Time of the Necromancer: Chapter 23

“This is the third village like this brother,” Ryza said slowly her grim face mirrored on Ryze’s.

She leaned against her shovel and stared at the carnage. The village square was filled with dead bodies though none of the ones that had died had died in their current position. The bodies were either on their back or sides the arms and legs thrown every which way. Some corpses were fresh while others looked like they had been sucked dry of moisture. Just flat husks that might have blown away in a strong breeze.

But it was the centerpiece that was unnerving even to her. A cross embedded into the ground with a string of three bodies roped together, mouth to foot in a perfect circle. When they first encountered it, the twins were both sick and had to clear their stomachs immediately. Even now they had to hold the other’s hand to keep going forward.

“You two okay?” Ryza asked.

“No,” Alistair said. “Aside from this all being horrible. It reminded us of home. Of where we grew up. And imaging this there is too terrible to even continue speaking.”

Ryza nodded slowly, “I can’t imagine growing up in Noria was pleasant.”

“It wasn’t,” Alison said. “But there were still some good parts. And we wouldn’t wish this fate on them.”

Orion grunted, “I’d call you kids soft but this is truly horrifying.”

“Greed is on the move. That’s his calling card,” Ryze said going through the piles of dead. He flipped over one of the dried husks and shook his head. “But this one is new. I don’t know who did this/”

“Or what,” Orion said crouching in front of one.

“They’ve been moving fast,” Alison said. “Really fast.”

“We’re closing in on the capital, right?” Alistair asked carefully.

“Yeah we are. Another day or two and we’ll get there,” Ryze said looking in the direction of their journey. “But we won’t get there ahead of the Ouroboros.”

Alistair frowned harder, “So then they’re going to get what they came for then?”

“I don’t want to believe that but it’s a strong possibility,” Ryze was scowling now. “Losing our horses to that damn demon slowed us down more than I thought. We need to get there first.”

“Well we don’t really have that option right now,” Orion said shrugging their shoulders. “Horses can’t go any faster than this. Might as well turn back and go to the city.”

“No!” Ryze shouted and for a moment his eye flared to life and then died down to its normal pale grey. “We can’t let them get a leg up. There’s too much at stake.”

“Calm down brother,” Ryza said squeezing his shoulder. “Getting upset isn’t going to fix anything.” She looked back toward Alison however and tilted her head. Shriek poised on her shoulder and tilted its head as well. “You can’t teleport unless you’ve been to the place before right?” Alison nodded. “Do you need to physically be there?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you have just seen the place. Or had the knowledge of the place. Could you theoretically go there?” she asked.

Alison opened her mouth to speak but then paused. She closed her eyes and one of her eyes turned grey and dark as Penny took over for a moment. Slowly both eyes were changed and Penny spoke, “We aren’t sure. The theory is there but we have not been able to try it before. What are you suggesting?”

Instead of an answer Ryza twisted her shovel and stabbed it into the ground. Twisting it around quickly she chanted as the runes glowed to life. Flipping the weapon around she turned and pointed it at Alison. Resting on the blade of the shovel was a bird, the skeleton of it covered by green flesh and skin. Its eyes flashed green and it twitched turning to face them.

“What is this?” they asked raising their eyebrow.

“An empty vessel. I can help you see through this bird. With you seeing through it I can have you fly to the capital. Get a good feeling for that area and then we make a portal over there.”

Penny grasped their chin and thought for a long moment. “The logic of it makes sense and considering our circumstances it doesn’t hurt for us to try it.”

“How long will it take?” Alistair asked.

“What do you think little one?” Ryza asked glancing at Shriek. His nose twitched as it rubbed against her cheek.  “Indeed? That’s what I thought. Yes. If we send them out now they can maybe reach there in a few hours. I can maybe get a bigger bird to make it faster.”

“It’s worth a try,” Ryze said. “We can get riding in the meantime.”

Penny shuddered out of her breath and Alison blinked both her eyes open again, “Alright. Let’s do it.”

