Eternal Rest

"It's done!" Bones stopped in his tracks, looking down at his hand. Once again, he attempted to use bone shaping, and though it didn't feel as strained, he couldn't bend the bones as he desired. "No bladed arms, I guess….No, it's too early to give up!"

Determined not to succumb to another failure, he drew more mana into the ability, feeling his bones vibrating under pressure. For a fleeting moment, the bones bent until a crack appeared. Bones was startled as the bone he attempted to reshape splintered, and he let out a shriek as it exploded into fragments.

His hand dropped to the ground, his arm, now missing forearm bones beneath the elbow. The pain came and went in a flash. Kneeling down, he reached out to pick up his fallen arm but recoiled, feeling pain radiating from deep within. Barely a second later, a soft ding echoed in his head.

Warning!

Attempting to shape the structure of bones

Failed!

Insufficient level of skill: Bone Shaping

Skeleton arm bone integrity damaged

The first notification was a warning of his failure. The second one indicated experience gained and a level up in bone shaping. This time, Bones refrained from using bone shaping and employing bone manipulation, he carefully picked up his hand, while bone mending worked overtime to repair the damage done. A minute later, his hand was reconnected to his now whole arm. "A success found in failure," Bones supposed.

Having found no success in shaping his own bones, Bones turned to an alternative approach. He rummaged through his inventory and retrieved makeshift bone spears he had carried since before Westbrook, but never utilized. Summoning one into his hand, he focused on shaping it, aiming to make it slender and sharper. With manipulation, he made it levitate atop his hand, then began the transformation process. Gradually, the bone reduced in thickness while increasing in length, but Bones felt the strain intensify. With a small push, the bone splintered. "I see. So this is my limit for now."

Having reached a conclusion, he continued walking with a small piece of bone in his hand. Despite its tendency to break and splinter when reaching extreme angles, Bones found more success as it shaped and bent. Regardless, he deemed it adequate—a minor success finally attained.

As Bones neared the city, open fields replaced the forest on both sides of the road. The capital now loomed in the distance. Descending downhill on a narrow road, Bones made his way toward flat ground that stretched through the countryside to a vast lake. In the distance, he could discern houses lining the coast, extending all the way to the city.

These parts felt familiar to Bones. He recalled the lake being distinctly smaller. Wasn’t there a mountain near the lake too? Strangely, he didn't see any sign of it.

Sweeping a glance at the landscape surrounding the capital, Bones observed woods stretching in the distance and open fields all around them. Animals grazed peacefully, and he recognized the bulky forms used to pull carriages. Overall, the scene appeared serene, but Bones knew the inside of the city walls was anything but.

The road Bones walked on led directly towards the south gates of the city, but he changed direction at the intersection, opting for the longer route toward the houses on the lake. He wasn't in a rush to reach the city, and traveling for an extra hour or two wouldn't make a difference.

On both sides of the road, unfamiliar crops grew, and in the distance, he spotted workers—farmers, perhaps—harvesting the fields. Every now and then, side roads branched off from the main road toward farmhouses. They were no longer as he remembered, with just a couple of chickens, pigs, and cows. Now, the properties encompassed acres of land, and once again, Bones noticed the machines, this time involved in harvesting and processing the crops. “The machines…” He whispered.

Bones' pleasant stroll through the countryside was abruptly interrupted when he spotted a patrol approaching in his direction. As they drew nearer, he noticed their focused attention on him. Sensing the tension, Bones pulled back his hood, revealing his milky white skull, and raised both arms above his head in a surrender gesture. The encounter could go either way, and before Bones could speak up, the man at the front of the patrol beat him to it. With his hand resting on the sheath of the sword at his waist, the man halted in front of Bones and inquired if he was Bones.

Bones was taken aback. “Yes…” he replied, wondering how the man knew his name and if they were here for him. He thought back for a moment, then before the man could respond, he asked, “Has word from the Northpoint watchpost already reached the city?”

“Yes, the messenger reached the city a few hours ago. My superior thought it was a joke."

"What changed?" Bones asked.

"His orders changed. I was ordered to meet you and assess your...disposition.”

“Lots of orders seem to be going around. You mention my disposition - as an undead?”

“Yes, with everything going on, it is necessary.”

“Ah yes, the undead assault on Westbrook?”

The man nodded his head and introduced himself. “I’m Captain of the Guard, Duneth, and an adventurer, like yourself. Also the reason I was sent and not someone else.

“Greetings, Duneth. I’m Bones. Someone else you say? Like who?”

“Never mind that, come with us.” The captain ignored the question and motioned for Bones to follow.

Unfortunately, Bones couldn’t take his time exploring the lakeside as he and his entourage proceeded straight to the city gates. The guarded escort prompted people to turn their way and watch them pass with interest, a common occurrence for Bones by now. A brief conversation Duneth had with the guard at the gates allowed them to pass through without having to wait in line.

Bones was astounded by the grandeur of the city, with the central tower towering over everything else. “Is that…?” Bones murmured. Duneth turned to see Bones intently staring at the distant tower.

“Yes, that is The Tower.”

“Come, you’ll have time to explore the city later. First, we need to update your ID card at the guild.”

Bones was puzzled, “Update my ID card?”

“Yes, updating your ID card with a new rank and personal information about your race so you won’t have problems proving your identity in the future.”

“And while I'm there, to also assess whether I am a threat to the people or not,” Bones added, his tone flat.

Duneth turned to him with a grin. “Of course, that too.”

The adventurers guild wasn’t the grandest building in the capital, but to Bones, it still resembled a royal palace until he later saw the actual royal palace. It was a massive complex comprising an academy, numerous training grounds, restaurants, bars, a reception area, and, of course, administration offices on the upper floors.

