by J. Carrarn
"You! Jump in there!" Uran said, pointing at a random skeleton.
When the skeleton didn't act immediately, Uran surged forward, grabbed it, and carried it to the portal.
"Go through, look around, and come back. Don't do anything else!" he said nastily before unceremoniously shoving the undead forward and into the portal. The skeleton disappeared without a sound.
The wind blew softly around them as time passed, and Uran began grumbling. Just when he turned to the rest of the quietly waiting skeletons, the skeleton returned through the portal. It was missing an arm and had burn marks all across its frame.
"What did you see? Speak up!" Uran hissed as he stepped closer.
An inaudible whisper came, and Solus didn't catch it. Apparently, neither did Uran because he growled, "What?"
The skeleton shivered, striking its skull with its own hands. After a moment, another whisper came but louder this time. As it spoke, the dark burn patches seemed to spread across its bones.
"Clouds of yellow gas drifted all around. When they touched me, I started burning!" the skeleton croaked. Then it toppled over, trying to catch itself with its remaining arm, but the mutilated appendage snapped and splintered.
Seeing the skeleton about to fall apart, Solus focused on the stone as fast as possible. He needed more answers! A stone hand rose from the ground beside the skeleton, but too late. The scorched undead hit the ground, and all of its ribs snapped. Its skull tore off its neck, rolling to the side. Long cracks formed across its skull, and the burning eye sockets flashed once before fading. After a moment, the bones pulverized, leaving piles of black soot on the ground.
"He didn't even tell us if there were more undead on the other side of that blasted thing!"
Uran stamped the ground impatiently before turning his attention to his remaining minions.
"You co..." He stopped mid-sentence, shaking his skull and stamping his foot again, deepening the small crater. "No. No, I've lost too many already."
Uran turned to Solus. "Why don't you go in? Perhaps that pudgy flesh of yours will hold out longer?"
Solus barely heard Uran. He stared at the portal, a plan starting to form in his mind.
What if he just covered the entire entrance with stones? That way, anything that came through would remain stuck inside the portal!
"Stand back. I am going to cover the portal with stone."
He didn't bother to see if Uran would comply but began searching deep in the earth. Right below them was a massive amount of rock, solid and hard. He grinned and began raising it to the surface.
Around the portal, the dry earth of the wasteland began to crack and ripple. A mass of hard, grey stone grew up and around the black portal. Within moments a thick, solid layer of rock surrounded it, still thickening. Its increasing mass caused everyone to step back from it until they were standing in front of a small hill. It towered over even Uran, casting a long shadow toward the forest.
That should do it.
Stepping back, Solus looked at Uran, who eyed the new hill while muttering.
"I could have done this myself, with bone. That would have been stronger!" Uran said with a derisive snort.
The empty yellow eye sockets focused on Solus, and Uran motioned away from the forest.
"Fine. You helped. Now get lost. And take those ungrateful sacks of flesh with you."
Uran's eye sockets flared, and Solus sighed inwardly. The ancient fool's patience had run out, and it was time to leave. He glanced at the undead he had trapped, a few forgotten containers halfway to the forest. He wanted to get one of them but knew it would make Uran lose his temper, which would mean a fight, something that Solus wanted to avoid if he could. Turning around, he walked toward the forest. He would find more of the undead; he was sure of it. The questions would have to wait.
When he was halfway, he projected his voice at the Blackguard. "We are leaving. Keep our guest out of sight."
"Yes, Solus," came the almost immediate reply.
The party from Skulltown began heading toward him. Solus stopped and turned to look at Uran.
"If more of these portals open up around here, send a messenger and let us know. We don't need more undead around here trying to take control," he shouted.
"I won't need your help. If you need help in Skulltown, you can send someone to beg for mine!" The skeleton barked a loud, short laugh and turned to his minions. "You guys, get the Boneshapers out here and create a fort around this ugly pile of stone."
Solus heard him bark more orders but was paying more attention to his incoming followers. The Blackguard reached him, falling in step with him while the rest followed close behind. Solus was about to sigh in relief when he heard a bellow from behind him.
"You thieving, rotting bag of flesh, give me back my red-eye!"
"Run!" Solus hissed as he turned while the others began sprinting.
Uran was barreling toward him.
"He is my payment for the beautiful hill I created for you!" he shouted back at Uran.
"Payment? Payment!? For that pile of—" The ancient skeleton got no further, the ground below his feet in a hundred-yard diameter crumbled, and he disappeared with a yelp.
Focusing, Solus caused the edges to crumble down after the skeleton before rejoining his party in their escape.
"Kreel, tell Uran that I look forward to our next meeting!" he roared.
—
The trip back to Skulltown was long and arduous. Solus had to make sure none of the undead from the portal had followed them, but the resulting slow pace annoyed him immensely. The speed at which the rest traveled made it seem especially endless, and when they had finally reached the hills, Solus was fed up.
He turned toward the Blackguard, who was usually walking close.
"I am heading back. There is no one behind us, and if there is anything in the hills ahead, I will find them and clear them out."
"Yes, Solus..."
