Heather the Necromancer
Book 4: Chapter 22: I Stand with my friends

The tension in the air made Heather uncomfortable as Breanne and Skullman gave each other icy glares.

“I take it you know one another?” Heather asked to try and get them speaking.

“We were friends once,” Skullman replied.

“Oh, it was just friends?” Breanne asked with a shake of her head.

“You lied to me,” he accused. “Then ran off without saying a word.”

“I saved those poor people from the cruelty of the other players,” Breanne remarked as she came down the stone steps from the tower. “As I recall, you said you hoped they got away.”

“Not by attacking my friends,” he replied. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were?”

“After what I saw people do to monster players?” Breanne laughed. “How could I trust you wouldn’t turn me in?”

“Is this an undead and paladin love thing?” Quinny asked.

“Quiet,” Breanne snapped as she walked up to the dark-haired man. His face twitched as his eyes watched her approach. He showed no emotion except contempt as she arrived to glare it right back at him. “So, do you hate me?”

“For what you did, no. For running off without so much as a goodbye, yes.”

“I had no choice,” she replied. “If they had caught me and boasted about resetting me, would you have stopped them?”

Heather watched as he took a deep breath remaining silent as Breanne waited for her reply.

“Didn’t you just tell say good on me for sticking by my friends?” Heather asked when the silence went on too long.

“Friends don’t lie to each other, and keep secrets like being a monster player,” Skullman replied.

“Pssh, you never met any of my friends then,” Quinny laughed.

“Oh goodness, half of my friends were only friends in name,” Heather added. “Oddly, I find it easier to make friends here than I did in the real world.”

Skullman looked down as Breanne kept her place, holding her head high.

“I would have tried to make them see reason,” Skullman said. “I wouldn’t have let them reset you if I could have stopped it.”

“Then why do you judge me for feeling the same way about those other players?” Breanne asked.

“I didn't love those other players,” Skullman replied as his eyes returned to her. “And I would not have hurt my friends.”

“They were trying to stop me,” Breanne remarked. “I don't know why you even kept them as friends. They are nothing like you.”

“They were all good players,” Skullman pointed out. “They worked well together and had fun.”

“Maybe, but they had a sadistic streak,” Breanne countered. “The it’s just a game excuse doesn’t cut it in here. Those are real people who are trying to make real progress. You have no right to reset them just because you can.”

“We just talked about this,” Heather said. “You agreed it was bad.”

“I do agree it’s bad,” Skullman said. “But what can I do about it? It’s what players do.”

“You can stand up and be a voice against it,” Breanne argued.

“Like you did,” Skullman laughed. “You were nearly thrown out of the town. It took me hours to talk the others down.”

“The hero players in the necromancer lands enjoyed the lairs and dungeons of the monster players. They leveled together and built enormous complexes.”

“And then they started attacking their neighbors and turning them into undead that didn’t respawn.”

“We were attacked first,” Breanne corrected. “And I have no idea how or why they started doing that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he replied and turned to look at Heather. “It was lovely to meet you, but I need to go.”

“Oh, you're not going to kiss and then go upstairs to make up?” Quinny teased.

He looked away and headed around the path, leaving them behind. Heather looked at Breanne as he walked off to see she was near to tears.

“What was that?” Heather asked. “Did you have a relationship with him?”

“I did a few years ago,” Breanne replied. “But he didn't know I was a banshee, and when I found out how hero players treated monster players, I was afraid to tell him.”

“You hurt his friends?”

Breanne folded her arms and walked to the side. “There was a prison in the town. They were rounding up monster players for some tournament where players would battle them for sport. Of course, the monster players were well outside their layers, so they would reset if they died. I used my ability to pass through walls to sneak them out, but one of our mutual friends caught me. He wasn't so understanding and saw one more monster player to add to the tournament. He alerted some of the others, and I had to fight my way out. They knew who I was at that point, so it was too risky to try and find him. I ran and never looked back.”

“He seemed so nice,” Heather said. “I am pretty sure he was hitting on me.”

“I have no doubt,” Breanne said as she looked off to where he vanished around the wall. “He is quite the charmer.”

“Wait, was he just playing with me?” Heather asked, suddenly annoyed. A moment ago, she felt special that he was attracted to her, but now she wondered if she was just next.

“He was always a ladies man, but was faithful to his partner,” Breanne sighed.

