Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Death and Bones part 2



This is the continued story of John Baines. He was the character from last years stories "Tradewind embarks"
http://sjmstories.blogspot.com/2013/09/tradewind-embarks.html

And "Death and Bones part 1" http://sjmstories.blogspot.com/2013/10/death-and-bones-1-of-2.html
if you haven't read them yet, I suggest you read them to catch up with the story line.
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 John Bones, formerly John Baines, walked the desolate cursed land. A shadowy serpent had attacked his ship, the Tradewind, and all of his friends died in the wreck. John had died but was resurrected by the dark energy that flowed through the land. Almost fifty years had passed between the time the Tradewind sank and he woke up as an undead sailor. John didn’t even know where he was but had a strange sense that he knew where he was going. He felt like he was being pulled inland by an invisible force.

            John saw a large black spire in the distance. The spire towered over the cursed trees and the forest and John felt drawn to it. “That tower is an abomination. It an affront to me” Said the voice of Death, who was still following John. “Just take me already! I want to avenge my fallen brothers but being in this cursed state is a torment I cannot handle” John told Death. “If I could I would have years ago. The master of that tower is a necromancer who has cursed the land. He seeks to rule this land and all lands with his power over the dead. He traps souls in their bodies before they can pass on. Needless to say I am not pleased with him at all” Said the voice of Death.

            John mindlessly walked toward the spire and Death’s words fell away. John reached the great gate of the spire and the doors opened for him. John navigated through the spire as if he knew where to go. He reached the center room and began to walk up a spiral staircase that went all the way to the top of the tower. John walked up the stairs with ease, he didn’t feel tired or out of breath, he felt as though he could have walked forever. Finally John reached the top and opened a door that led back outside. John walked through the door and saw the Necromancer standing on a balcony watching the cursed land below. “Ahh my newest minion” The Necromancer said as he turned around. “My magic brought you here, as it does with all who die in my lands. Now let me take a look at you” Said the Necromancer. He looked hard at John and then began to smile. “you face looks just like a Jack-o-lantern. Did someone carve your face before you died?” The Necromancer said as he barely contained his laughter. “I will call you Jack, pumpkin Jack” Said the Necromancer. “My name is J-“ John began to say but the Necromancer lifted a finger and John lost the ability to speak. “J-is for Jack. As in Pumpkin Jack. The only way this would be more fitting is if…well I suppose your eyes DO glow” The Necromancer said then began to laugh.

            John reached for his sword as the rage boiled up inside. This dark wizard was responsible. The shadow creature that sank the Tradewind, John being reborn as an undead monster and probably the skeleton attack in the autumn forest were all linked to this evil man. On top of his sins, he dared to mock John in Death. John Bones pulled his sword from its holster and slashed at the Necromancer. The evil wizard was busy laughing and didn’t see his new subject reach for his sword. John’s blade was stopped at the very last second before it killed the Necromancer. John stood paralyzed, holding his sword against the Necromancers bleeding through. The sword cut the skin but did not do any serious damage. The Necromancer was no longer laughing, he had an awful scowl on his face as he held his hand up. The Necromancer held John in place with a wave of his hand. With another wave his hand the Necromancer sent John flying off the Spire.

            John was launched from the tower as if thrown by a large invisible hand. Fear and adrenaline pumped through John as he fell. He had been thrown from such a height he knew this was his end. Then just before John hit the ground he remembered he couldn’t die and met the ground with a sense of boredom and annoyance. “If that Necromancer can control my every action how am I supposed to get revenge?” John asked as his body lay sprawled out on the hard black dirt. “You find someone who is alive who also wants the Necromancer to die. This wont be difficult, his evil magic has been plaguing the lands for many years and all would like to see an end to his reign of terror. This desolate place used to be part of the Autumn land before the Necromancer arrived and began practicing his evil sorcery” Death explained.

            “Then I will leave and find a group of humans to help me!” John said as he was empowered by a new sense of hope. “You cannot leave the borders of the cursed land unless the Necromancer allows you to leave. Which he wont, not after you tried to kill him” Death explained. “Fine I will go to the edge of the land. I will do everything I can!” John said as he shambled along. His legs slowly snapped back into place and his broken arms straightened out. His body returned to its normal state as if he had never been thrown off of a spire.

            The cursed land stretched out for miles. The spire had a clearing around it, but anything beyond that clearing was thick with cursed dark trees. “This is the Haunted land. The necromancer’s evil tainted this autumn forest beyond repair. The dark magic has attracted so many demons and spirits it is now home to creatures worse than even the Necromancer. Luckily for you, you cannot die” Death told John as John entered the dense Haunted Forest.

            The Haunted forest lived up to its name, besides John there were many undead creatures wandering about. Mindless zombies, ghosts and nightmarish demons inhabited the forest. When dark magic infects a whole land it attracts other dark creatures. Most of the monsters in the Haunted forest didn’t even follow the Necromancer, they were just drawn to the darkness. The forest was filled with dead trees with black bark and no leaves. Some of the trees even had greenish ooze instead of sap. John shuddered to think what would come out if he chopped one of the trees down.

            While John was walking through the forest he heard roars and rustling in the trees ahead. He ran forward and saw a short muscular man fighting shadow beast with glowing orange eyes. John felt his rage grow when he saw the beast because he knew it was another servant of the Necromancer. John pulled his sword from its sheath and charged forward, slashing the head off of the shadow creature. The undead magic that kept John alive was also infused within his blade, the magic in his blade was able to kill minions of the Necromancer for good. John discovered his new ability when he slashed the shadow creature’s head off and it melted into the ground. Usually slashing any part of a shadow creature, even the head did little more than slow it down.

            The muscular man was relieved that the evil shadow was gone but turned his blade on John when he noticed John had glowing orange eyes. “I come in peace. I am cursed like this land but I do not protect the Necromancer” John said as he put his hands in the air. John couldn’t die so he wasn’t worried about fighting, but he did need the help of a mortal to slay the Necromancer.

            “Who are you if not a minion of the dark wizard?” Said the Muscular man. “I am John Baines…I was John Baines. I don’t know what to call myself now. Bones, Pumpkin Jack, Jack o lantern, dead sailor guy” John rattled off the names casually with a tired sigh. It only took a moment for the man to realize why John would refer to himself as a Jack-o-lantern of a pumpkin. John had glowing eyes and a face that looked like it had been carved up for Halloween. “I am Finnious Malcolm Honeydew. You can call me Malcolm, or just Mayor is fine” said the Muscular man. “Why Mayor?” asked John. “I used to be the Mayor of Honeyside, the port town in the autumn forest. When the Necromancer attacked Honeyside the villagers and I fought back, after we learned that the Necromancer’s skeletons couldn’t be killed we escaped the town for our lives and built a new town called Honeydew. I am the Mayor of Honeydew” the Mayor explained.

            “I was in Honeyside before I died, that was years ago. I am sorry, it looked like a beautiful place. If you have a new town, why risk the dangers of these woods?” Asked John. “I can’t sit around getting fat as the Mayor, not while that Necromancer is still alive. Until he is destroyed no one will be truly safe” Replied Mayor. “I want to see the Necromancer dead as well, but he can control me whenever he wants. So I need help to break his spell over me so I can kill him” John explained.

            “If I can find the source of the Necromancers power, maybe I can take it out and then you would be free” Explained the Mayor. “Good, I am glad I ran into you. Maybe together we actually have a chance to stop this maniac” John said

            John and Mayor made their way through the Haunted Forest back toward the Necromancer’s spire. John sought revenge and freedom while Mayor Honeydew risked his life for the good of the autumn forest and all that lived there.

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