Chapter 32- Army of the Dead
"Are you done fighting me," I growled down at Orsa.
She nodded adamantly yes.
"Good!" I continued as I pushed myself up and then offered a hand to help her stand as well.
As soon as she was on her feet her legs wobbled and she reached down and pressed both hands into her lower belly, or maybe, it could have been lower. She moaned as if in the throes of mating, and I cast a wary glare at her as I asked, "Are you going to be alright?"
"My... my body," She gasped lustily, "I feel so... sensitive... I can't... concentrate!"
"Then you had better stay here," I said just as Huxian yelled, "Virdy!"
Leaving Orsa where she stood I ran for the cave entrance. As soon as I topped the rise I saw what Huxian was frightened by. Surrounding us, all through the village, all the way to the walls, like a mass of black ants that cover the land beyond to the south and north was an army of blackened and diseased Orcs. Wolves. Bears. Rabbits. Wolverines. Beavers. Bees. Ants. Beetles. Moths. Butterflies. Harpies. Avian. el'dwea. el'dwea juk. el'dwea yulkon. Animals upon animals. Most of them were humanoid with flesh in various stages of decomposition. The el'dwea and the Insects were the only ones that were half-humanoid and half-animal.
The last I saw of an el'dwea was a small herd in Sequoia's grove beneath her tree. A male with his mates and their fawns. He stood at little over six feet tall with an alfari's upper torso. He had red hair matching the fur of his lower half. He had long alfari ears that drooped over his shoulders, and antlers that grew from his temples in a magnificent rack. The lower half of his body was that of a cervidae, or a deer. He had worn a heavy belt made from natural fibers made from tree bark and leaves, and he had brandished a long spear. A weapon capable of attack at some distance, and defending his entire body.
His mates, five females, one with golden, another with red, another with green, another with brown, and the last having white hair. They had all been smaller than the male, standing from five and half to six feet tall. They had been a pretty herd, and their children were happy and healthy.
It was so far removed from what I saw now. These el'dwea looked sallow, their eyes sunken into their heads, their bodies desiccated showing ribs and muscles appearing thin and sinewy. Mouths were peeled back in rictus snarls showing broken teeth that looked like they had been chewing on rocks. Behind the el'dwea, I saw their larger cousins. The males sported massive racks of antlers while the females stood only a few feet shorter with no racks save the shrunken, sagging sort of a different kind. All of them brandishing halberds, spears, or bows ready to do murder.
"El'dwea juk and el'dwea yulkon," Coella grimaced, "They are hard to kill!"
I watched them and I finally realized what animals they resembled. It was the antlers that gave them away. The el'dwea juk were half-humanoid and half-elk, and the el'dea yulkon were half-humanoid and half-moose. The males of both were massive. The el'dwea juk stood some seven to eight feet tall while the el'dwea yulkon stood ten to twelve feet tall.
The ants, beetles, moths, butterflies, and other insect species varied greatly from genus to genus. Most looked like Shahad, with a humanoid body with an insect abdomen that bobbed behind their buttocks, or what could be called such, like an overly swollen tail. None of them walked on feet or had hands, but rather, all of them had some form of hybridization with humanoid upper arms and legs with insect lower arms, legs, hands, and feet.
One and all, no matter if Animal or Insect, they all looked diseased, dying, or as if they should be dead.
"A vast host," Orsa gasped as she stumbled up still with her hands near her crotch.
"Are they really an army of the dead?" I asked.
"Some of them, yes," Orsa answered with a nod, "Something compels their bodies to move even after suffering wounds that should have killed them long ago. But, most of these in front of us are not dead yet. I called them such because once afflicted with whatever plagues them, they are as good as dead."
"So not actually dead... yet," I confirmed.
"Technically," Orsa answered.
"Good, then they can be killed," I growled, "Stay back. Don't let them touch you. Huxian, my love, Foxfire ball the shit out of them!"
"I have things I can do too!" Orsa moaned as if she were on the verge of an orgasm, "If I could only concentrate!"
"Shahad, Coella, protect Huxian and Orsa," I commanded.
"Yes my king," Shahad answered in a mental tone that I associated with determination.
Coella simply nodded.
Stepping forward I reached into myself. Falling into the void of my meditation I approached the dais that held a lectern holding the book I wanted. Flipping through the pages I found what I was looking for and held the contents of the page in my mind.
