ENTERING THE GAME
Chapter Fourteen
"Halloween Part I"
Beth looked around her. Where had the clubhouse gone? How'd she get in this field? Where had that old shack come from? Why was it is raining? It hadn't been a minute ago. Then she looked down at herself and squealed. Why was she wearing a...a leather bikini?! It was like...like she'd turned into her character! But her character should have been slim and muscular. To her embarrassment, she was still as fat as ever, her plump tummy hanging down over her bikini bottom, which had a very short skirt that got shorter and shorter until it was just a strap around her middle on the left. It was tied at the sides and except for the little ties there was nothing there on the sides, leaving very little to the imagination. She tried pulling it up, but it just settled back to where it had been and her belly flopped over the edge again when she let go of it. She covered her stomach with her hands. And her top had no straps and was kind of like a leather camisole that started under her arms and ended about an inch past her breasts and showed an embarrassing amount of cleavage. What if somebody came by and saw her dressed like this?! She'd just die!
What was that? Footsteps? She ran for a thick bush and hid behind it, not wanting whoever it was to see her dressed like this.
There was something funny about the way the person that came towards the bushes walked, sort of rocking from side to side. Was he drunk? Beth could feel her heart racing. She was shy and timid, and pretty much afraid of her own shadow. She crouched down behind the bush, and felt something poke her in the stomach. She felt cold metal and leather. What was this? She ran her hand along the leather. Was this...a sword?!
She didn't have time to think about it. The moon had come out from behind a cloud and she could vaguely see the figure walking jerkily past her. She screamed. It was a skeleton! Not a man in a Halloween costume, she could tell that even in the dim light, but an actual walking skeleton! She backed away from it, tripped over a rock, and fell over backwards. It had turned towards her scream and was coming towards her, swaying slightly from side to side as if it might suddenly fall apart, but it didn't. She wimpered as she struggled to get up. It was almost upon her when she finally reached her feet, and, without thought, pulled the sword out of its scabbard.
"S-s-stay back!" she sobbed, eyes blurred by tears. She shook so violently she could barely hold onto the weapon. The thing reached out for her. She swung. CRASH! The skeleton flew into pieces. She gasped. H-how? There was no way she could have done that. In fact, she was such a wimp, the sword should have been much too heavy for her to lift.
She decided not to think about it too much, at least not there. She didn't want more of those things to come at her! She turned on her heel and started to run. Ow! She stepped on something. She hopped on one foot for a few moments. Where were her shoes?
As she limped away, she sheathed her sword and tried to figure out what had happened. She'd written down things from those books, and somehow she must now be in the world of those books! She groaned as she realized she hadn't given herself anything to carry with her. No food. No clothing except this stupid bikini that chafed. Thank goodness she'd given herself a sword! She was sure the skeleton would have torn her apart, or, even worse, brought her to its master to do crazy experiments on her, like in that old movie, Frankenstein's Daughter, she'd watched with her dad one night.
"After him!" came a cruel sounding shout. "'Him?'" How could anybody see her in this dumb bikini and think she was a boy? Then she heard footsteps behind her. She looked back over her shoulder, afraid she'd see another skeleton or something even worse. Instead she saw a guy in a leather outfit running towards her. What did he want?
To her shock, he grabbed her arm and started dragging her along with him! "Wh-who are you?!" she asked. "What do you...?"
"No time to talk!" he said, tossing her over his shoulder like a bag of flour. "We thieves gotta hang together...or we'll hang together! Ha ha!"
"What?" Beth said, her head spinning. "Thieves?! I didn't pick thief, I picked assassin!"
"Thief, assassin," he said as he continued to run. "A rogue by any other name is still a rogue!"
She started to ask him why he was running and carrying her along. Then she saw three more jerky figures coming after them. More skeletons? "Where are those things coming from?!" she asked.
"A priest with no sense of humor," the guy told her as he dodged between trees. "He didn't seem too happy about loaning me money." He snickered. "Perhaps I should have asked first?"
"You mean you robbed a priest?!" Beth asked, her mind spinning. Everything was happening much too fast.
"It wasn't like his money was doing him any good sitting in that old chest, now was it?" he asked. "Hey, are they still following us?"
"N-no," she said. "C-could you put me down, p-please?"
"I must say, you're the politest assassin I've ever met," he said, setting her down on her feet. "So, you were sent to kill the old priest? Who's your client?"
"Client?" Beth repeated, still confused. "I don't have a client."
"So you were just going to kill him for his money?" he asked.
While she was trying to think of an answer it suddenly started to pour.
"Looks like we both picked a poor night to do our jobs," he said.
"I didn't know it would rain like this," Beth said, crossing her arms over her chest. She tried to sound calm, but her heart was pounding. This guy was a criminal! And he thought she was one too! If he realized she wasn't, would he rob her? Maybe kill her?!
"I did not think the storm would arrive so soon either," he said. "I'd best check on Lilastra." He looked over at her. "So what's your name, pretty lady?"
Beth felt her face grow warm and tried to suck in her stomach. Was this guy flirting with her?! No boy had ever looked at her before without laughing. She looked over at him. He looked a little like a hippy. His hair was long and wild and grew down to his shoulders, and he looked like he hadn't shaved for awhile. He didn't seem that old. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. Should she tell him her real name or make one up?
To stall for time, she asked, "What's yours?"
"They call me the Grey Stalker," he told her, causing her heart to speed up. He was a stalker?! Then he laughed. "Well, they will, one day, when I'm famous," he added. "Until then, you can call me Garan."
"Where are we going?" she asked, trying not to make a face as she stepped on a sharp pebble. How did natives on tropical islands walk around barefoot without hurting their feet?
"I'm going back to my tent to wait out the storm," Garan said. "You're welcome to join me for a cup of tea."
Beth didn't like tea, and going to a strange guy's tent sent off warning bells in her head, especially the way she was dressed, but maybe drinking something hot would make her feel warmer, and she couldn't just stand out in the rain all night. She was freezing!
"Don't make too much noise," he hissed when they reached a canvas tent. "I don't want to wake my sister."
"Oh, you have a sister?" Beth asked. Then he wouldn't try anything, would he? That was a relief.
