Learning The Human Language

Knock, knock, knock, the skeleton did not know why it knocked on the wooden door but it felt like this was the correct etiquette when one wanted entry into someone else's dwelling. After knocking, the black skeleton stood still and calmly waited for the door to be opened.

It did not take long before the door was opened. It opened inwards creating a creaking sound. The small house was not in good shape and even the skeleton could see this fact. The door was opened by a young man around twenty-eight years old. He had a full head of hair and his eyes were the most prominent feature on his average face. His eyes were deep blue and larger than normal. The skeleton did not see anything different with the young man. The young man looked the skeleton up and down. The skeleton was covered by the black cloak from head to toe hiding its sinister look.

The young man was confused since he did not have any idea who the stranger might be. The skeleton could not talk and it did not have any information about the young man. This left only one option, brute force. Booom, the skeleton punched the young man in the stomach. All his oxygen was forced out leaving him to fall to the ground as he struggled to replace the air.

The skeleton took the opportunity to bring out the axe from underneath its black cloak. It grabbed the young man by the hair and lifted him like a sack of potatoes. The young man was just a little over five feet. The skeleton was over six feet and thus found it easy to lift the young man. It placed the axe on his neck before pushing the door wide open for them to enter. The skeleton had sensed the five life forms in the small house and this was the reason it took the young man hostage. Inside the house, the skeleton pushed the door to close behind them before entering the first room. It was a dining room and four people sat at the rectangular table.

There was a young woman who looked no older than twenty-five years old, a young girl less than six years old and two young boys around twelve years old. The boys looked to be the same person. The skeleton could not understand the reason for there being two creatures that looked the same.

The moment the young woman saw the covered intruder who had taken her husband hostage, she was about to scream when she saw the axe next to her husband's neck. She knew that should chaos ensue, her darling would be beheaded first.

For this reason, she covered her mouth and tried to suppress her scream. The skeleton shook its head in approval of her actions. If she had screamed, the skeleton was ready to cut her apart just like it had done to the guard earlier.

The woman remembered her children.

"Do not scream. Daddy is playing with his friend," she told her children with a reassuring voice. The young girl looked at the covered skeleton with her bright blue eyes.

"Can I also play?" she asked in a cute voice. The young woman felt pain well up in her heart.

She knew that there was almost no chance of survival.

She could smell blood on the intruder. He was covered in a strong stench of death. The intruder was a seasoned killer who probably had no mercy for the weak.

The skeleton looked at them as though it was waiting for something.

The young woman was quite intuitive.

"We will do anything you want. Please, do not harm us," she said.

The skeleton immediately threw the young man on the floor. The woman quickly helped him up. The skeleton moved to the table sat in an empty chair and waited.

The woman and the husband sat back in their chairs.

The skeleton wanted knowledge and so it pointed to a few books on the table. The woman quickly gathered them up and placed them before the skeleton.

The skeleton did nothing. It simply looked at the woman. She understood its meaning. The skeleton did not want to open the books itself. If the humans were to see its hands, they would freak out and begin screaming just like the guard.

The woman opened the first book. She began reading out loud for the skeleton. This was the other reason it wanted the woman to open the books. It needed her to read the content of the book. It did not know how to read the human language. Although it could read the strange characters on the axe, the human language was different.

As the woman read, the skeleton began learning the human tongue and writing.

The children soon began dosing and were taken upstairs to their bedrooms by their father. The skeleton did not stop him. When the woman saw this, the worry in her heart reduced a little.

She continued reading to the intruder. She soon understood his objective and so she put in more effort to explain what she was reading. She hoped to gain the intruder's favour and mercy.

The skeleton was very intelligent. It soaked up all the information in one night. By dawn, the skeleton could read and write but speaking was still a problem. It lacked the necessary body parts such as the tongue, lips, top of the mouth and voice box.

Still, it was not worried. With more information, it hoped to find a solution.

The woman read for it all the books in the house. Most of the books had to do with the geography of the Sky Continent and some simple information about the Rubicon continent.

Now that it could write, the skeleton tore a piece of paper out of one of the books and used a quill to write down what it wanted.

How do you increase your power?

The woman did not know what this bizarre person wanted but she had no choice but to answer as best she could.