The White Apple Campaign 5 - Corpses and Fog

Johnathan was able to use curiosity to maintain his mood on this trip. Until now. His books were lost. His plans shattered. And all the plants on this island were dead. One shred of living root would have been enough to keep him positive for one more day. But even that was denied him.

It was better waking up inside a tent. That cleric Ashlyn could be nice most of the time, if a bit blunt for his tastes. Why did she prefer Lenny over Ashlyn? Yet, as the sun rose, the tent was quickly becoming an unbearable sauna. Readying his spell ingredients and donning his robes, Johnathan stepped out into the putrid morning.

The so called Constable Hemswick had not slept the entire night apparently. There was a large ring of flattened grass surrounding the camp and the gruff man stood at the edge of it, looking north east. Johnathan’s shoulder ached at the sight of him, though the wound was healed by now thanks to the ministrations of his companions. No one else was awake yet. Being old had that perk. You always got a head start in the morning.

Eventually, the rest of the group rose and readied for another day of walking. Just like Johnathan, no one seemed very talkative today. The air was heavy and grey with mist that was almost drizzle. It made fabric and hair cling to the body. The kind of heat and humidity from which there is no escape. No bugs though. This is perfect bug weather. There really is no life on this island at all. How did we even set foot on it alive? To distract himself from the frustration, Johnathan started eyeing Uru who was waiting like a statue for the sleepy people to be ready to leave. He doesn’t need rest. Johnathan thought, chewing his tough breakfast. He doesn’t need this tripe either. The thoughts excited Johnathan a bit in a macabre way. He had dealt with undead before but this creature had wood fibers for bones. It was plants and immortality. A very exciting combination. Still the day was miserable enough so that when the trek began, all the excitement in the world could not keep Johnathan’s spirits up.

Giggling. What is Jr. laughing about? Johnathan thought. It was nearing mid-day and no one had spoken a word, but she might have seen something. Looking about, however, all the others including Jr. were stopped dead in their tracks as well.

“Did you hear that?” Vasher asked scanning the surroundings. Johnathan nodded.

More giggling. This time everyone clearly heard it, the laugh of a small girl. Not Jr. All around the mist drifted through the air and beaded heavily on the dead grass. The voice nothing more than a sound through the void.

“I’m going to try something. Watch your ears.” Vasher said, seeming to pinpoint the location of the laughter.

Then, he cupped his hands together and whispered something into them. Suddenly Johnathan heard what sounded like all the sound being sucked out of the air. It wasn’t that all was suddenly quiet, instead it was more like his ears recovering after after a gunshot, but in reverse.

After the whisper, Vasher drew his arm back and threw like he was tossing a ball out into the grass. The silence followed his throw and sound returned to the world as the invisible spell flew through the air.

Nothing.

Wait, did something just rise out of the grass? Johnathan though as the others watched, poised.

A bellow came from behind Johnathan and made him flinch. Hemswick had seen it too. Before he knew it Johnathan was watching Hemswick charge off into the distance yet again. Shortly after Hemswick disappeared into the grass, Johnathan heard him scream in terror.

That was the last straw. In a quick motion, Johnathan had his pouches open and was readying his components to roast the invisible threat. Then the ground fell out.

Before he could get his hands into his pouches, Johnathan felt his feet sink ankle deep into mud. Then knee deep. He heard Vasher and Jr. curse from somewhere nearby and witnessed Ashlyn and Uru barely make it outside the ring of melting earth. There was only so much time. Something else was sure to hit soon. Just as Johnathan turned to lay eyes on Vasher and Jr., flames erupted all around. He was always right…

Johnathan was no stranger to fire, but it was usually his own. He could feel this burst take off his eyebrows before he could cover his face with his flame retardant robes. In a moment the fire was gone but the damage was done. Lowing his arm, Johnathan looked just in time to see Vasher’s blackened body fall backwards into the mud, feet stuck awkwardly beneath him.

“Vasher!” Johnathan yelled as he started to desperately dig his legs free, panic rising. Vasher had healed him, maybe he could help in return.

But Vashers blackened hands were moving. Each twitch seemed to be extremely painful as burnt skin cracked and bled from the motion. He was reaching for something. What do you have up your sleeve you crafty tiny man. Johnathan cheered on in his mind.

