Chapter 5: Chapter Five – Just One of Those Days…

I don’t think my decision was wrong.  This cute girl just a head smaller in height than me is the most important thing in the world to me right now.  Though there was nothing I could do with my own power to help her at the moment, I decided the most important thing that I was capable of doing was to make sure that I worked hard so that she wanted for nothing.  I was by no means rich in this world, but I was a hard worker, and I had my upgraded item box.  As I held her gently in our bed after a vigorous honeymoon night, unsure of what time it actually was out there in the real world, I asked her what she wanted out of life right now.

“Well, aside from you, I’d like to have something I could write with and a couple of blank books.  There’s not all that much to do here besides well, what we just did, and gossip with the other girls.  It would be nice in my spare time when you aren’t here to maybe be able to keep up with my manga drawing, and also perhaps keep a diary for myself?  I used to have a laptop and a drawing tablet, but you understand that’s about a thousand years of scientific advancements away unless someone creates a magical circuit board…”

“So just a couple of empty books and some writing implements?”

“Yeah, just that.”

“I don’t imagine it would be difficult to get you that.”

“Ah, but if it’s the difference from being able to visit me or not, I’d rather you visit.”

“You’re the most important thing to me in this world, Kokoro.”

She giggled.

“You really fell for me hard, didn’t you, husband?”

“I did.  I’m not ashamed about it either!”

“Randell, have you looked at your status recently?”

“Not since I left the dungeon today, why?”

“Well, I had something new appear on mine.  It’s kind of charming.”

“Oh, is it a new skill or something?”

“It is.  It’s called Husband’s Dower.  I wonder what it does?”

I took a moment to check my own since she brought it up.

 

【Name:  Randell Heart】

【Age: 19】【Sex: Male】

【Class:  Chosen of Alurian】 

【Visible Class:  Acolyte】

【Level:  03】

【To Next Level:  300 EXP】

【Unique Skill:  Wife’s Dowry】

【Chosen Skills: (3) 2 Points Unspent】

【Alurian’s Divine Treasury】

【Alurian’s Heal Lv.1】

【Divine Weaponry Lv.1】

【Grace of the Whirlwind Lv.1】

【Status: (0) 15 Points Unspent】

【Power:  5】

【Dexterity: 5】

【Vitality: 5】

【Mentality: 5】

【Faith: 20】

 

“It seems I have something like it too, it’s called Wife’s Dowry.”

“Did you read the description of yours?”

“Not yet.  Let me take a look.”

 

【Wife’s Dowry】

『<Linked Skill>.  A unique skill wrought by the sheer will of the Goddess Alurian to the soul-bonded lovers Randell Heart and Satori Kokoro who desperately denied their original fate.  Love has many aspects to it, and can be a source of great strength and yet at the same time the most critical weakness.  As two lovers who swore to bind their souls together and walk the same path in their lives, they will be able to share in each other’s joy and sorrows through their intimacy.  It is the duty of Randell Heart to love unconditionally his wife, Satori Kokoro, cherishing her and often and providing for her emotional needs.  It is the duty of Satori Kokoro to fulfill the needs of her husband, Randell Heart, letting him never have reason to doubt her, and to respect his opinions, character, and values.  That is the harmony which has existed since the duality of souls was enacted by the Great Creator, for no power in creation may again divide two souls which have united, not even upon death.』 

 

“This looks like religious dogma.” I said, after reading the description.

“Yours too?”

I began reading the description aloud and she was able to complete the next sentence with no difference.

“So what does it mean?  Respecting your opinions, character, and values?”

“If I had to wager a guess, the opinions part is just that… my opinions?  As for character, wouldn’t that be like… hating that I’m a certain way and wanting to change me, then hating that you did and I’m not the guy you fell in love with?  And values… well, I can tell you the most important one of all to me.”

“What is it?”

“Lying.  That is the one thing I can’t stand,  a liar.  I can probably forgive anything else… I mean, you can trust a thief to steal from you, and a killer to kill you, but you can’t trust a liar, because even if they tell you the truth, you’ll always wonder if it’s a lie and there’s no way to know if it’s not.”

“That’s pretty specific.”

“Well, there’s a reason for that…” And so I told her about the woman I dated once when I was younger.  The only woman I ever bothered to, or who bothered with me for that matter, and how it ended three days later with me cast aside entirely. “What about your part?  Loving you unconditionally, cherishing you often, and providing for your emotional needs?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she answered, but sadly it was not.  “Being loved unconditionally is like me being assured you will always take my side when I need you to.  Being cherished often should be something like you needing to show me through actions that I am the person you want and need the most in the world, otherwise I might start to doubt that I am.  And my emotional needs are that too… when you date a girl you want her to be happy, right?”

