"Send him back," Reed said, sliding off the horse's armored rump. His legs hit the ground, and for the first time in an hour, they didn't wobble. The Holy Mana transfusion had worked.
Kaelen dismounted, landing with a heavy clank. She patted Valor's neck. The massive horse was foaming at the mouth, his sides heaving.
"Return to the treeline," Kaelen commanded, slapping the horse's flank. "Wait for my signal."
Valor didn't argue. He snorted at Reed (a clear "I hate you") and galloped back into the forest.
They were alone.
The bridge was a narrow, ancient thing made of grey stone and rotting wood, spanning a hundred-foot gorge. Below, the river churned white and violent.
On the bridge, the Army of the Dead marched.
It wasn't a disorganized mob. It was a column. Five hundred skeletons, marching in lockstep, their rusty armor clanking in unison. The sound was deafening, a rhythmic, metallic grinding that echoed off the canyon walls.
"They have seen us," Kaelen noted.
The front rank of skeletons stopped. Fifty empty eye sockets turned toward the two figures blocking the road.
"Target Acquired," a collective, raspy whisper floated on the wind. "Life."
Kaelen stepped forward. She drew her sword. The blade ignited with blinding white fire, casting long shadows across the bridge.
"I am High Inquisitor Kaelen of the Silver Flame!" she shouted, her voice amplified by mana. "By the authority of the Holy See, I deny you passage! Return to the dust, or be purified!"
The skeletons stared at her. Then, the front row drew jagged, rusted scimitars. They charged.
"They chose 'Purified,'" Reed deadpanned.
He stepped up beside her. He didn't draw a sword. He cracked his knuckles. Violet smoke drifted from his fingertips.
"What is the plan?" Kaelen asked, bracing her shield. "We are outnumbered two hundred to one."
"It's a bridge, Kaelen," Reed said, a dark grin spreading across his face. "We don't have to kill them. We just have to revoke their walking privileges."
"I will hold the center," Kaelen declared. "Do not let them flank me."
"I'll play support," Reed promised. "Just... don't look behind you."
CRASH.
The wave hit.
Kaelen met the charge like a breakwater.
Her shield flashed. BAM. The first three skeletons shattered on impact, their bones turning to powder against the holy warding. She swung her sword in a wide, flat arc.
"Purge!"
A wave of white fire erupted from the blade, cleaving through the first rank. Skulls flew. Ribcages exploded. She was a whirlwind of disciplined, righteous violence.
But for every skeleton she smashed, two more stepped over the pile. They were mindless. They didn't feel fear. They just pressed forward, a crushing wall of rusty metal and bone.
"Asset!" Kaelen grunted, shoving a skeleton back with her shield bash. "I require assistance!"
"Working on it," Reed muttered.
He was standing ten feet behind her. He wasn't throwing fireballs. He was staring intensely at a skeleton in the third row. a large one wielding a two-handed axe.
Reed's eyes flared with deep, amethyst light. He reached into his pocket and touched the Void Shard for a split second, channeling the corruption.
[ABILITY: OVERLORD DOMINION]
[Target: SKELETON WARRIOR (LVL 15)]
[Action: HOSTILE TAKEOVER.]
"Mine," Reed whispered.
On the bridge, the Axe-Skeleton froze. Its blue eye-flames flickered, turned purple, and locked onto Reed.
Connection established.
Reed didn't shout commands. He just twitched his finger.
The Axe-Skeleton spun around.
Instead of attacking Kaelen, it swung its rusty axe horizontally, directly into the legs of the skeletons behind it.
CRUNCH.
Three skeletons went down, their femurs shattered. The formation stumbled.
"What?" Kaelen gasped, seeing the friendly fire.
"Oops," Reed laughed. "Glitch in the matrix."
He twitched his other hand.
The Axe-Skeleton dropped its weapon and tackled the skeleton next to it. It grabbed the other undead by the ribcage and hurled it over the railing.
SPLASH.
"You are controlling them!" Kaelen realized, decapitating a ghoul. "That is Necromancy!"
"It's Management!" Reed corrected. "I'm restructuring their org chart!"
He clenched his fist. The purple-eyed skeleton grabbed two more of its comrades in a bear hug and threw itself off the bridge, dragging them down into the white water.
[TRIPLE KILL.]
"Efficient," Reed noted.
But it wasn't enough. The sheer weight of the army was pushing Kaelen back. She slid a foot, her boots grinding sparks on the stone.
"There are too many!" Kaelen yelled. "My shield is cracking!"
A Siegebreaker, a massive construct made of fused bones, pushed through the ranks. It raised a club the size of a tree trunk.
"Big guy," Reed warned.
The Siegebreaker swung.
Kaelen raised her shield. CLANG.
The impact drove her to one knee. The shield held, but the force of the blow winded her. The white fire on her sword dimmed.
"Kaelen!" Reed shouted.
He couldn't possess the Siegebreaker; its will was too strong. He needed physics.
"Hey! Ugly!"
Reed stepped out from behind Kaelen. He raised his hand.
[SPELL: VOID GRIP.]
He didn't grab the monster. He grabbed the bridge railing next to the monster.
"Break."
The rotting wood exploded outward.
Reed changed the vector of his pull. He grabbed the Siegebreaker's ankle with a telekinetic hand of shadow.
"Trip."
He yanked.
The Siegebreaker, top-heavy and mid-swing, lost its footing. It stumbled sideways, stepping into the empty space where the railing used to be.
It flailed, grabbing at the air. Its massive hand caught the cloak of a skeleton next to it.
SCREEECH.
Gravity took over. The Siegebreaker tipped over the edge, dragging three smaller skeletons with it. They fell silently, vanishing into the mist below.
"Gravity check passed," Reed smirked.
Kaelen scrambled to her feet, panting. Her helmet was dented.
"You fight without honor!" she accused, wiping black ichor from her visor. "You fight like a… a goblin!"
"I fight to win, Inquisitor!" Reed yelled, dodging a stray arrow. "Honor is for people with health insurance!"
"They are regrouping!" Kaelen pointed.
The army had stopped. They realized the "Possession" tactic and the "Ledge" tactic.
The skeletons spread out. They formed a shield wall, interlocking their rusted shields to prevent being pushed. They began to advance slowly, a solid wall of iron that spanned the entire width of the bridge.
"Shield wall," Kaelen cursed. "I cannot break that formation alone. If I charge, I will be pinned."
Reed checked his pockets.
Void Shard: Humming angrily.
Spicy Purse: Ready.
Grease Scrolls: Three left
He looked at the smooth, stone surface of the bridge. He looked at the slight downward slope leading toward the center.
A wicked, terrible idea formed in his mind.
"Kaelen," Reed said, stepping up beside her. "Do you trust me?"
"No," she said instantly. "Absolutely not."
"Good. That means you're smart."
Reed pulled the scroll case from his chest pocket.
"Sheath your sword," Reed ordered.
"What? Are you insane? If I lower my guard—"
"Sheath. The. Sword," Reed commanded, his eyes flashing violet. "And grab onto something solid. A railing. A rock. Me."
"Why?"
Reed unrolled the scroll. The magical runes for [GREASE] glowed with a slick, oily light.
"Because," Reed grinned, holding the scroll up like a weapon. "It's time to play Bowling."