Ethria- the Pioneer

by Aaron Holloway

  Class: Mindless Undead

  Level: 18

  Height: 5’8

  Hair: Black

  Age: 1 minute 17 seconds

  Affiliation: Necromancer

  Alignment: Wild

  Disposition Towards You: Hungry

  HP: 150/150

  Material Characteristics

  TOTALS

  MODIFIERS

  Notes

  GENERAL

  13.25

  1.625

  Strength

  17

  3.5

  Enhanced

  Dexterity

  18

  4

  Enhanced

  Constitution

  18

  4

  Enhanced

  Physical Attraction

  0

  -5

  Immaterial Characteristics

  TOTALS

  MODIFIERS

  GENERAL

  6.6

  -1.7

  Inteligence

  7

  -1.5

  Mindless

  Emotional Stability

  7

  -1.5

  Mindless

  Sensativity

  7

  -1.5

  Mindless

  Perception

  12

  1

  Undead Instincts

  Luck

  0

  -5

  Defensive Characteristics:

  Armor Defense: 15

  Magic Defence: 12

  Offensive Characteristics:

  Claws: +15 attack

  Bite: +20 attack

  Damage bonuses unknown, skill score too low.”

  “Good Lord above,” I said as fascinated by what I was seeing as I was terrified of it. I felt a hand grip my arm tightly and pull me back.

  “Wizard, I do not think it is wise to get close enough for them to bite you.” Captain Traser said warningly. I looked down and realized I had let down my guard and had taken a few unconscious steps forward as I analyzed the creatures. He let go of my arm when I shook myself.

  “Right, thanks for that. I don’t think they’re going to get loose. They’re strong, but not as strong as the necromancer thought they were. The shaman must have been rushed by how hard we were pressing him, and probably didn’t follow whatever ritual that created these...” I gestured towards the four snapping, angry, mindless creatures. “Things,” I told him what my analyze attempt said, and he nodded agreement.

  “We should leave them for further study by the elves.” Commander Traser said as he cut the hamstrings of each of the creatures systematically. When the legs of the last one went limp, the use of its limbs all but lost to it, he looked at me “What? You can’t be too careful.

  “It was a good idea. Shall we go?” I asked gesturing towards the door. He nodded and we began walking that way. “By the way, what's your proper title? Knight-Commander? Knight-Captain? Captain? My internal monologue really would like to know” I asked confused.

  “Huh? Well, I'll respond to any of those I suppose. Knight Commander is my noble rank, Knight-Captain or Captain is my rank in Lord Trasers Men-at-arms. So, in this setting they are all appropriate.” I nodded my understanding before turning back to the four writing corpses as we stood at the entrance to the room.

  “Let me put a fire trap at the front door facing the windows if they somehow find a way to escape their chains we’ll have warning and perhaps cooked zombie,” I said smiling at the thought. “Your thought of studying them as we resupply and prepare to assault the necromancers compound, was a good instinct.”

  “Assault, that creatures lair?” He asked fear tinting his voice.

  “If we allow her to fester in her pit, her infection will spread. This?” I said motioning to the death around us, and out the window. “This was just an opening salvo of the war if we let this become one.”

  “How do you know what she is?” I motioned to the zombies desperately trying to get at us their blackened eyes seeing far more than they should have been able too. I didn’t want to tell him about my experience half in the portal, I didn’t know how he would take it, I didn’t know how anyone would really. The gods seemed far more directly involved with things in this world then on Earth, and I didn’t really want to get involved overly much with it if I could avoid it. Particularly with that last statement, that younger voice seemed like he was declaring war or something.

  “Ah.” Commander Traser said “Right. Them.” The young knight shuffled uneasily.

  “Come, let's leave them to their madness.” I turned and left the hellish landscape that was the soup room, the commander close on my heels.

  ---

  Lord Traser, the real Lord Traser of Laketown stood in front of the large crowd that had assembled outside the smoking, and in places still burning, manor house. He was a tall, handsome man, and atop his giant warhorse, he looked like a god of war, shiny metal plate armor, heavy lance, a banner with his red trout emblem flying from its tip. The dead, both human and goblin, where still being dragged away by work crews from the Manor.

  The man didn’t have a speck of blood or mud on him, but it wasn’t for lack of fighting. He had led cavalry charge that had saved Tol’geth when he had been cornered by three of the large warp wargs. He had personally destroyed one of the beasts with that very lance he now held gleaming in the afternoon sun. The fact that he was so clean had to do with some kind of magic.

  The townspeople, when they had seen the goblins running, and their Lord riding forth to challenge and end the foe, had come out in droves from their homes and hiding places. “It seems most of the town survived the attack,” I said wearily. I was exhausted from the fighting and could have used a break right then.

  “Yeah, but that just makes me wonder. Where did the people that fled to the other side of the mouth of the lake go? I heard that ranger Li’anin, tell Salina that she couldn't find any trace of them.” Ailsa said from my shoulder. She leaned against me, exhausted herself. Tol’geth stood behind us, leaning on his massive sword for support.

