While the morning waned so too did the rain clouds disperse across the sky. In their wake was left a clear yet gray horizon that reminded one of the depressing lifelessness of winter. The ground was still mostly mud and only the stones or patches or thick grass allowed easy walking. Out in the depths of the forest there was the added frost that helped make the earth more bearable to walk upon. However even here the traveling was not easy and one had to be careful of both pits and tree roots that threatened to trip one up and give them a painful tumble into the cold ground.
Both Jagger and Markku traveled through the tall trees of the forest at the base of the Henjuk Mountains. They were still in search of a possible origin or home base of the undead menace as the monsters were clearly acting with some kind of guiding intelligence. It was obvious that on an individual level the skeletons had no higher thought but their otherwise strategic placements in the village were proof that someone was instructing them. Finding that leader was part of their mission from the Goddess Jenna.
Shortly after leaving the village the two would be holy warriors had gone to the field where the werewolves had originally found the undead wandering about and found it mostly deserted. There had been however large amounts of tracks preserved in the ground by the coming frost, the great numbers clearly proving a large army had walked through the area quite recently. This was obviously an army of undead and it was towards the mountains proper that this large army had walked.
Neither of the warriors were altogether excited at the prospect of fighting hundreds of skeletons and zombies. They didn't believe their goddess had tasked them with such a thing either. She had instructed them to locate the source of the undead not take on an entire army by themselves. Another thing they wondered about is if they should contact her immediately upon finding this possible horde by prayer or simply return and make their report. These questions they knew they would have to answer soon.
Onward the two men trekked through the wilderness, their warm winter clothing preparation in plenty for dealing with the harsh environment. Both of them had a growing sense of unease in their chest as the trail of their quarry led them up the side of the mountain and into the alpine forests of pine. This type of weather would bother the undead not, their very nature making them immune to the pitfalls of normal life.
Here the environment started to become very rocky with cliffs cropping up sometimes to either side of the large path they were taking. It seemed to be some kind of ancient road that had stood the passage of time due its stone material and remote local. Though the tracks of the army had stopped due to the stone there was still evidence of their passing in the form of random bones scattered about like a grisly breadcrumb trail.
Eventually the two men crested a small hill and cave upon the entrance of a large canyon, the treacherous cliffs appearing as an open wound in the very mountain itself. Here they stopped and looked upon the stone passage with the wind whistling around them like the voices of the dammed.
Jagger clutched his heavy cloak closer to himself and squinted into the canyon.
“Don't tell me we have to walk through that terrible thing.”
Markku was frowning and shook his head.
“We will if we want to obey our goddess.” He replied with a sigh. “She wants us to find out where these abominations are coming from and going to. It's clear that through this mountain pass lies their destination.”
“Yes but we won't have to clear them out right?” Jagger asked nervously.
Markku shrugged. “The goddess never said anything about that did she? Nay I think she plans on doing that herself. All we needs do is confirm their location and get out of here with our skins.” He placed his right hand on his sword. “I have a terrible feeling all about me just standing here. Like my fur is standing on end even without it upon me.”
Jagger tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded in agreement.
“Me as well. Its as if the whole world here is filled with the feeling of death.” He then grunted and started walking forward. “Well lets be about it.”
Markku followed after his paladin companion and the two of them began their approach to the canyon opening. Indeed it was a very defensible position and a ruler would very likely have had a castle or keep built here for times of animosity. There was nothing of the sort here at the entrance however, though that might change the further they went in.
The two men walked across the frosted ground and came to a stop in front of the yawning split in the mountain. They were standing at the bottom of the canyon and it seemed to be at least a hundred and fifty feet deep, or tall from their location. Many chunks had fallen off from various heights and made piles of rubble along its length and thankfully the light of the sun illumined it well enough. It was midday now and the warriors didn't want to be here long.
Jagger suddenly pointed to the cliff wall.
“Look there!”
Markku whirled around to look where his companion was pointing and his eyes widened in surprise.
“Well it seems out friends did indeed come by this way.” He said with a snort.
