Chapter 41) Something to talk about. Or, A tall cold woman in a black dress.

After gathering up some of the more intact armor, shields, swords, and what Matt informed me were halberds, the three men carried them off two blocks and stashed them in what seemed to have once been a bathhouse of some kind.

With their backup gear hidden away, they turned their attention to the upper city.

Once past the gatehouse and what looked to have been some barracks of some kind, the four of us paused at the entrance to a plaza where five other roads met. The shattered remains of what had been a three story man dressed in armor similar to the Elite skeletons lay in pieces on the ground with his two legs still standing on the plinth. Or at least his legs from just below his knees.

It seemed like an awful shame that something that took that much work got wreaked like that.

After taking in the site of the broken statue, Matt grunted and turned to the right. “I got no reason to decide to go this way, but we got to get moving and someone has to call it. So going right. Executive decision.”

Josh smiled a little and followed along, while Drew shrugged and joined them.

Within the first house, we found more skeletons walking around, these ones were wearing better looking rags, probably from having been indoors, but they attacked the guys just as eagerly as the ones in the lower city.

Mostly. Drew noticed it first.

“Is it just me, or did they hesitate before they came after us? Some of them almost looked scared.”

Josh shrugged and took the lead into what had been a kitchen at one time, smashing the skull of someone with a now grimy and tattered apron over an ankle length sleeveless dress.

I wasn’t surprised that the big man hadn’t noticed anything, he wasn’t waiting for the undead to come to him. Was he just that eager to drop these things, or was he trying to catch up to the other two?

In either case, even the regular upper city undead were worth points to all of them. Matt leveled up as they cleared the house room by room. Getting to fifth and gaining "Leg Sweep. I'm not sure if I have to use my foot or the shaft of the spear. But I can find out if Josh would let me take the lead for a bit."

The big guy seemed surprised but stepped aside with a sweep of his hand to invite Matt to enter the main hallway ahead of the Acolyte.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Matt thrust the blunt end of his spear between the next skeleton's legs and stepped up to it with a twisting motion around its ankle to lever it over with a clatter of bone on stone.

Stepping back he watched as it lay them for a moment as if stunned before slowly starting to get to its feet, only getting one foot under it before Josh smashed the back of its head in.

Turning to look at Matt he nodded in satisfaction. “Look like you use your spear for that.”

As they headed toward the wide staircase to the upper floor, a walking deadman, covered in gaunt dried up flesh appeared at the top of the stairs, a fancy looking sword in his hand.

The man wore an old and tattered white gown with gold braided black trim on the hem and had a thick faded blue blanket wrapped around him. Once over the shoulder, wrapped around him, and then one end of it hanging over one arm.

He held up the hand of his draped arm in a stop gesture. “Please. You will wake my daughter from the Liche’s dream. She is guiltless and knows not of the curse on her.”

We all froze for a moment at the bottom of the steps, then Josh held up his medallion. “I got a good way to end that curse. Smile and look at the birdie.”

The dead man seemed to sag as his shoulders drooped down. “If only it were that simple…”

Drew had begun to back away, then stopped, half turned to look out the broken open set of doors that stood wreaked in the entrance of the building. “Guys, it’s getting dark out there, and I’m pretty sure we had a few more hours of daylight.”

I flew at one of the tall narrow windows that face out into the street. “On it.”

Outside, the black flock circled around the building, so thick they blotted out the sun.

And dead center in the middle of the circle of darkness strode a pale young woman with long black hair that hung down her knees and an evil grin on her face.

She wore a sort of skimpy dark dress that should have slipped free from her assets with each step but clung to her in a way that I normally would have guessed needed two way tape to hold it in place.

Covered in silver jewelry, she had rings, pendants, and a band around her head, all adorned with little smooth unfaceted gems. More braided chains of silver were around her neck, wrists, waist, and on her ankles above her bare feet.

“Yeah, we got trouble guy. An evil looking lady that I think has a severe light allergy is coming our way.”

There was a choking sound behind me, turning my attention that way I saw Drew staggering backwards. Eye wide and looking pale. He dropped his club and reached up to his neck, “No…”

The dead guy up on top of the stairs laughed. “My dear Princess Issola seemed to have decided to honor my house this day. While I would take some satisfaction in watching you suffer, and she does delight in taking her time, so I would rather you fled and took her attention with you.”

Matt looked up and nodded as he reached over to grab Drew by one shoulder. “Drew, we’re moving. Executive decision, we’re heading out into the sunlight. Even with the birds, there's more light outside.”

Josh moved to put himself between the frightened man and his view of the street with the ‘Princess’ coming our way. “Sunlight sounds good. We got to move son.”

Half carrying and half pushing the younger man, Josh got Drew moving out toward the back of the house towards the kitchen and a back entrance, while Matt hung back and waited until he could see the lady in black pause to run her fingers through her long hair at the front of the grounds in front of the manor we stood in.

“I think we’re done for the day Tex. But outside the birds will have to stay up in the sky instead of flying into the building with us. But if you could delay her for a minute or two…?”

I bobbed up and down.

“On it, get Drew out of here, and I think… if you think she might catch you, put him down yourself, I don't want him to deal with her again. And it will give him something to complain about in the morning.”

Matt glanced at me, and nodded, before turning and moving at a jog towards the back of the building.

A moment later she entered the front doorway with a sly smile on her face.

Which swiftly turned to one of confusion.

“Why is there a ball of green light in here? Benor? What is that, and why is it in your house?.”