Chapter 5: Stirring Shadows
The tavern remained completely silent with shock. Then a random patron towards the back of the bar screamed, causing the whole place to erupt into a panicked frenzy. People tried to push their way out, some pouring out the front door, others choosing to run to the rear of the room and use the back entrance. Karin and Borgin were attempting to calm the riot with little success.
Godfrey ran towards where Garret had fallen, quickly turning him over to inspect him. This close up, the sickly pale shade of his skin, highlighted by darkened veins was all too apparent. His eyes were open and glassed over. Garrick and Na'ish soon joined him.
"Is he…?" Garrick enquired. Godfrey looked up sadly, and simply shook his head. Garrick scowled, before drawing his bow and notching an arrow, stalking towards the exit with Na'ish in tow. Godfrey reached down in order to close Garret's eyelids, offering a brief prayer before following.
As they got outside, they stopped in shock at the sight before them. Of the many that had run out the front door in panic, one woman had been stopped just outside in the main street. She was being lifted slightly from the ground by what could only be described as a black mass in the vague facsimile of a humanoid. It didn't appear to be directly holding the woman, but whatever it was doing was clearly hurting her, as she screamed and began to turn the same shade as the fallen Garret .
Garrick shot the arrow he had notched, which struck true to the mass that represented a head on the creature. However, the arrow simply passed straight through, failing to even displace much of the dark smoke it was made out of. The woman stopped screaming and went silent and limp, and was dumped on the floor in a heap. The creature then turned into a more streamlined shape before floating rapidly away and down the street.
"Was that the shadow?! Holy shit!" Came a voice from behind the group. They swung around to realise that Alistair, Rogon and Indira had exited behind them. Indira had her hands to her mouth in horror at the sight, and it was clearly Alistair that had spoken. Rogon soon gathered himself and scowled.
"It ain' getting away now, tha's for sure!" Rogon growled, before turning and giving chase down the street. He was soon followed by Alistair, Na'ish and Indira. "Wait, we don't know what it is!" Yelled Garrick, as Godfrey also started to run after the group. "Dammit!" Garrick swore, notching a new arrow. As he was, Varus exited, looking to the body of the woman with mild apathy. "Hmmm, curious...you gonna help fight old man?" He questioned, turning to Garrick.
Garrick scowled "How can I not? That thing could kill any number of people in the town if we don't stop it!" Varus shrugged. "I fail to see how that is my problem." Garrick gave Varus a disgusted look, before turning to also run after the group "If that shadow stays in the city, it will be everyone's problem!" Varus sighed, drawing his own bow before following, easily catching up and keeping pace.
Ahead, the rest of the group were sprinting to keep up with the dark mass. The creature was fast, and seemed more so because of the fact that it seemed to simply ignore obstacles in it's way, passing through them as if they didn't exist. In the instance that the shadow did this with a passerby, the individual would convulse and collapse to the ground, forcing the group to quickly dodge lest they trample them and harm them further.
"What the hell even is this thing!" yelled Alistair, vaulting a stray box in the street to prevent being slowed down. "Don' know, don' care! It's harmed too many for me to leave it running amok!" Rogon replied, drawing the hand axe he kept on his belt. Eventually, the shadow reached the edge of town, sweeping past the outer wall and continuing out into the large plain beyond.
The majority ran out the gate in pursuit, sprinting into the large expanse. The shadow pulled ahead and then suddenly stopped, turning and floating just above the ground, around 100 meters from where the party was rushing towards them. It then reached out a tendril that formed a hand like shape, before clenching it strongly.
Garrick and Varus, trailing behind, reached the wall and slowed to a stop. "Something isn't right about this...why would it come to the outskirts? It could more easily lose us within the city…" Garrick muttered. Both individuals looked to each other, before their eyes widened.
"It's a trap!" yelled Varus at the exact time that Garrick also yelled "Ambush!" The group ahead slowed their running, but it was already too late. Na'ish tumbled to the ground, his leg having been grasped by something. Looking down, he realised it was a pale hand that had grabbed him around the ankle. Following the arm back, he was met with the grotesque visage of a half rotted human male, teeth falling out and left eye missing. The body growled, and Na'ish attempted to struggle free as the hand pulled his leg towards its mouth.