From a satchel, Vasher’s fingers finally got purchase on a bottle full of red liquid. He popped he cork with a wince that made his lips crack open, almost like a bloody smile. Then he downed the contents. In an instant, all the black brittle hair on Vasher’s head fell away like ash as it was replaced with fresh white stubble. Then like someone with an awful sunburn, Vasher started scratching himself vigorously wherever he was burned. The blackened skin flecked away bit by bit revealing a pink, shiny and perfectly healthy Vasher underneath. So it was like a sunburn! Wonderful potion that. Johnathan mused, Im glad I had my robes on and I am so much bigger than him!

What about Jr.? Johnathan thought, swiveling, only to hear her high voice call out from behind him.

“Can you get rid of this stuff Lenny?”

Rogues had a habit of faring better than most folk in fights Johnathan had observed and he had yet another field example. She sounded fine as always. Maybe its those leathers she always wears.

Apparently ahead of her friend, Lady Ashlyn was already deep in prayer, knelling with a hand on her boot and the other on the earth. In a moment, the ground rippled and Johnathan was able to pull his legs free.

Thunder rumbled overhead. A tiny black cloud was forming in the direction Constable Hemswick had ran. Knowing what to look for, Johnathan quickly spotted Uru with his hand outstretched that very direction. Wasting no time, Johnathan grabbed a red bead from his satchel and threw it as hard as he could just beneath the tiny thunderhead.

Fire and lightning exploded together in the distance and something small laughed in Johnathan’s head, though the laughter was singed and shocked.

“Run! That way!” Johnathan yelled and the freed group ran to defend Hemswick as the smoke cleared from the spells.

Hemswick was laughing. He had fallen to his knees, hands clawing at his face, laughing all the while. Above him hovered a girl in an old white shift. She looked about seven years old. If a seven-year-old had been dead for a century. Her skin was nothing more than husks wrapped around old brittle bone. Her hair was a gauze in the wind. Inside her empty eye sockets, two red pinpricks of light peered out like sinister stars, distant but so bright. She smiled, somehow, as the last embers extinguished from Johnathan’s fireball. She could take far more than that.

Like the figure head of a ship against a hurricane, Ashlyn strode powerfully toward the hovering horror. She brandished her rapier and light burst from the tip of it like an arrow towards the girl. The light parted over the little girl like water over a stone, having no other effect. Lenny’s stance wavered and the girl grinned deeper.

“Silly person thinks they’re holy.” Rasped a hollow and paper-thin voice. “You’re just pitiful and scared. Your comfort blanket gods cannot rebuke me.”

“Stop!” Boomed a voice. It clapped through the thick air like boulders colliding and Johnathan could almost see the compression wave push its way through the humidity. It slammed into the smiling wraith with a snap, whipping her head back and causing viscera to explode from her ears. Then she hung there, still.

“Now’s our chance!” screamed Jr. as she whipped a throwing knife at the girl, lodging it deep into her chest.

Uru’s thunder cloud returned and rumbled in preparation. Johnathan dipped his fingers into some of his unused oil. Time for some flair.

As Uru’s thunder cloud spat out a gout of lightning, Johnathan pointed his three oiled finger tips at the girl. Three jets of red hot light shone from each tip, searing through the skeletal form as he gestured towards her. Along with the lightning, it seemed they might actually make it out of this.

Hemswick was still laughing. Blood was starting to run down his neck from the gouges his frantic hands were putting in his face. Her spell was still working. She was still strong.

The paper-thin laughter returned and the girls head rolled back forward, pinpoint eyes still somehow watching Johnathan even though she was looking at Uru. Her head snapped back and suddenly there was a knife right between her eyes.

“Take that you used rag!” Jr. spat from below.

The little girl looked lazily at Jr., snapped, and grinned. Jr. fell to her knees and dissolved into a painful and racking laughter. She held her sides and fell over in the mud shaking and rolling.

“You leave my friend alone!” Lenny yelled and another barrage of arrows shot from her rapier, again to no avail.

Vasher’s the one who stunned her. Johnathan thought when he noticed his friend clutching his chest and catching his breath. The others need me, I better make this shot count!

With a flourish, Johnathan took one of his last red beads and lobbed it at the girl. It hit the knife Jr. had lodged in her chest with a tiny ping, and the fire ball inside erupted forth.

The husk of the girl fell from the ball of smoke, trailing ash as it plummeted to the ground. It was over. For now. Johnathan thought with dismay. He knew what he had seen.

