NBB2 - The Chaos Rifts - chapter 19

Sig floated above the highest roof in the center of the city. His gaze was fixated on a small group of undead that moved up the staircase. They were all skeletons and at least twice evolved from what he could tell. They were also the last to arrive back in the city, but their entrance was different from what he had seen before. None of the guards had dared get in their way, and anything that crossed their path had jumped to the side as if afraid to be ended.

Blocked from his previous investigations, he had gone down and followed them through the city until they arrived at the massive staircase.

The leader was a skeleton with red plates covering his right side and black on his left. Taller than the others and massively built, he carried around a bone ax. He was at the lead, already a good bit up the staircase, while the others hovered behind him, quietly conversing. They were all single color, red or black plated skeletons.

An emotionless voice rang out from the oddly colored figure, loud enough to easily reach where Sig hung.

"Stop wasting my time."

As he spoke, the lead-skeleton turned to the others, and Sig could feel a wave of force emanate from him. His following snapped to attention as if slapped, jumped forward, and sprinted up the staircase until they were in a double file behind him.

The leader turned and stomped up the staircase. The others had to take two steps for each of his to keep up, but none complained. The stairs lead them through the city that sprawled across the mountain and towards the mountain's peak.

Closer to the top, orderly placed buildings began replacing the chaotic, knocked together things that spread below them. Spread out more thinly; they had windows from which a soft red glow emanated.

Sig hovered closer to a window and looked inside. A group of yellow plate skeletons sat together in the center of a large room. Red glowing orbs hung around the walls, their glow tainting the yellow plates ruddy.

Those must be Satri, Sig thought before flitting back up in hiding. He had found that his new size was more difficult to hide.

The staircase widened, the roughly hewn stone replaced by bone smoothed from use. It led straight into a massive building, as wide as the top of the mountain and seamless. Three towers, two to the side and one in the middle, grew from it, and atop it sat a massive skull.

Sig imaged that alone could probably house thousands of undead, if not more. He also wondered when this whole thing had been build. He didn't remember seeing the massive skull, and he knew he would have remembered.

The skeletons moved beneath the tall arch and into the brightly lit room.

Hesitating for a second, Sig shot forward, shrinking his cloud as much as he could. He wanted nothing more than to fly through the wall, but something was wrong with the bone. It felt as solid as it would when he was in his normal shape, impenetrable.  Staying close to the top of the arch, he shot up to the high ceiling as soon as he was through.

Pressing his cloud shape into a shadowy corner of the ceiling, he looked down at the enormous chamber below him. Three massive bone statues lined each of the walls. They depicted different types of undead. From left to right were a simple skeleton wanderer, a skeleton with a plate across its chest, and a skeleton with plates across its arms, legs, and chest. On the other side stood an emaciated female zombie, with a glowing red orb held in her raised hand.

Even from this range, Sig felt the soft waves of mana emanating from it. It reminded him of the oddly named pillar that Solus had put in the school, The Devourer.

He blinked in surprise as he examined the last two statues. Next to the zombie stood a statue of a long-haired, thin female zombie. She wore a long robe of some sort, and both her hands were raised, holding two red orbs. The zombie looked at the ground with piercing eyes, and even though it was a statue, Sig shivered. The intensity in the eyes reminded him of Solus when he got angry.

The last statue wasn't finished. All it showed was a rudimentary, partially finished female undead. It could be a zombie or another fleshy.

Between the statues, stairs lead up to a daze with a large throne. It resembled a gaping skull; the open jaw meant for someone to sit on. It was empty, and the group of skeletons moved up a stair on the far right room. Floating across the ceiling, Sig followed them towards a narrow balcony that gave free sight of the throne and the daze. Doors in the walls gave way to hallways that led deeper into the building.

"Go back to our quarters. I'll find you there. And the one who starts absorbing before I get back will lose an arm," the red and black leader said, emotionlessly. The others began nodding, and after a moment of inspecting them, he turned and disappeared into one of the hallways.

