They moved closer to the obsidian platform, each of them peering into the darkness, looking for threats. As Watcher slowly crept closer, he thought he smelled something rotten, but figured it was probably just Er-Lan.
That bath seemed to erase the stench from Er-Lan, Watcher thought. So why would I be smelling him now?
“Oh no,” he whispered.
“What is it?” Planter asked.
“Zombies.”
Suddenly, a dozen monsters charged out of the opening in the huge wall, their clawed feet scraping against the hard, obsidian surface. The monsters growled and snarled as they approached, many wearing iron or chain mail armor. Some held swords while others had bright shining axes. They charged straight at the intruders, hateful expressions on their scarred faces.
Cutter didn’t hesitate. He stormed straight at them, swinging to the left, then lunging to the right. Blaster snuck around the monsters’ flank, then attacked them from behind while Planter moved to Cutter’s side, her sword and shield held at the ready.
Watcher pulled out blocks of dirt and placed them under his feet, forming a small tower. From there he fired upon the monsters, his bow string singing. He drew two arrows and let them go at the same time, the shafts easily finding targets amidst the horde. Drawing another arrow back, Watcher fired at a zombie approaching Planter from the side. She likely didn’t see the monster. He quickly fired twice more, silencing the monster, then turning toward Cutter to attack a monster to the left of the NPC. Watcher’s arrows took HP from the zombies before the defenders, making it possible for Cutter and Planter to destroy them with a single strike.
In minutes, the zombies were destroyed, leaving behind many glowing balls of XP and discarded weapons and armor.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Blaster said with a smile.
Suddenly, a hacking, scratchy sort of laugh floated across the clearing. It had a vile, angry feel to it, as if that laugh had never known joy, only pain. Watcher’s nerves felt electrified as panic filled his mind. His heart pounded in his chest as he held his breath, afraid the wheezing sound might give him away.
“That was just the beginning,” the scratchy voice growled.
Torches burst into life all along the top of the wall that ringed the courtyard. Each circle of light revealed multiple zombies. They growled from atop the battlement, their dark claws glistening in the flickering light. More torches ignited along the back of the fortress, showing a huge zombie wearing enchanted chain mail. It sparkled with an iridescent glow, as if it were made from a million glittering stars. The monster had a long scar running down one side of its face, one damaged eye milky white, the other black as pitch.
A group of zombies stepped through the opening, each wielding an iron sword and wearing armor. They growled as they stepped into the torch light, hateful expressions on their scarred faces.
Watcher glanced around, terrified.
“What do we do?” Planter asked.
“There’s too many of them,” Blaster said, his black armor now visible in the torchlight.
More torches burst into life in the enclosed balcony. NPC prisoners stood silent in the barred cell, staring down helplessly at the small party, their monstrous guards glaring at them with weapons drawn. Watcher saw his father and sister in the crowd, their faces covered with tears; they knew what was about to happen, and they were already mourning.
“I think this is … the end,” Watcher said, shaking with fear as the zombie warlord focused his hateful stare upon him.
The zombies ringing the courtyard gave off an angry growl that was half moan and half excited wail. Watcher glanced at Er-Lan, who was now lying on the ground mumbling to himself.
“Please … not Er-Lan’s fault,” the zombie wept. “Surrender and be safe.”
Cutter glared at the little zombie, then turned and faced the zombie warlord. He pointed at the monster with his sword.
“Ahhh … the diamond sword. Er-Lan did well to bring it here.” The warlord laughed another hacking, raspy laugh. “Tu-Kar thought it was time to destroy Er-Lan, but now that this great diamond sword has been brought to the zombie warlord, all is forgiven. Welcome home, Er-Lan.”
“No … no, Er-Lan not home. Er-Lan was home with new friends.” The zombie looked up at Watcher and Planter, an expression of despair on his green face. “No betrayal, only wanted to help find families and friends.”
“Well, we found them all right,” Blaster said, staring up at the balcony.
