“So, first things first Mr Karon, who is your Master?” The man speaks as he lays bent on the broken side of the boat.
“And why should I tell scum like you?” Karon’s demeanor towards the man had instantly changed when he learnt that the man was not working for their Master.
“Because I can go ask Kura the same question and she’ll answer, because it seems like she’s repenting
somewhat” The man grimaces “and if you don’t answer, the Chthons will take you, I’ve heard it’s a life worse than death”
Karon remains silent, though much clattering is heard from his supposed location.
“Look, we’ll do it this way, you ask a question, I’ll answer it and vice versa. You begin” the man sighs giving in somewhat.
Karon remains silent…for a short while, until he deigns it useful to ask questions.
“Will you promise to keep me safe, let me free and do no other harm to me?”
“I promise on my goddess, and if I break that promise then I’ll walk into the Chthons bare” He rolls his eyes upwards, seeing nothing but blackness. “Ok, so who is your Master?”
“Kravulkor, the true god of the undead” Karon benevolently praises his Master. “Why did you crash our boat, rather than continue your farce and let me give information?”
“Well, two simple problems, one, I am not a liar and do not like being so. Two, Kura warned me you would be tipping the boat or I imagine something similar that’d cause my death in the least.
“She told us this?” Palock responds from the darkness, to which the man sighs in relief.
“Remember how she asked you to come with, to protect us from the Chthons? Why would we need protection from them if we were to go on a straight trip from the boat to the portal, all Chthon free?”
The silence lets the information sink in.
“So Karon, what happened to Aegi on the day of this dimension’s destruction?” After a short thought he asks.
“She called my boat, rode it and left” His answer is annoyingly ambiguous. “Why did you come here?”
“To find rumours of Aegi, and because I thought it was a portal to Kravulkor’s realm” He answers truthfully, ‘tsch’ing at having to answer such a dangerous question.
“When, relative to the creation of this dimension, did Norac disappear?”
*Tsch*
“The day after” seems like both don’t like the questions that are being asked, for the next may give away the game.
“Why are you trying to get to Kravulkor’s dimension?”
“…As a promise” After thinking hard, the man finally responds, dodging the question. “Why didn’t Kura just tell me all she knew, was there an external reason?”
“Yes…because she’s got a mark of lies; she is unable to tell the truth on certain things” He almost stops himself from answering both questions, but he doesn’t; he almost involuntarily speaks out.
“Now for another question, are you forced to tell the truth?”
Karon remains silent, the clattering of bones apparent, though no distinguishable noise coming out.
“He said yes” Palock speaks up “I speak nine languages” bones scrape across wood, due to a shrug perhaps.
“Oho, Kura is one smart little lady, and you are one poor fool”
“I am no fool, I am Karon, master Ferryman of Khthon”
“Tell me who gave you the curse to tell the truth”
“Norac” He doesn’t bother to speak in a different language, knowing that he can’t stop it.
Immediately he starts blabbing in different languages, switching between as many as he can, non-stop spewing out random words.
“Palock, have fun deciphering” The man laughs loudly as Palock sighs depressingly.
“Why did Norac curse you?”
“Err….no…reason? just…ki..did not trust me?” Palock somehow deciphers after they ask the question multiple times.
“Are you sure?” He asks Palock
“Nope, but I’m guessing that the important words are ones that are spoken a bit louder than the rest. It seems to make sense”
“Right, so next question Karon-”
Immediately Karon shuts up.
“Oh? Saying your name shuts you up?”
“Yes” He grits his teeth, making an ungodly noise with it.
“Why?”
“Keyword of the curse”
“Lovely, now what happened to Norac?”
“He was summoned back by his Master”
Palock mutters something unintelligible while the man giggles.
“I see, a few things are starting to make sense now…”
“What makes sense? Really, nothing does” Palock blurts out, very confused at everything.
“Why Aegi and He are friends. But some things still don’t make sense…why did you not tell your Master of Aegi’s presence here?”
“Because my curse doesn’t let me” The ear ringing teeth gritting continues. Since memories of Norac doing the same thing once he cursed him resurface.
“Tell me all the effects of your curses.”
“I am unable to tell a lie, I must answer when spoken to, I cannot speak first unless it is for my boat duties, only when allowed to speak may I speak, my name controls my speaking ability and my life is tied to this boat” He lists the different effects of the curses, Norac gave him.
“Wow, Norac is quite the curser” The man chuckles lightly “So that explains a little more”
“I’m still lost” Palock responds to which the man gives a small laugh.
“My theory is that Aegi was being hidden by Norac and he made sure to seal off the potential spies. However he didn’t get enough time to curse Kura, or didn’t feel like cursing her more and ended up being summoned away. However thanks to both sets of curses, no news of Aegi was brought out. How correct am I so far?”
“Very”
“Good. So a few more questions would make sense of a few more random things. The first is why did Kura seal the souls off and not let them become Chthons?”
“Because the Master told her to”
“Damn. Hrmm…since you don’t seem like you know his plans, no point asking anything about that…ah! Why did you think I was working for Kravulkor?”
“You are carrying his tome”
“His tome? I was told it was…ahh” He realizes that Kura’s curse may have been in effect. “So what is this tome?”
“One for summoning”
“Oho!” One could hear his elation quite heavily in the air “Who is it summoning?”
“Norac”
Silence ensued as everyone let the information sink in.
“RIGHT!” thank you for your cooperation, but it is no longer neces..wait, where is a portal to Kravulkor’s realm?”
“I do not know”
“Dammit. Well anyways, thank you for your cooperation and may you have a good long life, Karon”
With that, Karon shuts up and doesn’t speak, only grits his bony teeth together.
“So Palock, let’s get back shall we?”
