3:19 P.M.
February 4
Frostmonth 6
Abandoned Manor southeast of Limeroom, Limeroom, Veotera
The duo of otherworld-born Delver and aristocratic ghost made their way back to the foyer and Gary finally began to ascend the stairs. He noted with a bit of surprise that the lady was becoming less flicker-y as she ascended the stairs like a person would. By the time she got to the top landing where Gary was waiting for her, her form seemed almost tangible as if she were merely a woman with some sort of washed-out video filter on her instead of the ghost he knew she was. It was a fascinating change. Being closer to the source of her tragedy seemed to give her more power. He hoped it didn’t presage a change in temperament.
This place looked to be a bathroom and bedrooms. He moved to the bathroom first, finding a simple but elegant porcelain tub in the place. The drain looked to feed into a spout entrance in the floor and presumably once drained it poured harmlessly into the backyard somewhere. A clever design for the overall lack of indoor plumbing he’d noted thus far in Veotera. There was nothing but partially-used toiletries and dry-rotted drying clothes so he moved on.
The first bedroom he came across made him suddenly feel sad. It was set up as a nursery for a baby with a slender day bed along one wall for those who were in here to sit down on. The state of the room was covered in dust, the only disturbed part looking to be the bedding in the crib in the center of the room. It appeared decorated for a boy as even here blue tended to be associated with male children, leaving the room with a distinctly azure tint to it. He walked into the room and noted the ghost hesitated before she stepped into the room herself.
Her behavior was clearly one of remorse as she joined him at the side of the crib and looked down at the empty bedding with the most forlorn expression she’d shown thus far. Gary looked around and found a stuffed animal on a shelf nearby. The motion of him picking up the unused toy drew her attention and she watched him warily as he strode back to her and held the toy out for her. In this state, in this place; it turned out she was far more tangible here as she understood his unspoken gesture and gently hugged the toy under her bosom in the way a mother in the midst of numb grief would.
It wasn’t much, but Gary hoped she’d find a bit of comfort in having something her child would have enjoyed. The last thing he needed was for this ghost to suddenly lose her shit this close to whatever the source of her power was.
There was nothing of real value to grab here so he walked out after the inspection and quietly closed the door behind him when the ghost exited with the toy still clutched against her. He deliberately walked past what was clearly the master bedroom with a more decorated doorway, and chose the far bedroom on the other side. Opening this door revealed a largely pristine room as well; this one set up as a guest bedroom. There was the dust just like the rest of the undisturbed parts of the house, neatly folded bedding on top of an old bed, and it was otherwise empty of anything significant as his investigation revealed.
Finding nothing else for it, Gary stood before the master bedroom’s closed door as the lady ghost joined him and looked disgusted at what she clearly knew was beyond the stained oaken panels. He turned his head to look at her.
“Should I go investigate the cellar, or should I get this part over with?”
She was clearly torn. Her skirt silently swished as her hips turned back and forth, bending to and fro as she tried to work up the courage to answer him. Finally, she seemed to relent and glanced meaningfully at the door before them. With a heaving sigh, Gary reached for the door handles and turned them.
The doors opened into a sight that stunned the teenager. It could only be described as an ocean of desiccated carnage, as long-dried blood splatters coated nearly every surface he laid gray eyes on and bits of equally desiccated viscera lay here and there in vaguely person-shaped piles. Even without freshness the room reeked of Death especially as the fresher air from outside the room stirred the stale air inside the bedroom. This was a shrine to slaughter and doubtless where everyone had been herded to before being killed.
The centerpiece of this horror was what Gary identified as the centerpiece of this act of unremitting evil. A pair of corpses were splayed out on the bed; a woman and the remains of an infant child occupied the center of the roughly queen-sized four-post bed. He could only tell the larger figure was a woman due not to the sunken and desiccated flesh, but the fact that her limbs had been tied to the posts of the bed and her dress - the ghost’s dress but soaked with blood, he noted grimly - shredded to bare her front. He noted there were no undergarments left either, clearly lost in the carnage around them and hinting at a long and grim fate for the poor woman. The final blow was obvious: a spear was rammed through the middle of the woman’s chest just to the right of where the heart was, and the weapon was in the same stroke impaling the infant’s corpse through the chest as well to pin child to mother.
He struggled to keep his breathing calm. This was a long-happened sacrilege, and there was nothing of practical value he could do for anyone here but help them attain their rest. It didn’t mean he couldn’t be enraged at the scene before him.
The ghost seemed to sense his growing rage and finally mustered the courage to step into the place of her death. She came up to him and placed her left hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention away from the sight before him. Gray eyes stabbed at her with anger for a moment before he saw who it was and finally let out a ragged sigh to calm himself.
