Mythica, Book 1, Chapter 11.

I included the updated cover art with Sabine wielding a weapon she'll find later in the book. 

Chapter 11.

“Orren, the ghoul is here. If you can hear me, keep away from the tree to my right,” Sabine whispered. Orren gave no indication that he had heard her and kept writing in his book, eyes glowing and quill moving at an incredibly rapid pace.

Sabine shifted position to place herself between the monster and Orren, readying her blades, both of which glowed slightly with her dark mana infusing them. She lay prone, burying herself inside the murky, and partially frozen sludge of the bog, hiding between Orren and the slowly approaching ghoul. Not needing to breathe was becoming quite the advantage as she buried herself completely in the icy muck and waited patiently for her target to step into range.

Sabine thought that it might be better to let the monster leap onto Orren and then finish it off while it was occupied with its easy victim. The thought felt unnatural, something that bubbled up from deep inside her undead mind. The corruption there urged her to use the most expedient method to defeat the ghoul. Sabine couldn’t bring herself to allow someone under her charge to be hurt. She was a bit horrified that the callous thought appeared in her mind as the first course of action, but she could ponder the significance of it after she dealt with the ghoul.

The ghoul slowly stuck its head around the tree, looking at Orren. Watching for several long moments, the ghoul finally committed, creeping forward and closing the gap between itself and Orren. Sabine watched it with her Eyes of Undeath, the murky sludge of the bog doing nothing to interfere with her mana-infused vision. The ghoul was only a step from her hiding place when it tensed up to leap. Before it could make its attack, Sabine emerged from the muck, both blades thrusting toward the ghoul.

The monster responded instantly, jumping back and avoiding her blades despite Sabine’s surprise appearance. Not missing a beat, Sabine stepped into her strike, slashing out with both weapons as she closed in on her target. The ghoul met her attack with one of its own, raking with its claws. Sabine deflected one of the gore-encrusted claws with her shortsword and thrust the dagger in her offhand deep into the monster’s chest. Dark mana caused the blade to penetrate deeper into the tough and rubbery flesh of the ghoul. It let out a shriek of pain as it scrambled away from Sabine.

Instead of continuing its assault, the ghoul crouched down, out of reach, as it stared at Sabine. She didn’t notice it at first, but the pain flared a bit as her mana began to repair a series of deep slashes across her ribs. The first claw of the ghoul had been blocked, but the second claw of the ghoul had landed its blow. Sabine’s wound was superficial, and the mana would have it closed in a moment. She took a step toward the ghoul, only to have it slink back out of reach.

“Come on then, fight or flee ghoul,” Sabine taunted, unsure if the monster could even understand her. In response, the ghoul hissed at her, and something in Sabine’s mind clicked, and she could understand the dead creature.

“Its body should be stiff and still now, why does the meat still stand? Maybe another slash, another taste, and my meal will be ready,” the ghoul said, its voice a raspy thing that sounded foul and menacing.

Sabine couldn’t speak to it, but she understood what it had expected to happen. Most humans would have been paralyzed in short order due to the corruption of the ghoul's claws and teeth. As an undead, Sabine was immune to the ghoul’s foul touch, eliminating one of the ghoul’s most dangerous weapons. Its claws were hideously sharp, but it posed little danger to her in close combat. Sabine would put a blade up against the monster’s claws any day.

Seeing an opportunity, Sabine pretended to come under the effects of the paralysis, dropping her dagger and topping over into the muck. The ghoul was hesitant, like a scavenger holding back until it was sure its prey was no longer a threat. Sabine made her body as still as she could, which was surprisingly easy in her current form. After a few seconds, the ghoul crept closer, stretching one arm out to rip into her back, the claws prying out a chunk of her undead flesh.

Seeing no response from its prey, the ghoul glanced toward Orren to confirm he was still out of it, then hunched over Sabine’s prone body, ready to begin his feast. Sabine readied her short sword, the blade was pinned under her body, but once she rolled over, it would be within striking distance of the ghoul. Her empty hand that had held the dagger was also infused with dark mana, turning her small fist into a deadly weapon.

“Why you taste dead already? Mmm, good, aged meat, just a hint of rot. The other one is likely too fresh to enjoy now, no, the chanting one will be stored under the bog for later, but you, you are ready to be enjoyed now,” the ghoul muttered to itself as it chewed.

“Sorry, I’m not going to be your lunch today, monster,” Sabine said as she rolled over. The ghoul gave a high-pitched hiss and tried to slash her again with its claws, but the monster’s arms were met with the slashing blade of her shortsword. The weapon clove through the beast’s skinny wrists, leaving the monster howling in pain and surprise. Not one to go down easily, the ghoul tried to rip at Sabine’s face with its mouthful of razor-sharp, and filth-encrusted teeth.

Sabine's free hand punched the ghoul in the face. The mana gathered there released its power, crunching facial bones, and shattering teeth. A follow-up stab with her short sword pierced the ghoul’s chest a good three inches before the monster was able to scramble away, its speed reduced by the damage it had taken. Normally the ghoul used its long arms to help it scamper away at full speed, now, it only had the severed stumps of its arms to work with.

Retrieving her dagger, Sabine assaulted the monster, stabbing and slashing with abandon, but the beast was hard to put down for good. It was like her, with few weak points, and those weak points it did have were unknown to her. The ghoul continued to fight, kicking with feet tipped in talon-like claws and trying to bite Sabine with the few unbroken teeth in its mouth.

“The bog ghoul has several weak points, including an organ that serves to digest its prey and a heart to push the sludge it possesses for blood,” Orren called out as he walked toward Sabine and the ghoul. His quill had been put away, but there was still a faint blue glow in his eyes. The book hovered, open, near his head and the glow on its pages shifted as Orren spoke.