Together the two men drew their weapons and walked slowly into the opening of the canyon and to the two figures that had been spotted standing there against the wall. Upon closer inspection they were revealed to indeed be a pair of skeletons, armed and apparently standing guard here at the entrance. They were however frozen solid and unable to move, their bones firmly attached to the wall by thick chunks of ice.
Jagger walked up and and poked one with the tip of his spear and getting no reaction.
“Poor bastards.” He remarked with a click of his tongue. “Do you suppose they're dead dead though?”
Markku walked up and pushed the knight away from the frozen bones.
“Either way we best keep our distance.” He replied. “They won't be moving until springtime and shalt be bothering anyone.” He then turned to look down the canyon. “If these two were put here as guards, which they surely were, it proves out quarry lies beyond this place. This is now an infiltration mission.”
With a nod Jagger stepped back and sheathed his sword again.
“I for one am planning to return alive. We know these lot are poor of senses but I agree with the more sneaky approach. Lets move down the canyon and see what we can see.”
With their plan agreed upon both knight and warrior began walking down the length of the canyon with care to make their steps quiet as they possibly could. While the plate armor Jagger wore would normally be quite loud he had been pertinent enough to wear softer traveling boots. His companion Markku always wore light leather armor and thus his boots were the same. Keeping quiet wouldn't be a problem.
Swiftly yet silently the two made their way down the long forgotten stone road through the towering canyon. All the while their eyes and ears kept vigilance for any movement or sound that might herald an enemy attack. By this point they weren't sure how intelligent the driving force behind these undead's movements were and elected to treat them like any human commander. If sentries had been posted at the entrance they would be along the road as well.
Thankfully and to their great relief no more undead were found anywhere along the cliff walls. Then after only a quarter mile of travel they came upon a large opening in the canyon that was perhaps the result of a cave in long long ago. Here the stony terrain opened up into a half mile wide and mostly flat area with the canyon proper continuing on the other side. Not much stood out here save for a single building a few hundred feet to the left.
There standing over sixty feet tall was a stone tower, the structure itself built into the cliff face and made much out of the very same stone. Perhaps its had been carved from the surrounding stone by people long ago as this place was marked on no maps. It was not a simple tower either, as at its base stood short walls perhaps twenty feet tall that surrounded a fairy decent courtyard. The stone roofs of simple buildings could be seen beyond it. In the center of the wall was a tall gate house that still contained a gate, though the metal had broken and fallen to pieces.
Markku let out a low whistle.
“Hell! Will you look at that!”
The sight of the ancient keep had put Jagger in quite the trance and he stood there staring at it in awe for several moments. After staring for a short while he noticed something else and shivered not from the cold.
“I'm more apt to see what's patrolling those walls.” He said with a grimace.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
This place was indeed not as abandoned as it first appeared, for atop the curtain walls and within the windows of the towers were skeletons of various shape and size. They were armed like all of the undead had been so far, these with a wider verity of weapons including bows. It also seemed like not all of them were human remains with some being altogether too tall or too short to be so. What they were however would be difficult to ascertain even if they hadn't been wandering about intent to kill the living.
“I see them.” Markku replied. “Do you reckon we should take a closer look? See if we can spot the one in charge?”
Jagger gulped but straightened his shoulders.
“I'd rather not.” He replied. “Though I don't suppose no will be accepted as an answer. It seems they haven't spotted us over here so I suppose we best get this over with.”
Thankfully the assumption of Jagger's had been correct as none of the posted sentries made any movements indicating they had noticed the two invaders in the distance. Indeed they continued on their predetermined paths as if completely unaware of their surroundings. This the two would be sneaks used to their full advantage, the men creeping up along the cliff and quickly moving from cover to cover.
Markku had taken the lead and paused, putting his arm out behind him to stop Jagger's advance. He then pointed in front of them at the ground in front of the wall.
“Look there.” He said in a hushed voice. “See how the ground opens up there?”
Jagger crept up next to the warrior and looked ahead. After a few moments he nodded and whispered back.
“Yes it seems like a moat.” He replied. “Though clearly empty. Perhaps if we move along the back we'll find another less guarded entrance.”
