Book 5: Chapter 2: A cabin in the swamp

Book 5: Chapter 2: A cabin in the swamp

Heather leaped into the air, swinging her scythe with all her might as the beast turned its gaze on her. She connected with the bone of its shoulder, shattering the right arm from its body with a crunch. Legeis latched on to the left arm to pull it away as it tried to rake her with long metal claws. The bone champion let loose a gout of green fire, scorching the monstrosities chest for the second time, but it kept coming, hurling Legeis aside before dragging deep gouges down the bone champion's shield.

I am never trying to make a golem again! Heather yelled while slashing at the monster's leg. The bone cracked, but it didn't let up the wild assault, slashing with the one remaining arm. She jumped back in alarm when it whirled on her, those long claws on its hand slicing the air as they came for her. She folded her arms as leaves and flower petals formed in the air creating a barrier that cut like paper as the claws hit it.

It's just a bug, Legeis called as he tackled it from behind, topping it to the ground. He began to punch at it as it got back up and swatted him off. The bone champion buried his sword in the thing's skull, but that didn't seem to bother it at all. It rose to its feet, dragging the champion with it before reaching out with its one arm. It grabbed the champion around the throat and lifted it from the floor. The two undead looked eye to eye for just a moment before a huge stone crashed down and crushed it.

Thank goodness, Heather sighed as the beast broke into shattered bones.

She leaned on the lever Legeis rigged up to drop a massive stone on the center of the summoning circle. It was a safety measure they agreed on in light of how unsuccessful and hostile the golems had been so far. It broke the floor beneath, but they tested that already. In four hours, the floor would heal magically and be whole, ready for another failed experiment. Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

What good is the rock if the thing won't stand in the center? Heather asked.

Maybe we need to add a cage, Legeis suggested.

Maybe need to just give the stone to Gwen and start working on the egg, Heather panted. I have no idea what is going wrong. I even wrote instructions that forbid it from attacking me.

You figured this out before, he pressed as Heather started to laugh.

All I know is a letter suggested I was working with a team of people, and we figured out a bunch of things I have no memory of. She stood and straightened her yellow dress before shaking her head at the mess. The floor is broken. It's going to be hours before we can try again anyway.

So try again later? Legeis asked.

Heather wasn't sure she wanted to try at all. Five golems and five failures, with each new golem proving to be more and more hostile. Something was terribly wrong, and her efforts thus far were proving to be pointless.

Maybe, but next time dont add metal claws until after we know its safe, she replied as a voice called from the hall.

Heather, Frank called. Finneous is here.

Just Finneous? Heather called back as Frank came in the door with Finneous in tow, smiling under his straw hat.

Quite the home you have here, he said with a broad grin.

Where is Umtha and the goblins? Heather asked, ignoring his statement.

Fighting the players, he replied. Umtha insisted on staying and causing as much chaos as possible. She said the players would be smart enough to follow them if they came straight here.

Shes still fighting them? Heather asked in surprise. She suddenly felt guilty that the goblins were dying for her, and she wasnt even there to help.

Now I have something else to feel guilty about, she sighed. Umtha is out there dying for me, and I haven't even considered doing the one thing she asked me to do.

Youre talking about the egg? Frank asked as he scratched at his head.

Of course Im talking about the egg, Heather groaned.

Are we even sure its safe to take the egg? Legeis asked. If you're right and that magic stone is what makes the cave cold, then the egg will thaw out if you remove it. I dont know anything about it myself, but It must be frozen for a reason.

Shed considered that too, but how else were they going to take it back? Maybe there was a way to transport that stone with it and keep it cold? For all she knew, the cold wasn't important to the egg.

I have been thinking about the egg, Frank interjected. We talked about how you might not be this person from the past and that all this might be a sort of adventure made for you.

I remember, Heather said, curious where he was going with this.

Well, if that were true, it would make sense the visitors place an NPC near you to keep guiding you on the path. Kind of like how a game master might use NPC's to steer his players in the right direction. What if Umtha is that NPC, and the egg is the tool she is using to keep you on the path?

Makes sense, Legeis agreed. For an NPC, Umtha seems to be awfully insistent Heather do things.