Before it could bite his calf, however, its head exploded into a spray of gore courtesy of a glowing mace wielded by Godfrey. He then offered a hand to Na'ish, hauling him to his feet. "We've still got company!" called Alistair, alerting the two to the fact that that was not the only body surrounding them. All around them individuals of all races were starting to get up with jerky movements that caused limbs to bend at unnatural angles.
The group backed up into a tight circle, as the shambling figures started to rise from the long grass where they had been hidden. Some wore simple cotton outfits and hard wearing clothes that the working class might wear while toiling in the fields. Others had the same garb as Garret, signifying that they once belonged in the watch. All had varying degrees of decomposition upon their bodies.
Garrick, still standing by the entrance to town, saw his allies getting surrounded. "Shit…" he swore, before taking off along the edge of the nearest wall, avoiding the worst of the tall grass. Varus looked around himself briefly, before smirking at the nearest building.
Within the circle in the plains, they were soon finding themselves having to fend off the horde of corpses. Alistair had drawn two daggers, slashing at any appendage that came too close. When one managed to get through his guard, it was met with a swift bolt fired from Indira's light crossbow. Na'ish had set himself in a sturdy stance, his shield out and blocking any flailing limbs. He would then follow up with a strong slash from his sword, more often than not removing the offending part. Rogon furiously swiped his axe back and forth, causing huge gashes in the flesh of the corpses. This seldom deterred their approach, however, and a few got through the onslaught to land heavy slaps against his torso, attacks that Rogon shrugged off with a grunt.
In the middle of the group, Godfrey was channeling energy and muttering words. He would then point at one of the approaching horde, causing golden flames to erupt above the target and rain down upon them. Any that were caught in the falling flames would start burning, with screams of apparent pain before they fell to the ground motionless once more.
Meanwhile, Garrick had managed to make his way a fair amount along the wall. He then swerved and ran towards the fight, making sure there were no more bodies lying in wait within the grass around him. Once he was a little way out, he swiftly plunged his hand into the large satchel that rested over his shoulder, before retrieving a metal contraption of some sort. He leaned down briefly, setting whatever it was onto the ground, before backing up a short ways.
Retrieving his bow, he quickly fired upon the group of corpses nearest to him. His attack struck the male in the shoulder, making it stumble briefly before it succeeded in catching itself. Garrick smirked, before notching another arrow and aiming once more. The corpse he had struck paused in it's advance towards the circle of people in the middle. It then turned towards the direction it had been struck by, before moving slowly towards Garrick instead. As it did so, many of its brethren also turned and did the same, causing Garrick to lose his smirk.
He started to rapidly fire arrows at the approaching threat, but he only succeeded in taking down a couple and slowing down others. Just as they approached the point where Garrick had laid his device, a snap rang out accompanied by a sickening crack of bone. The front most corpse stopped dead, tugging at one of its legs in an attempt to move it. Looking down in confusion, it had just enough time to see that it's leg was caught in a large bear trap, before its head was struck with an arrow causing it to collapse backwards.
Garrick continued to back up and fire, but was stalled when his back hit the outer wall of the town. "Shit…." he swore, before replacing his bow with a spear from his back. As the last few were approaching, he stabbed out, succeeding in getting one in the gut. However, his reach and the fact that the spear was still embedded in the now unmoving body meant that he couldn't hope to stop the incoming strike to his side.
Just before it struck, however, He felt a sharp pain in his cheek and a whoosh of air, as an arrow firmly embedded itself into the attacking female's eye socket. Several more swiftly followed, downing all the remaining enemies. Quickly placing a hand to his sore cheek, he pulled away to find blood upon it. The first arrow had cut a gash in his cheek on the way past.
"You're welcome!" came a holler from behind and above him. Turning, he saw Varus had taken up a position on a rooftop, the man obnoxiously waving at him from his perch. Giving a slight scowl and a shake of his head, Garrick turned and ran towards the quickly diminishing circle of enemies around his allies. Varus stopped waving and started to once more fire arrows into the group.
Before long, the last corpse collapsed under a full shield strike dealt by Na'ish. As Garrick met up with them, they turned once more to the location where the shadow had been floating. Worryingly, it was still exactly where it had been, having not moved at all. It simply appeared to tilt the mist that made up it's head region in apparent curiosity.
"The damn thin's tauntin' us!" Rogon scowled. "Not for long it isn't!" Alistair exclaimed, before he ran towards it, ignoring the worried "Alistair, don't!" from Indira. As he approached, the shadow didn't even flinch, making Alistair even angrier. Just before he reached the creature, he flipped over and placed his hands to the ground, before pushing off once more in a strong, double footed kick. "Take this!"
