by Brian Simons
“We need to move!” Sybil yelled, and the four of them took flight, turning to battle with the frogs when they got too close. Each time one died, one sprinted toward them immediately from their nest. Everyone ran until the marsh gave way to a swamp, with a denser cover of dark clouds overhead and wetter terrain underfoot. The frogs finally stopped coming after them. They respawned in the distance, but had lost their appetite for chasing the adventurers.
“What happened?” Daniel asked, brushing mud and grass off himself.
“I ate too much,” Sal said. “It tasted sweet and earthy, and even though there wasn’t a buff, I was improving my Foraging ability as I gathered up more. But I couldn’t keep it all down.”
“Yeah, I saw that,” Daniel said. “You’re a disgusting idiot. But I don’t understand why those frogs came so fast and furious.”
“What was that stuff you were eating?” Coral asked.
“It’s called juvensprig,” Sal said. “I have some left if you want to try it.”
“No, thanks,” Coral said. “Not unless I can make arrow shafts out of them. I lost a lot of arrows shooting at frogs as we ran.”
“Probably not,” said Sal. Then a look of concern swept his face. “Hold on a second.” Sal logged off and left a puff of smoke behind. A few seconds later he was back. “Ok, so I didn’t vomit IRL. That’s a relief.”
“We made it to the swamp,” Sybil said.
“And that looks like a witch’s house if I ever saw one,” Daniel said, pointing into the distance.
18
The group headed toward a small cottage in the distance. Its sides were made from thin, spindly tree trunks tied together with some kind of twine. It made the walls seem haphazard. They were also plastered with swamp mud, possibly for insulation. Or possibly as camouflage. The roof seemed to be thatched from swamp reeds. There were no windows.
As they neared the sad looking cottage, the clouds overhead got even denser, blocking out more and more light until the early afternoon sky was dark as night. Faint groans echoed from the distance.
“Zombies,” Sybil said.
“Something even I decline to eat,” Sal said.
“Wait here,” Daniel said, “let me check it out first.”
“No offense,” Sybil said, “but you’ve got the lowest level here. You sure that’s a good idea?”
“I went up two levels on those frogs,” he boasted, “and if I need help I’ll yell for it. Besides, the blessing from the Januar temple should make me invisible to the zombies.”
Daniel tiptoed away, treading lightly in the wet swamp to avoid splashing. He wanted to scope out the terrain furtively in case there were any pitfalls or high level baddies to avoid. A group of four would attract more attention, especially if one of them was a big loud ogre.
He slinked slowly through the reeds, the way forward illuminated only by the faint glow from the Januar temple’s blessing. He was glad it hadn’t worn off.
As he moved in relative silence, he got a notification:
>> Congratulations! You have unlocked the Sneak ability. Others are now 10% less likely to see or hear you approach when you walk on tiptoe. Try this technique for sneaking into buildings or attacking enemies unseen!
In all his time as a Fighter, he never unlocked that ability. It also seemed like the complete opposite of Fleet-footed, which he had unlocked only recently. Being a Scout offered an interesting array of new abilities!
He activated Sneak and moved nimbly through the swamp. Twice he came to the brink of a small pond. He avoided the first one on instinct, but stared deeply into the second one hoping to see something that would let him know whether it was safe to cross.
>> Congratulations! You have unlocked the Surveil ability. Stare at something or someone for 30 seconds to discern additional information.
That’s a long time, but still very useful. He focused on the shallow water ahead of him. Eventually, he saw it for what it was.
>> You have Surveilled a stagnant swamp shallows. Depth: 2 feet. Effect: Poison.
Ok, so these waters were to be avoided. Good to know. He skirted the water’s edge until he found a way around it. Just past the pond he stopped short. In the darkness he hadn’t seen a figure shambling toward him. He stepped to the side. A zombie passed by mere inches from him. He stared at the zombie for just under thirty seconds, but lost sight of him in the darkness. Then:
>> Congratulations! You have unlocked the Nightvision ability. +2% total to visibility in low or no light.
This was unreal. His Scout abilities were unlocking left and right.
He got closer to the cottage and saw dark shapes bobbing in the distance. He focused on one from afar:
>> You have Surveilled a Level 32 King Rana Frog: 1600 HP (poisonous).
Yikes. So that’s what was out here. Zombies, poisonous frogs, and poison swamp waters. Time to head back and lead the team to the cottage while avoiding all of these.
Daniel made it back to the group a little more easily thanks to his Nightvision. Not that his friends appreciated that.
“We were just about to start placing bets on whether you had died out there,” Sybil said.
“I’m touched,” Daniel said.
“Don’t be. I’d have lost,” she replied.
“You’ll be happy to know,” he said, “that I’ve plotted out a safe course to the cottage that avoids the mobs and poisoned waters in the swamp.”
