Halloween Battle
The clock strikes midnight and its Halloween is Eversun City. Pumpkin-shaped lanterns hang on old ropes from roof top to roof top. Pumpkins line the roads all leading to the large plaza in the center of the city. In the center the largest of all pumpkins, magically grown, stands as tall as buildings. On its side the traditional fanged-smile is carved into it and in the hollow inside a magical orb lights it up. In the early morning farmers and workers wake to finish their chores early, preparing for the festival is work hard enough. Soon after, the younger citizens also awake to prepare for the festival. As the sun rises over the protective wall of Eversun, vendors finish setting their stalls for a day of money-making. By mid-morning travelers start arriving from other cities and towns and crowed the streets. By noon most vender need to restock and rush back and forth to replenish their goods. By now children already have their costumes on and as the night gets closer older and older people also get their own costumes. Outside the city, children help the elderly place and light candles as a way to remember the dead. The sun has set but not yet dark, it is twilight. Across the city, shamans and wizards used their magic to light the pumpkin-shaped lanterns. And also…a single fencer helped them out.
Pindragon held his sword pointed at a set of hanging lanterns. His sword lit on fire and then the fire jumped to the lanterns but to ropes also caught fire. Crap! He thought. The flames on the sword disappeared with a swing of his sword and with a second swing the flames on the rope also disappeared.
“You’re getting sloppy.” Pindragon turned to see a dark figure in the alley where the lanterns haven’t been lit yet. He swung his sword at those lanterns and each lit up perfectly. He could then clearly see who was talking to him. A panda? No, a panda costume. To be more precisely, a sprite in a panda costume.
“You were saying?” asked Pindragon. “I see you finally got that panda costume you wanted.”
“Yep. It cost me fifty thousand coins and eight hours of harvesting chicken feathers from sheep. No idea how that works, so don’t ask me. Hey, I thought you had guard duty till the festival started.” The panda asked.
“I did, but the Captain said my skills could be used doing something better than protecting dark hills from monsters that never show up anyways.”
“Just don’t set any houses on fire. Remember last year? You set a house on fire and everyone thought it was part of the festival.” The panda began laughing.
“Shut up. You know I have trouble concentrating my magic at Halloween.” The fencer looked at his sword. He always knew why. It’s why monsters stayed away from city this time of year. The spirits came out this day, every year. It was how Halloween came to be. He was in touch with nature and massing of spirits threw him of balance. He could feel them pass threw him. “Come on now, I’m done here and the festival is about to start.”
“Let’s go then!” The panda turned and began walking towards the main street. Pindragon followed him but lost sight of him as soon as he entered the crowd. It didn’t matter he already knew where he was going.
“Pindragon!” Some else called out to him. Pindragon turned back into the alley to see the Captain in her heavy armor. “Pindragon! We need you at the wall, something’s coming.”
“Monsters? But they never come out during Halloween.”
“Well what ever they are, they are coming straight towards the gates. Get out of that zombie costume and put your armor on.”
“Actually I already have my armor on, just didn’t have time change when you took me off duty.” The Captain laughed at Pindragon.
“You really were in a hurry to try out that costume weren’t you? Well, anyways let’s get to wall. It’s probably nothing but a few travelers who didn’t pack anything to light their way.” They both sprinted towards the wall.
When they got there, Pindragon noticed other defenders had also had been warned. In distant hills beyond the fields of candles, a dark figures slowly mover closer. A few minutes passed and the shadows grew in numbers. The order was given to stand-by until the full scope of the threat was determined. More time passed and Pindragon grew impatient. He drew his sword and swung it towards the sky releasing flames what lit up the hills. At that moment every one gasped at the sight. It was army. But not just any army, it was an army of the dead.
“Z…z...zombies?” came a cry from the line. At the same time murmurs and cries came from down the line. Some even run from the wall attempting to get away. The Captain stopped the nearest one to her.
“If anyone runs I will make sure you don’t see another sunrise!” She yelled out holding her spear out. She turned to Pindragon and said,”I want you to take these men out there and hold them off till I can get help from the rest of the city.” That said the fencer and several others ran towards the gate. When they exited they saw others were ready and waiting, among them were Pindragons most trusted friends: Kyon, Myri, Nyrin and YouYou.
“Captains orders are to meet the threat head on till reinforcements can arrive. We don’t know their intentions yet, if any, so we will set up defenses past the second bridge and let them come to us. We also don’t know how many there are and chances are that they will eventually over run us, so at that point we’ll retreat to the bridge and force them into a bottleneck.” Pindragon finished giving his orders and everyone took of towards the fields. Accept a few who only stared at him.
“If what you say is true,” one of them spoke up, ”then we cant win here, why don’t we evacuate the cit…” just then a wand flew into his face and he fell back.
“We can’t evacuate the city, not when so many people are here. It would create a panic and chaos will follow. People will die. You have your orders.” The protester stood up to see a sylph floating in front of him. It was Myri. They nodded at her and ran off to help prepare the battlefield.
“Bit harsh, don’t you think?” Pindragon asked Myri.
“They have to learn one way or the other. Come on, the rest are waiting for us.” They both made their way to the bridge. When they got there the army was only a few meters away, but moving slowly. YouYou saw them both and called out to them.
