Book 4: Chapter 9: Fire beats wood

Book 4: Chapter 9: Fire beats wood

The mist of the swamp rolled about the tall reeds as Heather smiled at her new creation. The spell allowed her to replace her bone knight with something bigger and more powerful, and now it stood before them.

Ummm, Breanne said as she gazed on the beast in black armor. That looks dangerous.

Heather walked around him, studying the new creation. He stood just over two meters tall even when hunched over. His arms reached to his knees, ending in hands with long fingers and hooked nails. His skin was a pale gray but could hardly bee seen under the black metal plates. In his right hand was a double-bladed ax, and in his left a towering shield of polished black metal that almost resembled glass. He had a gruesome mouth full of jagged teeth and slits for a nose. His eyes were lifeless black orbs fixed forward that showed no emotion. He wore helm over his head that left only his face uncovered with a row of small metal spikes running down the center.

She nodded in approval and looked to the others. So, what do you think of my ghoul knight?

I liked the bone knight better, Frank said.

I did too, Quinny said. This one looks mean.

Heather looked back to the face and had to admit there was a certain savageness to him. The information said he was stronger and more durable than the bone knight. In addition to the ax, it could bite or use those wicked claws, and they carried with them the ghoul touch. He was thinner than Frank, more resembling the ghouls they fought in the swamp the day before. She looked from him to Frank as a question formed in her mind.

Why dont you wear armor?

Frank scratched at his head with a long nail. Where would I get it? I cant exactly walk into a city and buy it.

What about the armor we get from dead players? she suggested.

It's all low-level gear, Frank said. My skin is naturally tough and gets tougher every few levels. It would be pointless to put armor on unless it was heavy plate like your knight has.

Heather saw his point but still thought some protection was better than none. Still, Frank knew what he was doing, and if he said he didn't need it, who was she to argue? She turned back to the ghoul knight, looking over the armor plates with approval. They were rusted with pitted surfaces, with jagged spikes on the shoulders. It stood Like frank often did with a hunched back looking ahead with a blank stare.

You are my guardian? she asked.

The ghoul looked at her with dead eyes and nodded its head; then, to her surprise, it hissed, Yesssss.

Oh, that's creepy, Breanne said.

I got the chills, Quinny added.

Frank stepped closer, looking at the beast as it turned to look ahead again. Frank was almost a half-meter taller and much wider in the shoulder, but the black armor made the ghoul knight look more imposing. Maybe I should get some armor.

I think you should, Heather agreed. You're always the one I have to heal the most.

That's because I can take the biggest beating, and I run into fights to make sure the monsters are focused on me, he replied. It's called tanking.

Why is it called tanking? she asked.

Because a tank is covered in metal plates and is hard to kill, he replied.

She laughed. Thats why you need some armor.

I will think about it if we find anything I can use, he replied.

Heather shrugged and turned to her palanquin and a very angry Umtha who stood by scowling at them.

Waste time. Must fix and go, Umtha insisted and pointed to the damaged skeletons.

Heather nodded and went about repairing her broken skeletons. Some of them had broken legs from the massive tail that swept them over. Others were badly crushed from where the palanquin fell on them. She knit them back together with her restore undead and stood them back up, ready to go.

Hey ah, word of advice, Legeis said as she joined her. You're using your normal skeletons to carry the cart thingy, but that means they can't do anything else because they are holding on with both hands.

Thats why they are there, Heather stated. I use them because they are the least effective in combat.

I figured, but you should put one of your plant ones on every pole. That way, they can carry and defend it using the plants. If you do get into combat and need to send them in, losing one from every pole won't matter much.

Heather thought it through and realized it was a good idea. That way, the skeletons could hold the pole while the plant was free to lash with its tendrils. It was an excellent way to keep Umtha and Webster safe, assuming nothing massive swept the legs out from under them again. She went ahead and switched out the second skeleton at every pole, putting a plant skeleton in its place. Now with four of them around her, she felt safer and thanked Legeis for his advice.

Umtha was less than happy when Heather finally climbed up and settled in to pet Webster and apologize for letting him get hurt. Umtha told her they wasted too much time and should have left sooner. If the wizard spotted them in the swamp, he would send golems to stop them. Better to cross quickly and waste time once they were in the goblin village.

