The first day in the wilderness is uneventful. It's almost the same as the trip to Bianca's with Marie, except the company is worse. Ramona seems to only talk to scold me. Pick up the pace. No, don't go there. Stop daydreaming. Don't touch that. You get the picture.

Eventually, we stop to rest on a berm of dirt that rises high enough out of the muck to remain dry. While Ramona lights a fire and cooks her dinner, I go off to the side and work on learning the spells. It's strange skipping dinner, but as I've come to realize in my currently not-alive state, I have no need for hydration or nourishment and food and drink are really only for pleasure (or ingesting potions). Which works to my favor, since Ramona is roasting some truly disgusting rodents she caught. They look like sewer rats but with more teeth, a line of serrated bone along its spine, and luminescent green eyes. Even before dying, I was never hungry enough to eat that.

I still can't cast the complicated spells, but I have all the words of both incantations memorized and the movements are becoming more fluid. But it's all more dancing than spellcasting at the moment. After a another failed attempt at Heart-of-Stone, I scuff out the designs in the dirt with my boot and etch in the symbols for another attempt at Gillanious.

Ramona calls out to me, "What is it that you're trying to do anyway with all that gobbledygook? You aren't summoning some arch-demon or something, are you?"

"No. Of course not." Although to be honest, I'm really not sure what these do. In my post-sex haze, I didn't think to ask Fiona for more details, and what she wrote is pretty vague. Under Gillanious it says: "For water." Does it get rid of water? Produces water? Cleans water? And Heart-of-Stone says: "Don't let you're head be turned by a pretty face." So, will it make me not be attracted to people or will it turn me to stone so I can't move my neck? Beats the hell out of me.

Yeah, I really should have asked about these.

*dope*

And I still have my little passenger with me as an unwelcome souvenir of Bianca's. Although, my breasts have stopped giving milk. Mostly anyway. Once in a while, a dribble will still escape my nipples. But overall, I feel good to be away from there. My head is less cloudy in the open air without so many people around. And I've gone a whole day without being physically or mentally altered. Win!

Although, I do miss a bed. The bare ground and a gnarled tree root is far cry from a mattress and a pillow. I end up waiting for Ramona more than actually sleeping. But she seems quite cozy as she snores under her blanket (something else I don't have).

 

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Mid-way through the second day we reach the Fire Bog, and I really don't see what the big deal is. It's filled with small muddy pools. Every now and then one starts bubbling, the thick muck stretching like an alien membrane, then it erupts with a jet of flame. The smell off rotten-eggs they let out is truly terrible, but so long as you stay out of the pools there's no problem. The pillars of fire are actually kind of cool. Honestly, if I was naming it, I'd call it the Fart Bog cause that's the worst part about it.

We'd gone quite a distance through the foul smelling swamp, when I say this to Ramona, "I almost feel cheated. This isn't so bad. Why did everyone say it was so dangerous?"

"Just be glad it's so quiet. And keep you're mouth shut. You'll jinx us." She's walking a couple of steps in front of me leading me around the pools on narrow strands of land. At times, it's as if she's sniffing out our path through the irregular terrain.

"Hey, what did you do with all that jelly I gave you anyway?"

"Made a potion," she says through gritted teeth as she peers into the shadows up ahead.

"Yeah, I know that. But what does the potion do?"

"None of you're business."

"I drank a ton of that stuff and it had no effect on me. Does it need to be concentrated or is it just an ingredient? Or does it work differently because I'm undead?"

She hisses, "Shut the fuck up!"

"Why are you so touchy about this? Was it to get rid of some embarrassing rash? Or a venereal disease?"

Ramona turns and glares at me. "Be quiet!" 

"Alright. Alright. You don't have to tell me twice. If you don't want to talk, we don't need to talk. But it's going to be a boring few days."

She stops and from the look she gives me, I suspect I might be dodging a punch any second. "Well, dumbass, you wanted to know why the Fire Bog was dangerous. Looks like you got your wish." She draws her knife from her belt and turns to take a defensive stance facing the thick brush ahead.

I notice things aren't so silent anymore. There's the belches of gas and whooshes of fire I'd become accustomed to, but there's also a rustle in the brush around us. Something is moving out there. Lots of somethings. And they're coming toward us.

Shit.

*dope*

Okay. I deserve that one.

Ramona whispers at me from the side of her mouth, "Stay perfectly still. Don't make a sound." And although she doesn't say it, I get the message that Plan A is to hope they don't notice us and pass us by.

It takes about ten seconds before Plan A goes bust.

From out of a patch of scrubby trees, a creature bursts through. It looks a lot like Ramona's dinner, only a bigger. Much bigger. The pre-historic rat must weigh two-hundred pounds at minimum. The back-fin is a series of foot long bone spikes, and a stupid amount of ferocious fangs fills its savage grin.

I'm suitably impressed and terrified, until two more larger rats emerge, and I realize the first one was the runt.

They keep coming until we're blocked by a semicircle of them. I count fourteen, but some might still be hidden by the foliage or the dark.

My guide whispers again, "Forget what I said about staying still. On the count of three, we run like hell."

"No. Wait," I say, remembering the spells Fiona taught me. "I've got this."

Although, it's not a simple spell, it was easy enough for me to learn, and it requires only a short incantation and a few grasping hand gestures. I cast Phosfire at the biggest rat I see. A monster that has to be over four feet long not counting the tail. 