“You’re right. I can’t stop this, and it’s stupid to get upset about that. Let’s get that damn spear out of you first.” Steeling his resolve, Gary strode up to the side of the bed avoiding the piles of desiccated flesh and reached out for the haft of the offending weapon. As soon as he touched the wooden haft a shiver went through Gary’s bones. 「Danger Sense」 lit up like a new sun in his mind, alerting him to the immediate wave of danger closing in on him. He whirled towards the entrance to the bedroom and drew his club.
The sound of the front door shattering under rapid assaults of bony fists greeted his ears as the lady also whirled in surprise, still clutching the toy and with a fearful look on her face. In the moments before the presumed Skeletons could charge up the stairs and make for the room she looked at Gary and vigorously shook her head. Gary nodded once at her and hefted the club into an attack position; she’d just told him she had no control here. His eyes shifted forward from her as the first Skeleton made it to the master bedroom.
Gary triggered 「Sneak Attack」 as the Skeleton didn’t immediately see him, the club practically jerking in his hand as the wooden weapon collided with the Skeleton’s face to the shattering sound of dry bones as the skull practically turned to dust on impact. The sheer force of the impact drove the remains back into the next couple that came up right on it’s heels and knocked the lot of them down. Gary changed his position slightly and decided to adopt the United States Marines’ tactic of being aggressive enough quickly enough. He counter-charged and triggered 「Sneak Attack」 again on the nearest Skeleton that was struggling to get up. That was six percent of his Reserves gone in a few seconds of combat, but it was seemingly a guaranteed kill at his Strength and Class grade so two down at that price wasn’t a bad shout.
The rest of the Skeletons were catching up, and Gary refused to be caught in a tide of bone. The third skull he shattered he saved himself the Reserves and was happy to find that the result was the same regardless of using a Skill or raw power with these opponents. More swings rewarded him with more kills, and the remaining Skeletons paused for a moment as they clearly gathered for a mass charge. Gary took the moment to sweep the ground at his feet clear of bones to ensure himself good footing.
The bony monsters came at him en masse and he shoulder-checked the first one before stabbing upwards with the club to hit another one’s jawbone and send the skull flying up and off into the aether. The ones with the battered tools were closing in from the back of the pack, and Gary whirled in a spin kick that claimed another skull. These creatures had only displayed enough intelligence to obey the ghost lady or pause long enough in an attack to gather and use the weight of numbers. Not one of them sought to dodge his attacks.
This pattern held true as he fielded attacks from more and more. There were too many Skeletons to account for the amount of beds he’d seen in the servant’s quarters. Seemed like the call of more Undead spawning here because of an impending dungeon emergence was on the money. He finally got to the ones who were using tools, but they proved to be barely any better of a challenge as the hafts of their tools broke on his bracers before he broke their skulls completely in return.
It wasn’t long before the bone monsters were dealt with. Gary quickly kicked the bones down off of the landing and immediate part of the second floor to prevent himself from getting jumped by a surprise reanimation. 「Danger Sense」 had switched from the last Skeleton he’d just dispatched towards the woman’s body. It would perhaps be more accurate to say it was the spear emitting the feeling as he approached, neither impaled corpse showing signs of movement. The ghost was watching him with wide eyes, her mournful mask clearly slipping in the face of someone who had the power to make good on their promise.
“Now! Let’s try this shit again!” Gary moved back to where he could grasp the spear, grabbed hold of the haft, and almost recoiled at the horrible feeling at just grasping the thing. Though the structure didn’t move it still felt like it was writhing in his hand like a slimy thing in pitch-black water slithering around his flesh. Gary didn’t like this sensation one bit, and an unplanned snarl erupted from his throat at the challenge.
The spear refused to budge, even as the corpses jostled a tiny bit at his furious pulls and tugging. Gary let go of the weapon and took a step back with a sneer at the cursed thing before him. Maybe it was stuck in the floorboards under the bed? He got over his feelings about the carnage, knelt down, and flipped a corner of the bloodsoaked sheets up to look at the offending speartip. It didn’t look like it was wedged tightly so something else was clearly holding it in place. Gary stood back up and pondered for a few moments.
It took him a few seconds, but he snapped his fingers as the idea struck him. He grasped the spear again and triggered 「Plunder」 as he focused his mental efforts on the spear. With a shriek like a wounded animal being pried loose from its cozy spot the spear manifested in Gary’s already-turning hand. He was fascinated by the fact the weapon had effectively teleported into his changing grip and didn’t require traveling the way it had entered in order to free the bodies. He took a moment to look the offending spear over.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
It looked simple, ordinary, a weapon you could pick up for relatively cheap from the local blacksmith. That description held up until one looked at the metal speartip. There were engravings Gary didn’t understand, like a relqa but twisted or corrupted. Most of them writhed as he looked at them only for them to revert when he blinked only to contort in a different way until he blinked again. There were no gemstones adorning this weapon so it wasn’t a relqa. He’d found something decidedly darker.
