Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah continued for several more hours, but he quickly realized that there was a bigger problem. Even though he didn’t seem to be getting much hungrier, weariness had started to set in. It had taken longer than Noah had expected, but it was relentless in its approach.

No more than a few minutes after Noah first realized he was getting tired, he found himself barely able to drag his feet across the dry ground. He staggered up to a large tree and, after a cursory glance in the area to make sure nothing was watching right behind him, he curled up into a ball and fell into a restless sleep.

Noah wasn’t sure how long he slept. When his eyes cracked open again, the sun hung directly above him. He grimaced, blinking heavily and wiping the crust from his eyes as he slowly stood up. He was absolutely parched, and his stomach rumbled irritably.

At least nothing attacked me this time.

He reoriented himself, then strode away in search of pretty much anything other than the endless trees.

Time passed. How much Noah wasn’t exactly sure. The sun was moving overhead, but he had no idea if the days were as long on this planet as they were on earth. The burning emptiness in Noah’s stomach grew stronger with every step, but he had no choice but to ignore it.

Trees blurred together as he passed them. Either the forest was getting more uniform, or he was just so exhausted that he couldn’t recognize the differences in it anymore. Noah was so distracted as he walked that he nearly bowled straight into a monkey hanging from a tree directly in front of him.

Noah caught himself at the last second. He’d managed to come up on the monster’s back, and it didn’t seem to have noticed him yet. He instantly raised his hands. A blade of wind shot from them, carving straight through the back of the monster’s head. It dropped from the tree before it could make a noise, dead.

A wave of energy rippled through his body, starting at his toes and rising up until it reached his head. With it came a strong feeling of refreshment. Noah’s hunger abated and his parched lips felt just a little wetter.

Noah froze, basking in the feeling for a few seconds before it faded away. He glanced around, checking to see if there were any other monkeys in the area. When he found that there weren’t, he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

Somehow, killing the monkeys seems to sate me. Magic, I guess. When I get out of this stupid forest, the first thing I’m going to do is sit down and figure out how all of this works.

Before he moved on, Noah’s eye caught on the monster’s long claws. He paused a moment, then knelt beside the monkey. He gingerly picked up one of its hands, holding a claw like a knife and working out one of the claws on its other hands.

It was bloody, gristly work that ended with him covering a good portion of himself and the monkey with rancid blood, but he finally managed to hack it free after several agonizing minutes of constantly glancing over his shoulders to make sure nothing was gaining on him.

The claw came out with a finger length piece of bone attached to its end, which suited Noah just fine. He tested its weight in his hand, then nodded to himself. He’d handled more than a few knives in his previous life – and ever single one of them was for cooking, not stabbing people. Still, the claw felt hefty and sharp enough. He set back off through the forest, leaving the corpse in his wake.

***

The monkey was back. Noah pressed his back to a large tree stump, struggling to control his terrified breathing. The huge, lanky monster that had killed him just seconds after his arrival in the burnt forest was somehow right in front of him, and he was pretty sure it had been looking in his direction.

Everything had been going so well.

Well, I suppose nothing at all was happening other than walking. Nothing is better than something, though. I’m going to count that as well.

It didn’t particularly matter what he counted as well. What did matter was the slow, uncomfortably heavy breathing of the massive ape as it slowly grew closer. The beast took deep, ragged breaths, as if savoring the scent of his fear.

Noah’s eyes darted around and he searched for any place to hide or trap the creature. Running wasn’t an option. He’d already gathered that much. And, worse, he’d brought the gourd with him. He’d yet to determine just how long it took to revive. If the monkey was still around when he came back…

A shudder ran down Noah’s spine. He could end up getting killed over and over again – forever. Dying now wasn’t an option.

He did a quick mental check of what he had to work with. A gourd. His book. A pair of pants. A monkey’s claw. He barely suppressed an amused snort that would have given his position away immediately.

I’d almost wish for a monkey’s paw over a claw at this point.

