by Wolfe Locke
Zander! I’m gonna need some help.
Rocktooth was being swarmed by Draugr. The undead creatures couldn’t hurt a rock golem much, but they were driving it back. They piled on top of it and tried to knock it to the ground, and it staggered, almost dropping to one knee. His summon needed help, and it needed it now.
“Rocktooth! Don’t you lose!” Zander yelled, hoping the noise would motivate Celeste and her latent powers. He realized she couldn’t keep up with the conversion unless they spoke out loud. The same awful shriek rang out again, closer this time, and it was answered by a matching one from further away but still in the building. The Monster of the Abyss was calling to its allies, telling them there was a feast to be had here. That was very bad news.
He couldn’t do anything about the Monster just yet, but he could at least help the golem. He whipped his staff around and pointed it at two Draugr that had leaped onto Rocktooth’s back and were trying fruitlessly to bite through its stone hide. [Arcane Bolt] dispatched them both.
Rocktooth stumbled around the chamber, ripping Draugr off of itself, as Zander used his magic to help. The number of undead outside the door was reaching a critical mass, though. The situation was getting very dangerous.
“Any luck?” Zander shouted back to Celeste, but she only shook her head. He groaned. What was the point of bringing back an undead frost spirit if she couldn’t control her own powers?
“Well,” he said. “If any of them get close to you, don’t let them bite you. You might become one of them, and that’s the last thing we need!”
The awful shriek of the Monster of the Abyss sounded again, very close this time, and the Draugr all froze, jaws slack with confusion, vacant eyes darting in all directions. They dropped off of Rocktooth’s back in unison and backed away against the sides of the chamber, chittering.
Get ready, Rocktooth said, the golem’s voice booming in Zander’s head with worry. It’s coming. Stay alive
“They’re coming,” Zander replied. “I’m almost sure there are two.”
The horrifying, meaty slap of half-rotten flesh dragging against stone echoed through the chamber as the Monster approached. The Draugr cringed back against the wall.
One by one, the Monster’s spindly arms gripped the doorframe with powerful, long fingers. It was a modified corpse, six legged and naked, with a hideous man-like head. Its mouth was a gaping slash across his face, augmented with razor-sharp and rotting teeth. It screamed, and its breath smelled like carrion.
Immediately behind it came the second Monster of the Abyss. This one had only two legs and a long meaty tail. It dragged its body along behind it with its forepaws. The upper half of its face was human, but the bottom half decayed into a mess of tentacles that looked like hanging intestines.
They screamed to each other, clearly making a plan. Then, they turned to face Rocktooth and Zander. The Monsters advanced together, forming an impenetrable wall of flesh. Their hungry maws gaped, and their eyes burned with unquenchable rage.
Zander fired [Arcane Bolt] after [Arcane Bolt] but the Monsters were completely unfazed. He tried [Cleanse Abomination], but he was running low on power. The lead Monster sneezed once, spraying them with viscous black phlegm, but otherwise the spell had no effect. Rocktooth tried to beat them back with his massive arms, but they ignored him and pressed forward relentlessly.
Emboldened, the Draugr moved away from the wall and joined the Monsters in their attack. They lurched forward, gibbering eagerly at the prospect of the feast ahead.
“Celeste!” Zander screamed. “Now’s the time! Now or never!”
But there was no response.
Zander tried to fire another [Arcane Bolt], but he was tapped out. The Monsters were less than two feet away now. He flinched as their sharp teeth drew close to his face. At least Rocktooth might get out of this all right, even if he didn’t. I wonder if the golem has a home in the Nether.
There was a loud noise, as if a massive window had shattered into a thousand shards of glass, and a flickering blue light filled the chamber. The Draugr and Monsters of the Dark fell back, shrieking. Zander turned, wonderstruck, to see Celeste standing tall behind him, glowing with ethereal power. Her eyes radiated their own internal light—a vivid electric blue.
“You figured it out!” he said. “A bit late, but just in time!”