Heather took her scolding in good form and organized the rest of her undead to march. Only three zombies remained, and these fell in line behind the palanquin with the rest of the skeletons. The new ghoul knight walked directly beside her, looking off into the distance with an empty gaze. She couldn't help but feel like this was a whole new personality and not the same creature as the bone knight.

Frank walked on the other side, holding on with one hand while speaking about how to deal with golems. She explained her plan to corrode them with the upgraded rotting bolt, but he seemed skeptical.

You do realize thats only going to damage them, right? It isnt going to kill them in one blow.

Heather sighed. At least I have something that can hurt them. I was useless before, and all my effective spells require components.

Your scythe will probably do more damage than the spell; magic weapons can hurt them. I'm not sure, but I think I can upgrade my claws to be a magical attack.

You think?

He sighed. I leveled on that hydra, but Im not a chosen, and I can't upgrade outside of my lair. I would have to go all the way back home to find out.

Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound rude, Heather pleaded, feeling she sounded too harsh in her question.

He nodded and looked ahead, his pointed ears twitching. You should see if you can upgrade that ghoul knight to have a magic weapon. That will give us a little more damage potential.

What a good idea, Heather remarked and pulled open her panel to begin looking. I had a thought about this Hathlisora stuff, she said as she opened the ghouls menu.

What kind of thought? he asked as he strained to see the options.

Well, it's a fantasy world, right? So, why couldn't the visitors make things like Hathlisora happen so that they could choose a person to come in and play her role later.

You mean like she was an NPC at first, but now they want you to be her?

Yes. I was thinking about it last night as I fell asleep. We don't know what the visitors are doing and who's to say they don't try and weave stories in?

Frank tossed his head as he considered the idea. I suppose that might be a possibility. It would certainly make sense, but the chosen can pick anything. Even if they looked like somebody on the outside, they might choose to look like me in here.

I hadn't thought of that, Heather said as she worked the idea through her head. That applied to our earlier conversation as well. They wouldn't have dragged me in here because I looked like Hathlisora when I could have chosen the golden sprite, or the succubus, or anything. New novel chapters are published on

Frank nodded and scratched behind an ear. Well, neither your idea nor mine is likely to be true. It only explains some things, so we shouldn't assume that's the reason. Besides, the visitors must have bigger plans if they went through all the trouble to make this world.

Maybe it's just a zoo, Heather laughed. And we are the exhibits.

Frank chuckled and shook his head. If it's a zoo, they didn't need to go to so much trouble to amuse us.

Maybe its a farm then? Heather guessed. And were all sheep, chickens, and cows.

Frank laughed and looked over to try and seer her panel. He leaned way in as she held her arm out for him and then shook her head.

If you want to look, come up here and ride with me for a change, Heather said

He nodded and climbed up as she moved over. He settled in on his side, and she pressed in next to him leaning against his shoulder so they could both see the panel.

See, right there, he said, pointing to an option for weapons. You can select tiers in magic attacks.

Oh, I see it, Heather nodded and tapped. Look, I can make it glow a color.

You can give it extra powers if you sink enough points into it, Frank pointed out. Fire damage might be nice.

What is life-draining? Heather asked as she pulled it open. Oh, that's what that horrible death knight was doing to you.

Don't let that bother you, Frank said. Yours works differently anyway; it heals your ghoul with every hit. She tapped through other options smiling as they explored what Heather could do.

The swamp fog cleared an hour into the march as the skeletons plodded along. From here, the reeds thinned in places, and they could see more of the dark water. The smell of the swamp was stronger, though, and Heather tried to beat it back with her perfume. The trail turned left and ran on until it vanished into the mist leaving distant objects as vague silhouettes.

Heather could only agree and tapped the panel away as the golem, now mostly burned away, began to smolder. She climbed back up with Frank and sat side by side with Webster sitting in her lap. Umtha gave the command, and they pushed on, leaving the ash of the golem behind.

As they rode, Heather thought about her spells and realized necromancer was too narrowly focused. She thought about the talents and how she could get some access to other spells when a thought occurred to her.

Breanne, can you come here a minute? she called.

Breanne floated to the palanquin and hovered at the side. Her gaunt undead face so different from the beautiful elvish woman she appeared as otherwise. What did you want? she asked with a voice that sounded like a distant echo, cold and unfeeling.

