The party continued to the east, alternating between running and walking. Around him, Watcher saw far too many children.
How am I gonna keep all these kids safe? Krael doesn’t care if it’s a man, woman or child; he’ll kill them all. Watcher shuddered as images of what might happen played through his head.
Worry not about all the possibilities. Baltheron’s deep voice boomed through his mind. Instead, choose your goal, and figure out how to make it come true.
But what if— Watcher thought but was cut off.
There is no if. Choose your goal and make a plan. A goal without a plan is just a wish, and wishes won’t help you with the wither king, but plans will, so figure it out!
The voice went silent again, and Watcher knew the discussion was over, but it didn’t help his uncertainty or fear. The number of lives he was responsible for was growing larger and larger, and the weight of that responsibility felt like it was about to crush him.
But, instead of falling into despair, Watcher did what Baltheron suggested: he planned. The horses were the key to fighting the creatures on the ground, but what would they do about the withers? Those dark monsters could just bombard them from overhead, annihilating everyone and everything.
As he thought, pieces of a plan started coming together, but timing would be everything. If his trick didn’t work, none of them would survive.
Krael stared down at the parched landscape, the undulating sand dunes like pale waves frozen in place by some magical spell. A hot, dry wind drifted across the land, carrying with it dust and biting sand, which stung as it struck his exposed, ashen bones; he loved the bleak emptiness of this biome, but could certainly do without the heat and grit.
They’d left the forest biome in frustration when the monsters had been unable to find the other wizards and NPCs. Their escape had infuriated Krael, causing the wither king to destroy a couple monsters as a lesson to the others for their incompetence. Now, they were searching the land, looking for more recruits as they headed for the ancient church, their meeting place.
“Look up ahead, husband,” Kora said. “A desert village. I had hoped we’d get to destroy another one, but it seems a group of monsters already beat us to it.”
Krael nodded. “These monsters likely obeyed my command and attacked the village. By the looks of the ruins, I suspect they destroyed this place several days ago.”
Ahead, a desert village sat atop a large dune, a scant few sandstone walls marking where the structures had once stood. Piles of tools, weapons, and armor floated on the ground throughout the area, remnants of the deceased NPCs. Krael moved closer to the ground, then motioned his army of warped and distorted monsters to charge forward first. The creatures instantly obeyed, for to do anything else would invite a swift death.
When the wither king entered the village, his monsters surrounded the shattered community and took control. The current inhabitants—the zombies, skeletons and spiders who had destroyed the village—were now all clustered around the well, trying to find shade; they were still not accustomed to being unharmed in sunlight.
“Foolish creatures,” Krael murmured, shaking his head.
“What did you say, husband?”
“It was not important, Kora.”
Krael flew to the center of the shattered village, then floated above the tiny well. “Get away from the well; it’s about to be destroyed.”
The monsters glanced up at the wither king, then quickly bolted away just as he fired a trio of flaming skulls. The projectiles hit the structure’s square sandstone roof and exploded, tearing a huge crater into the ground. When the smoke cleared, Krael descended closer to the ground and glared at the monsters.
“I have made you immune to the effects of the sun. As long as I wear these crowns, the daylight will not harm you. I will not allow you to cower in the shadows; it makes you look pathetic and weak, and my monster army IS NOT WEAK!” His voice echoed across the sweltering landscape. “Any monster hiding in the shadows for fear of getting burned will be destroyed.”
The monsters nodded and moved away from the walls, stepping cautiously into the sunlight. When they realized they wouldn’t catch fire, they relaxed and stared up at their leader in awe.
“Now, I commend you, my friends, on the destruction of this village.” Krael found the largest zombie and stared at the monster, assuming this was the group’s leader. “Did any escape?”
The monster shook his head. “After the battle, many of our brothers and sisters went in search of other villages. Hopefully they found more prey.” The zombie gave the wither a toothy, evil grin.
