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"Something wrong, buddy?" A kind voice asked, breaking through the incessant groaning from the simple necromancers zombie kin. I continued scanning the forest, wondering when I'd make my move.
"Not at all, brother. Why do you ask?" I replied, tucking away my discontent for being sought out.
"Well, considering you're the only one of us refusing to indulge that isn't on a patrol, I figured something's troubling you." He replied, wiping blood from his cheek.
"I appreciate the concern, friend. Though I'm not entirely sure we've been sufficiently acquainted, what brings you out here?" I asked, genuinely curious at their presence. The man chuckled, before turning toward the sky and taking in a deep breath.
"Too much fun gets my adrenaline pumping too hard. Don't wanna get in trouble with the big man like the last idiot who couldn't wait their turn." The man scoffed, his affable tone quickly sinking into a sharp rasp in his disgust.
"Y'know…I find that punishment quite odd if I'm to be candid with you. I feel it goes against his very teachings." I said, trying to hide the sound of my smile under my mask.
"Oh, how so?" The man asked, titling his head with a curious glare.
"It's as he's said time and time again; 'To deny one's nature…" I began, immediately earning a beaming smile from the sadist before me, revealing a chuck of hair wedged in their blood-stained teeth.
"'…is to refuse their destiny." He said with a known nod, shaking my hand and pulling me in for an embrace.
"Get some air brother, I'll try my best to save a few juicy vessels for your talented-ass." The man said directly into my ear, pulling away and patting my shoulder. Thankfully he couldn't see the scowl I had to catch myself wearing as he spoke.
"You honor me, brother." I replied, placing a fist against my chest. The necromancer before me followed suit as we both bowed before he departed toward the center of camp. I sighed as he scurried out of earshot, turning back to the silvery forest and resumed my planning.
These people know no discipline. A pity. I suppose I can wait a little longer to give them more t-
My eyes shot wide open, my thoughts halting in their tracks as an orange flash pierced through the forest. I waited, staring intently for another sign. A low rumble shook the ground ever so subtly, though that wasn't exactly novel.
…of coursenot. Why would they bother t-
An unmistakable orange glowing ball of flames arched over the treeline for just a second before falling back down, this time less than 100 yards away from where I stood at the edge of camp.
Oh shit.
Without a second thought, I turned and sprinted away from the camp and the fireball, hoping they wouldn't deviate on their way to the camp. I didn't look back, instead summoned the few of my own reborn to abandon their posts and meet me as soon as possible. With any luck, they too will be able to escape the impending storm hurtling toward those sick, twisted fools. Hell, maybe I'll hold up somewhere safe, and just watch… ——————————————————————-
"4 more!" Cassi hollered over the sound of mana-powered skills ripping through soft flesh and soil. Korbin tossed a fireball almost directly at my face as I peaked over my shoulder, forcing me to bend backwards to evade its path. Looking back, two more of those white-eyed humanoids squirmed for a second before succumbing to their burns.
"Duck." Korbin said in an incredibly phoned-in tone. Ignoring his antics, I leapt back into a handspring, twisting into parring the humanoid standing upright's slashing sword. Having spotted the second, my heel fired back, landing a Flow Inverse on the humanoid leaping from its all fours' shoulder sending it crashing to the ground. Slapping the first humanoid stabbing attempt, my blades both shot up from its parried sword, piercing into its exposed, grey neck and chest. With a twist, its body fell limp as I slammed my knee into the second humanoid's chomping jaw. The skinny, noseless humanoid tumbled back, immediately trying to come back for more when Cass snatched its ankle and snapped its knee between her legs in one fluid motion. Her body spun atop the beast, snatching its neck in her legs before she twisted her hips with a hard whipping motion.
*CRACK*
The white-eyed humanoid fell limp, marking the final of hundreds of these poor fucking people turns abomintions to fall at our hands in the last 30 minutes. Truly, their numbers and variety of skill had only increased as we drew closer and closer to the camp now visible through the treeline ahead. It wasn't anything fancy, wooden logs fashioned into walls and an empty watch tower. It was the sea of zombies standing stationary surrounding the camp that would make our entrance difficult.
"Let's regroup up that tree at the biome border." Cassi called out, pointing at an especially thick-barked silver tree. Korbin and I obliged, him with glowing arms up the bark while I used my grapple hook and a branch.
"This place is utterly swarming with zombies. I'm not sure we're getting in quietly." I said, scanning the rows of corpses swaying around the log-walls.
"That's not accounting for the far more menacing humanoid things they keep in there than they have patrolling. Though I think I recognized one back there from inside the walls." Cassi exclaimed, leaning up against the trunk and taking a deep breath. Korbin laid face first on the branch, laying his face on his arm.
"Probably because they suck." Korbin said, his voice muffled from speaking into his arm.
"…honestly yeah, that's kind of fair." Cassi replied after exchanging a puzzled smile with me.
"Look I'm sure they do suck, but that's 'fair' is kind of insane." I replied skeptically. Korbin popped his head up, looking me dead in the face with half his own red from his arm.