She nodded and gestured at the nearest Draugr. An [Ice Bolt] shot from her hands, freezing it in place as thick frost kept it stuck in one spot. Rocktooth roared, re-invigorated, and smashed four Draugr to the ground—two with each arm.
“Rocktooth!” Zander shouted. “Let’s clear the way for her! We get the Draugr, she gets the Monsters of the Abyss!”
Understood. I’ll do my best. The golem responded.
Celeste also nodded a confirmation, and the three warriors turned to face the undead together, as one. A united front.
A globe of glowing ice formed in her hands, and she shot it at the six-legged Monster with a jubilant grin. It screeched and recoiled, crushing several Draugr as it did. Dark ichor oozed from a hole in its side. It was grievously wounded, but not dead.
Celeste advanced on it and shot it again and again as it tried and failed to attack her. It was covered in ice, almost frozen solid, but it stubbornly kept trying to snap at her. Finally, she honed her frost magic into a thick, razor-sharp icicle and buried it in the beast’s throat. It choked, clawing at the weapon with its useless front paws, trying and failing to pull it out of its neck. Finally, it lay still. Celeste stood next to it, one hand still on the icicle, stunned and proud.
Meanwhile, Zander and Rocktooth went in on the Draugr. Rocktooth churned their brittle limbs into pulp, while Zander drew on the last of his strength to blast their heads in with [Arcane Bolt]. The Draugr tried to grab at them, but their resistance was useless and feeble. Slowly but surely, without the threat of the Monsters of the Dark, they were clearing out the chamber.
Celeste was still standing next to the Monster she’d killed, staring at it in shock.
“Take on the other Monster, Celeste!” Zander said.
She jumped, suddenly coming back to herself. “Right! Right! The other Monster!”
It was slithering behind her, groaning with fury, beady eyes focused on its dead companion. The tentacles dribbled from its mouth, looking raw and disgusting in the eerie blue light that emanated from Celeste’s magical form. She clapped her hands together and got to work just as it lunged at her. Its tentacles tried to wrap themselves around her arms.
“Help!” she shouted.
Zander turned and shot a quick [Arcane Bolt] at the creature’s head. It squealed and rolled over on its side. Two tentacles dropped to the ground. Regrouping, Celeste raised another globe of ice into her hands. She directed [Ice Blades] at the monster, burying it beneath a massive barrage of ice shards. It tried to roll out of the way, but it was too slow and ungainly. Ichor dripped from a thousand wounds all over the creature’s body as it slumped to the ground. Its fat tentacles went slack, and it gave one final shudder and died.
The Monsters of the Abyss lay dead, but the room was still full of Draugr. Zander and Rocktooth were working as fast as they could to destroy them, but it was taking too long. They were running out of power, and Rocktooth’s movements were getting slower and slower. Celeste pressed her hands together and concentrated. Frost filled the room, covering the floor with ice. The Draugr froze solid and shattered into pieces, leaving the allies alone in the chamber, victorious.
“You did it!” Zander said, feeling inordinately proud of her. “That was amazing.”
“I—I—wow,” she said, looking woozy. “Was that magic?”
The light slowly dimmed out of the chamber as her frost form left her. Her eyes went dark and rolled back in her head, and she collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.
Notification: You have survived an encounter with a Monster of the Abyss and other creatures. You have been marked by this encounter.
Chapter Three: The
Harrowing
* * *
Celeste lay prone on the floor in a state of unconsciousness as the blue light slowly ebbed out of her. Her frost form left her, and she turned back into a regular woman—and a strikingly beautiful one, at that. Her hair was long, dark and tangled, and her eyes were the color of honey. Without the frost covering her body, she was naked. Zander tried not to look, did his best to be a gentleman, but it was hard to keep his eyes off of her.
“We did it,” he said, staring fixedly at Rocktooth as he untied his summoner's cloak from around his neck and draped it over Celeste’s unconscious form. Just don't look. Just don't look. Nothing you haven't seen before.
