《Undead Firebrand》 Prologue - Subject Zero Elsbeth was shaking in fear. Her day had gone from bad to terrifying in the time it took for her to cast repel undead. Old Gerd the human hermit living on the edge of the dwarven village that lay between the Dwarven Kingdom of Khaz''Banadur and the Human dominated Kingdom of Durisham had come sprinting into the village only the last time anyone had seen Gerd moving at any speed faster than a mild amble was beyond living memory. The fact he was also missing most of one arm and his lower jaw was hanging strangely to the side with drool and blood running down his chin over his clothes only added to the confusion as he rushed into the village common ground and immediately charged Bill who was on guard duty. Bill managed to subdue Gerd with the help of several of his fellow dwarves but due to his longer reach Gerd manage to scratch and bite not just Bill but also half a dozen others before he was tied down. "Of course the first thing everyone thought to do was call me" demurred Esbeth to noone in particular. After all she was the village Priestess of Runko God of Earth and if anyone knew how to deal with someone so clearly Undead but also not behaving like the undead normally do would be her area of expertise. Only it''s not Elsbeth had neglected her studies on the undead in favour of drinking with her fellow initiates back during her training and could only cast the most basic spells related to them. Which she had just Cast. "So what''s the verdict El" Bill mumbled. "I don''t know Bill but I suggest we burn Gerd straight away, my spell was completely ineffective and I don''t know if I can stop him easily if he gets out and I am already at my limit for casting today so if you lot of incompetents get injured again you will have to wait for it heal naturally" Bill looked at Elsbeth confused. "What do you mean failed. I thought Holy magic didn''t have a fail risk". Elsbeth shrugged her shoulders "No bloody idea I didn''t pay much attention to this, all I know is that..." Elsbeth takes another look at what used to be Gerd then points her index finger firmly at the disheveled and bloody old man "Yer that ain''t even close to normal!". All the farmer edge away from the thoroughly bound Gerd at this proclamation unsure what to do. Bill turns around and yells out "alright you lazy sods go get some firewood and the flint and well give ol'' Gerd a send off". As Bill turns to stomp off he suddenly stops and turns back and yells out "don''t you lot forget to bring up a keg of his finest Brandy he sold us last Autumn neither so we can toast to his life we''ll do it at sundown" clearly ignoring Elsbeth¡¯s advice. As Bill continues to walk off Elsbeth is left standing staring at the unblinking eyes of the still struggling zombie and can''t decide what''s more terrifying the fact that it could move at a speed not described as an amble or that her holy magic had no effect. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Elsbeth spins around suddenly and starts making her way back to her chapel somehow she can''t remember what is causing this feeling of foreboding in the pits of her stomach talking to herself yet again she mumbles "Either way I am planning on drinking as much as possible later". Four hours pass with Elsbeth getting more and more restless while waiting for sundown but the time is finally here so she has made her way to the western edge of the village where the pyre has been built ready to be lit. She decided to dress in her formal garments with her trappings of office forgetting that the average villager doesn''t understand why the funny looking hat and robe matter. As she walks up she notices that of the villagers that helped subdue Gerd only two have shown up. Even Bill isn''t there yet. No matter she thinks more beer for me. "Alright everyone gather around" calls out Elsbeth as she looks at the sorry group she has been assigned to administer over. "Old Gerd was ..." Suddenly she hears moaning as one of the men from earlier collapses and starts shaking and foaming at the mouth as Elsbeth runs to look after him she realises that the moaning isn''t just coming from him but rather it is mostly coming from the village proper. She turns to look and sees Bill and several other villagers sprinting at them. Elsbeth starts to back away just as they hit the edge of the crowd and start biting and clawing at the townsfolk in front of her. Panicking Elsbeth does the first thing that comes to her head and casts repel undead once more however it completely ineffective. Where Gerd had been old and worn out Bill and the other villagers were young and tough. They were behaving the same as him but had even further enhanced strength and agility tearing apart the other villagers so Elsbeth does the only thing she can and turns tail to run. She makes it into the fields with several other villages fast behind her however as the night drags on her fellows are all brought down one by one by the monsters following