As expected, Jr. and Hemswick were calming down and getting back to their feet. Lenny and Vasher were already walking towards the corpse and Johnathan decided to join them. Drawing close confirmed that it was the remains of a small girl. Long dead.

“Lich” Vasher said quietly when Johnathan sidled up next to him.

“I believe so. Normal undead don’t have those eyes.” Johnathan agreed.

Vasher nodded silently.

“Its why your rebukes didn’t work, lass.” Vasher said to Ashlyn who was looking confused.

“It’ll be back too.” Johnathan went on. “Could be a day, could be a week. We’ll know when this vessel turns to dust.”

Should I tell them? Johnathan thought, looking face to face. Then decided.

“I can make it answer three questions if we wait till tomorrow.” He eventually said.

Confusion on every face.

“If I get some rest, I can cast a spell that makes it answer three of our questions. It can’t lie, or deceive us. Could be useful.”

“Let’s do it!” Jr. said first.

“I’m willing to risk it at this point.” Agreed Ashlyn. “I can carry it for you tiny ones. Because I’m a lady like that.”

Hemswick said nothing but scowled in his usual way. He might have been cowed for now, but he would not support this in the long run Johnathan could tell. Why did they save him in the first place?

“Well everyone, best think of three very good questions as we walk. I can potentially give us nine, but that would take all I’ve got for a day mojo wise.” Johnathan said joining the others as they gathered themselves to go.

The going was not good. The fight had left people bitter and sore and a deep silence pervaded the doldrums of the day. Johnathan was hot, he was exhausted, his books were gone, nothing was alive, and everything was wrong. Eventually, Ashlyn fell into step with Johnathan.

“Great work back there!” She said and she actually socked him in the arm. It broke something inside him.

“Please don’t do that.” Johnathan said nerves fraying.

“Oh I’m sorry!” She said and proceeded to try to hug him across the shoulders.

Johnathan raised his arms to fend hers away saying “I really don’t like touching, especially not now. Please leave me alone!”

The young half elf played it off cool, raising her hands up and stepping away, but there was real rejection in her eyes. I suppose she forgot I’m a cranky old man. Johnathan thought, actually somewhat content to have scared her away for now. Getting old really does make you care less about what others think, he thought.

Lunch time came and went, and people were markedly quieter than before. Vasher didn’t play, Ashlyn didn’t pepper Johnathan with questions, and the already quiet ones just exuded frustration. After a second leg of tense silent walking after lunch, the sudden sound of tinkling laughter made Johnathan jump out of his skin.

Swiveling in horror, he found Jr. and Ashlyn at the tail of the caravan. Jr. was laughing her tiny girlish laugh as she pressed her forearm against Ashlyn’s exposed belly. Squinting, Johnathan could see that they had scars that matched up. Ashlyn guffawed rolled her shirt back down and buckled her cuirass. Then she said something about dogs Johnathan could barely make out and proceeded to roll up a pant leg, hobbling along to keep up with the group. Jr. was already undoing her belt in turn.

“What are you two doing?” Johnathan asked, causing Jr. to pause just as she was about to pull her pants down.

Ashlyn paused as well and stared at her exposed leg, that is, what wasn’t covered by boot laces. Then the two looked at each other and started laughing all over again. Confused as ever, Johnathan found himself grinning awkwardly at the laughing women and thought he heard Vasher beginning to laugh as well. But no, Vasher was saying something. He grew louder and louder till he was shouting for the first time Johnathan had ever heard.

“Where are we going? Why did he bring us here? Why is everything BLODDY DEAD!” He yelled as he stopped and turned on a heel to glare at the now breathless Ashlyn and Jr. The mist had turned to a drizzle, causing the rest of the ash to wash from Vasher’s face, accentuating his stare with trailing black lines.

“What?” Lenny and Jr. said a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst.

“That thing is going to be coming back. “Vasher explained. “We might only get the three questions. Or none at all if that thing on your shoulder is dust in the morning. We need to think, hard, on what we are going to ask it or we might end up like it sooner than later.”

End up like it. Johnathan thought. Would that hurt? Certainly it would but Liches seem fine in the end it always seems.

“You’re right” Ashlyn said, straightening up in the rain. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep being ourselves or snap at each other.”

Vasher deflated at this.

“But you’re right.” She went on. “We’ll try our best to think of what we really need to ask.”