“Hey! They got here sooner than expected and were only able to secure the bridge. Kyon and Nyrin didn’t think we could finish defenses in time so they went ahead to slow them down.” YouYou pointed out towards the line of Undead and Zombies, but Pindragon didn’t see any sign of either of them. Just then one of the zombies got close enough to lunge itself over the make-shift wall at a shura doctor, Izuru. Its teeth dug into her shoulder and she yelled out. YouYou rushed over to her knocked it off of her and pummeled it to death. Another doctor healed her wound but it still hurt.
“Get ready! There here!” YouYou jumped on to the wall and prepared his wooden staff. The wizards and shamans began casting spells and shooting bolts of lightning into the hoard. Drak, a blademaster, along with a few others, jumped ahead of the wall and began to hold back the undead.
“Get down!” Pindragon yelled. Everyone in front of him hit the deck as a wave of fire cut across the air setting a handful of zombies on fire. After a few minutes they were dead, but it paled in comparison to the numbers that were still alive. A few minutes passed and dozens of bodies lay in front of the bridge. The defenders caught a short break when they defeated the large mob and next hoard was still some distance away. Pindragon still didn’t see Kyon and Nyrin anywhere and grew more worried. Where are those reinforcements, we already lost a fourth of our forces here? Just then across the clearing in from of them he could see two figures running towards them. It was Kyon and Nyrin. They were being chased by zombies. “We’ve got more company! Get ready.” Izuru finished healing Drak and moved on to another. “There a lot more this time.” Pindragon moved to the front of the line, sword ready. He waited for Kyon and Nyrin to get closer when he struck his sword into the ground. At first it seemed as nothing had happened but suddenly earth spikes stabbed into the air impaling their pursuer. Kyon ran straight for the front line with Nyrin and turned around ready to fight.
“We have company!” Kyon yelled out. Pindragon moved to his side.
“We noticed.”
“No. You don’t understand. The zombies, they have a leader and it’s heading here” Kyon stopped when a terrorizing roar sounded across the field. Then the earth shook as if a giant was running. From behind the mob of undead, a giant armored skeleton forced it self through to the front. In its grasp was an equally large sword with engravings on it.
“A Skeleton Soldier? But they’re supposed to be a myth!” Yelled out YouYou. The behemoth stopped in between the line of undead and defenders. At the same time the zombies stopped moving. The Skeleton Soldier looked at the line of enemies, looking at every single one of them. An archer screamed, turned and ran.
“Wait!” Yelled out Izuru. Then the monster roared when it spotted Kyon. It still remembered him from their previous encounter only a few minutes ago. The line of zombies started moving again, only faster this time. As the fighting continued, the enemy commander stood still keeping its eyes on Kyon.
“What did you do to it? Looks mad at you” Myri asked as she shot lighting bolts at the undead.
“It used to have two swords. He broke the other one” Called back Nyrin. Pindragon ducked to avoid being hit, sliced into the walking corpse and looked over at Kyon to see him with a smirk across his face. “Look out!” Kyon looked up and rolled to the side just as a giant sword came down to where he was standing. He was alright, but his Meteorite Armor was damaged. The sprite, YouYou, jumped onto the creatures’ massive arm and ran up its arm. He struck his wooden staff at its skull but it only seemed to annoy it. With its other arm it grabbed YouYou and flung him into the air. He landed in the middle of hoard where they gathered around him. Izuru called out to him but there was no answer among the moans of the undead. She started to make her way to him to heal him if she could. Pindragon grabbed her by the arm.
“No, it’s too dangerous. We don’t know if he is still alive, and if he was,” he paused and looked down,”we can’t get to him.” She understood and nodded silently. From behind the line her name was called. “Go, you’re needed.” She turned and hurried to the injured swordsman. Pindragon turned to see the Skeleton Soldier swings its sword indiscriminately killing allies and foes alike. They need to stop it; they had no chance of surviving the battle with it still alive. “Myri! Take it down!” He yelled out pointing with his sword. She nodded and got to he knees with her eyes closed. Zombies moved in closer to her but were quickly killed by Nyrin. More moved in but the sprite was ready to protect her sylph friend. Myri’s chanting grew louder as she progressed with her spell. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above them. She suddenly stopped and great lightning bolt came from sky striking at the Skeleton Soldier in a white flash. All the zombies around it were either killed or knocked down in the force of the explosion. As the smoked cleared Pindragon could see the target lying in the center of a small crater. Is it dead? That was everyone’s question. It wasn’t. Slowly it sat up and then stood up.
“Kyon, Nyrin, Izuru, Drak with me! Myri, again but this time take out the bridge. Everyone else, retreat to the other side of the bridge.” Pindragon gave his orders and everyone did as he said. Twenty or so defender ran across the bridge and stopped a short distance away. A moment later a several lightning bolts struck the bridge destroying it completely. Five were left isolated with the Skeleton Soldier and another hoard of zombies a distance away. “It’s after us now; we can’t take it in open field. Head towards the tree line, we’ll be able to cut them down in there.” They sprinted towards the trees and the behemoth gave chase. They passed the tree line and Skeleton Soldier attempted to force its’ way through but failed. Pindragon and the other stopped and looked back. The monster stared at them and roared before disappearing behind the trees. Soon after the moans of the dead grew louder as they got closer. The group continued through the forest till they reached a small clearing. “Here. This is where we will make our stand.” Kyon spun his spear releasing his Wicked Windmill attack into the forest. Shortly after the screeches of dying zombies were heard. As the zombies became visible the group unleashed their attacks so that the zombies could not mass in numbers. After a few minutes they were surrounded with no way out. Myri called to Nyrin and handed her paper charms. The sprite tied one to each of her throwing knives. Myri, again fell to her knees and began to chant her spell. Nyrin threw her knives into the center of small mobs which was shortly followed by a lightning bolt, it was Myris’ way of aiming without stopping the spell to see her target.
