at the rather plain man within. Sure, he was a ghoulish-looking man with glowing blue eyes behind a pair of spectacles, but he was wearing a cardigan over a sweater-vest and had big fluffy loafers on. Next to him was a dog.Most of a dog.A dog skeleton. One the size of a small car.It stared at us, tail helicoptering through the air so fast I could feel the wind from where I stood. When the tip hit the ground it cut thin grooves into the stone floor.“Yes?” the man asked.“Ah, hi!” I said. “My name is Broccoli Bunch! Let’s be friends!”Amaryllis smacked me behind the head.“Are you the... lord of this estate?” she asked, voice far haughtier than it had been just a few minutes ago.“And if I am?” the man asked. He stood taller, and his big puppy stopped shaking with repressed happiness. I fired off two quick Insights while he stared down Amaryllis.An Undead Human Bone Setter, level ??.A Bone Hound of the Long Slumber, level ???.I wasn’t sure what to do, the tension was rising and I could literally feel the danger in the air. I didn’t know if it was mana leaking out of the two near me or just bad vibes, either way it had to stop, and I knew just the thing!“Do you like tea?” I asked.
Chapter Forty-Eight — A Good Boy
Chapter Forty-Eight — A Good Boy I stared at the undead lord of the tower and his glowing blue eyes stared right back.The tension in the air grew thicker.The undead dog let out a long, low growl that made the ground vibrate underfoot.Then the man placed a hand on the dog’s snout without even looking, and it stopped. “What kind of tea?” he asked.“Oh, I have milk-thistle which is great for the liver, chamomile for relaxing, and I even have some honey!” I said. “Amaryllis, where’s my backpack?”“I stored it,” the girl next to me said. “I thought you wouldn’t need it, but I can retrieve it in a moment.”“O-kay?” I asked.Stored? Was there an inventory system all along and I had been lugging things around despite it all this time? Why couldn’t I get a handy tutorial that explained all of these things?“Well, I suppose some tea wouldn’t hurt. We’ll need a pot to boil the water,” the man said.“I have a kettle in my pack,” I said. “Just one cup though, I’m afraid.”The man looked at me, eyeing my most earnest smile (it was extra earnest because I had nothing to hide!) and then he looked over to Amaryllis and sighed. “Very well. Come on in. Don’t mind Throat Ripper here, he’s a good boy.”The man stepped back to allow us to enter the dark halls of his fortress. His slippers made swishy sounds as he walked towards a room just past the entranceway. It was a lounge area, with a nice carpet. and a single chair next to a table that stood beneath a pretty chandelier.“Chairs, two of them,” he said to a skeleton in a frumpy suit in one corner. The skeleton turned around, bare feet clickety-clacking as he walked off, presumably to get some chairs.I walked in before Amaryllis, head twisting this way and that to take in the entire room. The fort wasn’t built to be pretty, that much was plainly obvious, but some efforts had been made to make it feel homelier. Banners had been added to the bare stone walls and plinths with simple vases stood here and there, usually close to paintings.I approached one painting and took in the scene. It was a big skeleton dog, teeth bloody as it smiled towards the viewer while standing atop a pile of furry corpses.“Do you like it?” the man asked. His voice was flat, but I had the impression the question meant a lot to him.“Is that Throat Ripper?” I asked. The dog’s head perked up at the sound of his name. “It’s a very evocative image. I wish it was over a more peaceful scene though. Maybe a nice field of flowers or something? This is really well made though, the proportion and perspective are nice.”“Bah, everyone’s a critic,” he said, but I had the impression he was pleased by the answer.“It’s horrific,” Amaryllis said. “And I’ve seen better from a drunk amateur in Farseeing.”“We can’t all measure up, I suppose,” the man said, his voice returning to a flat drawl.I tried giving Amaryllis a look, but it didn’t seem to catch on. “So, we haven’t introduced each other yet,” I said. “I’m Broccoli Bunch!”“I’m Amaryllis Albatross. Pleasure.”The man crossed his arms, then nodded. “I’m Gunther. No last name, I’m afraid.”Amaryllis snorted at that, earning her a glare from Gunther. I kicked her shin with the side of my shoe. Why was she being so antagonistic to the nice undead man?“You said the puppy is called Throat Ripper?” I asked.Gunther shifted, chest puffing out a bit. “Yes. This is Throat Ripper the Marrow Eater. Just Throat Ripper is fine. He’s quite nice.”“Does he like scritches? Oh! Wait, I have a pet too! Her name is Orange and she’s the best kitten... Amaryllis, where’s Orange?”“She’s here,” Amaryllis said as she lowered the front of her jacket over her chest a little. It revealed Orange’s fluffy head.“You carry your pet around with you?” Gunther asked. “In such dangerous places?”“Orange is a spirit kitten,” I said as I patted her on the head. She gave me a look and nestled deeper into Amaryllis’ chest. “I don’t know what can hurt her, but I can unsummon her if things get dangerous.”“Ah, I see. That’s quite clever. Incidentally, you may pet Throat Ripper. He’s quite fond of being scratched over his sternum.”I gasped and moved closer to Throat Ripper and raised my arm up close to his face to present my fist. Usually dogs were smaller than me, but it was okay. He looked at my hand, then nudged it towards the side of his head. What followed was a whole minute of me making cutesy noises at the big puppy until he crashed to the ground hard enough that the entire fort shook, and presented where his tummy would be if he had any flesh.I didn’t even need to get on my knees to scratch him!Two skeletons ambled into the room hefting big chairs that they placed around the table before they moved off to stand by the wall. “Can I sit next to Throat Ripper?” I asked.