Sig watched as the other skeletons followed the balcony to the end and up a staircase leading deeper into the building. He waited until even the footsteps were gone before lowering down. Listening carefully, he hung before the hallway, looking inside.

It was a long hallway, with bone arms attached to the walls, their hands holding up more red orbs. He watched the skeleton march to the end, where a winding staircase led up. As soon as the skeleton was out of sight, Sig floated forward. The doors were all closed, and he heard soft sounds from inside. Talking, and snoring.

Sleeping zombies, he reasoned.

Reaching the bottom of the stair, he heard loud thudding that showed where the skeleton was, and with a last look back to be sure he wasn't followed, Sig moved up. He made sure to keep a good distance between him and the other. There were no windows in the tower, and it seemed to go on forever. Any attempt to faze through failed, and as he continued climbing, Sig started to worry. If something went wrong, he wouldn't be able to flee. Wary, he let the distance between them increase.

After what felt like a long time, the skeleton's thudding changed, moving off to the side before stopping. Sig flowed up, slow and on guard.

The stair ended at a small arch that led into a chamber. It was longer than it was wide, with benches on both sides. The lead skeleton sat on a bench, staring to the other side of the hallway. Sig peaked around the corner and saw a door at the other end. It had red glowing eye-sockets and a skeletal mouth that seemed embedded in the flat bone surface.

"Descrat. Enter. Her highness Scathia will see you now."

An emotionless voice echoed from the skeletal mouth.

The skeleton, Descrat, got up and stomped to the door that opened before he got there. Sig saw a glimpse of a large multi-level room, filled with softly glowing red orbs and black tapestries on the ground. Something moved inside, but before he could see what it was, Descrat blocked his view, and then the door silently closed.

Sig turned away, floating down the tower. He had seen enough, and it was useless to stay. The entire top of the tower was closed, without a single window or crack, and he couldn't phase through any of the walls.

The only way would be to go by day. From what he had gleaned, Scathia would be seated on the large throne then, commanding her empire of the undead. That would leave the room empty, or at least without her, and he could inspect what was hidden inside.

Halfway down the tower, soft footsteps echoed up. Sig spread himself across the ceiling, as thin as he could, the particles that made up his cloud resembling a shadow. Then he closed his eyes.

The thudding came closer and then moved alongside him. He had no idea what it was that gave him away, but suddenly a soft voice hissed.

"Who's there!"

Sig's eyes shot open, and he saw a small zombie with long grey hair turn to him. It's green eyes widened as it raised its hands that held something.  Before it could shout, Sig engulfed the zombie. He felt it trashing inside and was tempted to end it. After another second, he decided against it and flowed further down. No longer able to keep to his compacter state, he now filled the entire winding stair house as he flowed down.

It was quiet at the bottom, the doors still closed, and the orbs shining brightly. Slowly, and keeping his attention on the doors, Sig flowed to the end.

Outside, from the right side of the balcony, came a soft muttering. Taking a quick look with a small portion of his body and a single eye,  he saw two yellow zombies with green scales on their arms and lower body move towards him. Annoyed, he flowed back and listened to the doors. He didn't hear any speaking or snoring from the second to the left, and he pushed against the door. It silently opened, and he immediately moved inside. A zombie lay on a bone bed in the corner, a green bubble growing and shrinking from his nose. Three empty beds stood beside it.

Closing the door, Sig waited. The footsteps entered the corridor and stopped in front of the door. Hovering behind the door, his cloud body as flat against the wall as he could get it, he watched the door open.

The two zombies entered, chatting softly. As soon as they closed the door, they noticed Sig.

This is getting dangerous! Sig thought as he surged forward, engulfing both zombies. Again he felt two struggling forms inside, but like the first, they couldn't get out. Not unless he let them. After a little while, the struggling abated, and the two seemed to fall into a stupor.