"Half-sister," he said, lifting the opening in the tent and motioning for her to go on ahead of him. She ducked down and stepped into the dark tent. She couldn't see a thing inside. Then she saw a dim glow. He'd lit a lantern. He opened a box and picked through the contents, then tossed a dress at her. "Here, put this on," he said softly. "You must be soaked."
She picked it up then looked around for a place to change. The tent was far too small to have more than one room, and the roof was barely high enough for her to stand upright in.
"Um...do you have a blanket or something?" she asked.
He pulled something from the corner of the tent. "We have a spare," he said. "You're welcome to it for one night."
Beth laid down in the corner, pulling the blanket over herself. She removed her wet bikini, then, still covered with the blanket, pulled on the gown. She could hear him changing and squeezed her eyes shut with embarrassment.
Oh, please, please let this all be a really crazy bad dream! she prayed.
After a few minutes, she felt a soft tugging on the blanket. "W-what do you want?" she asked. Was he going to try something anyway?
"You forgot your tea," he said softly.
"Oh...th-thank you," she said, sitting up and taking what looked like some kind of bladder. Was this...was this really the bladder of some animal?! But she was still freezing, and it felt warm, so she forced herself to drink the tea, trying her best not to think of what it was held in.
They talked quietly while she drank her tea, mostly about the weather. She was sure he wanted to know who she was and what she was doing, but he didn't ask her. His half-sister must have been a very sound sleeper. When Beth finished the tea he took the cup and said good night. She said good night back, rolled deeper into the corner of the tent, and shut her eyes. Her head was spinning with questions, but the long walk and the strain of all she'd been through soon caused her to doze off.
...
"Seriously, nobody knows how to start a fire?" Greg demanded.
"You're so smart, you do it," Penny told him.
"You're a wizard, why don't you do it?"
"I didn't get that spell, I got shocking grasp," Penny reminded him, holding her hand out towards him. "Want me to show you?"
"You wouldn't dare!" Greg yelled.
"Don't you two ever do anything but fight?" David complained.
"Yeah, kiss and make up already!" Tom quipped.
"Gross!" Penny said, sticking out her tongue. "I don't kiss toads!"
"I don't kiss outside of my species!" Greg retorted.
"You only kiss rats, huh?" Penny responded.
During the argument, no one noticed that the demon girl had slipped away. Once a short distance from the cave, she flapped her wings and flew up the mountain. She had convinced them that the wings didn't actually work, the fools!
She was soon at the top of Midnight Mountain, and saw the light of a bonfire. Around it were several figures in robes. She smiled, baring her fangs, and landed in their midst. The figures were all women, all but one of them very old. The oldest looking one stepped towards her and threw herself at her hooved feet.
"The master has sent one of his children to us!" she cried. "What is your desire, dark one?"
S're-tal'gis grinned broadly. "Intruders are coming, sisters!" she called musically. "The master wishes them taken prisoner for questioning. Especially the females. One, little elf, has dared to reject the master..." She shook her fist. The woman did the same.
"She must be punished!" the oldest hag cried.
"Burn her!" came another.
"Hang her!" yelled a third.
"The other, a human with golden hair, serves the devils of the Hells!" S're-tal'gis shouted, making an expression of disgust.
"Damn devils!" the oldest hag cried.
"Kill them all!" another yelled.
"Skewer them!" another third shouted.
"I shall lead them to you," S're-tal'gis promised them. "See to it that none of them escape, but do not kill them until the master sends an inquisitor to question them!" That would be all she'd need, for these stupid women to kill them before the marilith learned what she wanted to know from them.
She spread her wings and flew back down the mountain. Now she had to come up with a reason to get them to come out of the cave and follow her up the mountain in the dark and the rain.
When she returned, she saw them still trying to start a fire. Perfect!
"Excuse me," she said, the act of being polite sticking in her throat, so she had to clear it. "Are you having difficulty starting a fire?"
"We can handle it!" Greg bragged.
"Did I forget to tell you that the magic sword at the top of the mountain can make fires?"
"Yes, you did!" Penny said. "How 'bout that?"
S're-tal'gis made a face at the elf girl. "It is quite powerful, and I just know that any one of you big strong men can wield it wonderfully!"
"'Big strong men'?" Penny repeated, making a face back. "I'm a fighter! Maybe I'll take it!"
"And I'm quite certain you'd do splendidly with it, little one," the demon girl said, voice dripping in honey that would turn men wild, but clearly just made the elf and the human girl dislike her even more. Well, they'd be dealt with soon enough, both of them, and, she was sure, for her trouble she'd be allowed to do some delightfully wicked things to the boys before they were sacrificed to her master, Graz'zt.
"Well, I guess if it can start fires easier than this, we should get it," David said.
"We don't all have to go, do we?" Linda asked. "It's so cold and wet outside."
"And my feet are getting all hurty stepping on things," Penny said.
"Then you two just stay here and we'll go and get it," Greg said.
What? No, that wouldn't do! They had to come with the others!
"You're quite right," she said to the other girls. "We are women, and we should leave such hardships to the menfolk. They're so much stronger and courageous!"
"You said it, babe!" Greg said, flexing his bicep.
"Oh, that does it!" Penny said, jumping to her feet. "Come on, Linda! Let's show these Neanderthals just how weak and helpless we women are!"
Linda sighed. She didn't want to go on, but there was no way she was going to stay here alone, especially after that display of chauvinism! "Let's go!" she said, pushing past Andy, even though he hadn't been in way, and stepping out of the cave.
Sre'tar-gis grinned as they started up the mountain again. Manipulating women was almost as easy, and almost as much fun, as manipulating men!
...
Russet fought the urge to whistle as she followed her brothers up the mountain. Copper would have laughed, and possibly joined her, but Bronze would probably have told her to be silent. It was growing dark, and Liga was setting. As they continued to move up the mountain, first Celene, and then Luna, began to rise.
"This climb isn't too difficult for you, is it, little sister?" Copper suddenly teased.
Russet felt her face grow warm. "Getting tired, brother? Would you like me to carry you?" she retorted. There were times when if he wasn't her brother she'd hit him.
"Is that how you intend to win a man, by offering yourself as a pack mule?" Copper asked.
"Is that how you intend to win a woman, by annoying her?" she replied.