Heather grumbled as the thought tossed around in her mind. Umtha felt too sincere and honest, with a touch of motherly concern, and a sharp scolding tongue to match. Heather found it difficult to believe the goblin woman was anything but a typical NPC, but she wasn't willing to discredit it. If Umtha was a tool of the visitors, then there had to be a way to prove it.

So, where is this town you were talking about? Finneous asked, breaking her thoughts.

What? Oh, on the other side of the swamp, she replied. We cant get the land yet until we return the stone.

Finneous looked skeptical but tipped his hat and resumed the smile that always seemed to annoy her.

You havent returned the stone yet?

No, she groaned. I need it for an experiment. I was going to return it after I had some success, but I keep failing.

What are you trying to do? Finneous asked.

Heather glared and stepped aside, sweeping the scene behind her so he could see the center of the room.

You are trying to make rocks fall?

No, she snapped. I am trying to make a bone golem, several if I can, but something keeps going wrong, and I have to destroy them.

By going wrong, she means they are hostile and attack wildly. Some of them even explode, Legeis added.

Finneous walked passed her and looked at the shattered remains as he rubbed his chin. Where are you getting the bones?

From a graveyard in the caves, Heather replied.

Why there?

Heather raised one brow in confusion. What kind of question was that? Where else was she going to get a limitless supply of random bones?

Because I can take all I want, and they respawn, she said in a mocking tone.

Finneous nodded and kicked a bone across the floor. And this will despawn in a little bit.

Of course, because it's outside the graveyard, Heather replied.

So you're using magical bones spawned to be a decoration in a graveyard, removing them and then trying to animate them.

Right, Heather said, not following where he was going.

Did it ever occur to you that you cant use those bones?

What? Why not? she pressed.

He shrugged. I just thought that bones that technically didn't come from a random generator might not be the best choice. You might need bones from an actual monster.

I wonder if thats it, Legeis said. It would explain why it always fails.

What difference does it make where I got them? Heather asked. Bones are bones.

But those are just bits, and pieces of bones randomly spawned in, Legeis said as he started to agree with Finneous. Maybe because they are programmed to despawn if removed, they affect the golem.

Everything in this world despawns, Heather pointed out in irritation. Even my body will despawn eventually after I die.

Yeah, but this is different, Legeis argued. Something about the graveyard being the source might be affecting the outcome. These bones don't really belong to anything that lived.

Heather didnt see the logic but understood the direction they were going in. So where do I get actual bones?

Theres always that dragon skeleton in the caves, Frank said.

Heather pondered that a moment then dismissed it. It was too large to bring down here; the skull alone would fill the hall and wedge in the doorway.

No, I need something smaller.

Breanne said she saw skeletons in the water behind that cabin, he suggested.

What cabin? she asked in confusion until Legeis reminded her about the abandoned player house in the swamp. Oh, that one we spent the night in, she remembered.

Yeah, Breanne has been exploring the area she haunted, and the cabin is just inside it. She said there were fresh bones in the water about a dozen meters behind it, Frank said.

I dont know, but it looks dangerous, Quinny replied.

I should have brought my bone champion, Heather cried as the door began to split. We're trapped. We are going to have to fight.

No, Quinny said excitedly. We can use the back door!

What back door? Heather asked as she turned around to see there was indeed a back door. She paused for just a moment to ponder how she had never noticed it before when there was a loud snap. The front door began to buckle as Quinny ran for the rear door and urged Heather to follow. They raced into the backyard to find her skeletons were coming to rescue her. She ran past them, ordering them to stay outside and kill anything that left the house. She then ran for the goblins as a strange wail echoed from behind them. They turned to see the house shudder and shake as the beast stumbled about inside. It wailed continuously but was suddenly silenced and then replaced by an odd sort of crunching sound.

What happened? Heather asked as they watched from a safe distance.

Youre asking me? Quinny replied. I was running faster than you were.

Heather shot her a glare and turned back to the house that was oddly quiet now. Something has happened. That thing should be breaking down the back door. She dared to step closer as the silence went on.

What are you doing? Quinny asked as Heather began to advance slowly.

I want to know what happened, she replied as her hands tightened on her scythe. Something about all of this was wrong, and she knew it. Her memory told her that cabin didn't have a back door. For that matter, she didn't remember it having windows on the backside. It was as if the cabin was changing like a player was altering it to suit their needs. Now that she thought about it, she was confident the only doorway in was the front. It was the reason they walked around the building when they heard the door slam.

