The arrow flew, sending loose chunks of bark from the tree as the tip lodged itself within its base. Mere inches from its target, the dark incarnation turned its eyeless gaze to the archer, bones creaking with the motion, a red glow being emitted from its empty sockets.
"Shit-!" The archer exclaimed, quickly kneeling down and reaching for a small knife tucked in her boot sheath. By the time she raised herself, the skeleton had already launched a hefty swing for her head, just barely being able to lift the blade to redirect the blow.
Hit with such a strong force, however, she flung back and rolled out onto the forest floor, quickly coming to a pained stand and rushing further into the dense brush by her side.
The skeleton tried to follow, though before even a single step could be taken, it was met with a cut of a sword striking against the length of its arm. The boy who made the attack was quick on his feet, rescinding his blade and rebalancing himself before the beast could make its next move.
"Don't let up!" He yelled, clenching his teeth as his voice snarled, "We got it surrounded!"
Soon after, a shadowed girl lunged herself from the side, sweeping her blade like a guillotine into its hardened ribs. Resonating through the air was the weapons audible twang, vibration creeping up her own arm as she recoiled in pain.
It had barely done a scratch.
Her long, dark hair fell over her eyes, body falling to the ground as the beast stood over her, ready to go for the kill. Blade rusted and coated with old blood from a time past, it shot it straight for the girls head, though the swift boy was quick enough to launch himself at the skeleton, both spiraling into a roll down a small grassy hill.
"Kier-!" the girl shouted, launching herself to a stand as she bolted down after the two.
His arms were stuck—wincing his eyes open long enough to see them wedged through its gaping stomach. Unable to move, its rotting teeth came ever closer to his terrified face, attempting to rip the skin off his body with its bite alone, all the while they wildly spun down the sloped ground.
"Do as I command," a distant mage muttered, overlooking the ensuing carnage atop a small boulder. A large wooden staff, more resembling a loose bit of swirling wood, was gripped in his hands and pointed toward the stumbling boy, topped by an ever-so-intricate glistening orb of pale blue.
His other arm reached forward, messily drawing out a sigil in the air before screaming the final end of his incantation; "Stray tempest!" He roared, a thick crack bursting from parts of the orb as torrent winds billowed from its end. The flurry bashed into the skeletons side, sending both it and Kier alike into a nearby bush, halting their descent.
Still, his arms were lodged, and the beasts foul breath was putrid to the point of intoxication. "Someone- get this thing off of me!" his voice echoed, soon to be answered.
The frantic girl finally caught up, slamming her blade against its skull, though only for a similar result.
"Damnit!" She exclaimed, instead opting to gripping its arms and tossing it onto the ground behind her, Kier finally managing to escape its accidental hold. Still undamaged, the conglomerate of bones slowly came to a stand, the old sword gripped in its hands. "The hell's wrong with this thing!? Why cant we kill it-?"
"LOOK OUT!" A bloodcurdling scream resounded from behind them. Without even getting to think, both immediately lowered themselves, turning just in time to see an arrow sweep past their skulls and into the skeletons forehead.
It stumbled back, so much force from the attack that it fell on its ass from the inertia.
"The hell!?" Kier shouted, eyes scanning the horizon only to see a horrified Feather bracing herself in the distance.
"Sorry-!" She yelled, bow still in hand and still covered in dirt when she was thrown to the ground.
They were pissed, but they knew it wasn't the time for reprimanding. Turning back to the skeleton, they now knew it could be damaged, it lurching before them with the tip of the arrow still piercing the front of its skull.
"You ready, Flower?" Kier muttered, the girl to his side steeling herself. An affirmative "Hmm," was all she gave in response as they readied themselves for an attack.
It came forward—such speed it was almost frightening, the two barely being able to avoid its relentless swings. They led it in circles, twisting and turning around its body as they waited for a chance to strike. For an opening to present itself. Non ever seemed to come.
Neither him or Flower were particularly built for exorcise, already out of breath and struggling to keep up with the undead wretch before them. Unlike the living, it didn't need stamina or energy to keep itself going. It wasn't hindered by pain. It was always at full force, it was always going for the kill.
Naturally, after a while, it was too much to handle. As they became slower, the blade started to get closer and closer, tufts of Kiers hair slicing off from its roots with a few of the passes.
A sudden swing from the side was the final straw, however, Kier barely managing to block it with his blade, though his body had given up. He had nothing left.
"Kier!" Flower shouted once more, though fortunately, she wouldn't have to do much. Another silhouette ran from the brush, hefty hammer in arms, and with a solid and dominating swing broke through the side of its thick skull.
The one who had come to save them was Mel. He was a rather stout man, currently clad in whatever armor the group could scrape together to clothe him with. A tank's equipment is expensive, meaning most of their funds naturally went to him over the rest... though clearly a good investment.
