Dais of Undead

"Again."

He strikes again. The bone is resilient and doesn't cut easy. I hold the arm steady and tell him to cut. The sword drops, and more bone is torn.

"Tavus, forgive me. May you nurture the earth for the good of all."

The bone severs completely. The tablecloth is stained red. I attach the arm to my stump and hold it in place for a few minutes. When I let go, the arm falls. I expected as much.

"Hey, you. I remember one of them wanted to treat your wound with the heat of a blade."

"Yes. Um, it stops the bleeding, supposedly." He paled. "You're not going to do that on me are you?"

The fire is going strong. I am curious of what pain it will bring me. Stab wounds are getting a bit dull.

"Are you going to kill me? I k-kind of want to know."

"I'll think about it." I go to the fireplace and borrow Simon's halberd. I stick it in until it glows red. I go back to him.

"Hold it still." His fingers tremble as I bring my skin to the hot iron.

"That's um, not how it works."

The smell of burning flesh. Steam rises from the arms. I lift the halberd head immediately from the new pain. The skin on both arms turns white and bubbles like soap. The scent goes up my nose and gets worse. This is 10 times worse than being stabbed.

I wait for the bubbling to settle down. I don't want to endure this anymore than I have to. Come together, stitch together. Become mine. You cut off my arm, it's only right you replace it.

Oh, oh oh oh oh oh I feel something. A new connection. The pointer finger on my new arm twitches.

"Did-did the arm just move?" Carver's pale face becomes paler.

I knew it would work. The blade is probably too cold now. I need to reheat it and do it in one go, how annoying. No pain no gain. Ha! That's a nice phrase. I come back with the blade glowing even hotter. "Let's get this done quickly."

Carver graspes his dead comrades hand and pushes it in closer. I lay the blade on the intersection and begin welding my parts together. The skin sizzles and burns as I rotate it. Keep calm, bite back the screams. The skins melt and mix with each other, forming a grotesque mixture of both, gluing my arm and his.

I flex all five fingers and test my wrist. I can feel the blood in the arm sloshing around and flowing into me. The arm feels stronger than my old one, far stronger. It might be because the previous one was decaying and this one is fresh, or maybe because this arm is male.

Carver was covering his nose the entire time. "Are we done?" I could tell he was holding back the urge to vomit.

"What's wrong, getting sick?" I tease.

"Yes, very. I'm contemplating my moral compass right now."

"Ooooh, poor you. There are far more important things you should be worrying about."

"M-m-m-m-my life?"

"No, my leg!" I say cheerily

We repeated the process with his leg. It was far messier, but after it was done I had a brand new perfectly functional leg. Carver didn't even bat an eye this time.

Hmmm. I would like to fill these wounds with something, but skin grafting is a little too precise for me. The only other injury that matters is the shoulder one. I can't move my left shoulder well, but it's not a huge problem.

"So, um, have you decided whe-"

"Shut up and answer my questions."

He zips his trap.

"Now, who's this necromancer you guys were talking about?"

"The necromancer is the man we're hunting. He has a bounty on his head."

"Bounty? What did he do to deserve it?"

"Um, necromancy?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's illegal, I guess. It desecrates the dead, causes disease to spread. I don't know the specifics."

Things like illegal acts and bounties, those things only exist where there are people, where there are countries. I thought zombies and mountains of corpses was all there was. Good to know.

"This necromancer made all the skeletons outside the keep, and the zombies?"

"Ah, no. Zombies just happen when there's a lot of corpses around. This area happens to be a convenient body dumping spot, and a war happened here long ago."

"What war?"

"A war between humans and elves. This is a human keep, I presume."

"Who won?"

"It was a tie. Humans made peace with the elves and we're now as one." He scratches his head. "Feels weird talking about my species like this."

"Do you think I was made by this necromancer?"

"Probably. I've never seen a talking zombie."

"I'm an elf, not a zombie."

"You can be both."

I give him a look.

"S-so you say," he concedes.

"Where is he?"

"In Miryir, the city of the dead. It's to the southeast of here. Supposedly there's a bridge you can cross to get to it." Yes, I did see that city in the distance.

With my new body parts I need new clothes. I strip all the of the men of their belongings and assess them. I don't need wine skins or the food they have. There's a lantern and a few matches with oil. Havard happens to have clothes that fit me best so I put those on. I take Simon's chainmail and Tavus's leather armor. As for weapons, I think I like the halberd the best. Simon wore a mechanical sheathe thing over his back. It has a strap you sling over your shoulder and when you slip the halberd's pole in the middle of the tube thing it locks. Tavus's sword is nice, so I clean the blood off and strap it to my side. Lastly, I sample some greaves to complete my stolen outfit. It's a bit uncomfortable, especially the pants because of my uneven legs, but it's miles better than a dress.

I have nothing left. "Thanks for everything, you've been a treat."

"Oh." Carver looks calm. I guess he figures I'm not going to kill him. "What do you plan on doing when you find the necromancer?

It is true that I've been dead at some point. If he's responsible, then I shall have my revenge. If he is responsible for bringing me back to life, then I suppose I'll thank him. Whatever the case I want to know my past most of all. "I don't know."

"Good luck. I'll just be here, with my one leg, by myself."

"You can walk it off," Garnering sympathy with me is pointless. I've already committed one depraved act, so leaving him behind means nothing. Besides, I'm not going any place safe.

I see the evening skies when I go outside, knowing it'll be night soon. I bid this keep farewell and all the events that have transpired. I leave from the northern gates and head west. I weave through the bones of soldiers and broken weapons.

The air is cool, but the earth is still hot. I wonder if I'm part male now. I know I at least have a male arm and leg. Those men did consider me a female. Maybe it's only what people look like that matters. In that case I look like an abomination. They called me that too, and now they're dead.

I walk along the edge of the ravine and notice ahead of me an array of bridges. They're made of brown vines woven together and are wide enough to accommodate several people at once. They look burnt from the sun and there aren't any railings.

I see zombies roaming the chasm I once crossed. I can't believe I thought of them as people. They were people, and now that I recall, all of them were human. A human is probably the cause of this phenomenon. I suppose all the zombies are deviling the souls of the dead, as Carver said. Wouldn't it have been better to let my soul rest? Am I desecrating the souls of those who are a part of me, not counting the humans? I didn't choose to be this way or to come back to life. I am the victim here. It's whoever put me together who is at fault, not me.

I get to the bridge in the afternoon. When I step on the roots they sink a little, like a hammock, but stay firm. My first few steps are unsteady, and it feels like I'm walking on air. I won't die if I fall but it would be inconvenient.

Halfway across I get hit with vertigo. I take another step and my head spins. I look down to see how far I might fall. The distance changes when I blink.

There's no way I'm afraid. I've already fallen from here. Is it because I've fallen that I don't want to cross? I'm not spineless. I killed three armed humans. No, I defended myself against three armed humans. That was way scarier than this.

I drop to my hands and knees and crawl across the bridge. I enter the sparse shade of the trees and relax as I stand up. I can't lean on them but getting out of the sun is nice. I jump from root to root, avoiding the prickling trees to the best of my ability.

As I go, the trees cluster. The roots and bark knot together in a tangle, making it difficult to get through. Good time to test my new toy. I pull my halberd from the sheathe. It's lighter than I expected. I widen my stance and twist my hips out.

I slice the trees in my way. The bark explodes, and needles fly at my face. I narrowly avoid getting hit by them, but some prick my hands.

Thorns pierce my new right foot through my shoe, causing it to bleed. I raise my foot and see the roots have grown spikes. I jump over the felled brambles and make my way. The moon rises in the colorful clouds, while the sun disappears.

I spin my halberd around my neck. I twirl and sweep the area with a hard chop, taking care to keep my distance from the debris. I carefully hue the undergrowth and mind the shifting roots.

Spikes shoot from one of the trees. I protect my face with my arm. It stings like a bee, a new hurt. As I a run, more trees release their spike traps. I dodge and charge through.

The forest isn't ending, and night takes over completely. It's hard to see anything now and my body is covered in needles like a pincushion, except for my face. I fiddle with the oil lamp and light a small flame, then hook it to my belt.

The thorny plants are getting on my nerves. I swing and hit a particularly sturdy tree. Wood chips get in my eyes. I trip on a branch. Instinctively, I grope the tree to catch myself. Spikes inject themselves into my skin.

