We Can Be Heroes ...?

12

The skeletons didn't attempt to follow them. Every single one had reappeared, or had become magically replaced. Either way, the exact same number of skeletons stood where the others had stood, watching the point where Shion and the others had emerged and not one of them had turned to see Shion and the adventurers walking away. To Shion, it was as though the creatures were given orders to watch one, specific place and took that as literally as any creature possibly could.

Now, a short distance from the entrance to the city, Shion saw the source of the spinning, flashing green sigil. It hovered above the head of one man among four. All appeared to have died where they sat, around an extinguished camp fire. As she moved around the dead men, she could see no sign of anything that could have caused their deaths. She could see no injuries on any of their bodies, but that meant little to her anymore, considering that her adventurer companions had also shown no sign of injuries, and she had seen weapons hit them.

A moan escaped from one of the men and Shion skipped backward, her hand reaching behind her for her staff, though none of the others seemed at all bothered by someone who had appeared dead now making a noise. It was the man with the sigil above his head. The 'quest marker'. As though he had felt the warmth of the living around him, the man stirred, his eyelashes flickering as his eyes opened.

"Who goes there?" The man turned his head this way and that. Blinded by something, though what, Shion could not imagine. "Step forward that we may speak."

"Don't." Mila held out her arm, stopping Shion as she moved to kneel beside the man. "Your healing won't work on him. It's part of the storyline. Don't waste your magic."

Shion pushed Mila's arm out of the way. She had never known anyone so uncaring. Mila treated Shion as though she were nothing, saying cruel things in order to hurt her, believing herself 'real' and therefore better than Shion. Now Mila treated this poor man as though he were nothing and Shion couldn't allow that. She kneeled beside him and laid a hand on his head.

There were no sounds of harps playing, this time, though, in truth, she had not heard those harps the last few times she had used her healing powers. That was not all, however. Even though she could feel her magic flowing through her hand, she felt as though it did nothing but tumble into nothing, like water into an impossibly deep crevasse. No matter how much magical energy she used, the man did not heal, his head still moving side-to-side.

"Who goes there?" The man repeated his words and Shion felt her guts tighten. The magical sickness that had taken her father and the people of Stagreach had reached this far. "Step forward that we may speak."

With a tut, Mila touched the man. He looked at her, or he would have, were he not blinded, for long moments, neither speaking, nor moving. Not until Mila lifted her hand from the man, stepping back and sweeping her hand to invite the others to crouch before the man. Jova went next, touching the man's shoulder, saying nothing, until she too lifted her hand. Then Dave followed, dropping his hand on the man's head, using him to lean against before standing upright and wandering away to the side.

"Right. That's that then." Mila turned away from the blind, dying man and stared toward the entrance of the underground city. "Dave, scout ahead, see what we can expect. Do not ..."

"Who goes there?" Once again, the man with the green sigil above his head repeated his words. "Step forward that we may speak."

Both Mila and Jova turned on their heels to stare at the dying man. Even Dave stopped swaggering toward the city to spin around, looking back toward the cold campfire and the blind man whose head turned to and fro as though to find someone by sound alone. Mila opened and closed her mouth several times, pointing at the man.