behind her. Elsbeth''s dwarven fortitude and ability to refresh herself with healing allowed her to keep ahead of them for what feels like hours running for her life her hat is lost her robes torn until she stumbled across a merchant camp near to a river. As Elsbeth stumbles into their camp bruised and bleeding from running through branches as fast as she can the guard looks at her in shock taking in her haunted and bloodied visage he recoils slightly while grabbing at his horn ready to sound the alarm. Elsbeth takes one look at the scrawny looking guard realises he has no hope using what little breath she can spare to yell just one word "Run!". With that stated she takes her own advice and runs straight through their camp and jumps into the river. She swims out for all her worth and when she reaches the other bank she looks back to see the merchants being torn apart by the things she once knew that would now haunt her dreams until her dying day. Falling to her knees Elsbeth starts weeping but is startled almost immediately as someone start climbing the bank she just did. Muddy with water falling off it the person looms over her as she fall backward and starts to crabwalk away. However before she can get up and run it lunges forward and grabs hold of her! Elsbeth closes her eyes waiting for the inevitable rending and tearing however it doesn¡¯t come. Instead she hears someone sobbing thank you over and over. She opens her eyes and looks at the mud cloaked person again and realises it is the scrawny guard from before. Looking back at the merchant camp she realises the zombies are still busy. With that she grabs the young man by the collar and starts dragging him off into the wilderness with no more thought than this direction is away from them. Prologue 2 Merrick walked into Harrold and Sons Traders thankful for the sudden coolness of the shop after the long walk from his farm with the last of his harvest being pulled along by his faithful donkeys Gray and Stripes. As the doors swung closed behind him he called out ¡°Hey Har that wife of yours managed to give you any sons yet?¡±. Putting his hat down on the bar he sits down while he hears a deep voice call out from the back of the store ¡°Not yet Merry, I may just need to get that sign changed after all¡±. ¡°Maybe I can get one of my boys to marry that daughter of yours when she gets back from the capital¡±. At that remark he hears a chortling laugh coming closer before a large Blonde giant of a man comes out of the back room with a glass bottle and a couple of glasses. ¡°Now now Merry how many times do I have to tell you my young Beth will be marrying a lords son not just a freeholder¡±. Harrold places both glasses down on the bar in front of Merrick and starts pouring him a glass of ¡®something¡¯ he also uses to clean the enchanted glass windows at the front of the stoor the same ones responsible for the very hospitable temperatures inside his store. With a slightly more apprehensive voice Merrick asks ¡°Have you heard if old lord Warbrooke has sent the taxmen out yet?¡± Harrold laughingly asks ¡°What you trying to get another planting and harvest in before the end of summer again? I know your youngest has a talent with elemental magic but I can promise that it won¡¯t be enough. The weather mages from the capital are proclaiming its going to be a drought for the next 2 months.¡± Merrick scowls and grumbles ¡°Nay nay the boy can¡¯t keep up yet needs to grow further into his talent before we go there again. We are just trying to put a little bit more aside so we can open up the Fallow field to plant an Orchard of those new Macadamia nuts from the southern continent.¡± Harrold nods his head knowingly and reaches under the bar for his ledger ¡°No he hasn¡¯t been sent yet. Something happened the other day and the lord sent half his armsmen out along the kings road. I¡¯m just hoping that doesn¡¯t have anything to do with the shipment Kar is meant to bringing in.¡± ¡°What you telling me that the dwarves haven¡¯t arrived with the items I ordered last season yet?¡± ¡°Not yet¡± demurred Harrold.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well blast there go the plans for the Orchard¡± Always one for smelling profit that Harrold was he immediately asked ¡°what you looking for Merry maybe I got something you need?¡± ¡°Aye at triple the price you thief¡± Groused Merrick. ¡°We need a new axe, crowbar and yoke to help with the stumping to prepare the field or we simply won¡¯t finish before it''s too late and Autumn sets in.¡± Nodding along as Merrick keeps listing the items he needs Harrold goes to start getting the items ready. He knows that no matter the complains will will eventually fold and purchase what he needs after all he has been blessed with not one but three children capable of becoming sorcerers in their own right and his farm had prospered because of the strategic benefit of having that kind of cosmic power behind it. ¡°Where are the boys anyway Merry don¡¯t they normally come with you?