Chapter ten

OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE HORDE

ALICE

The next two days passed by in relative peace. Alice and Caeda soon discovered the river was following a wide valley filled with grasslands, small copses of trees, and the occasional thicket. The banks were easy to walk along and often had patches of cottontails or reed beds growing near the shore. The weather had finally begun to relent, and while the storm clouds lingered, the unending rain had begun to give them breaks. It was only in the absence of the constant storms that Alice realized how low the clouds had been hovering and that she began to catch glimpses of the mountains in the distance that the river was leading them toward. Their diet had improved as well. They found a few rare tubers and wild berries, and their fishing yielded redfish in addition to their standard bluefish and crawfish. It wasn't much, but it was appreciated. They'd even made some progress on helping Caeda sort out more of her magic. That morning, they'd begun their day with the wood elf starting her first successful campfire by refracting the morning sunlight into a focused point and igniting their kindling. She had been ecstatic with her progress, and it had really been a great way to start the day.

Of course, their trip hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows. Other things had not been so lucky. When Alice had been caught up in the carnivorous grass and trapped in the waterfall, both had done a number on her dress. The garment had barely been worthy of that name to begin with, little more than a burlap sack. It had been uncomfortable to wear at best, but it was better than nothing. The trip over the falls had nearly destroyed it, the plants tearing through it to dig into her flesh, the water ripping it with its powerful flow, and the fabric shredding as she tried to fight free. Her chest wrap had been of higher quality and was still mostly in one piece, but the rest of her outfit was made of leftover scraps. The best she could manage was a tank top that left her midriff entirely exposed and a makeshift "skirt" tied around her waist that only reached her mid-thigh with a split up one side nearly to her hip. It left her incredibly thankful that some fluke of her new body meant she wasn't bothered by the biting winter cold but a little frustrated with how poorly she was now dressed.

While they walked up the bank of the river, she couldn't help but admire how Caeda's outfit was getting a little worn, but not in a way that was concerning. Seeing how well it had faired through everything made Alice wonder what it was made of while also filling her with a bit of envy. It wasn't that she necessarily felt like she needed to cover up, but more that she didn't want to stand out in such a negative way when they eventually found a town. It was a thought that stuck with her until a little past noon when, during a break in the rain, she spotted what looked to be a group of people gathering around something maybe a quarter of a mile down the river. She had been momentarily lost between excitement and concern when Caeda grabbed her hand and pulled her low behind some brush to kneel down beside her as she carefully peeked toward the crowd.

"Think they're more bandits?" Alice asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't think so. They're covered in blood. They might be undead," Caeda replied, continuing to carefully peer over their cover.

Alice followed her lead and let just her eyes rise above the brush, but the group was too far away for her to make out any details. "How can you tell?"

"I'm a wood elf, and I have the perception skill. They're upwind of us, and I can see the discoloration on.. oh gods! Yeah. They're undead. They're pulling something or someone apart. I think they're just zombies but we better find a way to avoid them."

Alice looked around, but there wasn't an obvious way past. The valley around them didn't have much cover at all. The river was pretty wide, and if they crossed, she didn't think a mindless zombie would follow them, but of course, she was thinking of slow shambling undead. Modern movies had started to make zombies into sprinting tireless monsters. With a little trepidation in her voice, Alice asked, "What kind of zombies are they? Can we just run past 'em, or are they the crazy fast kind?"

Caeda sat back down in their hiding spot and looked at Alice in horror, "There are fast zombies?! How do we tell the difference? Earae preserve us, I thought normal zombies were bad enough!"

So startled by the outburst Alice nearly tipped back on her butt and let out a small huff of surprised laughter, "Sorry, Caeda. I was thinkin' 'bout somethin' from my old world. Why don't you tell me what zombies are like here?"