“Why don’t you talk to him?” Quinny interjected. “He obviously misses you.”

“It’s better we go our own ways,” Breanne said. “Even if he wouldn’t harm a monster player, he wouldn’t stop another from doing it.”

“Ughh, sometimes I hate being here,” Heather growled. “Look at all the trouble this stupid system causes. No wonder the necromancers were trying to find a way to stop resetting.”

“Well, the letter said they were trying to make it so you could reset without losing your levels,” Breanne said.

“Isn't that the same thing?” Heather asked. “The more I learn about this, the more the necromancers sound like heroes, and the players in general sound like savages.”

“Oh, that isn't true. What about all those players who came to your rescue when that Moon woman kidnapped you?”

Heather rolled her eyes and looked around the side of the tower where he had left. “I want to talk to him.”

“Be my guest,” Breanne said. “But don’t expect him to change his mind.”

Heather sighed and ran down the path to find he had already cleared the graveyard, leaving three shattered skeletons in his wake. She dashed into the forest following the mossy trail into the darkness below the trees. Her pace slowed as she passed through the gloomy forest. Quinny had spent some points to add more mist in low areas and dense brush in others. She added a second open grave deep in the trees to ensure more zombies were wandering about. As Heather rounded a corner, she found four of them blackened and smoldering as if burned by fire.

“Sheesh, he moves fast,” she said and picked up her pace. A minute later, she finally spotted him, stalking down the path with his sword in hand.

“Skullman, wait!” she cried and ran after him. He turned to glance back at her before shaking his head and walking on. “Will you just wait a minute,” Heather yelled and ran the last few paces to catch up.

“I am sorry, but I need to leave,” he said as she fell in beside him.

“Why? Because Breanne was afraid to tell you the truth?” Heather asked.

“You don’t understand,” he replied. “I cared about her, but she isn’t a hero player.”

“So what?” Heather asked. “I'm a hero player, and all my friends are monster players.”

“And if the people in the northern cities find out, you will be treated as an outcast.”

“Plenty of people know already, and I don’t care what they think about it,” Heather said. “I have already helped my friends fight off dozens of them. All that matters to me is my friends are happy.”

“I felt the same until Breanne started killing them,” Skullman retorted.

“Did she have a choice?” Heather asked. “I don't know your friends, but it sounds like they were jerks, and you didn't want them to know how you felt.”

“Things are complicated in the north,” he sighed.

“Which makes no sense,” Heather argued. “This is a world built so we can achieve so much working together. Instead, we pride ourselves on preventing anybody from achieving anything.”

He went to argue the point when a loud snapping noise was heard from the someplace to their left.

“Do you have large animals in this forest?” Skullman asked.

“Giant bats,” Heather replied as she squinted into the trees. There was another cracking noise followed by a thump someplace beyond their sight.

“Something big is out there,” Skullman said. “Something from outside your friend's zones.”

“It can’t be,” Heather remarked. “Frank said the wild monsters won’t come into a players lair unless you lure them in.”

“Some monsters can,” Skullman remarked. “Regular spawns won't, but elite or legendary monsters will ignore player boundaries. They can rampage into a city if they want to.”

“Maybe we should go back to the graveyard,” Heather suggested, wanting to be closer to her minions. Skullman ignored her, stepping off the path to peer into the darkness of the trees. Two red eyes appeared in the distance, quickly followed by dozens more.

“Run back to your tower,” Skullman insisted. “Bolt your doors and raise any defenses you have.”

“What? Why?” Heather asked as the eyes started to come closer.

“This is a monster that is drawn to the undead,” he said. “It's called a corpse collector, and if the number of eyes is any indication, it has been feeding well.

Heather looked back to the eyes to see twisted humanoid bodies staggering out of the trees. They resembled zombies but were more bloated with mottled pink skin and heads that were just raised lumps on their shoulders. Where the neck should be was a wide maw filled with triangular teeth that gnashed as the beasts came forward. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Run!” Skullman shouted before a golden light covered him. He ran ahead and sliced at a monster, his sword burning a line across its rubbery body. He caused some kind of orange explosion on another before slamming the point of his sword into the ground. A glowing ring of yellow light surrounded him, burning all the beasts that came within a dozen paces.

