Oswald Manfred

Everything was dark, like some abyss had swallowed me whole. I had no idea how long I had been in this place, devoid of light. I couldn't feel anything, it felt as if everything had been taken from me. I couldn't touch anything, I couldn't hear anything... I was afraid. Who was I? What was I doing here? Why was this happening?

No answers came, as these questions pressed down on me. I felt myself becoming smaller in the silence, that unending darkness. It was just me alone, stranded here. It all felt so familiar, as I was kept in this unending abyss. My sense of self wavered, and shifted. As if I was just barely held by the darkness. That if it let go, I might find the light or something even worse. I was kept there in the darkness, due to my indecisiveness.

My sense of self wavering as I felt something pull me closer to it. Whatever it was, it brought pain. I tried to escape the darkness, to run away, but it dragged me deeper into its maw. I wanted nothing more than to escape, and yet it wouldn't let go. I felt the sensation of skin melting, the liquid poured over my bones like magma. Muscles screaming as I wasn't even allowed to hold myself. The pain rocking me to my very care, as I wanted nothing more than to leave this abyss. Every unit of time felt like pure agony, even as my I retched the sensation of breathing new to me.

What am I? Who? I coughed, the taste of iron spilling from my lips, mixed with something bitter. I gasped, coughing and dry vomiting. Chunks of bloody pulp leaving me, but somehow still connected to me. Sparks of something washing all over me. These sparks, these long cells... they were the cause of the pain. Something more natural than breathing allowed me to stop them from firing, to stop them from letting me feel the pain. I didn't know what I was doing, but flesh was melting around me, pouring onto me and remaking my body.

The darkness was replaced by white, as I started to work on the other parts that didn't feel quite right. Something that felt similar to stretching my fingers, everything was moving into place. Everything was adjusting, as my vision became clearer, my breathing more steady. Then the smell hit me, the sickly sweet scent of rot. All of it covered by the darkness I found myself in once again. I tried to look at my hand, but only saw the same darkness as before. Still, I could feel it now. Every wrinkle, every muscle, every bone. Down to the tiniest cells, and the triple helix that contained the information for making more.

I flexed my fingers, gagging on the smell before I stopped that as well. Everything was fixed, the flesh around me becoming a part of me. The rotten meat laying on the ground. I felt every part of me, I felt fresh, youthful even. I still didn't know who I was, but this body felt right, save for something surrounding my brain. It was a part of me, I could move it around, but it also replaced some parts I think I lost. Dissolved perhaps? It could be a part of the rot on the floor.

The flesh seemed to open, letting me see a host of dark slugs clinging to the ceiling and walls. Some of the braver ones were eating the rot. It was a curious thing, to feel them biting into it, to feel it dissolve in their mucus. I held my hand towards the light that was coming in, my eyes adjusting as I stepped forward. |"Can you hear me?"|

A soft voice called out to me, a sad one that felt powerful. It was all around me, but I couldn't see it. I stepped forward, tripping as I had forgotten how to walk. I caught myself, laughing at the gray skin I saw. I focused on it, making it darker, then lighter. I looked ahead, to see a rock monster lumbering towards me. It had its hands up, |"Are you okay?"| Its voice was still female, but different compared to the other. Am I a rock monster? Will I grow something like that too?

I tried to get up, but my balance was off. I fell on my tush, watching as the rocky creature hurried to try and help me. |"You need to be careful!"|

I smiled at it, as it grabbed me, pulling me out of the abyss. It looked inside the fleshy room with the dark slugs, relaxing when none of them were squished by my stumbling. The rock creature turned towards me, |"Are you okay? What's the last thing you remember?"|

I started to say something, but then I felt something throb inside my skull. |"Nothing? Who are you, who am I? Where are we? Will I grow rocks too? My skin is cool! My beard is hairy. How can feet smell when they don't have a nose?"| I continued bombarding the rock monster with questions.

