Chapter 24: Stepping Out for a Breather

At some point during all the mayhem I had received a notification about gaining some experience for repelling an invader from my Dungeon. It wasn’t a lot. In fact, the font message seemed smaller than usual. As if written in fine print to hide the notification.

Curious. The system still recognized Bonny as an invader. Was it trying to tell me I would get diminishing returns on recurring individuals? Or was it confused on how to handle somebody that I now considered my employer?

Either way, I had the feeling that this was a way of fixing an easily abusable loophole. Otherwise Dungeons would amass levels just by forcing people to play the Hokey Pokey.

“I’m glad that’s settled. Jellybee, care to give our esteemed host a tour of the facility?” I gave a small curtsy. “If you’ll excuse me, I must check on my other Minion in the basement.”

Bonny protested. “I’d rather not.”

Jellybee saluted. “Certainly, ma’am. On your right, you’ll see the watering well. On your left…” Jellybee trailed off.

Before I could Soul Stroll away, Tiptap strode up to me–purring loudly the whole time–carrying a dead Dust Hare in her maw.

“We have another cat! Oh! She’s so pretty! Is she yours, Granny? What’s her name?”

She dropped the mangled bunny before my feet and beamed up at me with a loud trill.

“Very good Tiptap. What a fierce killer!” I patted her head. Through my ghost avatar I was able to physically feel the shadowy fur that overlaid her skeleton, but for some reason my ghost fingers passed right through her bones when I tried to give her a scratch under the neck. She didn’t seem to mind. She brushed a shadowy cheek against me and weaved between my legs, purring up a storm.

I hadn’t even noticed Tiptap hunting in the garden. She was a sneaky one. Her newfound strength did catch my eye though. She had gone up to level two.

Bonny stiffened upon seeing the feline critter. She took a step back, towards the barrier. A few of the Dust Hares that still meandered through the garden bounded up to her, forming a defensive wall between her and the cat.

“This one is harmless,” I assured her. “She’s been around all morning without causing a single problem. She kept my Core company last night.”

Jellybee attempted to pet Tiptap on the spine, but she ducked low out of his range, then went back to twirling around my feet while purring.

“She’s an undead.” Bonny stated it like that was all the explanation I needed.

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“And? She’ll make a great mouser. Won’t you, Tiptap?” I gave her another pet. She trilled in response.

“I don’t know what kind of place or “bus” you came from, but from where I’m from we destroy the undead on sight. For good reason.”

I hummed. “From where I’m from, I imagine people would do the same. Given the chance.” I thought back to all the fairly recent history I had lived through. There were still quite a few folks around my age back home that would gladly kill another person for their skin color or how they dressed. All they needed was a ‘reasonable’ excuse. “But I believe those reasons aren’t so reasonable. In the end, we’re all the same underneath it all. Skin and bones, trying to get by.”

Jellybee took a knee upon the ground and held out an open hand. Tiptap approached him slowly.

“No, you don’t understand,” Bonny said firmly. “The undead are a… scourge. A disease.”

I frowned at that. It was strange to see this kind of behavior from a youngin’ like her. Must have had a poor upbringing on that family tree. Shame. Always a pity when that happens to good apples.

“She’s right, Granny,” Jellybee spoke softly as he gave Tiptap scritches under her neck. “We’re contagious.”

“Hogwash,” I said. “You shouldn’t believe the lies people say about you, Jellybee. Let bigots be bigots. I think you’re swell, regardless of how you look.”

“You didn’t bring Tiptap back from the dead.” He looked up at her from underneath his mushroom hat. “I did. That’s what we do. We spread. Like a plague.”

“Ethel. The original homeowner should have known better.” Bonny nodded towards the grave site. “We don’t bury our dead. We burn them. Or else they come back.”

In the long run, I could see the implications of why that would be bad. How that could make a logistical mess out of any society. Or how some people would prefer to stay dead in the ground. But I also thought back to all the people I had missed throughout the years. How I still yearned to have conversations with those I loved long ago. How just one more phone call or night out to dinner with someone could settle so many regrets I carried.

“I still don’t see the problem,” I said. “I intend to keep these Minions. Good workers are always hard to come by.”

“I don’t have time to give you a full history lesson. Suffice it to say, years ago, the war to end all wars happened. Our world, as we knew it, also ended. The living … lost.”

Jellybee looked down, still petting the cat. “Lots of bodies to bury. Not enough bodies to bury them.”

“There was a... virus. It infected the Leylines. And spread to the souls of those that we lost before. The undead carry this curse with them wherever they go. And since then, we’re still waging that war.” Bonny took a deep sigh and closed her eyes. She clenched her fists. “I chose to move to Poppymill to get away from all that. I want to live a simple life. To get away from the Evergreen Ossarchy. To escape burning out from Witchpyre and overwork. To survive the mundane drudgery. And yet…” Tears welled in her eyes. “I really can’t escape it all, can I?”

I didn’t know what to say.

I was more than out of my league. I was trying to play baseball when the rules were football. And I didn't know how to play that game either.

But I knew that sometimes, every once in a while, you didn’t need to know all the rules to play the game.

I didn’t need to know everything. Or even say anything.

I reached and enveloped her in an ethereal hug.

For a moment, Bonny accepted the embrace. She stifled a sniffle, then she stepped through my arms. “I’m sorry. This is embarrassing. I’m being stupid.” She took another step backwards, out of my Dungeon. “I just need a breather. And to fetch my belongings. I’ll be back. Thank you.”