NBB3 - chapter 21: Old friends

Tirella looked around at the mass of undead that moved to and from the building at the end of the otherwise dead-ended corridor. Most were zombies, but there were plenty of odd fleshies that made her curious. One even had four legs, although the feet looked more like hands to her. A bizarre scent hung in the air, and something about it made Tirella feel... hungry.

"Let's go," Gregor whispered.

The zombie stepped behind three green fleshies covered in yellow hairs from which a yellow fog wafted. The two muscular tar-black zombies behind them stayed a few feet away from them, and Tirella quickly found out why. The yellow-haired fleshies left behind a putrid stench in their wake. It was thick and heavy, and Vingria saw that the yellow fog oozed out of the tips of the hairs, which seemed hollow.

Gregor gagged and slowed down, and one of the undead behind them grinned nastily. He stuck out his hands to push Tirella forward. As soon as his hands touched the metallic hairs covering Tirella's back, he yelped and jumped back against a group of heavy-set fleshies amid a heated discussion. With an angry roar, one of the undead shoved the zombie forward again, and he barely stopped himself from slamming fully into Tirella's back.

"Back off," Tirella growled as she raised her fist. The hairs on her knuckles gleamed dangerously, and the two zombies raised their hands.

Gregor didn't say anything, but his eyes gleamed as he looked at Tirella.

Probably thinking of the pattern he will get, Tirella thought with a grin.

They reached the double-door entrance without any more trouble, and a Goliarn looked at them from the side. It was standing with its arms crossed, staring down at the undead that passed. Tirella kept her eyes away from him, making sure not to draw any attention. Instead, she looked around the room they had entered.

It was a bustling place, with dozens of tables standing everywhere, and the scent she had noticed outside was thick and heavy here. It even managed to mask the disgusting stench from the yellow-haired fleshies that were moving further inside. Bone plates with steaming, wet and squishy white flesh stood on top, and undead sat around them, stuffing the flesh in their mouths.

"What-" Tirella started when Gregor elbowed her and gave her a warning glance while painfully rubbing his shoulder.

Tirella frowned but followed him as he moved towards the bar at the far side of the room. It was as wide as the room, and a dozen undead moved behind it, handing plates and other things to the undead at the other side. As they came closer, Tirella realized most of the undead behind the bar were identical, yellow-skinned, slightly chubby, and with bulbous eyes. They reminded her of one of the undead Solus had met in Tendraal, but she couldn't recall his name.

"Keep quiet," Gregor whispered as he moved to the far left of the bar.

Tirella wasn't listening. She was looking at a chunk of flesh that lay on the nearby bar. It was steaming, and beads of fat oozed down the white flesh. A large and familiar scale on one side showed it was wyrmling meat.

I want to try! she thought as she stepped forward. A hand waved in front of her eyes, and she jumped back, looking at Gregor.

"You are drawing too much attention. Keep quiet, and we can have some wyrm meat later."

Tirella nodded, took one more look at the meat, then followed him to the far left of the bar.

--

Solus watched the Goliarn rush after Laron, and he gritted his teeth. The undead outside had all turned to the entrance, and in the distance, he saw another two of the towering undead approach.

Come on, Laron!

Time ticked by as nothing happened. The Goliarn stood outside, looking at the entrance, while the other undead were talking amongst themselves. Finally, the first Goliarn stepped out of the entrance, followed by a bald undead guard. Solus couldn't hear what they were saying, but the Goliarn seemed angry. Only when the bald undead raised his hand threateningly did the Goliarn back off towards the others of his kind.

Solus watched as they whispered amongst themselves before turning and striding towards the wide street near him.

Will they go back to Scathia?

His mind spun as he thought of the implications. Before, he hadn't had the option to follow the first group. Not without risking Sig and Laron. But now? Worst case, he would lose his body, but Sig should be safe with Drys soon, and Sig could explain after he woke. Besides, he could just hover above Laron and have him speak to Drys in his name.

Solus made a snap decision, swirled around, and rushed down the alley, quickly bouncing between the walls until he made his way up the roof. Dust swirled around as he landed, and he gazed over the edge. The Goliarns were shoving aside the dozens of other undead, moving in double file through the wide street. Most of the zombies hurriedly dodged into buildings or alleyways to get out of their way.

Solus followed them, keeping to the roofs and jumping across the gaps between them. He hoped they wouldn't leave the inner city.

The Goliarns kept to the main road, and in the distance, another gate that led towards the outer city appeared. It wasn't the same as Solus had gone through. A few dozen feet before the gate, a small road led between two massive buildings and away. The Goliarn moved inside hurriedly, and Solus barely managed to reach the other side of the road in time to see them disappear in another alley. The Goliarns had started running, and Solus flashed across the roofs, chasing them further into the inner city. They continued until they entered what seemed like an abandoned part of the inner city. By now, the only other undead moving about were also Goliarn.