“How long can we keep this up?” Kyon asked as he cut down a group of zombies. He heard the bushes behind him ruffle and turned to look expecting to undead come through. He ran towards the bushes and released his Wicked Windmill. The bushes were cut down but there weren’t any zombies behind them but Skeleton Soldier was. It reached out and grabbed Kyon. It turned around and ran the other way still holding Kyon tightly in its grasp. He struggled to get out but failed, he turned his head to see Pindragon give chase before being cut off by a group of zombies. The reached another clearing and the monster threw Kyon into the ground. He stood up ready to fight. “You want me? I’m not going to be that easy to kill.” The monster swung its sword down but it was too slow for Kyon. Wicked Windmills only seemed to make it stagger back so Kyon attempted to knock it down by using it repeatedly. The Skeleton Soldier crossed its arms to defend itself from the relentless attacks from its enemy. It still wasn’t enough though. Slowly, it was forced to take steps back. Kyon saw a moment when the monster defenses were weak and lunged at its head and chest with his spear. Before Kyon even reached his nemesis, its great sword hit him mid-air cutting into his side and threw him into the trees. Kyon slowly stood up. He was in pain and bleeding. Kyon moved his good arm to his side and could feel that his armor was completely cracked open. He moved his hand away then looked at it, it was covered in blood. “Damn,” he whispered. He looked up and saw the Skeleton Soldier charging. Too close and too fast, Kyon had no chance of evading and the monsters great sword pierced through his armor and into his chest and then into the tree behind him.
“What the hell is going on?” Izuru let herself fall to the floor. She looked over his shoulder to see that everyone else was doing the same. They were all exhausted from the near endless mob of zombies. Bodies and body part covered the ground and in some parts they created small piles. “Where are the all coming from? And on Halloween? Monsters never come this close to the city on Halloween.”
“And the Skeleton Soldier, none have been seen in over twelve generations.” Nyrin responded.
“It’s the spirits.” Myri stated.
“What? Ghost?” asked Izuri
“No. Do you know what the deference is between a spirit and a ghost? A spirit is a soul of someone who has passed away long ago. Their only wish is to watch over and protect there descendents. A ghost is a soul that wants to keep on living. It will stay in the places where it lived and wonder around for the rest of eternity. Now, a zombie is something like that, mindless and soulless. It wants to continue enjoying the pleasures of life, but it can’t do that without a soul. It is why you see the undead wondering haunted sites. It is also why they attack the living, they can sense souls. Whether it’s a spirit, ghost or still with a body. They want to continue living, one way or the other.”
“What’s that have to do with it being Halloween?” Izuru noticed that Pindragon was wounded at the knee. She stood up and went to heal it. Myri turned to face Pindragon.
“You feel them too, cant you? Every Halloween you feel the spirits gather in the city and it throws your magic off, right?” Pindragon nodded and thanked Izuru who then went back to her spot. “Every year they gather in the city to let us know they are protecting us. Sometimes so many mass in the city square, that they become visible to us.”
“So you think they are coming for the spirits? But, if that’s true then why have they never attacked any other Halloween?” Pindragon asked.
“Right now I don’t think that matters. We need to find Kyon and get back to the city.” Nyrin interrupted. She was about to say something else when, “Kyon!” Everyone turned to see. Through the forest a dark figure was walking towards them. They all stood up ready to greet him but stopped as he walked into the moonlight. “Kyon?” Nyrin said softly. “It can’t be. It can’t be!” He was dead, the walking dead. In addition to the wound to his side it was clear he was no longer among the living when the group saw the diamond-shaped hole in his chest. His eyes were emotionless and dead. Suddenly he lunged forward towards Nyrin. She jumped to avoid his spear and he followed her striking with his spear. Pindragon intervened a strike with his sword drawing Kyons attention away from Nyrin. Pindragon didn’t want to hurt him. It was Kyon, friends for years now. How could he kill him? But, he was already dead and joined the ranks of the undead. The fencer only defended as his new foe attacked him. Then, just as Kyon’s attack started he stopped suddenly. “Kyon?” Nyrin asked hoping that something of him was still alive. There wasn’t. He started his attack again but not towards Pindragon or Nyrin, but at Izuru. “Izuru, Run!” She took a step back and then tried to run but slipped. In a split second Kyon was over her. She screamed and then she was dead, with a spear through her. Kyon pulled the spear from the body. Pindragon and Nyrin were too stunned to notice the dark clouds forming above them. Kyon took a step towards them, and then looked up. The dark skies were thick and crackling with thunder.
