by J. Carrarn
"They must be asleep," the Blackguard muttered, sounding mildly surprised. He turned toward one of the smaller entrances and stuck his head inside.
"Solus is here. Wake up!"
Solus blinked as the Blackguard's voice boomed and echoed through the room. It repeated throughout the entire building until the whole place resonated with his voice. Within moments curses and scuffling came from everywhere, and zombies filed into the room from all sides. Nearly all were still on their first evolution, but here and there Solus spotted a few bigger and differently colored figures in the crowd.
Before long, the zombies had filled the room, blocking all the doors and entrances. They stared at Solus with surprise and awe.
"Sit down and shut up!" the Blackguard ordered.
It took almost ten minutes, but eventually all the curious zombies and other fleshy undead were seated. Standing before the crowd, Solus looked at the gathered undead. He counted equal numbers of male and female zombies, another thing that had changed since his last visit when most undead seemed male.
"They're not here?" Sounding puzzled and somewhat annoyed, the Blackguard headed toward one of the entrances. "Wait. I shall fetch them."
As soon as the Blackguard left, all the zombies began to whisper amongst themselves, their eyes focused on Solus.
Solus felt the onset of a headache and furrowed his brow. Immediately all the whispering voices fell silent. Solus moved to one of the free chairs with a relieved sigh and sat down opposite two recently evolved zombies. The chair creaked dangerously under his weight.
One of the zombies had mottled brown skin with small yellow veins snaking underneath it like Wyrms. Although similar to the others, he had more clearly defined muscles visible under his sagging skin. The other had rough leathery green skin and was missing large chunks of flesh on both arms as if someone or something had taken a couple of bites out of him.
Solus was going to ask him about the strange wounds when a loud yell sounded out from above, followed by a dull, painful-sounding thump.
A small, broad-shouldered zombie with grey skin crawled out from the doorway the Blackguard had gone through. The zombie rubbed the side of his mouth, smearing green liquid across his cheek.
The Blackguard stepped up from behind him and kicked him into the room while dragging another tall and stick-like zombie with him. Tossing the thin one in front of Solus, he kicked the other zombie into position beside it.
"These are Uran's messengers. They were skeletons, but they decided to evolve while in Skulltown. I found them hiding upstairs. They seem afraid to head back to the Bone forest."
He leaned forward on his elbows, causing the table to make distressing creaking sounds. Solus looked at the two kneeling zombies. Both stared right back at him, the fear obvious on their mottled green and yellow faces, and Solus focused on the thin one.
"Give me Uran's message."
The thin zombie swallowed some orange-colored bile that kept dribbling down his chin before carefully answering. "The boss captured some weird undead at the edge of the forest. It took out ten of our strongest fighters before he arrived, and even then, it took a great amount of effort to put it down. The boss wants you to come to the forest to hear what he has learned."
Rubbing the side of his head, Solus groaned. Not another one. He decided to see if he could confirm that it was similar to the one he had encountered. Trying to look as intimidating as possible, he glared at the thin zombie.
"What did he learn?" he said, the corners of his mouth pulled down, revealing his sharp fangs.
The zombie's eyes widened, his face turning slack as he attempted to back away, but the Blackguard held him firmly in place.
"The boss didn't tell me!" The zombie shook his head from left to right, causing the orange liquid to splash on the dusty stone floor.
Glaring at him for a few more seconds, Solus decided the other was probably speaking the truth. Solus shifted his gaze at the other zombie. It was trying to make itself as small as possible.
"Do you know anything more? What did this strange undead look like?"
The shivering zombie shook its head and kept his eyes on the ground.
Feeling his good mood evaporate, Solus rose from his chair. Any interest in the zombies groveling before his table vanished to be replaced by a fearful premonition. Fixing the Blackguard with his gaze, he pointed at the two zombies.
"Bring those two to the eastern gate. I need to inform Drys and pick something up. After that, I will meet you there. Prepare five of our strongest evolved. They will be coming along."
Recalling something, he added. "Don't take any of the city guards." It wouldn't help to leave Skulltown even more vulnerable than he felt it already was.
As soon as the Blackguard nodded his understanding, Solus turned around and barged out of the door. He had hoped for a few peaceful nights in his tower to discuss his journey with Drys, but that would have to wait. He had a good idea of what Uran had captured, and he needed all the information he could get.
—
Two days later, Solus stood atop a hill looking out across the immense Bone forest. One of his Blackguards stood next to him, and a small contingent of high-level skeleton warriors surrounded Uran's two zombies. They had attempted to flee a couple of times, and after the third time, Solus had them tied together and watched closely.
"How are we supposed to find Uran in that?" The Blackguard seemed surprised, one of the few emotions it had shown in the two days of travel.
Staring at the immense forest, Solus remembered how it had been small enough to traverse in a day. Now it had grown so large it would take him days to travel through it.
"Simple. Let me show you," he said, stepping toward the edge of the hill and drawing a deep breath. From behind him came a soft curse and the sound of running feet.
"Uran, I am here!" Solus roared.
All around, pebbles, dust, and small rocks blew away. The other undead huddled on the ground, holding onto anything they could, as not to suffer the same fate. A circle, cleaned of debris, surrounded Solus as he cleared his throat.