“I don’t mind,” Gunther said. He was smiling now. I think being friendly with his puppy made him like us a little more.We sat around the table and I brushed my hands over my skirt to clean them off. I wasn’t sure if using cleaning magic around a bunch of friendly undead was a good idea. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened to Bonesy. “My stuff?” I asked Amaryllis.She brought her hands up, revealing a ring around the base of one talon. With a deft flick she did something with the ring and with a poof, a pen and a piece of paper appeared on the table.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.I stared. So did Gunther, but he didn’t look surprised at all.Amaryllis picked up the pen which looked like it had been shaped to be held by taloned hands and scribbled something on the page. Then she tapped both to the ring, and they poofed away. She stretched her arm out to the side, and a moment later my pack poofed into existence on the ground.“Wow! That was great! What did you do?” I asked.“Are you not from a city?” Gunther asked.“Not one that has magic rings like that,” I said as I stood up to fetch things out of my pack. The kettle came out and was placed on the table next to a stack of cups brought in by the skeletons who had left once again.“It’s a banking ring,” Amaryllis explained. “For a small transaction fee you can store things at a bank in any proper city. You can send a mana burst through the ring requesting pen and paper, which of course is free. Then you request whatever it is you want withdrawn from your storage and they’ll teleport it to your ring. They sell certain items too, but the mark-up is exorbitant.”“So it’s not like a dimensional storage pocket linked to your ring, just a sort of teleportation beacon?” I asked. It still sounded awesome, but not as great as a personal pocket dimension.“What? Dimensional storage? That’s not possible,” Amaryllis said.I shrugged as I poured water into the kettle and then added some herbs to it.“Actually,’ Gunther said. “It might be possible. Dungeons certainly don’t care about things such as limited spaces. If you could learn how that functions and tie it to an item... I suspect you would make a killing.”Amaryllis scoffed. “Impossible. And the only killing that would happen is your own when the banks find out you’re cutting into their margins.”I poured out three cups of tea, making sure not to spill any, then looked in my bag, and found some bread and a bit of cheese I had bought for the trip. It wasn’t the best of either, with the bread going hard and the cheese being a bit strong, but it was better than nothing. “Alrighty,” I said as I placed my jar of honey in the middle of the table.I took a sip of my tea, and licked my lips as I savoured the taste. It was really quite good. Amaryllis, after a bit of fumbling to grab her cup with her talons seemed to think so too, and Gunther made an appreciative noise.“So, what brings you girls to this swampy backwater?” Gunther asked as he lowered his cup and took a piece of cheese to nibble on.“We’re with the Exploration Guild,” I said. “We’re both new, so they sent us here to map the area around the fort.”“I see,” Gunther said.“An area that belongs to Deepmarsh,” Amaryllis said.“If they want it back, they have but to ask,” Gunther said. “But seeing as this area has been unoccupied for some years I don’t think that is likely.”“How did you come to live here?” I asked.Gunther looked at me over the rim of his cup. “It’s quiet. I don’t mind the wildlife, and the nearest people are a day’s walk away.”“That must be so lonely. You would need so many hobbies to pass the time,” I said“I have Throat Ripper,” Gunther said before patting the big dog on the head. The creature had laid itself down on the ground next to him.“You must be very close then,” I said.Gunther paused, cup held halfway to the table for a long time before he looked up and gave me a wry smile. “Throaty here is why I am the way that I am. When he passed... I couldn’t accept that. So I embarked on a self-imposed quest to correct what I saw as a cruelty laid down upon me by the world itself.”“What did you do?” I asked.“Oh, nothing too extreme. I was once a well-regarded arts dealer in Cinderrun. I gave all that up in order to change my class and become the seed of what I am now. It allowed me to bring back my one true companion, even if it meant cutting ties with neighbours and... well, I didn’t truly have any friends, or family that I cared for.”Throat Ripper stood up and booped his master in the side with his head.“And so we set to travelling the world. Unfortunately any class with a penchant for undeath is generally poorly regarded. Either by superstitious fools or those who know what death mana can do in a region if left there too long. We go from place to place, finding quiet little areas to settle down in for a decade or so before moving on. We have only been in this fort for a year and change. The skeletons you see around us are surprisingly easy to find. Throat Ripper has a knack for digging them up.”“You poor thing,” I said. I pulled the collar of my blouse out from behind my gambeson and dabbed at my eyes with it. “I’m so sorry that people are mean to you. But sacrificing everything to bring a friend back is... it’s beautiful.”“I... thank you?” Gunther said. He looked a bit uncomfortable, which I guess was normal after sharing such an intimate story. “You mentioned that you were here to scout out the region?”“Yeah. We’re supposed to map the area around the fort, and explore it a little. We won’t do that, of course. The exploring the fort bit, I mean. It would be way too rude to just trample around your home. But if you don’t mind we’d like to see what’s around and maybe map that out. Is there a way to do that without bothering your skeletons?”“You don’t mind the skeletons’ presence?” Gunther asked.“Should I?” I asked right back.Amaryllis covered her face with her hands. “My partner is an idiot, and yet the world conspires to keep her alive,” she said.
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