Heather the Necromancer - Book 6: Chapter 21: So hard to say sorry

“Why are we doing this?” Umtha asked as she and Heather looked through a narrow crack in a mausoleum.

“Because it’s fun,” Heather replied as she watched some of the first players to reach the graveyard kill a few skeletons. A dozen players had arrived in the last couple of days, tentatively exploring the edge of the graveyard. Many were careful about wading too far in and used the bridge as a safe haven to pull monsters to them.

“It looks like they are going to pull from the bridge again,” Heather sighed.

“Well, it is a good strategy,” Umtha said. “There are so many undead in the yard it is easy to be overwhelmed.”

“Yeah, but that means they don’t run across any of Frank’s traps,” Heather replied and pondered a thought. “They need a reason to move deeper in.”

“What are you planning?” Frank’s voice echoed from the air around them as he listened from his dungeon heart deep below.

“Spying on us again?” Heather asked as she looked around.

“I was watching to make sure you didn’t scare them off,” Frank insisted.

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t do that,” Heather said as she tried to think of a solution. “Maybe we could get them to chase one of us into the graveyard.”

“How?” Umtha asked.

“Hmm,” Heather pondered and then had an idea. She shared it with Frank as Umtha shook her head, insisting it wouldn’t work. Ten minutes later, the door to her tower burst open, and two ghouls charged out, each with a woman thrown over its shoulder. The players were too far away to intervene but close enough to see what was happening.

“Help us!” Heather cried as the ghouls ran across the road into the graveyard. “Save us before they drag us into their tunnels and feed us to their master!” They vanished into the mist as the five players on the bridge watched them go. The ghouls carried them into the yard and deposited them right outside Viylah as she waited for what came next. Ten minutes went by, then twenty, then more. Heather began to pace irritably as Umtha nervously eyed the mimic.

“What are you waiting for?” Viylah asked as Heather kicked a stone.

“Our rescue,” Heather said and rolled her eyes. “What is taking them so long?”

“They aren’t coming,” Frank said as his massive ghoul form appeared through the mist. “They are still on the bridge.”

“They just saw their queen’s dragged away by ghouls, and they aren’t coming!” Heather shouted.

“Maybe they didn’t recognize us?” Umtha suggested.

“Oh, no,” Heather said and reached out a hand pulling two devices from the buffer. She carefully put the collar around her neck first so when she put the crowns on; she would instantly take her disguised form. She was still weary of letting Viylah see her default Lilithu devil appearance, but the modified one was fine. In a flash, she had copper skin and red eyes with black horns jutting from her long red hair. Then, with a snap of a finger, her yellow dress was replaced by a black one with red woven patterns that resembled flames. She reached out a hand and summoned her scythe before turning her gaze to the distant bridge.

“What are you doing?” Frank asked.

“Correcting an injustice,” Heather replied and vanished in a puff of green smoke.

“She’s impulsive,” Viylah noted as Frank struggled to see through the mist.

“She just wanted to try and get people to explore the graveyard,” Frank replied as a green flash appeared right before the bridge.

“Whoa!” a man in plate armor said as Heather appeared before them.

“Awesome,” another cried. “A succubus!”

“I am not a succubus!” Heather shouted in irritation and stamped a foot, causing a small burst of flame. “What are you cowards still doing here? Didn’t you see those ghouls run off with the queens?”

“Umm, we’re grinding experience,” the plated man said as Heather glared at them with rage.

“So go rescue the queens!” Heather insisted.

“But that looks dangerous,” a frog wizard said. “It’s much safer here.”

Heather’s eye twitched as the others nodded in agreement, citing how likely they were to get adds if they went in.

“You are willing to let your queens be eaten by ghouls so that you can remain safe?” Heather growled as her eyes blazed with fire.

“I am sure they will respawn,” a man in chain armor said, to be diplomatic.

“But you should rescue them!” Heather insisted.

“I wouldn’t mind rescuing you,” a man with a lute said as he smiled at her and strummed his instrument. “I am a bard, and I will charm you into our arms.”

“What?” Heather choked as she leaned away from them. “Why would you do that?”

“You are a succubus,” he said and winked at her. “We all know how it is you level.”

