NBB2 - The Chaos Rifts - chapter 13

Drys inspected the last bit of the improved pattern that spread across the outside wall. It had taken another day to finish it up, but now it should be ready to activate. A few dozen bonemenders and other undead stood behind him, murmuring amongst themselves.

As he examined the connecting pattern, a wicked grin spread across his face. He improved and changed Domain's pattern, adding a few things and streamlining some unnecessary parts that didn't seem to add anything. The completed pattern was more his than that of the smart-ass AI's now.

"Alright, time to test this thing."

His pattern burst into existence and overlapped with the last remaining empty spot on the wall beside the main gate. A final symbol appeared on the wall, connecting the chaotic lines on either side and the walls shimmered for a moment. Unlike the previous barrier, a large glowing bowl that covered the city, the new one sat snug on the walls turning the dull grey stone into a glossy darker grey. Looking close, he saw that the glimmer rose into the air and still covered the entire city.

As the surrounding undead began talking loudly amongst themselves, Drys nodded. Everything was fine like this.

A small disturbance in the ground made him turn around, and he saw Norg push his way through.

"Looking good, Drys! Perhaps you can come and make on for the battle inn?"

"Perhaps. But I'd need time for that."

Drys headed back into the city, the crowd stepping aside to let him pass. Norg shrugged and laughed before turning his gaze back to the wall.

"I wonder if this thing will keep those rifts out," he muttered before turning and following Drys.

~~

Standing amid the crowd, the thing that had once been a shade looked at the shimmering barrier. It felt uncomfortable, out in the open, and it had to constantly resist phasing down into the ground or sideways into a building. Following Drys and the one called Norg with his sharp grey eyes, he waited until they disappeared.

It turned to a heavyset, pale zombie with large green wounds across its naked torso beside him.

"Tell me about that school again." Its soft voice seemed more of a whisper, and the zombie snorted a bubble of green mucus from its nose as it turned.

"Bile and brains, Grav, you are so forgetful." It spoke in a gurgling voice, and small drops of mucus spat from between its grey wite lips.

The shade that had taken the name Grav when it introduced itself said nothing and just looked into the muddled white eyes.

"Fine, fine! No need to get upset! Such a short fuse, you really should listen to me and go to the Battle  Inn to rid yourself of some of those anger issues."

Grav continued looking at the zombie, waiting for it to finish it's rambling. It had realized that to blend in, he needed to speak with the other undead. Shortly after evolving into this temporary form, it had located a group of just evolved zombies fighting amongst each other. Looking at them, it had chosen the weakest, stupidest looking one and jumped in to help it.

The zombie that was called Reesh had not even bothered to ask why it had helped him. Instead, it had just followed him around after they won, talking almost nonstop.

As he followed Reesh towards the main road, Grav took a last look at the glossy grey wall.

That won't keep the Kaos host out… it thought. That meant it still needed to create a balancing rift before the rifts became too large, and for that, it needed far more mana-orbs than there were in this city. Or something bigger!

--

Solus continued forward; his senses stretched to the limit as he searched for more Wyrms. The three mana-orbs he had in his armor weren't enough for what he planned.

The red haze of the rising sun ahead of them burned in his eyes, and he blinked the spots away.

The others walked behind him. Except for Sig, they were all holding a crumbling mana-orb, draining it as they went. Tirela had almost had a fit when they gave her one, holding it in her hands and snarling as if she expected them to take it from her.

Staring at the orange undead, Solus frowned. She had barely spoken more than a word here and there. Besides her name, the only thing that she could tell them about the world beyond the rifts was a single word, Chaos-host, and it seemed to upset her. Solus hoped he could evolve her into something more intelligent, although he wasn't sure intelligence was what she was lacking.

A soft vibration, far off in the distance, drew his attention, and he focused on it. Slightly to the right, not completely in the direction of where they were heading.

"Sig, there's another Wyrm that way," he said, pointing towards the tremors.

Without a word, Sig turned into a large sprawling cloud that flew across the wasteland. Within moments he was nothing more than a small smudge on the horizon.

Seeing the other disappear, Solus turned back to the rising red sun, sensing for more tremors.

Hours later, the sun climbing up the sky, he still hadn't found anymore. The orbs the others were absorbing had long since crumbled to dust, and Derin and Tatjie were softly talking amongst each other behind him.

He stopped and looked in the direction Sig had left in. The tremors in that direction were gone now. A while ago, they had intensified before abruptly stopping. He had expected Sig to return shortly after, but he still wasn't here.

Gazing in the distance, he saw a small smudge on the horizon, and it grew larger quickly. A moment later, burning red eyes in a cloud of black gazed at him. In the full sun now, Solus could clearly see the smokey exterior waving around oddly moments before the whole thing coalesced into the shape of Sig. He was holding mana-orb in his hands.

"What took you so long?" Solus asked, curious, and bored from the constant walking.

