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NBB3 - chapter 6: Cestodia
🕑 Added 2021-11-04 13:42:12 +0000 UTCThe edge of the ice bit deeply in the grey and dusty side of the wasteland. The cracked and dry area was cut short as if some massive entity had scooped out apart and put a lesser amount of ice in its place. A freezing wind howled from the ice against the steep hundred feet cliff, blowing any dust that fell down against the bottom in a pile. The side of the cliff had darkened from the icy wind and was almost black now.
Tirella hovered above the edge, staring down. It was the black ridge she had seen that seemed to block the ice. Even this far out, the fast-moving shadows were everywhere below the ice. The thick ice sheet moved upon the water below, grinding against the stone, sometimes drifting off a bit, then slamming back against it.
It won't end well if those Zerich's make it through the cracks, she thought, as she gazed down at the momentary opening between the ice and the cliffside. As soon as there was room, the Zerich's swarmed up, but before they were even halfway up, the ice slammed back against the cliff, squishing them. A while later, when the ice backed up again a moment later, their remains drifted down, drawing more of the Zerichs up to consume them before trying to reach the surface.
Tirella watched the cycle for a long time before she flew up and across the wasteland. From what she could tell, every consecutive group of Zerichs made it a little further, and eventually, some would reach the top.
If they come up here, they will swarm the land and consume anything they find. They are almost like Kaots.
Tirella felt the good mood she had before dissipating. Even if she could use her body, she had no idea how she was going to stop this from happening. Still, unless something changed, it would be a long time till the first Zerich made it up.
Let's see if there are any undead towns or cities around here, she thought, as she zipped up in the air and away from the Zerich invested ice waters.
--
Laron trudged across the remains of the highway. The further they went away from the city, the more decrepit it became, and in the distance, it disappeared amidst the dust.
Farther ahead, the sun was only just rising far across the wasteland, tinting the grey sand red. Solus gazed at it, and on a whim, turned on his mana-overlay. Clouds and bands of mana popped up, floating around on winds he didn't feel. Miniscule golden mana particles extended from the sun, almost too small to differentiate the individual parts as they drifted along the beams of light. They sparkled and gleamed, and as soon as he saw them, he felt a connection, a sense of belonging.
He raised his hand, and the particles close by rushed towards him, drawn into his small translucent green palm. For a moment, the surface glowed a dim golden. Then the green overtook it again. His mana-field grew an infinitesimally small amount. He expected a ping or some other form of feedback from his status to show what he had done, but there was nothing.
"Boring, boring, left, left, right right," Laron sang as he skipped ahead twice on each foot.
"Do you know how long it will be before we reach Zombra?" Solus asked.
They had been moving for a few hours now, and there hadn't been a single Kaot or Wyrm for as far as he could see.
"Up sun, down sun," Laron muttered.
So one day, Solus thought. That meant he had time to try some other things. He didn't like leaving Laron alone, but then again, how much could he even help the other if something did happen?
"I am going for a few hours. I'll be back before the sun goes down," Solus said.
Laron stopped and looked up in consternation.
"Leave? Leave, leave. Alone…" his eyes unfocused at the last word.
"Laron, calm down," Solus snapped.
The undead started and refocused.
"I will be back before it gets dark. Don't get into trouble," Solus pointed at him. "Understand?"
This time Laron just sighed and nodded.
"Understand, I understand.
Solus nodded, then he focused on the cable connecting him to his body. Immediately he was drawn to it and then shot through the now-familiar tube down into the earth.
When he shot out of the other end and hovered above his body, he felt happy to see it. Having control over Laron's body had made him long for his own powerful physique. After examining it for a moment, he took a look at Tirella's inert body. Nothing had changed since his last visit.
It was time to look at the other cables. The previous time he hadn't checked them all, and as he gazed at them, he couldn't recall which ones led to fleshies and which didn't. He gazed at Sig's silvery-white and grey cable. Cracks ran across its full length. Most were faint, but a few were wide enough to poke a finger in. Had it been this bad before? He couldn't recall.
Solus focused on one of the cables he hadn't tried last time.
Let's find some zombies.
--
Many hours later, Solus form shot back from one of the cables.
