Chess stood guard staring into the swirling darkness ahead, while cold fingers of dread caressed her spine. She was so wrapped up in her unease that she didn’t notice Ashley’s pained moans had stopped until a hand fell on her shoulder, making her nearly jump out of her skin.
“Fuck!” she swore, turning to Lynn, her heart pounding in her ears. “Don't do that,” she snapped at the Kin woman while giving her a hard glare.
“You feel it too, don’t you? The foreboding?” Lynn asked.
“Yes,” Chess said in a shaky voice and nodded before taking a deep breath to help settle herself. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure but I can guess. I fear we will soon find out. No one's ever said a dungeon is a safe place to rest,” Lynn explained. “Will you be good here for a few minutes? I need to instruct Ashley on the proper use of her healing magic. The Learning doesn’t cover many of the pitfalls,” she said and dropped her hand from Chess’ shoulders.
Chess gave the young Kin woman a firm nod and followed it with another deep breath that did little to settle her increasingly frayed nerves. She stood her ground despite the building unease, staring into the abyss. Isn’t there a saying about the abyss and it staring back? She thought and another shiver ran down her spine.
Chess heard a faint scraping sound echoing through the cavern, quickly followed by a yelp of pain behind her. Chess whipped her head around, the tunnel forgotten, to find Lynn removing the bandages from her daughter’s foot. Returning her gaze forward she let out a long shuddering breath.
This place is getting to me. She thought, tuning an ear to the conversation budding behind her.
“What do you know about healing magics other than what you got from your Learning?” Lynn asked.
“I’ve only seen it done once when Lady Underwood healed farmer Frederick’s leg,” Ashley said then added. “Other than when you healed the men.”
“Go ahead, what did you notice?” Lynn prompted.
“Frederick needed to eat a lot before and after the healing?” Ashley asked.
“Very good, healing is one of the types of magic that the gods put a lot of requirements on; it’s not like your sap creation ability. Creation magic like that is rare,” Lynn explained and Chess thought she heard envy in the Kin’s voice. “Everything else needs something to be supplied, at least in part. Most attack abilities weary you sooner or in some cases injure the user if they aren’t resilient enough. Chess’s plant magic no doubt depletes the soil and is near useless in a cave like this, or indoors without something to grow the plants in,” Lynn said, gesturing about.
Everything probably needs resources; some just aren't immediately evident. Though the sap did seem to just appear, I'll need to experiment later. Chess mused, the lecture letting her concentrate on something other than the tension building in her shoulders and neck.
“Whenever possible, whoever you're healing needs to eat and drink their fill first. Then, again after you’re done. The spell uses the material in your body, if you have nothing to offer it in your stomach it will shrink your muscles. I’ve seen men turn to skin and bones when they were unable to eat beforehand. Sometimes, like in the case of a gut wound, eating beforehand won’t be possible. If you take such a grievous wound use the magic regardless of this advice; if you’re still able. Any chance of living is better than none. Understand?” Lynn explained making a shuffling sound with what Chess figured was her pack.
“Yeah, thanks,” Ashley said before the sound of chewing filled the following silence.
A sharp rasp sounded from the tunnel ahead and Chess squinted her eyes, struggling to make out whatever had made the sound. The sound repeated a few heartbeats later and Chess felt gooseflesh pebble her arms and back. It definitely wasn’t her cold and damp clothing making the chill deeper.
“Lynn, I think something is coming,” Chess said through a suddenly dry throat.
“Give me a moment and I’ll take another turn,” Lynn tempered.
Tiny glowing pink wisps of light bobbed into sight. They looked like burning coals from a fire but ones that never touched the ground or faded. The distant lights bobbed before another scraping sound scritched out and sent more chills down her spine.
“You're not listening!” Chess hissed out between clenched teeth, her eyes rapidly darting side to side.
"There is definitely something coming! Don’t you hear that!?” Chess half yelled, struggling to keep her voice low despite her budding terror. What is she doing that's so bloody important? She thought with a mix of fear and exasperation, her words punctuated by another teeth-aching sound and a shadowy form blooming from the darkness.
A shambling humanoid materialized only a few yards away, resolving from the gloom into a looming skeleton in tattered armor. It took one step forward before dragging the back leg into line with the first. With a detached part of her mind, Chess noticed it was missing its right foot. The sharp edge of the broken bone against the hard cave floor was responsible for the scratching that had created an ache in her molars.
Chess took an involuntary step back as its horrible visage came into the glow cast by Lynn’s dull stone. The portrayals in movies had nothing on the real thing, the old rotten leather smell alone was enough to set Chess aback.