“You sure about this?” Alistair whispered near her ear. “It seems sketchy. Even for what we do.”

Alison nodded, “We are.”

While Ryza worked on their project, Ryze instructed the others to draw symbols into the ground. He then ignited the bodies with green fire to incinerate them and to equal parts make it so they couldn’t be raised again and to give them a proper burial. When they had finished they mounted their horses and Ryza finished her transmutation. The large falcon twitched looking at them curiously. She motioned toward Alison and it walked forward slowly focusing its eyes on her. “Touch the bird.”

“Is it that simple?” Alistair asked.

Ryza wagged her finger, “Indeed. Now trust the magic.”

“How long can you sustain it?” Ryze asked.

“And how far?” Orion added.

“Assuming nothing dangerous happens to us five hours. Maybe six. Probably a bit longer.”

“And if something does?” Alison asked pointedly.

“Well then you’ll be snapped back to our side and we’ll deal with it. Now touch the bird.”

Alison did as she was told and rested her hand on the bird. The moment her hand touched the cold green feathers of the bird her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She fell forward and fell against the front of Blaze. Seconds later Penny appeared behind her keeping Alison’s body balanced against Blaze’s neck. The demon narrowed its eyes at Ryza but then stared at the bird.

The bird twitched its head back and forth rapidly. Looking at Alison, at Penny, Ryza and back rapidly. It flapped its wings and the colors of it bled from green into a deep red with black streaks along with the feathers. It moved against Ryza’s arm a little awkwardly.

“What’s it doing?” Alistair asked.

“It is your sister. And she’s getting her bearings,” Ryza said stroking the feathers of the bird. It flinched away and Ryza pouted. “Come on don’t let me ruffle your feathers.” She laughed at her own joke.

Penny looked at the bird and their eyes widened slightly, the white glow of them growing, “So that is where you’ve gone. We haven’t truly had a chance to test the distance our minds can go. Be careful. Call to me and I will bring you back here.”

“Yes. Please,” Alistair said resting a hand on her back. She settled slightly at his touch and then looked toward the sky.

Crouching low the bird lurched forward with a firm flap of its wings. She ascended under the downdraft and gained altitude. She flapped her wings harder and harder going higher until she had climbed past the clouds. Looking back, they were just dots in the distance as continued forward and let out a cry.

 And that was the strangeness of the whole situation. The bird moved and flew but Alison was in it directing it like a second brain. It reminded her of when Penny was in control of her body. It was and wasn’t her She could see through the bird’s eyes and the world was so much sharper than her own.

She could fly and looked down watching the land just zoom away. Lines of flat rock interspaced between the short grass. Short clumps of trees, tall pines that couldn’t be bothered by the cold air and dry climate. She could see a small village approaching on her path but she didn’t have to look closely to see the same carnage as before and the same calling card in the center.

Even this high in the air she felt her stomach turn. She turned in the sky and dipped further away. Another flap and they zoomed away. She thought that she was going to feel tired as she flew but the bird seemed to have almost infinite endurance. She felt like she could fly forever.

She tucked her wings in and dove, the world becoming a blur of colors. She darted like a bullet and almost slammed into the ground. Spreading her wings, she ascended quickly and there was no more danger as she caught her proper height again. As she flew, she was able to see a couple more villages but didn’t bother looking at them.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed as she flew as the falcon but things were beginning to blend together. Pale rocky crags, tall stiff trees and short grass and dirt on the ground. She was afraid that she was going in the wrong direction but at the same time a growing feeling of unease was forming in the back of her mind.

It came to a head though as she banked on an updraft ascending above the clouds. She saw the capital of Noria, Noria herself. It was an imposing city, a small town surrounding the proper citadel of Noria. A tall structure of black metal and sharp palisades. A brilliant red flag hung from the peak. Just seeing it again made her heart skip a few beats and force the falcon to divert its attention again.

And the moment she looked at the long path going up to the city she gasped. She had focused too much on the city in front she didn’t see the mass that had approached from the road. It was a long writhing crowd of zombies that had been gathered from many a village. She couldn’t even count how many there were but it was likely hundreds.