"Enough gab," Bronze said. "Talk, talk, talk, yet neither one of you ever says anything!"
Russet went on without speaking for awhile. She wasn't sure why she was able to argue with and even insult Copper, yet she feared to anger her eldest brother. He had never struck her, except once when he'd paddled her rump red for complaining when they'd first been forced to leave their home, and walked for what must have been weeks through the wilderness. She kept telling herself she'd matured since then. Yet she was still doing stupid things. And all that training in battle "in case you need to fight, which you shouldn't since we'll always be there to protect you" hadn't done her much good. Her good mood from a few minutes earlier had been cut off abruptly, and she was glad it was raining, because she was fairly certain her eyes weren't suddenly wet with just water from the sky.
You are a dwarf, and dwarves do not cry! she scolded herself.
"Will you keep up?" Bronze's cry interrupted her thoughts. She was surprised at how far ahead her brothers had gotten. She hurried to catch up to them. "Coming!" she cried, walking faster.
As they continued to move up the mountain, the constant light rain gradually grew worse and worse. Soon it was really pouring, and the dirt beneath their boots was becoming slippery mud, forcing them to slow their progress. Russet shivered as water poured down the back of her neck, but didn't say anything. Dwarves didn't complain, and it would just make her brothers think even worse about her and women in general than they already did.
What was that? She listened carefully, and heard it again. A scratching sound. Where was it coming from? There weren't any trees along the trail. Some sort of burrowing animal? She decided to ignore it and hurried after her brothers. She didn't mention the sound. Copper would laugh and say she was jumping at ghosts, and Bronze would tell her to stop acting like a woman again.
And because she didn't look back, Russet failed to see the skinny grey figure following her.
...
Penny cried out as she stepped on yet another sharp object as they climbed up the winding mountain path. "Ow! My feet are all full of ouchies now!" she sobbed, prying something sharp out of her big toe. "How come you aren't stepping on things and hurting your feet?" she asked Linda. "Is it because you're a druid?"
"I don't know," Linda admitted, looking at the sole of her foot. "I can feel I'm stepping on things, but they don't hurt."
"Ow!" Penny cried again a second later. She hopped on one foot as she pulled a grass spur out of the other foot. "Darn it! What the heck are these stupid things, and why do they keep picking on me?" She looked up ahead at the boys, who had left the two of them behind to follow the newcomer. "How come her feet don't hurt either? Look at her jumping around like she's walking on a carpet or something!"
"There's definitely something wrong about her," Linda said, lowering her voice. "Just because she's dressed like that, they shouldn't be that crazy about her. Especially not Andy. Not after he..." She stopped, blushing.
"Not after he what?" Penny asked. "Did you two smooch?"
Linda sputtered. "What? No we didn't kiss! I've never kissed a boy in my life!"
"I'll bet she can't say that," Penny said, glaring over at the demon girl again.
"I'm sure she could," Linda told her. "If she'd lie about being a princess, what else has she lied about?"
"You think she's leading us up the mountain into some kind of trap?" Penny asked, rubbing her sore feet. "We don't have any money! Why pick on us?"
"If she's a really a demon then she might be leading us to more demons so they can...eat us or something!" Linda suggested. She shivered as she finished.
Penny's green eyes got very big and she shivered as well. "You really think so?!" she cried.
"Shh!" Linda hissed, putting a finger to her lips. She looked in the others' direction. "We don't want her majesty to know what we're saying about her!"
"Sorry," Penny said, lowering her voice. "Notice how she said she'd always wanted sisters, then completely ignores us?"
Linda nodded. "She knows we won't fall for her pouting and crying, and wiggling" she told the younger girl. "We're girls too so her flirting doesn't work on us."
"I wouldn't fall for a guy pulling that kind of stuff either," Penny told her. "Guess girls think more with their brains while guys think more with their..."
Linda gasped. "Penny! Really!"
"Andy's cheating on you!" Penny reminded her.
"He can't cheat on me," Linda insisted. "He's not my boyfriend or anything!"
"You know you like him," Penny said. "And until she showed he always liked you. That's cheating!" She narrowed her green eyes. "I don't know why men are so stupid! A smart woman with big boobs could rule the world, couldn't she?"
Linda sighed. "I'm afraid you're probably right there," she said. "She'd pick a guy that was charismatic but not very bright and get him to run everything for her. Everyone would think he was the one in charge."
"I shouldn't have picked elf I guess," Penny moaned. "They don't get big boobs."
"You don't need a large chest to get somewhere in life," Linda assured her. "You're clever and quick witted and fun to be around. I'm sorry you're stuck here too, but I'm glad I'm not the only girl that got pulled in here with me. If it had been a dumb cheerleader, she'd've been flirting with the guys too, and complaining her feet hurt, even if she had shoes."
"I don't think cheerleaders would play a game where you had to read," Penny said, smiling. "That'd be too hard for them!"
"What was that sound?" Linda asked.
"What sound?" Penny said. "I didn't hear any-..."
"Shh!" Linda told her. "There it is again!"
"You mean that scratching sound?" Penny asked. "I'm not making it."
"There it is again!" Linda repeated. "Like somebody dragging their feet!"
Penny looked around. "I don't see anything," she said. There wasn't really anything to see. Just bare, grey dirt, with little patches of ugly weeds here and there.
"Hey, come on, you guys!" Andy yelled. "You're getting too far behind!"
"Did he just call us guys?" Penny demanded. "He's crazy about you for years, but some bimbo in a skimpy costume shows up and he forgets you're a girl!"
"It's just an expression," Linda said, more to convince herself than Penny. Would she really have to wear something like that to get Andy to notice her? No! If that was what it would take to get him to look at her again, then who needed him?
The two girls hurried after the boy and the "princess", Penny continuing to cry out every now and then as she stepped on something pointy.
As it grew darker and darker, and the rain harder and harder, they no longer heard the scratching sounds that continued to follow them.
Or the source of those sounds.
...
Prudence sighed as she followed the others up the mountain. Despite hard living all her life on the streets, she was soon exhausted, while the old hags and the other girl seemed as fresh as if they'd been resting all day. Suzanne at least was young like her. How could those two old women have so much energy?
"Quick lollygagging, stupid!" Hepzibah yelled. Obviously she was talking to Prudence. Suzanne was in the lead, the show off!
