Marching towards the main gates, the vast army held its standard high, and its weapons higher. Thousands formed the ranks of the damned. Thousands completed the division of destruction. Thousands advanced upon the doors.
All while we stood in awe.
Our faces yelled the fear of us all. The gapping mouths of each one of us screamed a state of shock. Every widen eye shouted the words stated above, while telling the world of our confusion. Sadly, despite their lack of true sound, they were all heard. You saw them turn to you. He watched as dozens broke from rank. You helped move the debris for a barrier. He created defense.
And so they came.
The first wave smashed against the feeble barricades. Nathanos rained death in droves, while the warriors of the Brothers and Carlin stabbed death deeply into their hearts. I, however, was told to gather rope. I was not sure why he wanted me to gather rope, but I did. Took me almost five minutes to wrangle a good, long strand from a tent, but I got it!
Now, I have ten long pieces. And wave six drives itself upon our small fortress. You cannot remember if it is wave six. He might think it's actually wave four. Nathanos does not seem withered by the constant attacks. Mercilessly, he drives life from the charging foes. Relentlessly, he forces them back to the grave. Unforgiving, he banishes them from his land. However, the rest grow weary.
I am not, though. Gathering this rope might be tedious and annoying, but draining it is not. I tug on last rope I found under part of the crushed caravan. Finally, it slips free, and after a few seconds of tangling it around my arm, I throw it near the pile of the rest. Quite a fine pile, if don't mind saying. You made a mighty rope mountain. He really spent his time doing this.
Standing upright, I brace my back. Leaning back slightly, I wait for it to make a soft cracking sound before falling forward. My eyes drift up and lock upon the brave soldiers holding strong against this wave. Again, the skeletons do nothing but fail to break us, but I can already see the next batch moving their way to us.
Suddenly Nathanos twists and barks at me, "Worm, get over here." He pauses, cracks a skeleton's skull, and then turns back, "Take my spot. I will be needing that…fine pile of rope you found."
I nod and move towards him hesitantly. As I pass by him he squeals and darts to the rope. I am pretty sure he has lost his mind. You are a good judge of that. He still is crazier than Nathanos. Yeah, I have you two for company. Would drive any man mad.
"Blackwood!" Carlin yells at me, "Focus!"
Instantly I gaze forward, grab my weapon, and load it. Aiming carefully, I take a skeleton sprinting fast towards us. I do not know what the big deal is, but…oh well…
TITHBURSHIt collides with the ground, flips over itself, and then flops to its resting spot. The few remaining skeletons do not even make it close to the wall. Slowly, I lower the weapon to my side and take a breath. Not even a challenge. You shot them good. He is getting cocky. You are getting egotistical. Yeah, you guys are right. However, I am still not as bad as Nathanos.
Turning, I take a look at the man of whom I speak. Strangely, he is shifting through the rope rapidly, tying ends of the strands to arrows. Or, he sticks an arrow straight through the rope. What could he be doing? You think that is strange. He feels Nathanos is losing his mind. Nathanos does seem like it…
A voice yells from my side, "Blackwood!" It is Carlin. "Blackwood, another wave inbound!"
Without hesitating, I spin, load the gun and fire a round off. A ghoul a good distance away folds backwards and breaks. Another round glides smoothly into my weapon, and again, I fire. A second ghoul falls, but the rest are moving far too quickly. Again, I load, fire, and proceed to watch the death sequence, but it is not enough. Another shot fired. Another down. Almost upon us.
Fire again! Too late.
Fortunately, the warriors pitted against the small barricade are ready. Carlin darts upwards, throws his shield forward, and stabs a ghoul square in the face. Quickly following, Jon leaps into position and takes a skeleton by surprise. Finally, Mark lunges to his feet, swings his shield in an arch, and slams against one…two…three skeletons! You are jealous of that strength! He needs to give that man his shovel!
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure nearing on me. Quickly I throw my gun back, bring my shovel forward, and let the fiend have it!
THUDIts frail skull caves in easily. In a hurry it falls to the ground, collapsing into itself as most skeletons do. At that, I pull myself down behind the broken wagon and give myself a moment to rest.
