Chapter 4: B1 — 3. What If I Get Captured?

Elinor felt her connection to her magical construct fade.

Well, crap … back to my diamond encased void home.  I come back if my magical construct takes too much damage, eh?  I mean, the earrings are my body, so that makes sense, but it feels strange not worrying if my body gets cut up.  Wait, what is this?

She felt two weak threads linking her energy to Raul and Ms. Bones; however, she couldn’t feel any connection to Javier’s skeleton.

I guess they’re attached to me, not my magical construct; that’s cool.  Okay, so, can I control them myself … Lesser Possession.  Sweet!  It only works on unintelligent Undead that I create … that means I can make intelligent Undead!  It’s probably a good idea to get myself out of this situation before experimenting, though.

Activating Lesser Possession on Ms. Bones, she felt a weakened version of the five senses she experienced in her magically constructed body illuminate her surroundings.

She didn’t have to blink, or it would be more accurate to say that she couldn’t blink; however, the world that greeted her was far dimmer than what she experienced in her artificial body.  It soon became apparent that she was using two different senses; she knew the toad-men above her were moving to the edge of the roof to look down, even though they weren’t in her line of sight.

What senses do I have … Weakened Senses and Minor Life Detection.  So, that’s how they knew about the toads on the roof.  Well, that’s fantastic; the battle-ax toad has his ax back.  He can crush my skeletons with a single hit.  Why are they standing around, though?  Are they confused…

The thought trailed off as she looked to her left, where her magical body was beginning to decompose.  She couldn’t help but feel a flash of fascination as she watched her magical construct slowly turn a ghostly green color before dispersing into an emerald fog; it started with her skin, moving to her muscles to reveal patches of luminescent green veins before her muscles began to fade.

Her head was degrading at the same pace; the piercing ghostly light in her eyes gradually dying.  The thousands of hair strands that were severed from her corpse had fallen across the ground, turning into green smoke before vanishing.  It was a haunting yet oddly beautiful sight to see herself being enveloped by different shades of green fog.

Okay, making another magical construct will probably take a decent amount of my … what do I even call it … Life Force.  I gather Life Force and use it.  Can I die if I run out of Life Force … no, I’ll just be trapped in my diamonds until I can suck some Life Force out from something that’s nearby.  I’m like a freakin’ vampire, and that sounds worse than death, floating in an endless purgatory, not being able to do anything until some random creature sleeps next to me; no thanks!

Her attention was pulled out of her horrifying reverie as she heard the dull humming of the toads communicating.  It sounded completely different than what she heard as her magical construct.  The toads on the roof were talking with the toad with the ax, but Elinor had already made up her mind.

She dashed forward, scooping up her disappearing severed head; she cursed as she noticed the trail of green fog following them, and commanded skeleton Raul to do his best to hold off the battle-ax toad.

Dodge, run, throw stuff, I don’t care!  Just make sure he is focused on you and not me, and don’t let him hit you with that ax!  I don’t care about the roof toads, they can hurt me, but they don’t have anything to crush me.  Do your best, skeletal...

Her encouraging thoughts were dashed as she felt her connection to skeleton Raul vanish.  You have to be kidding me; he didn’t last like eight seconds!

The slight pressure she felt from her bony fingers was becoming less and less apparent as her head continued to disperse into smoke.  Looking down, she was grateful that her earrings were still attached and it seemed like it would be the last part of the head to disintegrate.

She ran back along the street, retracing the path she’d taken by bus that morning; she sensed both groups of toad following but keeping their distance.  The battle-ax toad seemed to be keeping an even pace with her, holding back several meters to her left as a group of four kept a similar distance to her right.

What are they doing?  One stayed behind, but they could easily crush … what am I doing?  Why don’t I ditch my head somewhere and reform my body?  But that would mean … I don’t want to sacrifice Ms. Bones, though!  I don’t think I have much of a choice; she needs to lead them away…

Fighting past the strange discomfort within her diamond palace; she had Ms. Bones turn left at the next corner and throw her head into an open doorway before breaking Lesser Possession to let her former body continue leading them away to her almost inevitable demise.