Filling half the room now, Sig looked at the zombie on the bed. It didn't move, and only the bubble was still growing and shrinking steadily.

Sig left the room, closing the door carefully. He now far more sprawling than before and filled a section of the corridor from one door to another. If anybody came across him now, it would look like a whole cloud with burning red eyes swallowed the passage.

Looking around the balcony, he saw nothing, and he streamed towards the exit as fast as he could. The extra weight was making him slower than he liked. In a straight line, he shot out and straight up. As dark as it was, his best bet would be to stay high. He had found that most undead never looked up.

The way back cost a lot longer than the way there, and he felt the drain on his mana-field. When he reached the building where the others were still waiting for him, he floated down and through the small windows. A gasp showed someone was still awake.

From the corner of the room, Tirela stared at him. Her pupil-less black eyes still unsettled him, deep as pits and lacking emotion.

"I've got three zombies here. Get ready to silence them, but don't end them," he said softly.

It took only a moment, then Tirela's eyes narrowed, and she nodded. She got up, moving beside Sig.

"Alright, ready," she said, her eyes focused on the middle of the Sig.

The cloud that was Sig coalesced with a gush, and four shapes flopped down in the middle of the room. Sig stood smack in the middle, and he jumped the first zombie that he had captured in the winding staircase. Before he could even move to the other two, Tirela had them both; a hand wrapped tightly around their mouths. Stone grew from two bracelets around her wrists and locked around the zombie's mouth. Gagged, they couldn't speak, but that wouldn't help for long.

"What's going on?" Tatjie scrambled up, waking Derin in the process. The purple-skinned undead groaned as he got up. When he saw the three zombies, he froze, and the lines across his skin glowed a bright blue, illuminating the room.

Sig ignored them. He knew the zombies would start using voiceless speech soon, and he hissed, trying to take a threatening pose like he had seen Solus do on ocasion.

"Speak, or I will end you!"

Not sure he would impress them enough, he partially changed back to his cloud shape, growing larger while his eyes turned bright burning red.

The three zombies stared at the enormous hulking black thing and nodded without making a sound.

Sig pointed at the one he had captured going up the stairs towards Scathia.

"Why were you going up to Scathia?"

A soft, disembodied voice answered. "To inform her of the status at the dig site."

The dig site, Sig thought. He didn't know that much about it, only that there were always undead going there. Deciding to get the other to tell him all it knew later, he looked at the other two.

"And who are you?"

One of the zombies glared at him, and another voice, harsher and flowed around.

"Why should we tell you?"

Tirela stepped forward before Sig could reply and put a hand on the zombie.

"Speak," she commanded simply.

The zombie's yellow, murky eyes turned unfocused as he stared at the wall. "We are sphere hunters."

Staring at Tirela, Sig shivered.

She's dangerous, he thought, realizing he had another thing to worry about now. He wished Solus would get back already.

"What are the sphere's for?" he said, focussing on the zombie.

The zombie didn't reply, wrinkles appearing on his forehead. Tirela frowned.

"Speak!" she said again, more forcefully this time.

"The cartographers need them to complete the map."

The zombie's voice sounded strained, and his eyes narrowed.

"What maps?" Sig quickly asked.

This time the zombie visibly strained, his muscles bulging. The Yellowplates covering his body started to glow. A soft howling filled the room.

Tirela put both her hands around his head, staring straight into his eyes. The zombie went slack, the howling fading away.

"What are the maps," she hissed.

The second zombie, now released, didn't move and just stared at what was happening. Derin, Tatjie, and Sig all had looks of amazement and fear on their faces.

"Maps of the surrounding lands, showing all the areas dense with bone-matter."

"Where are they?" Tirella said, throbbing veins appearing on her hands.

"In the lowest room of Cranium-tower." A little yellow drool leaked from the zombie's mouth, and he began shivering.

