Chapter 13

Binding, or not...

They walked back to the dais and entered the violet light. Quickly, Bullin directed the party out of the teleportation chamber, then turned left instead of right. “Let me drop this off first. You can go back to the forge.”

June thought about it before telling Bullin that she would rather tag along. The events of the day filled her mind, offering endless questions to be pondered. She figured now was the best time to dig for more information. After the group exited the chamber, they walked casually onward.

“So, what was that spell you used on the corpse?” June asked, curious.

“Well, it was a special skill that Varren taught me, allows me to use mana to preserve the fracturing core of the corpse, that stops it from decaying.”

June recalled the notice on the Mana Crystals mentioning this and considered what that meant. Everything she had been told over the last few days had been leading her to one conclusion. Would she end up as a broken corpse to be reincarnated as a living weapon? The swirling void within her proverbial heart turned to a cold stone. As the emotions of battle faded from her mind, the weight of her revelations hung over her.

“It’s a game,” she kept repeating internally. Trying to ward off the depressive spiral, she jumped on the next question. “I got more than that wood you wanted. I have questions about those, too. Also, I noticed I couldn’t see the Shard Carrier’s stats.” The questions flowed out of her mouth in a rush.

Bulin chuckled before going into his response in a jovial tone. “Those items are probably pretty basic, so you can either hold on to them or turn them over to me if you want some cash for them.”

“Holy shit...” June intoned in her mind. She had completely forgotten about money. She hadn’t needed to worry about having gold and other coins on hand. What else had she forgotten, she wondered.

Bullin’s next words broke her out of her thoughts. “As for the stats, that’s pretty common. You need to rank up your Mana Sense to get more details. I’d imagine you leveled up a bit, and have some points to spare. I’ll help you figure out how to spend those.”

They came to a stop a few minutes later outside one of the simple wooden doors that lined the main hall of this floor. Knocking three times, Bullin waited. After a few seconds, the door creaked open. A thin figure wearing a plain black robe filled the doorway. Firelight spilled out into the hallway, illuminating the walking corpse in shadows. The robed figure was a zombie from what June could see. Its face was grey and haggard, filled with multiple open wounds and dried sores. The undead moved with a rigid gait, as it was practically locked in an upright position by some kind of brace. There was a rigid form under the robe, as if hard braces were wrapped around it. The robe was a simple thing, plain.

Bullin spoke in a hushed tone, “a new shard corpse, for the pile,” he said with a sly smile.

The figure simply held out its arms, arms covered in mottled grey flesh and more sores. A weak groan echoed from its throat, With a nod, it confirmed its consent to take the rogue corpse. Bullin hefted the body into waiting arms. Surprisingly, the undead didn’t flinch, even as their weight shifted under the new load. Without waiting, the undead turned, and the door closed in the faces of the trio.

Before June could ask questions, Bullin spoke as they walked back towards the forge chamber. “That’s the main corpse prep room for this level. Alchemists use them for various experiments. And since Shard Carrier corpses are kind of rare, we like to keep a stock on hand.”

“Well, that’s terrifying,” she thought. That cold stone remained lodged in her non-existent gut.

They rounded on a dime and walked back to the forge's room. Bullin explained that the process for binding a minion was similar to the process they summoned her with. As he droned on about runes and mana, June zoned out. After a few more minutes, they arrived back at the forge. June passed into the forge, carelessly dropping the sack on her shoulder. She leaned her back against the empty wall and watched the dwarf curiously. Kotor ran into the room, skipping over to the forge. With a mad cackle, the fire imp chased embers and flames within the ring of black stones.

With his focus on the pile of wooden crates along the far wall, Bullin spoke lazily. “First, we need to talk about that minion of yours.” He yanked out a small knapsack and rifled through it.

June heard a small whisper in her mind, “Is he talking about lil’ old me?” sang the fire imp.

The skeleton hid her shock at the fact that Kotor could communicate with her like this while outside the Class Gem.

“You need to bind them, but it’s not going to be easy. That’s where this comes in.” Bullin pulled a scroll and a book from the bag, placing the scroll on the enchanting table. He unsealed the simple scroll, pushing it to June. “Try and read that,” he said in an expectant tone.

The parchment was embossed with a complicated web of multiple runes in glittering black ink. June considered it for a moment, realizing it was some kind of ritual. She had limited rune knowledge, and without her rune books at hand, she was lost. Resolutely, she still tried to figure the mess out. As June tried to follow the bends and curves of each rune, the overall image kept blurring. Her attempts to consider each rune as a piece of the whole also failed. No matter what order she considered the image in, it was impossible to comprehend. Frustrated, June spoke out with an edge to her tone, “I can’t read any of these.”

Bullin responded to her outburst by walking over and putting a hand on her bone shoulder. “I figured that might be an issue.” He said, as he flipped the book in his hands. “That’s why you need to invest those spare points in Rune Mastery. That should allow you to understand what that scroll contains. But don’t worry about that now, you can handle that later tonight. You mind?” he asked, pointing to the bag she had dropped. She shook her head.

