Posted by Moore on November 26, 2003 at 05:06:10:
The third woman to join the Master's crew angered him at the wrong time.
Max had been investigating the students at Chuch's Fighting School. None of teenage girls were trained well enough to fight an Ogre. But one of the female instructor caught him snooping, and had yelled at him. Max hated to be criticized. He decided that "Barbara of the Twin Blades" would be his. She used two short swords at the same time, and used them well enough to teach their use. He would have rather have Harvested a weapon specialist skilled in spear or pike to hold the Splilt-tooth Ogre of High-water Gorge at bay, but if she could get inside the Ogre's reach, she could do it considerable harm.
Barbara was a woman in her late 20's, with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, and she was married to a cobbler named Jerry. Max was surprised when he saw the short sword instructor sneaking around one evening while he was on his way to the Killing Ground. Max changed his plans and followed her.
Barbara headed out of town in the late afternoon. She headed with confidence to a nearby hill which held the stone ruins of old fort. Max found a grove of trees to hide in nearby. He wondered what she was up to. After a few minutes, Max saw a glint heading toward the hill from town. When it got closer, Max saw the glint was the chain mail armor of Guardsman Ryan. Guardsman Ryan was a handsome young man of nineteen. Barbara bounded out from behind a low wall and threw herself into his arms. He picked her up with his thick arms and carried her off into the ruins out of Max' sight. But judging by her screams, Ryan had her very well at least four times that evening. The Master planed on making her scream for him. And because no one heard or responded to Barbara' screams, Max know he could take his time with her.
Max kept an eye on Barbara the adulteress. Every three days she headed out to be serviced by Guardsman Ryan. Did her husband Jerry know what she did? Was he afraid of her? Would she use her combat skills on Jerry, if Jerry dared to reproach her? Max figured he was doing Jerry a favor by getting rid of her.
Max Harvested Adrian, then Harvested Suzette in the week he observed Barbara. When he was sure of her schedule he finalized his plan to Harvest her. Max brought Adrian and Suzette out of town in a cart early in the day Barbara was going to meet her lover. To avoid any problems leaving town with two "missing" women, he hid both of them under a cover of old rags. No one stopped him or searched the cart. The three of them traveled up the hill and waited among the ruins.
Barbara arrived in the late afternoon, ready for her slutty evening. Max planned to attack the Guardsman first with the missile weapon skills of Adrian and Suzette because Guardsman Ryan's armor made him the greater threat. Max also planned to put Barbara in Guardsman Ryan's armor to conceal any wounds she may sustain before she was Harvested.
Guardsman Ryan arrived next. His armor shimmered in the setting sun. Guardsman Ryan was kind enough to have removed his helmet, probably in anticipation of receiving a kiss from his married lover. Suzette had no problem throwing daggers into the back of his neck. Adrian planted an arrow in Guardsman Ryan's throat, then put another into his pain opened mouth.
Guardsman Ryan was dead before he hit the ground. Max animated the body as a mindless zombie, and before the thing that had been Guardsman Ryan could attack him, Max forced his will on it. In the Guardsman's body, Max put on Ryan's helmet, which did a good job covering up the blood.
Max stumbled the zombie guardsman up to Barbara. He planned to grab her and hold her close and let Adrian and Suzette wound her with their weapons. But when Barbara ran out to greet her lover, she stopped and sniffed. "She smells the blood," Max thought, "there goes the opportunity for one quick, clean, gutting wound." As Barbara drew her two short swords, Max mentally commanded Adrian and Suzette to get into position..
Before Max could finish having the zombie guardsman draw its sword, Barbara shoved both swords into its gut. "Aggressive bitch," Max thought. "She didn't even try to see if he was wounded or an undead, she just attacked him."
The zombie guardsman started taking more damage despite his chain mail, as Barbara continued to skewer her former lover in the gut. Max didn't fight well with a long sword, especially with the fifty pound weight of the armor throwing off his balance. If she had been using axes to chop off limbs, she would have won easily. The thrusts from short swords didn't do much damage to the undead The zombie guardsman couldn't go into shock, nor did it mind being disemboweled. Max was used to the feeling.
Still, Max was in danger of having her damage the zombie guardsman to the point of uselessness when a dagger finally hit Barbara in the right arm. In response, she drove a short sword into each of her former lover's eyes. Blinded, Max abandoned control of the zombie guardsman. It lurched at Barbara, but she shoved harder and drove the swords deeper into the skull. As the zombie guardsman fell broken to the ground, another dagger hit her left arm, causing her to scream and drop the short sword in that hand. One arrow struck her right knee as she turned to flee. Another hit the back of her left knee as she struggled to stand. Another dagger struck her right arm, jarring another scream from her lips, and causing her to drop her other weapon.
"Who's out there?" Barbara screamed. She writhed bloodily on the ground. Max had Adrian and Suzette cover his approach, in case Barbara was playing possum. Using his own body, he walked cautiously over. When he got close, he saw Barbara's wounds were incapacitating. Since she was already cut, the Necromancer deiced to use his knife on her.
Max kicked her weapons away, then searched her. Except for some love poetry and a coin purse, she had nothing else of interest. He pulled the weapons out of her soft skin and tossed them away. Blood flowed freely.
"Who are you?" Barbara sobbed. "Why are you doing this?"
Max ignored her. She did not even recognize him. He stepped on her right knee, near the arrow wound, to make sure she didn't kick him with his pants down. She renewed her screaming, and dug her fingernails into the dirt.
Max lowered his pants and got on her.
The smell of her blood was sweeter then perfume. Barbara was in great pain, and writhed and wiggled when he took her.
"Who are you?" Barbara sobbed. Her breath was coming in short pants. "Why are you doing this?"
Max ignored her and continued his plundering.
"Who are you?" Barbara sobbed. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Max was getting tired of her yapping. He slapped the knife wound on her left arm to shut her up, but it only made her yell louder.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Barbara screamed as Max took his pleasure in her. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"
"I am a necromancer," Max finally replied. "I am preparing you for the Harvest." As the full implications of what that meant settled on her, Max put his long knife to her chest, just below her ribs.
As he angled the blade, she begged "Can't we come to an understanding? I can..."
Max pushed the knife into her, and cut into her cheating heart. Barbara stiffened, raised her head, and then her head dropped with a thunk to the ground.
Max Harvested Barbara. He command her to put on Guardsman Ryan's armor, but seeing the damage that had been done to it, he first had the three women repair it as best they could. The three zombie women got in the back of the cart, and laid down on each other. Max covered them in the old rags, and drove the cart back to town.