The buildings became further and further apart, and after a few minutes, Solus had to brake hard, his nails scratching across the roof. Ahead of him was a wide-open area with a large, strange compound in the middle. A makeshift wall made of stacked together debris and stone surrounded a building of which he could only see the roof. The Goliarn he had followed moved towards the building, then split up. One disappeared through two slightly open massive bone doors inside a rough gate.

Solus looked at the buildings around him until he found the tallest and rushed towards it. Now he could see a small courtyard beyond it. A clatter and hubbub sounded from inside.

Now what, Solus thought as he looked at the building in the middle of the courtyard. It didn't look that special, just one of the many stone buildings he had made to house undead. There were more of them in this part of the city, and the only thing that seemed remarkable was the space around it and the wall.

He took a second look at the area around the wall and saw that other buildings had surrounded it but had been removed. Only some signs on the ground showed where they had been.

If she is there, how come nobody found her? Solus thought as he frowned.

Removing those buildings should have drawn attention, right? Scanning the area, he spotted a building on the far side that was closer to the wall. Deciding to get a closer look, he circled around, leaping across the buildings until he reached it.

Jumping down on the lower section, he moved to the edge of the roof and gazed out into the courtyard. A circle of Goliarns stood in the center, quietly looking at a pair of fighters. Also Goliarns, the two were slugging it out, their massive fists pounding into each other as they weaved and bobbed around. Inside the circle with them was another Goliarn, larger than the others, and Solus' sharp ears picked up soft words. It was hard to understand what she said due to the heavy breathing and clanking, but then he picked up a few.

She is teaching them, Solus thought as he inspected the fight.

Almost as big as Skull, they moved with practiced effort, dodging blows he wasn't sure he could have dodged if he was in their place with such a body.

A door sat in the building beyond, and Solus saw changes had been made. The entrance was widened, and the door was gone, replaced by a bone gate. He couldn't see anything beyond it.

He circled the compound a few times, trying to find a way in, but in the end, he retreated. There were Goliarns everywhere, and unless he was willing to lose his body in an attempt to enter, there wasn't a way inside.

I'll be back with Drys, he decided, turning away and heading back to the Pattern Hall.

He hoped Drys had left someone outside to greet him.

--

Laron sat in a large oval room, staring at the odd device in the center. His mind was slowly fogging over again, and it took all of his effort to keep himself in the here and now. Sig lay on a table, surrounded by more mana-orbs Laron had ever seen in one place, and Drys standing beside it.

"Come on, Sig. Wake up," Drys muttered.

When nothing happened, he groaned and turned to Laron.

"If Sig doesn't know you, you won't like the consequences of lying to me," he said coldly.

Laron shook his head. "I don't lie, lie. No, no," he sang.

"Don't talk like that!" Drys snapped as he began pacing through the room, his gaze sometimes drawn to the odd machine.

Laron heard he was muttering to himself again.

"Can't come to fix it until tomorrow. As if we have any time to waste!" Drys growled, before looking at a small cell at the back of the room.

Laron wondered who it was for. The chains seemed thick enough to hold anything.

A deep intake of air came from the table, and Sig sat upright.

"Solus?" he mumbled, then looked around.

"Sig!" Drys yelled, running towards the table.

Sig looked at Drys, and his eyes widened as he scanned the other.

"Drys?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, yes. It's me! Now tell me! Where is Solus?"

Sig pushed himself from the table, grabbing two mana-stones as he did.

"He isn't with us?"

Drys hissed in annoyance. "Would I ask if he was? No, no. Only the one who can't talk normally." He pointed at Laron, and as soon as Sig saw him, he sighed.

"Laron, where is Solus?"

Laron moved closer, gazing at the mana-stones before turning to Sig.

"He was outside, but then not?"

Sig frowned and turned to Drys.

"Don't look at me! I don't know what he is talking about or what is wrong with him."

"He has something in his head that is addling his mind," Sig said. Before turning to Drys. "You are… different."

As he spoke, he leaned over and grabbed another two mana-orbs, the first two having turned to dust.

Drys barked a laugh, then turned to the machine. "We will all be different if we don't get this thing working," he said as his smile turned into a sad look.

"What-" Sig began, but Drys raised his hand. "Not now. If we can get Solus here, our problems might be gone. We need to find him."

As the other two undead began discussing how they could locate Solus, Laron wandered to one of the windows and looked down. The world below was tiny and reminded him of when they were in the white bone forest. Hordes of undead meandered across the square, disappearing into the depths of the city beyond. From this high, he could see the city's edges, and the line where the stone buildings turned to bone was clear as day. His gaze drifted back to the ground far below when he saw something dark sneak across a roof.

