I can't believe I'm looking for Gisa. She seems like the least stable of the pair and that's saying something right there.
Shaking my head at the strangeness of my situation I kept my eyes on the faint footsteps etched into the muddy ground, paying close attention to the bootprints. I soon heard a shrill whistle and even though it hurt my ears I followed it coming across Gisa and the same six zombies milling about. Seeing her standing over an open grave was a little unnerving especially as something near her feet started to scratch its way out, moaning softly while its fingernails scratched at the dirt.
"Do you like my new playmate?" Gisa asked and I nearly jumped when the zombie ripped its way from out of dirt, lifting itself up and out of its grave. Standing nearly a foot taller than Gisa it opened its mouth, letting out another faint moan as it shuffled over to stand beside its brethern. Swallowing I stepped closer noting the torn burial suit it still wore, dirt falling from it and from this close I could see one of its eyes was gone only a dark hole remaining.
Slightly sickened by the newly raised undead I waited as Gisa skipped over to me, acting more like a child than a grown woman who had almost casually raised the dead.
"It's...nice. So your brother's a little upset at losing to you." I answered after a pause and she rolled her eyes, throwing a strand of black hair over one shoulder.
"He's just jealous that I was everyone's favourite when we were growing up." Gisa giggled and I shrugged, looking back towards the castle ignoring the zombies who kept looking towards me. "My dear brother is such a sore loser." She added with a grin that sent a shiver down my spine. Not letting her see me squirm, which wasn't easy when I caught a whiff of her newest raised friend, I just nodded in agreement and she clapped her hands together with an amused smile. "Finally. Someone who agrees with me." She laughed and I grinned, echoing the smile as I considered why I'd chosen to talk to the clearly unstable woman.
"So are you going to challenge Geralf again?" I asked and she frowned, thinking about it.
"Not until he finishes sulking. I grow tired of his whining and I'm sure you do too." Gisa finally answered and I gave her a one armed shrug.
"I know just what you mean. Though if you can be patient maybe I can convince him to play with you again. Though I doubt he'll prove a match for you." I told her and she threw back her head, letting out a loud laugh that made me jump. Gathering myself I waiting patiently for her to finish before Gisa gave me a quick nod, heading further into the fog with her horde following at her heels.
Finding myself suddenly alone in the cold fog I shivered, pulling the cloak Jace had lent me tighter around my body. But it did little to warm me from the cold and I soon found myself heading back towards the castle seeking the warmth of the building, even if I didn't enjoy the company of a certain stitcher. Though his company was much prefered than his less than sane sister so in the end I retraced my steps finding myself standing before the wooden door within a few minutes of walking.
Pushing the remains of the wooden door aside I stepped into the castle and after listening closely I blinked hearing silence. Slightly confused I wandered towards the lab where I had last seen Geralf but I found it empty of the stitcher and I frowned, lightly tapping my boot on the floor as I considered my next move.
I wonder where he went? If he's not in his lab where else could he be?
I wandered around the lab for a while but there was no trace of Geralf and I sighed to myself, a littl annoyed that he'd wandered off while I was talking to his sister.
"Trust Geralf to leave right when I wanted to talk to him." I whispered to myself and that's exactly when a voice behind me spoke.
"What exactly do you want, Ailis?" Geralf asked and I shrieked, spinning around so fast I nearly knocked him back into the door he'd just exited. "Calm yourself." He scolded, his reflexes fast enough to dodge my flailing arms and a punch that would have left his nose bruised.
"Don't sneak up on me!" I snapped at him and his one eye widened. "Just don't." I added much quieter as I turned around, my back facing him so I could hurriedly wipe my now welling eyes.
"Why?" Geralf asked when I whirled around, nostrils flaring like an angry horse before he felt the tip of one finger poking him in the chest. "Ailis, have you been taking notes from my sister?" He asked with a slight smirk on his lips.
Realizing glaring at him wouldn't help I instead poked him a little harder and he narrowed his eye this time, staring down at me as I continued to stand there. "I'm nothing like your sister, stitcher so get that thought out of your think head right now." I warned and he just chuckled at me. The next thing I knew I had my left hand gripping Geralf's throat and his hands were weakly flailing at mine, his face turning a bright red as he struggled to breathe.