It slowly set me down as the flesh walls closed, keeping the slugs safe and sound. I could sense it was talking to someone. The first voice came again, still soft and sad. |"My apologies, master Oswald, but it seems you are suffering from amnesia at the moment. This happens from time to time. I assumed that since your soul was stronger than the others I did this with... that it wouldn't be an issue. I apologize, master Oswald."|

I giggled a little, as the rock creature picked me up again. It carried me, while I talked back to the mystery voice. |"It's okay, who is Oswald? That's me right? Who was I, is what I should be asking, right?"|

|"Thankfully the memories will come back to you on their own. Essential things, or what you viewed as absolutely important should come back in a matter of days. Concepts, words, thoughts. It would be rather sad if you didn't know what rocks were, or breathing. Then there is the muscle memory from what was second nature to you. Magic doesn't exactly leave you, but you might be a lot less creative for the time being."|

|"Yeah, but who was I? Who is Oswald exactly? Why are you calling me master?"| I interrupted.

|"As much as I would adore teaching you everything. As much as I realize so many would kill for the chance that has fallen into my hands. I will not take advantage of you. I have memories from our souls brushing against each other. I know a lot about you, and the best thing I can do right now is let you regain your thoughts naturally. I do not wish to take advantage of you, nor do I wish to earn your ire. My daughters will keep you safe for now. We may discuss your memories as they come back."|

|"Okay, but do my memories involve why you are calling me master?"| I moved my arms a bit, trying to figure out how the whole balance thing worked. I slowly let up on not feeling things with my nerves, and the pain was gone. I smiled to myself, as I enjoyed the coarseness of the rock monster. Patting its shoulder while kicking my legs a little.

|"I call anyone with a suitable understanding of their magic a master. It's... it's what my father used to greet people with. A term of respect, and acknowledgment. Even if such wasn't returned often, it did help us on our travels in those precious few years we spent together. The elves especially enjoyed such respect, but the wood elves hated it."|

|"Wood elves? What are those? Aren't elves just pointy eared humans?"| The rock creature continued to ignore my antics, resolutely carrying me to a house of some kind. More like a shack really, not all that impressive. Looking at the others around it however, I realized it was one of the better ones. |"What's your name anyway?"|

|"Mary, and those memories should come back to you. Our views on the creatures vary. It is nice that you were very quick in picking up how to communicate with my kind. You're effectively a doppelganger now, and that should allow you to talk to other doppelgangers, and sense mimics. We, Piklins, are able to hide ourselves like the young queen mimics, as well as communicate with each other and doppelgangers."|

The golem set me down next to the wall of the hovel, greenish blue moss growing around the walls and on the roof of the thing. I put a hand against the wall, taking my time to walk around the small building. I was learning how to walk, and it felt relaxing for some reason. |"Okay, what's the longest it takes for my memories to come back?"|

|"It might take up to five or ten years for every memory to return. At least that was the latest we had, but everything important tends to come back within a matter of weeks or even months. It all comes back faster if you are exposed to something you are familiar with. Such as a hovel filled with alchemy supplies you can work with."|

|"Neat, I sure do hope you have a few of those around. I mean, I'm pretty sure I can use alchemy. That feels like the right word for my magic."| I continued walking around, taking my hand off the hovel while the golem lingered nearby. Slowly but surely, I was regaining my ability to walk short distances without falling. No doubt it would be the downfall of any that dared stand in my way! I laughed at my own joke. This was nice, quite peaceful really.

|"I'm glad to see you weren't born cunning. The hovel you've been walking around is yours. It has the supplies, but take it all at your own pace. While we are in some danger, we've held our own here for quite some time. In fact, I don't plan on letting you leave unless we require it, or you've recovered enough. I'm not going to sacrifice my people to stop you from leaving, but I want to work together with you. What you've been thinking about... your plans. They are dangerous, and I still want to save as many lives as we can."|

I stopped, looking up at the ceiling, with the same moss growing all the way up there. |"I can't make any promises right now, since I must have been a different person when we met. The same person I'm supposed to turn back into when all my memories come back. Why didn't you have amnesia anyway?"|

I heard a soft chuckle from Mary, |"Because I've done this a lot. I practiced with others, and that has left me somewhat immune to the affects. Ann here will watch over you for some time. I have other matters to address, so please talk to her if you need anything else. Ann can reach me if you need me directly. I'll check up on you daily, and please don't rush anything. We've been at this for a long while, and with your supposed death, the mimic queens will go back to fighting amongst themselves."|

|"You're pretty relaxed about whatever danger we're in. Why is that?"| I rolled my shoulders, hopping a little. I wasn't sure why I was doing all this, but it felt right.

|"That is your last question for the day. My answer is that I cannot prevent those I care for from dying. I will do everything in my power to stop it, but ultimately I know it would only take two determined queens to put a stop to us. Because of that we sow discourse, and keep them at odds with each other. They protect their domains and the people within, while we get to continue living. Even with the mimic queens, they aren't the worst threat out there. A theory confirmed by your memories, and a few others. I will cry should we fail and start to die, but that's all I will manage should we fail. I've accepted that failure is likely."|