When Alistair struck, his feet simply passed through the mist that comprised the creature. When he did so, he was struck with excruciating pain through the parts that made contact with it, forcing a strangled "Arrgh!" from his throat. With his momentum, he continued for a short way before rolling to the floor just behind the shadow. As he looked to the source of his pain with gritted teeth, he saw that his feet and legs had appeared to almost wither away, the clothes he was wearing no longer tight to his skin.
The shadow, after being struck, simply turned towards the offending object. It started to float slowly towards Alistair, something he quickly noticed. However, when he attempted to get up to get away, his legs gave out beneath him, unable to support his weight. Falling to the ground once more, He started to crawl backwards in panic "No! Stay away!" The being reached forward towards him with a tendril of smoke, apparently intent on finishing of it's victim…
Before it could, an almighty BANG echoed across the battlefield. This was accompanied by a large chunk of the mist being blown clear off, leaving a gap where the reaching tendril and torso had once been. The shadow gave several jerks, before writhing in silent agony. The remaining parts dissipated into a fine mist that was carried away by the wind.
Every head turned to the source of the sound, finding it to be Rogon. He had now abandoned his axe, choosing instead to draw the unusual metal weapon that had been strapped to his thigh. This was clearly the source of the loud noise, as it was pointing straight at the location where the shadow had been moments ago, the hollow tube at the end still smoking slightly from whatever it had just done.
Alistair just slumped to the ground, relief filling his body. Rogon blew on the end of his weapon, reholstering it and walking forward. "You alrigh' there bud?" he asked. Alistair sighed "I've been better, legs still freaking hurt. Still, alive, thanks to you." Indira ran forward and kneeled at his side, clearly concerned. Godfrey approached his other side "May I?" he enquired, gesturing to the injury in question. Alistair nodded, then closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in pain as Godfrey carefully peeled back the leg of his trousers. This revealed pale skin with veins running down the legs, the same as Garret had had.
Godfrey gathered golden energy into his hands, before placing them onto the nearest leg. After a short while, he frowned, withdrawing his hand. There had been no visible effect upon the injury, causing him to sigh. "This injury is beyond my ability to heal, it would seem. We will need to take him back into town to seek aid." Rogon and Indira nodded at this, taking an arm each and bringing Alistair to his feet, the majority of his weight slung between them.
As they turned to return to the town, Rogon found himself face to face with a drawn arrow, courtesy of Garrick. "Wuh!?" Rogon spluttered. "Where did you get that weapon from!" Garrick snarled. The other's all looked to each other, not quite sure how to handle the situation. Rogon, recovering from his shock, frowned. "What's it to you?" Garrick pulled the string back a little further "Answer me!"
Rogon huffed. "I got it from me father, if you must know. Only thin' I got of him." Garrick paused, lowering his bow slightly, "Your father…?" Rogon nodded, and after a tense few moments, Garrick returned his arrow to the quiver, turning and starting to march back to the edge of town. "Hey wait, wha' was that about? Did you know my father? Please, I'm tryin' to find 'im!" Rogon called. Garrick paused, and looked over his shoulder at him. "No, I do not know your father." he replied, before continuing to walk away. "At least...not anymore…" he thought.
Rogon was not convinced, but a groan from Alistair reminded him that there were more pressing concerns. They started back towards town once more. However, before they could get even half way, they were interrupted once more. This time, it was by a sudden swirling wind through the plains, forcing them all to shield their eyes.
The wind spun and coalesced at the point where the shadow had fallen. It gathered up all the scraps of mist still floating on the breeze, combining them and reforming their adversary once more. "Oh for fuck sake, what does it take to kill that bastard!" Alistair yelled in frustration, a sentiment shared by his allies.
The creature finished reforming, before raising a tendril of mist into the sky. Movement stirred on the hill behind it, and the group looked on in horror as bodies started to rise once more. The numbers of corpses standing up were many times that which they had recently faced. The shadow lowered the tendril and pointed towards the town. Panicking, the group started to try to get to the town as quickly as possible, but the weight of Alistair was slowing them down. Godfrey, Garrick and Varus were firing whatever they could once more, but nothing was slowing the advancing horde.
Before the creatures could make it to them, a large ball of iridescent light screamed past them, striking the shadow head on. Once they lowered their hands from their eyes, there was no sign of the creature, not even wisps of mist on the air. Turning in shock, they saw a figure approaching them from the town's edge.