Zander... why are you looking at me like that? Rocktooth said, shifting uneasily. You never stare at me.
“No reason,” Zander said, blushing. “I was trying to make sure you weren’t injured.”
I’m not. Rocktooth replied in annoyance. I’m a rock. I don’t get injured so easily.
Well good. I’m glad you’re ok, you did great back there. Zander replied.
Between them Celeste started to stir, and both elf and summoned golem turned their attention to the newly awakened woman.
“Are you all right?” Zander said as she sat up, clutching the cloak around her body.
“I think so. What happened?” she asked.
“You used a lot of magic. Then you passed out.” Zander explained.
“No, I mean,” she said, waving her arms and pointing around at the room as if to include everything. “What happened? Since I was attacked in Atlanta that day? By.. monsters? Zombies? I don't know. It seems like it’s been a long time. And why do I suddenly have magical powers?”
“Well,” Zander said, sitting down next to her. “That’s an easy one. You died in the pod, and it preserved your body. A magical fluke I think. Well basically. Luckily, it seems like I’ve unlocked some Necromantic abilities because of it.”
“Necromantic abilities?” she laughed. “Is that real? It sounds like something out of a book. That can’t be real.”
“It’s real. You’re alive aren’t you? Or close to it. But I’ve never met another one. But they exist, I know it.” Zander responded, thinking of some of the dark rumors he'd heard about such people and wondering how many of those rumors applied to him.
“Are we talking about the same thing? Raise the dead, control the living, evil dead? That sort of Necromancer?” she asked not really believing what he was saying.
“Well, kind of, but also not really” Zander said, looking over at Rocktooth. “I’m not fully sure how it works, honestly. I’m an Arcane Summoner, not a Necromancer. This is a summon—an expression of my powers. It’s a golem named Rocktooth. I can summon Rocktooth from the Netherworld to come help me out when I’m in trouble. Or just when I need company.”
Celeste looked at Rocktooth, her eyes shining. “Wow. I watched him fight. He’s really powerful. I was wondering. I’ve been hearing bits and pieces of you guys communicating somehow..”
She’s right, Rocktooth said. I am really powerful. You're lucky to have me. She can hear us though. I’ll have to be more targeted.
“And you were dead,” Zander said. “But I brought you back as a frost spirit. You’re bound to my service forever.”
Celeste sat up straight at that, her face flushed. “I’m sorry, what? I never agreed to this.”
“You’re…bound to my service.. forever?" Zander sort of stuttered out the last part like it was a question.
“What if I don’t want to be bound to your service forever?” she answered glaring at him.
“Well,” Zander said, puzzled. That thought genuinely hadn’t occurred to him. “I suppose…I suppose we could work something out.”
“What about a term limit? A year of service, and then I’m free to do as I please?” she asked.
Zander frowned, trying to find the issue with this proposal. “I think so,” he said. “Rocktooth, what do you think?”
That won't work. If the bond between you is broken she doesn't go free, she just dies. That’s why when a necromancer is killed, their minions lose their reanimation. Rocktooth answered, including Celeste in the conversation.
"Ok, how about if after a year we find a way to revive me I go free, and until then we keep doing, whatever this is." Celeste offered.
“Alright. It’s a deal,” he said, reaching his hand out to shake Celeste’s. Her palm was soft, and he felt his heart beating faster in his chest as he touched her. I’ll have to find a way to keep that promise.
“One year, and you need to find a way to undo it without killing me” she said, smiling back at him. “Now, tell me, what else is going on? Is this still Atlanta? How did we get to this point?”
“One second,” Zander said, standing up. He was distracted. He needed to be able to think. “Do you—do you want some clothes? More than just that cloak?”
She looked down horrified and blushed. “I would!”
Zander looked around. They were in an abandoned laboratory, so their options might be limited. The pod Celeste had come from was broken, and the others were empty. Steel operating tables set up around the pods also didn’t look promising. All they held were rusting tools and pieces of surgical equipment. Garbage and detritus was strewn around the floor, but none of it looked much like fabric.