“You see, never trust a zombie.” Cutter glared at Watcher. “All they do is lie and cheat … they should be exterminated.”
“Ha … good luck with that.” The zombie warlord stepped forward, his enchanted chain mail sparkling with a million points of light. “But it is time to get to business. Drop all weapons and armor, and Tu-Kar will let all the invaders become slaves in the service of the great Kaza.”
“Kaza—what’s a Kaza?” Blaster asked.
Just then, a strange chill seemed to settle across courtyard. It was as if a cold, wet blanket had been draped across all his skin. Watcher glanced around, looking for the source. When he turned back to the fortress, he was shocked by what he saw.
A wither slowly entered through the doorway, floating on its stubby spine. Dark, charred ribs stuck out from the shadowy backbone, giving the creature the appearance of something just risen from the cold ashes of a deserted campfire. But the most terrifying thing was the creature’s heads. Three of them sat atop the monster’s broad shoulders, the center head wearing a golden crown dotted with small black skulls.
“Tu-Kar, are these more recruits for me?” the wither’s center head asked.
“Tu-Kar … was unaware that Kaza, King of the Withers, would be arriving.” The zombie warlord bowed before the floating monster.
“I came to inspect the flock of volunteers you have for me.” The center head swiveled until it was staring straight at Cutter. “That one seems strong. Likely he will be good for digging.”
“He may be too big for the tunnels,” the right head added. “Maybe we should starve him a while until he is more suitable in size.”
“I do like the look of that diamond sword.” The left wither head gave an eerie smile. “It will look nice next to our throne in the Capitol.”
“The sword will belong to Tu-Kar, as per our agreement.” The zombie warlord stared up at the monster. “The zombies bring gold to the king of the withers, but all armor and weapons belong to Tu-Kar. That was the agreement.”
“That was the agreement.” The right skull nodded.
“Very well,” Center replied.
“I don’t care what the agreement was; no one’s getting my diamond sword,” Cutter declared.
Watcher moved to the warrior’s side and aimed his bow at the terrifying monster. The bow shook frantically, fear ruling the boy’s body.
The left head on the wither laughed. “We should just destroy these fools.”
“No, they might have valuable information,” Right growled. “One of them might know the location of more villages.”
Planter and Blaster moved next to Watcher, weapons gripped firmly in their hands. Mapper stood close behind.
“No,” Center snapped. “These fools are a distraction from our plans. We have enough villagers to torture for information. I’m sure some of our captives will gladly tell us where the other villages are located after we destroy a few of their friends. Perhaps we will start with these five here as an example.”
“That is a good idea,” Right said.
“Of course you would say that, Right,” Left added. “You always agree with Center. It’s as if you two are conspiring against me all the time.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Right replied.
“Enough bickering!” Center commanded.
The wither turned and faced the zombie warlord.
“Destroy those fools, then take your prisoners to the Capitol. We have some mining for them to do.”
“When do we get paid?
” Tu-Kar growled.
“You get paid after you deliver the prisoners to my castle,” Kaza barked. “I gave you that armor so you could rule this rabble of zombies … now rule them! Destroy these five fools as an example to the other villagers, then take the prisoners to the Capitol. If you delay, you will be destroyed and I’ll find another zombie warlord who can follow my commands.”
Tu-Kar growled, then turned to Watcher and his companions. The monster’s chain mail glittered with an iridescent light, as the enchantment on the armor reached out to the minds of the other zombies, making them helplessly obedient to him.
“Zombies, destroy these five as an example to the other prisoners.” He glared up at the NPC captives on the second floor balcony. “Let all understand, there is no hope for any of the prisoners. No one will get away, and no one will elude punishment for trying to escape. All villagers are now under the command of Tu-Kar, so that they may serve the great Wither King, Kaza.”
He turned back to the five companions.
“Zombies … attack!”
Zombies charged at them from the fortress steps as monsters climbed down from the walls surrounding the courtyard. But even more terrifying was the zombie warlord himself. Tu-Kar sprinted toward Cutter, his one, good eye fixed on the diamond sword, and his deep, guttural battle cry filling the air.
