Slimantha lowered the map and glanced about, her beautiful brown eyes taking in her surroundings. Bleakfyre Forest was thick here. The grass at her feet was thick and lush. Samuel and Rose stood nearby, the two also glancing about. Various gray brick structures peeked out from the dense growth of the forest. Light filtered down through the canopy. It was still day. They had arrived at the spot Black had marked for Slimantha on the map. They had arrived at the entrance to some overgrown ruins. Was Samuel’s magic sword really here?

“Are those skeletons?” Samuel said, looking straight ahead. He extended his right pointer finger toward the entrance of the ruins.

Slimantha looked at the three skeletal figures positioned at the entrance. She blinked. “Looks like it,” she said. Her brown eyes scanned over the three skeletal figures, and she pursed her lips. “Yup, they are definitely skeletons.”

Samuel still stared at the three skeletons. “What are they doing?”

“Playing cards, I think.” Slimantha glanced at Samuel and smiled before returning her gaze to the three card-playing skeletons. The three skeletons sat around a small wooden table on wooden stools. All three held playing cards. Beside the table, against an overgrown gray brick wall, a sword, a shield, a bow, and a quiver lay. “Maybe they are guards.”

“I see.” Samuel glanced at Slimantha. “But why are the skeletons here? Didn’t the intel say birds and not skeletons?”

“What if,” Slimantha’s brown eyes sparkled, “they can turn into birds?”

Samuel facepalmed. “I highly doubt that.” His blue eyes went to Slimantha. “Wait. What are you doing?”

Slimantha stepped forward, stepped toward the skeletal trio. The lush green grass crushed beneath her black shoes. She folded the map up and then put it in her right pocket. Then she reached her right hand out toward the three skeletons. “Hey, skeletons, can you shift into birds! We need to know!” she said.

The three skeletons froze and then put down their hands of playing cards. In unison, they looked at her, their empty eye sockets boring into her. Then they got up and grabbed their weapons. One took the sword. Another took the shield. The last took both the bow and quiver.

“Definitely guards,” Slimantha said, stepping back. Her brown eyes went to Samuel, and she smiled. “You’re a hero, right? Think you got this?”

Samuel drew his sword. The weapon glinted as it came free from its sheath. This was not the weapon he was supposed to have, but birds happen apparently. He glanced first at Slimantha and then at Rose, who gave him a flutter of her pink eyes and a big smile. “Stay back. I will handle this,” he said. His blue eyes went back to the three now-armed skeletons. He broke into a run, rushing the skeletal trio.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Slimantha and Rose watched as Samuel met the skeletons. His sword swung, the gray blade glinting as it met the sword skeleton’s blade. Sparks flew. He jumped back, avoiding a bash from the shield skeleton. As the sword and shield skeletons double-teamed him, the bow skeleton backed away.

“Do you think he actually has this?” Slimantha said, leaning toward Rose. “I’m not sure he actually has this.”

Rose’s beautiful pink eyes were on Samuel as he weaved about. She glanced at Slimantha. “Are you kidding me?! Just look how hero-like he looks!” The tall plant woman returned her gaze to Samuel, and little hearts formed in her pink eyes. Then her eyes returned to normal. “Actually, he is just kind of holding his own there.”

Slimantha brought her right hand to her lips and giggled. “I think you are getting a little too hung up on the hero thing.” Her brown eyes went to the bow skeleton, the skeleton that had distanced from Samuel. “He certainly is not handling that one.” The bow skeleton had its bow pointed at Slimantha and Rose. “I got this.” She stepped forward and tendrils of viscous blue formed around her. She smiled.

The bow skeleton loosed its arrow, and the arrow flew true. It sliced through the air as it sailed toward Slimantha. The bow skeleton seemed to almost smile, not that it actually could. Slimantha’s brown eyes followed the arrow heading right toward her face. She flicked her right wrist, and a blue tentacle swatted the arrow away, rendering the bow skeleton’s attack harmless. Slimantha’s eyes returned to the bow skeleton, a smile still on her face. The bow skeleton, for its part, frantically pulled another arrow from its quiver. The bow skeleton was not a real threat, not to Slimantha at least.

The sound of metal on metal rang through the air. Slimantha glanced at the source, glanced at Samuel’s fight. The hero from another world pulled away from the shield skeleton and its gray metallic shield. His sword had just met that shield a moment ago. The sword skeletal now swung its weapon, but Samuel parried the blow with his own blade.

“You think he can actually beat them?” Slimantha said. Her brown eyes were still on Samuel’s fight. Almost absentmindedly, she swatted a few more arrows loosed by the bow skeleton away. “Those two skeletons seem to be holding their own against him.”

Rose pouted, also watching Samuel’s fight. “Those two skeletons must be really tough.”

“But are they really?” Slimantha crossed her arms. She glanced at the bow skeleton, who had started loosing arrows at a more furious rate. She cocked her right eyebrow and started arrow swatting faster. It really wasn’t difficult for her. “Somehow, I doubt those two skeletons he is fighting are all that tough.” She lowered her arms and glanced at Rose.

Rose puffed her cheeks out. Her pink eyes went from Samuel’s fight to the bow skeleton, who was still shooting arrows at her and Slimantha. She watched for a moment as Slimantha swatted away yet more arrows. “I’m ending this,” she said. She crouched down and slammed her palms down into the grass. A mess of vines sprung up in response and ensnared all three skeletons. The battle was over. Rose stood up and blinked. “I guess you were right. They weren’t that tough.”

“What just happened?” Samuel said. He lowered his sword, confused by the sudden turn of events. He looked up at the sword and shield skeletons. The skeletal pair were now suspended in the air by vines. He glanced at Slimantha and Rose. “Should I finish them off?”

Slimantha shook her head. “Leave them,” she said. “They are no threat now, so let them live to skeleton another day.” Her brown eyes went to the bow skeleton. The skeletal creature struggled against the vines binding it. Its bow had fallen to the lush grass below. “Should we head inside?”

“Let’s,” Samuel said. The hero from another world slipped his sword back into its sheath.