Jay looked out into the fog as he questioned this swamp woman.
"How can so strange, floating flas cause harm to the entire world? They can't even stand up to my skeletons."
"Don't try and understand. If you don't want to help, just leave." The woman scowled.
Jay sighed, (Let her up but stay close to her.)
"I'll send my skeletons to collect as many as I can. You will heal Asra within three days. Three of my skeletons will stay near you in case you try to harm us."
She stood up, not even bothering to brush the dirt and rotting leaves away from her tattered, moth-eaten clothes as she glared at Jay with bitter disdain.
"Fine. Am I allowed to move?" she snapped, looking around at the skeletons. They still had their hands gripping her arms and shoulders.
Jay nodded, and the skeletons surrounding her gave her so space. She walked closer to Asra, and strangely, she brushed away so hair from Asra's eyes.
I can't make sense of this woman, Jay thought. For a mont he thought he saw a hint of compassion in her eyes, even though one eye was milky, and the rest of her form was grotesque.
Her pale skin was covered with scars and blemishes, while her face was no stranger to a few large moles, each with their own long whiskers poking out.
Poor Asra… Jay thought, not wanting to be touched by such a mountainous, rugged woman. He stepped back, and decided he would avoid swamp woman Hegatha for the forseeable future.
"Bring her into my ho." She said, glancing at the skeleton.
Red, carrying Asra, didn't move. Why would it obey a stranger?
"Go on." Jay pointed, and as Red went in, Jay gave it so hidden telepathic orders.
(Think for yourself, Red. Don't let her harm any of us, but do what it takes to help Asra.) Jay silently coached Red as it walked into her stinking hut.
Two other skeletons, Blue and Sweeper, followed them inside. Hegatha was huffing and frowning, looking annoyed at having so many… things, inside her house, but she didn't dare to complain. Having three skeletons following her into her shack was better than being dead.
I think I'll stay out here, Jay nodded, thinking the air was probably much fresher, despite the putrid gasses endlessly spilling from the swamp.
Alright, I better work on my end of the deal… but should I wait on the island with Asra and Hegatha, or on the other side of the swamp? He wondered.
Bubbles and waters continued swirling, as sothing below was still feasting on the bone bridge Jay had dumped.
If I go across I'll just waste more bones, and I'll need to co back to give her the amber spheres anyway. But if I stay, the skeletons will have to co under water with them and if sothing attacks them, so amber spheres could be lost.
Jay wondered what he could do, but as he watched the swirling waters, he could only think of one solution.
Looks like we'll need to slaughter our way out, he thought with a shrug, and began counting his troops.
Blue, Sweeper and Red were with Hegatha, while Blue's five sub-skeletons were still out hunting the lights, across the water. This left Jay to command with five skeletons and Red's two guardian skeletons:
Lamp, level 4. Shepherds crook and gut knife.
Handy, level 4. Bastard sword.
Heavy, level 2. Ossein arming sword and heavy shield.
Dark, level 3. Slender dual daggers.
Red's level 1 guardian skeletons. One bone dagger each.
Archers, level 1…
After assembling the skeletons before him, Jay made two piles of bones on the edge of the water.
One was for himself, which he placed his comfortable chair on top of. He didn't want any creeping, crawling bugs coming to seek his body warmth, and it was better to sit atop a barrier of bones than directly on the rotting ground.
As for the second pile of bones? These were for summoning and crafting weapons of course.
Sitting on his throne, near the water's edge, Jay got them into formation.
(Face the water. Lamp and Handy, stand on either side of Heavy. Dark and Archers, stand behind Heavy. If you think other weapons will work better against whatever is down there, now is your opportunity to craft them. Red, have your guardians escort these.)
Handy was the first to step out of formation. Stabbing its large two-handed sword into the ground, it began to craft itself a short sword.
Archers stood eagerly by Handy's side, and was soon rewarded with a slender dagger, crafted by Handy, too.
I guess its champion role let it craft a two-handed sword, so crafting smaller versions and copying my swords were easy for it, Jay thought.
(When you're all ready, advance in the swamp. Protect each other and slay whatever is down there. Leave nothing alive. Lamp and Handy, you will make the decisions down there. Feel free to retreat and eat the bones when you need to.)
Lamp and Handy glanced at each other, then at the smaller skeletons and then faced the water, slowly moving forward. The enormous bone pile Jay had left had attracted so many little bone-eating parrot eels, and now, the natural predators of these eels had gathered too.
The skeletons bravely marched into the water, but as it got waist-high, they were already slashing and stabbing, splashing everywhere.
[1 Exp] [1 Exp] [1 Exp] x 7
Seems like a lot are down there, Jay thought.
Lamp and Handy did most of the killing, while Heavy planted its heavy shield down, acting as a tasty bulwark.
Swords ca scraping across the shield as the level four skeletons cleansed it of the grinding beaks feasting on it.
[1 Exp] x 9
[1 Exp] x 5
Dark had crouched into the water, stabbing between the legs of the taller ones in front.
[1 Exp] x 6
It was a wall of piercing blades. Whether the eels attacked high or low, a swift sword would not be too far away from severing them.
Archers was not doing so well, but its small dagger was stained with so odd color of blood, so it was at least doing sothing, though it was hard to tell exactly what that was as the water was up to its neck.
[1 Exp] x 3
Red's two guardian skeletons were only slightly taller than Archers, and were similarly struggling. Jay had not given them minds yet either so their killing efficiency was dismal, and would probably not increase very much.
[1 Exp] x 4
The skeletons had started with slashes, but soon found that stabbing worked better, and would cause less splashing.
[1 Exp] x 27
In a few minutes, they learned another trick. They began to hold the tips of their blades in the water, luring the bone-eating creatures closer to their bone swords before striking.
[1 Exp] x 34
Jay also had his doubts about Lamp using its cumberso sheperd's cook, but it seed that it was using it to attack sothing other than the tiny bone-eating eels.
Every so often, Lamp would glance into the deeper waters and imdiately raise the spear-end of its sheperd's crook, then stab with all its might.
It's… keeping sothing away? Jay wondered, curious as he watched this small detail amongst the endless stabbing, slashing and splashing of swords.
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