A rotten gambeson only covered some of the skeleton’s largely fleshless form. Odd strands of leather-like skin still clung desperately to its bones in patches and clumps. It held a well-worn wooden shield in one boney grip and a broken sword in the other. The blade looked to have recently snapped off a foot from the crossbar; the broken end shining a brighter grey in her low-light vision. Every step it took towards her sent a deeper spike of dread to clutch Chess’s heart and she felt herself freezing once more. No! I won't freeze again. Freya, please, not again! She cursed herself and squared her shoulders with an effort of will.
Chess stepped back to make sure she had space before she cocked her spear over her shoulder for a good old-fashioned baseball swing, stepping forward into the blow as the horror shuffled into her range. The head of her spear passed scant inches from the cavern's ceiling as it swung out. She’d always been a switch hitter in baseball and the left-hand stance was natural and well-oiled even in this new body. She turned herself into the blow and smoothly lined her body up with that sweet feeling of perfection.
She’d aimed for its head hoping to down it in a single blow but the skeleton moved with deceptive speed. It deftly caught her spear with the crossguard of its sword-stub and deflected the attack high into the roof with arm bruising force. She nearly dropped her spear from the reverberation and the skeleton deftly turned the deflection into a riposte that would've gutted her if the blade had still been whole. Chess took a step back, drawing her spear to her chest, her eyes wide with the realization of her blunder. I’m not cut out for this shit!
With another spine-tingling scritch, the skeletal horror pressed Chess into taking another retreating step. Her eyes quickly darted around the cave but it was bare of any form of life she could use to her advantage. With a gulp, she tried to stab the blasted thing in the head, hoping the classic removal would indeed put it down. Hopes were quickly dashed however as it once more knocked her blow aside with expert ease. The only grace being it didn’t immediately try for a return blow this time. It's toying with me! Chess realized with dread.
“Lynn! Please hurry, I can’t land a blow on this fucking thing!” Chess cursed as she tried another wide swing.
“Luminous’, just hold it off for a moment, it's not that fast,” Lynn said before Chess felt something gritty like sand hit the back of her head and fall onto her enemy. The skeleton flashed a dull red, and Chess was sure she’d have missed the change if it wasn’t so dark.
"Speak for yourself! It's plenty fast for me." Chess grimaced while using the butt of her spear to try and push it back.
“It’s completely mana soaked!” Lynn cursed behind her. A clatter followed her voice, punctuated by the fingernails-on-chalkboard sounds of the enemy stepping forward again.
Chess took another step back so that she had the space to take another swing at the advancing undead.
“Chess, move! I'll hold it off while you make a club!" Lynn barked. "Ashley, you stay back, stay safe.” She commanded pulling Chess back out of the way and stepping up to the plate. Lynn took short but powerful jabs at the creature to keep it back and let Chess escape.
I'll do you one better, Chess thought as she fell to her knees by her small pile of wood. Grabbing the heaviest remaining piece of ironwood she willed it to become denser and smaller, putting all she dared into the task. She took a glance back at where a nimble Lynn fought, her pulse pounding in her ears all the while. In front of her, a bright glow flashed from Ashley’s hands, blinding Chess for a short moment before another, even brighter flash, followed, and made the glare worse.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Ashley’s groans overtook the crunching sounds of Lynn’s battle as Chess blindly groped to make a small, compact, but heavy hammerhead from her block. Working by feel, she finished the imperfect thing before her vision slowly returned to the muted greyscale given by the light of Lynn’s discarded stone. The muted sounds of wood hitting metal indicated Lynn was holding.
“Hurry!” a voice that only vaguely resembled Lynn’s rasped out what felt like hours later but couldn’t've been more than a minute.
“How…How-do-I-use-Amber-Armaments?” Ashley sputtered in a frightened rush and Chess jerked her head up only to see her wide-eyed daughter slump bonelessly to the side into unconsciousness. Damn, concentrate! Chess berated herself.
With shaking hands, Chess pushed a new piece of wood through the hole she'd used to make the spear handles to create a shaft for her new hammer. The adrenaline and fear gripping her made her fumble and drop it a few times but she managed to slot the handle into a hole she bore into the head of her new hammer before swelling it so it would hold firm. It took all of her concentration and willpower to complete the task and not bolt for the other tunnel leading out. Every moment the fear seemed to deepen no matter what she told herself.
Chess stood on unsteady legs raising the sledgehammer to rest on her shoulder and stepped up behind Lynn. With a thought, she activated Thump and slid it to the max with a thought. Every bit might help, she reasoned.
