Mythica, Book 1, Chapter 10.

Chapter 10.

“Can we please stop?” Orren whined. They had started on the road at dawn after Orren had a hastily prepared breakfast. It was now nearly noon, and they had been keeping a brisk pace for a human, which was a painfully slow pace for Sabine.

“Yes, right over there should be good. Start a fire and eat something, you look like you need it,” Sabine said.

“And you don’t look even the slightest bit winded, and the cold doesn’t seem to bother you,” Orren said with curiosity.

“That’s because I’m a warrior and my body is in fighting shape. You should learn to fight, the next time someone tries to kill and rob you, I might not be around to save your sorry hide,” Sabine said.

“I’m not completely helpless, our family requires us to take some martial training as part of our education. I’m actually a pretty good shot with a crossbow, and can handle a spear,” Orren said as he began clearing away the snow to start a small fire.

“Do you have a crossbow or a spear?” Sabine asked.

“Well, no, not at this time. That’s why I was relying on those hooligans to protect me and now upon your skills,”

“Never rely on someone else to keep you safe, when things are looking their worst, a lot of those you thought would protect you will prove useless. Practice, every day, and you’ll be able to rely on your skill, not the dubious intentions of others,” Sabine said.

“You handle yourself well in a fight, can you train me? I could see about getting some more money for you. My family stipend can be adjusted for such things,” Orren asked.

“Let’s just see how this little jaunt goes. If we don’t get eaten by a bog monster, and we both make it back to Hammerhead's place, maybe we can work something out,” Sabine offered. Training had always been part of her responsibilities, whether as a soldier or a mercenary, so teaching this guy for some steady coin wouldn’t be the worst thing she could think of. Maybe she could work with him while she was between bounties. If he had some basic skills as he claimed, it wouldn’t be too much trouble to teach him a bit.

“I’m going to prepare a bite to eat, do you want something? I have more than enough and I’m glad to share,” Orren offered.

“No, I’ve got my own rations, don’t worry about me,” Sabine said, she was prepared to sit there bored while Orren rested, but she felt a slight pull in her mana. Sitting down and concentrating, Sabine could tell it was the Call of the Grave. There was a graveyard nearby and she was curious about what their new rank had done for Hamish. Maybe he’d have something helpful to offer.

“Orren, you stay here and rest, I’m going to scout around a bit,” Sabine told him.

“But what if something happens while you’re gone?” Orren said, looking a bit concerned at the thought of being left alone on the side of the not-very-well-traveled road.

“I’ll be nearby, just shout if you need to. If there’s anything dangerous out here, I’ll probably be the one to run into it,” Sabine assured him as she walked north toward where she could feel the graveyard.

Just like with the first graveyard, this place was old, and likely forgotten, completely indistinguishable from the barren hillside she was walking toward. It was only when she felt the pressure against her as she breached the boundary of the consecrated ground that she knew she had arrived. A few stunted trees grew nearby, and a pile of rocks might have been the remains of some grave markers.

“Hamish, can you hear me?” Sabine called, not entirely convinced that he would find her so far away from their first meeting place. Near the pile of rocks, the ground shifted and opened as a battered skeleton clambered out.

“I’m back, what did I miss?” Hamish asked.

“Hey, you’re able to stand now, I take it that’s from our new rank?” Sabine asked.

“Why look at that, I have improved, and yes, it is due to my expert guidance and perhaps just a smidgen of your efforts. Now, give me the rundown on what you’ve accomplished since we last met,” Hamish said. It looked like he was back to his annoying ways. If time wasn’t a factor with Orren waiting for her, Sabine would have given him another swift kick to humble him a bit, though with him standing upright, it might need to be a punch instead.

“I’ve made it to Hammerhead’s tavern and we’re on our way to the first bounty. Some goblins have been causing trouble and we need to collect their ears to prove that we’ve dealt with them. Before we do that, there is a man named Orren Cavendish that has hired us to take him to find the area a bog creature is operating in. It’s on our way and should help with the coin we need to gather,” Sabine said.

“Good, but keep in mind that while we need coin, our main goal is to attract more of Gnessos’ favor. To gain his favor you must kill our foes. The other gods of death will be after the same objective and if you meet up with their champion on our quest, you’ll want to be more powerful than they are,” Hamish said.

“So, killing is the only way to gain favor? I thought we could do so through other means than mindless slaughter,” Sabine said.

