All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 97: A Bone to Pick

Seeing the pattern in how the zombies rushed at the wall, I could just focus on the ones right in front of the gate without worry. I had no issues killing enough to mitigate the immediate danger and keep them from making it into the castle.

Soon, I had enough attention left over to even watch over where Beatrice and Tony were holding their own. So far, I didn't need to step in, which was a good thing. This was a good training opportunity, after all. Beatrice seemed to be handling herself quite well, but I was impressed with Tony's cleverness. He managed to both support Beatrice and protect himself through just a bit of intelligent positioning. It was good that he knew his limitations.

Once they had survived the wave, I saw them split up and take each side. Due to some bad luck, Tony had way more opponents on the side he turned to. It seemed a little unfair, so I decided to put my claw on the scale a little, so to speak. I thinned out the mass approaching him to only 4, reduced from the dozen it had been. Afterward, I monitored each of their battles, ready to step in if it was needed.

Ultimately, they proved themself capable enough as they each put down their zombies. Tony needed to get some skill with a weapon, though. He wielded his metal rod like a baseball bat, each swing leaving him unbalanced. He would be incredibly vulnerable to an enemy ready to take advantage of his openings. Even a couple of skeletons would have given him issues.

Finally, we were all in the clear, and I was ready to get on with our quest. Beatrice was sitting on the ground checking over Tony, who had received some scratches from the fight. But even as we watched, they closed up from the potion that Beatrice poured over them.

I waited until he was on his feet and walking back into the castle before I rolled over the grass and nudged Beatrice's foot. She looked down at me, and I pointed with my grabby arm toward the road.

"Are you coming?" Tony asked. Beatrice looked down at me before looking back up at Tony with an unreadable expression.

"I don't think I can…."

"You can't be serious! You were just attacked by six ghouls and a ton of zombies. They're clearly smarter than they should be. It would be stupid to just walk out there alone!" Tony shouted.

"I won't be alone." She said softly, and I beeped in agreement. I was going to watch her back. Besides, I learned my lesson. Now I had my sensors scanning the ground and my surroundings as much as possible without being too draining my battery. We wouldn't get caught in the same trap again. A different trap, maybe, but there was no real way to plan for that.

Beatrice waved back at Tony and started walking down the path. The gate clanged shut, but a second later, Tony was walking beside us. "I'm not going to let you go alone. I can at least help watch your back. Besides, you said it earlier. I'm not a Farmer anymore. I'm a Disciple of Spot. Not that I know what that really means, but I need to get stronger, and I can't do that from inside the castle."

Huh, I hadn't thought of that before. Tony was my disciple now. I needed to put more planning and time into training him, too. Maybe not as much as I did with Beatrice, but I had been neglecting it so far. That would have to change.

As we trudged down the road, I started thinking of ways to get Tony stronger. Aside from teaching him to protect himself - that was a must. What tasks could I set him to? Should I help him pick his next skill as well?

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Bee glanced at Tony as they walked down the road. It had been over an hour since they had set out, and still, no one had said a word since they left the castle. The silence was starting to get awkward as it dragged on.

The only one who was comfortable was Void as it rested in Bee's careful yet secure grip. They were moving over a particularly muddy section of road, and her master had objected to traversing it on wheels. Still, aside from that, the outdoors were quite nice. The trees lining the narrow path had begun to turn, shedding various shades of scarlet and gold leaves across the ground. The air was brisk but not too cold yet. She even spotted an occasional squirrel collecting some last-minute provisions before winter. All in all, it was almost picturesque.

Eventually, she felt that someone needed to speak up, and she wasn't too proud that it couldn't be her. "Ummm, are you sure your family will be alright by themselves?"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as the slightly tense look on Tony's face intensified. "They should be okay. It really makes no difference if I'm with them or not. If something could get through the walls, there wouldn't be much I could do anyway."

The bitterness in his voice was faint, but she was still able to pick up on it. She supposed that he was right. Of course, there was apparently sneakier undead that could climb walls, but those were also expected to be much more powerful than Tony. Usually, a level 25 adventurer would be required to deal with them at a minimum. A Farmer turned Devotee, not even at level 20, wouldn't make much of a difference unless there were a dozen of him.

They walked a little bit further before Tony spoke up again. He was still serious but a bit less brooding now. "Are you still getting levels from fights like that? I can't imagine the zombies are doing much for you."

"With enough of them, it matters. The ghouls were in their 30s, so I got a level from the whole ordeal. Not yet at my next skill yet, sadly." Bee said, thankful for something else to talk about.