The werewolf gave no reply other than a quick nod of agreement, his right hand motioning for Jagger to take the lead. As he had lived in the wilderness his entire life he had never seen a proper castle before and thus deferred to the knight's experience. Jagger after all had spent much of his life around such fortifications and knew their features enough to make him the present expert.
Jagger nodded with a look to his companion, the grim look of determination on his face as he crept forward and into the lead. He had snuck into castles before after all and he had confidence in his ability to this time, army of undead abominations non-withstanding. In one sense he saw them as less threatening than living men.
In silence the pair continued their journey along the base of the cliff wall, their steps planned out to prevent misplacing stones and causing unwanted noise. They kept far away from the moat for now as the cliff and the debris scattered about proved ample cover while the moat was in open and exposed ground. It took half an hour for them to reach the back of the stone walls and where the tower met the canyon wall. There to their delight they indeed found another smaller entrance, this one with only a single skeleton guard posted atop a rotting wooden bridge over the moat.
Jagger stopped and motioned to Markku. He then whispered just loud enough to be heard.
“There see? We'll just dash across the bridge, take out that guard, and then enter the door before any others can react. Sound like a plan?”
Markku nodded, though he had quite the nervous look on his face.
“It seems like a solid plan.” He replied. “Though something about that moat gives me a terrible feeling. Moreso than the army of corpses that walk the walls.”
Jagger only smiled, mostly to reassure his companion.
“Don't let the moat scare you. I've walked over a fair few in my life and even through them. This one is empty so as long as you don't fall down it you'll have nothing to worry about.”
Markku sighed deeply and closed his eyes, taking a moment to collect himself. He then opened his eyes again and steeled himself.
“Lets go.”
Both men stood up and started slowly approaching the small bridge, being careful to take cover behind any rocky outcroppings they could before reaching it proper. Eventually however they were out of hiding places and the bridge stood less than thirty feet away. They stood with backs to their rocky cover and drew their swords. Then with a simple nod to each other they jumped out from hiding and charged the bridge.
Much to their surprise and dismay the skeleton sentry seemed to spot them immediately ruining their surprise. The panic began to set in the two men's minds as the thoughts of what would happen if the rest of the garrison was to be alerted ran through their minds. Neither were weak enough to give into such thoughts however and Jagger's quick thinking brought an idea to his mind.
There was a specific spell in his arsenal that Goddess Jenna had gifted him for just such situations, that is when an opponent stood outside of melee range. According to her it was a ranged option for his battle tactics and had a range of over thirty feet. Quickly Jagger raised his right hand and pointed it palm open towards the skeleton.
“Goddess bolt!” He said aloud.
All in an instant a brilliant flash of light emitted from his hand and formed into a small arrow of pure golden light. It then shot out with a loosed arrow and struck the skeleton square in the chest. The corpse bucked in itself and was sent crumbling to the ground in a clattering heap. It never moved again.
“Quickly!” Jagger called to his companion, his voice as loud as he dared.
The enemy thus vanquished the two men dashed headlong across the rickety wooden bridge and underneath the alcove that the door was positioned in. The rotted passageway was shut tight though it wouldn't be hard to open.
Markku looked around frantically with his adrenaline pumping.
“Do you think they're alerted?” He gasped.
Jagger was panting himself and put his back against the wall. He then put his fingers over his mouth.
“Shh!”
Both of them stood there in silence with only their shallow breathing causing any sound at all. They waited for seemed like an eternity, the seconds dragging by, to see if any response would come. After ten seconds had passed no reinforcements had appeared and it seemed like they remained undetected. They each took a deep sigh of relief.
Jagger was the first to step away from the wall, a relieved smile on his face.
“Well that could've gone worse.” He said in a hushed voice. “Now I'll see if I can get this door open.”
Markku then followed the knight's example, stepping away from the wall and looking around. He was suddenly stopped in a flight of panic, pointing into the moat with his left hand in a state of shock. He stood there with his eyes wide and mouth open for several moments before his companion noticed and stepped over to join him.
“What's the deal man?” Jagger asked in concern. He then looked down into the moat himself and gulped loudly. “A-Ah...”