“Out of the way!” Myri yelled out to her companions. The human and the sprite both retreated towards the sylph. Several great lighting bolt struck Kyon in a blinding light. Myri feel back exhausted, “Is he dead?” Pindragon walked to where kyon was standing.
“There’s nothing left,” Pindragon walked back to Myri to check on here. “We need to find somewhere to rest. I don’t hear anymore zombies so we might be able to say here for bit. Then we need to get to the east bridge and back to Eversun.”
“How far are we from the bridge?” Nyrin asked as she sat next to Myri.
“I have no idea. I don’t recognize these trees. The fighting pushed us out all the way out here. I can use my earth skills but I need to rest first.”
“Then sit down already.” And he did.
They spent an hour resting and mourning their dead. In only a few hours they had lost some of their closes friends. They had planned at least another half-hour of rest but the familiar moans of the undead could be heard again and they where getting closer. The trio was on their feet again and on the run. Pindragon didn’t want to admit to the others that no matter how long or far they ran it seemed that the zombies were still gaining on them. They stopped when they heard a bone-chilling roar echo through the forest. It was back. The continued through the forest till they reached the river. Now they knew they were going in the right direction but the bridge still wasn’t in sight. Another roar echoed from the forest, closer this time.
“Its gaining ground on us,” Nyrin stopped and looked back. “I can slow it down. Keep moving and I’ll set traps for it.” She took off in a different direction before Pindragon or Myri could argue with her. The reached the end of the forest and into the open plains again.
Nyrin moved about the trees dropping her explosive charms and other traps. She then climbed onto a tree at the edge of her mine field. Only a few minutes passed before the zombies started passing over Nyrins traps. As they got closer to the tree the sprite was hiding in she pulled out another charm. Once the mob of undead covered the mine field she tore the charm causing all her traps to set off at once. Below Nyrin charms exploded and daggers flew into unsuspecting zombies. In a matter of seconds it was all over. Nyrin jumped down to check for survivors. She frowned as she saw there was no sign of her intended target. She turned to catch up to her friends when something punched her in the back and sent her rolling until a tree stopped her. She almost lost consciousness but managed to say awake. She rolled up and her eyes widen when she saw the monster standing over her. Her body was aching and it was hard to move. She wondered why it didn’t attack; it only stared at her silently. Then the moans started again, it was leaving her for the zombies. They came through the trees, moving slowly. Eyes wide, filled with hatred. Nyrin broke her leg when she hit the tree and couldn’t get up. She sat up and threw her daggers into the hoard killing only one or two at a time. But there were too many and she was running out of daggers. There was no end to them and Nyrin was down to her last dagger. With that dagger she cut anyone of them that got too close but they didn’t fear pain. Then four of them jumped at her biting into her arms and shoulders. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one last explosive charms. And then, tore it.
Myri and Pindragon stood in the grass just beyond the tree line waiting. They heard the explosions when Nyrin set off her trap but became worried when shortly after they heard a lone explosion. They couldn’t wait anymore; the undead had reached the tree line. The human and the sylph started down the river, the bridge couldn’t be too far away. They were right, after a few minutes of running they could see the bridge in the distance.
They stopped running, for something was standing in their way. The Skeleton Soldier stood motionless staring at the bridge. It noticed the two survivors and turned to meet them. It spread its arm wide open and roared. Suddenly it broke into a sprint towards them. Pindragon too broke into a sprint towards the monster. He stopped short and struck his sword into the ground. Earth spikes came up from the ground in front of the behemoth knocking it back. Pindragon quickly ran up the spikes and jumped off ready to stab the fallen foe. The Skeleton Soldier blocked his attack with its sword and pushed Pindragon over the spikes. But as it was standing up again the fencer jumped over the monster and sprinted towards the bridge. It chased him until its prey turned to face it. Pindragon swung his sword towards his enemy and a gust of wind came from the sword. It hit the monster and it staggered back. The fencer charged again at the fencer. His sword sparked alive with fire and attacked the beast. Their swords clashed again and again as they fought. Pindragon jumped back and look over towards the bridge. Myri was already across it and casting a spell. He again broke into a sprint towards the bridge and the beast chased him. As he got there he noticed she had covered the bridge in explosive charms. He stopped and looked up to see the Skeleton Soldier jump over him and land right in front of Myri. It brought its sword down but Myri was able to avoid it. The landed hit the bridge hard enough to break the wooden boards. The beast pulled its sword up and swung side ways. This time she wasn’t able to dodge it. The sword hit her in the side but not before she dropped a different charm. Her body was thrown into the river with the force of the blow. Pindragon scream but it was too late. He ran underneath the beast and picked up the charm she had dropped. The fencer crossed the bridge and faced the Skeleton Soldier. It took a step forward and then another but the next it stepped onto the broken boards and its foot fell through. It attempted to break free but the more it struggled the more it sunk into the bridge. Pindragon looked at the charm in his hand and then ripped it. The bridge was consumed in an explosion and the surrounding fields caught fire. The beast roared from the fire, but this time it was different, like it was dying. Then the remains of the bridge collapsed into the river along with the Skeleton Soldier. In the distance across the river those zombies that had caught up with them suddenly became engulfed in blue flames. And they died, for good this time. It was over. The threat was destroyed but at the cost of all of Pindragons friends. He could here the clock in Eversun strike twelve. Halloween was over.
