Doll

It was evening, and the group around Mortis was sitting at a richly laid table. The Baron had thrown a small party, as his niece was visiting. Martin, the paladin, was visibly taken with the baroness. Sandro, the slender and agile young man with black hair, had taken a liking to Mortis and Helga. But what this lady pulled off was too much even for him.

Mortis noticed that Sandro was not warming up to her either. He calmed him down and whispered in his ear: "Stay calm. That's just how the nobility is. Mr. Jochen is an exception here, and someday the moment will come when she will need people like us. But we are not here to get upset." Sandro nodded his understanding and continued to enjoy the good food.

In Mortis' mind, this woman had already died a hundred times, in every possible way. Mortis looked serene, but in truth he was inside trying to figure out what souls he still had and what spirit would be unleashed on them this night. "The wailing one" was too noticeable. Mortis was also glad that Tommy and his friends hadn't found her yet. He also still had to find a way to keep them quiet so they wouldn't talk too much. It might not matter here, but who knew how far rumors would spread. Besides, Mortis knew that the first time you got a cold, the fifth time you were dead.

After a short search, he found what he thought was the best soul for such pranks - a little girl with black hair who looked cute but had a burn on one side of her face.

Having finished his plan, he was already looking forward to this night. Now he would show this Marina what a witching hour was. But before he could indulge further in his fantasies, Baron Jochen came to their table.

Martin was delighted. He adored Jochen very much, as the latter was a great paladin. For Sandro and Mortis, the relationship was more like that of employer to employee, and Helga was here because of Mortis.

Jochen explained that in two days they would leave to explore the dungeon Goblin Grotto. A dungeon for beginners, it was very branched and was one of the larger ones in Klein Franken. Everyone nodded in agreement and took it. Only Helga was getting nervous. This would be the first time she would be relied upon, and she now had to show what she had learned. When should she heal, shield, or attack?

Mortis reassuringly put his hand on Helga's to support her. Afterwards, the two said goodbye to the other boys and headed to their room. Tonight was less tiring for Mortis, so they decided to let it rip today and indulge in their intimate moments again.

Helga happily hugged Mortis and slowly fell asleep while he stroked her and waited for the castle to quiet down. The moon was high in the sky. It had to be midnight when Mortis summoned the girl. They immediately felt a connection to each other, and Mortis was able to give her orders without words. But that wasn't enough for him. He gave her more energy to try to see through her eyes, but failed.

Mortis slowly detached himself from Helga and entered the spirit realm. The girl followed him, and they set out to find Marina's room. For Mortis there were no doors, he could see into every room. He saw who was doing it with themselves, who was meeting secretly or doing strange things in their room. Even if he would have preferred not to see some things, it was now too late.

The girl could walk through walls in the spirit realm, which Mortis could not, and that made him a little envious. But he also noticed that he was feeling more and more in this realm. The stronger he got, the more he felt a connection.

After several minutes of searching, they found Marina's room. She was standing in front of the window in her pajamas, looking out. Mortis thought about how he could scare her. He saw a porcelain doll and decided to make it move. But what he saw amazed even him: the ghost girl merged with the doll as if it were her own body.

The doll shook the dust off its dress and stared in Marina's direction. Marina moved closer to check the doll. But as she approached the face, the doll jumped at her and clutched her neck. She squeezed lightly, which terrified Marina. She staggered backward and tried to pull the doll off her. However, the doll did not give way. Only when Marina tripped over the edge of the bed and fell backwards did the doll let go of her.

The ghost girl detached herself from the doll, and Mortis ordered her to sit in a corner and put her hair in front of her face so that only the burn was visible. Marina stood up, stepped away from the doll in a sweat, and looked around anxiously. The girl emerged, a wicked smile on her lips and the burns visible. Marina took her legs in her hands and screamed, "Spirits, help me! There are ghosts in the castle!" With that, she ran off, and the girl followed in mock pursuit.

Mortis crept back to his room to crawl back into bed. As he did so, he was immediately embraced by Helga. Mortis smiled and fell asleep feeling good as the castle descended into chaos and ghost hunting.

Early in the morning, Helga was awake before Mortis. She was about to get out of bed when Mortis pulled her to him for a loving morning ritual. Helga wondered why he was so fit early in the morning and looked like all was right with the world. But she thought it was beautiful and enjoyed it.

After an hour, they got up, washed up, and headed to the training area. No one they saw seemed to be well-rested or healthy, except for the two of them. Mortis smirked, for the old lady must have been so frightened by the ghosts that she had all the servants and guards search.

Martin and Sandro didn't look well-rested either when Helga asked what was going on. Both looked at her as if Helga was not quite right in the head. Sandro explained, "Didn't you hear how the whole castle was looking for signs of ghosts? The Baroness Marina von Tannenburg was supposedly attacked by a doll on her neck. You can supposedly even see the doll's prints."

Helga looked away sheepishly and said simply, "I was asleep, so I don't get much."

Mortis was about to go to the obstacle course when Martin and Sandro stopped him. "There's no training today. There will be a meeting in the evening about the dungeon tomorrow," they explained.

Mortis didn't mind, took Helga by the hand and headed into town to go shopping with her.

In town, Helga wanted to stop by the temple to bring some pastries to Hans, the priest who was her instructor, and thank him. Mortis, meanwhile, went to the Adventurers' Guild to see what missions there were and to get clues as to where Tommy and the others were.

At the Adventurers' Guild, Mortis was warmly welcomed. He was quickly shown the board where he could take orders. While he was thinking, it occurred to him that he needed to register Helga as well. As he did so, he overheard a conversation that aroused his curiosity.

"Did you hear? Three groups have failed again in the dungeon. One is even said to have come from further north," said the first. "Yes, I have. I also heard a rumor that the levels are to be upgraded to face the dungeon. The monsters are said to have gotten stronger and the dungeon has increased in size," replied the second. "Yes, this is common. Adventurers can obtain valuable things and become stronger. But when they die, they feed the dungeon."

Mortis turned to the two and interjected, "Sorry to butt in, but I have a question. What do you mean they feed the dungeon?"

"You don't know? Everyone who enters a dungeon feeds it. Even if you finish him off, you use up energy and mana, and the dungeon absorbs it. When someone dies, it takes it all." Mortis understood and thanked him.

° That's the way things go. Many use dungeons, but when they become too strong, they are destroyed. Even if it means losses for a city or a country, because no one else can handle it or the dungeon will break out.°

"I don't really need the dungeons anyway. I rather hope that I can participate in more battles soon. After all, I still have souls to collect. But it seems I won't get to break Tommy's legs again, however fleeting our friendship was."

"I've learned a lot lately. Now it's time to use what I've learned to help Helga and move on. I want to see this whole world, with all its peoples and facets."