Book 5: Chapter 13: I am well guarded

Book 5: Chapter 13: I am well guarded

Heather sulked in the corner of the palanquin as the sun rapidly raced across the sky, leaving a red hue on the horizon and early stars in the east. She wore the tattered yellow dress, stained with soil and blood from the forest encounter. To attempt to make it better, Webster used his silk to stitch some of the larger holes back together, leaving her with a hodgepodge of white silk patches.

It will mend itself by morning, Breanne said as Heather glared at the floor.

Why did that work? Heather said, ignoring Breannes statement by changing the topic.

You mean why did your spell amplify so greatly? Breanne asked with a raised brow. Obviously because of the staff.

But why was I glowing? It makes sense the staff would, but I felt like I was part of it somehow, as if the staff was drawing on me, not the other way around.

Breanne looked concerned, and Heather was sure she was. Legeis was convinced the staff wasn't dangerous, but Heather felt there was more to it. Somehow it triggered the blue glow that only happened when her power was overused, and she tapped into essence. The panel's explanation of what essence was made it seem like it came from another her, but there was no other her, unless. She let that thought go and looked out the window as the palanquin made its way down a rocky slope, the skeletons going slowly to avoid slipping.

Didnt you say Gwens heart called it a staff of focus? Breanne asked.

Heather nodded as she thought back to the moment Gwen showed them the interface. It did, so what?

So, what is it focusing? Breanne asked.

I assume magic, she replied, not following where the Breanne was going. Breanne looked at her with a skeptical gaze as Heather began to think the question through. What was it focusing indeed? I suppose it could be focusing the power I gain from essence, which would explain why I was glowing.

I still don't recall ever hearing the term essence used before, and I am pretty sure several of the necromancer kings were chosen, Breanne replied with a hint of concern. I don't understand why you have it or what purpose a stat that knocks you unconscious plays.

Well, it has saved our lives before, Heather answered as she pulled at a silk patch. If the staff gives me safer control of it, then maybe it's a blessing.

Or a curse, Breanne remarked. And what happens if Legeis is right and the staff runs out of power? Does it get more by draining you?

I don't know, Heather protested with an angry shake of her head. All of Breanne's points were valid, but they weren't what was bothering her. She was more focused on the why of it all. In light of what had happened, there was only one consistent point, and that was Hathlisora. She was laying out a path for Heather to follow, using the egg to deliver her to the next clue. The staff and its abilities were just another part of the puzzle. What really bothered Heather was why Hathlisora felt she would need the firepower of a battleship in the near future.

A chirp made Heather look up to the palanquin roof where Webster was riding in the sunlight.

I am not explaining to you what a battleship is, and stop reading my mind, she said to the spider on the other side. He chirped back as she heard his squeaky voice. I dont care. Sometimes I want to believe I can have a thought in privacy.

He is your familiar. There is no way to get him out of your mind, Breanne reminded her.

Heather sighed and folded her arms as thoughts of cookies ran through her head. Unfortunately, she had already eaten the day's ration of cookies, at least the few Quinny hadn't gotten to yet. There was a lovely white cake with strawberries on the side but somehow, seeing it made her think of Frank. She decided to occupy her mind and reached into the pouch at her side, drawing out the lesser kingdom heart to gaze into its interface. One of the nicer things about it was the ability to see her lair remotely and check on what was happening. She could even look through the eyes of her gargoyles, scouring the outer yards like a security camera. Nothing seemed out of place, as undead meandered about through the mists that crept about the graves. She changed focus and saw Monica cooking as if Heather was about to arrive for dinner. It was the strangest thing that NPC's often mindlessly did their tasks, oblivious to events around them.

See anything? Breanne asked from beside her.

Heather clutched her hand closed, ending the connection with a sigh. Nothing. Everything is just how we left it.

Players will arrive soon, Breanne said but sounded less enthused by it than Frank did.

You don't care for players, do you? Heather asked.

I would rather be left alone, Breanne admitted. I have had my full of players and attempting to coexist with them like Frank wants.

Its how the world is designed, Heather pressed. The two groups working side by side to reach new heights.

