Bones exited the building and looked towards the sea to make sure another wave of Fishmen hadn’t landed on shore. None had but countless forms swam far off in the distance on a collision course with the island.

“Defensive ward,” Bones said to his quill, nodding towards the hall. The feather zipped to the nearest wall and wrote a string of runes. It then went around the building doing the same thing to all sides as he waited impatiently. He had to wrap this up as soon as possible but couldn’t leave without securing the hall first. It was a delicate balance of prudence and urgency.

There was a flash of light behind him as the magical protective field activated. With that done, he began his sprint towards the healer’s house, feeling the weight of the quill on his hat as it caught up to him and as it settled back.

The trail leading out of the village slope upwards and upon reaching the top, Bones noticed plumes of smoke from other villages burning. Carrion feeders flocked en masse in those areas as well. Bones was already running as fast as he could-which was faster then a normal man-but it never seemed enough. He was glad he had endless stamina and never needed downtime to recuperate. If he still had been human, with lungs and muscles that tired, he wouldn’t even have made it this far.

The area past the village was dotted by few trees but the trail led to a thick jungle which from were he was looked like an emerald wall. He scan the so called wall and noticed a lone hut off the road. It was so close to the jungle that it seemed to be in the process of being swallowed by it.

After a while, Bones reached his destination, a cozy little shack that had been well maintained and surrounded by colorful flowers. Vines grew on the side of the house and there was a small plot of lands were vegetables grew. Next to it was a well surrounded by a small stone wall and covered by a wooden roof. It seems the owner was in tune with nature, living by themselves off the land. Many healers were the same in that regards so he knew he found the right place.

He had planned to run straight in as he was in a hurry but a dead body laying on the ground in front of the door made him stop short. The body belonged to a man and judging from the wounds, seems like he went down fighting. He had fallen in front of the front door while protecting the home.

Now the question was were those who barged in still there. Bones hadn’t notice Fishmen on the way as they were deeper in the island but his instinct told him to use caution. He approached the hut stealthily from the side when he heard the sound of a clay pot crashing and breaking into piece followed by multiple inhuman grunts. Crap, there were multiple enemies inside.

Bones silently unsheathed his sword ready to throw himself in a fight but doing so in an enclosed area wasn’t smart and it if there were ingredients he could use inside, it could damage them. He tought about challenging them from outside to make them come out but it would end up in a fight that wasted time. A plan came to him as he looked around the area.

He made his way to the nearest tree and slumped to the ground behind it, with his back to the bark. He grabbed dead and fallen palm tree leaves and put them over the sword in his right hand, hiding it from sight. He then withdrew his dagger with his left hand and rested it on his legs in plain sight. When done, he positioned himself, doing his best impression of a man who died agaisnt the tree long ago-being a skeleton really sold it.

“MARIAAA. ARE YOU IN THERE MARIAAA,” Bones screamed, yelling out a random women’s name. There was silence for a moment then came a mad dash from within the hut as the Fishmen inside were alerted of a potential survivor. They rushed out to investigate. Bones rustled some palm leaves to make it even easier for them to find him.

Moments later, the large Fishmen came into view. When they saw him, they grunted and looked at him with curiosity. One of them pointed to the knife he carried. Tempted by the idea of acquiring a new weapon to aid them in culling the human race, they approached what they tought was a long dead man. They stood in front if him and the one in the middle bent over to reach for it.

Just as the Fishmen’s hand was about to grasp the dagger, Bones move it aside. The hand stopped, jolting with surprise. The hand then started spasming uncontrollably as Bones slammed it on the side of his head and straight into it’s brain.

Bones then burst up and forth, lifting the previously hidden sword from within the leaves and in one quick motion plunged it into the head of another Fishmen as particles of dead leaves rained down around them.

The last one began screaming in rage, taking a step forward but it was cut short as Bones redirected the body of the Fishmen on the end of his sword to fall in it’s path. The third Fishmen stumbled over the carcass and fell to his knees and hands. It tried to get up but before it could, Bones raised his sword above his head and brought it down forcefully, separating it’s head from it’s body. Black blood erupted like a geyser, spurting a stream of it far enough to land on another tree.

Bones waited as moment to see if anymore would come but it seemed like the cost was clear. He approached the hut once more and gave a nod of respect to the man lying dead before it. He went down fighting, that meant something. Too many times he’d seen people give up or try to persuade these monsters. They didn’t care. The only good argument with them is steel.

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Stepping into the hut was like stepping into a greehouse. There were plants everywhere; in pots all around the room, in wooden spice racks all over the kitchen wall and drying ones hanging from the ceiling.

The floor was littered with the debris of said pots and plants, along with smashed kitchenware and broken furniture.

A ladder led to a loft overhead which was used as a storage area. Bones knew someone-no doubt the healer woman-had tried hiding there because there was a pitchfork embedded in the ceiling of the loft in the middle of the room. Blood seeped in from above and dribbled down the shaft, forming into a puddle on the floor. Bones shook his head. The Fishmen weren’t the brightest but they were extremely thorough.