"Bile breathed, rot brained zombies!" he roared, wanting nothing more than to hit something.
"Two zombies out of the entire group I awoke, and both refuse to go to sleep," he raged, staring angrily at two slightly greenish cables.
With a sniff, he turned to the last cable he had to check. It was also slightly greenish, and he hoped that meant it was also a zombie. Focusing on it, he zoomed forward and into the cable.
The cable led up and away, and after having gone through so many, he knew he was heading to Skulltown. That meant either another of those awoken that had stayed behind deep in the earth below or perhaps finally one in the city. Besides Skull, he hadn't gotten a single trip there, and he wanted to find a way to contact Drys if he could. As the tunnel angled steeply up, his anger faded. He was moving towards Skulltown?
A moment later, he shot out of the ground, through a few walls and buildings, and stopped. A muted cacophony of voices, mutters, grunts, and roars came from behind the walls. He knew from experience that these were the sounds of Skulltown and one of the more crowded areas.
Looking around, he saw a small room with dozens of undead, mostly skeletons, sitting on the ground. They just gazed forward, their eyes and sockets glowing only dimly. The eyes of the fleshies seemed unfocused, and none made any sounds. Below him lay a zombie that had only a single evolution. It showed no reaction to his existence; its weathered body, covered in yellowish and green patches, looking almost ended. Its jaw was the only odd thing about it, with overly large muscles covering it and a split lower lip.
Now what?
Something about these undead was off. With effort, he floated closer to the face of the zombie he was attached to. Its eyes were dull, and its mouth slack. Was it partially asleep? Curious, Solus moved forward, steeling himself for the hammer blow he might feel. It didn't come, though, and instead, he moved inside the flesh of the undead. Almost automatically, he turned on his mana-overlay. Dull, lime-green mana surrounded him, but instead of moving inward, it was slowly dissipating out of the skull. There were no red-blotches that might indicate a mind parasite, and Solus hovered forward until he saw the mana-orb.
The core was a dull white, with small cracks and brittle areas covering it. There was no mana moving towards it. Instead, small parts of it turned to powder as Solus watched, and a spec of green mana appeared that slowly escaped from the skull's confines.
Is the deceased? Solus thought. He knew of the concept but had never imagined he would encounter it.
Floating out of the zombie's head, he relaxed, causing him to hover back to the top. Wondering how to find out what was going on, he summoned the other's status-screen.
Name: Jurg
Age: 53
Sex: Male-ERROR
Race: Zombie
Type: basic
Class: Bilespitter
Strength: 5/6
Constitution: 9/10
Dexterity: 4/7
Endurance: 18/20
Intelligence: 4/8
Wisdom: 2/3-ERROR
Charisma: 1/2
Mana-field: 201/320
Physical density: 299/420
Skills: 1
Inscriptions: 1/3
Mana generation: 3
Another error, Solus thought as he gazed at the incredibly low wisdom score with the error behind it. He hadn't been able to see the status windows of other undead before and wasn't sure if this was normal. A list of errors sat below the status.
> Anomaly detected in minion's manafield
> Wisdom degraded by : 1
> Anomaly detected in minion's manafield
> Wisdom degraded by : 1
…
The same two lines were repeated over and over.
Is this why they are all just sitting here?
Solus remembered the conversation he had overheard between Ourlin and his guards. Something about undead that were put in the room with the patterns? As he thought about Ourlin, he blinked.
Wait, shouldn't I have seen him too?
He shook his head, his frown deepening. He would have surely remembered that, but although he had hovered above many undead in that metropolis he had just left with Laron, Ourllin hadn't been one of them.
Does that mean Ourlin is a self-awoken that managed to join them? Solus frowned. It had never occurred to him that self-awoken might join that group of undead.
A small door in the side of the room slammed open, rebounding from the wall that cracked slightly. As it bounced back, the deep dent showed this was a regular occurrence. A massive, thick-boned skeleton bowed its head to enter before straightening and yanking a much smaller undead inside. It almost looked like a sigmiton, but when the big one tossed it into the corner next to a few others, Solus saw it was a normal-sized skeleton. Noting the bigger than normal leg bones and the armor scales covering its lower arms, he knew it was an evolved one.