“Let’s get out of here.” Watcher fired an arrow at a zombie, then drew and fired again. “We can still escape … out the back gate.”
“Right, everyone follow Watcher,” Planter said.
But Cutter didn’t listen. Instead, he shouted back at his enemy. “Zombie warlord, you have hurt and killed untold numbers, and now it is time for you to be punished. I will destroy you just like I destroyed that cowardly zombie general back at the church.”
Tu-Kar screamed, then drew a massive iron broadsword that was bigger than any blade any of the NPCs had ever seen before. The keen edge gleamed in the moonlight as the warlord held it over his head. Swinging with all his strength, the monster attacked. Cutter ducked, the weapon zipping just over the top of his iron helmet. Moving in quickly, the NPC slashed at the zombie’s legs, then jabbed at his ribs. Tu-Kar screamed, then brought the huge blade down on Cutter’s shoulder. It glanced off his armor, but tore a huge gash in the metallic coating.
“Cutter, come on, we need to get out of here.” Watcher fired arrows as fast as he could. Off to his right, Blaster and Planter were fighting back to back as they moved closer to the gate, Mapper standing between them. “We can’t win this battle. It’s better to run.”
But again, the big warrior was lost to the fever of war.
“No one interfere,” Tu-Kar bellowed. “This villager is mine.”
Their blades crashed together, the diamond sword taking a chunk out of the zombie’s massive weapon. They clashed again, sparks flying in the air when the two blades met. Watcher moved closer to the combatants, wanting to cover Cutter’s escape. Tu-Kar grunted when the diamond blade sliced into his arm. Cutter shouted when the massive broadsword crashed down on to his back. The two behemoths were fighting to the end and there was no stopping them.
But then, an arrow shot out of the darkness and zipped past Cutter’s head. Watcher saw a skeleton step into the light and fire again. Drawing back his own arrow, he fired at the bony creature, then again and again, but he was too late. The skeleton had released a second pointed shaft that hit Cutter in the hand, causing him to drop his diamond sword. The big warrior stared down at the tumbling weapon, forgetting the attack about to come down on his head from Tu-Kar’s sword.
Watcher sprinted toward the battling giants, firing his arrows at the zombie warlord. His first shot struck the zombie in the shoulder, causing him to lower his swing; the massive broadsword hit Cutter in the side instead of hitting his head. Firing more shots, Watcher drove the zombie back. Meanwhile, Cutter’s blade had disappeared amidst the chaos.
“Cutter, we need to go … now!” He pulled Ro-Zar’s enchanted weapon from his inventory and shoved it into his friend’s hands. “Come on.”
Watcher grabbed him by the armor and pulled him to the courtyard exit. Cutter looked at him, then glared back at the zombie warlord, the monster waving Cutter’s diamond sword in the air.
“Zombies … don’t let them escape.” Tu-Kar’s enchanted chain mail flashed bright just for an instant, causing the warlord to shout in pain. “Destroy them.”
Cutter turned and started to run.
Monsters were climbing down the walls, trying to cut them off. Blaster streaked out of the gate with Planter at his side, Mapper trailing behind. They fell on the zombies before they could reach the ground, destroying them with shocked expressions on their scarred faces.
“Cutter … hurry.” Watcher drew an arrow and fired it at a monster trying to close in on them. The shaft hit the creature in the arm, then the next two arrows took the rest of the creature’s HP. “Blaster, Planter, take Mapper and head through the gate.”
The duo stopped fighting and ran for the courtyard exit, Mapper holding the gate open. When he reached the arched exit, Watcher glanced over his shoulder. It seemed as if the entire zombie army was pouring out of the fortress, all of the monsters snarling and growling. The wither king, Kaza, watched from the obsidian platform, pleased expressions on its three heads.
“Which way do we go?” Planter asked.