“Right.”

“This is just the next level to that.  I’m your wife, and there are things I will eventually want and need from you that I can’t get elsewhere, or rather if I do… that’s when it becomes a problem.  All three of those things are very much tied together for a woman.”

“It doesn’t sound too complicated, but then again, most of the ancient Greek philosophers lived as smelly bachelors in caves because out of all the mysteries of the universe they had managed to figure out, a woman was never one of them.”

“Pfft!  You certainly hit the nail on the head with that one!” she cutely snorted. “I have news for you, women don’t exactly even understand themselves sometimes.”

“Kokoro… I have no idea how well I’ll do at being a husband to you, but I’ll do my best to tell you that I love you as much as possible, and I’ll try and keep you happy in your decision to risk being with me.”

“You’re just lucky that I also think you’re handsome.”

“Me?  Handsome?”

“Yup.  You look handsome to me, Dell.  I’m actually surprised you didn’t experience motene.”

“Huh?  You spoke Japanese again.  What’s motene?”

“Uh… it’s like… a concept of a period of time where you are popular.  There’s supposed to be something like three small stretches of time  in your life where you are perfectly attractive to the opposite gender.  Even if you’re a loser, it’s not supposed to make a difference.  It’s like a person’s good points somehow outweigh their bad ones, and I guess it’s like how life finds a way.  You know, what that doctor guy from the dinosaur movie said.”

“Paleolithic Park?”

“That’s the one.  I liked the nerdy scientist guy with the fuzzy black hair that talked in a funny way.  That’s the kind of handsomeness you have.”  

Great.  I was the Chaos Theory guy.  Well, he survived and starred in the sequels, so that has to be a good thing.

“Dell… tell me more about yourself.  You don’t live in the dungeon, right?  Where do you go when you aren’t diving in it?  What do you do to have fun?”

“Let’s see.  I pretty much dive just about every day, and have been doing so since I joined my former party.  I stay at an inn not too far away from both the Dungeon and the Dungeoneer’s Guild.  It’s called the Blue Robin Inn, and it’s fairly cheap.  I rent a room there and pay by the week.  The food’s good enough and the ale’s watered down, but I’d rather not get drunk from drinking too much of it.  The daughter of the owner is my lifeline these days, she just conned me into a deal where once a day she’ll fill my water basin and heat the water so I can have a nice hot bath after coming back from a dive.”

“Is that it?”

“When I can afford it, I do visit food stalls and occasionally browse the shops I can afford to step inside of.  I like weapon shops the most since I always liked medieval weapons.  Right now I use a spear, but before that it was a mace.”

“I tried using a bow once, but my aim was terrible.  One of the girls in my party, Katalie, had gone and bought me an iron pole after my failures.  It wasn’t too heavy to lift and I sort of just banged things on their head or pushed them back with a thrust to the stomach.  I was always in the center of the group, so I had to find my own openings to contribute.  It took a while, but eventually I figured out how to read everyone’s movements and not be a complete dead weight to them.”

“Sounds neat.  I wasn’t a vanguard, but I was kind of put on mage protection duty.  If I couldn’t find a good opportunity to attack, my job was just to mainly defend our mage.  She was really good at using fireballs.”

“Magic fireballs, huh?  That skill would have been cool to learn.”

“I’m thinking about doing just that.”

“Neat!  You have to show me when you do!”

“I promise.”

I ruffled her short shaggy brown hair.

“Are you partial to having long hair, Koko?”

“I guess?  I had long hair back on Earth.  Why?”

“It’s just… there’s something about how your femininity mixed with your cute tomboyish looks right now really turns me on.”

“You like short-haired girls?”

“It’s not something I’m particular about.  I just think you are ungodly cute right now with your short hair.”

“Mm… I don’t know how long it’ll take to grow out, but if you like it this length, I don’t mind keeping it this way for you.  Long hair is a pain to dry anyway, and it’s not like there’s modern plumbing here.  They do provide us with a large bath to use, but it’s not heated at all, and there’s not much soap.  Instead they invest in perfumes for us so we don’t… smell.”

“Mm, but I like your smell.”

“Where were you to say that to me when I used to be covered in Kobold guts in the dungeon?” she groaned.

“No idea, but I almost took a bath in Roblin guts myself yesterday.”