"There is an enormous ancient city over there. So many Wyrms invest it... I have never seen anything like it." Sig handed the orb to Solus and turned back in the direction he had come from with a hungry look in his eyes.

A surge of happiness and anticipation made Solus step forward. "Wyrms, or wyrmlings?" He asked.

"Wyrms! And in the middle of the city was one that just lay there, enormous, larger even than the one that attacked Skulltown."

Solus smiled hungrily. "No chaos undead?"

Sig shook his head, sharing a look with Solus, and they moved in the direction from which Sig had come.

"We are going hunting!" Solus said across his shoulder to the others.

"Hah, blasted wyrms! Finally, some action!" Tatjie said, slamming her enormous fists into the wasteland floor. Derin followed her, raising what remained of his left arm with a sad look. Tirela followed them, staring hungrily at the mana-orb in Solus' hand.

Solus tucked it away with a grin. She could get one after they found more. Turning to Sig, he saw the black undead was looking ahead with hungry eyes, walking in line with Solus. Ever since his last evolution, Solus had noticed that the other was acting less like a minion and more like an equal, and he liked it much more. All those scared and careful undead were starting to annoy him.

With the slow speed of the others, it took them a long time before the outlining of an immense city appeared on the horizon. Towering buildings stood amongst the rubble of their crumbled and toppled siblings. As they got closer, the city soon covered the entire horizon. The buildings in the center had all crumbled, leaving an opening. At the edges, dozens of buildings still stood, but one of the buildings near the center collapsed as they watched.

Crumbling from the top, it folded in the middle and plummeted down in a cloud of dust. A distant rumbling grew as it crashed onto the ground, and even the others could feel the earth shake. A few buildings beside it shook and swayed, but they remained standing.

A long, cracked stretch of pavement led all the way to the city, while smaller roads split off and lead towards a circular highway that stretched in both directions, surrounding the city.

Solus could feel many tremors from inside the city, and he saw dust and smaller collapsing buildings all across the immense area.

Ruins of buildings lay along the road, and at an intersection, Solus stopped. He turned to the others and saw that the three fleshy undead were all staring at the city with fear. Their hungry optimism had long faded, and when they saw him looking, Tatjie shook her head.

"You three will stay here. It's too dangerous in the city." Thinking for another second, Solus took three of the four orbs from his pocket. "Take these. If you manage to get ready for evolution, I will help you inscribe a pattern on your fields."

Derin and Tatjie gaped at him and then started nodding. Tirela just looked at the orbs, her eyes gleaming. Solus handed them all one and looked around. A bit further away was a partially intact building, only a single story high. Although the top floor had crumbled atop the rest, the bottom floor looked intact.

"Go there and wait until we come back."

Without any complaints, the undead turned and headed towards the designated building, clutching their orbs. A soft glow from Tirela's showed she was already absorbing hers, not even waiting until she got to the building.

"So, ready to do some hunting?" Solus cracked his neck as he stared at the city. It was larger than any he had seen so far, and the prospect of hunting wyrms caused a grin to spread across his face.

Sig just nodded and walked forward.

Solus laughed, crouched down, and jumped towards the city. Debris and dust clattered into the pit he left behind, and as he shot up, he got a better view of the initial area around the city. A deep gully led from one side of the city to the center. It reminded him of a wyrm trail, but ten times bigger. Following it, he couldn't find where it ended when he started angling back down.

Sigs cloud shape rushed below him, and when he hit the ground, he ran forward in long leaps. Sigs cloud easily kept up, and Solus grinned.

"Try to keep up!" He shouted, the force of his voice blowing dirt and dust away.

Creating small platforms of stone below his steps, he started pushing himself forward, increasing his speed. Soon everything blurred. At first, Sig managed to keep up, but then slowly, the dark cloud lagged behind.

The first densely packed area lay ahead, and a wyrm was slowly plowing its way through a building. With a nasty grin, Solus created a gaping pit below it, dozens of stone pikes lining the bottom. The Wyrm plummeted down, slamming into the opposite side of the pit before sliding down, and Solus laughed. How he had missed this! Reaching the edge of the pit, he saw the Wyrm on the bottom, the stone pikes crumbled below it.

"Go find some wyrms, but leave the large one. Meet me back here when the sun sets!" He roared, not holding anything back.

His voice exploded outwards, a circle of dust and debris blasting away from him while a nearby building shook, cracks appearing in its sides. Jumping into the pit, he created an enormous pike and grabbed it with one hand. Holding it down, he fell atop the wide back of the struggling Wyrm. The tip of the stone crumbled, and a large indent appeared in the grey plates of the Wyrm. Landing on the back, he rammed his hand against the indentation. Plates splintered, shooting apart, and the flesh below spurted out, covering him in white bits of goo. Striking again and again, he continued until he had gouged a path towards the cranium of the Wyrm. Inside was the mana-orb, hanging between some tendrils and pulsating. He yanked it out and turned away.