“Wow, paladins are amazing,” Heather said before closing her eyes to speak with Webster. Her message sent; she held out her right hand, speaking a word of command as black smoke formed in her palm and became a scythe.

Skullman swung the massive sword with both hands as dozens more of the creatures came shambling out of the trees. They brayed like wild dogs, moaning and cackling in disturbing bursts. The beasts showed no concern over the burning light. He was quickly surrounded by the horrors which were intent on tearing him apart.

One of the monsters croaked and threw its arms wide as a black blade came out its chest and cut it in half, opening a path of escape. Heather met Skullman's gaze as she smiled and dashed at another, her scythe cutting a swath as she raced.

“I thought I told you to run?” he barked as he fell back, the beasts becoming a wall of horrid flesh as they piled in.

“I don't need you to tell me what to do,” Heather retorted as she pointed at a tree bringing it to life the batter and smash all the creatures around its base.

“You’re a flower singer,” he shouted as he cut another monster down. “You don’t have many offensive spells.”

“Says you,” Heather remarked and filled an area in the back with bees before running at a straggler near the side. She leaped into the air and sliced down, the point of her scythe splitting the beasts head. For now, her scythe and some simple spells would have to do. She had to be careful not to resort to her undead powers despite how useful they would be here. Instead, she dashed about the side, picking off easy targets with quick strikes, before running out of reach. The tactic worked, but their numbers were swelling. Dozens more were shambling out of the darkness to replace every one she cut down.

“Where are all these coming from?”

“From the corpse collecter,” Skullman shouted as he held a hand out and a ray of light came down, burning all the monster before him to ash. “There is a long tubular thing full of arms and mouths someplace beyond our sight. It is spawning them to kill things and bring it flesh to grow with.”

“Did they borrow monsters from horror movies?” Heather asked as she swung her scythe wide, clipping two monsters but failing to kill either.

“Are you kidding me? Some of our video games are full of horror and monsters from nightmares,” Skullman shouted and fell back as the wall of undead kept coming. “We might need to run. The two of us can’t hope to manage this.”

“Nah, we got your back,” Quinny said as she came out of the trees behind them with a dozen zombies of her own. “No zombies allowed in my forest unless I summon them,” she cried and sent hers rushing in to meet the tide of flesh. Black darts raced through the air, blowing holes in monsters as Breanne arrived in her spectral form and began to cast.

“I take it Webster alerted you,” Heather shouted as she fell away from a dozen beasts broken off to chase her. She caused a wall of plants and vines to grow in their path, slowing their pursuit as they tore through the foliage.

“He is very good at charades,” Quinny laughed. “You should have seen him dancing and shaking to try and tell us you needed help.”

“Where is Frank?” Heather asked as she dropped another cloud of bees.

“He went to get Umtha,” Breanne said. “He will be here in a moment.”

“How many of you live in this graveyard?” Skullman asked as he cleaved another but took a clawing rake to his arm. He staggered back and uttered a heal, restoring the wound before chopping at the beast again.

“I make friends easily because I see them as equals,” Heather replied. “And they all live in and around the graveyard.” She attempted to spray a few with her perfume, but they didn't seem to care. She had to stumble back as grotesque arms reached for her with black nailed hands. Quinny was at her side in a moment, the magic sword flashing and cutting one of the arms off.

“Woah, I like this thing,” she said. “Box cutter, the mightiest sword in the land.”

“Umm, are we winning yet?” Heather asked as more of the beast kept coming. Already there were dozens of them dead or wounded, but at least fifty of them still stood, pressing together in tight packs as they lumbered after them.

“We can't win unless we can kill them faster, or reach the mother beast,” Skullman said. “Look closely; they are dragging their dead back to be consumed and reborn.”

Heather took a moment to pay attention and see he was right. Dead zombie things were being hauled off into the darkness by their comrades. She could only assume he was right, and they would be back in moments.

“We need Frank!” Heather cried.

“I'm right here,” he replied and rushed out of the trees. Behind him came two lesser ghouls, a dozen skeletons, and thirty goblin warriors. They rushed at the wall of monsters like a scene from a movie, the two sides colliding in a wild frenzy of claws and spears.

“You have goblins?” Skullman laughed. “Are there froglings and ogres coming next?”