Not dwelling on the tragedy, Bones began searching through the pletora of herbs on display hoping to find what he needed. Memories of his crewmate and ship doctor, smart and reserved Brimvas came to mind. He’d liked spending downtime with him learning a bit of the craft. During a few occasions, like after particularly brutal naval battles leaving many of his comrades wounded, the knowledge had come in handy.

‘Five leaves of blue numbs the crew, three leaves of yellow brings the pain low, mix both and hope they don’t go.’ Brimvas had repeated those words so many times that they were seared in his brain. He kept it in mind as he searched. Luck was on his side as he found the blue and yellow plants in here. Good thing that knowledge of these as an effective treatment method were widespread, even in out of the way islands on the edge of nowhere like this one was.

Bones grabbed a satchel woven from sheep wool hanging on a wall and put the plant leaves and a set of mortar and pestle the owner of the house had inside then left. As he made his way across the property, he heard a noise. It sounded like water splashing. He turned his head towards the source and his eyes fell on the well.

…no. It couldn’t be.

*****************************

She was barely hanging on, both physically and mentally. How long had she been here. Reaslistically, it had only been hours but it felt like she’d been here an eternity. She kept drifting in and out of consciousness at this point so she couldn’t even really tell any more.

Cold water was up to her neck as she clung to the well wall lethargically. Her teeth chattered incessantly now. Once in a while she looked up at the sunny sky above which was a grueling task as the constant heightened fear and adrenaline she’d felt before had numbed leaving her with no energy.

Silence. Besides her breathing and the occasional waves she created by moving, there were no more sounds. Before she was lowered in here by her father, there were too many sounds. Screams, shouts, shrieks of terror, a lot of it her own. Soon, there wouldn’t be anything left. No sounds, no feeling, no pain. After, what she’d seen, maybe it was for the best. She closed her eyes, ready to let go.

“MARIAAA. ARE YOU IN THERE MARIAAA,”

Her eyes snapped opened. Had she heard right? Someone was shouting her name? Or was it her imagination playing tricks on her. But it wasn’t. She felt slight tremors as something large ran past the well. Moments later she heard a roar from of those monsters but it was cut short. Then there was silence again.

Was there someone there? If it was another islander, they’d be dead by now. She listened intently for a long time. She didn’t hear the monsters of feel tremors again. Maybe they were gone?

Instinctively, she moved her body and clutched a stone from the surrounding wall, the motion making smaller rocks fall in the water with a splash.

An idea crossed her mind, but it was stupid and pointless. She thought that maybe if they were gone she could leave the well and escape but she squashed it. She couldn’t climb up in her state and even if by some miracle she did, she had nowhere and nobody left. Despair seized her again. Only ten years out of the womb and her journey had reached it’s end. She would die here.

As if mimicking her dark thoughts, the sky above her darkened. She looked up to the sky mocking her and froze. Looking down at her from above was a skeleton wearing a hat. It was as if an agent of death itself had come to judge her and snatch her soul. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out, the sound stuck in her chest.

“Oh thank Undine, your still alive,” the skeleton said after a moment. “Are you hurt?”

Overtaken by the primal fear of imminent death, she ran to the other side of the well only to smack against the wall there. She did it again and again, moving wildly as if trying to find spot in the tight earthen tunnel that would offer her safety.

“Hey, hey. Stop that,” the skeleton said. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

She was too panicked to listen and kept trashing until finally her second wind of energy gave out and she was left clutching the wall, a panting mess. Only then did she truly hear what the skeleton had to say.

“I know I look scary but I’m a friend,” It said.

“I took care of the monsters. They won’t hurt you anymore.”

“It’s going to be okay.”

“You’re safe.” When it said that last thing, she burst into tears and looked up.

“You’re safe,” it repeated. “My name is bones. What’s yours.”

After a moment, her jaw worked but again no sound came out.

No worries, we can talk later. I’ll lower the well bucked down to get you out, okay?” It’s stare lingered on her until she came to her senses and nodded.

“Give me a moment,” it said then disappeared from her sight. It was only for a brief moment but she felt a pang of panic at being left alone again. This Bones looked scary but maybe, just maybe she could trust him.

He lowered the bucket like he said and she gingerly climbed on, her hands holding the rope so tight her knuckles turn white. As he began lifting her back up, he asked her not to scream or run away. He didn’t want her alerting other monsters or getting herself into danger.

When she reached the rim of the well, it extended an bony arm towards her, to help her climb out. She recoiled at first but he was patient with her. She finally let it help her down.

She stood once more on solid ground, drenched and shaking from fear and cold. This thing, Bones, took off his jacket and wrapped it around her and rubbed her arms like her father used to do when he wanted to warm her up. It also inspected her to make sure she wasn’t hurt. In that moment she did feel safe and knew it was okay for her to trust him.

“Come, I’ll take you back to the village,” it said as it lifted her in his arm to carry her. She let her head slump over his shoulder, completely exhausted.

As they walked away, she saw the lifeless form of a man in front of of the hut. Her father. She tried to push agaisnt Bones to make it let her go but she had no strenght. She tried to yell his name but only tears and a croak comes out. She had no voice.

Bones had turned to see what she was agitated about and seemed to understand. He patted her back and said he was sorry as he took her away.