Time to find some more.

--

Screeching, crumbling buildings and loud laughter flowed from the first area of the city for a long time, and when the sun finally set, two figures walked back out of the city. Sig was still as clean as before, his grey hair flowing around as if weightless. He held a stone container in his arms, filled with dozens of spheres. Solus walked beside him, covered from head to toe in white gore and thick, pungent fluids. Even his normally green hair had turned white and matted, sticking together in clumps. He also had a second stone container in his arms, larger and with even more spheres in it.

"We will be staying here for another day," Solus' voice was upbeat, and he grinned through the muck on his face.

"Shouldn't we hurry to Scathia?" Sig asked.

Detecting the surprise in the other's voice, Solus shook his head. "Not as we are now. I am close to evolving, and with this many orbs, the others should be able to evolve as well." Thinking for another second, Solus continued."  I'll give them better patterns, and they can practice in this city."

And after I evolve, I am going to take a look at that big Wyrm in the center, he thought.

In the distance, the small building they had left the others appeared, and Solus saw Derin sit at the front. The blue undead was looking at them, and when he saw the large containers, his eyes widened while his mouth fell open. He scrambled up and back into the building. Solus heard some murmurs from inside, and a moment later, all three burst out.

As soon as the three could see inside the baskets, they began talking at the same time.

"Give!"

"Are you sharing those?"

"WANT!"

"You can't possibly use all those!"

Solus grinned as he saw them positively bouncing up and down in excitement. Especially Tirela seemed ready to explode. He put the container down and grabbed a fist-sized orb handing it to Tatji. "Don't worry. You are all getting enough to evolve another time." Derin received his, took one more glance at the massive amount left in the container before turning and rushing inside.

A soft tapping came from Tirela as she bounced on her heels, staring at Solus and the orbs.

"You can get more…" Solus said, raising an arm to block her when she dashed forward. The yellow eyebrows lowered as Tirela's eyes turned small and gleaming. "However, I want you to promise me you will let me inscribe your next pattern on your mana field."

Tirela's frown deepened, and Solus wondered how much she understood. "Show me your manafield."

It was quiet for a moment, and then a large orange field shot out. It was split into five quadrants, but only bits and pieces of patterns were added, mostly mismatched and chaotic. Only one quadrant held a dense, well-shaped pattern, and Solus was sure that it was the thing that determined her current abilities and exterior.

Taking another look, he wondered if he could scrape away the chaotic scribbles and replace them with something useful.

"Give?"

Tirela's soft voice sounded confused and annoyed at the same time, and Solus grinned at her as he handed her an orb. "You understand?" He asked as she rushed into the building.

"Understand!" came from the empty entrance.

Sig was observing him, an eyebrow raised.

"We need more information. She might have it, but as she is now, she can't tell us," Solus said, wondering if that wasn't obvious.

"I know. But how can you be sure she won't try something foolish as soon as she gets a chance?"

Solus was about to say that she wouldn't when he recalled Domain. How was he to know? His good mood evaporated, and he glared at the building. "If she does, and I'm not there, take her out before she can do anything."

Sig nodded, a relieved look on his face. Then he picked up the orbs and moved towards the building. "I am not sure what absorbing all this will do, but I am going to find out."

As he moved inside, Solus was about to follow him when he stopped. Almost reluctantly, he looked down, and a tunnel appeared. He jumped in, closing the tunnel above him. Deep under the ground, he created a square room, twice as high as he was, with a stone bed in the middle.

Looking around the room, he sighed and set the container with orbs beside the bed. Everything had gone fast the last few days, and sitting crossed-legged on the bed, he grabbed two orbs. Staring at them for a moment, he tried to bring order to his emotions. They were jumbled and confusing. Where, long ago, he only had one at the same time, or none at all, many warred with each other. Fear of what would happen to Skulltown, fear of the rifts, and what they could mean. Curiosity too, and a slight desire to enter one and find out. More curiosity about Scathia and her city, and trepidation about her and her goals. There was also worry about Domain and slight pain from its betrayal, and a lingering battle hunger from seeing all the wyrms, mixed with a desire to test himself against the large one. There were so many that he realized he wasn't even enjoying them anymore. Instead, they colored his actions as he tried to ignore them. Remembering the quiet calm of his mind when he was a skeleton, he wondered… had he made a mistake?

Pushing the worry that it brought away, he took a deep breath, exhaled, and tried to push the thoughts away with the stream of air that wooshed into the room. To his surprise, it helped a little, and he tried again, focusing on the feel of the bed, the orbs in his hands, and the quiet of the room.

Sometimes one of the emotions would rush forward, threatening to drown out the others, and he would just sit there, trying to ignore it.

He had no idea how long he sat there, holding the orbs without absorbing them, but at one point, the rushing emotions lessened, and he fell into a trance.