Krael moved closer to the ground, knowing the withers in the air were ready to attack if any monsters threatened their king. “Using the Crowns of Skulls, I have sent out another message to the monsters of the Far Lands, commanding all to join our army and destroy the NPCs. Those nearby will feel my pull and come here. Monsters farther away will meet us at the old church built by the idiotic wizards hundreds of years ago. When our army is fully assembled there, we’ll begin our assault on the NPCs and the last two remaining wizards.”
Krael floated higher in the air and scanned the desert, expecting to see multitudes of monsters charging across the desert, rallying to his banner. He sighed in frustration; the desert was as empty as it was before.
“Have no fear, husband … they will come.” Kora’s soft voice soothed the wither king’s anger.
“I only wish we had more of the distorted monsters like those that came here from the other plane of existence.” Krael glared down at the ordinary mob still gathered in the village. “These mundane monsters are easily scared. They lack the cruel streak that has been burned into the souls of the warped creatures from our homeland.”
“You need not worry,” Kora said. “The monsters of the Far Lands will come in droves. Their numbers will make up for their lack of merciless ferocity.” Kora gestured to a group of skeletons standing near a wide shadow being cast by the remnants of a wall, each afraid to stand in the cool darkness and risk destruction by Krael. “The more monsters we have, the better, even if they are from this world. They probably can’t fight as well as the mutants, but they will have other uses—put them in the first wave. The NPCs will expend all their arrows and swords repelling the attacks of these mundane creatures, and if we’re lucky, these new recruits will perhaps destroy half the NPCs’ army before they die, leaving the rest to be easily crushed by our more-lethal comrades.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Kora. We must concentrate our recruiting efforts on gathering more ground forces. I’m sure the remaining two wizards will make their stand inside the Wizard’s Tower. They know they can’t face us in the air, even with the old woman’s golems helping, so their only hope is to defeat our ground forces and then retreat. I’m sure they’ll have traps set up all around the Tower, hoping to destroy our troops while they hide in that ancient structure, cowering in fright.”
Kora moved higher in the air and tilted her head back, warming her faces in the bright sunlight. “But, husband, what if they do something unexpected? They do have an experienced wizard with them. That tiny wither, Kobael, told us her name … what was it again?”
“Mirthrandos,” Krael hissed, furious at the mention of the wizard.
“Yes, that’s it, Mirthrandos.” Kora nodded her three skulls. “As an experienced wizard, she is a threat … we must be careful.”
“You need not fear, wife. If the villagers cower in their underground home, we will just wait until they emerge or they starve, whichever comes first. Those NPCs are not fools. They know they must face our wither army eventually if they hope to save the Far Lands.”
“So, you think they’ll try to fight us in the air?” Kora asked.
Krael nodded. “They must, or we’ll just exterminate all the other NPCs in the Far Lands, then save these cowards for last. Those two wizards will not hide forever; they have no choice.” Krael’s skulls stared off into the desert. “And now, they no longer have
the Fossil Bow of Destruction, their most powerful weapon.” He laughed maliciously, then turned and faced his wife. “They must come out and fight my withers with their normal, puny bows, which is what I’m hoping for.”
“Really … you have a plan?”
Krael’s skulls gave his wife three wide grins. “I have a little surprise for the wizards and their friends—something no one, not even you, wife, would ever expect.”
“I’m intrigued. What’s your plan?”
“I think I’d rather keep it as a surprise, wife.” The wither king’s eyes flashed with evil delight. “But I will say it was intended to be a living weapon, created by the NPC wizards during the Great War hundreds of years ago. When the withers betrayed the wizards and turned on them, they didn’t dare make any more living weapons like us. But I recently realized that the arrogant Tharus put the ability to create these new creatures into the Crowns of Skulls.”
Kora nodded. “What are these living weapons called? At least you can tell me that.”
“You are very impatient, wife, but I will tell you.” Krael floated closer to Kora and lowered his voice. “The creatures I will create with these Crowns will strike fear into the hearts of all villagers and likely make them beg for death.” He laughed.
“Tell me more,” Kora insisted.
“I’ll only give you their name, and that’s all.” He grew silent, letting the suspense build, then spoke in a hushed voice, an evil smile on his three faces. “They’re called … Phantoms.”