¡± ¡°Aye but I gave them each a Silver Brand today and a challenge, I said the one of you who comes up with a way to keep the crows out of the fields gets to choose the horse we are purchasing from the stables and another 3 Silver Brands for their own use.¡± Harrold grunting as he picked up the large axe he was bringing over for inspection asked ¡°which of them do you expect to pull it off?¡± ¡°Young Selt seems to have a plan he always seems to come up with ideas that appear crazy at first but work perfectly. Actually Har since the Dwarves haven¡¯t arrived with the shipment yet maybe you have something I need. Selt seems to think burning out the stumps will be easier. He thinks he can use a metal hood against one side of the stumps and pump air in with his fire magic and use that to cut the stumps out. As I said seems crazy but that boy of mine has surprised me before and if it even makes it a little easier to get rid of a stump then I imagine we will not only be able to use it to clear our fields but be able to earn back the cost of the the metal sheet by hiring out our services to the other farmsteads¡±. ¡°I think I have just the thing Merry¡± Shouts Har rushing to the back of the store. Grunting he drags something clearly heavy out from a corner hefts it up onto his shoulder and brings it over ¡°Have a look at this Merry and tell me what you think¡±. Merrick could hardly believe his eyes in front of him is a clearly enchanted breast plate. ¡°Har why do you even have that?¡± ¡°Yarvick dug it up over on his farm the rest of the gear was rotted along with the skeleton he found in it but this beauty it wasn¡¯t even tarnished. Best part for you is that its fireproof. Not just fire resistant but ¡®Proof¡¯¡±. Merrick cocking his head with a strange look on his face asked ¡°What makes you think I could afford anything that heavily enchanted?¡±. Harrold just tapped his finger on the crest and said ¡°that is the crest of the vampire lords that took over our lands a few centuries ago. No knight in his right mind would dare wear this unless he had no other choice and that of course means I won¡¯t get anything worthwhile for it.¡± Smiling in crooked delight he continued ¡°However, if I was to sell it to you heavily discounted on the understanding that if it does the job you¡¯re thinking of I will get ten percent of all revenue from future destumping services you sell. Well then I could see my way to letting this go for 20 Golden Spires refundable for 15 should it not work.¡±. Merrick with a twinkle in his eye Decided to try his luck one more time ¡°Har you got a deal if you throw in your daughter''s hand to one of my boys¡±. The laughter coming from the large blonde man could have put the idea to bed but his words came as a surprise ¡°If your youngest manages to get into the academy same as my girl did then I wouldn¡¯t mind recommending him to her but once she graduates it''s her decision whom to marry and as you know she¡¯s had her eyes on a young lord for a while now.¡±. Surprised at his own success Merrick grinned back and put his hand forward ¡° Well Har you old goat you have got yourself a deal. Now let¡¯s see about me selling my crop and whether you have the other things I need to get us through to next summer and then we can open this bottle my father sent along¡± putting a clear glass jar on the well worn oak table between them. Prologue 3 Terrod renewed the flames yet again. He was nearing exhaustion and only himself and Poppy were still standing. Poppy wore the armor they had been using to destump the northern fallow field and they both were coated in immolating flames. In the past month his constant use of fire magic had seen his abilities increase drastically to the point his father had started talking about sending him to the academy but after constantly casting immolate and various other fire magic spells to protect his family he was near exhausted. First His older brother Boris fell buried under a dozen undead pulling out his guts and chewing on his brains causing his mother to shriek in terror and his father to charge the undead in a rage. However, this had simply been the first loss of the evening to their large extended family. The next to succumb to the press of the lifeless was farmhand Aervin when they pulled him down his screams for his mother were excruciating. They were just a taste of the night of horrors he was to endure. After Aervin they thought they had got away. Then a few of the other farmhands had collapsed on the ground as they had started moving towards the village. They hastily lashed them to horses to speed up the procession. They had dragged them along not understanding why the undead had stopped chasing them but grateful for the respite to catch their breath and move on. As they had moved on Terrod had started to feel more relaxed thinking they were going to be alright but once they were halfway to the village the injured had started to moan and struggle against their bindings. Terrod and the rest