Tell that to the hero players, Breanne replied with a smirk.

That was a point that couldn't be argued, so Heather didn't even try. Hero players often saw little value in the dungeons monster players built. For many, the only goal was to find the monster player and reset him, thus erasing his lair. It was as stupid an idea as she had ever heard, yet the practice was common. Breanne had witnessed it first-hand many times and on a grand scale when the necromancer kings fought with Kevin. She was reduced to a graveyard so small it was hardly worth the notice. It made sense she wouldn't care to have players crawling around, risking the inevitable, but Heather felt they had to try. A good example of what hero and monster players could achieve together might change minds. It was a noble thought, but she wondered if it was naive.

They spoke some more, going over the details as the group moved on, never resting even for the night. When Heather finally slept, she tried to use a technique taught in one of her classes, focusing on a thought as she floated in a drowsy state. She closed her eyes and asked one question, who am I?

The morning brought many new rewards, not the least of which was a mended dress and a fresh batch of cookies. She had to threaten Quinny to split them before hoarding her share in the palanquin for safekeeping. The sky was dark, streaked with angry blues and rolling white. It looked like it wanted to storm as a stiff wind blew the curtain in her face.

She enjoyed the breeze, laying in her yellow dress as Webster crawled on her back, attempting to turn her into a bed.

We have pillows, she scolded as he curled up, forming a ball of legs on her shoulders.

I cant believe you arent bothered by a giant spider crawling on you, Breanne remarked.

Is pet, Umtha interjected.

He's a familiar, Heather corrected. And he is my friend, just like all of you. Besides, having him nearby seems to be good for my health. He chirped, and she smiled as he shuffled, making a strange shrill purring. Heather dangled the arm with the bracelet over the side, watching as the green light pointed the direction.

Adventuring can be boring, she said as the landscape continued to go by. I have seen all I need of mountain passes and steep crags.

I am sure some danger waits for us ahead, Breanne scolded.

Why doesn't anything happen at night? Heather asked. That's two good nights of sleep I have gotten.

Oh, we fought a battle last night, Breanne laughed. Some kind of gray blob of ooze bubbled out of the rocks and flowed at us.

Heather looked up with a start wondering why nobody woke her.

We didn't need to wake you because Quinny summoned her zombies and had them charge. The ooze was perfectly happy to settle in and eat them while we passed right by.

Huh, Heather remarked and went back to staring at the bracelet. I guess that works.

She summoned a second pack an hour later and told them to guard the road behind us just in case the slime choose to follow after finishing the first meal.

It must be nice being able to summon clumps of zombies anywhere, Heather said as she reached into her pouch and took out the strange blue ring.

You can summon undead outside of graveyards, Breanne remarked as she watched Heather hold the ring and look it over. Why are you playing with that?

Because its mine, she said with a mocking tone. Didn't you hear my bone champion? He got it for me after all.

I was there, Breanne remarked with a frown. Dont forget I was the one who pulled that terrible shadow parasite out of his chest.

That was something Heather hoped to forget, the writing worm-like creature the wriggled in the poor things rib cage. She wasn't sure why an undead would pick up a passenger like that or why it couldn't merely have escaped. One thing was for sure. It proved there was something more in that blackness, and she hoped never to find out what.

The early hours of the day saw little activity as they continued slowly descending into rugged hills. Coming around the mountainside, they got a good glimpse of the land beyond to see rolling sands and painted mesas.

Heather leaned out the side studying the distant landscape before it was obscured behind a hill. That looks like a desert.

Not a desert, more like a badlands, Breanne said. It might be harder to cross. I bet those passes between the mesas are full of rocks and debris.

We will find a way around, Heather said as the palanquin came to a halt. She looked out the window to see Frank and Quinny standing at a crevice, looking across.

The cliff is washed out, Frank called as he saw Heather. Can you bridge it with your wall of bone?

Just like we will find a way over this, she added and climbed down. She thought of bringing her scythe but decided to see if she could manage without it. Once at the edge, she was sure she could and quickly set about creating a wall that she turned on its side. It became a bridge of bone over the gap, and Frank stepped out to test it.