Something dark and familiar.

"Solus is there," Laron said softly.

Drys didn't seem to hear, continuing his monologue, but Sig jumped forward and ran through the room.

"Where?" he asked.

Laron pointed, and Sig surged forward, his body changing into a cloud that engulfed everything in the room before oozing out of the tower that suddenly seemed far too small to hold him. He was so massive that he blotted out the sun, casting a shadow across the square below. Shouting came from below as undead scattered, dodging into buildings.

Sig draped across the building with Solus on it and a moment later surged back up. His fog form poured back into the building, and after a moment, a dense cloud filled the entire room. Laron couldn't see anything, and he walked around with his hands forward. As quick as the darkness came, it vanished again, and Sig stood in the middle of the room beside a large, spine-covered, quadruped.

"Solus!" Drys shouted, moving forward and looking down on the other.

"What happened? Why are you like this?"

--

Solus looked at Drys in surprise. The calm and intelligent undead that he remembered had a haunted look in his eyes, and his hands were moving around in jittery motions. The rest of his body seemed unchanged, though, showing that he hadn't evolved anymore in the fifty years since he had last seen him.

Drys rushed up to him, kneeling in front, and stared him straight in the eyes.

"You are Solus, right?" a slightly threatening tone accompanied the question.

"I am," Solus projected. "And it's good to be back here."

Drys sighed as he sat down, and his shoulders sagged. After a moment, he looked up, staring at Solus with a slight smile.

"I didn't think you would come back. Aren't you supposed to stay below ground to keep up the defensive barrier? Where is Tirella?"

"I don't know," Solus replied wearily before looking around.

Sig was standing close by, rapidly absorbing a massive stack of mana-orbs that lay sprawling on a table. Dust constantly trickled through his hands as the mana-orbs flashed brightly before crumbling. An odd machine stood in the center of the room. It reminded Solus of a device of the ancients. He frowned as he gazed at a cage, then looked at tables stacked with stone. Bone tablets lay everywhere, as well as a bunch of books which caused his eyes to widen.

Laron sat to the side, looking out of the window with unfocused eyes. As soon as Solus saw him, he recalled one of the reasons for coming here.

"Sig, you should have enough energy to fix Laron now?" he asked, turning to the other undead.

Sig nodded, and with two new mana-orbs in his hands, he moved towards Sig.

"What's the problem with him?" Drys asked as he got up and followed Solus.

"He has a thing called a Cestodia in his head," Solus said.

Drys stopped moving, his foot frozen midstep. Then he backed up rapidly, causing Solus to turn and stare at him in surprise.

"You know about them?"

"Yes. Over twenty years ago, we had a whole infestation of them. If Borl and Sam hadn't found a way to destroy them, you might have found an abandoned city."

"How did they destroy them?" Solus asked, noting that Sig had stopped at Laron and was watching them.

"They created a new pattern that we gave to a group of undead. They became capable of smelling the Cestodia while they were still inside undead, and we destroyed those."

"You didn't try to remove the cestodia?" Solus said as he shot up in shock.

The grey-skinned undead looked up angrily. "We did!"

Drys' anger faded as fast as it came, and he deflated as he sighed. "We tried many things, but we couldn't find a way to contain the Cestodia after removing them."

"Did you try ending them while they are inside the skull?" Sig asked.

Drys shook his head. "We had nobody able to do that."

It was quiet for a bit, all three of them in their own thoughts. Then Solus looked up. His canine snout wasn't able to convey the worry he felt, but it radiated from his eyes.

"Do you think Sig can do it?"

Drys resumed pacing, his hands flailing along again.

"I don't know! We never managed to evolve another undead like him-"

"Why not?" Solus interrupted in surprise. Drys should have the pattern, and there were enough mana-orbs in this room alone.

Drys continued pacing, but his hands dropped to his side.

"Shortly after you left, something changed. Our natural mana regeneration almost completely disappeared, and the amount of energy we gained from mana-orbs dwindled to almost nothing. Growing to how strong we are now has become almost impossible…"

"That's what's going on!" Sig blurted out as he held up one of the mana-orbs. "These things feel like they are almost empty!"

"They are much better already," Drys said as he glanced at the orb. "Over the years, the energy increased again, although they are still far from what you remember."

"It happened shortly after I left?" Solus asked, getting an idea of what might be happening.

"Less than a day after you left," Drys said. "We couldn't find out why this was. Borl, Sam, and I researched it for years, but all we could find was that the ambient mana seemed to have dropped."

"Viridi died," Solus said as he remembered the powerful world elemental. "The barrier she was holding around the world was replaced with one that Tirella and I powered. I think that has something to do with."

Drys was quiet for a while, then nodded. "Possibly. But it's impossible to know for certain. All I know is that it has caused a myriad of problems."