A bolt of blue light flies from my hand and engulfs it. The flame washes over the creature and every bit of fur is alit. Then, a spore of fire leaps to the next creature. One by one, the fire takes them. And then, they begin charging us, more annoyed than harmed.

Ramona grabs my hand and drags me from the scene. We run and the world behind us is filled with the sounds of high-pitched roars and the wavering crackle of fire.

"Are you insane!" She screams at me.

"I thought it would kill them."

"It's a Fire Bog. Key word being fire. They live in fire! I might have had a chance fending them off before they became feral torches. But now..." She leaves the rest unsaid.

*dope*

Fuck you! You could have warned me.

The rats don't bother avoiding the pools and gain quickly. A bunch begin to flank us. It won't be long before we're surrounded.

"Shit! We're fucked." Ramona yells. "Make for that hill."

Off to the right, a mound rises from the swamp. It's steep but not much taller than we are.

"That's not going to stop them," I say.

"No. Not even a little," she says looking over her shoulder. "But it's the only place I see where we might try and make a stand."

We are so fucked.

Ramona hits it and scurries up with a mystifying speed. It takes me a bit longer even using my hands to drag myself forward.

*shield*

As soon as I'm beside her, I cast Flash Barrier and a dome of glittery light appears around us. A giant flaming rat bashes into it, causing a great blast of light to roll over us. And also causing me to pee myself a bit (something I didn't know the undead could do). 

Two more crash into it, and I'm already casting the next one. The barriers only last five seconds and they take nearly as long to incant. Theoretically, I can keep throwing them up, and we'll stay protected forever. In theory. One wrong word or one messed up hand gesture. and we'll be flame-broiled before being devoured.

"Why wasn't that the spell you chose before?"

"Why did you eat their children?"

By the tenth time through the spell. They stop ramming against the dome, finally learning that physical force is no match against magic. About half of them lie unconscious in the mud, but we still have eight rats slowly circling us, waiting for me to falter.

I glance over at Ramona and notice she's undressing. Her bare white skin looks sleek and without blemish in the moonlight. Her little A-cups stand out straight in front of her, the nipples erect in the cold. Or for other reason.

I say, "Um, I'm not sure now's the time for that."

Under her breath she says, "Fucking skank." Then, louder, "The next time around, let the shield go down for a second. I'm going out. I'll lead them away."

"They'll tear you a part!"

"There's fewer of them now. And I have a few tricks. I might stand a chance. Anyway, it's our only hope. Do it now!"

I drop the barrier, and the rats stop their pacing, but hesitate before charging. Ramona takes a flying leap off the mound and lands outside their circle. As the barrier goes back up, she arches her back and howls. Which seems like an odd thing to do. And even odder, she begins to grow taller. 

In a blur, she transforms. Where a moment ago stood a petite almost scrawny girl, now stands a massive monster. She has a wolf-like snout and is covered in coarse blue fur. Long pointy ears rise straight up from her head. A bushy tail swishes behind her. And another (very large) appendage hangs down in front of her. She (he?) lets out another howl.

I recognize it. It sounds just like the rougarous I heard when I was with Marie.

The rat closest to her lunges, and Rougarou-Ramona rips through it's throat with her six-inch razor claws. The thing drops and does not get back up. She takes off, and the rest of the monstrous rats chase her leaving me alone.

I collapse on the top of the hill, exhausted from fear and the spell casting. It's not much physical effort, but it requires a surprising amount of concentration. Especially when the penalty for failure is so high. I'm sweating and breathing hard. I want to lie on my back and rest, but I'm not sure that's a good idea with the rats around me. They may be unconscious but that could change.

I should leave. Go somewhere safer, but I don't want to be on my own. What else might be out there? And how would Ramona over find me again?

As if in response to my thinking of her, I hear a shriek of pain in the distance followed by a howl. She got another one.

It feels as though I sit on that hill for days, watching the trees, peering into the dark, wondering and fearing about what might happen next. The flaming rats near me eventually go out, but they don't get up. Maybe they cracked their skulls open, but I'm not willing to go and check. Howls continue to ring across the night air. This time from the left. Next time from the right. Then straight ahead. It's as if she's running wide rings around the entire swamp. But they never seem to come closer.

What if she doesn't come back? If she gets hurt or killed? Or if she just decides to abandon my stupid ass? What then? 

I try and remember the direction we were traveling in when we were attacked, but it's all mixed up. 

Note to self: get a spell that gives directions. There must be something like Presto-GPS, right?

When I've pretty much given up, Ramona comes striding out the brush. She's not staggering, and no wounds are visible. No. She walks confidently and victoriously. We're safe!

I slide down the hill to meet her. "Wow! Way to go," I say. "That was pretty incredible. Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

In response Ramona lets out a fierce growl. The fetid animal stench of it gusts against my face and blows my hair back. Her eyes narrow, and she stalks toward me. 

"Hey! Hey! We're friends. Calm down now. It's time to turn it off."

Then, I recall the evil bartender's words concerning rougarous: "The only thing that will keep them from being mindless mauling machines is sexual release."

From this distance, I can see the penis-like appendage is protruding from the top of her slit. It's a good nine-inches long and thick as a salami, hard and pointing toward me.

Oh, hell no!