Getting the feeling the Blackguard wanted to say more, Solus hesitated before frowning. "What?"
"Perhaps it would be better if you stay until we reach the city. While you weren't there, many undead disappeared while traveling through these hills. The guards never found out why."
Solus blinked, rubbing his brow as if to ward off an oncoming headache. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"There was no need, and Drys said not to disturb you with more worries until we got back."
Groaning, Solus stared at the sky, resisting the urge to roar in frustration.
"We will go back together," he finally said, throwing his hands up, defeated.
Halfway through the hills, Solus stamped along a rocky trail, kicking the occasional stone to relieve his boredom and restlessness. The others were noisily moving behind him, the Blackguard speaking quietly with the red-eyed skeleton. They appeared to have formed some kind of bond, which intrigued Solus, but not enough to ask about it.
Thinking about what he would do when he finally got back to Skulltown, Solus was distracted by a minute tremor in the ground. He stopped, focusing on his surroundings. It hadn't been a rock; he knew that much, but what had it been? A second later, it came again, from the top of one of the hills he had just passed. He spun around, looking up at the hills in time to see a dark shadow slip behind a rock. Keeping his eyes locked on the hill, he waited. After a few seconds, a dozen more shadows dashed between the rocks, moving from cover to cover.
"We've got incoming!" he whispered, his voice like the deep rumbling of boulders rolling down a hill.
The others froze, looking around in fear. As soon as the party stopped moving, the shadows emerged from hiding. They charged toward them, darting between rocks, and Solus finally got a good look.
He recognized them immediately. Long and slender, they had too many legs that moved so quickly they became a blur. He recalled the time that similar creatures had stalked him and Norg in the bone forest. Darkhunters, that was what the other Skulltowners had started calling them. How did
these things get so close? Solus frowned as he concentrated his abilities. Stone tendrils shot from the ground nearby the rock formations, grasping at the quick-moving shapes.
Within seconds, half of the beasts were wrapped in small cocoons of stone, screeching and mewling as they struggled to get loose. Between Solus's party and them was a thirty-feet area filled with long stone tendrils, swishing and waving around. The remaining darkhunters stopped at the perimeter and began pacing around it, snarling and growling.
Solus kept his attention on those, but his concentration was stretched thin. He had never controlled this many different things at the same time, and although the drain on his mana-field wasn't that bad, he did feel a headache coming on.
One of the beasts rushed forward, trying to dodge through the tendrils, but got snatched with ease. The others backed off even further before stalking reluctantly back into the hills. They disappeared across the ridge, leaving their captive pack members behind.
Solus released the moving tendrils, and they dropped to the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces. Only those holding a dark hunter remained, and Solus curiously moved toward the nearest. The Blackguard followed him while the rest of the party kept their distance.
"What are these things?" the Blackguard asked as it kneeled next to the snarling beast, poking its side. His long finger, covered in black plates, easily dimpled the flesh of the thing, and it growled menacingly.
"I don't know. I have seen them before, in Uran's forest and during the retaking of Skulltown from Grinder. Some undead seem capable of controlling them, although Drys has never been able to find the pattern for that ability."
Staring at the vicious teeth, Solus wondered what Drys could glean from them and made a decision.
"We are taking them with us. Perhaps we can find a way to tame them," he said.
Using the stone, he drew the spread-out and wrapped-up bundles close together. Then he created a single large container around them. It was only half his height and completely enclosed, but they could still hear soft whines and scratching from inside.
The Blackguard stared at it before turning to Solus. "How are we going to bring it along?"
"We push," Solus said, but as he put his hands on the container, an image flashed through his mind. Carts and wagons, ancient even in the time of his memories, rolled across sandy paths.
Stepping back, he stared at the container and thought for a moment. Then he focused, and more stone formed below the wagon while thin round rods grew from its sides. Within moments, the container stood on four stone wheels.
With a grin, Solus put his hands on the side and began pushing the container forward.
I should have thought of this before! he thought, remembering the horrid journey with the Wyrm, the cube, and the sphere.
—
They reached the last hill's apex in the middle of the night, with the zombies barely capable of walking anymore. Solus had made everybody help push the stone cart while he went scouting a few times, resulting in a group of exhausted undead. He had found that pushing something with wheels up a hill was perhaps even more difficult. It kept wanting to roll back. Even the Blackguard, who was walking in front now, seemed ready to drop at any moment, which Solus found funny because they weren't supposed to get tired.
With one last shove, Solus cleared the top, feeling a wave of relief when the Blackguard moved toward him with more vigor than he had shown in hours.
"Solus, something is happening in Skulltown!"
Feeling uneasy, Solus followed him until he got a clear view of Skulltown. The sprawling city was alight with a bluish glow that came from the wall. It was an unusual defense mechanism that Drys had developed, and it hadn't been used since the siege.
Now what? Solus thought. He saw no movement in front of the wall or anywhere on the plains or hills. Why had Drys activated the shield? Heading back to the wagon filled with darkhunters, he angrily shoved it down the hill. The wagon rolled forward, and he yelped as it rushed down, quickly speeding up. Jumping down, he barely managed to grab the edge, digging his heels into the ground. Annoyed, he moved around the wagon to the front and, putting the edge against his back, began slowly walking down.