It wasn't until he tried to speak, his lips moving but no sound emerging when I released him and he hit the floor hard. After he stopped coughing he rubbed at his throat and I cringed once I saw the red finger marks around his neck. "That...was a little...uncalled for, Ailis." He coughed, using his open palms to push himself up from the cold labratory floor.
With no answer for my brief rage I remained silent while he climbed back to his feet and after dusting his apron with his right hand he crossed his arms. "Never sneak up on me again, Geralf." I whispered and without another word I started for the front door trying to hide my increasingly watery eyes. Perplexed by my unprovoked attack, Geralf followed keeping a foot behind me.
I could hear his approaching footsteps but I pretended not to notice, wiping my eyes instead as I struggled to understand just how close I'd come to strangling him. It wasn't until he cleared his throat that I finally stopped walking and after I turned back around I winced when I saw him rubbing his throat. "Ailis, if I promise not to scare you again will you promise not to choke me?" He asked and I sighed, rubbing at my eyes and he gave me a weak smile.
"If I did I doubt your sister would ever forgive me." I countered and he snorted, making me fight to stop myself from laughing when he screwed up his nose.
"Please. You would be doing her a favor. Besides you and I both know she would just raise me as one of her many undead." Geralf answered with a tiny smile that curled his lips and I found myself smiling back, silently grateful he could forgive my slip up so quickly.
Okay I'm supposed to be pitting one sibling against the other to give myself enought time to figure out this planeswalking thing. Now I'm worrying about losing Geralf's respect?
"Ailis, can you hand me that scalpel?" Geralf asked and I raised my head, seeing him looking directly at me. "Did you even hear a word I said?" He added with a slightly bemused smile when I gave him a slow head shake.
"Sorry but what did you say, Geralf? I was somewhere else." I explained and he calmly repeated the intructions. After I grabbed the scalpel, being careful not to stab myself in the process, I handed it off to Geralf. Giving me one more quick grin he returned his attention to the corpse lying on the slab. Leaning over it I watched as he slipped the blade into its cranium and I couldn't help making a slight gagging noise as he unhurriedly sliced its grey flesh.
Geralf nearly dropped the scalpel when I clamped a hand over my mouth to prevent a loud groan of disgust emerging. Raising an eyebrow at me Geralf tried to concentrate and it worked until I coughed again, immediately looking away with a hand over my stomach this time once I saw Geralf begin to lift the skin covering the corpse's forehead. Muttering under his breath, Geralf looking towards me.
"Ailis, if you are that queasy maybe you should wait outside..." He begin just as I rushed outside the labratory. "Until I'm finished." He finished, going back to his work as he tried to ignore the sound of someone throwing up in the room beyond.
"How can he be so casual about...cutting up a dead body?" I coughed, spitting onto the dirt outside the castle. Raising my head I wiped at my mouth with a less than steady hand. "Guess I was wrong about choosing him as the normal one. Maybe not normal but at least he doesn't giggle and prance around." I muttered to myself, giggling a little myself when the image of Geralf prancing around his lab like Gisa popped into my head.
Deciding to give the stitcher time to finish his creation, and for my stomach to settle itself, I wandered around the castle making sure not to enter the labratory until Geralf came looking for me. While I did I soon found a large oak door that resembled the front door that Geralf's previous skaab had torn down in its hastle to battle Gisa's zombie horde.
Carefully I reached for the doorknob and once I turned it the door swung open with the tiniest of squeaks. A little more confident I wandered inside closing the door gently behind me and I found myself in a room with a small bed and a table with a lit lantern. Staring at the flame I flinched and, making sure to give the flame a wide berth, I moved closer to the bed. On a much closer examination I found a well worn blanket covering the mattress and after staring at it I began to wonder just whose it was.
In only a moment my vision blurred and I blinked, clearing my eyes while I took a deep breath. "Wow...feeling kind of funny." I whispered, taking a long look at the bed. "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to check just how comfortable the bed is. Just hope its owner doesn't find me."
Climbing onto the mattress I lay back, finding that despite how threadbare the blanket was it was pretty warm. Wrapping it around my thin frame I relaxed, staring up at the ceiling as I considered my next move. I wanted to find my murderer but since I couldn't remember much of my previous life other than the last day or so as a human I found myself getting a little frustrated. That and a little tired since I had laid down that it was a little hard to concentrate when my eyes kept wanting to drift shut.