by Pirateaba
Pisces gave Selys a mocking bow and then turned. He pointed, and two more zombies and a skeleton fell to the ground, necks broken.
Krshia bared her teeth as she hammered her zombie’s head into the cobblestones, breaking its bones until what she held wasn’t so much a head as bits of one.
She stood up as Zevara beheaded her opponent. The Drake turned to Pisces as Selys backed away from him. He raised his hands protectively, and a wall of wind swirled around him.
“I mean you no harm. And this wasn’t my fault! I was in the city all day, and I knew nothing of this—this event.”
The Drake eyed him. She shook her head and shouted to the guardsmen as they wavered, trying to form their line.
Another group of eight armed Drakes ran into the street. They rushed into battle with a roar as Pisces pointed and another zombie that had gotten past fell down, dead.
“Believe me, ah, Captain. I would never jeopardize my good standing with your city. In fact, I am helping to prove my innocence. I—”
“I believe you.”
Pisces blinked. So did Selys. Krshia was firing into the crowd of the dead already.
“We have countless witnesses who saw the undead emerge from the ruins. Besides, I doubt a [Necromancer] of your level could reanimate more than five bodies, let alone a horde like this.”
Pisces scowled.
“I—”
He hesitated and glanced at Zevara.
“Um, that is correct. But this is rather inconvenient, is it not?”
She glared at him.
“Are all you humans as damn crazy as this? Liscor is under attack!”
He shrugged.
“They’re just the undead. Quite easy to subdue. I have every confidence your Watch will safeguard innocent civilians like myself.”
He turned.
“If you’ll excuse me—”
“Oh no you don’t!”
Selys stomped on the hem of Pisces’s robe and the mage stumbled. His arms wind milled frantically as he tried to keep his balance. He turned and glared at Selys, but she advanced on him, tail thrashing.
“You stay here and help! If this wasn’t your fault, then help us!”
Pisces hesitated. Zevara hesitated. She didn’t like the mage, but she needed all the help she could get.
“Can do you do that neck-snapping thing many times?”
He sniffed and clicked his fingers. Three skeletons fell down like dolls that had their strings cut.
“It’s spine snapping, and I have ample mana reserve. I suppose if it means exonerating myself…”
“Good. Do it!”
The Crypt Lord finally fell to the ground, splashing those nearby with toxic blood. Zevara cursed as those hit cried out and retreated to be cured. She ran towards the line of guardsmen, already shouting. Selys stared at Pisces, finger raised. He raised his hands.
“I understand. I will help. Stay here and ah, try not to put an arrow in my back.”
She spluttered, but Pisces was already striding forwards. He kept a safe distance between the struggling fighters and the dead as he stared at the masses of the undead running through the streets.
“I assume I will be remunerated appropriately for this?”
Zevara turned her head and snarled at Pisces.
“Kill these things and I’ll give you a medal. Now start casting or I’ll slice your damn hands off!”
Pisces sniffed and conjured a flaming sphere into existence. He aimed it at a crowd of the dead as they surged down the street.
“I prefer gold, myself.”
He threw the orb, and fire consumed the dead bodies.
—-
“Something is wrong.”
Toren looked up from the floorboards. He was using an old knife to lever up bits of food from between the floorboards. Erin stared out the window.
“Can’t you feel it? Something is wrong.”
She pointed out the window. It was dark now, but there was a faint speck of light coming from outside.
“That’s Liscor. Why is it red over there? Is something burning?”
Toren walked over and saw the skies around Liscor were indeed glowing. And there was smoke, rising and barely visible in the moonlight.
Erin stared out the window worriedly. The pot of meat and noodles sat untouched on a table. She leaned over the windowsill and then grabbed at her stomach. The anxiety was getting to her in a physical way.
“I feel—bathroom.”
She pointed at Toren.
“Keep an eye on that, okay? If you see anything—”
Her stomach gurbled and Erin ran out the door, leaving the skeleton by himself.