"Why would you keep most of your most dangerous resources at home unless you're either merciful, or too weak to defend yourself nowadays. Tell me, does that army of enslaved corpses scream 'mercy' to you?" Korbin asked, pointing his axe at the large body of undead. I shook my head in concession, realizing he indeed had a point.
"Great, then let's take a 10-minute snooze, get Tom to draw out the zombies, then all three of us get in there and clean-house. Cool?" Korbin asked, pointing at both Cass and I. Not seeing any better answers to their defenses, I shrugged for confirmation.
"Cool." He said, laying immediately back down on his face.
Cass looked over wearing a determined yet weary look, indicating this was hopefully my final shift on nap-duty. It's grown rather difficult not being able to meditate with this weird skill hint still bouncing around in my head. Then again, learning someone had actually been turning people into these noseless, stretched out creatures is more than enough reason to finish this group of necromancers off here. Hopefully, there isn't already a group like this sneaking about near Elysium when we get back home.
Peering out over the open plains separating us from the zombies protecting the necromancers hide out, I squinted trying to get a glimpse at some movement atop the wall. It looked like I'd seen a figure hop over the logs, though the clouds that blocked out the sun had only grown thicker making it nearly as dark as night. The figure quickly sprinted into the treeline, only stopping to look back for a moment's pause before continuing.
Hm, not like he'll get far.
Finding a spot to lean against the thick bark, I scanned the area thoroughly for…roughly 30 minutes, give or take. Much of my time was spent searching for something to occupy my boredom, settling on trying to organize my thoughts on all those smells that keep popping up. For one, that mildew and parchment stench that wafted off that lead zombie was more than disgusting, it was familiar. More than that, it invoked a single moment of terrible guilt deep in my heart before subsiding.
Then there was that ashy stench that has snuck into my sinuses, oftentimes riding a static looming along the air itself. But I was never guilty in those times…if anything I was absolutely livid. Regardless, the sensory issues I've been experiencing are probably a byproduct of these damned scars given its physically uncomfortable nature. Even still, I'd prefer knowing why it happens, at the very least to avoid those weird 'allergic' triggers.
Then again, it does tend to make me focus much better…
"Okay, that'll have to do." Cassi said, her voice cutting through the silence, nearly earning her a bolt of lightning to the face as I jumped in surprise.
"Easy, Sparky. Same side still." Cassi said jokingly as she clambered to her feet. Korbin groaned before sitting up, leaping up onto one arm into a hand stand before rolling his feet onto the branch.
"Ready when you are, point man." Korbin said through a devious grin, gesturing to the horde of zombies.
"It's fucking crazy to me you two can just pop up like that. No grogginess or nothin'." I said, shaking my head genuinely baffled at such an inhuman trait.
"Being lazy might've become a standard, that doesn't make us weird. Just makes you…well, lazy." Korbin said, laughing at his own insult.
"In all seriousness, have you given your distraction any thought? I've got ideas, but I want to hear what yours first since you know how you like to retreat." Cassi asked, stepping in front of my view along another branch commanding my attention.
"Well, my first idea was to fire some Lightning Bolts through a couple rows, then cut them down until they start chasing me." I proposed, though admittedly I hadn't given the plan much of any thought at all.
"What if they send the white-eyes? They might chase you out too quickly for the zombies to follow." Korbin quickly countered.
"Then I'll cut them down and resume. You two aren't supposed to make a break for it until it's clear anyhow." I replied, feeling like that one was actually pretty easy.
"True. It also won't matter if they're busy once me and Korbin are in, you'll just need to find a way in if they aren't pushed far enough." Cassi added, openly agreeing with my plan unironically, I think. Korbin smiled, shaking his head with his hands on his hips. With a deep breath through his nose, Korbin glanced between the both of us.
"…yeah that's actually not bad. These things will have to send their very best after Tom if they want him gone without letting him in. And, I'm sure some of those necromancers can see through their zombies like beast tamers. No way they don't know we're here." Korbin said after a long thoughtful pause. I almost let the joy of him approving my plan impromptu slip through my expression, instead turning to face the rows of undead.
"So it's settled? I want to get to it before the patrol they sent out 20 minutes ago comes back." I asked, hoping to rip this cat and mouse game out of the way as soon as possible.
"Fair enough. Yeah, good luck Tom." Cassi said with a nod, showing an odd amount of support.
"Give 'em hell, Tommy." Korbin said with a big smile, both of them stirring a proud grin of my own before locking back into the task at hand. Nodding at them both, I fired my grapple hook around the branch I stood on before leaping off. The line pulled taut a foot above the ground before willing it to reel back in, the successful maneuver providing an unnecessary boost in confidence. Jogging around the biome border, I noticed a pair of twin doors on one side of the rectangular log mini-settlement. It must not be made from a Pylon considering how shoddy the craftsmanship came out, though the structure clearly looked sound enough.
I'll have to get them all at once…
Thinking out my route, I settled on approaching from a face beside the entrance.
*whistle*
"Heads up!" I yelled out, slapping my blades together sending a streak of lightning piercing through several zombies at one. A pack of dozens of undead slowly shuffled after me, some able to awkwardly jog in small bursts before burning out of energy. I continued running straight up to the horde, firing one more bolt through several zombified chests.
