Chapter 71: Garden Of The Doomed Maiden Part 3: Seeds
Alabaster
Lady Asley all too human eyes glowed blue just like a regular player as she accessed her Library. Alley wasn’t sure what spells exactly she had at her disposal, but ‘milling’ the Rotting Wish Fae so early into the match and being able to search her Library meant the tree woman was building a lot of momentum.
Her eyes returning to normal, the woman growing out of the side of a rotting tree completed the search of her Library.
“I hope you weren’t too busy trying to be funny to pay attention to what I was saying before.” Sent the obviously smug Astley. “As now that my botanist is here to fertilize the ground, my garden can begin to grow.” Alley very obviously rolled his eyes but didn’t interrupt this time.
“As with all gardens, mine begins with the act of seeding. Seed Of Death!”
image [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdHJoNQsJKILi_rBB9EcGUc45CD2iEHBmvfFXxjgjaPElSLX1BI9x_ya9G5XUsQGgZ3DIUZMMTNYorUM_jxj_WvMNWEoMp69CPTksgynfGiJtSTxYWNFAfwg4S1YfJe4hPHYrcmBg?key=KvPGZ9FuGnfATktAtsidK8gA]
[Seed Of Death
Spell
No Cost
Spell
No Cost
Seed Of Death remains in play until it reaches 5 counters or is destroyed by other means. Each time a Creature Card with the Bloom Resonance Enters the Crypt while Seed Of Death is in Play, place a counter on Seed Of Death. When Seed Of Death reaches 5 counters destroy it and Manifest a Death Elemental. ]
Alley inspected the Card image that was displayed after Astley played the spell. Once the image faded a skeletal figure in dark robes began to plant a little five-foot by five-foot garden patch on the tree woman’s side of the arena. Having read the Card text Alley knew what the spell did and was honestly kind of curious to let it go off. His own Deck had two copies of Death Elemental in it, and he badly wished to know what their effect was.
The Unearthed Botanist had only been manifested this turn so it couldn’t attack. As Such Lady Astley moved right past her War phase and onto her second Creation phase. She redrew to replace the Cards she had played but didn’t play anything further.
Redrawing from the City of The Of Doomed And Rotten he had played at the end of his last turn Alley reassessed his hand. He had drawn into Skeletal Cavalry, which joined Zombie Brute, Swamp Zombie, End The Bloodline, and Chill Of The Grave. It wasn’t the strongest seeming Hand, but Alley already had a potential path to victory in mind, and with Saoirse and the city in play, he was confident he could put together the pieces he needed to make it happen.
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“I Manifest Zombie Brute,” Alley said simply, after all, he had promised Darius he would try to make this a quick match.
image [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfPh8r5TUoWyodlGIejj0Am6RSGPIFVG3t-973g_vy9235V2oGZsYdEqGVn1OpU5V9aaZIw_IfbRBz11JMwd3EbE-zlQx2opk4Z0q22i5bZHaCOERrIk4C2UnJDV_mwwvf3H_Fv?key=KvPGZ9FuGnfATktAtsidK8gA]
[Zombie Brute
Resonances: Undeath, Zombie, Wrath
No Cost
Power: 1600
Vitality:1
If you control at least two other Creatures with Zombie Resonance, Zombie Brute gains 800 Power and 1 Vitality ]
Before Alley had a chance to say or do anything further Clataire interjected. “I activate Unearthed Botanist.”
Alley tilted his head and considered ‘Huh, she can do that every turn.’ He immediately tried to act like he was displeased by her surprise activation of the creature’s effect, though nothing could be further from the truth. He felt like he did a pretty good job faking it, but the initial delay while he contemplated the effect probably proved him a liar.
From the tree woman’s Library, a Card was ‘milled’ that thankfully did not activate some special effect this time. It was still one of her Swamp Undead and granted the botanist another 500 power due to its Obsession Beyond Death spell empowering it. Simultaneously a counter was added to her Seeds Of Death spell, drawing it one step closer to Manifesting a monster Alley knew normally cost four Vials.
From Alley’s Library a very familiar Card was sent to the Crypt. It wasn’t the women’s fault and he knew that but upon seeing Hecatia Roe, Thaw Princess enter the Crypt as though it had been destroyed hardened his heart further. ‘How dare she even affect that Card?!’ The strange desire to destroy this woman that had been welling up inside him since he had first seen her flared to greater heights.
image [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfnaiktd0GKtpncE8bdqu8bU0L_bkDGiZ6X90683JrTLzUtSVeSsZ7azBKreQj_D5WImV0TTJFj7XTKaE16xM54AXPz2LW94FLTkyMqXgrhPlGL0EBxHK4E03AIxyRHYN_fijes1A?key=KvPGZ9FuGnfATktAtsidK8gA]
[Hecatia Roe
Resonance: Human, Charm, Bloom
Unique
No Cost
Power: 700
Vitality:1]
The moment she entered the Crypt the effect of The City Of The Doomed And Rotten kicked in granting her the Zombie, and Undeath Resonances. As much as that was exactly according to plan it still increased the power of the botanist being a Bloom Card and added a counter to the Seeds Of Death Card. But more than that it made him feel a little sick.
Hecatia should not be a Zombie now, or ever. Alley wasn’t a high enough rank yet but the day would come when he Evolved her Card and he prayed when it did she would never be subjected to this sort of thing again.
Moving on to his War Phase Alley couldn’t disguise the grin that crossed his features at his draw. That was against proper playing as he had been taught. You never wanted to give away information about your hand, especially not for free by reacting to a draw.
He felt his grin widen into something sheepish as he scolded himself. ‘Amateur hour over here.’
Oh well it didn’t matter, he had drawn into Rouse The Heroes and that meant Lady Clataire Astley was about to be in very big trouble regardless of her quickly growing side of the field.