The black senselessness returned as she withdrew to her last bastion.  She didn’t know if she rolled or hit something as she waited with trepidation.  Her spirit sat inside her sanctuary, waiting for her skeleton to disappear; she didn’t want to see the end of her body, sensing it was bad enough.  However, after a time, Ms. Bones stopped.  Elinor tried to push her former body to keep running, but it wouldn’t.  She tried to activate Lesser Possession, but that was barred as well.

What’s happening?  Why can’t I use Lesser Possession … because I’m too far away.  Well, why didn’t you tell me there was a limited distance?  Man, can you tell me this stuff?  I guess not … you suck.  Then, why did Ms. Bones stop … because it reached the limited sphere of my control.  Great, just great, another distance limit that you didn’t tell me about.  You’re the worst counselor, ever!

So, Ms. Bones is just going to wait there.  I could tell it to come back, but why haven’t they destroyed it?  Maybe they’re as confused as I am.  I don’t want Ms. Bones to lead them back to me, though … I don’t even know if they caught on and already found my head!  I guess this gives me some time to think, though.  I’m probably not in any danger at the moment.

Recalling Ms. Bones a bit, she had it sit down a few blocks away from her; Ms. Bones was still completely unharmed and unimpeded, other than the hole in its head.

Okay, this is an odd situation; I’m a Mythickin Lich Empress.  A Mythickin is like my Type, and Lich is my Race, and Empress is my Kind; I’m really not human … I’m like Voldemort.  Wait, I really am like Voldemort, but royalty!  I have a little object that keeps my spirit inside, but he had freaking seven!  Freakin’ hax!

Voldemort had his crucks-things forever away, but it’s not like he could just duck inside them whenever he was scared.  It was just like … a failsafe?  If that’s the case, then what would happen if my earrings were separated … I’d be unable to concentrate Life Force to perform any abilities.  Well, that’s bullcrap!

Voldemort could still do stuff; well, I guess once his body was destroyed, it was a little different, but my body completely rejected me.  How’s any of this fair?  He had his original body, but I got stuck with an artificial one … it’s not fair at all.

She felt something poking Ms. Bones, which activated her counter-attack function.  She managed to stop it from completing the action, but she knew it had at least been close to retaliating; however, nothing happened.

What in the world is happening over there?  This is so frustrating!  Alright … just chill—deep breaths.  Okay, so, my parents are still missing; they must have went looking for me when they saw I wasn’t at the hotel, but where would they go?  Is that dome a barrier?  Did they escape the dome before it closed?  No, that wouldn’t make any sense.  They’d look for me before running into the jungle.

Grr, I’m not getting any answers like this, and if I tell Ms. Bones to come back, then they’ll follow it to me.  At least they aren’t destroying it.  What should I do, then?  I think I escaped.  So, the next thing would be to get information?  Find out what the crap is going on?

She activated Artificial Body and watched the world slowly return as her senses connected to her spirit.  She frowned as she shifted to her side; again, she was completely naked.  Pulling her hair back to get to her feet, she looked around.  She was in the front room of a house; the door had been knocked off its hinges, and it was clear that one of the toad-men’s pets had forced its way inside.  She seemed alone, though.

The room was a mess with broken furniture and glass.  There were a few photos that were all in some way damaged, but she couldn’t see any dead bodies or blood.  Her head tilted toward the right wall of the house as she heard loud crashes further up the street and more toads making grunting noises.

Alright, I think if I go back the way I came, then that would be the best option; they did leave a toad behind, but once it sees my body’s completely gone then it should leave.  They’re not going to search a place they’ve already been, and Ms. Bones is distracting at least some of them.  It’s not far, and I would like to get my clothes back.

She peeked outside, looking around the area; there were no signs of movement.  Deciding she needed to really start moving and reassured with the fact that she was mostly immortal, she ran back the way she’d come.

The entire way back, she didn’t see a single toad-man or their pets, making sure to keep a close eye on the roofs—one annoying detail that she didn’t experience as Ms. Bones, her long bouncing hair and bare chest.

Peeking around the corner of the building before the hotel, she scanned the area; there wasn’t a single toad in sight, on the roof or in the street.  She listened carefully, but only heard the grunting of toads beyond the buildings to her left.

