Chapter 10

Jorn kicked sideways at a crypt fiend as it reached for Priest, dark magic spinning from its fingertips. He dodged neatly between two ghouls, feeling the golden light of his shield crackle as their bodies rebounded, and slashed at the banshee as she started to open her mouth. The shriek that resulted was earsplitting, but brief. The crypt fiend scrambled to its feet, and then there was a pop. A sheep stood in its place, blinking foolishly.

Jorn Raveloe spun in place, suddenly in a clear space. He saw everything around him dimly, through the bright wall of the shield.

The gargoyle dove toward Norry, who stood with a spear in his hand and a calculating look on his face. The dark wizard Blitzen now stood swinging his staff at a snarling, spitting ghoul as he waited for his mana to recharge. The two bandits were dealing with ghouls as well, swinging their hand axes as they tried to avoid the hooked claws.

Sid, with typical efficiency, had already skewered one ghoul and was busy trying to extract his weapon from between its ribs. And Dumb Zig…

Zig lay on his back, black magic tangling his arms and legs as he tried to scramble away from the remaining crypt fiend. Izzy crouched beside him, swaying slightly on his bent legs.

"Plaaaay deaaad," he snarled, and leaped. The crypt fiend shrieked as it was struck by a hundred pounds of whirling claws and teeth.

Jorn saw all this in an instant. Then he started for the two bandits. One was on the ground now, as the other tried to fend off two ghouls at once. One clung to his axe hand, biting deep into his arm, and then Jorn bore down on them like a steam tank on huge and silent feet.

His first sword blow decapitated a ghoul, and the carcass toppled onto the prone bandit. The other one ignored him, still clinging to Bedden's arm. Jorn gutted it. Black entrails poured onto the ground, sending up a stench, but the ghoul did not let go. Jorn seized its upper jaw with his free hand and yanked backwards. The bandit howled as drops of blood flew, but he was free.

The ghoul writhed, trying to clamp its jaws on Jorn's hand through his shield. He threw it to the ground and brought his foot down on its spine with his full weight. He heard a sickening snap, and the body lay still.

And there was Priest. He knelt beside the fallen man, golden light circling his eyes and hands as he reached out to shove the dead ghoul aside. The Undead seemed to crumble as he touched it, shriveling around its bones. Under it, the bandit lay with long gashes in his unarmored side and down his outer leg. They began to close even as Jorn watched, the edges creeping toward each other.

He looked around. His mana faded, the yellow filter of the shield dropping from his vision.

Let's see. One man down, Bedden's got a bad arm. Sid's okay. Norry's okay, maybe some scratches on his spear arm. Looks like Zig's getting up. There's Blitzen. That leaves me and Priest.

The burst of loud sound had given way to sudden quiet. Banshee's gone. Dead gargoyle, dead crypt fiend, three dead ghouls, two live sheep. That leaves…

Two ghouls backed away from the bodies of their comrades. Izzy stalked slowly after them, swaying in the predatory manner of his kind.

"Wiiiizzard," he said.

One ghoul stopped retreating. It swayed its upper body in place, matching Izzy's motion.

"Wiiiizzard," it repeated. Then it turned and leaped on its companion. Izzy lunged after it, and the two of them quickly tore the throat from a very surprised ghoul.

Then Izzy licked the black blood from his teeth and turned and trotted over to Zig. The other ghoul followed. It mirrored Izzy's movements as he sat up, begging. Zig gave them each a piece of jerky once he was on his feet.

"That's the darndest thing I ever saw," Sid said.

"I heard where the Forsaken will take anybody they can get," Norry said. He was busy cleaning his spearpoint on the dead crypt fiend's wrappings.

"Well, that's pretty stupid," Dumb Zig said serenely.

"Come on, you lot," Jorn said. "We'd better get gone before the other ones come back to see what the noise was."

"Ready, Boss," Mal the Bandit said, climbing to his feet. Under his torn clothes, his skin was completely whole. Priest stood next to Bedden, one hand extended over his wounded arm. It finished growing together as Jorn watched.

"You're a pretty good guy to have around," Jorn said, as they started off again.

"It is kind of you to say so," the Elf said. As they went, he reached out toward Norry and healed his shoulder. Then he let the light die down as he concentrated on walking, limping along with his staff.

Behind the tight group, two ghouls herded two sheep along the flagstones of Dalaran. The new one tried to take a bite out of a plump leg as they went. Izzy swatted him.

"Jeerrrrrrky," he hissed, when the other ghoul looked puzzled.

"Wazzat?"

In answer, Izzy padded forward and nudged Zig's hand. He came back with a piece of dried meat. He jerked his head, tossing it to the other ghoul. It was neatly caught and devoured with a clack of big fangs.

A strange look entered the milky eyes of the ghoul. If it had possessed eyelids, it might have blinked. Revelation had descended on the decayed remnants of its brain.

"Okaaay," the new ghoul said. And the two of them padded on, companionably silent, as the moon sank in the sky over ruined Dalaran.