Do the undead have a sex life? Yes, some of them. One might raise the argument that the dead doesn't reproduce sexually but how many people use sex exclusively for reproduction? Not a single one, I assure you.
Most undead have their sex urges replaced by other basal needs, like feeding, or just hating the living. Yet a few among the sentient ones develop an almost pathological craving for contact with the living. It is one constant of sentient existence. Get something denied to you, and you'll want it even more and more. If I had to classify the undead, even those without working genitals aren't right out of the game. Skeletons can and do indulge in tactile pleasures just like any other. It's all in the head.
A few add other elements to their preferences, like the vampires' famous blood orgies. Vlad, in particular, is fond of biting his mate's shoulder while he does it doggy style, I learned from "reputable" sources. Some ghouls keep healers on retainer or rely on potions to fix their mates as they both feed and fuck at the same time. Usually, when the relationship is between undead and mortal, the mortal gets the short stick. The stick here is a metaphor for luck and not penises. Geez.
The Necropolis had brothels, taverns where most pleasures were available for a price. These were the places with the biggest concentrations of living people in the City of the Dead. And I somehow ended up in one of them because Mordo had invited me to celebrate my victory.
We were sitting at a round table. Me, Kel'Caldor, Mordo the Flesheater, one of the skeleton mage twins, and some gladiators.
"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" The liver-eating Vrykolakas boastfully celebrated. "To believe you held the fact you were a Dullahan all this time just to get him to drop his guard and sneak attack him with your necromancy! And you almost killed him without magic! You took sixty-four percent of his impressive HP pool!"
"Are you satisfied, Mordo?" Kel'Caldor said, clearly irritated. "We'll need a year or two to find enough sentient undead to replace those who died in your stupid game."
"Nah, don't worry about these guys, Kel," Mordo shrugged as he waved his hands. It was something he did, to talk with his hands as well as his mouth. "They were on probation anyway, I was thinking of killing them myself. But a bet is a bet," he said.
I felt like I was eternally falling backward without moving. The flame on my neck flared twice as high even though I tried to keep it contained too late. They made a bet?
"Did you bet on me, you old sack of bones?" I hissed at the lich.
Mordo broke into fits of chortles, "You call your master 'sack of bones'?" He wheezed, spat some blood, then kept chortling.
"It's for your benefit, Raina," Kel'Caldor stated matter-of-factly. "Now no one in the Necropolis will dare touch a single strand of your hair. Not with Me, Vlad, Mordo, and Parnassus backing you."
"And especially not after seeing your Necromancy take control of Ignatius so deeply he allowed you to drain his health to reattach your foot and kill him," Mordo added. "Seriously, girl. What is your [Spellcaster] score? Do you have a leadership Class like Vlad's father had?"
"No comments," I deadpanned.
"Where did Junior find her, Kel?" Mordo continued to importunate us.
"In a tomb at the depths of the Maelstrom," The lich shared. "At least that's what he led me to believe."
"He's still sending people to dive and die for those jewels? He's not even sure they exist!" Mordo got flustered.
"You know he has an [Oracle]. The poor girl is a willing prisoner in his castle and can see the strands of Fate easier than me," the lich explained. "She told him about Raina's existence and also that she was the keystone to unveiling the secret of the [Goddess' Tears]."
So that's how he learned my name. One thing that bothered me was that no reference of me existed in any books about the Lost Empire. I was a [Princess], right? I don't think that a Goddess incarnating as the [Princess] of a nation would go unnoticed. Maybe some missing pieces of this puzzle were out there, waiting to be found.
"Are these tears related to the Matriarch?" I asked out loud, committing a terrible faux pas.
The brothel patrons paused to collectively glare at me, then resumed their normal activities. Kel'Caldor glared so intensely my hair was dyed green under the two gemstone lanterns he had in his face. Then I realized that Mordo and everyone else around might not be so savvy about me being the Matriarch's reincarnation. Or unlife, if one wants to be precise.
"We don't talk about deities here. Unless it's Bit, Rabhorktaar, Labraid, or Vukdon," the lich explained. "The rest of the pantheon doesn't like us very much or outright hate us. Those four tolerate us, at best."
I remained silent for a while. The undead Lords talked about politics as I slowly savored the local mushroom ale. The first rule of mushroom ale, you do not ask about how mushroom ale is made. I waited patiently until my cue to rejoin the conversation.
"Okay, sorry I mentioned the M-bitch," I blasphemed. "But why is Parnassus backing me?"
"You made him a lot of money," Kel'Caldor explained. "Mordo and Parnassus have an agreement to split the proceeds and risk of arena betting. When we announced that you at level twenty-nine were going against Ignatius, level seventy-eight and an arena regular, the odds against you were seven to one. A lot of people bet on Parnassus thinking of making easy money."
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
I raised an eyebrow. "What if I lost?"
Mordo guffawed, "Then it would be Kel here that would foot the bill. That little scuffle of yours was risk-free. For us. Though I would be willing to pay a lot to see your Status sheet. How you defeated him and survived is still something a lot of people are out there, wondering or trying to find out."
"More like they are trying to end their unlife shortly. Last month alone, I killed about ten infiltrators trying to climb my Pillar. I might have to go have a chat with Bactrion," Kel'Caldor clattered his teeth angrily.
The conversation went on, the eternal evening made it so nobody cared about the time of the day. I was offered the free services of the brothel staff several times but I refused. My undead species didn't have such urges. From the Revenant side, I only relished vengeance, and the Dullahan wanted to take souls to the afterlife and maybe punish the wicked. Rubbing skin against skin was really, really low on my to-do list.
