by Wolfe Locke
She still had the same glossy look on her face. “Oh, I remember. When I woke up, the boy was gone. My friend Maxwell was carrying me on his back. He was running from something—from the same things that had been chasing us before. I was wounded, but still alive. He brought me into this building where he worked and sealed me into the pod. I think he hoped something like this would happen: that someone would find me in the future and heal me. As the pod sent me to sleep, I saw them break in. They killed Maxwell like they killed the little boy—”
“And now you’ve been resurrected,” Zander said. “You’re a frost spirit now. You’re bound to my service—but in exchange, you can do powerful magic.”
“Magic?” Celeste said, wrinkling her brow in confusion.
The door thumped again, more loudly this time, and started to splinter. Zander could hear the Draugr shrieking outside.
Enough talking, you’ll have plenty of time to make her think you’re interesting as we survive this. Rocktooth said, glaring at them. We’re going to have some action soon.
“Let’s hope you know how to use your new powers,” Zander said, reaching for his own magic. “We’re going to need them.”
“Powers!” Celeste said. “I don’t have any powers. I’m only human.”
“I think you’re a little bit more than that!” Zander said, gesturing at her blue, ice-covered body. “I trust you can figure it out!”
The Draugr smashed at the door again, and it splintered even further. Through the hole the monsters had created, Zander could see them milling about in the hallway outside. They were chittering to each other eagerly, and hungry for blood.
Here we go, Rocktooth boomed. Are you ready?
“Ready as we’ll ever be!” Zander shouted.
He was worried. He’d already used a lot of his magic navigating the building and in the resurrecting of Celeste and the subsequent binding of her to him had drained him even more. He wasn’t sure if he had it in him to fight off the Draugr horde.
The door was a mass of writhing hands, trying to get through. It seemed like every monster in the building had converged on the room, hoping to rip him and the undead woman apart with their teeth. This must have been why the ancient building had been so empty before. The monsters had all been waiting for him to travel down into the depths of the building, wanting to draw him in.
Another blow rang out and it widened the hole the monsters had already created. Hands pulled back along with portions of the metal sheeting of the door and the first of the Draugr shoved its head through. It was hideous, vaguely human in form but bloated with death and black with rot. One eyeball dangled down its cheek, leaking fluid. Its teeth were jagged and yellow, and its mouth was coated with blood and gore.
The monster glared at him with its one remaining eye, the Draugr screamed and scrabbled at the door with its hands. Zander cast an [Arcane Bolt] that passed over Rocktooth and hit the Draugr, the monster fell back. Almost immediately, another one took its place. He used [Arcane Bolt] again, blowing the new monster’s head off, only for it to be replaced with yet another. More Draugr clustered behind it, pushing their way forward in a mindless rage.
There are too many Zander, you need to get out of here. The golem was right. He wasn’t going to be able to pick them off one at a time like this. He’d be fully drained of his magic long before he was able to destroy all the Draugr. Worse, they were still smashing at the door. They could swarm them. The door wouldn’t last much longer at this rate. There had to be another way.
As if on cue, another piece of the door splintered off with a metallic clang. The monsters wasted no time and started to push their way into the chamber. Their eyes were wild, and their mouths opened and closed relentlessly, with an unholy hunger that could never be satiated.
Rocktooth! You’re turn. Can you handle this? Zander yelled through their connection.
The golem stepped forward obediently. I’ve been handling it, but such as the way of a summon. At your service.
Rocktooth struck out violently with its smooth and powerful arms of stone. The heavy blow knocking three Draugr across the room into the wall with a wet sounding splat. They shrieked and lay still, limbs contorted into unnatural positions from the force of the blow. Rocktooth held the line, smashing Draugr with its hands and crushing them beneath its feet. The monsters couldn’t get past the powerful golem—at least for now. You’d think these Draugr would be used to the power of the Nether by now.
Zander turned back to look at Celeste and check on her. I need her power. But instead, Zander saw she was cowering in a corner of the room, eyes wide with fear.
“Wha—what are those things?” she said, almost sobbing. “They look like the monsters that were chasing us back in—back before.”
“They probably are the same monsters,” Zander said with a grunt as he tried to gather more magic into himself. “Or similar ones. Draugr don’t age like we do. Eventually they wear out, but only if they get attacked or injured.”
“Draugr?” She asked, still confused.
“I will explain,” Zander said exasperated. “I promise. But not right now. How’s it going? Do you think you’ll be able to work any frost magic soon?”
“Frost magic?” Celeste said, looking baffled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, I swear. I believe you when you say I do have that power, but I have no idea how to access it.”
Zander hissed with frustration and looked back at Rocktooth. The golem was still doing well, but the gap in the door was widening and more Draugr were pushing their way through every second. That’s correct Zander, and I can only destroy so many of them at a time. It wasn’t long before his summon would be overwhelmed.
“You need to figure it out!” Zander said. “I’m drained, and Rocktooth can only do so much! I resurrected you for this purpose!”
“Resurrected—me?” The woman responded, an edge of anger in her voice.
A bloodcurdling shriek echoed through the chamber, and Zander’s stomach dropped. It was a Monster of the Abyss. He’d only seen the creatures once or twice in his life, and he’d always run from them immediately. The stories he’d heard from those who’d tried to fight them chilled his blood.
They were vicious and relentless creatures, reanimated corpses that had mutated into hideous forms. A Monster of the Abyss, once aggravated, would stop at nothing until its opponents were dead on the ground and it was feasting on their flesh. And they were stuck with one in a doorless chamber, unable to escape.
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 mi
ght 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 stuff 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 inc
lude 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.