I swallowed hard, |"That's... sad."| I felt she wasn't listening to me anymore. I moved my hips in circles, my arms spread feeling everything as I moved. My eyes turned towards the golem, |"Ann was it?"|

|"Yes, did you need something?"| It stayed there, unmoving beyond a few shifts of its head to keep me in its sights.

|"Maybe? I was told to ask you all the questions I wanted. You are to answer truthfully, or bear the grudges of my ancestors. I also need you to train a bit. If you could kneel or something that'd be wonderful. I'm going to climb all over you. Remember, the grudges of us dwarves are very dangerous. Even I'm afraid, just invoking the thought of them for something as important as this."| I stopped, turning to simply stare at the face of the golem. I had to seal the fact that I was dead serious.

I felt Ann was talking to someone else, before I heard a physical groan come from the golem as it knelt. I didn't know they could do that, but I'm sure it wasn't that surprising. I grinned to myself, climbing all over the craggy creature. I kept at it for hours until some unknown requirement in my mind had been fulfilled. My limbs didn't tire, I didn't feel hunger, the magic sustained me. Ann herself answered my many, many questions, though she wasn't having near as much fun as me.

With a final hup, I jumped off Ann's rocky body. I landed on the stone floor, feeling how the sensation of falling stopped when I touched down on it. I allowed the energy to move through me, as I stood there. My bones were still weak, but I felt there was a way to remedy it. I walked into the hovel, still firing questions at Ann. Once inside, I noticed that the bedroom came first. A singular room with a hole in the ground for relieving myself. With a huff I walked to the back, opening the door.

I saw a small lab filled with many different samples and liquids. The cramped space felt right, as every ingredient was labeled and positioned where I could see it. A piece of paper hung on the wall, telling me about the other things I could acquire if I asked. I somehow knew the names of every single thing in this room. I could feel that this knowledge was so ingrained within me, that I might never forget it. I needed stronger bones, and ideas popped into my head. Not memories, but concepts made with the materials I had at my disposal. The pros and cons of each one, running through my mind.

A few of them would be a problem if I didn't have my cane? I reached around me, trying to grip the air. I walked back to the bedroom looking around for a cane. |"Ann, where is my cane?"|

|"You'll get it back when mother Mary deems you recovered enough to have it. You can ask her about it tomorrow, but you are safe here. She does plan on giving it to you, even if you leave without saying a word."|

I nodded to myself, going back into the lab. It felt wrong to not have whatever my cane was. As if I didn't know I was missing a limb until I gazed upon the stump. I felt uncomfortable, naked perhaps. There wasn't much I could do about it, and I didn't feel like trying to escape quite yet. I could make so many things here. My instincts were driving me to create gases, and fill bottles with explosive materials. I thought about the strongest things I could make, but it felt blurry. As if the most dangerous things were blocked for some reason. A soft kingly voice telling me it was for my own good.

I couldn't remember the voice, but it felt so familiar. The ideas were blocked, but I couldn't feel mad about it. It felt like something I asked for, that I knew what would happen because that voice explained it to me. I tried talking to it, but it never responded. Even when it did, it was always for the same reason, explaining the same thing. Even without the voice talking back, I still had fun mixing the materials together.

*

*

A couple days passed, before my memories started to come back properly. I remembered bits of Mary's life, what she had endured here. I recalled the events of Dark Fall, and how I was forced to go there. I remembered Charles when he was still human, before he took the dark elf king's body. I saw the tragedy that befell my friend, and Queen. All the events that I didn't want to remember came to me. All the lives I took, all the friends I lost. The weight of such loss weighing me down, making my mood more somber. The sadness only slightly eased by the few pleasant memories I had with all the monsters in that wonderful kingdom.

I knew that there was a lot I still couldn't recall. The last ten years were drawing a blank, but they likely didn't matter. I felt the most important parts, and I was able to draw them out with a couple elixirs I drank. My mind stimulated, as I controlled the dream like state it put me into. I opened my eyes, for the first time in what felt like years.

This was a job like any other Charles gave me. My first objective should have been going deep through the stone and wiping the slate clean. I hadn't done that, which means there was a reason for it. I couldn't recall it yet, but the most recent years should come in time. I couldn't force them with the elixirs, but it was much less to deal with. I walked towards the mirror in my bedroom, looking at myself for the first time.

I saw a dwarf hunched over and slouching, despite how I recalled standing straight with my shoulders back. A sharp contrast to who I was without these memories to weighing upon me. My skin was gray, slowly turning pale to regain my original skin tone. My bones were stronger, my muscles optimized, the age of my body having no bearing on me anymore with my magic focused on it. My beard was well groomed, and kept without a hair out of place, my skin tight and youthful in appearance.