"Stay put, little one," the skeleton's voice projected around the room, emotionless and dull. "Anybody here back to normal?"
There was no response, and the skeleton turned, slamming the door shut behind him. In the short moment before that, Solus caught a glimpse of a wide square beyond the door and a row of unfamiliar bone buildings across from it. Undead were moving about outside, seemingly going about their own business.
Solus examined the new skeleton, which was just lying on the ground, a faint green flickering in its eye sockets, the only evidence it was still more than skeletal remains.
Something is seriously wrong… he thought, examining all of the undead again. None of them showed any reactions, and he shivered.
Nothing useful here… With that thought, Solus took a final look at Jurg, the zombie he was hovering above. He would need to check back when it was dark to see if Jurg slept. Perhaps he could take over his body then, although the prospect didn't seem enticing.
He touched the conduit and was immediately sucked away.
--
"Alone, alone. Always alone," Laron sang as he trudged across the seemingly endless wasteland.
The sun had turned to a red ball behind him, and it would be dark soon. A small stone close to his foot began jittering, and Laron stopped to look at it.
"Rock, rock, a dancing rock?"
More rocks to the left began bobbing up and down, dust rising in the air around them. A low rumbling sound came from far away.
"Laron, run!"
Laron jumped, his head snapping up at the sound of Solus' voice.
"You-"
"Not now," Solus roared. "Something is heading our way that is causing the whole ground to shake. No normal wyrm can do this! Go and flee!"
Laron gaped at the small green figure.
Solus' anger rose, mostly from being unable to affect what was happening, and he pointed to the right. "Run that way!"
"No... but, Zombra," Laron said, finally snapping out of it as he pointed forward.
"Later, first we need to hide from what is coming," Solus snapped, still pointing North.
Laron muttered, then turned in the direction Solus pointed at and began jogging forward. By now, all of the stones were bobbing up and down, and the dust was a meter up in the air for as far as Solus could see.
What is it? Solus thought, looking behind them as Laron ran away. He saw something, a shadowy line blur the horizon, coming their way fast. A line of dust hung above and behind it. As he strained against the bonds that held him close to Laron, Solus tried to rise higher in the air, getting a clearer few.
At first, he saw no more than the dark shadowy line; then, for a moment, the dust faded enough for him to see a line of horned undead speeding towards them. He couldn't see eyes but squarish heads with wickedly sharp horns that curved forward and toothy jaws twice as wide as the rest of their head hanging open. Then the dust filled the gap, and all he saw was a shadowy line rushing towards them.
"Use your ability!" Solus roared.
"Nothings, things to fall, things to jump," Laron complained.
"Stomp your feet as hard as you can," Solus ordered.
Loud thudding followed as Laron did as ordered, and slowly his muscles began bulging.
"Don't jump, just make larger steps and keep stomping," Solus continued directing.
Laron didn't reply, but a smile was splayed on his face as his steps lengthened. Within moments his speed had increased by leaps and bounds. Solus wasn't smiling. The shadowy line was still gaining on them, and from their speed, he knew of only a few undead that could move this fast. Laron wasn't one of them.
We need a place to hide, Solus thought, and he scanned the wasteland around them. All he got was a flat, dusty, and cracked stone. There has to be a cavern or a fissure somewhere!
A few moments later, Solus was straining so hard against the chains that it felt like something was fraying at the edges of his connection. He knew instinctively that he shouldn't be doing this, but he had little choice right now. He had managed to hover four meters above Laron's head and finally saw something. A few hundred yards from their current position was a shadowy patch on the ground. Although he wasn't sure if it was a crack into the ground and even deep enough, it was the only thing not flat terrain all around.
"Head that way," Solus said, creating small patches of glowing stone angling away from their current direction.
Laron, for once, didn't complain and just continued forward, a wide grin plastered on his face.
Solus turned to the incoming dust line, and by now, he could easily make out the dull shining of teeth and horns. The rumbling had become deafening, and as Laron turned to the spot Solus had seen, the line turned with them.
They are actively coming for us!
Solus zoomed up again and saw that the distance was going to be close. Less than a hundred yards from the shadowy patch, Solus saw it was a sharply edged fissure, forty foot long and three wide in the middle.