She giggled cutely again.  Ah, I couldn’t help myself and I hugged her tightly to myself, feeling her soft and inviting warmth.

“What, you want to go again?”

“I just wanted to hold you.  I guess I’m clingy.”

“I don’t hate that.  My sensibilities are a bit different, but you’re my husband so if you like that, then I want you to.”

I was just enjoying holding on to this girl so much.

“Dell?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna play with my boobies?”

“Is that an invitation?”

“Duh.  I finally have something there, and I like how it felt when you played with them.”

She did not have to ask me twice.  A bit of breast play got me going though and sure enough, we ended up doing it again.  I’d already lost count how many times she made me hers.  But all good things had to come to an end.  That end was a knock on the door.

“I guess it’s time to hit the road.”

“Have a good day at work, hubby!”

“I will, take care of the house for me, wifey!”

“Un!”

With a soft parting kiss, I got dressed again and with a warm hug at the last second, I said good-bye to my wife for now, and left the brothel.  Our honeymoon was quick, just a single night, but there were things to do.  I had to level up, and figure out what it is I need to do that can start reducing her so-called penance.  I mean, now that I have a wife, it’s completely normal to want her to be exclusively mine as soon as possible.  I don’t even know if it’s possible, but damn if I’m not going to try my best today to get as close to the fourth level as possible before calling it a day.

I just hope there’s no dumb shit with the roblins today.

I should learn a magic spell.  I wonder if there is any way of finding skills that synchronize somehow with being a Chosen of Alurian so I can get the most out of it?  I get the feeling though that only support spells are going to have that kind of flair.

The next stop was back to the inn to change, and then the guild to meet up with those crazy kids.  Even though I’m physically younger than them, I’m still something of an adult mentally.  Arriving at the Blue Robin Inn, it looks like breakfast is in full swing.  I have a standing order for three sets of it to take with me to the dungeon, so I don’t need to sit down and eat right now.  I went to my room to have some privacy to change my clothes, and then back out to collect the grub from the Inn’s Missus, who even though is married to the owner, is the one really running the show around here.

Maybe that’s why Rennifel had good business sense offering me that whole one hot bath a day deal…, she got it from her mother.

“Oh, Randell.  Is everything going well with your diving?” The Inn’s Missus asked me.

“Yes ma’am.  I’m sure Relenna and the other Red Hawks are with me in spirit.  I’m going to keep the Red Hawks party going for now and see how far I can take it.  The guild introduced me to an interesting pair who ended up joining the other day.  Right now it’s just us three building up our coordination and trust, diving safely until we can pick up a couple more members.  I’m currently in the market for a good meat shield and as close to a scout as I can get.”

She handed me over the nicely wrapped parcel and I stored it immediately in my item box.

“I’ll keep my ears open.  If I come across someone should I send them to your room?”

“I might not be in the early evening, so if you could instead either tell them to see Myria the receptionist at the guild, or have them wait for me here at breakfast, I’ll definitely be reachable that way.”

“I can do that.  Since you have new party members will you be continuing to lodge with us in the future?”

“I don’t have any plans to go elsewhere.  The Red Hawks chose the Blue Robin Inn as their nest, right?  There’s an old saying where I’m from.  Birds of a feather flock together.”

“You say some interesting things sometimes, Randell.”

“I might, but I promise whatever they are, it’s less crude than anything Jung would consider interesting.”

She laughed heartily.

“He’s the only one who had the guts to dare say aloud that even if my bosom is sagging, my arse is still firm.”

I tried to hold back my laughter.  I remember that happening.  It was the night we came back from the dungeon after Jung went chasing down a certain roblin who stole his daggers.

“Jung did have a bit of a loose tongue at times.”

“Not as loose as what was in his pants.”

“Ah, yeah.  He did like women quite a bit.”

“Quite a bit my foot.  If it wasn’t a trip to the brothels, it was more often or not someone he picked up right here late at night.  The boy was a good cook, and he knew better than most that a well fed woman was quick to loosen her breeches.”

She gave me a sly wink to accompany that lewd comment.

Truly?  I had no idea he was picking up women outside of the brothels he would go to visit.  Well, we weren’t exactly a wealthy party, so it does make sense that he couldn’t afford to go as often as he might like.  Was it women from other diving parties that he seduced?

As much as I thought I knew about Jung, it seems there was still more to learn after his death.  But that’s normal, right?  I had only known him for a month, and that’s hardly enough time to know all sides to a person.  If you look at it properly I was probably somewhere in the stage between acquaintance and friend.  Like a co-worker you’d shoot the shit with at lunch for a while.