He noticed that once he freed the spear from its mooring 「Danger Sense」 immediately turned off. He heard a faint grinding like sand falling and he could guess that the Skeletons had finally dissipated now that he’d taken their power source. He inspected the two intact corpses and sighed deeply as he kept the spear away from them.
The lady’s ghost was still there, still clutching the toy as she eyed the spear with rage twisting her features. Gary wisely kept it away from pointing at her.
“Looks like that solved the problem. Let me go raid that bedroom for some clean sheets and I’ll put you two in shrouds so we can see about getting you both resting properly.” She slowly lost her look of rage and shifted to an expression of gratitude. He left the carnage-filled master bedroom in search of those sheets so he could rig their remains for transport. Hopefully he could get someone nearby to lend him a cart so he could transfer stuff back home. Surely she wouldn’t mind him looting the place now.
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Gary trundled up to the gate out of Limeroom that he’d entered seemingly so long ago with a mostly-loaded pull cart he’d paid a local around the manor to borrow. That ‘secret room’ had indeed turned out to be an above-ground wine cellar. The husband’s remains were there. It was pretty clearly a suicide, probably brought on by the grief of seeming his family and household like that. Somehow he hadn’t turned into a Skeleton. Perhaps he’d had to have died in the master bedroom for that to be a thing?
Regardless, his body was shrouded and joined his family in the cart. He came up to the mostly-outgoing traffic at the gate and hailed the guards as he approached. The bushy-browed guard captain was on duty again, it seemed. He really needed to get this guy’s name.
“Evening, gentlemen! I wonder if I could get someone to send runners to the Delvers branch and to Saint Shepherd Church for me? I’m coming back from a contract and I need both of their services.”
The guards greeted him and the captain stepped forward to look into the cart. He got a grim expression when he saw the three improvised shrouds. Without a word, he waved a hand in the air in a circular motion before flicking it towards the city and two guards took off at a jog. The man’s expert eyes flicked over the rest of the cart’s contents and back to Gary’s face in an unspoken question.
“Plunderers gonna plunder.” That earned him a confused look. “I was sent to investigate that abandoned manor to the southeast that spawned Skeletons. I found some valuables in the course of solving the problem that caused them. I have the lady of the house’s permission to have them.”
“..No one’s been at that manor for decades.”
“No one alive, good sir. Ghosts don’t count as alive.” It was a surprisingly short time before both Remmy and Jack strode through the gate accompanied by the guards that had run off to fetch them. “Ah, excellent. Remmy, I have some remains that need to be tended to. I don’t know the exact steps that need to be taken, so I respectfully enshrouded them and brought them back to be handled properly. Jack, I am pleased to report that the manor’s Undead problem is solved. I found the culprit.”
Remmy moved to inspect the shrouds but instantly recoiled with a nauseated look on his face before he got more than a few steps towards the cart. “God damn! What is that forsaken stench?!”
Gary nodded as if a suspicion had been confirmed. He turned back to the cart, grasped another wrapped item, and unveiled it in the early evening light. It was the spear he’d pulled free, still writhing and contorting it’s symbols and etchings as he held it somewhat aloft for the nearby men to see. “Behold, the culprit. The master bedroom was filled with carnage, with this rammed into the lady of the house and her infant son. The moment I touched it the Skeletons swarmed me. I’m thinking it was some sort of dark ritual with this as the focus.”
Remmy’s gaze turned baleful as he eyed the weapon, not daring to step closer lest he seemingly vomit. Jack and the guard captain walked closer and inspected the horrid thing in his hands. Jack grunted as he clearly recognized it from this distance.
“That’s a curse weapon.” The captain immediately drew his sword and leveled it at Gary. The other guards followed suit. Gary took on a surprised look at the sudden aggression.
“Clearly bad, but why the steel?”
“Curse weapons are forbidden to be brought into population centers, and you nearly brought one in,” the captain roared as he advanced on Gary and set the tip of his sword against Gary’s tunic-covered chest. Gary only looked at it before quirking an eyebrow at the display even though 「Danger Sense」 didn’t trigger at the clear sign of aggression. He simply made quiet and slow motions to wrap the spear back up in an effort to diffuse tensions.
“Good to know. I’ll just set this aside, then.” Gary stepped away from the captain’s sword and returned the now-identified weapon to the cart. The captain hesitated as the source of his attitude was tucked away, but the blade came back up as Gary saw the lady’s ghost manifest to his side. She was back to the flickering-when-moving state and was probably only able to be like this due to the physical proximity to her remains. “Gentlemen, the lady of the house. As I said, I have her permission to have the rest of the stuff in this cart aside from the remains and apparently this curse weapon.”