Frank and Umtha crept closer as the sounds of battle faded away to see Heather standing over the sight of a grisly murder. She folded her arms and threw her head back, walking away from the pile of dead adventurers.

“Why did you do that?” Frank asked as he and Umtha came out of the mist.

“Some people need to learn how to respect their queen,” Heather replied and snapped her fingers to dismiss the scythe. “They said they didn’t chase after the ghouls because it was safer on the bridge.”

“Well, it is,” Frank agreed. “Not everybody is willing to take a risk like that.”

“It was Umtha and me,” Heather pleaded. “Our faces are plastered all over the city with plaques telling everyone who we are. Mother even added Umtha to them, so they know she’s our wife. They have no excuse for cowardice when their queens are in danger.”

“For a lot of people, this is just a fun game,” Frank sighed. “They don’t see something like that and think they have to do something.”

“Well, they should,” Heather remarked and walked up to Umtha to take her hand. “I won’t have them disrespecting our wife or me.”

Umtha smiled and clung to Frank’s arm as he rolled his eyes. A tired sigh escaped his gruesome mouth as he grabbed the first body.

“May as well bury them for the points. I will leave their gear so they can come back for it,” he said and dragged the body away as Heather began to feel bad about what she did.

“Did I overreact?” Heather asked as Umtha came to her side.

“Yes, but I appreciate it,” Umtha said.

Heather smiled while taking Umtha’s hand, then turned to look at the scene on the bridge. “Will you help me gather up their gear and carry it to the spawn point?”

“Of course,” Umtha said and helped Heather collect the bags, packs, and pouches. Heather collected six skeletons to carry the equipment, loading them down with all the armor, weapons, and gear. She then had several more drag the remaining bodies to Frank, where he buried the first in his special grave.

“What are you doing now?” He asked as the bodies arrived.

“You made me feel bad,” Heather replied. “I am going to carry their gear to the spawn at Finneous’s keep and make sure they get it back.”

“You should tell them you’re sorry too,” Frank suggested.

“Alright,” Heather groaned and waited as the bodies were thrown into the pit. She asked Frank if he wanted to come with her and he agreed. To her delight, he swept her up, putting her on one shoulder with Umtha on the other.

“Now, be nice when you say you’re sorry,” Frank said.

Heather folded her arms and looked to the side as Frank walked off, heading for Quinny’s forest. As they passed the tower, a dark form jumped out of a tree and landed on Heather’s lap with a chirp.

“Oh, there you are,” Heather said. “What good is a familiar that’s always out hunting food?”

He turned in a circle and chirped before settling into a tight ball in her lap, causing her to frown.

“Don’t you criticize me, too,” Heather insisted. “You’re supposed to be on my side no matter what.”

“Did he see you?” Frank asked as they made their way through the trees.

“He says they didn’t deserve it,” Heather pouted.

“They didn’t,” Frank said. “But I appreciate you trying to make my graveyard more active. What we need is another NPC by the bridge who tells players about something worthwhile to do further in.”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Heather said.

“You were trying,” Umtha said and reached over to touch her arm. “And it is very nice of you to be offended on my behalf.”

“You’re welcome, but I shouldn’t have killed them,” Heather grumbled and leaned to the side to avoid a branch. “Hey, watch it, goliath. Your wives are up here. Why aren’t we on the road?”

“Because we are going to use one of Quinny’s forest portals,” he replied.

“You could have stayed on the road for a little bit,” Heather pressed as she waved another branch out of her face.

“I didn’t want people to see me or your group of skeletons,” Frank replied. “The last thing we need is another fight.”

“Will you stop making me feel bad,” Heather said and ducked under another branch. “Sheesh, can you adjust your height?”

“A little,” Frank replied. “I get slightly bigger with every toughness and strength increase. But, I have the option of adjusting my size down a little.”

“Aren’t you done putting points into those? Heather asked. “How high can you take them anyway?”

“Well, not really. Since I am a brawler class, I can exceed the cap other players have,” Frank said.

“Cap?” Heather asked as they headed for a hidden grove nearby.