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The clock strikes midnight and its Halloween is Eversun City. Pumpkin-shaped lanterns hang on old ropes from roof top to roof top. Pumpkins line the roads all leading to the large plaza in the center of the city. In the center the largest of all pumpkins, magically grown, stands as tall as buildings. On its side the traditional fanged-smile is carved into it and in the hollow inside a magical orb lights it up. In the early morning farmers and workers wake to finish their chores early, preparing for the festival is work hard enough. Soon after, the younger citizens also awake to prepare for the festival. As the sun rises over the protective wall of Eversun, vendors finish setting their stalls for a day of money-making. By mid-morning travelers start arriving from other cities and towns and crowed the streets. By noon most vender need to restock and rush back and forth to replenish their goods. By now children already have their costumes on and as the night gets closer older and older people also get their own costumes. Outside the city, children help the elderly place and light candles as a way to remember the dead. The sun has set but not yet dark, it is twilight. Across the city, shamans and wizards used their magic to light the pumpkin-shaped lanterns. And also…a single fencer helped them out.
Pindragon held his sword pointed at a set of hanging lanterns. His sword lit on fire and then the fire jumped to the lanterns but to ropes also caught fire. Crap! He thought. The flames on the sword disappeared with a swing of his sword and with a second swing the flames on the rope also disappeared.
“You’re getting sloppy.” Pindragon turned to see a dark figure in the alley where the lanterns haven’t been lit yet. He swung his sword at those lanterns and each lit up perfectly. He could then clearly see who was talking to him. A panda? No, a panda costume. To be more precisely, a sprite in a panda costume.
“You were saying?” asked Pindragon. “I see you finally got that panda costume you wanted.”
“Yep. It cost me fifty thousand coins and eight hours of harvesting chicken feathers from sheep. No idea how that works, so don’t ask me. Hey, I thought you had guard duty till the festival started.” The panda asked.
“I did, but the Captain said my skills could be used doing something better than protecting dark hills from monsters that never show up anyways.”
“Just don’t set any houses on fire. Remember last year? You set a house on fire and everyone thought it was part of the festival.” The panda began laughing.
“Shut up. You know I have trouble concentrating my magic at Halloween.” The fencer looked at his sword. He always knew why. It’s why monsters stayed away from city this time of year. The spirits came out this day, every year. It was how Halloween came to be. He was in touch with nature and massing of spirits threw him of balance. He could feel them pass threw him. “Come on now, I’m done here and the festival is about to start.”
“Let’s go then!” The panda turned and began walking towards the main street. Pindragon followed him but lost sight of him as soon as he entered the crowd. It didn’t matter he already knew where he was going.
“Pindragon!” Some else called out to him. Pindragon turned back into the alley to see the Captain in her heavy armor. “Pindragon! We need you at the wall, something’s coming.”
“Monsters? But they never come out during Halloween.”
“Well what ever they are, they are coming straight towards the gates. Get out of that zombie costume and put your armor on.”
“Actually I already have my armor on, just didn’t have time change when you took me off duty.” The Captain laughed at Pindragon.
“You really were in a hurry to try out that costume weren’t you? Well, anyways let’s get to wall. It’s probably nothing but a few travelers who didn’t pack anything to light their way.” They both sprinted towards the wall.
When they got there, Pindragon noticed other defenders had also had been warned. In distant hills beyond the fields of candles, a dark figures slowly mover closer. A few minutes passed and the shadows grew in numbers. The order was given to stand-by until the full scope of the threat was determined. More time passed and Pindragon grew impatient. He drew his sword and swung it towards the sky releasing flames what lit up the hills. At that moment every one gasped at the sight. It was army. But not just any army, it was an army of the dead.
“Z…z...zombies?” came a cry from the line. At the same time murmurs and cries came from down the line. Some even run from the wall attempting to get away. The Captain stopped the nearest one to her.
“If anyone runs I will make sure you don’t see another sunrise!” She yelled out holding her spear out. She turned to Pindragon and said,”I want you to take these men out there and hold them off till I can get help from the rest of the city.” That said the fencer and several others ran towards the gate. When they exited they saw others were ready and waiting, among them were Pindragons most trusted friends: Kyon, Myri, Nyrin and YouYou.
“Captains orders are to meet the threat head on till reinforcements can arrive. We don’t know their intentions yet, if any, so we will set up defenses past the second bridge and let them come to us. We also don’t know how many there are and chances are that they will eventually over run us, so at that point we’ll retreat to the bridge and force them into a bottleneck.” Pindragon finished giving his orders and everyone took of towards the fields. Accept a few who only stared at him.
“If what you say is true,” one of them spoke up, ”then we cant win here, why don’t we evacuate the cit…” just then a wand flew into his face and he fell back.
“We can’t evacuate the city, not when so many people are here. It would create a panic and chaos will follow. People will die. You have your orders.” The protester stood up to see a sylph floating in front of him. It was Myri. They nodded at her and ran off to help prepare the battlefield.
“Bit harsh, don’t you think?” Pindragon asked Myri.
“They have to learn one way or the other. Come on, the rest are waiting for us.” They both made their way to the bridge. When they got there the army was only a few meters away, but moving slowly. YouYou saw them both and called out to them.