“I think I’ve got one.” Johnathan said, somehow able to think through his misery. Rain and robes did not mix. “We should ask if what made it is still here.”

“What made it” Jr. asked incredulously. “She seemed like a full lich to me. The way she was in my head…” She trailed off.

“Oh she was.” Johnathan confirmed. “But that figure that animated the sharks. It was more powerful than her. I think they might be connected.”

“Good point!” Ashlyn said.

“I think a good general question then is how do we stay safe.” Vasher added.

The group seemed to all consider that and then fell into their own musings, Johnathan included. There was just so much to ask about liches. In his nearing delirium state, Johnathan was finding it very hard to keep from thinking about academic questions over survival ones. His feet carried him on until the sun began to set yet again. The only change in the surroundings since this morning the presence of rocks here and there in the mud and matted dead grass.

Even though the group had rallied over the task of coming up with questions, none of the mirth had returned. Everyone mulled on their own matts and chewed their communal rations. It had been a miserable day. The husk girl had been placed on a rock nearby and her very presence made it hard to eat. The brute Hemswick simply collapsed on a towel in the mud and immediately slept. He must have finally raged himself out. Johnathan thought with a self-satisfied crack of his knuckles.

Eventually, Vasher said, “How do we stay safe, is what made you still here, and I think I have one more.”

“Go on.” Johnathan perked up.

Vasher glanced at Uru for a moment, who stood at the north east edge of camp. “Is he taking us to what made you?”

“Oh good one!” Jr. said. Ashlyn nodding by her side.

“He did attack the girl with us.” Ashlyn said, raising a finger. “But I still like it because he seems pretty lichy too and it lets us know if they are connected.”

Vasher nodded in the dim light of his illuminated spear.

“Well if we are all in agreement, I am going to bed.” He said. Then he turned his shirt inside out and it became a powdered night shirt that puffed as he slipped it on. “Heh,” he chuckled bashfully. “bit of magic to fight heat rash. I’ll be recharged in the morning anyhow.”

Then he dove into his bed roll.

His magic might not be as powerful as mine, but it sure is creative. Johnathan thought, readying for bed. Ashlyn found him again and offered her tent which he took obligingly. He was not about to give up free hospitality.

“Are you sure you’re fine outside?” He asked when she finished staking the tent.

“Sure!” She smiled. “I have all my things. And a solid canvas roll. And I sleep less. It’s the least I can do. Plus, it looks like I’m taking first watch anyway. Hey Jr.! I’m making you take second watch this time!”

Then she strode off into the night to recruit her friend, auburn hair braided expertly behind her to keep it controlled in the weather. Maybe I was too short with her earlier. Johnathan thought, collapsing into a fitful rest.

-

“So are we still all in agreement?” Vasher asked the next morning. “No new ideas for questions?”

Everyone shook their head. Everyone but Hemswick who protested the activities of the morning by stomping around impatiently until it was over.

“Right,” Johnathan said, readying himself. “She will only respond to the first person who speaks. So we need to decide who that will be.”

Everyone looked at Vasher. Somehow his hair had regrown to its flowing white locks and he looked like he had never met that fireball. Probably the same glamor magic he used on his shirt last night. Imagine, keeping up appearances at a time like this.

“I take that to mean you all want me to do it.”

“Makes sense. You are the charisma guy.” Ashlyn replied, Jr. nodding along.

“Alright fine. Let’s get this over with.” Vasher huffed and got up to position himself in front of the corpse.

When he was settled, Johnathan took a deep breath. The last time he had done this it was to the dead family gardener to find where he had hidden his heirloom seeds. This was life or death, literally and figuratively, and focusing for the magic was something else entirely. Eventually, Johnathan exhaled the incantation onto the fingertips of his right hand. They prickled for a moment, but no one else would notice any difference. Then he placed them gingerly on the corpse girl’s forehead.

The corpse snapped up into a seated position immediately, causing a gasp from the ring of people. Luckily no one spoke by accident. The skeleton girl looked lazily from person to person, though the red lights were no longer in her empty sockets. Finally, Vasher spoke up in a voice more commanding than his usual patter. Almost like the voice from the fight the day before but less booming.

“Is the one who made you still here?” He said enunciating every word.