Still though, the job wasn't yet done.
The hammer was capped in its skull, not enough force to break through the other end. With half of its face tattered and torn, it launched its blade towards the man, relinquishing his weapon inside the creature in an attempt to dodge back.
The weight of the hammer, simply too heavy and no longer supported by his arm, forced the skeleton to one side, briefly skating against the ground before regaining its posture in a lopsided fashion.
Oddly enough, its attacks became more unpredictable—now swinging at such an angle it was nearly impossible to track. Mel was repeatedly pushed into a corner, swipes getting so close to his face he nearly fainted from fear.
"Do as I command," The mage reemerged, hastily drawing out a sigil in a last-ditch attempt to save his friend, "Instant collapse!"
The ball atop his staff immediately shattered, thousands of dimming bits of crystal splattering onto the ground as the floor beneath started to rupture.
He had thought he got the incantation perfect... but failed to correctly mime the sigil. Instead of underneath the skeleton mere moments from cutting into Mel's flesh, the earth gave way beneath his own legs, causing the foolish mage to crash onto the fractured glass and tumble downwards, roughly slamming into the feeble shanks of the living wight, throwing it to its side.
The handle of the hammer was first to come down, bashing against the dirt as dust flung into the sky, frontside battering through the other end of bone as its skull finally crumbled into pieces.
Now headless, whatever dark possession which caused it to walk once more had seemingly left, all form of structure and reason fading into nothing but a pile of scattered bones and dust.
"Amber, are you okay?" Mel muttered as he came to his side, turning him over to see a few shards still lifelessly pricked into parts of his skin. Fortunately, his leather robe had managed to shield him from most of the damage... but that didn't mean he was unscathed.
"Yeah..." He responded, still trying to catch his breath, "I think I'm fine."
Only then did the realization hit them; The battle was over. They had killed a skeleton. They won.
A sly smile crept over all of their faces, soon converging and celebrating with one another. The only one who didn't partake in the ceremony was Amber.
Kier looked over, noting him still slumped over on the ground, not even the slightest of joy hinted in his expression.
"Amber?" He said, walking over as the others were soon to quiet down.
"It's broken," He stated. He didn't elaborate, though they all knew what he was talking about; His staff. It had costed an arm and a leg to get it—a cheap knock-off, though it was better than nothing—and now it was broken.
"We can't afford this..." He continued, "Not off of skeletons, goblins and game. We can't afford any of this."
Kier sighed.
It was with a heavy heart did they have to admit... they weren't built for this. None of them were. Only up until an odd week or so ago, they weren't even here. Not in this world, but another. A world they no longer remember. A world they yearn for, but can't ever go back to.
They were forced into a living they weren't built for. This is their reality now, no matter how much they wanted to fight it. They didn't have a choice.
Desperate to lighten the mood, Feather was quick to step forward, excitedly gleaming at the pile of bones before them. "Guys, look!"
Emitting from its calcium came an odd combination of rotted blood and pus, the mixture smelling so volatile they had to clench their noses to even be around it.
That being said... they weren't blind to its value. As far as they were aware, rotted blood was akin to an elegy of the dead and decayed, a rare resource used in all sorts of concoctions and medicines. In other words, a lucky break which led to a minor fortune.
Feather dropped down, a small flask which once held her water supply placed just beneath the dripping liquid, filling it up until not much was left to leak out. The pouch half-full, she raised it up triumphantly. "I'm rich! Do you know how much food I can buy with this!?"
Flower stepped forward, angrily pointing towards her face. "WE'RE rich, Feather! Not just you!"
"Aha.... right.... WE can by a lot of food with this!"
Kier scoffed, a sly smile on his face. "You almost killed us, Feather. Dont we need compensation?"
Her face morphed into a sad existence... "Yeah.... yeah I guess so...."
Mel hummed. "You owe me for having to put up with you the whole day."
Without a second thought, she swiveled on her heel and pummeled the side of his chest with her fist, right in the gaps of his armor. He recoiled in pain, though no one in the party seemed to carry a hint of remorse.
"Deserved." She mumbled, before happily waltzing away.
They were joking, though no amount of banter could diminish their situation. That amount of rotted blood would do them good, though not by much... in no way would that be even close enough to afford a new staff, which was practically their livelihood.
Every injury, every battle, every... thing was solved with help from its magic. They had simply reached its limit. Relied on it to the point of its fracture.
Now, they were hopeless. Gone from a ragtag group of idiots to a ragtag group of imminent corpses. They were sure of it.
Still, nothing was left for them in those woods. Plagued with concerns, and still while the sun was high, they had no choice but to return to the city. Return to their rooms.
Perhaps a new day would be kinder to them.
Perhaps they could finally make some progress.