“I thought I explained this to you before,” Frank said. “But your base class determines how many points you can spend on skills. Wizards can buy combat skills with points but can only take them so high, whereas a warrior might get the base skill for free and be able to add a lot more points to it. Sometimes you even get advanced versions of the skills as you level.”

“I don’t recall any of my skills having a cap,” Umtha said.

“I don’t think I have hit one either,” Heather added.

“That’s probably because you two are chosen,” Frank replied. “Don’t forget you’re getting more points per level to spend too.”

“Huh, another perk to being chosen,” Heather remarked.

“Skill caps are always in ranks of ten,” Frank explained. “So a class with no access to a particular skill area would have to buy the skill, then could take it as high as rank ten. A class more closely aligned with the skill might be able to take it to rank twenty or thirty. If it’s a skill you got as part of your class, you can take it as high as your level allows. Usually, it’s one point per level, but some skills do have maximum caps, usually around rank fifty.”

“Speaking of that,” Heather said as she considered an option. “I spent points on shadow magic, but when I first changed into the Lilithu devil, they were all returned.”

“That’s probably because that class gets shadow for free,” Frank explained and came through the trees to a gnarled oak with a thin white web willow to one side. It was one of Quinny’s magical portals, and only friends could use it. Frank walked between the two trunks and came out near the other side of the forest.

“So, you can keep getting bigger as you level?” Heather asked as he started for the road.

“I guess so,” Frank replied and was careful to duck for them. “But if it bothers you, I will start using the controls to keep from getting bigger.”

“What do you think?” Heather asked as she turned to Umtha. “Is our husband big enough?”

“If he gets much bigger, I will have to enlarge the doors in the goblin city,” Umtha said.

“A very good point,” Heather said and leaned over, so her hair hung down. “You already barely fit through the magic doors.”

“I will stop getting bigger,” Frank sighed and came through the trees to find the road had changed.

“Well, this is new,” Heather said as they stood facing an intersection with a new road heading through the forest toward the mountains.

“Your mother must have made the pass and road for Lydia already,” Frank said as she stepped into the open.

“Do you trust this Lydia woman?” Umtha asked as she noticed Heather’s concerned expression.

“Not really,” Heather admitted. “But she did have a good reason for her treachery, and Finneous vouches for her character. Not to mention they are partially responsible for you.”

Umtha smiled and looked away as Heather reached over to hold her hand. “Thank you for accepting me.”

“Well, you did manage to marry us,” Heather said. “But I am glad you did, and I promise we will have more when I have the others situated. Now, to pressing matters,” Heather finished and looked down the road. “Should we investigate that?”

“It might be interesting to see what they did,” Frank said.

“We have time, right?” Heather asked. “They won’t respawn for another three hours.”

“I suppose we do,” Frank replied and stepped across the road, leading the pack of skeletons. He looked out for traveling players, then hurried down the new lane, walking under the dark trees. The road looked exactly like Quinny’s, but Heather assumed that was because this was still Quinny’s land. The road looked as if it had been here a hundred years, with moss growing between the bricks.

“It looks like more forest,” Umtha said as they headed along the road.

“It will probably look the same until we get close to the mountains,” Frank suggested.

They waited to see, and sure enough, the trees suddenly thinned out as they reached the base of a steep stony hill. The road went up a gentle slope between the hills, but there were still a few dark trees along the length. The path changed to one of crushed stone and rutted tracks as if heavily traveled by wagons. They passed through the broken hills and discovered a round stone tower that had apparently fallen to ruins.

“This is neat,” Heather said as they paused in the road to consider the tower. “Should we look inside?”

“Why not?” Frank said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. He set the girls down then together, they approached the structure, with Webster staying behind to guard the skeletons. They approached a battered door that hung on one hinge and swayed in the breeze. Frank tore it off and cast it aside, revealing a round chamber strewn with rubble. A collapsed table and rotting shelves were all that decorated the space, but a stair spiraled up the back wall to a floor above.

“I don’t feel anything elemental in this place,” Umtha said as she looked around.

“No, this is Lydia’s doing, so it’s going to be full of undead,” Heather said and headed for the steps. She paused to look at Frank, then stepped aside so he could lead the way.

“You are actually going to let me lead?” he asked as she started up.