"They just do not stop," Jon talks while we wait, "This is just crazy."
Carlin sighs loudly then turns to him, "Lad, you know as well as I these creatures know no rest. They hunt forever. No matter where we go, they are lurking behind us. They are our shadow." He shakes his head then sighs again, "I just wish the light would find a way to break the following taint."
Distracting us all, a loud screeching sound of wood against stone fills the air. Pivoting my head, I watch as Nathanos shoves a large, wooden object to the side. It comes to a rest in the middle of the outpost and creates a large barrier to direction from where we came. You cannot see a thing that way anymore. He is blind to the path.
I cannot help but gaze up to the crazed undead and speak, "Nathanos, why…did you just do that?" You are profound. He is the master of questioners.
Without turning to me, he talks. "Lanterns, Worm, lanterns! There are dozens everywhere yet none anywhere!" His hands fly into the air. "Why oh why cannot I spy a lantern for me eyes!?"
I do not say a word. That was strange. I am pretty sure he just made a short rhyme about…lanterns. You are sure? He is slowly becoming saner than Nathanos.
Suddenly, movement from my side draws my attention. Carlin peers up over the wall and then drifts back down.
He turns to me and talks, "Nothing to shoot at now, Blackwood. Looks like they forgot we are even here."
He then leans back and sighs again. However, while he rests there in peace, a riot of words rattles the boundaries of my mind. The darkness follows him. You are followed by it too. He knows it follows all. But how can he be so hopeless? I tried to boost his spirits once, but…how is he depressed already? You have not seen as much as him. He, Carlin, has lost everyone.
But I have lost many too. My parents, both are dead. But, I still am ready to fight. How? What is he missing? You do not miss what he does. He still has a spark of light in him. You see a flare of light. He can see a glow of light; he can see the beacon.
Yes, the beacon! How foolish of me!
I cough and gather the attention of the others before I speak, "Carlin, do not act so sad. Like my mum once said, in times that are dark, a beacon of light will shine brightly for all good to see, and for all dark to fear."
His eyes narrow at me. The dark pupils focus firmly on me. Do you think I said something wrong to him? Do you think I angered him? You did no such thing. He isn't dead yet, is he? What? He…forget it.
Still staring at me, he appears to ready himself to talk, but wild laughter from the crazy one interrupts him, "Really, worm? Your mother apparently knows of something I lost sight of years ago! Please, could you tell me where that is?" He laughs again then, oddly stops. "Worm, you are always a fool of blind hope."
Moving back to his work he continues with the rope…thing…he was busy with earlier. Good thing, too. He is getting rather annoying.
Yet again, movement from my side catches my attention, and again, it comes from Carlin. Jerking over the wall, he gazes at the forces again, but this time he pauses. Narrowing his vision he appears to have seen something.
And from what yells at us, it has seen us too, "Brave warriors of the light!" A deep, dark voice booms loudly, "You have grown to be a thorn in this operation's side! Feel free to remove yourself, and reposition in the city to die like the rest!"
I lift over the side of the barrier, and before us, a man covered in a thick, blackish, metal armor stands. His pale face reminds me of many that I have buried, while the shifting armor reminds me of the image of my nightmares. Slowly, he inches his way towards us. As he does, a large, metal sword drags across the surface of the ground
Stopping near what appears to be a large grave, he waves his hand at the mounds, the pile of resting souls, and then turns to us, "Very well, warriors. May the permanent residents of these lands become your enemies!"
Rumbling, the mounds shake. Quaking, the piles of rest souls shift. Bursting, the ones thought to be dead begin to rise from their homes. How dare he disturb their tombs! How dare he ruin their sleep?! You must calm down. He must relax.
Within my chest, a surge of warmth builds behind the throbbing voice that is my hate! Quickening, motivation flows through my veins and feeds my determination. How dare he! You must…
They were perfectly buried! He ruined such beautiful work! HOW DARE HE?!
Rising to my feet, I draw a round to my gun. The bolt screams death as it comes into place. The lens aligns with the fool who dares destroy the end of life. Here comes your justice, tool.
