They continued for hours, taking no rest, not stopping as the others were waiting to arrive in Whitestone. "The Whispered One?" Scanlan mutters.
The wagon rattles at the road were getting bumpier, the mist was concealing the road ahead as the trees almost looked like monsters, and whatever inhabitants that lived in the forest, they were nowhere to be seen.
Percy groans, pressing his fingers to his forehead, tired and exhausted. Vex kept her eyes open for anything following them. Keyleth wakes and pulls herself to the front. "Percy, you need a break," she tells him, as he pulls his hand away, groaning to himself. "Absolutely not. We need to keep moving. The Briarwoods are probably back in Whitestone by now." he tells her.
The wagon bumps again, this time, waking Kyria from her slumber. Jason just looks down at her after she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Sorry, did I wake you?" he asks.
She yawns, shaking her head. "No, I needed to wake up anyway," she mutters, rubbing her eyes, and then sat up. "Are we there yet?" she mutters, stretching a little. "Not yet, almost, maybe," he answers. She groans and rubs the sleep from her eyes. "Okay," she mutters.
Then something rustles through the bushes, catching Vex's attention. "Percy, stop." she tells him, "I'm not that tired," he tells her, keeping his eyes on the road. She sees more shadows running through the brush, "No, I mean stop the damn cart." she says again.
Both locking eyes, "Something's tracking us." she warns him, then Percy pulls back on the reins. "Whoa," he orders, the horses came to a stop. "Why are we stopping?" Kyria mutters, Jason shrugs at her, then a snap catches their attention.
Percy and Vex drew their weapons, "Uh, what was that?" Scanlan asks, holding the book close, and appears next to Keyleth, Grog steps off the Cart, followed by Vax. "Stay here," Jason tells Kyria. She just nods at him and scoots close to the edge, Jason joins the two on the ground as Keyleth stood next to Kyria.
Then something rustles through the bush, alerting the three as they stood ready. Slowly stepping forward, then a shape steps out, almost... looking like a dog. It whimpers turning to them.
The three lowered their weapons, confused. "Oh, poor little pupper!" Keyleth calls out as she steps off the wagon, "Uh... Keyleth." Kyria calls out as she felt skeptical of the dog.
But she kneels in front of the group, looking at the dog. "Are you hurt, little guy?" she asks him, but as soon as the dog steps out, something was... wrong with it. Half of its skin peeled away as blood trickled from it.
The smile on Keyleth's face immediately falls as the dog steps out even more, giving her a good look. She screams, falling back as Vax stood in front of her, holding his arm out.
Vex and Percy turn back and look at the undead dog as it was growling at them. Kyria snarls as her wolf features were appearing. Then more appeared, stepping from the mist. "What the fuck are those?" Grog questions. "A gift from Lady Briarwood," Percy answers.
Then without thinking, Kyria leaps forward, to Grog's shoulder, then leaps again, shifting into a black direwolf and smacking into one of the undead dogs.
Making the others jumps back as they tumble to the ground, "Kyria!" Keyleth calls out to her, but Kyria snarls as she snaps and bites at the undead dog. It lands on its back as she latches onto the throat and with a sharp tug, rips the head right off.
She turns back, growling. Head in her jaw as she glares at the other undead as her eyes slanted burning with fierceness, they almost step back in a sense of fear, even though they're undead. Then the one in front steps forward, getting Percy and Vex's attention, it opens its mouth, and widely screeches at them. "What the fu..." Vex said weakly.
Then its tongue shot out, startling the horses, right past them, wrapping around Scanlan as he was still holding the book, pulled him right out of the wagon, and took off running, the others followed.
Kyria snarls, spitting the head out, and took off after them, "Scanlan!" Vex calls out as she and Percy aim for the undead, but misses. The others jumped back into the wagon as Percy cracks the reins and gave chase.
Keeping up with the speed, Kyira tries to snap and bite at the undead's leg as if it was just in front of her but kept slipping away. "You can do this, Kyria! I have utter faith in you!" Scanlan calls out to her. The undead veers off into the trees. Kyria follows as did Percy, avoiding the trees.
The undead then leaps the gap to the next set of land, Kyria jumps as well, almost missing it, but catches herself and continued after the undead. The wagon came up to the gap. But Keyleth shot her hand out, the green glow radiates from her hand as thick vines shoot out and creates a bridge, as they safely got to the other side, with a scratch.
On the side trail of the mountains, the wagon was just behind the undead and Kyria as they continued to chase. Then more of its friends decided to join in their little game.
One joins up front, and it slams into Kyria, making her yelp, but she slams right back into it, growling. Scanlan struggles as he went to scream, but the tongue of the undead just sticks itself in his mouth, shutting him up.