In front of Sabine, the same blue glow from Orren’s eyes began to appear on the ghoul. The glow highlighted a section of the ghoul’s lower abdomen, as well as two spots on its ribs, approximately where the lungs would be on a living human. Seeing her target, Sabine began to concentrate her attacks on the areas that Orren was showing her. The shortsword cut deep into the ghoul’s gut, causing it to scream at her in fury and pain as its belly was laid open.

Noxious gore poured from the wound, but there was something else, something that only Sabine’s undead eyes could catch. The same black energy that powered her abilities also was present inside the ghoul. Mana leaking from the wound flowed into Sabine and joined the swirling ball of gold-flecked black mana that resided there.

Blocking a retaliatory kick from the ghoul with her dagger, Sabine thrust the short sword into the monster’s hide where the blue glow from Orren’s magic revealed a weak point. Empowered by her mana, the blade sunk deep, and she could feel some resistance to the blade before a popping sound was faintly heard over the ghoul’s howl. Stumbling back a few feet, the ghoul hissed at her one final time before collapsing.

“Is it dead?” Orren asked, his voice shaking a bit from adrenaline and fear.

“Yes, that thing was tough, but it’s down for good,” Sabine said.

“What do we do now?”

“I’m going to take its head, maybe there’s a bounty for this thing on Hammerhead’s board,” Sabine replied.

“That’s disgusting, and a bit horrifying. What will you do next?” Orren asked.

“I’ll head toward Golden Harvest Village to complete my other bounty. At least this little jaunt into the bog wasn’t too far out of my way. Hey, that trick you did with the book, how does that work?” Sabine asked, curious how Orren’s ability functioned. Magic wasn’t all that rare across the realms, but practitioners tended to fall into a few defined categories, and glowing book magic showing monster weaknesses wasn’t one that she recalled ever hearing about.

“It’s something passed down from my family, a form of magic inscription that we developed to defend ourselves on the road. Each book we create is infused with a bit of that power, but only one of our bloodline may activate it. Rather handy if I have someone there to support me like you did today, but it’s a bit inadequate if I’m on my own. Speaking of being on my own, I don’t suppose I could tag along with you to the village?” Orren asked.

“How about you show me the magic trick you did with that book in exchange for escorting you to the village and back to Hammerhead’s?” Sabine asked.

“I would if I could, but, like I said, it’s a rare type of magic contained in my bloodline. That’s not to say the book isn’t full of information that can save your life, because it could very well do exactly that,”

It was a long shot to learn some new magic, but Sabine would have been remiss if she didn’t at least ask. Escorting Orren would hold back Sabine’s pace, but she was also reluctant to let him saunter off into the dangers of the road. As much as she hated to admit it, Sabine had a bit of a vested interest in the young man. He needed to procure the book on Golgotia for her, as well as pay her the rest of what he owed. She gave him about 50/50 odds of making it back to Hammerhead’s tavern on his own without getting into further trouble. He wasn’t bad company either, not to mention that he didn’t try to delve into her background too much.

“You’ll slow me down, so I should get some compensation for my efforts. I’ll go easy on you, just another ten silver when we return to Hammerheads Tavern. Just remember, you’ll have to stay at this village while I do what I need to do there,” Sabine offered.

“I can accept that. Ten silver over what I’ve already promised, and you’ll see me safely to the village and then back to Hammerhead’s when you’re ready to leave. The only caveat I have is that when you go to confront whatever it is you’re confronting, you take me with you to document the threat,” Orren countered.

“Done, as long as you stay out of my way and don’t do anything stupid. If you decide to tag along on my bounty, I’m not responsible for your safety and if you become a problem, you’ll leave without any backtalk. Now, let’s get out of this bog and back on the road.”

“Are you okay to go? It looked like that ghoul hit you. A ghoul that powerful should have paralyzed you in moments once it pierced your skin,” Orren asked. This was where things could get sticky. She didn’t need some guy who could magically document monsters in his tome to get too interested in who, or what, Sabine was.

“Let’s just say that I’m really good at my job. While you have your magic, I have developed ways to combat things like paralysis. There are elixirs and other treatments that warriors seek out to improve their chances against such monsters,” Sabine lied. Orren seemed about to ask more questions for a moment, but then shrugged it off in his desire to get away from the bog, and as far away from the stinking ghoul corpse as he could.

As they slogged their way out of the bog, Sabine took a look at her status.

Sabine Giroux.

Revenant, Rank 1.

Gnessos’ Favor: 52/500.

Mana: 51%.

The ghoul hadn’t given her all that much favor from Gnessos, maybe because she was fighting a fellow undead. Given the enmity between the different minor gods of death, maybe the ghoul belonged to some faction opposed to Gnessos. Sabine figured that the limited favor was more likely the result of Sabine doing something that was only marginally tied to Gnessos’ objective. Since she had used the encounter to practice her skills and to increase her wealth for the trip to Golgotia, Gnessos must have figured to at least kick in some favor for the battle.

Her mana was also a bit lower than she would have liked. She had empowered several blows with mana, and used the active ability from Eyes of Undeath, but the wounds she had taken represented the bulk of the loss. As soon as she had enough coin on hand, she would have to invest in some armor to at least mitigate some of the damage she was being dealt. Better weapons wouldn’t hurt either.

As they walked, Sabine used the small sharpening stone to hone both her weapons. Both the shortsword and the dagger were of inferior quality and had dulled under her relentless assault on the ghoul. Both blades were still serviceable and they were also all that she had, so Sabine spent time as they walked to work on them. The mask she wore to hide her undead identity also worked to mend and clean her clothing. Ghouls were rather disgusting things, and despite being undead herself, Sabine had no desire to walk around in a cloud of stench.