Sorrowful moans could be heard on both sides of the walls; the zombies were trying to get at them from the left and the right.
“We can’t get out the same way we came in,” Watcher said. “I can hear monsters in that direction.”
“Follow this path. It must lead somewhere, and anywhere is better than right here.” Blaster shot down the rocky path, the rest of the party following close behind.
The trail led between two large and steep hills. Watcher could see it would be impossible to climb up; their only choice was to continue following the path. They ran a short distance, the light from the ascending moon not yet reaching above the hills, leaving the trail in shadow.
“Wait … STOP!” Watcher skidded to a halt with his arms outstretched.
“What are you doing?” Cutter asked. “The monsters are following.”
“Look, the trail ends.” Watcher pulled out a torch and held it into the air. “We need wings if we want to keep going.”
“I can’t believe you were able to see that,” Planter said. “Everything is so dark.”
“Stay away from the edge. It’s a sheer drop.” Watcher peered over to look down. The ground was lost in darkness, but he thought he could hear something … a trickling sound.
The companions stood in a tight group, shoulder to shoulder, peering into the black that nearly swallowed them all.
“So, the invaders are trapped.”
Watcher turned and found the zombie warlord slowly approaching along the narrow path, a host of monsters at his back.
“These four villagers will make excellent slaves,” Tu-Kar said. “But I think the old one will be of no use. Kaza, the great wither king, would never accept a slave as pathetic as that one. Perhaps the river should devour him.”
Some of the monsters chuckled a growling sort of laugh.
“So Kaza is the one behind all of this,” Watcher said. “I thought zombies did what they wanted, and weren’t just subordinates? I never knew they would take orders from a wither.”
“Do not play games with Tu-Kar, boy,” the zombie growled. “The zombies do what Tu-Kar orders.” His enchanted chain mail pulsed for just an instant. “The time for villagers attacking zombie-towns is over. The zombie nation is rising up and taking what rightfully is ours … and that’s everything. If following Kaza for a while helps Tu-Kar reach this goal, then so be it.” The zombie warlord took a step forward and glared at the villagers. “The NPC prisoners have been given over to Kaza, and soon, slavery will be the fate for these intruders as well … or maybe even death.”
“You’ll never make us slaves. We’ll fight to the end
before we surrender.” Cutter held the enchanted sword from the zombie general before him, the blade sparkling with unknown enchantments.
Tu-Kar glanced at the blade, then cast his gaze on the other villagers. “Very well. If surrender is not an option, then there is only one other outcome.”
Something the zombie warlord said suddenly made sense to him. Watcher glanced over the edge of the cliff and peered into the darkness. There was that trickling sound again, but it could be coming from anywhere, carried in on the wind from some distant location. It was a big risk, but it was also their only hope.
“No, zombie, I think we actually do have another option.” Watcher turned and faced his friends. “All of you need to trust me. This is our only chance.”
“What is it?” Cutter asked.
Watcher put away his bow and extended his arms. “Everyone get ready to jump.”
“Jump?”
Without further warning, he ran toward the cliff, his arms outstretched, forcing his friends with him. At the last instant, they all turned and leapt as Watcher pushed them off the cliff, falling away into the darkness.
His nerves screamed, causing waves of panic to spread throughout Watcher’s body. Watcher stared down as he plunged through the night, hoping with every fiber of his being that he hadn’t just doomed all his friends. Time seemed drawn out, moving at an excruciatingly slow pace. Above, he could hear the growls of zombies; one in particular stared down at him, a sad expression on his face. It was Er-Lan.
A thought bubbled up through the back of his mind, but before he could wrap his brain around it, daggers of chilling cold stabbed at him from all sides as he was enveloped in a watery embrace.
“I’m alive!” Watcher coughed.
He was underwater, and talking probably wasn’t the best idea. He kicked upward. His lungs burned, starving for oxygen. When his head found air, he coughed again, then scanned the river for his friends. The water was still, and no square heads poked up from the chilly surface.
Zombies Attack! Page 14