"Coming!" Prudence gasped, forcing herself to walk faster. The trail was steep and sprinkled with pebbles, and the rain that had continued all night and all day had turned it into mud. Her feet hurt and the shoes she'd found were muddy and probably wouldn't last too much longer. Why wasn't anyone else tired or sore? Had the other hag taught Suzanne how to walk long distances over rough terrain without any bad effects? Hepzibah hadn't taught Prudence anything!
"We have to reach the top before nightfall!" the other witch said. What was her name again? "If your charge can't make it, we'll have to leave her behind!"
"You hear that, stupid?" Hepzibah demanded. "Stop your woolgathering!"
Leave her behind?! Would they really do that? Well, of course. They were witches, after all. Again she wondered if she really wanted to go through with this. If she didn't struggle so much she'd fall further and further behind. Perhaps she should just let this Suzanne have her place in the coven. Did she really want to join these old crones? But she still wasn't certain that Hepzibah would simply let her go and not do something to her. After all, she now knew that witches danced on Midnight Mountain. She might think Prudence would bring villagers back with her and attack them. As if anyone would listen to anything she said!
She jumped as something ran past her. A rat? There was no telling what sort of creatures might be lurking about on the haunted mountain. This more than anything else made her hurry herself along after the others.
Something brushed her hair. She waved her hands about her face. What was it? Much too big for a fly. A wasp? A bat? She'd heard if a bat got in your hair it would lay eggs in your head and you'd go crazy! She didn't want to go crazy! Why had she decided to find the old woman? She should have stayed in the village and tried to get a job sweeping cinders or something.
Her blood ran cold as she heard a howl. Another wolf? Whatever Hepzibah had done to make that one wolf leave her alone, she hoped she and her friend could do it again.
The sky lit up not far from where they were. The lightning was almost immediately followed by a loud clap of thunder that seemed to shake the ground. Prudence had to force herself not to cry out. She didn't like lightning or thunder, and avoided being outside when it rained if she possibly could.
Something flew in her face and she did cry out. Whatever it was, it was bigger than whatever had brushed her hair earlier. "Now what's wrong with you, you fool?" Hepzibah demanded.
"Something just flew right in my face!" Prudence told her. "It was so fast I couldn't tell what it was!"
There was another howl. "Listen to them!" the other old witch said. "Children of the night! What music they make!"
Music? They considered those awful sounds music? Was Prudence the only one that wasn't mad?
"Is that them?" the other young girl asked, pointing to something up ahead of them that Prudence couldn't see from where she was.
"Aye, that's them all right, girlie," the other old woman said.
"Better behave yourself or I'll turn you into a toad!" Hepzibah warned Prudence. She wasn't sure she believed the old witch could actually do that, but she hated to find out the hard way.
A minute later Prudence noticed the fire up ahead. Well, it was too late to make a run for it now. All she could do was hope she hadn't made the worst-and possibly last-decision of her short life.
At first she'd assumed the fire was magical, since it was burning in the rain. As she got closer, however, she realized it burned inside of three crude walls made up of logs with a wooden board set on top to block out the rain. More and more she was becoming less and less impressed with the witches.
That wouldn't last long.
...
Penny shivered. The rain was freezing, and so was the cold wind that had come up. "I think I'm g-getting frostbite!" she told Linda. The two of them were clinging together for warmth.
"Notice that 'princess" doesn't seem the slightest bit cold?" Linda pointed out to her.
"D-devils don't get cold, they breath f-fire!" Penny told her. "W-we should have stayed in the c-cave!"
"I know," Linda agreed, as a strong breeze blew their skirts over their heads. They squealed and pulled them down. "Notice she talked us into coming with them? Like she wanted to make sure we went up the mountain with the boys?"
"Yeah, maybe they want to put us in a cauldron and boil us!" Penny said. "That wouldn't be t-too bad, right now! At least it would be w-w-warm!"
Up ahead, Andy had finally remembered his sister and the girl he'd had a crush on for years. What was up with that girl for making him forget them like that? He called back to them. "Linda! Penny! You two doing okay?"
"No!" came the reply from his sister. "We're freezing our butts off! I hope that tin can you've got on rusts and you can't get out of it!"
"Didn't you guys buy robes or something?" Greg asked.
"Still calling us guys!" Penny complained. "We're not guys, stupid! We're girls!"
"And we left those robes in the cave," Linda moaned.
"Can't we go back and get them?" Penny asked.
"Don't stop now! We're almost there!" the demon girl urged them.
"Almost where? Hell?" Penny demanded.
"Watch your language!" her brother told her.
"And Hell isn't cold, it's hot!" Greg added.
"We need to go back to the cave and wait out the storm!" Linda insisted. "It's been getting worse and worse since we left it! Maybe we didn't have a fire, but at least it was shelter from the wind and the rain! We're going to get pneumonia out here!"
"Do girls always complain about everything?" Greg demanded.
"Do boys always turn into morons when they see a girl in a skimpy outfit?" Penny demanded back.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Greg said.
"That girl is obviously some kind of devil, but all you guys follow her around and drool over her cause you can almost see her boobs and butt!" Penny complained.
"What? We do not!" Andy insisted.
"She's just jealous because she knows even if she was buck naked nobody would look at her!" Greg said cruelly. "No boobs and freckles!"
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Linda gasped. Penny couldn't answer at first. She was too upset.
Greg shrugged. "Freckles are gross, everybody knows that. She looks like she's got measles!"
"If I did I'd give them to you, you big jerk!" Penny sobbed, tears in her eyes.
"Hey, don't call my sister ugly!" Andy yelled at Greg.
"You wanna make something out of it?" Greg demanded, raising his halberd.
"I'm sick of your big mouth!" Andy shouted, drawing his sword.
"And I'm sick of you, period!" Greg yelled back.
"Hey now, guys, fighting never solved anything," David told them.
"It solves a lot of things!" Greg insisted. "That's the whole point of this stupid game, remember?"
"Stop it before one of you gets hurt!" Linda cried.
"You mean before your boyfriend gets hurt, don't you?" Greg said angrily, turning towards Linda, who had hurried to catch up to the others during the argument. "How can you like him when I'm here!"