You told me once that I couldn't use shadow magic unless I changed classes, but with skills, I can get some access to the lower level spells, Heather began.

When you asked me, you were suggesting you wanted full access to the spells. To do that, you would need to change classes, if you want to dabble in it, then yes you can use skills, but you will never compare to a pure caster.

I see, Heather said with a nod.

Breanne floated closer and leaned over the cart when she noticed Heathers dejected frown. There are other ways to get access to certain magics. There are magical items that give you spell-like effects from other classes. There are even some very powerful items that have a range of spells you can cast from them.

But I won't be able to access it directly? Heather asked.

No, Breanne replied and glared at her with dark eyes. Are you planning some trick that requires access to shadow magic?

Maybe, Heather answered. I have a lot of ideas, but I can't put all the pieces together yet. I see why the necromancers were so focused on researching magic and how to manipulate it. It's very fluid and flexible, the spells are just notes on a scale, but like any good song, the real power comes when those notes are played together.

Breanne laughed. You would have made a good necromancer queen. You have their burning desire to push the limits and know more. Heaven help that fool king if he underestimates you, he will likely be waiting to respawn.

Bah! they heard from the front as the palanquin came to a stop. They looked to Umtha, who stood on the front seat and frowned, her pointed ears drooping down.

What is it? Heather asked as crept forward to see the path simply ended at a stone ramp. It was clear a bridge once covered this expanse, but all that remained were the ramps at either end and some rocks barely visible in the water. Between the two banks was a ten-meter span of dark, murky doom concealing any manner of terrible beasts.

Now must go back! Umtha growled.

This was here a week ago, Legeis said. I came back this way.

Will it reset? Heather asked as she looked from the back of the palanquin.

I dont think this is a player thing, Legeis replied. Though there is a player house about twenty minutes ahead.

Heather frowned and climbed down with Frank, and they walked to the edge of the broken stones looking down at the dark water a meter below.

We will have to turn back and go around the rim, Frank said

Waste day! Umtha shouted in annoyance from behind them.

Breanne floated to their side and looked over the water. Can your giant Lilly pads carry the weight?

I doubt it, Heather said. They held me up, but Frank sank in them. If it isn't too deep, the skeletons could wade across. Just as she said that the spined hump of a giant creature broke the surface as is swam by.

I would rather not, Frank said.

I second that, Breanne agreed.

Thats probably what broke the bridge, Legeis said. I really should invent some depth charges.

Heather tapped her foot in annoyance at the prospect of having to turn back now. They wouldn't be to the keep until near morning wasting a whole day, and more, not to mention Webster would have been hurt for no good reason.

I need a spell to turn the water into stone, Heather grumbled.

There are spells to turn things to stone, but I doubt that would help here, Breanne said. What you need is a way to summon a bridge.

A bridge, Heather repeated as she thought it through. I think I can manage that.

How? Frank asked as Heather pulled up her panel.

Exploits, she replied and poked through the list to a spell she got a few levels ago and looked out over the gap. If she did this just right, she could use this in a creative way to get across. Setting her feet, she put her hands out and began her chant, twisting her palms flat to face the ground as she dropped a small fragment of bone.

A white mist raced out in a straight line, effortlessly bridging the gap as it thickened. There was a chorus of cracking and snapping noises as the mist condensed into bones, forming a bridge across the expanse.

What is that? Frank asked.

Heather smiled at her success and looked to him. Wall of bones. I altered it to make a bridge.

Ha, Nice use of a spell. You got a good head on your shoulders, Legeis remarked.

How did you make it lay flat? Breanne asked.

Heather shrugged. The spells description said I could alter the size and shape so long as its total volume didn't exceed the limit. I just made it really low and wide.

The more I watch you think your way through problems, the more I wonder if you are the one the goblins are waiting for, Breanne said.

We will find out more when we get to the goblins, Heather replied and went back to the palanquin. Umtha smiled at her as she climbed back up and commented that Hathlisora was smart. Heather wasnt sure if she was all that creative or smart, that wasnt even an exploit, just using the spell exactly how it said she could.

She set Webster to the side and settled in to read the book and the hundreds of pages she hadn't yet thoroughly researched. Come pet; I need your help to hold my place, she said to Webster, and he settled in on her shoulder using an arm to tap the page where she needed.