He placed the book and scroll down, then grabbed the sack off the floor. “Let’s see...” Bullin pulled out the various items she had gathered from the Thief, and placed them on the table. He inspected the potions first. “These aren’t useful for you, as they actually harm undead.”

“That’s a thing here?” She indignantly thought. In the MMO, any player character could use various potions. Although it sounded like an advantage, it was possible that more potions existed that players didn’t have access to. “Will you buy them from me?” she asked, a hopeful tone eeking into her voice.

Stroking his chin as his eyes glowed blue, Bullin spoke. “These are basics, worth about five silver crowns each in the Republic. So that’s one gold and five silvers. I’ll give you one gold star for them.”

June shook her head to agree to the price, even as the names of the currency only vaguely made sense. Like most MMOs, Duneria as a game only referred to currency by its metal type.

Next, he pulled out the Grave Dust, which was helpfully contained within glass vials. Bullin squinted, then huffed in disgust. “That bastard must have killed the undead guarding that chamber, that’s the only way you can get this stuff.” After a moment of thinking, Bullin said, “two more gold.” Fishing out the rest of the items, he counted out the Mana Crystals and Wood. He slid the chunks of blackened wood aside. “I’m going to make something you’re going to need with these,” he said, pointing to the wood. “You can keep the Crystals, since they’ll be more useful to you as you learn more crafting.”

June gladly slid the crystals into the pouch on her belt, then grabbed the book Bullin laid down and flipped through the first few pages. Not really focusing on the book, she watched Bullin work.

He started by taking some Infusion Oil and soaking the pieces of wood in them. The dwarf then produced a series of gems from another sack within the messy workshop. He also fished something from within his armor, something small and black.

“Does this guy just have random stuff coming out of every hole?” June questioned.

Focused, the dwarf fished out some small metal tools, and went to work. As June watched, he carved multiple lines into the pieces of wood, which were now coated in oil. As he did, his black eyes flared blue once again, seemingly checking his work. Content with his work, he repeated the carving process with the other pieces of wood. Over the next several minutes, he carved what June guessed to be a dozen runes into each piece. The dwarf placed each of the four carved pieces of wood onto the table next to the other finished item. Carefully, he inspected each of the pieces, comparing them to the one he had fished out of his pocket. Bullin retrieved his gem-setting tools from her last project and worked on the next step. Taking small gems, he set them into certain spots on each of the partially finished pieces. The process was slow, delicate.

A loud pop and a sizzle interrupted his work. Kotor had thrown a large piece of charcoal into the forge while no one was looking. “Get your little ember under control!” Bullin bellowed across the room, breaking June’s concentration. He then charged toward the forge with his arms out, trying to grab the interloper with fury in his eyes.

She looked over to see Kotor leap off of the forge, running between Bullin’s legs and toward her. “Big blue meanie,” it called back in a mocking tone.

“You know what, why don’t you go do that ritual now,” he growled in a low tone.

Quickly grabbing the scroll and book she had been reading, she left the room, commanding Kotor to follow.

Rushing back into her room from the forge, she placed the new texts on her desk, plopping down on the straw bed. Her mind wandered to the state between sleep and being awake, like she was floating weightless in comforting darkness. As June tried to find peace, the memories of the day kept bubbling to the surface. The prospect of killing more people still slapped her with paradoxical guilt. She knew they weren't people, but the realism of the world for her sang a different tune in her mind. “Do I want to keep doing this? How the hell would I get out of it if not?” The voice inside her head was like a knife, burying itself in her confidence.

June couldn’t escape what was really bothering her, an inability to see where this all was headed. As the future remained dark, more anxiety crept in, and hung over her like a cloud. She had to complete this ritual, but to do so was to be locked into a future in this strange new world. June sat there for what felt like hours, staring at the stones of the ceiling. Over and over, the images of that thief’s serene face floated up to greet her from the ether of her mind. Gloom snuck in with them. Deep down, she knew she would see that haunting image many more times in the future, and the prospect should scare her. But something deep and alien within her told her not to be. Instead, the tantalizing feel of power teased her into its embrace.

The strength of will she had experienced during battle was borderline intoxicating. A force of bloody desire took hold in the recesses of her mind. It felt impossibly familiar. Like a river flooding its banks, a sense of contentment overwhelmed her uncertainty. June fell comfortably into casual acceptance. A relieved sigh echoed from her mouth. Combat was the only time she had felt powerful since she arrived here. And with the specter of her previous life being distant but ever-present, that fear pushed her down the path towards destruction, wrought by her own hand. It brought a sinister smile to her face. A renewed fire burned within those violet eyes.

As a wave of sourceless energy relaxed the tension in her body, she hit upon a concerning realization. “That’s gotta be the brand.” It was too familiar not to be. “It must be some kind of emotional suppression or something.” The flash of insight grabbed her attention, pushing away the anxiety. But a part of her knew it was mostly a lie. If she had skin, it would be crawling.