“Certainly, Gnessos sleeps, but his will is still active with his servants. Occasionally you will have a task set before you that Gnessos wishes you to complete. Doing so will grant you more favor, but the easiest way to earn it is through battle. Death fuels both our master and ourselves. The other gods will be doing whatever it takes for their champions to become stronger, and we must keep up with them or become targets ourselves,” Hamish said.

“Targets? Shouldn’t the gods of death be working together to stop the Golgotians?” Sabine asked.

“That would be logical, but that is not the way our master and his kin operate. They are a jealous lot, and each seeks to destroy the others and gather their power. Should one of the lesser gods eliminate all his peers, they would have the power to challenge Death herself. Perhaps that is why they are so fractious, Death does not wish to be challenged, so she inflames their hatred,” Hamish mused.

“They sound a bit like humans. I’ve never met a king, but I’ve fought in enough of their wars. Hundreds were killed so one king, earl, or duke could claim another patch of land as theirs. I suppose the gods aren’t much different,” Sabine mused.

“You are perhaps correct, Sabine. Now, this place is ancient, but let me see what I can glean from this graveyard. Call me again once you’ve finished your current tasks. Perhaps by then we’ll reach the second tier of our master’s favor, and I can be a bit more proactive in my assistance,” Hamish said.

He rooted around inside the grave he had just stepped out of. After a few moments, he placed a thin gold bracelet into her hands. It was filthy and battered, but it was gold which was always valuable. After that, Hamish questioned her on the details of both quests. The one for Orren seemed pretty straightforward, but Hamish cautioned her on the goblin bounty, things didn’t feel right to Hamish, and as a god’s advisor, he was supposedly tuned into these things. Sabine would keep that in mind when she made it to Golden Harvest Village to face the goblins.

“One more thing Hamish. How does this mana inside me work? I have trouble controlling it the way I want to, it’s like it has a mind of its own,” Sabine asked.

“There are many theories on how mana works, but I know that the most powerful of mages have tamed their mana and made it a true part of them rather than a rebellious and reluctant servant. As we gain favor, I may have more insight, but for now, perhaps work to control it when you have the time. Traveling with a human means lots of tedious breaks for meals and such, use those times to focus on your new power,” Hamish said.

“Anything else you can tell me that might be of help?” Sabine asked.

“Hmm, not at this time, but I did notice something unusual when we attained our new rank. Through our link, I could feel your mana, and a small portion of it has taken root in my physical form. While I can feel this new bit of mana inside me, I cannot control it, maybe you can see what it is and if it can be of use to you,” Hamish said.

“Give me a moment to concentrate,” Sabine said as she focused on the mana inside her. At first it was just the same riot of energy inside her that she felt, but after a bit, she could sense something else. Focusing on Hamish, Sabine found she could see the link tethering the two together. It was like a dark thread from the center of her mana pool, to the center of the skeleton’s chest.

Inside Hamish’s chest, invisible to the naked eye, was a pea sized drop of mana. She could feel that while it was inside Hamish’s current physical form, it was actually part of her. Unlike her own mana, the energy inside Hamish was solely made up of dark mana and didn’t contain any of the golden flecks that were present inside Sabine. She tried to connect with the mana, to force it to do something, but it refused her commands.

“I think I felt that Sabine, the mana was trying to respond through our connection. This isn’t something I’m well versed in, I’m afraid to admit, but perhaps the knowledge will be granted to me once we attain the next rank,” Hamish said.

That was about all they could hope for, reaching the next rank and learning more, but it frustrated Sabine. She didn’t like having some god dole out small morsels of knowledge after she performed for him like a pet. She may not like it, but it was her lot in this undead life for the time being.

Sabine left Hamish, promising to summon him again when she reached Golden Harvest Village. On her walk back to Orren, Sabine thought about her existence. Most times, she still felt like herself, but at other times, she worried that becoming a revenant had changed her and that she was slipping further from humanity with each passing day.

She would fight to remain true to herself and remain the same person that she had been while still living. Part of that fight would be the need to find a way to slip from Gnessos’ control. Sabine lacked the power to do so now, but as she gained favor with this god of death, she gained power. Eventually, with that power, she might find the means to sever the bonds between them and allow Sabine to be truly free.

“Are you done with your rest Orren? We should get moving if we want to reach this bog before dark. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be traipsing around there at night with some monster on the prowl,” Sabine said as she returned to where she had left the bookish man.