"He's not my boyfriend!" Linda yelled. "And what do you care? You're so crazy about that new girl, neither of you even pay any attention to me!"
"That's because she's got bigger boobs than you do!" Greg admitted nastily. "And she's not shy about showing them off like you are!"
"That's fine if you like floozies!" Linda cried, her face growing very warm. "I wouldn't want a guy that expected me to dress like...like..." she looked around. "Hey, where did she go?"
"Huh?" Greg said, turning his head. "Why she's right over...where is she?"
"I haven't seen her since Penny called her a devil," Tom said.
"She must have gone on ahead of us," Andy said.
"You two probably scared her," David suggested.
"I hope she jumps off a cliff!" Penny sobbed. She pointed her finger at Greg. "And you can jump off after her!"
"Penny! That's a terrible thing to say!" Linda gasped.
"I don't care!" Penny cried. She kicked Greg in the shin. "I hate you!" she screamed. "I h-hate you!" She clenched her little fists and started to hit him in the chest. "I hate you! Hate hate hate you!"
Greg had started to hit her back when she kicked him, but now he just stared at her. He'd wanted to beat her at name calling, but he hadn't expected this kind of reaction.
Linda pulled her away from him. "Leave her alone, you big bully!" she cried. "Don't cry, baby. You're not ugly. You're cute. And I like your freckles. I wish I had some."
Penny pulled free. "No you don't!" she sobbed. "Nobody wants ugly ol' freckles!"
"You jerk!" Andy yelled, throwing a punch. On Earth, it wouldn't have done much, since Greg was bigger and stronger than the other boy there. But here, Andy had exceptional strength, and Greg went flying to the ground. "Get up so I can knock you down again!" he yelled.
Greg swung his bardiche, hitting Andy's ankles and knocking him over with a loud clang. Andy struggled to get up, but his armor held him down. Greg jumped up to his feet and kicked Andy. There was another clang, and Greg grabbed his foot.
Andy managed to get back on his feet. He threw another punch, but Greg dodged this one, grabbed Andy's arm, and swung him around. Off-balanced because of his heavy armor, Andy was unable to use his greater strength to stop the other boy, and fell to the ground and rolled several times, making loud clanging sounds. CLANG! BONG! CLINK!
"Stop it!" Linda cried. "Stop fighting!"
Greg jumped on Andy's back as he tried to get back up and pushed him back down. "Say uncle!" he ordered.
Andy fell over backwards, crushing Greg beneath his armor. CLANG!
"Get up, you hippopotamus!" Greg yelled.
"Squish him flat, big brother!" Penny cried. "Kick his butt!"
"Stop it, both of you!" Linda yelled. "I wouldn't go out with either of you two ruffians!" She turned to the paladin. "David! You're supposed to be the leader! Do something!"
"Huh?" David said, blinking. He looked very confused. "I was Dungeon Master when this was just a game, but I'm no leader in real life!"
"Somebody has to be!" Linda cried.
"Um...uh...stop fighting..." David said softly. Tom and the girls rolled their eyes. Andy and Greg didn't even hear him as they continued their battle.
The group was too busy watching the two boys fighting to look around, and Andy's armor was making too much noise for them to hear the approaching footsteps.
So they were caught completely off-guard when the ghouls attacked...
...
Russet shrieked as something grabbed her hair from behind. Her brothers turned towards her, drawing their weapons. "Help!" she screamed. "Help me!"
"Zombie!" Copper cried, rushing towards his sister. He swung his mace. "Away from her, stinking corpse!" It fell back from the attack. Then a long, skinny, grey arm struck at him. It barely touched him, but Copper found his strength leaving him. "Can't...move..." He fell to the ground.
"Not a zombie, then!" Bronze yelled, throwing his axe at the snarling thing. "Ghoul!" The creature fell to the ground, huge ugly wound in its skinny chest. Bronze tried to help his brother up, but Copper seemed frozen, only his eyes able to move.
"What'll we do?!" Russet asked, hands covering her face as she watched Bronze pick up Copper and sling him over his shoulder.
"We get to a place of safety until he recovers from the monster's clutch!" Bronze told her, his eyes darting about for signs of any other attackers. He grabbed his sister's hand. "Hurry!"
As she hurried after her brothers, Russet heard something moving behind them. She looked over her shoulder. "Another one!" she cried. "Bronze, it's following us!"
"Keep running!" he commanded. "They're slow, clumsy. We can outrun them!"
Despite Bronze carrying their other brother, he was faster than Russet, and she struggled to keep up and not trip and fall.
As they climbed, the rain and wind and soft sounds of their movement were accompanied by a loud scratching sound.
"Brother!" Russet gasped. "Did you hear that?"
"I heard!" Bronze muttered. "Quiet so I can listen! It's behind that big rock we're approaching!"
"Then there's one waiting for us!" she cried.
"Quiet, I said!" I complained. "Gabby women will be the death of all men one day!"
Russet felt offended, but didn't say anything. Not until she looked behind her and saw another grey figure approaching. "Another one! Behind us!"
"I see him," Bronze said, laying Copper down. "So we can't go back the way we came. By silent while I try something!" He picked up a fist sized rock and threw it at the boulder ahead of them. It bounced off with a loud noise. A grey figure leaped out. Bronze threw his brother's made at it, staggering it, then leaped at it with his own axe. Despite herself, Russet screamed as the ghoul's head landed at her feet and rolled between her legs. She kicked it at the other girl that was coming up the mountain. To her disgust and horror it grabbed the head of its fellow, sniffed it, then bit off an ear and swallowed it!
"Will you be silent!" Bronze yelled, racing at the ghoul. "Watch over Copper until I finish with this creature, and keep your eyes and ears open and your big mouth shut!"
Russet moved to Copper, drawing her hammer from her belt. How many more of those horrible monsters were there? She looked down at her brother. Had he moved a little? How long did this paralysis last? Would he ever be the same again? Would any of them survive this night at all?
Despite her orders, she screamed again as she saw Bronze strike the approaching ghoul. An arm fell off, but it was still moving. She saw him jump back, his foot landing on a small rock, causing him to lose his balance. She threw her hammer at it. It struck it in the head and the creature fell. Bronze struck it once more on the head to make certain it wouldn't get up again. He cried out as his axe, which he hadn't been able to repair in the village, suddenly broke in half! He scooped up the broken piece and stuffed it into his pocket. He raced back and, after searching a few seconds, grabbed Copper's made. It was in sorry shape and looked like it might not last another fight.
