Chapter #14: A Ghastly Night pt1

"Hands off," Ambrosia shouts, picking Esteri up by the throat as she appears near her in the blink of an eye. All the merchants stand up and ready themselves to attack her. The entire forest feels like it is filling with an unearthly fog.

Ambrosia's fangs show. "You will not hurt my pet," her voice echoes through the camp.

"Ambrosia! What are you doing?" I shout back.

"Look around you pet. Don't you know when you are being tricked?" Ambrosia says, still holding little Esteri up in the air.

"See what? That you have gone crazy? That you've lost your mind? Let her go!" I demand.

"Pet, you really have no common sense, do you? These filthy creatures mask their scent with lilacs and lavender. They are not merchants. Nor they are as weak as they are making themselves out to be," Ambrosia insists.

"All I see are people hurting!" I shout back, my hand is next to my sword now. I'm not sure what I'm thinking. I can't and don't want to fight Ambrosia but I can't let her hurt these people, especially after how they have been so kind to me.

"Silly pet," Ambrosia slings Esteri toward Immenithes.

Another merchant, named Ritese, jumps toward her. My Insight scans him automatically and to my surprise, his Threat Level has increased from a meager 2, that was a few moments ago, to 5. His HP is 22 and the tooltip notification above his head has tagged him as a ghoul.

Ambrosia turns and grabs Ritese as he digs an old rusty dagger he had been hiding into her shoulder. The vampiress laughs and tears Ritese in half with her claws. The top half of his torso lands on the ground in front of me. His legs don't fall. Instead, they run in random directions. As I look down, I see his upper body crawling towards us, still clutching the dagger. His HP has decreased down to 50%.

"What is this?" I say, turning toward Ambrosia.

"You're such a simpleton, pet," she answers, slamming her foot down on Ritese's head, crushing it instantly. His body stops crawling, even his legs fall over motionless.

Another merchant tries to jump Ambrosia from behind, in a futile attempt to attack her.

"What has razor-sharp teeth, jagged claws, and roams around the woods in packs at night?" Ambrosia asks, slamming the second merchant to the ground, breaking his arm.

"You!" I shout.

"Ghouls pet!" Ambrosia shouts. "Enough of this, Immenithes, I'm calling you out on your tricks. Show him your true nature if you want to live to see another day."

Immenithes holds up his hand as if ordering the others to stand down. He shuts his eyes and begins chanting something. I can't make out any of the words but the moment he finishes, I look around and see the merchants aren't humans at all. Those that aren't completely covered by the illusion spell, begin to peel off fake skin and faces. I feel so blind. How couldn't I see through them before? I only saw what I wanted to see. Felt what I wanted to feel. I wanted to be the hero so badly, I almost became dinner. Whatever illusion they had cast, Ambrosia had seen through it. She knew from the very beginning and yet… she let me become part of this charade. Perhaps I have failed her. Is this some kind of test she was putting me through?

Even Esteri whose porcelain skin reflected the stars is now a dark grayish-blue. Several of them have jagged teeth and claws. Behind Immenithes I see several jars with the bodies of the Black Knights, hacked up into bite-size pieces.

I look at the rabbit I had finished eating and want to puke.

"Don't worry, they didn't feed you flesh. They saved all that for themselves. Seems the Black Knights' dead bodies are more than enough to hold off their appetites for some time," Ambrosia says.

I look toward Esteri; she is holding her head down in shame. "I'm sorry," she says.

Ambrosia looks over at me. For a moment, she looks like she will break into laughter. "You little," she raises her claws in the air and is about to take Esteri's head off when I shout for her to stop. Esteri is begging for her life and for the first time since we joined to form a party, Ambrosia listens.

"Don't kill them," I say, watching as Ambrosia lowers her arm.

"And why not?" Ambrosia protests.

"Because I still saved them. That still has to mean something," I tell her, thinking that somehow the plot will progress.

"It means nothing. They are pests, the lowest of the undead. Chaotic evil creatures like me. I'm surprised they have been able to keep their hands off you for that long," Ambrosia answers back.

I see Esteri's hand balls into a fist. Her claws file down, not like the others. Despite her unnatural skin, she still has her red hair and auburn eyes, thin lips, and even that innocent smile. With just a little makeup she could pass for human easily.

"Is any of what you told me true?" I ask, turning toward Immenithes and Esteri. I'm holding my hand down by my sword, ready to draw at a moment's notice.

"Yes it is," Esteri pleads. "My sister really is being held in the Lord's dungeon, a gift from our former master, Alastor. The things I said to you," she pauses, glancing toward Ambrosia, "my actions. They were not without meaning."

"Cut the crap. King Alastor would never ally himself with mere ghouls when he has an army of Golem Knights and a Titan Dragon," Ambrosia says, then turns toward me. "Oh, did your little doll tell you that if they devour your flesh while performing the right ritual, they can absorb part of your powers along with your flesh?" Ambrosia asks.

"No, they failed to mention that," I tell her.

Ambrosia gives me a half shrug. "Do you want me to help you kill them?"

I feel a wave of anger building up inside me, then I calm down. I want to kill them, but they are stronger than me. Even if Ambrosia helps me, there's no guarantee I'll survive another battle. I should play smarter… After all, no reason to cry over spilled milk. It's just a game, it's not reality.

"Let's go. I have no desire to waste any more time here," I say with a hint of boredom.