“I wish,” Breanne said. “These things were a terror in the necromancer lands. We used to form huge hunting parties to run them down and destroy them.” She dared to rush forward as a pack broke through and let loose a wailing cry. Heather felt her skin crawl as the monsters buckled and stumbled back, their skin splitting as sickly pink blood flew back.

“I didn’t know you could do that?” Heather remarked as the group of beasts collapsed in a heap of ruptured flesh.

“It’s an ability I am not fond of using,” Breanne admitted. “I hate how it kills things.”

“It was effective,” Skullman said as a beast flew over his head, it's chest torn open from the hulking ghoul that was Frank.

“I am fighting a tide of the undead with a second tide of undead,” Skullman laughed. “Can this day get any stranger?”

“Focus,” Heather shouted as she dashed to kill a beast that made it through Quinny’s zombies. “These things just keep coming.”

“They are dragging back your fallen undead too,” Skullman said. “We're just feeding it more fuel.”

Heather nodded and almost went to begin healing the undead before she remembered she couldn't. Instead, she focused on the goblins, putting her pulsing heal on any who were injured. She was shocked when blue arrows raced through the air and looked up to see Umtha casting spells.

“You're a wizard?” Heather asked with a raised brow.

“Umtha is shaman,” she replied and hurled another blue bolt, striking a bloated monstrosity in the chest.

Heather nodded and raised her scythe, determined to turn the tide. Wolves and giant bats began to arrive, called by Quinny, to aid in the fight, but they were quickly torn apart. She managed to summon a second pack of zombies using her special ability, but it only helped them hold the line. Franks hunting ghouls were faring better, tearing the foes apart easily in one on one fight. Unfortunately, they were often five on one, and the ghouls were looking battered. Frank was cut in a few places but ignored the wounds as he towered over the beasts, killing them as fast as possible.

“I need to consecrate,” Skullman shouted. “It will prevent them from using the bodies to make more.”

“But that will burn us,” Breanne shouted.

“We have to do something to stop this,” he countered. “If they can keep dragging their dead back, then all we're doing is delaying the inevitable. Not to mention, the more advanced monsters are probably coming.”

“What more advanced monsters?” Heather asked.

Breanne took a moment from her spells to glance at Heather and shake her head. “These things spawn undead slaves by eating corpses. If too many of the basic undead are killed, it will spawn soldiers to try and clear what is killing them.”

“You mean these aren’t soldiers?” Heather asked as she slashed another.

“No, Breanne said and pointed into the trees. “That's a soldier.”

Heather and the others looked up as it stumbled out of the trees. It looked like a tree itself. With three thick human legs, a stout trunk of flesh, with three arms on either side. There were eyes all over the trunk, and the very top was a gaping maw. It made a shrill wail and ran in like a charging bull trampling its lesser brethren.

Breanne fell into a spell, and a series of swirling blades raced from her hands to slice away at the beast. It produced gaping wounds that bled with a black liquid, but it charged on unabated. One of Franks's ghouls was attacked, the beast flaying open the ghoul's chest before lifting the body high. Heather watched in horror as the ghoul was deposited in the mouth, the teeth chewing it up like a meat grinder.

“There's another!” Skullman shouted as a second soldier appeared in the distance and charged.

“Maybe we should fall back to my tower,” Heather said as Quinny ordered her zombies onto the new threat.

“This thing will keep after us,” Frank said. “It can sense dead bodies, and especially loves the undead. It will batter your doors down and flood your tower with the lesser spawns until it consumes us.”

“What if we just run?” Heather suggested. “Forget the tower. We can run across the river and keep going until we're far enough away.”

“If we're going to do that, we need to do it soon,” Skullman said as he intercepted the soldier, using his holy powers to summon another beam of light. The creature wailed and thrashed but didn't die like the lesser ones did. Instead, six arms flailed at the paladin, three of which battered him and sent him staggering back.

“I got you!” Heather shouted and ran to his side, placing a heal on him to mend the wounds before turning to face the thing with him.

“You’re the bravest flower singer I have ever known,” Skullman laughed.

Heather sighed as she slashed at the body, cutting a grisly wound that didn't seem to matter. The beast used three arms to attack her while using the other three to claw for Skullman. Heather called up her nature armor just in time to be gouged by those long hooked nails. It cut through her armor and dug at her skin, leaving a burning sensation. She placed a heal on herself and pressed the attack, hoping to lop some of the arms off.