“Phantoms? What are they?”
“You must wait, my dear Kora, but trust me … when you see these monsters and the effect they’ll have on the NPCs, you will be pleased.”
He glanced down at his army. The talk about his secret weapon was making Krael impatient. “Monsters, I want fifty of you, mostly the mutants, to go forth and find my enemies. Bring me back that ancient wizard’s staff as a trophy.”
“But, your highness, how will we find them?” a half-zombie, half-skeleton creature asked.
“Head toward the Wizard’s Tower. They’ll likely be on their way there, trying to remain unseen, using valleys and canyons to hide their presence. Likely, they’re emptying villages as they move through the Far Lands, so the presence of children will slow their progress.” Krael’s eyes grew bright with evil excitement. “Make them suffer … Now go!”
The monsters cheered, then a group of them headed across the desert, slower creatures riding on the backs of spider-things. They followed a tall zombie with the head of a spider and a pair of stout skeleton arms, all of them hungry for destruction.
“Good hunting!” Krael’s voice boomed across the desolate landscape.
The creatures growled and snarled in response, many of them holding weapons and clawed hands high in the air.
“I’m just sorry Watcher won’t be there to see my creatures tear into his friends.”
“You sound sad, my husband.”
“I am, a little,” he replied. “I didn’t want to just destroy that boy-wizard … I wanted to make him suffer.” Krael turned toward Kora. “It was my dream to destroy Watcher’s friends right in front of him, making the fool witness their suffering.”
“But you destroyed him; that must make you a little happy, at least?”
Krael smiled. “Of course it does. I just need to change my plans. Instead of torturing Watcher, I’ll do it to the young girl-wizard with the flaming shield. Her suffering will, I think, make me happy … I’m looking forward to meeting her again.”
“As am I, my husband,” Kora said, grinning cruelly.
The two withers stared into each other’s eyes, laughing as they imagined the destruction about to envelop the Far Lands.
The NPCs moved quietly through the forest while the sun descended toward the western horizon. Few spoke; their fear of the monsters that were likely hunting them created a strained tension, stretching their courage almost to its breaking point. The iron creatures from Mira’s world formed a protective ring around the company, giving the villagers a faint sense of safety, but it was barely an echo compared to the thunderstorm of dread playing through their minds.
After they’d been running for a couple of hours, the forest biome changed into that of a frozen river. The air morphed from a pleasant breeze filled with the smell of leaves and grass and flowers to one with a frigid bite, full of tiny ice crystals riding the wind and digging into exposed skin. With the flat landscape, there was no protection from the icy gusts, causing the NPCs to cluster together for warmth.
“I’ve never enjoyed these frozen biomes,” Blaster said as he removed his dark-green armor and replaced it with white. “All these areas offer is lots of snow and ice.”
“And don’t forget polar bears,” Mapper added. “Like the one we came across when we were looking for the witches.”
“I remember.” Planter nodded as she walked up a small mound of snow, her feet crunching through the thin, frozen layer of white.
“My mom saw the bear too … right?” Fencer’s voice quivered, full of emotion. “She was … still alive?”
Planter nodded. “Yes, Saddler saw the bear. She thought it was beautiful.” She held her shield up for Fencer to see. “And we found a shield like mine just before we saw the polar bear. It was given to your mom, to keep her safe.”
“But it didn’t keep her safe, did it?” Fencer sniffled as a tear tumbled down her cheek.
No one answered. There was nothing anyone could say, especially Watcher. Saddler’s death had hit him hard.
Fencer moved to Planter’s side, her feet almost slipping on some ice. “What happened to the shield?”
Planter glanced at Watcher, then to Cutter and Blaster … they all shrugged. “I’m not sure. After she was … well … after the spider …”
“You’re trying to say, ‘after she was killed?’” Unflinching, Fencer looked straight into Planter’s eyes.
The young wizard nodded, her emerald eyes tearing up. “Yeah, after she was killed, it was pretty crazy. I’m not sure what happened to her shield.”