She spotted her clothes in the same place she’d left them.  Quickly running to the spot, she eyed her surroundings, but couldn’t see anything staring back.  Scooping them off the ground, she darted into her hotel room, partially closing the door to hide herself.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, she began changing.  It took her a bit longer to get ready; halfway through, she froze as a loud thump hit the roof, likely one of the pets by the heavy sounds.

Elinor stayed as still as possible, but it seemed to be using the hotel as a traveling point because it quickly moved further across the hotel roof.  After the sounds of its crawling disappeared, she managed to get everything tightened.

Taking a deep breath, she looked outside, lips pursed; she watched a toad-man with a flute and a blow-pipe run across the rooftop across the street, but they seemed to be going in the direction of Ms. Bones.

The town’s a freakin’ hotspot for these things!  Maybe I should try moving through the jungle … to go where, though?  But what other options do I have?  I need to find my parents and get out of this hellhole.

Her vision shifted to the still humming brown truck.  Maybe we can use this truck to get out of town?  Should I get in and drive through the streets shouting their names?  You’re kidding!  She rapped her knuckles against the side of her head.  That’s a stupid idea!  I need to be quiet.

After a second’s thought, the jungle was the best plan she could come up with.  She ran out of the building and turned left instead of right, running toward the closest part of the jungle that she could see over the houses.  When she turned the final corner, she almost tripped.

Ahead of her were four pools of blood, no bodies.  Her shock was quickly subdued by her racial, giving her the courage to walk around the small patches of what she could only describe as organs and blood that were splattered across the poorly paved street.

I need to hurry and find them…

Turning away from the gore, she broke into a sprint; it was a lot easier to move when she didn’t feel any pain or discomfort from the impractical dress and boots she was wearing.  Making it to the dense jungle, she paused, hiding in the brush.  The dense foliage was surprisingly quiet compared to the previous night, and all the movies she’d seen told her that was a bad thing.

Is this a good idea?  What if I get lost or they’re waiting to ambush me?  How can I even get lost when I’m this close to town?  I’m immortal, though, what’s there to be worried about?  Calm the flip down!  Deep breaths … deep breaths.  Just stay close to the town, and it will be fine.  The toads are running the streets having a party; why would they be in the jungle…

She crept out of the brush, trying to keep the town at least partially visible.  After two minutes, she saw two toads running atop the rooftops, one jumping down to explore a cream-colored house; they were fast, way faster than she thought they should be, and these two held spears.

Elinor paused, pulling her hair around her front as she ducked closer to the ground to be less visible.  She studied the building, but the toad didn’t come out after a few minutes.  Backing up, she looked around the dense foliage.  She couldn’t see the town any longer; only small fragments of colors from the overhead cracks of light as she peered into the jungle.

This is actually a pretty good place to hide; even if they can see in the dark like I can, then the foliage itself is a good deterrent.  Maybe mom and dad are hiding in the jungle, looking for me, just like I’m looking for them?  It would be so easy to miss each other; they’d need to…

Her thoughts trailed off as she saw something shift in a hanging tree, and on closer inspection, confirmed it; a toad was staring right at her.  She hadn’t noticed it at first since its green skin blended into the scenery so well, and it had dark green eyes.  This one didn’t wear a vest like the others, making it even less visible.

The moment it became clear she’d noticed it, its tongue shot out, sticking to the tip of her hair at her front like glue.  All she could do was gasp as it pulled her up into the air.  Her feet dangled six-feet off the ground, the tongue attached to the ends of her hair; even if she was trying to extend her arms as high as they could go, the tongue was barely out of reach, and to make it worse, her dress restricted her arms from extending to their full length.

“What is your problem with me, creep?”  She growled, lightly swinging back and forth, fingers gripping several locks that were stuck to the toad’s tongue.

She felt the pressure of being suspended by her hair, but there was no pain.  Grunting softly, she struggled for several seconds, trying to use her hair as a rope to pull herself up, but her artificial body wasn’t strong enough.

Cursing softly, she gave up, wearing a deep grimace as she slowly swung in place.  She crossed her arms, looking around dully, teeth lightly grinding against each other.  After a minute, her tone turned dry.  “So, what?  We just going to hang here all night?”

The toad responded by letting go of a deep rumble in its throat that carried surprisingly far.  Elinor released a loud sigh; it only released a single cry and returned to silence, so she returned to staring down at the leafy floor.

