Wormholed Away II

The trip was very short, and the group arrived at their destination in just a few seconds. Immediately after getting out of the portal, Ammine walked over to a wall and hunched over. "Ugh..." It was similar to the wind tunnel that she had taken before. She didn't know the reason why but she felt sick whenever she experienced something like this.

"You don't look well," Fae observed. "I know a bit of healing magic," he offered Ammine.

"No... I don't need it. Just give me a few seconds," Ammine turned down Fae's offer.

The group waited a minute for Ammine to recover before they started moving. During this time, Kies looked around at where they were and saw that they were likely inside a castle. The walls were pure white and were beautifully decorated with jewels of all kinds and types. The room they were in was probably the hallway and it was enormous, meaning that the entire castle was massive. How they did not see something as big as a castle-like this one when they first arrived in the forest, Kies did not know.

As if Fae were able to read minds, he answered Kies's question, "This place is floating above the forest. It is on an island that has an invisibility array etched into it."

"Hoo, an invisibility array that can cover something as big as this... I never knew that the witch had something like that," Haro commented. Even though he knew almost all of the things that went on in the forest, he knew almost nothing about the witch other than that she is quite powerful. She just appeared one day seemingly out of nowhere in the midst of the fight for control of the forest. Not soon after her appearance, she forced many of the greater undead into submission and killed off those that refused.

"With such power and influence, how is the Bone Whistler still standing?" Ammine recovered and asked the question. "They may have a large army but it only consists of rotters." Rotters were the weakest of the undead and were incapable of self-thought. They were easy prey for the other undead and their only strength is their numbers. The Bone Whistler may be skilled in commanding, but tactics and strategies are useless against overwhelming power, which is what the witch has.

"Hm... have you met the Bone Whistler yet?" Fae asked.

"Yes," Ammine answered.

"Then you should've felt how powerful it really is," Fae told her. Ammine thought back to when they met the monster. She sensed that it had strength rivaling that of her king. She was very surprised to see that but considering that it was one of the candidates fighting to rule over the forest, it seemed plausible to her for it to be that powerful. After seeing the Bone Whistler, Ammine had guessed the rest of the candidates were also more or less powerful as it.

"Do you know the Bone Whistler's other name?" Fae asked.

"Hoot, do you mean the Harvester?" Haro answered.

"Yes."

Kies who had been quietly listening bumped in and asked about the name, "The Harvester? Is there a meaning behind that name?"

Fae saw that Ammine was fine now and pointed his staff down the corridor and said, "I'll explain while we walk." The group started walking down the hallway. Kies noticed that there wasn't a giant door at the end like the demon's castle. Where were they going? "So," Fae started. "The Bone Whistler, or shall I say the Harvester, has a special ability that allows it to grow stronger the more souls it consumes."

"Isn't that the same for every undead?" Ammine asked. It was common knowledge that all undead gained power by consuming each other and once they had enough, they would evolve.

"Yes that is true," Fae agreed. "But the difference between normal undead and the Bone Whistler is that the Bone Whistler has no limits. For normal undead, after reaching their final evolution, whether it be lich, banshee, or any other greater undead, they cannot grow any stronger. The reason why is unknown but every greater undead loses this ability. The Bone Whistler, however, is unique as this doesn't apply to them," he explained.

"Then what about the rumors of it hiding from the witch because it is weaker?" Ammine pointed out. It was Haro who told them that.

Fae sighed. "That was true a few days ago, but it has already surpassed the witch in strength now. Anyhow, the reason why I brought you here is to propose a deal with you, or rather it's not my proposal but the witch's."

"What's the proposal?" Ammine asked. Though she was pretty sure that she already knew what the witch wanted since the witch likely knew what they wanted as well, and that was to assist her in subduing the Bone Whistler in exchange for an alliance.

'"You'll have to speak with the witch herself for the specifics. It looks like we're here anyway," Fae told the group. They had arrived at another teleportation array. This one was much larger than the one that they had just used and looked a lot more complex as well.

"Ugh, not again," Ammine grunted.

"My apologies once again, but this is the only way for us to meet the White Witch. You'll have to bear with it," Fae apologetically told Ammine.

*Sigh* "Let's just get this over with already."

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