“My body is broken, as is yours and his. Plus Chthons are coming this way, thanks to all the talking. We’re not going anywhere”
“What are you talking about?”
Palock sees the man stand up, perfectly fine.
“How?”
“I’m quite blessed you see” He grins joyfully. “So how do I carry you without you killing me?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I…don’t know, but you better put on my robe before the Chthons come” Palock states with a hint of impatience.
“Why?”
“Because it’ll ward the Chthon’s away”
“Well I can’t see so you’re going to have to direct me to your robes and not you” The man slowly moves his hands around in the air.
“Ok, move down slightly, grab…there you go, now raise up and shake Ow, yeah there you go” Palock says instructions as the man follows them, picking up the robe and shaking Palock out of it.
Putting the robe on, the man rubs his arms going “ahh warm”.
“Ok, now if you carry me on your back I can direct you”
“I’ll get to that, but first I need to sort out our ferryman. How little bones do you need to still be functioning?” The man asks thoughtfully.
“the head and some more bones should be enough”
“Ok, so will head and spine be enough?”
“Yes”
“Cool, not direct me to your head and spine, as well as his”
Palock sighs, he’s not getting out of this mostly whole.
Directing the man, Palock watches him grab hold of his spine with the cuffs and breaks away this ribs and pelvis, leaving his head and spine, connected and intact.
Held in the man’s cuff, he finds it easier to direct the man to do the same to Karon.
Soon, the man holds Palock in one hand, Karon slung over his back with the broken oar handle and with some more directions, holds the summoning tome in another hand.
Everything sorted, Palock becomes the eyes for the man and they begin to walk through the dead grass.
For a long time, they don’t really speak, only Palock with a direction here and there.
About an hour passes with no issue, as the man is unable to see the hordes of Chthons he’s walking through, only feels their chilly presence closeby.
That is until Palock notes the man of a blown up corpse he’s about to step on.
“A corpse? Wait, Palock, look around , do you see a bow made from bones?”
The man raises his arm, allowing Palock to get a good view of the area.
“Yes, I do see something like it, feet at either end?”
“Yes, damn Tandra”
“A friend?” Palock asks solemnly.
The man nods.
“Well she’s a Chthon now, lost forever”
The man asks for where the bow is.
Dropping the tome, he picks up the bow and then the quiver, shooting bones at the floor nearby.
He stands there doing it for half a dozen arrows, till Palock tells him, a Chthon is standing in the way, waving their arms.
Placing the bow into his inventory, the man picks up the tome and holds it under his arm along with Palock.
Throwing ‘arrows’ like darts with his free hand, he slowly makes a path for this Chthon to follow.
Within another hour, they finally reach a few metres from the keep, where blackness still resides.
“Another few steps and you’ll be through the shield” Palock states.
The man nods and then throws both Palock and Karon with his oar a few feet forward.
Then he removes his robe and Palock, from only a few feet away watches the man open his arms and let the Chthon enter him.
Screaming, the man stumbles through the shield, and onto the floor convulsing, a greyish blue clawed etheral hand wriggling violently outside his body, trying to escape.
While screaming his head off, he stands up shakily, trying to get at least his lower body under control while his arms rake skin off one another in an attempt to dull the pain from having two souls in one body.
He unceremoniously kicks both Palock and Karon and his tome to the doorway, where Kura is waiting, helping both of them to the repair room and leaving the man to fall to the floor, convulsing uncontrollably once more, this time, half the Chthon escaping, before being dragged back in.
…
Tandra had been alone for nine hours. It had been nine hours since she had been chucked out of her body and had watched it rip itself apart.
Since then, she had cried silently and tried her best to move, willing herself.
It took practice for her to will herself to move a single step. It was like moving a puppet, a very unresponsive one.
But soon she got the hang of it, the sheer amount of brain power and concentration needed to take steps.
And by the time she got the hang of it, Arrows were hitting the ground close to her.
Not normal arrows, but her arrows.
Elated, she willed herself to look around, but couldn’t see him.
She knew it was him, no one would be crazy enough to be out here.
Immediately she feared, dreaded he would have the same fate as her.
Bursting into action, she slowly walked towards the arrow pile and begins waving her arms in slow motion.
Soon, the arrows changed spot, slowly forming a line.
Ecstatic she got a response, she began following the arrows, moving a slow walk, but still moving.
Eventually, the arrows stopped on top of a small hill, where there was nothing but flat ground.
Then suddenly, the man appeared, in his usual clothing and with his usual cheeky grin.
He opened his arms and with silent tears of happiness she went in for a hug, only to feel a certain desire click in.
Inadvertedly, she slipping inside him, feeling flesh and blood encase her once more.
But it felt wrong, constricting; like being shoved into the belly of a living thing, it’s bloody fleshy walls pounding you as they tighten, squeezing you further into immobility.
She wanted out.
Clawing, screaming, crying, she tried to dig her way out. Nothing mattered, only escape from this fleshy prison that squeamishly held her, imprisoning her.
But the walls did not give way so easily, something was enforcing them, choking her, squishing and squelching without restraint.
Almost, she almost escaped. Half her body reached the outside, seeing bright torches and a large keep, before something strong dragged her back inside.
She could hear the unearthly screams of the man when she was outside and even inside she can hear him screaming, see him screaming as he traps her inside, forces her to stay, even though both want her out.
Although she was mad with trying to break free, the screams brought back a memory, a chilling nightmare that she does not want to relive.
It gave her…control over this feeling of fleshy incarceration, enough to stop attacking the walls like a crazed animal and try to hold it in, to ignored the feeling of squelching flesh pulsating around her body.
She could hold it for a few seconds before the madness took over once more.
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Author's Corner:
Hello! last chapter for the weekend i believe and hope this answers something asnd makes more questions because questions are good!
Anyways, please comment and review!!
-TRUE NORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD