Chapter 2

I woke up and went to explore Falconreach. I met a kid standing outside the inn.

"My name's Ash. Have you been to Oaklore or Amityvale?" The boy asked enthusiastically.

"Um, I'm born in Oaklore. But I haven't been to Amityvale."

"Go there! It's scary!" Ash said.

"You want to be a knight?" I asked, eyeing Ash's makeshift 'armour', made of metal plates bound by leather.

"Yes! My dream has always been to be a Knight…but I am too young to even train for the tests." Ash said.

"Well…you could save a Princess or something. Then a King would have to make you a Knight, right?" I said, trying to be sympathetic.

"REALLY?" Ash looked excited.

Uh oh…what did I just say? He is not actually gonna try to…nah… he would never do it. I coughed. "Yes! Definitely…If you were to save a Princess you would become a Knight."

"Thank you so much! I am going to go find a Princess to save!" Ash said.

… Who ever said Princesses need to be rescued? Males. Always thinking slight of the female race. Oh boy…I did it now. Wait…what am I saying. He is too young to try to run off to strange lands and save some random Princess.

"Well, I better get started packing!" Ash said.

! What? Oh no…what have I done…

"Speaking of rescuing, a little girl from town has gone missing. We think she might be in that cave full of bugs!" Ash said.

Bugs? I hate bugs. But maybe I'll save people later. Better train up first. I got the directions to Amityvale and set off. I walked towards the West and went into a 'park'. There, I met a Paladin, a Knight.

"Greetings and salutations, friend! I am Artix Krieger." Artix introduced.

"I'm Suzanne, Angel's sister. She's a Paladin, too." I said.

"Wow, are you Suzanne? I am so glad you're in DoomWood. It is an honour to finally meet you." Artix said.

I guess Angel must have related many of my paradoxes to her leader of class. "Thanks, it's nice to meet you too. What are you up to here?"

"Exorcising the undead to free their souls. It is also great exercise!" Artix exclaimed.

Is it just me, or did the undead surrounding us give a groan? I guess Artix must really be 'freeing' them.

"Need a hand?" I asked. Like Artix need my help. Maybe he does, seeing as he's only Level 3 here. I'm Level 5 now.

A hand from an undead zoomed in front of us. The undeads around us snickered.

"Heh…" Artix and I laughed nervously together.

"Here's my list." Artix showed me a list.

Artix's Official List of things that should NOT be said around UNDEAD

That is just jaw dropping!

Something evil is a foot!

Keep a stiff upper lip!

Use a little elbow grease!

…and that is how you get a head.

That guy is a spineless coward!

Have more to add to the list?

That, is sooo funny. I'm being sarcastic, as you know. It's actually pretty lame. "So…do you always hang out in creepy Graveyards battling the Undead?" I asked. Making small talk, you know. Like I'm interested.

"No, not all the time." Artix said. "Sometimes I go to Underground Crypts, Lich Lairs, Mummy Tombs and the occasional Shopping Mall."

Gosh, what a goof. He really like fighting the Undead. "Wait…the mall?"

"Indeed! The undead LOVE malls. Someone puts up a sale and they swarm like bees!" Artix coughed. "Zom-bees!"

Oh, haha, very funny. The Undeads around us grew excited and started shouting.

Zombie A was about to groan… "Shaaawwwwping? Arrrrewwww…"

Zombie B, "Arrrrewwww…bruuuuwright saaaaale!"

Zombie C, "Arrrrghhhh…disssscount barrrgaaarghins!?"

"Say, if you are battling against creatures of Darkness it would be an honour to come with you." Artix said.

"Sure, as long as you can keep up!" I joked.

! Artix looked shocked. "I like the way you think, this is going to be fun. Lead the way, friend!"

We agreed to meet the next day to team up and to fight monsters. I decided to rest at the Smashing Pumpkin, Amityvale's and only inn.

"Welcome to the Smashing Pumpkin! Amityvale's best inn!" Rosemary, the innkeeper, greeted me.

Yeah, best and only inn, you mean.

"Oh, so you are new to DoomWood? Let me tell you a little about it. The forest is pretty much overrun with skeletons, poltergeist, vampires, yagas, necromancers…"

Drone. Geography lessons?

"…ghouls, fiends, gargoyles, liches, mummies, pumpkin golems, shadow creatures…"

Yawn.

"…undead abominations, lagoon creatures, zombies, and the occasional lawyer." Rosemary finished.

Hmm. "No witches?" I asked.

"The politically correct term is 'Yaga'." Rosemary corrected me.

"Politically correct!?" I exclaimed.

"New age Witches are very sensitive and trying to disassociate themselves with the classic green, wart-nosed hag image." Rosemary explained.

"No Problem with Vampires though…right?" I wondered.

"Oh no, Vampires are fair game." Rosemary reassured me.

Whew. Lucky me. After taking a swig of Rosemary's special hot pumpkin spice chocolate milk, I decided to attend the Town hall meeting.

"Rest at ease, all of your troubles will be addressed during the Town hall meeting!" Wednesday, the Mayor began. "Alright, let's begin. I hereby call this Town Hall meeting to order. Who would like to go first?"

Villager A, "I'll go first, mayor. Things are bad…real bad. There are new monsters and they have started attacking without warning. This week alone we lost Freddy, Jason, Michael…and they just got Chucky!"

Villager B, "Poor Chucky…he was such a doll…"

Villager C, "The worst part is no one is doing anything about it…no one except that crazy Paladin in the graveyard."

She meant Artix, I guess.

"OMG! Is that Paladin STILL fighting undead in there?" Wednesday exclaimed.

That got me wondering how long he'd been there. Did he find time to bathe?

Villager D, "Yup. I just passed the graveyard on the way in and he was still there!"

Villager E, "I heard he was cursed and will die if he does not free enough undead each day!"

Villager F, "No way, I heard he does it just for fun. Did you hear those puns he makes when he is fighting?"

"Alright, alright! Settle down. The real reason for this meeting is that a bunch of Adventurers from FalconReach have come to town." Wednesday said.

! Everyone exclaimed and looked shocked.

"Yes, adventurers who were attacked by monsters from this area and have come to find the source." Wednesday continued.

Villager A, "Adventurers like the one behind me that probably does not think we all noticed her standing there the whole meeting?"

"Um, yes. Welcome, stranger. What is your name?" Wednesday asked.

…

Villager A, "Mayor! We had a deal with the Necromancers. We keep our noses outta their business and obey curfew, and they let us be. These Adventurers and that Paladin are going to get us in a heap of trouble!"

"That's what I thought…at first. Until I heard that they defeated the undead army at Falconreach!"Wednesday exclaimed.

I guess that took place before I came to FalconReach, that is. I didn't even heard there was an undead army anywhere. Boy, news must travel slowly to Oaklore Keep's distant villages.

! Everyone gasped and looked shocked.

Villager A, "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I think they…I think they can even defeat the Necromancers!" Wednesday said.

Villager A, "If you are wrong…we might as well start sizing our caskets. Mayor. Hey, stranger…do you really think you can beat a Necromancer?"

Look, Buster, I don't think I can, I know I can. I nodded confidently. I hate people looking down on me because I'm new or a female.

! Everyone looked shocked when they saw how confident I am.

"We leave our fate in your capable hands. We know you will not let us down!" Wednesday declared.

I think maybe I need more practice after all.