This wasn't me though, my body had been altered. The muscle and skin wasn't mine. It was taken from something else, someone else. This wasn't my body, it was a tool made to carry out a job given to me. The final job I would do for Charles, no matter how he almost begged me to make a pact for a new one. It might be a dwarven stubbornness, or merely the fact that I simply felt I had lived too long. After this was done, I would take care of my affairs and take my final rest.

I finished the last of the mixtures I'd need for the long war that was to come. Gases to kill, to put to sleep, explosives that only ate the rock itself. I was as prepared as I could be for what was to come. Eventually I would remember the reason for not burning every idiot within these tunnels to ash. I just hope it was good enough, because my patience for this whole thing was already thin enough. I felt the doppelgangers in the distance, while the Piklins moved around in their armor. I shook my head, remembering how I thought they were golems just a few hours ago. My talent allowing me to see them for what they were. If nothing else, they would help Eclipse with their unique blood and abilities.

A familiar golem moved towards me, |"Are you okay?"|

I looked up at her, rolling my shoulders. |"Yes, I'm fine. I have my memories, and would like my cane back. I want everything that was taken off of me, even if it's broken. I'll accept talking to your mother, leader, whatever you want to call Mary, while someone fetches it. If I do not have it within the hour, I will start to raze this back water town with the explosives I left in the hovel. Just a word of advice for the future, don't leave a master alchemist in a room like that."|

Ann froze for a moment, steam moving out of her armor's joints. I could feel her connecting to others, taking my bluff very seriously. I had better things to do than killing these creatures. I knew how they reproduced thanks to Mary's memories, and everything she so foolishly gave me. My dark cloak of gas moved around me, ready in case they decided to try anything. To their credit, they didn't. Mary seeking me out directly.

|"Please follow Ann to me. We clearly need to have a chat now."| Ann started walking, and I followed after.

|"If you plan on doing what you did before, do know that I am aware of your memories."| The walk was short, as we came upon a pile of flesh that molded into a humanoid shape. It was a long haired woman, save the hair was completely made out of flesh. She looked at me, her form molding before my eyes.

She bowed towards me, "Of course master Oswald, though I wish to be an ally to you." She sent a message to Ann, who left.

I smiled a little, "Don't want to talk with telepathy, or did you want to discuss this outloud so you have time to think a little more about this?"

Mary shrugged, "I find it puts others at ease to talk like this, versus being in their minds. Those I have freed are under no illusions that they are effectively doppelgangers themselves. Just as you are now."

"I'm still waiting for my cane and supplies. I won't even consider helping you in whatever you're planning without my tools. Though your goals are idealistic at best."

"How much do you remember? Do you know how you came here? I have those memories, I could help you in that regard. I know you like monsters more than people. You want to study me, understand my kind. Though I also know you're tempted to do what the dwarves have done to us. How that city holds my children in their vault, using them to create weapons and machines. If we must serve your king to survive, then I will accept that. Though I wish for freedom, if not for me, then for all my people."

I crossed my arms, "You really are desperate then, but I suppose any alternative to extinction is something that you would seek out. You can control doppelgangers close to you, why aren't you doing that with me?"

"Using you like that will only buy us time, and allow us to hide. You're here to exterminate the mimic queens, and cleanse them from the tunnels. Something has to replace them to protect the dwarves from the monsters that might move in. It might as well be a group that has some loyalty to you, and your king. Whether or not I have a choice in the matter is up to you."

I frowned, "You're using my memories to negotiate with me about your future. How did I not die? You brushing your soul against mine should have sent me into shock. My body should have broken down."

"You did die, but the doppelganger I put inside you kept your soul bound to your body so you couldn't move on. It kicked your body into rebuilding itself, and used your memories to remake your body from my flesh. It was painful for all three of us, but you are here. I know you probably will seek to kill yourself after this is all over, so I apologize for what I have done... it's just that you were right about me being desperate."

I bit my lip, looking away as a Piklin lumbered over with my gear. My staff cleaned, a set of rags carefully wrapped around everything else. They really didn't have much. "Why does it feel like you had some other plan, or felt different. I can't help but feel you are disappointed right now."

"I was hoping you'd come back the same person you were, but we both know all your memories aren't there. I can't force you to stay, and I want the best for my people. You'll remember everything on your own time, but right now the best thing to do is appease you. Do you remember Richard by chance?"

I blinked, the name not ringing any bells. "Who?"