The woods surrounding the little abandoned village were calm. Birds in the trees twittered at each other about nests and food. A few rabbits were eating some grass slowly. The weather was sunny and warm. Then a scream echoed from further in the trees. The animals instantly fled. Moment’s later a woman ran out of the trees “God Damn it~” she screamed as she tucked her chin and tried to run faster.
She had barely made it to the village edge when 3 monstrous forms pushed their way into view. All three appeared to have been human once. But mounds of flesh, bone, and hair grew in ways they shouldn’t. Their mouths were wide open, most of the human teeth gone, but rows of extra teeth deep inside. Their eyes were pure red, and all locked on the woman in front who was slowly outpacing them.
The woman herself looked like a very normal human. Her long red hair braided and trailing in the air behind her. Her green eyes searched the overgrown village paths for something, before she quickly turned and ran to her left. She glanced over her shoulder once to see the three monsters still following her. And she groaned before turning and running into an overgrown cemetery.
The monsters were moments away from her but she stopped, took a knife and pulled it across her palm, she pressed the wounded hand on the ground and began to mutter. Black ink seemed to spill from her hand to the ground and sank deep into it. The monsters had just reached the cemetery when the first skeleton broke through the ground. Skeletal hands with black ink connecting them like tendons grabbed at the grotesque ankles. More and more skeletons rose and piled on top of the monsters.
The monsters struggled, but were held firmly down by the boney creatures. The woman stood up and rubbed her bloody palm against her pants before approaching the closest pile. Reaching through the bones to exposed flesh, she let her blood smear before she began to mutter again. Black ink with blots of blue pulled from the form before it collapsed. The ink sank into the woman’s skin and she shivered in repulsion. But didn’t hesitate to do the same to the other 2 creatures. When the third one fell lifeless, she let out a long sigh.
She started to mutter as she walked from the cemetery to the nearest tree line, the skeleton mass pulling the three forms with them. The woman looked around before pointing to a clear area. Some of the skeletons broke from the mass and began to dig in the ground. The woman didn’t watch, instead she reached into a pack on her back and pulled out some bandages and water. She spent a moment washing her wound before wrapping it carefully. Then she looked at it. “Too obvious” She growled before wrapping her hand more thoroughly.
Around this time, a large hole was in the ground. She glanced up and nodded after a moment. The skeletons threw the three monsters into the hole and began to cover it again. It didn’t take long and the woman turned back to the cemetery with the skeletons. Once there, the skeletons began to dig themselves back into their graves. The woman slowly walked to each one, pushing the dirt so that the dirt didn’t look so disturbed and whispered a thanks to each one. She was almost done when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. She whipped around to see another skeleton. But it was just standing there. “Go back to your Eternal Rest.” She told it, annoyed that she had to actually speak her command out loud. But the skeleton did not move.
With a frown, the woman stood up and walked closer to the skeleton. As she did, she noticed that the black ink of her hand had seemingly sunk into the skeletons bones, rooting the ends in place. “That’s... not right.” She walked closer, but her eyes cautiously watched for the skeleton to move. It didn't. She got close and reached out with her hand and touched the black ink. She muttered, but the magic didn’t move. “What the fuck?” She grabbed at the arm of the skeleton and pulled. But the ink resisted her. It felt like pulling the arm of a living human off, impossible without extraordinary strength.
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Closing her eyes, the woman muttered some words, and a light green light circled the two of them. Green tendrils began to poke at the skeleton, but they were absorbed into the bones for a moment before the green light seemed to bounce away from the skeleton. Opening her eyes and seeing the skeleton she screamed “That doesn’t make sense at all!” at the skeleton. It didn’t react.
She glared at it. Then she walked into what had once been the center of the village, if the dried fountain was an indication. She ignored the sound of the skeleton following behind her. Once there, she closed her eyes and began to mutter and a green circle circled her but slowly grew larger and larger until it had gone out of sight. A moment later, she opened her eyes with a smirk and walked off. Eventually, she arrived at what had probably been a blacksmith's shop, though the only indication was a shattered forge. Pushing inside, she scared off a few mice before looking around and closing her eyes.
But before she could mutter, she heard the skeleton move. It was walking. Her eyes shot over as she watched in incredulity as the skeleton moved of its own volition to a desk in the corner. Its bony fingers wrapped around a drawer and pulled. Curious, the woman walked over and she looked down to see the skeleton pulling out a simple but beautiful wooden box. She smiled and reached to take it, but the skeleton turned its body away and clutched it. “Give it to me.”
The skeleton shook its head.
The woman’s jaw dropped. “Do you actually understand me?” The skeleton nodded. “Oh no! That’s now how that spell works! You are only a puppet! You don’t even have a brain, or eyes. You can’t think. You can’t understand me.” The skeleton didn’t react to this.
“No.” The woman stated with finality before walking out of the building. She walked to the side, and glared at the skeleton following with the box in its bony clutches. But she closed her eyes and muttered the same spell. With a groan, she opened her eyes and marched toward the skeleton. “Give. Me. That. Box.” The skeleton shook its head. “What are you? Look, I don’t want to have to re-kill you. I just wanted to save myself and put you back to rest. Why won’t you do that? Why are you stopping me from getting that artifact!” She screamed at it. Her fingers clenched.
The skeleton moved almost instantly, reaching and trying to open the box. The clasp was difficult for the bony edges to move it, but when the woman reached to help, the skeleton pulled it further away. “Fine.” A moment of tense silence, and then the box was opened. She could see a stack of papers and on top of it was a small bracelet. The skeleton picked it up, and held it before its unseeing eyes before passing it to the woman.
She almost dropped it in shock, but as it touched her skin, she felt the magic within it. Quickly, she wrapped it around her injured arm, and pale yellow magic wrapped around her palm. After a moment it faded. Knowing that color, she quickly unwound her hand and looked at the healed skin. “That’s convenient.” She looked up to the skeleton, who stood there, with the now-closed wooden box clenched in its grasp. She paused a moment but then she shook her head and started walking back to the center of town. She continued on her way until she got back to the cemetery. “Are you sure you don't want to go back to your Eternal Rest?” The skeleton shook its head.
“Fine.” She dropped her pack and pulled a rain cloak from it and wrapped it around the skeleton and pulled the hood over the skull. Then she sighed. “That’ll help you hide from a distance. But if anyone gets too close to you, they will know that you are an undead. Goodbye.” She pulled her pack on and started to walk.
The sound of the skeleton was behind her, even as she walked into the trees. With the village just out of sight she turned and found the skeleton a few paces behind her. Following her. “Go your own way!” she growled at it. It shook its head. “Why not?” The skeleton pointed a finger at the woman and then at its own arm. “What?” She walked closer to it as it kept pointing at its arm. A few steps away, she could see that he was pointing at black veins of magic that had begun to grow on his bones. “I didn’t do that.” The skeleton nodded. “I did do that. But, that’s not how the spell works. The other skeletons all did the right thing. Why are you different?” The skeleton didn’t respond. “Fine. We’ll have to get you a better disguise. I’ll take you to my teacher and we’ll see what he has to say about this.” The skeleton didn’t respond. “Just... I don’t know. Nod your head, or clatter your jaw or something if you agree.” The skeleton’s head went very slowly up and down. She groaned. “Fine, come on. It’ll take us a few weeks to get to the school if we’re lucky.” The woman muttered angrily to herself as the two of them passed fully into the trees.