“I’m ready, just let me gather my things,” Orren said. He was rather tall but skinny as a rail, and Sabine had no idea how he hefted the overfilled duffel bag that carried all his books and materials. Overburdened or not, she wasn’t going to offer to help. Just like she would with any recruit, she left Orren to realize on his own that you can’t always bring everything you’d like on a mission.

The road they were on didn’t head directly into the bog, for obvious reasons, but there were a few homesteaders, farms, and such in the area. It wasn’t safe to be so far from a large city and the guards it contained, but many people were willing to risk some safety in exchange for freedom. The tax collectors rarely made it out this far, and unless the rulers of the lands found a mine or other valuable resources in the area, they didn’t bother the inhabitants. They were close enough to bring their goods to town within a day or two but far enough away to be free of hassle.

“It shouldn’t be too far from here,” Orren said as he looked at the map. Sabine could see they were only a few miles from the sighting of whatever was lurking nearby. A single, rundown shack rested just off the road, but it appeared abandoned. From the dubious stains and shattered front door, the occupants hadn’t met a happy end. Sabine checked the shortsword and dagger, making sure they weren’t frozen in their sheaths and that she could smoothly draw them if they were attacked.

The sheaths she had taken from the weapons' previous owners weren’t very good, and the blades tended to snag a bit when drawing them. Sabine didn’t expect the weapons to have been kept up well, but the edges on both blades were sharp and while the blades needed some care, they weren’t too pitted up with rust. Among the many things she needed to purchase, a better sharpening stone and some quality oil to treat the blades with would be high on the list.

They pushed off the road and the ground became what you’d expect from a bog in winter, wet, frozen, and full of tall reeds. The smell of rotting vegetation wafted through the air, but the afternoon sun had burned off most of the fog that still clung to the low-lying areas. At night or early in the morning, the visibility would be horrible in this area. Sabine was glad they were tackling it in the afternoon. The weather wasn’t quite cold enough to completely freeze the bog solid, so they were forced to slosh their way through cold, partially frozen muck.

“How much further in do we need to go?” Sabine asked.

“Just a bit more, I believe this is part of the beasts hunting ground,” Orren said. He had drawn a larger tome from his pack and carefully held it open as he walked. They left the soggy ground and ventured deeper into the water-covered mud of the bog. Sabine worried about sinking, pitfalls and other dangers lurked that were just as deadly as some unknown creature.

“What is going on?” Sabine asked, watching as Orren pulled out a quill and started to write in the book. His hand seemed to move on its own, the page glowing with a blue light as the stylish script appeared and a sketch of the beast was made. Orren looked like he was in a trance, his eyes glowing with the same blue energy as the book while he worked. Not seeing any immediate danger, Sabine snuck a look at the entry.

Bog Ghoul. Unlike other ghouls that seek out graveyards and other places to feed their insatiable hunger, the bog ghoul prefers to reside in remote swampy areas where death is common. For the most part, their diet consists of rotting fish and beasts that they seek out with their keen sense of smell. Unfortunate travelers are a welcome treat for the ghouls, and they may even seek out fresh victims if there are any settlements nearby.

Cunning, the ghouls often rely on ambush attacks, using their corrupted claws to strike their victims. The bog ghouls have the same paralytic curse to their claws and bite that other ghouls possess, making them deadly if they get the first strike in…

It struck her then, if this was a bog ghoul and it was undead, she could probably detect it. Given its nature, it might already be stalking them. Closing her eyes and concentrating, Sabine tried to tap into her Eyes of Undeath. This was the first time she used it to actively try and detect an undead creature. As with most mana related things, it took Sabine a bit of time to learn how to use it.

Using the skill this way was not a comfortable process for her, her mana resisting the effort. Eventually, Sabine felt the dark mana in her center begin to flow toward her eyes. Sabine tried as much as she could to restrain the flow, wanting to seek out the threat, but not wanting to push so much mana that her eyes glowed, terrifying Orren if he happened to snap out of his trance right now.

She finally sensed it; the ghoul was on their trail, and it was close. Approaching from behind, the ghoul crawled slowly through the bog, using a gnarled tree and moss-covered bushes to hide him from sight. The thing would be in leaping distance once it rounded the tree. Its sense of smell had Sabine and Orren located, but it didn’t know that Sabine could see its undead essence even through the tree.

The ghoul thought it had the drop on them, but Sabine knew better. Energy flowed into her weapons as she prepared to ambush the ambusher.