Thirty feet from the fissure, the roaring wall of dust and horns was almost upon them. Roaring and gnashing came from the dust wall, and the horned undead knocked their heads against those beside them in an attempt to turn to where Laron was.
"Jump," Solus roared, hoping the built-up power in Laron's muscles would carry them to the fissure.
Laron's smile had long since faded, and with wide-eyed panic, he jumped forward, cartwheeling with his arms as he hurtled through the air. He almost made it in, hitting the ground a few feet from the dark safety. As he thudded into the dusty wasteland, Laron rolled over and over and into the darkness just as the dust swirled around him.
Angry roaring and screaming came as the two fell into the darkness. The drop didn't last long, and a few moments later, Laron crashed into the rocky ground. Solus was already looking up, watching if the things would come in after them. A thunderous roaring came from above as things flashed by and two-toed feet with long talons flashed by above them, tearing chunks from the edge of the opening.
Shit, they might make it in, Solus thought, quickly turning his attention to their surroundings.
They were in what looked like a small curved ravine, barely a foot across at the bottom and disappearing into caves on both sides. The left path would bring them close to Zombra and the right roughly in the direction of Sig. Without any hesitation, Solus put a glow on the right side.
"Quick, move that way before they find a way in," he shouted.
"Kaots, kaots," Laron muttered, lying on the ground, staring at the mashing talons above.
"Laron, calm down. They can't enter that narrow cave, so if we move now..." Solus fell quiet.
At the words can't enter, Laron scrambled up and rushed through the narrow passage, his shoulders knocking stones and dust-free. He barely stopped at the dark entrance that led into the ground, and dove in, moving away from the thunderous sound behind them.
Solus lit up small sections of the cave ahead of them, and soon the sounds behind became muted. When they had all but vanished, Laron shivered and leaned against the wall. The pathway had widened slightly, but Solus wondered if his normal body would have fit through. Probably not.
"Kaot, what… Kaot, why?" Laron whispered, turning to look at Solus. "Back, back you came, just in time!"
"I told you I would," Solus said as he inspected the black, purple striped undead. His body had reverted to its slim physique, and he was looking at Solus with wide, happy eyes.
He won't like this, Solus thought, knowing he had to tell Laron that they were not heading in the direction of Zombra anymore.
"Laron, the path we are moving on now doesn't lead to Zombra…"
Laron sighed, then nodded. "Not Zombra, no, no."
Solus' eyes widened as he gazed at the sadly sighing Asimalarin. He knew?
"Let's get moving. I have bad experiences with being below the ground, so we better find a way up that is far from those things."
"Kaots," Laron agreed as he got up and began moving further down the passageway.
I'm not sure they were, Solus thought.
He turned around and activated his mana-overlay, something he should have done before. Gentle currents of greenish mana wafted past him and through the stone, but he saw none of the red that marked Kaots, probably because they were too far if those had been Kaots.
As he turned around, his gaze fell on the red blotch on Laron's head. It was more prominent than the last time he had checked, and a small tendril ran from it to Laron's left eye.
Now what, Solus thought as he swished forward and dove into Laron's skull. The black wyrm lay where it had, but it had grown in length slightly, its thin tail now reaching to Laron's eye. Thin tendrils had grown from it, and now drilled into the eyeball, pulsing with a soft reddish light. After inspecting it for a bit longer and finding no more changes, Solus flew back into the corridor.
"Is your headache worse?" he asked.
Laron was quiet but raised his hand towards his head, stopping halfway. Then he nodded.
"No. Worse, worse, the eye is bad."
I need to figure out a way to get that thing out of him. Before he explodes, Solus thought. Not just because then he would be back to start in finding a way to safe Sig, but also-
SIG!
Solus froze as he realized who could help. Sig could fade into Laron and just snatch the wyrm out! Suddenly, getting to Sig became even more important.
Should I tell him, Solus wondered. If he did, would Laron panic? He didn't think so, but he also needed a good reason to have Laron move to Sig. This could be it.
I'll decide before we exit back out of the ground, he decided.
Happy that he had a potential fix for one of his problems, he calmly floated above Laron's head, lighting the way ahead and making sure nothing would backstab them.