TITHBURSHHis right shoulder bounces back. The round clanked off the thick metal! Repositioning himself he laughs then slowly begins to turn. The bolt screams again, and again, the lens finds itself before my eye. Die, fool. You must calm. He must focus…
TITHBURSHThe lens tells me the truth of hit. Red fluid splashes across the side of his head, and runs down his neck. I hope you liked that. May that scar remind you of what you have done.
He raises his hand and feels the side of his head. Rolling over the wound, he rubs the spot where his ear used to be. Lowering his hand, he peers at the source of life that still rests in his cold veins and spins. His eyes narrow on me. I can feel his rage flowing.
I can feel his icy eyes lock with mine. My veins stop, frozen by his stare. I do not know what I have done, but I feel it shall be I who will suffer. You should have focused. He should have aimed carefully.
Raising his sword, he points the tip in our direction. It rocks in place for a moment before he turns to the now standing dead that were once buried, "Kill them. Kill them then add them to our ranks!" Glaring back at me he smiles, "Except for that one, save him for me. I wish to watch him die."
Hurriedly, he marches back to the main force and vanishes into the mob. A churning in my stomach tells me something I cannot quite understand. The fluids rumble loudly, yelling to my mind of the nightmares to come. I am not sure why this feeling burns within, but it burns fiercely. You know why. He just told his soldiers to kill you, and mainly you. You must ignore him for now. He must stop the attackers.
Instantly removing the fiend from my mind, I shift sights to the charging zombies. Their arms rise limply in front of them. Decaying feet drag them quickly forward. Emotionless faces guide them aimlessly.
Movement draws my attention to the side for a moment. There, another wave of skeletons and ghouls advances along with the zombies. They strike down the same path as before, but the zombies are coming from a more northern location. From this position, I can tell that this is not a good situation. You know you are outnumbered. He knows he needs to thin their strength.
So I shall! The gun comes up quickly, and in a flash a round fires off. A zombie collapses straight down, tripping up another one behind it. Again, I fire, and for another time, I end the already ended. Changing my target slightly this time, I aerate a ghoul's skull then reload.
There are still far too many, no matter how fast I shoot. You know you cannot hold. He must get them to move. But to where?
Suddenly, Carlin's voice echoes loudly, "Nathanos, they are coming! There are far too many!"
From behind, Nathanos shouts back, "Preparations must be made!"
Thud. A rumble quietly rises from Nathanos' direction.
Carlin yells loudly, covering the new sound easily, "Marris, we cannot stay here!"
I fire again. Thud. I barely hear it over the gun.
Again, Carlin shouts, "Nathanos, this is not a question, we have to move!"
Nathanos grunts then replies, "Preparations must be completed in order to prepare!"
Thud. The sound is familiar.
It is as if an array of sounds decided to bombard me all at once!
A loud explosion that sounds like glass shattering fills the air, then Nathanos laughs, "The preparations are complete for the lanterns are all belong to me!"
Quickly I turn, and I watch in a state of confusion as Nathanos pours the thick fluid all over the ropes. After a moment of this strange activity, he throws the broken lamp to the side then raises his hands into the air. "We are ready!"
Carlin leaps up after I fire another round then shouts at him again, "Fool, what are you preparing for?"
THUD. I remember that sound. Odd that I could ever forget.
Unfortunately, the dark voice gives me a proper reminder of why my ignorance was foolish, "Nathanos! There you are!"
Twisting my head slightly, I regretfully peer over in the direction where the sound came from. Dishearteningly, I take in the full sight and sigh. His head is tilted down slightly, and he moves heavily and determinedly. He seems to have missed our company.
Oddly, Nathanos does not move. Instead, he leans his head back, and…laughs, "About time." His eyes shift to Carlin and he chuckles, "Preparations…were for that."
The monster lumbers quickly at our position. Each step he takes quakes the ground. Each step he takes brings him to us. Each step he takes, my heart sinks. You need to worry about other things. He needs to remember there are zombies still.
Oh no.
