by J. Carrarn
Besides ending that barbed skeleton, he hadn't done anything to effect any changes. Still, many of his values had increased. The realization that the thing must have been quite powerful disturbed him greatly.
A loud clanging came from the city before him, and Solus grinned.
"Good, they have seen us. Nice of them to announce our arrival. That should get Drys's attention."
The constant grinding noise the cube made as the Wyrm dragged it forward was starting to get on his nerves, and he couldn't wait to hand it over to Drys.
"That is a lot bigger than I expected it to be…" the sphere said in a hushed voice.
Grinning, Solus felt pride at his accomplishments. "Just wait until you see the tunnels beneath the city… Ah, but I see our welcome is on its way."
A few tiny figures leaped from the city wall, audibly hitting the ground before heading their way. They left small dust trails in their wake.
"Ah, it's Skull and some guards!"
Solus climbed on top of the Wyrm's head, causing it to dip down a little.
"Skull!"
His joyous roar blasted ahead of him, creating a vortex of sand tens of yards long. It knocked all but one of the incoming skeletons off their feet, causing them to roll or slide away.
The only one still on his feet, a towering skeleton, reached them moments later. Its hulking grey form seemed small beside the Wyrm, but Solus knew there wasn't a single undead around that was taller. When the skeleton's glowing eye sockets fell on Solus, it started walking along the slow-moving Wyrm, looking up.
"Boss! Glad you back! Boring fight weaklings!" The dull voice flooded the area, drowning out all other sounds for a moment.
"Easy, Skull! Don't yell, or you will end up breaking things again. Go back and inform Drys that I have found it!"
"Yes, Solus-boss."
The giant skeleton stayed put, shuffling its humongous feet for a moment.
"After talk Drys, we practice?"
Solus grinned. "Yes, and bring Norg and Vingria with you."
Skull bobbed its enormous head enthusiastically up and down a few times, causing its armor plates to clatter and clank before it turned around and ran off toward Skulltown. The guards that had kept a respectful distance took one last look at Solus before following it.
Jumping off the Wyrm, Solus looked at the wounded behemoth for a moment before muttering to himself. "I can't let you come any closer to the city."
Raising his grey, green-haired arm, he effortlessly punched a hole into the side of the Wyrm, cracking the white armor plating. As soon as he pulled back his arm, the ground next to him cracked and opened. A long stone spike shot out, piercing through the hole in the Wyrm, causing it to rear up once before it slumped heavily to the ground, unmoving.
Solus was silent for a moment as he looked at the Wyrm until a soft ping from his status told him it was over. Then he walked toward the cube and picked up the cables. Removing them from the Wyrm took some time, and he was tempted to rip them in half, but then he would have to make stone replacements, and those had a tendency to snap under strain. When he had removed the last loop, he began dragging the cube toward the city.
—
"Should we offer to help?"
"Are you crazy? If he has trouble hauling that thing around, how are we going to budge it?"
Dragging the cube through the massive stone gates and into Skulltown, Solus heard the whispers of the undead that had gathered at the gates and along the main street. The ratio of zombies to skeletons had changed since the last time he had been here. It had been roughly equal before he had left, but now the zombies vastly outnumbered the skeletons. He knew Drys had something to do with that. According to him, most skeletons didn't have any drive to do things, and unless you ordered them, they would just walk around aimlessly doing nothing. It had something to do with their lack of emotion and ambition, or so Drys had said.
Looking around, he spotted the zombie who had suggested helping him. He could see that she must have recently evolved for the first time. Her skin was slightly mottled and orange, and she was of average height. Solus's eyes were immediately drawn to the top of her head, where a considerable amount of spiky black hair stood almost straight up. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Seeing the zombie staring back at him, shaking slightly while the rest around her distanced themselves, Solus grinned.
"Do you know where the mana-orb inside a Wyrm is?" he asked, looking straight at her.
A gasp went through the gathered crowd, and the female zombie seemed too startled to answer.
"That Wyrm back there? If you can find the mana-orb, it's yours," Solus said, waiting for a second to see what would happen.
"Tha... I…ye…can..." the zombie stuttered and began bobbing her head up and down. The tall spikes of hair waved around as if they had a mind of their own.
Solus furrowed his brow. What was up with this one? Did the recent evolution leave her broken, or was she like Skull?
Seeing the look on Solus's face, the zombie swallowed, took a deep breath, and shook her head again.
"Yes! Yes, I can find it. Thank you!"
Solus blinked in surprise before a smile surfaced on his face. He grinned at her and nodded before turning his attention back to dragging the cube. After a few feet, he remembered something.
"And have someone clean up the remains, so they don't stay in front of the city."
"Yes, Solus!" the zombie assured him. She stared at him as if she wanted to ask something.
Solus had no time, though, and his mind wandered back to the task at hand. He ignored the commotion around him as he headed toward the center of Skulltown.
—
It was dusk by the time he had finally dragged the sphere through the innermost gate and onto a large open square. Dropping the cables, he stretched his back while looking at the tower looming in front of him. One of the concepts he had recently learned was called home, and looking at it, he was glad to be back. Quick, light footsteps came from a building that took up the entire eastern side of the square. Solus watched the wide-open entrance, and a smile formed as he recognized the purposeful tread.