The palanquin moved ahead, crossing the bone bridge that eerily made cracking noises as they passed. The swamps felt colder on this side, and a faint rumble echoed off in the distance. There were more trees as well, with dark, twisted trunks clinging to life on the edge of the bogs. The smell of the air was fresher, and carried the unmistakable scent of water, as the gray clouds overhead began to disgorge a light rain.

The trail became a soggy mess with skeletons sinking into the mud as they walked. The palanquin tossed and rocked, making Heather most uncomfortable. She was forced to put the book away when even Webster's help wasn't enough and held on as the skeletons slipped in the muck. As they rounded a bend, she saw a structure ahead, appearing as a silhouette in the mist.

Is that a building? Heather asked.

Its a hunters cabin, Legeis said. It belongs to some player, but I have never seen anyone when I come by here. I have spent the night inside it a few times on my trips.

Heather leaned out of the palanquin to look at the gray skies as they suddenly got darker, indicating the sun had moved to its evening position. Something howled off in the distant mists, and she felt decidedly uncomfortable. Staying the night sounded like a great idea, letting the storm pass and giving the trail time to dry. As they got closer, she could see it was a small wooden cabin with a single door and two windows on the front. A stone chimney climbed up one side, poking up through a roof of graying thatch.

It had the appearance of an old haunted cabin in the woods, but right now, being indoors and being dry appealed to her more than stumbling about in the dark rain. She called a stop, and Frank and Breanne searched inside to make sure it was safe.

She picked Webster up and handed him to Quinny before climbing down herself. The palanquin was set outside the front porch, and the undead spread out around the building for protection. For extra measure, she summoned some thorn whip plants around the back and sides just to be sure.

Inside the cabin was one large open room that was sparse but clean. A single bed made of timbers and a thin mattress rested against one wall. A crude wooden table with four chairs was in the center. There were unlit candles in a dozen sconces on the wall, and a few stands on the table. A cabinet full wooden cups and bowls stood on the wall, but what impressed her most was the fireplace. It dominated a side wall made of large round stones cemented together. There was a pile of dry wood right beside it, and she eagerly began to throw branches in to start a fire.

What are you going to light it with? Frank asked as he watched her work.

A cantrip, she replied and reached for a candle and then used the spell to cause it to light. She then held the candle flame to the kindling until it started to burn. A few minutes later, the fire grew, and slowly the cabin began to warm.

This is nice, she said. My tower needs fireplaces.

Your tower is always the same temperature, Frank reminded her.

Yes, just cold enough to be uncomfortable. Why do you think I spend so much time on my balcony? Its the only warm place in the whole tower.

Didnt one of those cantrips allow you to adjust the temperature? Breanne asked.

Heather sighed. Yes, but I didn't know I could use them until yesterday. Frank's right, the panel's interface is confusing and hard to use. Half my struggle is finding the information I want, or knowing its there to find in the first place.

Well, I should apologize and admit I knew about cantrips, Breanne said. I had no idea you didn't know they were there, or I would have said something.

Heather understood and walked about the cabin taking it in as Umtha created a bed with the palanquin's pillows. Heather sat on the actual bed and let out a sigh. It almost felt like camping, complete with popping fire and a faint smell of smoke. The rain was drumming on the roof, and the boys were sitting at the table talking. Legeis was explaining how one of his weapons worked as Frank examined it. Breanne and Quinny were rummaging about the cabinet to see if there was anything of interest.

For the moment, things felt somewhat normal, and she laid back to rest her mind. Webster startled her by jumping up and settled in at her waist, purring in a little ball. She thought about what Breanne said earlier about being the person the goblins were waiting for. Even she had to admit it was convincing, but she had no memory of Hathlisora. When she thought back to it, she remembered her job, the apartment, her student loan that was choking her finances. All the things that made up her life came to mind, especially her mother and brother. Surely being here and looking like Hathlisora was just a coincidence?

She put a hand on Webster and stroked the coarse hair of his back. The spider was a strange companion, but he proved to be useful, and she loved how he snored. The thunder rolled in the distance as she looked out the nearby window, her mind still wondering, who was Hathlisora, and why did the crown feel like it was calling to her?