Story Post 343: All

   Skeera growled, dodging skeletons and knocking their blades away from Fenric with her two free tails as she ran circles around the group, trying to keep him safe. She tightened her grip on him faintly, leaping up to crouch atop one of the higher coffins and batting down at the Skeletons below swinging up at her and landing a few lucky blows that smashed a few skulls.
  Below her, the skeletons mobbed toward the rest of the group, and only a few bothered to try and reach her and Fenric.
  Saryn fought alongside Isaac, perfectly in sync with his motions so they wouldn’t trip over each other. He darted back and forth, smashing skulls between his powerful jaws and kicking aside the lifeless bones to try and trip the other skeletons as they approached.
   Vexan, across the room with Allison, snarled viciously, smashing skulls between his massive paws and stabbing his tails angrily through eye sockets to break out the backs of the skulls.
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     Isabella panicked at the sight of the larger skeleton standing before her. It wore dark purple royal-looking robes, and held two double bladed scythes, one in each hand. They weren’t as large as Colette- hardly half her size really. But with four blades between the two weapons, they weren’t something to be taken lightly. A shiver ran down her spine and she tried to squirm away, only to fall over. I still can’t move well enough to stand….. or even to sit up on my own….. oh gods don’t let me die here….. She worried silently, watching the skeleton.
   Suddenly, Colette called out to Reegan, and a few moments later, Reegan called out to the skeleton, taunting it. With a growling hiss, the skeleton stepped from its coffin, beginning to spin the weapons in its hands. “Foolish mortalssssss……” it rasped confidently. “The orb…. Is mine!”
   Suddenly the skeleton dashed forward, swinging it’s blades at Reegan with surprising speed compared to the others in the room, but Reegan matched him blow for blow, dodging almost easily.
   “Isabella?” Isaac’s voice held a faint note of panic as he dropped beside her, keeping his eyes on the skeletons. “Are you alright?”
   Isabella got as close to nodding as she could. “Yeah….. I’m starting to get feeling back, and motion, but not enough to sit upright on my own yet….” She said.
   Isaac darted away to slice open another skeleton’s skull, then back again. “Saryn can carry you- he’s a good defensive player when he wants to be. Saryn!”
   The wolf crushed another skull between his jaws, then jumped over to stand beside Isaac, meeting his gaze with eyes like living fire.
   “I need you to carry Isabella for me- She still can’t move.” Said Isaac.
   Saryn snorted and pinned back his ears, looking away.
   “Sar…. Please?” asked Isaac, taking the wolf’s chin in his hands.
   With a huff, Saryn crouched down, making it easier for Isaac to swing Isabella onto his back.
   She nuzzled into Saryn’s thick fur and glanced up at Isaac to thank him in time to see a skeleton’s blade descending for his shoulder.
   She opened her mouth to warn him, but before she could, another blade knocked it away.
   “Hey lover boy!” snapped Allison, grabbing his arm and turning him away from Isabella. “Worry about her later- she’s fine. Worry about them!” she pointed at the still innumerable skeletons that seemed to be spawning from the shadows now and converging on the group and the orb.
   With a nod, Isaac dove back into battle, fighting alongside Allison and Vexan.
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    Christoph dodged through the skeletons, snatching up the surprisingly light hands of the statue and the orb still held tightly within them.
   He held it up triumphantly and turned to the group to call out that he had it, only to find himself surrounded by the skeletons.
   “Shit…..” he muttered, taking a small step back.
  He looked around, his eyes landing on Belinda sitting on the floor. “Belinda! Catch!” he yelled, swinging his arm back to throw the orb.
   Belinda stared wide eyed back at him and scrambled to her feet with a fearful look on her face.
   With a grunt, Christoph chucked the orb and hands at her, watching with a sinking feeling in his gut as the larger skeleton that had knocked her over leaped back to avoid being hit by Reegan, reached out and caught it before she could.
   The skeleton let out a hollow chuckle, staring at the orb as if it were made of solid gold.
   “Foolsssss…..” it rasped softly. “I am Fariim, massster of death! You cannot take what is mine.” Fariim’s soulless eyes looked at each member of the group in turn once again. “Feel my power!”
   Each member of the group shrieked and clutched at their chest as a sudden, painful cold invaded from their core, spreading slowly out through their limbs and restricting their movements.
   Christoph doubled over, dropping to his knees and shivering as he realized the painful cold was death creeping through his veins.
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    Isaac winced, gripping his chest and trying to will himself to be warm, but failing. He could hear Isabella whimpering in pain beside him, as well as Saryn, who had fallen to his belly on the floor and was clenching his jaws on a bone to try and keep quiet.
   I can’t let them die….. With a growl, Isaac forced himself to move forward, and when he was close enough, he lunged, snatching the orb away from Fariim’s skeleton and noting as the cold quickly retreated from his core and the other members of the group stopped whimpering in pain.
   Fariim whirled to face him. “You dare touch what can only ever belong to me?” he snarled, raising a blade to strike Isaac down.
   Isaac closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to hit, but none came.
   Confused, he opened his eyes again to see one of the smaller skeletons blocking Fariim’s blade.
   Isaac blinked, then turned to see the other skeletons had stopped attacking the others of the group and were all staring at him.
   ….. Does the orb control them?  He wondered, feeling a sudden sharp pain shoot through his left hand.
   With a yelp, he dropped the orb, kicking it toward Saryn and Isabella, watching proudly as Saryn stood protectively over it and Isabella surrounded them with a ring of fire.
   The skeleton who had blocked Fariim’s blade stepped back, allowing Fariim to swing again, only to be blocked by Reegan wielding Colette.
   Isaac glanced gratefully at Reegan before darting away to stand by Saryn and Isabella as the skeletons began attacking once again.
  As he approached, Saryn growled, staring at his hand with his ears pinned back.
   Isaac frowned, slicing away a skeleton. He wouldn’t deny that his hand felt strangely numb, but he didn’t think anything of it after the pain he’d felt only moments earlier.
   As Saryn continued to growl, Isaac sighed. “What?” he demanded, slicing away another skeleton before turning to the wolf, sheathing his sword and holding out his hand. “It’s just my hand- same as it’s always been. Now what’s your problem?”
   Saryn snapped his teeth shut on the tip of the glove, yanking it off his hand.
   Isabella gasped. “Y-your hand!” she cried, staring at it.
   He couldn’t help but stare as well- his hand was nothing but bone and a few strings of sinew.
   Morbid curiosity overcame him and he flexed his fingers slowly, watching as the bones responded as though they were still surrounded by flesh.
  “It-…. It’s just bone……” he murmured softly, clenching and unclenching his fist. Curious, he rolled up his sleeve a ways, noting in relief that it was only his hand that was skeletal, and that his wrist and arm were still flesh and blood. “Interesting……”
   Saryn growled again, looking pointedly at the Orb on the ground between his paws.
   Without thinking, Isaac reached to pick it up, only to jump back as Saryn snapped at him menacingly, growling louder.
   Isaac frowned faintly. “You think the orb did this?” he asked, holding up his hand.
    Saryn snorted, baring his teeth.
   Isaac looked from his hand, to the orb, to the skeletons all around the room and nodded slowly. “Yeah, that makes sense……” he murmured, quickly turning and drawing his sword again as another skeleton attacked. The orb must absorb whoever uses it piece by piece, leaving them only with bones to serve Fariim….. He glanced over at Reegan and Fariim battling. We need to leave this place fast……