An Adventurer's Tale/The Undead Part 3

Roleplay from Baldhart
Message sent to all adventurers in the vicinity of Norjke (22 recipients)

"Wake up," he heard the voice command, distant and strange, echoing from the blackness. "Bastard, wake up!"

He snapped awake, shaking, sweating, gripping the spear so tight his knuckles were white, aching. Danost was behing him, shoving him every so often.

"Come!" He commanded, "Come! Something's happened."

He pushed himself slowly to his feet, his muscles weary and achy from exhaustion. the march to Zod and the constant dodging of Enweil Patrols had drained him. They had slept for almost two days, and still he felt weak.

Shoving the end of his spear against the ground, bracing himself against the oak shaft, he waited, clearing the groginess from his mind, standing hunched over in the narrow cave.

"Hurry!" Danost hollered again, scurrying in a low crouch towards the opening. He followed, mechanically.

"What?" Baldhart bellowed, suddenly angry, stepping out into warm morning sunshine.

"That!" he screamed, pointing back where they had come, towards Zod.

He could barely see the summit of the Temple of Zod over the rolling hills of Norjke, the grand structure looking small and insignificant from so far away, the entire Stronghold surrounded by swirling clouds, rolling as if they were alive, black as midnight, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the crystal blue sky that stretched on as far as the eye could see.

"What is it?" He asked.

"No one knows."

He turned, looking down the narrow rocky path. Below, dozens of drovers stood, transfixed by the horrifying experience, their flock of thousands of sheep running wildly, crying out, six more drovers fighting desperately to keep them away from the edge of the cliff. The sounds of the animals chilled Baldhart more than the storm.

He shivered. "I'm glad to be gone from there. Whatever that is, it's evil."

Danost arched an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

He jerked his head towards the flock below. "Them. The way they're acting. They're frightened."

Danost cast a quick glance over his shoulder, and returned his attention towards Zod. "Heard rumors. Undead Horde went in there and took out the Enweil host. Broke the Take-Over."

A sudden chill ran through his body, gripping his heart, making him wince. He rubbed at his chest absentmindedly. "Lets get out of here. I want to be as far away from that as possible." Turning, he spat in the stronghold's general direction. "Black magic."

A sudden blinding flash of light, a deafening crack, and everyone jerked away, shielding their eyes. For a time, all he could see was whiteness, but when his vision cleared, the sky over Zod was clear once more.

Baldhart (Freeman)

Roleplay from Danost
Message sent to all adventurers in the vicinity of Norjke (20 recipients)

It took several minutes for Danost's vision to clear following the brilliant flash over Zod. But when it did, the roiling black clouds were gone.

Danost looked over at Baldhart, who's face showed shock at the display of black magic, then looked back at the fortress of Zod. From the high peaks of the mountains of Norjke the two of them had seen the smoke and fires from the battle. Then the black clouds came, and the shaft of light struck down from the sky.

"Thank the gods we made it out of Zod before that undead horde showed up. So, do you believe in undead hordes now? Because I bet those Enweilian soldiers believe. Look, it's a long way to Irombro. And we still have to sneak through Fwuvoghor on our way south. We'd better get started."

The two men packed up their belongings and set off across the mountains toward Wilwau.

Danost (Freeman)

Roleplay from Danost
Message sent to all adventurers in the vicinity of Wilwau (14 recipients)
Baldhart and Dimian emerged from the lofty peaks of the Norjke mountains into the more gentle slopes of Wilwau. The weather had held and the pair made good time. The added benefit of getting as far from the undead hordes in Zod was added incentive to move quickly.

As the two men crested one of the higher foothills on the eastern border of Wilwau, the got a good look at their destination, the city of Fwuvoghor. The plains spread out before them, affording them a spectacular view of the coastal city. Neither man had been in the city of Fwuvoghor before. The recent war between Avalon and the Kingdom of the Republic of Fwuvoghor was a good enough reason for them to steer clear of Fwuvoghoran lands.

But as welcome as the view of the city was, the scene they saw was not exactly what they had expected.

There were refugees fleeing the city of Fwuvoghor. Signs of a recent battle were obvious, including fires around the city, and burning fires and villages. There were a few groups of refugees headed toward them. Danost looked at Baldhart, and nodded his head toward some of the refugees. "Let's go see what's happening." Nodding i agreement, Baldhart followed Danost down the hill.

A few minutes later the two men had heard the few scant bits of information the refugees the had to offer. It was a sad story. Another army of udnead had marched on the city of Fwuvoghor. While the outcome was better than ther ecent battle in Zod, where the undead had been victorious over the armies of Enweil, the damage was still extensive. Many commoners had lost their farms, and several villages had been completely destroyed. They let the villagers continue on into the mountains to seek refuge.

Standing on a ridge, looking down over the city of Fwuvoghor, Danost chewed the last bits of jerked venison he had left. "So, Baldhart, now do you believe in the undead hordes? First Zod, and now Fwuvoghor. Well, at least the Fwuvoghorians wiped out this horde. Our passage south should be safe enough."

Danost (Freeman)