Wind rasped through the corpse’s unmoving jaw and the rattling sound formed into a “yesssss.” It was not the same voice the girl had spoken in before. Johnathan felt a chill run up his back at the knowledge that a more powerful magic was still present. Whether that chill was fear or excitement, he could not tell.

After looking from person to person, Vasher pressed on.

“How do we stay safe here?”

The corpse’s mouth quivered slightly this time and a mummified tongue lightly touched the roof of the things mouth to finally spit out the word, “Die.”

“Lovely.” Ashlyn said sarcastically. “Of course that’s what IT would say. Oh! I’m not supposed to talk!”

“It’s fine now.” Johnathan said. “He’s imprinted it already, it can’t even register us. Go on Vasher, one more.”

Vasher looked to his companions, then to Uru and Johnathan saw his eyes steel over a bit.

“Is he taking us to what made you?”

A quiver of the tongue again to the back of what teeth remained, “No”.

Then the corpse collapsed leaving the no to echo silently in the air.

After the moment, Johnathan perked up. “I can do that two more times if we need to before the end of the day.”

“Let’s just do them all now. No sense waiting.” Jr. said, crossing her arms.

“Well the only question I can think of now is ‘Does it hurt’?” Johnathan replied, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. Vasher in particular shot him a knowing sideways glance complete with raised eyebrow.

“Does our innocent Johnathan have lichly retirement plans?” all the theater returning to Vasher’s voice for the first time in days.

“I am a wizard. I’ve always been curious about it or any kind of immortality magic.” He replied, adjusting his glasses to avoid people’s expressions.

“Well hey,” Ashlyn said, “You are the one that lets us ask the questions in the first place. We can give you that question.”

“Agreed.” Vasher said. Jr. nodded again.

“However,” he went on, “We might get ambushed again by god knows what. How about we let Johnathan save his energy and we ask three questions again at lunch. Save the final three for right before bed.”

“My favorite kind of bed time story. One told by a crypt keeper.” Jr. said, deadpan, and got up to go.

“We leaving then” Hemswick said as she approached him.

She nodded.

“Fantastic.” Hemswick replied and then trudged off ahead to the north east.

In general, the going was better today and Johnathan noticed that people did seem a bit more adjusted to their bleak surroundings. The dead grass was slowly replaced by gravel and other larger stones, but still nothing alive or growing. Most wonderful was the clear skies today. No humidity or fog so people’s clothes and bodies could finally dry out completely. Ashlyn and Jr. walked together as usual and Vasher drifted between them and Johnathan depending on his pace, whistling or humming as he went. Hemswick and Uru led on, though as far away from each other as possible.

An hour or so into the walk, Johnathan felt a tug on his robes. Vasher was there on his left, gesturing discreetly for him to slow down. So Johnathan did. Eventually, he and Vasher fell into step with Ashlyn and Jr., whom he also gestured too. Once everyone was in earshot but a ways behind Hemswick and Uru, he spoke.

“I’ve been thinking about our whole situation.”

“I promise you we all have.” Jr. replied, unamused.

Vasher shot her a quick look but continued. “Constable Hemswick was on this boat to search for his wife and child right? So much so that he refuses to do anything else but search for them”

Everyone nodded.

“The crew mentioned to me in passing that they had manned the boat for five years before us boarding.”

“Go on…” Ashlyn prodded.

“What I am saying is that if his wife and child went missing a year ago, it was the crew that is to blame, not Uru.”

“I did think it was odd that they headed out to open water when we got here. Also they spent a lot of time trying to figure out why the ship changed course. If they were working with Uru to bring passengers here, they wouldn’t have cared.” Johnathan added.

“Exactly.” Vasher lit up. “I don’t think Hemswick’s wife and child are even here. Whatever evil is on this island it is not connected to that strange crew or Hemswick’s family. I think we were going to end up hoodwinked no matter where we landed.”

Silence.

“Well I don’t want to be the one to break it to Commissioner Limpwick.” Ashlyn said.

“Me either.” Jr. agreed. “Plus shouldn’t he have put this together himself by now? He knew more about the crew and that ship then we ever did. He’s a constable after all. Aren’t mysteries his job?”

“All good points.” Vasher said. “Now I can tell we are all on the same page.”

“Thank you for not making another boat pun.” Jr. said, earning an amused snort from Ashlyn.

“I only use those to break tense moments.” Vasher said with a wild grin. “I know how dangerous that kind of humor can be. Anyhow, I can tell, if you all are going to make me talk to the dead girl, you’re probably going to make me talk to Hemswick as well.”