The second soldier arrived and was intercepted by Frank and Breanne, who were making a very effective team. Frank was large enough to shove it back, as Breanne tore it open with bolts of pure shadow. Still, he was taking more wounds, and his legs ran with his dark blood. The goblins were doing their best to handle the little ones, but those kept coming, and the goblins were slowing dropping. Heather realized there was a way to turn the tide of this battle, but like Breanne, she had to reveal her secret to Skullman.

“Are you really mad at Breanne for not telling you?” she asked as she dashed away from two grasping hands.

“Are we going to talk about this now?” Skullman shouted.

“I am afraid we need to,” Heather shouted back as she folded her arms to create a barrier of leaves to stop another series of clawing hands.

“I am angry at her for not telling me until it was too late,” he replied. “If I had known sooner, I could have changed things.”

“She couldn't tell you because of what might happen,” Heather said. “You can't blame her for other players making it too dangerous to tell anyone.” She finished her sentence by slicing a furrow across the horrid monster. The soldier was slowing from a dozen wounds, and she managed to cut a leg off, causing it to topple to one side. Skullman pounced on it, using a holy word to turn his sword to light before cutting the thing in half.

“We beat it,” Heather said in a pant. Skullman raised his sword and pointed to the distance as two more came out of the trees. Heather rolled her eyes and slashed at a smaller one as it lumbered over the dead soldier. “This is hopeless.”

“I told you to run,” Skullman said.

“And what were you going to do? Die in some heroic last stand?”

He shrugged. “It’s what paladins do.”

“Oh please,” Heather groaned and ran to the side to heal a fallen goblin. “If you are that heroic, why didn't you stand by Breanne?”

“I told you, if I had known sooner, I could have done something. I only found out when the friends she killed started respawning. If I had defended her, then they would all have turned on me.”

“So it's fine for them to drag monster players out of their lairs to kill and reset for entertainment, but if a monster player kills one of them trying to escape, it's a crime.”

“I told you it’s complicated.”

“It’s stupid,” Heather replied as she healed a second goblin. “And the good players who turn their heads and pretend they don’t see the hypocrisy are just as guilty.”

“You can't blame them,” Skullman argued as he prepared to meet another soldier head-on. “You have no idea what it's like to...” he never finished his sentence, diving out of the way as the zombie soldier's side exploded.

“Why didn't anybody come to get me?” Legeis asked as his battle armor stomped into the clearing. He pulled a lever, and a volley of black balls fired out of a hole in one of the arms. They exploded on contact, causing the soldier to wail and fall over three of its arms blown off.

“What is that?” Skullman asked. “How many friends do you have?”

“A lot,” Heather replied as Legeis stomped past, spouting a jet of flame before him to burn the horrid beasts.

“These things are bad news,” Legeis called out as he began to pummel the soldier zombie. “We should fall back to the river. They don't like to cross water.”

“And how do we get them out of the graveyard then?” Heather asked. “What if this thing decided to stay here and keep eating the undead that spawn?”

“It will grow to enormous size,” Skullman said before running in to hack a smaller one apart.

“Heather, we need your minions!” Quinny called as she staggered back, a deep gash in her side. “I can't summon any more zombies for a little bit, and my forest animals are all dead.”

“We need to run,” Legeis shouted as the second soldier bore down on him. He blasted it with fire, but it slammed into his armor, the two wrestling like titans.

Heather turned to look about and took stock of the situation. Half the goblins were dead, and many that still stood were wounded. Frank was wounded, and both his ghouls were gone. The skeletons were long gone, and only five of Quinny's zombies still stood. Umtha was still hurling spells from behind, and Breanne was wailing in support of Frank, but all in all, it was a losing fight. If this monster could keep spawning undead, then there were only three options. Run and give up the graveyard, stay and be overwhelmed, or…

“I guess you're going to hate me too,” Heather said with a sigh.

“Why would I hate you?” Skullman asked.

Heather turned to face the battlefield and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Rise and serve!”

Skeletons began to reform as dead zombies suddenly lurched and rose, a green light pouring from their eye sockets. Even some of the goblins moved, climbing back to dead feet and throwing themselves into the fray.

“You are a necromancer!” Skullman shouted in alarm as Heather reached out, and arms of bone burst from the ground grasping at the zombies in the back, slowing their onslaught.