“Hey! They got here sooner than expected and were only able to secure the bridge. Kyon and Nyrin didn’t think we could finish defenses in time so they went ahead to slow them down.” YouYou pointed out towards the line of Undead and Zombies, but Pindragon didn’t see any sign of either of them. Just then one of the zombies got close enough to lunge itself over the make-shift wall at a shura doctor, Izuru. Its teeth dug into her shoulder and she yelled out. YouYou rushed over to her knocked it off of her and pummeled it to death. Another doctor healed her wound but it still hurt.
“Get ready! There here!” YouYou jumped on to the wall and prepared his wooden staff. The wizards and shamans began casting spells and shooting bolts of lightning into the hoard. Drak, a blademaster, along with a few others, jumped ahead of the wall and began to hold back the undead.
“Get down!” Pindragon yelled. Everyone in front of him hit the deck as a wave of fire cut across the air setting a handful of zombies on fire. After a few minutes they were dead, but it paled in comparison to the numbers that were still alive. A few minutes passed and dozens of bodies lay in front of the bridge. The defenders caught a short break when they defeated the large mob and next hoard was still some distance away. Pindragon still didn’t see Kyon and Nyrin anywhere and grew more worried. Where are those reinforcements, we already lost a fourth of our forces here? Just then across the clearing in from of them he could see two figures running towards them. It was Kyon and Nyrin. They were being chased by zombies. “We’ve got more company! Get ready.” Izuru finished healing Drak and moved on to another. “There a lot more this time.” Pindragon moved to the front of the line, sword ready. He waited for Kyon and Nyrin to get closer when he struck his sword into the ground. At first it seemed as nothing had happened but suddenly earth spikes stabbed into the air impaling their pursuer. Kyon ran straight for the front line with Nyrin and turned around ready to fight.
“We have company!” Kyon yelled out. Pindragon moved to his side.
“We noticed.”
“No. You don’t understand. The zombies, they have a leader and it’s heading here” Kyon stopped when a terrorizing roar sounded across the field. Then the earth shook as if a giant was running. From behind the mob of undead, a giant armored skeleton forced it self through to the front. In its grasp was an equally large sword with engravings on it.
“A Skeleton Soldier? But they’re supposed to be a myth!” Yelled out YouYou. The behemoth stopped in between the line of undead and defenders. At the same time the zombies stopped moving. The Skeleton Soldier looked at the line of enemies, looking at every single one of them. An archer screamed, turned and ran.
“Wait!” Yelled out Izuru. Then the monster roared when it spotted Kyon. It still remembered him from their previous encounter only a few minutes ago. The line of zombies started moving again, only faster this time. As the fighting continued, the enemy commander stood still keeping its eyes on Kyon.
“What did you do to it? Looks mad at you” Myri asked as she shot lighting bolts at the undead.
“It used to have two swords. He broke the other one” Called back Nyrin. Pindragon ducked to avoid being hit, sliced into the walking corpse and looked over at Kyon to see him with a smirk across his face. “Look out!” Kyon looked up and rolled to the side just as a giant sword came down to where he was standing. He was alright, but his Meteorite Armor was damaged. The sprite, YouYou, jumped onto the creatures’ massive arm and ran up its arm. He struck his wooden staff at its skull but it only seemed to annoy it. With its other arm it grabbed YouYou and flung him into the air. He landed in the middle of hoard where they gathered around him. Izuru called out to him but there was no answer among the moans of the undead. She started to make her way to him to heal him if she could. Pindragon grabbed her by the arm.
“No, it’s too dangerous. We don’t know if he is still alive, and if he was,” he paused and looked down,”we can’t get to him.” She understood and nodded silently. From behind the line her name was called. “Go, you’re needed.” She turned and hurried to the injured swordsman. Pindragon turned to see the Skeleton Soldier swings its sword indiscriminately killing allies and foes alike. They need to stop it; they had no chance of surviving the battle with it still alive. “Myri! Take it down!” He yelled out pointing with his sword. She nodded and got to he knees with her eyes closed. Zombies moved in closer to her but were quickly killed by Nyrin. More moved in but the sprite was ready to protect her sylph friend. Myri’s chanting grew louder as she progressed with her spell. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above them. She suddenly stopped and great lightning bolt came from sky striking at the Skeleton Soldier in a white flash. All the zombies around it were either killed or knocked down in the force of the explosion. As the smoked cleared Pindragon could see the target lying in the center of a small crater. Is it dead? That was everyone’s question. It wasn’t. Slowly it sat up and then stood up.
“Kyon, Nyrin, Izuru, Drak with me! Myri, again but this time take out the bridge. Everyone else, retreat to the other side of the bridge.” Pindragon gave his orders and everyone did as he said. Twenty or so defender ran across the bridge and stopped a short distance away. A moment later a several lightning bolts struck the bridge destroying it completely. Five were left isolated with the Skeleton Soldier and another hoard of zombies a distance away. “It’s after us now; we can’t take it in open field. Head towards the tree line, we’ll be able to cut them down in there.” They sprinted towards the trees and the behemoth gave chase. They passed the tree line and Skeleton Soldier attempted to force its’ way through but failed. Pindragon and the other stopped and looked back. The monster stared at them and roared before disappearing behind the trees. Soon after the moans of the dead grew louder as they got closer. The group continued through the forest till they reached a small clearing. “Here. This is where we will make our stand.” Kyon spun his spear releasing his Wicked Windmill attack into the forest. Shortly after the screeches of dying zombies were heard. As the zombies became visible the group unleashed their attacks so that the zombies could not mass in numbers. After a few minutes they were surrounded with no way out. Myri called to Nyrin and handed her paper charms. The sprite tied one to each of her throwing knives. Myri, again fell to her knees and began to chant her spell. Nyrin threw her knives into the center of small mobs which was shortly followed by a lightning bolt, it was Myris’ way of aiming without stopping the spell to see her target.