Duneth and Bones entered the main hall of the guild and made their way to the reception desk, the patrol leaving them after they entered the city. A few adventurers paused in their activities to glance at the two.

“Duneth reporting, I’ve brought adventurer Bones for the analysis process and updating of his ID card.”

A man in his forties behind the desk regarded Duneth and Bones with an indifferent expression before nodding his head.

“Follow me.”

He led the two through the restricted area behind the reception desk and into the waiting area where Duneth said his goodbyes. As instructed, Bones sat down and waited for someone to come get him. Roughly twenty minutes later, a man with distinct sleek blue hair approached.

“Greetings, my name is Rayne,” the ex-guild leader of the Westbrook branch of the adventurer guild introduced himself.

Bones felt a pang of familiarity. “Greetings, I'm Bones. Have we met before?”

“I wouldn’t say so, but we might have crossed paths in Westbrook,” Rayne replied.

At the mention of Westbrook, Bones winced a bit. “Ah yes, the tragedy of Westbrook.”

Rayne didn’t comment. “Lose your mask?”

“No, just tired of hiding behind it.”

“You may come to regret that. Follow me,” Rayne said and turned around, expecting Bones to follow. Though Rayne's words sounded like a threat, they were delivered matter-of-factly.

The two traversed down the labyrinthine hallways and entered a desolate room devoid of windows, furnished with only a single desk and two shabby-looking chairs positioned across from each other. On one side of the wall, a dubious sleek-looking tinted window revealed Belle observing an interrogation about to take place.

Bones entered and surveyed the room. “Interrogation room?”

“Don’t worry about it, it's just a procedure, a mandatory one,” Rayne assured him.

“Right.” Bones approached the chair and sat down. “So, what can I do for you, Mr. Rayne?”

Rayne didn’t respond. Instead, he circled Bones once before taking a seat across from him. “Tell me, Mr. Bones, are you a monster?”

thump

Both turned to look in the direction of the tinted window, where Belle was now glaring at Rayne. “What. The. Fuck, Rayne!”

Bones turned back to Rayne and answered him. “I don’t believe I am.”

“How so?”

“If I were a monster, I doubt I would have gotten this far.”

Rayne chuckled. “True. You aren’t identified as a monster, but the timing of your arrival and the fact that you hid you’re a skeleton doesn’t play out in your favor…”

“What was I supposed to do under the circumstances? I arrived in Westbrook with a group of adventurers, and immediately upon my arrival, I registered with the guild.”

“As a contractor?” added Rayne.

“Yes, given my circumstances, as a contractor.”

“I see. Then tell me…when two guild scouts encountered a person wearing the same mask that you wore, in the clearing southeast of Westbrook where it was believed that a summoning of an undead army took place…was that person you?”

“Of course it was me. After completing my subjugation quests, I went further into the forest hoping to find some clues about said army of the undead.”

“You’re telling me, you went out of your way to help find clues about the undead army?” The shuffling of papers grew louder as Rayne searched through the file he had on Bones.

“Why wouldn’t I? That same morning, a new contract was issued in the guild to find a culprit for the killings of adventurers and any information about the necromancer and the army of the undead.”

Rayne didn’t respond immediately. He wrote something on the paper in front of him before continuing his interrogation. "Are you in cahoots with the necromancer that attacked Westbrook?”

thump thump

Both turned their heads toward the tinted window again, Rayne looking displeased.

“No, I have never met the necromancer and had no idea about the attack. The first time I heard about the attack was on the day it happened. I was just returning from completing quests.”

“Right, see? The scouts you encountered reported back to me about the ritual site three days before the attack. How come it took you three days to come back to town? Care to explain what you were doing three days prior to the attack?”

Bones hesitated for a second, appearing unsure whether he should say something or not.

“Why aren't you answering my question, Mr. Bones?”

“I was recuperating.”

“What?”

“Not long after those two guild scouts left, I was attacked by a person named Horus.”

thump thump thump

Rayne looked at the tinted window with a frown. Horus was a scout working for Guntar. That much they knew, and some reports indicated there was a lot of movement from those under the three crime bosses. Rayne wasn’t sure what to think about all of this. Was Horus the one killing the adventurers? It was possible, but why?

“...I tried my best to fight back, but the man was of a higher level than me. The only reason I survived the attack was because of who I am. I had broken bones, and it took a while to heal. When I was capable of moving, I headed toward town,” Bones explained his encounter with his assailant, Horus.

Crap, I wasn’t listening! Rayne realized. “That’s enough of an explanation. Do you think a man named Horus was the one killing the adventurers, Mr. Bones?”

Bones thought it over before replying. “I don’t know why he came after me, but I hope not! Maybe he knew what I was. Could it be a hate crime? Is he going to keep coming after me?”

Rayne wasn't convinced by the act, but he had no evidence to prove otherwise. “No, Mr. Bones, Horus was found dead after the attack on Westbrook.”

“Oh? Has the killing stopped after the attack?” Bones asked, knowing the answer.

“There were no reports mentioning adventurer killings after the attack,” Rayne replied and concluded the interrogation. “That would be all, Mr. Bones. Thank you for your time. You can pick up your new ID card and adventurer badge at the desk.”

“Don’t mention it and tha...wait, adventurer badge? I'm not an adventurer.”

“We would be at ease if you were to become a full-fledged member of the adventurers guild.”

“Ah, I would prefer to work just as a contractor,” Bones stated, but had a feeling it didn't matter what he wanted.

“That’s non-negotiable, Mr. Bones. You either work for the guild or you don’t work at all.”

Bones sensed that he couldn’t refuse this one. “Full-fledged member? With all the perks?” he asked, just to be sure.

Rayne nodded his head, left the room, and headed straight for the room next door.