  “Perhaps they were taken by this necromancer of yours?” Tol’geth asked. I had told both of them about the incident, about the horrors of the bleeding-hooks, and the cauldron. They had both just nodded like I had described a particularly unfortunate car accident rather than horror that would churn the stomach of any sane living being.

  “I hope not, there were a lot of people on those skiffs. Besides, how could they hide the boats?” I asked hesitantly.

  “They could have sunk them. We would not know until another ship tried to pass by and hit the hull. I have seen this happen. On my trek north with the ambassador from Tor a cargo barge tipped when it ran into a tiny sunk fishing boat that had sunk a few days before.” Tol’geth shifted his weight and stood tall. “Well, you promised to show us those monsters before we rested, yes? Lead on.”

  I led my two companions up through the kitchens, where the surviving goblin forces that had surrendered where hogtied and left until the Lord Traser could think of what to do with them. When we met briefly with the man when he had brought back a wounded and bleeding Tol’geth, I had suggested putting them to work repairing the damaged city, but ultimately the decision was up to him.

  As we walked I finally began to pay attention to the host of damage and combat notification prompts that had auto minimized during the three battles we had fought. “Do you realize we fought three battles today?” I asked my friends. Tol’geth predictably grunted though it seemed to be a particularly happy and contented grunt.

  “Yeah, we did,” Ailsa said realizing what we had done. “Goddesses sweet toenails we did.” I laughed, it was a happy thing, but much more intense then the joke warranted. It was more to relieve the tension and stress I had been feeling. Ailsa joined me, laughing tiredly as she continued to lean on me. Tol’geth chuckled lightly, but the large man was more intent on what we were doing and where we were going.

  When we fina
lly walked up the stairs and found ourselves at the front door, I walked them through everything that had happened from my perspective. The breaking of the door, the dead old man, the screaming woman, the hobgoblins using the hostages as human shields, the realization where the goblin shaman was hiding, and the aftermath of the ambush. When I got to the facts about the goblin's spell, Ailsa interrupted.

  “That's when Salina collapsed downstairs and her anchoring spell failed. We were lucky this was the last shaman in town, else we would have probably drowned in angry little green men.”

  “Sacrifice like that is often the last resort of evils minions.” Came a familiar voice from behind us. I turned and found Sir Traser, which I had been informed was the proper mode of addressing him while out of combat. Tol’geth grunted his agreement to the knight's words.

  “What else happened? Finish the story.” Ailsa commanded, and I did. When I finished by explaining what I had done to get rid of the silvery portal, basically shot it with enough spells until it went away, Ailsa laughed again. “Well, if it works it works! Not what I would have done, but not bad meathead.” He patted my cheek and I began to blush slightly. “So, what happened in the portal?” She asked fighting the pull of sleep.

  I thought about what to say, before deciding on full honesty. I ’m not going to be that guy who holds secrets that others might be able to help understand. Those situations are stupid and always feel contrived. I thought, before speaking. I explained about god's and then my mission to help the Pervolins, though I did keep back the fact I was from another world. I stuck with the “islands to the east” story Ailsa had come up with a few days before.

  Other than that I told the group everything. Ailsa already knew it all and more, and Tol’geth no doubt had known or guessed most of it. The knight though ate it all up, he was young, and no doubt yearned for adventure and harrowing deeds. And I’m not ashamed to admit, I sought to exploit the wanderlust in the man's eyes, and the calling of honor and great deeds to be done in the name of justice.

  I took the opportunity to explain everything that had happened to our little group up tell that point to the man, and what our plans were for the future. When I finally got back around to the room we were in and the events that took place there, I had almost forgotten why we were standing in a room filled with dead and rotting corpses, and others who were trying to eat our faces off. In retrospect, probably not the best plan to have said all of that in front of the undead minions of what is probably the greatest threat to the people I'm trying to protect. Well, what's done is done.

  I described the necromancer, the portal, what happened when I got sucked in, the argument that I had heard between the two women and the final statement by the young man at the end. When I told the story about the four black latex looking zombies with wicked sharp teeth and black latex eyes, my three friends didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

  “Sounds like a divine intercession. What exactly is this necromancer? She must be a priestess of some kind. Tesh you said was the god she referenced?” Ailsa asked and I nodded. After a large yawn, Ailsa continued. “That doesn’t sound very familiar, but gods of darkness, both good and evil, are a dime a dozen in some parts of Ethria. Could be from anywhere really.” I filed that piece of information away for later use, ignoring the looks of confusion that my other friends gave Ailsa at her use of the English idiom.

  “Though, I do remember that when the Pervolins and us Fae first came to Ethria, we had some trouble with another group of people…” She paused and thought about it for a moment before shaking her head in frustration. “I can’t remember who they were, but I do remember they worshiped a whole host of dark gods. I’ll think about it and get back to you.” She yawned again, and that started a chain reaction through the rest of us including our new knight companion.