"Come!" he called to his sister as he slung his brother over his shoulder again. He started up the mountain.
"Shouldn't we go down?" she asked. "There may be many more of them above us!"
"And maybe more beneath us!" Bronze told her. "This is not a good defensive spot. We have to hope there is a better place to make a stand at the top!"
"And what if there isn't?" she asked, mentally telling her legs to stop wobbling like jelly.
"Then we fight to the death!" he said, looking her seriously in the eyes. "Forgive me if I cannot save you, little sister. I can only do my best."
Russet gasped. Bronze suddenly seemed like her brother again, not the leader of the little that remained of their family. He seemed not all that much older than Copper, or even Russet herself. She realized he had become so cold and harsh because as the oldest he was trying to take their parents' place the best he could.
"I love you, brother," she said. "I-I want you to know that, in-in case..."
"If I fall, leave us!" he said. "You cannot help us!"
"What?" she gasped. "But-but how could I just leave you two?!"
"Because I told you to!" he yelled. His voice grew softer. "And because I love you as well, little sister." His face grew hard again. "No more talk!"
...
Andy was still trying to get up with his heavy armor when a long bony grey arm reached out and touched him. He fell back to the ground with a loud clang, and found he couldn't move. All he could do was watch what happened next.
Greg jumped back and swung his halberd at the monster. "Get away from me, you creep!" The ghoul grunted, and black blood poured from the wound, but it still reached for him. He backed away, waving his weapon in front of it.
Tom screamed when he saw the creature. He backed away, sure his staff wouldn't do much against the thing, even as skinny as it was. Not knowing what else to do, he started muttering his fog cloud spell.
Obviously terrified, David drew his sword and stepped in front of the two girls. "Run!" he said.
"Why isn't Andy getting up?" Penny asked fearfully. "Andy!"
"I don't think he can answer you," David told her.
"You don't mean he's d-d-..." she stammered.
"I think he's paralyzed!" he said.
"I didn't know zombies could do that!" Linda said.
"I don't think it's a zombie," David explained. "It looks dead but it isn't just staring at nothing. I think it's a ghoul! In D&D ghouls can paralyze people with a touch! Get out there!" He forced himself to move towards it. "I'll-I'll try to help Andy!"
"I can't shocking grasp it without touching it!" Penny said. "Wouldn't that paralyze me?"
"It doesn't work on elves," David said.
It didn't? Well, that was different then! Penny ran at it and punched it, yelling "Shocking...grasp!"
The ghoul shook violently, and made the most horrible sounding screech any of them had ever heard. But it didn't go down! It struck out at Penny with it's long, bony claws. She could see dirt and what looked like poo under it's nails. She leaped away from it with a squeal.
Linda started towards Andy when the ghoul turned away from him, but stopped. She knew she was a lot stronger here than she'd been back home, but Andy's armor was so heavy, she didn't think she could drag him away from the creature, especially if he wasn't able to help her.
David swallowed hard and forced himself to attack. His sword hit the creature's chest. He screamed in horror as his sword cut deep into it, showering him with black blood! It fell over.
Seeing it was down, Penny bent over her brother. "Andy?" she said, shaking him. "Come one, bro! Say something! Move a little!" But if he heard her and tried, to speak, to move, he was unable to do so.
"What do we do?" Tom asked David, who seemed confused. "Come on!" he yelled, shaking the paladin. "Do we run? What?"
"I...I..." David tried to pull his sword out of the ghoul's chest. It was stuck. "I...it's stuck! I can't..."
Linda slapped his face. "Snap out of it!" she cried. "You're the only one that knows how the rules of this world work! What do we do? How do we cure Andy?"
"I...I'm sure it'll wear off," he finally said.
"You're sure?!" Penny repeated. "You don't know?"
"The books didn't say," David explained. "I'd guess it lasts as long as a hold person spell does. A few minutes."
"I don't think we're going to have a few minutes, guys!" Tom yelled.
Two more of the grey creatures were approaching. David stepped on the defeated ghoul, recoiling in horror at its skinny touch, and yanked free his sword.
David forced himself to move toward one of the new ghouls. "Penny," he said, without taking his eyes off of his new opponent. "You're a fighter, so you should be able to use Andy's sword. Get it!"
Penny's hands shook as she struggled to draw her brother's sword. "Come on, bro, let me have it!" she whined. It finally came loose from its scabbard and hit her in the nose. "Ow!" she cried, rubbing it. "I'd better not end up with a big nose because of this!"
"Penny! Now!" Linda yelled, waving her sickle around. This was the first time she'd drawn it from the little piece of yarn or whatever tied around her waist. She had no idea how to use it, and didn't really want to. Even if these ghouls were already dead, she didn't want to "kill" anything that had once been human. Oh, why had she ever decided a game like this might be fun?!
...
The dwarves moved quickly, despite the fact that Russet was cold and shaky and exhausted. At last they reached the top of the mountain, and saw that it was bigger than they could see to the opposite side, and relatively flat. They could also see something else.
"A fire!" Russet cried. "Ghouls wouldn't light a fire! It must be living people!"
"What sort of fire burns in the rain?" Bronze demanded. "And why would humanoids be here so near to where those devil creatures are?"
"They might have something blocking the rain," she suggested. "And we're here to near to where those devil creatures are!"
"Still we cannot trust strangers," Bronze said. "I'll find a place to set Copper down and then go and spy on them. You stay with him and remember what I've told you!"
"I know," Russet said. "Keep my eyes and ears open and my big mouth shut!"
There were several boulders in sight, as well as a few dead trees, their skeletal branches looking ghostly in the light of the two moons. Bronze moved quickly but quietly, keeping to the shadows the best he could. He finally reached a large open area, squatting in the shade of a waist high rock.
He watched as several women, most of them old and ugly, but two looking no older than his sister, danced naked or nearly naked in front of a fire. He saw that it was protected from the rain by a crude wooden ceiling set over some logs. He could hear them chanting as they danced, but not make out the words. Except for one. Grazz't. The name of a prince of demons!
Witches!