Walking calmly towards them and the still approaching wave of animated bodies, was Lud. His golden skin was glowing slightly in the darkness of the night, his hands outstretched and also glowing in a similar hue. "Hello there friends," he said softly "I couldn't help but notice that you may be in need of aid…" He then stretched out his hands in front of him, a large wave of gold spreading out from them and across the plains.
Once the wave reached the group, they flinched. It passed harmlessly over them however, and continued on to hit the waves of undead behind them. Once it struck, the majority of the front members fell straight to the ground, lifeless as if they had been marionettes, cut from their strings. A few within the shambling group instead stopped in their tracks and immediately turned in the other direction, moving far faster than they had in their march towards town.
Staring in shocked silence, the group returned their gazes to Lud, who had since moved towards them. He gave them a smile "I am glad I was not too late." he said, before casting a look at Alistair, still between Indira and Rogon and still clearly in pain. He reached out a glowing hand to the injury. "Oh, I already tried that, it did not...work…" Godfrey said, slowing in shock as the spell succeeded where he had failed, Alistair's legs regaining their colour and mass. Lud pulled away and chuckled "Do not worry, friend. I am simply more...experienced at healing such wounds."
Alistair looked to his healed legs, placing his weight on them and thankful to realise they were no longer in pain. "Wow! Thanks!" Indira smiled at Alistair, before turning to Lud "You have my thanks. But I must ask, how did you do that? What was that thing?" Lud lost his smile, frowning in the direction of where the shadow had stood.
"That, my dear, was a Shadow. Descriptive, yes? Still, I have never seen one out in the open before, let alone this close to a town." Nobody missed that he had avoided answering how he had dealt with the creature. "Then what was it doin' 'ere then?" Rogon grunted. Lud turned his smile towards the orc. "That is the question, is it not. One I intend to find the answer to, though I fear what that may be. For now though, I have a request for all of you. It is of utmost importance."
Each of the members shared a look with one another. While they were unsure whether they should trust Lud, they could not deny that they owed him for saving them. Varus huffed, and turned towards town, walking away in apparent disinterest in the request. The others, however, turned to Lud and agreed.
"You must head to Astor, the capital of Lumeria. Warn the Duke of this attack. I fear it may not be the last of its kind, and fortune favours the prepared." Lud stated. "And what about you, what will you be doing?" Na'ish asked, speaking up for the first time since the fight started. Lud looked at him "I will be going to the nearby homesteads to the East, where I believe this foul creature came from. It had to have gotten the bodies it used from somewhere. Perhaps I will find some answers there."
"Alone?" Indira asked in shock. Lud nodded "it is for the best. do not worry, young miss, I am quite able to look after myself. Now, can you do this task for me?" The group nodded, and Lud gave a grateful smile before turning and heading out to the plains away from town.
"Wait, you're going now? But it's night!" Alistair exclaimed. Lud did not even turn around, saying "Time is of the essence. Your task can wait till morning, but mine cannot. Go, rest, and then take your message to the Duke. I trust you with this." Before long, the figure of Lud disappeared over the hill and out of sight.
The remaining group gathered their wits, before starting to walk back towards the Giggling Squid. Hopefully their rooms were still available after the night's commotion, as they were much needed at the moment.
As they did so Godfrey noticeably did not immediately follow. Na'ish paused, turning towards his friend in silent question. Godfrey was still looking to where Lud had disappeared. "Na'ish...I am going to follow Lud. He should not go alone, and I still feel he has the answers I seek." Na'ish returned to his side, intent on also following, before he was stopped by Godfreys arm. He looked to see him shaking his head at him.
"No friend, you should assist our new found comrades. I feel that they will be more in need of your shield than I." Na'ish paused, his expression hard to determine due to the hood that still adorned his head "...But...very well. I will do so...friend…" Godfrey smiled at him, before setting off after Lud at a jog.
Na'ish remained where he was standing for several minutes, before silently looking to the ground and turning to walk back to the tavern.
Enemy Profile
Name: Shadow
Shadows are known to inhabit the deepest recess of the regions cave systems. Rarely seen, or at least rarely survived, they have the ability to become an incorporeal mass of shadow that can pass through solid objects. Anything living that they pass through in such a manner is drained of their very life force. For some reason, more and more Shadows have been seen coming up to the surface recently...