Toren hesitated. He looked at the knife and the floorboards. Then he carefully put the knife on one of the tables and reached for the sword he’d leaned against one wall. He opened the door and walked outside.
The skeleton had made it halfway down the hill when the Antinium seized him and ripped his skull off his body. The Worker tossed Toren’s skull to the ground and seized his sword. He left the flailing skeleton’s body and walked up the hill towards the inn.
—-
A ghoul caught a Drake’s halberd in one hand and punched him in the midsection with the other. The guardsmen gasped and collapsed as the ghoul tossed aside the weapon and tried to race past the other guardsmen.
Zevara’s sword cut through the top of the ghoul’s skull, severing the flesh and rotted brain. The ghoul collapsed and she helped the Drake to her feet.
“Watch the damned ghouls! They’re strong enough to rip your scales apart if you let them!”
Another zombie ran at them. Zevera turned her head and growled low in her throat. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled.
A gout of fire leapt from her jaws and blasted the zombie off its feet. It fell to the ground, screaming and burning as Zevara coughed.
“Where are the damned Antinium?”
The Watch had retreated back down another street, giving ground up as more undead flooded into the city. They were fighting well, and healing potions and a rain of arrows and magic had given them the advantage, but the undead kept coming.
And the Watch was not equipped to deal with them. Or at least, they were well equipped, but they needed reinforcements. And those reinforcements were not coming.
The Watch was one half of the city’s defenses, but in truth they only handled bandit raids, criminals, the occasional monster pack, and so on. The landscape took care of most armies, but the other half of Liscor’s considerable defenses were the Antinium. And they were the bigger half by far. In truth, the Watch was more like a third, or a quarter. A big quarter, though.
But the ants, always present in some capacity in the city, were nowhere to be found.
Zevara growled again and coughed out some smoke. She walked backwards as the Drake found his halberd and joined the line of guardsmen and shouted.
“Tkrn! Where are you slithering about? Get over here!”
The Gnoll ran towards Zevara, panting. He was still drenched in gore, but now he was bleeding in places, dark blood covering his fur.
“Here, Captain.”
“Where are the ants? Send a message to the Queen at once! We need those soldiers!”
“That will not be necessary, Captain Zevara. We are here.”
Zevara and Tkrn spun around. Ksmvr walked towards them, two swords and two daggers held at the ready. Fifteen Soldier Antinium followed him.
Ksmvr pointed towards the failing line of guardsmen.
“Join the battle. Kill all undead. Retreat if you suffer significant injuries.”
The Soldiers ran forwards instantly. They pushed aside the surprised guardsmen and civilians and crashed into the undead in a black wave of their own.
A ghoul lunged at the first of the Soldier Antinium. The huge ant man grabbed the undead woman and held her shoulders with two of his hands. The other two punched downwards.
As Erin had seen, the hands of the Soldiers were more like spades
or weapons than actual digits. They pummeled the ghoul, breaking bones, stabbing through flesh with ease. The Soldier held the ghoul down, pounding it into paste. When it was done it stood up and grabbed a zombie and ripped its head off.
A skeleton stabbed the soldier Antinium in the back. It didn’t stagger as the blade buried and stuck in its carapace. It swung around and began ripping the skeleton apart.
Ksmvr watched the Soldiers fighting as the Drakes, Gnolls, and few humans staggered back, suddenly reprieved from battle. He nodded to Zevara as she stalked over to him.
“Watch-Captain Zevara. It is good to see you alive.”
Zevara was in no mood to exchange pleasantries.
“Where the hell were you? And where are the other Soldiers? I don’t need fifteen of them, I need every single one in your hive! Bring them out!”
Ksmvr calmly replied to Zevara as he kept one eye on the battle.
“As this is not a period of war or crises as declared by the Council, I must decline your request. The maximum number of soldiers the Watch Captain is allowed to command is fifty Soldier Antinium and a hundred Workers in a time of crisis.”