After pulling herself up from the bed, she sauntered over to the desk in her chamber. The scroll and new book sat there, ignored. She opened the books in her collection concerning runes and read. Pouring over translations and guides within these books, she could decipher individual runes. But the overall body of the scroll’s complex web remained outside her understanding. “To hell with this,” she thought, with anger surging through her body. She opened her character window and invested her remaining points into Rune Mastery, but she paused. Kotor sat content on the stone floor, peacefully humming unknown tunes to itself. A glimpse of June’s humanity burned within the fire of her newfound devious resolve, feeding into a growing desire to protect the little bugger. After all, he helped her out in that fight, and she owed him one.

June slid down the wall next to him, the doorway between the two. “What do you know about Summoning Brands, Kotor?” She plainly asked.

The fire imp shook its head.

June searched for a way to phrase her next question. Her pleading glare bored its way into the glowing eyes of the living ember. In a spark of compassion, June found her words. “Do you like it here?” She asked, trying to push a loving tone into her voice, but to her, it sounded hollow and tinny.

While the ember was lazily bobbing its head to an unheard song, it responded, “It’s a bit dusty, but it’s OK, I guess.”

“Do you want to keep going on adventures with me?” June asked, taking cues from the way she asked a child questions in her old life. After all, this thing was possibly only a few hours old.

“Are we going to be doing more fighting? That was kind of fun,” the imp responded after a moment. “I don't want to be stuck here with a bunch of mean people. You’re nice to me, nicer than that blue meanie, at least.”

June chuckled. At least she had one more person who she could secretly hate Bullin along with.

“I have to be honest with you, Kotor. I have to be able to trust you. And that means taking a brand.”

“Don’t I get a choice, boney, a choice for little ole’ me?” said the fire imp, looking up at her expectantly.

“Is it really that simple? Was I just not given a choice? Does that mean I have to expect the same for them?” She thought in a panic.

After a pause, June relented out of pity. “What if I said you didn’t have to get the brand, but you have to listen to me closely. No running off on your own. Being a menace would get us both in big trouble.”

He paused for a moment, before complaining, “but I like being a menace. It’s fun,” he whined.

“I know...” she whispered. “But we need to be very careful. The others here don’t really like me. And we can’t risk making them mad.” June continued, “When we’re ready, we can get out of here and make our own way in the world.”

“I don’t want a brand, it sounds bad,” said the living ember, staring at the floor.

June agreed, reminding him he had to behave. Content in the loyalty of the baby imp, June settled in for some cultivation. That familiar pull returned as she entered a trance-like state. The ebony tentacles of Death Mana returned, slowly being pulled into the yawning maw of her core. But this time, something new came in with it. A warmth. Not like a campfire, but more like a tight embrace. And though the voices of death were gone, some fresh sounds followed in on the deathly wind. An alluring sound like winds blowing through trees pulled her in.

She eagerly followed the sounds, and was pulled deeper into the trance. Tunneling blackness filled her mind, as if being pulled into a long crevasse. After what must have been hours, the infinite blackness broke, revealing a vast forest. Trees of all kinds stretched out before her, coated in the haze of a late spring day. Her descent slowed just before she crashed through the canopy. As she landed on the needle and leaf-covered ground, it reminded her of the feeling of dropping into a bed after a long day. She jumped up to her feet, filled with nervous energy. But something was off, she realized she couldn’t hear any of the normal sounds of a forest around her. There wasn’t even any wind moving limbs around. The serenity of the scene shattered in the next moment.

A thunderous roar filled the forest, overpowering her senses. Pure fear gripped her heart, and she snapped her vision up above, trying to locate the source. Strangely, she couldn’t run, even as her legs wanted to carry her away. After a moment, a dark dot on the horizon grew larger and larger. A massive winged beast, black as night, stood stark against the blue sky. Its shape became clearer as it approached. It was a freaking dragon! The humongous scaled beast flapped its wings and hovered above her. Atop the winged creature was a single rider, the sun glinting off of its emerald green armor.

After the ruby-red eyes of the dragon stared at June for a beat, the creature turned and flew off. It flew straight up, as if aiming directly at the sun itself. Closer to the sun, the pair flew, before a great conflagration consumed them. As the seconds passed, the great dragon burned, without a care in the world. Fire burned across its black flesh, charring it. Ash peeled away from its form like paper, with huge chunks falling out of the sky. As it burned away, June watched in horrified amazement.

The wonder turned purely to horror as the ash began to fall. Thicker and thicker it came towards the earth. Not like a blanket of fresh snow, but a hail of charred bones and fetid flesh. The blacks and greys of the cindered body intermingled with the greens of the forest, blotting them out. Like stars swallowed in the void of a dark night, the color was strangled from the scene around June. Transfixed by some unknowable force, she watched, waited. As the ash and cinders fell around her, heaping piles quickly collapsed in around her form. Panic overwhelmed her as burned chunk fell, but she couldn't run, couldn't move. After less than a minute, her entire being was buried in a mountain of endlessly falling ash and embers. Her vision went black.