"I still can't believe you are in your 30s. You're probably one of the highest-level people I've ever talked to." Tony said, shaking his head.

"I doubt it. A lot of the older guards were probably higher level than me." Bee said demurely.

"Maybe, but I doubt they have as powerful skills. They probably got their levels in a lot more, erm, tame ways than fighting demons and undead nonstop for… How long?"

Bee stopped to think about it for a second. "Uh, five months, give or take?"

Tony kicked the ground as he walked. "I just don't know if I have the guts to do that."

"I wouldn't recommend it. I only did it because I had to. If you do that on purpose, you would be an idiot. 99 times out of 100, I bet you would end up dead. I was so lucky. Void knows exactly how hard to push me." Bee said before hesitating. "You know. Now that you are Void's disciple, it might also be willing to train you. Void, what do you think?"

Void let out a high-pitched squeak that Bee took as assent. Tony looked a little pale but didn't object. Still, Bee considered how she could warn him not to tell Void about his skill choices. She had made that mistake once and wasn't about to repeat it. Not that she was exactly unhappy with her skills, of course. The skill Void had chosen was her most valuable besides Scan. It wasn't what she would have chosen, of course, but it formed the basis of her combat style. Still, not having made a choice herself, still sat a little oddly with her.

Left to her own selection, she would have chosen something that might have been a more powerful combat ability in select situations. But without the versatility of her broom, something would have gotten her by now.

As they walked, Bee wished one of them knew anything about tracking. That might have made it easier to find signs of other undead around. Or any survivors.

***

Eventually, they reached what Tony called his closest neighbors. It only took them four hours of walking past the turn for his family's farm. It was a very similar trail to the one they were familiar with, but this was just a bit wider - enough for a small cart to comfortably pass through.

"There are a couple of families living down here, but they aren't as large as ours. Still, having more adults lets them have more output, hence the wider trail. Carts are better than having to use pack animal trains." Tony explained. As they turned down the path, Bee checked for any tracks but was unable to tell if the footprints heading down the path were fresh or not. She hoped not.

As they started down the trail, impatience started to get to them, spurring the party into a jog. It wasn't long before they reached a huge clearing. A wide swath of farmlands met them as they broke through the treeline, with a large cluster of small wooden buildings in the center. A quarter of the clearing was fenced off.

"There should be cows in there," Tony said, pointing to the fenced paddock. "I don't see any."

Running his hand through the wheat, he grabbed a stalk and chewed it thoughtfully before spitting it out. "And this harvest is long past due. I don't have a good feeling about this."

Already Bee was running through the field, not caring about how much wheat she trampled. Tony shouted at her, but she didn't slow down. As she approached, the feeling of dread intensified. The doors to all the houses were ripped from their hinges, and many of the fences were destroyed.

Coming to a stop at the center of the buildings, Bee spun around, taking in the haunting scene. They were much too late. Tony caught up a few moments later, doubled over and gasping for air as he looked around. "We're weeks too late. I don't think there's anything for us here."

Bee had to agree, yet she still insisted on a quick search through each of the buildings. Surprisingly, the insides were not disturbed. There were no signs of a rushed exit. No meals were left unfinished on the tables, and there were also no signs of a struggle. No broken furniture or blood.

Checking the pantry, she saw a lot of food was missing. "You think they all left on their own?"

Tony rubbed his chin for a second. "I doubt it. I don't see how the news would have reached them. Even if it did, where could they have gone other than the castle? If we didn't know about it, that means it came from Greg, and that would be a long trek as well."

"Then where did they all go?" Bee asked, unsatisfied with what they understood. Void beeped, asking to be let down. Surprised, she complied and set her master on the dirt. It whirred unhappily before heading off in a direction.

Tony and Bee followed the little black disc curiously, wondering what it had noticed that they had missed. It led them around to a nearby field, where they found a strange sight. A scarecrow stood in the center of the gently swaying wheat. However, upon closer inspection, there was something under the hat. Bee stumbled back as teeth chattered at her angrily.

"What in the realms!" She yelled frantically, looking around for more. Tony pointed to something tied to a stake in the ground not too far from them. A femur was wiggling slightly as if trying to escape its bonds. Bee whipped around to survey the area. All around them, some hidden and some not were stakes just like this one. Bee saw a lot. Almost enough for an entire skeleton.

"Could they not find a way to kill it for good?" Tony whispered.

"Wait, it seems Void found something else," Bee called. She was already a few steps away as she followed Void into the field.