He turned to hurry back to his siblings. Russet was right. They should have gone down the mountain instead of up. He hoped he wasn't too late as he raced back to them. Unfortunately, his foot stepped on a stick that made a seemingly much too loud snap. He hurried his steps, hoping the witches wouldn't hear over the sound of the storm and their chanting. But apparently one did, because he suddenly heard a voice shout, "Sisters! An intruder!"
"After him! came another voice.
Bronze would have stood and faced them, dying in battle and riding the death horse to Valhalla if he had been alone. But he had to at least try to get his brother and sister to safety.
"Run!" he cried out as he came close to where he'd left them. "Fly!"
"What is it?" Russet asked, holding up her hammer. "What did you see?"
"No time for talk!" he yelled, throwing his brother over his shoulder and grabbing his sister's hand. "Run you fool!"
So they ran. Behind them, came cries of angry and hate. She didn't know who was after them, but she knew it wasn't ghouls, and she knew from what they were yelling that they intended to kill them for what they'd seen. She hadn't seen anything, but she seriously doubted they'd believe her or care. Besides she'd die before abandoning either of her brothers, no matter what Bronze had told her.
Suddenly there was a bright flash and a loud crackle right beside her. Russet though at first it was lightning and thunder, but suddenly she realized she was alone. She spun around. "Bronze...?" she cried. Her voice cracked as she saw he had fallen. She ran back towards him.
"No!" he cried, his face twisted in pain. "Run!"
She stopped, confused. "But..."
"Just once, don't be a woman and listen to me, damn your eyes!" Bronze yelled, trying to get up.
For the first time, Russet saw their pursuers. Half a score of undressed old human women? How could they cause so much trouble?
"Witches!" he gasped as if in reply. "Don't let them take you alive!"
"Witches?!" Russet repeated. "But..." She drew her hammer and stood over her fallen brother. "I said I won't leave you!"
Russet's hammer brought down one of the old women. As she raised it to strike again, however, another blinding flash and deafening roar struck her. Her weapon fell from her now numb fingers. Then the ground seemed to rush up and hit her in the face. She saw stars, then blackness.
...
Penny lifted her brother's sword. "It's heavy!" she said. "Maybe I'd do better with a knife and jumped around a lot. That's what thieves do, right?"
"Just use it!" David yelled, struggling to fight off the ghoul trying to reach past his guard and claw him with its long, dirty, cracked nails.
Penny swung Andy's sword at a second ghoul. Not used to the weight, she missed and lost her balance. The ghoul scratched her shoulder. "OW!" she screamed. Being an elf, it didn't paralyze her, but the scratches kind of burned. Didn't that mean they were poisonous? "Hey, you sure these guys don't have diseases or something?" she demanded.
"They live among graves, who knows?" David yelled.
"I got one!" Greg yelled, standing over a fallen ghoul. "I got o-" He froze and fell over. He hadn't seen the one sneaking up behind him.
"Greg!" Linda yelled. She was swinging her sickle around, but had no idea how to use it to fight. She wasn't even sure how you cut plants with it. Beside her, Tom was desperately swinging his staff.
David had hacked off his opponent's arm, but the other one reached out and scratched his wrist. He fell over, his sword running it through. He landed on the lifeless corpse, but was unable to move.
Penny had finally managed to hit her opponent, although she didn't seem to do it much damage. It struck at her, cutting her shoulder again and ripping her sleeve open. She yelled and hit it again, wishing she could cast more spells. It hit her again, this time in the other bicep, and she dropped the sword and sank to her knees, then collapsed. In game terms, she would have just reached 0 hit points.
"Penny!" Linda screamed. She ran at the ghoul despite her fear, hitting it in the chest. It stuck there, and to her horror she found she couldn't remove it! "Oh no!" she cried, struggling to pull it free. "Oh no no no!" It smacked her and she fell over, unable to move.
This just left Tom. He managed to hit the ghoul in the head from behind. This seemed to finish it, as it fell over. He rubbed the sweat from his eyes. "I-I think we did it, guys!" He looked around. "Guys?" No one responded. He bent over Linda. She seemed all right, but only her blue eyes, huge with fright, were able to move. Then he noticed Penny was bleeding. He bent over her, wishing he new something about first aid. All he could think of to do was tear off part of his robe and tie it around her shoulder. How tight was it supposed to be? Tight enough to stop the bleeding, but not enough to stop circulation? Or were you supposed to wait a few minutes for the blood to stop then untie it so they didn't lose circulation? He wished they had some potions. They could all really use some right now. At least her other arm didn't look too bad.
While he was doing this, he didn't the last of the ghouls. Not until it struck him upside the head and he fell over.
Looking them over, the ghoul would have feasted on them, but he knew the witches would be expecting them back soon, and didn't want to be beaten again. They had said bring the girls. He wasn't sure he could carry both of them. Well, he'd bring them the blonde. She was obviously the prettier of the two. Besides, he didn't like elves, since they could ignore his power. He tossed Linda over his shoulder, then started up the mountain. He'd say the other girl died in the battle that destroyed his brethren. They didn't need to know.
He was soon out of sight, leaving behind four paralyzed humans and one little elf in very bad shape.
...
Beth was dreaming of being back home when suddenly she felt hands shaking her. She started to cry out, but a hand was placed over her mouth and nose, and she found it difficult to breath.
"Be silent!" a voice hissed in her ear. "Don't ask questions! Don't move until I do, then follow me! Don't worry, I've got your sword!"
Beth realized it was the boy that had saved her. What was his name again? What was happening? Why did she have to follow him when she was so tired? Then she heard sounds from outside. Stealthy footsteps. She could the belt containing her sword being fastened around her waist. She wished he had kept it. She was sure he was much better at fighting than she was!
As he moved away from her, she remembered her bikini and felt away in the dark for it. It wasn't much, but it was better than a thin little nightgown with no undies. Her fingers tightened on one part, the top she thought. Where was the bottom? It was so dark she couldn't see a thing!
Then there was a crash and suddenly she could see, and wished that she couldn't. The lantern he had lit before had been knocked over and smashed, and had set the tent on fire! She grabbed her bikini bottom.
"Now!" the boy yelled, ducking his head as he ran from the burning tent. He was carrying a tiny figure in white in his arms. His half-sister? She couldn't make the figure out very well in the light of the fire. She hurried after him.