The rest of the way down and across the vast open area in front of the city was uneventful. Arriving at the gates, Solus noticed that there were signs of damage. Long claw marks and deep dents puckered the gate, some reaching the top of the walls as if something had climbed up.
Staring at the guardhouse just above the gate, Solus saw a single zombie staring at them with large, fearful eyes.
"Open this bloody gate! Don't you see who I am?" Solus roared at the zombie, causing it to scramble forward, hanging over the edge.
"Drys said we should not open the gate for anyone, not even you. He said if you come back, you should create a temporary tunnel below the wall to enter and close it right away."
The zombie's voice was high-pitched, and Solus finally realized she had small scratches across her blue and purple cheek.
"What is going on?"
The zombie guard shook her head and headed back inside as if something were about to grab her.
Trying to suppress the annoyance and frustration that had grown throughout the entire trip, Solus struck the side of the cart, causing large cracks and fissures to appear. Taking a deep breath, he repaired them.
Taking a few steps away from the wall, he shaped the stone below into a tunnel wide enough for the cart and tall enough for him to pass through.
The entrance of the tunnel appeared like a gaping maw. It sloped down sharply, moving below the wall and to the other side. He motioned for the Blackguard and the others to follow him.
"Go inside and walk to the end."
With the Blackguard in the lead, the entire group headed quickly into the tunnels, the skeletal guards supporting the fatigued zombies. Solus pushed the container in after them as soon as they were inside, closing the tunnel behind himself as he moved forward. It didn't take long to reach the end of the tunnel, and when he finally pushed the cart inside Skulltown's walls, he sighed in relief.
Not too far away, a group of guards stood behind the gates, staring at them. They were all armored and armed with bone weaponry. Their gear looked worn and battered. A one-armed Blackguard, most of his black plates covered in scratches and dents like those on the wall, walked toward him.
"It is good you are back. Strange undead snuck inside the city and ended many of our people before we could destroy them. Be careful when you go further in because there might still be some running around."
Solus frowned and stared at the group of undead. "Is the school still safe?"
"It is. Sumil is leading a full squad of guards there to guard the awoken," the Blackguard said.
It waited and stared at Solus until Solus waved him away. It took one look at the other Blackguard with Solus's party before returning to the guards in front of the gate.
"Stay close together. We are going to the school," Solus said.
Keeping his stone senses alert for any movement, he pushed the cart through the silent streets, noting the small pockets of destruction. The rattling of the wheels on the stone broke the eerie silence of the city. The devastation increased in scale the closer they got to the center of the city. The light from the stars, combined with his stone-vision, was enough to make every destroyed building and deep pit visible to Solus.
Close to their destination, not a single street had an intact building left standing. Staring at the rubble, Solus felt a deep pulse of anger but continued pushing the cart forward.
They came across another group of undead guarding the open square in front of the massive school building. Almost a hundred skeletons, covered in white and grey plates, stood in small spread-out groups. Their eye sockets were constantly focused on the surrounding streets. A smaller group stood beside the building's entrance. A black skeleton with blue, glowing chest armor stood in their midst. As soon as the figure saw Solus, it ran forward, comi
ng to a skidding halt in front of him.
Placing his hands on the stone cart to keep it from rolling, Solus inspected the skeleton. It had a black helmet that covered most of its skull, except for the eye sockets. Two piercing blue lights burned in those, pointing in his direction.
"Sumil, I have some new recruits for you. There is one with red eyes that I want you to take personal care of. He is not to evolve until Drys has seen him."
"Yes, Solus." She paused. "It is good that you are back. Did you learn anything from Uran?" a soft feminine voice replied.
As he remembered what had happened with Uran, Solus shook his head and laughed. "Not really, but the trip wasn't a complete waste. After you finish here, come to the tower, and I'll fill you in."
Sumil nodded before turning to the group of undead behind Solus.
"All of you head into the school. Someone there will tell you what to do. You, red-eyes, follow me!" Seeing the two zombies walk into the school, she turned to the guards.
"Go back to Enthrill for your new orders."
Knowing that Sumil could take care of things from here, Solus motioned the Blackguard to follow him and began pushing the cart toward the center of Skulltown.
"Let's go find Drys and get some more answers."
A dangerous invitation
The shade lurked silently in the shadows amongst the rooftops, its gaze locked on the grey-skinned giant. It knew it was no match for the giant, nor any of his companions who had so easily dispatched its dull brethren. It was different, however. It had survived the chaos of the mad-lands. Hiding, waiting, observing. Always cloaked in shadow, always learning. It was unique, unlike any other shade before it. Here, in this new world, it would thrive!
Scanning the city below, it beheld the many dark alleyways, alcoves, and rooftops with wonder and fascination. Lots of places to hide. It felt secure, confident. This was a good place to be. The first thing to do, it thought, is to discover the secret of their strength… and then steal it!