Thinking about that, the same thing must also apply to the other three… and even my new bride, Kokoro.  I don’t think I even considered things like the time or distance between us, I just went all in with her after a soothing night immediately following the death of the four people who basically taught me how to walk on my own two feet, and even now I know they’re still wobbly feet…

But still.

I love her.

I’m sure this feeling is love.

Love and not just lust, because after the moment I climaxed within her, there was no sense of shame or guilt, or that whole what did I even let myself masturbate to? kind of moment that followed afterward.  She was still there, and I was happy she was still there, and I wanted nothing more than to continue to still be there with her, wrapping her thin frame with my not all that much more muscular arms.

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After leaving the inn, it was to the guild to meet up with Gonzo and Teresa.  They were running a bit late, and the reason why became obvious quickly.  Gonzo was walking a bit stiffly.

“Is everything alright?” I had to ask.  Going into the dungeon with party members who weren’t in a good state was a bad idea.

“Gonz will be fine, don’t worry about that idiot.”  Teresa was clearly upset with Gonzo.  Well, lovers' spats happen.  Even Kyros and Relenna had one or two in the time I was with the party, but for the most part it didn’t affect our diving, and as long as that remained the case here, what those two did was none of my business.  Instead, as we walked to the dungeon slowly, mostly so Gonzo wouldn’t be left behind as his walking speed was halved due to… whatever, I asked Teresa about what magic she could use, if any.

Magic was different from Skills, though they often danced a fine line at times, and other times they were one and the same..

“Yes, I can use magic.  But it’s limited to my affinity, which is of course, Darkness.”

What did I expect from a Necromancer affinity with sunshine and roses?  Well, if she went for the gothic lolita style, black roses might actually suit her.

“It’s how I can manipulate my Field of Darkness and Dark Fire skills.  It’s also how I maintain my link with Duster.”

“…is Duster really your husband?”

“He is.  Curious about it?”

“It’s not every day you see a Necromancer having her dead husband do her dirty work.  Usually death is supposed to be the final freedom from that.” I quipped.

“Duster wasn’t a good man to me, Randell.  I’m sure you have some opinions about us you’re keeping to yourself, about how Gonz and I behave.  It’s not like I’m not aware of it, and that we haven’t had to leave other parties before because of it either… it’s only that…”

I stopped her there.  “How you and Gonzo behave isn’t an issue for me.  What matters the most to me was teamwork, and you both have shown that you are competent and capable party members.”

“Usually when someone hears we’re faithful to Grimlock, things never turn out well, and that’s before they even know what our classes are.  Even though your faith is with the Slutmoth… Alurian, I didn’t expect you to be so open to how we do things.”

“It really doesn’t bother me all that much.  If I had to say it, I’ve been around people like you before, and at the end of the day we’re all still human, right?  But, how did you end up with the brother of your dead husband as your lover?”

“Gonz understood me.  Like… the real me.  The crazy bitch that I am, and that’s something my husband never could.  He did everything he could to make me his wife, then when he finally succeeded that’s when the real hell began.  I don’t know what made him desire me so much if he hated everything about me, but that was how it was.  Gonz was close with his brother, but that also meant he saw how things were between us.”

“So it was a sympathetic love?”

“Pox no!  Given the choice between a husband I couldn’t stand and Gonz who despite being a fool was kind to me…  It was barely a choice at all.”

 “This might be a little rude of me, but did you ever love your husband?”

“Not even for a day.”

“Then why did you agree to marry him?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice at the time.  It was that, or make a living by selling my body.  Though in the end it was pretty much the same thing.”

It seems like everyone has their own circumstances.  My wife happens to do exactly what she mentioned, and while I should have some sympathy for her in this situation, I don’t know if I do.  Certainly I think no woman should have to do that sort of thing if there’s any other way, but humanity is the furthest thing from perfection.  And in the case of the Penance mark my wife received for only wanting to be safe, it seems so are the gods.

Entering the dungeon, it was business as usual, though Duster seemed to have experienced some kind of level up or something.  He seemed to be more than just his usual skeleton self.  If… he had a self?  I freely admit to not knowing the delicate intricacies involved with how Necromantic summons operate.  We remained on the lookout for named monsters so that whatever quest it was that Teresa had received for Duster might be continued.  