"Draw your sword and fight your way out!" he cried, throwing the bundle over one shoulder and drawing his own blade. His sister must have either been a very sound sleeper or extremely brave, since she didn't struggle or make a sound.
Terrified, Beth drew her sword. She gasped as she saw three more skeletons, plus a hollow-eyed man like creature with yellow skin, dressed in rags, and with much of the flesh hanging off of one arm in tatters. A-a zombie?!
She backed away from it with a whimper, nearly dropping her sword. She did drop her bikini. The zombie moved slowly towards her. The skeletons moved faster. She swung her sword at the one coming the closest to her. She missed and it reached out its boy fingers for her face. She fell over backwards. As it reached down for her she swung her sword again. CRASH! It fell over.
"That's a mighty good sword you have there!" the boy said, struggling to fight the other two skeletons. She would have tried to help him, even though she still had no idea what she was doing, but the zombie had finally reached her. As it reached out its flayed arm to grab her, she swung her sword desperately. She shrieked as there was a loud CRU-UNNCCH! and the zombie fell at her feet in two uneven pieces! The head stared blankly up at her. It was rotten and smelled absolutely horrible! She bent over and threw up.
"You're a strange assassin!" the boy said. "If 'killing' the dead upset your stomach, how do you kill the living?"
Kill the living?! "I...wouldn't..." she wheezed once she'd finished vomiting. Her stomach still hurt horribly though, and now her throat burned. She had the nastiest taste she'd ever had in her mouth.
"The old priest must have sent them!" the boy said. "We'll have to get out of here! Let me see if there's anything to save!" He set down the little figure.
As he started back towards the still burning tent, Beth decided if she was going to hold onto her bikini, as skimpy as it was, she had to put it back on right now. At least She sheathed her sword, not looking at the gore on the blade, and grabbed her bikini. The little figure, which she still hadn't gotten a good look at, had come over and was standing beside her. Beth was embarrassed to dress in front of anyone, but at least this was girl. Turning her back on the boy, she lifted the gown and tied on the bottom, then pulled the gown up higher to tie on the top. Both were still damp, but it was raining much worse now, and they would have been soaked again anyway.
"Here comes the old priest!" The boy cried, racing up to them and scooping the tiny figure over one shoulder. He grabbed Beth's hand in his other hand. "And he's got some kind of wand! Run!"
KA-BOOM! Lightning struck a tree right next to her, setting it on fire. But...but lightning didn't strike sideways, did it?
"That was too close!" the boy yelled. "I hope it takes awhile before he can use that thing again!"
Use that thing again?! Then that wasn't real lightning? As she heard the tree crackle she realized it was real, all right. Not natural, but just as dangerous as lightning from the sky.
Another bolt struck just behind them about a minute later. KA-BOOM!
"Keep running!" the boy yelled as she started to slow down. "Run until your lungs burst! If he catches us, we'll be better off dead!"
Beth, not used to running or really any sort of exercise other than walking across the living room to change the channel on her TV set, or to the kitchen for a snack, was soon huffing and puffing like a steam engine going uphill, but she kept running, even when she stepped on sharp things and her poor feet felt like Swiss cheese.
And while they didn't know it, they were running towards Midnight Mountain...
...
"Wake up! Are you just going to sleep until they come and kill us, stupid hooman?!"
Linda moaned. Her head hurt and she was dizzy. Why was someone yelling at her? She tried to roll over, and found that she couldn't. Water poured down on her, and she remembered it was raining.
Suddenly, the events of the ghoul attack came back to her. Her eyes flew open and she tried to sit up. Again, she couldn't. Her eyes grew wider as she looked over her current situation.
She was lying on what felt like cold, hard, rough stone. Her hands were tied above her head. She realized her feet were also tied down. To her embarrassment, all she had on was the little pair of leather drawers she'd bought in the village. She screamed.
"Shut your mouth!" came the voice beside her. "Screaming won't help. They're the only ones that will hear you, and they'll be back soon enough to finish killing us without you calling them back now!" She groaned. "I would find you here! You just keep causing me trouble, don't you, hooman?"
Linda turned her head to the sound of the voice. It was that dwarf girl she'd seen in the village! She was lying on a grey stone slab that she assumed was the same as the one Linda was trapped on, her wrists and ankles also tied down. She was wearing nothing but what looked like a leather diaper with a strip of leather in front that reached down to her knees and a somewhat longer one in back.
"Who'll hear us? Those monsters? What did they do with our clothes?!" Linda sobbed.
"You're concerned about that now?" the dwarf said, sputtering. "Don't you understand, those witches are going to kill us?! We have to get free before they return or they'll cut our hearts out!"
Linda felt her heart start to race at that. Witches? What witches? Had they taken them from the ghouls? Were the witches the ones that had stripped them and tied them up? And cut their hearts out?! A Satanic sacrifice?! That made a horrible sort of sense. Ghouls would probably have just eaten them and left their bones to bleach in the sun once the storm ended. But where were her friends? Had they gotten away, or were they tied up too somewhere, waiting for their turn to be sacrificed? Or...or did the witches just want female sacrifices, and the boys had been ea-eaten?! "I don't want to die!" she sobbed.
"Stop blubbering!" the dwarf complained. "Crying won't get us out of this!"
Linda struggled vainly against her bonds. "Will anything get us out of here?!" she asked. The ropes were just scratching her skin.
"Stop making noise and let me think!" the dwarf snarled. "Are all hoomans as annoying as you?"
Lightning flashed directly overhead. Linda cried out as a bolt struck the ground just a few feet away from them. She heard another cry and realized the dwarf had screamed too this time. So she wasn't as fearless as she pretended to be. Not that that would help either of them a bit, of course.
She stopped trying to get loose. All her struggling had done was chafe her wrists so they stung now when the rain splashed onto them. As embarrassing as it would be, the only hope she could think of was for the boys to find her. Fast!
...
And so the sun had set on Oerth's equivalent of Samhain, a night better known as Halloween!
...
I know, this is horribly late! And it's way too long a chapter, it should have been two! The rest of the chapters will all be shorter and hopefully come out a lot more often than this one! Thank you everybody for being patient!