It's several feet thick, Heather said and stepped out with him. It's meant to resist attacks. I doubt it will break if we walk on it.

I know we have crossed them before, but it still seems strange to walk on bones, he replied.

Heather smiled and walked boldly across, swinging her arms as the wind blew her hair. She felt rather good this morning; the shock of the attack over a day ago long since faded. She arrived on the other side as the palanquin crossed the center, with Legeis being the most unwilling to step onto the bridge in his armor suit.

Its perfectly safe, Heather called.

I weigh a lot more than most of you combined, he replied but stepped out and quickly made his way across as the bridge cracked and groaned under his steps. Safely on the other side, they resumed the march, Heather fetching her sun hat to walk in the open air. Breanne joined her, as did Umtha leaving the skeletons to carry Webster, who was all too happy to ride.

Do you have any idea how far away our destination is? Heather asked with a glance at Umtha.

Far, the goblin woman said as her long pointed ears dipped.

Heather nodded and turned her gaze back to the wagon, anxiously waiting for Breanne to reappear. When she did, her tale was chilling; a dozen players littered the road ahead, all robbed of their belonging, and some bound with their throats slit.

Players must have done this, Frank said as Breanne finished.

You mean one group of players did this to another? Heather asked.

Frank shrugged and explained that PVP was fairly common and that killing other players was often more profitable than monsters.

So one group of players attacks another, beats them, ties them up and robs them, then murders them for the lols?

This isn't like the real world, Frank insisted, but Heather felt angry now. She urged them to pass it by and move on, so she didn't have to keep staring at it. They did so at a cautious pace, looking about to see who might have done it. Nothing moved in the darkness, and Legeis detected nothing of note, but it did little to lower the tension.

An hour later, they happened on two more bodies that Frank suggested had tried to escape the wagon battle. One was a dwarf man, the other a humanoid woman with snake-like features and long silver hair. She wore a white silk gown, stained with blood from a dozen stabs. Nearby a blackened mark on the ground still smoldered, indicating this battle wasn't very old.

Were gaining on whoever did this, Quinny said as she looked around.

Maybe we should look for a way around in the other direction, Frank offered as he considered the road ahead.

There are half a dozen tracks leading off, Breanne said as she paced around. It must be a pack of players hunting together.

Why are so many players terrible? Heather groaned.

They are bored? Frank asked as Heather turned on him.

So they destroy all the monster dungeons because, hey, why not. Then the monsters change to hero players or move far away, leaving them with nothing to do so they kill each other?

They do have a lot of arena's, Breanne replied.

With a groan, Heather stepped ahead. What must the visitors think of us? I bet once they discovered how terrible and violent we are, they decided to keep pretending they didn't understand us. They will probably run away one day to warn the rest of the universe not to come here.

I wouldnt blame them, Breanne agreed.

Heather pondered Franks suggestion of turning around and looking for a pass the other way. She looked back down the road to see a lone figure standing in the distance. She couldnt make out who or what it was but quickly called attention to it, alerting the others.

I see them, Frank said as he squinted. They are just watching us.

Keeping tabs on us is more like it, Breanne said. We probably cant go back now. I bet whoever did this is already watching us.

I should have raised all those bodies into zombies, Heather said but quickly realized that would have given herself away. She wondered why the stranger stood still, allowing them to watch him when she looked around to see everybody was watching him.

Hes a distraction, she said as it dawned in her. Hes there to make us look the other way!

Frank whirled around as a streak of smoke raced in with a whistle, striking him in the chest plate and leaving behind an arrow. Breanne was suddenly wrapped in golden chains, as Quinny was pounced on by a wolf-like thing that appeared out of nowhere.

Legeis turned about as a huge man in shining armor swung a massive ax, knocking the armor back with a crackle of lightning.

Her bone knight was at her side in a second, his shield high as she heard the snapping noise again, and his shield shook from a bunch of impacts. The initial shock over Heather yelled to her skeletons, ordering them to drop the palanquin and kill the attackers.