"And now we wait."
They didn't have to wait long. Within moments, a similar response came from deep in the forest.
"Stop yelling, you great blundering buffoon! You are frightening my minions!"
Solus grinned as the Blackguard gingerly moved next to him, seeming ready to flee at any moment. Solus sat down on the ledge, his long stone-armor-covered legs dangling down as he stared at the white forest covering the entire horizon. Since the last time he had been here, the white bone leaves had become even more abundant, and the forest canopy had grown so thick it was now impossible to see the ground below it. Even the tower he had made, once easy to spot at the edge of the forest, was barely visible amongst the treetops far away. He could vaguely see the grey stony tip sticking out from between the white growth.
—
Just when Solus was becoming impatient from waiting, he spotted movement below the hill at the edge of the forest. Rising, he beckoned the others to do the same before jumping down the last stretch. Slamming heavily onto the ground, he saw a small contingent of skeletons waiting at the treeline. They blended in almost perfectly with the white bone trees, and if they had stood any closer to them, he probably wouldn't have been able to see them at all.
As Solus got closer, he noticed that most of them were unevolved except for a single towering skeleton wholly covered in white plates. His eyes narrowed when he spotted a small crown of bone growing out around its skull. It stood a bit further away from the others, observing him coldly. Guessing that it must be the leader, Solus walked toward it, stopping just out of arm's reach.
"We need to wait for the others to reach us before you can bring us to Uran."
To his annoyance, the skeleton nodded but said nothing. Glaring at it for a moment, he turned toward the smaller skeletons. Scanning them, he quickly noticed one with burning red eye sockets, something that was rare, even in Skul
ltown. Curious, he walked toward the group, inspecting them closer. The others were either recently awoken or at least not evolved yet and thus not all that interesting, except for the one with the red eye sockets. Kneeling, he peered into the red glow. He had seen a skeleton like this in Skulltown, but that was a while ago. Back then he had been too busy to investigate it.
"Can you speak?" Solus asked softly, trying not to blast the skeleton to pieces with his voice.
"Yes."
"Did you awaken on your own?"
"Yes." The answer came with a delay this time.
Solus furrowed his brow and wondered what was up with the one-word answers. Thinking back to when he had just awoken, he imagined the skeleton might not know a whole lot. Before the sphere had granted him knowledge, he would have probably answered in much the same manner.
"Did you awaken recently?"
"Yes."
Nodding, Solus thought for a second.
"Where?"
The skeleton pointed at the tall white one who was watching the proceedings from a distance.
"He found me over there." It pointed deep into the shadowy forest.
Nodding at the more detailed answer, Solus knew right away this one was smarter than the average awoken. He was already learning from this conversation. More importantly, this one was self-awoken, like he was! Even more curious now, Solus continued.
"What do you remember from when you woke up?"
"Nothing. I was not, and then I was."
Although he remembered it was similar for him, it still frustrated Solus. He wanted to know why some skeletons just awoke without any external help. Then, as if from nowhere, he had an idea.
"Can you show me your mana-field?"
The skeleton did not respond straight away, and Solus was about to ask it again when a small red aura spread out around the skeleton, barely larger than it was. Inspecting the mana-field, Solus saw it had no divisions and was empty and pristine. He frowned. Although empty, it wasn't the basic mana-field. Someone or something had given it a stabilizing pattern. Staring at the empty mana-field, he experienced an almost irresistible urge to draw a pattern on it. Distracted as he was by this pristine mana-field, he almost did not hear the tall crowned skeleton approach.
Snatched from his reverie, he got up and turned around to see the tall, armored skeleton standing directly behind him. It pointed to the side, and Solus saw that the others had arrived. The Blackguard was in the lead, the others close behind him. At the back of the group two armored skeletons carried a couple of struggling zombies.
"Let us go! He will destroy us for evolving into zombies!" the shorter one bellowed, desperately trying to get free.
Turning to Uran's welcoming party, Solus examined the crowned skeleton that had so far proved unresponsive.
"They have been saying this all the while. Why would Uran end them for turning into zombies?"
Once again, he received no answer. The crowned skeleton just stared at him, a soft green light glowing deep in its sockets. Then it pointed to the forest, turned around, and headed in.
Growling, Solus barely managed to hold himself back from grabbing the crowned skeleton and shaking an answer from his bones. What was up with the silent treatment? Taking a deep breath, he turned to his contingent and motioned for them to follow. Wondering how he was going to get that red-eyed skeleton to Skulltown, he trudged after their guide.
Uran had better have a good reason for sending Crowny, as he had dubbed the aloof and silent skeleton.
—
"Solus, where were you? I had to wait for ages!" A behemoth of a skeleton with thick yellow bones stomped forward.
Solus stared at Uran, noticing he had changed again.
Once, he had been a hunched, ancient skeleton adorned with rusted ornate armor, but that was all gone now. Standing straight and towering above everyone, including Solus, Uran wore a new white Wyrm-plate armor. Uran was also the only skeleton Solus knew of whose eye sockets didn't glow.