It took a moment for Caeda to process her words, and then she scolded in a hushed tone, "Don't scare me like that!" She took a deep breath before continuing, "Okay. Zombies are some of the weakest undead, but there are usually so many of them that it doesn't matter. I think there are between thirty and forty in that pack that I can see, and who knows how many more out of sight. It is rare for a zombie to rise on its own without a source of death magic, so these were likely created by a demon or necromancer. I don't see them, but that doesn't mean these are alone."

Alice nodded, "So, what? We need to find this necro-demon and kill it?"

"Alice! We can't fight a demon! We need to hide and hope they go away, or we need to find a way to sneak past!" Caeda took another deep breath, fighting down the blatant nervousness and fear, and tried again. "If they have a controller and we're spotted, we're in big trouble. Zombies are slow, but any demon or necromancer that could control so many would easily have magic to capture us. We know they don't have orders to stand still and wait, so we can assume that their controller is either nearby or they are feral, but they will act the same if they spot us. When uncontrolled zombies see, hear, or sense anything nearby, they will chase after it. We could outrun them, but they won't stop. They'll follow us down the river until we tire or they get distracted by something else. Even if they lose sight of us, they'll keep going. If we lead them to a town, the people won't be very happy with us."

"Are the zombies strong? Can we just take 'em out? If they're feral, I mean?"

Caeda risked another glance down the river before answering, "I don't think that's a good idea. There are a lot, and we already had so much trouble with just those bandits. Besides, there could be a lot more hiding nearby."

Alice sat down completely and said, "Well. We'll think of somethin'. How do they track people anyway? Is it just by sight?"

Caeda joined her on the ground, "It depends. Zombies are corpses. They are more effective if they still have eyes and ears to see and hear with, but without them, they can still sense nearby sources of life. How strong that sense is depends on who created them, but in general, they won't detect anything more than a few dozen feet away, or anything smaller than a cat. When they're in a pack they somehow know to follow each other though, so if there is one with good eyes and they spot us, the whole pack will come after us."

"I see. We'll just have to be real careful then. You sure do know a lot about zombies."

Caeda nodded, "Most people do. They're a very common threat everywhere this side of the spires. Or at least, they were before the new [Hero] showed up. The other one, I mean." Alice grinned, "Sounds like she's doin' a great job. Do you know what she's like?"

Caeda shrugged, "No, not really. There are only a few stories about things she's done. She must be really dedicated and strong, though. If she's anything like the other [Heroes] from stories, she's probably a very serious, no-nonsense kind of person. Someone who always has the answers for anything and never messes around. Then again, she might be like you, so who knows."

Alice held back a laugh at Caeda's grin, "Yeah, okay, you scamp. I'm gonna catch us some food while we think of a plan and hope they go away. Keep an eye on 'em, will ya?"

Caeda nodded, taking back up a post where she could watch the zombie horde, and Alice turned to face the river. It was a few feet away, but that was plenty close enough for her to feel anything moving through the water. In short order, she tossed four decently sized fish onto the bank, each the common blue sort, and quickly gave each of them a smack in the head with a rock to ensure they had a quick, painless death. Just as she was about to start prepping them, she felt a larger presence she was coming to recognize as one of the prized red fish and swiped it from the water in a [Water Prison]. She grinned at its sheer size at just over three feet, knowing it had to be at least thirty pounds. Her dad would have been proud. She drew the water prison close, ready to give the fish the rock treatment, when an idea struck her.

"Hey, Caeda. You said the zombies will follow any livin' thing they come across? How long will they chase it?"

"For as long as it takes to catch it. Why do you ask?"

"Just thinkin'. Can they swim? Why aren't they chasing the fish? They're all gathered right next to the water."

Caeda stopped watching the zombies and looked at her in confusion, "Well, no, they can't swim. They'd get dragged away in the current. I doubt they can sense the fish anyway. It is an aura-like effect based on death magic, and death magic doesn't mix well with running water."