“That’s great,” Coral said. She seemed to be warming back up to him. Maybe their chat over afternoon frogs had helped smooth things over.
“Let’s get to the witch’s house before night comes,” Daniel said, turning back the way he came. He led the group in silence, tiptoeing the whole way. He leveled up a few of his Scout skills again on the walk.
>> Congratulations! You have improved your Nightvision ability to 2. +3% total to visibility in low or no light.
>> Congratulations! You have improved your Sneak ability to 2. Others are now 12% less likely to see or hear you approach when you walk on tiptoe.
>> Congratulations! You have improved your Surveil ability to 2. Stare at something for 29 seconds to discern additional information.
They passed more zombies on the way, but none of the undead mobs seemed to notice them. Before long, they knocked on the front door of the witch’s home.
The door creaked open and a man in tight black pants and a white button down shirt opened the door. He squinted at them. “It’s not Halloween,” he said.
“We’re not trick or treaters,” Coral said.
“Oh. Hi,” the man said. “I saw the green guy first. I figured those yellow tusks jutting from his face were a costume. Sorry, man.”
“It’s ok,” Sal said.
“The Regent sent us,” Coral continued. “Said to cash in on a favor?”
“Ugh, of course that jerk Harold sent you all aglow like this. What is this, some kind of holy aura? It makes my skin crawl. Go away until it wears off.” The man went to close the door, but Daniel thrust a hand out to catch it.
“Sir,” Daniel said, “we need to speak to Galbrag, the witch that lives here. It’s urgent.”
“You just spoke to him, and he’s not interested in talking right now.”
“You’re the witch?” Sal asked. “But you’re a man.”
“Your point?”
“Shouldn’t you be a ‘warlock’ or a ‘wizard’ or something?”
“As if there are no female warlocks or wizards?” the man said. “Give me a break. What is this, the dark ages? Spoiler, it’s not. Now goodbye.” He slammed the door shut.
“Now what?” Coral asked.
“We wait until this blessing runs out, I guess,” Sal said.
“Nonsense,” Sybil said. “We negate it.” Sybil opened her songbook and aimed a Cursed Lullaby at all four of them.
My tired child, rest your head,
Comes only sleep, nothing to dread,
When demons visit, drown your screams,
/> They’ll not eat you, only your dreams.
They devour hopes; try not to wallow,
In your sad loss, as peace they swallow.
They leave you in nightmares as you shriek,
Trapped in visions so frightful and bleak.
The curse washed over them, removing their blessing and leaving their bodies devoid of the faint white light they emanated before.
“Oh, I like you.” The male witch had the cottage door back open and clapped at the end of Sybil’s performance. “Do come in.”
19
The party stepped inside the small cottage. The floors were polished wood with a deep finish. A finely woven rug sat by a roaring fireplace. The room was warm and well lit.
“I’m Galbrag, and I can’t believe you thought that was a woman’s name.” He shook his head. “This is my lovely little hovel. A few cloaking spells keep it from looking too inviting from the outside. I don’t like most visitors.” He leaned forward and whispered, “The neighborhood has really gone to hell lately.”
Daniel, Coral, Sybil, and Sal introduced themselves. Then Coral explained why they came. “The Regent was hoping to cash in on a favor, and ask you to teach me how to create armor that can hold up against a local shopkeeper’s evil doppelganger wielding a strange weapon that prevents his victims from coming back after death.”
“That’s a tall order,” Galbrag said. He walked up to Coral and looked her up and down, holding his glasses up in pinched fingers. He scrunched up his nose and said, “No. I can’t do it. And it’s too bad, because if this guy ever kills me, I really do hope to respawn afterwards. Maybe come back as a witch. I so enjoy being a witch.”
Coral was crestfallen. If she didn’t complete this quest, this was all for nothing. No Tailoring skills, no gold. What if her new friends abandoned her after this, figuring she was more trouble than she was ever worth?
“No,” Coral said. “You can do this. You have to. You owe the Regent. For what, I don’t know and I don’t care. We’re not leaving until we collect on that debt.”
Coral fixed her eyes on Galbrag’s. She was afraid that if she glanced away her resolve would fade. This was no time to be meek. There was too much on the line.
“Oh, isn’t that cute. She has teeth,” Galbrag said. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you. Wait, let me start over. I don’t want to help you. I truly don’t. It sounds like a hassle I don’t need, and I was about to make tea. But the point is, even if I wanted to help you I can’t. You’re not the Seamstress you need to be. The only thing you can work with is cow leather.”
“How did you know that?”
“I’m wearing my truesight glasses. You can’t hide anything from me.” Galbrag paused, then asked, “Does that make you feel naked?”
It didn’t, until he said that. “I still have some skill points to spend. What do I need to do?”
“Well, you have some frogskins in your pouch. What were you planning to do with those?” Galbrag asked.
“Sell them, I guess.” Coral looked over at Sybil, who seemed to approve.
