Heart of Dorkness

Scourge Sixty-Two - Challenge

Scourge Sixty-Two - Challenge

Oh, this ones dead, Felix says as she pokes one of the fear cultivators with a foot.

I can tell hes dead too. No ones head is supposed to rest at that angle. Judging by the broken wood by the doorframe, he flew through and crashed here pretty hard. Yeah, he sure is dead, I say.

You should get one of your monsters to eat him, Felix says.

I dont know where thats coming from. Why? I ask.

Esme comes up behind me from the entrance hall where Bianca and Lily are watching over the cultivators that arent quite so dead and all of the houses serving staff who all seem really eager to help. I get the impression they havent been treated all that well lately.

Because our captives are necromancers and hes their primary resource, Esme says.

Oh, I reply. That does make sense. Yeah, we dont want to have to deal with an undead chomping on our behinds while were paying attention to something else. Thats not a bad idea. I whistle over one of my wolves and point the puppy to the body. Eat, I say.

While thats being taken care of, I move out of the sideroom and back to the main entrance hall. The necromancers are looking a bit worse for wear, with bruises, a bit of bleeding, and maybe a dislocated limb or two, but theyre mostly being quiet, which is nice.

Have they tried anything? I ask.

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Lily grins and points to one whos got his hands jammed into a large rock that looks like its melted around his limbs. I imagine those are an earth-mages equivalent of handcuffs. He also has a chunk of rock going around his lower face and obscuring his mouth. This one said some rude things to me. And he smacked one of the serving girls when she came over to help move them, so now hes lost mouth and hand privileges.

Oh, thatll make it tricky for him to eat, I say.

He has his nose, Lily replies. Her grin is downright vicious, and I think the other captives are aware of just how little it would take for her to do the same to them. Lily strikes me as someone with a lot of pent up issues to punchbag her way through.

How will he eat with his nose? Felix asks.

I guess we could mash the food up and just kind of shove it in there, Lily says.

Hell choke and die, Esme points out.

Meanwhile, the necromancer is looking more and more like hes regretting his choice in careers. I leave my friends to it. I think theyre all purposefully exaggerating to see the cultists weve captured sweat.

I step up to one of the older serving ladies. Shes maybe ten years older than I am, which, I guess makes her not that old at all. But all the others are looking to her in the way Id guess people looking for leadership would, so shes the one I figure I should ask about things.

She notices me coming and steps away from the others towards a quieter part of the hall under a great big oil painting of some rich merchant family who may or may not be part of the undead guarding this house now. Hello, I say.

Maam, she replied with a curtsy. How may I help you?

Uh, I say. Honestly, Im not entirely used to this. We have servants at home, sure, but theyre monsters. They dont do too much bowing and scraping unless moms in one of those moods. Im sorry, I just wanted to know what happened here. Can you fill us in?

Certainly? she tried. It all started over a week ago. There was a commotion during the night, and the next thing we all knew the city was burning in parts, the temples were being defaced, and the dead were running rampant across the streets. Then the necromancers came and... made things orderly.

By killing everyone? I ask.

No. Well, some. I think they maybe only killed half the city. The other half is locked in the fishing quarters. Some of us still have family there. We can send letters, and get replies.

Wait, so not everyone in Algecante is dead? I ask.

She shakes her head, then hesitates. Not yet. Ive overheard the cultivators talking about what they want to do with us, with the people theyve captured. I think... Those that worship Altum and make sacrifices to him were going to be spared. Many of the fishermen already worship him, you see? Because they fear the open oceans, they were mostly spared, but many others worshipped other gods and goddesses and-- she cut herself off with a swallow.

Hey, hey, its okay, I say. Look, were here to help. Lily over theres a Templar of Heroe, and there are dozens of them in the city right now, killing undead and making a mess of the necromancers fun. Plus theres the rest of us too.

Thank you, she says, but I can tell shes holding back. Afraid to hope? I guess that makes some sense. Were just five random girls and a lot of monsters that have showed up from nowhere. It must be tough for her to place her trust in us.

Um, maam, the monsters...

Oh, dont worry about them, I say with a grin. Those are mine. See, mo-- I mean, the Dark Goddess Luciana doesnt approve of the undead, especially after they mess with her temple. So Heroes templars arent the only ones here to save the day. Though I think well probably just murder all the necromancers and their undead and leave the organizing and such to the Templars.

Okay, she says. I dont think she thinks its okay, but whatever.

Have you had any trouble with those ones? Can we expect trouble? I gesture to the cultivators weve captured.

Some. They have been... forceful, and unkind, but we survived. Francine may have taken a liking to one of them, but Im not certain if it was mutual or if the young man was just doing as young men do.

I frown at that. Well, as long as Francine was consenting... its still kinda gross though. Yeah, well let the Templars handle matters of law when it comes to that.

Have you defeated Getorix? she asked, the rising pitch in her voice suggesting that thats something we really should have done already.

Who?

The woman starts hyperventilating. He--hes the leader of this cult. A powerful necromancer lord and water cultivator. He rules over all the others. They fear him and respect him, some of them practically worship the man, but hes mad. Ive seen his eyes. He does more than just worship Altum, he lives for the drowning god. She clutches the front of my dress and shakes me a little. If you havent defeated him, then where is he?

Theres a sharp crack from outside, and Felix abandons the others to run over to the windows. Uh, guys! Big, big problem.

Is it a crazy necromancer-looking cultivator thats really powerful? I ask.

Actually, yeah, that looks like what it is. Hes chopping up the mantises outside into ground insect meat, Felix says.

I turn back to the woman. Get the other servants, run away, I say. Oh, and take the prisoners too. If they try anything, just stab them a few times. That usually works to calm uppity people down.

Oh-okay, she says. And with that, she runs to the others and starts hissing orders at them which sets all the servants up in a tizzy.

Valeria, what are we doing? Esme asks.

I consider it for just a moment. From the sounds of it, this guys either the big boss, or just someone fairly important to the Altum cultists. Either way, we should probably do something about him.

I just wish I had more monsters. I guess Ill have to use what I do have. Well let him take the first move. Esme, Lily, get ready to hit him with the hardest attack you have. Felix, be careful. This guy sounds tough. Bianca, can you focus on the undead? Hell probably attack with a lot of those. Felix will help you with that, but shell be distracted.

As for me... I have no idea what Im supposed to do except for my best.

The windows crack, shatter, and explode into the main hall. The sprinkling of glass is followed by a hail of sharp water that washed across the floor. And then undead hands grab at the edges of the windows, soon followed by zombies pulling themselves into the mansion.

Oh, right, were dealing with a necromancer, hes probably not all that great in a straight fight, I say. But maybe that kind of assumptions not too smart to make. Im a monster-fighter too, and Im pretty darned tough!

Well have to see how my friends and I stack up.

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