We ran into quite a few parties today, more than usual, and found ourselves with a bit more downtime then we expected.  That gave me a chance to look at some potential skills, and talk with the duo.  I wasn’t exactly hot shit with Relenna’s Regret, the spear she entrusted me with, so I continued my thoughts on learning a magical spell, eventually consulting Teresa about it when we took a break in a safe zone.  Gonzo was definitely not at peak performance and was lying down.  If I didn’t know any better I’d say he had a case of the squirts he was fighting back.

“So, what are your choices?” Teresa asked me.

“First I’d like to know if I have an affinity for something.  Is there a way to tell?”

“Affinities are simply a part of you, Randell.” Teresa explained. “Do you feel any sort of particular drawing to an element?  It can be as simple as enjoying staring at a candle’s flame imagining the world around you burning, or wanting to hide in a forest among the trees at night because it makes you comfortable not knowing what horrors would emerge and violate you."

I now fully understood why Darkness was her affinity. But as for my own?  Does wanting a hot bath and air conditioning count as an affinity?  Is modern living and technology an affinity?

“I don’t quite get it.  Is there a fixed list of what affinities are?”

“The main ones are well known:  Fire, Water, Land, Wind, Light, Darkness, Metal, Plants, Beasts… it’s pretty varied.  I’ve never heard of a full list of affinities though.  There’s probably some that are kept secret by the pox-licking nobility for sure.”

“Would something like love be an affinity?”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be?  Is there a reason why you’re asking?”

“I was considering picking up a magic skill, but I don’t want to choose something that I wouldn’t really have an understanding of.  My former party’s mage, Marta, was really good with fire spells.”

“I also have an inclination towards fire.  That’s why I chose a skill called Dark Fire.  The skill itself is the conjuration, but my affinities reflect what I can do with it.  It takes mana control to manipulate it, like when you had me using it inside of Duster’s skull.” she explained.

“Then, one last thing.  Are there any skills that can be created?”

“Who knows?  I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but again you’re asking me about things only a scholar, temple priest, noble, high guilder, or sage would know.  I’m just a poor Necromancer with a couple of skeletons in my closet.”

Duster, who was by our side the entire time turned around to face us and clacked his bony jaw.

“Yes, I was referring to you.”

He clacked again, but nothing further afterwards.

“Does Duster normally do that when you talk about him?”

She shook her head vigorously to the sides.

“Nope.  But I know my husband well, so he doesn’t even have to say a word for me to know he felt offended by that.  I wonder if this has to do with him having eaten that roblin’s brains yesterday?”

“I noticed you keep calling Duster your husband.  Is there any reason for it?  I mean, you and Gonzo are lovers now, so…”

“It’s because he got his wish and I can continue to hurt him after his death by reminding him that the wife he loved so much and his brother can have all the nastiest taboo sex we want and there’s not a thing he can do to stop it.  He can’t even claim me back, because his most treasured bone is nowhere to be found.”  Those words from her carried venom.  I began to wonder if she wasn’t a victim of domestic violence and possibly worse in the bedroom during her marriage.  “It’s a strange thing, Randell.  I couldn’t stand him at the end while he was alive, it’s only after he died and became my summon that I could finally appreciate him.”

“Maybe it’s a twisted love that transcended death?”

“That sounds like Duster alright.” She answered matter-of-factly.  “He was also someone who loosely believed in Alurian’s Divine Embrace.  Poxin’ Slutmotherlovin’ piece of–”

Teresa suddenly just punched Duster who took the blow uninterestedly.  He replied with a clack though, and Teresa just cursed.

“Of course it hurt you bony bastard!”

She was rubbing her knuckles now.

“Want a heal?” I offered.

Duster clacked again.

“You probably just want to feel what you’ll never have again, don’t you?  You finally have your wife for the rest of your death, and here you are wanting to cop a feel of the Slutmother’s tits.”

Duster raised his skeletal hand and pointed at her.

More specifically, Teresa’s chest.

“What, you miss playing with these?”

Duster clacked.

“Are you poxing serious?”

In what was the strangest scene, the skeleton husband of the Necromancer in our party dropped to his bony knees and supplicated.

“No.  No pus dripping way.”

Duster remained prostrated on the floor.

“I’ll send you back right to the boneyards, I swear to the skull throne!”

Duster did not move.  Not even a clack was issued.  He was dead still in supplication, and I meant every choice word of that.

“Fine, then stay here and rot!” She yelled at him.

Teresa got up and proceeded to issue a kick into the ribs of her partner Gonzo.

“We’re done for today.  Let’s go.”