She ordered her skeletons to the back door as she crept closer to the window and dared a look inside. The monster was lying on the floor in a broken, bleeding heap. It looked as if it had been chewed and spit back out after finding the taste horrible.

Its dead, Heather called back.

How? Quinny replied from her safe distance.

Heather threw up a hand to indicate she had no idea. Everything about this situation was unknown, and it caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. She realized the strange clean bones could be connected to the shifting cabin. Her sense of wonder implored her to figure it out while her sense of self-preservation urged her to flee. Thinking better of it, she turned and moved away, eager to put some distance between her and the house.

She called the skeletons back and hurried to join Quinny and be off. They talked about the strange events the whole way as the goblins carried them back to the village. Once there, the goblins helped tie the larger bones to the skeletons and gave them baskets to carry back the bits. Heather and Quinny set off into the forest, feeling more secure in knowing they were inside their lair.

Where have you two been? Breanne called as she appeared through a tree, her gaunt spectral form a welcome relief.

Oh, thank goodness, Heather sighed and called a halt. We went to collect those bones you saw by the cabin.

Breanne looked across the skeletons as she floated in place and then asked the obvious question. Why?

Heather explained the most recent failure, the arrival of Finneous, and the new theory about the bones. Breanne nodded through it all and agreed it was a good idea to try. Heather and Quinny then went on to explain the strangeness at the cabin with the monster attack and death.

The cabin doesnt have a back door, Breanne said.

We know, Heather sighed with a shake of her head. One second it wasnt there, the next it was. It changed for us just when we needed it.

Breanne turned in the direction of the distant cabin as she considered their story.

It sits just on the edge of my haunted area, she said in a ghostly voice. I havent spent too much time watching it or exploring the land around it. I will spend more time looking it over. Perhaps there is a magical reason for the cabin and its behavior.

I think we should just stay away from it, Heather replied with a toss of her head.

Aw common, we're just being paranoid now, Quinny interrupted. I admit the place seemed spooky today but remember we spent the night in it, and nothing happened.

To us maybe, but that swamp monster died inside it, Heather argued. Something killed that thing, and it wasn't us.

There is something funny about the building, Breanne added. It feels odd to pass through its walls. Almost sticky like passing through glue.

I will add the cabin to the bottom of my list of mysteries to solve, Heather joked. I should be back to it in seven years. She ordered the skeletons to resume the march and walked on chatting about the cabin. She also shared her idea to use her own skeletons to make a golem. Breanne shrugged at the idea, believing the necromancers did the same thing and wondering why Heather hadn't tried it sooner.

I have too much on my mind. I came here against my will and was sort of in shock for a while. I spent a lot of time trying to make things more normal, going for pizza, shopping, and doing things that I would do back home. I tried to ignore the danger, only becoming vaguely aware of it a little while ago. I spent so many points decorating the tower that I should have used fortifying it.

You can't be upset with yourself for that, Breanne replied. It only makes sense you tried to make life more comfortable here. That's part of the process of acceptance as you healed past the shock.

I could have had much stronger defenses, Heather remarked as they walked down the wide street.

You could also have had far greater indulgences, Breanne pointed out. How many times have you put a proper bath on hold for another magical trap?

Heather tried to think of how many times and gave up with a shrug. She supposed choices for defense had been made, but they were sorely lacking when put to the test. Her new home was a fortress, with layers of protection and guardians. Even the bone golems she was working so hard to create were a part of that defense plan. There was no point in regretting the past. What she had to do now was make some progress and get things ready. If those players found her again, she would make sure it was an encounter they would remember.

They returned to the graveyard in time to see a pumpkin sail across the air, splattering into paste when it hit a tombstone.

What in the world? Heather said as they looked up to see Frank, Finneous, and Legeis standing on a ledge of her tower. There was a strange device behind them and a pile of pumpkins at their feet.

What on earth are they up to? Heather asked as she led the way into the tower. She found them on the fourth floor, where she installed a balcony to overlook the yards. They were busy turning a crank on a device that looked like a wooden frame with a big spoon that slowly ratcheted down.

Oooh, is that a catapult? Quinny asked and went running to inspect it.

It sure is, Legeis replied. We scraped this together from some junk in the caves.