"Come on, you fuckin' slugs. It's cardio day!" I yelled, jogging backwards and occasionally slicing through several undead. The distant groan behind me indicated I'd found the horde guarding the back of the settlement, though they still had more than 20 yards separating them from the first wave.
"Really, guys?! Just because you died doesn't mean you got to drag your fucking feet!" I pleaded, firing a bolt of lightning through a row of zombies along the backside horde. My body twisted and shuffled around corpse after corpse, cutting through countless slow moving undead and evading their clumsy swipes and chomping maws while awaiting their merger. Finally, the massive waves of undead grouped together as I backpedaled toward the next horde on the other side of the settlement.
Yet again, lightning crackled from my blades ripping through several zombies at once. Just as before, the group of undead slowly directed their attention toward me one by one as I brought the combined hordes still trailing me over.
"Wow, you make for some guys pretty terrible security guards, you know that?" I jeered, cutting through another dozen or so zombies, working harder to avoid the dark sludge leaking from their wounds than their slow moving attacks. Feeling satisfied with my work, I retreated out of the massive horde drawing them around to the very front of the settlement. Of course, there awaited the final horde of zombies I was tasked with pulling away from the entrance.
"Peekaboo!" I yelled, firing a pair of Lightning Bolts down two rows of undead as I shuffled across the front entrance. Hundreds of groaning corpses fumbled over one another in pursuit, only making it easier to dive through their soft rotting flesh.
*BOOM*
Ripple Stride pulled me directly away from the massive hollow impact on instinct, flying through a group of zombies before looking back. The log entrance was flung open, with dozens of those white eyed humanoids pouring out over one another. Each one immediately located me as they exited, trampling zombies as they galloped on all fours.
Finally, you noticed me.
Sighing, my boot dug into the soil as I shot back around the side of the camp, cutting through zombies that fell out of the horde earlier along the way. One of the white-eyes finally caught up as I got toward the back of the camp, immediately forcing me to face my pursuers. The humanoid slashed its razor sharp claws across the air, ejecting all 5 sharp nails directly at my face. Ducking around their attempt to blind me, my blade pierced though the humanoid's shoulder as it shot low trying to snatch my legs. Spotting the second one dash in with a double edged sword in hand, I spun back landing a sneaky slash to their throat before the more coordinated humanoid could even swing. The pale humanoid continued its pursuit regardless of its mortal wound, forcing me to slip its stab toward my stomach and decapitate the persistent creature.
Four other white eyed creatures circled around me, two on all fours and others armed with weapons, just as the first of the massive zombie horde I'd accrued finally caught up.
"Hey guys, glad you decided to show up! So…who's next?" I asked, looking around at the lanky humanoids. One of them had constant streaks of tears running down their eyes, yet the staff in her hand still hummed with a dark blue energy all the same.
"You were foolish to come here. You had a chance to flee, and chose to find me instead." All four whispered at me in unison, in the same guttural tone the first one of those I'd fought had spoken with.
"You're a bitch for not showing your face. Forcing others to do your dirty work is an incredibly weak place to talk trash from, pal." I said, firing a Lightning Bolt through the crying one's skull. The corpse collapsed, yet only the zombies continued pressing me.
"You will be seeing me soon enough, Lightning warrior. That is why you have failed." The other three whispered before sprinting back into the settlement. Confused, I proceeded to chop though another dozen or so zombies before sprinting out further behind the camp, running in a zig zag to let the back of the horde catch up. Finally, after roughly a few minutes, Ripple Stride propelled me into a sprint around the camp and through the open twin log doors. Not willing to deal with the zombies again, I snagged the doors and slammed them shut, latching and pulling down the wooden latchlock before plunging into the camp.
Why the fuck did they just let me in? And where the hell is everyone?
The camp itself was covered in blood and dark sludge, as if someone had run around dumping buckets of the stuff around the planes they rested on. Looking ahead, a bright ball of flame arched over a small wooden hut just ahead, instantly indicating to me Korbin and Cassi made it in. Doubling my pace, I weaved around the small hut in time to catch a glimpse of Cassi and Korbin. A man in a dark cloak lay motionless at Cass's feet as I arrived before disappearing into the air, indicating they were indeed a real person.
"Did I miss the fun?" I asked with my arms out, searching for any sign of opposition.
"We all did." Korbin said, looking past me. Confused, I turned back to find one more lanky, white eyed humanoid stepping out of the hut holding a squirming man by his ankle.
"PLEASE! PLEASE, Y-YOU PROMISED US FREEDO-Argh-" all color drained from the man's red blood filled face as he dangled loosely from his leg in the creature's grasp.
"And indeed, you are free to express your truth to the world when you return." The towering white-eye said in a familiar guttural whisper, before raising the man up and unhinging its humanoid jaw.
*CRUNCH*
The man's head exploded in the humanoid's mouth like a softened jaw breaker, tossing his headless corpse as the creature crunched on his skull.
"Uhhh…it talks." I said, stepping in between Korbin and Cassi. Korbin's head whipped around at me with a look of genuine shock.
"Oh? Look at that, another one that talks but says nothing." The creature coldly replied.