My hands and legs get stiff. The thorns and needles feel like they're sapping my strength. Soon enough. I can't move at all. The skin on my new arm turns purple. They must be venomous.

A few minutes and the situation isn't getting better. I try lulling myself to sleep. Nope, not working. Hard to sleep with needles up your ass. I remember experiencing something similar when I first awakened. Yes, there was a plant that had paralyzed me when I fell on it. Is this the same species? It's getting hard to move my head.

. . . How long is this going to last? I don't know how much time is passing. There's no sound, the trees seem close. I hear footfalls from somewhere far away. Is that the beast from a few days ago? It can come if it wants, but I will cut it down. Shit, the paralysis isn't letting me breathe It makes me feel nauseous.

"You Bitch!"

Where's that voice coming from? It's very close.

"We're down here."

I glance down. My arm, there's a face on my arm. The face has his mouth forced open by a knife and a large tongue coming out of it. It's angry

"I hope you're happy with your weapon. I did a lot to work for it."

My halberd has a torso spiked at the top of the point. It rains blood on the ground and whistles as it talks.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Simon. I'm the one who paid an arm and a leg."

I see a reflection of my face on the halberd. It shows my forehead growing a mouth and holes. The holes are gouged out eye sockets.

"Did enjoy eating my brain?. Did it taste good? Were you foaming at the mouth like some ravenous beast?"

It wasn't my fault. You chopped off my arm, almost killed me! You did it to yourself.

"Give us back our stuff."

Leave me alone!

"Give us back our lives," they moan

"I can't give you back your lives. You deserved to die for what you did. I did nothing wrong. It's your fault. It's your fault."

"You belong with us."

"Dead as the day you were born."

"Isn't living hard?"

The ground rises and I see a pile of corpses beneath me. They are made of an amalgamate of different parts, just like me. They move and reach out to me.

"Join us," thousands of voices ring in my ears.

"Give back what was ours."

"Return to where you belong."

This isn't real. This poison is hallucinogenic. It's no coincidence I'm experiencing this now. Or is it because I feel guilty? Utter nonsense. I felt guilt when I stole my rock and when I broke that dead person's neck, and especially when I killed those soldiers. Am I the one causing the hallucinations? Is it because I ate his brain?

"Yes. We are a part of each other now."

Should I atone for my sins and take responsibility? It's not a bad idea. I am a monster after all. Maybe it's time to be put to rest. The arms grab my head and neck and start to pull me under. The numbness spreads to my being.

I hear someone I've never heard before, giggling. Is the voice is coming from below me, or above me? It echoes on the walls like I'm in a chamber.

"I don't know what any of you are talking about."

There's a table above me, upside down and hovering. A doe is on it, already skinned and showing the rib cage. The eyes are lifeless. I hear the *shic* of a blade being sharpened by a rock. I see the doe's mouth moving.

"The moment we met everything you owned was mine. Stop whining and give me what I deserve."

Do not speak for me! I can make my own decisions. I want to move now. This body is mine, I own it. It belongs to ME. I regain movement my neck and head, since I protected them. I crane it down to bite the needles off. My chin hits an invisible thing.

"I want my arm back. You took it from me. You took it from me."

Will you shut up. The invisible thing is wrapped around my shoulder. It's thin like a vine. I wedge my lower jaw under it and chew on it. I bend my neck up and tear it apart. The voices become quiet. On my right arm I feel several of the invisible vines. I bite off the nearest one on my shoulder. I can move it now. I violently jerk my shoulder.

"This is where I belong," the deer says. "I like being torn apart."

I regain control of my arm. I tear the invisible stuff off my face and the world becomes clear.

Sunlight streams through roots. I'm underground hanging upside down, entangled in red vines from head to toe. I rip them off and something tugs at my skull. I yank them out. There are holes in my head. They were induced hallucinations after all. I had to have been here for a few hours for there to be daylight. I touch the sides of my head and feel little bleeding holes peppered in it.

Below are a pile of bones and skulls. My halberd is lying there among them. The few spots of sunlight that come through doesn't show me much except more bones. I'm not that high up actually. My face my is ruined. I'll burn this forest when I get the chance.

I draw the backup sword and cut my bindings. I fall and roll on the bone mound. I get my halberd back, still in good condition. The lantern at my side has run out of oil.