This is ridiculous.  They can’t kill me, but they certainly can keep me pinned.  It’s not like I have anything to cut my hair off with either, and this body is stupidly weak … of course, I couldn’t do a pull-up at school either after dropping out of gymnastics.  Ripping my hair out isn’t that practical; I don’t even know how strong I’d need to be to start tearing my hair off my scalp … I have a lot of hair.  Maybe…

Emerald flames lit across her hands, moving up her long black sleeves; the fabric didn’t show any indication that it was on fire.  She tried swiping threateningly at the toad’s tongue with the flames, but the only reaction she got was a slight flinch as it stiffened.

What’s wrong with these things?  I guess they’re pretty intelligent, but it’s fire; I’d be freaking out if someone was waving a hand filled with green fire at my tongue!

Out of options, she puffed out a long breath.  Ms. Bones … help me.

She felt her former body rise and start making its way toward her; the poking had ceased a few minutes ago.  Her lips became a line as she glanced down where three toads seemed to appear from the brush; they were all but silent.  Two of the toads were blue and had spears while the third was the battle-ax toad.

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“Oh … wonderful.  When the heck did you three get here?”  Elinor asked dully.  “What’s your deal anyway?  You just show up and start killing people, or are you just changed humans like me?  Although I guess, that means there are more of me … now that’s pretty terrifying.”

They just stared up at her, mirroring her blank expression.

Ms. Bones will be here in a minute, but who knows…

One of the toads with the spears jabbed up suddenly, putting the point through her left eye.

“Oh, no … please, no, it hurts,” she mumbled dryly before latching onto the spearhead with both hands.  “Wait, this is actually pretty good.  You can pull me…”  She grunted as it simply jerked the spear out of her grip with a powerful tug.

“Dammit…”  She muttered, looking down at her sliced open palms, fire still burning across her arms.  The wounds started to close with the damage to her face.

At least my construct doesn’t break when my head is damaged.  Maybe it was destroyed because my entire neck was severed from my body?  So, it can’t heal massive damage.

She studied the toads as they started to hum at each other.  What will they do if I start swaying?  I could use my hair like a rope and start swinging instead of … Life Tap, do I have to touch people to use it … no, it can be used from a very short distance away!

Grunting, she lifted her hands, the fire dying as she activated Life Tap.  The veins along her arms began to glow lime green as the toad above her stiffened; a ghostly shamrock green mist started to froth off its tongue.  It seemed to be pulled toward her in a slow stream as it was absorbed into her skin; the lime-colored light of her veins pulsed emerald as she continued to drain the toad’s Life Force.

Her body tensed with exhilaration as she felt the energy being pulled from her fingertips, up her arm, and move toward her head and ears; the intoxicating feeling spreading through her diamond void home was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.  It was warm, and it wasn’t until this point that she realized how cold she actually felt.

Just as quickly as the heat came, it ceased; the toad released her, breaking the distance needed to drain its Life Force.  She dropped to the ground; her legs almost buckled, and she would have fallen if not for the two spears that pierced her shoulders, keeping her arms from moving.

She clicked her tongue with annoyance as she looked down at the spears.  “Man … I really liked these clothes.”

Her ghostly vision studied the battle-ax toad with indifference as he sallied up to her; the two spear-toads parted to let him in, grinding their spears against her artificial bones and popping her joints out of place.  Still, she felt no need to cry out in pain as she dully watched him approach.

She extinguished the fire along her hands.  Wasting energy probably isn’t the best idea … I don’t want to get too low if they decide to keep stabbing me, and then I’ll be stuck until they put me in their ears or something … that isn’t a bad idea, actually.  Oh, and Ms. Bones is just about here; I just need to stall a bit longer.  If I can take out the boss, then the others should run.  I’ll just have Ms. Bones run at him and use its bony hand like a spear!

“So,” she said with a small smile.  “What are you going to do with me?  You already killed me once, and that didn’t stick, remember?”

The toad lifted his free hand and pressed it against her left shoulder wound; the two other toads looked at each other with what appeared concern, and she finally got a look at the toad in the trees.  It had dropped down and was staring at her with caution, tongue licking its three large teeth on either side of its lips nervously.