All nodded vigorously.

Vasher rolled his eyes and finally said, “Fine, but I’ll find my own time to do it.”

“I don’t even like following Uru. Let alone talking to him.” Jr. said. “You know how in those fairy tales, idiot people always follow someone you know is going to bewitch them or something? The whole time you are yelling ‘Don’t go in there! The red cap is in there!’ or ‘Why is she listening to this huntsman in the first place?’, well now I get it. All around us is the most nothing nothing that ever nothinged. Faced with that, what else am I gonna do but follow the plant man?”

This got a laugh from all of Johnathan’s co-conspirators, which caused Hemswick to shoot a sinister, but curious glance over his shoulder. Then he shrugged and kept walking.

“Speaking of which, I have a question for said plant man.” Vasher said, then addressed Uru. “Excuse me Uru, on your fingers, how many days do we have till you get us to where we are going?

Without turning around, Uru raised his left hand and held up three fingers.

“Three days?!” Vasher said incredulously.

“What about food?” Ashlyn asked, priorities straight.

No response.

“Ugh! I mean, how many days till there is a place we can get fresh food?” She reiterated.

Three vine like fingers rose again.

“Are they the same place…” Vasher asked. Uru turned briefly, nodded, and kept going.

“Well I tried.” Vasher sighed. “Any one got new questions? It’s getting close to lunch time.”

“I can’t stop thinking about the seeds in my belly.” Ashlyn said, clutching her stomach. “Some nights its like I can feel them in there. It wakes me up at night.”

Johnathan could see how worried she was. He was curious about the ontology of the strange plants from the boat as well. He could help his friend and learn at the same time.

“Ah, that is scary.” Vasher agreed. “I think I can word your concerns in a way that will tell us more than one thing.”

“Go on.” Jr. said after her long silence.

“If I ask specifically, ‘is what happened to him,” Vasher pointed at Uru’s back “going to happen to you’?” He pointed at Ashlyn.

“How does that help?” Jr. asked.

“No, he might have something.” Johnathan added. “The knowledge the corpse has can only be what the lich has. It cannot lie or twist words. It’s like an encyclopedia more than a conscience until it reincarnates.”

“So, if it has an answer, it shows us that the girl that attacked us knows about the magic Uru uses. He may have attacked her, but if she knows how he ended up a green skeleton, she has to know more about who mother is or this green wood place. Could guide our next questions.” Vasher concluded.

“That’s great, thank you!” Ashlyn said. “Uru apparently got one of the apples in Hemswick too. He told me yesterday so we can watch out for him too.”

“I think the next question should be if we can cure it.” Jr. said, looking sadly at Ashlyn towering above her.

“Hold on.” Johnathan said. “What if she says no or doesn’t know?”

“Then we start asking about the phylactery.” Vasher said coldly.

“Ah, yes, that is a good idea.” Johnathan replied.

“What’s a phylactery?” Jr. asked.

“It’s the place a liches soul lives. This husk will turn to dust soon and reanimate somewhere near the item that houses her soul. If we destroy that, she’s dead for good.” Vasher explained.

“How do you know so much about liches?” Ashlyn asked at this.

“They are a common motif in a certain era of songs.” Vasher said, though Johnathan caught Jr. eyeing him suspiciously. Ah, lying perhaps. Johnathan mused. He was never good at spotting those, but he had never heard a lich song…

“Well that’s two potential strings of questions. I think we are getting better at this.” Johnathan said to move things along. Though the group was clearly wrapped in worry again about the coming knowledge. So, he let them drift apart as they walked quietly till lunch time.

-

Here we go again. Johnathan thought, breathing into his hand again. His breath smelled like dried fish. Lovely.

Just as before the remains of the girl shot up and looked from person to person. As before, Vasher sat in front of her ready. He looked from person to person until his eyes landed on Uru who was actually watching the ritual this time. Then his eyes grew dark and firm, uncaring.

“Is what happened to him,” Vasher shot a finger directly at Uru. “going to happen to her.”

The husk looked from Ashlyn to Uru and back to Vasher. “Yes” was all it said.

“Can we cure it?!” Jr. blurted out. The husk stared at Vasher. Jr. hit the ground with her fist and Vasher placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Can we cure it?” Vasher asked on her behalf.