He panics for a moment but then started to like it, "Scanlan, hold on!" Keyleth calls out to him. Vax aims her arrow again and fires, but this time, she misses. "Come on, Percy! Faster! Hyah!" she shouts. He glares at her. "This thing was not built for speed. And did you just hyah me?!" he snaps and cracks the reins again.
She fired again, and it hits, but did nothing to slow it down, "That's just not fair." she mutters as Kyria rams into it once again.
Three undead slides off the side of the mountain and chases after the wagon from behind, "I'll take the big one!" Grog shouts, "I'll take the other big one!" Vax calls out, "Guess that just leaves me big ugly!" Jason calls out.
Once screeches, jumping at Vax, he stumbles back. Then the next one jumps, and Jason pulls up his shield as it rams into him. Forcing him to fall onto his back. As the last one jumps at Grog, opens its mouth, and eats him up.
Jason struggles as it snaps and tries to kill him, he held his shield up, trying to keep it off him as he was reaching for the mace that was knocked out of his hand.
Vax held the undead back as its mouth was open and tongue spiraling out of control, "Sit!" he shouts, the tongue wrapping around his wrist as he held tight and stabs it right in the side of the neck.
Nothing happens as it slams him through the side of the wagon, he was hanging from the edge, then it slams its jaw on his wrist, biting down hard. Vax cries out in pain. "Vax!" Keyleth shouts.
He shot a look at her momentarily, then back at the undead as it growls, biting hard on his wrist, but suddenly Keyleth rams her shoulder right into the undead. Throwing it off him, he grunts falling back into the wagon
It fell away, pulling back onto its feet, and snarls as she places herself between Vax and the undead. Her eyes glowed green, a growl bubbled in her throat then she snarls right at the undead, making it stop right in its tracks.
Finally grabbing hold of his mace, Jason bellows as he swung the mace, crushing the head of the undead in and it went flying through the side of the wagon, breaking through it and rips apart on the ground.
Then Grog grips the undead on him apart, smeared with blood, then he leaps for the one Keyleth had under her control and rams his fist right into the undead, throwing it back and it rips apart on the ground. "That's for Pike! And me!" Grog shouts as Keyleth, Jason, and Vax join him, "And maybe Scanlan 'cause he probably won't survive!" Grog calls out, falling to his knees.
The undead keeps right to bite Kyria as it kept ramming into her and she just rams back. Vex growls, but then looks back to their supplies and picks up one of the arrows. "This better be worth it," she mutters.
Arming her bow with the enchanted arrow, it charges up, lighting the arrowhead and she fires. It flew hitting the undead, right before it could ram into Kyria, exploding it. Its rotten guts just flew out and hit Scanlan in the face, Kyria just wrenches from the sight as Grog just laughs "Thanks, Gilmore." Vex said with a grin.
Kyria was side by side with the undead and rams her shoulder into it, snapping at the tongue. But Vex immediately frowns as she saw just ahead of them a narrowed cliff as below was just mist and trees. "Um, are they going over the cliff?" Keyleth questions. "They're not the only ones!" Vex shouts.
"Kyria! Stop running!" Jason calls out to her, but she kept ramming her shoulder into the undead "It's got, Scanlan. We have no choice!" Percy reminds them. "I am not dying to save that gnome. Get me closer!" Vex shouts.
The tongue unravels the gnome, locking onto just the book, and pulls it right into its mouth, and Scanlan still handing onto the book was pulled right to the mouth. "Shoot for its head! Neck! Dick!" he shouts, trying to pull the book free. "Come on, Vex! No one breaks balls better than you!" he shouts.
Making her smirk, "He's not wrong." she admits, aiming and firing, the arrows, tied with rope flew right at them "You missed?!" he shouts back at her. "Let go of the damn book dumbass and jump onto Kyria!" she shouts back.
The gnome looks over at Kyria as she was running in sync with the undead, he looks between them and shouts as he jumps for Kyria. Once on her back. She immediately reels back, trying to slow down. But the edge was approaching fast as the undead jumps off the ledge. "Grab the rope, Kyria!" Vex calls out.
The direwolf twist, Scanlan holding on tight and snaps her jaw tightly right onto the rope as they both slip right ledge. "KYRIA!!" Jason and Keyleth shout as Percy pulls back on the reins. The horses pulled back, trying to stop but the edge was too close.
"Off the cart!" Vex calls out as she jumps, pulling Percy with her, Grog grips the half-elves as Jason leaps off the cart. The undead and cart went over the ledge, smacking onto the ground below.
The party just rolls away as they landed safely on the ground they wanted to stay on and their supplies just tittering over the edge. They lay there for a moment, trying to catch their breath.