Tirela turned to Sig, her lips a tight line. "She has done something with him to stop him from talking.  I can feel a foreign influence in his mind. We might have only one or two more questions."

It took a moment for Sig to gather his senses, and then he nodded. "One more question, then we go to the other one."

"Why does Scathia want the maps?"

The zombie's eyes widened, fear appearing on what was visible of his face. Then he went slack, dangling in Tirela's hands. A yellow liquid flowed from his mouth.

"He is gone," Tirela said, putting the body down. With distaste on her face, she turned to Sig. "Someone somehow placed a lock on his mind."

Confused, Sig tried to understand what she meant and failed.

"Is he ended?" Derin asked from the side, his eyes on the zombie and a look of fear on his face.

"No," Tirela said. "But his mind is gone, cracked and fading from the pressure. He might return to a wanderer or eventually crumble to dust."

It was quiet in the room, even the other two zombies staring wide-eyed at their fallen companion.

Sig turned to the other two. "Are they the same?"

Tirela focused on the other zombie with Yellowplates beside her. The zombie moaned and backed up, but she grabbed his arm. A second later, she released it and stepped to Sig, putting her hand on the one he held.

"Yes… both are the same," she said with a shiver.

"Then we had better think before we ask them any questions," Sig said after a moment.

A stunned silence fell as five pairs of eyes stared at him—two in fear, three in shock.

--

When the first morning light came through the window, three unmoving bodies lay in the center of the room. Sig was silently staring outside, lost in thought.

Below, the square was bustling, undead moving out of their quarters and towards the corridors and alleys leading away into the city. Footsteps, shuffling, and dozens of voices echoed up to their room.

"So… what do we bloody do now? Back to Skulltown?" Tatjie asked, staring at the bodies.

"We can't. We still don't know how to close the portals, remember?" Derin replied, his eyes on Tirela, who sat against the wall with a weary expression on her face.

"Well, does it seem likely Scathia will tell us?" Tatjie grunted, waving at the corpses. "You heard them. Bile and grime…. she is planning to conquer the entire world, or try to!"

"Why, though?" Tirela asked softly. It was the first thing she had said after the third zombie slipped from her grasp.

Tatjie turned to Tirela. "Huh?"

"Why does she want control over all the undead?"

"How should I know?" Tatjie scowled. "And what does it even matter... "

"Somebody noticed the missing zombies," Sig said sharply.

The rest took a moment to realize what he meant, and then they scrambled to the window.

Two dozen green-skinned, yellow plated zombies marched down the staircase. They were almost like exact copies of each other and similar to the two that now lay mind-broken and unmoving in their room.

In the lead was a small black zombie with neat white bone armor and an odd faceplate. It was the most sophisticated thing Sig had ever seen, and it looked surreal compared to the ragtag undead that moved through the square below the staircase.

"Everybody, stop moving!" The small black zombie cried, striding towards the middle of the square.

"Last night, someone entered The Lich Queens' tower and abducted some undead! Open your doors and stand back! Resist, and you will be thrown into the mines….forever!"

"Bile and vomit, now what do we do?" Tatjie muttered.

Sig fell silent. Since arriving, he had acted as he thought Solus or Drys would, but now? He could end these guards; he was sure of that, but then what? Take everybody and flee out of the city without finding out how to stop the rifts? How would he explain that to Solus?

The group of undead marched into a building, the previous occupants watching from the side. They were inside for a moment before stamping back out and towards the next one.

"We need to get out of here and hide," Derin muttered. "After they stop searching, we wait a day, and then we go and see Scathia."

The others looked at him, and he shrugged.

"I've got no idea where!"

As the stomping got closer, Tirela sighed. "I've got an idea. But you're probably not going to like it much."

Tatjie laughed. "It can't be worse than being caught, can it? Even if they don't end us, they will probably toss us into those mines."

Tirela just looked at her with a sly smile.

"Ohhhh," Derin uttered as a grin came to his face.