“Too bad,” Fencer sniffled again. “I’d like to have it; maybe it would remind me of my mom.”
“Er-Lan knows where it is.” The zombie scurried across a frozen river, his clawed feet digging into the ice, making a sharp scraping sound. He moved to Fencer’s side and reached into his inventory, pulling out the enchanted shield, as well as a decorated pickaxe. “Er-Lan picked it up after the battle, as well as Saddler’s pickaxe, and forgot the two were still in his inventory. This zombie doesn’t understand the significance of the pickaxe, but it was—”
“You have my dad’s pick?!” Fencer reached out and took the multicolored iron tool from Er-Lan’s hand. She hugged it as if it were a long-lost sibling.
“Er-Lan did not know these were important. It was just—”
“You were hiding these things all this time?” Cutter glared at the zombie. “Why did you keep them a secret? What other secrets do you have?”
Er-Lan glanced at Cutter, then turned to Fencer and handed her the shield. The young girl, in tears, took the shield with her left hand, and it brushed against the identical shield held by Planter. Instantly, a bright flash of purple light filled the air, knocking Planter to her knees. Er-Lan moved to help his friend, but Cutter grabbed the zombie by the back of his chain mail and pulled him backward.
“You aren’t touching her.” Cutter glared at him. “Keep your slimy green hands to yourself.”
The big NPC moved to stand between the zombie and the girls, his hand reaching for his weapon.
“Now calm down, Cutter,” Mapper said. “Er-Lan is a friend, and you know that.” He glanced at Er-Lan. “We’re grateful the shield and pickaxe were saved. They’re obviously important to Fencer.”
Mapper put a hand on the big warrior’s arm, pulling it to his side and away from his weapon. He then reached down and helped Planter to her feet. Everyone gasped when Planter got up; the glow from her body was much brighter than
before, as if her magical power had somehow been magnified.
“What?” Planter asked, confused, but no one said anything.
Cutter glanced at Fencer, who was hugging both the shield and pickaxe while Planter glanced around.
Er-Lan stared up at Cutter, then lowered his gaze and moved away, his clawed feet crunching through the snow.
“I still think there’s something going on with that zombie.” Cutter glared at Er-Lan, then brought his gaze back to Watcher. “I don’t trust him, and neither should you.”
Watcher sighed. The conflict between Cutter and Er-Lan just caused everyone to feel more stressed. “Cutter, I would trust Er-Lan with my life. He’s saved me countless times, and I have no reason to doubt his dedication.”
“Well, he never saved me, and I bet he never will.” The hulking warrior turned from the young wizard and trudged through the snow, an angry scowl etched into his square face.
“Yeah, I doubt he will, too, if you keep accusing him of being a traitor,” Blaster called after him.
“What?!” Cutter boomed.
“Nothing … nothing.” Blaster stepped away from the warrior, hoping to avoid being the next target of his anger.
“That’s enough arguing,” Watcher shouted. “All this tension is gonna tear us apart.”
He slowed to a walk, then turned around and gazed at the rest of their company. They had maybe seventy NPCs in their little army, many of them elderly or very young. Fear was evident in all of their eyes; they knew the wither king was out there, hunting them, and the internal strife certainly wasn’t helping.
“We need to help each other, not resort to blaming or accusing. The only way we’ll survive this conflict with the withers is if we work together.” He looked sternly at Cutter. “All of us are in this together. There are no traitors here, just friends and family, and that’s what makes us stronger than the monsters.”
“You think family is gonna help us defeat Krael and his army?” Cutter asked.
“No,” Watcher replied, shocking the other NPCs. “It isn’t family that will let us defeat them, it’s the fact that we’ll do anything to help each other.” He turned from Cutter and cast his gaze across the villagers. “Together, we are strong, much stronger than the monsters. But we must remember what’s important … and that’s that no one is alone.” He paused to let it sink in for a moment. “Everyone has an army at their back, ready to protect them. If we work together and watch each other’s backs, then the withers will fail. Remember, if we—”
The Wither Invasion Page 17