“Just like Breanne, I was afraid to tell you,” Heather replied and ran to help Quinny. Even as Quinny was fighting, she cast mend the dead, then ran to Frank and placed one on him too. She bent over a dead goblin warrior and brought him back up as a temporary zombie, throwing him into the fight.

“What are you doing?” Skullman asked as she ran past him to Umtha.

“Turning the tide,” Heather said as she arrived beside the goblin. She looked down the path to see the open graves that spawned Quinny’s zombies. Some of her spells required a graveyard to work, but they were too far from Franks. Quinny’s open graves had four tombstones, so maybe it counted as a graveyard?

“Terrothos, et licarum, lichoss!” she shouted as she reached one arm toward the graves and the other toward her friends. Black tendrils of smoke poured out of the graves, racing to her outstretched hand before following her gesture and flowing toward the battle. They moved as if alive, branching out and touching Frank, Quinny, Breanne, and a dozen of her minions. All of them swelled in size with Frank growing bony spikes from his flesh as a purple light filled their eyes.

“What did you do?” Skullman asked in alarm as Heather’s minions began to slaughter the shambling beasts.

“From the grave, I give to thee,” Heather said as Frank let out a blood-curdling howl. A single blow tore the soldier in half, tossing the upper portion aside with ease. Breanne let out another wail that blasted the monsters from their feet, hurling them back in a great wave to shatter on the trees. Quinny now stood over two meters tall and stomped on a putrid zombie as she cut another in two with enhanced strength.

“You’re a powerful necromancer,” Skullman added as he stood still, looking on in shock.

“Howl from the grave is a first level spell. I augmented it with some talent points as I leveled to make it more effective,” Heather said as she ran back to join her friends. “Let’s make sure we are in control,” she said and fell into a spell. “I command you to obey me!” she shouted and pointed to a pack of the invading zombies. They paused in their tracks and twitched a moment before turning on their brethren as Heather smiled.

“You serve me now,” she said with glee as the pink zombies finally started to lose ground.

“You lied to me?” Skullman questioned.

“Please, as if I can go around telling people the truth,” Heather said in a cold voice. “Look how you reacted when you found out about Breanne. Think of what people would do to me if they found out the truth.”

“But you’re using plant spells?” he said. “You have to be a flower singer, how else could you?” He paused as his mouth fell open. “You’re a chosen!”

“And you’re a jerk,” Heather shouted as she sliced a zombie that was about to pounce on him. He turned to see the danger as more lurched in and rejoined the fighting.

“If they ever find out you're a necromancer and a chosen, armies will march out here to claim your head,” he shouted as they fought.

“People already know and refuse to tell anybody because they want the bounty to themselves.”

“How have you lasted this long?” he laughed as Heather’s boosted minions continued to gain ground.

“I have friends who I stand behind,” Heather shouted back. “And I don’t ignore bad behavior.”

“Easy for you to say,” Skullman replied. “You have nothing to lose but your levels. I would be blacklisted, and unwelcome almost everywhere I went.”

“You would be welcome here,” Heather replied.

“As I said, almost everywhere,” he replied as he stepped over the bodies as the enemies line began to falter.

“We can talk about this after the battle,” she said. Heather focused on healing, keeping the number of undead fighting for them as high as possible. A minute later, they were a dozen meters into the trees, fighting zombies coming in small packs. When possible, she healed goblins, but for the most part, she worked in support of her friends.

Frank was like a wrecking ball, tearing through the beasts with savage glee. Soldiers kept appearing but between him and Legeis, they didn't last long. Skullman called down pillars of light that burned the horrid things to ash, leaving them no bodies to take back. Quinny was able to summon more zombies and hurled a fresh pack at the beasts as they drove deeper into the forest. Finally, they saw the edge, where the trees came to an end, but a wall of flesh began.

“Oh, that's just disgusting,” Heather said as they broke through the forest into the plains beyond.

The monster was a tube of pink flesh five meters high and perhaps twenty long. Every three meters along its body was a massive spindly arm, like some horrid centipede from her nightmares. There were eyes in random places along the body, and smaller pods of flesh protruded in places, ending in mouths full of jagged teeth. Several of the pods were busily eating slain zombies that had been dragged back, reabsorbing the flesh. Even as she watched, large blisters grew on its body, reaching full size in twenty seconds before bursting with a sickening yellow splash, releasing another pink zombie.