Hmm, it seems like they don’t know what to make of me.  I’m not like the other humans they’ve dealt with here; for one, I don’t bleed, and this guy was supposed to have already killed me.

An edge of excitement touched her as Ms. Bones shot through the undergrowth.

Finally!  Take him...

Without glancing back, the toad flung its ax at Ms. Bones; it smashed straight through her previous body’s skull, shattering it to pieces as her link broke.

“What?”  Elinor’s eyes widened; she wanted to cry, but no tears came.  “How’s that … that’s not fair … you didn’t even look.”  She mumbled; the toads seemed confused by her reaction as they turned to study her previous body and then her expression.

I … my body … it’s gone; I don’t … how can I … am I stuck like this now?  I’m a Lich Empress forever?  Why’s that a problem?  I’m so confused … if I felt like this, then why did I even turn my body into a skeleton … Lich Bane, a Racial Trait that splits my humanity.  It forces a split between my previous Human Nature and Lich Nature, putting them at odds.

Does being an Empress have any kind of trait … Imperial Presence and Royal Temper … well, great.  What does Imperial Presence do … I exude a regal posture and aura that can cause those that are in my presence to become cowed or awestruck.

That’s kind of cool.  Maybe that’s why the toads paused a few times, but it can’t be that powerful with how they’ve been treating me.  Why is it not that effective … it’s level one … my abilities have levels?  Holy crap … that’s crazy.  What level is Raise Skeleton … two.  Wow, okay.

What about Royal Temper, what does it do … a Trait that makes me haughty and bore easily.  That’s complete crap … well, I have been getting a bit bored with these ridiculous circumstances recently.  Fantastic … I’m like a spoiled brat.  Let’s just not think about that one.

I got pretty emotional about Ms. Bones.  The loss of my human body must be tied to my Human Nature clinging onto it as an anchor.  This is real; I’m not human anymore … what will my parents think?  Will they still love me?  Why wouldn’t they love me?  Are they still alive?  Did these creatures kill them?  No, I have to believe they’re alive!

Her vision returned to the toads as Emotional Loss slowly calmed her twisted mind, shock turning into cold rage.  They took something of mine … that was my body.  They’ll regret that eventually.  What should I do in the meantime?  I don’t see any way out of this situation, but I don’t really want to deal with this crap.  They’re smart enough to lock my movements down, seeing as they can’t kill me.  Next … yup, they’ll tie me up.  Could they come up with anything less clever?

She watched the creeper-toad step forward with a few vines in hand, likely gathered from the jungle itself.  It cautiously approached her but quickened its work as the battle-ax toad grunted, lifting his hand to recall its ax.

Elinor’s vision settled on what remained of her skeletal body; it had collapsed into a scattered mess of bones, fragments of her skull strewn around the area.

If I want to get out of this and save my parents, assuming they’re still alive, then I need to learn more about being a Lich Empress.  What I really need is something better than this nameless thing in my head that gives me answers … wow, I really do sound a lot more haughty and royal-like.  Anyways, knowledge-thing, how do I get a better advisor than you?  Ah, I get it, so, you don’t want to be replaced, eh?

She hummed lowly, causing the toads to stiffen, and the creeper-toad tying her up to drop the vine, leaping back a few feet.

Her eyebrow lifted, giggling, “Jumpy, aren’t you?”

The battle-ax toad grunted, slapping the creeper-toad on the shoulder; probably telling him to get on with it, and Elinor returned to her thoughts as he inched forward.

I want another advisor; someone that can actually hold a conversation.  Can you give me something like that … Royal Court Titles.  What is this?  As a Lich Empress, I can bestow a title to an undead candidate that will advance into a Special Undead unit.  They’ll gain special abilities based on the specific title they’re designated with and grow accordingly, eh?  It looks like you aren’t so useless after all.

Royal Court … now that sounds like an Empress.  Okay, at least we’re getting somewhere, being an Empress is cool, I guess.  Royal Court Titles, though.  I did ask for a better advisor, and it gave me this.

An Empress has a bunch of subjects, so that means that the Royal Court is the leadership that helps me rule, but I’m above them.  If I give someone a title, then they are brought into my Royal Court.  I can work with that.  I can’t just use it on anyone, though, can I … thought so.