Spinning, I bring my gun to sight, and before me the wave closes in. Much closer than before, I cannot help but take a step back. Hesitating for a moment, I take the closest zombie in sight and fire. He falls fa…
THUDBracing myself, I hold against the same old shockwave. He is closing in on us. Both sides close in. There is no way for us to go; zombies from the north, skeletons from the west…whatever he and his army to the east. Nowhere to flee to. You are too jumpy. He jumps to conclusions far too quickly. Wait, what do you mean? There is no way out. They have us trapped. You need to look in all directions. He needs to scan for openings…yes…openings…in all his surroundings. You need to look south.
Spinning, I look over all the lands. My eyes take in trees, grass, broken hedges and a steep hill. Scanning the hill carefully, I search upwards and come to the thick, gray wall from before. Sweeping it, I scan the large, pink mound resting outside the wall then gaze at the debris. Finally, I take in the gapping hole in the wall.
Obviously, that is what I was looking for. You are good. He is a genius. But time is short, we need to get moving, no more delaying!
Turning, I throw my weapon to my back, and run south through the broken caravans. As I near the edge of the broken craft, I turn back to the others and yell, "Get moving, slowpokes! This is our only way out."
Carlin instantly shifts his head in my direction and smiles. In no time he is heading towards me. Behind him, the Brothers follow closely. Sadly, nearing the wall, the skeletons seem to be slowly closing the gap.
Carlin stops at me and turns around. "Hope, I do not know where you come from in your head sometimes," He pauses, "but I pray you keep straying to wherever that may be."
At that, he starts to move, but stops to gaze at something still moving at the post. "I only wish Nathanos would come back from wherever he went."
He sighs, and it forces me to turn. I cannot help but watch in horror as Nathanos meshes parts of tent together and throws it on the back of Watcher. Quickly, he does the same with the other dog before turning to me. Taking quick steps in my direction, he turns, shoots a few incoming zombies then keeps moving. I really have no idea what he is thinking. You cannot read his mind this time. He is the one lost wandering.
At that, we head off down the slight slope, and make our way through the trees. The Brothers and Carlin lead just ahead of us, while I lag behind. I cannot see Nathanos anywhere, so worriedly, I look back to make sure he didn't decide to crazily march back to the outpost.
I cannot believe what I am seeing.
He grabs a rope from his shoulder, pulls the arrow attached to it, and shoots at…a tree. After it lands firmly, he takes what appears to be an arrow at the other end of the rope, and drives it into the mesh on the dogs back. I do no think he is there. The zombies are climbing over the makeshift barrier, but he just walks away calmly. You remind me of him. He is a spitting image of that undead man
Now, I am growing nervous. And that takes talent to make me worry. You have to deal with us. He knows how annoying we can be.
Waving to him, I can feel my legs begin to tremble, "Nathanos, please, you must move! The Scourge will reach you any second."
Ignoring me, he shoots, stabs and continues.
I take a step towards, but he acts if I am not here. Again, he shoots and stabs. Another time, he shoots, stabs. Finally, he sighs then looks at me. "Worm, you must plan every moment." He moves to me, coming extremely close to my face. "Especially when you have filled your chilled heart with hate."
He laughs, and then continues up the hill. It is not a long walk, and in a matter of seconds we come near the wall, but out of nowhere, Nathanos stops and spins around.
Looking out from the wall, he chuckles, and then does what I never imagined him foolish enough to do. He yells out to them. "Stop roaming around the wreckage, you lumbering idiot."
I turn in horror. Standing there, confused, the giant rests amongst the ruins of the outpost and gazes upward. At first it appears dazed by the voice, then it glances over in our direction. It shakes from laughter then heads its way towards us. Thud thud thud, it slowly walks towards us, trampling the grass and pushing the trees aside. The rope slides past its body as it moves.
Nathanos suddenly laughs again before kneeling to talk to his dog. "Boys, that big, mean monster wishes to play with you." He pauses before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a glowing skull. "Fetch."