An excited hoot echoed through the dry forest. Noah flinched, but nothing happened. For whatever reason the monkey hadn’t done anything yet. It was close, though. He could smell the stench of its matted fur, like a mixture of sickly sweet earth and week old feces.

Noah’s grip tightened around the claw in his hand. He stilled his breathing even further.

Okay. On the count of three.

Three.

Two.

Noah sprinted out from behind the tree, bringing a blade of wind to his fingertips. The monkey jerked upright, standing just a few trees away from him. It spun in his direction, opening its mouth in a shriek.

The wind blade carved into its chest, splattering thick blood across the ground. Noah charged the monster and it reared back. In the back of his mind, Noah noted the move. It was the same one he’d been killed with.

He dove to the side, predicting the monster’s strike. Its claws ripped through the air where he’d been standing and he rolled to his feet, lunging forward and driving his makeshift knife into the monkey’s chest.

The padded fur was far harder to penetrate than he’d expected. His claw bit deep, but not deep enough. Noah cursed, trying to disengage, but he heard the next strike coming before he saw it.

He threw himself to the ground, but it was too late. Thick claws raked across his back, tearing apart flesh and snapping bone. Noah screamed in pain. He grabbed the gourd from his side, throwing it into the trees with the last of his strength.

A heavy foot crashed down on his head an instant later, tearing his body free of his soul. Noah snarled as his ghostly form was tossed into the air, ties to flesh severed. The monkey grabbed his corpse and lifted it into the air, sniffing curiously at it.

Energy gathered around Noah’s neck, tugging him into the forest. Toward the gourd. A tiny grin flickered across his lips, but it was equal parts nervous. If the revival process took any real amount of time, the monkey might just find him before he was alive again. The only way to know was to find out.  He was yanked forward, hurtling past several trees before he slammed back into existence.

Noah snapped into being, stiffening to keep the pained groan from escaping his lips. Every part of his brain thumped in protest, and nausea passed over him with such strength that he nearly threw up over himself.

Instead, Noah rolled to his feet. Through squinted eyes, he could just barely see the back of the large monkey chewing on something. Noah was pretty sure it was one of his arms. He clenched his fists, trying to call on his magic.

All that responded was a deep, throbbing pain. Noah gritted his teeth and padded forward, moving as silently as he could as he approached the monster. His dagger laid at its side, discarded.

He didn’t give himself time to think. He couldn’t afford it. Noah sprinted, scooping the blade off the ground and spinning toward the monster in all his naked glory. Its eyes widened and it screeched, tossing his arm aside and lunging for him.

Another attack Noah recognized – this time, the one that had literally just killed him. He rolled backward, narrowly avoiding the massive claws as they carved through the air above him. It reared back, lifting its paws above its head.

Noah lunged, driving his knife into the open wound on its chest. He twisted the blade, then threw himself to the side just in time to avoid the monkey’s overhead slash. As soon as its hands hit the ground, he lunged forward and threw all of his weight into the dagger.

Something crunched as Noah’s shoulder slammed into the monster’s enormous ribcage. Bone gave way and the dagger punched deeper, driving into the monkey’s heart. It shuddered, and Noah locked eyes with it for an instant.

He bared his teeth in a primal snarl, fury and determination swirling in his eyes. All that met them was terror.

The monkey pitched back and crashed to the ground, blood pouring from the deep wound in its chest and flowing down its fur to pool in the ground around it. Noah took a shaky step back, his head still pounding furiously.

Energy filled his body, rushing through his limbs like a cold river – more than what he’d gained from killing the smaller monkeys. Much more. It did nothing to assuage his furious headache, unfortunately.

On autopilot, he staggered over to what remained of his corpse and pulled his pants off. He tugged them on, then trudged into the woods to retrieve his gourd. He looped it into his belt, then headed back over to the monkey.

He pulled the claw from the monster’s chest, shaking the blood from it. Noah looked down at his tormentor, his lips pressed thin. Part of him almost felt bad for it. That part was very, very small. After all the time he’d spent dead, Noah had absolutely no desire to try it again. If monkeys had an afterlife, he hoped that its wait would be extra-long.