She took firm hold of her scythe and charged the only visible enemy as Legeis tried to get the hammer off his back. The man saw her coming and turned to meet her, laughing for a brief moment before she dashed. The gap between them closed quickly, and she slashed, the blade of the scythe trailing blue light. He cried out in alarm but took the blow, swinging one of his own that forced her to dive out of the way.

He tried to follow it up, but Legeis shot him with a bomb and came at him with the hammer they took from the hag cave. Frank was slashing at the wolf thing with two more arrows in his armor as Quinny limped back to her feet and finally drew her sword. The snapping noise returned, and a hail of white darts streaked in, slamming into her chest one after another before Frank jumped in the way and took the last three. Thankfully Quinny didn't seem too injured and took over fighting the wolf as Frank ran into the darkness following the skeletons. Heather went to follow when Webster appeared in her mind. She heard his warning and looked left to see two more shadows moving to the side, one with glowing hands.

Instinctively she cast, causing a cloud of bees to engulf them both to curses and shouts. She then donned her plant armor and turned to help legeis, who was staggering back from a hail of blows, his armor too slow to keep up with the rapid strikes.

Hey! Heather yelled as she ran in again. Pick on somebody your own size!

The warrior looked confuses and decided to mock her, bending over to glare and make the point that he towered over her. Heather smiled as the visor of his helmet came down, and she aimed her flower. A cloud of red mist engulfed his head as he jerked back, coughing and choking. She took the opportunity to swing her scythe at a leg, cutting a line across his armor to stagger him. Legeis followed suit, his hammer catching the man on the shoulder.

You wretch! he howled before shoulder charging Legeis to carry him to the ground. Heather went to help, but explosions went off all around, and spells fired in every direction. She saw her bone knight fighting an insect looking man who was dancing around him with short knives. Breanne was still struggling to get out of the chains that held her floating half a meter off the ground. Three more players that all looked like elves appeared from the rocks above with bows, firing down at Heather and the others as a strange purple laser lit up the scene.

You fools are going to pay for attacking me! Heather yelled.

Ha! one of the elves from above said. Your group is already beaten, but keep up the fight. We like a good show.

Heather had to dash behind the palanquin to avoid the hail of arrows. She looked around to see Frank fighting with two in the distance. Her skeletons were being scattered by what looked like a pack of shadowy wolves, and the bone champion was busy with the insect creature. Behind him came a short woman with a staff, who began to cast a spell. Heather wanted to put a grave blight on the ground but didn't want to reveal her necromancer side. She realized they were outnumbered, but something caught her eye. Behind the woman, a shadow moved. On the rock above the elves, yellow eyes appeared, as did a wide toothy grin as shadows turned into goblins, and Heather finally remembered Umtha!

Cries went up all around as goblins appeared out of the blackness to impale the attackers on jagged daggers. It seemed like they attacked every enemy at once, removing any advantage they had from ambush. In seconds the tide turned as one elf tumbled from the rocks, a goblin stabbing him repeatedly the entire way down. The other two were caught in a tight space where the smaller creatures had the advantage and made good use of it.

Umtha crept out of the palanquin where she was hiding and began to hurl spells at a distant wizard, the two becoming locked in an exchange of lightning that lit up the scene. Heather decided the best thing she could do was keep her friends alive and started to run to each of them, placing heals and taking quick swipes. She cut down the short woman, in one blow, the goblin that had been stabbing her happily moving on to the insect her bone knight was fighting.

Quinny managed to slay her wolf and charged after Frank as Heather caught up and discreetly gave her mend the dead. She followed into the fray of skeletons, wolves, and what looked to be a wizard and a cleric. The wizard was a golden-haired elf, and the cleric a woman with woody skin and green leaves for hair. Heather felt angry that such a lovely thing could be so cruel and wasted no time in lashing out. Quinny waded into the wolves as Heather took the wizard head-on. He cast more of the glowing darts, but she folded her arms and created her leaf barrier. He was seconds into another spell when she dashed and slashed him. A flash went off, and he blinked a good ten meters back, but she filled that area with bees and charged again.