“You keep telling me you’re the tank,” Heather said as she and Umtha followed behind. “I didn’t know what that meant at first, but I understand it now.”

Heather smiled as Frank laughed, enjoying her embracing of their roles. She felt right with the world and followed until the steps reached the upper level. Dead eyes stared at them from shadows along crumbling walls as zombies stepped into the dim light and moaned.

“Well, that’s boring,” Heather said and raised a hand, asserting her domination over the undead. The zombies froze and remained standing as they picked about the room. It had more broken furniture and even a dividing wall that concealed what might have been a bedroom. A second stair went up a level more, so they climbed to find it was a large space in the rafters where a large, more advanced zombie made its home. Heather dominated that with ease, and they decided the exploration had been a waste of time.

“Just zombies,” Heather grumbled as they went out the front door. “Don’t people have more advanced undead?”

“Don’t you?” Frank asked as he turned to regard her. “You never summon anything but skeletons.”

“I can summon powerful skeletons now,” Heather said. “I can even summon some that can cast spells. I have more powerful things, but they take ingredients to summon.”

“Like what?” Frank asked.

“Well, I can summon ghouls with a little blood, and I can summon ghasts or shadows with a bone carved with a special rune,” Heather explained.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Umtha began as she looked nervous. “What level are you now?”

“What level am I?” Heather asked the panel at her wrist.

[DING!] Level fifty-three bonded slave, level six lilithu devil, level fifty-one necromancer, level fifty flower singer, level forty-nine recluse.

“You’re level fifty-three already?” Umtha gasped.

“What level are you?” Heather asked. “You can’t be low with all the building your doing.”

Umtha smiled and called out, asking what level she was.

[Chime!] Level sixty-seven goblin, level sixty-six elemental shaman, level sixty-five tribal matriarch.

“Oh, so I am surprisingly high,” Heather said as she glared at Umtha. “When were you going to share that with us?”

“I just did,” Umtha pleaded. “I guess it never came up before.”

“She’s higher level than you,” Frank said as the two women turned on him.

“And what level are you?” Heather demanded. “I seem to recall you were always higher level than me.”

“I am level fifty-eight,” Frank replied indignantly.

“And he’s put fifty-eight points in his strength,” Umtha said and pinched one of his massive arms.

“No wonder he’s so big,” Heather grumbled as they rejoined the skeletons.

Frank shrugged and looked funny for a moment before reaching over his shoulder.

“Is something wrong?” Heather asked as he started to scratch.

“Is there something in my back?” he asked and turned around to reveal the arrows.

“Ahhgh!” Heather cried and ran to his side before looking down the road. There were three people, two of which had bows, taking aim at Frank.

“What is it?” Frank asked as Heather shouted.

“Stop shooting arrows at my husband!”

“What?” one of the archers said. “That monster is your husband?”

“She’s a succubus,” the only woman in the group said. “Of course, that’s her husband.”

Heather’s eyes burned with green fire as she understood the woman’s slanderous intent.

“She didn’t just say that,” Heather growled.

“Don’t do anything rash,” Frank urged as Umtha started pulling the arrows out.

“Oh, you haven’t seen rash yet,” Heather grumbled and stepped between them.

“Do we shoot her too?” one of them asked.

“One of them is a goblin,” the other man said. “The notices in the city and village said the goblins were not to be hunted.”

“She’s helping a ghoul and a succubus,” the woman said. “Just keep them at range and mow them down.”

“Hey!” Heather shouted as an arrow went by and landed in Frank’s arm. “You shoot one more!” she began as another flew over her head and struck Umtha. The goblin woman staggered back and grabbed the arrow as Heather flared with rage. Before she could react, the ground shook as Frank roared and charged the distant group.

“Oh, cripes!” one of them shouted as the giant ghoul rapidly closed the ground.

Heather ran to Umtha and helped pull the arrow out before applying her soothing healing.

“I can heal it myself,” Umtha said as screams filled the air.

“Just let me do it,” Heather insisted and helped her up. “They tore your pretty dress and got blood on it. If I didn’t know it would self-clean and mend later, those fools would pay for it.”

“No, please!” the woman cried as Heather and Umtha turned around to see Frank toss her lifeless body aside.