Behind Uran sprawled an immense bone city, dug deep into the earth with many trees between the domes. Realdeep was the third city Solus knew existed apart from Skulltown and the mysterious city Sig had scouted.
"I was away," Solus replied as he watched the behemoth move closer. "So, let me guess; you've encountered a strange undead with some unknown evolution which rambled on about chaos, doom, and destruction?"
Seeing Uran stop mid-step, Solus knew he was right. "Let's find us a quiet spot and talk," he said, hoping the other had gotten more information than just that.
Looking at the Blackguard at his side, Solus nodded toward the forest next to Realdeep. "Set up camp there, and keep those zombies with you for now."
Not waiting for an answer, he moved toward Uran, who remained silent, seeming either deep in thought or trying to hold back his famous temper.
Looking up at the other, Solus grinned. It had been a while since he had seen the old skeleton, and it had grown a bit again. Uran was the only one he didn't have to hold back with, and the only one who knew some things about the old world. Although he was often obnoxious, he made an excellent sparring partner.
"Come on, where to?"
"Fine. Had to go and ruin my surprise, and a cherry on top, you bring my minions back turned into fleshy crud. Bah! Follow me." Grumbling incoherently as he stomped off, Uran headed toward one of the domes sticking out of the ground.
Solus cleared his throat and spat some grey muck on the ground before following him. Almost at their destination, he looked curiously at the buried skull building and wondered again about Uran. The ancient skeleton had been buried underground for eons, and after finally getting out into the fresh air, the first thing he did was create a city that was partially built underground.
He had asked the first time he saw the skeleton-filled city, and Uran had blurted out that he was scared when walking out in the open. This revelation had been followed by him starting a fight with Solus, angry that he had tricked him into revealing his secret. Before he calmed down, they had destroyed half of the fledgling city, and Uran had told him to get lost.
Uran disappeared inside an eye socket. As with the other buildings, it served as the entrance to the large rooms inside. Solus followed Uran inside a poorly lit chamber. The only light source was the daylight streaming in through the entrances. In the middle stood a large table, while the rest of the room was empty. Uran sat down on the ground beside it, placing an elbow on the table.
"Sit down already. You're making me nervous." He gestured at the other side, staring with his dark eye sockets at Solus. "How did you know?"
"I ran into one of those undead while traveling," Solus answered, sitting at the other side of the table. While Uran quietly listened, Solus revealed what had happened to him. He left out the sphere because he knew far too well Uran's obsession with them. If possible, he wanted to keep him in the dark about it as long as he could.
—
"That's just great, great." Hitting the table that was already showing cracks from the abuse, Uran seemed close to having a fit.
"Take it easy! This isn't the time to start breaking things. Did the one you captured tell you anything? Can I see him?"
"I DON'T BREAK THINGS!" Uran protested while hitting the bone table so hard it splintered. Ignoring what he had done, he shook his head. "You can't see him."
Solus felt a small headache grow and glared at Uran. "Did you rip him apart?"
Uran didn't answer, and Solus resisted the temptation to scold him. They didn't have time for a lengthy battle that neither of them would win. Since Uran had started Realdeep, he had managed to evolve again, and Solus knew Uran was at least as strong as he was. Now that he had changed again, he had no idea how powerful the crazed skeleton was.
"What did he tell you?"
"What do you think? The same as the other one told you. Well, mine cursed and shouted and begged a lot more, but nothing he said was useful. If I had known you knew, I wouldn't have bothered to invite you!"
Opening his mouth, Solus barely caught himself. It was a good thing he wasn't a zombie anymore, or Uran's foul mouth would have caused him to lash out. Pushing himself back up, he looked at Uran, who didn't show any signs of getting up.
"Fine. If you do come across more of those undead, capture one and send it to me. I will have Drys look at it."
"Yeah, have a good trip back, young one."
Gritting his teeth, Solus walked out of the building, a small snigger following him, showing Uran knew exactly what he was doing. Beneath all of his roaring and anger, Solus knew there lay a cunning and conniving creature that should never be underestimated.
He headed toward the forest and glanced over his shoulder at the sprawling city. This was his second time here, and he still hadn't gotten a chance to see it properly. For a moment, he played with the idea of just taking a look now. Then he recalled Uran's violent temper and the issues they had in Skulltown that needed resolving, and he turned back. Maybe next time.
Not too far from the city was a small camp, and Solus saw something that distracted him from his annoyance. The Blackguard and Crowny were standing in front of each other, the tension between the two palpable. Behind the Blackguard stood the self-awoken skeleton with the red glowing eye sockets. A small group of other undead stood a bit further away, seemingly fascinated by the brewing conflict. Solus spotted Uran's zombie minions amongst them.
"I don't care what you say. If the self-awoken wants to come with us, it can." The Blackguard's emotionless voice was strained.
"It belongs to Uran, and it will become a powerful skeleton. Get out of my way."
A grin spread across Solus's face, and he stepped forward faster until he reached the others. The Blackguard saw him coming first but kept silent, and Solus decided it was a useful one to have around.
"What is going on here?" Solus spoke, keeping his voice low and soft. If Uran got wind of this, there would be trouble.