by J. Carrarn
Taking a deep breath, Solus tried to calm himself. After a few moments, his anger abated. Confused at how rapidly his emotions came back under control, he took a second deep breath and sat back down. If they knew about the world elemental, there was nothing he could do about it but end them. If they came to Skulltown, however, he could easily keep them under control.
"Alright, but from now on, keep them out of my mind!" he said before sitting back down.
Borl slumped back on the bench. "These emotions are sometimes way more than I bargained for," he muttered. "Fine, let's discuss how to get the things you need and how we can get my friends and yours out of here without alerting Scathia."
Curious about what the other had in mind, Solus leaned forward.
Scathia
Standing in the small alley outside of Borl's abode, Solus looked at the pudgy yellow zombie in front of him.
"Thank you for helping the boss… and us," Ettol said. "As promised, I'll show you the fastest way to Scathia."
Solus nodded and followed Ettol as he exited the small alley. As they passed through the dark and empty undercity, Solus wondered again why Borl had made all of the other undead that hung around him resemble him and why he had chosen such a form.
The return trip to the city's surface was a lot faster than the initial trip, and Solus frowned. Ettol had obviously been slowing them down before. As he stared at the back of the pudgy zombie, he determined he would need to take far greater care when dealing with these seemingly weak undead. They were cunning.
After passing through a few small alleys, they arrived at a large underground road. The roof was so high that Solus couldn't reach it. At one side was a staircase that disappeared straight up, through the ceiling. Solus followed Ettol to the entrance and peered up. It was a steep shadowy path with intermittent Satri glowing along the way.
"This is the boss's personal way up. Besides us, nobody else knows about it," Ettol said proudly, his puffy jowls shivering as he straightened his shoulders.
Solus didn't respond to this and just followed Ettol up. The staircase was long, and staring up at the zombie's wiggling backside all the time made him nauseous, so he tried to keep his eyes on the steps.
After what seemed like a thousand steps later, soft light from above signaled the end of his torment. They arrived in a small room with doors on all sides. Sunlight streamed in through small slits along the sides of the doors.
Ettol rushed to the closest door to the left and glanced out of the slit. He cursed and ran to another door, then another. When he backed up from the last one, he seemed scared.
Solus frowned. "What-" he began, but Ettol raised a finger to his lips, beckoning him to be quiet. Holding his breath, Solus frowned when a soft voice, barely a whisper, came from beside his ear.
"The Yellowplates, Scathia's guards, are everywhere, searching the entire city. The doors are hidden, so they won't be able to find this room, but if we go out there…"
The name Yellowplates made Solus think of the undead he had fought outside the city, and he moved to a slit to check. The slit was high above the ground and looked out across a small square with many balconies and paths and stairs leading away. A group of green zombies with yellow plates covering their arms and lower bodies stomped out of a house.
So that's what they are called, Solus thought as he recognized the undead. They were identical to the one he had buried just at the edge of the city.
Two tall grey and black skeletons with extremely thick feet and leg bones stood beside the door, watching the Yellowplates leave.
Stepping back, Solus frowned at Ettol.
"Any ideas as to how we're getting out of here undetected?" he asked, projecting his voice in a whisper beside the other's head.
He didn't want to stay here too long, and his discussion with Borl made him even more determined to get the information from Scathia and find the others.
"We should just wait here until they leave," Ettol replied, fear evident in his every movement.
Still wondering why the other was so afraid, a loud thud against the wall caused them both to swirl around in surprise. A moment later it happened again, and cracks appeared in the bone. The third knock caused a piece of the wall to crack and fall toward them as a thick green fist burst through before quickly withdrawing. Two hands gripped the hole's edges and started to rip, trying to make the hole larger.
Ettol scrambled to the staircase and down, but Solus just waited. Two Yellowplates stepped in after each other and stared at him.
"See? I told you I heard something!" the one on the left said, stepping toward Solus.
"Come with us. Hiding is forbidden, and you will have Scathia to answer to!"
Solus grinned, holding back his initial instinct to attack.
"Sure! Lead the way," he rumbled, walking past the two undead and out of the room.
"You'll soon lose your cheery demeanor," grinned one of the undead evilly as he followed him outside. Grabbing Solus's arm, he tried to drag him away. Solus resisted for a second, grinning at the Yellowplate's surprise when he found that Solus was impossible to budge. Then he ripped his arm free and casually walked off in the direction the zombie had tried to drag him in.
"No need for that, just show me the way."
The undead cursed under his breath and rushed after him. "You will regret that," he said through gritted teeth before pointing toward another stair.
Solus just smiled and followed the other's directions. A half dozen guards that had been waiting in an alley rushed to surround Solus. They led him along increasingly wider staircases and over wide roads until they reached the large square with the immense staircase leading up to the spire. Solus nodded.
So that's where she is. If they had just told me she was on the top of the mountain, I could have found her myself…
Increasing his pace, he stomped up the staircase, not holding anything back. Every step caused cracks to appear as parts of bone cracked off and shot around.
"Hey! Stop that!" one of the guards roared, rushing forward.