Alice nodded, "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Caeda watched as Alice walked out into the river, her fish floating over her shoulder as she went. Her friend disappeared under the surface after only a few steps - Not her fish, though. Her fish floated right above her, staying over the water like a signal flag to show her progress. Alice had been walking on the shore with Caeda for the past two days with only brief stints in the water. Submerging in the fast-flowing, deep river was completely refreshing. Looking around, she could see clearly through the water as easily as if she'd been wearing goggles, but also, like wearing goggles, everything above the surface was distorted by the flowing water. She shrugged at that, it was good enough, and began to walk toward her goal. The water didn't drag on her like it would have in her previous life, even though she could tell the river had a fast, strong current. It wasn't only the water that seemed to be ignoring her, either. Every creature she saw, from the fish to the insects in the water as she passed by, acted as if she weren't there at all. The only notice they gave to her presence was to move enough not to collide with her, but none of them treated her like a threat. They stayed in their protected areas of the river, and those swimming downstream simply moved around her. She tested this when she saw a river otter reaching out and gently running her fingers through its fur as it passed. It didn't seem to mind at all and only continued its hunt. It made her smile but it wasn't a big enough distraction to make her lose her focus on her spell.

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She began moving and was easily able to use the movement of the water to aid her as before, harnessing all of its speed. It felt like only a few bounding steps before she was near the zombies, and her stop was as easy as walking on the beach, her feet only sliding and sinking an inch or so in the cool, sandy riverbed. She didn't break the surface, staying deep in the water, but instead sent her fish bubble floating in their direction. The moment it was over land, she saw them shift. She could only move it so quickly, at perhaps a person's normal walking speed, but that was enough. She floated the fish along the bank, straining her limits on how far she could take it inland until the horde finally began to move. They were faster than expected, shambling in a bit of a rush but nowhere near a normal human running speed. She led them on for about twenty feet before she began having trouble making out their shapes and turned her fish sharply toward the water. Making sure to keep it clearly visible, she led the fish far out over the river, relying on their drive to chase and their ability to see the movement even if they couldn't sense it. The zombies shambled in pursuit. She wasn't sure if they could still see it over the water or not, but they kept walking in its direction regardless. When they stepped into the water, they didn't float off as she'd hoped but kept walking along the bottom until they were submerged nearly halfway up their faces. None of them made it too far, though. They were still somewhat buoyant and caught up in the river's strong current, they began to tumble away, still making shambling motions as if they were trying to walk. As she watched, one was quickly caught up in a reed bed, but its motions eventually pushed it back into the water. With a triumphant grin, Alice turned in place, making her way back toward Caeda, her fish in tow.

"I can't believe that worked," Caeda said in greeting as Alice stepped from the river. She had been keeping an eye out for more undead or anything that might be trying to control them, but so far, the coast was clear.

Alice only beamed, "I guess that makes me some kinda tactical genius, then."

Caeda scoffed, "Only because there wasn't anything else with them! That was really dangerous!"

Alice gave a dismissive shrug, "It worked. Say, I think it's 'bout time we eat. Gilbert here looks ready to sacrifice himself for the cause."

"You named him?! How can we eat him after you named him? He just saved us from the zombies, too!"

Alice looked at ol' Gilbert and sized him up, "That's 'cause he's a loyal fish, ready to serve 'til the end, ain't ya, Gilbert?" She grinned back at her friend, but at Caeda's crestfallen expression, Alice sighed and relented. "Alright, noble Gilbert. You've earned your keep. Go on now, be free."

As her water prison lowered to the river and began to merge back into it, Gilbert lazily began to swim, staying somewhat sheltered in place near the shore for several seconds before resuming his trip. Alice's longing eyes followed him for several seconds before she turned back with a helpless shrug.

"Well, we've got plenty more fish anyhow. Think it's safe enough to cook them now that the zombies are gone?"

Caeda only shook her head in defeat, "Yeah, Alice. We should be okay… You weren't really going to eat Gilbert, were you?"