of the family looked on in horror as the former farmhands started ravenously tearing into the horses that they were being carried by and the horses started to buck. As everyone tried to restore calm the moaning from the woods began again.showing that the undead had never truly left but rather had simply held off waiting until their new members rose to cause a distraction. As he desperately chanted one incantation after another to try and hold the undead at bay he had seen them tear into his mother burying her in their bodies, his father and the other men slowly overwhelmed. The only thing that kept him alive was that none of the undead were willing to come near someone wreathed in flames like himself. Realising this he quickly cast it on the only other member of the group that would be immune his Grandfather Poppy. He had tried everything to keep his family alive but in the end Poppy had grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away. There was nothing they could do for the dead and dying.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Now the two survivors were stumbling less than 30 minutes walk from the town and what they hoped was safety. As best they could tell no undead had followed them from the sight of the ambush and they were moving as fast as their weary bodies would carry them. They stumbled into town going straight to Harrold¡¯s knowing that he was the person most likely to give them shelter. The streets were deserted as was to be expected given the late hour however the stillness of the night added to Terrod¡¯s growing paranoia. They got to the door of Har¡¯s store and Poppy started rapping on the door trying to stay quiet while being loud enough to get the door opened. They heard a shuffling sound coming from inside the store and then suddenly a loud moaning sound from the forest. Poppy started banging louder on the door and yelled out ¡°Har open the damn door¡±. As he was about to start of third round of yet more insistent banging on the door when it suddenly swung open to reveal not the expected giant of a man but rather a short unpleasant looking dwarf with a long beard. Without saying any words the dwarf grabbed Poppy by the his belt and dragged him in with Terrod but a step or two behind. Letting the flames wreathing both of their bodies extinguish Terrod sat down heavily on the floor only to realise he wasn¡¯t the only body on the floor rather there was over 40 people the majority of the small town cowering in the small aisles of the store. As he looked around he realised the safety he was looking for was unlikely to be found here. Suddenly a large man came up out of the cellar and looking at the two new arrivals Terrod could see it was Har but he looked strange. Older and rather than his usual happy demeanor he was sporting a worried look. Har beckoned him and Poppy over before turning around and leading them down into the cellar. Once they were all in the cellar Har firmly shut the cellar doors behind him before a soft glow started emanating from a crystal he was holding in his hands. Har turned around with that worried look on his face ¡°Ter did your father send you and Poppy into town?¡± Terrod felt his emotions finally starting to overwhelm him after the night of horror he already had endured being far more than any boy should ever have to go through started to cry ¡°No sir we all tried to make it¡±. Har cursed and walked over to a large keg and took 4 large glasses poured ale into each and brought them back to the table putting one in from of both Terrod and Poppy and the last in the middle of the table before raising his glass waiting for the other two to raise theirs. ¡°To those who have fallen that we may live one last drink¡±. He took a long pull on the beer before placing it down next to the full one on the table. ¡°So you two are the only ones left from your farm. How did you manage to survive? We have been holding up behind the magic wards my daughter installed the last time she visited.¡± ¡°It was my fire magic sir the undead wouldn¡¯t touch us while we were covered in it. But I could only cast it on myself and Poppy as it would have killed the others.¡± Terrod mumbled staring at the bottom of his glass. ¡°Didn¡¯t help in the end¡­¡± Har looking troubled pulled an object from out of a cupboard at the back of the cellar ¡°Do you think you have enough juice left to activate this for me?¡± Terrod squinted at the strange looking mirror then with apprehension his eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s a communication mirror!¡± ¡°Aye lad, linked to one in the academy but I normally have to wait for Anth to contact me on account of my limitations¡±. Gritting his teeth Terrod gathered his failing magic reserves and pushed them into the silvered mirror Har was holding. It flickered a bit so Terrod pushed his mana even further, farther than he ever had before and the mirror flashed to life. Har exclaimed as Terrod grinned up at him before keeling over not knowing any more.