A figure strode out, illuminated by the light streaming from the building, and raised a hand in greeting. Tall and lanky, it seemed like a zombie but with much sharper features and unmarred green skin. It stopped in front of Solus, almost the same height, and stared him straight in the eyes with its piercing black gaze.
"Norg!" Solus said warmly with a grin.
"Made it back in one piece, did you? I would have thought you had lost at least an arm!" With a wide grin on his face, he slapped Solus on the shoulder.
"Finally learned how to smile without tearing your mouth to pieces?" Solus replied with a laugh, returning the shoulder slap as carefully as he could.
"Ohhh, would you look at that? You didn't even send me hurtling through a building this time!" Norg grinned, rubbing his shoulder a bit.
Probably just to annoy him, Solus thought. Chuckling, he walked toward the building's entrance, Norg easily keeping up with his long steps.
"So, found what ya needed?"
"Partially," Solus said as he waved behind him. "My status screen works again, but that one still needs to show me how to repair it completely."
"That one... How about we keep it friendly?"
Solus ignored the remark, but Norg gaped slack-jawed back at the cube. After a moment, he caught up with Solus and shot him an inquisitive look. Solus just shrugged.
"Well, Drys and the others have all gathered inside while you were busy dragging that thing here," Norg finally said.
"You could have come out and helped me with that, you know!"
"What, and break mah back? Perhaps Skull can help ya pull that thing, but who else could?"
While they continued their banter, they stepped inside the building. The doorway was wide enough for them to enter side by side. The entire first floor had rows of walls covered in inscriptions, wh
ile large tables strewn with bone tablets stood crisscross throughout the room. The ceiling was so high that even Solus couldn't touch it, and a spiral staircase of white bone dominated the center of the hall. It led up to the room they convened in to discuss the troubles of Skulltown.
They headed up, taking two steps at a time. It took only moments to reach the top, and they entered a smaller room. It had many doors leading off to individual chambers, while the middle was dominated by a large table made from the skull of a Wyrm. Around it stood a dozen chairs, only four occupied.
"So you made it back, did you? Glad that we don't have to find a replacement!"
Light laughter followed the melodious feminine voice, and a large zombie raised her arm in greeting.
Norg walked toward the chair next to her, touching her shoulder as he sat down. She smiled back at him, her bright orange eyes sparkling as she whispered something that Solus could have heard if he had wanted to, but he didn't. He still wasn't used to how some of the zombies and other fleshy evolutions were acting around each other. His sphere-gifted knowledge told him why they acted this way, but so far, he didn't have similar urges. Drys and he had discussed it at length, and they had theorized that within a few more evolutions, the zombies might be able to procreate. They had not told anybody else this, concluding that they were by no means experts on the subject. Besides, they had bigger issues to resolve at the moment.
"Did you find it?" The sharp, agitated voice snapped through the room, and an emaciated white zombie rose from his seat, walking around.
Looking at the one who spoke, Solus grinned. "Still haven't gotten the hang of your emotions, I see. Why don't you just evolve? You'll feel much better!"
Drys stopped in his tracks and shook his head, causing his hair to swirl crazily. "No, not yet. Now answer the question already!"
Solus grinned before responding, knowing it would agitate Drys even further.
"I didn't, unfortunately, but I've found a similar one. The cube I brought along with it is some kind of power source. We will need to find a place for it, and I was thinking below my tower."
"Interesting. I will have some Boneshapers and Stoneshapers create a room below your tower and have it installed," Drys said as he continued to pace through the room.
"Tell them to stay away from the cavern system."
"Of course," Drys barked at him as if it were obvious.
Sitting down, Solus looked at the only one who had not spoken yet. "Did you find anything?"
Sig looked up and nodded briskly, causing his sleek black hair to float up around his head before slowly settling again.
"A lot. The trail the army made was easy to follow, but it still took me forty days to track it back to its source. They came from another city, much larger than Skulltown and completely constructed from bone. It is next to an enormous cliff that leads to an odd, flat, shiny white area that seems to go on forever. They have no walls or perimeters, so it was easy enough to enter and look around."
With a ragged voice, Sig described the other city: patrols, levels of the undead, and how it was a chaotic mishmash of bone buildings built haphazardly and close together. He had gotten lost twice.
Everybody listened with interest. Even Drys sat down—although he remained twitchy.
"The city is built partially up the side of a mountain range, and the higher I got, the more guards I encountered. Eventually, I ran into other Wraiths, or something similar, and I had to stop because it became too dangerous," Sig said before falling silent.
Groaning and cracking his neck to relieve tension, Solus stared at his onetime minion. He had gifted him and Skull freedom half a year ago, but they seemed more than content to stay. Sig was helping Drys run the city while also performing scouting assignments and intelligence gathering for Enthrill.
"Did you find out anything about that female undead that is supposed to be their leader?" Solus asked.
Vingria cursed and glared at nobody in particular.