Though the moat was only ten or so feet deep it hadn't been someplace either had looked on the way across the bridge, the skeleton being more demanding of their attention. Both had noted the pit was not filled with water, though neither had looked close enough to see what it was filled with it. Bones. It was filled with bones. The entire moat had a thick layer of skeletal remains like some sick version of water, probably four feet deep, that was made up of all sorts of creatures both beast and man. Some of the skulls belonged to creatures neither of the men recognized and it was a horrifying sight.
“W-Well...” Jagger said in a timid tone. “At l-least they're down there.”
As if the universe acted to spite the man's words the most unexpected and nightmarish event occurred. The massive pile of bones began moving, slowly at first but then quickly like a flowing river. From both sides of the bridge the mass of rotting remains began flowing into an ever growing pile that rose towards the place they were standing.
With all pretenses of stealth thrown to the wind Jagger slapped Markku on the back hard and began dashing back across the bridge.
“Run!” He bellowed.
The sound of the knight's voice snapped Markku from his daze of terror and he jumped into action on instinct. He dashed across the bridge and even overtook his companion, the pure terror pushing him to run faster than he ever had in his life.
Behind them the wave of corpses rose up like a growing tide and engulfed the bridge, the bones clattering and scraping as they crushed the rotting wood. It didn't stop there however and continued piling up into the air, eventually the grim heap rising to twenty feet out of the moat. Then as if to truly force true horror upon the men below the bones shifted until the entire thing formed into the rough shape of some terrible reptilian beast. A huge gaping maw filled with sharpened bone teeth opened and empty eye sockets formed from countless skulls formed on top of its head.
Added to the madness this abomination was capable of creating sound, and create it did. Suddenly the air was filled with a deafening roar that shook the body and chilled the blood. In the very same instant the heap of death lunched forward like a crashing breaking wave, its trajectory the two fleeing humans below.
While Markku continued scrambling away in panic he cried out to his goddess with what he believed to be his last breath. Jagger on the other hand felt a wave of conviction wash over him and he turned around to face the coming doom. He slid the small shield he carried off his back and held it aloft over his head. There was a special spell called turning that the goddess had granted him and he would be his life on its effectiveness.
As the wall of roaring bones came down upon the two men Jagger's shield suddenly lit up with blinding light. The very light itself formed a bubble around them and the monster of corpses crashed into it with a horrid crunching. Like water off a stone the bones slid down over the light dome and on the ground around it until once again the air above was clear of danger.
Markku scrambled to his feet as the light vanished, jumping over to where Jagger was standing and putting his back together with the knight's.
“Where the hell did you learn that?” He shouted over the noise of bones.
“The goddess!” Jagger shouted back. “I don't think it'll work again!”
The amalgamation of bones had not been defeated and the scattered bones on the ground around them began to coalesce once again. They began piling up higher and higher again as if preparing for another crashing attack.
“We best give our last prayer to the goddess.” Markku said. “Beg for her mercy, if indeed she can see us out here.”
Jagger smiled with a grim confidence. “I already have.” He replied. “I trust Goddess Jenna.”
Together the two of them stood there on the stone floor of the canyon, their backs pressed together and weapons dropped to their sides. All around them a wave of rotting bones rose and swelled up into a towering beast once again, the reptilian visage opening its boned filled jaws and looming down over them with intent to kill. This heap of mismatched corpses would have another pair to add to its bulk and its victims saw no way out. There was acceptance in their expressions as they awaited their demise.
However it seemed that fate would not be so cruel to them this day, for despite its cruel affliction of this very situation upon them it moved to spare them their grim end. Directly in front of them a large portal opened up in the air, its glowing symbols spinning around the oval opening. Both paladin and knight turned to each other with grins of pure elation as a gigantic pale hand emerged from the light beyond and reached for them.
Up above another blood curdling roar filled the air, though it could do nothing to flinch the hearts of its so called prey. No these two men had their hearts bursting with joy and praise as their goddess herself wrapped her hand around them and hid them within its warm darkness. All around them they heard clattering bones bounce and break upon her fist as it slid along the ground and back into the portal. Truly like water over a boulder the wave of bones flowed across her fist until it slipped completely through the portal and the gate of light snapped shut in an instant.