“And I thought I was protective of you,” Heather laughed as Frank walked back and plucked two arrows from his chest.

“So, it’s ok for you to kill rude players,” Heather said as he swept up Heather and put her on his shoulder. “Being rude is one thing,” he said before lifting Umtha in his arms and carrying her. “But shooting my wife with an arrow is another.”

Heather smiled at Umtha as she heard Frank refer to her as his wife for the first time. Umtha’s cheeks flushed a darker green as they headed down the road to see what else they could find. A few miles down the road, they began to enter the craggy slopes of stone that marked the mountain ring. Gwen had created a large canyon through the mountain, spending an impressive amount of points. The pass was wide enough that twenty people could walk side by side, and as they rounded a bend, it started to climb higher. At one point, the path narrowed slightly, creating a cliff-side trail with a steep drop to one side. Ahead of them rose a gatehouse made of stone whose stout wooden gates barred any further passage down the road.

“She put up defenses?” Heather asked as they approached to see what appeared to be men on the walls some thirty feet above.

“Halt!” a voice called down as a man in red armor, and a black sash leaned over the wall. “You approach the county of Silvania. What is your business here?”

“Are you serious?” Heather demanded from her perch on Frank’s shoulder. “Tell your mistress the prince and princesses of the kingdom have come calling.”

The man looked surprised to hear that remark and had a private conversation with another on the wall. Heather waited impatiently, complaining that Lydia wasn’t going to put up walls they couldn’t pass.

“You may pass,” the man called down a moment later, and the gates slowly opened. Frank led the strange procession of skeletons through the doors as the men inside watched with shocked expressions.

“You would think that servants of a vampire wouldn’t be surprised to see undead,” Umtha said as they arrived on the other side to find a small stone guardhouse built into the cliff face and a single set of stairs going to the walls above. In all, there were twelve men standing guard, all in the same red armor and flying flags of a red rose on a black field. Heather stared at the rose a moment, captivated by the color. For some reason, she felt it should be white but dismissed the thought and urged them to press on.

The cliff road began to slope down, and after another few miles, it reached the floor and widened into a proper gorge again. Frank finally put Umtha on his shoulder and held the two women’s legs in place so they could balance as the mountains gave way to a forest of tall pine trees densely growing on hills.

“We will need to go back soon,” Frank said as they stopped to look over the landscape that was shadowed under an unnaturally stormy sky. From where they stood, they could see the roofs and small plumes of chimney smoke of a village. Beyond that was a more forest, and far in the distance, a familiar castle sat on the slopes of a high hill, rising above the land.

“She works fast,” Heather said as they took it all in.

“She has rebuilt it several times, and I am sure the paladins destroyed it after our battle,” Frank reminded. “She probably has all the settings saved and just recreated it.”

“I feel bad about that,” Heather sighed. “But then we didn’t go there to cause trouble.”

“And she claims she had no choice,” Frank grumbled. “I still think she should have run a long time ago.”

Heather understood his feelings but wondered what she would do in a similar situation. The closest she had come to it was when Moon tried to force her to kill Quinny. However, that paled in comparison to an army of holy fanatics dragging her off to some kind of prison where she would be kept at level one. Heather hated how monster and some monster-like players were treated and vowed that her lands would always be welcoming to them.

“We need to go back if we want to catch those players when they respawn,” Frank said.

“Alright,” Heather sighed as something moved in the trees. Frank noticed it as well and came to a stop as six pairs of yellow eyes glared at them. They were black wolves of significant size with fangs that dripped with saliva. They formed a line, snarling as something bigger moved behind them, and its dark form stepped into the light.

“A werewolf,” Frank said in a voice that dripped with anger. “I thought he wasn’t welcome here.”

“You were there when they promised us they would drive him away if he showed up,” Heather said defensively.

“Why would they drive him away?” Umtha said in surprise. “That’s Finneous.”

“What?” Frank asked and looked back as the wolfman stepped out and faced them.

“I knew it,” Heather snapped and glared at him. “You were the werewolf I saw in the painting, and you were the wolf thing that killed the woman in my tower.”