It didn't take a genius to know there was a wrong answer to that question, and Alice smiled as she said, "Don't you worry 'bout Gilbert. He's gonna live a long, happy fish life."

A sigh of relief flooded out of Caeda as she interpreted that in the best way possible before turning to look for firewood, "Okay, good."

They rested for nearly an hour before resuming their trip and ensuring they were on the lookout for any stragglers from the pack of zombies. After passing the brutalized remains of the deer they'd been feasting on, they didn't want to take any chances. While Caeda kept a nervous eye on the river and every possible place they could be hidden, Alice thought about the conversation they'd had about the undead, and once she'd organized her thoughts, she decided it was as good a time as any to learn more.

"Caeda, if death magic don't mesh well with runnin' water, won't fallin' in the water destroy the zombies?"

That made the elf miss a step before looking up at her friend, "Well, yes. It will, eventually, but not right away. Running water will interrupt death magic, so anything created with it would eventually be disrupted enough to fall apart. Undead are very infused with death mana, so it will weaken them, but it takes time. If those zombies are still stuck in the river, they're likely dead by now."

Alice let out a relieved sigh, "That's good! I was worried 'bout them floatin' down into some unsuspectin' town."

"Oh no, there is no such thing. It would be very odd for undead to come from the river, but any town would have guards posted to keep a lookout for monsters and undead, especially around here."

"You know where we are?"

Caeda let out a snort, "I know we're near the border between Aranthas and Nightvale somewhere. I think now that we're away from the forest, we've got to be on the Aranthas side of things, but I'm unsure beyond that."

"So, what? Are those places where monsters and undead are real common?"

That made the wood elf brighten for some reason, and she grinned at Alice, "Oh! Well, not as much as they used to be! Aranthas is sort of the frontier of civilization now. In its eastern territories, it is quite civilized, but out this way, it is far more wild. After the fall of West Peak a few years back, there was little to keep the undead hordes of Jalmonnoth from ravaging the land here. Long before that, he had already managed to conquer Nightvale."

"Whoa there, Caeda. You're gonna need to slow down. I don't know what any of that means."

Oh, sorry! I keep forgetting. I guess I am getting ahead of myself. We are currently in The Grand Spires Alliance, a kingdom consisting of five duchies. Nightvale was a duchy within the kingdom, but it fell long ago and was only recently liberated by the [Hero] Evelyn – though, for some reason, she never claimed it. Aranthas is the westernmost duchy and is on the front lines with The Fallen. West Peak is further west than Nightvale, like an island of civilization out in the chaos of the fallen lands. They are a city-state. Most of the civilization lived on a mountain with the same name as the city, though they also claimed a lot of land around the base of the mountain. It isn't part of the spires mountain range, but a single giant mountain that stood alone."

Alice grinned, "A lonely mountain, you might say?"

Not understanding the reference, Caeda only shrugged, "I guess so?"

With a small sigh, Alice prompted her to continue, "Okay, well, if West Peak was off in the distance, why did things only get worse here after they fell?"

"I'm no expert, but I can tell you what I've heard other people say. When people who are unfamiliar with West Peak speak of the place, they always think of it as being much smaller than it truly is. They actually had a very large and thriving population living in and around the mountain. That's important because one theory I've heard was that because they were able to field a very sizable army, it made them a threat and limited how much Jalmonnoth could expose himself by sending his armies into the spires. But I don't believe that one. I mean, it's true, but I don't think it was the real cause. Something else important to remember about West Peak is that most of the travel to and from the city was by airship, and there was only a single road leading up the mountain. Much of the city was built inside the mountain itself, making the place a fortress. I have heard plenty of adventurers give a more simple explanation. Jalmonnoth tried to take West Peak long before he attacked Nightvale, and he has always been known as one who never gives up on a goal once he focuses on it, regardless of how much it hurts him. They say he only took Nightvale to be able to prevent West Peak from easily having reinforcements, and he never took his focus from the mountain until it was conquered. He just refused to admit defeat… which I guess makes sense. He found a way to win."