We took some of the pumpkins from your farm, Frank admitted as Quinny arrived.

Take all you want; they respawn anyways, she replied and gleefully picked on up to reload it.

Heather watched as Quinny set the pumpkin on the spoon end and Frank pulled a lever, causing it to fling the arm and throw the pumpkin skyward.

Am I the only one who has no idea whats going on? Heather asked.

You left three boys alone to amuse themselves, Breanne said with a shake of her head.

What? Legeis said defensively. This could be very useful to defend the tower. I could put explosives in here, and a couple of skeletons could lob them into invaders.

Uh-huh, Breanne remarked, unimpressed.

It really could be useful, Frank insisted. We could put all sorts of things inside pumpkins and fire them into the yard.

Hmm, Heather said as Heather paced around the device. Is this what you see in the movies throwing those big stones?

Legeis blinked and looked to Frank, who cleared his throat and explained how Heather didn't care for fantasy settings.

I see, Legeis replied. Well, for small stones, yes, anything larger requires a trebuchet.

Oh, you should build one of those, Quinny replied as Heather laughed at her exuberance.

I suppose we may as well keep it, she replied. I can see some uses for something like this.

Did you find the bones? Frank asked, and Heather nodded, explaining the skeletons were told to carry them to the workshop. They discussed the catapult and all the things they could do with it. Heather had to admit a couple of low-level skeletons could be deadly with such a weapon. A few bombs thrown into the enemies ranks might turn the tide of battle. She also wanted to recreate some of the explosive skeletons to surprise enemies. She wanted to use them in small rooms or tight spaces where the explosion would be magnified. She also wanted to make some to carry her dangerous plants. These would hide in the garden to lurk and ambush unsuspecting players.

When the topic was exhausted, Legeis suggested they check the workshop. On arrival, it still hadn't reset, but the stone had been hoisted back into place, and the skeletons cleaned up the debris. They spent the next hour laying out the design of the attempt. Legeis used metal straps, pins, and rods to assemble the bones into one big frame based on Heather's descriptions. The golem had two heads perched on long necks. The shoulder blades were crossed to allow for four arms, and the bones in one set of arms were doubled and strapped together. This gave the monster two strong arms and two weaker ones. She used all three sets of legs bolted together to create a single pair of thick boney limbs. Each ended in two feet set side by side for balance. As per her request, Legeis added no extra weaponry to it until they were sure it was safe. With the construction done, Heather set about writing the instructions in great detail, spelling out every function of the golem. As she finished the list, the floor began to magically repair, indicating it was ready for another summoning. It was burned and the ashes spread on the bones before everyone moved away.

Now for the fun part, she said as she took Gwen's kingdom heart in hand. Placing it in the socket, she moved to the triangle that was the controlling point of the summon and began her spell. Her chant filled the room as all eyes watched to see what would happen next.

Did you think it will work this time? Quinny asked Frank as he scratched at his head.

I don't know, Frank replied. It should, but then none of us know why the others failed.

She used bones that are mean to be props, Finneous replied. I bet theres some glitch in the system that doesnt see them as real bones.

Just be ready to drop the stone, Breanne added as Heathers spell went on.

The circles on the floor began to glow as a hum filled the air. A green light flashed over the bones, and a golden ball rose out of the kingdom heart and flew to the golem. Heather completed her spell, and the room went silent as they waited. It wasn't long before green lights began to blaze in four eye sockets. A powerful arm moved, and the beast sat up the heads, looking about the room independently. Slowly it came to its feet, then turned to face Heather and stopped.

Umm, now what? Heather said as it stood there, motionless.

It must have worked, Legeis exclaimed. Its waiting for you to give it orders.

Heather crept forward and looked over the beast that stood nearly twice her height. It didnt move at all as she arrived right before it and took a deep breath.

You will follow me, she said and stepped back a few paces. A moment later, the golem stepped after her and came to a stop just before her again. A smile spread over her face to see her success, and she turned to Legeis with glee. Alright, let's see how deadly you can make him.

The next four hours were spent crafting weapons and fitting them to the golem. When they were done, Heather was sure the most dangerous thing in her arsenal now stood guard in the halls. A few more of these, and she would be deadly. A dozen more, and she would be unstoppable. She turned the kingdom heart over in her hand and sighed. What a pity she needed to give it back.