Back wall, Rocktooth said. Do those look like lockers to you?
It was hard to tell. They were rusted to an even copper-brown, and their doors hung loose on their hinges like crooked teeth. Most of them looked empty.
“I’ll look,” Zander said doubtfully, rummaging through the storage lockers. He found a whole lot of nothing, and some very unpleasant things. Pulsing black mushrooms, a dead rat with undead eyes, and something that looked like a massive ancient looking bloodstain. But in the second-to-last locker he finally got what he was looking for.
“Here,” he said proudly, unfurling the fabric. It was a large gray janitor’s uniform, several sizes too big for her, and full of holes.
“All right,” she said, biting back a smile. “Definitely better than this cloak. Or nothing.”
Zander looked away. He wasn’t quite so sure the gray uniform was better than nothing, but he kept his thoughts to himself and enjoyed what he saw.
She wrapped the cloak around her, hiding herself, and changed into the clothes he’d provided. Then, she dropped the cloak.
“Ta-da,” she said sheepishly, and Zander tried not to laugh. She looked terrible. The uniform pants sagged on her body and there was a large hole in a very inconvenient place on the thigh.
“We’ll get you something better, I hope,” he said. “I promise.”
She laughed. “This is a lot to take in, but I'm alive, and that's amazing. There’s no rush. Now, I want to know where I am. What are those monsters?”
They sat down next to each other, and Zander wondered where to begin.
“About five hundred years ago,” he said. “There was an event my people call the Harrowing. Magic return to the world and with it a plague of darkness that turned humans into monsters. Before that time, the world was very different—the world that, I’m sure, you lived in. It’s faded into myth a bit for us, but I understand it was a world of machines, full of robots?”
“Yes,” Celeste said. “Well, sort of. We relied heavily on technology. And all the buildings were new, at least where we are, in the United States. I lived here, in Atlanta.”
“What was it like?” Zander asked, with genuine interest, not wanting to focus too much on talking about the monsters, the Draugr, and the other darker things.
“Oh, its hard to describe. We all traveled around in cars, planes, etc. Oh, you probably don't know those, we used these machines to travel in the air, in the oceans, on land. They moved fast. At least, until—what I guess you’d call the Harrowing. When the dead came to life.”
“Yes,” Zander said. “What we call the Draugr. They never left. They’re relentless and vicious—so you do remember.”
“Yes,” Celeste said, her face darkening. “Those were hard times. Everything happened so fast."
Zander put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and continued.
“Over time, they mutated from what you originally encountered.. The Draugr are probably similar to what you saw five hundred years ago. But the Monsters of the Abyss are Draugr that—we don’t know. Evolved? Changed? Upgraded? Something must have happened to them somehow. They’ve become wrong, merged forms, combined bodies together in a way that shouldn’t happen. There are other creatures like that—frightening and wonderful. Good and bad. After the Harrowing the world changed a lot. You’ll see things you won’t recognize here. Like us demi humans. We’ve been able to come out of hiding.”
“Let's talk about something else. I want to learn more about magic,” Celeste said. “You can walk me through the magical creatures as we get around to them.”
“What do you want to know?” Zander asked.
“Everything. What are the types? How could I do what I did? What are the rules of magic in this world? We had books about magic, but they were all fictional, fairy tales. It always worked a different way.” She explained.
“That’s a big topic,” Zander said. “I’ll do my best, but this is something you’d have a better time talking to a trainer about. Magic returned to the world after the Harrowing. It had been rare around us elves before that. It’s mostly elemental based—fire, water, earth, and the like. You’re special. Frost spirits are rare. And Summoners like myself are very rare. I’m one of very few—the only one in my village. I’m still learning, though. I’m actually trying to save up for magic lessons.”
“Magic lessons! Like school?” she asked incredulously. “You’re telling me the world ended and is full of monsters and you still have school?”