“That is exactly what’s happening! Or do you not see the undead? Bring the Soldiers, and all the Workers then! We need barricades, fortifications—”
“I regret to say that is impossible at the moment. I have brought fifteen Soldiers. That is all that can be spared at the moment.”
Zevara gaped at Ksmvr. She opened her mouth and smoke plumed outwards as she shouted at him in fury.
“Why by all the broken eggs—”
Again, Ksmvr cut Zevara off calmly.
“The Soldiers guard the entrance to the Hive and the surrounding streets. We will let nothing disturb our Queen. She is in the middle of a critical process. She is hours—less perhaps—to completion.”
“Your Queen can take her damned ritual or whatever it is and shove it—”
Zevara cut herself off as the blades in Ksmvr’s hands twitched. Half of the guardsmen near her raised their weapons but their Captain waved them away. She eyed Ksvmr and tried to modulate her tone slightly.
“This is a state of emergency. If we can’t push the undead back soon, they will overrun this place. Your Soldiers can buy us some time, but there’s not enough. We need all fifty and soon. More than that. We need all of them! Talk to your Queen. Tell her we need help!”
“I regret that is impossible. The Queen must not be disturbed at this moment. I am sorry.”
Flames trickled from Zevara’s mouth as she opened it in rage. Ksmvr held up one hand.
“As soon as our Queen finishes the Rite of Anastases we will fully cooperate in defense of the city.”
There was no use arguing with the Antinium, so despite the building heat behind Zevara’s eyes, in her heart…and her lungs, she bit off her reply.
“The Workers, then. We could use them. Not just for building. If they can fight—”
“They are unable to be summoned as well.”
“Why?”
For the first time, Ksmvr visibly hesitated. He clicked his mandibles together and stared at the battle. Already the Soldiers had pushed the undead back the street, and two were attacking a Crypt Lord as he spat black blood on them.
“The Workers are in rebellion. Many have left the hive and fought with the Soldiers at the entrance.”
Ksmvr lowered his voice as Zevara stared at him in horror.
“Already three have become Aberration. We fear the rest may have as well. They are violent, and many are armed.”
“You’re serious.”
“Very.”
For a moment Zevara’s mind was caught up with images of Worker Antinium ripping apart Drakes and Gnolls. Then she brought herself back to reality and stared at the dead bodies lining the street. She snapped at Ksmvr.
“If we didn’t have a horde of the undead trying to eat us all, I’d be more worried. The citizens are either in their homes or fighting with us. If these Workers kill a few zombies, I won’t shed any tears.”
Ksmvr shook his head.
“I fear the Workers are not in the city any longer. They are moving towards a human. Erin Solstice.”
“The one who got Klbkch killed?”
“Yes. One of the Aberrations who escaped was intent on killing her.”
Zevara didn’t have to think about this one. She gestured at the undead. The Crypt Lord was dead, but the two Soldier Antinium who had killed it were curled up, arms and legs withdrawn as they lay on the ground, dead of the deadly poison.
“Whatever the reason is, I can’t spare anyone. She’s not a citizen here and we’re up to our necks in trouble. The human will be on her own.”
Ksmvr nodded shortly.
“The Queen is all. She must not be placed in danger. Erin Solstice…is merely important.”
Zevara eyed him. The words he’d just said—she couldn’t dwell on them now. She pointed towards the Soldier Antinium as she signaled the guardsmen to form up.
“Will you stay and fight?”
Ksmvr nodded. He followed Zevara as she strode down the street, Drakes and Gnolls seizing weapons and standing to follow her.
“I will fulfill my duty as Prognugator within Liscor. However, my position will cease in a few hours. Another will take my place.”
“Until then follow me. We’ve got to use this moment until your Soldiers all die.”
Tkrn fell into place next to Zevera, grinning as the guardsmen and lone Antinium ran after the Soldier Antinium.
“Anything I can do Captain?”
“You heard the ant. Looks like we’ve got no choice. We need to close those gates. Get Relc. He’s the only one who has a chance of cutting his way through.”