“Duck!” Chess shouted with more confidence than she felt. The word echoed out, boosted by Thump. She winced at the crack of sound but still managed to bring the hammer up into a vicious swing from left to right once Lynn forced the skeleton to step back. She stepped to Chess’ left and fell to a knee; her weapon still before her. The hammer whistled over the Kin’s head and the shambling horror show tried to block the blow as it had done with her spear. As the skeleton moved to raise its weapon, its stub of a foot caused it to lose balance and stumble! Chess’s blow crunched against the creature with spectacular results; destroying the skeleton’s right shoulder and most of its upper rib cage before getting caught in the ribs on the other side. Chess pulled, trying unsuccessfully to rip her weapon from the skeleton’s ribcage; only managing to draw it toward her and allow it to keep its footing.
The skeleton took a step backward and brought its shield in to trap the head of her hammer within its body. Chess gasped as it dragged her into a forward stumble. The round shield rose and then started to descend, time seeming to slow as Chess froze up. A sudden blow from behind launched her forward into a tangled heap with the undead horror. Its snapping jaws were inches from her nose and she reeled back in fear. The pungent smell of old rot caught her off balance and she withheld a gag.
Chess finally thought to let go of her weapon before trying to roll to the side but was quickly jerked to a stop, the creature’s shield arm tangled with her cloak. The skeleton snapped its head forward and drew her closer with its remaining arm, trying to bite at her neck. She barely managed to interpose her forearm between the jaws and her tender flesh. She still winced at the impending pain and squeezed her eyes closed only to open them a moment later when the pain never came. Her new bracer was more than able to handle the force of the creature's jaws it seemed but it still latched on and didn’t relent.
Chess shifted and did her best to trap its legs with her own. “Uh, Lynn? Help?” She begged plaintively.
“Hold still,” Lynn responded into the sudden quiet that had descended, Chess having managed to grapple their enemy into relative stillness. The closeness served to mute the ever-building terror that gripped her.
With the surety of a butcher at her block, Lynn brought her spear down with surprising force, severing the vertebrae at the base of its skull. The edge of her spear passed less than an inch from Chess’s elbow on its descent. The skeleton’s body fell still but even in true death the skull still clung to her bracer, unrelenting.
The sound of Lynn’s blade clinking into the floor heralded the end of the terror that gripped Chess’s chest and it was as if a weight was lifted from her body. The sensation was refreshing, like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day, and she let out a relieved gasp.
“You’re good," Lynn said, pulling on Chess’s shoulder. “You can get off now. It's dead again,” she clarified when Chess didn’t immediately move.
Skill: War-Hammers reassessed to 4
“What. The fuck. Was that?” Chess asked, more unsettled by the sudden lack of fear than by the messy fight.
“Terror aura,” Lynn said, to which Chess gave her an incredulous look. “Some old undead develop one over time. Though this one wasn’t too strong, the church keeps some that are stronger disabled in the catacombs so that sisters can experience it for themselves,” Lynn explained with an exaggerated shudder.
“It makes me wonder how long this place has been festering. It could cause other problems if it’s been centuries like I suspect,” she continued as she bent to remove the skeleton’s skull from Chess’s forearm and peered into the sockets. Its jaw clacked at her like a full-sized dentist’s toy.
With a small index finger claw, Lynn removed a small glowing pink stone from each eye socket and pocketed them. A moment later the jaws stopped their clacking for good, the last semblance of life leaving the skull.
“You've done this before,” Chess observed while regaining her feet. She toed the skeleton’s body with her boot before asking. “I don’t suppose charm music will work on the next one? There aren’t a lot of plants or soil down here.” She made a sweeping gesture at the bare cave. She didn’t know where the thought came from but she latched onto the distraction. Anything to settle her still frayed nerves.
“Huh? No, it's not charmable,” Lynn said absently, her focus elsewhere.
“Souvenir?” Chess asked, nodding at the skull when the kin refocused on her.
"No. It was a Delver in life,” Lynn said, looking her in the eye before putting the skull gently on the ground near where Ashley lay slumped. Lynn crouched down and set her spear against the wall before moving to lay Ashley on her side, gently brushing her hair from her face. “Wake soon young one. You'll need to eat again after that healing,” she murmured before standing to address Chess squarely.
“Delver? That's important?” Chess asked while bending to extract her new hammer from the skeleton’s ribcage. Putting a foot on its exposed spine and pulling it out with a twig-snapping sound.
