STATUS

Creature Type

Animated Beehive

Age - 4

Mass – 753 grams

A normally inanimate object, this object was overloaded with mana and infused with a wandering soul somehow. Animated objects are rare, but a great prize for alchemists and enchanters, as their base materials are extremely valuable for making magical items.

SKILLS

Basic Mathematics Rank 5

Intermediate Mathematics Rank 1

Observation Rank 1

Basic Psionics Rank 6

I took quick stock of my character sheet. Getting ready was more than just physical, a reminder of what I had at my disposal would prep me to better use my capabilities when they came up. Unfortunately my skills were pretty sparse at the moment.

I feel like I'm in a weird dream, drifting about, and that's really not helping. I fired up my psionics and decided to practice with the axe I looted off that poor sod from the hallway. Here I was, puppeteering a walking corpse with magic. This was not helping my dreamlike impression. 

What the hell is with that, anyway? It's so unrealistic. Am I in a video game or something? I seriously doubted it, but if it was a game, I probably hadn't paid enough money for it. If I told someone back home I was an animated beehive moving around a dehydrated old corpse with my magic skills they'd assume I was a complete psycho. And they wouldn't be wrong. Have I lost my mind? Maybe. Whatever, if I have, I have, and no amount of talking to myself will get it back. It's time to get serious.

I made some clumsy slow slices, hitting some of the big leaves hanging off the doorway for target practice. The first swing completely missed. The second was so weak it bounced off the leaf. Or maybe the axe was just that dull. I see. This is gonna take a while...

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A long while later, I had shredded a few dozen leaves with my axe, and it was looking like I was going to make an impression. Haha! I even managed to stop dropping my axe! Progress! 

I decided I wasn't going to get any better, and I took myself and my green stained axe and headed back in the sun orb room. I decided to get clever, and lined up a swing at neck height, did a few full swings to make sure I was in a good position, and waited for one to come to me. It took a few minutes but it was easier than chasing them.

Not that they would be that hard to chase for a healthy human, but what's that? I don't have any of those! Haha! 

I watch the bugger stumble closer, wind up, swing like the major leagues. A zombie head tumbles through the air and to the dirt floor. The zombie keeps walking... Oh, right, I already had my friends bore holes in their brains and guts, why the heck did I think that would work? I might be an idiot. No, I am an idiot.

Before the zombie gets away, I hit it a few more times, but it just briefly lists to one side and continues on its merry way. After feeling super embarrassed and glad no one was watching for a while, another zombie comes by, and this time, I hack off the front half of its foot, these things have terrible balance anyway, and it falls over. I hack at it a while, taking off chunks, pieces, and bits in great profusion. The zombie has lots of bits, and it takes me a while to get to the interesting ones, especially with how it keeps wiggling its arms and legs. I'd feel bad if I didn't know it doesn't have a usable brain.

A high strike finally lops off its arm at the elbow, and I use the opening to step on its chest to hold it down, then de-limb the poor bastard. It takes 7 strikes to remove each one of its legs, this zombie I'm piloting is pretty weak, but at least it never seems to get tired.

Strangely, the limbs stop flopping about after they're disconnected. I know what that means! These things are already a massive mockery of life, but they must have some other kind of magic crystal in there somewhere... It's time to dig around in zombie guts, oh joy.

I drag the limbless stubbly wretch over to the center of the room, nearer to the big floating light. I'd probably have poked it already, but it's out of reach and I'm worried by how bright it is. The poor bees are getting a bit agitated by all the shaking, so I ask them to go rest a bit in the flowers.

All of them do, except Eliza, who hides by my new collarbone poking her head out. I poke her with a little mental probe to see why, and suddenly remember that she did really like chewing up zombies. She's really excited, and she really likes watching me maul something...

It's kind of cute but really creepy at the same time. Seems I have a killer bee on my hands. I've gotta keep an eye on her. I decide to ignore her for now and get ready for an axe based dissection. I go down the sides and land a few chops on each rib, and I just pull the whole front of the ribcage off so I can get a good look this time. Eliza is conveniently providing a good view, but listening to her cheering me on is giving me the heebie jeebies.

One at a time I pull out organs, watching the zombie carefully to see if it stops moving.

Heart - - nope.

Lungs - - nada.

Kind of looks like a liver but probably not a liver - - not this one

Cloaca? That's gross. But not this one either.

Double stomach? Seriously this thing looks weird - - nope

Spleen looking thing that was attached to double stomach - - bingo! 

The zombie instantly stops wiggling. I take the axe and gently carve open my prize to find... It's entirely filled with disgusting black sludge. I'm glad beehives can't smell. I palm the axe and very gently slice it a few times, throwing goo over in the pile of organs as soon as I'm satisfied it has nothing in it. Towards the end I find a hard spot directly adjacent to the sludge ventricle, and a few careful slices later I am the proud owner of a translucent green orb the size of a quarter. 

I don't know what it is, but I want some magic! 

I still have that organ in me, I seem to remember someone chewing a hole in the top and fleeing from the smell. With a little coaxing I manage to get Eliza to go widen the hole and shove the other orb in it. She' s definitely grossed out so I praise her for her diligence. 

I don't know if it will do anything, but the organ already had a hole in it, and I need somewhere to put the marble anyway, it looks like glass and it might be fragile. 

Now that I know what I'm looking for, it's time for a reprise. I grab a leg (he's not using it) and trip some zombies. A quick couple of strikes to the back and the organ is mine. Soon I have to gently coax Eliza to shove 4 more marbles into my makeshift pouch. My heart crystals are running low only 1 full and another partial, and I have who knows how far left to go, so I decide to pile up the gore, sit down, and see what's in the bag. Then I'll ask the bees for a recharge and maybe I might be able to figure out a little magic. I had better if I want to build myself a better, less rotten body, after all. This thing still grosses me out. If I get magic, and I'm an inanimate object, I want to be a giant robot... full of bees? 

The bee part is a bit off script, but I think I can do this.