I hear growling in the darkness. I arm myself. I'd not be surprised if this is an animal den. In fact, I'd welcome it. I need to relieve some stress.

A tendril shoots from the darkness. I roll away. It follows me and I sidestepped and cut the end. The thing is a mixture of slimy flesh and bone. The beast howls and retracts the thing. I give chase but the howling is already far gone. I go to where the sound came from and find a tunnel. It's about half my height. I can crawl through it easily if choose. I check the perimeter of the den. I find several different tunnels.

If I wanted to, I could jump and grab a root to get out. There's far more plant life than actual dirt on the surface, so it would be dangerous to be caught in that death trap again. I dig into the holes on the side of my head, not bothering with the pain. Thankfully the wounds go only skin deep.

I need to get myself orientated before anything else. With one leg I jump to a gap in the roots and pull my head out. I didn't move at all from when I was paralyzed. I remember facing this way when I got to that tree, so that's where I'll go.

I find a tunnel in the general direction I'm going. I relight my lamp and get on my hands and knees to travel.

The tunnel dips and rises like a snake, but stays underneath the trees. Roots lace refreshing rocks that line the walls. Occasionally I discover a bone here or there. The howls of animals surround me. I think the beasts are afraid of my light. The tunnel branches into different paths. As long as I stay forward it doesn't matter.

The tunnel leads to a dead end. I backtrack and pick a different path. More tunnels. More choices.

Countless paths later I end up in another den. Sunlight still shines strong. I hear scurrying animal noises leaving the premises. They're afraid, as they should be. Soon the walls change. The dirt and rock become stone.

I get to a large nest at some point. I see the outline of large eggs nestled in the corners of it, along with the beasts protecting them. My anger from before cools somewhat. I wouldn't gain anything from killing them, except their anger. Ugh, little bastards. I leave them alone.

I see a huge opening the distance. Something like a caved sidewalk with black sludge running in the middle. An aqueduct? I crawl and make it the other side.

The walls are wide and I have plenty of space to stand. I feel the ceiling, concrete. The floors have a steep slant. This smell is familiar; shit and piss.

I'm in a sewer system, which means I'm in the city. The tunnel I came out from looked like it broke into this one. I walk the path. Along the way I see the remains of many people. They sit together in sets and holding each other, like family. They look perfect, absolutely no signs of decay or bugs, as if their sleeping. The dead mother holds tightly to the corpse of her baby. She smiles peacefully. Carver told me something about a war taking place. Were they were hiding?

I see the creatures that have been around me, now in full view. One is close to me. Its head is waist-high to me. Several tendrils fly from it, feeling the air. Globs of red meat stick to its fur like armor. It has no eyes or nose on its snout. It flees into a different tunnel when I come close.

The tunnel is circular, making it impossible to see the trail ahead. There are letters on the walls at certain points, leading to locked metal hatches.

I come upon a different batch of corpses. These wore armor and had weapons at their sides. The city guard. They have broken bows and rusted spears.

The corpse draws his sword and tries slashing me. I prance back before it lands. The guard moans and slowly gets up. Carver wasn't kidding when he said zombies just happen.

The zombie walks toward me. I get out of its line of sight and it turns its head to get me back in view. This is different, it's aware of me. Is this zombie different from the ones I've met before, or am I somehow different now? He seems angry.

I aim for the head and swing my halberd. It tried swinging his sword out me. My range is greater. Its head flew and the body collapses. Absolutely no challenge. I take the spear and hung it on a strap behind my back.

The end of the tunnel leads to the outside. The aqueduct comes through a giant wall. It is far bigger than the wall in the keep and is covered in thick vines. The land adjacent to it has grass and dirt and regular trees instead of that death forest.

I'm getting tired, mentally, not physically. Where would a necromancer be hiding? A place where he could work with the dead, no doubt. Well, that would be everywhere. The corpses here appear to be in mint condition, but I suppose good corpses would need their eyes. If I wanted to have good quality corpses I would go to a place where they'd be preserved. A cemetery, or a tomb. I suppose it could be either inside or outside the city.

I put my halberd behind my back and grab a vine to climb. The pushed-out bricks provide plenty of handholds. 20 feet. 40eet. 60 feet and the wind buffet me. 80 feet and it becomes hard to look down. A bit more. I get to the top by the time the sun sets.