Her attention was pulled back to reality as the spear-toads jerked their weapons out of her shoulders.  The creeper-toad had finished tying her up, and quickly brought the end of the vine to the battle-ax toad.  The jumpy-toad had wrapped the vine around her body from her shoulders to her elbows and had a lead that they could pull her along with.

I need nicknames for these things.  The toad that was creeping around in the jungle … he’ll be Creeper.  Ax-toad … Boss; he’s definitely the Boss.  Spear twins … they really are like twins, same patterns and everything; they can be … left will be Kirby and right will be Shirly … I don’t even know if you’re a boy or girl.  I’ll come up with better names later if I ever find out.

Back to my abilities, though; what spells do I have?  You won’t tell me big questions … hmm.

The Boss tugged on the rope, indicating that she was supposed to follow.  “Hey, give me a second, Boss.”  She growled.  Her boots had sunk a little into the wet soil, making her grunt to pull them out.

How many skeletons can I make now … nine … holy crap!  That’s like three times what I could back at the hotel!  One level can make a big difference?  Can I sense dead things around me … Lesser Corpse Detection; if I activate it, I can sense all the things I can raise within a ten-foot radius.  I can’t reanimate them if I can’t light them on fire…

Boss tugged on her vine a little harder, making her stumble forward and almost trip.  “Is it impossible to be a little gentler,” she grumbled, slowly walking behind him as Kirby and Shirly took up either side of her and Creeper followed behind.

She passed by her scattered bones with a deep frown as she activated Detect Corpses.  I can’t raise my skeleton again … once they’re destroyed, it’s over for them.

Creeper tied her hair up with her body, so it was a little hard to look around.  There’s over a dozen small dead creatures in the area.  Can I have little green butterflies of fire go reanimate them … I can; Herald of the Empress!  That was pretty specific and cool!  It’s almost like it’s responding to my desires, for the most part.

Using Herald of the Empress, she watched green fire appear on her hands, licking up her black sleeved arms; nine burning emerald and shamrock-colored butterflies materialized out of the flames, quickly flapping their wings toward the closest corpses of the creatures hidden underneath the thick foliage.

Wow ... they’re actually really beautiful…

Boss reacted in an instant, ax swiping at two of the fiery messengers and causing them to disperse while Kirby and Shirly readied their spears to stab her shoulders again.  Creeper just jumped into a nearby tree, sticking to the branches.

Elinor lifted an eyebrow at the frightened toad.  “I must say, even I’m a little embarrassed for you.”

The remaining butterflies lowered to the ground and disappeared, causing Boss to grunt with apparent annoyance as he turned toward her.  Her lips curled into an innocent smile as she shrugged, extinguishing the flames as her new miniature force began to stir.

Boss lifted his ax and in two swift motions, cleaved through both of her forearms, somehow managing to stop the blow before they struck her waist.  Both Kirby and Shirly shifted a step to get a better look.

Elinor frowned as she looked down at her severed arms, already starting to decompose.  “Rude.”  She huffed, glancing at her cut sleeves; chartreuse-colored veins shot out of her stumps to take the shape of hands before bone, muscle, fat, and skin formed out of dense green mist released within the framework.

Should I just release my Artificial Body and retreat to my diamond?  I could wait it out in there and see what happens...

The energy used was about the same amount she took from Creeper, but she kept a mildly indignant demeanor, glaring up at Boss while flexing her new fingers.  “All you’re doing is damaging my clothes and annoying me; could you please stop.”

Boss’ face darkened, but he took a step back as he looked down at her regrown and decaying hands before a low rumble echoed in his throat; both Kirby and Shirly mirrored him.  It was obvious that her complete composure in the face of having her arms chopped off and then regrown had intimidated them.

No … an Empress doesn’t run and hide; she faces her foes head-on.

Elinor felt a joyful burst of pride at finally getting Boss to acknowledge her otherworldly power as she directed her rodent army to keep hidden, following from a safe distance.

After a moment, Boss tugged on her vine, urging them back toward the town, but not before telling Kirby and Shirly something that set them on edge, spears ready to strike her at a moment’s notice.

Just you wait, Boss.  I’m slowly learning the ropes, and when I get a chance, you’ll join my growing army.

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