“What if you could craft with them? Earn XP first, then sell what you made. Here, let me open up a new Tailoring specialty to you. You can use your skill points here, or you can go home and tell the Regent that his pet Seamstress wasn’t up to the task.”
A notification box popped up.
Galbrag has made a new Tailoring specialty available to you! Would you like to spend 1 skill point to unlock it?
The Walking Thread. Not every mob has a physical body, but those that do will leave it behind. Why let it go to waste? Craft Tailoring items from monsters’ remains with the Skinweaving skill.
Coral wasn’t sure whether sewing monster hides was how she wanted to earn her keep in Travail. She figured some animals would count as leather, but she was reluctant to branch out into things too exotic for regular leathermaking. “So, with this I can craft using those frogskins?”
“Correctamundo,” Galbrag replied. “Just do it. Otherwise you spoil all my fun.”
Coral used a skill point to unlock the specialty.
>> Congratulations! You have unlocked the Basic Skinweaving skill. You are now at Skinweaving 1.
“Wonderful!” Galbrag said.
“Ok, are you ready for this? If you want to make armor that defies death, make it from… zombie flesh! We have the raw materials right here in the swamp.” Galbrag’s face broke out into a wide smile.
“Wait,” Coral said. “You tricked me. I’m not sewing a body suit out of someone else’s dead body. That’s unsanitary!”
“Girlie, you asked for my help and you’re getting it.”
“Coral,” Daniel said, “a word?”
Coral walked over to Daniel, who leaned in close. “I’ve been playing this game for a while, and I’ve never heard of zombie flesh armor. If what he’s saying is true, you’ll be able to sell this on the global exchange for good money. It will be very rare.”
Life as a waitress was so much simpler. Coral turned back toward Galbrag. “Fine,” she said. “How do I get started?”
“Well,” Galbrag said, visibly enthused, “you’ll need to practice sewing zombieskins before you’re ready to create a full set of zombieskin armor. I have an idea. Remember how much I hate visitors?”
***
Coral and the others left Galbrag’s cottage, each with a glowing vial of yellow liquid. Haste potions. And for what lay ahead, they would need them. Coral downed the liquid right away, as did the others. A few moments later, her body felt like it had lightning coursing through her veins. It was like shotgunning two full cans of energy drink without the terrible feeling that her heart would burst right through her ribcage.
In the distance, they saw a zombie shuffling aimlessly. They stalked the monster, careful to stay out of its line of sight. They heard it moaning in desperate, undulating groans. Then they converged.
Daniel and Sal approached from the front at unnatural speed. The zombie quickly saw them and trained its eyes on Daniel. Sybil charged from the rear and knocked the zombie off kilter. It fell in the swamp mud face down. Sal hurried over to it and sat on its back to keep it from getting back up. Coral tied the zombie’s feet together at the ankles and then tied its hands behind its back with rope from Galbrag.
That was the first step: incapacitate one zombie. They left the zombie face down in the swamp mud writing and groaning while they hunted down another one. Daniel and Sal charged again. Sybil struck from behind. The zombie rolled over before Sal reached it, and it tried to push itself up off of the swamp floor. Daniel approached and kicked the zombie in the side, flipping it face down again. Then it was a simple matter of Sal sitting on the zombie while Coral tied it up. The decrepit thing snapped its jaw in vain, trying to bite at its captors. The team dragged the zombie over to the first one.
Now the real challenge. Sew the zombies together without killing them. Galbrag refused to offer Coral access to the full set of Skinweaving armor she would need until she completed a side quest for him.
Coral kneeled on the zombies, one knee digging into each one’s back as they lie side by side. Daniel and Sal held down the zombies’ legs, while Sybil pushed their faces further into the mud. Then Coral unwound suture thread from a spool Galbrag had provided her and stared at the two zombies beneath her. Just stared.
“Coral,” Sybil said, “are you ok?”
“I don’t know,” Coral said. “Are we really going to do this?”
“Just distance yourself from all this,” Sybil said. “Don’t let your heart know what your hands are doing.” After a moment’s pause her expression softened. “Embrace the darkness and it shall never let you go.”
Coral nodded. She had never heard that phrase before, but she liked it. It was like a warning and an invitation, depending on how one looked at it. Coral chose to distance herself from the task. It would be mechanical, but not emotional.
She pushed the needle through skin at the top of one zombie’s shou
lder and pulled the suture thread through. Viscous black blood seeped from the small puncture, but Coral ignored it. She pushed the needle through the other zombie’s skin and pulled the thread tight. Crisscrossing as she went, she stitched the length of the zombies’ arms together down to the elbow. She had to untie the zombies’ hands to get their forearms together, so she did, and the others helped pin the zombie’s flailing arms down as she continued to work. By the time she was done, the zombies were conjoined from shoulder to wrist.