Without looking, Solus slapped him back down the staircase.
"I can find the way from here. You lot can go back to whatever you were doing," he said before jumping up four steps and causing a small sonic boom that was followed by screams and dull thudding.
Looking back, he saw that the Yellowplates had been blasted backward. They lay in a groaning heap at the foot of the staircase. He grinned and increased his pace, destroying most of the staircase as he sped up.
It took him only moments to rush to the top. Ignoring the undead that stood gathered in front of the entrance, he stomped forward, shoving them out of the way.
"Who's that?" someone mumbled while they rushed to get out of his way.
"Doesn't he know he has to wait?"
"He will be punished!"
Solus passed under a tall gate and stepped into a spacious chamber. He took a quick look at the six statues that stood three at each side before turning to the large throne. A few undead guards stepped forward, blocking his path.
What is up with those statues? he wondered before coming to a dead stop. A fleshy undead with pale skin and sunken cheeks stared at him with her piercing red eyes. Looking back to the statues, Solus immediately saw the resemblance.
This must be Scathia, he thought.
"Do you like it?" a soft, melodious voice asked, silencing the hushed murmurs. It vaguely resembled the one he had heard in Skulltown, confirming his assumptions.
After thinking for a moment, Solus nodded. He did like them. More the concept of statues than what these depicted, though.
Scathia laughed and got up. Her pale wyrm leather robe hung loosely around her body; it seemed to be a few sizes too large. She came down the stairs from her throne, seeming to glide effortlessly over the floor and quicker than her frail frame would suggest that she could. Looking down at her feet, Solus saw that they never actually touched the ground.
Great, she can fly. Or hove
r, at least. Why is it that everyone but me can fly?
Stopping a few feet from him, she grinned at him from the bottom of the deep staircase.
"As we haven't been properly introduced, and as you had me at a disadvantage the previous time, let me introduce myself."
Scathia inclined her head, a scanty grin drawing her already taut flesh even tighter around her skull.
"I am Scathia the Litch, soon to be a real Litch… with your help."
Solus sniffed and looked around. The other undead stood between the statues, staring at them with wide eyes and shocked looks on their faces.
"Solus," he replied.
This whole fake let's-be-civil" act was getting under his skin. Although he wasn't about to have an emotional outburst, he was starting to get annoyed. Turning his attention back to Scathia, he frowned.
"I came here because you couldn't tell me how to close the rifts before. If you would tell me now, I'll leave and let you go back to being a Litch or whatever."
Scathia laughed softly, her red eyes glowing brightly.
"You don't seem to understand, but that is fine. Let me explain."
She glided back to her throne. As she sat down with a stiff back and raised chin, she snapped her fingers.
"To stop the rifts is something only I can do, but only after I can obtain a certain item."
Solus frowned as he felt his emotions roil up and down suddenly. Something was wrong. Gritting his teeth, he took a step back. Although she seemed weaker than he had anticipated, something about Scathia had him on edge.
"What item?" he asked, hearing dozens of feet from all around him.
"Oh, not anything grand," Scathia said, the sarcasm dripping from her words. "At first I had thought I would need to dig and dig and dig for it, perhaps even scour the entire planet. Now, it seems that I can spare the effort!"
Solus sensed something pushing against his mind, a sensation similar to when the World Elemental spoke with him. As if she could read his mind, Scathia continued.
"All I need is a mana-core, and yours will do quite nicely, little world elemental."
The last part of that sentence was hissed, and a humming, singing sound came from her.
A mana-core?
Solus knew he was in trouble. He tried to leap forward and grab Scathia, but he couldn't move. His body was unresponsive, and his thoughts were becoming foggy. At the same time, he felt as if something was clamped around his mind like a vice. The only things that he could still move were his eyes. Grunting, he reached out with his mind for the stone of the mountain, but the moment he touched it, something severed his connection.
"I don't think so!" a rough voice said, and Solus felt hands grab at him, trying to drag him away. Although he could feel the pressure, they still lacked strength, and after a second, he heard a curse.
"Everybody, get over here and help me carry this heavy pile of bile away! If the spell ends before he is incarcerated, we will be in trouble!" the rough voice roared, and Solus heard many footsteps coming his way. Solus felt hands touching him everywhere, a sensation he knew right away he loathed. Pushing as hard as he could against the mental chains that bound him, he felt not even the slightest yield.
Someone shoved him, and he fell forward. He saw a square bone plate lying on the ground in front of him, moments before he slammed into it, hearing it crack and tear.
With his head to one side, he could see a skeleton kneeling beside the plate he was lying on. Its eyes were blazed green as it touched the plate, and a moment later, the plate slowly and with much wobbling hovered up into the air.
"He is too heavy. I need help." An emotionless voice spoke, and another skeleton stepped beside him, and then another. The wobbling plate stabilized, and Solus saw the world turn.
"Hurry! Carry him up!"
Solus saw everything move and slide around him as they pushed him somewhere, up a staircase and through a door. He was shoved through a tunnel and up a long winding staircase that seemed to go on forever. Finally, they moved him into a room, and when he crossed the threshold, he felt a tingling in his fingers. Groaning, he tried to wiggle them and felt them respond slightly. Then his whole body began to tingle.