As their discussion continued, Drys began acting more and more like Solus remembered.

"Alright- but that doesn't fix Laron," Solus said as he turned to Sig. "Do you think you can remove that thing?"

Sig nodded as he crushed another two mana-orbs to dust. "Yes, but I'll probably be draining all of the orbs on that table after."

"Take what you need," Drys said.

Sig nodded and bowed over Laron, and his head and hands changed to thin tendrils that entered into Laron's head. The slender black undead had no time to respond, as his arms just shot in the air, staying there for a while before he collapsed in a heap. Sig followed him to the ground, his eyebrows scrunched.

Solus and Drys watched in silence as Sig rummaged around for a while. Eventually, he pulled back, and his head and left hand returned to normal. His right hand, however, remained in a cloud-like shape, amorphic and dark. Sig was looking at it with disgust.

"How did you destroy these things?" he asked.

An insane cackle interrupted him as Laron sat up. His head lolled about, and his hands turned to claws that dug into his legs, pulling bloody stripes across the flesh. Sig stepped away from him, his attention now fully back on Laron.

"Laron?" Solus asked as he moved forward, Drys close behind.

Laron's head snapped up, his eyes spinning in their sockets. Each seemed to be looking at something else, but never for longer than a moment. He screamed, a high-pitched, unhinged sound.

"Sig, did you do something to his brain?" Drys asked.

"No, I didn't even touch it."

Laron jumped up, but his legs buckled, and he slammed into the ground. His arms and legs began flailing around as his head slammed into the bone floor repeatedly. A reddish smear appeared as his muscles quickly bulged up.

"Hold him, or he will destroy himself," Solus shouted.

The sight of Laron, who had helped him get back to his friends and was still the only one who could see him in his ghost form, made him panic.

Drys jumped forward and grabbed Laron around the back of his neck, hoisting him from the floor. Laron began flailing around, his head turning left and right as he snapped at Drys.

"It is almost like when the Lethargic ones go crazy," Drys said as he frowned.

A large mana-field erupted from him, quickly covering Laron. Immediately, Laron's smaller mana-field appeared, engulfed inside that of Drys.

Solus shared a look with Sig before both looked at the thing in Sig's right, formless hand.

"His mind is shattered, and it has been so for a very long time," Drys said after a moment. "It's almost as if he tried to create a pattern and failed. Then someone repaired it."

Drys looked at Solus. "Did you fix his pattern and evolve him?"

Solus stared at Laron. "Yes, but he was fine before we removed that thing from his head."

Drys looked at Sig's hand for almost a minute before he finally nodded as if he knew what was going on.

"Let's try something. Sig, can you put that back?"

Sig nodded as he stepped forward. Without giving Laron any chance, he stuck his fog-turned hand into the other's head. Laron's mana-field vanished, and his body went slack. It took Sig longer to replace it than removing it had, and when he finally pulled his hand back, he looked up with a frown.

"It shot straight for the brain this time, and I couldn't stop it without destroying it."

"Bile and puss," Solus growled.

"Don't worry," Drys said, still holding the unmoving Laron up. "Let's wait and see what happens."

Solus looked at Drys, slightly surprised, but the other was fully focused on Laron.

After another long wait, a soft groan came from Laron, and his hands rose to his head. His eyes opened up, blinking, then he looked up.

"Happened, what happened? Darkness… cold darkness for a long time. Then… light and pain? Pain… pain…" Laron shook his head, and Solus saw his eyes focus on him, an unfamiliar clarity slowly coming to them.

"Solus… I am… I am…" his eyes turned fuzzy again, and he shook his head as if he didn't want to continue.

Drys carefully put him down, and Laron stayed standing, although wobbly. Drys, Sig and Solus gazed at him curiously.

"Laron. Can you show me your mana-field?" Drys asked.

Laron didn't respond, and Drys frowned.

"Laron?"

Laron's head shot up, his eyes shining with a purple gleam for a moment. Then it vanished, and he looked around in surprise. "What?"

"Your mana-field?" Drys asked.

Laron nodded, and a moment later, his small purple and black mana-field burst into existence.

Drys moved forward and began inspecting it. His frown deepened, and he kept looking at Laron.

"What is wrong," Solus asked.

"Laron, what is the first thing you remember?" Drys said, ignoring Solus' question.

Laron looked up, shaking his head in confusion. "Darkness, cold… crawling, burrowing. Then light. Resistance…."

Solus moved closer, staring at Laron in wonder. The other's words were clear now, his voice having lost the drawling and repetitiveness. Laron's eyes flared up with a purple light, and it was as if a fog lifted.

"I am… not an undead?"

Drys tapped his finger against his chin, an odd thing Solus hadn't seen him do before.

"It looks like those Cestodia aren't what I thought they were."