Frank and the cleric danced with a hail of blows, the woman promising they would hunt them down and reset them all. Frank ignored her threats, slashing with his armored claws as she tried in vain to fend him off with a shield. Two goblins joined the fight a moment later, quickly scoring hits that slowed the woman and allowed Frank to get his hands on her.

Heather leaped into the air as the bees cleared in a cloud of fire. The wizard looked up with angry eyes, and she was surprised by his appearance. From this close, he looked gorgeous with robust facial features framed by that golden mane. His outfit was short sleeved with clean lines, a belt of small pouches at his waist. He raised a staff to meet her attack catching the scythe as she descended on him. He shoved her back, and the two leveled the weapons at one another before he was caught in a cloud of red gas.

You don't know who you're making an enemy of! he bellowed as Heather swung and scored a solid hit. He cried out and waved a hand, a hail of glowing darts fanning out, two striking her side and causing pain. She ignored the blows and went to cut him again when a new opponent jumped in. This was a lean woman with a cat-like body and tail. She carried as a spear and wore leather armor decorated with tiny skulls.

You want to melee, then fight me, druid, the cat woman growled.

Heather smile and fell into the dance, putting her points spent on two-handed fighting to use. In moments she was cutting and spinning as the cat tried in vain to get around the scythe. Heather realized how like a dance her moves were, the scythe acting like a partner as the blade wrapped around in spirals. This revelation made it flow all the easier as a smile spread over her face.

You will pay for this! her opponent cried as Heather nearly cut off an arm.

The rage only made Heather smile as the two clashed, the cat trying to sweep Heathers legs with the spear. Heather jumped over the shaft and landed on it, pinning the weapon to the ground as the cat looked up in shock.

Sorry, but you smell like a dog, Heather cooed and sprayed her with the perfume.

Arrrrgh! the woman cried and released the weapon. Heather saw her opening, and three quick slashes later, the cat woman was trying to crawl away. Heather darted to the side when she noticed the wizard recovering and quickly buried her blade in his stomach.

Can't have you interfering, Heather said as he looked up in shock. She struck him four more times to be sure, then dashed back to the cat woman and ended her too.

One by one, they started to fall, the goblin stalkers turning the tide with their surprise attacks. Breanne was free when the cleric fell, the magical chains fading away. She joined Umtha to bombard another wizard on their flank and put an end to his assault. She realized he was one of the two she originally put her cloud of bees on, but where was the other one?

In a minute, it didn't matter, the wizard being the last to fall as he promised they would be back. Heather rushed about; putting heals on everybody as Umtha helped with her shaman magic. Heather was finishing a pulsing heal on a goblin when she heard a ding, and her panel let her know she was now a level 28 necromancer. Her flowersinger and recluse all leveled as well, giving her a fresh pool of points to spend. They quickly looted the bodies to find a rich assortment of magic weapons, rings, potions, and the like. They found well over a hundred gold and a few pouches of silver.

You're right. It is more worthwhile to kill players, Heather said disgustedly. I can't believe how much stuff they have.

We cant carry all this, Frank said as they looked over the haul. We will have to leave a lot of it behind.

I wonder where they hid the stuff they were stealing from other players, Quinny said. I bet there is a huge pile of stuff someplace nearby.

We dont have time to look for it. Lets take what we can and go before they respawn, Breanne urged. I dont think we killed all of them, and the one on the road behind us never joined the battle.

Heather nodded, and they went to pack many of the small items into the trunk where her pack rested. She was grateful they all survived but realized it was luck. If Umtha and her goblins hadn't been there, this battle might have gone a different way. She took her remaining eight skeletons and put them into place, two at each corner, and together they ran into the night.

Who the heck was that? a voice whispered as a shadow moved from behind a rock.

I dont know, he replied as he watched them go. But I suggest we stay out of their way.

That druid was amazing, and who has goblins for an escort? the first voice asked. One of them was piloting some kind of battlesuit, and those others were all assassins of some kind. They couldn't have all been players. The assassins must have been NPCs.

I suspect they were, the second voice said.

It couldnt be though, NPC goblins dont work with players.

I know somebody who had goblins for allies, the second voice said with a smile. Funny thing is, that druid in yellow looked a lot like her.