At the head of the column, they were ramming themselves against the gate. She could hear their groaning like a symphony. The soldiers on the ramparts shouted, unloading arrows, magic, and boiling liquid onto the horde. It only served to slow them down, not stop them. There was a visible ebb and flow but the raw number difference was a problem.

Leaving the horde behind she flew away and found a clearing behind a row of trees. She swooped down and landed amongst the branches of the tree. From there she looked around quickly trying to take in as many details as she could. The roughness of the grass, the thin pines of the tree, the rocky outcropping jutting out of the ground toward the sky like a monument.

She wasn’t sure if she got everything properly but she wanted to trust that Penny would be able to pick up her slack through her own eyes and memories. So she reached out to Penny via the invisible string that connected them. It was loose and she could just barely sense where her demon was but the moment she tugged she felt it twang back.

Alison jerked upward in Blaze’s saddle her eyes wide. She hit Penny’s chest who remained where they were and wrapped an arm around her to steady. Alison looked around where she was and it was like looking through an old memory, seeing things that she had already crossed over in a vision. She looked toward the castle but it was nothing more than a spec on the horizon let alone the horde.

“You okay?” Alistair asked immediately guiding Eaergo to her side.

Ryza looked tired but she, like the others, all looked at her expectantly. Alison blinked rapidly and pointed ahead of them. “The Ouroboros are there. We need to make our move now. Penny can we do this? Do we have enough information to do it?”

The demon closed their eyes and rifled through their shared memories. When their eyes opened again, they nodded. “Yes. It will be more difficult than normal but we can. But the position you chose is far too close to the Ouroboros army.”

“Forgive me. It was difficult to get my bears after being a bird for so long.”

Alistair narrowed his eyes, “What do you mean army?”

“There’s an army of the undead attempting to storm the gates of Noria. I didn’t see Greed or any other member of the Ouroboros but the siege has started.”

“Then we hurry,” Ryze said. “If they’re going to be distracted by the zombies, we need to get into the capital itself. Did you see anything beyond that?”

“Not much no,” Alison shook her head.

“Ryze,” Ryza said. “Let them teleport us over. I can handle getting us over the walls and intercepting Greed.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Orion asked looking at her skeptically.

“Let me worry about that,” she said shaking her head. “Are you ready to take us?”

Alison glanced at Penny and the demon slid off the horse. Stumbling forward they turned around and held their hand out to Alison. She floated off Blaze’s back and came forward slowly. They pressed their hands together and locked their fingers. They shut their eyes chanting together, speaking a language that sounded more comfortable out of Penny’s mouth than Alison. Pulling backward the portal appeared digging into the ground in front of them.

Ryze looked at the portal and his eye flared to life as did Ryza’s. Both urged their horses forward, followed by Orion on foot and Alistair on Eaergo. Alison floated back onto Blaze’s back and reached out to take Penny and the two fused together before going through the portal.

As she burst through the portal the light died away, the air smelled of burning, and the noise was suddenly deafening. She guided Blaze toward the others and even they were taken aback by the zombies rushing and pushing toward the city. Alison though was looking beyond the horde.

She had missed this before, or maybe she wasn’t looking when she was flying before. Settled comfortably within the center of the army was a huge hulking beast of a creature. It towered over the other zombies at least ten or eleven feet tall. Its back was hunched over and it had huge pale arms like tree trunks. It had a cloak that wrapped around its chest and trailed down its legs. A black mask covered its face like an executioner’s hood.

It stood up higher and raised both of its massive fist and started charging. It blew the zombies aside like they were wheat beneath its feet and they felt the ground shaking with each step. It reached the gate and it slammed into it shoulder first. The explosion of noise was so loud that it actually deafened the group. The air vibrated with the impact.

The gate of the city was blown open entirely, the metal wrenched open and the wood splintered from the ground all the way to the top. And it was like a dam breaking, the zombies surging through the open gate.

Orion’s eye narrowed slowly, “Well so much for you getting us a way in.”