A small frown crossed Sig's white face before he nodded. "I did, boss, but you won't like it. From what I've gathered, she wants to rule everything and everyone. She plans to take over the land around her until there is nobody left capable of resisting her. According to the undead in the city, she is incredibly powerful, and everybody is scared of her. Also...they say she can make more undead appear out of thin air."
"Did you hear about what kind of pattern she has, her name, anything?" Drys leaned forward, his skin drawn taut across his skull while a few drops of green goo dripped from his lips.
"Only stories. They say she calls herself Scathia. There are also rumors floating around that she has not completed her pattern yet and is looking for something to help her with that."
"It doesn't matter. We have more urgent matters to address," Solus said with a weary sigh.
He leaned back in the stone chair, causing it to creak and hairline cracks to form on the smooth surface. The others looked up in wonder, and Drys opened and closed his mouth twice, visibly struggling with himself. Ignoring the others, Solus placed his hand over some of the cracks and frowned a bit.
"You have found something else?" Norg was the first to speak, his eyes narrowing and the rough green skin on his face rippling oddly.
Looking up, Solus nodded before telling the others about the weird undead he had encountered on the road back to Skulltown.
—
"Wait, are you telling me you hit it as hard as you could, and it got back up?" Norg had his hands on the stone table, leaning over it while staring at Solus in utter disbelief.
Next to him, Vingria had a similar shocked look on her face.
Spread out in the middle of the table were the remains of the undead that Solus had retrieved. He had wanted to do it later, but Drys had been relentless. The zombie was inspecting one of the barbs, seeming absorbed by something he saw. A dull, black mana-orb lay beside the undead's cracked skull. Even from where he sat, Solus could feel the chaotic energy it radiated.
"Yes. I don't think it could have beaten me, but if I had been careless, things could have gotten rough," Solus responded. He shivered as he recalled the barbs perforating his tough skin.
Drys leaped out of his chair and began pacing around the table. "Repeat his exact words," he ordered.
"Something along the lines of our world being doomed and that more rifts would open," Solus responded.
The room became silent except for Drys's shuffling feet. A knocking sound from below drew all of their attention.
"Now what…?" Norg cursed, elegantly vaulting over the table and walking toward a window.
"It's one of the guards," he muttered before shouting down. "Come inside already! That door is open for a reason!"
It didn't take long before footsteps came up the stairs, and a massive Blackguard walked into the room. As soon as it saw Vingria, it gave her a nod before moving in front of Solus. It began speaking with a deep, resonant voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere.
"A while ago, a small party arrived from the Bone forest with a message for you. When they heard you were not here, they decided to wait. They said it was of the utmost importance and that they need to speak with you as soon as you get back."
After delivering its message, the Blackguard stepped back a bit and waited.
"Please tell me you are not inviting Uran back here, Solus? Last time the two of you destroyed half of a city district in a single fight!" Vingria said as she scowled at him.
"Don't worry. Next time, we will have our fun outside and away from the city," Solus replied with a rueful grin as he recalled the incident. Getting up, he walked toward the silently waiting Blackguard.
"Drys, get that sphere installed and get all the information you can from it. After that, try and find out what you can from those remains. Vingria, you and Sig take some Boneshapers and build a small watchtower a day's travel from here in the other city's direction. Place some of Enthrill's fastest skeletons there and tell them to report back if anything com
es this way. Norg, you come with me."
Turning to the Blackguard, Solus nodded. "Bring me to them. Let's hear what they have to say."
Awoken envy
As he stepped outside, Solus saw the red of the rising sun in the sky. Their meeting had lasted all night, and he was even more tired now than he had been before.
He followed the Blackguard through the shadow-filled streets of Skulltown. Only the occasional skeleton passed them, mostly recently awoken, white-boned new arrivals.
The road they followed led to a large central square where many more came together—the Sleeping District. At least that was what the residents called it. Recently evolved zombies quickly found their way here, to vacant rooms and their first sleep.
Patting the stony side of the building next to him, Solus felt a surge of pride. In such a short time, they had accomplished so much. Glancing at the armored back of the Blackguard in front, he briefly wondered why Drys was still incapable of recreating their patterns. He knew it wasn't for lack of trying.
Not that they needed more dark and brooding skeletons. Solus thought of Norg, his chatty and sometimes annoying friend, and wished the other could have come with him. He had initially wanted to talk about what had been going on while he had been gone, but Drys had been clear. He needed Norg's help with the sphere and its power source.
Ahead of Solus, the Blackguard crossed the square without seeming to care who or what was in his path. Some unevolved white skeletons had to scamper out of its way in a hurry. The Blackguard ignored them. It was heading toward one of the largest buildings bordering the square.
Although only two stories high, the building covered an entire side of the open square and had multiple doorless entrances. The soft blue light from subterranean fungi highlighted the arches.
Those were currently a rare sight in Skulltown, but Solus knew Drys had plans to cultivate more to light up the entire city. He followed the Blackguard through the entrance closest to the center of the building, through a hallway, and into a spacious central room. The other doors seemed to all lead here. The room covered almost the entire ground floor. Bone tables and empty chairs stood around the edges, and in the middle was a large cage with two doors on opposite sides. A few smaller openings led deeper into the building, and Solus saw the silhouette of a staircase through one of them.