“A humanoid with the ‘do you want to access inventory' prompt. If it was a dungeon native it would’ve just opened or asked for containers. That, and its gear and Pyths, suggests Delver. I shouldn’t have been the one to touch it first; an old habit. With my magic suppressed now, we will want to make sure Ashley takes care of it in the future. Her Harvest Pyth will give us better rewards when looting.” Lynn explained, moving past Chess with a shrug. She bent to remove the skeleton’s shield and the remains of its gambeson before digging around in the bones. She came up with a small metal disk on a chain and nodded. “Delver,” she confirmed.
“So, you’re keeping the skull?” Chess asked furrowing her brow.
“You both have so much to learn,” Lynn observed with a sigh. “We'll return it unharvested to the guild and collect a reward if there is any family that wants to pay. Besides, it’s the right thing to do. If there is no family then they will use a top harvester so that we can get the most out of the remains. The skull is easier to store than the whole body and it's all you need for Harvest; at least there is very little flesh left.”
“Ok, gotcha,” Chess said, shifting her grip on her new weapon before moving its weight to her other shoulder. She found its familiar weight comforting, she’d spent many hours in her past life standing with a sledgehammer or shovel ready.
“First,” Lynn said, and held a finger to her lips in the sign for quiet. Her attention shifted back to the tunnels and she tilted her head for a few moments before nodding and continuing. “Alright, I don’t hear anything and the tension from the aura hasn’t returned,” she said.
“This situation is bound to be a little unusual even for a Sister, no?” Chess asked while watching a line of blood well up from a small cut in the meat of her palm. Damn, it didn’t even hurt, she thought as the cut started to ache now that she’d brought her attention to it. She sucked on it for a moment before setting her hammer down and covering it with a bit of her healing sap.
Lynn shook her head and stood taller, her large tail puffing out behind her. “I’ve been in training to be a healer for a Delver team once I finish up my apprenticeship and service,” she said.
“Now, what did we learn from the encounter? What can we do better next time?” Lynn said in an authoritative voice.
Chess’s gaze snapped up to look the skunkkin in the eye for a moment before she nodded and scratched the back of her head with her free hand. She let out a sigh and winced. You want to debrief, she thought, relieved with the idea. It was a burden off her shoulders if the kin was both willing and perhaps even capable of taking the lead.
“I should’ve let go of my hammer when it got stuck,” Chess offered sheepishly after a moment's thought; glad Lynn couldn’t see her flush. She searched the rest of her exposed skin for cuts and abrasions, finding a few more that she treated with the sap while further pondering the question. Now that the adrenaline was fading, her various injuries were making themselves known.
Lynn nodded. “You’re lucky you outweigh a fleshless undead by a large degree or it would’ve gone poorly. Luminous forbid there’d been more than one. I should’ve foreseen the possibility of undead in an old dungeon rift like this and suggested a hammer or club earlier,” she conceded.
“I need to finish the gear I’ve started on; we need to be better prepared,” Chess said looking back at the soaking bark.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Lynn said before softly murmuring to herself, “I wonder what killed the Delver and what happened to its team." She retook her station watching the entrances while Chess moved to her work.
Now, that is an unsettling thought, Chess mused, having overheard Lynn’s distressing idea.
“Ashley needs to be admonished for activating a ‘learning’ during a fight. Being unconscious is a good way to die if an enemy gets around your defenders,” Lynn added. “You should keep that hammer, at least until we know we won't see more undead.”
“Thump didn’t seem to help; I’ll have to try without and see if there is a difference,” Chess observed, nodding at Lynn’s suggestion. It was a stupid thing to do. “And I will keep the hammer. I think it will be better than a spear for me in the short term. Especially if these tunnels don’t get any narrower.”
The two of them continued to discuss what went wrong and how they could improve for a few minutes while Chess got herself resettled to do her work. Lynn dragged the skeleton's large round shield to Chess’ pile and asked her to do her best to fix it. Chess started by making another, smaller, hole in her jig and flowing the wood from her empty inventory boxes through it to create arrow shafts.
With a loud gasp, Ashley jerked awake and sat up, her wide eyes quickly darting around the room. Just as she started to calm down her gaze fell on the skull near her feet. She let out a startled squeak and scooted away from it, her back pressed tightly against the wall.
“Good morning sleepyhead. Are you ready to show us your new ability?” Chess asked casually as she inspected an arrow shaft. She suppressed a smile at the inadvertent scare they'd given her daughter.
Ashley nodded vigorously.
Lynn turned back to give the pair a serious look before speaking cautiously, "Ashley, you need to eat first, but not too much. We need to be careful with the little we have left."