“Hit it with everything we have,” Frank said as he led the charge, his body still surging with Heather's buff. Breanne struck it first, filling its hide with black darts quickly followed by Legeis's grenades.

“Heather's undead swarmed in taking care of the little one that kept rupturing from the monsters hide. She loosed a rotting bolt, but the beast hardly noticed. However, Skullman's holy spells were causing serious harm.

The monster let out a wail of rage that nearly deafened her, causing her to cover her ears. She focused on healing, as the beast stomped her undead and tried to drag them to a mouth to be consumed. She dared a few swipes, rushing in to cut off the fleshy pods, but the beast grew new ones. A sweeping arm took her off her feet, tossing her back as the monster flailed in rage.

“Ow,” she groaned and sat up as Breanne wailed into the side of the horrible thing. It's body buckled and began to split, blood spraying out of tears that appeared in the hide. A mouth suddenly opened, and a long tongue lashed out, wrapping around her.

“Breanne!” Heather cried and tried to get to her feet as the Banshee was yanked toward the mouth held wide to consume her. A flash of light saw the tongue cut in half as Skullman slashed through it. He caught Breanne and carried her to safety, tearing the rubbery tongue off her waist.

“You are rescued,” he said with a smile.

“Aren’t you afraid of what the others might think about you rescuing a monster player?” she asked.

“I am, but Heather is right, I can't keep ignoring their bad behavior.”

“You two can kiss and make up later,” Quinny shouted as an arm nearly stomped her.

“We're hardly hurting this thing,” Heather shouted as she cut one of its arms off at the elbow.

“I have an idea,” Frank said. “But it’s going to be messy.”

Heather looked over as he ran at the body of the beast and activated his digging skill. He lunged at the side and began to tear with his claws as if tunneling.

“Oh, gross!” Heather cried as blood and flesh began to pour out behind him like snow out of a snowblower.

The monster wailed, twisting its grotesque form around to try and dislodge him, but he was already inside.

“Keep hitting it,” Skullman shouted as he and Breanne rejoined the fight. “Don’t give it a chance to heal.”

Heather nodded as Legeis burned it with flames and was swatted out of the way for his troubles. His armor teetered back as he stumbled, coming down in a crash that rolled him out of the top. He scrambled to his feet and tossed a bomb by hand as he ran for the suit.

Heather pressed her undead to swarm over the thing, biting, tearing, and chopping as the horrid thing thrashed. It took another minute of savage battle, but finally, Frank burrowed out halfway down its length as the beast rolled to one side and twitched.

“Did we kill it?” Quinny asked as the undead continued to hack away.

“I think so,” Breanne replied. “But it’s very odd that something like this would appear here.”

“Odd how?” Heather asked as Skullman stepped up beside her.

“These are very high level and meant as big challenges,” he said. “You usually only encounter them deep into the wilds beyond the player areas. The further out you go, the higher level the monsters become. There are some truly terrifying things lurking out there.”

“Then how did this get here?” Heather asked.

There was only silence as the question went unanswered. How this creature came to be here was a mystery, one like so many before that suggested something more was going on. During the tumultuous fight, none of them noticed the two figures on a distant hill watching as the battle unfolded. The woman in white armor with golden trims and feathered white wings. The man wearing red armor with black trims and seated on a horse.

“Your plan has failed,” a woman said as she turned to look at the man on horseback. “The beast was meant to eat her friends and make her easy to capture.”

“It hasn't failed. It did exactly what it was meant to do,” he replied.

“You were meant to capture her,” the woman reminded.

“Only if she was a necromancer,” he countered. “Now that we know, we can deal with this properly.”

“What about Skullman?” she asked with a hint of a smile.

“He has served his purpose; I hope he found meeting his dear Breanne to be heartwarming.”

“It was genius of you to use him to draw them out,” the woman said. “If he ever finds out you used him.”

“He won't,” the man said as he turned his horse. “Let's go; we have to find the others.”

“What about the trouble maker?” the woman asked. “She is working on a plan of her own.”

The man laughed as his horse began to trot away. “Moon is a fool, and our informant inside her network says she isn’t near ready to mount an attack. We will throw this necromancer at Kevin’s feet before she even knows we stole her prize.”

The woman laughed as she turned away, following the rider.

“Farewell, Heather, we will be back soon.”

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