"And then Evelyn killed him, so, what, are these zombies from his minions or somethin'?"

Caeda shook her head in the negative, "It's possible that some like that exist, but there were a lot of undead that just went feral after he died. It makes them unpredictable, but easier for adventurers to kill when they're found. I think these ones are like that, or someone would have noticed them missing by now."

Alice nodded and they walked in silence for a few minutes before Caeda seemed to perk up, tilting her head from side to side. After a few amusing seconds of this, Alice finally asked, "What is it?"

"Do you hear something? It's splashing, I think, only it seems too rhythmic."

Alice, not hearing anything, stepped to the edge of the river and stood quietly for several seconds. She was about to shrug and give up when she happened to look upstream the way they'd come and spotted something out of place. "Caeda, what's that?"

Quickly moving to her side, Caeda followed her pointing hand and, shielding her eyes from the sun, gasped. "It's a riverboat! We're saved!"

She nearly cheered but Alice put a hand on her shoulder, "You sure? How do you know it ain't more bandits?"

That stopped her cold. She stared at the boat for several seconds before shaking her head again and declaring, "No, it's not! That kind of river boat uses a mana engine. That slapping sound in the water is its paddle wheel. I mean, it's possible that they took one over and forced the crew to work it, but they'd never make it past the first town they came across."

Alice grinned at that, "You know, I think you're right. I guess we better not miss this chance to get picked up."

They both stood on the side of the river, doing their best to flag the boat down as it got closer, and as it came into focus, Alice was nearly stunned at how much its familiar silhouette reminded her of The Georgia Queen. The large, boxy, rectangular-shaped riverboat even had the same multi-deck layout with a white and red paint job, and she couldn't help but have flashbacks of her school trip to Savanna. She knew it wasn't an exact match, but the resemblance was impossible to ignore, and as she thought about it, her memories of the real thing were a little fuzzy. When it was closer, she could tell this riverboat was more worn and obviously was made more for shipping cargo and transporting people up and down the river than for tours, but the familiar sight tugged at her heart. It was almost as if she was going to be able to finish this trip, hop on a bus and make her way back to her dad's long driveway, walk past the overgrown grass, and wait on the patio for him to get home while doing her homework. The unexpected homesickness that came with the thought was hard to fight down.

She was drawn back to the present when she heard the rhythm of the paddle wheel change as it slowed and then changed directions. The deceleration of the boat while it closed in on them was very gradual, no surprise with how large it was, but it came to a near stop in the flow of the river while the crew worked quickly to lower a boat over the side. Alice was able to see that the much smaller rowboat was crewed by four very normal-looking young adults, a woman, and three men, all dressed in plain tunics and pants and armed only with large belt knives. Their professional uniforms washed away any concerns over more bandits or pirates, and the moment they were close enough to hear her, Caeda immediately began thanking them and telling them how long they'd been lost in the wild. Though Alice managed to introduce herself, Caeda was more than eager to tell them about their troubles, and once again, when they'd gotten to the river boat, explaining everything to the captain and the rest of their crew. She never once mentioned Alice being a [Hero], however, and Alice couldn't help but think that was for the best after everything she'd heard. Before the end of the story, Jesse, the woman from the longboat, had taken Alice aside and given her a real tunic and pair of pants to wear. They weren't anything fancy, but they were greatly appreciated. In return, Alice healed the few cuts and bruises the crew had and spent the rest of the day working on her [Water Mana Manipulation], making the ship part the water more easily, saving them fuel and speeding their journey along. She didn't learn any new spells while doing it, but she did level the skill up to twelve.

It turned out they were only a couple more day's walk from the next town, though they'd been on the wrong side of the river, and by late evening, she watched with a settling sense of relief as the lights of a town lit up the river ahead of them.