“How long can we keep this up?” Kyon asked as he cut down a group of zombies. He heard the bushes behind him ruffle and turned to look expecting to undead come through. He ran towards the bushes and released his Wicked Windmill. The bushes were cut down but there weren’t any zombies behind them but Skeleton Soldier was. It reached out and grabbed Kyon. It turned around and ran the other way still holding Kyon tightly in its grasp. He struggled to get out but failed, he turned his head to see Pindragon give chase before being cut off by a group of zombies. The reached another clearing and the monster threw Kyon into the ground. He stood up ready to fight. “You want me? I’m not going to be that easy to kill.” The monster swung its sword down but it was too slow for Kyon. Wicked Windmills only seemed to make it stagger back so Kyon attempted to knock it down by using it repeatedly. The Skeleton Soldier crossed its arms to defend itself from the relentless attacks from its enemy. It still wasn’t enough though. Slowly, it was forced to take steps back. Kyon saw a moment when the monster defenses were weak and lunged at its head and chest with his spear. Before Kyon even reached his nemesis, its great sword hit him mid-air cutting into his side and threw him into the trees. Kyon slowly stood up. He was in pain and bleeding. Kyon moved his good arm to his side and could feel that his armor was completely cracked open. He moved his hand away then looked at it, it was covered in blood. “Damn,” he whispered. He looked up and saw the Skeleton Soldier charging. Too close and too fast, Kyon had no chance of evading and the monsters great sword pierced through his armor and into his chest and then into the tree behind him.
“What the hell is going on?” Izuru let herself fall to the floor. She looked over his shoulder to see that everyone else was doing the same. They were all exhausted from the near endless mob of zombies. Bodies and body part covered the ground and in some parts they created small piles. “Where are the all coming from? And on Halloween? Monsters never come this close to the city on Halloween.”
“And the Skeleton Soldier, none have been seen in over twelve generations.” Nyrin responded.
“It’s the spirits.” Myri stated.
“What? Ghost?” asked Izuri
“No. Do you know what the deference is between a spirit and a ghost? A spirit is a soul of someone who has passed away long ago. Their only wish is to watch over and protect there descendents. A ghost is a soul that wants to keep on living. It will stay in the places where it lived and wonder around for the rest of eternity. Now, a zombie is something like that, mindless and soulless. It wants to continue enjoying the pleasures of life, but it can’t do that without a soul. It is why you see the undead wondering haunted sites. It is also why they attack the living, they can sense souls. Whether it’s a spirit, ghost or still with a body. They want to continue living, one way or the other.”
“What’s that have to do with it being Halloween?” Izuru noticed that Pindragon was wounded at the knee. She stood up and went to heal it. Myri turned to face Pindragon.
“You feel them too, cant you? Every Halloween you feel the spirits gather in the city and it throws your magic off, right?” Pindragon nodded and thanked Izuru who then went back to her spot. “Every year they gather in the city to let us know they are protecting us. Sometimes so many mass in the city square, that they become visible to us.”
“So you think they are coming for the spirits? But, if that’s true then why have they never attacked any other Halloween?” Pindragon asked.
“Right now I don’t think that matters. We need to find Kyon and get back to the city.” Nyrin interrupted. She was about to say something else when, “Kyon!” Everyone turned to see. Through the forest a dark figure was walking towards them. They all stood up ready to greet him but stopped as he walked into the moonlight. “Kyon?” Nyrin said softly. “It can’t be. It can’t be!” He was dead, the walking dead. In addition to the wound to his side it was clear he was no longer among the living when the group saw the diamond-shaped hole in his chest. His eyes were emotionless and dead. Suddenly he lunged forward towards Nyrin. She jumped to avoid his spear and he followed her striking with his spear. Pindragon intervened a strike with his sword drawing Kyons attention away from Nyrin. Pindragon didn’t want to hurt him. It was Kyon, friends for years now. How could he kill him? But, he was already dead and joined the ranks of the undead. The fencer only defended as his new foe attacked him. Then, just as Kyon’s attack started he stopped suddenly. “Kyon?” Nyrin asked hoping that something of him was still alive. There wasn’t. He started his attack again but not towards Pindragon or Nyrin, but at Izuru. “Izuru, Run!” She took a step back and then tried to run but slipped. In a split second Kyon was over her. She screamed and then she was dead, with a spear through her. Kyon pulled the spear from the body. Pindragon and Nyrin were too stunned to notice the dark clouds forming above them. Kyon took a step towards them, and then looked up. The dark skies were thick and crackling with thunder.