The Gnoll nodded and broke away from the group. Zevara and the guardsmen rounded a corner and skidded to a stop. The Soldier Antinium had thrown back the undead, mercilessly cutting their way through them until they’d reached the main street down which the north gates were located. But there they had been stopped.
Zevara saw a Soldier born down by the weight of a Crypt Lord and another hurling ghouls to the ground as they swarmed him. She saw groups of guardsmen, struggling to contain the main flow of undead. But that wasn’t what struck fear into her soul. She pointed towards the gates, where something was dragging itself through the open stone doors.
Her heart froze. The sword in her hands grew heavy, and around her the Gnolls, Drakes, and Humans shuddered and felt terror coursing through their bodies. All around her, guardsmen and civilians fell back, screaming, unable to fight.
Zevara forced the words through her numb lips.
“What is that?”
—-
It was nearly ten minutes before Erin managed to extricate herself from the bathroom and stagger back to the inn. She held her unhappy stomach and walked through the open door.
“Toren?”
The inn was dark. Erin stared around. The skeleton normally came the instant she called. Where was he?
“Hey Toren. Where are you?”
No response. Erin didn’t hear the clicking of bones on floorboards. She stared around. He’d left the knife on the table. Had he gone out to fetch water?
Erin stared around the dark inn. He could at least have lit the lanterns. Or a candle. It was so dark—the only light came from the moon.
Where was he? And why—
Why was Erin feeling that same warning in her head again?
She spun around. Nothing. The grass shone in the moonlight from the open door. Erin relaxed. But then a prickling feeling ran down her spine.
She’d walked through the open door. But Toren always closed the door behind him. And if he hadn’t opened the door—
Who had?
“Hello?”
Erin backed up towards the door. Something moved in the shadows and shut it. She spun around, fists raised, and then relaxed.
“Oh. Pawn. It’s just you.”
The Antinium stood in the doorway, nearl
y invisible in the light. Erin frowned. Then she took another step back.
“Wait a second.”
The Antinium had four arms. And two legs. Pawn—Pawn didn’t have all his limbs anymore. But Workers weren’t allowed to leave the city unattended, and this Antinium didn’t have swords.
“Who…are you?”
He was familiar. At least, he seemed familiar, but he definitely wasn’t Pawn or Ksmvr. The Worker—if that was what he was—shuddered. He shook slightly, and then stepped suddenly towards Erin. She backed up quickly.
“H-hello? Can you hear me? Who are you? What do you want?”
The Worker’s head twitched suddenly. Erin jerked back and his voice came out, quivering with emotion.
“i aM AnTiNium. i haVe a NaMe.”
Erin backed up even further. That wasn’t what a Worker normally sounded like. The one in front of her was speaking rapidly, his voice surging and falling. He sounded—
Insane.
“You have a name? Um. Good. That’s good, right?”
He stared at her.
“I Am iNdivIDuAL. BuT i reJECT. I rejEcT aLL.”
“Reject? Reject what?”
He pointed at her with two arms.
“YOu. ThiS is yOuR FAulT.”
“Me? What did I do?”
The Worker raised his hand and a sword shone in the moonlight. He walked towards Erin, still speaking.
“YOU DiD ThiS To me. yOu mAde Me THis waY. For yOU I did tHis. bUT alL iS SuffERIng.”
Erin backed up, speaking fast. She tried to sense where her frying pan and jar of acid were, but it was impossible in the darkness.
“What did I do? I don’t remember—”
“yOU knoW.”
“Please—”
Erin took another step back and suddenly tripped over a chair. She sprawled to the ground and desperately tried to get up. But the Worker was too fast. He loomed over her, sword raised.
Erin kicked up at his groin, but the Antinium caught her leg. He pinned her down with three arms and held the last one with its tip pointed at her face. Erin tried to scream, to shout. But her breath was gone. She stared at the gleaming blade as the Worker shuddered and stared at her.
“diE.”
The sword flashed towards her eye. Erin screamed—