After a few hours, I excused myself and returned to the Third Pillar with my skeleton chaperone. The old geezers would stay at the brothel talking about stuff for days.
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What was on my to-do list was to pick my Class evolution. At the first rank, it only offered me the choice to specialize in either physical or magical prowess. Now, maybe because of my species' upgrade, I was offered a branching choice.
> > Choose a specialization between Physical or Magical, or a branching path.
>
> > Available Branching Paths:
>
> * Headless Avenger (unique) - Deliver dark justice from the shadows. Brutally punish the wicked.
> * Cephalophore Saintess (unique) - A beheaded martyr who spreads the Holy Word and brings divine punishment.
> * Mimir's Oracle (unique) - See and read the strings of Fate, and bathe in the wisdom of the Universe.
So. Specialization sounded boring. The [Headless Avenger] felt too dark and brooding. For some reason, the image of a dark-cloaked guy brooding on tall buildings next to stone gargoyles watching for crime appeared in my mind. Not for me! [Mimir's Oracle] was odd and too ominous. Prophets get locked down somewhere and punished when people screw up while misreading their prophecies.
> You became a Cephalophore Saintess (unique, 5 slots, second rank). You will not be offered another branching path again.
>
> You gained 5 in all Mental and Spiritual Attributes.
>
> You automatically selected the Matriarch as your patron deity. Approval granted.
>
> You gained the title, [Saintess]
>
> Your progression is,
>
> 1 Attribute point at every level.
>
> 1 Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Willpower, and Mind at every level.
>
> 1 Strength, Charisma, Luck, and Soul at every odd level.
>
> 1 Endurance, Magic, Faith, and Ego at every even level.
>
> 22 base HP at every level.
>
> 18 base MP at every level.
>
> 6 base SP at every level.
>
> 1 Perk at every 2 levels.
>
> You gained the Perks,
>
> * Faith Magic (rare): Add your Faith Attribute to Magic to determine your MP pool. You must always respect your deity's Ethos when casting spells or risk losing Faith points. This perk cannot be turned off.
> * Saintess Magic (ultra-rare). You have a new resource called FP. FP is restored only when you pray and when the worthy pray to you to intercede for them before your goddess. FP is based on Soul. With [Saintess Magic] you can spend FP to create miracles. Always use your FP to further your goddess' goals or suffer dire consequences. You gain 2 base FP per level.
> * Commune[Matriarch] (ultra-rare): Once per week, you can enter a state of deep prayer and talk to your deity. Your deity will assign you tasks and review your actions. She may reward or punish you at her own discretion.
Three free Perks? Sign me in! They came with heavy strings attached. It seemed I had to walk the narrow path and not anger the Matriarch. Was it even possible? How could I not be working to further my own goals? Before I started messing with my new abilities, I took a peek at my Status. It seemed that I gained a fourth Resource, FP.
> Level 40
>
> Strength: 60+11 (71) / 92 - Dexterity*: 52+58 (110) / 92 - Endurance*: 89+31 (120) / 92
>
> Mind: 54+34 (88) / 92 - Willpower: 54+34 (88) / 92 - Charisma: 35+52 (87) / 92
>
> Magic: 53+19 (72) / 464 - Faith: 42+0 (42) / 464
>
> Ego: 11+30 (41) / 92 - Luck: 11+44 (55) / 92 - Soul: 11+44 (55) / 92
>
> 211680 HP
>
> 48124 MP
>
> 8855 SP
>
> 4400 FP
What would happen if I used this {Commune} Perk? Would the Matriarch talk to me? Would I talk to myself? It was so confusing! But before I could commit to using it, a message arrived.
> > The Matriarch has chosen her [Saintess]. Send your prayers to the Heavens so she may perform mighty deeds!
It seems it was a broadcast for all of the Matriarch believers.
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The shardling took over the cavern. As the priests chanted a barrier to keep it from reaching the last stragglers, Nenandil thought about sacrificing herself to save them.
"Don't be silly," the [Pope] rebutted her stupid idea. "You have our fur tags, and you can bring us back to life on the surface. Go, cross over. We'll see you in the next life!"
She had no idea if she could do that. It's been a long time since none was revived because the one who knew how to do that was no longer with them.
"Pandora, help!" The desperate fairy begged.
The [Wisp of Creation] released a huge amount of divine energy.
> > The Matriarch has chosen her [Saintess]. Send your prayers to the Heavens so she may perform mighty deeds!
Nenandil stared at the broadcast in disbelief. She had no idea if that was a good or a bad thing. But a massive wave of divinity returned to the Wisp, from the prayers and hopes of all believers who received the message. A [Saintess] was a huge deal, especially when the other deities were still observing their stupid silence.
"Pandora, what did you do? And why now of all times?"
The [Wisp of Creation] shone, Her golden light reflecting on the sacred rusty fig. Hexagonal shields looking like translucid honeycombs sprung around the cavern as the priests' spells were unraveled by divine fiat. The Shardling struck the shields but they held true. Even a boss monster born of a Dungeon Core couldn't surpass a barrier erected by the Goddess of Protection.
"The Matriarch protects!" The rabbit-kin [Pope] proclaimed and the priests cheered.
"Yes, but don't take risks you don't have to! Rush to the tree, let Pandora hold the line. GO! GO! GO!" Nenandil shouted.
The fairy was the last one to cross the boundary as the shields faded, no longer necessary. The abandoned cave was left behind to become the Shardling's lair.