Then Vex and Percy stood up, Vex pulling on the rope, trying to grip the two back up, but Vex immediately stops, gasping as she looks at the other end of the rope. It ripped as there was no Scanlan for Kyria on that end.
"No," she mutters, lowering herself to her knees. Jason fell to his knee and hands, trying to process the information. Vax just slams his fist to the ground "Scanlan. Kyria." Keyleth mutters in horror. "They didn't make it," Vax mutters.
Grog just stood there for a moment. Whimpering as he lowers his eyes. then the sound of magic catches Vex's attention.
"Rise, mighty Scanlan!
Rise!"
Rising from the ledge, slowly presenting himself, on Bigby's hand, still in one piece as Kyria, in the hand as well, shifted back and a surprised look on her face. "That was a close one," she mutters, pulling herself off Bigdy's hand.
She pants for a moment, then props herself on her knees, "That was too close." she mutters. Vax, Jason, and Keyleth smiles as the Ashari stood to her feet, wiping away her tears, then without thinking, she ran forward and threw herself at Kyria, wrapping her arms tightly around her.
Surprising her tribal sister, Kyria stumbles for a moment, but kept her balance as he held her, "Please don't do that ever again." she whimpers at her, Kyria just blinks for a moment, then hugs her tightly "Sorry to startle you." she whispers, smiling at her.
Keyleth just chuckles with tears in her eyes. Scanlan just lies on Bigby's hand, a big smile on his face. "Yeah, when I die, it'll be the way the gods intended--" he said, propping himself up. "Chocked to death by a disgruntled pimp," he said, brushing his hair back.
Vax just walks up to him, "Careful what you wish for." he tells him, then held out his fist and Scanlan pumps it. Jason walks up and grins at him, crossing his arms and a smile on his face. After the moment of relief, Vex frowns to herself "We lost everything." she mutters.
Scanlan just shrugs at her, "Well, I mean, at least we still have our holy water-er-er-er-er...." he mutters as they all look at the bag, seeing it was just tipping over the edge. "Not good," Kyria mutters.
Then right on cue, it falls off the cliff, "Definitely not good!" Jason shouts as they all jump for it, all shouting as they lunged for it.
But it was already over the edge as they skid right by the side, all their supplies fell from the distance, "I could, probably go get it." Kyria said weakly. But the sound of glass shattering echos in the valley. They all sighed, slumping to themselves. "Perfect," Vax mutters as Kyria pouts for a moment and plops on the ground.
Keyleth just pats her back, "There, there." she tells her, Kyria just turns her head away, frowning to herself, then she looks down at the dead bodies below, then raised her head, seeing at something was moving. "Uh, guys..." she mutters.
They looked at her for a moment then at where she was looking, the undead pulls its ripped body off the ground, picked up the book, and looks back at them. "That's really fucked up," Jason mutters as the others just stare in shock.
Vex arms her bow, but the undead just snarls at them and limps away, disappearing into the trees. Vex sighs as she lowers her bow and Percy turns, stepping away, the others looked at him. "She got what she wanted. Again." he groans.
Jason just frowns as he stood up, "It won't matter." he said, Percy looks back at her, "Cause sooner or later, she'll get what's coming to her." he promises him. Percy just looks at him, not convinced.
~8~8~8~
In the castle of Whitestone, the undead limps towards its master. "Well, do you have an update for us?" Lady Briarwood asks her people. "My Lady, the refinement of the Whitestone shale is on track and will be ready at your request." Professor Anders assures her.
The undead stood before its master, presenting the book before her. She pets the undead cold fur and took the book from it, "Excellent. We have a schedule to keep, but the residuum needs to be pure." she tells him, dusting off her book then glares at Anders, "Do not forget that, Professor Anders." she warns him.
But he kept his wicked smile and bowed to her, "Understood, My Lady." he answers as the undead walks away, "Everything for the ritual must be in place before the..." she informs. But Stonewell clears his throat, getting their attention. "Lord and Lady, the dinner guest you requested," he tells them as nine random people step into the room.
All dressed in rags and confused as to why they were summoned to the castle. Sylas and Delilah just smile. "Ah, splendid." Sylas answers as he and Delilah smile and greet them, "Welcome, friends. Supper first, then you'll need to be changed into more formal attire." Sylas said, the guest just smiles as they were grateful as they walk to their destination.
But the little girl stops and looks up at Lady Briarwood. "Excuse me, did we win a prize?" she asks Delilah just needs before her, "Yes, little one. You've been chosen for a very special event," she tells her, placing a necklace around her neck, it was a wooden amulet of the Everlight.
The little girl just looks down at it in awe, smiling at Lady Briarwood, then she walks off with her father, but she looks back smiling as she waves at her for a moment. Never catching the wicked grins on their face as they step into the room.