Remmy had recovered from his baleful disgust and after looking at the shrouds lowered his head in a respectful nod towards the spirit. She responded by flickering and appearing in a courtly curtsey back towards the old priest. Gary nodded in satisfaction at the interaction.
“So yes. Need to get this sorted. What do I do with the weapon since I can’t bring it inside the city?” The captain had seen the ghost wasn’t aggressive and had finally sheathed his sword. The guards hesitated and kept theirs out as the captain stepped forward and took the wrapped artifact into his hands. The disgusted look on his face was evidence for Gary that he hadn’t been the only one to feel that way. Remmy’s reaction was probably due to a Pearl Affinity or something priestly.
“I’ll see to it. We have a special place for these things outside the walls until they can be dealt with. How long did you say this was in place?”
“A couple decades, minimum?” Gary looked to Jack as did the captain. Jack nodded. “Couple decades. It’s had time to stew so it's probably pretty strong.” The captain grunted in affirmation. Shrugging at the display, Gary looked to the ghost who’d straightened up and was watching him with that mournful look. “Don’t worry, lady. My priestly benefactor will see to your family’s remains. You’re in good hands.”
The woman’s face moved into a happy smile and she dropped into an even deeper curtsey as her head bowed to the gray-eyed teenager. It was from this position that she seemed to come apart at the edges and like collapsing sand faded into dim stardust that was caught on an ethereal wind and swept away even as it burned out. Gary watched the display and jumped slightly as a text box sprang into existence before him.
Hello again! It seems you’ve gained a new Skill! Congratulations on committing an extraordinary virtuous act. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Whoa! He’d gained another Skill this quickly? He hadn’t used 「Quintessence Vivisection」 at all, and this new information that he could just get them by doing things like this? The protagonist vibes were getting stronger.
Gentle In Death This Passive Skill grants the user the ability to move among the Undead without challenge, provided the user is respectful in their approach. It also allows the user to seal the dead from becoming Undead if a eulogy or prayer is said over the remains. The Skill’s first part is disabled for affected Undead if intentional aggressive actions are taken towards nearby Undead, or if something the Undead are guarding is disturbed without permission (ex. curse weapons).
Gary rocked back on his heels as the men around him watched the sudden change in expression and his eyes flicking back and forth. They shared a look between them all and as Gary dismissed the window of his new Skill he noticed they all had a somewhat smug look on their faces.
“What? So good deeds are supposed to go unrewarded around here?”
“Says the young man with a cart full of looted goods.”
“Hey! I asked for permission to take this stuff! It’s not looting if I have permission!”
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“..And he found a curse weapon in the old Terrim manor?” Lord Roland Wevre was enjoying a late dinner, and looked up from his medium-rare steak at the thief-type man who’d talked with him on the carriage ride home from the stockade. The man looked up from his kneeling position to nod in confirmation.
“Yes my lord. He cleared the manor in less than a day, secured a curse weapon from being out in the wild, and reportedly even gained an unknown Skill from promising to see to the Terrim’s remains with the help of the priest he’s staying with to a ghost he reports to be Lady Terrim.” The man’s voice was full of confusion and surprise even as he faithfully reported what he’d learned from the network of low-level spies he managed for Lord Wevre. Said lord stroked his chin as he set down his utensils, contemplating this turn of events.
It wasn’t every day one found a curse weapon, and even fewer days where it was retrieved by a singular person. The Holy Order usually had to get involved when one was found and it was at a cost to numerous lives to secure the damned things. Roland postulated out loud, seeking to bounce the idea off his subordinate. “Perhaps he charmed the poor suffering spirit and gained access to the curse weapon that way? As I recall the manor’s repulsed numerous attempts to clear it out permanently. It was in such a lovely piece of land, too. Damn shame.”
“As you say, my lord. This bo-.. young man is bringing surprise after surprise. He’s reportedly clearing out a good portion of the local Delver’s contracts. Spies report he’s commissioned armor to be made, as well.”
“To deal with us, perhaps? No. He probably simply wants more protection since Delvers have a dangerous job. Being ready for us is merely a happy side effect for him.” Roland was at once excited and increasingly worried. This Plunderer seemed too honest of an individual to join the Court, but the fervor with which he operated indicated he had an objective that no one seemed to know about. An objective that required a strong reputation and the resources to move as quickly as he could at a moment’s notice. If not a full joining, perhaps he’d be amenable to some private contracts?
Roland took back up eating his steak and chewed as he thought. He was expecting the response from The Whispering Sovereign any day now; then he’d know what angle to attempt. He figured it was taking so long since a suitable Whispering Blade had to be found and make their way here with the reply. They’d need the strength if this lad decided he didn’t like the offer and chose to remove them by force.
“Keep the information coming. It strikes me that a Whispering Blade or two are probably bearing down on this. They’ll need all the intelligence you can get them on our potential recruit.”
“As you will, my lord.”