“Out of the way!” Myri yelled out to her companions. The human and the sprite both retreated towards the sylph. Several great lighting bolt struck Kyon in a blinding light. Myri feel back exhausted, “Is he dead?” Pindragon walked to where kyon was standing.
“There’s nothing left,” Pindragon walked back to Myri to check on here. “We need to find somewhere to rest. I don’t hear anymore zombies so we might be able to say here for bit. Then we need to get to the east bridge and back to Eversun.”
“How far are we from the bridge?” Nyrin asked as she sat next to Myri.
“I have no idea. I don’t recognize these trees. The fighting pushed us out all the way out here. I can use my earth skills but I need to rest first.”
“Then sit down already.” And he did.
They spent an hour resting and mourning their dead. In only a few hours they had lost some of their closes friends. They had planned at least another half-hour of rest but the familiar moans of the undead could be heard again and they where getting closer. The trio was on their feet again and on the run. Pindragon didn’t want to admit to the others that no matter how long or far they ran it seemed that the zombies were still gaining on them. They stopped when they heard a bone-chilling roar echo through the forest. It was back. The continued through the forest till they reached the river. Now they knew they were going in the right direction but the bridge still wasn’t in sight. Another roar echoed from the forest, closer this time.
“Its gaining ground on us,” Nyrin stopped and looked back. “I can slow it down. Keep moving and I’ll set traps for it.” She took off in a different direction before Pindragon or Myri could argue with her. The reached the end of the forest and into the open plains again.
Nyrin moved about the trees dropping her explosive charms and other traps. She then climbed onto a tree at the edge of her mine field. Only a few minutes passed before the zombies started passing over Nyrins traps. As they got closer to the tree the sprite was hiding in she pulled out another charm. Once the mob of undead covered the mine field she tore the charm causing all her traps to set off at once. Below Nyrin charms exploded and daggers flew into unsuspecting zombies. In a matter of seconds it was all over. Nyrin jumped down to check for survivors. She frowned as she saw there was no sign of her intended target. She turned to catch up to her friends when something punched her in the back and sent her rolling until a tree stopped her. She almost lost consciousness but managed to say awake. She rolled up and her eyes widen when she saw the monster standing over her. Her body was aching and it was hard to move. She wondered why it didn’t attack; it only stared at her silently. Then the moans started again, it was leaving her for the zombies. They came through the trees, moving slowly. Eyes wide, filled with hatred. Nyrin broke her leg when she hit the tree and couldn’t get up. She sat up and threw her daggers into the hoard killing only one or two at a time. But there were too many and she was running out of daggers. There was no end to them and Nyrin was down to her last dagger. With that dagger she cut anyone of them that got too close but they didn’t fear pain. Then four of them jumped at her biting into her arms and shoulders. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one last explosive charms. And then, tore it.
Myri and Pindragon stood in the grass just beyond the tree line waiting. They heard the explosions when Nyrin set off her trap but became worried when shortly after they heard a lone explosion. They couldn’t wait anymore; the undead had reached the tree line. The human and the sylph started down the river, the bridge couldn’t be too far away. They were right, after a few minutes of running they could see the bridge in the distance.
They stopped running, for something was standing in their way. The Skeleton Soldier stood motionless staring at the bridge. It noticed the two survivors and turned to meet them. It spread its arm wide open and roared. Suddenly it broke into a sprint towards them. Pindragon too broke into a sprint towards the monster. He stopped short and struck his sword into the ground. Earth spikes came up from the ground in front of the behemoth knocking it back. Pindragon quickly ran up the spikes and jumped off ready to stab the fallen foe. The Skeleton Soldier blocked his attack with its sword and pushed Pindragon over the spikes. But as it was standing up again the fencer jumped over the monster and sprinted towards the bridge. It chased him until its prey turned to face it. Pindragon swung his sword towards his enemy and a gust of wind came from the sword. It hit the monster and it staggered back. The fencer charged again at the fencer. His sword sparked alive with fire and attacked the beast. Their swords clashed again and again as they fought. Pindragon jumped back and look over towards the bridge. Myri was already across it and casting a spell. He again broke into a sprint towards the bridge and the beast chased him. As he got there he noticed she had covered the bridge in explosive charms. He stopped and looked up to see the Skeleton Soldier jump over him and land right in front of Myri. It brought its sword down but Myri was able to avoid it. The landed hit the bridge hard enough to break the wooden boards. The beast pulled its sword up and swung side ways. This time she wasn’t able to dodge it. The sword hit her in the side but not before she dropped a different charm. Her body was thrown into the river with the force of the blow. Pindragon scream but it was too late. He ran underneath the beast and picked up the charm she had dropped. The fencer crossed the bridge and faced the Skeleton Soldier. It took a step forward and then another but the next it stepped onto the broken boards and its foot fell through. It attempted to break free but the more it struggled the more it sunk into the bridge. Pindragon looked at the charm in his hand and then ripped it. The bridge was consumed in an explosion and the surrounding fields caught fire. The beast roared from the fire, but this time it was different, like it was dying. Then the remains of the bridge collapsed into the river along with the Skeleton Soldier. In the distance across the river those zombies that had caught up with them suddenly became engulfed in blue flames. And they died, for good this time. It was over. The threat was destroyed but at the cost of all of Pindragons friends. He could here the clock in Eversun strike twelve. Halloween was over.
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