He throws it forward. I watch in awe as it bounces across the ground. Skipping over a stone, it takes a quick jerk to the right, with the dogs close behind. Slamming against a tree, it flies to the right quickly, forcing the dogs to dart around the tall object.
From the corner of my eye, Nathanos draws an arrow with some rope tied to it and grunts. "Play, my babies, play."
The arrow whips past the trees, and slams hard into the dog's mesh! Oddly, the dog appears to have not noticed the impact. Instead, it shoots after the moving skull. Whipping to the side, the skull takes a leap into the air, and at that, the dogs split, and head in different directions.
One sprints forward, ignoring another arrow hit its side. The other flies to the right, dodging trees as if it is an art.
Suddenly, the giant takes my focus again as he forces his way through the trees. "Fools, the King was right, if we lead you maggots, then you will follow so eagerly." It laughs. "He said you would fight at that post, and so valiantly you did! He said you would run to the city, and so you have!"
He nears us quickly, while the pups below shoot past his giant feet as the bone makes a spin down near his legs. Strangely, it hits a rock then bounces backwards towards us. Moving his leg, the giant catches the bone with his foot and sends it flying. The dogs quickly skid, reverse direction then dart at the bone. They fly in between his feet and scramble for the skull.
While they leap around down there, it speaks again. "Do you think you could run from us? Do you think you could hide from us?"
The dogs smash into each other and their meshing gets tangled. "Do you think the Scourge will not find you?"
After a moment, it breaks free from their backs, hovering from tension midair. "The One True King is our guide, and soon, it shall show you the true direction!"
Nathanos unexpectedly laughs to the giant's comments. "If your blasted King is all knowing, then did he predict your death?"
The creature stops for a brief moment. "We are immortal, you idiot! Unlike you, and your filthy leader of an ugly woman, we shall live forever!"
With that, its foot smashes into the floating mesh, and the ropes tighten wildly, bending the trees downward. Branches crash into the monster's head, while dripping rope entangles it's feet. It struggles to move, letting out a grunt of frustration.
Nathanos gives me a tap, and then motions his head to a quickly, and horribly, made mixture of sticks and dried leaves. He nods at me and points at it. "Would you mind shooting the end of this, worm?"
A strange request, if you ask me, but quickly, I grab my gun, load it, and fire at the end. Breaking from the mess, some of it is dragged from the explosion, while sparks from the chamber appear to have ignited the mess. He stabs an arrow quickly into the flame, lets it catch fire, and chuckles.
He stares at it for a moment, twirling it in his fingers. "You insulted my lady and trampled my home."
In a flash he draws his bow, and lets the arrow fly. It hits moist leg of the monster and at first, nothing happens. Do you think he missed? You know he doesn't miss. He knows Nathanos has prefect aim.
Nathanos leans back and sighs, "Yet I still treat you with the same treatment any one besieger deserves! Not even your King is so kind."
Wait, there, a spark! Bursting, the fire catches part of the rope and boom! It spreads. The rope sets fire in a flash, then the tree. Another rope, it travels down another rope! Soaring past another tree, the flame burns brighter! More ropes, the mesh, an explosion of lights and colors! The roar of the flames build, and so does the cry of the fiend below the growing wall.
My eyes take in all the sight, letting the dancing flames lick their way up its body and set fire to all that it touches. I gaze at its foot, and smile as the bark, flesh and debris turn to a fireball of destruction. Following up the limb, the fire comes to the torso. There, branches jut in every direction and burn like torches. But the smoldering arms are what draw my attention.
Yes, those mighty objects bare the weight of the fire god's fiery, while the small – small to it – mossy head vomits flames high into the sky. What a marvelous sight. What a marvelous sight indeed! You are telling me. He thinks it is awesome!
I can almost feel the warmth, and loud roar silences the screams of the beast. My eyes of good navigate upon the object, and cannot help but watch as zombies and skeletons of evil flee from the burning mess.
Then, from behind, I can hear Nathanos talking, and from the sounds of it, he speaks to me. "Worm," He stops.
I quickly reply to let him know I am here, "Yes, Nathanos?"
He laughs, "How do you like our beacon?"