Teresa looked over my way.  Whatever happened just now was clearly affecting her emotionally.  It was more than a dead skeleton husband asking to touch his still living wife who was embroiled in a relationship with his brother, that much was plain.  We were close enough to the teleportation circle so with an apology from Teresa and a confused but still in some kind of physical distress Gonzo, those two left the dungeon for the day.

However, Duster didn’t collapse into a pile of bones as I expected.  I was left in the dungeon with the abandoned skeleton unsure of what to do next.  We had slim pickings today, but I also didn’t want to leave so soon even though that was the case.

“She’s gone uh… Duster.”

A clack.

“Duster, can you understand me?  One clack for yes, two for no.”

Another clack.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

No clack.

“Do… you still love Teresa?”

A lone but fiercely loud clack.  It was so loud I wondered if his teeth chipped.  Duster, the summoned skeleton, suddenly stood up and pointed at my spear suddenly.

“You want to use it?” I asked.

Duster clacked his jaw.

I handed it over.  I had a backup weapon that I could still use, though I wasn’t all that familiar with it.  It was Kyros’ sword and shield.  It was the closest thing to a mace I had.  Duster pointed in a direction and clacked.

“You want me to go with you that way?”

Clack.

“Alright.  Don’t get me killed though.  Uh… can we work out a signal for when I need to heal you?”

Duster hefted the spear up and spun it like a helicopter’s blades over his head.

“Understood.”

Clack.

It shouldn’t have been this way.  I was crazy to be on the second floor not even at the fourth level, hunting in a party with a skeleton that could break apart at any second and leave me in a bad situation, but I wanted to earn more money and experience.

I had a wife too that I now needed take care of.

“Duster, can you hold on for a second.  I have a skill to speed you up that might help.”

Duster clacked twice.

“You don’t want it?”

Clack.

A surge of tangible dark energy began to coil around the walking construction of bone.

“Right, then lead on.”

Clack.

There was no need to heal Duster.  None at all.  No living thing on the floor could even touch him right now.  It was something out of a nightmare.  A skeleton that ebbed evil energy was massacring every single goblinkind that dared to approach.  He was using Relenna’s Regret in ways I don’t think I ever could, and he was good at it.  Like he had been trained as a spearman before his death.

It took more effort to catch up to him than not, because he didn’t need to breathe, nor did he have muscles that ached from overuse.  It was necromantic magic that fastened his bones, and he was the bonelord.  For whatever reason, Duster was considered as part of the Red Hawks by the dungeon at least, because my experience began to rise with every one of his kills.

Room after room was massacred and we were approaching the boss room when it happened.  Duster began to clack slowly.  Methodically.  Just like he had with the named roblin, Roblin Hood.  He was staring at the door to the boss room.

“Uh, Duster.  That’s a big no, fella.  It’s just you and me.  We’ll get crushed, and the only difference is that you can come back from it.”

Duster turned to face me.  He hefted the spear over his head and began to spin it.

“Yeah, I mean I have no problem healing you, but you can’t be seriously considering going in there.”

He continued to twirl the spear over his head.

“Alright…”

Though I didn’t see any visible damage on him, I healed him anyway.

He clacked twice at me.

“No heal?”

He clacked.

“Did you want me to use Grace of the Whirlwind on you?”

He clacked again.

“You’re really planning on going in there?”

He clacked.  Then he pointed at me.

“I’ll die.”

He clacked twice.

“Look, I’ll buff you.  I’ll even let you use the spear if you really wanna do it yourself, but…”

He clacked.

I’d say it was his funeral but that was a long time ago, wasn’t it?

I channeled the Grace of the Whirlwind on Duster the Skeleton and it felt like my life force was being drained out of me.  I’d never experienced mana depletion before, yet even I had a bit of a sense for it now that I had access to Alurian’s Heal.

This felt different.

Right near the point of exhaustion, Duster pulled my hand away from his bony chest with a singular clack.  Then he turned around and pushed the door open with his other.

“Alright… good luc–“

That no-good skeleton!  He was so fast in doing so, I didn’t even know he had grabbed me and thrown me inside the room until I landed on my back and had the wind knocked out of me.  There was a loud shriek followed by a methodical clacking.  It took all that I had to prop myself up, hoping I could figure a way to escape once I heard the door to the room slam shut behind us.

 

Clack.

 

Clack.

 

Clack.

 

Clack.

 

I felt terror creep into my heart...  I surely wasn’t the only living creature in here who did, either.

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