“Yes” it rasped again.

“How?!” Vasher asked, jumping right past the agreed final question.

The corpse girl’s mouth was so old it took a long while for each syllable to form but she managed, “My. Master. Found. A. Remedy.”

Then her body fell to the dirt like a puppet with its strings cut and silence again returned to the group. No birds sang in the silence. No bugs chirped. No grass rustled. Only now did Johnathan realize why silence was so different here. It was true silence. What people called silence had all kinds of white noise hidden in it. That was life. It was all gone from this place and even his ears knew it.

Finally, Vasher said. “I’m so sorry I got carried away. I should have asked the agreed third question.”

“No.” Ashlyn said placing her hand on his shoulder. “You did that for me. I truly appreciate it. We could have worded that second question better anyway.”

“Agreed” Jr. said, pouting.

“Johnathan, we will ask your question tonight along with what we can about the phylactery.” Ashlyn said, turning from Vasher.

“Well,” Johnathan said sheepishly, “I am sure it hurts. Its just a morbid curiosity really. I can already think of three more important questions at this point. What is the phylactery, where is it…”

“And how do we destroy it.” Vasher finished for him.

“Precisely.” Johnathan confirmed. “You are very nice for trying to accommodate me, but we have bigger problems.”

Ashlyn broke into a big grin and nearly tried to hug Johnathan, but then he saw her think better for it, and lowered her arms into a make shift bow. I was too hard on her yesterday. But he let the personal space stand. At least he didn’t ruin her opinion of him.

The rest of the day Johnathan spent lost in thought about the coming round of questions. Everyone trudged on behind Uru, and only really commented on the nicer weather or how nice it was to get out of the mud. Before he knew it, Ashlyn was laying down the girl yet again for their macabre ritual. Uru didn’t seem to have been bothered at all by their suspicions and joined the circle again this time to observe. Then it was time. Another breath, another touch, and up she shot. This time, no one even blinked at the show. Johnathan’s new friends were getting rapidly accustomed to moving dead things.

With little hesitation at all Vasher asked, “Where is your master’s phylactery?”

Her empty sockets locked on Vasher. “In the Farland.” It rasped.

Johnathan heard Jr. whisper to Ashlyn, “Where is that?”

“No idea.” She replied.

Vasher went on, “What is your master’s phylactery?”

“A locket.”

Hearing this, all the color drained from Vasher’s face and he looked at Jr. and Ashlyn who also seemed shocked. Now what was that about? Johnathan thought. Apparently they still know things I don’t.

With a shake of his head to collect himself, Vasher asked the final question, “How do we destroy it?”

“Fire” it paused. “And prayer.”

Then it fell to the earth as it had before, inert and unsettling as any other long dead thing.

“What was that face after the second question?” Johnathan asked the still unnerved group. Causing them all to look at Hemswick who was already snoring at the edge of camp.

“It probably nothing.” Vasher said hesitantly. “But the last locket we all saw was in his room.”

He nodded his head towards Hemswick. “It had his wife and child’s likenesses in it, so it’s his, and he is with us, not in the Farland, but it’s a worrisome coincidence.”

“I see…” Johnathan said. It did seem like a stretch, but things were far past likely scenarios at this point. “Well, if she is still with us in the morning, we can ask more questions. But if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to rest after that last spell. That was our ninth question today. I’ll take the second watch. I’ve been having trouble sleeping anyway.”

“Thanks Johnathan! I am good for first.” Ashlyn said and then got up to patrol. She’s been so peppy today. Johnathan thought. I wonder if she is using it to hide her fear. Then he headed to the already set up tent and went to bed.

As expected, the next thing Johnathan knew he was being gently woken by Ashlyn in the dead of night. It was fairly easy to wake up with how restless he had been. Dreams of taking roots and vines of bone. In the waning moonlight, he could see that Ashlyn was afraid. Not the acute fear of combat or a mortal wound, but the deep fear of waiting on something terrible. The seeds, he thought, she said they bother her at night. Not wanting to worry her further, Johnathan ignored the look in her eyes for now, but spent the night thinking about every remedy he had ever learned. Somewhere before sunrise, he heard a sound like flowing sand. It was stark against the eerie silence of the dead land. Turning, Johnathan saw the corpse girl decaying to dust and blowing away in the wind. No questions tomorrow, he thought, reserved, and began readying his spell ingredients for the coming day.