"Hurry, he is breaking free!" a panicked voice screamed.
Feeling his whole body slowly beginning to respond to his will again, Solus tried to push himself up. Half raised, he struggled as the skeletons rushed him into another room and put him on the ground. Angrier than he had been in a long time, Solus pushed himself up, ready to tear these undead apart. He was in an enormous oval room. Below him on the ground was an elaborate pattern, a few times his body length in all directions. Finally able to move, he scrambled upright.
In front of the large pattern stood a large group of heavily breathing Yellowplates and half a dozen green-eyed skeletons.
Gritting his teeth, Solus stomped forward, and the group backed up, but when he reached the edge of the pattern, it was as if he had hit a solid wall. He bounced back and shook his head to clear it. Stretching out his hand, he felt a smooth surface. He struck it as hard as he could, but besides a loud solid thud, nothing happened. The pattern surely had to have something to do with it. He slammed his foot down on it, hoping it would crack. Unfortunately, just like his blow against the invisible barrier, there was no effect.
"Don't bother. That's a holding pattern of the ancients. It was made to hold Dreadknights and Skullroars. A feeble demi world elemental like you won't even be able to dent it," Scathia said as she moved into the room, leaning heavily on a Yellowplate. Her face was paler than before, and she stumbled a few times.
"How do you know what I am?" Solus growled, putting his hands against the invisible barrier and pushing.
"Leave us and send the Immaterials," Scathia said, waving the others away. The Yellowplates rushed off, dragging the skeletons with them. They closed the door, shutting any outside noises out and leaving Solus and Scathia alone.
"Because I can see the status window of every entity that dares to come close to me!" Scathia said, lowering herself on a bone chair.
Solus felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
"What do you want?" he asked. He knew she had said she needed his mana-core, but he didn't even know what that was.
Scathia was quiet for a while, examining his strained face as he continued to increase the pressure against the barrier.
"I need your core. With it, I can evolve into a Litch."
Solus stopped pushing, realizing he was just wasting his strength. He kicked the barrier a final time and sat down, glaring at her.
"Why do you need a core for that? Just get the pattern."
Scathia glared back. "Fool! If it was that easy, don't you think I'd have done it already?"
The female undead closed her eyes, tilting her head back for a while as she took deep breaths. Then she looked back at him, a tired look in her eyes.
"Why don't you just cooperate? Without that core, I can't evolve again! That means I can't create a large enough pattern barrier to block the rifts. Without a barrier, the rifts will continue to appear, spewing their mindless spawn until we are all destroyed."
Solus growled and shook his head. She wanted him to just lay down and surrender? Never!
"Fool! That dying world elemental is the last of its kind! As soon as it dies, the last defense this planet has will be gone."
Frowning, Solus shook his head. How does she know that? Feigning confusion, he hoped she would elaborate. "Dying?"
"Yes, dying! The only reason this planet has remained unmolested until this time is because that thing was here. God knows where it even came from..." Scathia gazed into the distance, seeming lost in thoughts.
God? Solus got a few confusing concepts from his memories that made no sense to him. Some mighty being that could do anything and was all-powerful?
"Give me your mana-core… I promise that I'll keep Skulltown safe afterward! I will even let Drys keep command of it as one of my subordinates," Scathia sai
d, looking at him as if she expected him to concede.
"No. Why don't you just evolve another world elemental?"
Scathia shook her head, a sad look on her face.
"You don't understand. I don't need a world elemental! I need a mana-core! Besides, undead that can evolve into world elementals are rare, almost unique… the fact there is even a single one on this miserable planet can be counted a miracle."
Thinking of his pattern, Solus frowned.
"Why? Can't we just give any random undead my pattern and be done with it?"
"Where are they…?" Scathia said as she ignored him and stared at the closed door. After a moment, she turned to Solus.
"Fine, we might as well talk some more until they get here. Perhaps it will enlighten you into giving me what I need to save this world," Scathia said, followed by silence as she seemed to collect her thoughts.
Looking around the room, Solus searched for any rock or metal. Although he couldn't sense far, his senses seemed able to penetrate the barrier a little.
"You've probably seen some of those red skeletons that can throw flame?" Scathia asked.
Confused and wondering what those had to do with anything, Solus turned his attention back to Scathia and nodded.
"Any being, undead included, can be created with an elemental-attuned mana-field. Whether this happens is random, as is the element gained. Not even the ancients knew how to make this happen at will. Fire is the most common amongst all undead attunements, while things like electricity, earth, and water are almost unheard of."
Solus immediately thought of Galg, the skeleton that had had lightning running through his bones.
Galg and I evolved so close to each other and in such a short amount of time... It couldn't be that rare, could it?
"If you give an undead a pattern that requires elemental attunement that it doesn't have, it will explode. Now, what I need isn't an elemental-attuned undead per se. What I need is a mana-core, and those only exist in undead that have evolved four or more times. Four consecutively stronger evolutions. Branching out or diversification doesn't count."