“Guilty as charged,” Finneous said in a snarling voice. “I couldn’t let that woman haul you away.”

“Is this the secret you have been keeping from us?” Frank asked as the wolf man approached even closer.

“Well, my secret was that I betrayed the paladins and, by doing so, Kevin. That tends to put a price on a man’s head,” Finneous explained, then bowed low. “Hello, little one,” he said and stood tall to look at Umtha. “All recovered, I see.”

“I have regained much of my strength,” Umtha said with a nod. “Thanks to you for helping me escape.”

“I did what needed doing,” Finneous replied and stepped back. “And now it seems things are starting to set right.”

“Set right?” Heather repeated. “Is that English?”

“I mean, things are getting better,” Finneous clarified. “A new kingdom is rising under a Queen who has no love for the north and the power to make them pause. Monster players are welcome, and the goblins have a proper home again. Soon this whole region might begin to rival the northern powers.”

“I like your outlook, but I worry it might draw attention,” Umtha suggested. “Hence why I am building an unbreakable fortress.”

“Hmm,” Heather said as she remembered Umtha’s warning about how the danger would come one day. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take some precautions and be ready.”

“Let’s not worry about what might happen,” Frank urged and took her hands. “You are finally enjoying your life here, don’t let that go.”

Heather smiled and nodded but silently promised to look into some nagging questions. She then suggested they head back to meet the respawned players, but not before asking Finneous what he was doing here.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Finneous replied. “I am the master of the hunt again, and I have to learn my new hunting grounds.”

“Well, congratulations,” Heather said with a raised brow. “But we really need to be going.”

Finneous raised a hand and headed into the forest as Frank turned to go the other way. They walked in silence, with Umtha and Heather each holding an arm until Umtha finally spoke up.

“So you finally think my preparations are good?” Umtha asked.

Heather tossed her head in a noncommital way but had to admit that knowing they had the fortress to retreat to did make her feel safer. She asked about the progress of the mounts, and Umtha said that Legeis was working on a new design he called a spider tank.

“Oh, I can’t wait to see that,” Heather laughed and looked down at Webster. “How about you? Do you want to see a spider tank?”

Webster chirped and bobbed as they headed along the canyon trial. An hour later, they were back at the crossroads where Frank used his figurine to take his human appearance. Heather took off her crown and shook out her golden hair before they headed for Finneous’s town.

“They probably respawned already,” Frank said as the town came into view.

“Then we can meet them on the road,” Heather replied as five people appeared at the edge of the village and started their way.

“What good timing,” Umtha said as they recognized the group.

Heather sighed and walked ahead, stopping the group as they approached.

“Hey,” she started and stood in their path. “I am really sorry about what happened to you.”

“You mean that crazy succubus?” one of them said.

Heather realized they had no idea she was the devil, so she decided to play along and let it remain that way. She explained that what they saw wasn’t a succubus but a lilithu devil and that she overreacted.

“Wait a minute,” one of the women said as she looked closer at Heather. “You’re princess Hannah!”

“She is?” one of the others chimed in as they all looked surprised to see her.

“Yes, look, it’s not important,” Heather insisted and held out her hands. “I just wanted to say I was sorry for what happened and bring your gear back.”

“You have our gear?” a big warrior asked.

“Yeah, my wife and husband have it back there,” Heather said and pointed to the skeletons.

“Wow, the stories are true,” the woman said. “She really is nice.”

“She must have driven off that succubus and saved our gear,” another chimed in.

“Thank you,” they began to cry and hurried past her to collect their stuff from the skeleton. She heard them recognize Frank and say that the skeletons must be his because he was a carrion knight. They heaped praises on the group for saving their equipment from the succubus, then headed down the road to try their luck again. Heather walked back in stunned silence as Frank looked at her accusingly.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Heather insisted. “I tried to say I was sorry, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“Instead, you let them think you had rescued their stuff from a succubus so you could give it back,” Frank said.

“I told them it wasn’t a succubus,” Heather cried. “Oh, why are some people so hard to explain things to?”

“I thought it was nice,” Umtha said. “They were really grateful you brought their stuff back.”

“Oh, let’s just go home,” Heather grumbled and took their arms as they headed back to find something more productive to do.