  “So, any of you have any insights into these creatures?” I asked as I pointed at the four writhing undead still chained to the wall. They had been still as a stone until we entered, when they picked back up with their snarling, biting the air, and straining against their thick metal chains.

  “They look like they were meant to be stronger…” Ailsa said, her voice trailing off as she fought back another yawn. “Like the spell, summoning, or whatever it was that created them didn’t properly take.”

  “It obviously has something to do with the arcane symbols carved into the body. You see the dead woman there? The one on the end that wasn’t turned? IF you look closely, you will see all three types of basic magic writing here on Tor’sel. Human signs, elven sigils, and dwarven runes. I think I interrupted him mid…”

  I gestured to where the symbols went from deliberate, purposeful, and relatively shallow, hurried and slipshod. “... Well, mid carving.” I sighed sadly as I tore my eyes away from following the flowing script carved into her flesh.

  “Can I have your cape?” I asked Traser, as I held my hand out. The knight looked at me, then back at the body of the young woman, and nearly tore the short cape off his shoulders knowing what I intended with it.

  I turned and covered the young woman's nakedness with the black cape with gold trim, made with silk lining on the inside. One of the creatures strained to bite me, but I was mindful of the danger as I went about my work. “Once we, and then the elves have all had a chance to examine these creatures, I would suggest killing them quickly and giving this one a proper burial.” I turned and found that the body of the old man who the now-deceased woman had screamed at the death of, was nowhere to be found. “Maybe allow the burial detail to take her?”

  Commander Traser nodded sadly. “ That is Lila. She was new to the kitchens from what I understand. Her father was teaching her to carve meat for stew today. I…” The young lord's voice cracked and trailed off, filled with emotion. “... I once thought her beautiful. When I came to live with my uncle, well, we are of age with each other. Or, rather, where. Her father was likely the man you told us about. He was always kind to me, sneaking treats to me and my cousins whenever we would ask.” Traser said looking at me, eyes wet as tears threatened to fall.

  “Well.” The commander said as if pronouncing a sentence. He took to his feet from where he had been leaning against a windowsill. “You have given me much to think on, all of you. Thank you for your help, I need to go see to my uncles household. Please, if you find where this necromancer's lair is, or if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to come find me.” With that he stood and walked out the room.

  “Dang.” I said, “ I was sure he was going to ask to join us.”

  “Why?” Tol’geth questioned.

  “It's just, that was kind of the perfect point to add another person to our party, you know?”

  “Party? We have not formed a party.” Tol’geth responded. Ailsa nodded tiredly.

  “I was wondering about that, that would have been very helpful in the battle, but then again I thought that you might have been worried about us getting captured and the information tortured out of us. I mean, look what happened to me, and to Tol’geth, and then to you!” she said finally. “It was a smart move.”

  “What? I can form a party? I didn’t know that!” I said, and I pulled up my character sheet. After a few seconds of searching, I found a white button under the section named combat statistics labeled “Party.” I hit the button, and a drop-down menu of five options appeared.

  Traveling Party: Form a party for the purposes of travel. Bonuses to detecting ambushes, to travel speed, and scouting success.

  War Party: Form a party for the purposes of fighting a war. Bonuses to damage and defense both mundane and magical.

  Hunting Party: Form a party for the purposes of a Hunt. Bonuses to tracking, and damage to unarmored foes.

  Party-Party: Throw a party!

  Other Party: Form a party for, other reasons. Bonuses to be determined.

  Note: You may only form a party one week after you formed your last. You may only be in one party at a time.

  Not caring to read the
descriptions under any of them at the moment, far too tired and too excited, I mentally selected Traveling Party. A screen popped up asking for me to select people. I thought about Tol’geth and Ailsa.

  “Really?” Ailsa asked and sighed. “Fine.” She accepted with an annoyed wave of her hand. Tol’geth for his part just nodded, and they both appeared on the list. Once it was minimized, I saw symbols with health and mana bars underneath my own health and mana bar on the bottom left corner of my eye. Like always it went translucent if I didn’t need the info, but when I purposefully called the information up it appeared and was easily readable.

  The symbol for what I guessed was Tol’geth was a large sword tilted at an angle with movement lines above it showing that it was swinging down in an attack. The one for Ailsa was a pair of wings braced behind a spear pointing into the sky. “Cool, what's my symbol?” I asked and Ailsa smacked me in the face lightly, almost lazily from where she sat on my shoulder.

  “Dummy, don’t you remember what I said? Each person's interface, though filled with the same information, is experienced differently. You see our mana and health bars represented in the bottom right of your vision. In my interface, I see a picture of both Tol’geth and you flashing green, and I know you’re alright, other than that I allow the information to go straight into my mind directly, almost instinctively, as I showed you while we were helping build all of those longhouses. Remember?” I nodded.

  While we had been working on helping the master-builder get the first block up and ready for refugees, Ailsa had shown me a technique used by most beings on Ethria to simply allow the information into their minds without the need to directly acknowledge them all the time while in battle, or in important situations where screens might be distracting. I hadn’t mastered the technique yet, and so I still had to mess around with my personal settings.